As part of an overall investment of $600 million to expand capacity to meet surging global energy demand, GE Vernova is investing $160 million in its Greenville gas turbine production facility, the company announced Jan. 29.
The investment in Greenville over the next two years is expected to generate an additional 550 jobs and significantly boost gas turbine production capacity.
Power pipeline
The move is in response to unprecedented demand nationally and globally for gas turbines to generate electricity, according to Shane Long, global supply chain lead for gas power at GE Vernova.
The investments at the Greenville facility, which occupies about 413 acres near the intersection of Garlington and Woodruff roads, will primarily focus on improving infrastructure and adding machinery and equipment to push production from an average of about 50 turbines per year to between 70 and 80 annually.
Long said since the focus is on boosting production, most of the additional 550 jobs will be production associates.
The 1.5 million square feet of production space at the facility is not expected to expand, Long said. Instead, the investments will focus on increased operational efficiency by expanding existing lean manufacturing throughout the plant.
As explained by GE Vernova spokesman Chris White, much of this efficiency comes from clustering processes and the parts required by those processes close together within the plant.
The increased efficiency and additional machinery and personnel is expected to help the Greenville plant produce 37 turbines in 2025, 62 in 2026 and 74 in 2027.
“The demand for gas turbines is greater than it’s been in decades,” White said. “We’re basically booked out for the next three years.”
Big builds
Fueled primarily by natural gas, each gas turbine produced at the Greenville plant can generate enough electricity to power about 500,000 homes, White said.
The units are huge: 36 feet long, 16 feet tall and weighing about 500,000 pounds. They’re also made to incredibly exacting standards and with internal tolerances smaller than a human hair, White said.
Long said GE Vernova’s Greenville plant was already known for utilizing some of the most advanced manufacturing processes in the world, and the new investment is significant both for the company and the community.
“(The investment) is going to help us improve and really take us to the next level in our journey of manufacturing and operations excellence,” he said. “It’s an exciting day to be part of GE Vernova, but it’s a unique opportunity for Greenville.”
GE Vernova fast facts
- Operates 18 factories in 12 states employing about 18,000 workers
- Company products help generate about 25% of global electricity
- Investing $600 million to expand production at more than a dozen U.S. facilities and adding about 1,500 new jobs
