GE has booked over $1bn in gas turbine orders

General Electric Co has landed more than USD 1 billion in orders for new gas turbines in North America so far this year, reflecting power companies' growing interest in natural gas, the largest US conglomerate said.

That is about 30% ahead of last year's pace and reflects faster growth than the world's largest maker of electric turbines expected," said Steve Bolze, who heads the company's power and water business.

"The North American orders for gas turbines ... have been a little better than we thought this year," Bolze said in an interview on Wednesday.

For the past year GE has been predicting a rebound in US demand for gas turbines, driven by surging production of shale gas. That follows a period of six to seven years when US demand was minimal after a demand bubble early in the past decade.

The company also unveiled a new 50-megawatt gas turbine that it said could cycle up to full capacity in one minute, a technology that could help power suppliers meet quick spikes in demand. A 50-megawatt turbine produces about enough electricity to meet the needs of 40,000 typical American users.

Utilities and large-scale power users including hospitals and universities have expressed interest in the turbine, Bolze said.