General Electric Co. (GE) said Thursday that a power plant in Northern France will be the first equipped with its efficient new natural-gas turbine designed for use in conjunction with renewable energy-generation gear when it becomes operational in 2015.

GE and French state-controlled utility group Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) are jointly developing the EUR400 million ($533 million) power plant, located at Bouchain. GE, based in Fairfield , Conn. , will own part of the 510-megawatt plant during a two-year demonstration period, but EDF will buy all of it by 2017, the company said.

GE, which unveiled the new technology in May, has previously announced deals for what it calls the FlexEfficiency 50 plants in Turkey , Japan and China . GE said Thursday a plant in Turkey that will be equipped with the technology likely will become operational late in 2015, shortly after the French plant.

The new turbines are based upon GE's jet-engine technology and are designed to ramp up twice as fast as conventional turbines. GE has billed them as "key enablers" for utilities looking to increase reliance on renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar, because they can kick in quickly on still or cloudy days and smooth out fluctuations in power generation.

They are also more efficient than conventional gas turbines, achieving greater than 61% efficiency at base load, which the company has called a significant improvement over 60% efficiency for conventional turbines.

A 1% increase in efficiency "doesn't sound like much, but it can drive a lot of savings" on fuel costs, Paul Browning, president of GE Energy's thermal products unit. He added that each 1% increase in efficiency reduces emissions 2.5%.

EDF Chief Executive Henri Proglio called the technology "cutting edge" in a prepared statement, adding that plans for the plant are "a testimony to the current modernization of EDF's fossil-fired plants and the EDF Group's commitment to innovation."

Meanwhile, Browning said a version of the new technology for the North American market will be "coming soon," although he declined to provide a precise forecast. The initial versions are designed for the European and Asian power grids that operate at 50 hertz power frequency, compared to 60 hertz in the U.S.

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