Solar Turbines Titan 250

Solar Turbines' largest gas turbine generator set, 23,100 kWe ISO, with almost no used market yet

Solar Turbines Titan 250 is one of 21 gas turbines tracked in the SecondWatt catalogue, each with specifications, lead times and indicative secondary-market pricing.

Solar Turbines Titan 250 gas turbine: 23,100 kWe ISO rating, verified specs, emissions position, overhaul guidance, and used-market findings for buyers.

The Titan 250 is Solar Turbines' largest gas turbine package, sold in both a mechanical-drive compressor configuration and a power-generation generator-set configuration. Solar's own turbine-ratings table lists them separately: 23,790 kW shaft output for the mechanical drive versus 23,100 kWe electrical output for the generator set. Buyers researching this model online will find both spec sheets in circulation and should confirm which one a listing actually describes. It is a hybrid design drawing on the Taurus 65, Titan 130, and Mercury 50, with over 95% material commonality with the Titan 130, per Solar's own 2009 conference paper. The first production unit entered service at a U.S. gas transmission station in late 2009, after development work that began in 2005. That makes it a genuinely young design relative to Solar's high-volume Taurus and Centaur lines, and the used-equipment record reflects that youth directly. SoLoNOx dry-low-emissions combustion is offered as an option alongside a Conventional combustor, not as a standard feature, so a used unit's emissions capability must be confirmed per serial number.

Why it matters

Solar and Caterpillar collateral quotes two different efficiency figures for this machine, and the gap matters for anyone sizing fuel cost. The commonly repeated "40% shaft efficiency" is a mechanical-drive-basis number, measured before generator losses; the correct figure for an electrical buyer is 38.6% measured at the generator terminals, per Solar's own generator-set data sheet. Using 40% to project fuel burn against delivered kWe will understate operating cost on every load hour.

Who buys it

Oil and gas operators buy the Titan 250 mechanical-drive package for large compression duty, its dominant historical market. Power generation buyers are a newer, thinner segment for this specific model, since the generator-set configuration entered service only in 2009 and has not yet produced a visible resale channel the way Solar's older Taurus and Mars lines have.

Key specifications

Technical summary

ISO base-load output, generator set: 23,100 kWe ISO shaft output, mechanical drive: 23,790 kW (31,900 hp) Heat rate, generator terminals: 9,150 kJ/kWh (8,670 Btu/kWh) Electrical efficiency, generator terminals: 38.6% Exhaust flow / temperature: 245,660 kg/hr at 465 C (865 F) Pressure ratio: 24:1 through a 16-stage axial compressor Shaft speeds: gas generator 10,500 rpm, power turbine 7,000 rpm Reduction-gear output: 1,500 rpm (50 Hz) or 1,800 rpm (60 Hz) Generator voltage range: 1,100-13,800 VAC Package weight, generator set: 125,000-141,150 kg SoLoNOx NOx catalog tiers: 9 / 15 / 25 ppm on natural gas Entry into service, first production unit: late 2009

Pricing and availability

Trend: up Sector-wide gas turbine pricing has trended up since 2019 on demand from data center and grid-firming buyers, but that trend has not yet produced an observable Titan 250 resale price to track. Lead time, new: 36-60 months, per broader Solar/Caterpillar order-backlog conditions.

Lifecycle and maintenance

Solar/Caterpillar's own service materials frame maintenance as condition-based, using InSight monitoring and borescope data to plan and extend time between overhauls, rather than publishing a fixed schedule. That silence is consistent with the model's thin installed base: the third-party overhaul-cost benchmarks that exist for Solar's high-volume Taurus, Centaur, and Mars lines have not yet developed for this one.

Common failure points

• Combustor liner (SoLoNOx) — Cracking, coking, elevated NOx/CO drift from baseline
• Gas generator turbine blades — Creep elongation, coating loss, tip rub
• Reduction gearbox — Gear tooth wear, bearing vibration at 1,500/1,800 rpm output
• Generator windings — Insulation degradation across the 1,100-13,800 VAC voltage range
• Control system (Turbotronic) — Obsolete hardware revision, unsupported software
• Package enclosure and ducting — Corrosion, acoustic panel degradation, seal failure at 465 C exhaust duct

Inspection checklist

Confirm SoLoNOx versus Conventional combustor installed — this decides permittability outright, not a cosmetic spec difference Pull fired hours and starts count from the OEM Turbotronic control-system log — do not accept a seller's summary sheet figure alone Borescope the 16-stage axial compressor — check for erosion, foreign-object damage, and fouling on the leading stages Inspect all combustor liners for SoLoNOx-specific cracking, coking, and injector fouling — a low-volume model can carry long parts lead times Check gas generator turbine blades against the 10,500 rpm max-speed baseline — creep, coating spallation, and tip clearance are the failure signatures Check power turbine blades against the 7,000 rpm max-speed baseline — look for erosion and shroud wear on the 3-stage assembly Confirm reduction gearbox output — 1,500 rpm (50 Hz) or 1,800 rpm (60 Hz) — and inspect gear teeth and bearings for wear Test generator windings and insulation resistance — nameplate range runs 1,100 to 13,800 VAC across Titan 250 units Verify enclosure and package integrity — weld seams, acoustic panels, ventilation fans — a 125,000+ kg package sees real shipping stress Review exhaust duct and stack condition — 465 C (865 F) rated exhaust temperature drives thermal-fatigue risk over time Confirm control system generation and software revision — a Turbotronic CTLM02 panel has been seen on a 2016-2017-vintage unit — and whether support is active Request the InSight monitoring history if the unit was enrolled — condition-based trend data beats a single point-in-time inspection Cross-check any quoted efficiency figure — 38.6% at generator terminals versus 40% shaft — confirm which basis the seller is using Confirm fuel gas composition against the 800-1,100 Btu/scf LHV range — do not assume plug-and-play compatibility at a new site

Procurement channels

Unlike Solar's older models, the Titan 250 does not yet have a visible secondary market for the generator-set configuration a data center buyer needs, consistent with its 2009 entry into service; expect new-unit lead times and pricing rather than a surplus-market option.