Description
The Caterpillar G3516 is a sixteen cylinder gas generator set built for continuous industrial power, not for standby duty measured in hours a year. It runs on pipeline natural gas, biogas or coal gas depending on the variant, and it is the machine that keeps processing plants, data centres, landfill gas schemes and remote industrial sites running independent of the grid. Listed at $30,000; ratings and configuration confirmed on enquiry.
Caterpillar G3516 Ratings by Variant
- G3516A — maximum continuous rating 1,085 ekW; fuel: natural gas, biogas or coal gas; maximum electrical efficiency 36.5%
- G3516C — maximum continuous rating 1,660 ekW; fuel: natural gas; maximum electrical efficiency 37.7%
- G3516 Fast Response — gas standby rating 1,500 ekW at 0.8 power factor; US EPA stationary non-emergency certified
- G3516H — maximum continuous rating 2,027 / 2,007 ekW at unity power factor; maximum electrical efficiency 45.3%
Why Gas Rather Than Diesel
Where a gas supply already exists, a gas generator set removes the whole fuel logistics problem: no deliveries to schedule, no bulk tank to permit and monitor, no fuel to test for water and microbial growth, and no theft risk. Gas engines also run cleaner, which matters where a site has an air permit with real limits in it. The trade-off is response time — a diesel takes load faster from cold, which is why the Fast Response variant exists.
Electrical Efficiency Is the Number That Pays
On a set that runs continuously, the difference between 36.5 percent and 45.3 percent electrical efficiency dwarfs the difference in purchase price. A G3516H converts nearly half the energy in the gas into electricity at the terminals. Over a year of prime operation that gap is measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars of fuel, which is why the high-efficiency variants sell despite costing considerably more.
Applications
Prime and continuous power for industrial plants, landfill and digester gas power schemes, oil and gas field power, cogeneration where the exhaust heat is recovered, and standby for facilities that cannot tolerate an outage. For mobile power, see our Cat towable mobile generator; for container reefer power, the 15 kW genset range.
Specification and Freight
Ratings, switchgear, control and packaging vary by build, and the right configuration depends on your load profile, gas analysis and site constraints. Tell us the application, the required rating and the site and we will confirm the exact variant, the delivered price and the freight arrangements before you commit. These are heavy, oversize loads requiring crane handling.
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