Comparison

Microturbine vs Diesel Genset

A direct comparison: total cost of ownership, emissions, maintenance, lifetime, noise, and fuel flexibility - Bladon MTG12 vs equivalent diesel gensets.

Four technologies, side by side

Diesel genset vs solar and battery hybrid vs fuel cell vs Bladon MTG

Most off-grid and bad-grid sites come down to a choice between four technologies. This is how they compare on servicing and life, fuel flexibility, emissions, noise and operating cost.

Compared for off-grid and bad-grid prime power at 10 to 40 kW.

Diesel genset, solar and battery hybrid, fuel cell, and Bladon microturbine compared
Criterion	Diesel genset	Solar and battery hybrid	Fuel cell	Bladon microturbine
Servicing & life	Disadvantage. Service every 250 to 500 run hours; 15,000 to 25,000 hour life	Disadvantage. Battery replacement every few years, plus servicing the diesel genset it still relies on	Disadvantage. Stack replacement required within the design life under continuous prime duty	Advantage. Annual service, 1 visit/yr; 45,000 hour life
Fuel flexibility	Disadvantage. Diesel only	Disadvantage. No fuel flexibility of its own; tied to whatever the backup genset burns	Disadvantage. Single fuel, high-purity hydrogen or methanol	Advantage. Multiple fuel types and blended fuels incl. HVO; H2 and gas in development
Emissions	Disadvantage. Particulates, NOx and soot	Matched. Clean while generating, and the backup genset it relies on still emits	Advantage. Zero emissions at point of use	Advantage. Exceeds EU Stage V emissions limits; near-zero soot / PM
Noise & vibration	Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m, with vibration	Matched. Silent on solar, and the backup genset it relies on is not	Advantage. Near silent	Advantage. MTG12 60 dB LPA at 10 m; MTP40 60 dB(A) at 7 m and 85 dB(A) at 1 m (design target, not yet verified by test); minimal vibration
Operating cost	Disadvantage. Diesel only at the diesel price, frequent service visits, exposure to fuel theft	Disadvantage. High capital cost, sized for worst-case conditions, and still buying diesel for the backup	Disadvantage. Hydrogen supply and logistics cost at remote sites	Advantage. Up to 90% service cost saving and 30 to 50 percent fuel cost saving

Bladon microturbine

Servicing & life: Advantage. Annual service, 1 visit/yr; 45,000 hour life
Fuel flexibility: Advantage. Multiple fuel types and blended fuels incl. HVO; H2 and gas in development
Emissions: Advantage. Exceeds EU Stage V emissions limits; near-zero soot / PM
Noise & vibration: Advantage. MTG12 60 dB LPA at 10 m; MTP40 60 dB(A) at 7 m and 85 dB(A) at 1 m (design target, not yet verified by test); minimal vibration
Operating cost: Advantage. Up to 90% service cost saving and 30 to 50 percent fuel cost saving

Fuel cell

Servicing & life: Disadvantage. Stack replacement required within the design life under continuous prime duty
Fuel flexibility: Disadvantage. Single fuel, high-purity hydrogen or methanol
Emissions: Advantage. Zero emissions at point of use
Noise & vibration: Advantage. Near silent
Operating cost: Disadvantage. Hydrogen supply and logistics cost at remote sites

Solar and battery hybrid

Servicing & life: Disadvantage. Battery replacement every few years, plus servicing the diesel genset it still relies on
Fuel flexibility: Disadvantage. No fuel flexibility of its own; tied to whatever the backup genset burns
Emissions: Matched. Clean while generating, and the backup genset it relies on still emits
Noise & vibration: Matched. Silent on solar, and the backup genset it relies on is not
Operating cost: Disadvantage. High capital cost, sized for worst-case conditions, and still buying diesel for the backup

Diesel genset

Servicing & life: Disadvantage. Service every 250 to 500 run hours; 15,000 to 25,000 hour life
Fuel flexibility: Disadvantage. Diesel only
Emissions: Disadvantage. Particulates, NOx and soot
Noise & vibration: Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m, with vibration
Operating cost: Disadvantage. Diesel only at the diesel price, frequent service visits, exposure to fuel theft

Advantage
Matched
Disadvantage

Diesel, solar hybrid and fuel cell figures are typical of equivalent equipment on off-grid and bad-grid sites. Exact numbers vary by site, load profile, duty cycle and local fuel price.

MTG12 vs a 10 to 20 kW diesel genset

Bladon MTG12 microturbine genset compared with a 10 to 20 kW diesel genset
Attribute	Diesel genset (10 to 20 kW prime)	Bladon MTG12
Power output (typical unit)	Matched. 10 to 20 kW prime	Matched. 12 kVA / 12 kW prime
Moving parts	Disadvantage. Hundreds	Advantage. 1 moving part
Service interval	Disadvantage. Once a month or 300 run hours	Advantage. One service visit per year
Design life	Disadvantage. 15,000 to 25,000 hours	Advantage. 45,000 hours
Noise	Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m	Advantage. 60 dB LPA at 10 m, or 50 dB LPA at 10 m with the optional Silent PackMeasured at 10 m in free-field conditions, per the product datasheet.
Particulate emissions	Disadvantage. Baseline	Advantage. 97% lower particulates than diesel, near-zero soot and PM
Fuels supported	Disadvantage. Diesel only	Advantage. Diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel, and blends of these
Fuel theft exposure	Disadvantage. High in many regions	Advantage. Low, because kerosene and paraffin have little black-market value
Oil and coolant changes	Disadvantage. Oil, coolant and filters at every service	Advantage. Air bearings - no oil required. Air cooled, air bearing, no engine oil and no liquid coolant circuitAir filter and fuel filter replacement at the annual service visit
Clean Air Zone compliance	Disadvantage. Often non-compliant	Advantage. Exceeds EU Stage V emissions limits
Capital cost	Advantage. Lower per unit	Disadvantage. Higher per unit
7 year total cost of ownership (off-grid)	Disadvantage. Baseline	Advantage. 40 to 50 percent lower on typical off-grid duty

Bladon MTG12

Power output (typical unit): Matched. 12 kVA / 12 kW prime
Moving parts: Advantage. 1 moving part
Service interval: Advantage. One service visit per year
Design life: Advantage. 45,000 hours
Noise: Advantage. 60 dB LPA at 10 m, or 50 dB LPA at 10 m with the optional Silent PackMeasured at 10 m in free-field conditions, per the product datasheet.
Particulate emissions: Advantage. 97% lower particulates than diesel, near-zero soot and PM
Fuels supported: Advantage. Diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel, and blends of these
Fuel theft exposure: Advantage. Low, because kerosene and paraffin have little black-market value
Oil and coolant changes: Advantage. Air bearings - no oil required. Air cooled, air bearing, no engine oil and no liquid coolant circuitAir filter and fuel filter replacement at the annual service visit
Clean Air Zone compliance: Advantage. Exceeds EU Stage V emissions limits
Capital cost: Disadvantage. Higher per unit
7 year total cost of ownership (off-grid): Advantage. 40 to 50 percent lower on typical off-grid duty

Diesel genset (10 to 20 kW prime)

Power output (typical unit): Matched. 10 to 20 kW prime
Moving parts: Disadvantage. Hundreds
Service interval: Disadvantage. Once a month or 300 run hours
Design life: Disadvantage. 15,000 to 25,000 hours
Noise: Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m
Particulate emissions: Disadvantage. Baseline
Fuels supported: Disadvantage. Diesel only
Fuel theft exposure: Disadvantage. High in many regions
Oil and coolant changes: Disadvantage. Oil, coolant and filters at every service
Clean Air Zone compliance: Disadvantage. Often non-compliant
Capital cost: Advantage. Lower per unit
7 year total cost of ownership (off-grid): Disadvantage. Baseline

Advantage
Matched
Disadvantage

Where the total cost of ownership gap actually comes from

The 7 year figure in the table is the sum of several separate cost lines. Each one behaves differently, and on some of them diesel is ahead. The lines below use the same assumptions as the TCO calculator, which lets you replace every input with your own.

Capital cost: diesel wins

A diesel genset of equivalent output costs less to buy. That is a plain disadvantage for the microturbine at the point of purchase, and it is why the calculator keeps capital cost out of the operating comparison and uses it only to work out a payback period. Everything below is what has to repay that gap.

Service labour and travel: the largest single line at remote sites

The calculator's diesel baseline is 12 service visits a year against 1 for the microturbine (one service visit per year). At a remote site the cost driver is the visit itself. Parts for a diesel service are cheap; getting two engineers and a vehicle to a tower on a mountain track is expensive. The calculator's regional presets carry a cost per visit of £350 for a UK road-accessible site and £2000 for a remote or island site. Where access needs a helicopter, a boat or an armed convoy, that figure multiplies again, and it multiplies eleven extra times a year on the diesel side.

Consumables

A diesel service consumes lubricating oil, oil filters, fuel filters, air filters and coolant, and the used oil has to be carried off site and disposed of. The microturbine runs on air bearings, so there is no lubricating oil and no oil change. The MTG12 is air cooled and has no liquid coolant circuit; the MTP40 has a coolant circuit and a water-cooled alternator, using a sealed for life water glycol mix. Consumables are minimal: the annual visit includes air filter and fuel filter replacement on both units. One service visit per year stands, and this line removes a recurring logistics task at every site.

Fuel

Bladon quotes a 30 to 50 percent fuel cost saving against a like for like diesel. This is a cost saving on the fuel bill, and it is earned in two ways: the turbine runs a cheaper fuel, typically kerosene, and the fuel it runs is a poor theft target, so fewer of the litres paid for go missing. The unit is broadly comparable with a well-maintained diesel on litres burned per kWh delivered, and Bladon makes no claim of lower consumption. Basis: brochure case studies. Switching a site from diesel to a kerosene and heating oil mix cut fuel cost by 35 percent, and a site with reduced fuel theft cut operating cost by 50 percent.

The saving depends on the diesel-to-kerosene price gap in your market, and we will model it for your site. Enter your own delivered prices for both fuels in the calculator to see the number for your sites.

Replacement and residual

Design life is 45,000 hours for the microturbine against 15,000 to 25,000 hours for a typical diesel, so one microturbine covers roughly two diesel lifecycles. Under continuous prime duty a diesel genset is replaced two to four times inside the modelled period against once for the microturbine. The calculator models this line: enter a capital cost for each option and it counts the replacements that fall inside the modelled period.

Downtime and lost revenue

For a telecom operator a site that drops off air stops earning subscriber revenue and can trigger SLA penalties with the tenant MNOs. Most diesel comparisons leave this out because it is hard to attribute, and it is a real line item: every failed start, every fuel-related shutdown and every emergency callout has a revenue cost attached to it. Fewer scheduled visits and fewer wearing parts reduce the number of opportunities for an outage.

Diesel still wins on total cost of ownership in a specific set of conditions: grid-connected standby duty, low annual run hours, easy road access, and cheap local labour. If your sites look like that, the capital gap has little to repay it.

Fuel theft, and why fuel choice changes the exposure

At off-grid sites in several markets, a material share of the diesel delivered never reaches the genset. It goes at three points: on the delivery run, at the tank through siphoning, and through under-filling by the supplier against a full-load invoice. The operator pays for litres it never burns, and the shortfall shows up later as an unexplained early refuelling call.

The microturbine changes the exposure because it runs kerosene and paraffin alongside diesel, and blends of those in any ratio. In the markets where theft is worst, those fuels have far weaker black-market resale value: they cannot be dropped into a truck tank or sold on to a passing driver. Switching fuel removes the incentive to take it, which is a cheaper control than policing a tank at a site nobody visits for months. See multi-fuel capability for what the turbine runs on today.

The second-order effects usually matter more than the fuel value itself. Fewer emergency refuelling runs, because tank levels behave predictably. Fewer unplanned site visits. Less generator damage from contaminated or water-diluted fuel, which is common where volume has been made up after theft. Each of those feeds back into the service and downtime lines above, and telecom operators feel it hardest, which is covered on the telecom tower power page.

The honest limits: the attractiveness of fuel theft is greatly reduced, but it is not eliminated. Fuel still has value and determined theft still happens. The size of the saving depends entirely on the market, so we publish it as an input you set, never as a measured result. The calculator's regional presets assume 3% of delivered diesel lost at a UK site and 20% at a Sub-Saharan Africa site. Both are assumptions you should replace with your own figures, and on the Bladon side the model takes the loss as nil because the fuel has no resale route. Set the figure to zero if your sites are not exposed.

MTP40 vs a 40 kVA diesel genset

The MTP40 takes the same single-moving-part platform to 40 kVA three phase, for multi-tenant tower sites, larger field camps and industrial loads. It is now available for pre-order - reserve your delivery slot with sales.

Bladon MTP40 microturbine genset compared with a 40 kVA diesel genset
Attribute	Diesel genset (40 kVA)	Bladon MTP40
Prime rating	Matched. 40 kVA / 32 kW prime	Matched. 40 kVA / 32 kW prime
Standby rating	Matched. 44 kVA standby	Matched. 44 kVA standby
Phase and voltage	Matched. Three phase, 400 V	Matched. Three phase, 380 to 415 V
Motor starting	Matched. Typically 250 to 300 percent, with a heavy voltage dip	Matched. 200% short circuit capabilityComparable starting duty on most loads. Confirm against your largest motor.
Moving parts	Disadvantage. Hundreds	Advantage. 1 moving part
Service interval	Disadvantage. Once a month or 300 run hours	Advantage. One service visit per year
Design life	Disadvantage. 15,000 to 25,000 hours	Advantage. 45,000 hours
Noise	Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m	Advantage. 60 dB(A) at 7 m and 85 dB(A) at 1 m (design target, not yet verified by test)Design target at 7 m and 1 m, not yet verified by test.
Oil and coolant changes	Disadvantage. Oil, coolant and filters at every service	Advantage. Air bearings - no oil required. Coolant circuit with a water-cooled alternator, sealed for life water glycol mixAir filter and fuel filter replacement at the annual service visit
Fuels supported	Disadvantage. Diesel only	Advantage. Diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel, and blends of these
Particulate emissions	Disadvantage. Baseline	Advantage. 97% lower particulates than diesel, near-zero soot and PM
Availability	Advantage. Off the shelf	Disadvantage. Now available for pre-order

Bladon MTP40

Prime rating: Matched. 40 kVA / 32 kW prime
Standby rating: Matched. 44 kVA standby
Phase and voltage: Matched. Three phase, 380 to 415 V
Motor starting: Matched. 200% short circuit capabilityComparable starting duty on most loads. Confirm against your largest motor.
Moving parts: Advantage. 1 moving part
Service interval: Advantage. One service visit per year
Design life: Advantage. 45,000 hours
Noise: Advantage. 60 dB(A) at 7 m and 85 dB(A) at 1 m (design target, not yet verified by test)Design target at 7 m and 1 m, not yet verified by test.
Oil and coolant changes: Advantage. Air bearings - no oil required. Coolant circuit with a water-cooled alternator, sealed for life water glycol mixAir filter and fuel filter replacement at the annual service visit
Fuels supported: Advantage. Diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel, and blends of these
Particulate emissions: Advantage. 97% lower particulates than diesel, near-zero soot and PM
Availability: Disadvantage. Now available for pre-order

Diesel genset (40 kVA)

Prime rating: Matched. 40 kVA / 32 kW prime
Standby rating: Matched. 44 kVA standby
Phase and voltage: Matched. Three phase, 400 V
Motor starting: Matched. Typically 250 to 300 percent, with a heavy voltage dip
Moving parts: Disadvantage. Hundreds
Service interval: Disadvantage. Once a month or 300 run hours
Design life: Disadvantage. 15,000 to 25,000 hours
Noise: Disadvantage. 75 to 90 dB(A) at 1 m
Oil and coolant changes: Disadvantage. Oil, coolant and filters at every service
Fuels supported: Disadvantage. Diesel only
Particulate emissions: Disadvantage. Baseline
Availability: Advantage. Off the shelf

Advantage
Matched
Disadvantage

Comparison is directional - exact figures vary by site, load profile, fuel price, and duty cycle. For a site-specific TCO, use the calculator or talk to sales.

Frequently asked questions

Is a microturbine genset always cheaper than diesel?

Not always. The capital cost per unit is higher than a comparable diesel genset. Where the microturbine wins is total cost of ownership - service, fuel, theft, and lifetime - at sites with high service-visit cost, fuel theft exposure, or regulatory pressure on emissions. For grid-connected backup with low run-hours, the calculation is different.

How much fuel does a Bladon MTG use compared to a diesel genset?

Per kWh delivered, the MTG12 is broadly competitive with a well-maintained equivalent diesel. Bladon does not claim lower fuel consumption. The saving on the fuel line is a cost saving: the turbine runs cheaper fuels such as kerosene, and those fuels also have weak black-market value, so less of the delivered fuel is lost to theft. Basis: brochure case studies. Switching a site from diesel to a kerosene and heating oil mix cut fuel cost by 35 percent, and a site with reduced fuel theft cut operating cost by 50 percent. The saving depends on the diesel-to-kerosene price gap in your market, and we will model it for your site.

Why does the microturbine have a longer life than diesel?

One moving part. The Bladon design uses an air bearing, so there is no oil to change and no piston rings to wear. The MTG12 is air cooled with no liquid coolant circuit; the MTP40 has a coolant circuit and a water-cooled alternator using a sealed for life water glycol mix. The 45,000 hours design life is roughly double the typical diesel, and the unit reaches it without the deep-cycle maintenance a diesel needs.

Can I run the MTG on the same diesel I already supply to my sites?

Yes. The MTG runs diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel. You can use existing fuel logistics without changes, then move to alternative fuels later if and when it makes sense.

Does the microturbine produce less CO2 than diesel?

On standard diesel, CO2 emissions per kWh are broadly similar - combustion of the same hydrocarbons. The big environmental win is in particulate and NOx emissions (97% lower particulates), and in CO2 reduction once you switch the unit to HVO, which can cut scope-1 emissions by up to 90%.

How much of the TCO saving comes from service versus fuel?

It varies by site, and at remote sites service is usually the larger share. The model compares 12 diesel service visits a year with 1 for the microturbine, at a cost per visit of £350 for an easily reached UK site and £2000 for a remote or island site. The fuel line is a 30 to 50 percent fuel cost saving against a like for like diesel, earned on fuel price and fuel loss instead of on consumption. The saving depends on the diesel-to-kerosene price gap in your market, and we will model it for your site. Where access is cheap and run hours are low, the service share shrinks and the two lines converge.

Does the microturbine reduce fuel theft?

It reduces the incentive to steal the fuel. The turbine runs diesel, kerosene, paraffin, HVO, FAME biofuel and blends of them, and kerosene and paraffin have weak black-market resale value in the markets where diesel theft is worst. Theft is made much less attractive, but it is not eliminated. The mechanism matters more than the price: the fuel cannot be siphoned into a vehicle or run in another generator, so there is no resale route. The saving depends entirely on the market. The calculator treats theft as an input you set: its presets assume 3% of delivered diesel lost at a UK site and 20% in Sub-Saharan Africa, and both are assumptions you should replace with your own.