To restore deteriorating output, La Paloma Generating Company (LPGC) considered an upgrade of turbine components, but found a cheaper way: "After doing a net present value analysis of the money we would have to invest and how much power we would recover, fogging turned to be really, really good in terms of dollars per kW," said Pablo Cortes Oseguera, LPGC engineering and maintenance manager. "It made a lot of sense to our owners."
Tested and validated at customer site, Siemens has reached the next level of efficiency with its HL-class – an evolution of its proven SGT-8000H technology. At Duke Energy's Lincoln County site in North Carolina, the new engine reached 63% combined cycle efficiency during testing in June 2017. Siemens’ mid-term goal is to reach 65%.
Turkey’s incumbent oil and gas pipeline operator BOTAS has awarded a contract to RWE to overhaul of three Siemens Industrial Avon aero-derivative gas generators (SGT-A20 AV). The gensets, operating at the Kirklareli compressor station, help maintain the reliability of the Turkish gas transmission network.
DILO, a German manufacturer of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas handling equipment, has launched a SF6 multi-analyser that allows users to simultaneously check three key gas quality parameters- SF6 concentration, humidity and quantity of decomposition products. SF6 quality of gas insulated equipment needs be checked to determine if the gas still complies with the IEC Standard 60480 (SF6 reuse) or whether it needs purification.
MAN Diesel & Turbo has signed a contract with the Italian critical equipment manufacturer Walter Tosto for the delivery of essential parts for ITER, an international nuclear fusion research project being built in Cadarache, France. Thirteen so-called Port Stubs, built for Walter Tosto, will be installed in ITER’s vacuum vessel which is set to houses the fusion reactions and acts as a first safety containment barrier.
Suspension of the ambitious Kemper integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) has amplified concerns over the prospects of this technology, but IEA chief economist Lazlo Varro points out that “more promising developments of projects using IGCCs can be found in Japan.” The Osaki CoolGen project, in his view, has taken a “more measured approach to scaling-up IGCC deployment,” commissioning a 166 MW oxygen-blown IGCC plant in March.
As Europe’s energy transition process unfolds, distributed control becomes a major theme across industrial automation and power generation infrastructure. To help operators keep control of large or small power units, Mitsubishi Electric has developed PMSXpro and PMSXmicro Distributed Control Systems that allow scalable plant automation.
ExxonMobil has launched a next generation series of gas engine oils to keep up with the latest gas engine developments. The Mobil Pegasus 1100 Series was developed in cooperation with major OEMs to help them cope with severe engine conditions, and extend oil drain intervals. In fact, the Mobil Pegasus family of gas engine oils are now preferred lubricants for all new GE’s Jenbacher Type 2, 3 and 9 gas engines.
Duro Felguera, together with consortium partner Romelectro, has awarded an order to GE to supply core technology for Romgaz’s new combined-cycle gas turbine power unit in Lernut, Romania. With a planned installed capacity of 430 MW, the Lernut project will be Southeastern Europe’s largest gas power project in five years. It is also Romania’s largest public investment in conventional power in 20 years, backed by €268 million funding from Romgaz.
Decentralized power units for flexible generation of electricity power generation are becoming increasingly important across Europe, explains Dr. Tilman Tütken, regional manager, Europe at MAN Diesel & Turbo's power plant section. "For example, just a few weeks ago, the German Federal Network Agency confirmed additional requirements for a total capacity of approximately 1.2 Gigawatt for southern Germany alone,” he said when opening MAN’s booth at the PowerGen Europe conference in Cologne today.
Fuel costs account for up to 80% of a power plant’s operating expenses but Wärtsilä Services Manager Markus Åbrant underlined “the financial rationale is not the only one that speaks for fuel and energy efficiency.” Enhanced operational efficiency, extended lifecycle of the equipment and a more sustainable brand image are, in his view, valid reasons for considering an energy efficiency improvement project.
UK Power Networks has awarded a contract to Siemens to equip parts of its overhead-line power cables with 600 Fusesaver vacuum circuit-breakers and 200 remote control units (RCU). The order volume is €1.5 million, and according to Siemens, it is the largest order to date for Fusesavers in Europe and the first one from the U.K.
China's National Energy Administration is targeting to produce 50 Bcm of gas from coal by 2020, enough to satisfy 10% of gas demand from industries and power producers. Turning to coal gasificiation would allow China to utilise a domestically abundant fossil resource in a cleaner way, while reducing dependence on Russian pipeline gas or LNG imports.
Expanding its product offering, Nymex-listed Ingersoll-Rand has recently added 50 percent more compressed air rental equipment to its fleet in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, India and Africa. The US company rents out compressed air solutions that keep critical manufacturing processes up and running during emergencies or planned projects.
US electric utility Duke Energy has chosen Siemens as its EPC partner to design a new turbine for the 400-MW expansion of Lincoln County power plant. The expansion will enlarge Duke’s Lincoln Combustion Turbine Station – a 1,200 MW gas power station with 16 turbines – and allow for the production of enough additional peaking energy to meet Duke Energy customers' needs in the Carolinas by 2024.
