The COMBINED CYCLE Journal and the steering committees of the industry’s leading gas-turbine users groups—including 7F, 501F, 501G, 7EA, Western Turbine, Frame 6, 501G, 501D5-D5A, AOG, and V—collaborate to expand the sharing of best practices and lessons learned among owner/operators of large frame and aeroderivative gas turbines.

Thirty-one plants listed below participated in the 2021 Best Practices Awards program with eight selected by industry experts for Best of the Best honors. Details of the Best Practices submitted will be published in future issues.

CCJ launched the industry-wide Best Practices Awards program in late 2004. Its primary objective, says General Manager Scott Schwieger, is recognition of the valuable contributions made by plant and central-office personnel to improve the safety and performance of generating facilities powered by gas turbines.

Industry focus today on safety, outage management, and performance improvement—including starting reliability, fast starting, thermal performance, emissions reduction, and forced-outage reduction—is reflected in the lineup of proven solutions submitted this year.

2021 Best of the Best GT-based Plants

CPV Towantic Energy Center

Owned by Competitive Power Ventures
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • ACC predictive and preventative maintenance
    • Improvements in the DCS to strengthen its alerting and analytical capabilities
    • Increasing safety and shortening response times through technology and lesser thought of staged equipment

CPV Valley Energy Center

Owned by Competitive Power Ventures and Diamond Generating Corp
Managed by Competitive Power Ventures
Operated by DGC Operations LLC

• • • High-pressure fuel-gas purging procedure
    • Reduction in plant makeup and discharge
    • Equipment maintenance review process
    • Safely managing and preventing ACC gearbox failures
    • Collaborative and comprehensive safety approach

Effingham County Power

Owned by Carlyle Power Partners
Operated by Cogentrix Energy Power Management

• • • HRSG drain-valve modification
    • Transmission-line insulator maintenance

Green Country Energy LLC

Owned by J-Power USA
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Improving HRSG cleaning process and safety
    • Tighter control of HEPA filter dirt load with pre-filter socks reduces adverse impact of seal bypass
    • Managing outages during a pandemic

Kings Mountain Energy Center

Owned by Carolina Power Partners LLC
Managed by CAMS
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Communication of MOC projects
    • Control system improvements
    • Condensate strainer platforms
    • Calorimeter vent improvement
    • AGC changes and improvements
    • Test valve relocation to verify NRV movement
    • Water treatment improvements

Milford Power LLC

Owned by Starwood Energy Group and JERA Co
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Emission control system improvement project

River Road Generating Plant

Owned by Clark Public Utilities
Operated by General Electric

• • • Switchyard access
    • Covid-19 and the outage challenge
    • Ultrasound camera for gas leak detection
    • Steam-trap UT inspections
    • Turbine building MCC intake-fan access

Woodbridge Energy Center

Owned by Competitive Power Ventures
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Downsizing makes calibrations easier
    • Making upgrades out of obsolescence
    • A small jib crane and a large improvement
    • Putting good water back to work

2021 Best Practices GT-based Plants

Amman East Power Plant

AES Jordan PSC

• • • Procedure for lifting ACC gearboxes improves safety
    • Improvements to plant DC-system reliability
    • HRSG tube puncher inspection device

Athens Generating Plant

Owned by Kelson Energy
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Combustor-shell rescue device
    • Covid-19 response
    • Plant modernization upgrades

BASF Geismar

BASF Corp

• • • Increased reliability in boiler-drum level control

Crete Energy Venture

Owned by Crete Energy Venture LLC
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Mark V lifecycle and reliability improvements
    • LED plant lighting upgrades

Empire Generating Co LLC

Owned by Empire Acquisitions LLC
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Removing suspended solids from a chlorine contact chamber

Energía del Valle de México II

Owned by EVM Energia del Valle de Mexico Generador SAPI de CV
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Installation of a zero-liquid-discharge system to treat wastewater provides numerous environmental benefits

Essential Power Newington LLC

Owned by Essential Power LLC
Operated by Cogentrix Energy Power Management

• • • Deployment of electronic document management system to track EHS procedures
    • Turbine-hall HVAC control improvement
    • Management-of-change workflow process improves employee engagement
    • Pandemic record-keeping and communications enhancements
    • Eliminating air entrainment improves reliability of liquid fuel system
    • Cooling-tower chlorination improvement
    • CSE quick-reference guide benefits emergency response

Fairview Energy Center

Owned by Competitive Power Ventures
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Locating electrical tracking and arcing with EMI diagnostics helps identify system deficiencies, facilitates maintenance planning

Hunterstown Generating Station

Owned by Competitive Power Ventures
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Outage safety practices

Klamath Cogeneration

Avangrid Renewables

• • • Cooling-tower vibration analysis made easier

Lawrence County Generating Station

Owned by Hoosier Energy and Wabash Valley Power Assn
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Relocating air-receiver safety relief valve

Lincoln Generating Facility

Owned by Lincoln Generating Facility LLC
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Reliable mobile fall-protection apparatus enhances operator safety

Marcus Hook Energy Center

Owned by Marcus Hook Energy LP
Operated by General Electric

• • • Tracking of generator hydrogen consumption helps reduce cost

Middletown Energy Center

Owned by NTE Ohio LLC
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • Cooling-tower fan-gearbox oil maintenance made easier
    • Safely managing outages during a pandemic
    • Steam-turbine “U”-seal filling simplified

New Covert Generating Company

Owned by New Covert Generating Company LLC
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Improved auxiliary boiler reliability

Orange Cogeneration LP

Owned by Northern Star Generation
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Condenser-tube leak detection

Pleasant Valley Station

Great River Energy

• • • Tank level indication upgrade

Rolling Hills Generating LLC

Owned by Eastern Generation LLC
Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services

• • • Single-button remote start and automated fuel equalizing
    • Managing outages safely during a pandemic

Rumford Power LLC

Cogentrix Energy Power Management

• • • Scenario training benefits emergency response
    • Improve plant knowledge and reaction time to common issues

Shepard Energy Centre

Owned by ENMAX and Capital Power
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • GT inlet-air heating-coil replacement eliminates manual scraping
    • Reverse osmosis reliability improvement
    • Cooling-tower foam control
    • Cooling-tower cycles of concentration increased
    • Auxiliary-boiler make-up line

South Point Energy Center LLC

Calpine

• • • Using electronic logging and Excel to track chemistry action levels

Worthington Generation Station

Owned by Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Co-op
Operated by NAES Corp

• • • LM6000-package fan platforms provide safe access