St. Charles Energy Center (SCEC) was commissioned in February 2017. Near the end of 2019, the plant experienced a through-wall leak at a girth weld on a hot-reheat (HRH) bypass line to the condenser, resulting in forced-outage time and the loss of generation revenue. But most concerning was that this was a significant safety concern […]
Maximum allowable duct pressure for the HRSG in Lakeland (Fla) Electric’s (LE) McIntosh Power Plant (MPP) Unit 5 combined cycle was 28 in. of water column (in. H₂O). After 20 years of operation, pluggage of the LP economizer in the Nooter Eriksen boiler caused high backpressure on the gas turbine/generator and limited its ability to
McIntosh: HRSG mod allows an increase in backpressure to boost power output Read More »
McIntosh Power Plant is home to the first W501G gas turbine to experience a turbine-rotor through-bolt failure. The utility worked closely with OEM Siemens to complete an investigation to determine the failure mechanism. While this lengthy process unfolded, the utility invested in several mitigation efforts to minimize the potential for future through-bolt failures. This best
A challenge plant staff faced was how to monitor the steam turbine/generator to determine proactively if repairs are needed. To ensure the Unit 5 steam turbine is available when the combined cycle must operate, Lakeland Electric (LE) personnel focus on preventive-maintenance activities to avoid a failure. The steamer is monitored continuously for backpressure on the
Use online monitoring, NDE to monitor the condition of steam-turbine blades at McIntosh Read More »
Challenge. Shortly after commissioning, CPV Towantic noticed its oil/water separator (OWS) effluent flowmeter was inaccurate, requiring the outlet valve to remain closed until the instrument could be repaired or replaced and certified. Primary concern was that the OWS is responsible for removing oil from the wastewater stream prior to its discharge (Fig 1). To keep
Challenge 1. While CPV Towantic was in the process of its Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) recertification (from the pre-construction initial submission) and was seeking PE certification for the EPA submission, the certifying professional engineer expressed concern with the (1) so-called shed roof around the 1.5-million-gal diesel-oil tank’s secondary containment, and (2) lack of
Towantic gets SPCC certification, reduces oil-spill risk, increases safety—all at once Read More »
Challenge. The annual cost of providing casualty and property insurance to protect facility owners from significant financial hardship in case of a loss event can reach into the millions of dollars. Annual insurance inspections help “rheostat” this cost in either direction. The more areas of concern the insurance engineers and the inspectors have, the more
Towantic: Implementing insurers recommendations reduces site risks, saves on premiums Read More »
Challenge. CPV Towantic is an outdoor facility. The OEM-provided generator collector-house assemblies allowed moisture to collect around brushes and rigging during heavy rain events (Fig 10). Generator field resistance to ground was alarming, and in one case tripped the generator. Initial thought was moisture was coming in around the brush inspection door. After much investigation
Custom weather protection for collector-house assembly reduces trips, water damage Read More »
The most recent HRSG Forum, conducted virtually July 21, 2022, broadly addressed high-pressure (HP) evaporator deposits, and specifically under-deposit corrosion (UDC), a leading cause of HRSG tube failures (HTF). The first presentation, by Barry Dooley, Structural Integrity Associates Inc, focused on why UDC occurs, how to detect and analyze it, and its role, along with
Experts address why, when, and how to deal with HP evaporator deposits Read More »
With outage season in full swing, Greg McAuley, CTO of TRS Services and lead consultant at sister company GMW Consulting, shares his decades of industry experience below in the post-outage checklist he developed for owner/operators of gas and steam turbine/generators. Post-outage reviews and records are particularly important, McAuley says, because you already paid for the
