Best of the Best recipients
O&M Balance of Plant
Wolf Hollow I LP
Increased cycling of the plant’s two 501G gas turbines led to more frequent damage to, and failure of, the GT-to-HRSG expansion joints, triggering $5 million in repairs since COD. A proactive staff ordered detailed analyses of the expansion joints in early 2009 and identified the potential failure mechanisms. The resulting repairs and modifications have significantly reduced downtime and improved plant operations.
O&M Business
Brownsville Combustion Turbine Plant
Reduced operational stability of gas turbines at temperatures below 55F prompted plant staff to integrate their operations, maintenance, and technical expertise to improve GT and feedwater control logic, OTSG efficiency, and upgrade critical instrumentation for freeze protection (Fig 2).
O&M Major Equipment
Athens Generating Plant
The plant was faced with startup reliability issues caused by sticking transition steam valves. Installation of a valve-warming system on the plant’s three 501G gas turbines has virtually eliminated valve sticking on startup. There have been well over 200 starts with no reliability issues (Fig 3).
Safety Equipment & Systems
Terry Bundy Generating Station
Installation of a water spray system and detection sensors for ammonia spill remediation effectively reduces the size and impact of a potential ammonia cloud and improves personnel and neighbor safety (Fig 4).
Safety Procedures & Administration
Natural Gas Plant Fleet
The natural-gas fuel facilities and operations review team, comprised of generation and EHS professionals, proactively evaluates the safety of the company’s internal requirements, practices, and plant designs associated with natural-gas fuel venting, purging, blowdown, and line-charging activities, and makes recommendations for improvement (Fig 5).
Management
New Harquahala Generating LLC
To ensure both effective document control and plant-wide communication, personnel developed a site-specific interface using Microsoft SharePoint™ that includes centralized storage, added security, and easy access to important documents (Fig 6).
Design
Effingham County Power
A piping design modification to the plant’s bulk ammonia supply system allows for safer delivery of all ammonia to the site and eliminates the need for personnel handling of chemical totes. The design change saves nearly $25,000 per year in ammonia costs (Fig 7).
Environmental Stewardship
Lincoln Generating Facility
Plant personnel pooled their knowledge and implemented lube-oil spill-prevention logic modifications to the gas turbine’s control system and have effectively reduced oil spill potential from over 2000 gallons to less than 100 gallons (Fig 8).
