Onsite – Page 2 – Combined Cycle Journal

Boosting Engine Reliability and Efficiency at AES Levant Power Plant

AES Levant Power Plant Owned and operated by AES Corp 250 MW, tri-fuel peaking facility consisting of 16 diesel/generators, located in Al Manakher, Jordan Plant manager: Feras Hammad Charge-air-receiver crack repair: welding versus epoxy paste Background. Wartsila 18V50DF engines (16 in total) are the core components in the AES Levant Power Plant. The subject of […]

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Advanced controls strategy and fundamentals @ PPCUG 2024

Controls / By scottschwieger

“Controls Items for Consideration” collects round-robin thoughts and ideas on Mark series controls from one specialist representing one of the largest owner/operators in the nation. Topics include logic for verifying valve functionality prior to unit operation, end of support for HMI (human-machine interface) Windows Server 2012 R2 Operating System and network switches, simulators, lube oil

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Generator users share failures, fixes, and forward planning @ GUG 2024

Generator Users Group / By scottschwieger

The GUG kickoff roundtable discussion focused on a few specific topics which offer food for thought for those not in attendance. Among them: Can a flux probe (FP) detect pitting of the retaining rings? One user noted that FP readings showed nothing prior to an outage but extensive pitting on retaining ring inner diameter was

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Focus on D11 strategies, EHC pitfalls, and skilled labor shortages @ STUG 2024

STUG / By scottschwieger

A spirited Roundtable discussion among users kicked off the conference. Some of the more salient topics and concerns include: Changing maintenance strategies to reflect cycling of baseload designed units. Frequency of inspecting l-p blades for erosion from low-load operation (several say once a year, one user inspects twice annually) Incorporating drones into inspection programs (they

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Addressing weather resilience, risk management, and outage execution @ CCUG 2024

CCUG / By scottschwieger

In recent years, winterization has become a hot topic for user groups, and this year’s CCUG was no exception. One reason is that the next extreme weather event seems to challenge everything done to address the last one. During the “Extreme Weather Operation” roundtable, the user facilitator noted that “bomb cyclone weather forced us

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Life-long learning abounds across five user group conferences @ Power Users 2024

CCUG, Controls, Generator Users Group, HRSGs, STUG / By scottschwieger

The question these days becomes why wouldn’t you send as many of your plant staff as possible to the Power Users Combined Conference, comprising the Combined Cycle Users Group (CCUG), Generator Users Group (GUG), Steam Turbine Users Group (STUG), Power Plant Controls Users Group (PPCUG), and the Low Carbon Peer Group? As amply exhibited in the

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Inlet-system maintenance critical to top performance

CCUG / By scottschwieger

The Energy Information Administration reports that US electricity demand will increase by 25% within five years, requiring a significant increase in generating capacity, upgrades to existing assets, and improvements to grid infrastructure. But that’s only part of the solution: Maintaining the current fleet of generation assets in top condition is vital to meeting projected demand.

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Club 99 welcomes Clyde Maughan, generator legend

Generator Users Group / By scottschwieger

There’s something about the number ninety-nine that makes it particularly noteworthy in the minds of many people. Perhaps because it is associated with some of the most gifted professional athletes—such as Wayne Gretzky (hockey), George Mikan (basketball), JJ Watt and Warren Sapp (football), and Manny Ramirez and Aaron Judge (baseball). Perhaps because Agent 99 (Barbara

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Take control of your next DCS upgrade

Controls / By scottschwieger

Whether you’re running legacy GE “Mark” platforms or overseeing the transition to modern digital I&C systems, the Power Plant Controls Users Group (PPCUG) is the place to gain actionable knowledge and peer-tested insights on controls reliability, cybersecurity, diagnostics, and upgrade paths. This year’s PPCUG track at the Power Users Combined Conference—August 25–28, 2025 in Washington,

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Get your steam turbine the help it needs @ STUG25

STUG / By scottschwieger

Why Attend the 2025 Steam Turbine Users Group? From casing cracks to L-0 erosion, D-11 valve rebuilds to titanium blade retrofits—Steam Turbine Users Group (STUG) sessions at the 2025 Power Users Combined Conference are designed to confront the real-world issues facing today’s steam turbine fleets. Whether you run a legacy baseload machine or support peaking

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