By Jason Makansi, principal, Pearl Street, a Tucson-based consultancy All of us can point to truly memorable events and periods in our careers. A 10-day period that began with a tour and deep dive of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power’s (Ladwp) Beacon storage facility in the Mojave desert and ended with the catastrophic […]
Some veteran gas-turbine (GT) asset managers have already been given responsibility for grid-scale storage facilities. Others may find their asset portfolio shift in this direction soon. If you are in this camp, or if you just want some technical guidance around this new asset class, get a copy of the Advancing Contracting in Energy Storage
Get up to speed fast on grid-scale storage with this no-cost resource Read More »
The 2019 conference of the Combined Cycle Users Group (CCUG) was a prime example of “working together,” co-located with the generator (GUG), steam turbine (STUG), and powerplant controls (PPCUG) user organizations. Attendees were invited to participate in sessions conducted by all four groups at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, St. Louis, Mo, August 26-29. On
RECAP: CCUG updates users on key elements of the integrated plant Read More »
Turbine Tip No. 2, from the Dave Lucier’s PAL Turbine Services O&M solutions library, applies to General Electric Frame 5 models K-LA and M-P, and early 6Bs, 7Bs, and 7Cs, equipped with Y&F fuel regulator and Speedtronic™ Mark I, II, and IV controls. Overfiring a gas turbine during startup can be a serious condition, particularly
How manual controls help in troubleshooting legacy GE gas turbines Read More »
Overfiring during startup General Electric Speedtronic™ Mark I control systems were installed on gas turbines in the early 1970s, primarily on MS5001N and MS7001B engines. Fig 1 shows a typical Mark I panel being tested using a device known as the Speedtronic Calibrator. Note that the Calibrator has two ribbon connectors patched into designated locations
Troubleshooting Speedtronic Mark I and II control systems Read More »
Air inlet systems—including filter houses, evaporative coolers, cooling-coil support structure, silencers, ductwork, etc—seldom get the respect they deserve. Properly maintained, they help assure maximum output and high availability of your gas turbines. Yet, they are almost an afterthought at many plants, the focus being primarily on rotating equipment. Annual inspection of the air inlet system
Maintenance of your air inlet system critical to assure top gas-turbine performance Read More »
A recent webinar, posted here, will assist in ensuring environmental health and safety amidst the Covid-19 pandemic are being handled properly and with the utmost attention to detail. Groome Industrial Service Group has been in the industrial and commercial cleaning business for over 50 years and most known for their expertise in specialty cleaning of
Ask the experts: How and when to disinfect and sanitize your facility Read More »
St. Charles Energy Center, a 745-MW, 2 × 1 combined cycle in Waldorf, Md, is owned by Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) and operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS). Plant manager is Nick Bohl. Pocket guides invaluable to new employees Challenge. Powerplants can be intimidating to new employees, and bringing a new hire’s knowledge up
7F Best Practices: St Charles Read More »
The 7F Users Group and CCJ are working together to expand the sharing of best practices and lessons learned among owner/operators of large frame engines. One of the organization’s objectives is to help its members better operate and maintain their plants, and a proactive best practices program supports this goal. The editors presented a summary
7F owner/operators capture five top Best Practices Awards Read More »
With the 29th annual conference of the 7F Users Group at the Fairmont Dallas (Tex) Hotel, May 18-22, only a few months away, this might be a good time to register for the world’s largest meeting of frame gas-turbine owner/operators, assuming you haven’t already done so. About 250 users and 150 exhibitors are expected to
7F owner/operators share fleet best practices Read More »
