7F Users Group

by Jason Makansi, Pearl Street Inc. In these days of heightened uncertainty in the power industry, it’s easy to have amnesia about long-term prospects in the electricity business. The opportunities may be shifting, for a few perhaps like the ground underneath you during an earthquake, but the long-term opportunities remain excellent. The short version of the […]

The 7F Users Group is a big supporter of CCJ’s Best Practices Awards program. For the last two years, owner/operators affiliated with this organization outpaced participants representing other frames and aeros. In 2018, fourteen 7F plants (chart) shared 26 best practices with their colleagues industry-wide. Recognize that the lion’s share of this material also pertains to most

CCJ ONsite’s coverage of 2018 award-winning best practices from 7F owner/operators concludes here. The five entries from four plants (Bastrop, MEAG Wansley, Nuevo Pemex, and Rathdrum), all operated by NAES Corp, were recognized for their value by judges with deep knowledge of this frame. In sum, fourteen 7F plants shared 26 best practices with their

The third International Conference on Film Forming Substances (FFS2019), chaired by Barry Dooley of Structural Integrity Associates Inc, provided a highly interactive forum for the presentation of new information and technology related to FFS, research results, case studies of powerplant and industrial applications, and open discussion among users, equipment and chemical suppliers, researchers, and industry

Silverhawk Generating Station underwent a period in which the safety valve for the plant’s auxiliary steam system failed repeatedly, NV Energy engineers Rishi Velkar and Frank Romans told the editors. Consequences of the failures included frequent valve replacement and loss of production through forced outages. Examination of the failed safety valves revealed seating-surface erosion associated

A valuable turbine operating tip provided by Dave Lucier, founder and GM of PAL Turbine Services LLC, applies to GE Frame 5 gas turbines—most specifically the MS5001D, K, L, and LA packaged powerplants manufactured between 1961 and 1970 and serving in peaking and emergency-power applications. Some users operating these engines have found that reliability issues associated

It’s no secret that many gas turbines are starting and stopping far more frequently than originally designed for. At the same time, independent system operators (ISOs) are imposing stiff fines for failure to meet startup and performance obligations. Most plants have adapted to these more aggressive operating tempos and performance challenges, but one component that

MEAG Wansley Unit 9, a 520-MW, 2 × 1 combined cycle in Franklin, Ga, is owned by the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and operated by NAES Corp. Plant manager is Timothy Williams. LOTO upgrade facilitates maintenance of chemical feed pumps Challenge. The plant has two chemical-feed panels: boiler and cooling tower. Each has multiple

Calhoun Power, a 748-MW, dual fuel, four-unit simple-cycle plant in Eastaboga, Ala, is owned by East Alabama Generating LLC and operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS). Plant manager is Mike Carter. Lockwire prevents water-injection and fuel-oil purge-valve actuators from coming loose Challenge. An RCA conducted after Calhoun Power experienced an unsuccessful fuel-oil swap found

Barney Davis Energy Center, a 670-MW, 2 × 1 combined cycle in Corpus Christi, Tex, is owned by Talen Energy and operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS). Plant manager is Gary Clark. Multiple benefits accrue from gas-chromatograph install Challenge: Getting accurate gas-quality data to provide real-time gas-flow readings in Btu. Prior to installing the