Best Practices – Combined Cycle Journal

Best Practices

River Road advances safety, efficiency, and reliability with practical onsite improvements

River Road Generating Plant Owned by Clark Public Utilities Operated by GE Vernova O&M 248 MW, gas-fired 1 × 1 7F.02-powered combined cycle (STAG configuration) equipped with a Foster Wheeler HRSG, GE A12 steam turbine, and GE 324 generator, located in Vancouver, Wash Plant manager: Robert Mash Safer handling of chemical totes Challenge. Gravity feeding […]

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Empire enhances safety, maintenance access, and workforce versatility through smart operational upgrades

Empire Generating LLC Owned by Empire Acquisitions LLC Operated by NAES Corp 635 MW, gas-fired 2 × 1 7F.03-powered combined cycle with Alstom HRSGs and a GE D11 steam turbine, located in Rensselaer, NY Plant manager: Chet Szymanski Cooling-tower mod improves maintenance access Challenge. Empire Generating’s cooling tower is designed with a dry section that

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Faribault: Protective-relay trip logs reduce errors

Faribault Energy Park Owned by Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) Operated by NAES Corp 265 MW, 1 × 1 7F.03-powered combined cycle equipped with a GE A10 steam turbine and CMI HRSGs, located in Faribault, Minn Plant manager: Shawn Flake Challenge. Accurate and complete gathering of data during abnormal plant operations can be difficult and

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Hunterstown: Closing gaps in O&M knowledge through enhanced workforce development

Hunterstown Generating Station Owned by LS Power Asset management by Competitive Power Ventures Operated by NAES Corp 810 MW, 3 × 1 7F.04-powered combined cycle equipped with a GE D11 steam turbine, located in Gettysburg, Pa Plant manager: Mark Kadon Challenge. Anticipating industry-wide knowledge-gap challenges resulting from retirements and staff turnover, Hunterstown Generating Station saw

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St. Charles continually innovates in water monitoring, emissions control, and drone-driven inspectionsiciency

CPV St. Charles Energy Center Owned by CPV Maryland LLC Operated by Consolidated Asset Management Services 745 MW, 2 × 1 7F.05-powered combined cycle equipped with a GE D11A steam turbine, located in Waldorf, Md Plant manager: Nick Bohl Influent water monitoring upgrade for permit compliance Challenge. St. Charles Energy Center uses recycled wastewater from

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TBC DURABILITY, PART I: Effect of hydrogen combustion on thermal barrier coatings

Decarbonization of the electric power industry will increase the use of hydrogen as a gas-turbine (GT) fuel—alone or in combination with natural gas. Issues for hot-section components when burning hydrogen include the following: increased flame speed, temperature, quenching distance, steam in combustion products (from 12% to 21%), and loading. The resulting increase in erosion and

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PROCESS DIAGNOSTICS: Software-as-a-service diagnostics underscores whole-of-plant approach

Metroscope, a relatively new entrant (2023 launch) to the US real-time powerplant process diagnostic software market, recently conducted a webinar to build more awareness of its technology and to differentiate it from other packages (some of which have been evolving since the early 1990s and can be considered “standard” in combined-cycle plants and in centralized

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BOILER VALVES: Avoid Stellite delamination with alternative hardfacing

By Richard Laukam, ValvTechnologies LLC Steam stop valves, located at the boiler outlet, provide isolation. These typically are wedge-type gate valves, stop-check valves, or parallel-slide gate valves. Hardfacing often is applied to the seat and closing member (wedge, plug, or discs) to reduce wear and extend the duration of leak-free service. Hardfacing is the building

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HRSG need not be a limiting factor in GT upgrade

By Vignesh Bala, Vogt Power Editor’s note: This is the second of three articles exploring the impacts of gas-turbine upgrades on heat-recovery steam generators. It focuses on “re-rating” of the HRSG after the upgrade to extract maximum benefit from the work. Part 1, which examined the driving factors behind GT upgrades, appeared in August. Part

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Five plants earn Best of the Best honors in CCJ’s 20th annual Best Practices Awards

The COMBINED CYCLE Journal and the steering committees of the industry’s leading users groups—including 7F, 501F, 501G, 7EA, HA, Western Turbine, CCUG, STUG, GUG, PPCUG, Frame 6B, Frame 5, 501D5-D5A, AOG, and V—collaborate to expand the sharing of best practices and lessons learned among owner/operators of large frame and aeroderivative gas turbines. Twenty-eight plants listed

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