The countdown to the 27th annual meeting of Western Turbine Users Inc has begun (sidebar). Sal DellaVilla, CEO, Strategic Power Systems®, called to say SPS engineers are busy preparing their reports for presentation at the breakout sessions for LM2500, LM5000, LM6000, and LMS100 engine owner/operators.
As part of this effort, they compiled RAM key performance indicators from the company’s interactive ORAP® database for 2016 and compared them to averages for the previous five years—an industry report card if you will. The information presented in the companion tables comes from 607 aero units for 2016 and 1,092 units for the 2011-2015 period. The aeroderivative gas turbines in the sample include engines from GE, P&W, and Siemens AGT (formerly Rolls-Royce) and represent units operating worldwide.
To summarize the facts: There was a minimal increase in annual operating (service) hours for peaking units from the 2011-2015 period to 2016; availability decreased by about 1.1% for 2016 and reliability was pretty consistent within the two time periods. Cycling units operated 163 hours less in 2016 than they averaged in 2011-2015; availability stayed exactly the same, while reliability decreased slightly (0.1%). Baseload units operated 176 less hours in 2016 versus 2011-2015 and annual starts decreased.
The regional analysis in Table 2 shows capacity factor was down by 6.9% in the West, but showed an increase of 10.5% and 10.3% in the Midwest and Northeast, respectively. Another interesting thing to note is that all regions with the exception of the West, had a reduction in reserve standby factor.
Register today for WTUI 2017
Owner/operators of GE aeros should register now for the 27th meeting of the Western Turbine Users Inc—it’s only two months away. Venue is the South Point Hotel & Spa, Las Vegas, Nev.
The annual conference brings together O&M personnel responsible for LM2500, LM5000, LM6000, and LMS100 engines in land (electricity production and gas compression) and marine service from across the globe to share experiences and get valuable training from the experts—including the OEM and the four depots that overhaul these machines (ANZGT, IHI, MTU Maintenance, and TransCanada Turbines).
Most of what you need to know is only a click or two away on the organization’s website:
