Power Plants Up-Rating Benefit From Technology Advancements: A Case Study

Abstract

Life cycle considerations, Reliability / Availability and Maintainability (RAM) experiences, as well as performance improvements, drive power producers not only to plan new power plants but also to upgrade older ones. The main driver, however, is competitiveness and this means cost of electricity for the end users and equipment availability for the shareholders. An up-rating is attractive if you can increase performance and reduce failure rate and thereby operating risks. The first part of this paper describes the actual configuration of a combined cycle plant and the operating experience over the past three to five years. This refers to performance parameters — power and heat rate — as well as to RAM performance. Up-rating shows normally an advantage compared to new equipment concerning reliability, availability and maintainability. A cooperation of the parties involved — power producer and engine manufacturer (OEM) — is necessary, when all above-mentioned parameters are considered. The up-rating can improve the performance (power and heat rate), can keep reliability and availability at high values and can influence the maintainability positively. The second part addresses the evaluation and the stepwise implementation of the solution and the summary of the results. Different power producers and ABB have worked closely together to evaluate the options and to develop the best solution. The conclusions will show how important the power producer / OEM relationship is when such upgrades are implemented and the results are measured. Due to the multitude of interfaces associated with gas turbine power plant upgrades, good co-operation is essential. This case study, is also the result of solutions developed with several power producers.