Emerson adapts power plant for dual-fuel operation
An
Emerson Process Management product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Aug 21, 2009
Emerson Process Management has completed a dual-fuel conversion initiative that enables the Termocandelaria power plant to operate using either natural gas or oil.
The project, implemented by Emerson and Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MPSA), went into commercial operation in just 11 months, an aggressive timetable that was required in order for Termocandelaria to fulfil its regulatory obligations.
The project marks the latest collaboration between Emerson and MPSA, which in 2008 formed an alliance for turbine retrofit projects.
Termocandelaria, owned by Termocandelaria Power, is a two-unit, 320MW power plant located in Cartagena.
Converting the two Westinghouse 501F turbines from gas-fuel only to dual-fuel operation offered Termocandelaria a low-risk, cost-effective strategy for improving unit start-up reliability.
By being able to start reliably and generate the requested power on demand, Termocandelaria not only maximises its generating revenue but avoids financial penalties that would be incurred if it were not able to fulfil its regulatory obligations with the Colombian authorities.
The Colombian electricity market is served primarily by hydro-electric plants located in the centre of the country.
When there is drought, transmission issues or high demand, these plants are not always able to generate sufficient power to meet the region's needs.
In these instances, the Colombian government typically calls on power plants utilising other fuel sources, such as Termocandelaria, to provide additional megawatts.
For this project, Emerson co-developed with MPSA a new control strategy for the dual-fuel conversion, which included logic for water injection, fuel gas and fuel oil systems.
In addition to the new logic required to accommodate a second fuel source, Emerson also migrated the existing gas-turbine controls from the previous-generation WDPF distributed control system to its Ovation expert control system.
As part of the migration, Emerson converted the existing logic to industry-standard SAMA logic.
This will enable Termocandelaria to more easily modify control schemes in the future as changing circumstances dictate.
From the beginning, Emerson designed the Ovation system to allow a straightforward migration path for users of its WDPF systems.
This proven economical alternative to complete system replacement offers WDPF customers the latest technology while allowing them to retain much of their existing control-system investment, including control logic, graphics, I/O cards, field cabling and terminations.
MPSA was responsible for the dual-fuel conversion, including new combustion-system components, gas and oil fuel supply systems featuring Emerson control valves.
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