September 2013 International

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Vol. 157 No. 9 September 2013

Top Plants: Five Exemplary
Gas-Fired Plants
The Real AURORA Threat
Quantum Cybersecurity for ICS
SILEX Uranium Enrichment
Moves Forward
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CIRCLE 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD
September 2013
|
POWER www.powermag.com 1
ON THE COVER
Formidable topography and weather combined with long distances between load centers
make Alaska a tough place to develop power projects. Thats just part of the story behind
the Southcentral Power Project, owned by Chugach Electric Association Inc. and Anchor-
age Municipal Light & Power. Courtesy: SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
COVER STORY: GAS-FIRED TOP PLANTS
32 Amman East Power Plant, Al Manakher, Jordan
The first independent power plant in Jordan is setting an example for high safety
standards across the Middle East. The combined cycle plant also provides fast re-
sponse and enables fuel flexibilityan important consideration for a country that
imports its fuel.
34 Combined Cycle Power Plant Brazi, Brazi, Romania
The first new privately owned power project to be developed since Romania joined
the European Union is also the countrys most efficient thermal plant.
38 Cape Canaveral Next Generation Energy Center, Brevard County, Florida
Though Florida is known as a favored location for the senior set, its also becoming
known for developing some of the newest and cleanest power generation projects.
The Cape Canaveral plant is among those notable additions and marks the first in-
stallation of the Siemens SGT6-8000H turbine.
40 Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant, Sasolburg, South Africa
A challenging site, a need to balance economic and environmental considerations,
and the imperative to ensure reliable supply by self-generating led a major South
African industrial company to develop this gas engine plant.
44 Southcentral Power Project, Anchorage, Alaska
Though many may think of Alaska as awash in energy resources, when it comes to
ensuring fuel for power generation, the reality is more complicated. Thats why mak-
ing Alaskas newest power plant its most fuel-efficient was a top priority.
SPECIAL REPORT: CYBERSECURITY
46 Quantum Cryptography Promises Un-Hackable Industrial Communications
Researchers at a national lab have demonstrated secure control data communica-
tions for electric grids using quantum cryptography that could be commercialized
relatively soon. (But given how long it will take to roll out to all nodes on all systems,
thats no excuse for not doing everything you can today to secure your assets.)
52 What You Need to Know (and Dont) About the AURORA Vulnerability
Almost everything you think you know about the AURORA industrial control system
cyberthreat is wrong, and that could be potentially very dangerous for both power
generators and their customers.
Established 1882 Vol. 157 No. 9 September 2013
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September 2013 2
FEATURES
NUCLEAR FUEL
58 SILEX Process Promises Third-Generation Uranium Enrichment Technology
for U.S.
The U.S. led development of nuclear power, but today, the country obtains only 16%
of its nuclear fuel from domestic sources. The SILEX process offers several advan-
tages over earlier methods of uranium processing and could reverse the trend of
falling domestic production.
POWER VIEW
66 Hints of Whats Next from GE on the Technology Front
Gary Leonard, General Electrics global technology director for aero-thermal and
mechanical systems, shared comments on several ways GE is developing technolo-
gies for the power industrys future.
68 Potential Solutions for ERCOTs Challenges
Pat Wood III was one of the primary architects of the energy-only market for the
Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in 2000, but he has since reexamined
the potential benefits of adopting some kind of capacity market.
DEPARTMENTS
SPEAKING OF POWER
6 Change and Continuity
GLOBAL MONITOR
8 Funding for Coal Plants Overseas Curbed on Climate Concerns
10 Thorium Fuel Test Begins at Research Reactor in Norway
12 THE BIG PICTURE: Fuel Balance
14 Chinas Second- and Third-Largest Mega-Dams Mark Operational Milestones
15 The Worlds Most Colossal Offshore Wind Farm Opens
18 Floating Nuclear Power Plant Gets New Life
22 POWER Digest
FOCUS ON O&M
24 Considerations When Upgrading Gas Turbine HMIs
LEGAL & REGULATORY
30 PURPA at 35: At a Crossroads?
By Glenn S. Benson, Davis Wright Tremaine
71 NEW PRODUCTS
COMMENTARY
76 The New Environment for the Gas and Electric Industries
By Kelly A. Daly, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP
What Youll Find on the New POWER Website
For the past several months, we have been working with our corporate web develop-
ment team to completely redesign the powermag.com website and replace the
content management system that powers it. As with any power plant repowering
project, this web repowering, if you will, has involved many people and posed a
few challenges. The result, however, is a cleaner homepage with more images and
easier ways for our readers to interact with each other and our content. Look for
more about the changes in the October issue.
In the meantime, take a look around, and be sure to check the Whats New segment
at the top of the homepage regularly for just-posted news stories covering all fuels
and technologies.
52
8
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September 2013 4
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September 2013 6
SPEAKING OF POWER
are building will demonstrate diversity as
well.
Luckily for me, though Bob has retired,
he hasnt completely disappeared. He has
graciously agreed to stay available part
time as a consulting editor. Youll see his
name in these pages and on our website
with some regularity, but hell also be avail-
able to staff as the go-to tech advisor. Even
as I envy Bobs new, more leisurely pace of
involvement with the POWER brand, I am
grateful to have had a smart, reliable, and
qualified colleague for so many years.
Nobody Is Immune to Change
Meanwhile, the power industry isnt stand-
ing still. Thats why the weekly POWER-
news eletter (you can subscribe online)
and news stories posted throughout the
week on powermag.com are your best way
of staying current on the latest big sto-
ries. This issues cover stories on award-
winning gas-fired Top Plants also indicate
some of the ways the industry is chang-
ing. Unfortunately, as improved technolo-
gies enter the operating environment,
they sometimes bring with them new risk
factors; our special reports on cybersecu-
rity offer information about current and
emerging ways to mitigate those risks.
The publishing industry also continues
to changeat an even faster pace. The me-
dia options for delivering informationthe
platformscontinue to proliferate, and we
are constantly evaluating how best to deploy
our resources to reach our audiences where
they spend their time. Youll be hearing more
about platform upgrades in future issues.
Powering On
Regardless of the challenges power gen-
erators and media companies face, our
customers expect regular, reliable service,
which means flexibility and adaptability
are essential. To respond to shifting pri-
orities, we have another staffing change
effective this issue: Our colleague David
Wagman has moved from the editorial side
to the POWER events side. Hell be working
mostly on ELECTRIC POWER, webinars, and
other events, but youll still see his name
in print and online now and then. And be-
cause we need to fill the gap left by edi-
tors who have moved into different roles,
we are advertising for a new technology
editor (see the announcement on p. 56).
In the meantime, the core of the famil-
iar POWER team remains hard at work. Ken
Maize, whose knowledge of the history
of power and its politics is voluminous,
continues to handle our MANAGING POWER
Direct eletter, the blog, and the occasional
print feature. Sonal Patels keen interest
in international power issues and domestic
policy developments makes her the center
of gravity for news coverage (and those
wonderful BIG PICTURE infographics each
month). Tom Overtons unique background
in engineering, the nuclear Navy, law, and
publishing has made him valuable not just
as editor of our GAS POWER Direct eletter
but also as a social media maven and as a
flexible player in various supporting roles
across the POWER brand.
Together, were determined to ensure
that POWER continues to be the industrys
leading source of information across print,
web, email, social media, and event plat-
forms. Over the next months Ill be sharing
some of the ways in which you, our diverse
audience, can take advantage of what we
offer to help to make the POWER brand,
and your businesses, even stronger.
Gail Reitenbach, PhD is editor of
POWER. Follow her on Twitter @GailReit
and the editorial team @POWERmagazine.
E
ven if you missed Bob Peltiers re-
tirement signoff in last months
column, you will have noticed that
something has changed. POWER has a new
editor at the top of the masthead (its 10th
in 131 years, according to magazine histo-
rian Bob). Some of the changes are obvi-
ous, including the fact that I have more
hair on my head and less over my lip than
Bob. If you look past appearances, youll
learn that my PhD is in English while Bobs
is in engineering.
Unless you know both of us well, you
may not know that the past and present
top editor of this illustrious title have a
lot in common. We both have been pro-
fessors, so we appreciate the educational
value that POWERs content can provide.
We also both care about the brands leg-
acyparticularly the print magazine
while recognizing that its future depends
upon being accessible on multiple media
platforms. And we both prefer communi-
cations via email rather than telephone!
You can reach me at editor@powermag
.com (preferred, because that reaches all
editors) or gailr@powermag.com.
For the decade and a bit that we worked
together as editor-in-chief and managing
editor, Bob and I made a fine team. Some
of what I know about publishing (I had
previously had a career that included vari-
ous roles in book, magazine, and newslet-
ter publishing) rubbed off on Bob, while
some of what he knows about the power
industry rubbed off on me. In other cases,
we learned together.
We had complementary skills and inter-
ests. I came to the magazine from a busi-
ness that provided information services to
distribution utilities and their end users.
Bob brought a combination of prime mov-
er technology expertise plus engineering
theory and practice to the enterprise. On
matters of power politics and policy we
sometimes disagreed, but just as often we
seemed to more or less agree. The edi-
torial team of a good industry magazine
should be able to accommodate a range
of well-informed opinions, and I believe
youll find that the new team we have and
Change and Continuity
As improved technologies enter the
operating environment, they sometimes
bring with them new risk factors.
We watched.
We listened.
And we learned
from you.
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September 2013 8
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Funding for Coal Plants Overseas Curbed
on Climate Concerns
In his climate change speech earlier this summer, President
Obama announced a major policy shift: The U.S. government
will end financing for virtually all new coal power plants over-
sees. In the wake of that policy pivot, the U.S. Export-Import
Bank has dropped plans to fund a 1.2-GW coal plant in Vietnam,
the World Bank adopted a new energy strategy that would re-
strict financing of coal plants, and the European Investment
Bank (EIB) said it would screen out investments whose carbon
emissions exceed its threshold.
In his June 25 speech at Georgetown University, President
Obama outlined a number of executive actions to combat and
prepare for climate change, including a directive to the Environ-
mental Protection Agency to complete issuance of a final rule
to limit greenhouse gas emissions at new power plants and to
draft another rule for existing power plants. The president also
prominently lauded increased U.S. production of natural gas and
renewable power in lieu of carbon-heavy coal power. Then he
added: Today, Im calling for an end to public financing for new
coal plants overseas unless they deploy carbon-capture technolo-
gies, or theres no other viable way for the poorest countries to
generate electricity.
In mid-July, in the first such decision since the speech, the
government-backed Ex-Im Bank voted to stop consideration of
financing for a plant in Vietnam, rejecting loans to the Thai
Binh II coal-fired power plant. That decision sets a precedent
for the independent self-sustaining agency that has provided
financing for a handful of colossal coal plants, including $805
million in 2010 for Eskoms 4.8-GW Kusile Power Plant in South
Africa and $917 million in 2011 for Reliance Powers 4-GW
Sasan plant in India. In both instances, the agency said it was
creating opportunities for U.S. companies in developing areas
of the world.
Even before the presidents speech, the World Bank was report-
edly considering a discussion draft of a new energy strategy, and
in mid-July, despite previous proposals to restrict coal financing
in emerging markets like China and Brazil, the Washington-based
banks board agreed to limit financing of coal-fired power plants
in rare circumstances, and only to countries that have no fea-
sible alternatives to coal. Meanwhile, the World Bank reversed
a 1990s decision to abandon support for mega-dam projects for
their potential to displace communities, voting instead to in-
crease support for hydropower.
Experts noted that the World Banks new strategy remains un-
tested, however. The international financial institution commit-
ted to the reduction of poverty last approved funding in 2010 for
another massive coal-fired plant under constructionthe 4.8-GW
Medupi power plant (Figure 1) in the northern Limpopo region
of South Africadespite environmental concerns voiced by the
U.S., the Netherlands, and the UK. But now the bank must decide
whether to provide loan guarantees to the 600-MW lignite-fired
Kosovo Power Project, a power source that the World Bank itself
has admitted could boost prosperity in the war-torn region. The
Eastern European state remains one of the poorest countries in
Europe, the bank acknowledges, noting that nearly a third of
Kosovos people live on less than $1.61 per day. Meanwhile, the
bank says, businesses regard the unreliable electricity supply as
a major obstacle to their operations and a constraint to invest-
ment and business expansion.
Barely a week after the World Banks decision, the EIB, Eu-
ropes leading development bank, announced it would introduce
a new emissions performance standard and fund only energy
projects whose carbon emissions fall below that threshold. The
standards mean that new coal- and gas-fired plants eligible for
funding could emit no more than 550 grams of carbon dioxide per
kilowatt-hour (gCO
2
/kWh).
For comparison, the International Energy Agency estimated
in 2011 that the emissions intensity of conventional coal-fired
power plants is 830 gCO
2
/kWh; for ultrasupercritical plants with
pulverized coal combustion, it is 770 gCO
2
/kWh; and for com-
bined heat and power plants co-fired with biomass, it is 550
gCO
2
/kWh. The threshold reflects existing [European Union
(EU)] and national commitments to limit carbon emissions,
the EIB said.
The announcements have been lauded by environmentalists,
who have fervently criticized the international aid organizations
for providing billions to finance plants they say counter efforts to
curb climate change. Yet, a number of development experts argue
the measures create a direct conflict between development aims
and climate aims. According to Todd Moss, vice president for pro-
grams and a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development,
electricity is one of the top constraints on business growth. An
emissions cap could effectively deny access to basic electricity
for the worlds most vulnerable while making no meaningful dent
in global emissions, he says. It also smacks of hypocrisy to im-
pose caps on say, Ethiopia (which emits less than 1% of the per
capita emissions of the United States) or Nigeria (less than 4%),
when we have no such caps on ourselves. This is, simply put, no
way to fight climate change.
1. Confining coal. The World Bank and the U.S. Export-Import
Bank have separately funded two massive coal-fired power plants
owned by Eskom that are under construction in South Africa, including
the 4.8-GW Kusile Power Plant in Mpumalanga and the 4.8-GW Medu-
pi power plant (shown here) in Limpopo. In July, though the countrys
power supply is still under pressure, Eskom confirmed the start of the
first of six units at the Medupi plant would likely be delayed from De-
cember 2013 to the second half of 2014 due to technical and labor
challenges. The Kusile plant is slated to come online in 2014. In 2008,
power shortages forced the utility to slash power to gold and metal
mines, sending the rand plummeting by 15%. Courtesy: Eskom
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September 2013 10
Thorium Fuel Test Begins at Research

Reactor in Norway
Norwegian company Thor Energy began a five-year-long irradia-
tion test of thorium fuel at the Institute for Energy Technologys
research reactor in Halden, Norway, marking the most recent in-
vestigation into the abundant radioactive elements future role in
the production of nuclear power.
The company loaded six rods (Figure 2) in the last week of
April and plans to collect data from the test to support the li-
censing and eventual use of the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel variant,
composed of thorium oxide and blended plutonium, in currently
commercial light water reactors (LWRs). The thorium-MOX fuel to
be tested in this program is prototypical of commercial MOX fuel
in its microstructure and its composition, the company said.
Thorium is between three and five times more abundant in nature
than uranium, but it occurs, similar to uranium-238, as a fertile
isotope (Th-232). According to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), which is holding a technical meeting this September
on thoriums role in the future of nuclear power, the potential of Th-
232 for breeding a human-made fissile isotope, U-233, in a ther-
mal neutron reactor has been recognized for more than five decades.
Several experimental and prototype power reactors were successfully
operated from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s using thorium and
uranium fuels in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, LWRs, and
molten salt breeder reactors. But, as the organization points out,
thorium fuels have lagged in commercial introduction because esti-
mated uranium [resources] turned out to be sufficient.
In recent times, however, increased demand for carbon-free
energy and the accelerated growth of nuclear power worldwide
has underlined the need for longer fuel cycles, higher burn-up,
improved waste form characteristics (thorium oxide [ThO
2
] is rel-
atively inert and does not oxidize, unlike uranium oxide), reduc-
tion of plutonium inventories, and in-situ use of bred-in fissile
material. Also increasingly highlighted is that thorium based fu-
els, with their unique characteristics of difficult-to-dissolve and
reprocess, and easy-to-detect hard gammas of [U-233] daughter
nuclides (which also aids deterrence), offer safeguardsfriend-
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2. Thor tests thorium. Norwegian company Thor Energy in April
loaded six thorium fuel rods in the Institute for Energy Technologys ex-
perimental reactor in Halden, Norway. Data from the test will be col-
lected to support licensing and eventual use of the mixed-oxide fuel in
commercial light water reactors. Courtesy: Thor Energy/T. Tandberg
Tight Fit, Tight Timeline
Converting the bottom ash handling process of a power plant
from a wet sluicing system to a dry system was key to future
permit compliance. The utility needed the new equipment to t
within the existing space, and it needed the project operational
with a brief outage. Mike Roush led a team that included the
client/owner, designers, vendors and construction personnel
in a closely coordinated effort that fullled both requirements.
The process included initial equipment selection, contract
award, construction coordination and startup coordination.
The plant is now operating seamlessly with a submerged ight
conveyor and dry ight conveyors that handle the bottom ash,
air heater ash and economizer ash.
WHERE WATER
and
POWER MEET
CUSTOMI ZED WATER SOLUTI ONS THAT FI T YOUR POWER PLANT
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|
September 2013 12
THE BIG PICTURE: Fuel Balance
In 2012, as the massive development of unconventional gas production continued in the U.S., domestic natural gas
prices plunged and a swathe of American power utilities realized a coal-to-gas switch in favor of the cheaper fuel. But
Europe, where natural gas is still largely linked to the price of oil and remains costly, saw countervailing effects: As coal
volumes surged (from increased U.S. exports), and the carbon trading system stagnated, coal has become the power
generation fuel of choice in several European Union (EU) countries at the expense of natural gas. Copy and artwork by
Sonal Patel, POWERs senior writer
A DECADE IN THE MAKING
02 06 04 08 10 12
30
60
90
120
150
Notes: Btu=British thermal units; * includes cost, insurance, and freight. Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2013
U
.
S
.

D
o
l
l
a
r
s

P
e
r

M
i
l
l
i
o
n

B
t
u
02
0
5
10
15
20
Japan liqueed natural gas (LNG*)
Average German Import Price*
U.S. Henry Hub
UK Heren NBP Index
NATURAL GAS PRICES
U
.
S
.

D
o
l
l
a
r
s

P
e
r

T
o
n
n
e
NORTHWEST EUROPE COAL
MARKET PRICE
In the U.S., domestic dry natural gas production increases and dwindling imports lowered prices, widening the price
differential between Henry Hub and foreign markets. In Japan, enduring closures of nuclear plants prompted a year-on-
year consumption surge of 10.8% in 2012, close to the 11.6% recorded after the Fukushima accident.
06 04 08 10 12
Note: *Figures for hard coal. EU lignite consumption=1%; Sources: Enerdata, Platts, European Commission, Eurostat
OF DARK AND SPARK
SPREADS
"Clean dark spreads" are a
protability measure, dened as
the average difference between
the price of coal and carbon
emissions and the price of
power. "Clean spark spreads"
are the average between the
cost of natural gas and
emissions, and the power price.
Spread levels above "0" show
generators are competitive.
Coal plants remain protable
in Europe. In the UK, dark
spreads reached 37/MWh in
March 2013the highest since
November 2008. In
Germany,where 10.3 GW of new
coal will come online by 2015,
it was 10/MWh.
Spark spreads showed
Germany's gas plants are
unprotable at 12/MWh.
In the UK, that value was
3.3/MWh. Prot margins
also shrank in France, the
Netherlands, Spain, and
the Czech Republic
U.S. coal exports to
Europe increased
two-fold in 2012
compared to 2011
EU carbon prices have plunged 70% since 2009.Though
EU members have retired some coal plants to meet
the Large Combustion Plant Directive, coal
generations share increased dramatically in some
countries between 2011 and 2012.
PUMPING COAL
THE CONSUMPTION CONTRAST (2011-2012)
COAL:
11.3%
GAS:
+5%
30%
40%
to
22%
28%
to
NETHERLANDS UK ITALY
SPAIN GERMANY
17%
19%
to
14%
17%
to
35%
45%
to
*COAL:
+10.7%
GAS:
3.6%
European coal prices were
decoupled from oil and gas
prices in 2011.
September 2013
|
Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. R.K. Sinha,
pointed out at an IAEA panel discussion
this June.
Thor Energys continued investment in
thorium, meanwhile, is also pegged on
forecasts that uranium prices are likely to
surge after 2020.
As Sinha noted, the thorium option con-
tinues to be investigated in a number of
countries besides Norway, notably in Germa-
ny, India, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Russia, Brazil, the UK, and in the
U.S., all of which are seeking to overcome
a number of technical challenges afflicting
thorium fuels and fuel cycles. One challenge
is that the melting point of ThO
2
is 3,350C
much higher than that of uranium oxide
(2,800C)which requires a much higher
sintering temperature to produce high-den-
sity ThO
2
and ThO
2
-based MOX fuels.
A unique thorium-fueled light water
breeder reactor that operated from 1977 to
1982 at Shippingport, Pa., has already dem-
onstrated U-233 can be bred from thorium.
More recent developments include a 2009
agreement between Canadas AECL, the Third
Qinshan Nuclear Power Co., and related Chi-
nese nuclear entities to jointly develop and
demonstrate the use of thorium fuel and
study the commercial and technical feasibil-
ity of its full-scale use in CANDU pressurized
heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
India, meanwhile, has been advancing
the design of an advanced heavy water re-
actor (AHWR) as part of the third and final
phase of its national nuclear energy plan.
That 300-MWe reactor, which could be op-
erational within 30 years, will use thori-
um-plutonium or thorium-U-233 seed fuel
in MOX form, sourced from Indias abun-
dant thorium reservesthe largest in the
world. A 500-MWe prototype fast breeder
reactor under construction in Kalpakkam is
designed to produce plutonium to enable
AHWRs to breed U-233 from thorium.
The feasibility of using thorium fuels
in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) was
also studied in depth, collaboratively by
Germany and Brazil, before that research
program was terminated for nontechnical
reasons. Yet recent interest has peaked in
Thor Energys efforts to develop thorium-
plutonium oxide (Th-MOX) fuels for LWRs
because experts contend that option is
the most readily achievable, as such fuel
can be used in existing reactors with mini-
mum modifications. The test fuel, which is
in the form of pellets composed of a dense
thorium oxide ceramic matrix containing
about 10% plutonium oxide as the fis-
sile driver, can also be made in existing
uranium-MOX plants using existing tech-
nology and licensing experience.
Can you find the
right balance?
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September 2013 14
Nevertheless, some international players disagree that thorium
has a future as a nuclear fuel. The UKs National Nuclear Laboratory
in 2010, for example, concluded that in the short to medium term,
a thorium fuel cycle is likely to have only a limited role interna-
tionally for some years ahead. The technology is innovative, the
entity said, but noted it is technically immature and currently
not of interest to the utilities, representing significant financial
investment and risk without notable benefits. In many cases, the
benefits of the thorium fuel cycle have been over-stated.
Chinas Second- and Third-Largest Mega-
Dams Mark Operational Milestones
China hit two of its most significant hydroelectric milestones in
recent months: Initial operation of the 13.86-GW Xiluodu proj-
ectthe countrys second-largest hydropower project after the
22.5-GW Three Gorges Damand commercial operation of four
800-MW units at the 6.4-GW Xiangjiaba underground hydropower
plant, which when completed will be Chinas third-largest hydro-
power plant.
In mid-July, China Three Gorges Corp. (CTG) announced that
the first of 18 770-MW Francis turbine generators at the enor-
mous Xiluodu project on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River
in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province, southwest China, of-
ficially started operations after completing a three-day test run.
Unit 13F is providing power to the China Southern Power Grid.
Construction of the massive $6.2 billion projectincluding its
912-foot-tall double-curvature arch dam and a reservoir with a
capacity of 12.67 billion cubic metersbegan in 2005. The dam
will generate power from two underground power stations, each
equipped with nine turbines, located on the right and left banks of
the river. All 18 generating units are scheduled to be completed by
2014, when the project will rank as the third-largest power plant in
the world, after the Three Gorges and Brazilian Itaipu complexes.
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3. Bulk and brawn. Four of eight planned units began com-
mercial operation at the Xiangjiaba underground hydro power plant on
the Jinsha River, in southwestern China this July. This image shows
the installation of the upper bracket of the Alstom-manufactured 800-
MW class unit, which comprises a Francis turbine coupled to an 889
MVA generator. Alstom says the units are the worlds most powerful
hydroelectric generating units. Courtesy: Alstom
September 2013
|
And in the last week of July, four Al-
stom-manufactured 800-MW class Francis
turbines, each coupled with an 889 MVA
generator (Figure 3), began commercial
operation at Chinas Xiangjiaba under-
ground hydro power plant, which is also
located on the Jinsha River, a Yangtze Riv-
er tributary, in Yunnan and Sichuan prov-
inces. According to Alstom, the 800-class
units made for plant owner CTG are the
most powerful hydroelectric generating
units in the world. To start with, the
generators are the only air-cooled gen-
erators in the world with 23kV windings,
the French firm says. This high voltage
allows an optimized electrical design for
such a high power output. At almost 10
meters in diameter, the turbine runners
weigh more than 400 metric tons.
When all eight units are operational,
the 6.4-GW facility will become an inte-
gral power source in the countrys West
to East Electricity Transfer Project, which
is designed to power energy-shortage-
stricken urban and industrial centers on
the east coast. The South-North Water
Transfer Project, which seeks to transfer
35 billion cubic meters of water every year
from Chinas wet south to its arid north,
and the West to East Project are Chinas
two biggest infrastructure developments
under way. Initiated during the 10th
Five-Year Plan (2000 to 2005), the West
to East Electricity Transfer Projects first
phase continues to expand the western
provinces generating capacitymostly
through construction of new coal units and
hydropower plantsas well as through
the construction of three transmission
corridors that connect newly built capac-
ity in the north, central, and south to the
eastern coast (Figure 4, next page).
The Three Gorges Dam, the worlds big-
gest power project, which is located on
the middle reaches of the Yangtze River
and is slated to be fully completed by
2015, will also play a central role in the
West-East project.
The Xiangjiaba dam will be connected
to Chinese industrial and commercial hub
Shanghai about 2,000 kilometers away
by the ABB-designed 800-kV Xiangjiaba-
Shanghai line, which became the worlds
first ultra-high-voltage direct current
transmission line when it was completed
in July 2010.
The Worlds Most Colossal
Offshore Wind Farm Opens
The $2.9 billion London Arraythe worlds
biggest offshore wind farmopened this
July in the Outer Thames Estuary about 12
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September 2013 16
magnetrol.com 1-800-624-8765 info@magnetrol.com
miles off the coasts of Kent and Essex. The 175-turbine instal-
lation is arranged in a vast 95-square-mile area in rows and col-
umns aligned to the prevailing south-westerly wind, all rising out
of relatively shallow waters of about 82 feet deep (Figure 5).
Though the 630-MW wind farm has been fully operational since
April, it was officially opened by UK Prime Minister David Cameron
in early July. Owned by Denmarks Dong Energy (50%), Germanys
E.ON (30%), and Masdar (20%) of Abu Dhabi, the project is larger in
both size and nameplate capacity than the 500-MW Greater Gabbard
project that was completed last year off the East Anglian coast.
Siemens supplied and installed the 175 wind turbines at the
London Array. Each features a rotor diameter of 120 meters and a
rating of 3.6 MW. The project is connected by 279 miles of offshore
cabling and one onshore and two offshore substations, also sup-
plied by Siemens. These were built at a cost of about $709 million,
according to a recent cost assessment from UK power and gas
market regulator Ofgem.
The two-phase project was initiated in 2001 when a series of
government environmental studies in the outer Thames Estuary
confirmed the area is a suitable wind farm site. Planning consent
for a 1-GW offshore wind farm was granted in 2006, and permission
was granted for the onshore works in 2007. In 2008, however, the
project stalled as Shell WindEnergy pulled out of the consortium.
Despite engineering and weather delays, the first turbine was in-
stalled in January 2012, first power was achieved in October that
year, and the final turbine was installed in December 2012.
The London Array, the latest of about 20 offshore farms com-
pleted in the UK, brings the nations total offshore wind capacity
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4. To have and have not. Chinas West to East Electricity Trans-
fer Project seeks to expand generating capacity in western provinces
and then transfer it through three transmission corridors to seven ener-
gy-shortage-stricken provincesBeijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Zheji-
ang, Jiangsu, and Guangdongon the eastern coast, which consume
nearly 40% of the nations electricity. Each corridor is expected to exceed
40 GW by 2020. The blue provinces represent net electricity exporters;
the darker blue provinces export 30% or more of their power. The orange
provinces represent importers, with lighter orange indicating imports of
less than 10% of their power. Courtesy: Wilson Center
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September 2013 18

to 3.6 GW. The UK government has, howev-
er, tempered ambitions for a more massive
offshore wind expansion, lowering ambi-
tions from 18 GW by 2020, as set in 2011,
to 11.5 GW by 2020, the latest projections
from the Department of Energy and Climate
Change show.
Government reforms of the electricity
market drafted in late June could see sub-
sidies for wind farms increase by about 10%
starting next year to allay worries of wind
turbine operators and manufacturers who
have frozen investment in the UKs offshore
sector on fears that subsidies would be cut
to unsustainable levels. For offshore instal-
lations, the draft subsidy level, or strike
price is 155 ($237.96)/MWh from 2014,
dropping to 135 ($207.25)/MWh in 2018;
for onshore wind farms, the level is 100
($153.52)/MWh, falling to 95 ($145.84)/
MWh in 2018. And in August, the govern-
ment unveiled a strategy to improve the
UKs offshore wind supply chain, includ-
ing an investment of 66 million ($101
million) over five years to help bring new
products to market. The government also
said it will require developers of offshore
wind farms above a certain size to produce
a supply chain plan before they can apply
for long-term contracts.
The UK has committed to European tar-
gets, which means it must source 15% of
its power from renewables by 2020. But
recent data from the Office for National
Statistics shows that only 4.1% of the
UKs total energy consumption came from
renewables and waste sources in 2011. In
that year, meanwhile, fossil fuel imports
rose to their highest level ever recorded.
Beyond the London Array, several mam-
moth offshore wind farms are in the pipe-
line. In late July, Swedish firm Vattenfall
confirmed it would build the 228-MW Pen
y Cymoedd wind farm in south Wales start-
ing early next year. That 76-turbine wind
farm could be completed within two years
and have a 25-year lifespan. Meanwhile,
earlier in July, the UK government ap-
proved RWE Innogys plans to build the
1.2-GW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in
England, a facility that could be far larger
than the London Array.
Floating Nuclear Power
Plant Gets New Life
Russias long-delayed floating nuclear power
plant will be operational by 2016, the fed-
erations nuclear power station operations
arm Rosenergoatom announced in July. The
subsidiary of state atomic energy corpora-
tion Rosatom says it plans to complete the
Akademik Lomonosov within the next three
years and then to build four to six other
floating plants in the near future to power
hard-to-reach Arctic communities.
5. An oceanic city. The 630-MW Lon-
don array offshore wind farm located about
20 kilometers off the Kent and Essex coast in
the UK was officially opened in July. Siemens
supplied and installed the 175 wind turbines,
each with a rotor diameter of 120 meters
(394 feetlonger than an American football
field, including end zones) and a rating of 3.6
MW. Power generated by the wind turbines
is bundled at sea and transported via high-
voltage submarine cables to the coast. Cour-
tesy: Siemens
P.O. Box 162 2300 AD Leiden the Netherlands Tel: +31 71 5792444
Fax: +31 71 5792792 E-mail: info@nem.nl Website: www.nem-group.com
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and midsize Utility Boilers, Process Boilers, Once Through HRSGs and
components for Power Plants like Dampers and Diverters. We are capable
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September 2013 20
The Akademik Lomonosov is Rosenergoatoms first-of-a-kind
floating nuclear power plant (Figure 6) and will contain two
35-MWe KLT-40S nuclear reactorstechnology that is already
being used in icebreakers and is also proposed for wider use
in desalination. The flush-decked non-powered vessel has a
heat rating of 140 Gcal and an expected plant life of 38 years
with 12-year cycles and outages for repair in between.
Rosatom, which anticipates that small nuclear power plants
could take over up to 20% of the nuclear power plant construc-
tion market, has promoted the use of floating nuclear heat and
power plants because, it says, they offer an economic alternative
to onshore power plants in remote areas with costly power trans-
mission and fossil fuel derivatives.
The vessels keel was laid in April 2007 at Sevmash in Severod-
vinsk, northwestern Russia, but the project was subsequently
transferred to Baltiysky Zavod, one of Russias oldest shipyards,
located in St. Petersburg. Engineered by the Aisberg Central De-
sign Bureau of St. Petersburg, the 21,500metric ton hull of the
ship was launched in 2010. Afrikantov Design Bureau in Nizhny
Novgorod manufactured the plants reactor parts, and Kaluga Tur-
bine Works supplied the steam turbine plants.
Construction work was frozen in mid-2011, however, as the Bal-
tiysky Zavod shipyard sank into insolvency and the partly built
floating nuclear power plant was seized by the Court of Arbitra-
tion of St. Petersburg at the request of Rosenergoatom, which was
reportedly concerned it would forfeit its investment of 9.8 billion
rubles ($340 million) if the shipyards assets were taken over dur-
ing the bankruptcy proceedings. In May 2012, Baltiysky Zavod was
acquired by state-owned United Shipbuilding Corp., and Rosener-
goatom signed a new contract with the shipyard for completion
of the floating power plant in December 2012. The 140-meter by
30-meter plant is now scheduled for commissioning in 2016, even
though Rosenergoatom claims more than 90% of the work on the
hull of the Akademik Lomonosov has been completed.
6. Waiting for completion. After years of delay stemming
from bankruptcy proceedings affecting the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard,
where the flush-decked, non-powered Akademik Lomonosov is being
built, the 140-meter by 30-meter floating nuclear power plant is set to
be completed in 2016, Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom has an-
nounced. Courtesy: Sergei Vavilov/Flickr
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September 2013 22
POWER Digest
Mexico Creates Council to Meet Clean Energy Target. The
Mexican Energy Secretariat on July 5 announced creation of the
Renewable Energy Council, a body designed to spearhead eight
initiatives outlined in a strategy to meet the countrys goal of
producing 35% of its power from clean energy sources by 2024.
Among those initiatives are encouraging the state electricity
company to purchase more renewable power from producers, im-
proving the transmission and distribution of renewable energy,
developing renewable generation technology, and revising the
regulatory framework. Representatives from the public sector, in-
dustries, and environmental organizations will begin developing
recommendations on how to implement the initiatives.
Ireland, France Contemplate Submarine Interconnec-
tor. National transmission system operators from Ireland and
France in June signed a memorandum of understanding to com-
mission more preliminary studies on the feasibility of building
a submarine electricity interconnector. If developed, the con-
nector would run between the south coast of Ireland and the
northwest coast of France and would have a cable length of
about 600 km and a capacity of 700 MW. Over recent months,
Irelands EirGrid and its French counterpart, Rseau de trans-
port dlectricit, have conducted studies that indicate an in-
terconnector between the two countries could be beneficial for
electricity customers in Ireland and France. Last year, EirGrid
completed construction on the 500-MW submarine East West
Interconnector between Ireland and Wales.
Japan Power Alliance Laments Dismal Carbon Reduc-
tions. The Federation of Electric Companies (FEPC) in late July
announced that despite five-year-long efforts to reduce carbon
emissions by generators and energy efficiency measures by end
users, carbon dioxide emissions intensity decreased only 2.6% in
2012 compared to 1990 levelsfar below the 2008 goal to curb
emissions by 20%. The alliance of Japans 10 privately owned
independent regional electric power companies to promote
smooth operations within the industry said it continued to make
utmost efforts despite the worsening management environment
following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Those efforts include
amortizing 270 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions credits
during the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008
to 2012) to meet the target. The average carbon dioxide emis-
sions intensity was significantly affected by increased use of
thermal power plants to compensate for long-term shutdown of
nuclear plants in the aftermath of the earthquake, FEPC said. Tar-
gets beyond fiscal 2013 were difficult to set because the coun-
trys national energy policy and prospects for restarting nuclear
power plants remain uncertain, it added.
Dominion Gets OK to Build Va. CCGT Plant. Dominion
Virginia Power received permission in early August from the Vir-
ginia State Corporation Commission to build a 1,358-MW com-
bined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant near Lawrenceville
in Brunswick County, Va. Dominion plans to begin construction
of the $1.3 billion plant immediately, anticipating commercial
service could begin in the summer of 2016. The commission also
approved a certificate of public convenience and necessity for
transmission interconnection facilities.
Hyundai Heavy Industries Bags $3.3B Contract for
Saudi Oil Steam Power Plant. Hyundai Heavy Industries
on Aug. 5 said it won a $3.3 billion order from Saudi Elec-
tricity Co. (SEC) to build the Shuqaiq Steam Power Plant in
Saudi Arabia. As the sole engineering, procurement, and con-
struction contractor, Hyundai Heavy Industries will carry out
construction of the 2,640-MW oil-fired steam power project on
the Red Sea coast about 580 km south of Jeddah on a turn-
key basis. Completion of the project is slated for 2017. The
company plans to use the same supercritical pressure power
technology the company used in the $3.2 billion Jeddah South
Thermal Power Plant project it has been working on for SEC
since October 2012.
Canadian, Czech Republic Developments for Westing-
house AP1000. Westinghouse Electric Co. on July 26 said its
AP1000 pressurized water reactor has completed Phase 2 of the
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commissions pre-project design review.
The review is to verify the acceptability of a nuclear reactor design
with respect to Canadian safety requirements and criteria.
The Toshiba Corp. subsidiary in July also said it had asked
Czech machinery group Vtkovice Power Engineering to con-
struct a mock-up of one of the AP1000 reactors critical modules
as part of a demonstration project to develop local partners and
deliver a highly competitive tender to Czech utility CEZ, which
is seeking reactor builders for its Temelin site. CEZ, which was
originally scheduled to select a supplier of two new reactors for
the expansion of its Temelin nuclear plant by the end of 2013,
in late July said it would delay a decision on the $10 billion
project to allow the Czech Republics new interim government
to update the national energy strategy and negotiate a power
purchase agreement with CEZ. The interim government was ap-
pointed by the president after Prime Minister Petr Necass admin-
istration collapsed in June following allegations of spying and
bribery. The Czech Republics next regular elections are scheduled
for May 2014.
Sonal Patel is POWERs senior writer.
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|
September 2013 24
Considerations When Upgrading Gas
Turbine HMIs
Aging human machine interface (HMI) hardware will eventually
become a burden on plant operation. Obsolete HMIs can cause
problems with connectivity, historical data loss, and hardware
failure. As the hardware ages, the availability of replacement
parts decreases and the cost for these parts increases. Hard-
to-find motherboards with archaic ISA slots and obsolete ISA
ARCNET cards can make upkeep of these machines very difficult
and costly. There comes a time when replacing the entire HMI
becomes a necessary and viable option, particularly when consid-
ering reliability and maintenance costs.
Site Layout
Recently, a peaking power plant replaced its aging HMI system.
The site had two GE Frame 6B gas turbine generators controlled
by two GE Speedtronic Mark V control systems. These units were
used for fast-dispatch peaking operation and typically were
started every day during summer peak, running for 3 to 4 hours
each day. There were two local and one remote DOS operator
interfaces. The existing Mark V Stagelink network architecture
had three s, configured such that each was able to com-
municate with both of the Mark Vs (Figure 1).
The existing was a product of the 1980s and was designed
in the DOS operating system. This obsolete technology had quite
a few hardware and software limitations. The software was
no longer user friendly and offered no historical data storage
(historian) capabilities. The driver for the replacement was that
the equipment was so old it was failing and the units could not
be operated easily without this interface. This impacted the cus-
tomers ability to dispatch the units. All of the hardware compo-
nents in the were obsolete, and migrating the software to a
modern PC environment was very difficult.
Although the old system was being completely replaced, the
customer needed all of the functions from the original to be
carried over to the new system. The customer also required:
Easy access to tools such as EEPROM download, dynamic rung
display, logic forcing, and valve calibration.
Off-the-shelf, commercially available hardware.
Display screens equivalent to the existing ones, with all im-
portant data displayed and easily viewed.
Accurately time-stamped alarms and diagnostics, readily
available for troubleshooting.
Easy connectivity to devices other than the Mark V.
System Design
The upgraded system was built around the Turbine Monitoring
System (TMOS) from Turbine Technology Services Corp. (TTS). All
of the existing tools were included in the new software. In TMOS,
EEPROM download, dynamic rung display, sequence editor, logic
forcing, valve calibration, pre-vote data display, control constant
adjust, IO configurator, and ARCWHO are all Windows-based func-
tions and easy to operate (Figure 2).
The hardware selected for the servers was state-of-the-art, off-
the-shelf equipment, easily obtainable commercially. The multi-
core processors and hot-swappable hard disks ensure durability
and reliability. Redundant power supplies ensure that the server
1. Ready for an upgrade. The customers existing network
was badly out-of-date, hard to use, and suffered from significant op-
erational limitations. Courtesy: TTS
2. Backwards compatible. The new software suite has an in-
tegrated EEPROM download tool. Courtesy: TTS
HYTORC, Division UNEX Corporation +1 201 512-9500 Sales@HYTORC.com www.HYTORC.com
Puller-Free
Simplied
Precision
Tensioning!
7FA CASING
TIME STUDY
Number of Fasteners stretched simultaneously to the
desired load: Horizontal Joint: 2 on each side, Vertical
Joint: 2 on each side.
Total Time: 1 hour, 27 Minutes!
Next Time - ZIP IT!
Make Safety a Habit
Reliability a Fact!
Switch from hydraulic tensioning or hydraulic torque to
Stretch-to-Load without replacing the bolts. Just click
the tools on the reusable nuts and stretch all bolts to
the desired load within 5%, hands-free from a safe
distance. There is no puller to fail, no reaction
arm to pinch, no bolt relaxation, no torsion or
side load, no measuring, just straight axial
bolt load to compress the joint evenly
amongst all fasteners or to loosen it up
as if it had a ZIPPER!
HYTORC Casing-Bolt
TOOL KIT

Everything you need for the Horiztals and Verticals of
the 7FA in one single box!
Since 1968
|
September 2013 26
other at 100% of the desired load, plus one inal check pass.
local HYTORC ofice.
will continue operating in the event of a power supply failure.
The client computers are robust and can drive multiple monitors
to provide space for the multi-screen environment.
The various screens display the pertinent unit information
in an easy-to-read fashion (Figure 3). By clicking on a value
on the screen, the user has access to all of its information
such as scale, engineering units, description, calibration re-
ports, and associated connection drawings. This makes trou-
bleshooting much quicker and easier. Screens can be resized
and placed anywhere the user wants. This allows for multiple
screens to be opened and viewed at one time on multiple
monitors (Figure 4).
All events, alarms, and diagnostic alarms are stored with mil-
lisecond resolution on the hard drive. The new log viewer tool
replaces the need for the old dot-matrix printer. Retrieval of
alarms can be easily managed with the log-style viewing tool.
The historical events log can then be printed in report style or
saved as a PDF.
An additional function of this system is a trend viewer coupled
with a historian. The trending tool allows trending from both
real-time signal values and historical signal values. Signal values
from the screens can be dragged and dropped into the trend
viewer and their values displayed (Figure 5).
The smart log uses compression algorithms to store large
amounts of collected data in a small amount of space on the
hard drives. Months of data can be stored on the HMI RAM,
which makes for very fast access times when reviewing histori-
cal trends.
The customer also requested that the new HMI system gather
data via Modbus from a separate device. (Modbus is a simple
yet robust communication protocol developed in 1979 that is
used extensively, even today, in the industrial environment.) This
was accomplished by the TMOS software, which can act as either
a Modbus slave or a master. If necessary, it can also connect
3. Quick reference. The new interface allows rapid and easy ac-
cess to a turbines operational parameters. Courtesy: TTS
5. Tracking operation. With the new system, the customer is
able to monitor turbine signal values over time. Courtesy: TTS
4. Multi-view. The new workstation supports multiple monitors
and allows tracking a wide range of parameters. Courtesy: TTS
6. Upgraded and ready. Unlike the old system, the new net-
work architecture is highly flexible and scalable. Courtesy: TTS
HYTORC, Division UNEX Corporation +1 201 512-9500 Sales@HYTORC.com www.HYTORC.com
TIME STUDY
Number of Fasteners stretched simultaneously: 2 at a time.
First 12 oclock and 6 oclock and then 9 oclock and 3 oclock
at 50% of the desired load. Then always 2 opposite from each
other at 100% of the desired load, plus one inal check pass.
Total Time: 1 hour, 43 Minutes!
HYTORC Load
Coupling TOOL KIT
Puller-Free
Simplied
Precision
Tensioning!
7FA COUPLING Next Time - ZIP IT!
Make Safety a Habit
Reliability a Fact!
Since 1968
Switch from conical pullers to no pullers! Leave the bolts,
place reusable and precision weighted nuts on their ends
and stretch the bolts universally to the desired load
within 5% to obtain circumferential even compression
without side load, torsion or bolt relaxation.
If a safer, faster and simpler way to assemble and
disassemble Load Couplings has long been on
your mind, the HYTORC Load Coupling Tool
Kit is like a ZIPPER. Just contact your
local HYTORC ofice.
|
September 2013 28
with devices using other protocols such as GSM, ProfiNet, or OPC
and can communicate with programmable automation controllers
and Bently Nevada vibration systems.
Network Architecture
The new system offers redundancy in both the servers and the
network. It is based on a client/server architecture that is both
reliable and robust. The servers are used to communicate directly
with the Mark Vs, while the clients communicate solely with the
servers, reducing overall traffic and reducing the communications
load on the <C> core of the Mark V (Figure 6). With this structure,
the server can connect to up to 16 Mark Vs at once, which makes
it highly scalable.
The new network layout offers redundancy for both the data
servers and the clients. Redundancy is key to creating a robust
system that can withstand hardware failure. The TMOS system has
automatic failover capability, where the clients sense when their
connection to the server has been lost. This could be caused by
a multitude of issues, including severed network cabling or failed
network cards. The clients can automatically and seamlessly
change servers and continue to function, while maintenance can
be performed on the faulty server.
Hard drive failures are always a possibility, and if the sys-
tem has not been designed correctly or regular backups have
not been made, they can be catastrophic. This issue was ad-
dressed in the new system by use of a redundant array of
independent disks (RAID), in this case RAID5. If any single
drive fails in the server, the RAID controller can rebuild the in-
formation that was on that drive, making the failure invisible
to the end user. An indication from the hard drive controller
alerts the user of the problem, and the offending hard drive
can be hot swapped with a replacement drive without needing
to take anything offline.
Smooth System Installation
The entire upgrade was performed without requiring an out-
age. This was possible because the new HMI computers were
installed and commissioned alongside the old HMIs and were
operated simultaneously. The new HMI was brought online,
commissioned, and tested in operation for some time before
the old HMI was decommissioned. Thus, no HMI or control
system downtime was necessary. The new system utilized
the original site files in the unit directory. These files were
parsed and used by the TMOS software. Much of the new HMI
setup and configuration was performed before the hardware
was shipped to the site, reducing required site time and thus
reducing costs.
In order to ease the transition to the new graphics and
learn the new system, the old HMIs were left in place for a
few days while the customer was given training on the newly
installed machines. At the end of this period, the old HMIs
were decommissioned and removed. Also during this training
period, the graphics were tuned to suit the customers needs.
An important part of any HMI replacement is customization
of the graphics to meet expectations and unique preferences
particular to each site.
Contributed by John Sprague, senior project engineer with
Turbine Technology Services Corp., Orlando, Fla.
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|
September 2013 30
PURPA at 35:
At a Crossroads?
By Glenn S. Benson
I
n March 2013, and for the first time in the 35-year history
of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA),
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated
an enforcement action in federal district court against a state
public service commission for alleged violations of FERCs PURPA
regulations. Congress enacted PURPA to promote the develop-
ment of certain cogeneration and non-fossil fuelfired generation
facilities. The legislation accordingly specified certain generation
facilities that would qualify (the QFs) for the right to compel
an electric utility to purchase any power made available by the
QF at the utilitys avoided cost (the cost the utility would have
incurred to obtain the power from alternative resources).
PURPA is a unique federal law in that it provides responsibili-
ties and rights in both FERC and state commissions, with FERC to
determine the facilities that qualify as a QF and state commis-
sions to determine the purchasing utilitys avoided cost. As a re-
sult, there has always been potential for jurisdictional disputes.
In the event of a dispute, however, PURPA provides FERC superior
rights through its ability to initiate enforcement actions against
state commissions.
This statutory scheme has worked well historically. States have
generally restrained themselves from encroaching on FERCs au-
thority, and FERC has given states wide latitude in implement-
ing avoided cost pricing protocols. Until now, the initiation of
enforcement action was viewed as something akin to a nuclear
option that FERC had not hitherto seen fit to exercise.
FERC v. Idaho Commission
The genesis of the March 2013 dispute lies in FERCs regula-
tions implementing PURPA, which offer each QF the option of
providing energy to the utility on an as available basisin
which case the QF is paid the purchasing utilitys avoided cost
calculated at the time of energy deliveryor under a so-called
legally enforceable obligation (LEO), which the QF may unilat-
erally elect at the outset to have avoided cost calculated at the
time the LEO is established. Giving QFs the ability to elect the
LEO option to secure long-term pricing based on upfront calcula-
tions of avoided cost is intended to promote financing of wind
and solar projects. Fixing payments at the contracts inception
insulates the projects revenue stream from the vicissitudes of
the power market.
FERCs enforcement action alleges that the Idaho Commission
violated FERCs regulations in rejecting certain power purchase
agreements involving three Idaho QF wind developers. The Idaho
Commission had adopted a cap on the size of wind QFs that
would be eligible to receive certain avoided cost rates and re-
jected the QF agreements on grounds that they exceeded the size
eligibility requirement.
FERC alleges that the Idaho Commission denied the QFs the
FERC-given right to establish LEOs unilaterally. It did so, ac-
cording to FERC, by failing to recognize that, before the size
limitation had become effective, the QFs had each taken certain
actions that should have been sufficient to establish a LEO.
The Idaho Commission contends that it, not FERC, has juris-
diction to determine when a LEO was created, and that, in these
instances, no LEO was timely created.
The Tip of the Iceberg?
FERCs case against the Idaho Commission may prove to be just
the tip of the iceberg. In the relatively short time since FERC
announced its action against the Idaho Commission, petitions
requesting FERC action to enforce alleged LEOs have been filed
by QFs in Minnesota, Vermont, Montana, and Texas. Most nota-
bly, the Texas QF issue involves state regulations that generally
preclude intermittent resources, both wind and solar, from being
able to establish a LEO. The Texas commissions rules limit wind
and solar generators to selling power on an as available basis
and thus deny them the potentially more favorable firm pricing
opportunities available to a LEO. The Texas commission claims
its restrictions on LEO pricing are fully within the state com-
missions discretion in implementing FERCs PURPA regulations
and defends further that California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Montana, and Oregon have adopted similar limitations.
Avoiding Armageddon
These actions by state commissions to deny QFs the ability to
establish a LEO are testing the legislative balance PURPA cre-
ated, as evidenced by FERC believing it necessary to bring its first
enforcement action. Will FERCs action have the adverse conse-
quences of deploying a true nuclear option? Will it precipitate a
prolonged state/FERC dispute over respective PURPA rights and
create uncertainty that is harmful to all constituents in the ener-
gy industry? Or will it simply help wind and solar projects obtain
more favorable pricing and secure financing?
Any such possible PURPA Armageddon can be avoided if:
States respect that their PURPA responsibilities are generally
limited to implementing FERCs regulations, such as by setting
avoided cost;
FERC views its action against the Idaho commission as an ex-
traordinary, once-in-a-generation initiative, not an everyday
regulatory tool; and
The courts issue timely and consistent rulings that are sensi-
tive to, but clearly delineate, the respective roles PURPA pro-
vides FERC and the state commissions.
Glenn S. Benson (glennbenson@dwt.com) is a partner in Davis
Wright Tremaine LLPs Energy Practice Group.
|
September 2013 32
TOP PLANTS
A
ES Corp.s $300 million, 370-MW
gas-fired Amman East Power Plant
entered commercial service in 2008
and was the first independent power plant in
Jordan. The Jordanian government considers
Amman East an important component in its
efforts to reduce the countrys reliance on im-
ported oil and to achieve a more sustainable
energy balance.
AES and its construction partners also
established a high standard of safety in the
country and across the Middle East by com-
pleting the project without any life lost and
without any major incident or accident. Be-
cause of this safety record, the power plant
has received multiple awards, including the
British Safety Award and a Top 10 power
plant award for the Middle East and North
Africa. The construction team received a
Golden Hard Hat award in 2009 for deliver-
ing the generating plant on time (and, inci-
dentally, $15 million under budget) with no
lost time incidents recorded for the duration
of the construction project.
For its path-breaking achievement as Jor-
dans first independent power plant, and for
its outstanding safety record, the AES Amman
East Power Plant is a POWER Top Plant.
AES Corp., which built the plant and is a
majority owner, is a diversified power gen-
eration and distribution company based in
Arlington, Va. Founded in 1981 as one of
the first independent power producers in the
U.S., the company helped pioneer private
investment in power generation and distribu-
tion in many countries. The company ranks
as one of the worlds leading power compa-
nies and operates in both stable and high-
growth markets, with operating capabilities
across diverse fuel types and technologies.
As of this past June, the company had assets
worth $45 billion and an installed generating
capacity of 38,400 MW in 23 countries. Its
2012 revenues were $18 billion.
Power Sector Emergence and
Independence
Jordan traces its electricity sector to the
1930s, and the countrys electricity is provid-
ed through the National Electric Power Co.
(NEPCO). Jordan became an independent
country in the mid-20th century, but it previ-
ously had been part of the Ottoman Empire,
and for a time was under British rule. Accord-
ing to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Fact Book, following World War I and the end
of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Na-
tions awarded Britain the mandate to govern
much of the Middle East. Britain demarcated
a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan
from Palestine in the early 1920s. The area
gained its independence in 1946 and became
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The countrys long-time ruler, King Hus-
sein, successfully navigated competing pres-
sures from the U.S., USSR, and UK, various
Arab states, Israel, and a large internal Pal-
estinian population. King Abdullah II, King
Husseins eldest son, assumed the throne fol-
lowing his fathers death in 1999. He imple-
mented a number of political and economic
reforms, but in the wake of the 2011 Arab
Amman East Power Plant,
Al Manakher, Jordan
Owner/operator: AES Jordan PSC
The Kingdom of Jordans first independent power plant set a standard for safe con-
struction and operation across the Middle East. As a pioneer in independent power
production and as a leader in safe electricity generation, AES Corp.s Amman East
Power Plant is a POWER Top Plant.
By David Wagman
Courtesy: AES Corp.
TOP PLANTS
September 2013
|
Spring across the Middle East, Jordanians
continued to press for further political liber-
alization, government reforms, and economic
improvements.
Installed electric generating capacity in
Jordan is around 3,140 MW, almost 99%
of which is fossil fuelbased. The countrys
electricity industry started in 1937 when
street lights in Amman were converted from
kerosene to 200 electrical lamps. These
were powered by a 7-hp engine that oper-
ated a mill during the day and the street
lights at night. The company that supplied
the power, Amman Electricity, became the
first Arab company in charge of generating
and distributing electricity through Arab
funds and skills.
Thirty years later, the Jordanian govern-
ment began a study to further develop the
countrys electricity industry. The result was
a seven-year plan (19641971) that included
several elements:
Establish a Jordan Electricity Authority
to generate, transmit, and sell power to
distribution companies on a wholesale
basis and to distribute electrical power in
areas not subject to franchise companies.
Establish a Jordanian electricity project,
including central power plants that would
consist of large-scale steam turbines.
Improve and extend existing power gen-
erating plants and construct a 132 kV
transmission network to cover all parts
of the kingdom and improve and develop
the existing distribution networks.
To execute the plan, the government
founded the Jordan Electricity Authority in
1967. The Authority then established the
kingdoms first power plant run by steam and
gas turbines; the first 14.7-MW gas turbine
was grid connected in 1975. The first 33-MW
steam unit was connected in 1977.
Jordan imports fuel from outside the
kingdom, which has led to efforts to reduce
consumption and diversify fuel sources. As
part of those efforts, the five-unit, 650-MW
Aqaba thermal power station was built and
brought into service in 1999. The Aqaba
plant accounts for 61% of Jordans installed
capacity. Transmission lines built to connect
the plant to the grid also offered a connection
point between the Jordanian and Egyptian
electric networks.
In September 1996, NEPCO was created
to succeed the Jordan Electricity Authority.
NEPCO is responsible for power transmis-
sion and control, buying electricity from
generating companies and selling it to dis-
tribution companies, and managing the elec-
trical connection network with surrounding
Arab countries.
Meeting Demand Growth
According to a 2007 World Bank study com-
pleted in conjunction with the Amman East
project proposal, Jordans electricity con-
sumption was forecast to grow at around
3.5% a year, meaning that its roughly 20%
reserve margin would all but evaporate by
2010. To maintain a safe reserve margin, the
government initiated work on a project that
evolved into the Amman East project.
The Amman East Power Plant project (also
known as the Al Manakher Power Plant) con-
sists of a 370-MW gas-fired combined cycle
electric power station developed, owned, and
operated by AES Jordan PSC, a joint ven-
ture between AES Oasis Ltd. and Mitsui &
Co. Ltd. The power station is located at Al
Manakher, some 8 miles east of the nations
capital, Amman (Figure 1).
The combined cycle power station in-
cludes two gas turbines, two steam boilers,
and one steam turbine generator, plus auxilia-
ry facilities, including administrative offices,
plant control room, warehousing facilities,
and workshops.
The plants gas turbines are V94.2 Ansal-
do turbines manufactured by Ansaldo Ener-
gia SPA under a license from Siemens AG.
The turbine offers full speed and no load in
less than 5 minutes, and baseload conditions
about 15 minutes later. It also offers fuel
flexibility for a variety of fuels and charac-
teristics, from naphtha to heavy oil, and fuel
gas from sources as diverse as refineries
and blast furnaces. An Ansaldo Energiade-
signed burner reduces NO
x
emissions in fuel
gas mode, meaning the machine is capable
of achieving emission levels lower than 30
mg/Nm
3
, albeit with a small derate in power
output. The total worldwide installed capac-
ity of the Ansaldo 94.2 gas turbine is around
15,100 MW, all of which is outside of North
America and from the UK to Bangladesh.
The plant also provides black-start capability
from two 2.4-MW diesel generators.
Heat recovery steam generators for the
Amman East plant were supplied by Doo-
san Heavy Industries. The steam turbine was
manufactured by Fuji Electric System Co.
The plants distributed control system was
supplied by Emerson.
Agreements require Amman East to oper-
ate at an average lifetime equivalent avail-
ability factor of no less than 90%. The plant
is expected to operate primarily on natural gas
from an Egyptian pipeline, but it is capable
of switching to diesel fuel oil if needed. Jor-
dan began importing natural gas from Egypt
in 2003 and most of its generation units now
operate on this fuel. Future thermal generation
will largely use natural gas but will be comple-
mented by renewable sources such as wind.
Power plant operations at Amman East
commenced in two stages. The first simple
cycle generation, with 247 MW of capac-
ity, began in July 2008. The combined cycle
phase, with a contracted 370 MW of capac-
ity, began in August 2009.
Electricity generated by the plant is sold un-
der a 25-year power purchase agreement with
NEPCO, which also serves as the fuel provider
under a 25-year agreement. Water is provided
by the Water Authority of Jordan. The plant is
designed to operate as a zero-discharge facility.
Multiple sources provided construction
financing, including the Overseas Private
Investment Corp., the European Bank for
Reconstruction & Development, Sumitomo
Mitsui Banking Corp., the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation, the World Bank,
the Europe Arab Bank, and Mashreq Bank.
The project was completed $15 million under
budget. In early 2012, the Qatar Electricity
and Water Co. Q.S.C. became a partial owner
through an investment in AES Oasis.
David Wagman is content director for
ELECTRIC POWER, which will be held Apr.
13, 2014, in New Orleans.
1. Baseload in 15 minutes. The AES Amman East power plants gas turbines are V94.2
Ansaldo turbines manufactured by Ansaldo Energia SPA under license from Siemens AG. The
turbine offers full speed and no load in less than 5 minutes and baseload conditions 15 minutes
later. Courtesy: AES Corp.
|
September 2013 34
TOP PLANTS
R
omania began the process of restruc-
turing its vertically integrated, state-
owned electricity industry to meet
European Union (EU) directives several years
before it joined the EU in 2007. The electric-
ity resale market was officially opened on
July 1, 2007, allowing independent producers
and self-producers access to sell electricity,
although a fully functioning and transparent
market remains a work in progress.
The industry was divided into five state-
owned organizations in 2007: Nuclear-
electrica (nuclear plants), Hidroelectrica
(hydroelectric plants), Thermoelectrica (fos-
sil-fired plants) plus Transelectrica (transmis-
sion), and Electrica (distribution). Electrica
has since been further split into eight regional
companies, four of which have been priva-
tized and sold to foreign corporations. Al-
though Thermoelectrica was also unbundled,
state-owned power generation companies
still control 65% of the electricity market.
Today, Romania is a net exporter of electric-
ity to Southeastern Europe as well as a net
exporter of refinery products to the region.
About 50% of the thermal plants and about
30% of all generation plants in Romania op-
erate as combined heat and power plants,
although many of those plants are obsolete
and now operate with low capacity factors.
Nuclear power from Romanias two plants
currently supply ~20% of the countrys elec-
tricity demand (the second reactor entered
service in 2007), ~40% from coal, ~12%
from other hydrocarbon fuels, and ~26%
from hydroelectric, with the remaining ~2%
as wind (2011 data).
Romania also has the third-largest natu-
ral gas reserves in the EU. The two largest
players in the Romanian gas market are state-
owned Romgaz and OMV Petrom S.A. (51%
owned by OMV Group of Austria, with a mi-
nority 20% remaining state-owned). Based in
Bucharest, OMV Petrom S.A. is the largest
Romanian and a leading Central European oil
and gas group, with activities in exploration
and production, refining, petrochemicals, and
natural gas.
Open Market Opportunity
With liberalization of the power markets in
2007, OMV formed OMV Power Internation-
al GmbH (OMV Power) to address emerging
power market opportunities in Europe. Since
its formation, OMV Power has constructed
more than 1,700 MW of high-efficiency
gas-fired combined cycle plants in Austria,
Turkey, and Romania and has several other
projects under development.
OMV Powers latest plant to enter com-
mercial service is its 860-MW Combined
Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) Brazi, located in
the municipality of Brazi, about 40 kilome-
ters (km) north of the city of Bucharest and
adjacent to the Petrobrazi Refinery. CCPP
Brazi represents the largest private power
Courtesy: OMV Power International GmbH
Combined Cycle Power Plant
Brazi, Brazi, Romania
Owner/operator: OMV Petrom S.A.
Romanias power market was opened to independent power producers when the
country joined the European Union in 2007. CCPP Brazi is the first greenfield, pri-
vately owned power project to be constructed in Romania. The flexible combined
cycle plant has the capability to provide steam to an adjacent refinery and produces
about 9% to 10% of Romanias electricity requirements. Its also the most efficient
thermal plant in Romania.
By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
TOP PLANTS
|
September 2013 36
generation investment in Romania to date,
providing about 800 MW of electricity; it
also is capable of supplying an additional 100
MW thermal of process steam to the refinery.
The plants electricity production represents
about 9% to 10% of Romanias total electric-
ity demand. The refinery consumes about
20% of the plants electricity output, and the
remainder goes to the grid. Equity natural gas
(gas produced by an OMV upstream compa-
ny) is supplied via a 30-km pipeline from the
Transgaz network.
Construction of the 530 million CCPP
Brazi began in June 2009, after a lump sum
turnkey contract was signed with a consor-
tium of General Electric (GE) and Metal
Constructions of Greece S.A. (Metka S.A.), a
leading Greek international engineering and
construction company. In addition to equip-
ment supply, GE provided project manage-
ment and commissioning services and acted
as leader of the consortium. Metka S.A. sup-
plied balance-of-plant equipment, engineer-
ing, and construction services. The power
train (both combustion turbines and genera-
tors plus the steam turbine) is covered by a
GE long-term service agreement.
CCPP Brazi was GEs first large turnkey
project in the region. ESB International was
retained as owners engineer for the project.
Construction and testing of the project was
completed in November 2011; however, op-
eration of the plant was interrupted due to gas
supply issues. The plant began delivering elec-
tricity on a commercial basis on Aug. 1, 2012.
Flexible Plant Design
CCPP Brazi is based on GEs S209FB stan-
dard combined cycle plant design. The 2 x
1 configuration plant uses two 9FB combus-
tion turbines (CT) and a single steam turbine.
Measured plant performance was ~860 MW
gross, which represents ~57% thermal effi-
ciency, based on plant performance test data
taken at site conditions. The thermal efficien-
cy of CCPP Brazi is nearly 50% greater than
the average efficiency of all the fossil-fired
plants in Romania. The plant must also op-
erate in southern Europe, where the ambient
temperatures range from 32C to 42C.
One key design characteristic of the plant is
its operational flexibility. The plant can oper-
ate over a broad load range, from ~200 MW
to 860 MW with fast startup and shutdown
times. Romanias renewables strategy requires
CCPP Brazis fast response to balance capac-
ity, particularly since Romania plans to add
from ~1,300 MW to ~3,000 MW of new re-
newables over the next four years. Since en-
tering commercial operation, CCPP Brazi has
had more than 1,600 calls from the grid opera-
tor for grid support and balancing power.
GEs 9FB is specifically designed for fast
response to changing grid demand signals.
For example, when operating at low loads, the
CTs variable inlet guide vanes maintain surge
margin while improving part-load efficiency.
The inlet guide vanes can also be closed to
increase exhaust gas temperature while op-
erating at low loads during periods of low
electricity demand so the bottoming cycle can
remain in operation. Each CT is connected to a
GE 330H hydrogen-cooled generator.
On the steam side, Doosan provided the
heat recovery steam generators that deliver
steam to the single GE D11-42 steam turbine
(Figure 1).
Three GETRA transformers connect the
generators to National Grid. Plant operation
is supervised by a GE Mk Vie distributed
control system.
Natural gas is compressed for the CTs by
the three 50%-sized MAN turbo gas compres-
sors that increase gas pressure from 12 barg to
38 barg for the plant and the nearby refinery.
Marc Smith, responsible for power en-
gineering and projects for OMV Power In-
ternational GmbH, noted that during the
construction both the owner and the GE/Metka
consortium worked together to manage chal-
lenges such as technical issues, safety on site,
completing the CCPP Brazi with more than 5
million man-hours while all the workers were
able to go home safely to their families.
O&M Organization Startup
Starting up a new combined cycle plant is
much like starting up any new power plant
it takes planning and must be executed with
an expert staff. Adding to the challenge,
OMV Power decided to develop an internal
plant operations and maintenance (O&M)
capability at about the same time as CCPP
Brazi was being designed.
External experts were consulted as part of
OMV Powers O&M organization develop-
ment. OMV Power retained A.T. Kearney to
help develop the framework for harmonized
plant O&M processes across all its operating
plants and to identify benchmarking processes
with peer facilities. A.T. Kearney also facili-
tated development of key performance indi-
cators (KPIs)efficiency, availability, and
controllable cost goals and assessmentsfor
the new O&M organization.
Next, OMV Power hired the CCPP Brazi
plant manager, O&M managers, and other
experts who would be responsible for the
plant O&M. The O&M management team
was in place and provided valuable input dur-
ing design and construction and was ready to
assume custody and control of the plant at the
appointed time.
An information technology architecture
was developed after the people and processes
were in place. SAP was selected as the OMV
Groups standard computerized management
maintenance system. SCADA, developed by
Aspen Technology Inc., was selected to auto-
mate data collection and calculation of plant
KPIs across all the companys plants.
Professional O&M management is vital
for success in todays competitive electricity
markets. The systems and procedures devel-
oped as part of the CCPP Brazi project have
since been exported to other OMV Power
facilities so that consistent and measurable
O&M practices and cost controls are in place.
OMV Power, by investing in its O&M infra-
structure early and leveraging proven power
generation technology, is well positioned to
become the foremost independent electricity
producer in southeastern Europe.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWERs con-
sulting editor.
1. Customized standard plant. The combined cycle plant is based on General Elec-
trics S209FB 800-MW-class standard plant design. The exhaust gas from each of the two
combustion turbines is directed to a heat recovery steam generator to produce steam to the
single D11-42 steam turbine. The steam turbine is a combined, opposed-flow, high-pressure/
low-pressure section with single-shell construction, and a two-flow low-pressure section. The
-42 designates a 42-inch last-stage blade length. Courtesy: OMV Power International GmbH
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|
September 2013 38
TOP PLANTS
N
o one can accuse Florida Power
& Light (FPL) of having anything
against natural gas.
The biggest consumer of gas in a state
with the second-biggest appetite for the
fuel, and by far the states largest utility,
NextEra Energy subsidiary FPL is in the
midst of a major drive to modernize and
upgrade its fleet, with six new combined
cycle plants either just commissioned,
under construction, or in the planning
stages. The newest plant to come online
is the three-unit, 1,200-MW Cape Canav-
eral Next Generation Clean Energy Center
in Brevard County, just across the Intrac-
oastal Waterway from the Kennedy Space
Center.
The plant employs Siemens flagship
SGT6-8000H turbines, the 60-hertz ver-
sion of the sets used in the Irsching 4
Power Station in Germany (a 2011 POW-
ER Top Plant), which set a world record
for combined cycle efficiency at 60.75%.
The SGT6-8000H can go from standby to
start in just 5 minutes, and to full power
in just 15 minutes. The Siemens turbines
help make the new plant at least 33% more
efficient than the 1960s-era thermal plant
it replaced. The new plant also generates
only half the carbon dioxide emissions and
90% less pollutants than the old plant, de-
spite having 50% greater capacity.
Bumps in the Road
Getting here, however, wasnt entirely
straightforward.
FPL first proposed replacing the old Cape
Canaveral plant in 2008. The two-unit, 800-
MW dual-fuel facility, which was built in
part to supply power for the new Kennedy
Space Center, first came online in 1965 but
had outlived its usefulness as oil and gas
prices climbed in the 2000s. In order to
maintain reserve margins when it took the
old plant offline, however, FPL first had to
add a third unit to its West County plant in
Palm Beach.
The Florida Public Service Commission
(PSC) approved the proposal in September
2008. Final approval to proceed with con-
struction was received in October 2009
just as the bottom fell out of the global
financial markets and the PSC denied a rate
increase to pay for a new natural gas pipe-
line into the state. In January 2010, citing
that decision and the deteriorating economy,
FPL suspended the plans for Cape Canav-
eral for several months. In April, it decided
to move ahead again while at the same time
laying off about 300 of its staff. Despite the
rate decision, FPL decided that the need for
the new plant was too great to put off con-
struction any longer.
But there was another, entirely different
wrinkle to deal with first. The project had
added environmental sensitivity because of
Cape Canaveral Next Generation
Clean Energy Center,
Brevard County, Florida
Owner/operator: Florida Power & Light
Continuing a drive to build one of the cleanest, most efficient fleets in the country,
Florida Power & Light just flipped the switch on its state-of-the-art Cape Canaveral
Next Generation Clean Energy Center, a three-unit, 1,200-MW facility that will help
meet the needs of a power-hungry statein addition to keeping some manatees
warm.
By Thomas Overton
Courtesy: FPL
TOP PLANTS
September 2013
|
the manatees in the Indian River Lagoon,
from which the old plant drew, and to which
it discharged, its cooling water. Ironically,
far from being a threat to the manatees, the
plants presence attracted more and more of
the endangered animals to the lagoon be-
cause of how its effluent raised water tem-
peratures, especially during the winter. But
with the old plant being shut down after 50
years, that source of warmth was going away.
And without some replacement, the manatees
would lose a critical winter refuge, and many
of them would likely die.
So in the fall of 2010, after the old plant
was torn down, FPL spent nearly $5 million
installing a system of pumps and heaters in
the lagoon to replace the lost effluent. FPL
worked with state and federal officials to
ensure the manatees would survive the three-
year hiatus before the new plant came online.
The system worked as planned, with hun-
dreds of manatees clustering around the heat-
ers as they once did around the old plants
outlet. The system surely averted a catastro-
phe for the animals as temperatures plunged
to record lows that winter.
Zachry was chosen to deliver engineering,
procurement, and construction for the turnkey
facility, and construction began the following
April (Figure 1). At its peak, more than 650
jobs were created, approximately three-quar-
ters of which were filled by local workers.
Major equipment was in place in February
2012, and testing began in November. Com-
mercial operations began on April 24, 2013.
The project was completed for approximately
$900 million, about $140 million under bud-
get and more than a month ahead of schedule.
Key milestones are shown in Table 1.
Big Payoffs
FPLs drive to modernize its fleet isnt just
for show. Its investments in new combined
cycle gas plants since 2001 have cut its fuel
costs by more than $6 billion through 2012,
and all of those savings have been passed on
to its customers. The shift to natural gas has
also cut its oil use by 98%, to under 1 million
barrels annually.
In addition to significant fuel cost sav-
ings, the upgrades have further improved
FPLs emissions profile, already among
the cleanest in the country. Other environ-
mental enhancements were also worked
into the project. The plants administration
building employs rooftop solar panels and
is LEED certified. And like the old plant, it
will warm the lagoon with its cooling water
effluent, helping maintain the manatees
winter sanctuary.
Its fitting that this historic Cape Canav-
eral site, which emerged to power American
innovation and leadership in the space race
more than half a century ago, will now be
using some of the most advanced genera-
tion technology available, FPL President
Eric Silagy said. This plant uses 33% less
fuel to generate electricity, which will help
us keep our typical residential customer
bills the lowest in Florida and significantly
lower than the national average. Its an im-
portant achievement for our company and
our state.
The new plant is expected to deliver $15
million in tax revenue for local governments
and school districts. As part of a rate agree-
ment approved by the PSC in 2012, the aver-
age net increase for FPLs customers to pay
for the plant will be about 16 cents a month,
as the cost of construction was largely offset
by significant fuel savings.
We are excited to be a part of such a sig-
nificant programespecially with one of our
longest standing customers, Zachry Execu-
tive Vice President Keith Manning said. Our
current project success with FPL has given
us a great understanding of the quality and
detail that they expect and we look forward
to a strong, continued partnership with FPL
and the communities they serve.
Though the plant is now up and run-
ning, FPL is not slowing down. A sister
facility, which Zachry is also building, is
currently going up in Riviera Beach and is
slated for operation late next year. In July,
FPL demolished another old plant north
of Miami, Port Everglades, to make way
for another new combined cycle facility
planned to begin construction in 2014 and
operations in 2016.
FPL also hasnt given up on getting a new
gas pipeline built into Florida. On July 26,
it announced a two-phase project that will
bring gas from Alabama to a new hub in Or-
lando starting in 2016. The 465-mile Sabal
Trail project will be able to move more than 1
Bcf/d of natural gas to customers in Georgia
and Florida. The Central Florida Hub proj-
ect will connect to another new pipeline that
will supply up to 400 Mcf/d to FPLs Martin
hybrid combined cycleconcentrating solar
plant near Indiantown (another 2011 POWER
Top Plant).
The two projects should ease congestion
on gas imports into Florida. With only two
interstate pipelines supplying its gas, the
stateand FPLare at risk of serious prob-
lems should flow on one of them be inter-
rupted. Thats a risk FPL wants to avoid with
so much of its fleet dependent on gas.
Certainly, the manatees would agree.
Thomas W. Overton, JD is POWERs gas
technology editor. Follow Tom on Twitter
@thomas_overton.
1. Big Iron. One the new plants steam turbines is shown here ready for installation. Cour-
tesy: FPL
Key milestones Date
Application to Florida Public Ser-
vice Commission
April 2008
PSC approval September 2008
County approval October 2008
Final order received October 2009
Demolition of old plant August 2010
Groundbreaking April 2011
First turbine start November 2012
Commercial operation April 2013
Table 1. Project timeline. Source:
FPL
|
September 2013 40
TOP PLANTS
O
nce flush with cheap electricity, the
Republic of South Africa has recently
been beset by power shortages and re-
liability challenges as a result of decades of
underinvestment in its electrical infrastruc-
ture. Though the country is well-supplied
by African standards, demand is still rising
faster than Eskom, the state-owned company
in charge of generation and transmission,
can meet it. Reserve margins are usually in
single-digit range and often drop into nega-
tive values.
The country has long been heavily depen-
dent on its abundant coal reserves, which
currently provide about 75% of its electric-
ity. That means South Africa is also a ma-
jor emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) and
pollutants. A government initiative begun in
2010 is making a strong push to shift toward
cleaner generation resources.
Because of the unreliability of the na-
tional grid, many major consumers gen-
erate their own electricity or at least have
backup capacity in case the grid goes down.
Sasol, one of the countrys largest industrial
companies, specializing in chemical manu-
facturing and alternative fuels, has oper-
ated a coal-fired power plant in the city of
Sasolburg since the 1950s. The plantand
the town itselfwas built to support Sasols
coal-to-liquids facility.
A need to upgrade the project to sup-
port future growth, plus a corporate drive
to reduce Sasols substantial GHG emis-
sions and increase its energy efficiency, led
to a decision in 2010 to replace the coal-
fired plant with one fired by natural gas.
Though natural gas is relatively expen-
sive in South Africa, the greatly reduced
emissions and higher efficiency offset the
higher fuel costs. A subsidiary, Sasol New
Energy (SNE), was formed to oversee this
and similar projects.
In planning the new plant, SNE had to
take into account several challenges of the
location. The site is located at moderately
high altitude (1,700 meters) in a dry climate
with large seasonal temperature swings. This
meant SNE needed a highly flexible genera-
tion resource capable of operating across a
wide range of ambient conditions. The un-
reliability of the grid also dictated the need
for rapid, efficient load-following capability
and 100% availability. Between the altitude
and the reliability requirements, gas turbines
proved not to be the most suitable option.
Only a multi-unit gas engine plant met all of
SNEs needs.
Modular, Standardized, and Flexible
SNE approached Finnish company Wrtsil
to build the plant because of its long track
record with gas engine power plants in de-
veloping regions, including Africa. Wrtsil
has successfully delivered more than 450
power plants across the continent and can
support those facilities though its extensive
service network.
Wrtsil proposed a plant using 18 of its
workhorse 10-MW, 20-cylinder 34SG en-
gines, which are in service around the world
in similar roles. Worldwide, the 34SG has a
total installed capacity of 5.35 GW, making
it a proven, time-tested solution. The 34SG
is able to operate at rated power despite the
Sasol Gas Engine Power Plant,
Sasolburg, South Africa
Courtesy: Wrtsil
Owner/operator: Sasol New Energy
High altitude, an unreliable national grid, and the need to dramatically cut carbon
emissions meant a demanding set of requirements for South African chemicals manufac-
turer Sasol when it came to choosing a power-generating technology for its alternative
fuels facility. Finnish supplier Wrtsil met the challenge with a new 175-MW gas engine
plant delivered in just 18 months.
By Thomas Overton
TOP PLANTS
|
September 2013 42
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altitude, and its closed-loop cooling system
means water requirements are minimal. In-
dividual engines can be brought online or
shut down as needed, meaning the plant can
operate at peak efficiency across its entire
output range.
What Sasol wanted would be the largest
gas engine plant ever built in Africa and
the first in South Africa, but the modular
nature of a project built around the 34SG
meant scaling up the output would still de-
liver a highly standardized product. The
plant was ordered as a turnkey project,
with Wrtsil performing all engineering,
procurement, and construction, as well as
supplying all electrical and mechanical
equipment.
The project schedule was one of SNEs
primary concerns. A fast, on-time delivery
was important to support the overall project
because of the local electricity situation. A
firm, fast schedule was possible because of
the standardized nature of the power plant,
which allowed for the use of standard com-
ponents and modules that were purchased
from suppliers having preexisting agree-
ments with Wrtsil.
The contract was signed in July 2011,
and Wrtsil broke ground in September.
The first engine start was a little more
than a year later in November 2012, and
the 175-MW plant entered commercial op-
eration at the end of December, nine days
ahead of schedule. The facility was offi-
cially inaugurated in a ceremony on July
10. Construction and commissioning lasted
15 months with a total of 1.4 million man-
hours worked. Key project milestones are
given in Table 1.
Safety First
Sasol is well known throughout South
Africa for its high health, safety, and en-
vironmental standards, and meeting those
standards was a key requirement. Wrtsil
employed a dedicated safety and environ-
mental manager at an early stage of the
project to incorporate requirements set
by Sasol and South African regulations
into its project manual. Wrtsil and its
subcontractors were fully committed to
on-site safety, and extensive instruction
and training were conducted to ensure an
injury-free workplace.
Communication and interaction with the
local community was key to ensure that all
stakeholders would benefit from the project.
This required a good understanding of the lo-
cal labor laws and regulations.
Wrtsil employed as much manpower
from the Sasolburg area during the proj-
ect as possible. Total manpower peaked at
750, 70% of whom were local employees.
Because labor unrest is unfortunately fairly
common in South Africa, Wrtsil em-
ployed an industrial relations officer, who
conducted weekly meetings with contrac-
tors and labor unions, and reported to Sasol
and the South African Department of La-
bour. This commitment resulted in a good
relationship with the unions and a strike-
free project.
Meeting the Needs
The plant building is divided into three sec-
tions, with each set of six engines having its
own exhaust stack (Figure 1). Currently, only
about half the output is used by Sasols oper-
ations, with the rest being sold to the national
grid. Though designed for simple-cycle op-
eration, provisions were made for adding a
heat recovery system and steam cycle at a
later date. Space has also been reserved for
adding additional gensets should the need
arise (Figure 2).
The new plant is operated and maintained
by Wrtsil under a three-year agreement.
That agreement includes the training of local
employees of SNE.
This plant is a significant milestone for
Sasol, as we begin to ease our load on the
national grid and contribute to our own en-
ergy efficiency targets, said Sasol Senior
Group Executive Lean Strauss. We are
proud of this new facility, which demon-
strates how we can add versatility to natu-
ral gas.
This inauguration marks a significant
step forward for power generation based on
gas fuel, Tony van Velzen, Wrtsils Afri-
can regional director said. Never before has
a power plant of this size running exclusively
on gas engines been installed on the African
continent, and we see this as an important
achievement on the road to cleaner and more
efficient electricity production. We are proud
to have worked closely with Sasol to develop
this highly efficient and environmentally sus-
tainable facility.
Thomas W. Overton, JD is POWERs gas
technology editor. Follow Tom on Twitter
@thomas_overton.
1. Ready to roll. The plant is arranged into three banks of six engines, all of which can
operate independently of each other, as needed. Courtesy: Wrtsil
Milestone Date
Groundbreaking Sept. 2011
Foundation poured Oct. 2011
Gensets delivered AprilJuly 2012
Plant building completed June 2012
First engine start Nov. 2, 2012
First sync to grid Nov. 15, 2012
Performance tests Dec. 10, 2012
Project complete and handover Dec. 14, 2012
Table 1. Project timeline. Source:
SNE
2. Flex-time. The modular nature of the
plant means enhanced flexibility and efficien-
cy. Courtesy: Wartsilla
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September 2013 44
TOP PLANTS
A
laskas vast land mass broken up
by mountainous regions and glacier
fields does not allow for a tightly
woven system of power transmission and dis-
tribution often taken for granted in the Lower
48. Many utilities in the Last Frontier often
serve regions or communities without inter-
connection with other utilities that can pro-
vide backup power during outages that can
quickly become life-threatening. The same
can be said for the states natural gas pipeline
network.
Chugach Electric Association Inc.
(Chugach) is the largest cooperative utility
in Alaska. Based in Anchorage, the util-
ity provides wholesale and retail power
to customers in southcentral Alaska, from
the Kenai Peninsula to the south and as far
north as Fairbanks. Anchorage Municipal
Power & Light (MP&L) provides service
to commercial and industrial customers in
downtown Anchorage and to the north to-
ward the Matanuska Valley. Platforms and
drill sites located in and around the Cook
Inlet produce the natural gas used to fuel
their power plants.
Wheres the Gas?
Natural gas is the primary fuel for electricity
production in southcentral Alaska. The most
pressing concern for utilities in the region is
an assured supply of natural gas, particularly
during the cold and dark winter nights. Well
depletion in the Cook Inlet and the limited
interest of large gas companies to invest in
new wells only increases the risk of dwin-
dling supplies in the future. Also, upstream
outages have caused disruption of natural gas
deliveries in the past. The only options avail-
able to these geographically isolated utilities
were to store natural gas to mitigate the effect
of an upstream outage or peak usage, build
a new pipeline to supply current and antici-
pated needs, import gas, and/or use the gas
available today more efficiently. Chugach
and ML&P have completed the two tasks that
are under their control.
A consortium of energy companies, in-
cluding Chugach and ML&P, added gas stor-
age to their system by repurposing a depleted
natural gas reservoir on the Kenai Peninsula
in April 2012. The Cook Inlet Natural Gas
Storage Alaska (CINGSA) provided gas dur-
ing several cold days last December when
local demand exceeded what the gas wells
could provide.
Constructing a new gas pipeline from the
North Slope to Anchorage has been the sub-
ject of contentious debate in the state since
the 1970s, when the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
System was constructed. Alaska has enor-
mous volumes of natural gas in the frozen
North Slope, but its very expensive to get the
gas to market. Legislators in May 2013 ap-
proved funding for the development of two
pipeline options to bring North Slope gas to
southcentral Alaska by 2020.
The third option is to use the available
gas more efficiently. In response to the gas
crunch, Chugach began planning for a new,
high-efficiency combined cycle plant in
2004, now known as the Southcentral Power
Project (SPP). The best location for the new
plant was determined to be on Chugach prop-
erty adjacent to the Ted Stevens Anchorage
International Airport.
Focus on Efficiency
Chugach (70%, and managing participant)
Courtesy: SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
Southcentral Power Project,
Anchorage, Alaska
Owners: Chugach Electric Association Inc. and Anchorage Municipal Light & Power
Operator: Chugach Electric Association Inc.
The Southcentral Power Project is Alaskas third-largest power plant and its most
fuel-efficient. By employing a high-efficiency, one-button-start combined cycle de-
sign, the plant owners wisely use the regions limited supply of natural gas while
also reducing fuel cost and air emissions.
By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
TOP PLANTS
September 2013
|
and ML&P (30%) formed a participants
agreement in 2008 to jointly own SPP with
a budget of $369 million. The new 183-MW
plant (200 MW with duct firing) was sized to
replace baseload generation provided by the
1970s vintage Beluga combined cycle Units
6, 7, and 8 (218 MW total). The increased ef-
ficiency of SPP reduces the amount of natural
gas consumed by 25%, which translates into
roughly a $2 million-per-month reduction in
the cost of fuel.
Once the participants approved the proj-
ect, Chugach retained the San Francisco
office of Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) as the
owners engineer. PB assisted Chugach in
preparing the turnkey contractor bid docu-
ments and purchased equipment specifica-
tions. After competitive bids were evaluated,
an engineering-procurement-construction
(EPC) contract was signed by SNC-Lavalin
on June 20, 2010, with a June 30, 2013, proj-
ect completion date.
The official groundbreaking was held in
March 2011, although grading and other site
preparation work was completed in late 2010
to prepare for the 2011 construction season.
Construction was mobilized concurrently
with groundbreaking the following spring,
with priority given to placing the power block
and the enclosed building around it so con-
struction could continue indoors during the
winter months. Substantial completion of the
project was reached on Jan. 19, 2013, and the
plant was placed into commercial service on
Feb. 1, 2013, five months early and $2 mil-
lion under budget.
One means used by Chugach to accelerate
the schedule was to direct purchase the three
General Electric (GE) LM6000PF combus-
tion turbines (CTs), the three once-through
steam generators (OTSG) manufactured by
IST, and a 57-MW steam turbine from Mit-
subishi Power Systems Americas in advance
of the EPC contract. By doing so, Chugach
assumed the performance risk for the 3 x 1
combined cycle project (balanced with the
commensurate cost savings), but cost and
completion risk remained with SNC-Lavalin.
Provisions for a fourth CT, such as electri-
cal and piping tie-in points, were included as
part of the original design.
The aeroderivative LM6000PF, nominally
rated at 48 MW, was selected for its high ef-
ficiency, operational flexibility, and ability
to rapidly respond to grid frequency distur-
bances. The CT is able to reach full generat-
ing capacity in 10 minutes with guaranteed
15 ppm NO
x
and 25 ppm CO emissions from
its dry low-emissions combustion system de-
sign. The CT also has a Power Boost capabil-
ity that allows operation of each CT up to 2
MW over its full power rating in the event
of a grid disturbance (Figure 1). The steam
turbine rating was selected to handle the
steam flow produced by a future fourth CT
without duct firing the OTSGs. In the mean-
time, duct firing two of the three OTSGs will
produce maximum steam turbine output for
peak load purposes. The official plant rating
is 182.5 MW with a heat rate of 6,382 Btu/
kWh (LHV) at an average annual ambient
temperature of 36F.
The plants operational flexibility was
considerably improved by using ISTs once-
through steam generator technology. The
boilers are constructed of stainless steel and
Inconel tubes that can be operated dry at
100% CT load, should the need arise, and
restarted with hot tubes. This design also
eliminates the expense, space, and efficien-
cy losses of a bypass damper and stack. In
addition, the condensers are sized to accept
100% steam dump should the steam turbine
trip. This capability allows the steam turbine
to be immediately restarted and restored to
full load without disrupting operation of the
steam plant or the CTs.
Also included within each OTSG were se-
lective catalytic reduction (using 29% aque-
ous ammonia) and CO catalysts to further
reduce emissions. Today, the plant operates
with 11 ppm NO
x
from the CT and 4.5 ppm
from the boiler stack.
An air-cooled condenser was supplied by
GEA Rainey, along with an air-cooled heat
exchanger from GEA Rainey that provides
cooling via an intermediate closed-loop gly-
col/water system. Proper water treatment for
the OTSGs is essential. A two-stage reverse
osmosis system eliminated the need for on-
site resin regeneration and bulk chemical
storage. Two crushed resin polishers, each
sized for 100% of flow, continuously protect
Inconel tubes in the OTSGs by minimizing
potential contamination.
Cool Operator
Plant supervisory controls were provided
by Emerson Process Managements Ova-
tion distributed control system. The entire
plant is interfaced to the Chugach Dispatch
Center through SCADA with full automatic
generation control capability. The plant has
very high levels of automation and operates
24/7 with only two operators per shift and a
small maintenance staff. A single pushbutton
initiates OTSG startup and brings them to full
load, at which time operators bring the steam
turbine online. A black-start standby genera-
tor enables the plant to independently restart
in the event of a systemwide outage.
The harsh Alaskan winter conditions that
can last over six months a year necessitated
special measures in both plant design and
construction. For example, all building main-
tenance access points include roll-up doors,
and large trucks can reach all the CTs via a
drive-through passage. Also, each end of the
CT power train can be accessed through roll-
up doors, and each OTSG can be accessed
through removable building panels located at
each end for repairs or catalyst changes.
By building a plant with a very high de-
gree of operating flexibility and the most
efficient power plant in Alaska, and by tak-
ing significant steps to solve the regions gas
supply problems, Chugach and MP&L have
made Southcentral Power Project a POWER
Top Plant.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWERs con-
sulting editor.
1. Low-emissions turbine. The dry low-emissions system used on the LM6000PF
combustion turbine that carefully stages combustion within the turbines annular combustor
is visible with its many pipes and valves. The result is guaranteed NO
x
emissions of 15 ppm.
Courtesy: SNC Lavalin
|
September 2013 46
CYBERSECURITY
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100 70 30 100 10 25 50 75 90 100 10060 100 70 30 10060 407040 70 30 100 40 40 100 40100 40 70 40 70 40 40 3 40 7040 704040 10060
3% ISO 12647-7 Digital Control Strip 2009
Quantum Cryptography Promises
Un-Hackable Industrial
Communications
What if you could send a control message between two points on the electric-
ity gridsay between a control room operator and a turbine or between
a system operator and a generating plantand know that theres no way
that message can be intercepted, altered, or spoofed to effect malicious
ends? That possibility may be only a couple of years away.
By Gail Reitenbach, PhD
C
ybersecurity awareness and best prac-
tices are increasingly central to the
power generation, transmission, and
distribution industry. Industrial cybersecurity
concerns, recently heightened by awareness
of how destructive the Stuxnet virus was to
industrial control systems, have left plant
owners and operators, regulators, and politi-
cians scrambling to cobble together effective
protective devices, systems, and practices.
But no rules, regulations, or standards can
guarantee protection if someone out there has
the technology and knowhow to hack your
system. Thats why a quantum cryptography
(QC) project at Los Alamos National Labora-
tory (LANL) is so intriguing.
The LANL teams approach offers what
may be as close to a silver bullet as youre
likely to see in the near future. Headed by
co-principal investigators Richard J. Hughes
and Jane E. Nordholt, the QC team has de-
veloped a system they call network-centric
quantum communications (NQC) because
it uses quantum cryptography for key man-
agement using optical networksspecif-
ically, fiber-optic cable. The team already
has demonstrated secure control data for
electric grids using quantum cryptography.
(For a quick refresher on quantum physics,
see the sidebar.)
The late-2012 demonstration was con-
ducted using the electric grid test bed at
the Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for
the Power Grid project at the University
of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, part of the
Department of Energys Cyber Security for
Energy Delivery Systems program in the
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability (see the Want More Technical
Specs? sidebar). That real-world testing
showed, according to a LANL press release,
that quantum cryptography provides the
1. Future-proof trusted communication. This diagram shows the Los Alamos Na-
tional Laboratory quantum cryptography teams networkcentric quantum communications ar-
chitecture. Source: LANL
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13_PWR_090113_SR_Cyber_QKarD_p46-51.indd 47 8/14/13 5:20:19 PM
|
September 2013 48
CYBERSECURITY
Utilities IPPs Industry Universities
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Simple & Combined Cycle Fluidized
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Detailed Design
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necessary strong security assurances with
latencies (typically 250 microseconds, in-
cluding 120 microseconds to traverse the
25 kilometers of optical fiber connecting
the two nodes) that are at least two orders
of magnitude smaller than requirements.
Further, the teams quantum-secured com-
munications system demonstrated that this
capability could be deployed with only a
single optical fiber to carry the quantum,
single-photon communications signals;
data packets; and commands.
The demonstration also showed that the
system can be deployed with existing hard-
ware, software, and communication pro-
tocols. Hughes says it also is scalable to
multiple monitors and several control cen-
ters, which would be necessary for anything
resembling end-to-end security.
A Quantum Leap over Current
Systems
In a scientific paper published this spring, the
researchers/inventors say that conventional
cryptography cannot meet current networking
security needs, often because of constrained
computational resources or the difficulty of
providing suitable key management.
Trusted quantum key distribution (QKD)
networks based on a mesh of point-to-point
links lack scalability, require dedicated op-
tical fiber, are expensive and not amenable
to mass production, only provide one of the
cryptographic functions (key distribution)
needed for secure communications, and so
have elicited limited practical interest, the
paper explains.
To be truly functional and practical in the
electricity infrastructure, a networked, multi-
node system would be necessary. The LANL
QC researchers have developed such a sys-
tem and have experimentally demonstrated
that NQC can solve new network security
challenges in the critical infrastructure con-
trol sector, in particular.
As the teams paper explains, in net-
work-centric quantum communications,
quantum communications between each
of N client nodes and a central server node
at the physical layer support a quantum
key management (QKM) layer, which in
turn enables secure communications func-
tions (confidentiality, authentication, and
nonrepudiation) at the application layer
between ~N2 client pairs (Figure 1). The
NQC hub-and-spoke topology is widely
encountered in optical fiber networks and
permits a hierarchical trust architecture
that allows the server (the hub) to act as
the trusted authority (TA, Trent) in cryp-
tographic protocols for quantum authenti-
cated key establishment. (This avoids the
poor scaling of previous approaches that
require a pre-existing trust relationship
between every pair of nodes.) By making
Trent a single multiplexed QC receiver, and
the client nodes (Alice, Bob, Charlie, and
others) QC transmitters, NQC amortizes
the cost and complexity of one of the most
demanding QC componentsthe single-
photon detectorsacross multiple network
nodes. In this way the NQC architecture is
scalable in terms of both quantum-physical
resources and trust.
In simplified terms, quantum cryptogra-
phy harnesses the power of photons to send
a message that can only be unlocked by
a trusted recipient with the approved key.
Any attempt to intercept or alter the data
communication is immediately evident.
As a LANL press release explains, Single
photons are used to produce secure random
numbers between users, and these random
numbers are then used to authenticate and
encrypt the grid control data and commands.
Because the random numbers are produced
securely, they act as cryptographic key ma-
terial for data authentication and encryption
algorithms.
The QC system can work wherever you
can get a photon from point A to point B
without having to detect it and then repro-
duce it (forbidden by the quantum mechan-
ics), Nordholt told POWER. So we can do
fiber or free-space (line-of-sight). We are the
inventors of the methodologies that made
free-space QC practical, as well as many of
the techniques that made fiber QC possible.
Central to the system are integrated photo-
nics quantum communications components,
the QC transmitters, dubbed QKarDs (Figure
2). The first-generation, modularly integrated
QKarD is a fiber-coupled device that is about
the size of a USB removable drive, but the
team says the next-generation component
will be an order of magnitude smaller in each
linear dimension and can be miniaturized
and fabricated using existing manufacturing
processes at scale. Even so, todays QKarD
is five orders of magnitude smaller than any
competing QC device.
Nordholt says the system is field-ready
today: We believe it is deployable with the
current ~80-kilometer distance limitations.
Quantum Physics: Not Your Mechanical Engineering Physics
Even if you studied physics in college or high school, you may
not have spent much time learning about quantum physics. If you
did, you may have found the experience disorienting, because the
quantum universe plays by a different set of rules than the physical
world all of usincluding mechanical and electrical engineers
take for granted.
For a brief summary of just how mind-blowingly different quan-
tum physics is, heres how an Oracle library entry explains the
field:
Quantum physics is a branch of science that deals with dis-
crete, indivisible units of energy called quanta as described
by the Quantum Theory. There are five main ideas represented
in Quantum Theory:
Energy is not continuous, but comes in small but dis- 1.
crete units.
The elementary particles behave both like particles 2. and
like waves.
The movement of these particles is inherently random. 3.
It is 4. physically impossible to know both the position and
the momentum of a particle at the same time. The more
precisely one is known, the less precise the measurement
of the other is.
The atomic world is 5. nothing like the world we live in.
While at a glance this may seem like just another strange
theory, it contains many clues as to the fundamental nature
of the universe and is more important [than] even relativity
in the grand scheme of things (if any one thing at that level
could be said to be more important [than] anything else).
Furthermore, it describes the nature of the universe as be-
ing much different [than] the world we see. As Niels Bohr
said, Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not
understood it.
Fascinated? Read the rest of the entry at http://library
.thinkquest.org/3487/qp.html.
Need an easy way to obtain more
information to make an informed decision?
Customized newsletters are now available giving
you everything you need to make the right decision.
Look for DecisionBriefs on www.powermag.com
For information, contact Matt Grant at mattg@powermag.com
Product details. sPecs. tutorials.
DB DecisionBriefs |
IntroduCInG
|
September 2013 50
CYBERSECURITY
Some investment in improved engineering/
packaging would make it cheaper and more
deployable, but I think we have shown the
basic necessities. The system could be used
both on systems inside the fence (which,
as she points out, for cybersecurity purposes
is no longer a meaningful distinction) and on
the larger grid, from distributed control to
SCADA systems.
When smart grid opponents object to grid
modernization projects, one of their concerns
is grid control security. Communications be-
tween smart grid devices using QC would
ensure that only the intended signals are sent
and received.
System Limitations
Remember that silver bullet metaphor I used
at the top of the story? It was not intended
to imply that the QKD system is 100%
foolproof. It makes cryptographers crazy,
Nordholt mentioned, to say a system is un-
breakable because you cant prove ityou
can only try everything you can think of to
break it. It is true that we have proofs that
QKD is absolutely secure (unbreakable), but
that means that the implementation must be
perfect. Since nothing is perfect (for example,
poor random numbers would compromise
the security of any QKD or conventional
cryptographic systemfortunately, we have
developed a very high-speed, high-quality
quantum random number generator as well),
cryptographers go nuts at this word. Also, we
overlay the quantum part with classical tech-
niques that we believe are extremely strong,
but not perfect.
Another caveat is that a silver bullet only
works if its loaded, and quantum cryptog-
raphy only works when its deployed. That
deployment will necessarily take time, and
QC networks will likely be rolled out first to
high-value systems.
Existing infrastructure capabilities may
also limit QC use. Though some utilities have
installed fiber-optic cable in their distribution
systems, and some plant control systems use
fiber, its still far from universally deployed.
Unless theres fiber or line-of-sight between
QC users and a trusted authority, the system
cannot be deployed.
Even the most secure communications
systems require a certain level of reliable
human behavior. As Nordholt noted, We
cant really help you if you are determined
to send your bank account info to that Ni-
gerian prince who emailed you, but we have
new techniques that could ultimately be used
to provide strong digital signatures so things
like the certificate theft that made Stuxnet
possible could be stopped.
Commercialization Plans
LANLs technology transfer office is seek-
ing to commercialize the technology and
has fielded dozens of inquiries from in-
terested companies that see its potential.
Applications to financial, defense, and
infrastructure systems are obvious, and a
modified QKarD would be perfect for a
space experiment, Nordholt says. Though
details havent been worked out, licenses
would likely be exclusive just to domains
of useone company might get an exclu-
sive license for use on the grid while anoth-
er gets a license for laser communication.
The team has foreign patent rights as well,
so the system could also be licensed to for-
eign companies.
As for the U.S. electricity sector, Nordholt
projects that we might see the first deploy-
ments, as a retrofit in existing high-value
control systems, within perhaps two years.
When asked what the QC system would
cost per plant, per substation, or per another
grid node, she said that, with todays technol-
ogy, the cost would be in the range of $5,000
to $10,000 and would depend on how many
were deployed on a system and how large the
market. For the next generation of devices,
the team hopes to bring that cost down con-
siderably.
The LANL QC team already has won sev-
eral prizes, including the R&D 100 award for
inventing Free-Space Quantum Cryptography
(quantum cryptography used through the air
or to space), the European Unions Descartes
prize for research for their QC work, and sev-
eral previous distance records for both free-
space and fiber-optic quantum cryptography.
Though awards are nice, the team recog-
nizes that to have a long-lasting impact, their
technology needs to reach a market; hence,
Nordholt explains, Lately, we have been
concentrating on making things cheaper and
more practical.
Gail Reitenbach, PhD is POWERs
editor. A version of this article appeared
online June 17 at powermag.com.
2. The key to unbreachable data communication. The current QKarD transmit-
ter is five orders of magnitude smaller than any competing quantum cryptography device, but
LANL researchers say it is possible to make it much smaller. Source: LANL
Want More Technical
Specs?
For more details about the quantum
cryptography sources mentioned in this
article, consult these resources:
Quantum cybersecurity teams sci-
entific paper: http://arxiv.org/
abs/1305.0305
Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure
for the Power Grid (a multi-institu-
tion Department of Energy (DOE)
funded group): http://tcipg.org
DOEs Cybersecurity for Energy De-
livery Systems program: http://
ener gy. gov/oe/t ec hnol ogy-
development/energy-delivery-
systems-cybersecurity
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|
September 2013 52
CYBERSECURITY
What You Need to Know
(and Dont) About the AURORA
Vulnerability
When most people think of the AURORA cybersecurity threat today, they re-
call an image of an out-of-control generator during a 2007 demonstration
test. But the threat didnt end in 2007. Despite the widespread impact of
any AURORA attack and the relatively low cost of mitigating against such
attacks, virtually no utilities have taken action to protect the grid and its
users from potentially devastating consequences.
By Michael Swearingen, Tri-County Electric Cooperative; Steven Brunasso, Electric Utility, Joe Weiss, Applied Control
Solutions; and Dennis Huber, Booz Allen Hamilton
P
erhaps because the public has been more
obsessed in recent years by cybersecu-
rity breaches involving everything from
social media accounts to classified military
secrets, the amount of attention given to the
ongoing threat posed by the AURORA vulner-
ability has been out of proportion to the ex-
tent and severity of the threat. The AURORA
vulnerability affects much more than rotating
equipment inside power plants. It affects near-
ly every electricity system worldwide and po-
tentially any rotating equipmentwhether it
generates power or is essential to an industrial
or commercial facility.
If the threat is so widespread, why isnt
industry more concerned and active in seek-
ing solutions? There are a number of possible
reasons, from innocent lack of awareness to
fear of greater regulation to a desire to avoid
unnerving large customers (who may decide
theyre better off developing a self-generation
plan, thus resulting in a lost customer).
New Systems Require New
Security
Reliable operation of the electric grid has
always been a primary goal of utilities and
other power generators as well as system op-
erators at all levels. To accomplish this goal,
utilities monitor system conditions, test sys-
tem equipment, and conduct system mainte-
nance. Ensuring the reliability and physical
security of generation facilities, transmission
interchanges, substations, office buildings,
and control centers is standard practice for
most utilities.
These operation and security practices
have worked well in the past; however, with
the advent of new communication technolo-
gies, a new paradigm in security practices
has emerged. This new paradigm is known as
cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity encompasses the securing
of digital systems, communication systems,
and control systems from intentional and
unintentional cyber intrusion and physical
compromise. The potential for cybersecurity
intrusion on a system grid is proportional to
the amount of electronic communications to
and from control systems that operate on a
utilitys networks.
Sometimes the argument is made that iso-
lation of a utilitys network from any external
communication makes it secure. However, it
is very difficult to air gap a systemkeep
it electronically isolatedand even an air
gap does not make a system completely se-
cure from physical access and compromise.
There are many avenues for a cybersecu-
rity intrusion, and one is the vulnerability
known as AURORA.
What Is AURORA?
An AURORA attack results when a circuit
breaker or breakers are opened and closed,
resulting in an out-of-phase condition that
can damage alternating current (AC) equip-
ment connected to the grid. A demonstra-
tion of this for the Department of Homeland
Security, conducted at the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL) in 2007, was broadcast
by CNN. The results of this specific test
demonstrated that the threat associated with
rapidly disconnecting and reconnecting a
generator to the grid, but out of phasevia
physical or cyber intrusion of control sys-
tems conducted maliciously or unintention-
allycould have serious effects on system
operation. Connecting AC equipment out-
of-phase is a known vulnerability, but doing
it maliciously was brought to light by the
test conducted by INL.
There has been confusion about what ac-
tually occurred during the AURORA test at
INL. That test was planned by relay experts
to reflect real conditions with no equipment
such as synchronous check relays disabled.
Unfortunately, there has been little public
information to document what actually oc-
curred; consequently, misinformation about
the event has resulted.
The real concern is that the existing protec-
tion in all substations worldwide excludes the
rapid response needed to mitigate an AURORA-
type event.
This means there is a gap in grid protection
that can only be mitigated by a hardware fix.
Cybersecurity and AURORA
Conditions
Control systems are designed for reliability,
safety, and functionality. Many of these sys-
The real concern is that the existing
protection in all substations worldwide
excludes the rapid response needed to
mitigate an AURORA-type event.
September 2013
|
CYBERSECURITY
tems were originally designed before com-
munication networking was commonplace.
Consequently, cybersecurity was of little con-
cern. In the case of electro-mechanical relays
that still operate on some utilities systems,
the only potential for system compromise re-
sults from physical access to the relay. Many
design features of digital control systems
enable these systems to be more operator-
friendly and functional. Digital communi-
cation networking has become an important
cost-saving tool, with many features that al-
low it to be used for remote monitoring and
control of critical systems. Consequently,
there is an opportunity where industrial con-
trol systems that use digital communications
networks can be exploited, turning these fea-
tures into vulnerabilities.
The presence of control systems within a
system grid is vast and provides substantial
productivity improvements. However, it also
introduces a significant amount of exposure
concerning cyber intrusion and physical secu-
rity. Communication protocols used by con-
trol systems and SCADA systems vary based
on the design practices of utilities. The most
common protocols are DNP, Modbus, IEC
60870-5-103, IEC 61850, Telnet, QUIC4/
QUIN, and Cooper 2179. Compromising any
of these protocols would allow the malicious
party to control these systems outside utility
operations.
It is understood that compromising the
protocol is not the only step in gaining con-
trol of a utilitys SCADA or control systems
because of the passwords associated with
each piece of equipment. However, compro-
mise of a communication protocol allows ac-
cess to devices and the ability to compromise
their associated passwords.
Such potential cyber intrusion may not call
to mind an AURORA condition, but the cy-
ber intrusion or physical compromise of con-
trol systems allows for the virtual control of
the physical opening or closing of associated
protective devices that could contribute to an
AURORA condition. Many circuits of utili-
ties carry varying load profiles, from resistive
to inductive loads. These circuits may include
rotating equipment. This load profile allows
for an AURORA condition to take place, in-
dicating that AURORA is not as unique or
isolated an incident as might be suggested in
previous discussions or research.
One AURORA Attack Can Affect
Multiple Facilities
An electricity system comprises generation
resources, transmission facilities, distribu-
tion facilities, and participation within an
energy marketplace. In order for market-
place transactions to take place, a reliable
and secure grid is required for the transfer
of energy. If a utilitys power grid becomes
compromised by a cybersecurity threat, then
the reliability of operation of that grid is in
question and the interconnection of resourc-
es and execution of market transactions be-
comes compromised.
This effect on generation resources, trans-
mission facilities, and the energy market-
place goes beyond a utilitys system grid to
having an effect on other systems through in-
terconnections such as flow gates and source/
sinks that make up market agreements and
transactions. Consequently, the cybersecurity
measures one utility takes can affect other
utilities through the various interconnections
that exist. If one utility has a less-robust cy-
bersecurity response plan than that of other
interconnected utilities, then the intercon-
nected utilities cybersecurity response plan
effectiveness could be comprised due to a cy-
ber intrusion. Therefore, if a cyber intrusion
of one generator or utilitys control systems
takes place, then a potential AURORA event
could have an effect on other interconnected
facilities.
How the AURORA Vulnerability
Affects End Users
An AURORA event can affect electricity
customers directly and indirectly. The indi-
rect impact is AURORA damaging genera-
tors, which can result in loss of load and a
potential grid collapse. The direct impact of
an AURORA event on end users is seldom
understood.
An AURORA event consists of the out-
of-sync reconnecting of three-phase rotating
equipment. Three-phase equipment includes
not only generators but also synchronous
induction motors. This means that customer
loads in manufacturing facilities, pipelines,
refineries, electrified mass transit, and even
data centers and power plants are directly at
risk from AURORA.
As AURORA can damage or destroy large
equipment, the potential impact on end users
can be extremely large, and the resulting risk
to the utilities that serve these customers can
be significant.
Mitigating AURORA
Mitigation is relatively inexpensive and
straightforward. It entails placing a hardware
device between each substation and its loads.
That device monitors for the rapid out-of-
phase condition associated with an AUORA
event and isolates the substation from its
loads before the torque of the grid can be ap-
plied to the equipment loads.
To date, only two relay protection suppli-
ers provide an AURORA mitigation device:
Cooper Power Systems, which offers the
iGR-933 Rotating Equipment Isolation De-
vice (REID, Figure 1), and Schweitzer En-
gineering Laboratories, which offers its SEL
751A feeder protection relay (Figure 2).
Implementing the AURORA hardware
mitigation devices should not be a major
undertaking. The devices are the same size
and form factor as many other relay devices.
They are relatively inexpensive (less than a
few thousand dollars each) and have wiring
configurations similar to other relays, mini-
mizing installation issues. Typically, there
1. One mitigation device. The iGR-933 rotating equipment isolation device (REID) can
be installed and integrated into existing or newer systems. The device is shown here with a
relay staged for installation on a 50-MW gas turbine generator. The REID provides AURORA
protection as the last line of defense for the generator. Courtesy: Steven Brunasso
|
September 2013 54
CYBERSECURITY
would be one AURORA mitigation device
for each substation relay that is connected to
customer loads. For a small utility with 20
substations, this could be 10 to 80 devices.
For a large utility with 12,000 substations, it
could be 1,000 to 24,000 devices.
Compare the cost of installing these de-
vices with the potential impact and risk to
the utility from an AURORA event. As AU-
RORA can damage or destroy large genera-
tors, motors, or transformers, the cost is both
for the equipment replacement and facility
downtime. Many large industrial facilities
can have downtime costs of more than one
million dollars per day. Equipment replace-
ment times can easily be months. The risk
should be obvious.
Developing an AURORA
Cybersecurity Response Plan
In developing a cybersecurity response plan a
utility can create a cybersecurity framework
that best addresses its system conditions.
When a utility develops its cybersecurity re-
sponse plan it must consider the roles of IT,
operations, and management functions.
In the case of IT, a cybersecurity response
plan should define the responsibilities of IT
and provide IT staff with the flexibility need-
ed to adjust to the unique network conditions
that occur as a result of advancements of
technology relating to the support of grid op-
erations. It is important that the IT role does
not infringe upon the role of operations in
the security of grid operations. Instead, it is
important for the cybersecurity response plan
to create a framework that develops a symbi-
otic relationship between IT and operations
groups.
The role of the operations team in the de-
velopment of a cybersecurity response plan
is the cybersecurity and physical security of
the utilitys control systems and facilities.
The programming of control system devices
and the testing of those devices and commu-
nication between the devices needs to be a
function of operations. The mapping of data
points for SCADA systems and communica-
tion of that data should be the responsibility
of both operations and IT. Operations are
key in identifying AURORA conditions that
exist on the system so those conditions can
be addressed as a part of their cybersecurity
measures.
The role of management in the develop-
ment of a cybersecurity response plan is to
provide guidance in the development of the
plan and emphasize the importance of this
plan to employees. Management has a very
important role in influencing company cul-
ture to ensure security effectiveness and
system reliability. If the culture does not
change, any efforts made in developing and
implementing a cybersecurity response plan
become inconsequential.
NERCs Response to AURORA
On June 21, 2007, the North American Elec-
tric Reliability Corp. (NERC) ES-ISAC is-
sued an initial Advisory Alert to registered
entities, informing those entities of AURO-
RA. The advisory, titled Mitigation Measure
8Implement NERC Critical Infrastructure
Protection (CIP) Standards CIP-002 through
CIP-009, included this statement:
The implementation CIP-002 through
009 is required for electricity sector en-
tities by 2010 (upon FERC approval of
the standards). While the purpose of the
standards is to ensure the reliability of the
grid, the standard allows the owners and
operators latitude in identifying critical
assets and critical cyber assets. This mea-
sure calls for DPCD (Digital Protection
and Control Devices) capable of closing
breakers that can adversely impact criti-
cal electrical rotating equipment to be
identified as Critical Cyber Assets (CCA)
associated with the NERC CIP-002 Stan-
dard. This then requires enhanced cyber
security measures, documentation, and
compliance measures are enacted per
NERC Standards CIP-002 through -009
for these devices.
It can be argued that defining all substa-
tions that implemented AURORA hardware
mitigation to be considered NERC CCAs
could have curtailed the implementation of
these devices.
A second Advisory Alert was issued to
the utility industry on Oct. 13, 2010, with
the intention that it would be used by the in-
dustry to provide information on a utilitys
knowledge of AURORA and the mitigation
plans it may have undertaken since the initial
AURORA alert. Responses to this report are
required every six months in order to provide
information concerning each utilitys ongo-
ing AURORA mitigation efforts.
However, the second advisory states:
This NERC Recommendation is not the
same as a Reliability Standard, and a fail-
ure to implement this Recommendation will
not constitute the sole basis for an enforce-
ment action. However, pursuant to Rule 810
of NERCs Rules of Procedure, you are re-
quired to acknowledge receipt of this Rec-
ommendation and report to NERC on the
status of your activities in relation to this
Recommendation.
Taken together, these NERC alerts advise
utilities to, at their cost, place a significantly
larger number of their power grid assets un-
Customer loads in manufacturing facilities,
pipelines, refineries, electrified mass
transit, and even data centers and power
plants are directly at risk from AURORA.
How to Get More Infor-
mation on AURORA
Because AURORA is still classified by
the Department of Homeland Security as
For Official Use Only (FOUO), little pub-
lic information is available. Moreover,
it is not clear what information can be
trusted as technically correct. NERC has
officially provided the information on
AURORA to the designated contact for
each organization on the North Ameri-
can Electric Reliability Corp.s compli-
ance registry.
2. Another mitigation device. The
SEL 751A feeder protection relay includes AU-
RORA mitigation features and can be used for
industrial and utility feeder protection. Cour-
tesy: Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories
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September 2013 56
CYBERSECURITY
der statutory regulation, review, and audit via
the CIP standards and then tell NERC how
well they are doing at identifying and pro-
tecting those assets. This effort by NERC
has some beneficial effects in providing a
forum for utility communication concerning
AURORA efforts. However, it is still each
utilitys responsibility to develop an effec-
tive cybersecurity plan and robust company
program to guard against cyber intrusion, in-
cluding an AURORA event.
Treating a new cyber threat through stan-
dard alerts and voluntary measures only
brings further scrutiny to a complex and
highly regulated regime of compliance. It has
only served to drive those at risk to a regu-
latory, rather than a physical response. The
self-incriminating feature promoted by the
NERC alerts, and lack of AURORA mitiga-
tion plans, let alone a comprehensive cyber
response effort, has left our critical infra-
structures at risk.
It is important to remember that the prima-
ry motivation of a utility concerning cyber-
security should be a utilitys desire to have a
secure and reliable grid. Though it is impor-
tant that NERC act as a monitoring agency for
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
NERC guidance and requirements should not
be the motivating factor for a utility in devel-
oping a cybersecurity response plan.
As noted, there is no requirement to im-
plement the recommendation for hardware
mitigation. Consequently, the dollar impact
to the utility can be staggering. Additionally,
utility customers appetite for risk to their
facilities needs to be considered. Are they
willing to trust their utility, which has chosen
not to install the mitigation and gamble that
things will be OK or?
Current Industry Response to
AURORA: Mostly Silence
To date, only two utilities are implementing
an AURORA hardware mitigation program.
These programs are designed to demonstrate
to industry that AURORA mitigation will not
negatively impact the reliability of the elec-
tric grid, as has been postulated by one util-
itys study. It is the authors hope that other
utilities will see the wisdom of addressing
this potentially significant vulnerability.
Michael Swearingen is manager,
regulatory policy for Tri-County Electric
Cooperative. Steven Brunasso is technol-
ogy operations manager for a municipal
electric utility. Joe Weiss is managing
partner of Applied Control Solutions.
Dennis Huber is with Booz Allen Hamilton.
Michael and Steven are from the utilities
participating in the AURORA hardware
mitigation studies. Joe and Dennis are
supporting the utility efforts.
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TECHNOLOGY EDITOR
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September 2013 58
NUCLEAR FUEL
SILEX Process Promises Third-
Generation Uranium Enrichment
Technology for U.S.
Last year the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction and op-
erating license to General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC for its
proposed uranium enrichment plant in North Carolina, which will use the Sepa-
ration of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX) process to enrich uranium for
commercial nuclear reactor fuel. Today, the majority of U.S. enriched uranium
is supplied by foreign sources; tomorrow the GLE facility promises to secure
domestic enrichment services for the next generation of reactors.
By James M. Hylko
O
n Sept. 25, 2012, the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) is-
sued a construction and operating
license (COL) to General Electric-Hitachi
Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE) for
its uranium enrichment plant using the
Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation
(SILEX) process. This third-generation pro-
cess uses lasers to separate or enrich UF6
gasthe working medium of the enrichment
processin uranium-235 (U-235). Once the
plant is operational, it will sell enrichment
services to clients (including the U.S. gov-
ernment) to produce low-enriched uranium
fuel for nuclear reactors.
The Need for Enrichment Services
According to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, the demand for enriched ura-
nium in the U.S. is being supplied by three
sources:
Domestic production: 16% of U.S. de-
mand.
The Megatons-to-Megawatts Program:
about 37% of U.S. demand.
Other foreign sources: about 47% of U.S.
demand. Countries that produce and ex-
port enriched uranium to the U.S. include
China, France, Germany, the Netherlands,
and the United Kingdom.
The primary U.S. uranium enrichment fa-
cility is the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
(GDP) in Paducah, Ky., operated by USEC
Inc.s subsidiary, the United States Enrich-
ment Corp. (USEC). The Paducah GDP is
scheduled to be de-leased back to the Depart-
ment of Energy in 2013. This expected closure
will decrease domestic production capability.
USECs former Portsmouth GDP in Piketon,
Ohio, ceased production in May 2001, and parts
of that site are undergoing decommissioning,
while the Oak Ridge site, K-25, ceased operation
in 1987 and is undergoing decommissioning and
demolition. The current 16% domestic produc-
tion is in sharp contrast to the 1970s, when these
plants provided more than 90% of the enriched
uranium for the western worlds nuclear plants.
An August 2012 web posting by URENCO USA
in Eunice, N.M., notes that company has been in
commercial operation since June 2010 and that
Construction of the project will continue until
the plant reaches the planned 5,700 tSW/a [met-
ric tons of separated work per year] capacity.
URENCO USA, the first enrichment facility to
be built in the U.S. in 30 years, uses centrifuge
enrichment technology and has contracts with
around 50 utilities in 17 countries.
The second source, the Megatons-to-
Megawatts program, implements a 1993
government-to-government agreement be-
tween the U.S. and Russia that calls for Russia
to convert 550 U.S. tons of highly enriched
uranium from dismantled nuclear warheads
into low-enriched uranium (LEU). This is
equivalent to about 20,000 nuclear warheads.
USEC purchases the enriched portion of the
downblended material, tests it to verify that
it meets specifications, adjusts the enrichment
level if needed, and then sells it to its electric
utility customers for fuel in commercial nucle-
ar reactors. All program activities in the U.S.
take place at the Paducah GDP.
Despite the scheduled ending of the Mega-
tons-to-Megawatts Program in 2013, USEC Inc.
signed an agreement in March 2011 with Rus-
sian corporation JSC Techsnabexport (TEN-
EX) to import, under a new 10-year agreement,
LEU from Russia at levels initially expected to
reach approximately one-half the level of the
Russian downblended weapons-grade materi-
als in 2015. The agreement includes an option
to increase quantities equivalent to the Mega-
tons-to-Megawatts Program.
The current five-year average U.S. de-
mand for enriched uranium is approximately
14 million separative work units (SWU) per
year, and could reach 15 to 16 million SWU
by 2025, depending on the rate of nuclear
generation growth in the U.S. (Separative
work unit describes the effort needed to sep-
arate uranium-235 and uranium-238 atoms in
natural uranium to create a final product that
is enriched in uranium-235 atoms. It takes
about 100,000 SWU of enriched uranium to
fuel a typical 1,000-MW commercial nuclear
reactor for a year.) The overwhelming per-
centage of domestic enrichment capacity
being provided by foreign sources imposes
obvious reliability risks, and potential detri-
mental impacts to national energy security.
To help fill the anticipated supply defi-
cit, other potential domestic sources have
emerged in recent years. For example, the
NRC issued licenses to USEC Inc.s Ameri-
can Centrifuge Plant (ACP) in Piketon,
Ohio, in 2007 and AREVA Enrichment Ser-
vices LLCs Eagle Rock Enrichment Facil-
ity (EREF) in Bonneville County, Idaho, in
2011. These facilities are based on the gas-
eous centrifuge technology. According to the
NRC, when the ACP was licensed, it was ex-
pected to produce 3.5 million SWU annually,
with peak capacity of 3.8 million SWU. The
EREF is licensed to produce up to 6.6 million
SWU annually.
September 2013
|
NUCLEAR FUEL
Three Generations of Enrichment
Technologies
Of the processes invented for enriching urani-
um, only threegaseous diffusion (first gen-
eration), gas centrifuge (second generation),
and laser excitation (third generation)have
been considered for commercial use. Only
the gaseous diffusion and gas centrifuge
technologies have been deployed for large-
scale industrial applications. In the case of
laser enrichment (which many countries have
attempted), Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Sep-
aration (AVLIS) and Molecular Laser Iso-
tope Separation (MLIS) processes (discussed
below) have been the most notable, though
both have been superseded by SILEX. Two
other methods, Aerodynamic Isotope Separa-
tion and Chemical and Ion Exchange Enrich-
ment, were never developed on an industrial
scale due to a variety of factors such as cost
and excessive power requirements.
In the early 1970s, significant work began
on the development of laser isotope separa-
tion technologies for uranium enrichment.
Funding of about $2 billion would be invest-
ed to develop the technology at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory and to suc-
cessfully demonstrate it with an integrated,
full-scale pilot plant. The AVLIS process
derived from that work (Figure 1) is based
on the circumstance that different isotopes of
the same element, though chemically iden-
tical, have different electronic energies and
absorb different colors of laser light.
The isotopes of most elements can be sep-
arated by a laser-based process, if they can be
efficiently vaporized into individual atoms or
molecules. In AVLIS, uranium metal is va-
porized, and the vapor stream is illuminated
with a laser light of a specific wavelength
that is absorbed only by uranium-235. The
laser selectively adds enough energy to ion-
ize or remove an electron from U-235 atoms
while leaving the other isotopes unaffected.
The ionized U-235 atoms are then collected
on negatively charged surfaces inside the
separator unit. The collected material (en-
riched product) is condensed as a liquid on
the charged surfaces and then drains to a
caster, where it solidifies as metal nuggets.
The high separation factor in AVLIS requires
fewer stages to achieve a given enrichment,
requires less energy, and results in smaller
waste volume compared with gaseous diffu-
sion and centrifuge technologies. In 1985, the
U.S. Government identified AVLIS as a po-
tential replacement for the gaseous-diffusion
technology, but work using this approach
was discontinued in 1999 (which was also
the year the U.S. signed a technology transfer
agreement for the SILEX process).
Like AVLIS, the MLIS process uses a
tuned laser to excite U-235 molecules in the
UF6 feed gas. A second laser then dissociates
excited molecules into UF5 and free fluorine
atoms. The enriched UF5 then precipitates
and is filtered as a powder from the feed gas.
Each stage of enrichment requires conversion
of enriched UF5 back to UF6. The advantag-
es of MLIS include low power consumption
and the use of UF6 as a process gas. How-
ever, it is less efficient and up to four times
more energy intensive than AVLIS.
Laser separation is not restricted to a max-
imum separation factor. In theory, the laser
can selectively excite U-235 atoms from the
gas mixture and achieve single-stage enrich-
ment. However, what is still unknown (and
what is known is classified) is the practical
performance of the laser-based stage, both in
enrichment factor (will it need a cascade of
stages?) and in capacity (how many cascades
must be operated in parallel?).
Both of these early efforts at laser separa-
tion have now been supplanted by the SILEX
process.
1. One laser enrichment process. In the laser system used for uranium enrichment
(right), electrons from U-235 atoms are separated (left), leaving positively charged U-235 ions
that can be easily collected for use. This Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) process
has been superseded by the SILEX process. Source: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
|
September 2013 60
NUCLEAR FUEL
SILEX Licensing History
The classified SILEX technology was de-
veloped by Australian scientists Dr. Mi-
chael Goldsworthy and Dr. Horst Struve in
the 1990s, working for Silex Systems Ltd.,
a public company listed on the Australian
Stock Exchange. Technical details of the
laser-based enrichment technology are pro-
prietary, are subject to export controls, and,
in many cases, may also fall into the catego-
ries of security-related, safeguards, or classi-
fied information, to which access is limited
by Australian and U.S. laws and regulations
(Figure 2).
The SILEX technology was transferred
from Silexs laboratories in Sydney to the
U.S. in 2007 under the Agreement for Coop-
eration between the United States of America
and Australia Concerning Technology for
the Separation of Isotopes of Uranium by
Laser Excitation, signed on Oct. 28, 1999.
The technology is being commercialized by
GLE under a Technology License and Com-
mercialization Agreement originally signed
between Silex and GE in 2006. This recently
updated agreement provides for a phased
commercialization program for the technol-
ogy (see sidebar The Path Forward), with
milestone payments to Silex including a $15
million payment announced in May 2013 for
completing the Phase 1 Test Loop Program,
signaling successful technology validation.
The agreement ultimately provides Silex
with a very lucrative revenue royalty of be-
tween 7% and 12%, depending on the capex
spend per unit production capacity.
2. Secret process. Many details of the SILEX process are proprietary and classified. This
green laser image provided by the licensing company is more suggestive than revealing.
Courtesy: Silex Systems Ltd.
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|
Nuclear Fuel
GE brought in its Japanese nuclear partner
Hitachi in 2007 and formed GLE, and in 2008
it added Cameco Corp., one of the worlds
largest uranium producers. GLE is currently
funded by these three parent companiesGE
(51% ownership), Hitachi (25%), and Cam-
eco (24%)through the second phase of the
program, which aims to establish engineer-
ing and economic validation for a full-scale
production plant. GE control of GLE ensures
that only Governing Board members who are
U.S. citizens with appropriate U.S. govern-
ment clearances have access to, or exercise
control over, activities affecting the protec-
tion of the projects classified information.
GLE submitted its license application on
June 26, 2009. The NRC staff conducted
thorough safety and environmental reviews
of the proposed facility. A safety evaluation
report (SER) and final environmental impact
statement (EIS) were published in Febru-
ary 2012. The SER documented the staffs
conclusions that GLEs proposed facility in
Wilmington, N.C., complies with NRC regu-
lations and would not pose an undue risk to
the health and safety of workers or the pub-
lic. The EIS concluded there would be no
significant environmental impacts that would
preclude licensing the facility.
The NRCs review of the GLE license ap-
plication provided several opportunities for
public comment and participation, including
public meetings in Wilmington in July 2008.
A notice of opportunity to request an adjudi-
catory hearing was published Jan. 13, 2010;
however, no hearing requests were received.
Under NRC regulations, the Atomic Safety
and Licensing Board conducted a mandatory
hearing on the staffs review in July 2012,
and the Board issued its decision on Sept. 19
authorizing NRC staff to issue the license.
The SILEX Process
Natural uranium ore consists of 99.3% U-238,
0.72% U-235, and trace amounts of U-234
(0.0055%). In order to be used as nuclear fuel
in the U.S., U-235 must be increased to 3%
to 5% by weight. Enrichment increases the
percentage of the naturally occurring and fis-
sile U-235 and decreases the percentage of
U-238. The SILEX process consists of four
major processing steps and two enrichment
support systems to enrich the natural UF6 up
to 8% in U-235.
The major enrichment processing steps
take place in the following areas:
UF6 Feed and Vaporization Area: re-
ceives feed cylinders containing UF6
in solid form. The Vaporization Area
converts the solid form UF6 into a gas
and flows the vaporized UF6 to the feed
header, from the Vaporization Area to
the Cascade/Gas Handling Area within
the Operations Building. The UF6 feed
rates to the feed header would be main-
tained within design basis temperature
and pressure ranges. The UF6 is now
in a gaseous form. Some stubborn UF6
material may remain within the feed
cylinders in a formation called a heel.
Heel removal usually requires applying
a vacuum for the UF6 to volatize for re-
moval and processing.
Cascade/Gas Handling Area: where the
laser-based enrichment process occurs.
The process utilizes lasers tuned to spe-
cific frequencies to selectively excite
the U-235 feed portion of the UF6 gas
molecules, enabling a type of magnetic
separation of the U-235 atom from the
UF6 feed stock. The result is two trains
of materials: the enriched UF6 (product)
and depleted UF6 (tails). The enriched
stream is subjected to multiple cycles,
called a cascade process, until it reaches
the desired enrichment level, where it
is collected in the Product Withdrawal
Area. The depleted stream is sent to and
collected in the Tails Withdrawal Area.
The feed, product, and tails streams are
all in the form of gaseous UF6. The prod-
uct stream is recovered and stored, in a
solid form, in cylinders that meet U.S.
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The Path Forward
GLE is taking a three-phase approach to
commercializing the SILEX laser enrich-
ment technology:
Phase ITest loop technology dem-
onstration and NRC commercial plant
license approval: Completed
Phase IIEconomic and engineering
validation for the initial commercial
production module: Commenced in
2012
Phase IIIConstruction of the first
full-scale commercial production fa-
cility: Has not started
Subject to the outcome of Phase II and
securing sufficient conditional customer
commitments, GLE plans to make a deci-
sion regarding deployment of the tech-
nology and the construction of the first
full-scale commercial production facility.
15_ PWR_090113_Nuclear_SILEX_p58-65.indd 61 8/14/13 5:34:17 PM
|
September 2013 62
NUCLEAR FUEL
Department of Transportation (DOT) off-
site cylinder shipping requirements.
Product Withdrawal Area: empty to-be-
filled cylinders (typically B30 cylinders)
are received from interim storage and
filled with the enriched UF6 product.
Tails Withdrawal Area: receives empty
cylinders from interim storage and fills
them with the tails (depleted UF6) for in-
terim storage and later disposition.
The two enrichment support systems are:
Blending Area: Here the product cyl-
inders that meet the customer speci-
fications would be filled. This is
accomplished by mixing the right quan-
tities (by weight) of enriched product of
different enrichment levels to produce
the exact enrichment level required by
customers. The 30- or 48-inch cylinders
containing the original product (called
donor cylinders) would be received
from interim storage. The UF6 from the
donor cylinders would be vaporized,
blended to the customers enrichment
specification, and then stored in re-
ceiver cylinders that are sampled (in the
next step) to confirm final enrichments
before they are sent to the customer.
Sampling: In this stage the receiver cylin-
ders are sampled to ensure that the level
of enriched UF6 in filled cylinders meets
customer specifications. To do this, the
cylinders are heated to liquefy the UF6
(similar to a boiling process) until the
cylinders contents are uniformly blended
before sampling. This is the only location
in the facility where UF6 is converted
into its liquid phase.
There are three UF6 cylinder pads:
The Product Pad, occupying 48,000
square feet for storing enriched product in
30-inch cylinders.
The In-Process Pad, occupying 130,000
square feet for storing feed material and
cylinders emptied on site (with or without
heels).
The Tails Pad, occupying 465,000 square
feet for storing 48-inch cylinders contain-
ing tails (depleted UF6). This pad would
be sized to accommodate the tails cylin-
ders resulting from 10 years of facility op-
eration (9,000 cylinders).
Plant Capacity
The SILEX facility will process up to
154,000 tons of source material in forms of
depleted, natural, and enriched uranium. The
facility will have a nominal capacity of 6
million SWUs. It is expected that quantities
of technetium-99 (Tc-99) and transuranics
will be present from residual contamination
as a consequence of the historical feed of re-
cycled uranium at other facilities, but these
are expected to have no significant impact
on operations.
Following startup, peak production is ex-
pected to be achieved in 2020. Prior to license
expiration in 2052, GLE would decide wheth-
er or not to renew its operating license or de-
contaminate and decommission the facility.
Safety Analysis
GLE plans to construct the plant at the site
of GE-Hitachis existing Global Nuclear
Fuel-Americas fuel fabrication plant in
Wilmington, N.C., on 100 acres of an exist-
ing 1,621-acre site where GE fabricates com-
mercial nuclear reactor fuel, services reactor
control rod drive assemblies, fabricates nu-
clear reactor components, and builds aircraft
engines. This site is located 6 miles north of
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September 2013 64
NUCLEAR FUEL
Wilmington. Construction activities are pro-
jected to take place over a seven- to eight-
year period and generate more than 3,800
jobs, yielding $139.8 million in income,
including $1.7 million in state income taxes
and $1.2 million in state sales taxes.
NRC staff will conduct inspections dur-
ing construction and operation of the GLE
facility. The agency plans to hold a public
meeting in Wilmington before construction
is scheduled to begin to explain its oversight
plans to the public.
The facility is licensed under 10 CFR
Part 70, Domestic Licensing of Special
Nuclear Material, which is applicable to
fuel cycle facilities regulated by the NRC.
Unlike nuclear reactors, fuel cycle facilities
rarely have similar systems and equipment.
Because of the uniqueness of these facilities
and proprietary processes, safety system re-
quirements at fuel cycle facilities are much
less complex than those for reactors, where
systems are required to prevent core dam-
age. Nevertheless, safety concerns raised by
the 2011 nuclear disaster in Japan have been
addressed (see sidebar).
For fuel cycle facilities, instead of a
probabilistic risk analysis, affected licensees
are required to develop an integrated safety
analysis, an established performance-based
framework known in the chemical industry
as a process hazard analysis. It is used to:
Identify initiating events and potential ac-
cident sequences from plant operations
and external hazards.
Identify items relied on for safety (IROFS)
such as structures, systems, equipment,
components, and activities of personnel
that are necessary to prevent these poten-
tial accidents and/or mitigate their conse-
quences (such as exceeding radiological
or chemical exposure thresholds).
Identify the implementation of manage-
ment measures demonstrating that the
IROFS are available and reliable to per-
form their function when needed.
Identify the inclusion of the safety bases.
Allow for the licensee to make certain
changes to its safety program and facili-
ties without prior NRC approval.
The UF6 process systems in the proposed
facility will generally operate at sub-atmo-
spheric pressure. This design feature prevents
UF6 leakage. If a process leak were to occur,
air in-leakage would initially result, causing a
system pressure increase, which may typically
be sensed by instrumentation and initiate ap-
plicable alarms, system isolation, and enable
automated or manual shutdown of impacted
systems. Because UF6 reacts with moisture in
air, the resultant UO
2
F
2
would be visible and
the presence of HF would easily be detected
due to its strong odor even below hazardous
concentrations. The facility will have IROFS
in place and implement defense-in-depth
practices as part of facility design.
This ensures that the handling of nuclear
material is within the programmatic require-
ments, that the safety program is appropriate
for the risk, and that the measures for carry-
ing out the safety program are appropriately
monitored. However, with respect to com-
pliance with the regulations of this part, the
NRC requirement is limited to the effects of
all relevant hazards on radiological safety,
prevention of nuclear criticality accidents,
or chemical hazards directly associated with
NRC-licensed radioactive materials.
Several organizations have expressed con-
cerns about SILEX technologys potential to
more easily enable nuclear weapons prolifera-
tion. The processs Australian developers say
access to the classified process can be safe-
guarded, and the Australian Department of For-
eign Affairs has said that the SILEX process is
technically complex and manufacturing SILEX
equipment and components would require very
specialised industrial and scientific capabilities,
limited to a few countries. As with any nucle-
ar-related technology, it would appear that the
knowledge existsthe genie is out of the bot-
tleso it is up to responsible parties with access
to that knowledge to safeguard it.
A Promising Future
The SILEX process offers certain advantages
of operating and capital costs over both gas-
eous diffusion and gas centrifuge processes.
Advancements over earlier laser separation
technologies consist of anticipated high separa-
tion factors, low energy intensity, low cooling
water requirements, a smaller facility footprint,
and low capital and operating costs for the same
SWU capacity.
James Hylko is a POWER contributing
editor.
Safety Response to the Fukushima Disaster
Due to the Mar. 11, 2011, earthquake in Japan, the U.S. Nuclear Regu-
latory Commission is verifying that licensees are capable of address-
ing beyond-design-basis events and natural phenomena hazards such
as extreme weather conditions and earthquakes. The proposed SILEX
plant site is typical of coastal North Carolina, is more than 10 miles
from the coastline, and sits at 25 feet above sea level. The site can
be considered inland; thus, tsunami hazard to the facility is highly
unlikely.
Additionally, GLE concluded that tidal boresa tidal phenomenon in
which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that
travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the current
are also highly unlikely given the distance from the coastline and a
location above the 100-year and 500-year flood plains for the region.
Hurricane hazards could come from winds and flooding. The 50-
year (19542004) historical data for New Hanover County identifies
three hurricanes impacting the area. Two of these (Hazel in 1954 and
Fran in 1996) were Category 3 hurricanes; the third was a Category 1
hurricane (Diane in 1955). No hurricanes made landfall in the area of
the proposed site with a wind speed in the Category 4 range. Based
on these historical data, the applicant determined that the maximum
potential hurricane hazards from a Category 4 hurricane should be a
bounding case. Because of its inland location, expected wind speed at
the site will be lower compared to the landfall area.
Flooding caused by hurricanes may be caused by rainfall, high tides,
and storm surge. The maximum probable surge along the North Caroli-
na coast can be as high as 21.9 feet. Because the site is 25 feet above
sea level and 20 miles upstream from the ocean, a storm surge from a
hurricane is highly unlikely to reach the facility horizon.
The proposed facility would be located on the Atlantic Coastal Plain
physiographic province that stretches along the Atlantic seaboard
from New England to the Gulf of Mexico. The Atlantic Coastal Plain
is not tectonically active. Small to moderate magnitude earthquakes
occur throughout the region, with concentrations in the Appalachian
Mountains west of the site and near Charleston, S.C.
The magnitude 5.8 earthquake on Aug. 23, 2011, occurred more
than 300 miles north of the Wilmington site near the town of Min-
eral, Va. According to U.S. Geological Survey shake maps for this
earthquake, little or no ground shaking was felt in Wilmington. The
closest distance between the Central Virginia seismic zone and the
proposed site is about 80 miles. There are no geologic features in
the Wilmington region identified as capable of producing signifi-
cant earthquakes.
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September 2013 66
POWER VIEW
Hints of Whats Next from
GE on the Technology Front
The global giant has plans for everything from improved gas turbine efficiency
to energy storage to innovative wind turbine manufacturing techniques.
W
hen Gary Leonard, General
Electrics global technology di-
rector for aero-thermal and me-
chanical systems technologies, spoke with
POWER Contributing Editor Mark Axford
at this years Gulf Coast Power Associations
Spring Conference in Houston, he comment-
ed on several ways GE is developing tech-
nologies for the power industrys future.
GE has so many products that are part of
the power generation industry. How do you
prioritize the areas of focus to determine
where the research dollars are spent?
Leonard: We try to monetize the value we
can create for the world. If we make some-
thing more efficient, how much fuel does
that save the world? If we reduce the cost
of a product, how much capital investment
does that save the world? You can always
turn value into dollars, make an estimate of
How much will it cost GE to make this hap-
pen? and then examine the risk of failure, so
if you are proposing research with a high risk
of failure, it better produce a lot of value and
not a lot of cost.
GEs current annual budget for R&D is
$4.5 billion. Is all of that from GE stock-
holders, or is some of that provided by
grants from governments and other orga-
nizations?
Leonard: Most is from GE stockholders.
We do get some funding from the military
for aircraft engines. Out of the $4.5 billion,
about $600 million per year is allocated to
the GE research centers and about $90 mil-
lion of the $600 million comes from govern-
ment and other agencies.
The hot buttons in the ERCOT market
are demand response and capacity short-
fall. There is a debate over whether new
generation, old generation, and demand
response should become eligible to earn
a capacity payment. GE has worked to
develop compressed air storage technol-
ogy. Why do you think air storage has
not caught on in the U.S. despite its 70%
round-trip efficiency and $1,000/kW in-
stalled cost?
Leonard: In the U.S., compressed air
storage technology is still not cost effective,
even at $1,000/kW. While there may some
local areas in the U.S. where the economics
work, large-scale energy storage becomes
economical when supporting grids have at
least 15% to 20% renewable energy and
the associated cycling. In Germany, we are
starting to get some traction on compressed
air storage plants sized at about 300 MW
with 8 hours of peak duration. You can
double the storage capacity by doubling the
size of the cavern, and all of this happens
for a small increase in project cost. Thats
why I am very bullish about gigawatt-hours
of storage capability; most of the cost is the
turbo-machinery.
Tell me more about the battery technology
that GE is working on to supplement wind
farms.
Leonard: Since cost and weight are the
key parameters, we started by setting a de-
sign specification that called out low-cost
materials. We want to have energy storage
capacity that is at least two times that of a
lead acid battery as measured in amp-hours
per pound weight. We think this will be eco-
nomically viable during the next few years.
If your mission is pure frequency regulation,
maybe a lithium-ion battery makes the most
sense. But GE is more focused on power
firming and serious energy storage.
Is there any breakthrough technology on
the horizon that you can talk about relat-
ing to wind turbines? Aside from the fact
that they get bigger and bigger and now
go offshore, where are we headed? Will
we ever see smaller-diameter, multi-stage
wind turbines?
Leonard: Well, theres only so much en-
ergy to be captured in a wind stream of a cer-
tain diameter. Weve looked at inlet funnels,
and this might help, but I think wind turbines
will be single stage for the foreseeable fu-
ture, and they will get larger, not smaller.
The problem is that the blades are already so
long, transportation has become a significant
challenge. So perhaps the development
that we need is a better way to manufacture
the bladesnot in a conventional factory but
in a temporary factory set up inexpensively
at the location of the wind farm. GE is work-
ing with the U.S. Department of Energy on a
design called tension fabric blade. Much of
the blade material would be a high-strength
cloth that could be delivered to the jobsite in
rolls. We could make the blades longer since
the allowable length of a truck on the inter-
state highway would no longer be a design
constraint. This could be a game-changer.
You were personally involved in the huge-
ly successful wet compression technology
adapted to the GE LM6000 gas turbine
and trademarked as Sprint. GE later in-
troduced an ultra-high-efficiency 100-MW
gas turbine (the LMS100) that included an
intercooler. Are other advancements in
wet compression and intercooling on the
horizon for GE ?
Leonard: Were always taking technol-
ogy to the next level. As it turns out, Sprint
technology may someday be regarded as a
disruptive technology since it is utilized by
so many models of gas turbines. Im confi-
dent that we will see more wet compression
in GE gas turbine products.
Mark Axford is a POWER contributing
editor.
Wind turbines will be single stage for the
foreseeable future.
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September 2013 68
POWER VIEW
Potential Solutions for
ERCOTs Challenges
Former state and federal regulatory chair Pat Wood talks about his revised
views of energy market structures.
P
at Wood IIIformer head of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
mission and the Texas Public Utility
Commission, and current consultant and non-
executive chairman of Dynegyaddressed a
packed house at the Gulf Coast Power Asso-
ciations Spring Conference. Wood was one
of the primary architects of the energy-only
market for the Electric Reliability Council
of Texas (ERCOT) in 2000, but he has since
reexamined the potential benefits of adopt-
ing some kind of capacity market. It is un-
clear that simply raising the price caps from
$3,000/MWh in 2011 to $9,000/MWh in
2016 will produce the desired reserve margin
of 13% to 14%.
The reason for Woods philosophical
change is not just to stimulate new construc-
tion of capacity but to better engage the mar-
ket in demand response behavior. Simply put,
demand response means that when the grid
is experiencing a high level of demand, and
therefore higher marginal prices, consumers
would choose to reduce or eliminate a por-
tion of their demand in exchange for com-
pensation. According to the Brattle Group,
current demand response in ERCOT is below
5% of the peak load and provided mostly by
large industrials.
One thing seems clear: As ERCOT load
continues to grow due to strong population
migration into Texas and a booming oil and
gas sector, modifications of some sort will be
implemented to bring demand response and
new construction of generation capacity to
the forefront.
POWER Contributing Editor Mark Axford
talked with Wood about these issues at the
April event in Houston as temperatures were
just beginning to rise.
As one of the original architects of the
energy-only structure for ERCOT, what
caused you to change your thinking about
the desirability of a capacity payment for
ERCOT, perhaps similar to the market
design of PJM?
Wood: There was not a particular ah-ha
momentjust an evolution of thinking and
in part a recognition of what a good job PJM
has done at bringing demand response into
their market.
Is there any hope for a recipe that would
allow new power plants a capacity pay-
ment without giving a capacity payment
to all existing generators and thus driving
up the price of electricity?
Wood: Perhaps only new plants that were
located in areas where it was certain to pro-
vide congestion relief and therefore the ca-
pacity payment could be offset by reductions
in congestion. If theres a fair way to pay
for demand response without discriminating
against generators, Im all for it. But so far,
but Ive not been able to come up with that
magic recipe. There may not be a magic bul-
let, and we need to find a fair way to crank up
the demand response.
Brattle asks the question: Should
ERCOT redefine its interpretation of the
1-in-10 standard to not mean 1 load-
shed event in 10 years but instead to
mean 1 outage day in 10 years, as used
in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP)? Or
perhaps some other more precise quan-
titative target?
Wood: This is something that the Texas
PUC should probably take a look at. But
keep in mind SPP has more power import
flexibility than ERCOT because SPP can
has higher capacity links to MISO and oth-
er adjacent regions.
Should ERCOT take the calculated risk of
running at a reserve margin of less than
13.75%, knowing that by definition, each
0.1% reduction in reserve margin will
slightly increase the likelihood of an 1-in-
10-year event?
Wood: Its not so important whether the
reserve margin is calculated to be 13.75% or
15% or 11%. The important thing is to have a
reliable grid. Once we establish a better way
for demand response to bid in, we can un-
lock a variety of solutions. We spent a lot of
money putting in all the smart meters at the
residential level; now lets find the best way
to harvest the benefits during the hottest peak
hours. This could be as simple as having the
PUC authorize Oncor, CenterPoint, and AEP
to cycle the AC for 20-minute intervals on the
hottest hours. Alternatively, to do it in a more
market-based way, have the [retail electric
providers] bid the DR into the market linked
to their own residential customer contracts
allowing some AC cycling.
By my thinking, a large number of resi-
dential customers should be willing to par-
ticipate, because in many cases, theyre
away from the house at work when the DR is
needed. Texans should be able to figure this
out. Businesses in other states are moving to
Texas to set up shop in a business-friendly
setting that will reduce their operating costs.
These new businesses expect a 21st-century
electric grid that provides not only choice
and competition but reliability as well.
Mark Axford is a POWER contributing
editor.
We spent a lot of money putting in all the
smart meters at the residential level; now
lets find the best way to harvest the ben-
efits during the hottest peak hours.
www.appro2013.com
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NEW PRODUCTS
TO POWER YOUR BUSINESS
Transformer and Capacitor
Testers
HDEs Quick-Check Transformer & Capacitor
Testers provide a quick and easy test of
the primary and secondary sides of de-
energized transformers and capacitors
for opens or shorts. The Quick-Check
automatically distinguishes between
transformers and capacitors and can test
capacitors individually or connected in
capacitor banks. They operate with a
single push button and provide clear
indications of open circuits, short circuits,
and conrmation that the test results are
OK. (www.HDElectricCompany.com)
Outdoor-Rated Charge
Controller
Renewable energy electronics and backup
power applications provider OutBack
Power Technologies announced the
availability of a crucial link in its sealed
power components series: the FLEXmax
Extreme charge controller. The device
is the rst truly outdoor-rated charge
controller on the market, the company
says. The charge controller is a sealed,
passively cooled, and fan-less design
with a National Electrical Manufacturers
Association (NEMA) 3R-rated enclosure
that can be installed outdoors and
withstand rain, ice, and other harsh
conditions. It also features advanced
circuit topology that reduces radio-
frequency interference. Its high efciency
and low-self-consumption of power
improves on-site energy harvesting and
contributes to lowered fuel consumption
in generator-based or hybrid installations
combining both renewable and
conventional energy generation schemes.
(www.outbackpower.com)
Rust-Removing Cotton Fiber Abrasive Wheels
A line of cotton ber abrasive wheels for removing rust, corrosion, and thread-
lock from pipe threads during process maintenance, as well as for deburring
manufactured pipe and tubing, is now available from Rex-Cut Abrasives. Rex-Cut
Type 1 Wheels for pipe thread maintenance feature multiple layers of nonwoven
cotton fabric and aluminum oxide abrasives pressed and bonded together with a
soft bond and are ideally suited for removing rust and corrosion from pipe threads.
For thread-lock removal without changing the thread geometry, Smooth Touch
wheels with a medium bond are recommended and last up to ve times longer than
unitized wheels, the rm claims. Developed for use on stainless steel, Inconel, and
other highly alloyed pipe and tubing, Rex-Cut Type 1 and Smooth Touch Wheels for
pipe thread maintenance are available 1/16-inch, 1/8-inch, and 1/4-inch thick and
in 2-inch, 3-inch, and 4-inch sizes. For manual or robotic deburring and nishing
of machined and cast parts, different grit types, grain sizes, and bonds are offered.
(www.rexcut.com)
Self-Leveling Camera Head
RIDGID announced a new self-leveling
camera head for its SeeSnake Max rM200
Camera System. With its always-upright,
self-leveling design, the new head was
added to help take the guesswork out of
inspections. Users can now count on a
clear, right-side-up image or video in even
the most complicated lines. Capable of
inspecting lines up to 200 feet in length
and 1.5 inches to 6 inches in diameter,
it is equipped with a built-in docking
system for attaching upcoming viewing
monitors and is compatible with the
RIDGID SeeSnake CS10 and CS1000 Digital
Recording Monitors. The rM200 is also
equipped with an integrated transport
system to make it easily portable on a
job. Users can either carry the reel or use
the products wheel system to meet their
jobsite needs. (www.emerson.com)
Inclusion in New Products does not imply endorsement by POWER magazine.
|
September 2013 72
CONDENSER & HEAT EXCHANGER TOOLS
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Opportunities in Operations and Maintenance,
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Business and Project Development,
First-line Supervision to Executive Level Positions.
Employer pays fee. Send resumes to:
POWER PROFESSIONALS
P.O. Box 87875
Vancouver, WA 98687-7875
email: dwood@powerindustrycareers.com
(360) 260-0979 l (360) 253-5292
www.powerindustrycareers.com
CAREERS IN POWER
NAES Corporation is a leading provider of
3rd party O&M services to the Independent
Power Industry. As we continue to grow, we
have constant needs for power professionals
across the nation.
For more info, log onto:
www.naes.com/careers
POWER PLANT BUYERS MART
READER SERVICE NUMBER 203
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Fax (773) 539-3500 Ph. (800) 227-4292
E-Mail: basicwire@basicwire.com
WEB SITE: www.basicwire.com
Layup Desiccant
Dehumidification
& Filtration Units
for long term layup
of power generation
equipment. Call us.
Tom Haarala
612-202-0765
thaarala@cdims.com
Todd Bradley
810-229-7900
tbradley@cdims.com
www.cdims.com
George H. Bodman
Pres. / Technical Advisor
Ofce 1-800-286-6069
Ofce (281) 359-4006
PO Box 5758 E-mail: blrclgdr@aol.com
Kingwood, TX 77325-5758 Fax (281) 359-4225
GEORGE H. BODMAN, INC.
Chemical cleaning advisory services for
boilers and balance of plant systems
BoilerCleaningDoctor.com
CONDENSER OR GENERATOR AIR COOLER TUBE PLUGS
THE CONKLIN SHERMAN COMPANY, INC.
Easy to install, saves time and money.
ADJUSTABLE PLUGS- all rubber with brass insert. Expand it,
install it, reverse action for tight t.
PUSH PULL PLUGS-are all rubber, simply push it in.
Sizes 0.530 O.D. to 2.035 O.D.
Tel:(203)881-0190Fax:(203)881-0178
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OVER ONE MILLION PLUGS SOLD
Media Blasting Services
www.molemaster.com
Toll Free: 800.322.6653 Fax: 740.374.5908
info@molemaster.com
Regardless of the surface,
MoleMaster has a media
blasting solution for you.
From Dry Ice to Walnut Shells,
MoleMaster does Abrasive
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September 2013
|
PRODUCT Showcase
Silo and Bin Cleaning
Services and Equipment
Call 800-322-6653 or visit
www.molemaster.com
GAS TURBINES FOR SALE
LM6000
FRAME 9E
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50/60Hz, nat gas or liq fuel,
installation and service available
Available for Immediate Shipment
Tel: +1 281.227.5687
Fax: +1 281.227.5698
John.clifford@woodgroup.com
meltric.com
800.433.7642
4 Simplifies NFPA 70E
compliance
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Qualified technicians can quickly
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Rated up to 200A, 600V, NEMA 4X
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READER SERVICE NUMBER 211 READER SERVICE NUMBER 212
CONDENSER OR GENERATOR AIR COOLER TUBE PLUGS
THE CONKLIN SHERMAN COMPANY, INC.
Easy to install, saves time and money.
ADJUSTABLE PLUGS- all rubber with brass insert. Expand it,
install it, reverse action for tight t.
PUSH PULL PLUGS-are all rubber, simply push it in.
Sizes 0.530 O.D. to 2.035 O.D.
Tel: (203) 881-0190 Fax:(203)881-0178
E-mail: Conklin59@aol.com www.conklin-sherman.com
OVER ONE MILLION PLUGS SOLD
George H. Bodman
Pres. / Technical Advisor
Ofce 1-800-286-6069
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PO Box 5758 E-mail: blrclgdr@aol.com
Kingwood, TX 77325-5758 Fax (281) 359-4225
GEORGE H. BODMAN, INC.
Chemical cleaning advisory services for
boilers and balance of plant systems
BoilerCleaningDoctor.com
Layup Desiccant
Dehumidification
& Filtration Units
for long term layup
of power generation
equipment. Call us.
Tom Haarala
612-202-0765
thaarala@cdims.com
Todd Bradley
810-229-7900
tbradley@cdims.com
www.cdims.com
PRODUCT Showcase
READER SERVICE NUMBER 208 READER SERVICE NUMBER 209
July 2013
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Model A100
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CU Services LLC
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Phone 847-439-2303
rcronfel@cuservices.net
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Untitled-5 1 12/7/11 12:36:17 PM
21_PWR_070113_Classified_p72-75.indd 73 6/13/13 12:45:05 PM
19_PWR_090113_classifieds_p72-75.indd 73 8/14/13 5:39:12 PM
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Abresist Kalenborn 14 9
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AMEC 41 27
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Applied Bolting 61 32
www.appliedbolting.com
Atlas Copco 13 8
www.atlascopco.us
Burns & McDonnell 11 7
www.burnsmcd.com
Carboline 20 16
www.carboline.com
Cutsforth Products 28 22
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Fluor Corp 29 23
www.fluor.com
Fibrwrap 59 31
www.fibrwrap.com
FSE Energy 22 18
www.fseenergy.com
GE Energy 7 4
www.ge-energy.com
Hach 51 35
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Harco 18 14
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Hitachi Power Systems Cover 3 33
www.hitachipowersystems.us
Hytorc Inc 25 20
www.hytorc.com
Hytorc Inc 27 21
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Kiewit 35 25
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Magnetrol 17 13
www.magnetrol.com
MAN 16 12
www.man-engines.com
Marrone Bio 15 11
www.gotmussels.com
Mitsubishi Power Systems 5 3
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NEM Energy 19 15
www.nem-group.com
NRG Energy 14 10
www.nrgenergy.com
Orion Instruments 43 28
www.orioninstruments.com
Paharpur 31 24
www.paharpur.com
ProEnergy Services Cover 4 34
www.proenergyservices.com/experience
Rolls-Royce 3 2
www.rolls-royce.com
Samsung C&T 10 6
www.secc.co.kr
Siemens Cover 2 1
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Sulzer Turbo Services 37 26
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TEAM Industrial Service 9 5
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TerraSource Global 21 17
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United Rentals 23 19
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|
September 2013 76
COMMENTARY
N
atural gasfired power generation has increased signifi-
cantly in recent years. This trend generally is considered a
positive development for several reasons: the abundance
of domestic natural gas reserves at reasonable prices, the envi-
ronmental benefits of natural gas relative to other fossil fuels,
the ability to efficiently site gas-fired generation in proximity to
load (thereby avoiding the cost of new transmission capacity),
and the quick-start nature of gas as a fuel source to backstop the
intermittent nature of renewable resources.
However, services offered by natural gas pipelines typically
are not designed to optimize the ramping demands and peaking
needs of electric generators. Rather, pipeline services are designed
for the predictable, even daily flow demands of local distribution
companies. As gas-fired power generation loads increase, pipeline
services, infrastructure, and procedures are being examined to as-
sess whether they are ready for the new environment where the
electric industry is the gas industrys biggest customer.
FERC Recognizes the Problem
Since 2012 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has
spearheaded efforts to identify problems and facilitate coordina-
tion between the natural gas and the electricity markets.
On July 18, 2013, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemak-
ing (NOPR) to permit interstate natural gas pipelines and public
utility electric transmission providers to share non-public, opera-
tional information for the purpose of promoting reliable service
or operational planning on either system. FERC has also put in
place additional procedures to address gas and electric coordi-
nation initiatives. The first requires each of the regional trans-
mission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators
(ISO) to appear before the Commission to discuss their past peak
seasons operational experiences and identify steps that are be-
ing taken to prepare for the upcoming peak season. The second
procedure requires FERC staff to provide quarterly updates on gas
and electric coordination activities throughout the country.
At a May 16, 2013, meeting, RTO and ISO representatives indi-
cated that FERCs natural gas and electric coordination initiatives
have resulted in voluntary procedures that encourage regional
organizations to confer with gas pipelines at least on a quarterly
basis and in advance of the summer and winter peak season.
These industry discussions focused on topics that enhance situ-
ational awareness, including the availability of gas inventories,
long-range weather forecasts, planned maintenance work, and
other activity that could result in outages. One ISO indicated that
no new rules are needed. However, others acknowledged problems
with gas infrastructure not keeping pace with demand, with the
current process of pre-scheduling natural gas for weekends and
holidays (in advance of the energy day) and with generators lack-
ing access to needed gas supplies during peak periods.
RTOs and ISOs also reported on the efforts of working groups and
the status of various ongoing regional studies that will analyze the
adequacy of gas infrastructure and identify the potential impact
that outages on either industry could have on the other industry.
Change Is Coming
On June 20, 2013, FERC staff gave a quarterly update to the Com-
mission indicating that gas and electric coordination activity on
the national level has been significant. Specifically, the North
American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) released its Phase II
special assessment on gas and electric power interdependency,
which focuses on vulnerabilities that can affect bulk power system
reliability. As part of that assessment, NERC recommends incorpo-
rating fuel availability into national and regional reliability assess-
ments and increasing the coordination and sharing of operational
planning information through formalized communication.
FERC staff also reported on task forces across the country that
are dedicated to gas and electric coordination. For example, ef-
forts led by the New England States Committee on Electricity
Gas-Electric Focus Group included discussion on proposals to
ensure adequate fuel supplies for next winter such as creating a
regional energy inventory of 4.2 million barrels of oil equivalent
for dual gas/oil-fired generators. In the Pacific Northwest, natu-
ral gas pipelines and electric utilities are discussing enhanced
communications and coordination through the Power and Natu-
ral Gas Planning Task Force meetings. And the Desert Southwest
Task Force is working on prioritizing problems with the objective
of recommending workable solutions that ensure the reliability
of the gas and electric systems during peak periods.
While regional solutions may help resolve some of the prob-
lems, the majority of the gas and electric coordination issues
require guidance from FERC regarding policies that would be
applied on a national level. For example, should shippers with
firm gas transportation contracts be entitled to access gas sup-
plies (and bump interruptible contracts) later in the day in
order to satisfy unexpected demands and promote grid reli-
ability? And how can FERC ensure that a patchwork of regional
solutions will not act as barriers to the development of liquid
market centers by effectively prohibiting access to gas supplies
in other regions?
FERCs July 18 NOPR clearing the way for the exchange of
operational information between gas pipelines and electric pro-
viders demonstrates the agencys willingness to systematically
address each of the difficult issues presented by this new envi-
ronment and provides encouragement that it is just a matter of
time before the issuance of a NOPR providing policy guidance on
FERCs natural gas scheduling and market structure rules.
Kelly A. Daly is chair of the Energy & Environmental Division
of Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP.
The New Environment for the
Gas and Electric Industries
By Kelly A. Daly
HITACHI POWER SYSTEMS AMERICA, LTD.
645 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
power.info@hal.hitachi.com Tel: 908-605-2800
www.hitachipowersystems.us
HITACHI INTRODUCES
NEW COMBUSTION TURBINE TECHNOLOGY
HITACHI HAS DEVELOPED SEVERAL NEW MODELS including a 100 MW
combustion turbine (Hitachi H-80), and several upgrades of the mature H-25 combustion
turbine technology, ranging from 3242 MW. Hitachis combustion turbine lineup is ideal for
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HITACHI GAS TURBINE PRODUCT LINE 60 HZ
ITEM UNIT H-15 H-25 H-80
Output MW 16.9 32 99.3
Efciency %(LHV) 34.4 34.8 37.5
Heat Rate Btu/kWh 9,950 9,806 9,100
Exhaust Flow lb/h 420,000 767,000 2,262,000
Exhaust Temp F 1,047 1,042 986
ISO Conditions (Sea Level, 59F, 60% RH), Natural Gas Firing
Fast Track Power
Solutions
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