The new 660 MW power plant, being built under a turnkey contract by alstom, will be based on four modern, flexible and environmentally friendly GT13E2 gas turbines. The project represents Alstom's fifth contract in Australia for the supply of GT13E2-based power plants. The new gas turbine facility is now under construction near the existing Munmorah power Station on the central coast, 120 km north of Sydney.
The new 660 MW power plant, being built under a turnkey contract by alstom, will be based on four modern, flexible and environmentally friendly GT13E2 gas turbines. The project represents Alstom's fifth contract in Australia for the supply of GT13E2-based power plants. The new gas turbine facility is now under construction near the existing Munmorah power Station on the central coast, 120 km north of Sydney.
The new 660 MW power plant, being built under a turnkey contract by alstom, will be based on four modern, flexible and environmentally friendly GT13E2 gas turbines. The project represents Alstom's fifth contract in Australia for the supply of GT13E2-based power plants. The new gas turbine facility is now under construction near the existing Munmorah power Station on the central coast, 120 km north of Sydney.
Australias Delta Electricity has a generating portfolio that consists of coal fired, baseload, power plants. In a move to complement this baseload generation while reducing emissions, the company is installing a large gas fired peaking power plant known as Colongra. The new 660 MW power plant, being built under a turnkey contract by Alstom, will be based on four modern, flexible and environmentally friendly GT13E2 gas turbines. Under the contract, Alstom designed, supplied, installed and commissioned the entire power plant with the turnkey delivery of turbine island, step-up transformers, Alspa distributed control system and balance-of- plant. The project represents Alstoms fifth contract in Australia for the supply of GT13E2 based power plants. F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 9 SC Colongra Repinted by Modern Power Systems February 2009 GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY D elta Electricity is a state-owned corporation producing electricity from several facilities using diverse energy sources, predominantly coal but also water and biomass materials. To enable the company to meet growth in the electricity market a number of key objectives needed to be met, that is to: Provide electricity at relatively short notice during periods of peak demand Provide black-start capability to improve system security, stabilisation and emergency response Meet future energy demands competitively, using best available technology and consistent with its current environmental objectives Reduce environmental impacts by lowering greenhouse gas emissions Accordingly, in March 2007 a turnkey EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract was awarded to Alstom to build an open cycle power plant that would enable Delta to meet these key objectives. The new Colongra gas turbine facility is now under construction near the existing Munmorah Power Station on the Central Coast, 120 km north of Sydney Under the contract, Alstom will design, supply, install and commission the entire power plant with the turnkey delivery of: Turbine island step-up transformers Alspa distributed control system balance-of-plant The project represents Alstoms fifth contract in Australia for the supply of GT13E2 based power plants. Market situation The Australian power market comprises a number of interconnected regional state markets. Interconnectors between each state facilitate power exchange. NSW contributes more than 40 per cent of the installed generating capacity of the National Electricity Market, which pools electricity market production on Australias eastern seaboard to meet the markets electricity demand. At the same time with increasing peak demands during summer and continuing growth of winter demand, new capacity is required to maintain reliability of supply and manage peak power prices in a competitive electricity market. In 2004, the NSW government released an Energy Directions Green Paper, which described current and future trends in energy demand in NSW. The Green Paper stated that the peak energy demand in NSW was growing at a faster rate than average demand. This diverging trend between base load and peak load demand profiles can generally be attributed to the sustained period of strong economic growth that has been occurring in Australia over the last 10-15 years. This trend has resulted in an increasing demand for electrical services across all sectors of the economy but in particular the residential sector, where increased prosperity is expected to continue Peak practice with a 660 MWe SC13E2 simple cycle power plant Australias Delta Electricity has a generating portfolio that consists predominantly of coal fired, baseload, power plants. In a move to complement this baseload generation while also reducing greenhouse emissions, the company is installing a large gas fired peaking power plant known as Colongra Gas Turbines. The new 660 MWSC13E2 power plant, being built under a turnkey contract by Alstom, will be based on four modern, flexible and environmentally friendly GT13E2 gas turbines. Mark Chilcote and Beat Sigrist, Alstom, Sydney, Australia 0 Repinted by Modern Power Systems February 2009 GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY to drive demand for electrical goods such as air conditioning units, which are considered to be one of the major contributors to the increasing peak demand load in summer. Transgrid, the NSW transmission authority, have assessed the potential system reliability issues during a severe system failure or blackout in the NSW transmission grid. The assessment determined that there was an opportunity for network re-start or blackstart resources in the northern part of NSW to cater for such an event and concluded that the provision of a quick-start facility with blackstart capability at Colongra would provide a number of significant system security benefits in the event of a state-wide system shutdown. Delta Electricity decided that a gas turbine peaking power plant of about 600 MW near the existing Munmorah power station site would be the best way of addressing the peak demand and system security issues. Munmorah is a coal fired power plant with four units two of which have been decommissioned and two which unless refurbished with the latest emission technology, are likely to be decommissioned in the not too distant future. At 660 MW, the new Colongra gas fired power station is large contribution to gas fired peaking capacity in New South Wales. Efficient and reliable For an open cycle peaking power plant, selecting the right gas turbine is critical due to the stresses experienced by the machine as a result of the intermittent operation of the power plant and high number of stop-start operations compared to a baseload plant. The Colongra power plant uses four highly efficient GT13E2 dual fuel gas turbines in open cycle configuration. The natural gas to fuel the turbines will be supplied via a new underground pipeline connecting the facility to the existing Sydney- Newcastle pipeline located about 8 km west of the power plant. Natural gas will be the primary fuel, with distillate used primarily for backup in case of gas interruption. According to the approvals, the turbines cannot use distillate for more than a total of 75 hours in any 12-month period except to meet emergency market needs. Switchover between fuels will be automatic, which is particularly important during system emergency market conditions where the ability to deliver power to the grid is critical. Each turbine has maximum power output of 167 MW when operating at nominal ambient conditions (35C, power factor 0.85). To improve the performance of the gas turbines during hot summer conditions, there is an evaporative cooler upstream of the GT compressor. This uses demineralised water to cool the air stream before it enters the gas turbine. This inlet air- cooling delivers an additional 6.7 MW per GT at design ambient conditions. The GT13E2 has a rotor, which is welded from forged discs that ensure high rotor stiffness with two-bearing support. The welded rotor design eliminates maintenance work such as restacking and disk replacement or factory rotor overhaul and thus eliminates the need for a major overhaul of the engine. The turbine features advanced aerodynamics and multi-convective cooling schemes, which contribute significantly to the engines efficiency. The GT13E2 has a 5-stage turbine section. The design of the first turbine stage, combined with the Thermal Barrier Coating (TBC) and conservative turbine inlet temperatures of 1100C, allows extended inspection intervals of up to 36 000 EOH (Equivalent Operating Hours). The use of Inconel 738 conventional cast turbine airfoils and heat shields ensure long parts life and allow for full cost- effective refurbishment. The 21-stage subsonic compressor is equipped with a set of variable inlet guide vanes. The combustion airflow rate can be adjusted by changing the angular position of the vanes. Load control is managed by varying the amount of natural gas and combustion airflow. The result is increased part load efficiency and starting reliability. The annular combustor contains 72 EV burners arranged in pairs. The burners operate on the principle of the lean pre-mix vortex breakdown to achieve low NOx values with dry combustion gas during gas operation. The annular combustion chamber distributes the circumferential temperature evenly while avoiding problem zones such as cross-firing tubes or transition pieces. Unlike can-annular systems, the annular combustor does not need a combustion inspection, which means reduced maintenance and higher availability. The gas turbine lubrication system also provides lubrication for the generators. Two 100% lube oil pumps on each GT (plus one DC emergency pump) supply oil through the lube oil cooler to the bearings of the power train. When the GT is on turning gear, the GT/generator shafts are lifted by hydraulic jacking oil pumps. Each gas turbine drives its own generator from the compressor end. The axial exhaust provides for easy adaptation of a possible future Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). The generators are the high efficiency TOPAIR turbogenerators equipped with static excitation. The generators are air-cooled via four 25% air/water coolers by water from the CCW system. Each generator is started by a synchronous motor with a variable frequency drive known as a static starting device (SSD). There is one SSD per GT. The GT is accelerated with the starting device until the turbine is ignited and self-sustaining speed is reached. The turbine start-up controller will take over and accelerate the GT set to synchronous speed. The generator is synchronised to the grid either through the generator circuit breaker or through the switchyard circuit breaker. Power generated is distributed to the plant ancillaries and to the grid through step-up transformers, which were also under Alstoms scope of supply. Four step-up transformers connect the four gas turbine-generators to the 330 kV switchyard. Each SC13E2 power train includes one 11/1.8/0.43 kV unit auxiliary transformer and Aerial view of the site Cutaway of one of the four SC13E2 power trains (see also wallchart in this issue of MPS) Repinted by Modern Power Systems February 2009 GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY one 15/0.42 kV excitation transformer. The GT unit auxiliary transformer feeds the SSD and GT auxiliaries. This transformer is a three winding type, oil isolating and air-cooled with fans. Station transformers of 15/11 kV feed the plant ancillaries. Power from the plant will be fed to the grid via a new dedicated bay being built next to the existing switchyard located northwest of the new plant. The existing overhead transmission lines will be used to export power from the power station. Clean solutions The use of gas at Colongra is a move away from the Australian power industrys reliance on power generation solutions with higher emission levels. The plant easily meets the World Bank limits. When running on natural gas, at each turbine stack discharge point NOx limits must not exceed 50mg/m3 (15% O2). On distillate, emissions should not exceed 90 mg/m3. The plant is designed to emit greenhouse gases at an average rate of 0.58 t of CO2 per MWh, which is significantly less than the NSW pool co-efficient of 0.928 t/MWh in 2006 when the project was first proposed. This is of state-wide importance as it will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output in NSW and achieve the ultimate goal of 7.27 t of CO2 per capita by the year 2012 set by the NSW Greenhouse Gas Benchmark Scheme. Increased efficiency and the corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions will see increased pressure to convert the power plant to combined cycle power plant. The decision was taken not to opt for a baseload combined cycle power plant from the outset because of insufficient gas supplies at this site. The Colongra plant will take a gas feed off a distribution line between Sydney and Newcastle.. A 9 km-long, 1,050 mm diameter lateral has been built for use as a storage pipeline off this supply. A compressor will compress and store up to 5 hours of gas in this storage pipeline for use during times of peak electricity demand. Recovery of this gas reserve is achieved within 24 hours. Initiatives are underway to bring more gas to Sydney from Queensland. Should more gas be secured, the next step will be to consider the timing for conversion of the power plant to combined cycle operation. At this stage, there may also be the addition of further plant cleanup equipment. Delta is currently engaged in a pilot carbon capture research project with CSIRO at the nearby coal fired Munmorah power station. This is an area in which Alstom is also a market leader and is therefore well- positioned to work with Delta if it decides to pursue carbon capture at this and other Delta sites. Agreat deal of effort has been made in terms of environmental protection. Alstom has developed plant construction environmental management plans to cover all areas such as dust management, soil erosion protection, waste management and wastewater management. For example, prior to the commencement of site preparation works, Alstom was required to undertake acid sulphate soil testing for areas of the site to be disturbed during site preparation and construction. The potential impacts of any acid sulphate soils disturbed during site preparation or project construction were effectively addressed in accordance with Alstom Acid Sulphate Soil Management Plan. Prior to the commencement of construction, Alstom was required to prepare and submit a Water Cycle Management Report detailing water conservation and re-use strategies. The report included a review of best practice water conservation and re-use initiatives and strategies with consideration given to their suitability for application on site. Alstom was also required to maximise the treatment, re-use and/or recycling on the site of any waste oil, excavated soil, slurries, dust and sludge associated with the project, to minimize the need for treatment or disposal of those materials outside the power station. All dangerous goods have to be handled and stored in accordance with the Australian Dangerous Goods Code. Various studies related to potential hazards pre-construction and pre- commissioning also had to be submitted. In terms of environmental and safety performance, this is very much a showcase site. All of the procedures and measures that have been put in place are being audited every two weeks. Further, twelve months after the start of operation of the project, and every three years thereafter, an independent body will undertake a Hazard Audit of the project. An Environmental Audit Report is also required at the same time. Plant operation and control Delta Electricity requires that the plant be very flexible with reliable starting. During peak demand, power traders at Delta will need to be able to react immediately and have the plant up and running according to the size of the peak. The plant is fully automated and remotely controlled. Traders are therefore able to start, dispatch and shutdown the plant remotely via a secure internet connection. This means the plant can respond very quickly to price developments in the market. The plant is equipped with an overall plant process control system based on Alstoms Alspa distributed control system. This system enables safe and reliable operation, control and supervision of the process with a high degree of automation. The DCS provides functions such as: Signal conditioning, annunciation, recording Operation, monitoring and supervision Open and closed loop control, sequence logic, protection Data communication, plant management application. The plant is basically unmanned, with just two or three operations staff on hand to ensure that the startup and operation runs smoothly when the plant is started remotely. This is a fairly unique setup for such a large gas turbine based power plant. Gas turbine operation is a fully automated process with the various auxiliaries of the GT being switched on or off in a sequential manner. Operator intervention is only required for: Pre-selection of gas turbine load target; Command for start-up and shutdown of the gas turbine; Command to establish pre-start conditioning for a later accelerated start-up procedure. Each gas turbine is provided with its own protection system and governor. Information that is necessary for remote operation, control and monitoring are transferred to the overall plant control system. Balance Of Plant (BOP) systems control is dependant on the function being performed. Any system directly related to the operation of the GTs such as fuel systems are controlled directly by the DCS. Some BOP systems will require local operator attendance such as fuel unloading and service water and will therefore be controlled from local control panels only. The plant can be started by the operator giving a start instruction to each turbine in turn or by activating the plant master sequence start. The concept chosen for the plant allows normal startup times, with a load-up time from start command to GT baseload of 30 minutes. The operator can also choose a fast start-up option, which reduces loading time to 13 minutes. The plant master sequencer is used to start the complete plant. Here, the operator will be required to select the required plant load, the number of turbines to be started, the start-up type (standard or fast) and the fuel type for each GT before the plant start. The plant master sequencer will start each GT in turn and load the started units to the required level. Unit 1 (left) and unit 2 (right) under construction 0 Repinted by Modern Power Systems February 2009 GAS TURBINE TECHNOLOGY Individual turbines can be shutdown at any time. The start up procedure and unmanned concept will be proved during commissioning. The plant operating regime will typically see one or possibly two starts per day during the peak summer period. At other times of the year, the plant will be on standby. The number of expected starts will largely depend on the electricity price developments in the market. Although the facility could operate 24 hours per day, all year round (the environmental impact assessment has been based on continuous operation), the plant is likely to operate for about 500 hours per year. This is based on an approximate estimate of the projected annual cumulative peak power demand period. The power plant will also be required to respond to electrical system emergency and security situations, which would be in addition to the estimated annual cumulative peak power demand period. The regular start-up regime is not expected to have any impact on the maintenance schedule of the plant. Project development Regarding the time schedule, Alstom took the opportunity to divide the project into specific stages. Alstom ensured that the civil work was finished before the mechanical and electrical (M&E) work started. All deliveries have been frontloaded to provide a margin of a couple of months between arrival of the equipment on site and when it was actually needed. This has allowed the erection contractors to plan their work around the most efficient installation method from a labour standpoint as opposed to planning work around deliveries. This means the work programme is dictated by efficiency instead of by deliveries. While Alstoms main focus has been on delivering quality and cost optimisation during project execution, safety has also been a primary objective for Alstom, Delta Electricity and the relevant industrial Unions. Plant Integrator TM benefits Power companies take a holistic, bigger picture, approach to their investment i.e. they look at the whole plant and its functional requirements over its entire lifecycle. Alstom has redefined the way it approaches power plant design, construction and maintenance in order to be aligned with power companies functional requirements. Through Plant Integrator TM expertise, with all key power plant component technologies in house, Alstom aims to deliver optimized solutions that are specifically designed to create added value for the customer. Although Delta has contracted Alstom to build a peaking plant, there is a possibility that the plant will be converted to a combined cycle plant at a later date. As a Plant Integrator, Alstom was able to design the civil works to make provisions for the future addition of an Alstom Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) as part of the project. Sufficient space has been allowed to accommodate the HRSG and an air-cooled condenser at a later stage. As part of the arrangement, care has also been taken when providing the underground services to areas that are currently not occupied but might be needed by the steam turbine or other equipment needed in the combined cycle plant. No other, provisions such as placing a diverter damper in the stack, have been made at this stage. What differentiates Alstom from its competitors is that it is able to design and manufacture all power plant key components and integrate them together to provide a customised solution that best suits the customers functional requirements. When power companies look at the overall plant over its entire lifecycle, there are a number of lifetime benefits that can actually be measured as added value. If power companies are prepared to go through this process with Alstom, they can benefit in a number of ways from Alstoms unique blend of core competencies. Looking at the bigger picture with Alstom will allow, for example, faster completion of the project; improved performance; reduced risks and lower costs. Alstom agrees with many customers that the net present value (NPV) of the plant over its lifetime is the best way to measure value. It also integrates qualitative factors like flexibility of operation, flexibility in fuel selection and better compliance with regulations. There are six key areas or levers to increase the NPV: investment; lead-time; performance; availability & operational flexibility; retrofit and life extension. There are other areas that are sometimes more qualitative e.g. the compliance with or anticipation of environmental regulations; or the ability to accept fuel flexibility. Nevertheless these conditions can always be translated into investment cost, time, performance, availability, retrofit and life extension. At Colongra, Alstom was able to add value in the area of lead-time. Having in-house EPC ability as well as being a designer, manufacturer and supplier of all the major plant components can reduce project construction times. Alstom can shift manufacturing slots during the production of machines to accelerate or delay the production of certain pieces of equipment in order to streamline the whole process. Because Alstom designs each plant to the specific needs of its customers, Alstom knows, in advance what equipment will be installed. This allows the optimization to be carried out before the project is launched at Notice To Proceed (NTP). Because the bulk of the design is done before the contract is signed, lead-time is reduced. Architect engineers (A/Es) have to rely on external suppliers and therefore have to wait until the supplier is selected before they can engineer at the required level of detail. Being an OEM with EPC and turnkey capability was a real benefit to the customer. Delta is executing the gas line project in parallel to the power project and not having to handle work related to the power plant was of great value. All the design and optimization issues could be left under the responsibility of Alstom. Alstom supplied the turbomachinery equipment and generators as a standard package out of Switzerland. The BOP components, engineering and arrangements for the later conversion into combined cycle, were handled out of Alstoms Malaysia office. The Malaysia office interfaced with the customers engineers. Since Alstoms scope of supply included the switchyard it will therefore also handle the interfaces with the grid company, Transgrid. All the interfaces between Alstom Malaysia, the client, Transgrid and other external parties have gone smoothly. Alstom has also been responsible for site management and closely managed all labour and industrial relations. Being a Plant Integrator TM specialist, was of particular value during project execution. If a separate EPC contractor was used, activities such as civil erection would have been much more complicated since information exchange and drawing exchange is more difficult if third parties were involved. With everything being under Alstom control i.e. manufacture, delivery and project engineering the result is that the project is essentially ahead of schedule. Having the project completely under Alstom control means that Alstom can prioritize, drive its own schedule and information exchange, while gaining relevant approvals from the government and external parties. All the approvals have already been gained for first fire. Currently the project is estimated to be ahead of schedule and this can be attributed to Alstoms Plant Integrator TM capability. MPS Unit 1 air intake Unit 1 CCW system www.power.alstom.com P r i n t e d i n E n g l a n d , T B C 0 2 0 9 E