BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRY SINCE 1882

Vol. 161 No. 4 April 2017

Improved O&M Strategies

and Outage Best Practices

Connected Plants Are Becoming

Mainstream
Cyber Concerns and Solutions
E
SU
IS

U.S. Nuclears Uphill Battle

OW
SH
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 ON THE COVER
Experts train at GEs full-size 7F gas
turbine outage simulator in Greenville,
South Carolina. The simulator provides
the opportunity to test advanced outage
methods and technologies in a near real-
world environment. Courtesy: GE
Established 1882 Vol. 161 No. 4 April 2017

SPEAKING OF POWER
Whether Man-Made or Not, Global Warming Is a Problem 6
GLOBAL MONITOR
Who Has the Worlds Most Efficient Coal Power Plant Fleet? 8
Chinas Nuclear Expansion Mired in Overcapacity 9
THE BIG PICTURE: Prevailing Winds 10
A Wrap-Up of the Energy Unions Second Year 12
India Gears Up to Expand Fast Breeder Reactor Fleet 13
POWER Digest 14
FOCUS ON O&M
Using Rotor-In Major Inspections to Shorten Outages and Drive Safety 16
Dissimilar-Metal Weld Is a Misnomer 18
LEGAL & REGULATORY
The Future of Clean Energy Is Dependent on States and Utilities 20
By Tahiya Sultan, Davis Wright Tremaine
16
COVER FOCUS: OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE
The Future Is Now: Connected Power Plants Are Here 22
Innovative power generators are utilizing the latest digital technology to im-
prove plant efficiency, predict equipment problems, forecast weather trends,
and train workers. Experts share their experiences and offer tips to help you
get your plant safely connected.

Reducing Cycling Damage to Combined Cycle Steam Turbines 28

Cyclic operation can be hazardous to a combined cycle power plants health,
and the consequences go beyond gas turbine and heat recovery steam gen-
erator problems. The Electric Power Research Institute studied the effects cy-
cling has on steam turbines and identified some solutions for coping with the
complications.

Facilitating Predictive Maintenance of Electrical Assets with

Pervasive Sensing Strategies 32
Electrical failures can be traced to three main causes: Conductor overheating,
insulation breakdown, and high moisture levels. However, continuous condi-
28
tion-based monitoring can alert operators to minor problems before they re-
sult in major breakdowns. Wireless passive sensor systems are easy to install
and require no maintenance, making them worth considering.

New Approaches for Transformer Operation and Maintenance 38

When a large power transformer fails, your plant goes down hard. Repairs
take time and cost a lot. Lead times for new transformers can be many months
or even years. Although not all problems are predictablegeomagnetic dis-
turbances being a case in pointa proactive philosophy and advanced diag-
nostics could still save plants a lot of heartache.

Enhanced Boiler Defense Strategies for an Aging Coal Fleet 42

Optimizing coal-fired power plants has never been more important than it is
today. With low-cost natural gas and the growth of renewable energy, market
conditions require efficient operations. One way to keep your fleet competi-
tive is to implement a combustion and boiler performance management pro-
gram.
32
|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 1
 Strategies for Small Hydro Upgrades 48
Upgrading older, small hydropower facilities isnt always easy to justify, but
new technology can make enhancements worthwhile. Modern modular sys-
tems can decrease construction time and complexity, while turbine and gen-
erator refurbishments can lead to big efficiency improvements.

Simplify Outage Planning to Increase Collaboration 51

A lot of work goes into planning power plant outages. Defining work scopes,
reviewing budgets, evaluating bids, and issuing purchase orders are all steps
along the way. Getting teams engaged in the process is vital to success. One
method that has worked well at some NRG Energy sites involves asking
straightforward questions that drive accountability.

The Oft-Neglected Isolated Phase Bus Deserves Your Attention 54

The isolated phase bus is a critical system that is frequently overlooked dur-
48 ing power plant outages. Performing a thorough inspection during minor
downtime can allow potential problems to be identified so repair and retrofit
work can be planned for and carried out during major outages.

SPECIAL REPORT: CYBERSECURITY

Cybersecurity: Keeping Current on a Moving Target 56
If you found a USB drive lying on the ground, would you use it? Surprisingly,
the answer for many people, including some highly trained IT professionals,
is Yes. If you think air-gaps and firewalls will keep your power plant safe,
think again!

NUCLEAR
U.S. Nuclear: From Hope to Despair 60
Not long ago, the future seemed bright for the U.S. nuclear power indus-
try; many power companies extended plant licenses and contemplated new
nuclear construction. That has all changed. Regulated markets and subsidies
56 may keep some plants viable, but it appears more is needed to save the in-
dustry. Is a carbon tax the answer?

LUBRICATION
High-Performance Oil Reduces Varnish and Saves Money for Gas Turbine
Power Plant
Lube oil systems in peaking power plants can be more susceptible to var-
nish deposits because of the cyclic circulation of hotter and cooler oil. Varnish
degrades performance and can cause erratic valve operation. One new lube
oil formulation proved successful in countering the problem during a five-
year test run at a dual-unit gas turbine plant. (Visit powermag.com and search
High-Performance Oil for this online-only exclusive!)

COMMENTARY
Reports of the Electric Grids Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated 68
By Russell P. Schussler, PE; and Jill S. Tietjen, PE; Georgia Transmission Corp.

60
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Draft Trump Budget Proposes Major Cuts in EPA, DOE Programs
Texas Sues Federal Agencies to Force Action on Yucca Mountain
Coal Industry Urges Trump to Continue Funding Fossil Energy Research
Nuclear Industry Hopeful Congress Will Resolve Spent Nuclear Fuel Impasse
New EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Sets Out to Restrain Agency
Fukushima Cleanup Hitting Snags as Robot Probes Fail
India Moves to Boost Oil, Gas Production to Bolster Future Renewables Additions
Minnesota Governor Allows Xcel to Bypass Utility Commission Oversight for Major
Gas-Fired Plant
Odds Are Against a Coal Comeback, Duke CEO Says
Six Years After Fukushima, Only Three Reactors Operating in Japan, More Poised
to Restart
|
POWER April 2017
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 SPEAKING OF POWER
Whether Man-Made or Not,
Global Warming Is a Problem
recently bought a house in southwest-
I ern Florida, but not without some reser-
vations. Dont get me wrong, I love the
palm trees and sandy beaches, but what
worries me is the areas sea-level trend, as
reported by the U.S. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
You see, in the area where I purchased,
NOAA says sea level is rising 2.85 mil-
limeters per year. It doesnt sound like
much, but my home is 11.9 feet above
mean sea level, according to the National
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929. If the
current trend continues, the property
I purchased will be below sea level in
about 100 years. Although I dont plan
to live that long, my house doesnt need
to be under water for it to be worth-
less; extreme weather and storm surges
could devastate the place long before the
ocean engulfs it.
Global Warming Is Not a Partisan
Issue
We could debate whether humans are to
blame for climate change, but that is not
the point of this column. Although it does
matter why the Earth is warming, and
more should be done to put the question
to rest, the first step has to be acknowl-
edging that we have a problem.
A person need not be an environmen-
tal extremist to observe that the Earths
average temperature is increasing. As Ken
Maize notes in his article, U.S. Nuclear:
From Hope to Despair, which begins on
page 59 of this issue, several well-respect-
ed GOP statesmen believe, Mounting evi-
dence of climate change is growing too
strong to ignore.
New Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
seems to also be a believer. During his
confirmation hearing, Tillerson, the for-
mer CEO of ExxonMobil (a company with
more than a little at stake in the debate),
said, I came to my personal position over
about 20 years as an engineer and a scien-
tistunderstanding the evolution of the
sciencecame to the conclusion a few
years ago that the risk of climate change
does exist and that the consequences of
6 www.powermag.com
it could be serious enough that action
should be taken.
Data Implies Trouble
There is a lot of evidence suggesting that
climate change is real. Independent analy-
sis, conducted by both NASA and NOAA,
showed that the Earths 2016 surface tem-
peratures were the warmest logged since
modern recordkeeping began in 1880. Last
year was the third year in a row to set a
new record for global average surface tem-
peratures, and 16 of the 17 warmest years
on record have occurred since 2001, ac-
cording to NASA.
In mid-February, NOAA reported that
sea ice extent on both poles was the
smallest ever recorded in January. Arctic
sea ice was 8.6% below the 19812010
average and Antarctic sea ice was a whop-
ping 22.8% below average. If thats not
enough, on March 1 Reuters reported that
a new heat record was recently set near
the northern tip of the Antarctic Penin-
sulait hit 63.5F there, according to the
World Meteorological Organization.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates
that nearly 90% of the Earths ice mass
is in Antarctica. If even 10% of that ice
melted, sea level would rise 20 feet. Ob-
viously, such an increase would result in
chaos around the world, because hundreds
of millions of people live in low-lying
coastal regions. According to NOAA, 39%
of the U.S. population lives in counties
that border the ocean.
Failing to Plan Is Planning to Fail
For the power industry, the question of
what to do with this information is a good
one. At the very least, companies need to
consider options for hardening assets and
preparing for weather changes. A variety
of questions could be asked to which the
answers may help power companies pre-
pare for the future.
For example, what effect will extreme
weather patterns have on plant operations?
Some experts predict that wild swings be-
tween drought and flooding will occur more
frequently. (Weve already seen glimpses of
that in California and other regions.) If
flooding strikes your area, how protected
is your facility? At what level would ex-
cess water force you to shut down? Are the
flood estimates youre relying on outdated?
At the opposite end of the spectrum, will
you have enough water to operate? Do you
have a contingency plan?
Plants that rely on dry-cooling sys-
tems may face scenarios that are nearly
as troubling. Ambient temperatures have
a drastic effect on heat rejection rates in
air-cooled condensers (ACCs). At least one
study suggests ACC performance decreases
nearly 21% when ambient temperature in-
creases from 71F to 82F. Turbine backpres-
sure increases with ambient temperatures,
resulting in a significant efficiency pen-
alty. One remedy, the use of water spray,
can help achieve performance goals, but
that goes counter to the reason why many
ACCs are utilized in the first placelack
of water resources.
Heat is tough on workers too. Ambi-
ent conditions inside power plants can
be quite extreme, even on typical summer
days. If temperatures increase in the fu-
ture, how will your workers cope with heat
stress?
Finally, a recently released paper, pub-
lished in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America, suggests that climate change
will have severe impacts on the frequen-
cy and intensity of peak electricity de-
mand across the United States. The study
found that significant investment in peak
generating capacity would be needed un-
der a business-as-usual scenario. Is your
company prepared to meet the demand if
hotter weather causes higher peaks or are
changes in strategy warranted?
As for me, Ive got my backup plan. Even
though I purchased a house in Florida, Im
not letting go of my Minnesota property
just yet. If temperatures continue to in-
crease, the Midwest could become the
next tropical paradise and I may be happy
I have a place to go back to.
Aaron Larson is POWERs
executive editor.
|
POWER April 2017
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Who Has the Worlds Most
Efficient Coal Power Plant
Fleet?
A comparison of coal power plant fleets
from China, the European Union (EU), Ja-
pan, and the U.S. by the International
Energy Agencys (IEAs) Clean Coal Cen-
tre yields surprising insights into efforts
these regions are making to deploy high-
efficiency, low-emission (HELE) plants.
The December 2016released report,
An overview of HELE deployment in the
coal power plant fleets of China, EU, Ja-
pan and USA, compares data from exist-
ing plants of 300 MW or larger, as well as
those under construction and planned. It
also sizes them up according to deployed
technology, age, and installed pollution
control equipment.
It concludes that the coal fleet in Ja-
pan is the most efficient in the world,
followed by China, the EU, and finally,
the U.S.
Japan Leads the Pack. Japans fleet,
which is relatively young as the report
notes, has an average operational effi-
ciency of 41.6%, calculated using lower
heating value (LHV, net; as are efficiency
values given below). Most coal plants in
Japans fleet are HELE plants. Accord-
ing to the report, Japan also hosts the
worlds cleanest coal-fired power plant
in terms of emissions intensity: Unit 2 at
J-POWERs Isogo Thermal Power Station
(Figure 1), a 600-MW ultrasupercritical
unit in Yokohama, which began commer-
cial operations in July 2009. (The project
was a POWER Top Plant in October 2010).
China Is Not Far Behind. In China,
a government crackdown to shackle ram-
pant air pollution and shutter small,
aging, and less-efficient coal plants, as
well as soaring investments in research
and development (R&D) of advanced coal
technology, have transformed its energy
sector, the IEA says. The countrys coal-
fired fleet has an average operational
efficiency of 38.6%higher than the
average across IEA member countries.
R&D, notably, allowed the country to de-
sign and build the double-reheat 1,000-
MW ultrasupercritical Guodian Taizhou II
Unit 3, the IEA says. The unit has been
in operation since September 2015, and
it reaches an efficiency of 47.82%, the
highest globally for a double-reheat
plant. The IEA also notes: Every Chinese
power plant is equipped with [particulate
8 www.powermag.com
1. Clean coal crown. Unit 2 at J-POW-
ERs Isogo Thermal Power Station, a 600-MW
ultrasupercritical unit in Yokohama, Japan,
ranks as the cleanest coal-fired power plant
in the world in terms of emission intensity,
with levels comparable to those from a natu-
ral gasfired combined cycle plant. According
to the International Energy Agencys Clean
Coal Centre, the units average emissions are
in the single digits for NOx and SO2, and less
than five milligrams per cubic meter for par-
ticulate matter. Courtesy: J-POWER
matter] and SO2 control equipment, and
almost all have NOx removal devices. All
coal-fired plants will have to be ultra-
low-emission by 2020. The agency pegs
Chinas successes on the rapid imple-
mentation of tight environmental and
performance standards, combined with
available finance for coal-fired projects
and subsidies for energy generated from
ultra-low emission power plants. The
country is facing critical barriers to an
expansion of its coal fleet, however, ow-
ing to power overcapacity, competition
for limited water resources in some ar-
eas, localized pollution control, and a
surge in the development of renewables,
which can reduce the profitability of
coal-fired power plants, the IEA says.
The EU Is Weighed Down by an
Aging Fleet. Several countries in the
EU have moved to phase out coal en-
tirely (See The Big Picture in POWERs
March 2017 issue), and few new coal-
fired plants are being planned and built.
However, the blocs average coal-fired
plant efficiency is a noteworthy 38%,
even though a significant proportion of
its fleet is relatively old, the IEA says.
One of the EUs most advanced coal-fired
plants is the 1,100-MW ultrasupercritical
Maasvlakte Power Plant 3 in the Nether-
lands. That unit, which entered service
in 2015, has an efficiency of 47%. It can
cofire up to 30% biomass, is carbon-cap-
ture ready, and can supply district heat.
The EU will require all coal-fired power
plants that operate after 2030 to employ
carbon-capture-and-storage technology,
the IEA notes. However, while the EU is
conducting notable research and devel-
opment on advanced ultrasupercritical
technology, construction of new coal-
fired power plants in the EU could be
hindered by a low carbon price under the
emissions trading system.
Efficiency Lags in U.S., but Future
Is Promising. As this story goes into
production in early March, startup and
commissioning activities continued at
the Kemper County Integrated Gasifica-
tion Combined Cycle facility in Missis-
sippi. No other coal plants are under
construction in the U.S. The nations coal
fleet has instead seen a marked move to-
ward pollution control systems for NOx,
SOx, and particulate matter, driven large-
ly by regulations, the IEA says. But the
fleet is still dominated by relatively old
units, both subcritical and supercritical.
Its average efficiency is around 37.4%.
The most efficient coal-fired unit in the
country is the 665-MW John Turk Jr. plant
in Arkansas (POWERs Plant of the Year
in 2013), which achieves an efficiency of
42%. It is the nations only ultrasuper-
critical unit.
However, this January, NRG Energy
and JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration
Corp. began operation of the Petra Nova
project, the worlds largest commercial
post-combustion carbon capture system.
|
POWER April 2017
The IEA notes that various other carbon-
capture projects are under way. R&D on 2. A gradual operation. The operation of Taishan 1 and 2, the first two reactors to be
built in China based on AREVAs EPR design, has been delayed by six months. Courtesy: China
advanced ultrasupercritical, hybrid coal,
General Nuclear Power Group
and oxycombustion and chemical-looping
combustion is also ongoing. As coal is
still predicted to have a significant place
in the future energy mix of the USA (21%
in 2030 and 18% in 2040) it is possible
that once new technologies are dem-
onstrated, old coal-fired units could be
replaced with new systems, the IEA con-
cludes optimistically. Additionally, with
a market for CO2 in enhanced oil recovery
(EOR), relevant R&D, tax incentives and
federal support for carbon capture, utili-
sation and storage, the USA is currently a
leader in these areas.

Chinas Nuclear Expansion

Mired in Overcapacity
China has brought 24 of its 36 operating
nuclear reactors online at a breakneck
pace since 2010, but there are signs it
may roll out future plants that are still
under construction more slowly, owing in nuclear capacity by 2020, compared to reactors are imported. These include four
part to a power capacity glut that shows the current 32.6 GW it has installed as of AP1000 reactors designed by Westing-
no sign of relenting until at least 2020. March 2017. Of the 23 GW (from 21 reac- house and two EPRs developed by AREVA.
The country wants to install 58 GW of tors) that is under construction, only six All six are facing delays. China General

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April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 9
THE BIG PICTURE: Prevailing Winds
Total global installed capacity of wind power surged to nearly 487 GW at the end of 2016. Over the past five years, China
has taken an ever-larger share of the market, dominating onshore and offshore installations in 2016. Chinese wind
turbine manufacturers have also made big gains in market share in a sector increasingly characterized by mergers. In
2016, a strong breakaway group of three companies emerged within the worlds wind turbine market, with a fairly
tight field following, noted David Hostert, head of wind research for Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), in February.
Siemens Wind and Gamesa, which are in the process of merging, will join the big four dominant group, he said.
Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editor

Brazil

Canada
15.5%
1.9% China
2.2%
2.4% 34.7% France
1.7%
13.6% 2.5% Germany
2.2% 26.3%
2.7% 3%
2.8% India
2.9% 4.7%
6.7% Italy
5.9% 16.9%
19.7% 10.3%
9.1% Portugal
12.2%
Spain

UK
TOP 10 CUMULATIVE CAPACITY TOP 10 CUMULATIVE CAPACITY
U.S.
(DECEMBER 2011) (DECEMBER 2016)
238,351 MW 486,749 MW Rest of the world
Source: Global Wind Energy Council

TOP ONSHORE TURBINE TOP OFFSHORE TURBINE

MANUFACTURERS IN 2016 (GW) MANUFACTURERS IN 2016 (MW)

Vestas 8.8 Sewind 489

GE 6.6 152
Siemens
Goldwind 6.4
Goldwind 57
Gamesa 3.7
Enercon 3.5 Envision 50
Nordex Group 2.7 XEMC 40
Guodian 2.2 30
GE
Siemens 2.1
Doosan 9
Ming Yang 1.96
Envision 1.9 CSIC 5

Asia/Pacific Americas Europe/Middlle East/Africa

Source: BNEF

10 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
Gas Turbine
Major Experts
Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis was contracted under a forced outage condition to
perform a Major Overhaul on a combined cycle sites MS5001PA gas turbine, as well
as remove, test and inspect the generator field. As the equipment was a critical asset,
MD&A was successful in performing this work in a few weeks turnaround.

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PARTS | SERVICES | REPAIRS

Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of China Gen-
eral Nuclear, in February told investors
that after conducting a comprehensive
evaluation of the engineering and con-
struction plan and relevant risk, it opted
to postpone the start of two EPRs at Tais-
han (Figure 2) by six months. Now, Tais-
han 1 is scheduled to start in the second
half of 2017 and Taishan 2 in the first
half of 2018. The reactors were originally
anticipated to come online in 2009 and
2012, respectively.
Westinghouses construction of four
AP1000 reactors in China, two each at
Sanmen in Zhejiang province and Hai-
yang in Shandong, are reportedly near-
ing completion, though they too have
been beset by delays ranging from three
to four years, mostly owing to design
changes. While construction kicked off at
Sanmen Unit 1 in April 2009, and in Sep-
tember 2009 at Haiyang, all four reactors
are slated to be operational by the end
of this year.
But while those delays are techni-
cal, industry observers note that the
slowdown in electricity demand has left
China with a huge power capacity sur-
plus that has forced some nuclear plants
to compete with cheap coal and a flood
of renewables. In October 2016, for ex-
ample, Chinadialogue reported that the
Hongyanhe 3 unit in Liaoning operated
for only 987 hours in the first quarter of
2016 (at 45% availability), while reac-
tors in Fujian and Hainan were shut down
temporarily. POWER was unable to con-
firm the report.
According to a November 2016 IHS En-
ergy report, Chinas power companies put
online 149 GW of new capacity, of all fuel
types, in 2015 alonea number repre-
senting about 40% of total global capac-
ity additionseven though the countrys
electricity demand growth fell to only
0.5%, the slowest since 1998. IHS Energy
also predicted in the report that another
110 GW of new plants would come on-
line in 2016, a figure that factored in
project cancellations and delays. Looking
forward, the report suggests that power
demand may be 16.7% higher in 2020
compared to 2015, but that total genera-
tion capacity will likely surge even more,
between 22% and 30%. As a result, the
system reserve margin will still be higher
in 2020 than in 2015, the information
and analytics company said.
The divergence in power demand be-
tween Chinas domestic sector and heavy
industries will become even more pro-
nounced as the country continues its piv-
ot toward a more service-led economy,
12
3. Interconnecting markets. The European Council in October 2014 called for all 28
members of the European Union to achieve interconnection of at least 10% of their installed
electricity production capacity by 2020. It has proposed to extend this target to 15% by 2030.
The measure seeks to increase reliability, reduce the need to build new power plants, and help
grids manage increasing levels of variable renewables. Heres how interconnectivity looked in
July 2016 compared to goals for 2020. Courtesy: European Commission
Today Potential by 2020
n Countries meeting the 10% electricity interconnection target
n Countries not meeting the 10% electricity interconnection target
said Xizhou Zhou, senior director at IHS pean Union (EU) provide secure, sustain-
Energy. This means Chinas power con- able, competitive, and affordable energy,
sumption overall is going to shift into the 28-member bloc is seeing a precipi-
the slow-moving lane for several more tous drop in renewables investments,
years to come. though it remains on track to meet 2020
The capacity glut has already affected targets.
Chinas coal power sector. In part to stem The second State of the Energy
overcapacity, Chinas National Energy Ad- Union report released this February
ministration this January ordered the ces- outlined several trends and policy ob-
sation or postponement of 104 coal-fired servations. The most prominent of these
power projects in 13 provincesa com- were that the EU as a whole is making
bined 120 GW. About 54 GW of that capac- good progress on delivering the En-
ity was reportedly under construction. ergy Unions 10 objectives, particularly
IHS Energy notes that because Chinas as they relate to the 2020 energy and
Renewable Energy Law mandates that all climate targets. In 2015, greenhouse gas
renewables must dispatch to the grid, (GHG) emissions in the EU were 22% be-
and additions of wind and solar projects low the 1990 level and continued to fall.
have been rapid, other fuel sources have Based on 2014 data, the EUs share of re-
been suffering. For nuclear and hydro es- newables reached 16% of the gross final
pecially, average utilization hours have energy consumption, slightly short of the
been dropping for the past two years. 20% goal for 2020. In 2014, meanwhile,
The only fuel type that may see an renewables generated 27.5% of the EUs
increase in capacity factor is natural total power, a figure that the European
gas, IHS Energy predicted. This is likely Commission anticipates could climb to
due to anti-smog policies along coastal 50% by 2030.
provinces. As coal is restricted in these The EU also made progress to success-
areas, gas is increasingly been used in fully decouple economic growth from
combined heat and power plants to pro- GHG emissions. During the 19902015
vide not just electricity but also heating period, the European Unions combined
and steam for municipal and industrial Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by
customers, it said. 50%, while emissions decreased by 22%,
the report says. This decoupling is ex-
pected to continue under current trends
A Wrap-Up of the Energy and projections.
Unions Second Year In line with the blocs general ambi-
Two years after the Energy Union was tions to move away from an economy
launched as a strategy to help the Euro- dependent on fossil fuels, the EU also
www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
ratified the Paris agreement and imple- vestment in renewables has dropped by struction, and operation of the countrys
mented key proposals to deliver on the half since 2011 to 44 billion, the report nuclear power reactors, will build two
2030 climate and energy framework, in- says. That compares to global invest- prototype fast-breeder reactors (PF-
cluding for sectors covered by the EUs ments in renewables, which have in- BRs) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. The
Emissions Trading System, and outside creased to more than 260 billion. site already hosts a 500-MW PFBR that
of it. It also proposed a binding EU-level is expected to be fully operational this
target of 30% for improving energy ef- October.
ficiency by 2030. Over the past year, India Gears Up to Expand The government body said in early
meanwhile, work was launched on inte- Fast Breeder Reactor February that the two PFBRs of 600 MW
gral interconnection projects such as the Fleet each are still in the engineering phase.
Trans Adriatic Pipeline, and financing Indias Department of Atomic Energy, Construction of the reactors could begin
agreements were signed for gas intercon- the entity responsible for research, con- by 2021, by which time adequate per-
nectors between Finland and Estonia as
well as for a gas pipeline through Bul-
garia, Romania, Hungary, and Austria.
But the EU still suffers from bottle-
necks due to missing or underused
infrastructure, the report says. Inter-
connections and, where relevant, internal
lines are still needed to further integrate
the internal electricity market in South
Western Europe and in Northern and East-
ern Europe (e.g. Germany, Poland and the
DEDICATED TO DELIVERING
Czech Republic) and the management
of these interconnections must be im-
CRITICAL POWER WHERE
proved. It also notes that work towards
the synchronization of the Baltic States
WERE NEEDED MOST.
with the European electricity system
should continue (Figure 3). The 15%
electricity interconnection target for
2030 should ensure, provided that this
capacity is made available to the mar-
ket, that the European Union can make
optimal use of its renewable resources,
ensure security of supply and market in-
tegration.
Member states made good progress in
opening up wholesale markets to compe-
tition, but many of them have not fully
implemented necessary rules that allow
for competitive and liquid markets, the
report also notes. At a regional level,
largely driven by falling coal and gas
prices, and the gradual penetration of
renewables as well as subdued demand,
wholesale power prices decreased in most
states.
The report urges strengthening cy-
bersecurity and physical protection of
energy sector installations, as well as ad-
dressing reliability concerns.
Significantly, it calls on member states
Custom engineered to meet each applications
to use public resources smartly, grant- requirements, Fairbanks Morse engines provide reliable, Power Gen
ing subsidies only if in line with the efficient power generation with low emissions. Backed by
long-term energy policy of the European genuine OEM parts and comprehensive, responsive service,
Union. It said that will avoid stranded Fairbanks Morse engines deliver critical backup and
assets and carbon lock-ina situation primary power when and where its needed most.
where the amount of fossil-fuel capacity
See how were powering the world forward at
could exceed the levels that correspond www.fairbanksmorse.com/forward.
to the EUs long-term decarbonisation
objectives.
Finally, the report highlights lagging
investments in the sector. European in-

|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 13

4. First of its kind. Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI), an enterprise of
the Indian government, is poised to begin commercial operations at its 500-MW prototype fast
breeder reactor at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. The indigenously developed reactor will serve to
demonstrate the technical and economic viability of a fast breeder reactor power plant in India.
The country has plans to build at least four more fast breeder reactors after the 500-MW unit
comes online, as anticipated, this October. Courtesy: BHAVINI
formance feedback on full power genera-
tion from the 500-MW PFBR would be
available. In the long term, the govern-
ment wants to build four more fast reac-
tors at a different site, and the process
of forming a site-selection committee is
ongoing.
While the global spotlight is fixed on
Indias massive coal-fired power capacity
expansion, the country with meager ura-
nium reserves has been pressing on with
a unique long-term program that pushes
for research and development of nuclear
reactors using all three main fissionable
materials: uranium-235, plutonium, and
uranium-233 (U-233). The three-pronged
program, developed largely during the
countrys almost 30-year-long isolation
from international nuclear trade, also
factors in Indias abundant thorium re-
sources, which constitute 25% of the
worlds total reserves.
The first step of the three-stage pro-
gram involves building indigenously
engineered pressurized heavy-water re-
actors (PHWRs) and light-water reactors
to produce plutonium. The second stage
uses fast-neutron reactors fueled by plu-
14
tonium to breed U-233 from thorium. In
the third stage, using wholly indigenous
technology, the country will use ad-
vanced heavy-water reactors fueled with
U-233 obtained from the irradiation of
thorium in PHWRs and fast reactors.
Commercial operation of the 500-MW
PFBR at Kalpakkamwhich will be the
first of its kind in the world when it is
commercially operationalwill mean
India has attained the second stage of
the program. All construction activities
at the PFBR are complete, and integrated
commissioning is under way, the govern-
ment said.
The sodium-cooled, mixed oxidefu-
eled, pool-type fast reactor project (Fig-
ure 4) got its start in October 2003, when
the government of India set up a wholly
owned enterprise, Bharatiya Nabhikiya
Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI), solely fo-
cused on the construction, commission-
ing, and operation of the 500-MW PFBR.
Construction on the reactor based on
design and technology developed at the
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
began in October 2004. It was originally
anticipated that the project would take
www.powermag.com
eight years to complete.
Minister of State in the Prime Minis-
ters Office Jitendra Singh said in a writ-
ten statement to the Rajya Sabha, Indias
upper house of parliament, that recent
delays at the PFBR are primarily due to
augmentation of certain additional as-
sessments and checks on the installed
equipment prior to commencement of
their commissioning.
POWER Digest
Russia Marks Milestone with
Commercial Operation of Third-
Generation Reactor. After nearly a de-
cade of construction, the first advanced
third-generation VVER-1200 nuclear re-
actor began commercial operation on
February 2 at the Novovoronezh nuclear
power station on the bank of the Don
River near Voronezh in southwestern
Russia. The reactor is the sixth unit to
come online at the plant. Unit 1 is a
VVER-210 reactor, which was launched
in 1964 but closed in 1984. Unit 2, a
VVER-365, began operation in 1969 but
was shuttered in 1990. Units 3 and 4
are VVER-440 reactors that began com-
mercial operation in 1972 and 1973,
respectively, and Unit 5, a VVER-1000,
came online in 1980. Construction at
Unit 6 and Unit 7, both VVER-1200s,
began in 2007, with Unit 7 planned for
operation in 2018. Atomenergoproekt
JSC is the general designer and con-
tractor for Units 6 and 7. According to
Rosenergoatom, the Russian nuclear
power station operations subsidiary of
Atomenergoprom, Unit 6 was first con-
nected to the countrys Unified Energy
System in August 2016. Testing was
successfully wrapped up on February 23,
2017. In comparison to the VVER-1000,
the VVER-1200 has a number of advan-
tages that boost its economic character-
istics and safety. Along with a capacity
increase, the reactor designs lifespan
has been doubled from 30 to 60 years.
A number of up-to-date and unique
safety systems has been applied, such
as corium trap or passive heat removal
system that in the absence of electric
power supply and human participation
allows to cool the reactor core by means
of air natural circulation, said Rosener-
goatom in a statement.
Ethiopias Grand Ethiopian Renais-
sance Dam Upgraded. The design for
the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam,
a $5 billion project whose construction
is under way on the Blue Nile near the
border of Ethiopia and Sudan, has been
|
POWER April 2017
revised for a 450-MW capacity increase.
It will now have a capacity of 6,450
MW. The plant originally slated to have
5,250 MW had already been upgraded
once to 6,000 MW. Ethiopias Commu-
nication and Information Technology
Minister Debretsion Gebremichael told
reporters in late February that the plant
whose construction began in April 2011
is 56% complete. Its in-service date is
now set for 2018. The project has been
opposed by Egypt, which says the dam
could reduce the amount of water from
the Nile. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan in
2015 signed an agreement seeking to
end that dispute. When completed, the
roller-compacted concrete dam with two
power stations is expected to be the
largest in Africa.
Siemens Bags Order for Gas Tur-
bines for Saudi CHP Plant. Siemens
on February 23 received an order for
five F-class gas turbines for a 1,500-MW
combined heat and power (CHP) plant in
the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The plant
is expected to supply about 400 MW
of power and process steam to a new
natural gas extraction plant in Fadhili,
in the Eastern Province of the kingdom.
The remainder will supply residential de-
mand. Siemens received the order from
South Koreas Doosan Heavy Industries
& Construction Co., which is the engi-
neering, procurement, and construction
contractor for the project. Siemens also
signed a long-term service agreement
with Kahrabel FZE, an affiliate of the
ENGIE Group, for the gas turbines at
the Fadhili CHP plant for a period of 16
years.
Spain Conditionally Approves Ga-
roa Reactor Restart. Spains Nuclear
Safety Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nu-
clear, CSN) on February 8 gave the Garoa
nuclear power plant approval to restart
after being offline for the past four years
on the condition that its operator, Nucle-
nor, made a number of safety upgrades.
If upgraded, the 446-MW boiling-water
reactor, which is 46 years old, is suitable
for operation until 2019, CSN said. The
modifications include the installation of
a filtered containment venting system,
construction of alternative emergency
management centers, and installation of
a passive autocatalytic hydrogen recom-
biner, according to World Nuclear News.
A final decision on a license renewal ap-
plication submitted in February 2014 for
Garoa will be made by Spains Ministry
of Energy, Tourism, and the Digital Agen-
da after Nucelnor has made the necessary
upgrades.
|
April 2017 POWER
Saudi Arabia Calls for Qualifica-
tions for 700 MW of Renewables.
Saudi Arabia in late February opened
bidding for up to 700 MW of wind and
solar power projects in a bid to temper
its domestic oil use and meet growing
power demand. The Renewable Energy
Project Development Office (REPDO)
invited bidders to qualify for its first
renewable energy tender by March 20.
The selected parties will be announced
by April 10 and will be invited to pres-
ent their offers for the projects be-
tween April 17 and the end of July. The
tender calls for 300 MW to 700 MW of
solar photovoltaic and 400 MW of wind
to be developed at Sakaka in Al Jouf
Province. The projects will be backed by
25-year power-purchase agreements for
solar and 20-year agreements for wind.
It is the first stage of the kingdoms
efforts to develop 10 GW of renewable
power by 2023. The ministry said in a
press statement that it wants to make
the National Renewable Energy Program
among the most attractive, competi- CONSISTENT
tive and well executed government re-
newable energy investment programs in
the world, and we have all the neces-
AUTOMATION
sary infrastructure in place to ensure
that is the case. Electrical actuators for
Consortium Wins Tender for Ja- hydropower plants
pans First Offshore Wind Farm.
A consortium led by Japanese utility Reliable, powerful, robust.
Kyuden Mirai will undertake the de- For several decades, AUMA
velopment of a $1.54 billion offshore actuators have proved their
wind project about 10 km off the port of
Hibikinada, in Kitakyushus Wakamatsu reliability in automating sluice
Ward. The project will likely comprise gates, butterly valves and gates
44 turbines installed on jacket founda- in weirs, ish ladders, locks, and
tions. Construction of the wind farm off
the coast of Fukuoka Prefecture on the
hydropower plants.
western island of Kyushu could begin in AUMAs comprehensive portfo-
2022 following an environmental impact lio of actuators covers torques
assessment. The consortium comprises
ranging from 10Nm to
Hibiki Wind Energy Group, which in-
cludes utility J-Power, Saibu Gas, and 675,000Nm allowing consis-
engineering firm Kyudenko. It was cho- tent and uniform automation
sen to develop the project by the Kita- right across the plant: from
kyushu municipal government. A turbine
supplier has not yet been identified, simple OPEN-CLOSE applica-
though Hitachis 5.2-MW offshore tur- tions to level control using an
bine is a possible frontrunner, according integral PID controller.
to industry observers. The project will be
Japans first offshore wind project. The
country in May 2016 amended its Port More about our
and Harbour Law to promote the devel- automation solutions
opment of offshore wind. The revisions www.auma.com
allow developers to lease designated
water zones in port areas for a period of
up to 20 years.
Sonal Patel is a POWER associate
editor
www.powermag.com 15
Using Rotor-In Major In-
spections to Shorten Out-
ages and Drive Safety
Today, some F-class operators continue to
opt for rotor-out major inspections, which
are cumbersome and inefficient. They in-
volve complex lifts and moves of the rotor,
as well as the need for substantial space
to store the rotor and other complications.
These inspections are typically the longest
portion of an outage, with risks to both
employees and equipment. However, there
is an alternative that can increase safety
and productivity while reducing downtime
and lowering the cost of a major inspec-
tion of an F-class unit. Its called the ro-
tor-in major inspection (RIMI).
What Is a Rotor-In Major Inspection?
The RIMI is a process developed at GEs
full-size 7FA gas turbine mock-up facil-
ity, part of its Global Repair Development
Center in Greenville, South Carolina, us-
ing GEs unique experience, tooling, and
personnel. The process is built on years
of experience conducting rotor-in majors
for B and E fleets, and it accomplishes the
major inspection while leaving the rotor
in place, rather than removing it and lay-
ing it down on the plant floor. Although
GE has become proficient at executing
rotor-out major inspections over many
years, problems still arise and damage can
occur from this single event.
GE has engineered a way to perform
the major inspection and complete all
required tasks while leaving the rotor in
place, thus increasing safety and reducing
downtime by an average of 15% to 20%.
Developing the RIMI process started in co-
operation with several GE customers, and
it began conducting RIMIs for our F-class
fleet on a limited basis in 2011.
How Rotor-In Major Inspections
Work
The only additional tooling needed is GEs
proprietary 7FA Rotor Jacking system.
These jacks allow crews to raise the shaft
and remove the lower half liner (Figure
1), at which time the bearing area and
cavities get cleaned and the liners are re-
placed.
Before a RIMI can occur, each unit goes
through a technical review by GEs engi-
neering experts. This team helps ensure
that the integrity of the compressor is
capable of the rotor-in major. They scour
16
1. In place. The rotor-in major inspection (RIMI) allows crews to perform all required tasks in-
cluded in a rotor-out major with less cost and time requirements. Courtesy: GE Power Services
historical data, support cases, sister data,
borescope reports, and other data to iden-
tify any possible issues with the lower half
stators that may be of concern. Only the
units that pass this engineering review are
eligible for a RIMI. GE has completed over
50 RIMIs across the globe, and to date
none have had an issue that resulted in
the removal of the rotor.
While the overall major inspection pro-
cess has not changed, numerous steps
were modified with the RIMI to repre-
sent the proper order of the outage. The
bearing inspection and replacement were
moved to the beginning of inspection,
and the casing removal and installation
steps were reordered.
Leaving the rotor in place allows for pre-
vious critical path items to be done in par-
allel to shorten outage duration. While the
rotor is in place, foreign materials exclu-
sion (FME) Zone 1 controls are maintained
for the compressor section. All items get
logged in and out of the compartment
until completing the compressor section,
and the danger of foreign material entry is
mitigated. No inspections were modified or
omitted to allow the rotor to stay in place.
In fact, proprietary tooling was developed
to help facilitate this process.
Beneits vs. Rotor-Out
The benefits of a RIMI over a traditional
rotor-out inspection are many and include
faster turn-around, better safety, and few-
er demands on plant staff.
Improved Safety. One of the clearest
advantages of the RIMI is increased safe-
ty. Since the rotor is not removed, there
www.powermag.com
is no need for heavy-duty lifting equip-
ment on-site, which reduces unnecessary
equipment movement and opportunities
for personnel injury or damage.
No Reduction in Quality. One of the
primary benefits for the RIMI is that there
is no gap in the scope from a rotor-out
inspection. The scope includes evaluat-
ing the compressor and turbine sections,
cleaning the lower half stator vanes (Fig-
ure 2), and other traditional services. In
addition, the rotor can be rotated 360
degrees for maintenance without signifi-
cant complications. This process ensures a
thorough inspection with no performance
degradation when compared to rotor-out
major inspections.
Estimated Schedule Reduction. The
process of physically moving the rotor out
of the turbine and onto the plant floor takes
a lot of time during a rotor-out inspection,
during which few other services can be
conducted. The RIMI, by contrast, allows
simultaneous operations to take place. For
instance, while crews are still working on
the hot gas path area, the compressor sec-
tion, inlet bellmouth, and exhaust frames
can be reinstalled. This concurrent work is
impossible while the rotor is outside the
machine. Additionally, there is no down-
time during the rotation of cranes, allow-
ing generator alignment to begin sooner.
All together, there is a 15% to 20% cycle
time reduction with the RIMI compared to
rotor-out major inspections.
Less Laydown Area Needed. Since
the rotor is not removed from the ma-
chine, the personnel can set other casings
on the ground without reserving space for
|
POWER April 2017

2. Clean sweep. The RIMI process is designed to allow for all
traditional services included in a rotor-out inspection, such as steam-
cleaning the lower half stator vanes. Courtesy: GE Power Services
As utilities go forward in staying competitive in the energy
markets, reducing the time during outage season without any
major complications is critical. The RIMI process that GE has put
together represents a substantial benefit for utilities seeking im-
proved safety and reduced downtime during 7F major inspections.
Michael Helton is lead engineer, life cycle productivity for GE
Power Services.

Dissimilar-Metal Weld Is a Misnomer

Most combined cycle professionals understand that a joint be-
tween grade 91 steel and an austenitic stainless steel is consid-
ered a dissimilar-metal weld. For that reason, it requires special
welding procedures. But what some folks may not realize is that
a joint between two austenitic stainless steels could also be con-
sidered a dissimilar-metal weld (Figure 3).
Sounds counterintuitive for two steels of the same name to be
called dissimilar, right? But that underscores the reason why the
the rotor. This process is very useful in tight spaces where his- industry needs to stop using the term dissimilar-metal weld
torically the casings had to be moved to another location to altogether, because its misleading to inexperienced welders and
allow space for the rotor. There is also no need to strategically plant engineers alike. To be more precise, we should all refer to
remove roof sections or other large items in preparation for rotat- those risky steel joints as dissimilar-properties welds, because
ing cranes. In addition, the RIMI may eliminate the need to rent its the difference in the properties of two metals that causes all
tractor-trailers to remove shell casings from the laydown area. of the concerns. The differenceor similarityin the metals
Results. Since its inception in 2011, more than 50 units have names doesnt matter one iota!
been completed using the RIMI process. Starting with the 9E gas
turbine, GE has been adopting the RIMI as the de-facto process Carbon Content/Strength
for inspections. The install base on RIMIs includes nearly 20 9Es, Consider the two stainless steels mentioned above, which are
six 6Bs, and eight 7Fs. One recent example is a utility in the frequently used in combined cycle and cogeneration plants. If
Southeast U.S. that reduced downtime of its outage from an aver- you judge by their common name, austenitic stainless steel, you
age of 30 days to 20 days using the RIMI process. might conclude that you have matching metals, and that welding
them together would be an ordinary task. But if you look closely
at their properties, you find that is not the case.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) defines one of
EPIC themAlloy 347as having a minimum of 18% chromium and
11% nickel, with a maximum of 0.08% carbon. The other one,
Alloy 347H, can have a higher carbon contentup to 0.10%
which enhances high-temperature strength (Figure 4). The dif-
ference in high-temperature strength makes a joint between
these two steels a dissimilar-properties weld, which can only be
made with special welding procedures.

Similarly, differences exist in the chrome content of steels
within the one family of chromium/molybdenum alloys that
are also commonly welded in combined cycle and cogeneration
Manufactured in West Des Moines, Iowa USA
www.checkall.com sales@checkall.com plants. Were talking about P11 and P22, which are often referred
to by the same slang term, chrome-moly, and therefore are
Check-All Valve Mfg. Co. is proud to Additionally, the EPIC series often joined together as if its an ordinary weld. Even though
introduce a new check valve product incorporates a replaceable drop-in
offering. The EPIC series consists check mechanism (Replaceable
of in-line spring-loaded poppet-type Insert Kit sold separately) that is
check valves that are designed to be easily installed into the existing body 3. When is similar, not the same? A joint made between
cost effective, simple, rugged and without requiring additional assembly
two metals from the same alloy family could still be a dissimilar-prop-
eficient while operating in any low of separate checking components. This
orientation. pre-assembled complete check erties weld. Courtesy: Euroweld Ltd.
mechanism eliminates the need
The EPIC is machined from 300 series to assemble individual checking
stainless steel bar stock with Alas seat/ components, creating an eficient
seals and a 1/2-PSI stainless steel spring and economical method of effectively
(cracking pressure). It is streamlined rebuilding the entire check mechanism,
so that media lows through the valve if an application requires.
over smooth, contoured surfaces with
a minimum change in direction. The Due to the materials of construction,
check valve also achieves a high low high low capacity, complete
capacity and reduced pressure loss repairability and the quality customers
compared to other poppet style check have come to expect from Check-All,
valves of similar sized connections. the EPIC check valves are uniquely
These features minimize the pressure suited for a very wide range of
drop across the valve. The EPIC applications in liquids, gases and steam.
closes quickly and smoothly for
Find EPIC online
silent operation and eliminates water
hammer. EXPRESS LINE

18 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
4. Dissimilar properties. Although Alloy 347 and Alloy 347H may sound similar, differ-
ences in high-temperature strength make welding joints between the two, dissimilar-properties
welds. Values on this chart are in kilopounds per square inch at 1,100F. Courtesy: Euroweld Ltd.
Allowable stress
both of these metals are called chrome-
moly, they have very different properties,
so their weld should be made with very
special procedures.
These are just two of the problems cre-
ated by the metal-standards organizations
with their current classification of P
numbers, which have shoehorned met-
als of different properties into the various
classifications. To correct these problems,
AISI needs to update its standards, as do
the American Society for Testing and Ma-
terials (ASTM) and the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Code
committees are currently working on this,
so updates could be issued soon.
Inspect, Dont Expect
Youve probably heard the old manage-
ment adage, You get what you inspect,
not what you expect. The expression
couldnt be truer than in the case of dis-
similar-properties welds. Thats why oper-
ations and maintenance personnel should
identify all of the dissimilar-properties
welds in their plant, and give them a spe-
cial inspection.
Inspections should focus on the transi-
tion zone between the base metals, be-
cause thats where harmful intermetallic
compounds and other defects are found,
if any have formed. Using optical micros-
copy, look for the presence of these in-
termetallic compounds, such as niobium
carbides, chrome carbides, and so on. If
the metallography reveals any defects,
then the weld needs to be remade.
In many cases, the remade weld should
April 2017 POWER | www.powermag.com
Alloy
use a third material as a buttering layer
between the two base metals. The butter-
ing material must be soluble with each of
the base metals, so a nickel-based filler is
often the correct choice.
Take control.
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products/AutoVREL.
Construction contractors and origi-
nal equipment manufacturers are typi-
cally equipped to comply with the special
welding procedures needed for dissimi-
lar-properties welds. After commission-
ing, however, the plant is turned over to
the power plant crew, which may not be
equipped to thoroughly inspect all welds
completed during routine maintenance
and plant outages. Thats why a qualified
contractor should be hired to conduct a
metallographic inspection of all of the
dissimilar-properties welds performed.
Post-Weld Heat Treatment
In combined cycle and cogeneration
plants, the single most troublesome dis-
similar-properties weld is the one between
a grade 91 steel and one of the common
steelseither P11 or P22. Joining P91 to
P11/22 is so troublesome that it requires
post-weld heat treatment (PWHT) in 100%
of the cases in order to preserve the me-
tallic microstructure. Very specific PWHT
requirements are published in many differ-
ent codes and should not be disregarded.
William F. Newell Jr., PE is vice
president for Euroweld Ltd. and Rob
Swanekamp, PE is executive director of
the HRSG Users Group.
19
 The Future of Clean Energy
Is Dependent on States
and Utilities
Tahiya Sultan
U .S. coal production in 2016 reached its lowest level since
1978. However, in its Annual Energy Outlook published
in February 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Adminis-
tration (EIA) expects coal-fired power to regain its place at the
top of the U.S. power generation mix in 2019 and hold that posi-
tion into the 2030s, if the Obama-era Environmental Protection
Agencys (EPAs) Clean Power Plan (CPP) is repealed.
Given the Supreme Court ruling in February 2016 that stayed
its implementation, President Trumps promise to repeal it, and
the confirmation of Scott Pruitt as the new administrator of the
EPA, the CPP appears doomed. The death of the CPP would drasti-
cally impact federal government incentives to switch to cleaner
energy. However, if states, utilities, and the largest energy users
maintain their own clean energy goals, the spirit and aims of the
CPP will be met with or without its actual implementation.
The CPP tracks the U.S.s commitment as part of the historic
Paris climate deal by requiring states to develop plans to reduce
carbon emissions from existing generating units that use fossil
fuels and encouraging states to reach a specific carbon reduction
target. Implementation of the CPP would ensure U.S. coal con-
sumption for power production decreases from its present level,
unless utilities invest more money to upgrade existing plants.
However, even if the CPP survives, states are not required to start
meeting lower carbon-emissions levels until 2022.
The CPP is a prime example of how federal regulations for ex-
isting power plants could significantly contribute to lowering
carbon emissions. If the CPP is implemented, coal generation
would likely decline steadily through the 2030s and it would
greatly reduce carbon emissions and coal plant pollution. Con-
versely, without the CPP, the EIA noted there is less incentive to
switch from carbon-intensive coal to less carbon-intensive natu-
ral gas or carbon-free fuels such as wind and solar.
States Moving to Take the Lead
However, the Obama-era EPA was not the only regulatory body
aiming to reduce carbon emissions in the U.S., and the death of
the CPP does not mark the end of the countrys clean energy fu-
ture. Many states have already begun to create their own carbon
emission-reduction targets and plans, thus fulfilling the aims of
the CPP on their own terms.
For example, legislation has been introduced in the California
Assembly to cap the amount of coal-generated electricity the
state uses. Under the current version of the bill, California would
entirely eliminate in-state use of electricity from coal by 2026.
The bill is largely symbolic because the amount that California
usesabout 6% at the end of 2016is already small.
Though symbolic, the bill would codify into law Californias
20 www.powermag.com
commitment to address climate change by eliminating coal-fired
energy sources entirely from the states grid. It would also serve
as statutory protection against any future reversion to high-pol-
luting energy sources during unexpected service interruptions or
to accommodate electric demand growth that could occur with
the rapid expansion of the electric transportation industry.
Similarly, New York has continued with its plans to reduce car-
bon pollution, investing in solar, smart power grids, electric car
charging stations, and offshore wind farms in an effort to even-
tually reach a 100% renewable energy goal. New York already
receives 25% of its power from renewable energy sources.
Even Michiganwhich is one of the 10 most coal-dependent
states in the countryhas achieved some renewable energy ob-
jectives. The Michigan Public Service Commission recently found
that all electric service providers in the state met renewable port-
folio targets of 10% by 2015.
The Role of Utilities
Similarly, the nations largest energy users and electric utilities
are not waiting for closure on the CPP as they move forward
with reducing emissions. More than two-thirds of Fortune 100
companies and more than half of Fortune 500 companies have
renewable power or sustainability targets.
Many states have already be-
gun to create their own carbon
emission-reduction targets and
plans, thus fulfilling the aims of
the CPP on their own terms.
Furthermore, utilities and the largest energy users are direct-
ing new investments towards natural gas and renewable-based
power production due to the low cost of natural gas and the tax
credits provided to produce more electricity from solar and wind.
In fact, many electric utilities anticipate that even if the CPP is
rescinded, stricter climate standards are likely at the state level
and under possible future federal administrations. Thus, many
utilities will continue to focus on cutting carbon emissions.
Regardless of the fate of the CPP, we will likely continue to see
states, utilities, and large energy users collectively reduce the
nations carbon footprint and achieve greater renewable energy
targets, despite any near-term federal obstacles created.
Tahiya Sultan is an associate with Davis Wright Tremaine in the
firms San Francisco office.
|
POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

The Future Is Now: Connected

Power Plants Are Here

Courtesy: Duke Energy Renewables

New technology is being used throughout the power industry to improve plant ef-
ficiency, predict trouble with degrading equipment, forecast weather trends, and
train workers. A recent conference hosted by POWER brought together a number of
savvy users and providers to share their experiences and learn about new offerings.
Abby L. Harvey, Aaron Larson, Thomas W. Overton, and Sonal Patel

A
joke that always seems to get laughs
when the power plant of the future is
contemplated is that only one human
and one dog will be needed to operate it.
The dogs job will be to bite the human if he
or she tries to touch anything; the humans
job will be to feed the dog.
The point of the joke, of course, is that
the power plant of the future may not need
humans at all; it may be run completely by
computers and controlled using artificial
intelligence. Although that sounds like sci-
ence fiction, so did self-driving cars a few
years ago. Now, its not only companies like
Tesla and Google that are developing auton-
omous vehicles; even Ford expects to have
commercial models available by 2021.
Leaders Connect
POWER hosted the first-ever Connected
Plant Conference in Dallas, Texas, February
1516, 2017. The conferencedesigned to
give attendees the tools needed to move to-
ward a more connected power plantwas
sponsored by industry heavyweights GE,
Siemens, and the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), among others. Presenta-
tions included case studies on connected
technologies being utilized by utilities such
as Exelon, Duke Energy, Salt River Project,
and more. (Stay tuned to POWER for soon-
to-be-released details about next years
event.)
During the conference, Sham Chotai,
chief technology officer (CTO) of GE
Power Digital Solutions, noted that technol-
ogy offerings have evolved significantly in
recent years (Figure 1). GE introduced its
digital wind farm in the spring of 2015. The
solution has improved the annual energy
production of some wind farms by 3% to
4% through digital modeling and improved
data analytics. In the fall of 2015, GE rolled
out its digital power plant for gas-fired fa-
cilities, increasing the efficiency of many of
those units. Last summer, it introduced the
digital power plant for steam units, which
has improved the efficiency of some coal-
fired plants by 5%.
Chotai noted that Exelon Generation has
embraced GEs Predix technology in a big
way. For example, Exelon is utilizing the
products energy forecasting tools to more
accurately predict wind speeds, which af-
fects wind generation forecasts. Dispatch-
ers use the information to adjust models
and factor in expected changes. One Exelon
employee said prior to implementing the
Predix solution, the company left potential
energy generation on the table that it is now

22 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
needed to take action based on the monitor-
1. The digital revolution. New technology, such as GEs Predix system, has allowed
ing teams analysis, resulted in the discov-
many power plants to optimize performance. Courtesy: GE Power
ery of a very large crack in a high-pressure
steam turbine rotor. Although the team
could not pinpoint the exact problem while
the unit was online, pattern recognition soft-
ware identified a vibration anomaly that had
gone undetected by control room operators.
After further analysis, the team determined
that a thorough examination was warranted.
The unit was shut down, avoiding cata-
strophic failure, and the crack was found
during the inspection.
Duke Energys Monitoring and Diagnos-
tics Center reported 555 finds from 2013
through 2016. The company estimates that
the center has more than paid for itself
through cost avoidance attributable to the
centers finds during the period.

Modeling Plants Pays Dividends

able to profit from. very short distance to these computers. Randy Bickford, president and CTO of soft-
[Exelon is] just an incredible, incredible Reid said thoroughly reviewing all of the ware firm Expert Microsystems, agreed that
partner for us, Chotai said. Theyre early data that is collected is not humanly pos- modeling expected performance parameters
adopters. We think were early in this jour- sible, so Duke Energy has several software is key. The most accurate expected val-
ney. We spent about the last 18 months re- tools that it utilizes for the task. The compa- ues give you the earliest and most accurate
ally piloting a lot of technologies . . . They ny has created virtual plant modelsDuke predictions of potential problems, he said.
bought everything that we had. Energy currently has more than 10,000 Without a good model, its much harder to
Another example of an early adopter is modelsand it monitors thermal perfor- use plant data effectively. One problem with
Duke Energy (the companys Renewable mance at plants looking for optimization relying directly on sensor data is that many
Control Center is shown in the opening pho- opportunities and other issues. problems can display the same symptoms,
to). Michael Reid, general manager of tech- Once we have alarms going off and tell- making it hard to tell whats really going
nical programs for Duke Energys Fossil ing us, this is not expected behavior, then we on. With that model, you know when and
Hydro Group, gave a presentation showing have our experts start to dig into this problem where problems will occur.
how Duke Energy has applied technology and use the tools that we have, Reid said. Stefan Bungart, global head of digitaliza-
building off the online-monitoring con- One find, or situation in which a plant tion, power generation services for Siemens
ceptto detect equipment failures earlier
than was previously possible. He noted that 2. Putting it all to work. Connecting a power plant can help make emissions compli-
the earlier problems are detected, the more ance more efficient and accurate. Left to right: Steve Piche, software director with GE Power
time there is to plan, prioritize, schedule, Digital Services; Tom Overton, POWER associate editor; and Philip Black, product marketing
and execute repairs. director with the Wood Group. Source: POWER/Aaron Larson
Although a common perception is that
equipment wears out over time, Reid said
most equipment failure occurs randomly.
That fact offers an opportunity for compa-
nies with a proactive mindset. Duke Energy
has added more and more field sensors to
monitor plant components with the goal of
avoiding catastrophic breakdown. It now ac-
quires much more data than it used to, and
it exploits that data to detect potential prob-
lems. One game changer was the ability to
utilize wireless connectivity.
We have many sensors applied on our
assets. Theyre hardwired to numerous
data acquisition systems around the station.
Those data acquisition computers then send
information to the plant server wirelessly,
Reid explained. If we didnt have that ar-
chitecture, it would be far too expensive to
install this, because really 75% of the cost
of the project is related to installation of the
wiring for the sensorsand thats just for a

|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 23
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Energy, noted that utilities that have em-
braced the possibilities of digitization have
seen returns across their entire operations,
from generation and distribution, to trad-
ing, retail, and even headquarters overhead.
Digitization can improve plant security,
network security, and system integrity, he
noted.
Andrew Johnson, supervisor of Salt River
Projects (SRPs) Performance Monitoring
Center (PMC) in Arizona, reported similar
benefits from the cooperatives embrace of
24
advanced predictive analytics. The project
began with one combined cycle plant in
2005, and SRP has since rolled it out across
its entire fleet, expanding the range of data
it gathers over time. The PMC is staffed by
a crew of experienced plant supervisors who
are able to give expert advice to plant work-
ers remotely. The results have more than
justified the substantial investment.
In 2016, the PMC managed 318 saves, become more costly, and that the Environ-
Johnson said.
SRP plans to expand the PMCs capabili-
www.powermag.com
ties through additional advanced modeling
of performance and vibrational data.
Using Data to Optimize Your Plant
One area that big data and advanced moni-
toring can help with is environmental com-
pliance, two speakers noted. Philip Black,
product marketing director with the Wood
Group, pointed out that noncompliance has
mental Protection Agency expects plant
compliance data to be much more accessible
than it has been in the past (Figure 2). That
means the old spreadsheet approach is often
no longer enough.
You cant afford to have a bunch of dif-
ferent sets of data sets for your compliance.
You cant have Operations looking at one
set of data, Environmental collecting that
data manually, and then sending it to Man-
agement, he said. Operations needs that
same data and same information.
But having a connected plant means op-
erators can run equipment based on actual
values instead of estimates, and it allows for
a more consistent, predictable approach that
can prevent problems before they occur, he
said. Properly configured systems will iden-
tify data loss instead of relying on faulty in-
strumentation that can throw off results. All
of this allows for more efficient operations
and better decision-making.
You get the ability to start using your
compliance data as a dataset, as a consistent
set of information in a format that everyone
can access and use, he said. Its not just
the right data to the right person. Its the
right data into the right system.
One especially powerful tool is using
these rich historical datasets for failure anal-
ysis, so that the plant has a clear picture of
exactly what went wrong, where, and why.
It gives us the ability to move the infor-
mation from static reports into visual and
other representations to show where the
failures occurred, he said.
Advanced neural net modeling and rich
data can allow for real-time, closed-loop
combustion optimization, Steve Piche,
software director with GE Power Digital
Services, explained. Earlier generations of
neural net models could only predict current
or changing values in emissions data due to
changes in manipulated variables. The most
recent generation, however, can not only
predict changes, but also predict levels of
confidence in the new values based on those
variables. This allows for much more pre-
cise tuning of combustion, he said, because
the predicted confidence values can be used
to evaluate the quality of the models.
What this allows us to do is understand
what inputs are affecting what outputs, and
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 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
insight and better decision-making, he said.
3. Smart devices. Attendees at the Connected Plant Conference participated in dem-
On the power plant construction and de-
onstrations of Occipitals Structure Sensor (left), a 3-D-scanning iPad attachment, and the
Microsoft Hololens (right)a pair of mixed-reality smartglassesas they would be used at a sign front, digital technology can make a
power plant. Computer vision and image measurement firm Praxik is developing software for positive impact on cost and risk. This inte-
these devices for power plant use under a contract with the Electric Power Research Institute. grated digital structure requires less control
Such devices promise a far more intuitive user interface with plant equipment and could allow system interwiring, less engineering detail
workers to easily see key equipment and relevant data, or even enter new information into a on drawings, less hardware, less fabrication
system. Courtesy: Praxik wiring, and fewer points to test. This helps
reduce costs across the entire lifecycle of
the plant control system, McDonnell noted.
This can be hundreds of thousands of dol-
lars for a mid-size project.
Safety, too, can be integrated into the
digital culture. The electronic integration
of safety could improve procedural compli-
ance, the safety audit process, safety pro-
gram tracking, safety event tracking, and
safety system monitoring. Additionally, it
could identify trends by determining the
root cause of safety events, as well as cut
downtime caused by safety events, he said.
how strongly they are affecting the outputs, tems in the power industry specifically. That Finally, the digital integration of safety
and do we need to collect additional data. head-in-the-sand [mentality] is probably could benefit younger, less-experienced
Piche described a case study involving not going to work anymore. workers who may need time to fully un-
a two-unit, 730-MW coal plant that needed One of the keys to guarding a plant against derstand an organizations safety culture.
to significantly reduce its NOx emissions to potential cyberattacks is understanding where Safety procedures, culture, and processes
avoid a substantial derate. Using GE predic- vulnerabilities lie. Youre opening up more do not change regardless of the employees
tive analytics and optimization, the plant was of these paths, and as you open it up in one generation, McDonnell added.
able to achieve a 10% NOx reduction over a direction, youre creating another direction Matt Buck, who is a senior technical
45-day period and continue operating at its back in for the bad guys, Carrigan said. The leader for EPRI, pointed out that in 2015
rated capacity. other thing is: These things have a day job. Millennials became the greatest percentage
Engineers are constantly making changes in of the workforce. Born between 1980 and
Vigilance Is Vital for Cybersecurity [distributed control systems (DCSs)] and 2000, that generation has different career
Bringing a power plant into the age of the In- [programmable logic controllers (PLCs)] to expectations and grew up with electron-
dustrial Internet of Things (IIoT) inherently improve operations, and thats a good thing, ics and interconnectedness as part of their
raises cybersecurity concerns. As more con- but they can do two things inadvertently everyday life. The digital transformation is
nections are made between a plants many while theyre doing that. inevitable, he argued. But he said there is a
systems, more access points are naturally First, Carrigan continued, in making more significant question worth exploring:
created for hackers to gain entry, Marina changes to a once-secure DCS or PLC, engi- Whether the use of technology will be en-
Krotofill, lead security researcher at Hon- neers can damage the data those systems are terprise-driven or motivated by employees
eywell Industrial Cyber Security, explained sending to the IIoT. Second thing I can do is seeking to find a way?
during the conference. I can open up more security holes because I Transitioning to a digital workforce will
The Internet of Things means that you have done something . . . all of sudden Ive require the right approach, from the right
introduce some sort of connectivity to your opened up a path I didnt expect to be there or application of technology to the right app
platform, she said. If you introduce exter- Ive created a vulnerability I didnt want. All to get the job done, Buck said. These ap-
nal connectivity from the internet, you have of a sudden Ive left my system more vulner- plications should increase efficiency and
to make sure that your infrastructure is se- able, he said. effectiveness, but they must also enhance
cure. worker safety and productivity, and can-
While there are undeniably potential se- Enhancing Efficiency and Worker not risk situational awareness or be overly
curity risks related to connecting a power Safety with Technology complicated (Figure 3). Finally, they should
plants systems, that should not necessar- Because the global population is anticipated be developed with the involvement of field
ily be a deterrent to doing so, according to to surpass eight billion people by 2025 and workers to have value, he said.
Mark Carrigan, COO of PAS Inc. The po- the world will need to produce more essen- Some helpful applications under develop-
tential benefits of integrating IIoT technol- tials, including medicine, food, water, and ment include wearable biometric monitoring
ogy into a plants operation can outweigh especially energy, the industrial sector must to improve employee health; geolocation or
the cybersecurity risks, as long as the plant become smarter and more productive, ar- scanning to aid in equipment identification;
operator addresses the risks, he said. gued Tom McDonnell, power generation in- trend overlays to gauge real-time equipment
One of the big things about cybersecu- dustry leader at Rockwell Automation. This status; and virtual walkthroughs before ex-
rity is you cant quantify the risks like you digital transformation is already under way. ecution of a procedure.
can other things. In some ways, for some Applications and systemssuch as in- Abby L. Harvey is reporter, Aaron
people, its like its just out there, he said. tegrated, intelligent electrical devices and Larson is executive editor, and Thomas
The reality is: There have been a number of smart instrumentationcan be unified, re- W. Overton and Sonal Patel are associate
successful attacks on industrial control sys- sulting in speedy data analysis for richer editors for POWER magazine.

26 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Reducing Cycling Damage to
Combined Cycle Steam Turbines
Cycling a combined cycle plant places additional stresses on all equipment, but the
impacts extend beyond the gas turbine and heat recovery steam generator. Plant
owners and managers are beginning to see cycling-related damage on steam tur-
bines too. A recent study by the Electric Power Research Institute assessed the ways
plants are finding to deal with it.
Merrill Quintrell
M any combined cycle gas turbine
(CCGT)based power plants
have seen a significant change in
their operating profiles over the past two de-
cades. In many cases, plants that were origi-
nally designed for baseload or hours-based
operation are instead realizing operating pro-
files that experience high starts, lower-than-
expected capacity factors, and a significant
amount of load-following throughout the
course of the day.
Over the years, original equipment manu-
facturers (OEMs) and owners have investi-
gated methods to improve the operational
flexibility of CCGT facilities, including en-
hanced turndown capability and increased
ramp ratesall in order to improve their
market presence. However, much of this
work has been focused on the combustion
turbine generator (CTG) side of the facil-
28
ity. Very little regard has been given to what
shorter start times, lower turndowns, and
other modifications to the gas turbine side
of the plant may have on the steam side of
the facility, with particular emphasis on the
steam turbine generator (STG, Figure 1).
A recent study by the Electric Power
Research Institute (EPRI) investigated the
impact of increased cycling on the STG.
The study and its findings are described in
an EPRI report entitled Operational and
Control Strategies for Reducing Steam Tur-
bine Damage from Cycling Combined Cycle
Plants (EPRI report 3002006026).
Study Methodology
The EPRI study involved telephone inter-
views with representatives at a broad range
of plants, followed by site visits to selected
facilities. Participants were culled from a
www.powermag.com
Source: POWER/Tom Overton
cross-section of the industry, representing
predominantly F-class CCGT facilities, but
also including E-class units and aero-deriv-
atives.
In all, telephone interviews were conduct-
ed with plant staff at nearly 50 CCGT power
facilities in the U.S., Japan, England, and Ita-
ly. Interview questions encompassed general
inquiries regarding age of the facility, basic
design configuration, dispatch operations,
plant procedures, and operations and main-
tenance history of the steam systems in the
plant, including the heat recovery steam gen-
erator (HRSG), main steam piping, attemper-
ators, and in particular the STG. With regards
to the STG, detailed discussions were held
regarding maintenance histories, discoveries,
inspection frequencies, and lessons learned,
all of which also included all STG valves and
ancillary equipment. As part of these discus-
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POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
1. At risk. Though attention has been paid to the stresses that increased cycling can place 2. Airfoil erosion. Operation at low to
on gas turbines and heat recovery steam generators, plant operators are now beginning to see extremely low loads can result in water dam-
similar effects on combined cycle plant steam turbine generators. Courtesy: EPRI age to steam turbine airfoils. Courtesy: EPRI

house, Dresser-Rand, Shin Nippon, and IMO

DeLaval).

Steam Turbines in Combined Cycle

sions, the maintenance histories of the gener-
ators were also explored. Respondents were
asked to share, if possible, integrated plant
startup and shutdown procedures.
Interviewees for each facility typically
included the plant manager, operations man-
ager, and maintenance manager, or some
similar mix of personnel. Interviews gener-
ally lasted about 60 minutes. Represented in
the study were 127 gas turbines, 81 steam
turbines, and eight steam turbine manufac-
turers (Alstom, GE, Siemens, MHI, Westing-
Plants
As OEMs ramped up their design and manu-
facturing capabilities for the advanced CTGs
delivered in the mid- and late-1990s, they
came to the realization that, for the most
part, the steam turbine requirements for the
new CCGT facilities were drastically differ-
ent from their fossil-plant cousins. In typical
fossil plants, steam turbines will often have
as many as seven extractions to provide for
feedwater preheating, which is not required
in CCGT facilities. In addition, most HRSGs
typically incorporate three different pressure

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April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 29
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
3. Rubs. Contact between rotating and stationary components can cause vibration and dam-
age. These spill strips have been rubbed and as a result machined out. Courtesy: EPRI.
4. Greasy windings. Cycling can cause
additional vibration in the generator, which can
manifest as a greasy substance caused by the
presence of oil inside the generator combin-
ing with dust created by windings rubbing
against each other. Courtesy: EPRI
levels, in contrast to fossil boilers, which
have only one. As a result, most modern
CCGT facilities are outfitted with steam tur-
bines that have been specifically designed for
combined-cycle operations rather than steam
turbines that were originally intended for
process duty or fossil-based service.
With the many different facilities respond-
ing in the study, researchers received a wide
diversity of responses. Some operators stated
that they have seen no negative consequences
from high cycling of their steam turbines,
while others stated that they have seen fair-
ly drastic consequences. One of the project
managers interviewed at a non-OEM service
provider stated, There is a lot more being
asked of these steam turbines with regards to
cyclic duty, and problems are showing up a
lot sooner than compared to their older utili-
ty-grade counterparts.
Issues identified in the study were sepa-
rated into four areas: steam turbines proper,
generators, plant startup and shutdown, and
control valves.
Steam Turbines
Steam turbines proper have been experienc-
ing a number of problems as the direct result
30
of the cyclic operations.
Airfoil Damage Due to Water or Wet
Steam Ingress. Due to the push to get units
online quicker, or the desire to try to run at
extremely low loads, todays CCGT facili-
ties have experienced issues with damage to
airfoils, both rotating and stationary, result-
ing in cutting or thinning (Figure 2). This
damage is often repairable but can be very
expensive and time consuming.
Last-Stage Blade Resonance. Surpris-
ingly, a number of issues were noted with a
vibrational response in the last-stage blades,
resulting from a natural resonance, which has
led to the failure of many last-stage blades.
This issue has been identified in multiple
manufacturers units and multiple frame
sizes.
Casing Cracks and Deformation. Due
to the impact of thermal fatigue and potential
water or wet steam ingress, several examples
have been documented of casing cracks as
well as component deformation.
Rotor Bow. At least one plant, which was
the subject of a site visit, experienced a rotor
bow to the extent that it required remedial ac-
tion and will require further repairs during an
upcoming maintenance interval.
Managing Differential Expansion.
Several sites have noted issues with manag-
ing differential expansion, and at least one
site had issues with the proper setup and
calibration of the differential expansion in-
strumentation. Having proper knowledge of
the proper setup of this instrumentation and
proper understanding of how to manage the
relative growth between rotor and casing
during cycling are critical to preventing po-
tentially significant damage to the critical
clearances.
Rubs. Rubs between rotating and station-
ary components, whether radial or axial, can
at best cause momentary vibration and mar-
ginal opening of tight clearances, and at worst
www.powermag.com
lead to forced outages to repair the damage
(Figure 3). Rubs can be due to a variety of
issues, including but not limited to improper
maintenance practices, inadequate insulation
installation, or poor startup processes.
Generators
Issues with generators on the cycling steam
turbines may be the direct result of cycling or
exacerbated by the cyclic nature of operations.
Dusting and Greasing. One of the most
prevalent issues with cycling generators is
loose end windings, which has led to multi-
ple sites experiencing dusting, caused by the
rubbing together of adjacent windings. If this
happens in the presence of oil that has mi-
grated into the generator, the oil and the dust
caused by the friction will create a grease-like
substance (Figure 4). The presence of dusting
or greasing is not the problem; rather, it is a
symptom of a problem that if left uncorrected
may eventually lead to shorted turns. Some
sites have installed end winding vibration
probes to aid in the detection of vibration.
Oil Ingress. Another common issue with
most generators is oil getting in through the
oil seals. In hydrogen-cooled generators, this
ingress can occur if problems exist with the
seal oil pressure regulators. On air-cooled
units, it can happen if the inlet air filters be-
come dirty and the differential pressure in-
creases to the point that air is pulled through
the bearings. Either way, oil, once it is inside
the generator, can atomize with the cooling
media, either air or hydrogen, flowing in and
around the windings of both the stator and
the rotor. This oil can act as a lubricant on
windings that are already prone to vibration,
as noted above, and can cause them to vibrate
much more readily, leading to the greasing
described previously.
Thermal Sensitivity. While not specifi-
cally a cyclic operational issue, thermal sen-
sitivity in generators has been known to be
aggravated by cycling operations.
Rotor Pole Cracking. At least one site
reported rotor pole cracking, which was a
direct result of the additional stresses placed
on this unit as a result of the cycling opera-
tions. If such cracking has occurred at this
one plant, and it is attributable to cycling, the
likelihood that it may occur at other similarly
situated facilities is increased.
Control Valves
Due to extreme cycling, a number of issues
have been identified with STG control valves.
Thermal Fatigue Leading to Crack-
ing. Naturally, these valves are experiencing
multiple heating and cooling cycles, as well
as occasional water ingestion or wet steam,
which will lead to localized quenching of the
components. This quenching, in turn, will
|
POWER April 2017

lead to cracking of the various components,
which may at times be self-relieving. While
the cracking may be initiated by fatigue, the
cycling will tend to propagate the crack.
Solid Particle Erosion (SPE). Low-load
operations, especially in the power blocks of
multiple units such as 2x1 or 3x1 that oper-
ate in 1x1, keep the control valves pinched
back in order to maintain minimum pressure
on the HRSG. Because this action will cause
the steam to accelerate through the valve, any
solids that might be entrained in the system
are then jetted through the valve opening,
causing SPE on the valve stems. While re-
pairable, this damage is costly and time con-
suming to fix.
Control Valve Testing/Sticking. A num-
ber of factors can cause control valves to stick
or fail during a periodic valve test. It can be
electrical (for example, the control signal ini-
tiating the test or providing test feedback can
be interrupted), or it can be hydraulic (such
as the solenoid valve experiencing a fault
such as varnishing or a clogged filter), or the
failure can be mechanical, because the valve
itself is actually stuck, and fails to travel
when tested. If this happens, proper precau-
tions must be taken to safely shut down the
STG without tripping the unit to prevent an
overspeed event. Mechanical sticking of the
control valve is most likely due to excessive
build-up of blue blush within the valve itself.
Prudent maintenance practices dictate that
these valves be periodically disassembled,
cleaned, and the wear parts replaced in order
for them to provide adequate STG protection.
Non-OEM Parts. While many sites have
had very good luck with non-OEM parts, a
few reports were made of incidents involving
the use of such parts to repair control valves.
While the incidents were not catastrophic in
nature, they did require additional forced out-
ages to accommodate the repairs.
Plant Startup and Shutdown
With regards to CCGT plant startup and shut-
down processes, a significant variation exists
across the industry, and developing a best
practices procedure would be beneficial.
Fast Start. An Italian CCGT facility
profiled in the EPRI study utilized sparging
steam to maintain pressure on all three HRSG
drums, as well as steam seals, and established
a very impressive record for startup and shut-
down efficiency. This site could be utilized as
a template for best practices going forward.
Bypass System Shutdown. A facil-
ity located in the Midwest has modified its
procedures during shutdown to prevent its
bypass system from opening in an effort
to minimize wear-and-tear on the bypass
valves. This site has estimated that the revi-
sions to its startup procedures have realized
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April 2017 POWER
net savings of $20,000 to $40,000 per year in
valve maintenance.
Spreadsheet Startup. Two sites utilized
some form of Excel spreadsheet to facilitate
startup. Use of the spreadsheet at one site
resulted in a site-specific, case-specific, and
ambient-specific startup process, while the
other appeared to optimize the startup to
minimize fuel consumption. Development
of a similar type process for best practices
might be beneficial.
Siemens X-Crit. A site visit to a plant that
utilizes Siemens equipment provided an op-
portunity to witness the Siemens startup op-
timization system, which continually checks
permissives every step of the way, including
what the control room operator referred to as
x-crits, or rotor-specific variables. Incorpo-
rating similar permissive checks, something
that considers the OEM stress analyzer, into
a spreadsheet type program would be useful.
Site Visits
In the EPRI study, based on the results of the
initial interviews, four sites were selected for
follow-up on-site visits. These sites were cho-
sen because the plants were doing something
unique, were deemed to be industry leading,
or had experienced unique problems. Site
visits lasted one to two days and, although
this was not always possible, were meant to
witness a startup and shutdown cycle. Dur-
ing the site visits, additional time was spent
evaluating unique practices and how their
processes and procedures were implemented
and used.
Some unique approaches were observed
during site visits.
Thermal Blankets. A plant in the South-
west Power Pool region modified its STG to
include heating blankets on the high-pressure
(HP)/intermediate-pressure shell to maintain
temperatures, helping the plant to all but
eliminate cold and warm restarts. These ther-
mal blankets are set to maintain temperatures
between 550F and 650F, depending upon the
location. The plant is now able to initiate a
warm or a cold start, in a 1x1 configuration,
and have the plant to minimum stable load
(with the gas turbine in Mode 6Q, which
means that it meets all environmental regula-
tory requirements) within 90 minutes.
Spreadsheet. A plant dispatched into the
Midcontinent Independent System Opera-
tor utilizes a unique spreadsheet to optimize
startup sequencing with the goal of minimiz-
ing gas consumption during startup. The
spreadsheet accepts operator inputs on ambi-
ent conditions and calculates unit capacities
based on 1x1 and 2x1 operation with and
without duct burners and chillers. The op-
erator can then enter projected startup time
requirements, and the spreadsheet identifies
www.powermag.com
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
5. Start-up sequencing. This com-
bined cycle plant in Italy has developed an op-
timized startup sequence that enables a hot
restart on an 850-MW F-class unit in just 45
minutes. Courtesy: EPRI
which steps need to be performed and time
stamps each step. This then becomes an am-
bient-specific, configuration-specific, startup
check-sheet.
Optimized Startup Sequencing. A
unit in Italy has optimized startup sequenc-
ing and is able to perform a hot restart on an
850-MW F-class unit in 45 minutes (Figure
5). According to the site, hot starts (STG HP
inlet temperature >345C) are about 40 min-
utes, including a 5-minute purge timer; warm
starts (STG HP inlet temperature 220C to
345C) require 1 hour; and cold starts (STG
inlet <220C) require approximately 2 hours.
Blades. A 2x1 facility based on F-class
technology has had significant issues with
the L-0 STG blades caused by water ero-
sion and impingement. This facility also has
3x1x1 7C/E units that have been in operation
for about 40 years that have seen severe cy-
clic duty, and has a 1x1 7EA unit that has
also had the L-0 STG blades removed as the
result of issues with resonance and tendon
failures.
Ongoing Evolutions
A number of issues in the steam turbine
and generator suggest further examination
to improve cycling response is warranted.
The duty cycle of these units will continue
to change, and as was seen during the EPRI
study, some of the units that are cycling now
may in fact move towards a more base-loaded
profile, and some that are baseload units now
might become peaking units in a few years.
Whatever the case, these steam turbines
will continue to see the stresses of cycling
operations, and prudent operations and main-
tenance personnel will have to be in a posi-
tion to manage this stress.
Merrill Quintrell (mquintrell@epri.com)
is a principal technical leader with the
operations management and technology
program in EPRIs generation sector.
31
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Facilitating Predictive
Maintenance of Electrical Assets
with Pervasive Sensing Strategies
Continuous condition-based monitoring of electrical conductors and insulation is an
effective way to reduce required plant maintenance activities, cut operating costs,
and prevent unplanned shutdowns. Collecting data during normal operation can
alert operators to problems in real time.
Jonathan P. Murray
E lectric utilities strive to improve reli-
ability in the face of challenges such
as fewer operators, aging assets, and
increased cycling. Critical asset failures re-
sulting in unplanned shutdowns of power
generation must be avoided as they can cause
lost production, environmental issues, litiga-
tion arising from injuries or fatalities, and
repair and/or replacement of the damaged as-
sets. Taken together, these issues can amount
to millions of dollars of associated costs.
To address these issues, asset maintenance
is transitioning from traditional reactive and
periodic strategies to proactive strategies,
including continuous condition-based moni-
toring of electrical assets. Modern sensing
technology makes it possible to continu-
ously monitor the health of these assets and
inform plant personnel whenor even be-
foreproblems arise. This article describes
the problem, the causes of asset failures, and
32
the various types of sensing systems used to
detect and predict problems in electrical as-
sets such as switchgear, bus duct, and circuit
breakers.
Common Electrical Asset Issues
Its no secret that downtime can be costly.
Many power plant outages are due to fail-
ure of critical electrical assets. Independent
of the type of power plant, a typical power
delivery system includes assets such as
generators, potential transformers, genera-
tor circuit breakers (GCBs), line disconnect
switches, step-up and step-down transform-
ers, segregated and nonsegregated bus ducts,
medium-voltage switchgear, and other equip-
ment needed to support the transmission and
distribution of power.
Electrical assets are subject to overheating
due to excessive loads, normal wear and tear,
and challenging environmental conditions.
www.powermag.com
Courtesy: Emerson Automation
Left unattended, these conditions can lead to
failures or costly damage to the asset and sur-
rounding equipment, power production loss,
and in extreme cases, severe injury or death.
While diagnosing and detecting all poten-
tial problems in the myriad mix of equipment
(such as generator vibration or transformer
oil deterioration) are important, this article
will concentrate on how to monitor three of
the main sources of electrical failures: over-
heating of conductors, insulation breakdown,
and problems related to high levels of mois-
ture.
Excessive Temperature. Circuit breaker,
bus bar, and cable connections tend to loosen
and/or corrode over time, resulting in thermal
failure of the connection and nearby cable in-
sulation.
Partial Discharge (PD). As insulators
age, weak spots and defects evolve, and
under certain load conditions, a dielectric
|
POWER April 2017

1. Switchgear accident due to par-
tial discharge (PD). Switchgear failures
can cause substantial damage to equipment
and pose a serious hazard to plant personnel.
Courtesy: Emerson Automation Solutions
breakdown will initiate across the defect,
causing a partial arc between conductors at
different potentials. This effect is known as
a partial discharge. The breakdown causes a
small but sudden rise in current accompanied
by a current pulse, as well as electromagnetic
(radio or light), acoustic, and ozone emis-
sions. Left unattended, this condition can
cause the switchgear to explode (Figure 1).
High Humidity. Moisture in switchgear
equipment can create shorts or be absorbed
by the insulators, leading to insulation break-
down. Humidity also causes metallic corro-
sion and can lead to elevated heating, partial
discharge, surface tracking, and the potential
for shorts and flashover.
Inspecting Assets Manually
Electrical asset monitoring is most often
achieved through periodic manual inspec-
tions during an outage. These inspections
look for obvious problems such as physical
damage, frayed connectors, degraded insu-
lation, and evidence of overheated compo-
nents. Electrical measurements can also be
conducted while power is off. Insulation re-
sistance in the panel enclosure, bus bars, cir-
cuit breakers, and other components can be
checked by applying voltage with calibrated
AC and DC hipot test sets. These tests will
also check contact resistance to confirm bus
bar joints are connected properly.
Manual inspections can also be conducted
while power is on using infrared (IR) equip-
ment. Periodic IR monitoring techniques
require a tempered glass window to be in-
stalled in the asset, a relatively expensive IR
camera, and a trained technician. One sig-
nificant limitation of this type of inspection
is that personnel cannot perform monitoring
procedures behind bus insulators or in assets
that cannot be reached, such as isophase bus
ducts, because line-of-sight is required with
IR technology. Moreover, IR technology is a
measure of emissivity, as opposed to an ac-
tual point-of-contact temperature.
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April 2017 POWER
All manual inspections require trained
technicians and specialized test equipment,
which is why they are often performed by an
outside service provider. Meanwhile, electri-
cal problems occurring after an inspection
can go undetected until the next inspection,
which could be a year or more away. During
that time, small problems can become large
ones, potentially leading to a complete fail-
ure of the asset(s) and resulting in a power
shutdown.
A better solution is to employ continuous
condition-based monitoring. This allows util-
ity companies to collect data generated dur-
ing the assets normal operating conditions,
thereby providing awareness to problems
in real time. Monitoring and trending data
of electrical stresses, vibration, insulation
breakdown, and environmental influences
during full load also provides new insights
into the health of the assets. By using this
data in conjunction with other asset parame-
ters, such as operating voltages and currents,
plant operators can plan proactive mainte-
nance and avoid catastrophic failure.
Temperature Monitoring
Temperature monitoring is a primary method
for detecting corrosion, wear, loose connec-
tions, and other problems associated with
the assets conductors, such as bus bars and
cables. One challenge in implementing con-
tinuous temperature monitoring of critical
connection points in air-insulated assets is
that the sensors must maintain the impulse
withstand voltage, also known as basic im-
pulse level (BIL). Consequently, conductors
at different potentials must have a mini-
mal distance between each other to prevent
breakdown to ensure the impulse rating. An-
other key challenge involves how to power
the sensors to avoid regular maintenance re-
quirements.
Specific to the BIL concern, the IEEE
Standards Associations C37.20.3 (Standard
for Metal-Enclosed Interrupter Switchgear,
2. SAW sensors. The three cylindrical orange surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors in the
middle of this photo are continuously transmitting temperature data via wireless connectivity.
Courtesy: Emerson Automation Solutions
www.powermag.com
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Section 5.2) states that switchgear rated
with a maximum voltage of 15 kV must have
an impulse voltage of 95 kV. This relates to
a distance (in air) of about 160 millimeters.
It means that the most common types of di-
rect contact temperature monitoring systems,
such as thermocouples and RTDs, cannot be
used. That leaves only noninvasive systems,
such as fiber optics, continuous IR sensing,
and wireless direct contact sensors, as moni-
toring options.
Wireless passive sensor systems provide
real-time continuous monitoring via direct
connection to critical measurement points.
These systems are easy to install, require no
maintenance or yearly calibration, and have
a life expectancy comparable to the assets
themselves. These sensors employ surface
acoustic wave (SAW) technology (Figure 2).
Compared to other noninvasive sensors,
passive SAW temperature sensors have no
physical connection to a control device, do
not require batteries, and do not require line-
of-sight for measurements.
Monitoring Partial Discharge
The most commonly used PD detection in-
struments directly measure the current and
voltage spikes with high-frequency current
transformers or high-voltage capacitive cou-
plers as outlined in the International Electro-
technical Commissions IEC 60270 standard:
Partial Discharge Measurements.
This method has several strengths, includ-
ing the ability to analyze pulse shapes and
to assemble a graph of the discharge events
relative to the phase of the power line wave-
form. These systems are very expensive and
require trained technicians to analyze the
data, and do not lend themselves to perma-
nent, continuous monitoring installations to
cover the complete power delivery system.
Many utilities are currently evaluating
partial discharge detection methods outlined
in accordance with IEC 62478, a prospective
standard for acoustic and electromagnetic
33
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
3. Continuous PD monitoring graph. Continuous trending of partial discharge
shows periodic spikes due to condensing humidity that may have been missed with noncon-
tinuous detection methods. Courtesy: Emerson Automation Solutions
Ongoing PD Periodic PD Humidity
nC cumulative/cycle
30
26
22
18
14
10
6 20
4. Ovation screenshot. The Ovation distributed control system trend shown here dis-
plays information received from an electrical asset monitoring system. Courtesy: Emerson Au-
tomation Solutions
PD measurements. These methods use non-
conventional instruments to make indirect
analytical measurements and obtain a relative
signature of PD pulses that can be used for
system trending.
As PD pulse currents have short rise times
(<1 nanosecond) and exiting electromagnetic
waves, a common technique uses a broad-
band antenna to monitor these waves in the
ultra-high-frequency (UHF) range between
300 MHz and 3 GHz. Traditional UHF meth-
ods are susceptible to noise from cell phones,
radios, and other transmitters. However,
newer instruments use selective, banded, and
filtered UHF monitoring to detect partial dis-
charges while rejecting noise sources. UHF
provides the safest, most nonintrusive con-
tinuous PD monitoring system.
Detecting UHF Partial Discharge
Effective UHF partial discharge detection for
34
RH%
100
80
60
40
continuous monitoring requires distillation
of an overwhelming amount of complex data
down to a concise piece of information, all
without the intervention of a highly trained
operator. To provide an autonomous ap-
proach for PD monitoring, advanced system
algorithms must be implemented to present
data that can be easily processed for health
assessment and long-term system trending.
UHF emission signals can be broken into
three major categories.
Noise. Noise denotes UHF energy in the
selected frequency band(s) not in close corre-
lation with the power line frequency. External
radio interference is a reliable classification
of noise; however, weak and erratic partial
discharge, which occurs early in the evolu-
tion of a defect, is also a noise classification.
Asymmetric Discharge. Events occur
primarily on the negative half-cycle of the
power waveform, where electrons emitted
www.powermag.com
from the metal ionize the air. Asymmetric
discharge (also called corona or surface dis-
charge) presents significant results at both
odd and even harmonics of the power line
frequency.
Symmetric Discharge. Discharge events
that occur in the bulk of the material, often
referred to as internal or symmetric partial
discharge, happen at the positive and nega-
tive polarity portions of the power cycle and
are often represented as even harmonics of
the power line frequency.
One of the causes of partial discharges is
excessive humidity, which condenses onto
cables and connectors. Continuous UHF
monitoring can detect these voltage spikes
(Figure 3).
Continuous Condition-Based
Monitoring
Complete critical asset monitoring systems
are available with temperature, humidity,
and PD sensing capabilities. In addition to
the wireless temperature and PD sensors out-
lined above, wired sensors are often installed
on the asset enclosure to provide ambient
temperature and humidity readings. Ambient
temperature readings are important because
critical issues involve temperature rise of hot
spots above ambient, as opposed to absolute
temperature.
A typical continuous condition-based
monitoring system for an electrical asset
includes a monitoring unit connecting tem-
perature, humidity, and partial discharge.
Each Temp & PD Air Interface, a branded
system provided by Emerson, uses banded
UHF technology to sense PD directly. Each
air interface device can also wirelessly link
to three or more SAW temperature sensors.
Up to four air interfaces can be wired to
the monitoring unit via low-loss coaxial ca-
bles. The monitoring unit can also accept up
to eight conventionally wired humidity and
ambient temperature sensors, which are well
suited for making measurements of these
variables in bus ducts.
The monitoring unit can be a full-featured
human-machine interface (HMI) with moni-
toring capabilities or a unit providing remote
monitoring capabilities. The monitoring unit
provides all the necessary wireless interro-
gation signals for the SAW sensors through
the air interface device. It also implements
the PD detection algorithms internally and
communicates directly with the humidity and
ambient temperature sensors.
All data is accessible through industry
standard Modbus RTU (RS485), DNP3, or
IEC-61850 communication protocols afford-
ing ease of integration into a plants exist-
ing supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) system, historian, or distributed
|
POWER April 2017

5. Bushing failure. Continuous temper-
ature monitoring detected a looming problem
with these generator circuit breaker bushings,
which were subsequently replaced during
scheduled downtime prior to catastrophic fail-
ure. Courtesy: Emerson Automation Solutions
ate and provide feedback when unmanned.
Temperature, PD, and humidity monitor-
ing systems were installed in the bus ducts,
transformer connections, and disconnect
switches. All data is transmitted wirelessly
back to servers for data analysis, allowing
the utility to operate these remote facilities
with confidence.
Preventing Another Bus Duct Failure.
A utility based in the southern U.S. had a
failure on a bus duct running from the gen-
erator to the step-up transformer that cost
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
about $100,000 to repair and resulted in two
weeks of lost production. To predict and
prevent these types of failures in the future,
the plant installed a continuous monitoring
system to monitor bus duct temperature, PD,
and humidity (see opening photo). The data
collected by the system is sent to the plants
Ovation automation system where operators
can continuously monitor it.
Jonathan Murray is the Director
of IntelliSAW Products at Emerson
Automation Solutions

BE IN CONTROL
WITH CIRCOR GENERAL & SEVERE
control system (DCS). Figure 4 is a screen-
shot of a display on an Ovation DCS showing
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breaker switch contacts. Frequent manual
inspection with corresponding forced down-
time was required to prevent system failures.
A continuous asset monitoring system was
installed on the GCBs and bus ducts.
The system provides continuous real-time
views of asset health. Data is wirelessly trans-
RTK REflex
mitted to the control room and integrated into
the facilitys OSIsoft PI process historian.
The asset monitoring system detected ex-
cessive temperatures on four of the six GCB
bushings (Figure 5), and a scheduled main-
tenance inspection during a period of low
demand confirmed bushing deterioration.
The bushings were replaced and operation
returned to normal. This averted a failure that
could have cost about $250,000 to repair and Excellence In Flow Control
may have caused weeks of downtime.
Remote monitoring. A major utility in
the western U.S. operates a number of hydro-
electric power plants on various rivers. Many Leslie Controls Schroedahl RTK
of these plants are small and simple, so the
www.circorpowerprocess.com | power@circor.com
utility is transitioning to unmanned operation.
The utility implemented condition-based
monitoring to ensure its plants would oper-

|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 35
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
New Approaches for Transformer
Operation and Maintenance
Technology advancements and new regulatory requirements could reshape how
power plant owners operate and maintain large power transformers. Experts out-
line emerging strategies and call attention to overlooked components that could
help prevent transformer failure.
Sonal Patel
P
ower transformers are arguably one of
the most expensive and vital compo-
nents in a power system. While they
are typically reliable and relatively low-
maintenance, sudden failures can result in
the loss of power generation along with con-
siderable costs and potentially wider implica-
tions for grid reliability.
According to SPX Transformer Solutions,
a U.S. maker of medium and large power
transformers, and which is also a trans-
former service solution provider, electrical
disturbances are a leading cause of power
transformer failure. An analysis it conducted
of major failures between 1991 and 2010
(Figure 1) showed that phenomena such as
switching surges, voltage spikes, line faults/
flashovers, and other utility abnormalities are
overwhelmingly responsible for transformer
failures. Insulation, moisture, and foreign ob-
jects were also notable causes.
Advanced Diagnostics
According to Jim McIver, technology director
at Siemens Transformers U.S., routine mainte-
nance can help a transformer last up to 40 years
and avoid most debilitating issues. But he also
pointed to two emerging maintenance areas
that could enhance performance and protect or
38
extend transformer life: proactive actions and
advanced diagnostics.
Advanced diagnostics involves service of-
ferings by vendors to more aggressively treat
your transformers, McIver said. What you
would really like is to be able to take some
piece of complicated electronics out. Hook
it up to the transformer. It does its measure-
ments, and it comes back and it tells you, This
is whats wrong with the transformer: This
particular piece only has 1,000 more hours of
service left in it. Go inside the tank and replace
this particular component and avoid a failure.
Modern advanced diagnostics offerings in-
clude mechanical or electrical measurements
taken from the outside of the transformer to
determine the state of the insides ... without
having to open it up and climb inside, because
theres a big cost involved if you have to de-
energize the transformer, drain the oil, and
open up all these sealed openings and have
somebody try to crawl around inside.
Partial discharge measurements, for exam-
ple, offered by a number of companies includ-
ing Siemens, allow assessment of the health of
an insulation system using noninvasive mea-
surement and analysis. Typically, the trans-
former is taken out of service and hooked up
to a test-voltage source so that high-frequency
www.powermag.com
Courtesy: ABB
partial discharge activity can be measured.
Utilities would opt for additional testing like
the partial discharge test if proactive monitor-
ing indicates an issue, McIver said.
Other advanced diagnostic methods include
frequency response analysis (FRA), which in-
vestigates the mechanical integrity of trans-
former windings. Generally, the test puts a
low-voltage, high-frequency impulse into the
transformer, and based on the wave shapes
that are reflected back, an assessment can be
made about how the transformer windings
are configured physicallyhow close togeth-
er they are and how tall they are and what their
diameter is, all of those things, explained Mc-
Iver. Another advanced diagnostic method is
the dielectric frequency response test, which
is an electrical test similar to the FRA to deter-
mine if the insulation is failing.
It narrows down your source of investiga-
tion, and thats good, he said. Any of these
advanced diagnostics are trying to make a con-
clusion based off of something that you can
measure externally. The risk is there that they
dont give you a real definitive result or they
dont specifically point to one particular area.
However, advanced diagnostics are far
from a conventional maintenance step. McIver
noted: Theres a lot of interesting things be-
|
POWER April 2017

1. Causes of transformer failures between 1991 and 2010 (as a percent-
age of total failures). Source: SPX Transformer Solutions
28%
27%
2%
3%
13%
4%
4% 6% 9%
4%
ing proposed, but I dont think the industry is
really at a point where a lot of those things are
generally being done to show payback.
Transformer owners should more prudently
focus efforts on routine maintenanceexam-
ining and changing out gaskets every three
years and bushings per the manufacturers
recommendations, for examplebut also pay
attention to proactive actions, such as condition-
based maintenance, and especially monitoring.
Advances in Monitoring
Monitoring itself doesnt change the behavior
of the transformer, McIver noted. The inter-
esting part about that is in terms of industry
philosophy. A lot of people pretty much just
run transformers to the failure point. Theyre
very big, very expensive devices and, as they
get older, theres not a good financial justifi-
cation to do dramatic changes to the device
while its still in service. So the monitoring
really just gives owners a measure of the trans-
formers health and tells them which parts to
concentrate on and watch more closely.
Advances in monitoring include real-time
sensors, which can deliver valuable results.
One notable example is industrial measure-
ment provider Vaisalas real-time sensor for
moisture in transformer insulation oil. An el-
evated moisture level in transformer oil is a
widely recognized root cause of failures, be-
cause moisture essentially diminishes the abil-
ity of oil to act as an insulator.
Moisture content in solid insulation after
initial factory drying is between 0.5% and 1%,
depending on requirements, but it starts to in-
crease gradually over the operating lifetime of
the transformer. Vaisala said that one critical
moisture source is residual moisture contained
in thick structural cellulose components, which
enters into transformer components from the
air. Small amounts of moisture may also be
generated as a byproduct of cellulose decom-
position. In a power transformer, the majority
|
April 2017 POWER
Electric disturbances
Lightning
Insulation
Electrical connection
Overload
Foreign objects
Moisture
Line disturbance
Stress or fatigue
Other
of water is found in the solid paper insulation.
Higher water content leads to accelerated
deterioration of the paper, reducing its degree
of polymerization, the company said. Mois-
ture and heat provide an optimal environment
for various compounds in the oilsuch as ac-
ids and metal ionsto react with the cellulose
molecules and break them down.
When relative moisture saturation surges
beyond 20%, the dielectric strength of oil
starts to decrease rapidly, Vaisala said. Ex-
ceptional high-loading events could also drive
excess moisture from the paper into the oil,
creating relative moisture saturation of 100%
and the formation of free water. That could
increase the risk of corrosion and rust parti-
cles in oil circulation pipes and radiators, or
worse, form around active parts, resulting in
discharge that could cause catastrophic dam-
age to the transformer.
Traditionally, industry understanding of
moisture dynamics in transformer oil has main-
ly been based on samples taken once annually
that provide a limited snapshot of oil health,
explained Steven Jiroutek, regional segment
manager for industrial applications at Vaisala.
However, growing use of online moisture
monitoring instruments in the global power
sector means more utilities can access 24/7
streaming data to monitor the condition of their
transformers. Integrating these instruments into
a comprehensive monitoring system and ana-
lyzing real-time trends is enabling owners and
managers to make better, more cost-effective
maintenance and service decisions.
Senja Leivo, a senior industry expert at
Vaisala, told POWER that while moisture sen-
sors have been on the market for nearly 20
years, Vaisalas device, designed for installa-
tion directly into the oil circulation pipe of a
transformer, was launched recently and has
several installations globally. If moisture lev-
els are found to be too high, the transformer
can be equipped with an online oil dryer or
www.powermag.com
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
taken into more comprehensive offline over-
haul, she said.
Space Weather
One glaring cause of transformer failure is
age. According to the Department of Energys
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Re-
liability, the average age of large power trans-
formers installed in the U.S. is between 38
and 40 years. The office said in an April 2014
report that more than 70% of the nations large
power transformers are probably 25 years or
older, noting there are some units well over
40 years oldand some even older than 70
yearsthat are still operating on the grid. The
office worries that because more than 90% of
consumed power passes through these large
power transformers at some point, they are
one of the most vulnerable components on
the grid, faced with a wide range of potential
threats including severe weather, space weath-
er, and physical attacks.
In recent years, industry observers have
raised alarms about geomagnetic disturbanc-
es (GMD), which occur when the sun ejects
charged particles that interact with and cause
changes in Earths magnetic fields. These
charged particles can cause currents to enter
the grid through long conductors.
According to Dom Corsi, a senior trans-
former engineer at Watertown, Mass.based
Doble Engineering Co., GMDs can essentially
overheat a transformers internal component
structure and affect actual current carry. And
the other thing that happens is, because these
currents flow in the transformer and impact the
transformer by producing a bias on the core, the
transformer will saturate, he told POWER in
February. During the saturation events, theres
a significant change in the transformers magne-
tizing characteristics (Figure 2), which causes it
to draw reactive power from the grid. When the
transformer draws reactive power from the grid,
it can set up a system disturbance, which will
lead to an instability. If you cant compensate
for the instability, then you have the probability
of a cascading network event.
Another impact is thermal, Corsi said. When
the transformer saturates, the transformer flux
spills out of the core. This affects the transform-
er in two different ways: One is the additional
main flux that spilled into the structural compo-
nents and windings, creating additional heating.
But also, because of the saturation, the harmonic
content of this flux results in induced currents
that also reach harmonics, which adds to the
heating component.
In 2012, Earth experienced a near miss
by an extreme coronal mass ejection. Since
then, several agencies have been exploring a
number of grid resiliency solutions to coun-
ter the potential GMD threat. The Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in
39
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

2. A magnetizing effect. Geomagnetic
disturbances due to solar activity can lead to
geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) in
power system networks. These GICs are qua-
si-DC in nature (0.01 Hz to 0.5 Hz) and could
saturate the core of a power transformer. The
saturation of the core due to these currents
may spur increased magnetizing currents,
peaking beyond the nominal current of the
unit. This image illustrates a sample exciting
current magnetizing pulse due to GIC events.
Courtesy: Trafoexperts
Table 1. Significant deadlines for compliance with the North American Re-
liability Corp.s Transmission System Planned Performance for Geomagnet-
ic Disturbance Events reliability standard (TPL-007-1). Source: Doble Engineering
Date Requirement
Jan. 1, 2017 Reliability standard takes effect
July 1, 2017 Identify roles and responsibilities within utility
Aug. 1, 2017 Completion by network planners of geomagnetically induced current (GIC) models
Network planners to provide transmission and generation owners with GIC flow information,
Jan. 1, 2019
which specifies transformers that are subject to the GIC disturbance benchmark event
Jan. 1, 2021 Transmission and generation owners complete GIC thermal impact assessments
Transmission and generation owners complete corrective actions such as monitoring or
Jan. 1, 2022
refurbishment

3. Transformer armor. Armor steel
shielding of transformers and power equip-
ment is part of the hardening process to
provide components with advanced ballistic-
level protection against physical attack. ABBs
AssetShield solution is designed to safeguard
and protect large power transformers and
other substation equipment. Courtesy: ABB
September 2016 approved a reliability stan-
dard submitted in January 2015 by interstate
grid security monitor North American Reli-
ability Corp. (NERC) that, for the first time,
establishes mandatory requirements for grid
entities to guard against GMDs.
The standard, TPL-007-1, essentially ap-
plies to power transformers with windings
on the high-voltage side that are connected at
200 kV or higher in a wye configuration and
have a grounded neutral connection. Every 60
months, network planning coordinators and
transmission planners must assess and report
how vulnerable their system is to geomagneti-
cally induced current (GIC) disturbances, and
whether their system can withstand a 1-in-
100-year benchmark GMD event without
causing a wide-area blackout, voltage col-
lapse, or transformer damage.
Additionally, it requires that transmis-
sion owners and generators conduct a ther-
mal impact assessment on their high-side,
wye grounded transformers of more than
200 kV based on a maximum effective GIC
valuewhich, according to the standard, is 75
amperes per phase or greater. If, per that as-
sessment, these transformers cannot withstand
thermal transient effects associated with the
benchmark GMD event, transmission own-
ers and generators must implement corrective
action plans developed by coordinators and
transmission planners.
Corsi noted that the timeline for NERC
compliance kicked off on January 1, 2017.
After network planners determine full GIC
parameters as required by January 2019, trans-
formers identified as vulnerable to GIC distur-
bances would need to complete thermal impact
assessments by January 2021 (Table 1).
Companies like Doble can help utilities
meet the NERC standard by performing an
engineering study on transformers older than
20 years (whose design review documenta-
tion may not be readily available) to establish
power transformer capabilities while under
GMDs, following guidelines established by
the IEEE Standards Association, specifically,
IEEE C57.163-2015. This guide specifies pa-
rameters and performance characteristics and
evaluation techniques for power transformers
to help minimize risks and impacts when GIC
is present in the power system.
A Physical Approach
Physical threats to high-voltage transformers
are another emerging worry that has engulfed
transformer owners and legislators alike. Be-
cause they are behemothsa typical 345-kV
unit can weigh up to 435 tonsthey are eas-
ily identifiable alongside power plants, or in
network substations. Transformer experts as-
sert that a bad actor with basic knowledge of
transformer design could inflict irreparable
damage. Such attacks can cause massive elec-
trical short circuits and oil fires that would de-
stroy a transformer and damage surrounding
infrastructure.
The vulnerability of individual transformer
substations was demonstrated most promi-
nently by a rifle attack in April 2013 at Pacific
Gas & Electrics 500-kV substation in Met-
calf, Calif., where multiple individuals report-
edly shot at high-voltage transformer radiators
with .30 caliber rounds, causing them to leak
cooling oil, overheat, and become inopera-
tive. In November 2014, FERC approved a
NERC-submitted physical security reliability
standard (CIP-014-1), which went into effect
in January 2015. Essentially the standard re-
quires transmission owners and operators to
identify and protect substations and associ-
ated primary control centers. It calls on them
to perform initial risk assessments to iden-
tify critical facilities, and to evaluate potential
threats and vulnerabilities of a physical attack
on those facilities by November 2016.
Operational measures that could make criti-
cal equipment more secure include reinforced
perimeter fencing with opaque bulletproof
walls, multiple fencing layers, and electronic
motion sensors on fencing with multiple sys-
tem triggers. Metalaxs expanded metal se-
curity fencing solution, for example, offers
smaller openings, a rigid design, and ballis-
tic resistance compared to typical chain-link
fencing. Other measures include enhanced
lighting systems and remote surveillance.
Zurich-based technology firm ABB also
recommends equipment and substation hard-
ening using cooling resiliency solutions and
porcelain-free dry bushings (which it makes),
which could eliminate the risk of explosion or
fire. The company also recommends bullet-
resistant technology. In November 2015, it
rolled out its AssetShield ballistic protection
solution (Figure 3), and it has since bagged
three orders from major U.S. utilities for the
impact and fragmentation-protective system
designed for transformers, switchgear, cir-
cuit breakers, and capacitors. The solutions
optimized combination of coating and steel
reduces the kinetic energy of the bullets and
reduces spalling after impact, it said.
(An extended version of this article is
available online at www.powermag.com.)
Sonal Patel is a POWER
associate editor.

40 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017
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 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Enhanced Boiler Defense
Strategies for an Aging Coal Fleet
Cyclic operating conditions can be problematic for many coal-fired power plants
that were designed to run as baseload units. Implementing a combustion and boiler
performance management program can help ensure equipment is optimized and
operating efficiently.
Stephen K. Storm and Randel L. Kaupang
A
s the coal generating fleet ages, it still
competes for a position on the power
generation dispatch list against an in-
creasingly diverse energy mix. Furthermore,
as the fleet adapts to new operational profiles,
units suffer from changing thermal transient
conditions that increase the risk of component
failures.
Duke Energy has developed a strategy that
includes traditional, new and more intelligent
prognostic assessments to help ensure safe,
efficient, and event-free operations. Through
improved awareness and diagnostics, the
company is striving to strengthen the overall
defense strategy with an approach that is less
reactive and more proactive, averting dam-
age that shortens the remaining useful life of
boiler components.
Managing Plant Performance
The Combustion and Boiler Performance
Program within Duke Energy Fossil Hydro
Operations is focused on improving boiler
reliability and performance through variables
that are operator controllable. Most of Duke
Energys coal-fired steam generators were
originally designed for baseload operations
rather than cyclic conditions that exist today.
For example, Figure 1 shows total gen-
eration during a 16-month period, with each
color representing a single coal-fired steam
generator. During the winter and summer
42
months, the coal fleet still depends on lower
capacity factor (Tier 3) units to raise the gen-
eration peaks, whereas Duke Energys higher
capacity factor units (Tier 1) serve as the foun-
dation, with more consistent operational peri-
ods, even during nonpeak seasons. The harsh
reality is that with the continued onset of gas
and renewable power generation, capacity
factors across the entire coal fleet are lower
than ever.
Along with increased cycling comes an
increase in the number of unit starts at each
plant (Figure 2). The number of cold starts has
the most significant impact on the transient
thermal conditions. Therefore, units today
must become more flexible to prevent dam-
age to boiler components, boiler insulation,
casings, expansion joints, structural supports,
turbines, and more.
In an effort to protect its assets and ulti-
mately keep units economically viable, Duke
Energys strategy for protecting its coal fleet
includes the following:
Applying sound engineering fundamen-
tals, including qualitative and quantitative
best practices, through a programmatic ap-
proach
Applying technology to enhance proactive
capabilities
Integrating people, process, and technol-
ogy to enhance intelligence (foresight) for
www.powermag.com
Courtesy: Duke Energy
reliability improvements
Achieving emission goals with maximum
reliability
Application of this defense strategy de-
mands a holistic approach with a strategically
developed team working together to address
equipment reliability, fuels management, fuel
delivery, water chemistry, and overall asset
management for the power generation fleet.
Duke Energy believes aligning people, pro-
cess, and monitoring technologies are key to
addressing operational challenges. Alarming,
tracking, and managing boiler components
to mitigate damage mechanisms helps create
awareness of reliability concerns.
Improving Capabilities
Recently, there have been significant industry
improvements in process and control instru-
mentation that can be used for online moni-
toring and cost control. Online performance
tools with integrated thermodynamic models,
optimizers, and trending capabilities are now
commonly being used for real-time evalua-
tions of various component, and overall power
plant, performance.
However, one of the challenges with new
technologies is the transfer of the intelligence
into operational actions in a timely and pro-
active manner to help operators understand
the impacts on unit reliability, aging, and ul-
|
POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
and modeling fuels, blends, and firing strategies
1. Variable output. Each of Duke Energys 34 operational coal-fired units are color coded
to predict the impacts on corrosion rates (mils/
in this chart showing generation produced during a 16-month period between 2015 and 2016.
Courtesy: Duke Energy year tube wall loss) at a given stoichiometry.
Fuel flexibility, combustion performance,
heat transfer changes from fuels, and flue gas
volume also affect nearly all environmental
controls equipment, demanding attention to
detail, along with intelligent process equip-
Generation (MWh)

ment and optimization controls. This is espe-

cially true for the units faced with load cycling,
fuel quality variation, and stringent environ-
mental regulations. Ideally, the analysis of
boiler performance (efficiency and reliability)
should have adequate key performance indica-
tors to detect alarms and provide the needed
intelligence to change operational conditions
and mitigate events before they occur.
Whether it is real-time, online, or offline,
Month practical and functional feedback from the
process instrumentation and plant equipment
2. Unit starts. This chart shows the number of starts each unit performed in 2016. Cour- assessments must be comprehensive, yet sim-
tesy: Duke Energy plified, to be productive. Operations require
the available feedback and knowledge base to
react when faced with operational challenges.
This is exacerbated with >40-year-old boil-
ers competing with more efficient combined
cycle gas unitsand their responsiveness to
the changing dispatch curvesand renewable
Number of starts

power generation. Other variables that are es-

sential include the tools, equipment, and staff
required to collect representative samples for
periodic performance analysis.

Unit
3. Duke Energys Combustion and Boiler Performance Program metric. Sev-
en different categories are assessed to identify areas ripe for improvement. Courtesy: Duke Energy
(1) Excess air control
(2) Mill-burner performance
(7) Training (and condition)
(6) Fuels prep (3) Boiler heat transfer
optimization
(5) Air-gas flow
(4) Combustion byproducts
timately, the expected useful life of boiler Fuel properties also significantly influence
components. Much like a doctor practicing performance and emissions. Trending and un-
medicine, technology, instruments, and health derstanding the fuel-related effects on boiler
assessments can be deployed to help ensure that performance and components are imperative for
boilers continue to age gracefully in an effort high efficiency, dispatch optimization, and reli-
to mitigate unexpected life-threatening events. ability. This can be accomplished by monitoring
Teamwork Is Essential
The first step is to define the measurement
process and then recognize the tools required
to identify and reduce gaps in performance.
Therefore, this requires both dynamic tools
and management processes that are grounded
on fundamentals and reliable measurements.
Nothing is more effective than a team of
professionals working together for a common
good. The joint effort initiatives through Duke
Energys central services team are aimed at
supporting and strengthening the companys
capability to assess boiler components and
prioritize improvements needed for simultane-
ous reliability, thermal efficiency, and environ-
mental performance improvements.
The incentives for implementation of a com-
prehensive program are easily justifiable in fuel
cost, heat rate, and overall operating perfor-
mance that includes generation, startup fuels,
environmental implications, and additional op-
erations and maintenance costs that are related
to forced outages. Figure 3 offers an example
metric used by Duke Energy to benchmark in-
dividual station performance (Table 1) in order
to identify areas for improvement so that the
highest standards can be achieved.
Beyond Benchmarking
Going beyond best practices, but not to be

|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 43
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
15% of total losses. However, if performance
Table 1. Benchmarking variables. This table shows variables evaluated through
is not optimal, the controllable losses can re-
Duke Energys combustion and boiler performance program. Prior to data collection, all controls,
instrumentation, and process variables should be established, functionally checked, tuned, and sult in an even greater degradation in boiler
optimized. Source: Duke Energy and overall plant performance.
Controllable losses are often related to dry
Item Description Subset Parameter
flue gas and carbon losses, which are in turn
1 Excess air control A Measured furnace exit O2 related to combustion. The best boiler effi-
B Measure boiler outlet O2 actual ciency and reliability can be attained if losses
C Control indicated boiler outlet excess O2 are kept to a minimum. Because half of the
losses are typically dependent on the fuel and
D Deviation between boiler exit and actual furnace values
ambient condition, the best efficiency can be
E Deviation between actual boiler exit and the indicated value achieved through optimal settings, tuning of
2 Mill-burner performance A Assess clean airflow imbalances the boiler, and its auxiliary equipment.
(and condition) Some combustion optimization steps include:
B Assess dirty airflow imbalances
C Assess fuel flow distribution (test and/or permanent instrumentation) Monitoring air-fuel distribution with tem-
D Collect representative coal fineness samples; (weighted values), porary and/or real-time instrumentation to
% through 200m provide feedback for air-fuel distribution
E Collect representative coal fineness samples; (weighted values), and control.
% retained on 50m Monitoring mill horsepower per ton to de-
F Assess primary air-fuel ratios
tect mill performance degradation after a
mill is rebuilt, tested, and proven.
G Assess mechanical burner condition and tolerances (including
airflow damper controls)
Optimizing unit performance using feed-
back from representative economizer outlet
3 Boiler heat transfer A Assess furnace exit gas temperature (FEGT), O2, CO
O2 and CO measurement equipment.
optimization
Applying performance-driven mainte-
B Evaluate superheat (SH) spray flow rates
nance, modeling, tuning, and optimization
C Evaluate reheat (RH) spray flow rates (% of feedwater flow) to achieve optimal performance.
D Assess air preheater (APH) efficiency Mechanically managing and optimizing
E Assess APH X-ratio firing system components, using an inter-
nal database for conditional assessment
F Assess APH leakage rates
of components. (This can also be used
G Assess APH outlet temperatures (corrected to no-leakage) for blueprinting milling and firing system
H Assess sootblower availability-IK (long retracts) equipment to specifications.) With cyclic
I Assess sootblower availability-IR (wall blowers) operations, it is a challenge to sustain op-
J Assess boiler efficiency timal mechanical geometry and centering
of air zones with low-NOx burners that are
4 Combustion byproducts A Evaluate losses due to unburned carbon in ash (weighted average for
fly ash and bottom ash) out of service and suffering from thermal
distortion. Closer visual inspection of burn-
B Evaluate boiler exit/selective catalytic reduction (SCR) inlet NOx
ers with drones should be considered for a
C Evaluate boiler exit CO (ppm) cost-effective approach to conducting burn-
D Evaluate fly ash particle sizing er assessments (Figure 4).
5 Air-gas flow A Evaluate forced draft fan dampers, % at full load
B Evaluate induced draft (ID) fan dampers, % at full load Combustion and boiler performance as-
sessments should also include the following:
C Evaluate total system air in-leakage (furnace to ID fan)
6 Fuels prep A Evaluate top size of raw coal (gauging screen/crusher) Assess firing conditions (for example, mills
B Evaluate process for coal quality control in/out of service, damper stroking, out of
C Evaluate coal treatment systems; chemical consumption details service burners, etcetera)
(fuel, SCR, dry sorbent injection, flue gas desulphurization) Ensure optimal fan performance and mar-
7 Training A Evaluate site-specific training needs gins exist for the as-fired fuels
Optimize furnace exit gas temperature
confused with the previously mentioned Boil- Boiler water chemistry control (FEGT) to ensure proper lower furnace
er Performance Program benchmarking as- Fireside corrosion and thermal fatigue miti- heat transfer
sessment, some examples of proactive actions gation Validate boiler O2 representation and balance
being deployed to enhance Duke Energys Air in-leakage control Obtain representative boiler exit O2 and CO
boiler defense strategy and prevent common Sootblower and fly ash erosion mitigation measurements at the immediate boiler out-
boiler failure mechanisms on its aging coal Air heater fouling mitigation and air-gas let (These are key components for real-time
fleet include the following: management improvements dynamic combustion optimization.)
Collect routine fly ash samples for consis-
Combustion optimization Combustion Optimization. As with tent loss on ignition (LOI) analyses
Slag and clinker fall mitigation most large pulverized coal-fired boilers, boiler Optimize desuperheating spray flow rates
Boiler tube overheat mitigation efficiency losses account for about 10% to Conduct routine visual observations or,

44 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017

4. Drone inspections. Burners can be improved visual observations obtained using
easily inspected using the latest technology. the PyrOptix imaging module allows obser-
Courtesy: Duke Energy vation of historically problematic zones for
slag buildup in real-time. It also allows view-
ing time-lapse videos of up to 720 hours in
duration. The cameras have the capability of
tracking slagging index values and trending
changes in boiler cleanliness (which affects
heat transfer). They can help identify a units
susceptibility to a clinker fall.
Flex load operations yield the ability to ob-
serve boiler cleanliness in an effort to prevent
over-cleaning and unnecessary boiler tube
erosion. The main screen of the slag index
software contains a live camera image as well
as the selected frame, binary detected slag
ideally, real-time observations with infra- frame, and data chart for trending cleanliness.
red cameras to validate boiler cleanliness, The visual tracking of slag propensity also
flame patterns, impingements, large par- provides real-time feedback for chemical sav-
ticle ash (LPA) carryover to the upper fur- ings with coal treatment systems.
nace, etcetera Boiler Tube Overheat Mitigation. As the
Monitor system pressure measurements coal fleet ages, it is important to understand
and variation from side to side (furnace-to- what components are at risk of failure. One
convective pass, boiler outlet to air preheat- very common failure with cyclic operations
er [APH], APH differentials, APH outlet to is short- and long-term overheating of boiler
induced draft fan discharge) tube circuits. However, with adequate gas
Assess mill performance (amps, horsepow- temperature monitoring, using thermocouples
er/ton, differentials, inlet/outlet tempera- mounted on tube circuits, this failure mecha-
tures, etcetera) nism is also very preventable. Figure 5 shows
Review environmental performance one example of monitoring and tracking long-
term overheating (LTOH).
Slag and Clinker Fall Mitigation. Visual Monitoring tube temperatures is important.
observations are important when assessing the Some steps that can help include the following:
impact of fuels, combustion, and/or boiler per-
formance (heat transfer). Periodically map- Ensure reliability of thermocouples for
ping the visual slag propensity and buildup in monitoring circuit temperatures. This is
a furnace can help identify problematic con- paramount for monitoring both short- and
ditions. Elevated slag propensity reduces heat long-term overheating events when tube
transfer in the furnace components and thus temperatures breach alarm limits.
elevates the FEGT. This can lead to clinker Continuously monitor reheat (RH) and
falls that can damage and/or force the unit into superheat (SH) outlet temperature profiles
an unplanned outage. against average, design, and alert values to
At one station, eight ETX PyrOptix fixed- understand the impact on tube life.
mount, infrared imaging systems (four per Measure work performed by each panel
unit) are installed on the front walls. The (standard deviation from mean average) to
5. Temperature trends. This chart shows an individual tube circuit temperature trend
with events over 1,032F logged. Courtesy: Duke Energy
Actual Alarm
Temperature (F)
Time
|
April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
monitor for changes in steam or gas flow.
Optimize combustion and heat transfer (in-
cluding sootblower availability and boiler
cleaning system work management).
Conduct periodic high-velocity thermo-
couple (HVT) testing to validate furnace
stoichiometry, and proper lower and upper
furnace heat transfer.
Validate accuracy of FEGT measurement
across the load range to ensure fireside and
steamside compatibility.
Boiler Water Chemistry Control. Prop-
erly managing boiler water chemistry is es-
sential for any boiler reliability program. This
is especially important with cyclic operations
and the combined impact of thermal cycling
on the chemistry of water and steam. In an ef-
fort to interrelate operational conditions with
chemistry key performance indicators, Duke
Energy is piloting the ability to monitor sev-
eral water chemistry parameters.
Additionally, the company is continuously
monitoring for potential water chemistry dam-
age mechanisms; consolidating ramp rates,
pH, dissolved O2, and cation conductivity
parameters; and monitoring chemistry key
performance indicators as a step towards miti-
gating corrosion fatigue and flow accelerated
corrosion. Oxide cracking (corrosion fatigue)
is most likely to occur during on/off cycles
and transient operations.
Fireside Corrosion and Thermal Fa-
tigue Mitigation. Monitoring furnace exit
gas temperature is especially important during
cold startups. When baseload-designed coal
plants are cycling on or off, it is likely that the
units will have boiler tube circuits overheating
due to low SH/RH steam pressure differentials
and/or inadequate baking off of condensate in
the pendants. Therefore, measuring FEGTs
and having adequate SH and RH tube metal
thermocouples on the terminal tubes are es-
sential for operations feedback.
Many of the previous recommendations ap-
ply to fireside corrosion and thermal fatigue
mitigation. For example, optimizing boiler
inputs, conducting real-time monitoring of
FEGT, ensuring thermocouple reliability, op-
timizing combustion and heat transfer, vali-
dating furnace stoichiometry, and modeling
and optimizing coal blends are all important.
Air In-Leakage Control. Air in-leakage
on balanced draft boilers can be very prob-
lematic as the excess O2 analyzers cannot
distinguish post-combustion air filtration from
actual excess air. Furthermore, air in-leakage
bypassing the APH negatively influences X-
ratio (or the air-to-flue gas ratio impact). If not
managed, erosion, and leakage due to erosion,
can also result in unfavorable O2-rise curves.
APH leakage should be less than 10% on
regenerative air heaters. When the leakage in-
45
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Table 2. Air in-leakage case study. The effects shown here resulted from 7% air in-
leakage. Courtesy: Duke Energy
Parameter
Base leakage % (upstream of the boiler O2 probes)
Heat rate penalty for boiler air in-leakage (Btus)
Potential increase in boiler tube corrosion
Slagging propensity and susceptibility of a clinker
fall; increases system resistance (limiting load and/or
imbalanced gas flow rates exacerbating ash erosion)
Furnace exit gas temperature
Fly ash loss on ignition quality
creases, the dilution of the flue gas results in a
depressed flue gasto-stack temperature. This
is due to the dilution from cold combustion
air. Therefore, for boiler efficiency calcula-
tions, the corrected to no-leakage temperature
needs to be utilized. If not completed prop-
erly, these depressed flue gas temperatures
from the convective pass or APH leakage can
suggest a false sense of good and efficient op-
erations. Furthermore, air in-leakage can limit
fan capacity, increase auxiliary power, nega-
tively affect the air pollution control equip-
ment, and result in acid dew point corrosion
issues. Furnace-to-stack leakage should be
periodically audited, managed, and reduced.
Some actions to take include:
Monitoring and measuring combustion air-
flow paths
Periodically conducting air in-leakage as-
sessments
Verifying all dead air spaces are gas-tight
Periodically conducting thermography
assessments on boiler casings to identify
problematic areas
Understanding the impacts of boiler air in-
leakage on stoichiometry and corrosion when
it is upstream of the boiler outlet O2 probes is
important. Table 2 shows an example of how
just 7% air in-leakage can negatively affect ef-
ficiency, boiler stoichiometry, and reliability,
if it was sustained for a long duration.
Sootblower and Fly Ash Erosion Miti-
gation. Controlling the erosion rates to both
radiant and convective pass boiler sections is
essential. Outside of optimal combustion per-
formance, the application of optimal boiler
cleaning and sootblower performance is one
of the most effective ways to control heat
transfer and FEGT. In addition, boiler-clean-
ing systems are effective at combating prob-
lematic mineral ash constituents that induce
slagging and fouling propensity. Neverthe-
less, if not properly optimized, boiler-clean-
ing systems can result in boiler damage, if the
medium pressures are too high or nozzles are
46
Change
7%
+33 Btu/kWh
40-80 mils per year
*Varies with fuel (such as % sulfur, chlorine)
Increases with a lower stoichiometry that results with
reducing atmospheres
Increases beyond the ash fusion temperatures;
increases SH/RH spray flow rates
Decreases impacting efficiency and/or becomes
unsalable
misaligned and/or combined with unprotected
tube circuits.
To mitigate erosion, coal quality should be
managed and the fuels effect on erosion and
ash for a given heat input must be understood.
Sootblowers should be optimized, ensuring
steam is superheated or air (if used) is free
of moisture. Ensure sootblower condensate
traps, associated thermocouples, and drains
all work properly. Lastly, real-time flue gas
monitoring with a representative grid of ther-
mocouples and pressure transmitters can be
used to recognize changes in draft loss, tem-
perature, and velocity.
Air Heater Fouling Mitigation and Air-
Gas Management Improvements. The
gas lanes in a large steam generator narrow
with the transition of radiant to convective
heat transfer components. System cleanliness
affects the pressure drop and can increase as
a result of slagging, fouling, and buildup of
ash residues. When that occurs, air in-leakage,
heat transfer, the mal-distribution of flue gas,
and fan capacity issues can be exacerbated.
This coupled with increased cycling and start-
ups with fuel oil firing increases the risk of
corrosion from SO2 in the flue gas through
acid condensation on heating surfaces, duct-
work, and structural supports.
Accurate instruments and effective control
schemes can help mitigate fan capacity limi-
tations and limit fly ash erosion. Ensure ther-
mocouples and pressure transmitters for the air
and gas systems are working properly. Proper
air pressure, temperature, and flow control are
important for mill and burner optimization,
while proper gas measurement is key for evalu-
ating changes in pressure drop and flow that
impact heat transfer and reliability. Utilize in-
strumentation to monitor ammonia slip, ammo-
nium bisulfate, and/or dew point (condensable)
issues as a part of the performance preservation
plan. Finally, ensure cold end temperature con-
trol provisions are available as needed, such as
steam coils and APH bypass.
www.powermag.com
Establishing a Combustion and
Boiler Performance Management
System
Improving boiler reliability and performance
through variables that are operator control-
lable demands a programmatic defense strat-
egy and systems that provide both qualitative
and quantitative feedback. Modern instru-
mentation and processing power have proven
capability for improvements on large utility
boilers. However, the controls and optimiza-
tion systems are contingent upon the accurate
feedback from the process instruments. Im-
proving reliability by detecting and rectifying
failures before they occur is a worthy goal, but
it is only possible with validated, representa-
tive, and functional feedback from the process
instrumentation and plant assessments that are
people and performance driven.
The mature fleet of coal-fired boilers
throughout the U.S. is expected to endure its
greatest risk in the coming years. Thus, newer
and more intelligent prognostic assessments
are warranted to help ensure safe, efficient,
and event-free operations.
Adequate boiler instrumentation required
for protection is especially critical for cold
startups and minimum loads when a potential
mismatch between the boilers steam and tube
or header metal surfaces is more likely to oc-
cur. Furthermore, failure mitigation requires
an understanding of the holistic impacts of
operations including fuel quality, boiler per-
formance, ramp rates, steam temperature con-
trol, boiler component temperature control,
balance of plant equipment condition, turbine
performance, environmental control impacts,
and boiler flexibility provisions to better han-
dle cyclic conditions, as required.
The thermal expansion of boilers relies
on adequate supports and expansion joints
to handle a significant amount of movement
during startups and shutdowns. Thus, with cy-
cling, the greater number of startups yields a
greater risk for rubbing, fretting, tearing, and
overheating of boiler metals that must be in-
spected more frequently and maintained to
ensure availability.
Improved awareness for offline and online
assessments demands a trained team and ad-
equate diagnostics to mitigate boiler damage.
When performed effectively, operators can be
less reactive and more proactive, averting the
initiation of events that negatively affect unit
reliability. Creating action plans and align-
ing personnel with performance preservation
goals are processes that require dynamic tools
and optimal process controls, grounded in
sound engineering fundamentals.
Stephen K. Storm is combustion and
boiler performance program manager and
Randel L. Kaupang is boilers/fuel prep
manager for Duke Energy.
|
POWER April 2017
 IS YOUR POWER
FINAL REMINDER!

PROJECT A WINNER?
Find out by nominating it for a POWER award

The 2017 categories are:

Plant of the Year Award
Reinvention Award
(formerly Marmaduke Award)
Water Award
Smart Grid Award
Commercial & Industrial
Generation Award
Top Plants Awards (in gas, coal,
nuclear, and renewable subcategories)
COMMERCIAL &
INDUSTRIAL GENERATION

All nominated projects must be in commercial operation by

the nomination deadline of April 28, 2017. Youll ind award
information, lists of former winners, and nomination forms at
http://www.powermag.com/power-awards/

NOMINATION DEADLINE: APRIL 28, 2017

29171
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
Strategies for Small
Hydro Upgrades
Small hydro is becoming big business as ongoing technological advances make
more small sites economic to exploit. Older plants can also see substantial output
and efficiency gains by upgrading from decades-old technology. Heres what you
need to know to help make small plants meaningful producers.
Thomas W. Overton, JD
S mall hydropower is getting big.
Around the world, even as tradi-
tional giant projects continue to get
builtespecially in developing countries
more and more attention is being directed
toward the possibilities of smaller systems.
The driving forces have been concern about
the environmental impacts of huge dams; a
shrinking number of suitable sites for major
projects, particularly in Europe and North
America; and substantial technological ad-
vances that have made smaller and smaller
sites economic to exploit.
Hydropower in general is experiencing
something of a renaissance because of grow-
ing demand for renewable energy. The rapid
growth of intermittent generation from wind
and solar means dispatchable renewable
generation from hydro is becoming more
valuable. But much of this wind and solar
development is taking place in areaslike
the central and southwestern U.S. and central
48
Europewhere opportunities for large hydro
projects are limited at best. Thats opened
up a market opportunity for small systems
that can be deployed much more rapidly
than larger ones. (For more on the topic, see
Small Hydro, Big Opportunity in the May
2013 issue, A New Day for North American
Hydropower? in the October 2014 issue,
and Small Hydropower Advances and Chal-
lenges in China in the January 2015 issue.)
New Tricks for Old Dogs
What exactly constitutes small hydropow-
er depends on who you ask, but its gener-
ally considered projects under 30 MW or so.
While lots of hydro projects of this size are
being built on new sites, not all small hydro
plants are newmany are quite old, with
some still operating after a century or more.
Many of these projects now need substantial
upgrades. The good news is that opportuni-
ties for improving efficiency and output are
www.powermag.com
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
large (Figure 1).
According to Voith Hydros Jim Glunt, the
last decade has seen significant advances in
controls, monitoring, and supervisory control
and data acquisition technology. Operators
are now better able to gather historical and
real-time data in order to maximize efficien-
cy or power on demand. Advances in opera-
tor control and monitoring have also allowed
for more reliable and user-friendly interfaces.
Refurbishing old turbines can also reap
big rewards, Glunt said.
Typically, a customer who is rebuilding a
50-year-old or older unit can expect around
10% improvement in efficiency. The wear on
the rotating components, wicket gate system,
and bearing areas can be corrected to add ef-
ficiency and reliability, he said. Sometimes
in dealing with a unit rebuild of this age, there
can be misalignment throughout the machine
due to the tendency of the power house to
move downstream. The slow movement over
|
POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
rewind in order to fend off any potential fail-
1. New power generation. EVNs 2.7-MW Dorfmhle hydropower plant in Austria re-
ure in the winding.
placed a 120-year old plant on the same site in 2004, increasing overall output 10-fold. Courtesy:
Voith Hydro One benefit to upgrading a small project
versus a larger one is that the small size of the
equipment means modernized systems can
be modular or shop-assembled and delivered
to the site in one piece, which substantially
reduces construction time and complexity
(Figure 2). The newest small hydro technol-
ogy is also specifically designed to operate at
peak efficiency with low heads, which means
smaller units can be installed without reduc-
ing output or output can be increased with-
out expanding other elements of the plant.
Some decades-old small hydro plants have
been able to double or triple output (or even
more) by upgrading their turbine-generators,
gains that are less likely with larger projects.
Modern oil-free, permanent magnet turbines
are also more environmentally friendly than
older technology.

time is a condition that could cause increased
vibration and wear through the years.
Old generators also require attention even-
tually.
Generator components can be improved
upon in many cases due to newer materials
used in the insulating systems. One large
reason to improve the generator by rewind-
ing the stator is to eliminate the asbestos that
may be present in a unit of such age, Glunt
said. Given a typical unit of this vintage,
customers may want to seriously consider a
Automation and Controls
In addition to improvements that are possible
from upgrading turbines and generators, one
area sometimes overlooked is improvements
in controls and automation. Just as operators
of fossil plants have begun deploying ad-

Filling the Power Gap when Hydropower Falls Short

One of the challenges with small hydropower is greater sensitiv-
ity to fluctuations in rainfall, because small plants typically lack
large reservoirs where excess water can be stockpiled during wet
periods. Seasonal weather variations are difficult to predict, but
detrimental weather affects capacity year after year in some re-
gions (see Drought Stresses Brazilian Electricity Market in the
November 2014 issue). Anticipating and mitigating the risk of
blackouts can be challenging, so a contingency plan should be in
place, such as having an on-site fleet of back-up generators or a
coordinated emergency power provision to minimize downtime.
Kenya, which gets more than half of its electricity from hydro-
power, has experienced repeated problems due to sporadic periods
of low rainfall. Aggreko first started working with the national
utility, KenGen, nearly 20 years ago after severe drought limited
its hydroelectric generation. Speed was key to reduce the impact
that the Embakasi power stations reduced output had on the pop-
ulation and economy, and so it was vital the project was installed
and started to generate power within weeks rather than months.
Myanmar faces similar challenges during its December to June
dry season. With more than 70% of the countrys energy supply
dependent on hydropower, this intermittency exposes its popula-
tion to serious power shortages. The national utility, Myanmar
Electric Power Enterprise (MEPE), recently commissioned Aggreko
to install interim gas-fired generation to support the national grid
during the summer months (Figure 3).
Similarly, parts of Zimbabwe are suffering power shortages that
have significantly restricted the countrys hydropower capabilities,
following one the worst droughts in 35 years. Not only does modu-
3. Backstops. Mobile power generation can help support op-
erations at a hydro plant when dry weather forces a shutdown or
cuts in output. This project supports a facility in Myanmar, which
gets more than 70% of its electricity from hydro. Courtesy: Aggreko
lar power help to fill the gap, in this case it also creates the oppor-
tunity for the national utility to contribute to the Southern Africa
Power Pool and generate funds through international power trade.
The flexibility of mobile power makes it a fitting partner
throughout the lifecycle of a hydroelectric plant in addition to
filling the gap during the dry season. This is particularly true
during the planning and commissioning phases, where it helps
to ensure that the plant is operational and can be connected to
the grid on schedule, and avoid any potential investment losses
or financial penalties. It can also provide support during mainte-
nance outages, as well as black-start power when necessary, such
as during a grid failure.
Marcus Saul is renewables business development manager
with Aggreko.

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April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 49
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
2. Shallow dive. Voith Hydros modular StreamDiver turbine is designed specifically for
small hydro applications where heads and flows are ill suited for traditional hydropower tech-
nologies. Courtesy: Voith Hydro
vanced sensors and data science to improve
the operations of their boilers and gas tur-
bines, manufacturers have begun offering
similar solutions for their hydro customers.
Such systems allow operators to predict
possible component failures and determine
changes in operations that could extend com-
ponent life to allow repairs at the most advan-
tageous time. Another factor that advanced
data science can help with is predicting out-
50
put based on changes in local hydrology, an
issue of special concern to smaller plants,
which are more at the mercy of droughts than
large ones (see sidebar)
Such upgrades can reach across the plant.
Moving from analog to digital metering and
governors and from electro-mechanical to
solid-state multifunction protection relays
can reap dividends. But an increasing num-
ber of small hydro plants are being fully au-
www.powermag.com
tomated.
While this can reduce staffing needs, there
are many things that need to be considered
from an operations and maintenance stand-
point, Bob Baginski of Voith Hydros digital
solutions team said.
Its essential to monitor the mechanical
equipment in the plant more closely and have
a feedback loop with the remote control sys-
tems to detect wrong tendencies early and
prevent forced outages. Not only the ma-
chines themselves have to be monitored, but
also the plant auxiliary systems. For example
the status of the dewatering pump and the
HVAC system health can be crucial for reli-
able operation of the whole plant.
Safety is another issue with full automa-
tion, he noted.
Is it possible to still safely shut down the
unit if the main closing device is jammed?
What safety devices are in place in case of a
cooling water supply pipe rupture? Is auto-
matic closure of valves implemented to pre-
vent the plant from flooding? What is the safe
shut down concept in case AC power fails?
These things and more have to be taken into
consideration.
Thomas W. Overton, JD is a POWER
associate editor.
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POWER April 2017
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

Simplify Outage Planning to

Increase Collaboration

Courtesy: NRG

Many elaborate planning tools are available to help managers prepare for power
plant outages. However, there is something to be said for keeping things simple.
One modest tool that some NRG Energy facilities have utilized successfully is an
Excel spreadsheet with green and red color codes based on yes or no answers to
straightforward planning questions.
Larry Kofton

P
ower plant planned maintenance out-
ages are very similar to each other
across the power industry. Because
power plants need to be reliable for the heavy
summer and winter electricity demand, due
largely to consumers heating and cooling re-
quirements, maintenance outages are usually
completed during the spring and the fall.
The outage teams goal is to properly plan
and execute outages so that plants can deploy
capital effectively to achieve superior value
during peak requirements. To help achieve
that goal, companies have myriad technology
choices to help with outage planning. There are
software applications that can produce complex
models showing subtasks of subtasks, all with
estimated timing and critical paths.
Those tools are very useful during the
actual outage, but the programs are often
intimidating to many of the project team
members and they can stifle collaboration
during the planning process. Simplifying the
outage planning process can help to more
easily share the planning workload, open up
the needed robust communications, and drive
accountability to the individual stakeholders.
Share the Planning Workload
The outage planning process has several
steps that can take months to complete. To
coordinate the steps, the process requires that
regular meetings be held with all of the key
stakeholders in attendance. Often, the pro-
cess involves one person asking the status
of each preparation step while someone else
provides the updates.
This drumbeat-style meeting can hinder
feedback and participation of team members
supporting the outage, creating somewhat of
a silo effect. When people operate in these
silos, you can find your outage just weeks
away with several key steps still incomplete.
To mitigate this, it is best to share the plan-
ning workload across multiple departments.
Tom Puthiyamadam is a principal with
PwC U.S., and in his article How to Build
a Connected Workforce, he suggested that
when people work in silos, different units and
capabilities are pulled in at various points in
the process. For example, engineering might
hand off a task to operations or the sourcing
team might only be consulted after a design
is completed. That type of approach wont
cut it in todays world. Everything has to be
simple, seamless, and intuitive from the start.
As more departments gain involvement
throughout the process, it becomes more ob-
vious who can support the various tasks for
an upcoming outage. That added involve-
ment could help reduce the outage planners
workload and increase knowledge transfer
between individuals with different experi-
ences, allowing better preparation.
Frequently, unexpected project participants
share valuable lessons learned from other out-
ages. For example, it is not uncommon for
safety, legal, or procurement staff (Figure 1)
on our team to provide risk input when one
plant is considering the services of a contrac-
tor that recently underperformed at a different
location. If no other options exist and the con-
tractor must still be selected for the job, the
insight can help tailor terms and conditions to
minimize risk as much as possible.
Another huge benefit of pulling knowl-

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April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 51
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
1. Share the planning workload. To
mitigate the risk of missing an action during
the outage planning process, utilize resources
across multiple departments. Courtesy: NRG
edge from multiple departments is that the
work scopes used to engage contractors are
likely to be more thoroughly developed.
When scopes are better prepared and present-
ed early to contractors, they can put the best
team on the project and acquire the needed
resources in advance. Its important to keep
in mind that other power plants and manufac-
turing facilities may also be planning outag-
es, which could create a bandwidth problem
for contactors.
Penny Font, editorial director for 10/12 In-
dustry Report, wrote in the first quarter 2017
issue that some 7,000 additional craftsmen
might be needed to handle the demand for
maintenance turnarounds in the first quarter
of 2017. If true, the law of supply and demand
could cause outage costs to increase. Not en-
gaging contractors early enough will almost
always cost your company money that could
otherwise have been saved. This is a common
problem because the actual commitment is
not made between companies until an ac-
cepted purchase order is in place. More times
than not, the purchase order is one of the last
actions in the planning process. When plan-
ning is done well, the commitments can be
made in advance and companies can choose
the best contractor at the best price.
Even when companies are successful in
breaking down silos and obtaining more par-
ticipation, many may still struggle to unleash
a planning teams full potential because of the
complicated technology and difficult planning
tools that are in use. To open up communica-
tions and increase success, simpler and more
familiar tools may be the best choice.
3. Simple visuals lead to answers. Using simple, familiar tools, like Microsoft Excel, to create a red/green traffic-light-style tracking
sheet makes incomplete items highly visible. Courtesy: NRG
Station #1 3/27/2017 4/28/2017
52
2. Ask basic questions. To ensure progress is being made on planning tasks, yes or no
answers could be all that is needed. Courtesy: NRG
In my experience, avoiding complex ma-
trix charts and simply breaking large proj-
ects down into simple block diagrams that
everyone can understand has been successful
(Figure 2). Lets consider a lube oil change
project, for example. Many experienced per-
sonnel know all of the steps necessary to
complete the project, and most would likely
have it listed on a planning schedule, such as
Alpha compressor lube oil change budgeted
for $100,000.
In reality, when the job is broken down
into individual parts, the lube oil change
work task would have the following compo-
nents: Determine the type of oil to be used,
determine how to dispose of the old oil, cre-
ate the work scope for the lube oil change
out, solicit proposals from oil suppliers, et-
cetera. Also, by breaking down large projects
into stand-alone work tasks, key players can
easily understand their portion of the work.
In one situation, for example, it came to
light that a contractor, engaged to perform
boiler tube work, had not had its labor rates
reviewed or vetted in two years. This type of
discovery would not be possible without the
needed, open communications throughout
the planning process.
www.powermag.com
Open Communications with
Simple Visual Aids
Just as mentioned above about complex tech-
nology, if conversations become too complex
for many on the planning team, it could close
down the needed communications. Visual
aids can be an effective tool for opening up
communications. However, the outage plan-
ning team should remember that using too
many elaborate features in visuals could be
counterproductive.
Gates Matthew Stoner wrote in his article,
Effectively Communicating with Visual
Aids Made Simple, (available online at: bit.
ly/GMS_paper) that a presentation with too
many elaborate features, which serve as
powerful distractions, could decrease its ef-
fectiveness. In other words, technology can
be intimidating to those unfamiliar with it
and this can reduce outage-planning collabo-
ration. Best-in-class companies will discover
ways to work more effectively and more col-
laboratively by adopting information-sharing
practices to streamline communication.
Too often, organizations dont deploy tech-
nology innovations in a way that captures
business value, says Puthiyamadam with PwC
U.S. He adds that some companies still see
employees using email and a note-taking ap-
|
POWER April 2017

plication, instead of more costly systems that
may have been implemented. Many times
an outage planning team may end up spend-
ing large amounts of energy focusing on all
the inputs that sophisticated systems require,
when simple visuals could be all that is needed
to get communication started. In most cases,
reducing the planned projects requirements
down to the most basic yes or no questions is
all that is needed to obtain a progress report
about a required task.
Simple visual tools and feedback systems
will increase productivity hands down. A
perfect example of this is how video games
resonate so well with so many people. Good
video games provide easy to see scores and
continuous feedback on a players progress.
Taking the yes-or-no type questions men-
tioned above and converting them into a sim-
ple green or red light progress tracker, using
an application such as Microsoft Excel, can
mimic highly visible feedback much like a
video game (Figure 3). This type of system
may help people prioritize actions, because it
provides a clear view of the items that have
(in green) and have not (in red) been com-
pleted. When participants can clearly see the
requirements, their buy-in is much easier
to obtain. This accountability is very much
needed to drive the robust dialog to ensure
that effective decisions are being made.
Dialog, Accountability, and
Teamwork
With a visual tool like this, people can eas-
ily understand their responsibilities and the
sequence of actions they need to complete for
a successful project. This can help drive the
robust dialog and maintain the accountabil-
ity needed when planning outage projects. It
is great when companies break down silos,
share the workload across departments, and
make use of simple visual tools, but if no one
is held accountable at the end of the day, the
work can still be left incomplete.
Regularly conducting reviews against a
progress tracker drives the message home
that each person has a responsibility to com-
plete their task and will be held accountable
until they do so. This should ensure full at-
tention up front when the outage planning
begins. Manny Walters, global contracts
manager for Phillips 66, wrote in the Febru-
ary 2017 issue of BIC Magazine that when
people know they are going to be held ac-
countable, they pay attention up front. When
people have better-defined deliverables,
magic can happen. A team acting as a unit
should perform more effectively, as members
start to take responsibility for the success of
their teammates.
At NRG Energy, we have one goal above
all others: We put safety first. This goal re-
|
April 2017 POWER
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
quires us to focus on safety for ourselves, our credible results. For example, in one region,
colleagues, and our families. It also asks that the improved supplier engagement obtained
we foster a culture of continuous improve- through the tracker tool has increased cost
ment by working and living safer every day avoidance savings from $2.1 million in 2015
of the year. We believe we are all in this to- to $5.2 million in 2016. It is this type of out-
gether on one teamTeam NRG. come that helps us continue to make progress
Part of the continuous improvement pro- on our vision and mission to create a sustain-
cess is to simplify, prioritize, and streamline able energy future by safely providing reli-
information for better outcomes. Coupling able, cleaner power that enhances peoples
ideas, such as a simpler outage planning lives and delivers value to our stakeholders.
tracker tool, with a deeply passionate team Larry Kofton is plant supply chain
of experienced professionals has led to in- manager for NRG Energy Inc.
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 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

The Oft-Neglected Isolated Phase

Bus Deserves Your Attention

Courtesy: SE Energy

A power plants isolated phase bus is generally reliable, and therefore, maintenance
is frequently overlooked. However, the system is too important to neglect. Assess-
ing its condition during minor outages allows needed repairs to be scheduled dur-
ing more extensive downtime, saving money and avoiding catastrophic failure.
Cal Crader, PE

P
reventative maintenance and essential
system upgrades for the isolated phase
bus should be a critical part of a power
generating stations planned outage schedule.
However, not all operators give it the atten-
tion it deserves, leading to an increased risk
of unnecessary, unplanned outages.
Taking full advantage of a planned out-
age at a power generating plant is a critical
component to both maximizing up time and
avoiding costly surprises. Planned outages
differ from plant to plant, but generally, a
plant tends to have major outages once ev-
ery two to four years to upgrade equipment.
These outages often revolve around a mainte-
nance schedule for the turbine generators or
the boiler.
Between planning for the outage, equip-
ment and labor costs during the outage, and
the amount of production time lost due to
the outage, these are very costly events that
need to be meticulously coordinated. Opera-
tors do not want to miss the opportunity to
upgrade or fix a specific piece of equipment
during a planned outage, only to discover
their mistake later and be forced to fix the
problem during an emergency, unplanned
1. Out of sight, out of mind. Inspect-
outage. ing components, such as the isolated phase
bus termination at the generator shown here,
The Vital Isolated Phase Bus can help ensure reliable operation over the
A critical system that is often overlooked long-term. Courtesy: SE Energy
during planned outages is the isolated phase
bus. Operators tend to believe that because
this system is covered, it does not require the
same amount of care as other critical sys-
tems. However, with all that is being invested
in properly maintaining the generator, an iso-
lated phase bus failure can essentially negate
that effort.
One reason for this negligence is that the
bus system does not really have any moving
parts like a generator does (Figure 1). How-
ever, maintenance is just as important and
failure can be just as damaging (Figure 2).
Emergency repairs on an isolated phase bus
system will often cost up to five times more
than repairs done during a planned outage.
In days gone by, power plants had more
frequent planned outages on a more regular
basis. Under that scenario, maintenance on
the isolated phase bus was easier. There was
more time to dedicate toward making sure

54 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017

2. Signs of a problem. The isolated
phase bus shown here was contaminated
with oilinside and outfrom a generator
leak. Courtesy: SE Energy
3. Inspections are important. These
flexible braids were in need of replacement
due to degraded contact surfaces. Courtesy:
SE Energy
everything was operating smoothly. How-
ever, recently many plants have decided
to extend the time between major planned
outages. Many now have smaller outages
once a year, during which planning is done
for work that needs to be completed during
a major outage. Often, those major out-
ages are only being conducted every three
years or even less often. In order to make
sure that the isolated phase bus is properly
maintained during a big outage, planning on
the work that needs to be done should take
place during a smaller outage about a year
prior.
Isolated phase bus system failure can
come in many different forms. Additionally,
the conditions that often cause the failures
are ones that can be particularly difficult to
work under, such as localized overheating.
Other causes can include condensation, dirt,
improper grounding, cracked weld joints,
poor insulation, and water intrusion (see Fa-
cilitating Predictive Maintenance of Electri-
cal Assets with Pervasive Sensing Strategies
in this issue of POWER for more on condi-
tion-based monitoring of electrical systems).
Conducting a thorough inspection of the iso-
|
April 2017 POWER
lated phase bus will help to ensure that your
bus runs efficiently (Figure 3).
need of replacement, which was identified
Assessing and Planning
The inspection and planning for maintenance
on a power plants isolated phase bus should
take place months before a major outage, if
at all possible, so that proper work and up-
grades can be performed during this extended
period of time. During a smaller outage, it is
important to do an assessment of what criti-
cal components need to be fixed or replaced.
During the assessment, there are several
areas of the isolated phase bus that can and
should be checked and conditions document-
ed. A thorough inspection by a qualified and
knowledgeable isolated phase bus specialist
should provide a well-documented report of
your systems status, areas where repairs are
needed, and as-found and as-left conditions,
including any repairs or material replace-
ments that were performed in conjunction
with the inspection.
Bolted joints should be checked to ensure
that the correct hardware is present and prop-
erly torqued. The contact surface integrity
should be looked at, and the plating condition
and the flexible connectors checked. During
this time, the insulators can be inspected
for dirt build-up and any damage that may
have occurred, including cracks or chips.
Additionally, the seal-off bushings should
be checked to ensure a proper seal is active.
Hardware covers should be removed and ar-
eas checked for water entry, air leaks, and hot
spots. Gaskets should be verified for proper
functionality.
During the assessment and planning
phase, ground cables and connections should
be observed to ensure proper grounding is
being achieved. The filter drains should be
assessed in the isolated phase bus for wa-
ter build-up and clogs. Temperatures of the
enclosure/conductor and the support steel
should be monitored. Excessive heating of
the support steel can lead to an impending
catastrophic failure. Finally, elements of the
force-cooled system should be inspected.
These elements include the fan, fan motor
drive, dampers, cooling coils, water connec-
tions, deionizers, drains, instruments, and the
disconnect switch.
During the minor outage, certain pre-
ventative maintenance tasks should be per-
formed to ensure the isolated phase bus is in
optimal condition. The bolted covers should
be removed to gain access at the termination
enclosures. All of the insulators should be
hand cleaned, and the enclosure should have
the debris vacuumed from it.
After assessing which elements of the iso-
lated phase bus need attention, it is impor-
tant to plan out everything that needs to be
www.powermag.com
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
4. Experts can recognize prob-
lems. The laminates shown here were in
during a thorough inspection. Courtesy: SE
Energy
done, complete with cost estimates and time
requirements. That way, during the large,
planned outage, maintenance work can be
performed effectively and efficiently.
Major Outage Repairs
After all of the assessments are completed
and recommendations are made during a mi-
nor outage, the repair and retrofit work can
be planned for and carried out during a major
outage. By assessing and making estimates
months in advance, a maintenance team has
the elements necessary to ensure that the iso-
lated phase bus will be running at an optimal
level when the power plant is brought back
online.
These major overhauls can include re-
placement of laminates (Figure 4), insula-
tors, expansion joints, and rubber bellows.
All of these components have lead times, and
there will be expediting fees if not ordered in
advance. When a plan is set months before
the outage, maintenance teams can be confi-
dent in their preparation and ensure they have
all of the supplies they need to perform ef-
fective work. Additionally, during the major
outage, any necessary welding can take place
along with silver plating.
Most importantly, it is critical that opera-
tors have certified experts on the team that
does both the assessment/inspections dur-
ing the smaller outage and the major repairs
during the larger one. Knowledge and expe-
rience are keys in providing accurate assess-
ments and necessary repairs to an isolated
phase bus system. These bus systems are
heavily relied upon to be operational and
keep the power plant online. With the costs
associated with repairs and unplanned shut-
downs, being able to count on the isolated
phase bus is critical.
Cal Crader, PE is the CEO of SE Energy
LLC, a specialty electrical construction,
engineering, and consulting firm.
55
 CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity: Keeping Current on
a Moving Target
What it means to have a secure energy generating facility has changed in re-
cent years as the threat of cyberattacks grows. As the nations energy sec-
tor becomes increasingly interconnected, it is more important now than
ever to safeguard power plants from cybersecurity threats such as hack-
ing, malware, and viruses.
Abby L. Harvey

T
he benefits of implementing an Internet 1. The secure plant. Successfully securing a power plant from cyberattack requires sev-
of Things (IoT) strategy at a power eral levels of protection. Source: POWER/Sonal Patel
plant are clear, but the stark reality
of this day and age is that doing so opens
many doors for cyber attackers. IoT at a
power plant can increase the efficiency of
the plants operations, pinpoint maintenance
needs earlier than has ever been possible,
and help avoid costly operational failures.
However, with every new connection made
in a connected plant, a new vulnerability is
created.
The trick to having the best of both
worldsa secure and connected plantis
implementing a robust cybersecurity strat-
egy that can identify vulnerabilities as they
pop up, close them, and alert the user to any
breaches of the systems perimeter.

The Basics of a Secure Plant

With new threats cropping up every day, it is
debatable if a power plant can ever truly be
secure. A plant that is impervious one day
can be the target of an unheard of threat the
next. We have kind of a failure of imagina-
tion sometimes, about what those new threat
vectors could be, Susan Peterson Sturm, di-
rector of product marketing and strategy at
Honeywell Industrial Cyber Security, said.
Securing a plant is not a process with
an end point, Peterson Sturm suggested,
but an ongoing effort to stay abreast of an
ever-changing threat. Its a misnomer to
say there is a secure plant. I think its to-
tally cool for somebody to say we have ap-
proached this with security by design, we
have implemented these security controls,
she said.
Jon Stanford, Americas leader for IoT
services and advanced services, and global
practice lead for industrial securities with
Cisco Advanced Services, disagrees slight-
ly, saying that a plant can be truly secure
if the security is addressed one, fundamen-
tally, and two, with the operational realities
of that plant in mind.
Stanford noted three key factors that
must be present in a cybersecurity strategy
(Figure 1). First, he said, there must be a
focus on identifying threats and vulner-
abilities. Theres a lot of concern about the
threat actors and their motivations and how
vulnerable the IT environment is, he said.
The approach [to addressing that is] doing
vulnerability scanning, identifying those,
and then putting remediations in place.
The second must-have for a secure plant,
Stanford said, is robust perimeter protec-
tion. Even though firewalls and intrusion
protection are not enoughtheyre table
sticks really todayyou have to do them.
So do very robust separation between the
plant environment and anything external,
he said.
Finally, according to Stanford, an opera-
tor must develop a baseline by which they
can track any operational changes within the
plant, alerting them to any potential breach-
es. You want to have the ability to monitor
your environment and detect changes in real
time and respond to them, he said.
The Least You Could Do
There is a minimum amount of effort that can
be put into a cybersecurity strategy. Threats
from outside actors abound, and doing noth-
ing is no longer an option.
In the past, that baseline was air-gapping.
Air-gapping is essentially protecting assets
by keeping them entirely disconnected from
the outside world. While that sounds like a
valid means to halt any external cyberthreats,
in 2017 there are a few problems with that
system. First, air-gapping only protects
against external threats. Unfortunately, thats
not enough. Its erroneous, basically, to only

56 www.powermag.com |
POWER April 2017

think about outsider in types of threats. We
really need to think about insider threats, in-
tentional or otherwise, Peterson Sturm said.
Second, the practice of air-gapping is
based on a concept that is no longer com-
patible with the realities of where business
is headed. What weve found is basically
about 10 years ago customers started net-
working their equipment, so that notion of
an air gap is like a unicorn, it just doesnt
exist anymore, Peterson Sturm said.
Let me state something thats sort of
a fundamental truth, historically if you go
back decades these power plants were truly
air gapped, Stanford agreed. Over time
thats changed, just in the natural course
of operation, just as a natural result of how
power operators have changed procedures
and as the technology that they use on a dai-
ly basis has evolved There are very few
instances of truly air-gapped environments.
There is some level of connectivity.
More feasible, though still likely not
enough to keep a plant safe, is the installa-
tion of firewalls. Firewalls are a necessity
at any plant, though installing them presents
its difficulties. Due to the way that power
plants are built, simply as a reality of the
industry, a plant will have a large variety of
equipment from a number of different ven-
dors, each with its own system and its own
firewall.
For a lot of customers, they have to go to
each individual ICS (Industrial Control Sys-
tem) provider and buy their security widget,
which is another huge pain in the neck,
Peterson Sturm said. So, not only do they
have to know how to operate that suppliers
industrial control system and maintain ex-
pertise and training, having operators who
know how to use that system, but [they must
also do that] on the security side.
On the other hand, Stanford said, while
having multiple systems with multiple secu-
rity processes may be bulky for the operator,
such a setup is also bulky for potential cyber
attackers. From the security perspective,
arguably a lack of homogeneity could be a
form of protection. There are some who feel
like that makes a less-exploitable environ-
ment, he said. If you have all Windows
computers, and if I can exploit Windows,
then I can exploit your entire environment.
So, if I have malware its a simple matter
of me, just like a disease, I can just quickly
propagate that through your environment ...
But, if you have, say, five different kinds
of operating systems in place, and I exploit
Windows then Im not going to affect the
other four types you have.
While such a setup may help, Stanford
specified, thats not necessarily a good strat-
egy in and of itself, more is needed to have
|
April 2017 POWER
2. Establishing a baseline. Cybersecurity experts must first establish a baseline of
plant operations, which they can then use to monitor any anomalies using products such as
Honeywells Risk Manager. Courtesy: Honeywell
a truly secure plant.
To add to this confusion, the equipment
in use at any given plant is not only going
to vary in brand, but also in age. Control
systems that have been around for more than
ten years werent designed with cybersecu-
rity in mind, Peterson Sturm said, explain-
ing that different pieces of equipment in the
same plant can have very different levels of
built-in security.
Avoiding and Halting Attacks
The first step to developing an effective cy-
bersecurity strategy is identifying a plants
vulnerabilities and understanding how a bad
actor might take advantage of those weak
spots. Both Stanford and Peterson Sturm rec-
ommend undergoing an assessment to better
understand the operation of the plants opera-
tions.
Our first step is really to go in and do an
assessment, and that will include people, pro-
cess, and technologies, Peterson Sturm said
of Honeywells process (Figure 2). This as-
sessment, Peterson Sturm explained, includes
interviewing employees to understand what
they do and how they do it. This helps to iden-
tify any potential impacts that day-to-day op-
erations can have on the security of the plant.
Honeywell then does a review of company
policies and procedures that could help to re-
inforce the companys security.
Finally, an evaluation of all plant technol-
ogy is completed. It is kind of going through
the facility and getting a baseline of the elec-
tronic devices, basically any type of embed-
ded control device, what software is on there,
www.powermag.com
CYBERSECURITY
what protocol its using, which ports and ser-
vices are open, the level of patching, and then
any type of antivirus etcetera, she said.
Once a baseline security level has been
established, it is time to think like a criminal
(Figure 3). Honeywell employs a cyberse-
curity researcher who works to get into the
mind of a hacker, identifying how they might
go about attacking a plant. I mentioned
the failure of imagination, Peterson Sturm
said, [We have] someone who can think
about well, whats the next possible type of
threat?
Cisco focuses less on trying to iden-
tify new threats, and more on ensuring that
should a hacker make it past the robust pe-
rimeter defense put in place, they are still un-
able to cause significant damage to the plant.
You want to have the ability to monitor your
environment and detect changes in real time
and respond to them. The most effective type
of solution to address that embodies threat
intelligence within it, Stanford said.
The security products and services of-
fered by Cisco have threat intelligence and
machine learning embedded within, ac-
cording to Stanford, They can watch these
environments to make sure these critical
processes dont change from their autho-
rized patterns, he said. Thats really where
the biggest bang for the buck comes in.
The Enemy Within
Whether they mean to be or not, a plants
operators can be one of its greatest vulner-
abilities. The Stuxnet, the cyberattack that
caused significant damage to Irans nuclear
57
 CYBERSECURITY
3. Keeping up. In the cybersecurity realm, there is always a new danger lurking. At Honey-
wells Industrial Cyber Security Lab, cybersecurity researchers work to identify new threats and
develop solutions. Courtesy: Honeywell
4. Hidden risks. Cybersecurity risks can be present in the most mundane places. Recent
studies have shown that nearly 20% of people will use USB drives picked up in public places,
potentially opening the door for bad actors. Source: POWER/Abby L. Harvey
program in 2009, for example, was housed
on USB drives. According to reviews of the
virus, attackers first infected the computers
of five companies with ties to the nuclear
program. Employees of these companies
then unknowingly spread the virus to Irans
nuclear facilities on USB drives they did not
know were infected (Figure 4).
Stuxnet didnt just wreak havoc on com-
puters but caused physical damage. After
being infected, centrifuges used to enrich
58
uranium gas at Irans Natanz Nuclear Fa-
cility starting failing. The virus made its
way into the facility in July 2009, and cen-
trifuges quickly started failing. By August,
328 centrifuges had fallen. By November,
another 656 were failing.
The biggest threat vector actually is
through malware thats hand carried into the
environment in terms of the employees or
their authorized vendors or contractors be-
ing a threat. A huge concern is the devices
www.powermag.com
that they use on a daily basis, Stanford
said. This would include portable media,
like the USB drives and computers, typi-
cally laptops, that they use to support the
equipment that operates the power plant.
According to a 2015 study conducted by
tech association CompTIA, roughly 17% of
employees will pick up and use a discarded
USB drive. CompTIA littered USB drives
in high-traffic public areas. The USBs were
programmed with text files, which instruct-
ed anybody who plugged them in to send an
email message to a listed address or click
on a trackable link. The results of the study
claim that some of the people who clicked
on the link or sent an email were employed
in the IT industry. As the findings show,
even the most IT literate end users can make
precarious decisions when faced with poten-
tially suspicious technology, demonstrating
how challenging it can be to instill strong
cybersecurity habits (not merely knowl-
edge), the study says.
Unfortunately, at this point, there may
not be much to do to ensure that employees
arent accidentally carrying malware into a
facility. We talk about people, process, and
technology. Training, making people aware,
Peterson Sturm said. There are tons and tons
[of] statistics about the number of people
who will click on a phishing email, so thats
a big thing on an awareness level.
In the future, it may be easier to protect
a facility from the dangers of an infected
USB. We dont have a good way right now
to really secure the used USB, so thats one
area where Honeywell is doing some more
[research]. We see a significant need around
that, and were doing some product develop-
ment in that area. Policy, corporate policy,
and training alone just cant do it.
Should an employee ignore their training,
monitoring is the last defense against an ac-
cidental cybersecurity breach. We have a
set of capabilitieswe have solutions that
we can put in placethat will watch for
and detect anomalies within these environ-
ments, Stanford said.
Of course, there is also the possibility of
a malicious insider attack. Luckily, Stanford
said, The number of incidents of malicious
insider behavior [suggests it] is quite rare.
Every power plant has vulnerabilities; no
plant is impervious to attack. The world of
cybersecurity is constantly evolving as new
attacks are designed every day. Keeping a
plant as secure as possible is a constant strug-
gle that requires constant attention. However,
the potential costs of a cyberattack, both to
the plant operator and the customers they
serve, far outweigh the costs of implement-
ing a robust cybersecurity strategy.
Abby L. Harvey is a POWER reporter.
|
POWER April 2017
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 NUCLEAR
U.S. Nuclear: From Hope to Despair
A decade ago, the annual Platts nuclear energy conference in Washington was
brimming with optimism over a coming nuclear renaissance, as licens-
ing requests poured into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and compa-
nies announced ambitious plans for new nuclear construction. Ten years
later, the not-so-under-the-surface theme of the conference was nuclear
survival.
Kennedy Maize
The question is survival, former En-
tergy nuclear executive Bill Mohl told
attendees at the annual Platts nuclear
energy conference in Washington, D.C., in
early February. Mohl, who led Entergys
merchant power business and retired Feb-
ruary 28, went on to explain that Entergys
long-term strategy of buying up single-unit
nuclear plants at bargain-basement prices
and bidding them into the regional transmis-
sion operator (RTO) and independent system
operator (ISO) competitive wholesale mar-
kets was a miserable failure.
It seemed like a really good idea at the
outset, but a combination of factors under-
cut the strategy, and Entergy is now exiting
merchant nuclear power in as big a way as it
entered. Vermont Yankee is shuttered. It has
agreed to sell FitzPatrick (Figure 1) in New
York to Exelon. Palisades in Michigan will
1. Rescued. Entergy Corp. planned to re-
tire the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant in
Scriba, N.Y., this year, but Exelon Corp. agreed
to buy the unit and keep it open after New
York approved subsidies for upstate nuclear
plants. Courtesy: Entergy Corp.
60
close in the fall of 2018. Pilgrim on Cape
Cod will close in the fall of 2019. The two
Indian Point units on the Hudson River 35
miles north of New York City will shut down
in 2020 and 2021. Its a sad state of affairs for
the company and the industry.
Nuclear on the Brink
The U.S. has seen nine GW of nuclear plant
closures announced over the past few years,
nearly 10% of national nuclear generat-
ing capacity. Mohl (Figure 2) noted that it
would have been worse if Exelon, the na-
tions largest nuclear generator, had not been
able to save two Illinois facilities (Quad Cit-
ies and Clinton) and four upstate New York
units (FitzPatrick, Ginna, and two Nine Mile
Point reactors). All were rescued by state-or-
chestrated bailouts designed to assign a value
to the avoided carbon dioxide emissions from
the plants.
Independent generators are challenging
the Illinois and New York subsidies for the
nuclear units in court and at the Federal Ener-
gy Regulatory Commission. They argue that
the state plans distort the competitive whole-
sale auctions. Those challenges could upset
the Illinois and New York plans to save the
nuclear units in competitive markets.
In January, the independent market moni-
tor for the PJM Interconnection, the largest
of the competitive markets, said in a fed-
eral court filing that the New York program
is unlawful as it discriminates against other
fuelsnatural gas and coal. The nuclear sub-
sidies, said the filing, will result in keeping
noneconomic plants in the NYISO market
despite market signals to retire.
What accounts for the inability of nuclear
to compete in wholesale markets? Several
speakers at the Platts conference agreed on
the fundamental problems. They include:
Low wholesale prices. Hydraulic fractur-
ing technology arrived about a decade
ago, producing astonishing new supplies
www.powermag.com
of natural gas, which provided cheap fuel
for power plants and drove market prices
down. Long-running federal tax subsidies
for renewables, particularly wind, have
also hampered the ability of nuclear to
compete.
Low demand growth. Wholesale mar-
ket prices have reflected the fact that the
great recession and increasing end-use
energy efficiency have slowed growth
in demand for electricity, pushing prices
lower. The reduced demand growth seems
baked into the U.S. market.
Flawed market design. The nuclear in-
dustry argues that the technologys car-
bon-free nature does not get any value in
competitive markets.
Increased operating costs. Post-9/11 se-
curity measures and Nuclear Regulatory
Commission orders in the wake of the
2011 Fukushima disaster have driven
costs higher. Exelons Chris Mudrick said
his company now employs more security
personnel at its nuclear sites than plant
operators. He said Exelon has a goal of
reducing the cost of its nuclear generation
by 30%, but he and Mohl agreed that cost
reductions wont solve nuclears problems
in competitive markets. You cant save
yourself to prosperity, said Mohl.
The current nuclear carnage looks likely
to continue. A January report from the Na-
tional Conference of State Legislatures not-
ed, Since 2013, six nuclear reactors in the
United States have permanently closed, an-
other 12 reactors have been scheduled to shut
down, and operators at several more plants
have warned of other possible reactor clo-
sures in the coming years.
Environmental Progress, a pro-nuclear
group, recently released an analysis conclud-
ing that a quarter to two-thirds of operating
U.S. nuclear plants could face premature
closure. The Environmental Progress analy-
sis counts 35 GW of nuclear capacity as at
|
POWER April 2017

2. Merchant power leader. Bill Mohl
served as president of Entergy Wholesale Com-
modities, with responsibility for the companys
merchant power business. He spoke in Febru-
ary at the Platts nuclear energy conference in
Washington, D.C. Courtesy: Entergy Corp.
triple risk because they are in deregu-
lated markets, uneconomical (according to
Bloomberg New Energy Finance) and up for
relicensing before the end of 2030. Which
plants are in greatest jeopardy of early clo-
sure? The answer, according to the group, is
D.C. Cook in Michigan; Seabrook in New
Hampshire; Millstone in Connecticut; and
Davis-Besse in Ohio.
Regulated Markets Are the Life-
blood
The only bright spot for nuclear is in south-
ern states where traditional, state-regulated
cost-of-service regimes continue to govern
how nuclear plants make money. In contrast
to its merchant nuclear fleet, Entergys two
Arkansas Nuclear One units, the Grand Gulf
plant in Mississippi, and River Bend and Wa-
terford 3 in Louisiana are doing well.
The only new U.S. plants under construc-
tion are two units in Georgia and two in
South Carolina. Both states have regulations
that allow the utilities building the plants to
recover their costs of construction (and earn a
profit) while the plants are being built. State-
regulated wholesale and retail markets serve
No utility in its right mind is going to
build a new plant ... Its a bet-the-company
proposition and the odds arent positive
enough, even with construction-work-in-
progress policies.
A southern utility executive on condition of anonymity
|
April 2017 POWER
3. Promoting nuclear power. Maria
Korsnick became CEO of the Nuclear Energy
Institute, following the retirement of Marvin
Fertel. Courtesy: Nuclear Energy Institute
about 40% of the U.S. population.
Even in these regulatory-friendly environs,
little real enthusiasm for new nuclear plants
exists. Thats driven by the cost overruns and
delays that the nuclear projects in Georgia
and South Carolina have experienced.
No utility in its right mind is going to
build a new plant, a southern utility execu-
tive told POWER on condition of anonymity
at the Platts meeting. Its a bet-the-compa-
ny proposition and the odds arent positive
enough, even with construction-work-in-
progress policies. Some may talk the talk.
Nobody is going to walk the walk.
Nuclear Lobby Shakeup
The current industry woes are reflected in
its Washington lobbying group, the Nuclear
Energy Institute (NEI). The same day as the
Platts conference began in Washington, new
NEI CEO Maria Korsnick (Figure 3) was
briefing Wall Street analysts in New York.
Although Korsnick, an Exelon veteran who
replaced retired CEO Marvin Fertel January
1, put on a brave face, she had to acknowl-
edge that existing plants are in jeopardy.
The grid of the future will include a grow-
ing role for intermittent renewable energy,
www.powermag.com
NUCLEAR
she said. So the nuclear reactors of the fu-
ture will accommodate that reality. Some will
make electricity around the clock. Others will
produce electricity when its needed, then
produce other products when it is not. Some
will supply the transportation market. Nuclear
electricity will charge batteries and nuclear
process heat will make alternative fuels. Some
reactors will make fresh water. Some will
drive industrial production. Some reactors
might even produce energy from todays used
fuel, reducing the disposal burden.
But the immediate objective, Korsnick
said, is preserving the existing nuclear plants.
We are reaching a tipping point as policy-
makers have come to appreciate the risk of
losing nuclear plants. However, I believe the
tide is turning. The federal government, the
regional transmission organizations and the
states now recognize the problem, and are
moving to reform the competitive markets
where the greatest threats exist. Little evi-
dence exists to support that optimism.
NEI itself has gotten a haircut of sorts. Nu-
cleonics Week, a Platts publication, reported
in late January that NEI has cut its staff by
13%, or 16 jobs, including the departure of
high-ranking staffers. The newsletter quoted
an unidentified nuclear industry official who
reportedly said, NEI hasnt just downsized
and cut costs, but replaced all of the leader-
ship positions, which adds up to member dis-
satisfaction with the way NEI was operating.
If its a primary job to defend the current fleet
and they continue to close, then [NEI] is not
doing its job.
Among the NEI departures were Alex
Flint, the groups veteran top lobbyist; Scott
Peterson, senior vice president for communi-
cations; and Steve Kerekes, long-time head of
media relations. The lobbying group brought
in some new blood. Neal Cohen from APCO
Worldwide was made top lobbyist and strate-
gist, and John Kotekformer Department of
Energy (DOE) acting assistant secretary for
nuclear energywill now run communica-
tions and policy development.
While NEIs traditional focus has been on
federal affairs, thats not a promising agenda
today. Wholesale market structure belongs to
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC), which is unable to take up big is-
sues with only two of five commission seats
filled (both with Democrats). Getting FERC
operational on big-picture items will take
some time, and there is no certainty the com-
mission will be willing to meet the nuclear
industrys vision for the future. To meet the
desires of nuclear generators, FERC would
have to overturn the restructured wholesale
markets it created 20 years ago, and they ap-
pear to be functioning as designed.
As this story goes into production in early
61
 NUCLEAR
March, the DOE does not have a complete
leadership team in place. Former Texas Gov.
Rick Perry was confirmed as energy secre-
tary on March 2, despite his previous posi-
tion in favor of abolishing the agency, but
he still has to fill many leadership positions,
which can take time. But the DOE doesnt re-
ally have much to do with promoting nuclear
power, other than supporting research and
development.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) can make life easier for the nukes, but
only at the margins. The industrys problems
are more economic than regulatory. The NRC
has few tools to deal with the economic im-
pediments to nuclear in wholesale markets.
Subsidies Offer a Lifeline
The industry has had some success at the
state level however. Both the Illinois and New
York bailouts were major wins for Exelon.
NEI also led a 2016 repeal of a 33-year-old
Wisconsin law banning new nuclear power
plants in the state, as Christine Csizmadia
described at the Platts conference. Even so,
there is no evidence of any serious interest
in actually building a new nuclear plant in
Wisconsin.
NEIs Korsnick told Wall Street analysts,
New York and Illinois serve as examples to
other states that effective solutions are pos-
sible, even in competitive markets. The nu-
clear industry is sharpening the focus of its
advocacy efforts in other states where major
policy opportunities exist.
Exelons David Fein told the Platts meet-
ing about the Illinois and New York plant
rescues. In Illinois, the more difficult case,
a Republican governor and a Democratic
legislature were at war. Three years in, the
state still does not have an approved budget.
Exelon had to work with supporters, includ-
ing unions representing plant workers, on an
overall rescue package that included some-
thing for almost every stakeholder, to move a
4. Low-carbon Illinois. Hundreds of nuclear power proponents rallied at the Illinois state
Capitol in support of the states low-carbon portfolio standard. Courtesy: Exelon Generation
62
New York and Illinois serve as examples
to other states that effective solutions are
possible, even in competitive markets.
Maria Korsnick, Nuclear Energy Institute CEO
bill through the legislature and win the gov-
ernors signature.
New York was easier, Fein said. Powerful
Gov. Andrew Cuomo was able to take a regu-
latory path to the nuclear rescue. His control
of the state public service commission eased
the way to a compromise satisfactory to most
of the interests in the state, although not to
the nonutility generators. It didnt require
state legislation.
Fein noted that efforts are underway in
Connecticut and Pennsylvania to rescue
threatened nuclear plants. In Connecticut, the
task is to protect the two awkwardly-named
Millstone units in the ISO New England
competitive market. That will take legisla-
tive action. The UtilityDive website reported
in mid-February, The legislation, yet to be
fully drafted, now only indicates it would
provide a mechanism for zero-carbon gener-
ating facilities to sell power to electric utili-
ties. The Millstone plant, like other nuclear
facilities in organized markets, is challenged
by competition from cheap natural gas gen-
eration.
In Pennsylvania, where Ohio-based First-
Energy is trying to exit the merchant market
entirely, its two-unit Beaver Valley station in
historic Shippingport, Pa., is at risk, as is its
Ohio Perry plant. All are bidders into the PJM
Interconnection. Exelons Fein said develop-
ments in Pennsylvania are currently on hold.
Is a Carbon Tax the Remedy?
But state bailout programs, Exelons Mu-
drick and Entergys Mohl agreed, arent the
www.powermag.com
long-term answer. Somebody has to make
it a priority at the federal level, said Mohl,
advocating a nationwide carbon tax, suggest-
ing a $17/ton initial price, readjusted every
two years. If the fedsmeaning Congress
and the Trump administrationcant come
up with a national solution, said Mohl, it
will be relegated to the states and that canni-
balizes the competitive markets, an entirely
undesirable outcome.
The day before the Platts nuclear con-
ference, a group of establishment Republi-
cansincluding James Baker and George
Shultz, former secretaries of state; Henry
Paulson, former treasury secretary; and Mar-
tin Feldstein and Gregory Mankiw, former
White House economic advisorsrolled out
a paper advocating a nationwide tax on car-
bon dioxide emissions. They dubbed it, The
Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends.
They unveiled it in a New York Times op-ed
column. The tax would be coupled with a
rollback of the Obama administrations Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) regula-
tions on power plant CO2 emissions.
The tax would start at a suggested $40/
ton and escalate over time. The paper argues,
Mounting evidence of climate change is
growing too strong to ignore. While the ex-
tent to which climate change is due to man-
made causes can be questioned, the risks
associated with future warming are too big
and should be hedged. At least we need an
insurance policy.
The GOP graybeards plan would require
major congressional legislation, perhaps in-
cluding a rewrite of the Clean Air Acts 1990
amendments. Thats a real stretch.
Trump is deeply skeptical of global
warming science. Republicans have a tra-
ditional aversion to anything labeled a tax.
Mainstream environmental groups are likely
to raise opposition to a rollback of EPA regu-
lations. David Doniger, long-time head of
climate programs for the Natural Resources
Defense Council, promptly responded to the
establishment GOP proposal, praising the
effort but saying, The atmosphere needs a
guarantee, and thats why we need firm car-
bon pollution limits in addition to carbon
prices.
Kennedy Maize is a long-time energy
journalist and frequent contributor to
POWER.
|
POWER April 2017
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April 2017 POWER www.powermag.com 67
 COMMENTARY
Reports of the Electric
Grids Death Have Been
Russell P.
Schussler, PE
Jill S. Tietjen,
PE
Greatly Exaggerated
here have been numerous pronouncements recently about
T the upcoming demise of the bulk power grid as consumers
are projected to move toward decentralized green energy
sources. We dont believe that the end of the electric grid is nigh
upon us.
Investment in Transmission Grows
In the last decade, low load growth in the U.S. has been accom-
panied by continued transmission growth. Although the percent
of load growth is declining or flat nationwide, investment in
the transmission system is increasing. In addition, recent trends
suggest that decarbonization effortsinstallation of renewable
resources and distributed energy resourceswill likely be ac-
companied by increasing transmission expansion. Other factors
are contributing to the increased transmission system invest-
ment as well.
Annual electric load growth has trended downward over our
lifetimes, from 9.8% annual growth in the 1950s to 0.7% in the
first decade of the 21st century. Nonetheless, the load itself con-
tinues to grow as does transmission system investment. Annual
investment in the transmission system increased from around $2
billion in 1997, to $14 billion in 2012, an annual growth rate of
almost 14%. What is driving this significant growth in transmis-
sion system investment? Lets look at some factors.
Additions of new generation as well as retirements of exist-
ing generation cause the flows on the system to change. Each
time a generation source location is changed by an addition or a
retirement, the resulting flows on the transmission system cause
additional stress or unloading on other parts of the system.
Sometimes, the additional stress can cause potential overload-
ing and voltage problems.
A transmission planner must carefully examine the effects
of all generation changes. If problems are created, additional
transmission system investment will be necessary. Furthermore,
if there are considerable variable intermittent resources, the sys-
tem must be built so that it supports multiple dispatch scenari-
os. This will generally call for greater transmission infrastructure.
Greater demands are being placed on the transmission grid.
Today, building a flexible system that allows economic dispatch
under a variety of operating conditions is becoming a strong
priority in many areas.
Hardening the System
Much of our existing transmission infrastructure is old, and re-
quires upgrading and replacement independently from growth
drivers. This includes replacement in kind and uprates for in-
creased functionality, system hardening, and the ability to meet
increasingly stringent compliance requirements.
Enforcement by the North American Electric Reliability Corp.
68 www.powermag.com
(NERC) of reliability standards covers the areas of measurable per-
formance, risk mitigation strategies, and entity capabilities as well
as Critical Infrastructure Protection. In many cases, compliance
with the standards requires increased transmission investment.
Utilities in coastal states are examining hardening alterna-
tives for their transmission systems to allow them to better with-
stand hurricanes and intense weather. System hardening does
not just apply to transmission systems that are subject to hur-
ricanes; improvements can be made to enhance systems against
any type of weather or catastrophic event.
Elements of system hardening programs include vegetation
management, flood hardening, preparing for heat waves and dry
spells, upgrading poles and structures with stronger materials,
undergrounding, shortening span lengths, changing out wires,
and investing in smart grid sensors. All of these efforts require
additional investment dollars.
Renewables Require Enhanced Transmission
What about green energy? Solar energy resources developed to
date include rooftop solar (with a current penetration of about
1%), community gardens, and large utility-scale projects. We
predict that rooftop solar will not be the resource of choice for
most Americans in the future. For them, increased solar usage
will come from utility-scale and community solar projectswith
an associated transmission investment.
Most wind development to date is actually in the form of
utility-scale projects in states or portions of states where not
many people live. Thus, wind energy is often accompanied by a
significant investment in transmission to move the energy from
where it is to where the peopleand thus the demand for that
electricityare.
A greening of the power supply, rather than limiting the im-
portance of the grid, will enhance the need for increased trans-
mission investment despite higher levels of local generation,
microgrids, or individual customers who go off grid. Interconnec-
tions to the transmission grid provide a low-cost, backup source
of power, allow for energy exchanges and capacity sharing, and
also serve to enhance overall reliability.
Grid connections have the capability to enhance the conve-
nience, security, flexibility, cost, environmental responsibility,
and performance of localized power systems. More renewables
and non-conventional technologies will likely include a major
role for, and potential expansions of, the bulk transmission grid.
The more we expect from our power systems, the more central
the grid will remain.
Russell P. Schussler, PE is vice president of system
planning for Georgia Transmssion Corp. and Jill S. Tietjen, PE
is an outside director for the Georgia Transmission Corp. and
CEO of Technically Speaking Inc.
|
POWER April 2017
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