All the small things
If your plant has been in operation for 20+ years, you have likely been through at least 4 major outages to update your gas turbine. These address wear and tear on major parts, but what about all the smaller things that might also need to be upgraded? Pumps…valves…controls…exhaust frame…flame detectors. Issues in any of these areas can cause your plant to underperform—and put you at risk for an unplanned outage.
It’s time to take a closer look at upgrading important areas throughout your plant to make sure you can not only preserve your existing assets but equip them to do more with less.
Run in a wider operating range at lower loads
Achieve faster startup times
Have more reliable starts
Have ramp rates to offset renewables
Stay within strict emissions restrictions
Keep O&M costs down
Upgrading to stay competitive
It’s time to upgrade your power plant. Where to start? Browse the key performance outcomes you should be looking to achieve—and all the offerings we have to help get you there.
Improve your plant economics
Gas turbine compressors experience fouling during normal operation, which reduces output and efficiency. On average, non-recoverable degradation is close to 1.5% by the time the unit has run 144,000 hours, and some units may see non-recoverable degradation above 3%.
More flexibility and lower O&M costs
Increased cyclic operation Our units are running less at traditional base load operations and we are migrating into balancing renewables and aim to meet peak demand Risk of unplanned outages I am concerned with unplanned outages and associated repair costs due to excess wear and tear in the exhaust frame liner or due to blower health and cooling circuit performance Frequent repair outages The liner degradation forces me to perform repairs that increase my outage duration and costs.
Decrease downtime
Instrumentation issues are one of the top drivers of gas turbine unreliability. In fact, more than 20% of failed starts are due to instrumentation failures.* In the last three years, GE has documented more than 1,500 failures that have caused 16,000+ downtime hours. And three out of five gas turbines have experienced at least one failed start, trip, or forced outage. The instrumentation reliability package includes:
Decrease failed starts
Hydraulic control valves are responsible for some 10% of turbine dependability issues, including a marked 23% of failed starts. Now, based on GE’s 5.5+ million hours of electrically actuated valve experience, tighter equipment control is within reach. Your upgraded 7F gas turbines provide advanced diagnostics, extended overhaul intervals, reduced fire risk, and money saved on every failed start. The valve reliability package includes the following upgrades:
Address the risks of cycling
Combined-cycle plants are cycling more than they were originally designed to because of increasing amounts of renewable energy sources. How often you cycle is unique to your plant—but whether you have a daily run, a weekday-only run, or a different operational cycle, lowering your minimum downtime can produce financial benefits.
Increase your asset’s life
Combined-cycle plants are cycling more than they were originally designed to because of increasing amounts of renewable energy sources. How often you cycle is unique to your plant—but whether you have a daily run, a weekday-only run, or a different operational cycle, lowering your minimum downtime can produce financial benefits.
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