Power Exportation Optimisation

We identified that our client was losing revenue from power exportation due to a design error relating to the sizing of exportation cables and equipment. The steam turbine actuator position had to be limited to ensure that during nighttime operation, when the site load was low, the generator exportation did not exceed protection parameters and therefore trip the exportation breaker. This reduced exportation capability significantly, however re-design of the exportation equipment was not a viable option.

In conjunction with the control system OEM, we modified the steam turbine control logic to maximise control valve actuator lift in relation to the current measured.

Once the new controller was introduced, we adapted the steam bypass system controller to ensure stability under the new operational conditions as the steam turbine could now maximise its throughput, thereby increasing the efficiency of the steam generation technology.

We ensured that a viable solution was found swiftly to maximise the benefit to our client.  Our solution did not involve intrusive labour which would have increased costs, timescales and safety risks of the project.

We kept continuous communication with our client’s leadership and operations teams to ensure that the solution was implemented and commissioned with minimum disruption to site processes.

Our solution ensured that power exportation and steam flow through the turbine were maximised for all site load conditions.

Since commissioning of the new control logic we have increased steam flow through the turbine from a maximum of 33 tonnes per hour to 40 tonnes per hour, which leads to an average increase in generation of 26.5MW per day.