Gas Turbine Efficiency - overcoming your power problems

GAS TURBINESGas Turbine Efficiency& the Gila River Power StationThe Entegra Power Group's Gila River Power Station in Gila Bend, AZ, features theECOMAX system which has provided Entegra with solutions to control emissions,manage dynamics and provide increased output without exceeding OEM design limits.Gas Turbine Efficiency plc is at theforefront of a quiet revolution. ItsECOMAX gas turbine optimisationsystem, currently in place at EntegraPower Group's Gila River Power Station inGila Bend, AZ, represents a state-of-theart technology with the highestenvironmental credentials.The ECOMAX system has effectivelyprovided Entegra with a suite of solutionsto control emissions, manage dynamicsand provide increased output withoutexceeding OEM design limits.With OEM operational enhancements ata premium, Entegra sought GTE'sexpertise to enhance the performance ofits gas turbines. Other power producershave too, as there have been manyinstallations of the system in addition tothe Entegra site.GTE's ECOMAX product line offers a fullyautomated solution that can optimise gasturbine combustion system performancein near real-time. As an automated tuningsystem, ECOMAX can increase powerpotential and maintain operationalflexibility while remaining compliant inemissions regulations.By installing ECOMAX, gas turbineoperators select predefined parametersthat allow for greater flexibilityin matching turbine performancewith operational goals. If themarket price of power spikes, anoperator could change his or hergoal to maximise output from lowheat rate, and when the marketprice of power declines, the highefficiencygoal to conserve fuelcan be re-established.ECOMAX is typically evaluatedby the performance of a siteaudit. The site audit identifiesoperational goals and outlines a baselinedeployment of the system to allowdetermination of benefits in terms ofincreased output, improved efficiency aswell as management of emissions andcombustion dynamics. Derived benefitsare typically used by the operator tojustify the ECOMAX deployment. Thesystems have currently been applied toLean Premixed Combustion systems,typically termed Dry Lo NOx ( DLN ) orDry Low Emission ( DLE ) systems. ECOMAXmanages emissions to operator-definedlimits.Gas turbines equipped with the ECOMAXsystem can avoid seasonal tuning byproviding near real time tuning - a clearThe Gila River Power Station.[Pic: courtesy of GTE]advantage for power plant operators, saysthe company. ECOMAX sites are alsosupported by GTE's proprietary Monitoringand Diagnostics (M&D) centre, whichprovides the power plant operator with aproactive method of monitoring theirmajor equipment.Since the implementation of the M&Dcentre in 2009, customers have avoidedunit trips or service interruption andimproved efficiency through plantconfiguration management.This has increased the effectiveness ofplant manoeuvers and tests - all of whichhas improved revenue for the client,reports GTE. In addition, it providesreal-time monitoring and notificationservices for identification of emergingissues, says the company.Gas Turbine Efficiency is well-known forits designs and cleantech energy savingand performance-enhancing solutions. Itspatented cleantech solutions save fuel,reduce emissions and extend turbine lifeand it also provides solutions for burning awider variety of fuels such as liquefiednatural gas, clean coal and alternativefuel blends.Internet linkwww.gtefficiency.comWIP16MARCH 2010 • WORLDWIDE I NDEPENDENT P OWER