Siemens Gas and Power has completed its first large gas turbine section exchange at PowerSouth’s McWilliams power plant in Covington County, Alabama, US.
The company, which provides products, solutions and services that make fossil energy greener, had embarked on a project earlier this year to replace the gas turbine section (V84.2) at the Alabama plant with a newer, more efficient section.
The newer SGT6-2000E, which offers reliable performance, was chosen to replace the V84.2 as it is an economically viable alternative to replacing parts and providing maintenance upgrades at regularly scheduled intervals.
McWilliams plant now has Siemens’ innovative Si3D blades
The McWilliams plant now has Siemens’ innovative Si3D blades, which feature an aerodynamic design with optimal efficiency.
With the completion of the project, the plant now produces 114MW of cleaner energy, compared to an average of 102MW previously, due to improvements in gross simple cycle efficiency from 31% to 35%.
Furthermore, NOx emissions have decreased from 13-16 parts per million (ppm @ 15% O2) to 10ppm.
Siemens Gas and Power service power generation CEO Vinod Philip said: “This is a terrific example of how ingenuity, technical expertise and a commitment to making energy cleaner come together to provide measurable benefits to customers and consumers alike.
“As the world pays closer attention to how energy is produced and consumed, it is incumbent upon companies like Siemens to help our customers address these concerns with innovative, cleaner energy solutions such as the Brownfield Engine Exchange program.”
The Brownfield Engine Exchange (BEX) is intended to deliver cleaner energy, long-term reliability, greater efficiency and better performance.
According to Siemens, BEX programmes are required globally as energy efficiency is essential in reaching climate goals. It said that BEX offers a cost-effective and fast solution to traditional maintenance, and increases efficiency and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Earlier this year, Siemens was selected by Brazilian petrochemical company Braskem for a modernisation project at its cogeneration plant.
Under the project, two SGT-600 gas turbines at Braskem facility are co-fired up to 60% with hydrogen, resulting in greater efficiency for the production process of the industrial unit and an emission reduction.
Siemens has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030.
