Caithness Power’s Guernsey Energy Station, which options GE Vernova tools, is a vital gas-fired facility serving to substitute retired coal-fired technology within the PJM Interconnection territory.
Officers with the PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission group serving 13 states together with Ohio, final 12 months warned that energy plant retirements in that territory may result in energy shortfalls. That led to a lot hand-wringing amongst regulators and policymakers, as officers expressed concern about convey new technology capability on-line quick sufficient to keep away from that state of affairs.
One reply was so as to add new pure gasoline–fired technology. The PJM territory consists of main shale gasoline performs, such because the Marcellus and Utica, offering a ready-made provide of feedstock for gas-fired energy crops. Officers famous an necessary consideration for brand new energy stations can be using the newest, most-efficient expertise, with a purpose to fulfill not solely energy demand but additionally meet environmental laws.
Enter the 1,875-MW Guernsey Energy Station, positioned in Guernsey County in southeastern Ohio. The plant was constructed on property that included an present 42-inch Rockies Specific Pipeline and AEP’s Kammer-Vassell 765-kV transmission line. The plant, operated by Caithness Power, a privately held impartial energy producer primarily based in New Jersey, got here on-line in June of final 12 months and instantly grew to become a mannequin for a way the PJM can add capability to fulfill the anticipated enhance in energy demand within the area.
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1. The Guernsey Energy Station makes use of three GE Vernova 7HA.02 gasoline generators in a single-shaft mixed cycle configuration, the biggest set-up of its variety in a U.S. energy plant. Courtesy: GE Vernova |
Officers stated Guernsey, together with different deliberate electrical energy initiatives, may assist alleviate issues about useful resource adequacy and grid stability throughout PJM. The plant options superior expertise, together with three GE Vernova 7HA.02 gasoline generators (Determine 1) in a single-shaft mixed cycle configuration. Officers stated it’s the biggest set-up of this type at a U.S. gas-fired energy plant.
“Caithness is proud to ship this state-of-the-art electrical producing answer to offer vitality and capability to the PJM market,” stated Ross Ain, Caithness Power’s president, at a ceremony marking industrial operation of the Guernsey plant. “Our mission is cleaner and extra environment friendly than older crops. It’ll present dependable vitality with minimal impression on the surroundings by using a considerably extra environment friendly expertise to supply vitality, thereby considerably reducing carbon and different emissions in comparison with older crops and using a dry cooling system that reduces water use by 95% in comparison with older amenities.”
Ain famous that as just lately as 2022, closures of coal-fired energy crops accounted for almost 90% of the plant retirements within the PJM. Ain stated “as increasingly coal-fired crops are retired, the necessity for thermal assets, and the important dependable and versatile energy they supply, is essential for grid stability and to assist meet the rising demand for energy.”
$1.6 Billion in Financing
Caithness Power and Florida-based Apex Energy Group secured $1.6 billion in financing for the mission from Investec Financial institution, BlackRock, and AMP Capital in September 2019. The Guernsey plant was constructed by Connecticut-based Gemma Energy Methods, an engineering, procurement, and development firm, and an entirely owned subsidiary of Maryland-headquartered Argan, together with a number of subcontractors from Ohio and elsewhere.
Officers stated that along with the everyday challenges that each one giant development initiatives face, the Guernsey Energy Station was constructed over deserted room and pillar coal mines that had been required to be crammed in previous to establishing the ability. As well as, development of the mission occurred in the course of the world COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted manpower and resulted in vital provide chain challenges. Officers stated all of the challenges had been overcome with a minimal total impression to mission completion.
William F. Griffin Jr., CEO of Gemma, in an announcement stated, “We’re thrilled to have the chance to assist ship clear, dependable vitality to Guernsey County and the better Ohio group.”
The GE Vernova generators at Guernsey energy three W84 turbines, three STF-A650 steam generators, and three GE Vernova triple strain with reheat warmth restoration steam turbines, which embrace supplemental duct firing, state-of-the-art selective catalytic discount expertise for lowering NO x emissions, and an oxidation catalyst for lowering carbon monoxide and risky natural compounds (VOCs). GE Vernova maintains the ability beneath a 20-year providers settlement, and offers cloud-based predictive analytics by GE Vernova’s Asset Efficiency Administration (APM) software program. This APM Reliability software program, powered by SmartSignal, will assist predict potential asset failures and cut back unplanned downtime, whereas bettering energy plant productiveness and reliability.
Officers have famous that GE Vernova’s H-class gasoline turbine expertise is taken into account among the many most responsive and versatile within the trade. It has set mixed cycle effectivity information at each 50-Hz and at 60-Hz stations. GE Vernova has stated, “The economies of scale created by the 7HA gasoline turbine, mixed with its 64% combined-cycle effectivity, allow the cost-effective conversion of gas to electrical energy to assist energy plant operators meet more and more dynamic energy calls for.”
“We’re proud that our superior HA mixed cycle tools began to offer environment friendly, versatile and dependable electrical energy at Guernsey Energy Station,” stated Dave Ross, president of GE Vernova’s Fuel Energy within the Americas area. “Fuel energy performs an important function within the vitality transition, serving to to steadiness the variable nature of renewables and making certain system reliability. Our 7HA.02 gasoline generators, which might burn as much as 20% hydrogen with plans to transition to 100% hydrogen over the subsequent decade, are a extremely environment friendly vitality answer to assist energy plant operators, like Caithness Power, to advance their carbon emissions discount objectives. As well as, our providers and digital options can be essential to enhance Guernsey plant’s efficiency and availability.”
GE Vernova stated the flexibleness of the 7HA suite of gasoline generators “allows elevated dispatch and ancillary income, whereas enhanced gas flexibility accommodates a variety of gaseous fuels [shale gas, high ethane, hydrogen] and liquid fuels [#2 diesel, crude oils]. The 7HA gasoline turbine ramps as much as full load in 10 minutes and includes a novel configuration that helps simplified set up and upkeep.”
Ain stated, “GE Vernova’s gasoline generators are among the many largest and most-efficient gasoline generators on the planet, and working flexibility could also be thought-about as the important thing function of Guernsey plant… we belief GE Vernova’s tools will assist us flip present vitality transition challenges into the chance to drive carbon emissions discount within the vitality sector by the deployment of latest versatile, far more environment friendly, and cleaner gas-fired crops to substitute for older, less-efficient items.”
Modern Cooling Know-how
The plant makes use of dry air cooling expertise from Belgium-based SPG Dry Cooling. The system reduces water consumption by as much as 95% in comparison with a traditional water-cooled plant.
Different corporations concerned within the development of the Guernsey station embrace Howard Concrete Pumping for mine mitigation, EPC Companies Firm for the 765-kV switchyard, and Baker Concrete Building for foundations. POWER Engineers, a consulting engineering group with places of work throughout the U.S., served because the mission’s engineer of document. Water and sewer infrastructure for the mission was offered by the Village of Byesville, and the Guernsey station purchases water and sewer providers from Byesville.
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The June 2023 ribbon-cutting occasion marking industrial operation of Guernsey featured a number of teams concerned with the mission, together with elected officers, financial improvement organizations, and mission companions who participated within the improvement, financing, development, tools and gas provide, and operation of the ability. Officers famous that in development, and persevering with throughout operation, monetary help was and is being offered to native non-profit teams, together with meals banks and different group organizations and actions. Two native hearth departments additionally every obtained a test for $50,000 to help their providers to the world. These concerned with the mission stated that help of the area people, state and native officers, and numerous businesses commencing with mission improvement, and persevering with by allowing, development, startup, and operations of the mission can’t be overemphasized.
“We’ve labored intently with our companions, suppliers and contractors to construct this necessary mission, overcoming the various challenges of doing so in the course of the pandemic,” stated Ain. “Guernsey County has benefited straight from almost 1,000 expert craft employees at peak development and roughly 30 everlasting high-tech jobs, all whereas committing to offer very important funding to the Rolling Hills Native College District, which has enabled a significant college development mission.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
