| Presentations on critical issues by users, top consultants dominate CCUG's 2013 program | |
By the time Chairman Larry Small officially welcomed the more than 120 participants in the 2013 meeting of the Combined Cycle Users Group at the Arizona Biltmore this morning (Sept 4), many attendees who didn't already know each other had met the previous evening at the opening reception sponsored by InStep Software.
The extensive meeting program addresses technological advancements and challenges facing today's owner/ operators with an emphasis on fast start plants, HRSG financial planning, effective management of digital assets, electrical systems, and shifts in operating profiles.
Among the participants were the chairs of the world's two largest gas-turbine users groups-the 7F's Ed Fuselier from Direct Energy and WTUI's Chuck Casey from the City of Riverside. In sum, more than 20 members (past and present) of steering committees serving the GT user community were in attendance. more
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Prioritization of issues improves HRSG reliability, performance
|  That some F-class HRSGs designed for base-load service and installed during the boom are facing extraordinary maintenance projects after 10 to 15 years of cycling, fast starts, and spin cooling should not surprise, Amy Sieben, PE, principal, ALS Consulting LLC, told the more than 120 attendees at the Combined Cycle Users Group's (CCUG) 2013 Annual Conference in Phoenix this morning. more |
| The leading edge in managing plant digital assets |  Control, automation, and asset management systems, often referred to as digital assets, occupy a peculiar place today. Like many other systems at combined-cycle plants, the DCS and software vendors take on more of the responsibility for making sure that the equipment works. Data and knowledge propagation, proliferating network connections, and cybersecurity, have created a growing interface to the corporate IT folks, outsource services vendors, and even regulators (through emissions monitoring) and safety/Hazop systems. more |
| Faster Starts: What price (value) six minutes? | |
 One-tenth of an hour doesn't seem like much, but in the scheme of electricity grid operations, it can save tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc (AECI), Springfield, Mo, shaved six minutes off the start times of three V84.2 simple-cycle gas turbine/generators at its Holden Power Plant, for a small fraction of the cost of installing new fast-start generation.
This is significant "news" in today's competitive electric-power generation business. As CCJ ONsite was in the final stage of production earlier today, Steve Royall, PG&E's Director of Fossil and Solar O&M and the incoming vice chair of the Combined Cycle Users Group, had just begun introducing speakers for the CCUG's session on fast-start plant technology. more
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Individual Achievement recognition is earned by industry professionals who have demonstrated excellence throughout their careers in the design, construction, management, operation, and/or maintenance of generating facilities powered by gas turbines. The 2013 recipients are Clyde V Maughan, Patrick C Myers, Peter So, and William Wimperis. more
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CCJ's Digital Buyer's Guide
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