Citizens Energy Group employees are keeping things turning after a recent major overhaul of the House Turbine Generator at the Perry K Steam Plant.
Steam Plant Maintains Efficient Operations with Overhaul of House Turbine Generator
Citizens Energy Group employees are keeping things turning after a recent major overhaul of the House Turbine Generator at the Perry K Steam Plant.
The turbine generator, a critical component for maintaining the efficiency of the steam plant, is rebuilt about every seven years. This project, which took several months, involved taking the turbine generator apart, cleaning it thoroughly, and rebuilding many of its components.
The House Turbine Generator, powered by steam produced within the plant, generates up to 5 megawatts of electricity. This electricity is used to meet the power needs of the Perry K plant. When more electricity is produced than is needed to power the plant, it is sold to Indianapolis Power & Light. The revenue is applied to the quarterly fuel cost adjustments to help control costs for Citizens’ steam customers.
“It is critical that we operate as efficiently as we can to keep our costs low and be competitive,” said Bob Purdue, Director Thermal Operations. “By doing this we can help our customers remain competitive in their own business.”
A business case review for the rebuild project, which cost more than $2 million, showed a 1.6-year payback, making an overhaul the most cost-effective option, compared to purchasing a new turbine generator or eliminating the turbine generator and not gaining revenue from excess electrical power.
The House Turbine Generator is 82 percent efficient due to the fact that the heat removed in the turbine cycle is reused in the steam plant in multiple applications. A typical condensing turbine generator used by electric utilities is usually 35-40 percent efficient since the heat removed in the turbine cycle is lost to the atmosphere via cooling towers. Perry K always attempts to reuse heat energy to improve efficiency.
Two other smaller non-condensing turbines reduce the pressure of steam so that it can be used by customers. A generator is connected to these turbines, which each produce up to 1.7 megawatts. This can further offset the amount of electricity that is purchased or increase the revenue from excess electricity produced and sold, another way Citizens Thermal is holding down costs for customers.
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