2 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006

The State of the Industry

Six plants to receive Pacesetter Plant Award
2007
Pacesetter
Plant Award
S
ince Thomas Edisons time,
the electric power indus-
trys thought leaders have
wanted to believe that one
type of generation system could
fulfill virtually all their compa-
nies needs. Group think was that
a standard system would mini-
mize plant design, construction, and
O&M costs, and enable power pro-
duction at rock-bottom rates. The
benefit to an economy propelled by
low-cost electricity was obvious.
Those new to the industry may not
be aware that small coal-fired plants
close to load centers dominated in
the early years, about a century ago.
Wood and water power also played a
significant role then, where and when
available. As plants grew in size and
number to accommodate burgeon-
ing electrical demand, air pollution
became an issue, and in the late
1930s and early 1940s many inner-
city plants converted to oil.
It didnt take much time to realize
that oil was not the long-term answer.
GT-based powerplants
grow in stature; favored
option for new generation
T
he COMBINED CYCLE Journal recognizes,
in particular, the accomplishments of the
following six gas-turbine based generating
facilities installed in 2006 with the magazines
Pacesetter Plant Award:
n SCS Energy LLCs Astoria Energy, for foster-
ing an environment that rewarded engineer-
ing innovation in the design and construction
of a 500-MW combined-cycle plant which
otherwise might not have been economical
to build (Fig 1).
n Michigan State Universitys T B Simon Power
Plant, for assuring MSU an adequate supply
of clean, reliable energy, independent of
grid support if necessary, by upgrading and
expanding onsite facilities (Fig 2).
n San Diego Gas & Electric Cos Palomar Ener-
gy Center, for providing the leadership and
methodology to support the redeployment of
central stations in urban load centers (Fig 3).
n Riverside Public Utilities Energy Resource
Center, for the design of a zero-liquid-dis-
charge system that has demonstrated its
ability to satisfy the often conflicting goals of
regulatory compliance and affordable capital
and operating costs (Fig 4).
n Northern Border Recovered Energy Project,
for demonstrating the technology and know-
how to recover as electricity thermal energy
contained in the exhaust from gas-turbine-
based pipeline compressor stations that
formerly was vented to atmosphere (Fig 5).
n Austin Energys Dell Childrens Medical Cen-
ter Integrated Energy System, for an innova-
tive micro grid that assures quality power
and energy services 24/7 to a critical health-
care facility in the event of grid failure (Fig 6).
1. Astoria Energy
2. T B Simon Power Plant
3. Palomar Energy Center
4. Riverside Public Utilities
5. Northern Border
6. Dell Childrens Medical Center
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006 73
T
he biggest thing in the Texas
energy business these days
may be one of the smallest
its name aside. A 4.3-MW
combined heat and power (CHP) facil-
ity for the Dell Regional Childrens
Medical Center of Central Texas,
Austin, is the Little Big Man of the
states generation sector (Figs 1, 2).
The constructive thinking it exem-
plifieshighly efficient and reli-
able energy supply, low emissions,
and grid independenceis in sharp
contrast to that exhibited in Dal-
las-based TXU Corps plan to build,
within four years, 8600 MW of new
Dell Childrens Medical Center Integrated Energy System
Austin, Tex
Austin Energy
CHP offers critical facility
grid independence
Electric chiller package
Decorative wall
Gas turbine/HRSG
Medical office building
Chilled-water
storage tank
1. Austin Energys CHP plant is
viewed from the medical center that
it will serve. The facility is located on
the hospitals grounds
74 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006
coal-fired capacity at nine power-
plants. For its innovative approach
in assuring quality power and energy
services 24/7 to a critical healthcare
facility, the Dell Childrens Medical
Center Integrated Energy System
was selected to receive the COM-
BINED CYCLE Journals 2007 Pac-
esetter Plant Award.
That two members of the Class of
2006Dell and Michigan State Uni-
versityhave installed CHP facilities
to mitigate the risks to health and
safety of grid failure illustrates the
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Decorative screen
hides cooling tower
Gas turbine/HRSG
Medical office building
Chilled-water
storage tank

Gas-turbine package
GT exhaust
duct
Bypass
stack
HRSG
stack
2. Screen wall on the street side of
the CHP plant is for aesthetics only;
noise is not an issue. Note architectural
screen around the gas-turbine/HRSG
enclosure (at left alongside medical
building) and around the fan deck of
the cooling tower serving the electric
chiller (above)
3. Gas turbine served in peaking
service last summer, venting exhaust
through the bypass stack (right)
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006 75
grave concerns knowledgeable energy
consumers have about the adequacy
of the nations transmission and dis-
tribution infrastructure.
The plan for Dell, which will begin
supplying steam, chilled water, and
electricity to the hospital when it
opens at mid year, is to operate in
parallel with the grid and sell excess
power to it. If a grid problem is sensed
by its state-of-the-art control system,
an automatic disconnect is activated
and the facility transitions seam-
lessly to the island mode.
The CHP plant, owned and oper-
ated by Austin Energy (AE), one of
the nations most progressive munici-
pal utilities, entered service last
summer as a simple-cycle peaking
facility. Commissioning of its ther-
mal systems is now underway.
Cliff Braddock, director of energy
business development for AE, says
the Mercury 50 gas turbine (GT) from
Solar Turbines Inc, San Diego, per-
forms well and the machines 38.5%
simple-cycle efficiency makes it com-
petitive with grid-supplied power
(Sidebar, Figs 3, 4). The engine is
equipped with a recuperator; also, its
advanced combustor precludes the
need for an SCR (selective catalytic
combustion system).
Braddock adds that the carbon-
emissions footprint of the CHP sys-
tem is 40% less than the balance of
Austin Energys powerplant fleet,
and that NO
x
and SO
2
are signifi-
cantly below the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality thresh-
olds.
This project demonstrates that
Recuperator
Compressor (10 stages)
Combustor (ultra-lean premix type)
Turbine (two stages)
Air diverter
valve
4. Mercury 50 is a single-shaft recuperated engine. Its 10-stage axial com-
pressor has variable inlet guide vanes and stators; compression ratio
is 9.9:1. The ultra-lean premix combustion system is equipped with
eight fuel injectors and a torch ignition system. Turbine is two-
stage and recuperator is of Alloy 625 construction
76 COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006
a CHP system can cohabitate in an
urban environment without prob-
lems related to noise or emissions,
he continues. We are especially
proud that Keep Austin Beautiful,
the local affiliate of the Keep America
Beautiful program, has selected this
CHP system in its Industrial Lead-
ership category for 2007 because of
the facilitys positive impact on the
community.
Heres a bullet-point summary of
AEs experience with the Mercury 50
in the second half of 2006:
n Summer dispatch was Monday to
Friday; typically noon to 8 pm. On
days with especially high demand,
the unit ran until 10 or 11 in the
evening.
n Total number of operating hours in
2006 was between 400 and 500.
n Fewer than a half-dozen trips
while starting, none charged to
the GT; it started trouble-free. The
few spurious trips were caused by
problems either with the enclo-
sure fire protection system or the
fuel-gas compressor.
n Only a couple of trips at load
occurred and those because of gas-
compressor pressure fluctuations.
A software revision corrected the
root cause of the problem.
n Operators speak favorably about
the machine, citing reliability,
quietness, and excellent technical
assistance from the OEM.
AE believes the CHP plant will
prove itself the most efficient way for
the company to burn gas. The utility
has significant GT operating experi-
ence for comparison purposes, own-
ing four enhanced-SPRINT-equipped
LM6000s and a 1 1 7FA-powered
combined cycle. The overall efficiency
of the CHP moduleincluding the
GT, heat-recovery steam generator
(HRSG), and absorption chiller coin-
cident load is estimated by designers
at more than 70%.
Interestingly, Austins GT pack-
age did not come equipped with an
inlet-air cooling system, but one is
under serious consideration. Reason
is that on a 100F day, chilling to

Gas-turbine
package
GT exhaust duct
Bypass damper
Heat-recovery
steam generator
5. Circular duct allows Mercury 50s exhaust to vent to atmosphere via a
bypass stack or to produce steam by routing it through the HRSG
Profiling the Mercury 50
The Mercury 50 was developed by Solar Turbines Inc,
San Diego, in a cooperative effort with the US Dept of
Energy to design gas-turbine systems for the 21
st
century
that would be more efficient and have a more favorable
emissions profile than equipment previously available.
The first production engine was installed at the Veter-
ans Administration Hospital in La Jolla, Calif, in Novem-
ber 2004, where it reportedly is meeting all expectations.
Serial No. 2 is installed at the Dell Childrens Medical
Center in Austin. Solar reports that other units are operat-
ing at universities, hospitals, utilities, and industrial/com-
mercial facilities worldwide.
Nominal performance of the engine, assuming opera-
tion on natural gas at ISO conditions and no inlet or
exhaust losses: output, 4.6 MW; heat rate, 8863 Btu/kWh;
exhaust flow, 140,400 lb/hr; exhaust temperature, 710F.
Guaranteed emissions on natural gas and without an SCR
(selective catalytic reduction system): 5 ppm NO
x
, 10
ppm CO. The Dell installation demonstrates that opera-
tion at 3 ppm NO
x
and 2 ppm CO is possible.
2
Diverter damper
Bypass stack
Main stack Main
stack
Economizer
Steam drum
Support
structure
EPA ports
Mud drum Duct burners
Gas-turbine
exhaust duct
6. Heat-recovery steam generator supplied by Rentech Boiler Systems Inc,
Abilene, produces 12,000 lb/hr of 130-psig saturated steam unfired, 22,000
lb/hr fired. About 60% of the steam produced is used by the absorption chiller,
remainder for process (kitchen, sterilization, etc)
COMBINED CYCLE JOURNAL, Fourth Quarter 2006 77
50F picks up more than a megawatt.
Thats huge for a 4.3-MW engine.
Ed Mardiat, director of CHP
development, Burns & McDonnell,
Kansas City, the packaged plant
integrator for Dell, points out that
this is one of the first CHP facilities in
Texas to generate primary power with
the grid supplying the back-upfrom
two independent substations.
The plants HRSG (Figs 5, 6),
1500-ton packaged electric chiller,
auxiliary boiler, 1500-kW emer-
gency generator, 950-ton absorption
chiller, and chilled-water storage
tank with 8000 ton-hr of capac-
ity are integrated in a manner that
maximizes efficiency, operational
flexibility, and reliability of services
to the hospital and the overall cam-
pus district cooling system (Fig 7).
The control system permits remote
monitoring and operation from an
offsite location.
Mardiat is passionate about the
importance of having utility systems
serving critical-care facilities up and
running 24/7 and fully 100% of the
time. He points to the experiences of
9/11, the Northeast blackout in 2003,
the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2005,
and other events as proof of need.
The old emergency-generator para-
digm no longer applies, he adds.
And grid independence is not just
for hospitals, Mardiat continues. It
applies to universities, airports, data
centers, and other critical facilities
as well. Power quality is particularly
important. Once healthcare facili-
ties convert to fully automated medi-
cal records, RFID/barcode-scan drug
deliveries, computerized physician
order entry, etc, he points out, health-
care stops if the lights go out. CCJ

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7. Spared equipment ensures reliable operation of the CHP facility under a
wide range of conditions. For example, auxiliary boiler provides heat if the GT/
HRSG train is out of service. Absorption chiller is used under normal circum-
stances, the electric chiller when steam is not available or additional cooling is
necessary
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