GE's Fleet360* Total Plant Solutions Set to Increase Flexibility, Output and Reliability at APS and Veolia Power Plants

GE today announced that Veolia North America (Veolia) and Arizona Public Service (APS) have selected its Fleet360* total plant solutions to boost performance at power plants in Boston, Massachusetts, and Arlington, Arizona. Highlighting a growing trend with North American combined-cycle power stations, GE’s total gas plant solutions help utilities increase output, reduce startup times, lower emissions and balance the growing role of renewables on the grid.

More Flexibility and Output at APS’ Redhawk Generating Facility
The modernization of APS’ Redhawk Generating Facility, a 1,060-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant powered by four GE 7FA.03 gas turbines, will include GE’s industry-leading Advanced Gas Path (AGP) technology and Dry Low NOx (DLN) 2.6+ combustion system. GE also will implement its Dispatch Optimization software, a digital application that will allow Redhawk to bank megawatts when operating at part loads and use them to peak fire during times of high power demand.  

GE’s total plant life cycle solutions will help APS increase plant flexibility by improving its startup times, ramp rates, turndown and operating range. Collectively, APS is expected to increase output by 6 percent and decrease heat rate by 2 percent. GE and APS also will extend their existing multiyear service agreement through 2033.

“The rapid growth of renewables in the western United States is changing how gas turbines are being called on to generate power to the grid,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE’s new Gas Power business. “Flexibility is becoming a necessity for power producers as gas assets increasingly need to ramp up and down swiftly, efficiently and repeatedly. Our latest technology provides more flexibility, so our customers like APS can manage the integration of renewables effectively.”

Helping Improve One of the U.S.’ Largest Energy Systems and Power the Local Community
GE’s solutions will help ensure that Veolia’s Kendall Cogeneration facility continues to supply reliable power and heat to nearly 1,700 hospital beds and more than 250 commercial buildings and health institutions in Boston and Cambridge. Veolia’s district energy system uses a GE 7F.03 gas turbine installed roughly 15 years ago and integrates combined heat and power technology with efficient steam infrastructure to deliver to end users in Boston and Cambridge.

“Our strong relationship with GE provided the foundation for our decision to choose them as our service partner for this important project,” said William DiCroce, president and CEO of Veolia North America. “Key to our decision was achieving the most favorable efficiency, emissions and reliability improvements available to our plant today. This maintenance effort will help us meet key business objectives while expanding our reach and quality of service to our Massachusetts users.”

GE will provide a variety of solutions:

• GE’s AGP will restore the plant’s efficiency and power output, increasing the plant’s electrical and thermal reach while reducing the cost of its byproducts.
• GE’s DLN2.6+ combustion solution will contribute to incremental performance and extend inspection intervals from 24,000 to 34,000 factored-fired hours, reducing plant operations and maintenance expenses.
• GE’s Rotor Exchange program will replace the unit rotor (fully bladed compressor and turbine rotor) with an exchange asset during each major inspection. The program will save Veolia approximately eight outage days during each major inspection. Veolia’s existing rotor will return to GE for refurbishment and use in its rotor pool.
• GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software solution with monitoring and diagnostics will help Veolia to view alerts triggered by specific analytics identified from GE’s Monitoring & Diagnostics Center in Atlanta. APM will help Veolia move unplanned outages to planned outages and reduce operations and maintenance costs.