Turbomachinery Symposium 2008
Booth # 1115
HOUSTON, TEXAS---September 9, 2008---In order to improve availability and operability, Watson Cogeneration Co. recently received a $1.6 million controls upgrade from GE Energy. The upgrade was the first application of GE's Mark IVm control migration offering.
Watson Cogeneration Co., a joint venture between Edison Mission Energy and BP that is located in Los Angeles, Calif., provides power and steam to BP's Carson Refinery, which is a leader in the production of low-emission transportation fuels. Watson's primary product is steam for the refinery, but it also produces electricity for the refinery and the electrical grid in Southern California.
Under the scope of the contract GE Energy migrated the original Mark IV control systems, which were controlling four GE Frame 7EA industrial gas turbines, to Mark VIe technology. The Mark VIe components provide higher reliability than the Mark IV components and can be replaced on-line in a triple modular redundant configuration, such as the one at Watson Cogen.
"The advanced diagnostic and troubleshooting tools of Mark VIe technology allows Watson to quickly diagnose problems with the controls, field devices and turbine," said Brian Palmer, vice president of GE Energy's optimization and control business. "The Cimplicity-based human machine interface makes operation of the turbine easier and has significantly improved the start-up reliability."
The upgrade in technology, which is called the Mark IVm Control Migration Solution, provides the following benefits at Watson:
* Reduced outage downtime for the upgrade due to retention of existing field terminations and turbine devices
* Improved fault tolerance and reliability
* Enhanced online repair at the I/O module level
* Modern HMI tools for ease of operation
* Modern maintenance tools and diagnostics to quickly identify faults
* Flexible Ethernet networks to distribute data
* Distributed I/O to integrate instrumentation in other cabinets
* Compatibility with all new turbine technology, such as dry low Nox
* A clear path for future enhancements and life cycle support
Brian Prince, manager of maintenance and engineering for Watson Cogen said, "With the successful first unit installation of the GE control system and subsequent installation of three more, the product provided additional remote multi-unit control capability, friendly operator usability, unit custom capability and powerful trending tools. The Mark IVm migration solution is a great product that has a proven reliability."
Watson Cogen is the largest cogeneration facility in the western United States. It produces more than 400 MW of power; enough electricity for more than 400,000 homes in the Los Angeles basin.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. GE is Imagination at Work. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ge.com.
Ken Darling
Masto Public Relations
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1-518-786-6488
Gina DeRossi
Soteryx Corporation
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+1 518 886 1076
Mark Beckett
GE Energy
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1-970-227-6428