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 Power Engineering is the flagship
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FEATURES 122
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YEARS

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10 Drone
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 OPINION
Removing Barriers
for Energy Storage
BY RUSSELL RAY, CHIEF EDITOR
LAST MONTH, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) approved a rule to foster the development of energy
storage, a vastly improved form of generation we think will be
fundamental in supporting a grid congested with variable power
supplies.
FERC Order 841 will “enhance competition and promote
greater efficiency in the nation’s electric wholesale markets, and
will help support the resilience of the bulk power system,” the
commission said.
The order enables energy storage resources to compete in
wholesale power markets and levels the playing field with con-
ventional sources of generation. It removes barriers to participate
in capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets administered
by Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) and Independent
System Operators (ISO) by recognizing the “physical and oper-
ational characteristics” of the resource.
The order comes more than a year after FERC concluded the
rules governing the wholesale purchase of conventional sources
of generation barred energy storage from participating in the
markets offered by RTOs and ISOs.
This may be the beginning of a boon in the development of
utility-scale storage in the U.S., and could thus lead to greater
efficiency. That’s because energy storage can absorb and store
electricity produced by wind and solar power projects for later
use when demand is higher. What’s more, further decline in the
cost of energy storage is highly likely as development
accelerates.
The new order, however, does not include aggregated distrib-
uted energy resources (DER), despite demands to give DERs the
4 WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
1803PE_4 4
ability to participate in wholesale markets. FERC said it wanted
to gather more information before eliminating the barriers pre-
venting DERs from competing in wholesale markets.
A PUBLIC NECESSITY
Energy storage projects using rechargeable batteries will give grid
managers the solutions they need to fill production gaps created
by sharp fluctuations in wind and solar power. The ability to
supply utility-scale power on demand will be key to ensuring
reliability and achieving integration amid this renewable
revolution.
Storing electricity on a large scale has long been pursued by
electric utilities in hopes of using the power to cover periods of
peak demand. After years of limited progress, several capable
systems for storing large amounts of power have emerged from
research and development efforts borne from new mandates for
energy storage capacity and public demand for cleaner power
supplies. Some grid-scale systems are viable now, while others
are on the verge of viability.
The outlook for energy storage was improving before FERC
approved its new rule. The order will give utilities even greater
confidence to add large-scale storage to their systems. The tech-
nology is no longer confined to a handful of states and is being
adopted by power produces outside niche areas such as California
and Ohio.
In 2016, the U.S. added 221 MW of utility-scale battery storage
as the cost of those projects continued to drop. Worldwide, more
than 1,300 MW of grid-connected storage was deployed in 2016,
according to research from IHS Markit. The global annual growth
rate is expected to rise to 4,700 MW by 2020 and to 8,800 MW
by 2025. Additionally, prices for lithium-ion battery storage are
expected to fall below $200 per kilowatt hour, and global storage
capacity is projected grow from 4,000 MW today to 52,000 MW
by 2025.
Battery storage is still risky and expensive, and many utility
executives remain cautious. For rapid scaling to occur nationwide,
analysts say prices must continue to fall. For some utilities, battery
storage is still not cost effective, despite progress on projects in
California and elsewhere.
But the power sector may be forced to bear the cost of energy
storage, because it’s plainly evident that energy storage is the
ideal solution to resolving concerns about reliability, resiliency
and climate change.
As always, if you have questions, criticisms, praise, ideas or
suggestions, you can contact me at russellr@pennwell.com. 
2/26/18 11:56 AM
 INDUSTRY NEWS
Tesla Plans to Triple
Energy Storage Deployments
During the announcement of its quarterly
results, Tesla announced the company
plans to triple the volume of its energy
deployments this year compared to 2017.
The company deployed 143 MW of
energy storage projects in its fourth quar-
ter, with the company’s 100-MW energy
storage project in South Austra-
lia expected to be recorded in the first
quarter of this fiscal year.
Tesla’s investment letter indicated the
South Australia project, currently the
biggest battery in the world, is already
generating “substantial benefit” during
the country’s summer months and has
driven an increase in the company’s
Powerpack energy storage system.
NRG Energy Selling NRG
Yield for Nearly $3 Billion
NRG Energy announced a series of asset
sales, including renewable energy sub-
sidiary NRG Yield, for a combined $2.8
billion.
Global Infrastructure Partners has
agreed to purchase NRG Yield and NRG’s
renewable platform for $1.375 billion.
The sale includes NRG’s renewable en-
ergy development and operations plat-
forms and NRG’s renewable energy
backlog, with the exception of four assets
which secured separate agreements.
The deal with Global Infrastructure
Partners is expected to close in the sec-
ond half of the year.
The 527-MW Carlsbad Energy Center
and the 154-MW Buckthorn Solar will
be purchased by NRG Yield for $407
million. Both projects are still under
development.
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
1803PE_5 5
Freeborn Project
Progresses Toward Permit
Invenergy’s proposed 200-MW Freeborn
Wind Project in southern Minnesota and
northern Iowa took another step forward
with a presentation to the city council of
Albert Lea, Minnesota.
During the presentation, consultant
Mariah Lynne said a permit application
has been submitted to the Minnesota Pub-
lic Utility Commission with a final decision
expected in June.
Invenergy currently expects construction
to begin in mid-2020 with operations by
the end of that year.
APS, First Solar Partner
on Battery-Solar Project
Arizona Public Service  and  First
Solar announced a 50-MW battery storage
project to be coupled with a 65-MW solar
field. The two companies called it one of
the largest battery storage systems in the
country.
First Solar will build and operate both
the solar and battery storage components.
APS has signed a 15-year power-purchase
agreement with First Solar that will enable
APS to use the stored battery power when
energy use is at its peak later in the day.
The facility will be constructed adjacent
to the existing APS Redhawk Power Plant
in western Maricopa County, and is set to
begin service in 2021.
FPL Unveils Solar-Storage
System to Boost Output
Florida Power & Light Company today un-
veiled a new solar-plus-storage system that
is believed to be the first in the country to
fully integrate battery technology with a
major solar power plant in a way that in-
creases the plant’s overall energy output.
By incorporating this new technology
into the 74.5-MW FPL Citrus Solar Energy
Center, FPL expects to increase the amount
of solar energy that the plant can deliver
to the electric grid by more than half a
million kilowatt-hours a year.
The new system features a
4,000-KW/16,000-KWh storage capacity
comprised of multiple batteries integrated
into the operations of the FPL Citrus Solar
Energy Center.
AT&T Buys Output from Wind
Farms in OK and TX
AT&T announced two power purchase
agreements with subsidiaries of NextEra
Energy Resources that total 520 MW.
The purchases include 220 MW from
the Minco V Wind Farm in Caddo County,
Oklahoma, and 300 MW from an un-
named wind project in Webb and Duval
counties in Texas.
“As one of the world’s largest compa-
nies, we know how we source our energy
is important,” said Scott Mair, President,
AT&T Operations. “
AT&T has stated it has set a goal to en-
able carbon savings of ten times the foot-
print of its operations.
California Regulators Adopt
Plan to Lower Emissions
The California Public Utilities Commis-
sion has adopted a planning process to
ensure the electric sector is on track to help
the state meet its 2030 greenhouse gas
reduction target, at least cost, while
maintaining electric service reliability.
The decision establishes a two-year in-
tegrated resource planning cycle for elec-
tricity providers. The first year of the cycle
is designed to evaluate the appropriate
emission planning targets for the electric
sector, and to identify the optimal mix of
system-wide resources capable of meeting
these targets. The second year is designed
to consider the suite of actions each elec-
tricity provider proposes to take.
The CPUC adopted a statewide electric
sector carbon reduction target of 42 MMT
by 2030, which represents a 50 percent
reduction in electric sector carbon emis-
sions from 2015 levels and a 61 percent
reduction from 1990 levels.
Rhode Island Governo
Orders Utilities to Procure
400 MW of Renewables
As part of her initiative to bring an addi-
tional 1,000 MW of renewable energy into
the state, Rhode Island Governor Gina M.
Raimondo has directed state utilities to
issue an RFP for up to 400 MW of
renewable energy by this summer.
The Office of Energy Resources will
5
2/26/18 11:56 AM
 collaborate with the state’s utilities to design
a request for proposals. The specific details
of the RFP will be released at a later date.
“Our commit-
ment to a greener
energy future is good
for our environment
and good for our
economy. Since an-
nouncing our goal to
make our energy sys-
tem 10 times cleaner, we’ve more than
doubled the amount of renewable en-
ergy in the state, from roughly 100 MW
to 230,”Raimondo said.
The 1,000 MW goal is slated to in-
volve a mix off offshore and onshore
wind, hydropower and solar.
SNC-Lavalin Awarded $38
million in Nuclear Contracts
SNC-Lavalin was awarded $38 million
worth of contracts from Bruce Power
from July to the end of December in
2017 to support its operational objec-
tives. The work awarded was won under
a Master Services Agreement signed by
the two companies in 2016 and is in
addition to $28 million and $45 million
of work announced respectively in Feb-
ruary and August of last year.
Highlights from the awards include
contracts covering:
• Work supporting Bruce Power’s Major
Component Replacement program: fur-
ther design of reactor components, qual-
ification testing, procurement engineer-
ing, and detailed design of tooling
• Engineering and field services work to
support the ongoing operation of Bruce
Power’s 8 reactors
• MODAR improvements
Turkey Point is First U.S.
Nuclear Plant to Apply for
Second Renewal
Turkey Point has officially become the first
U.S. nuclear power plant to apply for a
second 20-year license renewal, Daily En-
ergy Insider reported.
New nuclear facilities are licensed for
40-year terms, while extensions are granted
in 20-year increments. Eighty-six nuclear
reactors have received extensions while
only the 2,200-MW Turkey Point has ap-
plied for a second.
“In 2018, the company plans to conduct
additional upgrades on the existing nuclear
units that are expected to further boost
their output by a combined 40 megawatts
of capacity, and it also will file with the
NRC to renew the units’ operating licens-
es,” FP&L said in a statement. Turkey
Point’s two nuclear reactors were granted
initial license renewals in 2002 and would
be in operation through 2032 and 2033,
respectively.
UK Built Half of All
European Offshore Wind
Facilities in 2017
Offshore windpower boomed in Europe

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 last year, and the United Kingdom built
just over half of the total capacity.
WindEurope concluded a full 1,679
MW of offshore wind was built in the
UK, The Guardian reported. Another 1,247
MW came from Germany, with the
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 ENERGY MATTERS

NSR Developments:
EPA Returns Its
Own Serve
BY ROBYNN ANDRACSEK, P.E., BURNS & MCDONNELL AND CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

THE AWARD for the EPA regulation with the best intentions but that exceeds the NSR major project thresholds. However, note the
the poorest execution goes to the New Source Review (NSR) following details:
program. Its vague and imprecise language (such as not defining • The facility must perform a pre-project NSR applicability anal-
“routine”) has left the rule subject to political whims. ysis using the calculation procedures in the regulations. An
The Bush EPA attempted to reform the rule in 2002 with analysis done after-the-fact loses some, if not all, protection.
common-sense changes (such as pollution control projects) only Additionally, check state regulations for any minor source
to have many of those modifications undone by the Obama EPA. permits that may be required. Coordination and/or commu-
One reform which did stick is the ability to conduct post-project nication with state regulators may be required.
emissions calculations by comparing to future projected actual • The facility must follow
emissions instead of future potential emissions. The benefit is “The Bush the applicable recordkeeping
that projected actual emissions will be lower than future potential and notification requirements.
emissions, therefore making it easier to avoid trigging NSR
EPA attempted Depending on if the net in-
permitting. to reform the crease is below 50% of the NSR
The Trump EPA continues this seesaw by again addressing threshold or if it is between 50-
how to calculate if a modification’s emissions exceed the NSR rule in 2002... 100% of the NSR threshold,
permit thresholds. However, instead of “reforming” NSR, the only to have reports may need to be submit-
current EPA administration seeks to “streamline” the ted to the state agency to fulfill
regulation. many of those the “reasonable possibility”
On December 7, 2017, EPA Administrator Pruitt issued a
guidance memo on NSR for conducting the actual-to-project-
modifications requirements. Reports sent to
the state agency would then be
ed-actual applicability test. This memo specifically responds to undone by the open to public scrutiny.
recent court rulings for DTE Energy Company. The DTE case stems • This memo pertains
from a 2010 overhaul project at the Monroe coal-fired power
Obama EPA.” where applicable state regula-
plant. Initially, DTE characterized the project as exempt from NSR tions are not stricter than this Federal guidance. For example,
permitting due to the exemptions for routine maintenance and Missouri has a law that state regulations cannot be more
demand growth. However, EPA initiated an enforcement action strict than Federal laws, but California obviously does not.
arguing that DTE’s emission projections were erroneous. After • The facility is allowed to actively manage post-project emis-
two trips to the 6th Circuit Court, the rulings determined that EPA sions to avoid exceeding the NSR major project thresholds.
could enforce against a company if EPA determined that the This is a significant philosophical evolution. Given that the
company’s predictions of post project emissions were erroneous window for determining if post-project emissions exceed
even when the actual post project emissions did not show an the NSR thresholds is five years, explicit guidance that EPA
increase above the NSR thresholds. will allow active management of future emissions by reducing
Administrator Pruitt’s 2017 memo makes much of the DTE operation during this critical period opens up options for
lawsuits moot by changing EPA’s position on when enforcement avoiding NSR permitting but incurring the ire of intervenor
actions will occur. Although this memo is “not a rule or regula- groups.
tion,” “does not change or substitute for any law, regulation,” • No permitting action is necessary to make the future projected
and “is not legally enforceable,” it still provides useful clarification emissions enforceable.
on a confusing, but important, permitting topic. Basically, there Following the logic of not second-guessing industry, the
are no major changes to the current netting procedure itself, just Trump EPA may soon decide to apply the same principle to the
in the post-analysis scrutiny. Best Available Control Technology (BACT) requirements of the
Administrator Pruitt’s memo states that EPA will use its “en- NSR program. However, lawsuits tend to span more than the
forcement discretion” to not second-guess a facility’s pre-project four years between presidential elections. The wise power plant
NSR applicability test nor will EPA consider a violation to have will actively monitor emissions and document each outage
occurred unless there is an actual increase in emissions post-project with the advice and confidential protection of counsel.

8 WWW.POWER-ENG.COM

1803PE_8 8 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 DEFEND
THE GRID
FEBRUARY 5-7, 2019
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center • New Orleans, LA
DistribuTECH.com • #DTECH2019

SAVE THE DATE

OWNED & OFFICIAL PUBLICATION SUPPORTED BY:
PRODUCED BY: OF DistribuTECH:

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1803PE_9 9 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE Author
Natalie Teuchert is a mechanical engi-
neer, HRSG inspector and drone pilot at
HRST Inc.

Drone Inspections
HRSG Maintenance from a Bird’s Eye View
BY NATALIE TEUCHERT

Battery powered unmanned aerial are no problems visible in my

vehicles (UAVs), or drones are bottom burner elements, is it safe
finding applications in an in- to assume that is also the case
creasing number of commercial further up? Is it worth spending
industries and the power industry tens of thousands of dollars scaf-
is no exception. Originally more folding with the chance of not
commonly associated with mil- finding anything? Situations like
itary and recreational applica- these often fall onto a mainte-
tions, drones have expanded their nance manager’s desk. Decisions
resume to include HRSG main- that should be easy become dif-
tenance inspections. With in- ficult when the cost of scaffold-
creased affordability, advanced View looking down on silencer shows internals in proper position with ing, manpower and down time
maneuverability and some prop- support intact. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc. get factored in. In these situa-
er lighting, drones have enabled tions, drones are a game changer.
a rapid evolution in inspection Guesswork can be eliminated by
capability. utilizing a drone to fly up and
assess suspect areas. A 15-minute
DRONE flight can fill in the blanks and
TECHNOLOGY stamp a yes or no on a wide va-
Along with the reduction in cost, riety of issues. If a concern area
drones, or unmanned aerial ve- is seen when “looking up,” then
hicles (UAVs), are now being the drone can help make the “re-
equipped with a growing number pair now or later” decision. If the
of features that makes them in- drone flies up and nothing is
creasingly autonomous and eas- found, then the cost of scaffold-
View looking down on stack damper allows blade alignment and
ier to operate. By means of sen- ing was saved and a good deci-
mechanical stop position checks. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc.
sors and intricate programming, sion was still made to ensure
drones can now hover in place in 20+ views that encompass the whole area sur- peace of mind.
mph winds, avoid obstacles, fly to a rounding the aircraft. If the drone finds an issue, the drone
pre-established “home” point, and land The improved portability and devel- can also optimize the cost of repair and
with pin point accuracy at a location des- opment of smaller models allow for drone decrease the unit’s downtime. If it turns
ignated by the operator. Automatic flight use in tighter locations, particularly useful out that the problem is about 1/3 up the
paths can even be pre-populated onto a for HRSG inspections. With proper ap- height of the duct, scaffolding will still
tablet or phone so that the pilot’s role is plication and piloting, drones can be a have to be erected to perform repairs, but
relegated to simply telling the drone to safe and reliable inspection tool that can it can be configured to meet the precise
take off and the drone then does the work be used to take the guesswork out of what need, for example scaffold can be installed
all by itself. lies above. to span the needed ~40ft in height rather
Camera costs have come down, all than the entire duct. Repair plans can be
while their quality has improved to sur- HRSG MAINTENANCE thought out and materials can be procured
pass 4K resolution. A new variety of gim- PLANNING while the scaffolding is being erected rather
bal attachments allow a larger field of Some areas of the HRSG are rarely in- than after. For these reasons, drone inspec-
view than previously possible. In some spected because they are visually inacces- tions can potentially reduce a multiday
cases, drones can be fitted with multiple sible from the ground which adds a degree job to a one-day job with the problem
cameras to allow the drone to capture of risk to maintenance planning. If there positively identified in 15 minutes.

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 Power plants are using drones to inspect critical power
generation equipment, including firing ducts, catalysts,
silencers, tube panels, stack dampers, baffles, heat
recovery steam generators and pretty much anything
else they can reach. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc.
With equipment aging and mainte-
nance budgets tightening, the ability to
reduce inspection times, increase main-
tenance planning abilities, and having the
“A 15-minute flight can fill in the blanks and
stamp a yes or no on a wide variety of issues.”
proper information to know whether or
not to spend large sums of money is
vital.
HISTORY CONDITION
ASSESSMENT
Drones continue to prove their worth in
one-off unexpected uses, but where they
are starting to add even more value is in
history assessments. Many plants have
opted to perform drone inspections an-
nually or biannually to compare the con-
dition of their equipment over time. The
most common location for a condition
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1803PE_11 11
assessment is the firing duct. Baffle and
burner nozzle cracking can be inspected
for crack size, location, and any changes
from previous inspections. This can help
determine when maintenance should be
scheduled ahead of time rather than
“right now”. If a crack propagated from
1” to 3” in a year, then plans can be made
for a repair schedule. If there is no change,
the decision can be made to continue
monitoring.
Other HRSG areas benefit from history
assessments as well. Tube bundles down-
stream of a duct burner can be monitored
for any changes in coloration indicative
of overheat. Operators can then adjust
duct firing accordingly and extend the
equipment life. Repairs can be monitored
over time to make sure they are holding
steady or need to be readdressed. Catalyst
fouling can be inspected at all heights to
determine when to clean. (Sometimes
what appears nice and clean from the
floor is in fact heavily fouled as you ap-
proach the roof level.) Stack damper
blades and shafts can also be better as-
sessed for cracking or deviation in posi-
tion relative to years past.
The ability to track and plan mainte-
nance based on solid historical informa-
tion is much better than guessing what’s
to come and scrambling to address the
unexpected.
HRSG DRONE
INSPECTION AREAS
When HRST piloted our way into the
drone business, the main focus was on
the firing duct, but plants soon began
asking about other sections of the HRSG.
The list of areas that could benefit from
a drone inspection soon grew. Found
below is a sampling of the issues identi-
11
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

fied in 2017 drone inspections.

Duct burners:
• Cracked and damaged burner baffles
• Coked elements
• Bent or warped igniters
• Missing fuel tips
• Failed flame holder castings
• Debris stuck in the burner face
Tube harps:
• Tube overheat indications at the top
of the bundle
• Center baffle damage
• Failing tube ties nestled in the
bundle
• Fin/tube damage at tube ties and
bumpers
• Tube leak indications
Catalysts:
• Heavy fouling near upper level (ap-
peared clean from the floor)
• Water damage from roof leaking rain
water
• Guide pin failures
Others
• Exhaust Flow Turning Vane and Flow
distribution plate cracking and support
problems
• Stack damper angle iron failed
• Stack damper not against stops
• Outside casing condition
Many of the issues identified required
repairs or a monitoring schedule. The
majority of the findings would not have Firing duct drone Inspection. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc.
been properly identified without the use
of UAVs.
In the case of fouling SCR catalysts, near the roof. Several units have been this reason, typically, the easiest way to
the first catalyst we inspected was just found with severe damage at the roof inspect a stack damper is by flying from
going to be a test. From the floor, the level undetectable from the floor. This is the outside of the stack into the top and
catalyst looked perfectly clean as far up an area very rarely inspected that drones peering down at the damper blades and
the duct as we could see. After flying about can easily access. shafts. Since outside airspace does fall un-
three quarters of the way up, heavy debris der FAA regulations, it’s crucial for the
was found caking the catalyst. Old liner PILOT IN COMMAND drone pilot in command to have a firm
failures that caused insulation to liberate Flying a drone inside an HRSG requires grasp of what’s required to operate. Several
had been fouling the catalyst without experience and skill. In the United States, parts of the United States are located in
anyone being able to tell from the ground flying a drone outside requires the pilot unregulated airspace zones that do not
level. It was completely unexpected. to be certified by the FAA and know how require additional authorization, but if
In aging HRSGs with duct burners, to follow FAA regulations. While locations your plant falls close to an airport or other
downstream tube bundles have begun inside the HRSG are not regulated by the regulated zones, permission has to be re-
showing signs of oxide exfoliation that FAA, in the case of stack dampers, the quested from the FAA. In short, for your
reduces the creep life of the material. airspace enters a grey zone. Does the stack drone inspection to be successful, it is
What might be minor exfoliation at the damper count as inside the unit or out- essential that your commercial drone pilot
floor level can be much worse at the top side? In most cases, drones have cameras knows how to fly and the rules of the sky.
of the tube bundle due to the upward on the bottom of their rig which prevents Much like obtaining a driving learner’s
steam flow having higher temperatures them from looking at what is above. For permit, a drone license is acquired by

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1803PE_12 12 2/26/18 11:57 AM


studying a variety of airspace and opera-
tion rules and then taking a written test
at an authorized testing center. With a
passed result the pilot receives a remote
pilot certification card. This ensures that
each commercial pilot or remote pilot in
command (PIC) knows where they can
1803PE_13 13
Duct burner nozzle Condition from drone
inspection. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc.
and cannot legally fly as well as the rules
of operation.
Since it is a written test, it does not
guarantee a pilot knows how to operate
a drone. Each company is left to their
own to determine training requirements
for flying. This can include a certain
For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 7
number of logged practice flight hours,
in-house testing, or training classes with
outside companies. The FAA is strict on
knowing the rules, but not so much in
how pilot flight capabilities are
determined.
Most companies are in the early stages
of building their drone programs and
establishing what they consider a quali-
fied pilot. As far as HRSGs are concerned,
flying inside a giant metal box in the dark
introduces flight challenges not faced in
most non-HRSG drone flights.
When flying outside, GPS location and
positioning sensors can keep a drone
hovering in an exact spot, regardless of
fluctuating wind streams and conditions.
Inside an HRSG, those same sensors often
fail to function. A GPS signal cannot be
obtained through the insulated HRSG
casing, and the drone positioning sensors
reflect off of the liner metal. If the sensors
are left on, the drone may fluctuate po-
sitions rapidly as the GPS recalibrates its
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE

location during brief moments it’s able SUMMARY

to connect. For this reason, the sensors
are turned off for most indoor HRSG
flights and flying is done manually, leav-
ing the pilot to have to react to drafts and
other factors which can impact the flight
plan.
When training pilots for indoor flights,
pilots should have several hours logged
without the use of GPS or added sensors.
Manual flying skills are a must.
Along with the FAA rules and tips, a
few HRST HRSG flying tips are as
follows:
• Practice flying without the sensors and
GPS outdoors before attempting
indoors
• Get used to flying in a weak to mod-
erate wind without any sensors
• Wear a dust mask indoors so you don’t
inhale whatever the drone kicks up off
the floor
• Wear safety glasses, preferably spoggles
to keep the debris out of your eyes
Tube condition at 15’ (bottom) and tube con-
dition at 50’ (top) showing possible long term
overheat. Photo courtesy: HRST Inc.
• As always, wear proper PPE in the event
of a crash
• Use propeller guards so small bumps
into the liner or HRSG components
won’t cause a crash
• Find the proper lighting for the situa-
tion. You don’t want a washed out view
for inspection or a muddled line of
sight
Following these tips, along with having
the proper training and knowledge of
flight guidelines will allow for safe oper-
ation and a successful inspection.
As strapped maintenance budgets become
more common with aging equipment,
the need for time and cost-efficient in-
spections increases. Adding a drone to
your regular inspection scope of visual
inspection from the floor, targeted NDE
and borescope inspection of the wa-
ter-side components, fills in the inspec-
tion void of identifying taller issues.
Drone inspections offer a safe, reliable,
and affordable way to understand and
track the condition of HRSG components
in areas unable to be visually inspected
from the floor level inspection. Drones
are continuously improving. Extended
flight times, improved sensors, and quick-
er outdoor flight FAA approvals are just
a few improvements coming down the
line. Offering reduced inspection costs,
reduced downtime, quicker inspection
times, and historical trending data, the
drone “boom” isn’t landing anytime soon
so now is the time to get on board.

18-20 SEPTEMBER 2018

18
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 WWW.POWERGENAFRICA.COM

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1803PE_15 15 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 BUSINESS TRENDS

WORLD’S FIRST
Coal to Biomass
Conversion Using
Advanced Wood
Pellets
Overhead View of Advanced Wood Pellet
Loading (September 2013)

BY LES MARSHALL

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has been

actively evaluating the use of biomass to
decarbonize the production from its coal
fired assets for some time. In recent years,
this focus has shifted to the testing of second
generation wood pellets to prove the ability
to employ these new fuels safely and effec-
tively within an existing coal fired unit. OPG
has recently executed a project to convert
Thunder Bay Unit 3 from coal to 100 percent
biomass firing using steam exploded wood
pellets.
In February 2015, this unit entered service
on the new fuel, making it the first such unit
worldwide to employ thermally upgraded
wood pellets. The unique properties of the
steam exploded pellets enable the use of
outdoor storage and handling, similar to the
baseline coal firing case. The ability to store,
handle, pulverize and combust the pellets
with only minor modifications to the plant
systems and procedures has enabled the use
of a low capital cost project approach that
is not possible with conversions that employ
traditional white wood pellets.
The conversion of Thunder Bay Unit 3
was executed with a capital cost of approx-
imately $30/kW and has demonstrated the
feasibility of this approach at full scale. Ob-
servations from the fuel evaluations, test
burns and commissioning of this first-of-a-
kind project are discussed.
OPG began a significant biomass test
program in 2006, in direct response to
Ontario provincial regulation O. Reg. 496/07 (August 2007) – “Ontario’s Cessation of Coal
Use”. This regulation effectively prohibits the use of coal as a fuel to generate electricity in
the province of Ontario as of December 31, 2014. Engineering studies were conducted for
all of the OPG coal-fired stations to evaluate the feasibility of converting to natural gas,
wood pellets or a combination of these two fuels. However, the economic downturn of
2009 reduced electricity demand in the province. This fact, combined with the addition
of several gigawatts of NGCC capacity in the province resulted in a very limited role for the
large coal-fired station at Nanticoke (4000 MW) and Lambton (2000 MW).
Conversion efforts then focused on the station in northwest Ontario at Atikokan. This
unit is modestly sized at 205 MWe and is in an area of vast forestry resources, making it an
excellent candidate for conversion as a peaking unit. The Atikokan unit has been completely
converted from coal to biomass firing and entered service in July 2014. The total cost of
the Atikokan conversion was about $170M CAD, yielding a specific capital investment cost
of some $800/ kW ($CAD).
AN INTRODUCTION TO ADVANCED WOOD PELLETS
Concurrent to the efforts at Atikokan, OPG has been studying the potential of upgraded
second generation wood pellets. The generic term “advanced wood pellets” describes an
array of pelletized woody biomass that have undergone some type of thermal upgrading.
The pre-treatment processes and specifics vary but include the use of torrefaction, hydro-
thermal carbonisation and steam explosion. In all cases, the intention with advanced wood
pellets is to provide a fuel with properties that are like coal.

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White wood pellets are the dominant fuel
choice for the coal-to-biomass conversions.
Wood is a relatively clean fuel and the pro-
duction and logistics pathways to deliver
utility scale volumes were already under
development to support other markets. How-
ever, the use of traditional white wood pellets
in a conversion project does require a signif-
icant capital investment. Mandatory new
systems include covered storage to protect
the pellets from exposure to the elements
and dedicated receiving and handling sys-
tems to control dust generation and mitigate
the risk of fires and explosions. These projects
also typically require either new milling tech-
nology or the modification of existing coal
pulverizers to properly and safely handle the
wood pellet fuel.
The aim with the development of ad-
vanced wood pellet technologies is to pro-
duce a biomass fuel pellet that can be em-
ployed using existing power station assets
with only minor modifications. In this re-
spect, the pellets should be stored outdoors
without covered storage so that they can be
received, stored and reclaimed from the yard
using equipment and procedures developed
for coal. This initial item can have an enor-
mous positive impact on the capital cost of
a cofiring or conversion project. However,
the advanced pellet must be able to weather
the elements so that excessive dust is not
generated from degraded pellets when they
are handled.
THUNDER BAY
GENERATING STATION
In December 2012, OPG was asked by the
Ontario Ministry of Energy to explore the
potential to convert Thunder Bay Unit 3 from
coal to 100% biomass firing using a low
capital cost approach. The Ministry had been
previously informed of new developments
with upgraded biomass fuels that might be
utilised to avoid the high capital costs that
are associated with a typical white wood
pellet conversion pathway.
Thunder Bay Generating Station is in
northwest Ontario, Canada on the north
shore of Lake Superior. TBGS Unit 3 has a
nameplate capacity of 163 MWe (gross) and
includes a four-corner tangentially fired boil-
er. The boiler is equipped with five RP 783
pulverizers. The boiler was originally
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1803PE_17 17
designed for Western Canadian lignite coal
(Luscar) but was converted to fire Northern
Powder River Basin (NPRB) coal in 1996.
ADVANCED WOOD
PELLET FUEL EVALUATION
FOR TBGS
As of 2013, OPG had already been evaluating
upgraded biomass pellets for a period of
about four years. Dozens of different sam-
ples and suppliers were analyzed and as-
sessed through an internal OPG program
and via collaborative efforts with other util-
ities. The areas of evaluation can be sum-
marised into several categories: Weatherabil-
ity, Dust Generation, and Milling.
The use of advanced biomass fuels will
have other impacts on the unit, similar to
the firing of any biomass based fuel. How-
ever, these areas highlight the unique differ-
ences between standard and advanced pel-
lets. The observations by the OPG project
team in each case are detailed below.
FUEL EVALUATION
– WEATHERABILITY
Pellet durability – also referred to as the pellet
durability index (PDI) – is the standard in-
dicator of the relative mechanical strength
of a pellet. Durability can be determined via
many techniques and methods. For the pur-
pose of this discussion, we refer to the stan-
dard tumbler method as detailed in ISO
17831-1. The durability metric does not
have any direct correlation to performance
at full scale in an industrial setting. It is
merely an objective, repeatable means to
compare the relative quality of biomass pel-
lets with respect to their mechanical strength
and ability to resist degradation when
handled.
OPG recognised that the standard dura-
bility test, conducted on air-dried, pristine
pellets, was not a representative measure for
pellets that would need to be stored outdoors
without the benefit of covered storage. Earlier
work by the project team had confirmed that
exposure to water was the key mechanism
leading to pellet degradation and the pro-
duction of dust. The biomass power industry
has used a number of different methods to
simulate exposure to the elements, including
climate chambers with high humidity envi-
ronments and test rigs that simulate actual
Author
Les Marshall is Senior Technical Officer
Ontario Power Generation Canada
rainfall. OPG has adopted the use of im-
mersion in water as a simple and objective
test that can be conducted by any laboratory,
utility or fuel supplier.
The simple weatherability test developed
by OPG can be summarised as follows:
• Air dry an as-received pellet sample (at
least 2000g) to constant mass
• Determine inherent, surface and total
moisture
• Determine as received fines content and
durability
• Completely immerse the air-dried pellet
sample in distilled water for “x” hours
• Remove pellets from water and strain in
a sieve for 5 minutes
• Determine the post-soak total moisture
from a sub-sample
• Air dry soaked sample to constant mass
• Determine inherent, surface and total
moisture
• Calculate water uptake (initial air dried
sample to total moisture of soaked
sample)
• Determine post-soak fines content
• Determine weathered durability of post-
soak sample
This method will yield a direct compar-
ison of pristine pellet fines and durability
with that following a simulated exposure to
the elements. It also return a value for water
uptake – the absolute increase in moisture
content following soaking – that will be an
important consideration when milling is
discussed.
The obvious question then is how long
should the pellets be immersed in water.
OPG has conducted trials using durations
from one hour to one week in length, track-
ing an increase in water uptake and pellet
degradation with increasing time submerged
in water. A duration of 48 hours has been
selected by OPG as the rate of water uptake
is observed to flatten after two full days of
soaking. This level of exposure also provides
significant differentiation between pellets of
varying qualities in this important area of
performance. OPG has also observed a good
degree of correlation with lab scale soaking
for 48 hours and actual results with full scale
outdoor storage over a period of months.
This latter result will be discussed further in
the operational commissioning section.
Current lab scale methods cannot be
17
2/26/18 11:54 AM
 BUSINESS TRENDS
expected to predict specific performance in
the field, especially for a range of environ-
mental conditions and storage periods.
However, the application of objective lab
scale methods such as durability - and es-
pecially weathered durability – are very
useful to compare the relative characteristics
of fuels in this area. OPG had already eval-
uated many thermally upgraded pellets in
the 2010-2013 period and initiated a new
program to test all promising advanced
wood pellet fuels specifically for the Thunder
Bay project. Weathered durability was a key
metric in this testing, used to identify fuels
that would tend to maintain their pellet
integrity during outdoor storage in the chal-
lenging conditions of northwest Ontario.
Ten samples were tested in this program,
eight of which were torrefied wood pellets
and two produced via steam explosion.
Given the first-of-a-kind nature of the project
and the important link between pellet in-
tegrity and fuel handling safety, the project
team sought to identify pellets with out-
standing performance in this area.
This work confirmed the trend for steam
exploded pellets to perform significantly
better than torrefied fuels when exposed to
water. The lab scale weathering of a typical
torrefied pellet is compared visually with
that of the steam treated pellets selected for
the TBGS conversion in Figure 1.
Immersion of the torrefied pellets in wa-
ter has had a clear and significant negative
impact on the integrity of the pellets. Note
that the fines metric is an indication of the
mass of the sample that is already dust. Sig-
nificant exposure to water can be seen to
produce dust from the original pellets even
before they are tumbled again to simulate
handling.
With respect to the water uptake value,
we suspect that the individual torrefied wood
particles are quite hydrophobic. The high
level of moisture absorption in the soaked
pellet sample is likely due to water accumu-
lating interstitially in the voids between
particles that have separated as exposure to
water decreases the strength of their bonds.
Some torrefied pellets do perform better
than others in this regard and there has cer-
tainly been progress in this area in the 2013-
2017 period. However, during the time
when the fuel selection was being made for
18
1803PE_18 18
Torrefied and Steam
Treated Pellets – Pre and
Post Weathering (2013)
Torrefied pellets (pre-soak)
Torrefied pellets (post-soak)
Steam treated pellets (pre-soak)
Stream treated pellets (post soak)
the Thunder Bay project, steam treated pellets were seen
to have a clear advantage.
FUEL EVALUATION
– DUST GENERATION
Wood pellets – including advanced wood pellets – are
actually more problematic to handle when they are very
dry as the pellets are more brittle and prone to produce
1
dust when handled. In this re-
spect, it is important to evaluate
the amount of dust that is gen-
erated as well as the particle size
of that dust. Finally, the use of
water and surfactants as dust
mitigation measures should be
assessed. This scope of testing
was executed on the steam treat-
ed pellets that were selected for
the project based on their excel-
lent performance in the weath-
ering tests.
An external laboratory was
engaged to conduct a third party
evaluation on the advanced
wood pellets as well as a typical
PRB coal as a baseline. The
method of dust generation used
was a rubber-lined tumbler, op-
erated for 48 hours. This testing
also included the determination
of the particle size ranges of any
dust produced. Table 2 sum-
marises these results.
These results confirm the fa-
vourable performance values
cited earlier. The relatively small
volume of very fine dust is par-
ticularly important as this can
significantly reduce the risks
associated with airborne dust
generated during handling. The
results for the AWP also compare
well with those of the PRB coal.
This baseline was important to
the project team as the perfor-
mance of the handling system
on coal was both well controlled
and well understood.
An additional set of tests was
also conducted to evaluate the
effectiveness of water and dust
suppression agents to mitigate
dust generation during handling
operations. The lab scale Walker
Wetting Test was employed to
assess performance in this area.
The results are shown in Table
3.
The BT-220W surfactant is the
same wetting agent used at
Thunder Bay GS for operation
on coal. The Walker Wetting test
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2/26/18 11:54 AM
 Typical Lab Scale Weathering Results
Table 1
– Torrefied and Steam Treated Pellets
Parameter Torrefied Pellet Steam Treated Pellet As of this writing, new methods are in devel-
opment but no such tools were in place when
As Received Durability (%) 94.8 94.8
OPG was evaluating fuels for Thunder Bay
As Received Fines (%) 0.61 0.61 GS. It was decided to use pilot scale mill
Weathered Durability (%) 70.1 70.1 testing to assess the steam treated pellets in
this area as OPG had already employed this
Weathered Fines (%) 7.99 7.99
technique for a previous white pellet evalu-
Water Uptake (% abs.) 48.95 48.95 ation at Thunder Bay.
Several campaigns of pilot mill testing
were conducted at the Alstom Pulverizer R&D
Tumbler Dust Results
Table 2 centre in Naperville, Illinois. This facility is
– Steam Treated Pellets and PRB Coal equipped with a vertical spindle VR 31 mill
that uses similar grinding technology to that
Parameter Steam Treated Pellets PRB Coal employed in the full scale RP 783 pulverizers
Mass Fraction < 4.75 mm 0.2% 1.83% installed at Thunder Bay GS.
Parametric testing included the variation
Mass Fraction < 420 µ 0.1241% 0.07%
of the bowl rotational speed, roll-table clear-
Mass Fraction < 74 µ 0.0015% 0.01% ance, roll loading pressure, fuel flow, air flow
and classifier vane opening. The facility also
results indicate a significant improvement offers the opportunity to physically modify the mill internals. In this case, the classifier
should be realised when using surfactants static drum openings were increased to better reflect the full scale case at TBGS. Most
to mitigate dust with the advanced wood importantly, tests were also conducted after the removal of the outlet venturi or discharge
pellet fuel. skirt (see photo on page 30). This modification resulted in the best performance of the
pilot scale program and informed the project team of the potential to modify the Thunder
FUEL EVALUATION Bay pulverizers in a similar manner.
– MILLING The use of a pilot milling facility to test wood pellets had many advantages, especially
The final major benefit of advanced wood regarding the flexibility to modify the physical configuration and the operational parameters.
pellets is their improved grindability, relative However, the nature of advanced pellets does result in certain observations that require
to standard white wood pellets. Several con- some degree of interpretation. In particular, specific mill power was observed to be rather
version projects (including OPG Atikokan high, with values of about 20-25 kW/Mg. This is approximately twice the value that would
GS) have successfully retrofitted coal pulver- be expected for coal grinding, using either a pilot scale or full scale mill. Fortunately, this
izers to handle white wood pellets. However, result was actually much more favourable at full scale when grinding steam treated pellets
there are operational challenges, most no- in the modified mills at Thunder Bay.
tably with respect to milling capacity and
the final delivered particle size of the wood SAFETY EVALUATIONS
dust to the burners can create issues down- A standard suite of fire and explosion risk testing was conducted on the steam treated fuel
stream as well. selected for the Thunder Bay conversion project. These results confirmed the increased
There is the potential to employ advanced ignition risk with biomass fuels, compared to the PRB coal baseline experience (Table 4).
wood pellets in an existing system with only Concurrent with this effort, third party evaluations of the entire (coal) handling system
minor changes to the physical mill and the were conducted to identify issues of concern and areas for improvement.
operation of the pulverizers. Furthermore, The review of the handling systems identified many maintenance issues in the areas of
there is an expectation that mill capacity containment and dust collection. Furthermore, several components of the system were
(energy output) of the mill should be im- also highlighted that would benefit from modifications to improve safety by avoiding and
proved over the white pellet case and that mitigating the build up of electrostatic charge. These items will be discussed in the con-
the particle size of the pulverized wood dust version project scope.
should be significantly smaller, yielding a The project team was
number of downstream benefits with pneu- Walker Wetting Test Results Table 3 eventually satisfied that
matic transport and combustion. dust and ignition hazards
Even as early as 2013, the biomass power Condition Average Wetting Time (s) had been properly ad-
industry had realised that the standard dressed by the proposed
Water 33.0 to 53.0
Hardgrove Grindability Index (developed modifications through-
for coal) was not an appropriate metric to Water + 0.25% BT-220W 6.4 out the system – with the
determine the relative grindability of bio- Water + 0.50% BT-220W 5.0 to 6.8 notable exception of the
mass fuels, including advanced wood pellets. final drop into the

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1803PE_19 19 2/26/18 11:54 AM

 BUSINESS TRENDS
existing coal bunkers. Under certain condi-
tions, the free fall of pellets into the metal
bunkers could result in an electrostatic dis-
charge with the potential to ignite wood dust
in that confined volume. A dedicated study
of this issue was executed to identify possible
solutions to the problem.
The electrostatic discharge study deter-
mined that the risk of bulking discharges
were sensitive to the relative humidity in the
environment. The steam treated wood dust
was tested in accordance with ASTM D257
– “Standard Test Method for DC Resistance
or Conductance of Insulating Materials
(Modified)”. This work was conducted at
two different levels of relative humidity. The
results are summarized in Table 5.
The study concluded that the theoretical
Fire and Explosion Characterization
Parameter
Maximum Explosive Pressure, Pmax
Maximum Rate of Pressure Rise, (dP/dt)max
Deflagration Index, Kst
Minimum Ignition Energy, MIE
Minimum Explosive Concentration, MEC
Minimum Ignition Temperature, MIT Cloud
Explosion Severity, ES
Ignition Sensitivity, IS
threshold value for volume resistivity is 1010
Ω-m, indicating that bulking (or cone) dis-
charges do not occur below this value. The
project team elected to utilize the existing
bunker inerting steam system to humidify
the bunker volume prior to loading pellets.
Humidity meters were installed in the target
bunkers and fueling operations commenced
after the bunker relative humidity was in-
creased to 55+ %RH. This is likely the first
such direct manipulation of humidity to
control an ignition risk in the industry.
FUEL SELECTION
Safety has always been the number one pri-
ority at OPG and the Thunder Bay project
maintained that focus. Given the first-of-a-
kind nature of the conversion project and
the desire to largely use existing systems to
handle and fire the new fuel, the selection
20
1803PE_20 20
of an advanced pellet fuel with excellent
performance characteristics quickly became
the first critical decision.
The internal OPG evaluation process
determined that the steam treated pellets
produced by Arbaflame AS (Norway) yielded
clearly superior performance in the import-
ant areas of durability, fine dust generation
and weathering. The Arbaflame pellets were
also observed to have clearly superior per-
formance with respect to water uptake when
exposed to the elements. Additional testing
Units
bar
bar/s
bar-m/s
mJ
3
g/m
°C
- 1.3
- 4.0
in the areas of fire and explosion risks, liq-
uid-based dust suppression and pilot scale
milling all gave expected or acceptable
results.
Concurrent to this effort, OPG also col-
laborated with several European utilities
with their own advanced biomass programs.
Most notable among these was Vattenfall
who had previously formed their Black Pellet
Evaluation Program to investigate the use
of advanced biomass fuels in their fossil
fleet. Vattenfall had independently selected
Arbaflame as the leading candidate and had
already conducted several major field tests,
including a large scale co-firing trial at their
Reuter West station in Berlin.
Consideration of the OPG test results,
combined with similar favourable experi-
ence from other utilities, resulted in the
project team decision to procure 1000 metric
Pilot Scale Mill Classifier with
Discharge Skirt Removed
tonnes of Arbaflame pellets for a test burn
at Thunder Bay in the fall of 2013.
PRE-TEST MODIFICATIONS
A significant amount of maintenance was
performed on the existing fuel handling
system, addressing items that were identified
by third party walk downs of the equipment.
In addition, several physical modifications
were also executed, again in direct response
to issues identified by pre-test safety
studies.
Table 4
PRB Coal Steam Treated Pellets
7.5 7.6
684 487
186 132
79 12
44 84
420 400
0.98
8.66
• Reclaim Hopper Slide Gate Extension.
The slide gate at the bottom of the initial
reclaim hopper was extended by the ad-
dition of a metal plate (See photo on page
21). The additional length of the gate
served to reduce the free flow area of the
hopper mouth, limiting the volume of
the fuel feed to the conveyor/feeder im-
mediately downstream.
• Electrical Grounding. The existing con-
veyor and bunker systems were found to
be well grounded but additional protec-
tion was installed on the dust collectors
along the test fuel path. This consisted of
providing dedicated grounds to each bag
cage (See photo on page 21).
• Dust Suppression. The existing points
of dust suppression were used for the test,
including the use of the current BT-220W
surfactant, at the present level of
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 Volume Resistivity Test Results
Volume Resistivity 15% Volume Resistivity 55%
Material
RH (Ω-m) RH (Ω-m)
Steam Treated Wood
2.14 x 1013 5.34 x 109
Dust (< 75μ)
concentration. In addition, two new surfactant application points
were installed and one further point using service water.
• Relative Humidity Meters. The electrostatic discharge safety
report recommended that pellet loading to the existing bunkers
should only be conducted in an environment with a relative
humidity of 55 percent RH or higher. Intrinsically safe humidity
meters were installed in the 3B and 3C coal bunkers used to
handle the Arbaflame pellets during this testing (See photo on
page 22).
The final significant equipment modification was with the
pulverizers selected to handle advanced wood pellets during
the test burn.
Reclaim Hopper Slide Gate Extension
Dedicated Grounding of Dust Collector Cages
Two of the mills (3B and 3C) were modified to emulate the
successful configuration adopted during the pilot scale mill testing.
The discharge skirt (or outlet venturi) was removed from these mills
to allow for a more expeditious path for fuel to exit the mill. The
photo on page 23 shows the discharge skirt in the Thunder Bay mills
prior to removal.
The roll-table clearances on these mills were also tightened, based
on results from the pilot scale mill program.
No modifications were made to the pulverizer throats (vane
wheel) prior to the initial field tests. This oversight will be discussed
in the commissioning sections.
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1803PE_21 21
Table 5
Measured Decay Time Measured Decay Time
15% RH (s) 55% RH (s)
1453 1.45
FUEL ANALYSIS
The chemical analysis of the Arbaflame advanced wood pellets is
compared with the baseline Northern Powder River Basin (NPRB)
coal in Table 6. The chemical analyses of the two fuels are actually
quite similar, with notable differences in the acid gas precursors
(nitrogen and sulphur), as well as the ash and moistures
contents.
Of course, the major expected differences in fuel performance
are not covered in a basic chemical analysis. The handling and
milling properties of the advanced wood pellets were the main focus
of the test burn. The 1000 Mg test fuel volume was delivered to site
in August 2013 and piled in the yard as shown in the photo on page
??.
This fuel pile was sampled over the duration of the field test
period to determine the fines and pellet durability. This is summa-
rized along with lab scale weathering results in Table 7. In the
August-September 2013 period, the fuel was stored outdoors as
pictured, without the benefit of cover.
INITIAL TEST BURN
As noted previously, several modifications were made to the existing
handling system. In addition, the indicated classifier modification
was executed on the target test mills only – mills 3B and 3C. These
pulverizer levels are located near the bottom of the firing system
(A-lowest through E-highest).
The first week of testing involved the testing of each pulverizer
on advanced pellets, with supporting mills firing coal. The second
week of testing employed both mills on pellets with the goal of
evaluating pure biomass firing operation, including unit start up
and shutdown.
HANDLING OBSERVATIONS
The initial loading point for the advanced wood pellets was reclaim
hopper #2. The handling operations in the yard were accomplished
using normal mobile equipment (as for coal). The photo on page
16 shows a typical loading operation during the first week of testing.
The dust cloud formed by the inherent fines in the fuel volume is
very apparent. However, it should be noted that this was the only
location where airborne dust was observed during the test
program.
Previous testing by Vattenfall has confirmed the ability to control
dust formation at the initial loading point by means of a simple
water jet spraying across the mouth of the loading hopper. This
additional mitigation was not deemed necessary by the commis-
sioning team at Thunder Bay as the level of dust and the extent of
propagation was deemed acceptable.
The favourable dust and handling performance of the pellets
was confirmed by sampling at all of the downstream transfer points.
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2/26/18 11:54 AM
 BUSINESS TRENDS

To facilitate this sampling, the entire con-

veyor system was tripped during the initial
test day and cross belt samples were.
As noted here, the durability of the pellets
is essentially constant throughout the han-
dling system and appears to be unaffected
by the falls through the transfer points. The
fines performance is also good, indicating
that dust generation is limited as well.
As discussed earlier, each of these transfer
points was equipped with dust suppression
sprays, employing either surfactants or water.
The effectiveness of these sprays on the ad-
vanced wood pellets was excellent and did
not result in a significant moisture pick up.
Those results along with the fines data are
summarized in Figure 2 on page 24.
In addition to fuel sampling, the test pro-
gram included dedicated airborne dust mon-
itoring in the fuel yard, all conveyor galleries
as well as wearable personal breathing zone
monitors for staff working in handling op-
erations. This effort was conducted for pellet
handling as well as for similar volumes of
NPRB coal.
The air borne dust monitoring results
were very encouraging, superior to those for
the baseline case handling coal.
The personal breathing zone results were
all well below the Ontario Occupational
Relative Humidity Meter
Exposure Limits
(OEL) for softwood
dust (5 mg/m3), av-
eraging around 0.30
mg/m3 for workers
in the fuel yard, in-
cluding mobile
e q u i p m e n t
operators.
Taken together,
these results indicate
the very real potential to employ second fleet. The revised fuel-air curve is shown
generation wood pellets in coal handling in Figure 3 on page 26.
systems with relatively minor The biomass mills were also bench-
modifications. marked with air flow (no fuel) to identify
the expected mill differential and motor
PULVERIZER SETUP power for an empty pulverizer. This was
As noted previously, mills 3B and 3C were done to yield a clean state set of data that
physically modified for this test by removing was used to determine when the mill was
their discharge skirts. The mill coordination clean following a shutdown.
curves (fuel-air curves) for these mills were Following a normal mill shutdown, the
also slightly modified to increase the mass cleaning air flow and temperatures were set
flow of primary air at the lower end of the similar to the values noted here. When the
mill range. pulverizer differential and motor power ap-
This was done based on white pellet proached their “clean” states, the mill was
pneumatic transport experience acquired considered to be empty.
during previous testing within the OPG

Fuel Analysis – NPRB Coal and Arbaflame Pellets Table 6

Parameter Units Spring Creek NPRB Arbaflame Wood Pellets
Proximate Analysis (as-fired)
- Fixed Carbon % 34.98 16.96
- Volatile Matter % 29.00 71.44
- Ash % 4.82 0.30
%
- Moisture 31.20 11.30
Ultimate Analysis (As-Fired)
- Carbon % 47.62 47.31
- Hydrogen % 3.28 5.28
- Nitrogen % 0.61 0.03
- Sulphur % 0.28 0.02
- Oxygen % 12.18 35.74
- Chlorine % 0.01 0.02
- Ash % 4.82 0.30
- Moisture % 31.20 11.30
Higher Heating Value (As-Fired) MJ/KG 18.68 18.98

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INITIAL MILL OPERATION
With the boiler stable and operating on coal,
the first modified biomass mill was placed
into service on September 10, 2013. The
classifier vanes were set to fully open (posi-
tion “0”) for this initial test.
The mill differential and motor power
both stabilized very quickly during this first
test. However, it was also immediately ap-
parent that the mill was rapidly rejecting
fuel through the throat. It was necessary to
increase primary air flow to eliminate the
fuel rejection issue. The mill did stabilize
at the minimum feeder setting with an air
flow slightly above the modified coordina-
tion curve value.
This reject problem can be attributed to
the use of the original mill throat that was
designed for operation with air temperatures
in the range of about 300ºC. Operation
with colder air flows for biomass firing (ini-
tially about 120ºC) resulted in a significant
increase in air density and therefore a similar
drop in air volume and throat velocity. This
mismatch was corrected after the initial test-
ing by modifying the free flow area of the
throat to better suit the new operating
regime.
PULVERIZER PERFORMANCE
Parametric testing was conducted on the
modified mills, including the variation of
fuel flow, air flow and classifier position. A
good operational fit was determined at the
mid-range classifier vane position 5 (about
a 45º vane angle) and the mills was tested
throughout the necessary load range.
Mill differential and motor power were
both seen to increase significantly when the
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1803PE_23 23
classifier was adjusted from the fully open
position to the mid-range “five” setting used
here. This observation was contrary to our
experience with pilot scale mill testing, where
the variation of the static classifier blades did
not result in any significant impact on the
solid particle performance.
Also, following the closing of the classifier
vanes, mill rejects were observed to increase
again. A large positive primary air flow bias
was necessary to address this issue, again
reinforcing the need to modify the mill
throats for this service. The increased demand
for air flow is very likely linked to an increase
in fuel recirculation with the tightening of
the classifier vanes. This was not observed at
pilot scale but is certainly the expected trend
with coal operation.
PULVERIZED FUEL FINENESS
The industry is still learning what level of
fineness is needed for efficient combustion
performance when firing biomass fuels in
suspension. Experience from existing white
wood pellets conversion projects seems to
indicate that about 90 percent passing 1000
microns is suitable for well-designed burner
systems. Achieving that level of fuel fineness
with white wood pellets in modified coal
pulverizers is another matter entirely.
The results presented here for advanced
wood pellet grinding routinely meet and
exceed this threshold for fuel fineness. The
commissioning team has instead used the
fraction passing 500 microns as the main
indicator of mill performance in this regard.
This approach is somewhat more conserva-
tive and the values observed in this regime
display more variation to operational
adjustments.
Mill Classifier Discharge Skirt (prior to removal)
For a fixed classifier position, pulverized
fuel fineness is rather flat over the load range
of the mill. This level of fineness has been
found to result in well-defied, stable flames
and a very bright and clear furnace environ-
ment. The fuel feed rates tested here are
actually higher than the required flows for
full boiler MCR with one mill out of
service.
MILL MOTOR POWER
Power consumption is seen to increase with
the fuel feed rate and it is likely that motor
power will be the load limiting factor in most
cases. As indicated above, in the Thunder
Bay scenario, the equipment was able to
operate at high fuel flows, sufficient to supply
properly sized fuel at the original nameplate
capacity of the unit.
The specific mill power – expressed as
kW/Mg – is also observed to remain relatively
constant over the load range of the mill. The
full scale results in this area (about 11-14
kW/Mg) are significantly lower than the val-
ues determined from the pilot scale rig (22-
40 kW/Mg). This favourable variance is
thought to be linked to the much higher
dead weight and applied force in a full scale
pulverizer.
PRIMARY AIR TEMPERATURE
The primary air temperature entering the
mills was limited to about 120ºC for the
initial proof of concept testing. A lower tem-
perature was considered to reduce the risk
of mill fires with the highly volatile fuel. The
specific figure of 120ºC was selected based
on OPG experience with white wood pellet
milling.
This temperature was found to be suitable
during testing, as indicated by the effective
drying of the pellet fuel down to the inherent
moisture level. Mill performance, pneumatic
transport and combustion were all also
found to be acceptable.
UNIT START WITH BIOMASS
A key objective of the second week of field
testing was to evaluate the ability to start the
unit on the advanced wood pellet fuel. Up
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2/26/18 11:54 AM
 BUSINESS TRENDS
to this point, the unit had been started on
coal, with the biomass fuel replacing coal
on a unit at about half load. For the first
biomass start, the oil ignitors and warm up
guns were put into service per the standard
protocols, to heat up the furnace and raise
boiler pressure.
Mill 3B was placed into service using the
same parameters and procedures that had
proved successful in the first week of the test
burn. However, almost immediately, very
high carbon monoxide (CO) levels were
observed that did not decrease until well
after the mill was taken out of service. Several
other attempt were made to start the mill
with the same negative results. These un-
successful attempts included the use of a
lower fuel feed rate in an attempt to improve
pulverized fuel fineness.
Observations of the grinding roll deflec-
tion during these failed starts revealed that
the fuel bed was very thin. Another mill start
was executed that increased the fuel flow in
an attempt to establish a thicker fuel bed.
This effort did prove successful as this opti-
mized mill configuration resulted in a minor
CO emission spike that reduced to a level
of less than 20 ppmv in several minutes. The
adjustment of the low load mill fuel flow
along with monitoring furnace temperatures
prior to the admission of solid fuel has re-
sulted in trouble-free unit starts since this
initial issue was encountered.
STEAM TEMPERATURES
The initial test series also evaluated the ca-
pability of the unit with respect to steam
temperatures, as the use of wood pellets in
a boiler designed for lignite coal has been
shown to result in issues in that area. The
steam treated pellets used at Thunder Bay
were initially tested at unit loads of about
25 percent and 50 percent MCR. In this
range, steam temperatures were indeed
slightly lower than for operation on the
baseline coal. There was no real attempt to
increase temperatures during the initial test
burn. The burner elevation tilts were in the
zero to 10-degree (up) range.
COMBUSTION
PERFORMANCE
In general, combustion performance during
the initial trial with advanced wood pellets
24
1803PE_24 24
was excellent. Stable, bright flames were
easily established without oil support, re-
sulting in a clear furnace environment. No
burner system adjustments were required.
This image also indicates significant
flame detachment on the level “C” burner
(the lower of the B/C firing combination).
This appears to be directly attributable to
the use of higher than optimal primary air
flow to control the fuel reject rate during
early testing. As discussed earlier, higher
primary air flow was required as the pulver-
izer throats were not yet properly
modified.
Observations of the fireside conditions
also indicated very little fuel falling into the
bottom ash system.
THE THUNDER BAY BIOMASS
CONVERSION PROJECT
A project scope for a full unit conversion
was developed to fully leverage the perfor-
mance benefits observed in the initial field
trials. The project had a clear focus on safety,
with adjustments or modifications through-
out the fuel handling system. The major
items are listed here.
• 3 additional dust suppression systems
(now totaling 7, on all transfer points)
• Metal and heat detection downstream of
reclaim hopper
Pellet Moisture and Fines
14 Total moisture
12
Pellet moisture (%)
10
8 1.0
Fines
6
4 0.5
2
0 0.0
Transfer Point: G2 H2 K2
Location
Advanced Wood Pellets at Thunder Bay
GS (August 2013)
• Reclaim hopper slide gate extension to
control fuel flow rate
• Replacement of transfer chute liners with
static free materials
• Replace or de-energize any electrical
equipment not meeting the required clas-
sification of Class 2, Division 2, Group
G
• Installation of relative humidity meters
in all bunkers
• Addition of an electric boiler to supply
steam to the bunker humidification
system
• Replacement of the entire M-3 conveyor
belt with a conductive material
• Installation of rotary airlocks between the
bunkers and feeders
• Removal of discharge skirt from all mill
classifiers
• Modification of mill throats to decrease
free flow area
• Purchase of a mobile stacker to handle
pellets in the fuel yard
The capital expenditure for the conversion
of Thunder Bay Unit 3 was approximately
$3M (Canadian dollars), resulting in a spe-
cific capital investment of less than $25/kW
(Canadian dollars, net capacity). This value
obviously compares well with similar metrics
for white wood pellet conversions, where
the specific capital expenditure is typically
2
2.0
1.5
Fines (%)
L2 M3
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 Full Scale and Laboratory
Table 7
Scale Weathering Results
Sample Notes Fines (%) Durability
Delivered to site 26 August 2013 0.03 99.3
Delivered to site 26 August 2013 0.02 99.5
Pile sample 4 September 2013 0.04 99.3
Pile sample 9 September 2013 0.13 99.2
Pile sample 12 September 2013 0.04 99.4
12 September 2013
Pile sample 0.30 99.3
150 Cm Below Surface
Pile sample 20 September 2013 0.27 97.8
20 September 2013
Pile sample 0.66 98.6
150 Cm Below Surface
OPG-P&T Pre-Weathering 0.28 98.2
OPG-P&T Post-Weathering 0.17 97.4
in the range of $500-800/kW. pellets via ship on Lake Superior but boat
The unit entered into commercial service transport is forbidden in the December to
via an energy supply agreement in January April timeframe each year due to frozen
2015. Thunder Bay Unit 3 became the first conditions on the Great Lakes and the dif-
coal fired unit (worldwide) to be fully con- ficulty in obtaining insurance for wa-
verted to employ advanced wood pellets as ter-borne cargo.
the primary fuel. As a result, Thunder Bay stores advanced
The parameters of the energy supply wood pellets outdoors, without the benefit
agreement require that Thunder Bay Unit 3 of cover, for periods up to one year in dura-
is capable of a net electrical output of 135 tion. Analysis is conducted on samples from
MWe. This load is readily achievable and in all working piles on a monthly basis to track
practice, the unit can easily operate at the pellet degradation and moisture uptake.
original full coal-fired nameplate capacity Pellet durability is seen to remain quite
of 153 MWe (net). high, indicating that the mechanical strength
of the pellets has not been significantly com-
OPERATING EXPERIENCE promised by the period in storage. With the
As a peaking unit, Thunder Bay Unit 3 typ- exception of an outlier for May 2016, the
ically operates in a grid support role, as the fines values were also found to be very good.
electricity demand in Northwestern Ontario It is important to note that the total mois-
remains low following the economic down- ture values tend to track with seasonal pre-
turn of 2009. The limited run-time on the cipitation and also include the impact of
unit has not allowed for major optimization evaporation in the hotter or drier months
activities but valuable operating experience of the year. The relatively high values for
has been gained in a number of areas. total moisture also tend to support the use
of a rather severe lab scale weathering
OUTDOOR FUEL STORAGE treatment.
In the case of Thunder Bay, the advanced Indeed, moisture values above 20 percent
wood pellets need to be stored outdoors for are never observed for lab scale soaking du-
extended periods of time. This involves ex- rations of only 48 hours.
posure during all seasons including winters The true saturated total moisture level of
than can be very cold and result in significant these particular advanced wood pellets is
precipitation. The peaking role of Thunder only realized after a soaking duration of 1
Bay contributes to the duration of storage week (168 hours).
but a key component is the abbreviated These samples were collected from the
shipping season on the Great Lakes. Thunder surface of the November 2015 pile and there-
Bay receives deliveries of advanced wood fore represent a somewhat conservative view
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1803PE_25 25
of the integrity of the entire fuel volume.
OPG and others have conducted testing to
confirm that there exists a “sheltering” effect
in piles of advanced wood pellets.
In this regard, the outer surface layer that
is directly exposed to the elements can be
expected to degrade faster than the bulk of
the pile that forms the core of the stored
volume.
OPG has tested this phenomenon at full
scale with the Thunder Bay working piles
and has observed a distinct benefit in the
durability and fines metrics for pellets that
are at least 20-50 cm below the surface of
an outdoor pile.
FUEL HANDLING ISSUES
Dust control when handling the advanced
wood pellets has been excellent. The oper-
ations staff have gained sufficient experience
in this area such that several of the dust sup-
pression stations can be idle when handling
fuel that is already wet naturally as a conse-
quence of outdoor storage. Fuel spillage is
also well controlled but when housekeeping
is necessary, field experience has shown that
dry vacuuming is the preferred method.
Washing down galleries with water - the
practice on coal – has been found to result
in problems handling the runoff water in
the powerhouse.
Although the pellets handle very well in
a dry or wet state, two of the modifications
to the process did create a challenge in the
first months of commercial service.
First, the installation of the rotary air locks
upstream of the feeders has created a bottle-
neck where relatively small pieces of debris
can plug the air lock channels, effectively
tripping that mill.
Second, the frozen coal crackers were
taken out of service to avoid unnecessary
attrition on the pellets. Wet pellets that sub-
sequently freeze are capable of forming large
clumps, about 20 cm in diameter.
These large frozen masses are capable of
plugging fuel feeders or the rotary air locks.
These issues have been addressed at site by
increased diligence during fuel reclaim and
by the installation of grating upstream of
the coal crackers.
This latter simple retrofit effectively
screens large debris that could be problem-
atic for the downstream equipment.
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2/26/18 11:54 AM
 BUSINESS TRENDS
PULVERIZER PERFORMANCE
WITH WEATHERED FUEL
Operation with pellets that are high in total
moisture content has been observed to im-
pact both the thermal and mechanical ca-
pacity of the pulverizers. The parameters
that impact the drying performance of ad-
vanced wood pellets are basically those for
coal use, dominated by the inlet and outlet
primary air temperatures and the air/fuel
ratio. When analyzing the drying process
in detail, users are advised to employ a spe-
cific heat relationship developed for wood
as this does vary somewhat from the coal
baseline. Field results to date indicate that
the wood pellets tend to behave like a bitu-
minous coal, in that they are capable of
evaporating all of their surface moisture
content, given suitable conditions.
The firing of pellet fuels with total mois-
ture levels above 20 percent allowed the
operations staff the opportunity to evaluate
the normal means of dealing with wet fuel
in a pulverizer.
Modest increase in primary air flow were
found to be effective and the range of higher
air/fuel ratios tested did not have a negative
impact on combustion. Higher primary air
inlet temperatures have also been employed
- up to 160ºC – significantly higher than
the 120ºC baseline used in the initial test
burn program. The use of higher air tem-
peratures has had the expected effect and in
normal operation, has not been observed
to represent a safety issue. However, during
the first trials with elevated air temperatures,
several pulverizer fires were encountered, all
on a single mill (mill 3D). The cause of
these fires was traced to an improperly ad-
justed pyrite sweep that was allowing fuel
to accumulate in the mill windbox beneath
the table. Correction of this issue resulted
in trouble-free operation, highlighting the
critical need to ensure that high volatile mat-
ter wood fuel is not allowed to accumulate
in this area.
Operation with wet fuel also has a nega-
tive impact on the capacity of the mill. Ex-
perience has demonstrated that the stability
and capacity of the pulverizer is quite sensi-
tive to the ability of the mill to expeditiously
grind fuel and transfer it to the outlet pipes
with little or no fuel recirculation. The higher
density of wet fuel particles and a lower mill
26
1803PE_26 26
Modified Pulverizer Airflow Curve
18
Primary air flow (kg /s)
16
14
12
10
0 2 4 6
Fuel flow (kg /s)
body velocities caused by higher density
(colder) air can both contribute to fuel ac-
cumulating in the grinding zone. This in
turn has been seen to limit the capacity of
the mill via excessive mill differential pres-
sure or motor current. Promoting better
drying and a higher mill outlet temperature
is key to maintaining the capacity and sta-
bility of the mills with wet fuel.
As discussed earlier, even with the re-
moval of the discharge skirt, the position
of the classifier vanes has been confirmed
to impact the performance of the mills
when firing advanced wood pellets. Open-
ing the classifier vanes slightly – from
position 4 to 3 – has resulted in additional
margin for the mills when handling wet
fuel and has had only a minor impact on
pulverized fuel fineness.
Perhaps the single largest physical change
from the first test burn to the full converted
unit is the modification of the mill throat
area to increase velocity in this region while
using air flows closer to the design case. Re-
covering some of the additional primary air
flow has reduced the burner tip velocities,
promoting better flame attachment while
maintaining the same bright, clear furnace
environment.
The final operational configuration of
the mills employs a slightly higher primary
air flow curve and a classifier vane position
that is more open. Both of these adjustments
provide additional margin when operating
with wet fuel and give the operators flexibility
at maximum unit loads to operate with ei-
ther four or five mills in service.
3
8 10
START UP ON BIOMASS FUEL
Operations heats up the furnace and raises
pressure with auxiliary light oil firing as nor-
mal. The current practice also includes firing
until the furnace exit gas temperature crosses
a threshold value determined during com-
missioning. An infrared temperature meter
is employed for this purpose. The combi-
nation of a sufficiently hot furnace environ-
ment and the use of lower mill elevations
for the first biomass mills in service has re-
sulted in excellent results.
FULL LOAD PERFORMANCE
As a peaking unit, Thunder Bay Unit 3 is
usually required to operate at the low end
of its load range. However, when called
upon to operate at full load, the unit has
demonstrated the capability to easily gener-
ate at the full (original coal) nameplate ca-
pacity. Table 8 includes a set of operating
data from one such campaign.
This run was conducted in September
2015 and consumed fuel from deliveries in
the fall of 2014. The pellets were handled
and fired without incident but the long pe-
riod of outdoor storage did increase the
moisture content, resulting in an artificially
high total fuel flow. Also, the relatively ele-
vated value for excess oxygen is a require-
ment of the stations’ environmental permit
when firing biomass fuel. This value has
been demonstrated to be conservative and
could be lowered in practice.
The main steam temperature is seen to
increase to the design value. However, the
hot reheat figure is still almost 20ºC below
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 the optimal value. Maximizing the reheat with low pollutant levels. CO production hydrocarbons (PAH), dioxins and furans.
temperature is not necessarily a priority for was actually increased during this run to Similar to the case with mercury emis-
operations but would likely require optimi- allow for a better check of the continuous sions, many of these trains were analyzed
zation of the burner tilts angles and perhaps emission monitoring system. and found to be below the detection lim-
some level of fuel biasing in the furnace. The results for NOx are the closest to the its for their respective methods. Only
Opacity performance on the advanced ECA limit but still comfortably below the those results above the detection limit
wood pellet fuel has always been excellent. threshold. It should be noted that this level were used and reported, resulting in a
The hot-side precipitators installed as conservative analysis. All of the re-
original equipment at Thunder Bay Full Load Performance Table 8 sults in this area are well below ex-
handle the flyash very well. It is as- isting regulatory limits.
sumed that reducing the excess air level Parameter Value
at full load to a more typical value GREENHOUSE
would offer the opportunity to reduce
Gross Electrical Load 161 MWe GAS IMPACT
opacity even further. Mills in Service ABCDE The stack emissions profile offers many
Aside from the previously dis- Fuel Flow 26.8 kg/s advantages over the baseline coal case,
cussed issues with CO production on especially in the areas of acid gas emis-
Excess Oxygen 4.0 % vol. (wet)
the initial biomass mill start, CO sions and mercury. However, the main
emissions have also been good. The Main Steam Temperature 537 ºC driver for displacing coal with biomass
combination of good pulverized fuel Hot Reheat Steam Temperature 519 ºC fuels is the net reduction in greenhouse
fineness and high volatile matter re- Stack Opacity 5.9 % gas (GHG) emissions. A full accounting
sults in excellent combustion condi- of the GHG footprint of a station firing
tions, including a clear furnace and
Stack CO 18 ppmv a given fuel requires a life cycle ap-
the elimination of secondary com- proach, where the impacts of upstream
bustion and burning carryover. of performance has been achieved without fuel production and delivery are considered,
the benefit of any in-furnace or post-combus- in addition to the base GHG intensity during
EMISSIONS PERFORMANCE tion NOx controls. Experience with biomass operation. OPG supported a peer-reviewed
In November 2016, the first source test (stack units in Europe has indicated that OFA and study of the life cycle analysis for the use of
emissions and dispersion modelling) was SCR systems are effective NOx reduction tech- advanced wood pellets at Thunder Bay to
completed on Thunder Bay Unit 3 firing niques with wood firing, so several paths define and understand the issues at hand.
advanced wood pellet fuel. This testing was towards further progress in this area are Both pellet cases assume that the biogenic
conducted in accordance with the station available. CO2 emissions during combustion are even-
environmental permit and also serves to tually balanced by uptake in the forests and
provide the first complete accounting of the MERCURY, SO2 AND FINE therefore, do not contribute to atmospheric
emissions profile for the converted unit. PARTICULATE EMISSIONS GHG levels. In this respect, only non-CO2
The results from the source test program Mercury, sulphur and PM 10/2.5 emissions GHG (CH4, N2O) are considered at the
were used to demonstrate compliance with are all also current issues in the power point of use, resulting in a minor contribu-
the pollutant criteria set forth in the stations’ sector. The nature of the feedstock (clean tion to the GHG footprint. All cases include
Amended Environmental Compliance Ap- forestry) yields the expected results for fuel production, fuel transportation to site
proval (ECA, air permit). both mercury and SO2 emissions. The and point of use combustion.
Particulate emissions have been a sig- fine particulate results are also very favour-
nificant concern in industry, particularly able, the product of a low ash fuel, good CONCLUSION
when older technology, such as wood combustion and particulate collection The conversion of Thunder Bay Unit 3 from
waste combustors (beehive burners) are performance with the existing coal to advanced wood pellet firing is the
employed. The combination of a suspen- equipment. first such project in the world. This project
sion combustion system with a utility The majority of the test samples for confirms the ability to execute a low capital
scale precipitator has resulted in excellent mercury were actually below the detection cost conversion project by leveraging the
TSP results at Thunder Bay. limit of the approved method. Only those unique properties of these new second
As discussed earlier, CO emissions have results above the detection limit were used generation biomass fuels. The Thunder
been very good on the converted unit, in the calculations and reported. Bay case study has demonstrated the po-
typically in the range of 20 ppm at stable tential for utilities to execute similar proj-
load. Auditing very low pollutant levels METALS, PAH, ects to repurpose existing coal assets using
has become problematic, as the required DIOXINS AND FURANS advanced biomass fuels as a means of
accuracy and repeatability is a challenge The program also included triplicate test- increasing their portfolio of dispatchable,
for the stack monitors when operating ing of metals, polycyclic aromatic renewable power.

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1803PE_27 27 2/26/18 11:54 AM

 HEADLINE
PLANT PERFORMANCE
RUNNING
Excellence Through
Data-Driven Insight
BY PATRICK STIFF AND MARK SCHERLUEBBE
Editor’s Note: This article was published in EY’s Utilities Unbundled
publication and that it has been reprinted with WEC Energy Group’s
permission.
Wisconsin Energy was already one of North America’s largest
electric and natural gas delivery companies but as far back as the
early 2000s, its aging infrastructure made executives feel vulner-
able. To position the company for the future, they invested US$3b
in new power plants with a total capacity of 2,800 megawatts,
US$1.3b to upgrade existing power plants and US$2.7b to upgrade
the distribution system. Their Power the Future campaign began
in 2003 with the installation of two natural-gas-fueled com-
bined-cycle units to replace the 80+ year-old coal plant at Port
Washington, WI and two new coal-fueled super-critical generating
28
1803PE_28 28
units at Oak Creek in Milwaukee County.
All the new units had advanced emissions
controls.
Just a decade later, and despite the ac-
quisition of Integrys Energy Group, exec-
utives at the newly named WEC Energy
Group (WEC) concluded that the genera-
tion portfolio that they had believed would
keep the 4.4 million-customer utility com-
mercially, economically, and environmen-
tally viable until 2020-2030 needed an
upgrade. With concern about greenhouse
gases rising, low gas prices undermining
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the economics of their coal units, and de-
mand for energy weaker than previously
forecast, the only way to grow the company
would be from within, by raising WEC’s
operational game.
HEADING TOWARD
THE TOP
In the Top Quartile by 2020 (TQ-20) cam-
paign, WEC executives set an ambitious
goal to raise the company to the top quar-
tile of US utilities in power plant opera-
tions, diagnostics, and planning and
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
1803PE_29 29
Author
Patrick Stiff is vice president of Coal Gen-
eration and Biomass at We Energies. Mark
Scherluebbe is senior manager of Power
& Utilities Advisory, Strategy, at EY.
maintenance by 2020.
“TQ-20 is really an effort for us to get a firm grip on the
things that we can do that can make us more attractive in the
market by controlling our operation and maintenance (O&M)
expenses, and increase the overall availability of our generating
units” explains Patrick Stiff, VP of Coal Generation and Biomass
for We Energies, in the Milwaukee-headquartered utility, and
subsidiary of WEC.
Fulfilling TQ-20 would require a deeper understanding of
how the business operated, stronger benchmarking, experts to
analyze the new data and most importantly, a deep commitment
to change, according to Stiff. The company planned to take
advantage of the new power of machine-to-machine connectivity
and remote sensors to understand how every element of the
operation’s generation fleet performs. They hoped to take this
new trove of data and analyze it to find opportunities to improve
performance and uptime, reduce cost and raise overall business
efficiency.
The TQ-20 plan entailed:
• Better benchmarks. The TQ-20 team looked at a variety of
sources, including the Electric Power Research Institute, the
Palo Alto-based US electric power industry research center,
for ideas of how We Energies could improve. “In many cases,
we thought we were best practice. When we looked at what
others were doing we saw many opportunities to learn, in
addition to what we already were doing well, that could
cause us to be better positioned to control our costs,” Stiff
says. The new benchmarks gave them a number of fresh
insights they continue to find helpful. “These days, we’re
comparing ourselves to industry benchmarks such as planned
outage factor (POF), equivalent availability factor (EAF) and
equivalent forced outage factor (EFOF). We previously didn’t
pay much attention to comparing ourselves to peer bench-
marks around these,” he says.
• More experts. The team identified strong external and internal
experts to analyze operations considering this additional
new data, to try to understand where the systems and pro-
cesses could be optimized.
We Energies specifically sought out experts to develop ad-
vanced work planning processes that helped the company
utilize its field crews more effectively. They also monitored We
Energies’ coal fleet in Wisconsin, offering diagnostics whenever
they saw an opportunity for improvement. Finally, they helped
them implement EPRI’s System and Equipment Reliability
Prioritization (SERP), which We Energies executives believe
will enable the company to achieve significant improvements
in reliability and cost management.
The internal experts – a select group of junior, middle and
senior managers – not only helped analyze the fleet’s operations,
but played a crucial role in educating staff about the advantages
of the new operational methods.
29
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 PLANT PERFORMANCE
In Stiff’s view, their outreach, especially form the executive
level, made a tremendous difference to the employees’ degree
of acceptance to the new processes, procedures and tools being
implemented. “I really believe that our being out in the power
plants in front of large groups talking about the initiative on
a regular basis has been critical to our success in terms of having
people be informed,” he says.
But actions mattered too: one key aspect was a promise to
let a staff reduction that is a part of the overall TQ-20 plan
occur entirely by attrition. This has helped ensure that the
employees’ incentives stay aligned with the company’s interests,
according to Stiff.
A CHANGED GAME
Two years later, TQ-20 is starting to take hold. Stiff says that
after visiting many top-quartile utilities, they have made sig-
nificant structural advances. “One of the things we learned in
best practice visits, watching what top quartile companies were
doing, was that they were paying extremely close attention to
the condition of their equipment,” Stiff explains.
AN EQUIPMENT REGISTRAR
Top quartile companies created a central location to track the
condition of all their equipment. Creating their own central
tracking center will help We Energies make more strategic
maintenance decisions and reduce outages. New metrics revealed
a relatively large commitment to planned outages, and Stiff
knew that driving outage days down through better management
30
1803PE_30 30
The Oak Creek coal-fired power plant, owned and operated by
We Energies, occupies 1,000 acres of land on the shore of Lake
Michigan, 20 miles south of Milwaukee.
would be a significant opportunity for
greater efficiency and effectiveness. Most
leading companies have planned outages
rates around 7 percent. “Historically we
had been in the high teens or as high as
20 percent in a couple of years recently,”
Stiff recalls.
Over the next three or four years, he
hopes to “compress the amount of time
that we have units out of service for
planned work, get more work done, and
get the right work done during those out-
ages such that our availability goes up.”
A new attitude to maintenance Overall,
the TQ-20 team realized they needed to
be more strategic about their attitudes
toward maintenance. A new data-driven
understanding of the life cycle of machin-
ery, including realtime insights into wear-
and-tear, has given them more insight
into what was wearing out so that main-
tenance can be scheduled more efficiently.
These insights have also shown that re-
pairing non-critical equipment can be
inefficient and that it can be more cost
effective to hold off on repairs and instead
replace those components at the end of
their useful life. Further, they found that
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 11:57 AM
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 PLANT PERFORMANCE
“We are
committed to
best practice companies
focus their time and ef-
staying the course
forts on the most critical here and seeing
equipment, a practice
that yields greater sys-
all the things that
tem reliability and cost we’ve envisioned
savings, and they made
a strategic decision to to take place be
follow suit. implemented.”
Letting their expert
partners monitor their real-time data also
revealed many other opportunities.
“We’ve been working with them for over
a year now and they’ve been very instru-
mental and helpful to us in identifying
conditions in our power plants before
they become critical,” says Stiff.
“They’ve provided us many insights
that we believe have saved us millions of
dollars,” Stiff adds.
“Some of these items have been very
specific. For example, during the coastdown
for a planned outage of one of our turbines
recently, one of our partner’s performance
optimization center noticed a very small
spike in the temperature on one of the tur-
bine bearings. It didn’t alarm in the control
room – it hadn’t reached a level that would
trigger a local alarm. And those guys
brought that to our attention. We looked
at the information that they shared with us
and decided that we would take a look at
that bearing. When we opened up the
32
1803PE_32 32
The Presque Isle power plant occupies 65 acres of land on the
shore of Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan.
bearing it had actually
been partially wiped at
the point of contact due
to friction.”
Repairing that bear-
ing early, before it had
time to damage the
whole turbine, saved
the company money
and assured unit reli-
ability. “That’s one example of what they’ve
been able to do for us, things that we oth-
erwise wouldn’t have done for ourselves
because we didn’t have the bandwidth to
do it, we just didn’t have the folks to do it,”
Stiff says.
Workforce management Not all the
changes were mechanical. To handle main-
tenance more strategically, they decided to
give the task of planning and scheduling
to managers. “We went full circle and came
back to having a planning and scheduling
workforce that is solely management em-
ployees,” he says.
“We used to have a mix of represented
employees and management employees
doing that work, but we found that we had
not given those employees the correct tools
and the correct amount of time and room
to do those jobs very effectively,” he says.
Now, they are going back to the strategy
used in the 1970s and 1980s when man-
agers performed the planning and
scheduling. “We believe long term that’s
going to help us perform better, by giving
them better tools such that they can perform
at an even higher level” Stiff says. They also
plan to track the scheduling data, which
should yield ideas for even more scheduling
opportunities.
A DETERMINATION TO WIN
This year, Stiff stepped back from day-to-day
management of TQ-20 by assigning a man-
ager to those duties, confident that his team
is still on the right path. “We’re just starting
to see people hit their stride in terms of
making those jobs their own and making
them work. So we’re really in this phase
right now of starting to see a lot of things
come together.” He receives weekly team
updates and is very pleased with the con-
tinued focus and progress.
But he emphasizes that his short distance
from the day-to-day campaign is not a sign
that TQ-20 is any less important now.
“This is the single most important ini-
tiative going on in our business unit right
now,” Stiff said. “We are committed to
staying the course here and seeing all the
things that we’ve envisioned to take place
be implemented, adjusting where we need
to and keeping our promises to our senior
leadership team and to our employees
that we’re going to make the changes that
we need to make.”
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2/26/18 11:57 AM
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 HEADLINE
WATER MANAGEMENT
RUNNING

34 WWW.POWER-ENG.COM

1803PE_34 34 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 Author
Josh Prusakiewicz is a chemical engineer for HDR,
Inc., where he serves as project manager and lead/staff
engineer. Robert Kasch is a water treatment specialist
at Alliant Energy, focusing on process water and waste
treatment streams. Heidi Gauthier is senior generation
system specialist for Alliant Energy in Wisconsin. John
Lee is senior engineer and a specialist at Alliant Energy,
focused on power plant cycle chemistry, chemical
utilization and water treatment. Phong Nguyen is
senior engineer and a thermal performance engineer
at Alliant Energy, specializing in HRSG thermal per-
formance engineering.

Development of a Water
Conservation Plan for a
Wisconsin Utility
BY JOSH PRUSAKIEWICZ, ROBERT KASCH, HEIDI
GAUTHIER, JOHN LEE, AND PHONG NGUYEN

Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), a wholly

owned subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation, sub-
mitted a Water Conservation Plan (WCP) under the
requirements of Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (WDNR) Chapter 852 – Water Conservation
and Water Use Efficiency. The WCP covered WPL’s
existing Riverside Energy Center (REC), existing Rock
River Generating Station (ROR), Southern Area Beloit
Operations, and future West Riverside Energy Center
(WREC), which is planned to be in operation in 2019.
The four facilities on WPL property near Beloit,
Wisconsin (collectively, referred to as the Riverside
Site). The WCP outlined current and future measures
to conserve water at each facility. HDR, Inc. was
retained by WPL to aide in the development of the
WCP and serves as WPL’s Owner’s Engineer for a
variety of projects at the Riverside Site. The WCP was
submitted in October 2015 and was approved by
the state in June 2016.

Scenic view of Alliant Energy’s
Riverside Energy Center.
PURPOSE OF PLAN
The purpose of the WCP was to outline water conser-
vation practices to ensure water conservation and ef-
ficiency measures were addressed in accordance with
Wisconsin Administrative Code (WAC) Chapter NR
852 for the Riverside Site. The WCP also supported the
Application for Water Loss Permit Modification for
WPL’s existing REC natural gas combined cycle (NGCC)
facility, existing ROR natural gas peaking generation
plant, Southern Area Beloit Operations, and the future
WREC NGCC facility.

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1803PE_35 35 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 WATER MANAGEMENT
Power block at Alliant’s
Riverside Energy Center.
The WCP summarized current water
conservation measures in place as well as
established potential future measures under
consideration for each of WPL’s power gen-
eration facilities at the Riverside Site. Build-
ing on water conservation measures imple-
mented during plant design and operation
of the REC and ROR, WPL evaluated effi-
ciency measures and programs to achieve
long-term water conservation practices at
each existing facility that may be incorpo-
rated into the design of the future WREC.
BACKGROUND
The future WREC facility is a nominal 650-
MW NGCC electrical generating facility,
with a planned in-service date of 2019. The
36
1803PE_36 36
“The ROR facility
withdraws
water from the
existing REC is a nominal 600 MW NGCC
nearby Rock
facility that has been in operation since River, where
2004. The existing ROR facility consists of
demolished generating units and 130 MW water is used
peaking units, which are located on the east
portion of the ROR property.
for the facility’s
An existing horizontal collector well heat rejection
(HCW) provides makeup water to REC,
which mainly serves to supply water used system.”
in the facility’s mechanical draft cooling
tower as well as other miscellaneous water
losses that occur during the power genera-
tion process. An increased withdrawal from
the HCW is proposed for operation of
WREC, such that the HCW can provide
makeup water to both the future WREC
and the existing REC. The increase would
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2/26/18 11:57 AM

result in a water loss averaging more than
2,000,000 gallons per day in any 30-day
period above the authorized base level in
the existing REC water loss permit. There-
fore, under WAC Chapter NR 142.06(1)(b)
and in accordance with Wisc. Stat. §281.35,
approval for modification of the existing
water loss permit is required. The ROR
facility withdraws water from the nearby
Rock River, where water is used for the fa-
cility’s heat rejection system (consisting of
a once-through cooling configuration). The
only water loss for the Southern Area Beloit
Operations is a small quantity of potable
water.
All three plants will discharge process
wastewater to the Rock River.
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
1803PE_37 37
DRIVERS FOR WATER
CONSERVATION
Various conservation efforts within WPL
are taking place and are being driven by
several factors, including the following:
• Demand for industrial water use is ex-
pected to grow over time and it can be
reduced through proper water manage-
ment, efficient utilization of water sup-
plies, minimization of wastewater pro-
duction, and recycling of various water
sources;
• Desire to conserve natural resources and
to promote environmental stewardship;
and
• Requirement to submit a Water Conser-
vation Plan to WDNR in accordance
with Wisc. Administrative Code Chapter
NR 852.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
WPL’s water conservation goals are to con-
serve, recycle and reduce average day water
usage at REC, ROR, the Southern Area Be-
loit Operations, and the future WREC
facilities.
To meet this goal, WPL’s plan
included:
• Complying with WAC Chapter NR 852;
• Developing strategic planning analysis
and implementation timelines in accor-
dance with NR 852;
• Promoting water conservation awareness
to company employees;
• Incorporating stakeholder input in the
evaluation of Water Conservation and
Efficiency Measures (CEMs); and
• Pursuing cost-effective and technically
feasible CEMs.
CONSERVATION AND
EFFICIENCY MEASURES
In order to develop a water conservation
plan, WPL had to implement and/or eval-
uate water CEMs at the facilities identified
as specified by WAC Chapter NR 852, Tables
1 and 2. The driver was to ensure that each
plant efficiently utilizes the water supply
source that such results in an overall water
savings. Water savings would not be gained
at the expense of other environmental
considerations.
As a part of the evaluation, existing water
mass balances were reviewed to determine
if any gaps were present. It was found that
some water flows were missing in the REC
water balance and therefore further plant
investigation was required in order to ob-
tain the essential water flows. Once the
information was gathered, the water mass
balance was updated for the WCP.
The team for the development of the
WCP consisted of existing WPL plant staff
including: plant manager, plant engineers,
plant operators, chemistry expert, environ-
mental staff, the WPL new plant develop-
ment team and HDR. During the process,
the existing plant went into an extended
outage, which slowed the progress of de-
velopment of the plan. However, in the
end, the team was able to compile the nec-
essary information and get valuable input
from the appropriate personnel to finish.
CEMS, NR 852
WAC Chapter NR 852 requires all Power
Production (PP) water users applying for a
Tier 3 water loss approval to provide doc-
umentation showing planned implemen-
tation of, or completion of, specified CEMs
that do not require retrofitting.
The CEMs in NR 852 that must be con-
sidered are broken into two tables: Table 1
indicates the mandatory CEMs that all PP
water users must implement and complete;
Table 2 indicates the required CEMs that
PP water users shall implement that do not
require retrofitting, except those CEMs that
are not cost-effective or environmentally
sound and economically feasible as deter-
mined by analysis conducted by the
applicant.
NR 852 TABLE 1 CRITERIA
The CEMs listed in Table 1 of NR 852 are
mandatory measures that a water loss per-
mit applicant must show documentation
indicating implementation and comple-
tion. The following is a list of the mandatory
CEMs in NR 852.04, Table 1 and the re-
quired elements for each:
1. PP-1, Water Use Audit
a. Conduct a water use audit, determine
water inflow and outflow from the
facility and prepare written documen-
tation of the audit results. Facilities
shall identify once-through processes
in the audit report.
37
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 WATER MANAGEMENT
2. PP-2, Leak Detection and Repair
Program
a. Establish a protocol to repair leaks
in a timely manner. Conduct a sur-
vey of leaks and develop a corrective
action plan.
3. PP-3, Information and Education
a. Develop and deliver training to edu-
cate employees on the implementa-
tion of water conservation and effi-
ciency measures at the facility.
Information and education materials
shall be made available to the
department.
4. PP-4, Source Measurement
a. Measure or estimate all water with-
drawals monthly or more frequently
to allow for identifying and under-
standing variability in water use over
time.
The mandatory CEMs from Table 1 are
discussed in further detail in the following
sections.
PP-1, WATER USE AUDIT
WPL continuously monitors water con-
sumption and discharge at the REC and
ROR through the following activities:
• Measures, records, and reports monthly
in a Discharge Monitoring Report
(DMR) all water that is withdrawn from
the groundwater aquifer at REC;
• Measures and records all water that is
withdrawn from the Rock River at ROR;
• Measures and records all water that is
used in water treatment processes at
REC; and
• Measures and records all process waste-
water discharge to the Rock River at
REC and ROR. REC reports monthly
on DMR.
Water from a HCW is used as makeup
for the plant cooling system, service water
system, and cycle makeup treatment system
at both REC and the future WREC. Water
will be lost from both plants by way of cool-
ing tower evaporation, cooling tower blow-
down, combustion turbine inlet cooling
evaporation, and miscellaneous steam sys-
tem losses. Water is reused within each plant
if water quality is adequate for supply re-
quirements. REC recycles oil/water separator
effluent and heat recovery steam generator
(HRSG) blowdown back to the cooling tower
38
1803PE_38 38
for makeup if quality is acceptable. REC uti-
lizes an existing on-site potable water well
for domestic water use and the future WREC
facility will install a new potable water well
for domestic water
needs. “WPL actively
The ROR utilizes
Rock River water for manages the
once-through cooling facility by replacing
in its heat rejection
system for turbine lube and/or repairing
oil cooling and dis-
charges the same
damaged or
amount of water back degraded plant
to the river. Minimal
water is lost through piping system
this process. The only components.”
water loss from ROR
is a small quantity of domestic water that
is supplied from WPL’s Beloit Operations
Center potable well adjacent to the plant.
Table 1 provides the maximum estimated
water withdrawal, water loss and wastewater
discharge each year at each facility and the
combined facilities flow. WPL used the ex-
isting plants’ heat and water mass balances
in addition to the WREC design heat and
water mass balances to calculate the water
flows and evaluate reuse/recycle at each
plant. It should be noted that the annual
average values are conservatively based on
a 100 percent capacity factor for all facilities
to ensure there are no operating
limitations.
The data presented above was assumed
to be a suitable replacement for an actual
water loss audit. The water use (withdrawal
– discharge) intensity for the combined
plants is estimated to be ~217 gallons /
megawatt ((10.47 MGD – 3.25 MGD) /
(1380 MW x 24 hrs)). This understanding
has helped WPL identify measures to min-
imize water consumption. For instance,
REC will be evaluating how they can operate
their cooling tower at higher cycles of con-
centration which will reduce the amount
of makeup water supply to the tower.
PP-2, LEAK DETECTION AND
REPAIR PROGRAM
WPL actively performs on-site walkdowns
to monitor the water use throughout both
the existing REC and ROR facilities and to
identify any leaks that may develop. To
minimize leaks, WPL actively manages the
facility by replacing and/or repairing dam-
aged or degraded plant piping system com-
ponents as necessary. However, WPL plans
to modify their existing
“Leak Detection” pro-
tocol within the next 12
months to improve
upon and formally doc-
ument the existing
monitoring program.
The program will in-
clude items such as
who will perform the
leak surveys, frequency
of surveys, instructions
for surveyors, corrective
action plans, and will
establish a maintenance schedule if a repair
is required.
The future WREC will adopt a similar
leak detection and repair program as REC.
PP-3, INFORMATION
AND EDUCATION
WPL currently trains employees on plant
operations and procedures at REC and ROR
including information regarding operation
of the plant water systems. As a result of the
study, the plant plans to develop, imple-
ment, and provide additional informational
materials for specific site training to con-
tinue to educate its employees on water
conservation and efficiency measures. This
training will be incorporated into plant
employee training.
The future WREC plant plans to incor-
porate the same water conservation training
and materials as identified above.
PP-4, SOURCE
MEASUREMENT
As previously noted, WPL monitors the
water withdrawal and wastewater discharge
on a daily basis at the REC and ROR. The
future WREC plans to have flow monitoring
incorporated into the design of the plant.
WPL uses this information to understand
the water use variability over time and to
identify when changes may have occurred.
The information will also be useful to trend
water usage which will help WPL develop
and implement water conservation mea-
sures to incur water savings.
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 Water Withdrawal, Water Loss,
and Wastewater Discharge for the Site
Month Water Withdrawl Water Loss
Annual Avg. (MGD) Annual Avg. (MGD) Annual Avg. (MGD)
Existiing REC 5.60
Existing ROR 1.18
Future WREC 3.69
Combined Site 10.47
When WPL develops and implements
future CEMs for the Riverside Site, a mon-
itoring plan for the implemented CEMs
will be developed to assess the impact to
the facility water use.
NR 852 TABLE 2 CRITERIA
The stipulations of NR 852 requires that
the CEMs identified in NR 852 Table 2
must be evaluated and potentially retro-fit-
ted into the existing facilities at the Site.
The following is a list of the Table 2 CEMs
and the required elements for each:
1. PP-R1, Cooling Towers
a. Conduct an evaluation of the existing
cooling tower system operation. The
evaluation shall review all phases of
cooling tower operation including the
amount of water used for makeup
and release as blowdown, water qual-
ity characteristics, treatment applica-
tion and chemicals used, metering,
use of automated monitoring and
controls, repair and maintenance
schedules and procedures. A complete
evaluation will consider the installa-
tion of sub-meters to the cooling
tower makeup water line. Installation
of any new cooling towers shall in-
corporate the measures identified in
PP-R1.
2. PP-R2, Sub-measuring
a. Implement sub-measuring to account
for water usage in specific processes
to determine water use and loss in a
process and to identify additional
water efficiency goals.
3. PP-R3, Steam Systems
a. Implement steam system conservation
by assessing the system operation and
maintenance. Repair system leaks,
maximize condensate recovery, and
install continuous blowdown heat
recovery.
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1803PE_39 39
TABLE 1
Wastewater
Discharge
4.08 1.52
0.03 1.15
3.11 0.58
7.22 3.25
4. PP-R4, Water Reuse
a. Conduct a technical assessment to
evaluate the feasibility of water reuse.
Implement water reuse projects iden-
tified by the assessment and allowed
under current state law.
WPL performed an analysis of these
CEMs from a technical, economical, and
environmentally sound standpoint. WPL
has maintained the best practices and will
continue to do so on an ongoing basis into
the future. The following subsections de-
scribe the Table 2 CEMs, the required ele-
ments associated with each CEM, and how
WPL evaluated and implemented each
CEM into the facilities.
PP-R1, COOLING TOWERS
The team conducted an evaluation of the
existing REC cooling tower system in op-
eration for the WCP. The team’s evaluation
reviewed all of the required elements and
considered the installation of sub-meters
to the cooling tower makeup water line.
The installation of the new cooling tower
at WREC will incorporate the required el-
ements in PP-R1 (i.e. treatment, use of
metering, automated controls, etc).
The team evaluated how they could op-
erate their cooling towers at REC and WREC
at higher cycles of concentration which
would reduce the volume of makeup water
supply to the tower as well as the volume
of wastewater discharged from the plant.
The following sections summarize the re-
sults of the evaluation.
COOLING TOWER
TREATMENT
The existing REC plant currently operates
the cooling tower between 4-5 cycles of
concentration (COC) with untreated well
water fed as makeup to replace losses due
to evaporation, drift and blowdown.
However, in order to improve water con-
servation at the REC plant, the cooling
tower would have to operate at higher COC.
Two options were evaluated as a part of the
WCP in which the cooling tower could
increase its COC: 1) Pre-treat the well water
(cooling tower makeup) with a cold lime
softening system to reduce the hardness
concentrations or 2) Treat the circulating
water flow in a side-stream cold lime soft-
ening system to reduce the hardness
concentrations.
Both treatment systems detailed above
were studied for application at REC. The
results of the study found that both systems
would provide minimal economic and
environmental benefits. Both treatment
systems have high capital and operational
costs and do not remove specific water con-
stituents. One drawback of utilizing a soft-
ening treatment process to remove hardness
from the cooling tower circulating water is
that it will allow other constituents (i.e.
phosphorus) to enter the tower and cycle
up. This means that the tower blowdown
would be more concentrated with constit-
uents that were not treated for in the soft-
ening process. The cooling tower blowdown
for both REC and WREC would be dis-
charged to a combined outfall. The com-
bined wastewater discharges will have a
total maximum daily load (TMDL) mass
loading rate limit of 0.65 lb/day of total
phosphorus after WREC is operational, the
same limit that REC currently has. In order
to meet the total phosphorus wastewater
discharge permit limit at the outfall, a waste-
water treatment system would have to be
installed at REC to remove phosphorus.
The wastewater treatment system would
also be expensive to install and there would
be no economic or environmental advan-
tage to operate the system.
Since REC is a part of the overall River-
side Site, it was determined by WPL that
the future WREC would include raw water
pre-treatment cold lime softening system
on 100% of the cooling tower makeup to
increase the COC in the future cooling tow-
er to a minimum of 8 COC. The pre-treat-
ment system at WREC would also treat
service/fire water in order to reduce overall
Riverside Site water usage and wastewater
discharge. WREC will also include a
39
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 WATER MANAGEMENT
Cooling tower at Alliant’s Riverside
Energy Center.
wastewater treatment system that would reduce total phosphorus The existing flow metering
to the necessary level such that the combined discharges in the within the system allows WPL
outfall will not exceed 0.65 lb/day of total phosphorus. to have real-time data to make
Circulating Water Chemical Program rapid operational changes to
The chemicals currently utilized for circulating water treatment conserve makeup water flow
at REC include the following: and minimize cooling tower
• 12.5% Sodium Hypochlorite blowdown.
• 93% Sulfuric Acid
• Polymer/Dispersant AUTOMATED
• Scale/Corrosion Inhibitor MONITORING AND
The circulating water chemical treatment program is evaluated CONTROLS
frequently by WPL and their chemical vendor to ensure that cir- The cooling tower fans are op-
culating water quality and cycles of concentration are appropriate erated to have the outlet circu-
to meet wastewater discharge requirements. The current program lating water temperature ap-
achieves an optimal COC within the cooling tower. The cooling proach the ambient
tower chemistry is maintained by blowing down when the specific temperature. The remaining
conductivity reaches 2,800 uS/cm. cooling tower system, including
the makeup and blowdown
FLOW METERING streams, is fully automated and
The cooling tower well water makeup, quench water, and blow- includes the necessary controls
down streams all have flow metering devices that are tracked in to conserve water. The cooling
the plant distributed control system. Each of these meters has an tower makeup flow control
associated flow control valve which is adjusted based on specific valve is automatically adjusted
process parameters. based on cooling tower basin
During the team’s evaluation of the REC cooling tower, the level, measured by an ultrasonic
plant currently uses secondary makeup water sources. These in- level transmitter, and the blow-
clude: HRSG Blowdown Drain Sumps, Oil/Water Separator Clean down flow rate. The makeup
Effluent, Clean Chemical Building Sump, and Clean Water Treat- water valve is equipped with an
ment Building Sump. All of the secondary makeup water sources adjustable opening stop to limit
do not have flow metering. flow to 4,000 gallons per
40
1803PE_40 40
minute. The blowdown has a
flow meter and flow control
valve that is automatically mod-
ulated based on online moni-
tored blowdown water quality
(specific conductivity
setpoint).
REPAIR AND
MAINTENANCE
SCHEDULES AND
PROCEDURES
Inspection of the cooling tow-
er basin, tower structure, cool-
ing tower fans and fill material
occurs on a routine basis
throughout the year. Routine
repair and maintenance of the
cooling tower is scheduled
during planned outages. WPL
tracks all repair and mainte-
nance activities through a
logged work order list.
However, when an emergent
repair is required for a cooling
tower component during nor-
mal operation, WPL completes
the repair in a timely manner.
A major renovation project
was recently completed on the
REC cooling tower. In the fall
of 2016, the tower was over-
hauled with provisions for
plume abatement technology.
Internal and external modifica-
tions were completed to reduce
the visible plume emitted from
the top of the tower. Overall,
the renovation will produce
minimal water savings.
The remaining facilities at
the Riverside Site also incor-
porate cooling systems. The
ROR has a once-through cool-
ing system which does not
include a cooling tower; thus
all of the water withdrawn
from the Rock River is returned
with minimal water loss.
The future WREC wet, me-
chanical draft cooling tower
installation will incorporate
the measures identified in PP-
R1. Various other measures
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2/26/18 11:57 AM
 are being evaluated and could be poten-
tially implemented. The design of the
cooling tower includes a cold lime soft-
ening pre-treatment system to minimize
fresh water consumption and will also
have plume abatement.
PP-R2, SUB-MEASURING
Sub-measuring is defined as flow moni-
toring within the subsidiary water systems
of the plant. At both REC and ROR, the
team evaluated and considered imple-
mentation of sub-measuring on major
water lines where it was not already in-
stalled to account for water usage in spe-
cific processes. This activity would provide
both plants the ability to focus on internal
process water flows and may facilitate
further re-use/recycle of water within each
facility to increase water efficiency. Flow
monitoring devices are currently used on
the REC cooling tower makeup water line
and elsewhere throughout the facility.
Sub-measuring is currently performed at
wastewater discharge sample points.
SUB-MEASURING AT ROCK
RIVER GENERATING PLANT
The Rock River plant has water flow moni-
toring at the inlet and outlet of the non-con-
tact once-through cooling system as well as
a water meter for domestic water usage.
WPL continuously monitors water
consumption and discharge at ROR
through the following activities:
• Measures and records all water that is
withdrawn from the Rock River at ROR;
• Measures and records all process waste-
water discharge to the Rock River at
ROR;
• Measures and records all domestic
water supply to ROR.
All once-through cooling water that is
used for the peaking plant is returned to
the Rock River. There are no other water
users at the ROR, so no additional
sub-measuring was considered as a part
of this evaluation.
SUB-MEASURING AT
RIVERSIDE ENERGY
CENTER
Flow monitoring devices are currently
used in REC and are reported in a
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1803PE_41 41
monthly DMR as previously noted. The
water supply is used for makeup to the
service water treatment system, cycle
makeup water treatment system and the
cooling tower makeup. Sub-measuring is
also performed on Wisconsin Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (WPDES)
discharge sample points 101 and 102.
The following REC water streams have
sub-measuring devices to monitor flow
rate: Domestic Water Supply System, Raw
Water Supply System, Cycle Makeup Water
Treatment System, Demineralized Water
System, and the Wastewater System. Ad-
ditional sub-measuring was considered
for each recycle (secondary) cooling tower
makeup source within REC, but it would
be costly. Therefore, the plant relies on
sump pump design flow rate, pump stroke
and pump run time. Based on this infor-
mation, flow rates were determined and
total volume was calculated.
The evaluation showed that the existing
plants are adequately measuring water
flow. The future WREC facility has imple-
mented sub-measuring flow monitoring
on major internal water lines and is de-
signed such that high water efficiency is
maintained throughout the plant.
PP-R3, STEAM SYSTEMS
WPL staff conducted site investigations to
walkdown the steam systems at the existing
facilities; HDR did not participate in these
activities. WPL found that REC currently
has heat recovery steam generator (boiler)
continuous blowdown condensate recov-
ery incorporated in the plant and also
indicated that the future WREC plant will
incorporate it as well. Steam traps are also
incorporated throughout the various steam
systems within each plant so that as con-
densate is formed, it is captured and re-
turned to the condensate system. HRSG
blowdown is also captured and recycled
to the cooling tower to minimize water
loss from the system. WPL considers steam
leaks very serious and a hazardous envi-
ronment for plant employees, so they are
repaired in a timely manner.
The future WREC facility will have sim-
ilar steam conservation methods imple-
mented into the operation and mainte-
nance of its steam systems as noted above.
This is not applicable to the existing ROR
facility as it does not have a steam system
in operation.
PP-R4, WATER REUSE
As a result of the assessment, the team
found that the REC plant has been de-
signed and constructed with efficient
water reuse measures.
The WREC plant will incorporate water
reuse methods that are cost effective or
environmentally sound and economically
feasible. Heat recovery steam generator
blowdown and water treatment system
wastewater streams (reverse osmosis re-
ject) are planned to be routed to the
WREC cooling tower basin to be reused
in the cooling tower to reduce well water
supply requirements. Other water reuse
opportunities will be evaluated (such as
stormwater capture/treatment, landscape
irrigation and roadway wash-down) based
on the water quality characteristics of the
various internal water streams.
Additional water treatment equipment
may be required such that the identified
reuse streams can be utilized for other
purposes. If found to be feasible from an
economic and technical standpoint, WPL
will consider implementing water reuse
options in addition to what is already
planned for the future facility.
PP-R4 is not applicable to the existing
ROR facility since the only process water
used is for once through cooling. For this
application, the cooling water taken from
the Rock River is returned to the river.
CLOSING
The water conservation plan for the Riv-
erside Site was approved by the WDNR in
June of 2016 and since that time, WPL has
implemented water conservation and ef-
ficiency measures at each facility, including
in the design of the future WREC plant.
This progress WCP will serve as the guiding
framework for water conservation and
management at the REC, ROR, Southern
Area Beloit Operations and WREC facili-
ties. The WCP may evolve over time based
on continued investigation and evaluation
of current and future conservation efficien-
cy measures to align with WPL’s sustain-
able focus at the Riverside Site.
41
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
measurement for these two im-
purities has been cation conduc-
tivity, (or more properly termed,
conductivity after cation ex-
change [CACE] to emphasize the
fact that the sample is routed
through a cation resin column
to exchange all cations, e.g. am-
monium, sodium, calcium, etc.,
for hydrogen ions).
This ion exchange process
creates a sample of a dilute acid
solution of chloride and sulfate,
whose conductivity is then mea-
sured. An advancement that has
become popular is degasified
CACE, which utilizes a sample
Chloride/sulfate analyzer.
Photo courtesy: METTLER
reboiler or nitrogen sparging
TOLEDO Thornton. compartment to scrub CO2 from
the sample and minimize inter-
ference from this compound.
The common normal CACE
or degassed CACE limit for
steam is 0.2 µS/cm, but labora-
An Advancement
in Steam Turbine
Chemistry Monitoring
BY BRAD BUECKER tory data has shown that the
Even minor traces of chloride, sulfate, and sodium hydroxide can concentration of chloride and/
cause severe problems in steam systems, and especially turbines. or sulfate can be considerably
In the case of sodium hydroxide, stress corrosion cracking of turbine greater than 2 ppb with CACE
blades and rotors may occur very rapidly. Chloride and sulfate at the 0.2 µS/cm threshold. Thus,
salts deposit in the last rows of the LP turbine (the phase transition direct measurement of these
zone, PTZ) and can induce pitting that in turn leads to stress cor- troublesome impurities offers
rosion cracking and corrosion fatigue. significant advantages, and a
The Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) recommended new instrument is now available
steam sodium limit is 2 parts-per-billion (ppb), with a concentration to monitor trace concentrations
of 1 ppb “normally achievable in both drum and once-through (down to 0.5 ppb). The analyzer
units with good control of mechanical carryover or operating on combines two well-established
AVT or OT.” The 2 ppb limit also applies to chloride and sulfate, technologies to provide on-line
again with the understanding that concentrations should normally measurements of these ions –
be much lower. capillary electrophoresis to sep-
Reliable on-line sodium analyzers have been available for years, arate the ions and conductivity
but trace chloride and sulfate monitoring has been more difficult. to measure and calculate their
Ion chromatography is a valid technique, but the instrumentation concentration.
is expensive and requires much operator attention. The surrogate A sample and a known
42
1803PE_42 42
reagent are collected in a car-
tridge with a capillary, and volt-
age is applied across the car-
tridge. The ions in the mixture
start separating and moving
through the capillary towards
respective electrodes at the ends
of the capillary, thus causing
separation of ions. Based on the
size-to-charge ratio, different
ions move at different speeds,
forming clusters of each ion as
they flow towards the electrode.
Each cluster of ions passes a
conductivity sensor on the car-
tridge just before they reach the
electrode, and the sensor records
a measurement based on the
concentration of the ion. By
comparing the measurement for
the ions with the measurement
for the known reagent, the ana-
lyzer calculates the concentra-
tion of the ions in ppb. This
measurement can be repeated
as frequently as every 13 min-
utes, drawing a fresh sample
each time.
This ability to accurately
monitor trace concentrations of
chloride and sulfate offers an
excellent enhancement to steam
monitoring capabilities. Look-
ing towards the future, company
personnel have been asked if the
instrument capabilities could be
expanded to analyze for other
trace compounds, most notably
two of the primary decomposi-
tion products, formate and ace-
tate, that are generated in steam
boilers if any organic com-
pounds (neutralizing or filming
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2/26/18 11:57 AM

amines) are employed for pH
control and corrosion protec-
tion. Research is underway, but
a definitive answer is not yet
available.
WHAT ABOUT THE
REST OF THE STEAM
GENERATING
NETWORK?
While protection of the steam
system and turbine is extremely
important, maintaining proper
chemistry in the other sections
of the steam generator is also
vital to minimize corrosion and
fouling. Impurity ingress from
condenser tube leaks or mal-
functioning makeup water sys-
tems can introduce impurities,
including our old friends, chlo-
ride and sulfate, that can cause
rapid damage in conventional
boilers and HRSG evaporators.
Poor condensate/feedwater
chemistry control will induce
corrosion that not only can
cause catastrophic failures
(flow-accelerated corrosion,
FAC) within these systems, but
introduce corrosion products to
the boilers that then precipitate
on waterwall tubes and influ-
ence corrosion chemistry. So,
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
1803PE_43 43
with those themes in mind, the
following sections outline
guidelines for continuous sam-
pling of the other systems with-
in the steam generator
MAKEUP
TREATMENT SYSTEM
The core process of most power
plant makeup water systems is
reverse osmosis (RO) followed
by either mixed-bed ion ex-
change (MBIX) or electrodeion-
ization (EDI) to “polish” the
RO effluent to meet utility
steam generator requirements.
RO units typically are equipped
with a number of instruments
to monitor system performance,
including pressure, temperature,
flow, and specific conductivity.
We will focus upon the recom-
mended analyses of the final
effluent from either a MBIX or
EDI polisher.
Note: In this and several of
the following sections, the nor-
mal limit for each parameter is
included.
• Specific conductivity: ≤0.1
µS/cm
• Silica: ≤10 parts per
billion (ppb)
• Sodium: ≤2 ppb
Particle monitor. Photo
courtesy: CHEMTRAC
Author
Brad Buecker is senior technical publicist
at ChemTreat.
Control within these guidelines ensures that high-pu-
rity water is being distributed to the steam generator.
A rise in any of the values indicates that either the MBIX
resin has reached exhaustion or that a failure has oc-
curred in the EDI unit. Prompt corrective action is
necessary.
Often the design specifications for new plants call
for continuous pH monitoring of makeup system ef-
fluent, but pH measurement of high purity water is
very difficult. The analyses listed above are sufficient
for evaluating process conditions.
CONDENSATE PUMP DISCHARGE
Condensate pump discharge (CPD) is an absolutely
critical monitoring point, particularly for systems with
water-cooled condensers, as this is the most likely source
for major condensate contamination. A condensate
polisher will provide a buffer against contaminant
ingress, but unfortunately polishers are often not con-
sidered necessary for drum units, when in fact they can
be of great benefit.
RECOMMENDED CPD ANALYSES
ARE:
• CACE or degassed CACE: ≤0.2 µS/cm
• Specific Conductivity: Consistent with pH
• Sodium: ≤2 ppb
• Dissolved Oxygen: ≤20 ppb
• pH: 9.6 to 10.0 (This is the pH range for triple-pres-
sure feed-forward low-pressure [FFLP] HRSGs, where
the LP circuit basically serves as a feedwater heater
for the intermediate-pressure (IP) and high-pressure
(HP) evaporators. The range may be a bit lower for
other HRSG designs.)
Sodium monitoring is very effective for detecting
condenser tube leaks. With a tight condenser, sodium
levels in the condensate should be below 2 ppb, and
in many cases less than 1 ppb. Excursions of course
suggest a leaking tube(s).
As with sodium, a rise in CACE indicates impurity
in-leakage, although this measurement is also influ-
enced by carbon dioxide ingression, typically via air
in-leakage at the condenser. The CACE limit of 0.2
µS/cm is a standard requirement for implementation
of all-volatile treatment oxidizing [AVT(O)] chem-
istry, which is the best choice for condensate/feed-
water systems that do not have copper alloys (virtu-
ally all HRSG systems have no copper alloy
components). No longer is oxygen scavenger feed
recommended in all-ferrous systems, as this chem-
istry can induce flow-accelerated corrosion in HRSG
low-pressure and intermediate-pressure economizers
and evaporators, and attemperator lines.
Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) monitoring is important
43
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE
for evaluating condenser air in-leakage. A sudden increase in D.O.
may indicate a structural or equipment failure in the condenser
shell, at penetrations to the condenser, or even at remote locations
such as the gland steam condenser. However, some air in-leakage
is desired, as it provides the oxygen necessary for AVT(O) chemistry.
In this regard, the D.O. normal limit was increased from 10 ppb
to 20 ppb several years ago.
Previously we noted that pH measurement of high-purity water
is difficult, and is not practical for demineralizer effluent. While
direct pH monitoring is recommended for condensate and feed-
water, the measurement is still difficult. However, in the absence
of significant condenser air in-leakage, ammonia concentration,
pH, and specific conductivity (S.C.) are directly related. S.C. is a
very reliable measurement, and thus is normally utilized to control
ammonia feed and pH in the condensate and feedwater.
LP ECONOMIZER INLET/BOILER
FEED PUMP DISCHARGE
These samples are necessary to monitor the feedwater before it
enters the evaporators to ensure that the chemistry is being properly
controlled to minimize FAC. Additionally, the measurements
provide backup to those of the condensate pump discharge.
Recommended feedwater/economizer analyses are:
• CACE: ≤0.2 µS/cm
• S.C: Consistent with pH
• Sodium: ≤2 ppb
• Dissolved Oxygen (range): 5 to 10 ppb
• pH: 9.6 to 10.0 (This is the pH range for FFLP HRSGs. The
range may be a bit lower for other HRSG designs.)
• Iron: ≤2 ppb
The discussion for CACE, S.C., pH, and sodium mirrors that
for the condensate pump discharge, and also the first three, along
Integrated corrosion
product sampler. Photo
courtesy: Sentry
44
1803PE_44 44
Spectrophotometer. Not shown is the sample digestion equipment to convert
particulate iron to soluble iron for total iron analysis. Photo courtesy: Hach
with dissolved oxygen, are critical measurements for AVT(O)
chemistry.
The reader will note the inclusion of iron in this set of parameters.
Iron monitoring provides a direct measure of flow-accelerated
corrosion and the effectiveness of the feedwater chemistry program.
Typically, 90 percent or greater of iron corrosion products generated
by FAC are particulate in nature. Several methods exist to monitor
steel corrosion, and include:
• Continuous particulate monitoring
• Corrosion product sampling
• Grab sample analysis
A particulate monitor simply measures particle count in real
time, and does not chemically differentiate what those particles
might be. But, in high-purity feedwater systems, and in the absence
of any copper alloy components, virtually all of the particles will
be iron oxide.
A corrosion product sampler utilizes both a filter and ion ex-
change resin to capture suspended and dissolved iron. (It can also
capture other metals including copper, if necessary.) After a des-
ignated run time, where the instrument also has a flow totalizer,
analyses of the filter and ion exchange resin reveal the amount of
metal captured. Straightforward calculations determine the cor-
rosion rate over the period of time the sample was collected.
Finally, improved grab sampling techniques are available, in
which, with proper sample treatment, iron measurements down
to 1 ppb are possible. This method can provide near real-time data
of corrosion rates, although on a snapshot basis.
Iron monitoring is often also recommended for CPD and boiler
water samples to determine corrosion rates in other locations.
With the on-line instruments, some form of sample sequencing
can be arranged. Grab samples for each location can obviously be
collected at any time.
EVAPORATOR (BOILER) WATER
Evaporator water sampling is critical for two primary reasons. First,
whether the steam generator is an HRSG or conventional unit, the
highest heat fluxes occur within the boiler. Thus, the effects of
impurity ingress or poor chemistry are magnified by the high
temperatures and pressures in these circuits. This issue is magnified
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 by the fact that corrosion products from the feedwater system, most
notably iron oxides, tend to precipitate on boiler internals. Iron
oxide deposits are typically porous in nature, which allows impu-
rities to concentrate underneath the deposits and cause corrosion,
sometimes very severe, that would not occur otherwise.
Secondly, boiler water chemistry must be established and mon-
itored to ensure that steam purity matches the guidelines previously
shown. Excess impurities in the boiler water can lead to problematic
carryover to the steam circuits and turbine.
Recommended boiler water analyses include:
• pH (<8.0, immediate unit shutdown; typical range 9.0 to 9.8
with the precise range subject to steam generator design, pressure,
and chemical treatment program)
• CACE
• Specific Conductivity
• Chloride
• Silica
• Phosphate (for those units on phosphate treatment)
The reader will notice no absolute limits listed for many of
these parameters. This is due to the fact that allowable impurity
concentrations vary as a function of boiler pressure. As pressure
increases, and the density of water and steam converge, drum
moisture separators become less effective, which in turn will
allow greater carryover of water droplets into the saturated
steam. Within the steam generator(s) proper, temperature and
pressure influence corrosion, and in particular affect reactions
underneath iron oxide deposits on waterwall tubes and other
boiler internals. This influence is magnified at higher
temperatures.
Also, the recommended chemistry control ranges will vary
depending upon the selected boiler water treatment program,
i.e., tri-sodium phosphate, caustic, or AVT-only chemistry.
(Note: A concept known as sodium balancing is important for
boiler water chemistry control, particularly for units with
AVT-only programs. A discussion of sodium balancing is beyond
the scope of this article.) Charts and graphs for acceptable
control ranges may be found in EPRI guidelines or those from
the International Association of the Properties of Water and
Steam (IAPWS). In addition, software programs (including an
excellent program developed by Mr. Randy Turner of Swan
Analytical) are now available to precisely calculate boiler water
conditions, and alert chemists and technical personnel to
chemistry upsets.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author wishes to thank Mr. Akash Trivedi of Metter Toledo
Thornton for providing the detailed information regarding the chlo-
ride/sulfate analyzer.

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WWW.POWER-ENG.COM 45

1803PE_45 45 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 HEADLINE RUNNING
HYDROPOWER
Conveying
Water in Steep
Heights:
Solutions for a Hydropower
Project in the Andes Mountains
BY JOSE ALVOEIRO AND CARLOS CALDERARO
To increase the reliability of electric power
supply for its mining operations, Peruvian
mining company Buenaventura elected
to develop a hydroelectric project in the
Pallca River basin of the Andes Mountains
in Peru, approximately 130 kilometers
east of the capital city Lima. Water con-
veyance for hydropower in the high
mountains of the Andes is often a tech-
nical challenge and, in many cases, can
result in significant construction costs.
The Andes’ steep terrain, unfavorable
geological conditions, and restricted ac-
cess conditions presented further chal-
lenges for a hydroelectric project in this
area. This article describes the project’s
46
1803PE_46 46
The 98.5 MW Huanza hydropower project in the central
Andean region of Peru, where a 2.7-km long steel penstock
was constructed. Photo courtesy: Stantec
challenges, solutions and how learnings
can be applied to similar situations that
can benefit power companies, developers,
and the engineering community in
general.
What was the main driver or need for
the project? And, why was a hydro-
power project needed in this part of
the Andes?
In 2007, there was wide concern in Peru
that the rate of growth of newly installed
electric generation capacity was insuffi-
cient to meet the projected demand of
energy. In addition, the country was ex-
periencing sustained GDP growth of more
Author
Jose Alvoeiro is the hydropower sector
leader at Stantec. Carlos Calderaro is the
hydropower commercial director of Wa-
terPower & Dams at Stantec
than 5 to 6 percent per year. This was
particularly relevant to the mining sector,
which is among the largest consumers of
energy in Peru as mining projects are de-
veloped. Therefore, Buenaventura imple-
mented a plan to secure its own power
supply for its growing mining operations
of precious metals.
Hydropower was the best solution for
the project due to its low environmental
impacts and ability to generate clean and
renewable electric energy. The project
also needed to fully integrate into the
Peruvian national power grid to supply
power to Buenaventura operations scat-
tered in other parts of the country. Bue-
naventura turned to Stantec, whose role
on the project was to design
a 40-meter high concrete
gravity dam on the Pallca
River and to develop a con-
veyance system for moving
water 712 meters below to a powerhouse
with two identical generating units. The
Huanza Hydroelectric Project began in
2007 and commercial operation started
in early 2014.
What design or construction chal-
lenges did the team face?
The Huanza Hydroelectric Project is set
at a very high elevation varying from
4,100 meters at the water intake to about
3,350 meters at the powerhouse in a dis-
tance of about 12 kilometers. Although
the high altitude was a challenge, the very
high head combined with steep terrain
and restricted access proved to be the
biggest challenge of the project, and par-
ticularly for the steel penstock design. A
detailed logistic plan needed to be laid
out for concrete and steel parts, including
the can sections of the penstock. With
the first section of the water conveyance
structure a tunnel, several access tunnels
or construction adits were excavated by
drill and blast to facilitate construction,
2/26/18 11:57 AM
 hence material removed from the exca-
vations was also considered in the plan.
The location for the powerhouse on
the banks of the Pallca River was only
accessible through a narrow and winding
road that climbed the Andes up to an
elevation of 4,100 meters. This elevation
presented challenges of a higher altitude,
steeper terrain and unfavorable ground
conditions. As a result of these factors,
optimizing the design of the water con-
veyance structure in the steep mountain-
ous terrain was critical for the Huanza
Hydroelectric Project’s economic and
construction viability.
In addition, safety was a top priority
for the Stantec team. Living conditions
were known to be quite difficult due to
a high altitude and lower oxygen levels.
Each employee assigned to work at the
site would have a medical examination
before ascending to the project site as a
preventive measure and to look for any
existing health conditions. In addition,
only designated trained drivers were as-
This 2.7 km steel penstock was manufactured with
signed to transport working staff to the
high strength quenched and tempered steel plates.
site with clear communication protocols. Photo courtesy: Stantec
Cell phone service was not available on
site, so a dedicated radio frequency was
utilized to coordinate vehicle traffic, es-
pecially when heavy trucks or off-road engineers negotiated for a reduced prod- from changes in pipe bends, so as to reduce
vehicles were operating on the access road. uct cost by working directly with the sup- the amount of concrete and steel
plier of the steel plates for the penstock required.
How did the team overcome these manufacturer – cutting back on costs that
challenges? Can you describe the would otherwise have significantly in- Did this approach lead to any other
design elements of the project? creased the project budget. benefits for the project?
After conducting the necessary surveys, The penstock was manufactured with An optimized penstock design resulted in
geotechnical and materials investigations, very high strength quenched and tempered lower head losses for the project and was
hydrology and flood assessment and hy- steel plates, using a specially designed gas- key in an increased project output reaching
draulics and seismicity studies, the team fired oven for stress relief. In the initial 100 MW capacity after final commissioning
needed to design a conveyance system 700 meters, the penstock was exposed and tests.
from the Pallca reservoir to the power- installed in very steep terrain, and then it
house in variable ground conditions and was buried in a trench excavated in soil Can you describe the design process
changing elements. Stantec engineers along the winding access road. for the dam and powerhouse?
designed a water conveyance system con- In spite of the more difficult welding The team was responsible for designing a
sisting of a low-pressure tunnel leading process and post-weld heat treatment, the 40-meter-high conventional concrete grav-
into a steel penstock. material selection helped the project cost ity dam with a 205-meter-long crest, which
As with most projects, unforeseen fac- as the can sections weighed less, which accounts for a daily peaking reservoir stor-
tors occurred during the construction better facilitated transportation and han- age volume of 543,000 m3 at the normal
phase, like navigating around existing dling by cranes. supply level of 4,063 meters. The dam also
archeological sites and limited access Stantec engineers optimized the design incorporated a 12-meter-wide free over-
points. This resulted in an increase in the of the buried section to reduce the number flow spillway with a sky jump terminal
total length of the penstock. Despite the of anchor blocks and to rely on the soil structure and a low-level outlet structure.
increased penstock length, Stantec strength to withstand the forces resulting The powerhouse was a concrete

WWW.POWER-ENG.COM 47

1803PE_47 47 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 HYDROPOWER
The penstock operates under a
maximum design head of 800 m.
Photo courtesy: Stantec
structure with a steel roof and metal clad-
ding containing two vertical shaft gener-
ating units with a total installed capacity
of 55 MVA at the generator terminals.
How did the Huanza Hydroelectric
Project benefit the nearby
community?
The local community was involved
with the project for more than 15 years
and was very enthusiastic about improve-
ment of the access roads, the hiring of
local personnel during project construc-
tion, and the establishment of an annual
fund for community improvements once
the project started. Some of the commu-
nity improvements included access road
paving, improvements of bridges crossing
creeks along the roads, road widening to
accommodate larger vehicles, and in-
48
1803PE_48 48
creased traffic safety.
When completed in 2014, the Huanza Hydro-
electric Project added an additional annual 510 GWh
of clean energy into the power grid. The project also
allowed for participation from locally-based con-
tractors and laborers.
What were your top learnings from this project
that could benefit other communities/pow-
er-generating companies facing a similar
situation?
Early assessment of project sites can help teams
discover an alternative penstock trace, like it did with
the Huanza Hydroelectric Project. This is especially
helpful in cases where there could be an environ-
mental or archeological barrier.
In addition, specific design elements can help
with project costs, like reducing the amount of con-
crete and steel by optimizing the penstock anchors
in number and size; and reducing the weight of the
steel cans by selecting a high strength material, which
reduces the capacity and size of the lifting
equipment.
Lastly, it’s important to work in close collaboration
with the project contractor. This ensures the project
design is fully optimized and helps determine wheth-
er or not the team is able to use available local
materials versus ordering materials that might have
longer lead times and higher costs.
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 11:57 AM
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1803PE_49 49 2/26/18 11:57 AM

 PRODUCTS
Testing
A EMC’s GroundFlex® Field Kit includes the
GroundFlex® Adapter Model 6474 and
Ground Resistance Tester Model 6472.This is the
ONLY system on the market capable of testing
ground resistance of individual power transmission
tower legs, as well as total resistance without
disconnecting the overhead ground wire – this alone
is a huge time and money saver, not to mention a
major safety improvement.
Key features include testing both ground
resistance of tower legs (individually and total)
and overhead ground wires.This system tests
leakage current through the tower legs and tests at
frequencies up to 5kHz to profile impedance, which
is important to characterize for lightning strikes.
AEMC’s GroundFlex®
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 400
Construction
T he new Pettibone Traverse T944X is cited to
be the industry’s only new telehandler with an
extendable, traversing boom that moves loads by
traveling horizontally. Up to 70 inches of horizontal
boom transfer allows users to precisely and safely
place loads at full lift height through tight openings
without having to coordinate multiple boom
functions.
With the Traverse, the specified lift height of
44 feet, 6 inches is nearly identical to the 44-foot
landing height.This stands in contrast to a traditional
fixed boom pivot, where the true landing height is
generally several feet less than the advertised lift
height, as operators must account for withdrawing
50
1803PE_50 50
the forks out of the load with enough rearward
travel for the fork tips to clear the landing zone.The
traversing boom allows for maximum forward reach
of 35 feet, 10 inches.
Pettibone
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 401
Tools
K lein Tools introduces the new Telescoping
Magnetic LED Pickup Tool for retrieving magnetic
tools or parts that fall into those hard-to-reach
spaces on the job.This innovative product features
a telescoping tube that extends up to 22 inches,
a gooseneck, magnetic end and an LED light to
directly guide professionals around obstacles to
fallen items.
Telescoping Magnetic LED Pickup Tool
(Cat. No. 56027)
• Telescoping tube extends 22 inches (55.9cm)
beyond arm’s reach to retrieve tools and parts
• Powerful, magnetic head picks up items
weighing up to two pounds (0.9kg)
• Two-inch (51mm) gooseneck end navigates
around obstacles and aids with pickup
• 25-lumen LED light illuminates the path to and
from fallen tools with a 10-hour runtime
• Rubberized handle provides a secure grip
• Pocket clip makes storage easy and convenient
• Built to last with a 10-foot drop rating and IP54
dust and water resistance
• Includes 2 x AAA alkaline batteries
Klein Tools
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 402
Measurement
F LIR Systems announced the release of its new
DM64 HVAC True Root Mean Square (TRMS)
Digital Multimeter with Temperature. Designed for
professionals who install, inspect, and maintain
HVAC/R systems, the DM64 helps you diagnose
complex electrical systems, test flame sensors, and
measure temperatures -- all with one, affordable tool.
The feature-rich DM64 has the user-friendly
design and durability
HVAC professionals
need, making it ideal
for field use. It offers
both non-contact and
probe voltage detection,
accurately measures
high- and low-voltage, and
measures temperatures
up to 752 degrees
Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius) with the
included Type-K thermocouple.This multimeter has
several measurement modes, including LoZ (low
impedance), Relative Zero, and Variable-Frequency
Drive (low-pass filter).
FLIR Systems
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 403
Air Compressors
V MAC has entered the equipment rental
market, leading with the VMAC 30 CFM G30
gas engine driven air compressor. The VMAC
G30 is cited to be the most affordable gas driven
rotary screw air compressor available, and now
for the first time it is available to equipment rental
customers.
“There’s been tremendous growth in the
equipment rental market in recent years, and
the market is expected to continue to grow over
the next ten years,” says Mike Pettigrew, VMAC’s
Marketing Manager.“VMAC has responded to
rental customers’ requests for a lightweight,
compact, and powerful air compressor for short-
term jobs, and the G30 is the perfect solution.”
The VMAC G30 produces 30 CFM at 100% duty
cycle, which means no time is wasted waiting
for air, and no air receiver tank is required. This
allows operators to work more productively, and
complete jobs faster. The G30 is lightweight,
weighing just 205 lbs, and compact, making it
ideal for mobile applications.
VMAC
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 404
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 12:00 PM
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1803PE_51 51 2/26/18 12:00 PM

 Mobile Mapping
T rimble announces the release of the Trimble®
MX9 mobile mapping solution.The Trimble MX9
combines a vehicle-mounted mobile lidar system,
multi-camera imaging and field software for efficient,
precise and high-volume data capture for a broad
range of mobile mapping applications such as road
surveys, topographic mapping, 3D-modeling and
asset management.
The Trimble
MX9 captures
dense point
cloud data
along with
360 degree
immersive
georeferenced imagery using an industry-leading
spherical camera, GNSS/INS technology and
dual-head laser scanning sensors.The system’s
innovative and lightweight design facilitates easy
installation and setup on a variety of vehicles.
Spatial data can be captured at highway speeds
from inside the vehicle for safe operation in
transportation corridors.The intuitive, browser-based
field software, accessible via most tablets or any
notebook, enables operators to quickly establish
and conduct data acquisition missions, monitor the
status of the system as well as assess the quality of
the acquired data in real time.
Trimble
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 405
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52
1803PE_52 52
Cable Management
C ope, a provider of cable management solutions,
offers the new Wire-Basket Quick-Latch®,
designed to reduce labor in the field.Though the
typical Cope Wire Basket design comes with a
pre-attached splice plate, multiple field cuts or
manufacturing fittings can leave perfectly usable
pieces of Wire Basket without any splice bar. Using
the Quick-Latch is a great way to utilize these pieces
and eliminate cost, labor, and time when splicing
these parts together.
Technicians
must first ensure each end is cleaned
of burrs, then place two wire baskets up against
each other.They can then slide the Quick-Latch on
one end and with the use of a pair of pliers, crimp
down the hooks. No additional hardware or tools are
required on the job site, and the Quick-Latch’s one-
size-fits-all design reduces confusion and the need
for additional parts. Sold individually, the Quick-Latch
is most often used in sets of two.
Cope
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 407
Mobile Computer
B ak USA, a social enterprise that builds mobile
computers in Buffalo, New York, announced that
CALL NOW FOR DETAILS: JENNA HALL
Phone: 918.832.9249 | Email: jennah@pennwell.com
REACH YOUR
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its rugged Seal tablet is certified for use on the Verizon
4G LTE network. Already an official partner of Microsoft
and Intel, the announcement marks the beginning of
another important alliance that enables Bak USA to
enhance its product capabilities, expand access to its
devices, and ultimately serve its customers better.
“Verizon certification and the ability to offer 4G LTE
on our rugged Seal tablet represents a strategic
milestone for Bak USA and significantly improves
our presence in the mobile computer market,” said
J.P. Bak, chairman & CEO.“Such relationships have
allowed Bak USA to leapfrog the company’s product
design and distribution capabilities from startup level
to tech industry contender in just three short years.”
Bak USA
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 408
Safety
I n darkness and poor visibility, tow lightsare critical for
the safety of you and other drivers. Well-functioning
tow lights can help ensure against rear-end collisions
and other damage to your vehicle and equipment.The
functionality and quality of tow lights matter just as
much, if not more than having lights at all.
• Our line of tow lights offers high-quality
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2/26/18 12:00 PM
 Energy Management Testing

E nerSys®, a provider of stored energy solutions

for industrial applications, has introduced the
PowerSafe® ESG battery, designed to provide
H AEFELY HIPOTRONICS, a developer and provider
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handle the challenging load profiles and service The HVT-DI Series AC Hipot Testers are the most
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permanent mounting of battery monitoring Each model includes a
• Wireless remote-controlled lights that control and test equipment used portable digital controls
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• Control light’s on/off and strobe patterns and inspection. The line cord, interconnecting cables, and ground lead.
• Wired tow lights that operate on standard 12 Slide-Lock™ post The 100kV HVT-DI is a valuable tool for factory
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For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 451
Quality and Service Since 1908
Ring Granulators, Reversible Hammermills,
Double Roll Crushers, Frozen Coal Crackers
for crushing coal, limstone and slag.
1319 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110
Ph: (314) 781-6100 / Fax: (314) 781-9209
www.ampulverizer.com / E-Mail: sales@ampulverizer.com
For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 453
54
1803PE_54 54
Construction
SUPERHEATED AVAILABLE
G eneral Machine Products’ (GMP’s)
compact Model C2 Cable Lasher is for
lashing smaller diameter aerial cables to
supporting strand with stainless steel lashing
wire.The new design improvements make
the C2 equally suited for new construction
or overlashing up to its full 1 7/8 in. bundle
capacity.
POWER PROFESSIONALS
Power Industry • Lashes single or bundled cables up to 1
Employment 7/8 in. (46mm) onto strand sizes 1/4 in. to
3/8 in. (6-10mm) diameter
Opportunities • New style strand lock swings out of the
way for unobstructed overlashing
• Simple wire routing yields either
The David Wood Company “normal” or “loose” wire tension
• Dual wire magazines for loading two
POWERINDUSTRYCAREERS.COM coils of stainless steel lashing wire
For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 452 • Typical wire dimensions: 1200 ft. x .045
in. (365 m x 1.1mm) or 1600 ft. x .038 in.
(487m x 1mm)
FOR SALE/RENT • Lightweight and compact: Unloaded
24 / 7 EMERGENCY SERVICE
weight 35 lbs. (16kgs.); only 10 in. O.D.
BOILERS
x 18.5 in. long (25 x 47cm).The C2’s
20,000 - 400,000 #/Hr.
tapered housing eases passage through
DIESEL & TURBINE GENERATORS
50 - 25,000 KW treed areas
GEARS & TURBINES • The C2 Cable Lasher is furnished with
25 - 4000 HP a 6 ft. (1.6m) bridle rope with snap hooks,
LARGEST INVENTORIES OF: an instruction manual and a rugged,
Air Pre-Heaters • Economizers • Deaerators
Pumps • Motors • Fuel Oil Heating & Pump Sets
lightweight storage chest
Valves • Tubes • Controls • Compressors • The C2 and every GMP lasher is fully
Pulverizers • Rental Boilers & Generators
serviceable to “good-as-new” specifications
847-541-5600 FAX: 847-541-1279
visit www.wabashpower.com at our factory and at factory-trained service
wabash
locations around the globe
POWER
EQUIPMENT CO. Like all GMP lashers, the C2 is built to last
444 Carpenter Avenue, Wheeling, IL 60090 for many years of service. Components are
For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 454 CNC machined from alloy steel, stainless,
bronze and aluminum castings to exacting
tolerances and treated to withstand
corrosion. Gear drives and sealed bearings
assure maximum durability with minimal
maintenance
General Machine Products’
Info http://powereng.hotims.com RS#: 413
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 12:00 PM
 INDEX
RS# COMPANY PG# RS# COMPANY PG# SALES OFFICE

2 3M 1 9 POWER-GEN Africa 15 1421 S. Sheridan Rd., Tulsa, OK 74112

www.3M.com/Liqui-Cel www.powergenafrica.com Phone: 918-835-3161, Fax: 918-831-9834
e-mail: globalpower@pennwell.com

8 Asia Power Week 14 18 POWER-GEN C4 Sr. Vice President North

www.asiapowerweek.com
4 Chanute Manufacturing 6
www.chanutemfg.com
5 Conco Services Corp.
www.conco.net
6 DistribuTECH
www.distributech.com
17 Electrify Europe
www.electrify-europe.com
7 Environment One Corp. 13
eone.com/solutions
10 Fluke
www.fluke.com/analyzePQ
13 Hydro Basics Course
www.hydroevent.com/
hydro-basics
11 HydroVision
International
www.hydroevent.com
12 ICCI Powered
by POWER-GEN
www.icci.com.tr/en
International
www.power-gen.com
Rentech Boiler Systems
Digital Edition Bellyband
7 www.rentechboilers.com
3 Viega 3 Bridgett Green
9 viega.us/About-us
1 Volvo Penta C2
C3 www.volvopenta.us
14 Water Power Week 51
www.waterpowerweek.com
Advertisers and advertising agen-
31 cies assume liability for all con-
tents (including text representation
49 and illustrations) of advertise-
ments printed, and also assume
responsibility for any claims aris-
33 ing therefrom made against the
publisher. It is the advertiser’s or
agency’s responsibility to obtain
appropriate releases on any items
45 or individuals pictured in the adver-
tisement.
American Power Group Richard Baker
____________________________________________
General Inquiries:
globalpower@pennwell.com
____________________________________________
AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, HI, LA, MS, NM, NV, OK,
OR, TN, TX, WA
Phone: (918) 831-9755
cell: (918) 606-8373
e-mail: bridgettg@Pennwell.com
____________________________________________
CO, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, MT,
ND, NE, SD, UT, WI, WY, South and Central
America
Shaun Jameson
Phone: 918-832-9291
cell: (918) 630-9199
email: shaunj@pennwell.com
____________________________________________
CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI,
VA, VT, WV
Ben Stauss
Phone: (513) 295-2155
email: bstauss@pennwell.com
____________________________________________
FL, GA, NC, SC, Canada
Reese Lawley
Phone: (918) 831-9866
cell: (918) 918-991-3699
e-mail: reesel@pennwell.com
____________________________________________

Asia, Africa, Australia, Middle East,

Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,
Switzerland, UK
Roy Morris
Phone: +44 1992 656 613
e-mail: rmorris@pennwell.com
____________________________________________

Europe, Korea, Japan

Tom Marler
Phone: +44 1992 656 608
email: tomm@pennwell.com
____________________________________________

Classified Ads/Supplier’s Showcase

Jenna Hall
Phone: 918-832-9249
email: jennah@pennwell.com

WWW.POWER-ENG.COM 55

1803PE_55 55 2/26/18 12:00 PM

 GENERATING BUZZ
Tesla Plans to Triple
Energy Storage
Deployments in
2018
BY EDITORS OF POWER ENGINEERING
During the announcement of its
quarterly results, Tesla announced
the company plans to triple the
volume of its energy deployments
this year compared to 2017.
The company deployed 143 MW
of energy storage projects in its
fourth quarter, with the compa-
ny’s 100-MW energy storage proj-
ect in South Australia expected to
be recorded in the first quarter of
this fiscal year.
Tesla’s investment letter indicated
the South Australia project, current-
ly the biggest battery in the world,
is already generating “substantial
benefit” during the country’s sum-
mer months and has driven an
56
1803PE_56 56
increase in the company’s Power-
pack energy storage system.
Tesla deployed 87 MW of solar
generation in the fourth quarter,
down 20 percent from the previous
quarter. Tesla, which  purchased
SolarCity in 2016, said the decline
was due to its closure of certain
sales channels and focus on proj-
ects with better margins.
Additionally, solar deployments
were affected by a short supply of
Powerwall, Tesla’s home energy
storage solution, for customers
who wanted solar and energy stor-
age in their homes. The company
expects solar growth to resume
next year.
WWW.POWER-ENG.COM
2/26/18 12:00 PM
 19 -21 JUNE 2018 MESSE WIEN | VIENNA | AUSTRIA

BROUGHT TO YOU BY POWER-GEN & DISTRIBUTECH

Engage in the
#DTECH2018 conversation
and follow @ElectrifyEurope
and you could win a free
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pass worth €1,200,
to Electrify Europe in
Vienna, Austria.
Brought to you by POWER-GEN and DistribuTECH, the leading global series of power
generation, transmission and distribution events, Electrify Europe promotes collaboration,
innovation and business growth for the new digitalised, decarbonised electricity sector.
Electrify Europe is the first event uniting stakeholders from across the electricity supply
network to share insights and develop solutions for the next generation of industry issues.
To find out how you can participate at this exciting event, please visit
www.electrify-europe.com or contact:

NORTH AMERICA & CANADA EUROPE WORLDWIDE

Jared Auld Sophia Perry Leon Stone
T: +1(918) 831-9440 T: +44 (0) 1992 656 641 T: +44 (0) 1992 656 671
E: jareda@pennwell.com E: sophiap@pennwell.com E: leons@pennwell.com

LEADING THE EVOLUTION OF ELECTRICITY

Owned and Produced by: Presented by:

For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 17

1803PE_C3 3 2/26/18 12:59 PM

 DECEMBER 4-6, 2018

ORLANDO, FL, USA \\ ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER

//
#POWERGEN

REGISTER BY
- OC T OBE R 5-

and s����
Owned & Produced by: Presented by: power-gen.com

For info. http://powereng.hotims.com RS# 18

1803PE_C4 4 2/26/18 12:59 PM