O&M and upgrade |
and the bearings adjusted to accommodate the alteration to the gear profiles.
These gearboxes are well-designed but as with all major pieces of rotating equipment, the plant records vibration measurements, which are taken at regular intervals. Following the recent overhaul of one of the gearboxes
by Sulzer, the vibration levels were found to be around 50% lower than the original figure, which is a significant improvement. The work that has gone into supporting the gearboxes has proved vital in helping to maintain the availability of the boiler feed pumps.
Sulzer’s expertise in gearboxes generally is transferrable to several industries, especially wind turbines, the company says, while specific understanding of the variable speed fluid coupling can also benefit operators in the mining industry, which use these high-capacity units in several applications.
Wärtsilä to provide automation upgrade plus long-term service for iconic Cameroon power plant…
Wärtsilä is to upgrade the electrical and automation systems of the Kribi power plant in the Republic of Cameroon. The 216 MW plant has been in operation for nearly ten years, operating with 13 Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines running primarily on natural gas. At the time of commissioning, it was the largest gas engine power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa. Wärtsilä will also support the customer’s O&M activities with a 10-year long-term service agreement. The order with Wärtsilä was placed by Kribi power development company (KPDC), a subsidiary of Globeleq, an independent power producer and the owner and operator of power generating facilities across Africa. “Cameroon’s energy system relies heavily on hydropower but has uncertain resources of water. The Kribi plant, therefore, plays a key role in ensuring a supply of safe, cheap, and reliable energy. For this reason, we are keen to upgrade the power plant’s automation systems to the latest design to ensure optimal reliability, and to strengthen our co-operation with Wärtsilä, leveraging their competences on a continuous basis within the framework of the long- term service agreement,” said Gionata Visconti, COO, Globeleq.
The upgrade project is scheduled to start in 2023.
To ensure the continuity of the plant’s output, the work will be carried out on one engine at a time.
The long-term service agreement includes remote operational support, maintenance
planning, technical advisory and remote troubleshooting services, as well as spare parts. Wärtsilä has altogether supplied 550 MW of generating capacity to the Republic of Cameroon, and 7.5 GW to the whole of Africa, of which more than 25% is covered by Wärtsilä service agreements.
Kribi power plant
…and wins O&M contract renewal in Timor-Leste
Wärtsilä has been awarded a three-year extension of its O&M agreement covering two power plants in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor). The contract was signed with the country’s state-owned utility Electricidade de Timor Leste (EDTL). The plants both employ Wärtsilä generating sets, and have been covered by Wärtsilä O&M
agreements since their commissioning. The 119 MW Hera power plant, located close to the country’s capital Dili, has seven Wärtsilä 46 engines. The Betano plant, 136 MW, located in the south of the country, has eight Wärtsilä 46 engines. Both plants have been in full operation since 2012.
A key element of the agreement is the
continuous remote monitoring of the generating sets from Wärtsilä’s Expertise Centres. “The country’s electricity supply is very much dependent on these two power plants, and we are very proud to say that for the past several years, there have been no unplanned outages at all”, said Kari Punnonen, energy business director, Australasia, Wärtsilä, and “the plants have performed at maximum capacity, even during the Covid crisis.”
Above: Hera 44 | October 2022|
www.modernpowersystems.com Above: Betano
Wärtsilä currently has ten Expertise Centres located in strategic locations around the world. Together, the centres support long term service agreement customers with advice and recommendations based on the analysis of data from monitoring the condition and performance of their power plants.
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