Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants. Using Digital Efficiency and Flexibility Optimization

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1 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants Using Digital Efficiency and Flexibility Optimization

2 High Fuel Impact Gas Plant Operations Utilities and power generators today face the difficult task of servicing their markets with more pressure to reduce operating costs. Given the volatility in fuel prices, plant profitability is further complicated by increasing competition, changing operating profiles, and displacement by renewables. Identifying new approaches to reduce costs and improve fuel burn and maintenance scheduling could be the difference between being in the money or losing place in dispatch priority. For gas power plants providing baseload power, maintaining dispatch position is essential. Plant managers and operators must find the lowest heat rate at all times, manage load levels to keep fuel consumption to a minimum, and ensure downtime for maintenance to recover from degradation is infrequent and strategically timed. At the same time, plants that have shifted to providing grid support require more cyclic operations and hours at part or minimum load. This is especially true overnight when low spark spreads force decision-makers to weigh running at a negative spark spread against shutting down and absorbing high startup costs the following morning (Fig. 1). Some plants making shutdown or turndown decisions may also be constrained by air permits limiting the number of starts to minimize emissions. Ultimately, each gas power plant faces shifting conditions that can increase fuel consumption and negatively impact operating costs. Baseload power Daily shifting demand Renewable balance Peak Load Peak Load Peak Load Full Load Full Load Full Load Min Load Min Load Min Load Off Off Off Time of Day Time of Day Time of Day Figure 1. Operating profiles that face higher fuel costs and place dispatch position at risk. Time the Market Time the Market Time the Market Emerging digital solutions can provide power generators with the necessary tools to remain competitive. Adopting a digital maturity, the gas power plant can enjoy more efficient and flexible power plant operations leading to ongoing fuel savings, improved operating margins, and better dispatch positions. 2 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants

3 Digital Solutions Improve Efficiency and Flexibility Technology advances in big data, analytics, and automation along with machine learning and artificial intelligence, bring new approaches, decision support, and outcome optimizing control. Yet taking advantage of the full power of digital solutions to future proof the plant demands willingness to see production planning, operations and performance recovery with fresh eyes. Using GE s Digital Twin and Operations Performance Management, plant operators gain essential new insights from sophisticated software applications leveraging analytics to plan, optimize, and orchestrate improvements across the entire plant to achieve lower fuel costs without risk of missing production targets or exceeding emissions requirements. Plan 3 Production Planning Commitment Planning Fuel Nomination Dispatch Planning Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants Optimize Start Up Base & Part Load Peak Load Turndown Shutdown & Recovery Orchestrate Visibility into plant operations Economic value of lower heat rate and plant responsiveness Actionable decision support and advice aligned to strategic goals

4 Plan Many gas power plants are still blazing the trails of their digital journeys. Enabling strategic planning through advanced analytics, utilizing physics-based modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques, Operations Performance Management (OPM) supports production planning, including commitment preparation, fuel nomination and dispatch plans. Plant managers, dispatch planners, traders, and central operations personnel can each utilize the OPM digital solution to drive efficiency and flexibility improvements netting fuel savings. Production Planning Digital tools provide better insight into true plant capacity. Deliver the best outcomes with the ability to benchmark and score plant performance and forecast output and heat rate adjusted for ambient conditions. Solution-supported operational intelligence drives quality decision making regarding yield and efficiency. Commitment Preparation Reflecting plant performance more accurately with weather and supplementary power forecasting, digital solutions power better bidding strategies. With day ahead and real-time insight about each unit s minimum and maximum capacity and heat rate at various load points, traders can make the most of energy markets. These tools also drive efficient determination of the most economical option of turning down or shutting down a unit. Fuel Nomination Precise fuel nomination depends on many factors, and digital simulations can have a positive impact on fuel purchasing by improving operational insight. For a given dispatch plan and commitment, the solution advises plant managers and traders of the range of fuel required. With more accurate calculations of expected fuel consumption, traders can also avoid additional costs in over or under fuel purchases. Dispatch Planning Digital modeling and simulation can improve dispatch planning. For plants that do not competitively bid megawatts (MWs), the solution advises on the most economical way for plant assets to generate the power. Based on the forecasted operating envelope, digital analysis combines plant assets such as gas turbines, inlet conditioning, supplementary firing, and more to determine the best way to reduce fuel consumption for a particular MW commitment. 4 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants

5 Optimize Once production plans are established, digital tools provide decision support and outcome optimizing control across every stage of operations from start up to recovery (Fig. 2). START UP Shorten start time Reduce fuel burn BASE & PART LOAD Continuously optimize & tune plant set-points Lower heat rate PEAK LOAD Offset or automate & optimize duct burner dispatch Lower heat rate TURNDOWN Decrease min load Reduce fuel burn RECOVERY Monitoring, diagnostics & services Lower heat rate load time Figure 2: Reduce fuel consumption during operations and with performance recovery Simplify Startup Faster starts equal fuel savings. OPM helps plant managers and operators simplify the start-up process and avoid unnecessary holds with streamlined permissives, purge credit, and plant loading. Digital enhancement applies pre-start check logic to exercise key actuators, valves, and switches and coordinates control between the gas turbine, HRSG, and steam turbine to ensure critical systems start-up confidence. Combined Cycle Plants Hot Start < 45 minutes Cold start < 150 minutes Simple Cycle Plants Reach baseload < 15 minutes Reduce Consumption Efficiency optimization during operations reduces fuel consumption. OPM provides plant managers and operators advice and control set points to reduce fuel consumption. Using GE s Digital Twin models, advanced control automation, and optimization analytics, the application calculates and closes the loop for various plant-level cycle effectors to reduce heat rate at a desired plant output (Fig. 3). Customized to specific site configuration, equipment, and dispatch, the application also dynamically models optimal duct burner use and other real-time actions to improve plant productivity. Lower Environmental Impact At every phase of operations, emissions compliance cannot be compromised. Operations Performance Management tracks site-specific constraints for emissions, brings more flexibility to start fast, and enables greater responsiveness to dynamic energy demands and fluctuations due to increasing renewables. Whether calculating best start setpoints or improving combustion and turbine control logic for emissions compliant operation at lower gas and steam turbine loads, GE s Digital Twins recommends better actions without compromising emissions standards. 5 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants

6 Schedule Maintenance Using GE s Digital Twin models, the solution calculates and visualizes the real-time plant degradation, including heat rate and output. Based on forecasted maintenance cost, power market pricing, and performance recovery, a digital solution provides customer advisory insights into the right timing for maintenance activities such as condenser maintenance, gas turbine offline compressor water wash, and inlet filter replacement. A comprehensive power plant evaluation service can fine tune plants to reduce losses with activities such as leak elimination, instrumentation improvements, and HRSG PressureWave Plus 1 cleaning. Efficiently automate duct burner operation to prevent over/under-shooting. Improve HRSG steam temperature regulation & attemperation control during transients Use advanced combustion control to extend emissions compliant load Enable adjustments of max IGV settings for variable airflow Purge on shut-down & increase turbine acceleration and load rates for faster starts Adapt variable inlet bleed heat at part load Enable new operating modes for efficiency gains with cold part load & adjustable peak fire Reduce heat rate & start time by tailoring operational load paths with independent GT load & exhaust temperature control Automation & Model-based control of fuel split tuning to maintain low dynamics, low emissions, and stable flame to avoid blowout Reduce variation and start faster with full start automation steam turbine Strategic Planning provides decision support for thermal monitoring & diagnosis, recommendations for improvements & accountability against target KPIs Use Efficiency Optimization to reduce fuel consumption biasing plant control set-points accounting for changes in asset performance, ambient conditions and other Figure 3: Plant-wide system orchestration to lower heat rate and reduce fuel consumption. Orchestrate Improvements Operations Performance Management provides plant-wide system orchestration to lower heat rate and reduce fuel consumption. Although the dollar values of these improvements will vary by region, OPM s potential impact can be seen in the improvements the digital solution orchestrates. These include: Greater visibility into plant operations Enhanced strategic planning insights Improved monitoring and diagnostics Lowered heat rate Faster starts and improved responsiveness Expanded load ranges Actionable decision support and advice By improving efficiency, flexibility, capacity, and emissions, Operations Performance Management identifies fuel consumption and operational cost savings while lowering emissions to reduce environmental impacts. References 1 Denotes a trademark of Bang&Clean GmbH 6 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants

7 KPI Change OPERATING START UP TURN DOWN VARIABLE O&M Outcome Potential Tunes plant to improve heat rate, reduce fuel consumption Heat rate & fuel cost decrease -0.5% Determines best start operations for lowest fuel consumption Start time & start fuel decrease -40% Manages lower emissions-compliant Min load & loads to reduce fuel burn fuel cost decrease -10% Monitors & diagnoses heat rate degradation & services for recovery -0.5% VOM decrease fuel cost decrease * Results may vary based on plant condition and configuration Digital Transformation Best Practices Gas power plants today must embrace digital transformation to remain competitive. A digital solution such as GE s Operations Performance Management, drawing on more than a decade of experience in model-based control, artificial intelligence, and machine learning and 40+ installations globally, delivers the next advancement in analytics and automation. To lower operating costs, improve dispatch position, reduce downtime, and achieve emission objectives more effectively and efficiently, digital transformation is the essential next step. Try these best practices: Baseline performance today and include detailed understanding of regulatory requirements for emissions compliance. Evaluate any changes in near- to long-term operations, such as new competitors or an increase in renewables, to gauge future impacts on plant performance. Assess digital maturity and operational readiness. Determine potential gains of adopting a digital approach to reduce fuel consumption. Engage experts to map the best path to increase fuel savings. GE Power can help gauge plant readiness for digital solutions. Our seasoned team members can conduct assessments to identify productivity challenges, map out improvements, and offer granular insights into the full potential value of digital transformation. Boost productivity and increase plant responsiveness to better meet fast-changing grid demands implementing a customized, advanced digital software solution. Contact Us GE (NYSE: GE) is the world s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the GE Store, through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry General Electric. All rights reserved. *Trademark of General Electric. All other brands or names are property of their respective holders. Specifications are subject to change without notice. July 13, 2018, General Electric Company. GE Proprietary Information - This document contains General Electric Company (GE) proprietary information. It is the property of GE and shall not be used, disclosed to others or reproduced without the express written consent of GE, including, but without limitation, in the creation, manufacture, development, or derivation of any repairs, modifications, spare parts, or configuration changes or to obtain government or regulatory approval to do so, if consent is given for reproduction in whole or in part, this notice and the notice set forth on each page of this document shall appear in any such reproduction in whole or in part. The information contained in this document may also be controlled by the US export control laws. Unauthorized export or re-export is prohibited. This presentation and the information herein are provided for information purposes only and are subject to change without notice. NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY IS MADE OR IMPLIED AS TO ITS COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. All relative statements are with respect to GE technology unless otherwise noted. 7 Fuel Savings for Gas Power Plants