Power-Gen International 97 Paper

Capacity Enhancement for Simple and Combined Cycle

Gas Turbine Power Plants
Power-Gen International 97
by
Stephen J. Molis, P.E., Fern Engineering, Inc.
Philip Levine, Fern Engineering, Inc.
Robert Frischmuth, Electric Power Research Institute
9/25/97
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and Combined Cycle Gas Turbine
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Introduction
Over the last several years, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has developed a body of
information to quantify the costs and benefits of various approaches to capacity enhancement of
combustion turbines (Refs. 1 and 2). Fern Engineering, Inc., a gas turbine design and consulting
firm located in Pocasset, MA, has been EPRIs contractor for this work.
One of these techniques, evaporative cooling using direct water spray and overspray was
identified as having potential benefit to utilities. Inlet cooling is attractive for those gas turbines
where the power increases markedly as the compressor inlet temperature is reduced. The typical
variation of the performance of heavy duty gas turbines is depicted in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Typical Performance vs. Temperature for Heavy Duty Gas Turbines
Evaporative cooling is limited by the difference between the dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures.
If sufficient water can be introduced into the air such that the air becomes fully saturated, the air
temperature will be reduced to the wet bulb temperature. In doing so, the turbine power will
increase as shown above.
The amount of cooling is limited by the potential for icing as the air flow speeds up in the
bellmouth and the static air temperature drops. The icing limit is engine dependent but typically
varies from 40 F to 50 F. Thus, evaporative cooling must be limited at low ambient
temperatures to avoid the potential for icing.
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Generally, the retrofit of inlet cooling systems is more cost effective for efficient (modern) gas
turbines where the specific power (ratio of power to air flow) is high.
Evaporative Cooling with Media
Media type coolers are installed on many gas turbines throughout the world. Evaporative
cooling is dependent on the evaporation rate and the contact surface area between the wetted
surface and the air. Specially designed contact media that packs a very large surface area into a
small volume is essential to the practical application of this approach (Ref. 3). Other application
criteria include limiting the air speed to reduce the pressure drop or to strip away droplets of
moisture from the wetted surface. Typically the air speed must be reduced to about 400 fpm at
the face of the media, requiring a relatively large evaporative cooler structure. A typical inlet
duct velocity is about 2500 fpm. Untreated municipal water is frequently used, but care must be
taken to avoid water droplet carry-over that could foul the compressor. Silica deposits resulting
from untreated water are difficult to remove.
Media type coolers have several major drawbacks. First, they require a relatively large inlet
house to reduce the air speed at the face of the media to insure reasonably efficient cooling. As
such, media coolers cannot be easily retrofitted into existing inlets. Also, the size and cost of the
structure is relatively independent of the cooling potential. Second, maintenance is often
required due to plugging and need for media repair.
Direct Spray and Overspray
Direct spray evaporative cooling systems using a fine water spray (or fog) can be more easily
retrofit into existing inlet structures than the media type design. In addition, such systems have
the potential for operating at higher efficiencies thus providing increased power. A number of
operators have recognized the potential benefits of direct spray cooling and have implemented
such systems (Ref. 4). While these systems are reported to be quite effective, EPRI and Fern
jointly developed a concept to improve the efficiency of direct spray coolers through the use of
overspray. This concept was aimed at developing a 100% efficient evaporative cooler thus
garnering the maximum power benefit. In addition, additional power gains appeared possible as
small overspray droplets evaporate in the first few compressor stages.
This concept was initially studied for potential application on a General Electric, Model MS-
7001E at Utilicorp Uniteds Ralph Green Station in Pleasant Hill, Missouri. The results were
promising and EPRI and Utilicorp United embarked on an EPRI Tailored Collaboration Project
to develop and demonstrate the concept. A development program was undertaken to design a
system that could optimally benefit from a direct spray and overspray system within the bounds
of the state-of-the-art of spray (fog) generators. This paper addresses the results from this project
(Ref. 5).
The goal was to maximize the power output of the gas turbine during the hot summer months
when output power decreases. An innovative direct spray evaporative cooler, called an EPRI
Spray Cooler (patent pending), was developed, designed and installed in the inlet during the
summer of 1996. The spray cooler was subjected to a demonstration test in August 1996.
The EPRI spray cooler uses a fog water spray to saturate the air by evaporative cooling. One of
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the innovations of this system is that enough water is sprayed into the inlet to oversaturate the
air. When the air is fully saturated, the excess water (overspray) remains entrained in the air.
However, large overspray droplets are removed from the air by a large droplet eliminator (LDE),
leaving an overspray composed of fog sized droplets that are ingested directly into the
compressor to obtain further cooling benefit. Using this combination of evaporative cooling and
overspray, the base load power may be increased by as much as 8.1 MW (~14%) at the design
operating conditions.
As Utilicorps goal was to increase summer peaking capacity as much as possible, it was also
decided to increase the amount of water injected into the combustor beyond the level used for
NO
x
control. With both changes implemented, the unit is capable of delivering an additional 11
MW at the design operating conditions; an increase of about 18% at base load.
Summary of Results
1 The EPRI Spray Cooler achieved 100% saturation on all days tested. Air temperature is
reduced quickly to the wet bulb temperature once the proper number of spray stages are
activated. In contrast, media type evaporative coolers typically achieve 80 to 90% saturation.
2 The power increase from evaporative cooling is about 3.5 % for every 10 F (5.6 C) of
cooling. This is consistent with the OEM performance curves.
3 The power increase resulting from overspray is about 5% for every 1% overspray (overspray
water mass is expressed as a percentage of inlet air mass).
4 No unusual differences in the compressor pressure signature were observed while the system
was operating at high levels of overspray and water injection. Therefore, compressor surge is
not expected using this capacity enhancement technique on MS-7001 gas turbines.
5 Spray droplets emitted from the nozzles were found to agglomerate into larger droplets.
Thus, more spray is removed (~70%) by the Large Droplet Eliminator (LDE) than was
originally anticipated (~58%), and less overspray is available. This verified the need for the
LDE in the system.
6 Operation at maximum water injection was achieved at both base and peak loads with and
without overspray. The power gain resulting from water injection is about 0.77 % for each
10 gpm (37.85 liters/min) increase in water injection rate.
7 The maximum base power predicted at the design conditions (97 F [36C] , 34% RH) is
73.2 MW; an increase of 17.7 %. The power gain attributed to each enhancement is:
Maximum water injection ~ 4.7 % gain
Evaporative cooling ~ 10.2 % gain
Overspray ~ 1.8 %
Another 5.5 MW can be expected if operated at peak load.
8 Increased water injection reduces NO
x
emissions substantially. When the water to fuel ratio
was increased from ~ 0.2 to ~ 0.8, NO
x
emissions were reduced by about 60%. A smaller
reduction in NO
x
results from evaporative cooling and overspray.
9 Analyses of the drain water samples support some beneficial air scrubbing effects when the
spray cooler is operating.
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10 Most of the testing was performed with a dirty compressor. With the dirty compressor, gas
turbine power at base load was 4% to 7% lower than predicted based on the OEM
performance curves (new and clean compressor). After washing the compressor the power
was restored to within 2% of the power with a new and clean compressor.
Ralph Green Plant
The General Electric MS-7001E gas turbine at Utilicorp's Ralph Green Plant was installed in
1981 and is generally operated at base load power in peaking service. At design conditions, the
unit is base load rated at 60.9 MW with water injection for NO
x
control. Although the unit has
dual fuel capability, it is fired exclusively using natural gas. The unit was supplied with G.E.'s
standard skid mounted water injection system to control NO
x
to levels below 92 ppm.
The MS-7001 is a single shaft turbine designed in 1966 for domestic power generation service.
Development of the Model E design began in 1973. A complete description of the Model E
design is provided in Ref. 6. The unit is controlled by GE's Speedtronic Mark II system.
Utilicorp uses a separate programmable logic controller (PLC) to control water injection. The
EPRI spray cooler is computer controlled using software developed by Fern for this application.
Gas Turbine Inlet Housing and Duct
Figure 2 illustrates the arrangement of the inlet duct. Inlet air enters through an elevated
horizontal inlet house. The original inlet house had a two-stage filter consisting of inertial
separators and a bank of high efficiency air filters. Downstream of the inlet house, the air splits
into dual horizontal "pantleg" ducts. The pantlegs are fabricated in sections, the last of which
contains silencers. After leaving the silencers the air passes through a trash screen and enters a
common elbow and vertical duct leading to the compressor inlet plenum.
The EPRI Spray Cooler
The EPRI spray cooler is designed to augment the power output by cooling the inlet air, which
increases the air density thereby increasing the mass flow, pressure ratio and power. The cooler
uses a fog spray of water to saturate the air through evaporative cooling. In this system,
however, additional water is sprayed into the inlet to oversaturate the air. Large droplets that do
not evaporate are removed from the air with a mist eliminator leaving an overspray composed of
fog sized droplets that are ingested directly into the compressor. Using the EPRI spray cooler,
the base load power output may be increased by as much as 8.1 MW (~14%) at the design
operating conditions.
The spray cooler is composed of three major components; a spray delivery system, a water
transfer system and a mist eliminator. Figure 2 illustrates the spray cooler components. The
spray delivery system consists of an array of fog nozzles installed in the inlet compartment. The
water transfer system, installed outside of the inlet duct, delivers demineralized water to the
spray delivery system through interconnecting piping. Finally, the mist eliminator, termed a
large droplet eliminator (LDE), is installed in the inlet house downstream of the spray delivery
system to remove large water droplets from the air stream.
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Figure 2 Inlet Configuration and EPRI Spray Cooler Configuration
During the development phase, research was conducted to identify the most appropriate spray
system. A specification was developed and proposals were solicited from several spray system
manufacturers. At the heart of the specification was the requirement that the spray system
produce droplets as small as possible. Small droplets are desirable as the evaporation rate
increases with decreasing size. In addition, it is generally known that large water droplets
entrained in the inlet air can lead to erosion of the compressor airfoils. Thus, specifying a nozzle
that generates small droplets mitigates these potential concerns.
The initial specification called for the 90 % of the mass to be in droplets less than 10 m in
diameter. However, after receiving the bids it became apparent that droplets of that size could
not be reasonably achieved given the current state of the art. Vendors were also requested to
submit sample nozzles and tests were performed to confirm nozzle performance. These tests
were used to select the nozzle with the best spray characteristics. The test results from the nozzle
selected for this application showed that 90 % of the mass was in droplets less than 22 m in
diameter.
After the spray system supplier was selected, a small array of nozzles was fabricated and spray
tests were conducted in a facility that duplicated actual flow conditions in the inlet duct. Several
mist eliminator configurations were tested before selecting the most appropriate LDE design.
During those tests it became apparent that droplet agglomeration occurs as a result of interaction
of the sprays of adjacent nozzles. This discovery confirmed the need for the LDE in the system
as its purpose is to remove large droplets from the air stream, while permitting smaller droplets
(overspray) to be carried downstream into the compressor.
Prior to installation of the spray system, Utilicorp modified the air inlet housing. The inertial
separator was removed and replaced with a simple bird screen. The inlet air filter bank and
support structure were also removed. Water drains were added to the floor of the inlet housing.
The floor mounted implosion doors were removed and new doors were installed in the walls
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downstream of the LDE. Finally, a structural frame was added to support the LDE.
Spray Delivery System
The spray delivery system and water transfer system were manufactured by Mee Industries, Inc.
in El Monte, California to specifications prepared by Fern for EPRI. The spray delivery system
is composed of an array of stainless steel tubes containing the spray nozzles. The nozzle array is
located in a vertical plane just downstream of the inlet air entrance (Figure 3). The nozzle array
is partitioned into 8 stages with each stage configured with multiple horizontal legs of tubing
each containing a number of nozzles. High pressure water is delivered to the nozzles to produce
a fine hydraulically atomized water spray. Figure 4 illustrates the fog spray emitted during the
single nozzle test. The arrangement results a uniform dispersion of spray droplets into the air
stream.
Figure 3 Spray Nozzle Array
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Figure 4 Nozzle Fog Spray Pattern
Water Transfer System
The water transfer system supplies high pressure demineralized water to the spray nozzle
headers. The system consists of two identical skid mounted water transfer assemblies
underneath the inlet house. Each skid contains two electric motor driven pumps along with
piping, valves, meters and instrumentation required to deliver and control the flow of water to
the nozzle arrays. Control signals from on-board sensors are directed to dedicated skid mounted
fog control panels for each pump and piping leg. Pump flow and pressure sensors, and switches
for low suction pressure and high water temperature are included for each pump. Figure 5 shows
the equipment arrangement.
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Figure 5 Water Transfer System
Large Droplet Eliminator
The large droplet eliminator (LDE) is a horizontal flow vane type mist eliminator supplied by
The Munters Group in Ft. Myers, Florida to specifications written by Fern for EPRI. The LDE is
mounted in the inlet house downstream of the nozzle array and consists of modules covering the
entire inlet cross section. The modules are manufactured using polypropylene with sine curve
shaped vanes. The LDE is shown in Figure 6.
The vane configuration and spacing were designed to pass a high percentage of small droplets,
while removing a high percentage of large droplets. Thus, small overspray droplets that remain
entrained in the air flow are passed through the vane openings, while large droplets impinge on
the vane and are drained down the vanes. Adjacent modules direct the flow into common
vertical channels between the modules, into the drainage sump at the bottom of the LDE, and out
drain in the duct floor.
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Figure 6 Large Droplet Eliminator
System Instrumentation
In addition to the instrumentation provided on the water transfer system skids, additional sensors
were installed and the data was sent to the spray control system computer, as described below.
A weather station was installed to measure ambient temperature, pressure and humidity.
Drains were installed in the inlet duct floor to remove water exiting the LDE and
accumulating on the floor. A flow transmitter was installed in a common drain line to
measure the drain flow. Flow data is directed to the spray cooler control system computer
and used to determine the overall efficiency of the spray cooler system.
Compressor inlet temperature, and compressor discharge temperature and pressure data from
the OEM sensors used in the gas turbine control system are also input into the computer.
A high temperature dynamic pressure sensor was installed in a borescope inspection port in
the compressor casing near the 17th stage. This sensor was installed as a precaution to aid in
identifying the potential onset of compressor rotating stall when high levels of water
overspray are injected. Data from the pressure sensor is transmitted to the spray cooler
control system computer and analyzed using a signal analysis software package.
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Spray Cooler System Controls
A personal computer (PC) is used to operate, control and monitor the spray cooler using software
developed by Fern. The computer receives data from the weather station, gas turbine sensors,
compressor pressure transducer, and the fog control panel.
The control software consists of a series of screens designed to operate and control the spray
cooler in a windows environment. The software includes an algorithm to calculate the wet bulb
temperature from the weather station transducers. Using the algorithm, a table of water spray
flows required to achieve saturation and overspray is determined. The table contains predicted
operating conditions for each flow stage, including % evaporative cooling and % overspray.
When stage flow changes are initiated by the operator, the software signals the fog control panels
to activate the correct combination of pumps and ball valves. The PC also receives feedback
data from the fog control panels to monitor system flow and pressure, and to indicate system
status and alarm signals.
Plots of the last hour of operation for system parameters, including pump flows, pressures, and
ambient conditions, can be viewed at any time. When the system is operating, data is written and
stored to monthly files to provide historical data on spray cooler operation. In addition, monthly
data files are maintained for all operator actions and system events. These historical files can be
viewed through commercial spread sheet programs.
The software also includes a module to acquire, analyze and display data transmitted from the
dynamic pressure sensor mounted in the compressor casing.
The amount of overspray available will depend on ambient conditions. The water flow to
achieve saturation will be lower in rainy or high humidity conditions and more flow will be
available for overspray. The water flow to achieve saturation will be higher in hot and dry
conditions and less flow will be available for overspray. In extreme hot dry conditions all 8 flow
stages may be required to lower the compressor inlet temperature to the wet bulb temperature,
and no water will be available for overspray.
Predicted Gas Turbine Performance
The design conditions at the site are:
Altitude 870 Feet (265 Meters)
Air Temperature 97 F (36 C) Dry Bulb, 74 F (23 C) Wet Bulb
Humidity 34%
Base and peak load performance at the design conditions were calculated using performance data
provided in the OEM manual, which assumes that the compressor is new and clean. The results
are shown in Table 1. The performance at base load with water injection for NO
x
control (62.2
MW) was used as a basis to evaluate power increases attributed to increased water injection,
evaporative cooling, and overspray. Since this gas turbine is neither new or clean, actual
performance was expected to be lower. As such, the predictions serve as a benchmark to
evaluate performance enhancement capability.
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In the past Utilicorp operated at water injection rates of about 13 gpm (49.2 liters/min, ~ 0.2
water to fuel ratio) during the summer to control NO
x
. Operation at increased water injection
rates on this unit was studied by EPRI (Ref. 2). In addition, Kern Rivers Cogenerations Omar
Hill facility have experience operating at high water injection rates (Ref. 8). Based on this, it
was decided to increase the water injection rate to at least a water to fuel ratio of ~ 0.8. The
predicted power increase at a water to fuel ratio of ~ 0.8 is 4.6 %, as shown in Table 1.
The spray cooler can be operated at various levels of spray to cool the inlet air by evaporative
cooling and, if desired, to inject overspray. Performance calculations were made at base and
peak load for complete saturation (100 % evaporative cooling), and for evaporative cooling with
maximum overspray. In addition, performance with both increased water injection and
overspray was calculated. These results are shown in Table 1. The augmented base load power
is expected to be 11 MW (17.7%) above current levels with increased water injection,
evaporative cooling and water overspray.
Table 1 Predicted Gas Turbine Performance at Design Conditions
Conditions
Base
Power
(MW)
Power
Increase
(%)
Peak
Power
(MW)
Power
Increase
(%)
No Water Injection 61.5 - 66.9 -
Water Injection -- NO
x
Control (0.2 W/F Ratio)
62.2 0.0% 67.7 0.0 %
Increased Water Injection (0.8 W/F Ratio) 65.1 4.6 % 70.8 4.6 %
Evaporative Cooled -- NO
x
Control (0.2 W/F Ratio)
68.5 10.1 % 74.2 9.6 %
Evaporative Cooled & Overspray -- (0.2 W/F Ratio) 70.3 11.3 % 76.2 11.3 %
Evaporative Cooled -- Water Injection (0.8 W/F Ratio) 71.4 14.8 % 77.3 14.3 %
Max Overspray & Water Injection (0.8 W/F Ratio) 73.2 17.7 % 79.2 17.0 %
Demonstration Testing
A demonstration test was conducted on the cooler during the summer of 1996. Testing was first
performed without spray to establish baseline performance at base and peak load. Spray cooler
testing was conducted on the following day. During the spray cooler testing, additional data was
gathered measuring spray droplet distribution, air and water quality and emissions.
High water injection rate tests were conducted on the following day without compressor spray.
Tests were run at water to fuel ratios of 0.2, 0.8 and 1.07 (82 gpm, the maximum skid capacity)
at base and peak loads.
On the final day, tests were conducted with both high water injection flow and spray. The unit
was started and operated at base load with normal NO
x
control water injection rates. After
gathering data, the water injection rate was increased to the skid capacity (~82 gpm [310.4
liters/min]). The spray cooler was activated and testing was conducted with 2, 4, 6 and 8 stages.
Finally, the unit was ramped to peak load, thus providing data at peak load with maximum water
injection and all 8 stages of spray activated.
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Demonstration Test Results -- EPRI Spray Cooler Performance
The spray cooler and software operated successfully during the testing. The system achieved
100% saturation on all days tested. Figure 7 shows data from a typical day of operation. The
compressor inlet temperature (T
cit
, ~84 F) was reduced quickly to the wet bulb temperature
(T
wb
, ~70F) once the proper number of spray stages were activated. Also note the
corresponding increase in power as temperature decreases and overspray is added.
Figure 7 Typical Spray Cooler Performance and Power Gain
The power increase resulting from evaporative cooling was found to be reasonably consistent
with that expected based on the OEM performance curves (Figure 8). About 3.5% in power
gain can be expected for every 10 F (5.6 C) of cooling.
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Figure 8 Comparison of Measured Spray Cooler Power vs. Predicted Power
Overspray is defined as the excess spray beyond that required to completely saturate the air.
Some overspray will be drained away through the LDE and along the inlet surfaces. The
remaining overspray, in the form of small droplets entrained in the air, will pass through the LDE
and enter the compressor. Overspray is expressed as the ratio of the overspray water mass to the
air flow mass in percentage.
The effect of the overspray is clearly demonstrated in Figure 7. On this day, the compressor inlet
temperature (T
cit
) was reduced by ~14 F to the wet bulb temperature (T
wb
) after four spray
stages were placed into service and power increased substantially. When additional stages were
placed into service no further reduction in T
cit
was achieved; however, the power continued to
increase as the overspray evaporated within the first few compressor stages.
The power benefit due to overspray is illustrated in Figure 9. The test results indicate that about
a 5% power gain is achieved for each 1% of overspray. The heat rate benefit due to overspray is
illustrated in Figure 10. As can be seen, the measured heat rate was reduced by about 1.8%
when all 8 stages were in operation. By contrast, no significant change in heat rate was
predicted.
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Figure 9 Overspray Power Gain
Figure 10 Measured vs. Predicted Heat Rate Change Due to Overspray
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Testing at base load with NO
x
control water injection was performed several times during the
initial four day test and was repeated in the September tests. These tests confirmed that gas
turbine power was about 4% to 7% lower than predicted based on the new and clean OEM
performance curves.
The compressor was not cleaned prior to the demonstration tests and the compressor vanes and
blades were observed to be quite dirty. After the compressor was cleaned and tested in late
September 1996 the performance improved to about 2% below that predicted based on the new
and clean OEM performance curves.
Droplet Test Results
Droplet measurements were made to determine the level of water droplet agglomeration that
occurs during spraying, which results in larger droplets than those emitted from the nozzles.
Measurements were made at two planes; the first about 2 feet upstream of the LDE and the
second just upstream of the silencer in one of the pant leg ducts.
Figure 11 compares the droplet distributions from a single nozzle test with those found during
the demonstration test both upstream and downstream of LDE. This graphic clearly
demonstrates that some of the small droplets emitted from the nozzles agglomerate into larger
ones. This fact confirms the need for the LDE in this system. Analysis of the downstream
droplet data confirmed that the LDE effectively removes the larger droplets, as 95% of the mass
was in droplets < 35 microns in diameter.
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Figure 11 Comparison of Droplet Distributions -- Single Nozzle vs. Demonstration Test
The data indicated that a higher percentage of overspray flow was removed through the LDE and
drains than was anticipated. Analysis of the data indicated that about 30% of the overspray flow
passes through the LDE and proceeds downstream. This is lower than the 42% that was
predicted prior to the testing and indicates that more water must be sprayed to achieve overspray
than originally anticipated. Based on this, it is projected that 0.18% overspray will occur at the
design point, somewhat lower than the 0.25% design goal.
Future research and development activities are being planned that will be geared toward
identifying methods to reduce droplet agglomeration.
Dynamic Compressor Pressure Analysis
As discussed above, a high temperature dynamic pressure sensor was installed in the borescope
inspection port in the compressor casing near the 17th stage. This sensor was installed as a
precaution to aid in the identifying the potential onset of compressor rotating stall when high
levels of water overspray are injected. Data from the pressure sensor was analyzed using a
signal analysis software package. Figure 12 shows a typical result from this analysis with the
system operating at high levels of overspray. No significant differences in the frequency
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spectrum or amplitudes were observed when operating at high levels of overspray.
Figure 12 Typical Compressor Spectrum Analysis at High Overspray
This confirmed that application of an overspray system on an MS-7001E does not significantly
affect the compressor surge margin. However, it should be noted that application of overspray
systems on other gas turbines should be approached with the same caution used here. Surge
detection instrumentation should be employed and used to insure adequate surge margin.
Post Test Spray Cooler Operation
After the demonstration tests were completed, Utilicorp operated the system as needed for the
remainder of the summer and early fall of 1996. Additional test data was gathered in early
September. In late September, Utilicorp cleaned the compressor and gathered additional base
load test data.
Utilicorp continued operation during the spring and summer of 1997. Fern and EPRI visited the
site in August 1997 and conducted additional testing. On one of those days, ambient conditions
were near the design point, with temperatures in the mid 90s and relative humidity around 35 %.
The EPRI cooler achieved 25 F of cooling as can be seen in Figure 13 and resulted in a power
increase of about 11%. To date, the cooler has been operated for about 200 hours.
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Figure 13 EPRI Spray Cooler Operation -- 8/4/97
Water Overspray System Costs
The costs associated with the design and development of this first EPRI spray cooler were paid
for by this tailored collaboration project. These costs included engineering, R&D, bench tests,
equipment procurement, demonstration testing and reporting. The demonstration testing verified
the design parameters and proved this concept to be a cost effective retrofit to an existing gas
turbine inlet. The cost of the entire project was $745,000, or a cost of about $102 per installed
KW. This does not include direct costs incurred by Utilicorp United to modify the inlet housing,
and complete other site related tasks.
However, equipment and installation costs for future units are expected to be substantially less,
as the development costs have already been incurred. Thus, the costs for installation of similar
systems in the future will be substantially less, probably running between $ 50 and $ 75 per KW.
Key design and cost parameters have been included in the EPRI Strategic Capacity and Analysis
Database (SCADD) program (Ref. 7), which is available to EPRI members. Costs for
installation of EPRI spray coolers can be reliably estimated using SCADD.
References
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1 EPRI Report TR-104612, Project 3401-01, Interim Report, "Gas Turbine and Combined
Cycle Capacity Enhancement," July 1993.
2 EPRI Report TR-104612, Project 3401-01, Interim Report, "Gas Turbine and Combined
Cycle Capacity Enhancement," January 1995.
3 Evaporative Cooler Application Guide, Donaldson Company, Inc.
4 P. E. Nolan and V. Twombly, Gas Turbine Performance Improvement Direct Mixing
Evaporative Cooling System American Atlas Cogeneration Facility Rifle Colorado, ASME
90-GT-368 / Communication, June 1994.
5 EPRI Final Report TR-108057, "Inlet Air Spray Cooler for Gas Turbine Power
Augmentation," May 1997.
6 General Electric publication GER-3116, "The MS-7001E Heavy Duty Gas Turbine," 1979.
7 EPRI Strategic Capacity and Analysis Database Software (SCADD), Version 1.0, EPRI WO
3401-01.
8 W. E. Hauhe, G. L. Haube, and C. O. Meyers, User Experience - Operating a 300 MW Base
Load Cogeneration Plant with High Water Injection Rates to Control NO
x
Emissions,
ASME Paper 89-GT-29, June 1989.