Abstracts - VGB PowerTech Journal 9/2014

Hydropower in the UK: Constantly growing

Andrew Logie, Hans-Christoph Funke and Olaf Heil

In the UK the hydropower business is continually growing, driven by the political will for renewable energy. The water rich regions provide for a significant new build potential. The current status of hydropower in the UK and future potential for growth as well as UK support mechanisms are presented. The majority of new build schemes are high head run-off-river plants in Scotland utilising relatively small water flows but high heads. RWE Innogy has developed and built a number of such schemes.

Successful energy transition in Germany by pumped storage expansion

Klaus Krüger and Niklas Rotering

Operational flexibility in electrical energy generation and consumption as well as the provision of reliable and available capacity are two major challenges of the German energy transition (“Energiewende”). The consistent deployment of cost-effective and proven pumped storage technology can provide significant contributions to meet both challenges. This paper shows that an expansion of pumped storage plants as part of the energy transition is a technically and macro-economically interesting option for Germany. Pumped storage plants compensate the volatility of renewables and enable gentle and economically efficient operation of the remaining thermal power plant fleet.

Performance checks of new wind parks

Thomas Burchhart and Rudolf Zauner

Using the basic tool of performance analysis of a wind turbine fleet for the optimisation of the power output, small and large fleets of wind turbines alike can be monitored by the operator. This publication presents a top-down-approach for the detection and visualisation of underperforming wind turbines by detailed analysis of the production values, the availability data, as well as the power curve data of the individual wind turbines. The root cause analysis module presented here is the most complex part of this approach and combines different sources of information stored in one single database, following the overall goal to identify the root cause of underperformance. Finally the last chapter of this publication deals with an early fault detection system.

Production improvement of wind turbines by advanced yaw control

Fabio Bertolotti

The orientation of the rotor of a wind power plant into the wind, the so-called azimuth, is having major impact on the efficiency of a wind power plant. The efficiency of wind energy turbines can be increased by new yaw control technologies such as the rapid yaw technology described in this article. Reducing the gyroscopic forces during yaw motion is a key element to increase the yaw speed of wind turbines. This can be achieved by synchronising the yaw and the pitch activity instead of keeping it decoupled. Computer simulations and first field tests prove the potential of this new yaw strategy.

Safety requirements and trends within the scope of the development process of a wind turbine

Oliver Raupach

At wind energy plants of the multi-megawatt class various demands in terms of safety are made. These in principle different requirements of the structural integrity of the plant and of occupational safety have to be considered during the development process of the wind turbine with appropriate measures on the basis of different analysis methods. In particular for the complex mechatronical safety systems, which are necessary e.g. for the deceleration of the rotor, very early in the development process a careful definition of the requirements at hard and software must take place. Errors in this development phase have to be strictly avoided, since they often will be noticed very late and can be corrected only with high effort.

Operation of wind parks under icing conditions – A balancing act between production and safety

René Cattin

Atmospheric icing has a significant impact on the development and the operation of wind parks. It causes production losses and represents a safety risk for passersby and service personnel. To reach an optimal performance, the turbine must first be able to detect ice on the rotor blades as early as possible in order to either stop the turbine or to activate a de-icing system. Second, there has to be a device for “no ice” detection, i.e. a signal which states that the rotor blade is free of ice and thus normal operation can be resumed. Today, many promising approaches exist to tackle these issues. But there is still a considerable uncertainty regarding the reliability of the technical equipment on the one side and a need for practical experience on the other side.

Tackle the skills shortage in the wind energy sector

Jörg Schulte-Trux and Michael Schuhmacher

Companies which invest in wind power and operate onshore and offshore plants require highly qualified personnel for the plants’ service and maintenance. But as studies prove, these companies will have to cope with skills shortages in the long term. Besides, the job specifications required by service and maintenance personnel are not reflected by a proper job profile. The modular structured training as service technician for wind power technology as offered by KRAFTWERKSSCHULE e.V. (KWS) provides the opportunity of preparing employees optimally for their future workplace. In addition, the training may be adapted flexibly to the individual needs and requirements of the companies’ personnel development.

Utilisation of biomass in power plants designed for coal combustion – Challenges, experience and technical solutions

Patrick Moenckert, Frank Kluger, Hellmuth Brüggemann and Gerald Schmidt

The utilisation of biomass in steam power plants is generally accepted as opportunity of CO2 climate footprint abatement for power generation. Investigations are presented that were carried out by ALSTOM for retrofitting a design hard coal-fired power plant for biomass combustion. The requirements on fuel preparation due to changed fuel properties are shown. Impacts on the efficiency of heat transferring components and operation and capacity of the plant are also discussed.

Dealing with an earthquake in a power plant
An exercise and a learning experience

Vitro Cordeiro

The Ribatejo power plant is located in a high-risk earthquake area. Therefore management decided to provide training and to perform an exercise to improve staff behaviour and preparedness for this type of risk. The excercise was carried out jointly with national and local external safety parties. Experience and findings were gained which enable improved behaviour in future in cease of earthquakes. These will be circulated internally and externally.

Combustion optimisation of a steam generator-firing by use of model-based control structures

Heiko Kanisch, Dietmar Haake and Frank Müller

At the Jänschwalde power plant, a new modelbased control system to optimise combustion in lignite-fired 815 t/h steam generators is operated by Vattenfall Europe Generation AG. This system was developed, commissioned and operated in the years 2006 to 2012. The model base relies on an adapted artificial neural network (ANN) with knowledge-based model extensions. Modern evolutionary mathematical algorithms (EA) are used for the optimisation.

EPZ and AREVA – A longstanding partnership for the safe and reliable operation of the Dutch Borssele nuclear power plant

Yvonne Broy and Monique Linger

After 40 years of service, it belongs to the safest 25 % of all light-water reactors in the western hemisphere thanks to continuous modernisation. In doing so, Borssele is setting standards for maintenance and upgrades. In view of the continuation of operation until 2034, further comprehensive modernisation projects are planned. The plant operator, the Dutch N.V. Elektriciteitsproduktiemaatschappij (EPZ), decided to tackle this challenge with the support of its long-standing partner AREVA. Another milestone is coming up soon: The safety I&C shall gradually be changed to digital technology in the next years. Apart from close cooperation in plant technology, EPZ and AREVA also cooperate in fuel supply, as well as in the area of service and maintenance work.

Improving safety culture – A topic for maintenance?

Jochen Pillekamp and Katrin Keilig

Anchoring critical and highly-developed safety awareness within the culture of a company is the prerequisite for employees to permanently avoid risks. By developing a comprehensive safety culture, the Vattenfall Group wants to raise awareness for the topic and encourage the workforce to behave in a more safety-conscious way. The article names the most important factors identified in a positive practicing safety culture, and also provides an opportunity to evaluate our own safety culture. The main question is what influence does the culture have or can have on safety performance in maintenance?

Perspectives of the German lignite industry 2014

Matthias Hartung and George Milojcic

The decision to phase out nuclear energy and gradually realign the electricity system towards more renewables in the future required some extensive changes to electricity generation transmission. One of the issues to be considered is what role lignite can play in the transformation of the electricity system and what application is offered to Germany and its regions. However, lignite has some stable factors and their development is fairly predictable. Domestic lignite is one such example. Beyond its familiar attributes, “secure, competitive and economically important for the regions”, “flexibility” is a key word that indicates a new dimension for the German lignite industry.

Brief report on the activities of VGB PowerTech in 2013/2014

VGB PowerTech

VGB PowerTech e.V. is the European technical association for heat and power generation. The work of VGB largely depends on the many supporters and employees in the companies and the VGB office which manages the activities of the committees of VGB´s Competence Centres “Nuclear Power Plants”, “Power Plant Technologies”, “Renewables and Distributed Generation”, “Environmental Technology, Chemistry, Safety and Health” and “Technical Services”. VGB is also involved in power plant research through its research foundation and promotes important topics with funds from its member companies. In addition to this work, VGB organises seminars, symposia, conferences, and the annual Congress “Power Plants”. These conferences are further platforms for the international exchange of experience – just like the journal at hand.