GE’s Migration Pack upgrade features a competitive replacement of controls technology
Image: Controls upgrade completed at Engie Group’s Baymina Power Plant in Turkey. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.
GE has completed what it claims to be the first-of-its-kind controls upgrade at the Engie Group-operated 770MW Baymina Power Plant in Turkey, to help improve its flexibility, availability and the lifetime.
Located in 40km South West of Ankara, the Baymina natural gas fired combined cycle power plant is equipped to generates electricity to meet the power needs of has 1.6 million households.
Commissioned in December 2003, the combined-cycle power plant comprises two of GE’s 9FA.03 gas turbines with 235MW each, and an Alstom DKY224-4N4/B steam turbine with 325MW capacity.
GE’s Mark VIe system helps Baymina Power Plant reduce start-up times
As part of the upgrade project, GE was responsible for the migration Alstom-built ALSPA P320 V1 controls to GE’s Mark VIe system in a bid to help Baymina Power Plant reduce start-up times and maintenance costs, while improving reliability.
GE said that the Migration Pack upgrade involves replacement of the controls technology while retaining the core hardware infrastructure of the system.
GE Power automation & controls general manager Olivier Jamart said: “Developed in three years, our Migration Pack not only delivers the latest Mark VIe technology, but also helps plant operators—like Baymina—benefit from cost savings, allowing for up to 30% reduction in outage time when compared to a full scope replacement of the existing controls system and lower system disruption risk.
“This solution features the latest cybersecurity solutions as well as better operator decision-making and troubleshooting based on controls data to help increase reliability and availability of the plant asset.”
Work also included integration of a new steam turbine stress calculator, named Turbomax, designed to control the trade-off between starting time and rotor life, to ensure efficient operation.
Baymina engineering and maintenance manager Hayati Yildirim said: “Our Baymina power plant was commissioned about 15 years ago, so it was important for us to modernize our controls system.
“With GE’s hardware and software solutions, we can now react more quickly to demand conditions while reducing maintenance costs.”
In June 2019, GE Steam Power and AAEM Turbine technology have commenced manufacturing the Arabelle steam turbine for the Akkuyu nuclear power project in Turkey.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is currently under development in Büyükeceli, Mersin Province, in the country.