Caithness Energy has partnered with Energy Solutions Consortium to develop a 630MW natural gas fired combined cycle facility in Harrison County, West Virginia featuring General Electric 7HA.02 gas turbine technology.
Construction is scheduled to begin this summer, with completion scheduled in 2022. Power generated will be sold into the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland interconnection (PJM) regional electric grid.
The 1×1 combined cycle configuration is designed around GE’s 384MW 7H.02 gas turbine, a heat recovery steam generator (with duct firing to increase steam output), nominally rated 250MW steam turbine generator, and gas turbine air inlet evaporative cooling system (to improve hot day output).
With no duct firing, GE’s combined cycle reference plant design is ISO rated at 573MW net plant output at 63.4% net plant output. With max supplementary duct firing, plant’s power output can be increased to approximately 630MW.
Other key design features include dry low-NOx combustors and selective catalytic reduction to control gas turbine carbon monoxide (CO) emissions; fuel gas heater to preheat the fuel before combustion; dry air cooled condenser (in lieu of wet cooling tower for steam condensation).
For emissions permitting purposes, plant engineers estimate that the gas turbine will undergo 260 start-ups per year with a mixture of of 208 “hot” starts (following 8-hr or less shutdown), 40 “warm” starts (less than 72-hr shutdown) and no over 12 “cold” starts (72-hr or more shutdown).
Gemma Power Systems has been awarded the EPC contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the project.
