Control system of Austin LM6000s replaced

Wood Group GTS has been awarded a $1.4M contract by the City of Austin to replace four proprietary GE Millennium turbine control panels at the Sand Hill Energy Center in Austin, Texas. The panels will be replaced with Wood Group GTS’icon control systems, which give power plant operators the ability to modify turbine controls themselves to meet differing plant conditions.

Under this turnkey contract, Wood Group GTS is responsible for the design, control system equipment, software, site installation, testing and commissioning of the new systems. The control panels will be replaced with an open-architecture Rockwell ControlLogix platform. 

The Sand Hill EnergyCenter consists of 270 MW of peaking units. Units 1-4 came online in 2001, generating 180 MW. Two additional units totaling 90 MW were added in 2010. A 300 MW combined cycle unit was completed in 2004; it is expandable to 500 MW with the addition of a second gas turbine. 

“GE LM6000 gas turbines play an essential part in driving today’s power plants and industrial power generation facilities. However, the proprietary OEM systems that control those turbines are nearing the end of their natural life cycles and many owners are experiencing issues due to obsolescence, functional limitations or maintainability challenges,” said Frank Avery, president of Wood Group GTS – Power Plant Services.

Icon controls are part of Wood Group GTS’ overall products and services designed to maximize the return on plant operators’ investment in gas turbine technology.