Fast start combined cycle begins operation in California

In an opening ceremony on August 10, 2012, Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) officially dedicated the Lodi Energy Center (LEC). The new plant with an installed capacity of 300 MW is located in Lodi, California. For this natural 

gas

-fired plant Siemens supplied the SCC6-5000F 1x1 Flex-Plant power islandwhich will enable NCPA to bring the plant to full load in very short time. The Siemens Flex-Plant( 30 is designed to deliver approximately 200 MW of power to the grid within 30 minutes. 

"Lodi Energy Center will be the first operating Siemens Flex-Plant combined cycle plant in the U.S.A. and will contribute to meeting California's ambitious renewable energy and greenhouse gas

 reduction goals

," said Mario Azar, Head of Gas Turbine

 Power Plant Solutions Americas in the Fossil Power Generation Division at Siemens Energy. 

The Siemens SCC6-5000F 1x1 Flex-Plant allows for a high level of operating flexibility to react to market opportunities. It is a highly efficient combined cycle plant designed for intermediate to continuous duty that is capable of daily cycling at efficiencies of over 57 percent. Plant startup times are reduced by up to 50 percent due to the integration of fast-start features, including the three-pressure reheat heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) with Benson once-through technology, high capacity steam attemperation and full capacity steam bypass systems. Other features that contribute to start the plant very fast are innovative piping warm-up strategies, the Siemens' steam 

turbine

 stress controller (TSC), a modern water treatment system, and optimized plant stand-by using auxiliary steam to maintain vacuum.