13 gas turbines to get predictive maintenance software

GE’s Predix asset performance management software will be installed on 13 GE turbines at six gas-fired plants belonging to Invenergy in the US with a combined operating capacity of 3,159 MW.

The APM solution will help plant O&M technicians more accurately predict and diagnose equipment failures before they occur to avoid unplanned outages. It also enables intelligent asset strategies balancing cost reductions, better reliability and risk management.

“Cutting-edge technologies, including advanced digital solutions such as APM and software analytics, give us greater visibility into the performance of our plants at both the asset management and fleet level, while demonstrating real economic value for our plant operations,” said Jim Shield, EVP & chief commercial officer at Invenergy. “We believe these digital solutions are the key element of our innovation strategy to deliver power more reliably to our customers’ energy needs.”

Invenergy initiated its digital initiative with GE in 2015, with a pilot project designed to test early detection of equipment or system failures using machine data sensors, predictive analytics and process optimizations.

During the test, the companies detected a turbine journal bearing issue with early stage vibration. If undetected, that issue could have damaged the turbine and resulted in an unplanned outage during peak periods of plant operation. Invenergy was able to take corrective actions to fix the issue until the full equipment health could be examined more closely during the scheduled maintenance window.