Siemens bags service contract extensions for combined cycle plants in Pennsylvania

Talen Energy Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, has awarded Siemens long-term parts and service contract extensions for the Lower Mount Bethel and Ironwood combined-cycle gas power plants in Pennsylvania (PA), USA. The new agreements also feature solutions and contractual enhancements designed to improve the operational flexibility, availability, and performance of the gas turbines at the facilities.

The Lower Mount Bethel power plant is a 623 MW rated natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located in Bangor, PA. The plant began operations in 2004. The new long-term agreement at Lower Mount Bethel covers scheduled maintenance activities, spare parts, power diagnostics and performance monitoring for the plant's two SGT6-5000F gas turbines for the next 20 years.

Designed to reduce maintenance costs

It features several solutions from a Siemens suite of GT performance enhancements designed to maximize each unit's availability, power output, and fuel efficiency: Extended Interval Combustion Hardware, which is designed to enable the GTs to run longer between inspections to increase availability and reduce maintenance costs; an advanced hardware thermal performance upgrade; and a rotor exchange and comprehensive inspection to help extend the life of the rotor components.

The Ironwood power plant is a 705 MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant located in Lebanon, PA. The plant began operations in 2001 and was one of the first plants in the U.S. to operate the SGT6-6000G gas turbine.

At the next major inspection new blade rings is likely to be installed for performance degradation recovery, and a rotor exchange and comprehensive inspection is expected to take place to help extend the life of the units. Siemens will also provide control system solutions from its suite of GT operational flexibility and reliability enhancements, including Outlet Temperature Control (OTC+) and Combustion Dynamics Monitoring System (CDMS).