Wood Group GTS's automated combustion tuning technology selected for Frame 7FA fleet

Wood Group GTS recently won a contract to install 15 ECOMAX systems, an automated combustion technology, of which 12 units have already been installed. The owner of a large fleet of combined-cycle power plants in the US has awarded the contract. The remaining units are scheduled to be installed later this year.

The independent power producer granted the contract to Wood Group GTS following an assessment of a pilot project at one of its facilities operating two GE Frame 7FA turbines. One year after installation, ECOMAX tuning technology demonstrated more than 0.75 per cent power increase and more than a 0.15 per cent decrease in heat rate.

ECOMAX is said to deliver a fully automated solution that optimizes gas turbine combustor systems in near real time, while controlling emissions, managing dynamics and providing increased output, without exceeding OEM design limits. The performance improvement demonstrated at the power plant is expected to have the potential to save operators hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel every year.

Frank Avery of Wood Group GTS said operators of 'F' technology gas turbines not only reduce maintenance costs but also to improve the life cycle value of their technology investment. "ECOMAX provides operators of Frame 7FA machines with flexibility to set operational objectives for a given time or set of circumstances, returning control of the unit to the operator.”

In 2011, a master service agreement was signed with the customer governing terms of business for a range of services including field service, capital parts, and component repairs, gas and steam turbine overhauls, fuel nozzle repairs, and compressor water wash systems to support the fleet.