ACTS Keeps Power Plant's Discharge Temps in Check
Customer challenge
At a major power plant’s generation facility in Florida,
maintaining regulated temperatures for discharge water can be a
challenge during the summer. Cooling water flowing in from the Gulf
is warm, and customer demand is at its highest. The plant faced a
choice: either cool its discharge water or reduce production
through de-rates. A de-rate at that plant means power has to come
from other plants burning more expensive fuels, which means higher
costs for customers.
The Aggreko solution
Aggreko Cooling Tower Services (ACTS)
provided a flexible, modular cooling tower solution that the plant
could use during peak periods of demand or weather extremes –
whenever it faced rising discharge temperatures. The Aggreko team
installed 67 x 1000 ton cooling towers, 27 pumps, plus several
miles of piping and associated fittings to meet the plant’s cooling
needs – a major and complex deployment. The entire system is fully
automated, PC controlled and managed by the plant’s operators
located off-site.
A cost-efficient solution to a sporadic
problem
With cooling towers from Aggreko in place, the power
plant can operate the “helper” towers only when needed to avoid
de-rates. And by cooling discharge water only during peak demand,
the plant will be able to provide the most cost-effective energy
when its customers need it most. This solution will also enable the
customer to determine if its thermal issues are temporary in nature
before they invest in a more costly long-term
solution.