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Home > About Us > Press Center > 2004 Press Releases : Press Release |
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GE Energy Delivers Increased Output Stability And Positions Hydro Plant for Performance Gains MONTREAL, CANADA (August 18, 2004) — GE Energy has installed its state-of-the-art Atlas™ 3D Cam turbine control solution at the California Department of Water Resources' Alamo Plant in Lancaster, Calif. GE Energy's upgrade on the 18-megawatt Kaplan turbine delivers a robust, digital control solution that contributes to increased stability and offers the potential for plant efficiency improvements. GE's Atlas 3D Cam solution combines the Woodward™ Atlas programmable logic control (PLC) with proprietary hydro control algorithms to create a customized controller. The new configuration, which replaced the obsolete analog 3D cam board in the existing Woodward Mod II 3D Cam function, provides automatic blade positioning to enable more efficient turbine operation. The modular hydro control system manages the blade position as a function of the available head and gate position, and is expandable to cover all governor and balance of plant processes, as operational and maintenance control needs increase. The Atlas 3D Cam also enables simplified online index testing, opening the possibility for increased water efficiencies by best matching current water flow. Updating the curve data in the control system allows the Atlas 3D Cam to automatically move the turbine blades to the most effective position, resulting in more efficient plant operation. "The Atlas 3D Cam upgrade has made a positive impact on Alamo Plant's operating performance," said Ron Langford, plant engineer, California Department of Water Resources' Alamo Plant. "We have a more stable unit operation and have minimized output drift to meet California Independent System Operator (CA ISO) requirements. The Atlas 3D Cam reduces our maintenance costs through automation and allows us to focus on meeting the needs of our energy customers." "GE Energy's Atlas 3D Cam enables plants to customize their turbines to specifically meet operating and maintenance targets," said Ricardo Artigas, president of energy services for GE Energy. "As our world's power needs become increasingly sophisticated and dependent on renewable energy, GE's advanced control solutions continue to enable hydro plants to maximize their water resources." The California Department of Water Resources operates eight hydroelectric power plants and 20 hydroelectric pumping plants across the state of California, marketing its generated power to CA ISO. Its mission is to manage the water resources of California, in cooperation with other agencies, and to protect, restore and enhance the natural and human environments. GE Energy's global controls services business provides custom-designed solutions for turbine generator and compressor controls, as well as plant-wide systems. Optimizing performance for turbines from a variety of equipment manufacturers, GE's solutions are focused on enhancing our customers operating revenue and providing tangible bottom-line benefits. About GE Energy GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries. For more information, contact: GE Energy: Dennis Murphy GE Energy (678) 844 6948 dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com Gina DeRossi or Howard Masto Masto Public Relations (518) 786 6488 gina.derossi@mastopr.com howard.masto@ps.ge.com > Press Contacts > More 2004 Press Releases |