A2A and GE Breathe New Life Into Old Assets

65 ^{mega watts}

Per GT min load level

2.5 ^x

Faster load ramping

Introduction Challenge Digital Solutions Results

Introduction

Company

A2A

Industry

Power Generation Software

Product Categories

Asset Performance Management (APM) Software

A2A and GE work together to transform the Chivasso power plant

Challenge

A History of Collaboration

In 1952, when GE installed its first steam turbine in Italy at A2A’s Chivasso power plant, it was just the beginning of an innovative partnership.

With the help of GE, Chivasso was re-opened in November 2015 following a number of hardware and software upgrades. To reopen the plant, A2A needed improvements to increase efficiency and have a lower impact on the environment.

Our fleet will reap the benefits of GE’s digital solutions. These upgrades allowed us to restart the Chivasso plant after we were forced to mothball the facility three years ago because the plant could not respond quickly enough to changing grid demands. With GE’s hardware and software solutions, we can now react more quickly to market conditions while reducing operating costs and improving the plant’s environmental footprint.

Valerio Camerano, CEO of A2A

Digital Solutions

Getting to Work

The team began by installing GE’s OpFlex software on six 9FA gas turbines at three combined-cycle power plants in Lombardia in northern Italy. At Chivasso, GE upgraded two 9FA gas turbines with OpFlex Dry Low NOx 2.6+ combustion technology. GE’s Operations Optimization solution was implemented to gather machine sensor data, apply analytics and help A2A plant management understand how to engage the OpFlex controls software to better react to market conditions, lower operating costs, and reduce the plant’s environmental footprint.

Results

The Chivasso power plant has taken its first step toward a digital industrial transformation by achieving a 65 MW per gas turbine minimum load level—the best in GE’s 9FA fleet—and enabling load ramping at up to 50 MW per minute, or two-and-a-half times the normal rate.

GE’s digital solutions are breathing new life into power plants previously believed to be unsustainable, and our technologies allow A2A to reinvent how they operate their assets. We are excited to help position them to ‘win’ and remain competitive with their existing fleets.

Paul McElhinney, president and CEO of GE’s Power Services business