A modern installation at the Lukomlskaya GRES saved over $31 million in a year
The first piles for the future power unit on the shore of Lake Lukoml were driven about 4 years ago. And it is unlikely that any of the townspeople, except for the energy workers and designers themselves, imagined then that, in essence, a second power plant would grow in this place, so to speak. The huge site, where the modern combined cycle gas turbine plant is now located, occupies about five hectares. The scale is considerable, and so are the nodes and units used here. It is enough to say that the 300-ton generator, manufactured in Germany, arrived in Belarus by water – from the port of Rotterdam to Kherson, then by a special barge across the Black Sea to the Dnieper, then along the Berezina to Borisov. Then by a 50-meter-long road train...
All this equipment is already operating within an unusual white-and-blue casing, which resembles a large ship that has entered a cozy port. When developing the future project, the energy specialists approached the selection of equipment for the modern unit very carefully. After analyzing the latest achievements of global manufacturers and calculating all the pros and cons, they settled on the following composition of the combined cycle power plant (CCPP): a gas turbine unit and a generator manufactured by Siemens, a steam turbine, a generator, and a waste heat recovery boiler manufactured in the PRC. The power of the combined cycle power unit is 427 megawatts. Now, let's move away from professional terminology. The head of the boiler and turbine shop, Vladimir Burak, will help us with this. He points to the huge, gleaming white metal structure in the center: "This is the heart of the CCPP – the gas turbine. It generates the main electricity. The steam produced in this process is fed to the steam turbine. As a result, using the same amount of fuel, electricity is generated twice. Therefore, the presence of two technologically interconnected turbines is the main advantage of the new power unit. Resource saving is very important, as fuel accounts for the lion's share of all electricity costs. By reducing fuel consumption, we reduce costs and prime costs. According to design calculations, in Belarusian conditions, the CCPP can save over 170 thousand tons of standard fuel per year, worth more than 30 million dollars. The first months of its operation have shown that this is a real task. The director of Lukomlskaya GRES, Alexander Bazylenko, provides the figures: "In the first year, 180 thousand tons of fuel were saved, worth 31 million dollars. While the total cost of this grand project is 368 million dollars. The advantage of the new unit is the high efficiency of the combined cycle. It is 57 percent, while the modernized units currently operating at Lukomlskaya GRES have an efficiency of only 39 percent. In addition, the new power unit is more environmentally friendly, as it uses less water, produces a small amount of emissions, and has a low concentration of harmful substances in them. Currently, the new power unit accounts for a quarter of the power capa
the entire power plant, operates a third more economically, and can supply electricity to half of the Vitebsk region. If previously 313 grams of conventional fuel were spent per kilowatt-hour produced at the power plant as a whole, the CCGT consumes only 225 grams. Therefore, the new power unit is utilized at full capacity. Today, we have the flexibility to carry out scheduled maintenance of old equipment.Now the power plant frequently hosts excursions. Industry veterans are keenly interested in new technologies and admire what has been achieved. The enterprise management is confident that even after the nuclear power plant is launched in Belarus, the importance of the Lukomlskaya GRES will not diminish at all. It will be able to provide a reliable reserve of capacity precisely due to the modernization carried out here. Today, in the structure of the entire Belarusian energy system, the Lukomlskaya GRES bears one-third of the total load, and even more in the summer months. Thus, the construction of the new power unit is an important state project that has helped strengthen the country's energy security as a whole. The construction of CCGT-400 was included in the state program for the development of the Belarusian energy system. In addition to Chinese general contractors, over 250 enterprises and organizations from our country worked at the construction site. And the new power unit generated its first electricity exactly on the schedule set by the project.
By the way
Over 2.5 thousand piles were driven for the future combined cycle plant on the territory of the Lukomlskaya GRES. It can withstand an earthquake of magnitude 6. It is serviced by 8 people per shift. The central control panel displays even the slightest fluctuations in its operating system in real time. In case of an emergency, this complex electronic organism, with a unique self-protection system, will be able to cope with the problem without human intervention and with minimal damage to the equipment. For example, a special protective "suit" will prevent a gas turbine fire. With the help of carbon dioxide automatically supplied under its casing, the fire will be extinguished in a matter of seconds and the increased temperature will be reduced. Delicate electronic mechanisms will not be affected.
Competently
— Our power plant is rightfully considered one of the most reliable and economical condensing power plants in Belarus and Russia. It is 46 years old. Once, specialists claimed that the equipment's service life was about three decades. In the early 2000s, after the President's visit to Lukomlskaya GRES, a large-scale modernization program for the enterprise, which is the largest representative of our country's energy system, was developed. The phased implementation of this program allowed us to extend the service life of LGRS for several more decades and significantly increase its efficiency. After the commissioning of the combined cycle plant, a completely different stage of development began at the power plant — innovative solutions, new technologies, environmental safety, increased reliability, and fuel efficiency.
Elena Begunova, "SB".