We supplied two “turnkey” generator sets to the biggest combined-cycle power plant in Jamaica

One of our latest projects in America has taken us to Jamaica.

We’ve had the pleasure of participating in one of the largest engineering projects in the island, the Old Harbour Bay combined-cycle power plant, the biggest in the country, for which we’ve designed and provided two special gensets.

Located in the fishing port of Old Harbour Bay, at almost 100 kilometres from Kingston, the 190 MW power plant is designed to operate with two fuels, gas and diesel, and uses a seawater cooling system. In this type of power plant there are special loads that must be fed permanently for the correct operation of the installation, for example, systems from the water treatment plant or the pumps from the lubrication units. These elements must continue operating so that, in an emergency situation such as a power outage, the whole system can be safely shut down. This is precisely the job of one of the gensets supplied by Genesal Energy.

The other is a Black Start unit, whose purpose is to power a motor in charge of the rotation of the main turbine, an element used for the cold start of the turbine after a programmed shut down. Furthermore, this genset has the particularity of supplying medium voltage directly (6600V).

Our client requested that both gensets be managed, controlled and monitorized completely from the genset’s control panel. The control philosophy consists in the diesel generator set being connected to the main power panel which is connected to the power busbars of the installation’s special loads -in the case of the emergency unit- or of the gas turbines – in the case of the Black Start unit.

Adapted to the client’s needs

For the implementation of this control system, a PLC was integrated in order to manage all of the elements of the generating installation, as well as a protection relay and a synchronizer for parallel with mains operation.

Both units were designed according to the client’s needs: special sets with a turnkey service. This way, each genset is soundproof and installed in a completely adapted container which includes all of the elements requested by our client (air conditioning, fans, motorized louvers, fire detection systems…).

Where we’ve had the pleasure of participating in one of the largest engineering projects in the island, the Old Harbour Bay combined-cycle power plant.

Features

• Power panel integrated in the same soundproof container. In the case of the Black Start set, they’re Medium Voltage Switchgear.
• Recirculation and heating system for the engine’s cooling liquid in order to provide the correct temperature during engine start-up.
• Air conditioning system in the genset’s control.
• Motorized louvers.
• Fans in the engine room to keep the temperature under control.
• Superficial treatment for the container according to the ISO 12944 standard, with a C5I coating.
• Anti-condensation heater in the alternator.
• NFPA fuel tank
• Management of the genset control system and associated systems from the client’s installation through a PLC and a touch-screen.
• Protection relays and mains analyzer for the generator.
• Fire detection system integrated in the client’s installation’s detection loop.
• Fire extinction system through water sprinklers.