pwr_october-2023 - 29

TOP PLANT
1. Three power plants running seven GE
9HA.02
high-efficiency,
air-cooled
gas turbines
are currently in commercial operation:
Track 4A (2021) and Edra Melaka Power Plant
(2022) in Malaysia, and Bang Pakong in Thailand
(2022). GE says that the HA fleet has
reached over 2 million operating hours, and so
far, the 9HA.02 fleet has completed more than
100,000 running hours for the seven units in
commercial operation plus four units currently
in commissioning. Courtesy: GE Vernova
But while the project initially progressed
ahead of schedule for two months, " like
any other projects around the world, it
was unfortunately affected by the COVID-19
pandemic, which has resulted in
closure of the project site, " Edra noted.
Still, despite the pandemic-related delays,
the project " was delivered with agile
execution, highest quality standards,
and within budget, " it said. " Notably, the
power plant has to-date achieved close
to 15 million safe man-hours without any
lost time injury (since construction commenced), "
it stressed.
Edra credits the achievement to " hard
work and strong collaborative efforts "
by the project's vast team. Along with
Edra's dedicated project team, consisting
of Edra Group Business and Project
Development, and its Group Operations
and Maintenance (O&M), the project was
spearheaded by a consortium of Hyundai
Engineering, Hyundai Engineering and
Construction, and Hyundai Engineering
Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., which served as the
engineering, procurement, and construction
(EPC) contractor. GE served as the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM),
and Jacobs Engineering Malaysia Sdn.
Bhd. was its owner's engineer. Edra noted
it procured EPC and OEM contracts
through competitive bids.
Cutting-Edge Technology
A big draw to select 9HA.02 gas turbines
(Figure 1)-though demonstrated
only once worldwide at Track 4A-was
" GE offered the most competitive offer
in terms of technical and commercial
aspects, " Anbarasan noted. Crucial for
plant performance was that the 9HA.02,
rated at 838 MW under International
Standards Organization (ISO) conditions,
pushes net efficiency beyond 64%. The
technology also offers a hot-mode startOctober
2023 | POWER
up time of less than 30 minutes, a fast
ramp rate of up to 88 MW per minute
to cater for automatic generation control
(AGC) and immediate frequency
response to support the grid, and a
low turndown to minimum emissioncompliance
load. According to Edra, the
9HA.02's standard dry low-NOx (DLN)
2.6e+ combustion capabilities were
also well-suited for compliance with Malaysia's
clean air regulations. As significantly,
its flexibility capabilities include a
standby and response mode of less than
15% load and hydrogen readiness of up
to 50%. At the Melaka plant, prominently,
GE's supplied HRSGs " are designed
to provide reliable high-cycling duty due
to the innovative single-row harp configuration
in the front (hot) end of the
HRSG, producing three times less stress
than conventional multi-row harps, " the
OEM told POWER. The design is tailored
for fast starts, rapid response, and low
turndown, it said.
Finally, the package offered safety integrity
level (SIL) protection using the GE
Mark VIe distributed control system, providing
added safety to the grid system
and overall plant safety compliance. GE
also offered Edra a holistic solution, including
the core power plant equipment,
a 21-year service agreement, and digital
solutions to manage all project lifecycle
aspects. " It's important to consider specific
project requirements and compare
the turbines' capabilities, as different
applications may have unique needs, "
Edra noted. " GE's 9HA.02 has gained
recognition in the market for its overall
efficiency, power output, flexibility, and
advanced features. "
Hitting the Road Running
Experience gained from a track record as
an IPP with a 5-GW fleet in five countries
proved essential for Edra to ensure the
smooth execution of the project's development
and construction phases. To
meet the tight project timeframe, for example,
the Hyundai consortium, Jacobs,
and Edra kicked off engineering work
before issuance of the NTP, which was
issued in December 2017 under a limited
NTP. Another prescient decision was that
Edra sought to maximize localized supply
chains, requiring EPC partners to source
equipment, materials, and services from
Malaysian subcontractors and suppliers.
Edra also actively involved lenders
during project execution to ensure transparency,
which resulted in " good financial
health " of the project. According to
Anbarasan, " Transparency was also intewww.powermag.com
POWER
POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ The 2,242-MW Edra Melaka Power
Plant (EMPP), the world's second GE
9HA.02 gas turbine power plant, is
also the largest in the world using
the new technology.
✔ EMPP, which meets 10% of
Peninsular Malaysia's load, was
implemented for critical grid
stabilization and efficient, reliable,
and affordable power.
✔ While challenged by the pandemic,
the three-block project was
successfully completed within
budget, a feat achieved through
collaboration with a consortium of
partners.
✔ Early integration of an operations
and maintenance (O&M) team
has ensured seamless O&M after
commissioning.
gral " in guaranteeing the relatively new
technology would function as designed.
" Without transparency, there is no collaboration,
and with that there are lots of
issues [a customer and OEM] can solve
together, " he said.
Yet another remarkable aspect of
Edra's project management approach
was proactively planning for " manpower
competency and proper handover " to
minimize O&M gaps. " In a lot of projects,
they will have a construction team,
and once the plant has been commissioned,
there will be a new operations
and maintenance team to take over, " he
said. " In this project, for the first time, I
believe in Malaysia, we had an O&M integrated
into the project team, " he said.
The " shadow " team, mainly comprising
senior O&M staff, was engaged in the
project from its initial construction phase
to, for example, " run through all the engineering
drawings, the product, and
so on, " Edra added. " Once we reached
core commissioning, we started adding
more people [to the O&M team] to
ensure they move with the project with
the OEM, " it said. " With the hands-on
experience during construction and commissioning
phase, and the legacy power
plants experience, the team working as
part of the project was then converted to
the most competent O&M team. " ■
-Sonal Patel is a POWER
senior associate editor.
29
http://www.powermag.com
PWR_ October-2023

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