24
A California Power Plant
Showcases US Energy Solutions
Hours at Lodi
In the city of Lodi in northern ­California,
a fast-starting combined ­cycle power plant leads
the way to a ­reliable, resource-friendly,
­­
and affordable energy delivery for ­California.
Meet America’s first Siemens Flex-Plant™ 30.
Text: Roman Elsener Photos: Marcel Langenegger
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nology has been deployed in the
USA,” explains Jim Pope, General
Manager of the Northern California
Power Agency (NCPA). The NCPA is
a not-for-profit joint powers agency
that was founded in 1968 as a forum
through which community-owned
utilities could prevent costly market
abuses employed by private utilities
at that time. The goal was to invest in
an affordable, reliable, and clean fu­
ture energy supply for the electric tax­
payer.
Optimized from the Start
John Quitter, a combustion engineer at the Lodi Energy Center,
in front of the Siemens Flex-Plant 30. “Not only is this plant efficient,
it’s the cleanest in California,” he says.
“It’s all about efficiency – how
to get the most out of as little
fuel as possible.”
John Quitter, Combustion Engineer
“O
The Lodi Energy Center
uses treated wastewater
from the city of Lodi for
cooling and steam.
h Lord, I’m stuck in Lodi
again!” At the height of the
California music scene of the
late 1960s, John Fogerty of the classic
American rock act Creedence Clear­
water Revival got off the Greyhound
bus in the small city of Lodi in the
big plains between Sacramento and
San Francisco, and “ran out of time
and money.” He wrote a song about
his experience and put Lodi forever
on the map. Some 40 years later, Lodi
is still a small town where the quaint
shops close at sundown and the res­
taurants at 10 p.m. Its 62,000 residents
are dispersed across a flat expanse at
five people per square kilometer. Just
like Fogerty, you are lost without your
wheels here.
But Lodi is, in fact, hardly a bad place
to be stuck in. It has a reputation as an
excellent wine region and is dubbed
the “Zinfandel Capital of the World.”
It is here, out in the remotest wet­
lands of the San Francisco Bay, that
the future of US energy began last
year, at the Lodi Energy Center and
its Siemens Flex-Plant 30: a gas-fired
combined cycle system delivering
nearly 300 megawatts, the first such
power plant in the USA. In a combined
cycle, a power train uses a gas-fired
turbine at the front end to generate
electricity. Then it takes the waste
heat from the gas turbine to produce
steam. Through a steam turbine at the
back end, more electricity is generated.
Thanks to Siemens’ “fast-start” tech­
nology, emissions can be significantly
reduced, and the plant can respond
rapidly to changing market conditions.
“It’s the most efficient plant in Cali­
fornia, maybe in the whole country.
It is the first time the fast-start tech­
Today, 45 years later, the numbers are
impressive: NCPA has an owned gen­
eration portfolio that is among the
cleanest in the nation, production
costs of 7 cents per kilowatt-hour, and
20 to 30 percent less start-up emis­
sions. Pope and NCPA’s Assistant Gen­
eral Manager of Generation Ken
Speer take us on a tour of the new fa­
cility. “It’s the fast-start capabilities
along with the high efficiency that
make this plant unique,” Speer says.
“Before this, you could build an effi­
cient plant or you could do a fast
start, but nowhere could you do
both.” He praised the Siemens system
installed at the LEC, which is complete­
ly integrated – from the combined cy­
cle plant’s gas turbine and the heat re­
covery steam generator (HRSG) to the
steam turbine condenser.
“Normally, when these plants are
built, you go out and solicit bids for
the various components with your
engineering company, putting things
together and making them fit. This
one was optimized from the begin­
ning,” Speer says. “By looking at all
the various components that would
delay quick start-up of a plant,
Siemens was able to identify where
those problems were.” For instance, u
Living Energy · No. 8 | July 2013 67
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Jim Pope, General Manager of the Northern California Power Agency (left),
and Ken Speer, Assistant General Manager, Generation Services, at the NCPA
touring the LEC in Lodi.
“California will meet the renewable
portfolio standard of 33 percent,
and they’ll do it by 2020.”
Jim Pope, General Manager, NCPA
one of the main components that
­ elays a start-up is the main HP steam
d
drum, a very thick piece of metal.
You have to heat it very slowly, or you
will crack it. Now, the Benson boiler
doesn’t have an HP steam drum, so
you completely eliminate that costly
time. “The ramping capability at this
plant allows us to provide energy to
match the variable renewable re­
sources of wind and solar. As the
wind comes up or the sun starts to
shine, we can ramp down, and if
there’s no wind and no sun, we can
ramp up,” says Pope. “This plant can
do that efficiently and cleanly.”
Ambitious,
but Achievable Goals
Efficiency and resource-friendliness
are really the keywords for California.
The state has set ambitious energy
goals: In seven years, one-third of its
energy will have to come from renew­
able sources like wind and solar. Pope
68 Living Energy · No. 8 | July 2013
believes that this goal can be achieved:
“California will meet the renewable
portfolio standard of 33 percent, and
they’ll do it by 2020.” In his opinion,
the concern is now for California’s
­Independent System Operator (ISO),
which manages the grid and sends
dispatch orders to the power plants
to ramp up or down, depending on
the variable renewable sources. “The
question is how reliably will it be do­
ne,” says Pope. “But I think the indus­
try will provide enough renewables
through contract and through con­
struction to meet the goals. The bot­
tom line is: The state and the econo­
my run on computers and high tech,
and they need reliable energy. If
you’re not reliable, you’re going to
have a negative economic impact on
the state’s economy.”
Unreliable Renewables
One thing both NCPA managers are
convinced of: Renewables alone will
not do the job of energizing Califor­
nia or the USA; a certain percentage
of fossil sources will be needed for
a reliable, affordable energy mix.
“You are not going to be able to be
‘100 percent renewable’ because of
the variability of the wind and solar
resources,” says Pope. “The only way
to do that would be to find some eco­
nomical energy storage technology.
But that is a long way away,” he adds.
Walking around the Lodi plant and
its impressive machinery, you get a
sense of the pride Pope and Speer
take in their project. “It’s a brand-new
plant, and everybody’s learning,”
says Speer. “Every plant has its own
personality, and now we’re learning
how we can put it in the market as a
very valuable resource for the partici­
pants of the project.” In more than
20 years in the business, he has seen
a lot of power plants. “When I bring
a new plant online, it typically takes
about six months to work out all the
bugs. We’ve gotten there much quick­
er on this plant,” he explains. In the
NCPA’s view, the LEC can serve very
well as a role model for meeting
­California’s future energy demands.
“This Flex-Plant 30 is the only plant
of its kind in California, and the state
needs probably a dozen more,” Pope u
Running the power plant with a click on the mouse: LEC plant operator Kenneth Parker in the control room.
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“It’s the fast-start capabilities along with the high
­efficiency that make this
plant unique.”
Ken Speer, NCPA Assistant General Manager of Generation
Detail of the Benson boiler, a key
­element to the fast-start capabilities
of the power train, seen from the
east side.
The power train of the Siemens Flex-Plant 30 at the LEC, seen from the west side.
70 Living Energy · No. 8 | July 2013
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“The Flex-Plant is a Key Player in the American Markets”
“The Flex-Plant is specifically
designed for complementing
renewable resources.”
Mario Azar
Mario Azar is the Executive
Vice President of Siemens
Energy Solutions for the
Americas, which covers
North and South America
from the Orlando, Florida,
headquarters with regional
offices in Rio de Janeiro,
Santiago de Chile, and
Mexico City. Azar has
worked closely with the
Northern California Power
Agency (NCPA) as they con­
structed one of California’s
cleanest and most efficient
combined cycle plants, the
Flex-Plant 30 in Lodi.
fornia has always been at
the cutting edge in envi­
ronmental awareness, even
when it comes to cars, for
example. They always had
the earliest and strictest
laws on emissions. They
have been adding quite a
bit of renewable capacity.
Utilities in the state are re­
quired to meet 20 percent
of retail sales from renew­
ables by the end of next
year, building up to the ul­
timate goal of 33 percent by
2020. The Flex-Plant has
become quite a key player
in this market.
LE: Is the Flex-Plant also
a good solution for countries in Latin America?
MA: We certainly are ex­
panding activities in Latin
America. The Flex-Plant is
really designed for the spe­
cific application of comple­
menting renewable re­
sources. It is useful when
you need to ramp up quick­
ly, with much more efficient
use of the fuel and reduced
emissions. There are mar­
kets in Latin America where
this is needed. Brazil is one
of them. They are adding a
lot of renewables to their
grid, and we are already
talking to customers about
it. Mexico could also be a
market for the Flex-Plant
technology. In the USA,
Cali­fornia is an excellent
­example, and the ­people
from the NCPA were vision­
ary enough to recognize
ahead of time that this re­
gion is ideal for this kind
of plant.
LE: Can you explain why
natural gas is booming
in the USA?
MA: A lot of it stems from
the gas drilling technology
that has really advanced,
with development of hori­
zontal drilling, for exam­
ple, providing greatly im­
proved access to shale gas.
According to CERA, the
amount of natural gas
available for use has in­
creased by 20 percent since
2009 and is expected to
grow in the future. This
abundance of gas has
drawn the gas price to his­
toric lows, making it very
attractive economically for
power generators.
LE: Why is California ­ideal?
MA: This state has been the
leader in the USA in adding
renewable generation. Cali­
LE: Can gas alone avert
a looming energy crisis
in the USA?
MA: I am not really aware
of an “energy crisis” in the
USA, and the use of natural
gas certainly will help us
stay out of a crisis mode.
The USA could face an en­
ergy crisis if regulations
switch to an extremely
strict environmental policy,
and we begin shutting
down coal plants fast and
phasing out nuclear plants
quickly. There has been
talk about it, but it hasn’t
really happened yet. The
only state in the USA that
has a low reserve margin is
Texas, and they are re­
sponding very quickly now
to add capacity, as you can
see with the new FlexPlants we are building
there.
LE: What other energy
­solutions is Siemens
­offering in the Americas?
MA: We are very proud of
our diverse portfolio. As an
original equipment manu­
facturer, we go to our cus­
tomer with a full portfolio
of products only, so we
could sell the customer on­
ly turbines, if that is what
they want. But, we can also
build full turnkey plants.
For example, we are build­
ing two full turnkey plants
in Mexico at the moment.
We can custom-engineer
any plant for anybody.
predicts. “Potential power generation
with renewables in this state is pre­
dominantly in southern California –
wind and solar. So they need several
of these down in southern California,
to help manage the reliability and an­
cillary services.”
Holy Grail of Power
At night, from a distance, the Lodi En­
ergy Center looks like a golden castle,
a place where today’s holy grail is
generated: electricity, the lifeline
without which California could never
maintain its reputation as cuttingedge technology state, from the near­
by Silicon Valley to the film industry
in Hollywood further south. John
Quitter, a combustion engineer and
the go-to man at the plant, comes in
for the night shift – after all, the LEC
operates 24/7 to provide reliable ener­
gy. Quitter shows us the impressive
night sights of the plant and one more
feature that makes the Lodi Energy
Center unique: “We partnered with
the city of Lodi to use their treated
wastewater for cooling and steam,” u
“The Lodi Energy Center is a
bridge to the future, between
a reliable energy source and
renewables.”
Dennis Stimac, Power Plant Operator
LE: Where do I, as an
­individual, start to save
energy?
MA: I personally have
changed my lighting to
high-efficiency LED light­
bulbs and compact fluores­
cent lamps. I’ve upgraded
my air-conditioning and
heating systems to much
higher efficiencies, so that
they not only use less elec­
tricity, but also save me
money. And when we de­
cided to heat up our pool,
we chose to install solar
panels.
Photo: Cy Cyr
Mario Azar, Executive Vice President
of Siemens Energy Solutions for the Americas
Living Energy: The Lodi
Flex-Plant 30 is the first in
the USA. How many more
such projects are under
way?
Mario Azar: Four more
Flex-Plants are being built
right now – one in Califor­
nia and three in Texas – and
then we have two more un­
der negotiation that will
hopefully be signed very
soon. All in all, we have 15
projects in execution in the
Americas region. The FlexPlant has become quite an
important part of our port­
folio.
Dennis Stimac, one of the power plant operators at LEC: “People only notice
electricity when it is not there.”
Living Energy · No. 8 | July 2013 73
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Quitter says, driving on the dirt roads
around the ponds surrounding Lodi.
Birds – hawks and storks and a multi­
tude of smaller representatives of the
species who find a natural habitat
close to the plant – rise up into the
night sky. The dream of flying has ac­
companied our guide since his early
childhood. His dad built airplanes as
a hobby, and so does Quitter, who in
the past worked as a jet engineer and
is an avid pilot. “A jet engine is very
similar to the turbines we use at the
plant. And in aircraft, just like with
energy generation, it’s all about effi­
ciency – how to get the most out of as
little fuel as possible,” Quitter says.
Back at the plant, Speer explains the
ingenious idea that was found to use
the wastewater of the Lodi communi­
ty to be recycled for the power plant.
“We’ve tried to capture efficiencies in
all aspects of the plant,” Speer says.
“The wastewater treatment plant at
Lodi did not have many options for
the water after it was treated. We have
a need for it, so it’s a nice marriage
between the city of Lodi and the LEC.”
There are two areas where water is
used at the Lodi Center: not only for
the cooling tower, but also for water
used in the HRSG. This water has to
be treated to very high standards,
cleaner than drinking water. Workers
at the LEC jokingly refer to it as “im­
proving on God’s water.” “Everything
has to be removed out of that water,
any minerals and deposits, or they’ll
contaminate the equipment and do
significant damage,” Speer explains.
According to Pope and Speer, the new
Flex-Plant is designed to last far lon­
ger than three decades. Says Speer:
“This is sort of the standard design
life of any plant. But it’ll be the eco­
nomics of what happens over the next
30 years, and what new technology
may come into being.” In this indus­
try, it takes about 40 years from the
time somebody develops a new tech­
nology before it is fully implemented.
“Combined cycles were feasible in the
1960s, but they didn’t make any head­
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Lodi
Impressive Numbers, Ambitious Goals
The Lodi Energy Center
in ­Figures
At the Lodi Energy Center (LEC),
Siemens installed a completely
­integrated system, from the gas
turbine to the heat recovery steam
generator to the steam ­turbine as
well as the electrical equipment
and ­instrumentation and controls
system.
Siemens Flex-Plant™ technology
enables seamless integration of
r­enewables with flexible power.
30
minutes
The time it takes the Flex-Plant 30
in Lodi to ramp up and deliver
­approx. 200 megawatts to the grid.
c­ ooperatives, irrigation districts, and
other publicly owned entities interested in the purchase, aggregation,
scheduling, and management of
electrical energy.
California’s Energy Goals
On November 17, 2008, Governor
­Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-14-08 requiring all retail
sellers of electricity to serve 33 percent of their load with renewable
­energy by 2020.
View Hollywood director Marcel
­Langenegger’s film about two operators on their night shift at Lodi:
57
Delivering reliable power to the grid: power line leading from the LEC
to the San Francisco Bay Area. The sun is setting, the wind is dying down –
time for the Flex-Plant to ramp up.
percent
The Flex-Plant 30 is capable of efficiencies never reached before in
the USA.
2
2
ppm NOx /
ppm CO
These numbers make the LEC one
of the cleanest and most ­efficient
­gas-fired systems in the USA.
The NCPA: Energy Management
with a Clear Vision for the Future
The Northern California Power
Agency (NCPA), established in
1968, is a California Joint Action
Agency. NCPA membership is open
to municipalities, ­rural electric
siemens.com/energy-channel/ flexplant-lodi
Living Energy at
way until about 2000,” he adds.
To be at the forefront of efficient, reli­
able, and affordable energy service
for their Northern Californian com­
munity, in charge of the brand new
Lodi Flex-Plant, is a special experi­
ence to both Pope and Speer. “It’s
kind of like driving a Ferrari rather
than a Chevy,” Speer says, and Pope
adds: “You have to learn how to drive
a Ferrari. It’s different from an old
Chevy. What we’re learning right
now, is how to drive this Ferrari.” p
Roman Elsener is the chief US correspondent
of the Swiss News Agency (SDA). He has lived in
New York since 1996 and works for various European media outlets in TV, radio, and print.
“Other plants like this are going
to be constructed in California and
elsewhere across the United States.
This is the first one, and people
now see the real value of what this
plant provides – not only low-cost,
efficient clean energy, but also
a unique ability to ramp and deal
with the variability of renewable
energy of wind and solar.”
James Pope, General Manager NCPA
Living Energy · No. 8 | July 2013 75