Plant Performance Analysis

In today’s landscape maintaining and/or improving the efficiency of generation assets is not just a prerequisite for profit but key to optimising revenues, staying competitive in the market place and reducing carbon foot print. If left unchecked, the performance of major equipment in a power plant will degrade overtime or become adversely impacted by process or working conditions such that the generation assets operates at a considerably less than optimal conditions. It is possible to address these issues by closely analysing plant performance to identify potential problems and device preventive or corrective measures to maintain plant efficiency at its optimal point.

For several decades, SMS Energy-Engineering has been involved in testing, analysing and improving the performance of generation assets to maximise owners’ profit and improve plant reliability. For projects in the development pipeline, we offer a wide range of services including cycle concept design, cycle performance optimisation and thermodynamic models to estimate project performance (power output and heat rate) for project proformas purposes.

For operating facilities and those coming into operation, we developed a structured but simplified approach to testing which starts in the preparation of a test procedure to calibration of testing model, plant testing, data processing and reporting. Our approach can be made to conform to several international testing codes including the well recognised ASME Performance Test Codes. We work on a broad range of generation technologies/applications including combined or simple cycle, cogeneration, biomass, landfill gas, solar, and energy-from-waste and we can offer:

  - Review/preparation of performance test procedures

  - Witnessing tests and preparing test reports

  - Review of test reports and results

  - Assessing options for performance optimisation

  - Advice on performance improvements and revenue maximisation