Siemens helps New Harquahala Generating Company improve in-market-availability and realize increased revenue with innovative I&C technology

Siemens Energy has successfully installed the innovative SPPA-T3000 control system at the New Harquahala Generating Company (NHGC) in Tonopah, Arizona. With an output of nearly 1,100 megawatts, the three 1x1 combined cycle power plant provides much-needed electricity to the fast-growing Phoenix/Scottsdale area.

The scope of supply included the state-of-the-art SPPA-T3000 control system upgrade of the entire plant, including three gas turbines, three steam turbines, six generators, three HRSG’s and balance of plant, including integration of the 500KV switchyard. Siemens also supplied product modification packages which were easily facilitated by the new control system to improve the plant overall availability and reliability.

"The success of this project has been the achievement of an exceptional teamwork between Siemens and NHGC," commented Dean Motl, O&M (Operation & Maintenance) Manager at the New Harquahala Generating Facility. “We have observed significant reduction in start-up times and improved operational reliability post project which has resulted in improved in-market-availability and increased revenue opportunities. SPPA-T3000 also enabled the harmonization of the plant overall processes and major components, including gas turbine, HRSG and steam turbine. The two teams agreed upon an aggressive project schedule and were able to achieve or exceed all project milestones.”

The SPPA-T3000 was selected for this project because it is compliant with the latest NERC CIP (cyber infrastructure protection) requirements and features secured java-enabled interface, which is easy for plant operators to use and access at anytime from any location. It is a fourth generation distributed control system, specifically designed to implement the power plant and turbine control on a common control platform. The innovative system also integrates functionalities like operation, engineering, diagnostics, archive, alarm and field devices into one single ease-to-use platform. Motl added, “We have even seen a spike in morale of the team at the site due to the success of the project and improved operation of the plant.”