EnergyBiz - November/December 2007 - (Page 41)

READ REGULARLY UPDATED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC AT WWW.ENERGYCENTRAL.COM/GT.CFM GuIDe&souRCeBook « Jeff Parsley PHoto courtEsy of tva fossil Plant GeneRAtIon teChnoLoGIes running All out SuCCESS At A tVA FoSSil plAnt by JEFF pArSlEy River on more than 2,600 acres in northwestern Kentucky, the Shawnee fossil plant stands out. Its two 800-foot stacks and 10 original stacks reaching into the sky, Shawnee is one of 11 coal-fired plants in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) generating fleet. While the plant itself has a typical design, the success of its units – despite their age – is noteworthy. In fact, Shawnee unit 6 holds the all-time continuous-run record for any fossil plant in the United States. From Feb. 17, 2002, to Feb. 15, 2007, Shawnee’s Unit 6 operated for a consecutive 1,093.48 days. The previous national record was 1,017 days, set by First Energy’s Sammis plant. Plant operators want to know how we were able to get a unit more than 50 years old to run successfully for that long. But in the bigger picture, it’s not about that unit. It’s about how we operate our plant as a whole, and how all TVA employees work together to achieve company goals. Shawnee has set 12 plant continuous run records in the last four years as well as setting plant records for availability and reliability. Some of the reasons include a continuous focus on safety, a culture of system ownership, programs and procedures that are effectively enforced, prioritization and team management. FoCus on sAFety TVA’s plants have a high expectation that requires working safely, and Shawnee is no exception. We have a five-year safety plan that moves up a level in expectations each year, and we stress safety as part of our culture and not just a management expectation. This continued safety focus results in fewer injuries, less time lost and increased productivity. When everyone is thinking about safety, they focus on doing their jobs the right way. The systems at Shawnee are assigned in a way that allows the systems engineers to truly own them. They know what has happened in the past, what the current status is and what needs to happen in the future – in other words, it’s a “cradle-to-the-grave” operation. System health reporting is critical for success, and engineers embrace their role in supporting operations, maintenance and outage teams. sItuated oN the maJestIC ohIo www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 41 http://www.energycentral.com/gt.cfm http://www.energycentral.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EnergyBiz - November/December 2007

EnergyBiz - November/December 2007 Contents Continental Grid Vision Needed Readers’ Views and Opinions Next for National Grid Clearing the Air The Need for Nuclear Energy Trade Status Report The Innovators California On The Leading Edge FERC Sparks Change Getting Coal Right Leadership in Times of Turmoil Innovation Delivers Return A Tale of Two IPOs LNGs Bright Prospects Generation Techologies The Age of Superconductors Leaders with Vision Get Ready for Plug-in Hybrids Betting on Batteries Cost of Decarbonizing Nuclear Helmsman – A chat with Dale Klein, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Global Energy Snapshot; Low-Income Energy Help; IT Spending Robust; The Greening of State Regulators; Generating Support Simplifying Offshore Wind Regs Chasing Construction Costs Energy Agency Sets New Course Deregulation Means Higher Rates Go-To Staffer Nightmare in Manhatten

EnergyBiz - November/December 2007

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