GE Digital (GE) (General Electric) Case Studies Owensboro Municipal Utilities Improves Efficiency and Reduces Emissions with Digital

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	Owensboro Municipal Utilities Improves Efficiency and Reduces Emissions with Digital GE Digital (GE) (General Electric)

Owensboro Municipal Utilities Improves Efficiency and Reduces Emissions with Digital

GE Digital (GE) (General Electric)

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
Applicable Industries	Utilities
Applicable Functions	Maintenance
Use Cases	Energy Management System Predictive Maintenance
Services	System Integration
Challenge	Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU), the largest municipal electric system in Kentucky, was facing a significant challenge concerning plant emissions. The Elmer Smith Power Station, with its two coal-fired boilers, was struggling to service its over 26,000 customer-owners with reliable electricity due to these emission issues. Additionally, OMU needed the flexibility to adapt effectively and economically to the rapidly changing energy landscape. The challenge was to find a solution that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve heat rate, and offer more efficient maintenance options to reduce outages related to issues like tube ruptures. Read More
About Customer	Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) is the largest municipal electric system in Kentucky. It operates the Elmer Smith Power Station, which consists of two coal-fired boilers. The power station services over 26,000 customer-owners, providing them with reliable electricity. OMU is committed to continually setting new standards in coal power and is always looking for ways to improve asset performance and operations efficiency. The company has formed a strategic partnership with GE to showcase the Digital Power Plant, demonstrating a shared vision for an analytic strategy that results in unprecedented enterprise business outcomes. Read More
Solution	OMU adopted GE’s suite of Operations Optimization software, installing the boiler optimization package between 2003 and 2005. This software integrates two components for combustion and soot-blowing optimization. It works in real-time to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve heat rate. The software manipulates controls related to fuel and air mixing, as well as the soot blower sequences to designate which blowers to blow at which time. This solution has allowed OMU to reduce emissions, improve heat rate, and significantly reduce outages related to issues like tube ruptures. The software also helps maintain consistent combustion parameters, which in turn helps other systems such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment perform better at a lesser cost. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics

Applicable Industries

Utilities

Applicable Functions

Maintenance

Use Cases

Energy Management System

Predictive Maintenance

Services

System Integration

Challenge

Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU), the largest municipal electric system in Kentucky, was facing a significant challenge concerning plant emissions. The Elmer Smith Power Station, with its two coal-fired boilers, was struggling to service its over 26,000 customer-owners with reliable electricity due to these emission issues. Additionally, OMU needed the flexibility to adapt effectively and economically to the rapidly changing energy landscape. The challenge was to find a solution that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve heat rate, and offer more efficient maintenance options to reduce outages related to issues like tube ruptures.

About Customer

Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) is the largest municipal electric system in Kentucky. It operates the Elmer Smith Power Station, which consists of two coal-fired boilers. The power station services over 26,000 customer-owners, providing them with reliable electricity. OMU is committed to continually setting new standards in coal power and is always looking for ways to improve asset performance and operations efficiency. The company has formed a strategic partnership with GE to showcase the Digital Power Plant, demonstrating a shared vision for an analytic strategy that results in unprecedented enterprise business outcomes.

Solution

OMU adopted GE’s suite of Operations Optimization software, installing the boiler optimization package between 2003 and 2005. This software integrates two components for combustion and soot-blowing optimization. It works in real-time to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve heat rate. The software manipulates controls related to fuel and air mixing, as well as the soot blower sequences to designate which blowers to blow at which time. This solution has allowed OMU to reduce emissions, improve heat rate, and significantly reduce outages related to issues like tube ruptures. The software also helps maintain consistent combustion parameters, which in turn helps other systems such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment perform better at a lesser cost.

Impact #1	Reduced emissions, with NOx benefits of 10–17%
Impact #2	Reduced heat rate by 0.5%
Impact #3	Significantly reduced outages related to issues like tube ruptures

Impact #1

Reduced emissions, with NOx benefits of 10–17%

Impact #2

Reduced heat rate by 0.5%

Impact #3

Significantly reduced outages related to issues like tube ruptures

Benefit #1	10–17% NOx Reduction
Benefit #2	0.5% heat rate improvement
Benefit #3	Consistent SCR operation, reduced reagent consumption and slip

Benefit #1

10–17% NOx Reduction

Benefit #2

0.5% heat rate improvement

Benefit #3

Consistent SCR operation, reduced reagent consumption and slip

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Overview

Owensboro Municipal Utilities Improves Efficiency and Reduces Emissions with Digital

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit