Jul 29, 2009 -- Datamonitor


GE Energy has said that its Control Solutions business has upgraded two 1906-era Pelton hydro turbines with Mark VIe digital controls and a new hydraulic system at the Wainiha hydro power plant on the North Shore of Kauai.

The Kauai Coffee Company is the owner and operator of the Wainiha hydro power plant. The plant was originally built to support the company's prior sugarcane operations on the island.

The original 25Hz generators were used to power irrigation pumps on the dry side of the island for sugarcane irrigation until GE converted them to 60Hz generators in 1929 for connection to the electrical grid.

Maintaining the 100-year-old governors to run efficiently and correctly was difficult with malfunctions resulting in costly repairs and downtime. GE Energy has partnered with Kauai Coffee's experienced and skilled team to overcome these control challenges.

Start up time for the plant decreased from an average of four hours to less than 10 minutes. The Wainiha plant staff also benefits from the ability to monitor and easily troubleshoot its system in real-time, both onsite and remotely, contributing to plant productivity, maintainability and ease of operator training.

Brian Palmer, vice president of optimization and control at GE Energy, said: "This project highlights GE's continued service support of the hydropower segment. Our solutions can deliver increased efficiency and productivity for the installed base of hydro power plants around the world."

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