PNM Completes Combined Cycle Addition at Afton Generating Station

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Public Service Company of New Mexico (NYSE:PNM) has completed the construction of a combined cycle addition at the Afton Generating Station located in Dona Ana, New Mexico. The addition will be combined with the existing 153 MW General Electric (MS 7001FA) combustion turbine which was installed in 2002. The new CMI heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and GE steam turbine will increase the plant’s total capacity to 225 MW and is set to go into commercial operation on June 1. By the time it goes into operation, the project will have taken13 months to complete in order to provide additional generation for the summer peak load season helping meet the company and the state’s future energy needs.

The Afton Generating Station’s new system will use well water as the initial feed source for boiler steam generation, while waste from this and other internal processes will be sent to a wastewater treatment system in a closed-looped process. The majority of the treated wastewater will then be reused in the cooling towers, thus limiting waste and minimizing the need for well water intake. A small portion of wastewater will then go to evaporation ponds. No effluent will leave the site.

Power Engineers Incorporated based in Hailey, Idaho working in conjunction with The Industrial Company (TIC) headquartered in Steamboat Springs, Colorado were the engineering and construction firms.

The combined-cycle generator will use natural gas, with fuel oil as a backup, to fire a combustion turbine generator and produce electricity. The excess heat from the turbine is collected to produce steam, which, in turn, is used in a steam turbine generator to produce additional electricity. This combined-cycle approach allows for the most efficient use of the fuel source and protects the environment by limiting emissions.

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