Geothermal power plants : operation and maintenance

Abstract

Geothermal power plants are expensive installations whose general life expectancy is estimated at 25 years though many plants have been in operation for longer periods, albeit with major refurbishment. To amortize funds used to put up such facilities, a good operation and maintenance regime needs to be put in place to ensure the plant operates at an availability factor of not less than 94%. To achieve this, there is a need to constantly monitor and improve on all operational and maintenance procedures. These procedures and their applications will keep on changing as the plant ages and as the field matures over the years. As the plants age, there is a need to enhance the monitoring of the various operation parameters and also to carry out maintenance especially of the auxiliaries at shorter intervals. However, the basic operation and maintenance philosophy which this paper addresses will remain constant and what changes is mix