Re: Cold starting power stations (was Y2K Fears to Stop Cityrail Trains)

["Notagunzel" <notagunzel@bigfoot.com>]

Chris Stratton <stratton.chris.cp@nospam.bhp.com.au> wrote
in message 7nlro4$abl66@atbhp.corpmel.bhp.com.au">news:7nlro4$abl66@atbhp.corpmel.bhp.com.au...

> Matthew Geier <matthew@mail.usyd.edu.au> wrote in message
> 7nljga$lh5$1@metro.ucc.usyd.edu.au">news:7nljga$lh5$1@metro.ucc.usyd.edu.au...

> >  (The big power stations need a smaller one to 'boot'
them. If the grid
> > shuts of, and the power stations shutdown, where will
the power come to
> > restart them ?. There is a lot of switch gear to
manually control to get
> the
> > Hydro in the Snowy switched to the Hunter to get the
biggies online.)
> >
> I just rang my father to ask him about this as he was an
engineer for the
> Electricity Commission and later Illawarra County Council
(now Integral
> Energy). He said to cold start a thermal power station you
would use a
> diesel gen-set to provide power for the auxiliaries, eg
fans for the
> boilers, oil pumps to float the turbine bearings and all
the appropriate
> control gear. He also said they could turn on the hydro
station at
> Warragamba, NSW (which he worked on during construction)
to provide some
> power to the grid to get the thermal stations running. He
also mentioned
> that most power stations have banks of batteries to
provide DC when starting
> as the circuit breakers use a DC closing supply.

AFAIK the batteries must start the diesel generator which
starts the gas turbine which can then start the Thermal
Power stations.  (In the Latrobe Valley that is).

--
Mr Notagunzel.
Rail Transportation Connoisseur.
notagunzel@bigfoot.com
(Waiting for the next move at
http://www.bigfoot.com/~notagunzel)