Gas

Explosion and Fire Forces Gas-Fueled Combined Cycle Power Plant Offline

An explosion and fire at the Delta Energy Center—an 835-MW combined cycle power plant located in Pittsburg, Calif.—forced the station offline on January 29.

A spokesperson for Calpine Corp., the plant owner, told POWER that the fire was contained to the facility and that there was no danger to the neighboring community. No injuries occurred as a result of the event, according to the spokesperson.

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD) posted on its Twitter feed at 4:11 p.m. local time on Sunday that firefighters were on the scene, responding to a “power generator on fire.”

The East Bay Times reported that the fire involved the steam turbine generator hydrogen cooling system. The Times quoted CCCFPD Fire Marshal Robert Marshall as saying, “One end of the generator was destroyed in the fire, mostly because of the initial explosion of the hydrogen gas.” The fire continued to burn lubricating oil after the hydrogen supply was isolated. CCCFPD made a follow-up Twitter post that the fire was under control at 5:57 p.m. local time.

The Delta Energy Center entered commercial operation in June 2002. The plant consists of three combustion turbines, three heat recovery steam generators, and one steam turbine. It provides electricity to the California power market. Calpine agreed to a Resource Adequacy contract for the plant with Pacific Gas and Electric Co., beginning in January 2014.

“At this time we do not know the cause of the event nor do we have an estimated date for return to service, but we have mobilized a team to conduct a complete and thorough assessment,” the Calpine spokesperson said.

—Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)

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