Successfully Overcoming Project Disaster

February 2, 2022
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The Challenge

In 2019, Collicutt was approached by one of our clients who had just won the electrical design and build contract for a new residential high rise to be built in downtown Los Angeles. Part of that contract included the supply of an emergency backup generator that would provide power for the building during a power grid outage that is so common in California.

Besides the usual backup power requirements for a building of this type, there were a few challenges that made this project unique:

This unit was going to be placed on the ninth floor of the building.
Once the unit was in place on the ninth floor, the building would be completed around and above it.
The crane doing the lifting was being removed immediately following the generator installation to make way for the remaining building construction. This meant that the generator was on the construction schedule’s critical path.
Because this building is downtown LA, the logistics surrounding the lift of the generator were very complicated. Traffic restrictions had to be minimized and the lift radius of the crane was restricted due to the surrounding buildings and infrastructure.

The Solution

When the contractor started their design process, they reached out to our team at Collicutt. We worked with them and their engineering teams to understand the building electrical loads, design constraints, construction schedule, and the lifting constraints.

We proposed a customized MTU 12V4000 DS1500 solution complete with:

IBC rating (earthquake rated)
Rypos DPF and custom mounting rack
Custom sound attenuating enclosure
Custom tank to meet fire code for a rooftop design in downtown LA

Disaster Strikes!

The project kicked off and proceeded smoothly until the completed unit left our fabrication facility. But then disaster struck!

Shortly after the truck carrying the generator left the fabrication facility, we received news that they drove under an overpass without checking height restrictions and our custom built generator struck that overpass and was totaled in an instant! The only good news was that no one was injured in the accident.

However, we now had a huge problem! We needed to get a new generator built in record time in the middle of one of the worst global supply chain challenges we have seen in recent times. If we failed to get the generator to site before the building crane was dismantled, we would be on the hook for obtaining permits to close roads in downtown LA and assembling a crane capable of lifting a 1500kW generator to the ninth floor of a building that was already constructed!

We immediately placed the order for the new generator and worked with MTU to expedite the build of the generator in any way they could. We also worked with our fabricator and had them build the enclosure and other custom components ahead of time so that they would just have to set the components in place and bolt them down once the generator was ready. To maintain schedule our fabricator’s staff agreed to work around the clock to complete their work once the generator was delivered to them!

Talk about team work!

The Outcome

Although there were many tense moments throughout this build process, we were able to pull our team together and work through supply chain issues and other manufacturing logistics to get the generator produced as quickly as possible.

In addition to this, thankfully, the building construction had been delayed due to unrelated issues so the building crane was still in place to lift our generator!

This left one final challenge that we had to overcome. Much of the building had now been constructed so the options for lifting the generator to the ninth floor were limited. The building crane had limited lifting capacity and it had limited lifting radius due to the proximity of the surrounding buildings and roadways.

To overcome this challenge, we had the generator transported to a riggers yard where we drained the fluids (oil and coolant) and removed the enclosure. We then dismantled the generator package down to it’s frame. This would allow us to lift the frame, engine, alternator, and radiator in individual lifts.

See the photos below for some of the teardown progress:

Completed unit arrived at riggers

2. The enclosure was removed

3. Removal of components began

We transported the components from the riggers yard to the construction site over a two day period and lifted each component starting with the frame. The video below illustrates the tight lifting window that was being navigated:

As each component was lifted, we secured it into place and “rebuilt” the generator package on the ninth floor of the building! After two days of crane picks and placements, we had the generator back together in its final location ready for commissioning and startup! This allowed our client to complete construction of their building and remove the building crane without the generator scope causing any further project delays!

This project is a great example of; applied expertise, project management, technician talent, and overall teamwork being used to overcome huge challenges!

For more information on our power generation services or solutions, contact us via email or at the number below:

888.682.6888 or info@collicutt.com

New Towable Generator Product Line

November 30, 2021
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Collicutt recently published an article in the BOE Report to announce a new product line of towable generators! We are very excited about this announcement as these units were produced in-house!

The first production of these generators was for two (2) 500kW standby/450 kW prime rated units. Creating these units took a lot of time, effort and research. The units are trailer mounted, 450kW, Tier 4 Final, prime rated, diesel generator packages. They are powered by Scania’s 16L, V8 , engines. A tier 4 final solution is best in class for fuel efficiency and emissions after treatment. These units have a lockable level 1 enclosure for increased security, two voltage outputs (208V & 480V) and so much more.

We polled our in-house experts, external clients, and industry contacts to provide feedback on the standard design, and optional adders that should be part of the build. We believe we created a truly standalone product.

For more details, read our BOE Report article.
Check out our newly designed brochure for more information on the product specifications by downloading the case study below.

Call or email us for more information: 888.682.6888 or info@collicutt.com

Collicutt’s Focus Is Problem Solving

November 15, 2021
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Collicutt was recently featured in the November issue of Resource in Focus Magazine!

“As a leading manufacturer of custom power generation equipment, Collicutt Energy’s highly trained and experienced team designs, engineers, and manufactures power solutions, while also working to continually raise the standards for customers, whether repairing, overhauling, servicing or performing preventative maintenance on all brands of engine. Collicutt’s mandate includes offering a wide variety of services while keeping customer downtime to a minimum.

This family-run business has recently experienced exciting growth, including the company’s role as a distributor for products including MTU, Waukesha, Motortech, and Scania – in particular, expanding territory in Alberta as a distributor for MTU/Rolls Royce Power Systems for oil & gas systems and natural gas power generation.”

Learn more about what Collicutt does and how we provide unique solutions to our clients by downloading the full article with the case study link below!

For more solution options see our Services and Solutions pages.

Power Generation Solution Provider

November 12, 2021
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Our world is filled with marketing buzz words that mean different things to every person. So, when Collicutt says we are a power generator solution provider, what does this really mean and why should you care?

Solution Provider Definition

The term Solution Provider started to gain in popularity back in the early 2000’s and then really took off when Keith Eades published his book “The New Solution Selling” in 2004. What Eades had realized is that products were becoming commoditized in our increasingly globalized world. He recognized that in order to be differentiated and increase sales, businesses would need to provide a solution to a customer problem rather than just selling a product.

Simply offering a product for sale, no matter how good the product, is no longer a viable business plan . . . it is a deep discounting race to the bottom! Businesses now have to listen to customers, understand pain points, and offer innovative solutions that put an end to the pain.

In the world of power generation there are many pain points that need to be handled for a customer. There are also a lot of players in the power generation market that provide varying levels of service, products, and solutions.

So what does Collicutt offer that makes us different?

What Makes Collicutt Different

Collicutt is a full service solution provider in the power generation business. As illustrated in the chart below, we provide a complete range of services and solutions that the other players in the market simply don’t provide by themselves.

Our role is to work with whoever we need to work with to pull together a complete solution for our customers. This is the value that we bring to our customers. Our customers no longer have to source out all of the components of a power generation project . . . they just have to engage our team and we take care of the entire power generation supply scope!

Collicutt works with our customers and their engineering teams to provide a complete integrated solution that is not just fit for purpose but also in compliance with all of the engineering requirements, building codes, and environmental constraints. We are able to do this by leveraging our in house experts and partnering with our extensive network of suppliers and service providers.

Take Action

If you are looking at adding any sort of power generation to your organization, give us a call. We can handle all the dimensions of your power generation project!

For more information on our power generation services or solutions, contact us via email or at the number below:

1-888-682-6888 or info@collicutt.com

Finally, see these articles for related content:

Monitor Your Power Generation Equipment in the “Cloud”!

March 12, 2021
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One of the big takeaways from the unprecedented events of this last year is the requirement to work remotely, often with limited access to our facilities. This can pose major challenges when our power generation equipment is onsite and our operations and maintenance teams are working from home!

It has become more important than ever to have a cost effective solution that provides peace of mind that our power generation needs can be met without being onsite.

To meet this need, Collicutt is pleased to announce the release of our secure, internet based, Remote Monitoring Solution. With this solution you can monitor your power generation equipment from anywhere in the world through a secure internet connection. The solution provides up to date status conditions for critical points as well as alarm indications for conditions that may compromise your units ability to provide power during a power outage.

We offer three levels of service as shown in the graphic below and would be happy to discuss this solution with you in detail!

Call or email us for details on how we can get you set up!

Collicutt Energy Services – Powering tomorrow through unrivaled solutions today!

1-888-682-6888 or info@collicutt.com

Collicutt Energy Announces New Gold Power Generation Solution Provider Agreement with INNIO Waukesha Gas Engines!

January 27, 2021
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As most people in the business know, Collicutt Energy has always been a top tier Waukesha service provider and a leader in the Waukesha rebuild market providing top quality products globally in the power generation and oil and gas industries.

We are pleased to announce that a new Gold Power Generation Solution Provider agreement has been signed with INNIO Waukesha Gas Engines. Through this agreement, Collicutt has factory-direct access to new, genuine Waukesha engines and support capabilities, including startup, commissioning and warranty services in the US and Canada.

This program allows Collicutt to offer Waukesha’s rich burn, low emission engines, including the newly launched 1MW VGF P48SE, VHP Series Five, and 275GL+ with ESM2. Waukesha’s fuel flexibility and ability to provide fast-start, reliable power generation for commercial and industrial, oilfield, standby and prime power applications.

This is an exciting opportunity for Collicutt as we work together with Waukesha to grow their market position in North America!

Refer to the links provided below for more information on Waukesha projects that Collicutt recently completed:

We are an essential business and open to meet all of your power generation, engine, and fabrication needs! Service, parts, sales, and rentals . . . call us or email us for details!

Collicutt Energy Services – Powering tomorrow through unrivaled solutions!

1-888-682-6888 or info@collicutt.com

How to Implement a Fuel Blending System

October 19, 2020
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Air quality management districts, AQMDs, are continually updating their standards for reciprocating engines and the resulting emissions. Although the changes are made with the best intentions (e.g., reducing airborne pollutants), these changing standards often impose large technical challenges and require equipment upgrades or replacements which adds unexpected costs for business and industries.

Wastewater Dilemma

This is the situation one of our wastewater treatment customers found themselves in when a change in their local AQMD regulations instigated a large change in what was allowed for natural gas combustion.

This wastewater facility had three large CHP systems that used off-gas from the wastewater (produced through a digester process) as the main fuel source and natural gas as a backup fuel source. The CHP system provides electrical power for the plant, electrical power for the utility grid, and heat for the digester. The system had a combined electrical/mechanical efficiency of around 90% while removing GHG emissions from the environment so it was critical that it continue to run!

The challenge that the new AQMD ruling created was that the allowable natural gas consumption in their engines was changing from 100% to only 49%. However, the engines were originally designed with a dual fuel system that could run on either 100% natural gas or 100% digester gas but not a blend of the two fuels.

This change in allowable fuel ratios caused a big issue with the plant operations! (more…)

May 25, 2020
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Reliability in Power

This is the Fifth episode in this series called ‘Understanding Power’.

This episode’s topic is all about understanding the cost of your utility bills.

This video and blog covers two topics

Reliability in Power
Reliability in Transmission

Relability in Power Generation

on January 13, the Alberta Electrical System Operator (AESO) released two notices, each more serious than the other: The grid was at risk of having province wide blackouts. What caused this? Well, it was two-fold:

High Demand: because it was winter and it was extremely cold (-30C), there was a lot of extra load. In fact, Alberta hit an all time high record that week.
Limited Power Generation: Alberta has a large percentage of wind power capacity(shown in pie chart on left below) but the thermal gradients that create wind are limited in very cold weather meaning there was very little wind power being generated (shown in pie chart on right below)

this created the perfect storm where we had an elevated load and an undersupplied grid almost resulted in calamity.

Ensuring Sufficient Power Generation

It is probably very clear that a territory needs to ensure that there is more power generation capacity than there is load, what may not be as straight forward is how the different types of power generation operate throughout the day and respond to load variability.

above is a fictitious example of a typical 24 hour day within an example jurisdiction. What this chart is aiming to show is how throughout an average day, most grids see dramatic load change with two main spikes: the first in the morning as people get up and get ready for work, and the second at nighttime when people leave work and start cooking.

Our grid power generation mix is made up of 3 main groups: (Get more information on power generation technologies)

Baseline power: Power generation capacity that cannot easily be ramped up or ramped down.
Variable Power: Power generation systems that produce power when available such as solar (during sunlight hours) and wind (when the wind blows)
‘Agile’ Power: Power generation systems that can easily be ramped up or ramped down to allow for overall grid load response.

In the chart shown above, you can see how the baseline power (Nuclear, Hydro and Large thermal) remain relatively consistent throughout the day. Additionally, you will notice how solar comes on during sunlight hours. Though wind appears to be consistent, Wind power is a function of wind and can be unreliable as seen above. Finally you can see how the major load variability is responded to by small and responsive thermal plants which operate using engines and aero derivative turbines. The benefit of these types of systems are that they can be easily turned on, ramped up and then turned off as necessary.

This mix of generation capabilities allows the grid to quickly respond to load changes ensuring reliability of power supply.

Reliability in Transmission

The second part of this topic is about reliability in the transmission systems we employ to transmit power from the point of generation to the eventual location of where the load is, whether that is our house or a facility.

It is straight forward to understand that we need to have adequate power generation for the load of our grid at any given time; but equally, we need to ensure that this transportation infrastructure can supply the amount of power to the locations required. The major portion of our system is the transmission lines, whether that’s the transmission portion, or the distribution portion, the power lines play a huge role in the reliability of our power system.

Transmission Reliability Problem 1: Capacity Overload:

The first thing we need to make sure is that we are never in a scenario where our load exceeds the capacity of our transmission lines. In scenarios where the load of the system exceeds the capacity of the power lines or transformers, we end up in scenario where we will have system wide power failure. Want more information how the transmission system works?

Transmission Reliability Problem 2:

Powerline obstruction

The second scenario that we see a lot with power lines is power lines are highly susceptible to weather: They’re above ground, easily exposed to flying debris, for example, in hurricanes, and also susceptible to easily sparking fires and we’re seeing this happen quite a bit in California these days.

In 2019 act, we actually saw a utility actively choose to turn off their high voltage power lines, because of fears that their lines would cause fires and that resulted in massive power outages and failures within the the Northern California region.

How can we increase reliability in transmission?

Well, one of the ways that a utility can increase the reliability of the grid, is by generating power closer to the load, and ont he distribution side of the transmission system. This is called distributed generation. By moving the generation closer, the likelihood of line failure between generation and load has been dramatically reduced.

Onsite Power Generation

So let’s say you lose power at your facility and there is no distributed power generation or in fact, the power outage is right outside of your building, how are you going to ensure that you have reliability? this is where standby generation or on site power generation support power reliability.

Below is an example of a backup diesel generator installed at a hospital to provide backup power in the case of grid power failure. Want more information?

May 11, 2020
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Power Markets

This is the fourth episode in this series called ‘Understanding Power’.

This episode’s topic is all about understanding the cost of your utility bills.

after evaluating your utility bill, it quickly becomes clear that there are two major factors or two primary categories of costs:

Energy Charge.
The cost of the Transmission and Distribution (T&D)

Energy Charge:

The energy charge is effectively the cost cost of energy that is consumed at our facility, house or industrial application

What affects the Energy Charge?

Some of the major factors that play into that into the energy charge are as follows:

the types of generation mechanisms within your jurisdiction: Some are cheaper, some are more expensive.
The supply and demand curve: do we have a lot of supply and not a whole lot of demand, that will bring price down, if it’s the opposite, you’re going to see prices rise to incentivize power generation increase.
Weather, climate, geography: those play a huge role.
Regulatory policy

Transmission Charge

Second aspect is the cost of transmission and what are we paying for that. Simply put, we’re paying for the cost of getting those electrons from the centralized generation facilities right through to our final end use customer location, whether that’s your house, office or large industrial facility.

The rates and cost of power transmission does vary depending on the facility and rate that your specific utility charges (or is regulated and allowed to charge)

How does Power Transmission Work?

Most jurisdictions have large centralized generation plants, typically on the transmission side, and large volumes of loads on the distribution side of the system.

Transmission System

As mentioned, in most jurisdictions the majority of power generation is supplied by large centralized systems that uses the transmission system to transfer the load to a large volume of customers spread out geographically.

As such, the transmission system operates at high voltage so that large volumes of power can be transmitted with minimal line loss (Power loss) from the generation systems to the eventual load.

Typically there is minimal load (or customers) on the transmission side but there are rare occasions where facilities tie into the transmission system.

Distribution System

The distribution system operates at reduced voltage allowing safe and reliable transportation of power within urban and city environments. Distribution can range from as high as 26 kV and down to 120V.

The majority of the grid’s load is typically on the distribution system.

Regulated vs De-regulated Power Markets

Some jurisdictions operate their power infrastructure under a regulated style, while some are de-regulated.

So what is a regulated environment?

In a regulated power market, a single entity or organization owns and operates everything. From the generation capacity, to the meter on your house or facility, that single entity oversees everything. So typically, the utility is the monopoly, you really don’t have any choice and the utility sets the rates. You really have no option.

So what is a de-regulated environment?

A de-regulated market is a competitive marketplace, where multiple entities can buy and sell power. So on the on the generation side, you have multiple power generators that are competing to provide power at the cheapest rate, and then on the customer side, you have retailers who are competing for customers by offering the best rates. So what this allows is a customer to have a choice in whom they are going to get power from and that choice can be based on, on cost, sustainability to other specific criteria to that customer; that’s one of the benefits of a deregulated power market.

Centralized vs Decentralized vs Behind-the-fence generation

So one of the last things I want to speak to is the concept of centralized power generation vs distributed power generation vs behind the fence (BTF) generation.

Centralized Power Generation

As mentioned above, most power generation is usually done at large centralized facilities. The economies of scale typically allow this power generation to be cost-effective. Additionally with the ability to be on the transmission side, large volumes of power can be transmitted easily.

Distributed Power Generation

We are starting to see a move to distributed generation, where we’re placing generation closer to the point of load and on the distribution side of the transmissions system. By doing this, we reduce the amount of capital required to transmit power and we increase the reliability and resiliency of the grid

Behind-The-Fence Power Generation

The last is Behind-The-Fence (BTF) generation. We can actually reduce our transmission costs, reduce our utility bill by generating our own power. If you’re a large industrial customer, there’s huge incentives for you to generate your own power.

May 4, 2020
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This is the third episode in our series titled ‘Understanding Power’

This episode delves into the different mechanisms and methods for generating electricity.

The first thing we discuss is how kinetic energy is turned into electrical energy using a generator.

This video then goes into the different ways that kinetic energy is converted from other forms of energy, some that are storable and others that are not.

We then delve into renewable power generation technologies and their merits and disadvantages.

Finally this video touches on the topic of curtailment and how excess power, predominantly from renewables, may have to be wasted because it is produced in excess of the load with insufficient storage options.

Feel free to check out other videos like this on our website and sign up on our website for notification of new videos.