Power Generation

Custom design solutions

Field Service for Power Plant Equipment 

The field service division of The Hope Group is committed to bringing hydraulic and compressed air maintenance and repair services to the Power Generation marketplace. With a dozen service vehicles on the road at any time, our service group can meet the routine and emergency field service requirements for any plant.

Our service technicians provide onsite hydraulic installation and repair, fluid analysis, and machine guarding installation. In addition, it has a full range of compressed air services including filtration, refrigerated dryers, aftercoolers, and drains. Electric machine control services include installation, engineering support, and troubleshooting. 

Power Plant Component Repair

We repair components commonly found in plant equipment. Our capabilities include:

• Electronics (drives, PLCs, HMIs, servo motors and encoders.
• Mechanical (Gearboxes, vacuum pumps, and blowers)
• Hydraulic (Servo valves, pumps, motors, cylinders)
• Process pumps

Read more about our component repair services.

Hydroelectric Power Generation

The Hope Group has more than 30 years of experience in providing electro-hydraulic solutions for the generation of hydroelectricity. Through our partnership with Sorensen Systems, we have developed and manufactured:

• Electro-hydraulic governor controls and HPUs
• Turbine controls
• Valve and gate actuation & controls
• Digital controls upgrades

Thermal Power Generation

The four major types of thermal power generation are:

• Combustion Turbine
• Combined Cycle
• Fossil Fuel
• Nuclear

---

Combustion Turbine Solutions

Combustion turbines are designed to start quickly to meet the demand for electricity during peak operating periods. Most combustion turbines are fueled by natural gas. Similar to a jet engine, combustion turbines draw air in at the front of the unit, compress it, mix it with fuel, and ignite it. The hot combustion gases then expand through turbine blades connected to a generator to produce electricity.

Plant operators are constantly seeking better combustion for cleaner-burning engines. Through application of the latest technologies, we can address some of the primary concerns that contribute to degraded performance in a combustion turbine. For example:

• Emission reduction – Advanced nozzle technology can help reduce NOx and CO from turbine exhaust
• Condition monitoring – Complete filtration, lubrication, and condition monitoring prevents damage to bearings, and monitors gearbox oil for particulates
• Expansion joints – Non-metallic, long-lasting performance for applications up to 1,800° on gas turbine inlet, exhaust, and HRSG systems
• Fuel control systems – Oil and gas fuel control systems improve gas turbine efficiencies
• Inlet fogging system – Patented single point nozzles provide the highest MW power augmentation in the industry
• Wet compression system – Uses high-pressure stainless steel filters, valves, fittings and spider nozzles to uniformly spray finely atomized demineralized water into the compressor inlet
• Siloxane removal system – The silicon dioxide buildup from biogas can be removed to reduce maintenance costs and improve efficiency

Combined Cycle Solutions

Combined cycle power plants are designed to produce electricity from two sources of energy instead of one. First, energy is produced by combustion of natural gas in a turbine, similar to a jet engine. Second, energy is also produced by making use of the jet engine exhaust to make steam. In this way, both methods drive turbines and electric generators to produce electricity.

Similarly to pure combustion turbine systems, plant operators of combined cycle systems are seeking modifications to sub-systems and specific components that improve overall plant efficiency. For example:

• Liquid fuel filtration – Special filtration components purify liquid fuel, removing particulates and water for improved reliability
• Hydraulic power units – A properly sized hydraulic power unit provides reliable, high-speed, and precise control for turbine fuel control valves, inlet guide vane actuation, and steam turbine electro-hydraulic systems
• Diverter damper controls – Specialty gas turbine hydraulic components and systems provide high-speed, high-accuracy diverter damper controls, fuel controls, and turbine controls
• Steam blowdown assembly – High-temperature steam blowdown and control valves offer industry-leading safety and reliability
• Nitrogen Generators – PSA and Membrane nitrogen generators for HRSG and boiler tubes limit corrosion during lay-ups, extending plant and component life

---

Fossil Fuel Solutions

Fossil Fuel plants use coal, oil or natural gas (in combination with air/oxygen) to create heat (thermal energy), which is used to create steam, which (under pressure) is used to turn the blades on a turbine engine, which drives a generator, which creates electricity. Sounds simple; yes?

What is not so simple is meeting some of the stringent demands of modern life, which includes the drive towards so-called Green technology, increased federal oversight and regulation and strong competitive forces on a worldwide scale. To meet these challenges, fossil fuel plant operators are seeking performance-enhancing components that improve system life, increase safety, eliminate time and cost, boost efficiency, and accurately meet standards for emissions compliance. Some examples are:

• High pressure pumping systems – Efficient pumping systems provide accurate flow and high pressure water for the flue gas desulphurization systems
• Steam control and instrument racks – We can provide fittings, valves, and manifolds that meet B31.1 certification for the higher temperatures and pressures of supercritical boiler water control
• Continuous emission monitoring – We can provide control panels, fogging systems, and gas conditioning systems that provide accurate determination of gas emission levels to ascertain operation within defined control parameters
• Coal off-loading systems – A new hydraulic system for coal off-loading provides improved efficiency and faster throughput
• Oil monitoring system – Conditioning and monitoring systems for steam turbine lubrication and hydraulic systems maintain plant and equipment and improve system life

---

Nuclear Power Plants

Unlike fossil fuel, combustion, and combined cycle power plants, the nuclear power plant in New England is uncommon. Where there are hundreds of traditional power plants in New England, there are only two nuclear power plants in Connecticut and one each in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Except that the source of the energy to create steam is nuclear fission, instead of burning coal, oil or gas, the rest of the power plant has the same demand for upgrading, improvement and efficiency.

Working closely with Parker, which currently provides components to 50 percent of operating nuclear plants in the world, we provide process control fittings, valves, regulators, hoses, and seals. Nuclear plant turbines use Parker’s hydraulic accumulators, filters and specialty valves, while condensers and feedwater heaters use Parker fittings, regulators, seals and O-rings. Other systems provided to nuclear power plants include:

• Specialty valve systems – Designed to provide compliance with regulatory issues, retrofit for legacy equipment, and alternatives for non-critical systems
• CCIMS systems – An integrated manifold solution offers a precise, high-performance flow measurement and a quick disconnect replacement alternative reducing exposure to radiation
• Automated filter system – An automated purification system removes and disposes of the highly radioactive deposits that accumulate inside the piping, fuel pools, fuel transfers canals, and reactor feedwater
• Gas spring actuators – Used in safety-critical applications to operate main steam isolation, feedwater bypass, and emergency boration valves on pressurized water reactors