Featured Industrial Contractor: Gemma Power

Romtec Utilities designs, engineers, and manufactures pump stations as complete systems designed for their unique applications. Some of the most robust pumping systems can be found in industrial applications, like power plants. Gemma Power, a repeat customer, has required several of these pump stations for 3 recent projects.

Gemma Power

Gemma Power specializes in the development, design, and construction of simple-cycle, combined-cycle, and sustainable power generation plants. Since their inception in 1984, they have completed many large-scale projects. Romtec Utilities and Gemma Power have worked together on 3 of their most recent projects in North Carolina, Ohio, and Massachusetts.

Kings Mountain Energy Center was the first project Romtec Utilities and Gemma Power worked together on. NTE Energy hired Gemma Power to develop a 475 MW combined-cycle power plant in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, according to gemmapower.com. Developing a large industrial site like this involves many smaller systems. Choosing an experienced pump station supplier like Romtec Utilities allowed Gemma Power to focus on other areas of the plant’s development.

The Kings Mountain Energy Center uses an HRSG or heat recovery steam generator to increase the efficiency of its power generation process. Excess heat is used to generate steam and move a turbine. This process alone requires large amounts of water in a constant supply, but another pump station was required to provide water for cooling equipment. The 3rd pump station collects spent water and discharges it into the onsite water treatment. All 3 of these pump stations are exposed to hot, caustic water and required linings to be applied to the wet well, as well as components that can withstand the harsh conditions.

Another Gemma Power project required 3 more pump stations with nearly identical designs to the systems used in the Kings Mountain Energy Center. The Middletown Energy Center is another power plant that NTE Energy hired Gemma Power to construct. This facility also produces 475 MW of energy daily through an HRSG combined-cycle process.

The primary differences between the pump stations found in Middletown and Kings Mountain are related to the location’s layout and specific elevations. All of them were designed with vertical pump installations. This removes them from the harsh conditions of the water and provides easy access for maintenance. Operation valves were also installed above grade, attached to skids. Romtec Utilities was able to make the slight adjustments between the two locations to design and supply this second set of pump stations within a fast timeline.

Gemma Power has continued to develop high-quality power generation plants throughout the country. Choosing to use an experienced pump station designer, engineer, and manufacturer like Romtec Utilities to provide smaller systems within your large project can prove valuable for developers in sophisticated industrial applications like these. Contact our Sales Team for more information on our site-specific pump stations.