Press Releases
10/31/2019
Award-winning Klamath Cogeneration Plant Adds to its Wall of Fame
Award-winning Klamath Cogeneration Plant Adds to its Wall of Fame
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March 21, 2008
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The 500 MW Klamath Cogeneration Plant, owned and operated by PPM Energy, part of the Iberdrola Renewables family of companies, this week received three awards from a leading industry publication. This comes on the heels of the plant receiving recognition from the state of Oregon for its safety program.
The plant won "Best of the Best" honors for operations and maintenance at the Combined Cycle Journal's 2008 Best Practices Awards this week at the Combustion Turbine Operations Task Force's Turbine Users Forum in Savannah, Georgia. Klamath Cogeneration also won awards in two other categories -- Safety and Environmental Stewardship. Entries were judged by members of the CTOTF Leadership Committee, chaired by John Lovelace of Arizona Public Service Co.
The journal noted that "By modifying control logic to warn of an icing condition at the Klamath plant and by installing cameras at the engine air inlet for visual confirmation, the potential for damage caused by ice formation in the gas-turbine bellmouth area and its ingestion by the compressor was affordably mitigated."
Since 2004, these awards have recognized the contributions made by plant staff, headquarters engineering, and asset-management personnel to the implementation of best practices for continual performance improvements at gas-turbine-based power plants.
"In order for gas-turbine-based power plants to compete in a deregulated and increasingly competitive market, they must continually look for ways to increase reliability and availability, boost efficiency, reduce air and water emissions, and improve safety," Robert Schwieger, editor and publisher of Combined Cycle Journal, said. "This year's award winners exemplify the type of innovative thinking that is necessary to compete and succeed in today's market."
A complete description of award winning plants, including plant profiles, project reviews and contact information, will appear in the upcoming issue of Combined Cycle Journal. For more information, visit www.combinedcyclejournal.com.
The Klamath Plant's safety programs have received recognition from others, too. On Feb. 7, Pacific Klamath Energy (PKE), the PPM Energy company that operates both the Cogeneration plant and PPM's adjacent 100 MW Peaking plant, was awarded their OSHA SHARP graduation plaque and banner by Mark Hurliman and Lenny Reierson of the Oregon OSHA auditing division. SHARP is a five-year program designed to help companies develop safety programs, policies and procedures and create a healthy safety culture at their facilities. In his presentation, Hurliman commented that out of about 90,000 businesses in the State of Oregon, only 126 of them have achieved SHARP certification.
After many visits with OSHA consultants, PKE began the SHARP program in 2002 and achieved SHARP status in the minimum time required to qualify, graduating from the program in July 2007. The SHARP program is an extremely proactive approach to help Oregon businesses develop an appropriate safety plan and attitude towards safety for the all employees.
"We're really honored by this recognition," said Ray Martens, Klamath plant manager. "It's a team effort. All 24 people here at the plant as well as our team back in Portland deserve the credit."
About PPM Energy
PPM Energy, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is one of North America's leading wind power providers with more than 2,000 MW of wind power in operation, plus over 800 MW of clean gas-fired generation and over 50 BCF of gas storage. PPM is part of Iberdrola Renewables, the leading wind energy provider in the world, with more than 7,700 MW of wind power online worldwide and with a pipeline of more than 42,000 MW of wind power. For more information, visit www.ppmenergy.com.
About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) aspires to be the leading sustainable energy company in the United States. Headquartered in Orange, CT with approximately $44 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states, Avangrid has two primary lines of business: networks and renewables. Through its networks business, Avangrid owns and operates eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Through its renewables business, Avangrid owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. Avangrid employs approximately 8,000 people and has been recognized by JUST Capital in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the JUST 100 companies – a ranking of America’s best corporate citizens. In 2024, Avangrid ranked first among utilities and 12 overall. The company supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2024 for the sixth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
About Iberdrola: Iberdrola is one of the world's biggest energy companies and a leader in renewables, spearheading the energy transition to a low carbon economy. The group supplies energy to almost 100 million people in dozens of countries. With a focus on renewable energy, smart networks and smart solutions for customers, Iberdrola’s main markets include Europe (Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Greece), the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The company is also present in growth markets such as Japan, Taiwan, Ireland, Sweden and Poland, among others.
With a workforce of nearly 40,000 and assets in excess of €141.7 billion, across the world, Iberdrola helps to support 400,000 jobs across its supply chain, with annual procurement of €12.2 billion. A benchmark in the fight against climate change, Iberdrola has invested more than €130 billion over the past two decades to help build a sustainable energy model, based on sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.
