Generator at power station is overhauled
Essential work on one of the four slow-speed generators at the Vale power station has been completed.
Originally commissioned in 1987, 4C has undergone regrinding of exhaust valves, cleaning and balancing turbos and overall engine maintenance.
Guernsey Electricity’s head of engineering and design, Jon Sexton, said that the demand for electricity during the summer was fully met through importing low-carbon energy from Europe along the sub-sea cable.
‘This allows us to conduct maintenance on essential on-island generation equipment and also undertake routine testing to ensure we are ready for the autumn and winter months, when electricity consumption naturally increases, so the power station can be used to supplement our imports,’ he said.
‘Longer term, our total energy needs could be met by a second sub-sea cable, which will provide additional capacity and resilience, and on-island renewables, although the power station will always remain an important back-up function.’
C Station, within the power station, houses four slow-speed diesel generators, which provide top-up generation when demand exceeds the import capacity of the sub-sea cable during the winter months. It is also used as a back-up if required.
C Station has undergone steelwork welding repairs to its exhausts, protection and control systems have been upgraded, diesel generator overhauls, and a routine upkeep of on-site substations and fuel tanks.
A Guernsey Electricity spokesman said that in January demand for electricity locally peaked at 94.2MW, matching the historical maximum set during lockdown in February 2021.
This meant that the Vale power station supplemented an additional 34.2 MW of power, on top of the sub-sea cable.
Work done over the summer months forms part of an ongoing multi-million pound investment in essential generating equipment located at the station and the electricity network infrastructure.
