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Q4 2017 Fuel Efficiency Report - by Plant

Published: 19 July, 2017

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Plant fuel efficiencies to March 31, 2017

Capital Projects -- Thermal

Published: 7 December, 2022

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The following are major projects that began or will be completed in 2022-23:

Tank F

Tank F is a large storage tank located in Inuvik. It holds 9.3 million liters of diesel fuel oil supplying fuel to gensets in both the EMD and K-Plants. Every ten years the inside of the tank requires a visual condition assessment and to ensure corrosion limits have not been exceeded. Inspection intervals and requirements are set by guidelines published by the American Petroleum Institute. The inspection can take two to three weeks as approximately four million liters of diesel fuel held in the tank has to be temporary stored somewhere else. In this case the fuel was drained by gravity to barges located on the river nearby. Whilst the fuel transfer takes place the inspectors examine the outside of the tank. The atmosphere inside the tank is made safe for the inspectors who then check that the condition of the inside of the tank if fit for use for another ten years. When corrosion pits are seen that are deeper than the maximum allowed, steel plates are welded over the affected areas to maintain integrity of the tank. Finally, the stored diesel oil is returned to the tank from the barges. Completion of this project was in late July 2022.

Tank F Inside the Berm as a Secondary Containment Structure.

Third LNG Storage Tank

In 2013 Inuvik saw the completion of an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) storage facility which provides fuel to two gensets in the K-Plant. The dwindling LNG supplies from local gas fields initiated the requirement to replace the supply to transportation the LNG supply by road tankers from BC. Last fiscal saw the approval to order a third LNG storage tank which will mean that Inuvik will have enough gas for nine days instead of six and completion of this project is due in late 2022. The addition of the 3^rd tank is expected to realize the following benefits:

To reduced GHG emissions in support of federal, territorial, and corporate GHG reduction targets; estimated to be 600 tonne/annum.
To make improvements to the reduction in northern reliance on diesel electrical generation; estimated to be 1,020,000 litre/annum
Projected $480K reduction in annual operating costs (including production fuel) due to the lower cost of LNG compared to diesel fuel.

Existing LNG Storage Tanks with 3^rd Tank Being Lifted Into Position

Sachs Harbour New Power Plant

In 2015 a third party engineering consultant completed an asset condition assessment of the of the plant after concerns about the deteriorating condition of the plant, installed in 1975. The findings of the assessments indicated that there were issues with the plant foundation, several other issues with plant equipment and poor fuel efficiency of the gensets engines. After a design phase for a new plant was completed, a new plant was built and tested in 2020 and shipped by barge to Sachs Harbour. Due to Covid19 restrictions, the new plant was not installed as planned in 2021. This fiscal year saw crews on site demolishing the old plant and the installation and commissioning of the new plant. The plant is expected to come into service in the summer of 2023.

The new plant is expected to show the following benefits:

New plant will have a life expectancy of 40 years.
Fuel efficiency expected to show an 18% improvement compared to current plant.
Expected GHG saving estimated to be 283 tonnes/annum.
Plant foundations modified to withstand impacts due to climate change.
Plant design allows for a wind turbine addition in the future with expected further GHG reductions.

Fort McPherson

There have been failures of three Caterpillar engines in Ft. McPherson after they were initially installed after the two Guascor (G1 and G2) engines failed. The failure of the G1 Guascor engine was attributed to oil pump issues, the oil pressure regulation valve failure and faulty injectors. The failure of the G2 Gauscor was repeated cylinder head failures. These faiures were of such a nature that the engine removal and repair in Alberta was required. In both cases it was decided that to avoid any repeated failures by replacing both G1 and G2 with Caterpillar engines.

This subsequently proved not to be without issues and the repalcement Caterpillar engines were bought used with low hours. One of the replacement Caterpillars had been fitted with an obselete cylinder head configuration and old style injectors which together with doubts over adequate preservation of the engine during storage before purchase are thought to have caused the engine to fail. A further failure of a replacement Caterpillar is still under investigation. The photo below shows the catastrophic failure of one of the Guascor engines and shows one of the connecting rods that has come through the engine block.