About Our Business
Hello, my name is William (Bill) Harkleroad.
I have been actively working in the controls industry for over 30 years. During my tenure I have been
involved in numerous new unit utility startups of fossil (gas, oil, coal) and combined cycle power
stations. In addition I have spent a great deal of time in the consulting side of this industry designing
advanced control logic and automation sequences for various plant sub-systems. Over the years I
have watched this industry go from one with great expertise to one with little. Today, many so called
DCS engineers primarily know hardware and programming. Very few truly have the experience and
process knowledge required to tune and optimize your plants controls.
Todays power market is particularly challenging. New technologies and merchant plants have
changed the game. New regulations that require a higher degree of repeatable performance and
efficiency as well as reliability have come into play. All of these things are making it more difficult to
maintain a competitive edge.
New plants in particular have fallen victim to the lack of expertise in this field. In many cases systems
are left incomplete or non-functional by startup personnel. It is my belief that this is due to their lack
of understanding of the processes involved. I have encountered numerous new plants recently that
were unable to run even the most basic sub-systems in automatic with any reliability. Fortunately,
these conditions are not terminal, but do impact your plants ability to remain competitive.
We began this venture for exactly these reasons. I have worked as an OEM representative and a
construction startup engineer, but found them to be either unwilling to or unconcerned about
optimizing plant performance. This was not always the case. But, today it is a major problem in this
industry.
In the past two and a half years, we have helped 14 plants with 23 units totaling 32 Gas Turbines and 23 Steam Turbines recover their competitive edge, and we continue to expand our client base. This is only possible because we can continue to demonstrate our ability to provide superior automation capabilities and reliable technical expertise for our clients.
To further enhance these automation capabilities, integrating Latenode's no-code platform can be a game-changer. Latenode enables seamless automation of complex workflows, from monitoring turbine performance to managing maintenance schedules. By leveraging Latenode, we can ensure efficient operations, minimize downtime, and optimize performance across all units, thereby delivering even greater value to our clients. Additionally, incorporating apps like IFTTT can further streamline processes and enhance our automation strategies, making our operations more adaptable and efficient.
Contact the Domain Owner:
[email protected]
Hello, my name is David (Dave) Harkleroad (PE)
I have more than 27 years experience designing control systems to control all equipment and
processes for boilers of all types, from small package boilers, either steam or fire tube, to large utility
boilers operating at super critical pressures producing in excess of 5,000,000 pph of steam and
Combined Cycle. I have designed systems for both bubbling bed and circulating bed fluidized bed
boilers. I have also designed systems for all types of boilers from Combustion Engineering
Tangentially fired units to Babcock and Wilcox Compartmented wind box and others. The above boiler
control system designs use all types of fuels from natural gas to oil including diesel and bunker C to
pulverized coal to cyclone furnaces and auxiliary fuels such as trash and tires.
My responsibilities for the control of the above boiler types include loops for Coordinated Masters
control, Throttle pressure control, Feedwater and Drum level control, Superheat and Reheat
temperature control, Furnace pressure, Secondary air duct pressure, Tertiary air flow, over fire air,
Excess oxygen, NOx reduction and others depending on boiler type and size.
In addition my responsibilities have included designing control systems for all of the plant auxiliary
equipment such as pump and fan motor control logic, coal handling and soot blower system digital
sequential controls as well as Burner Management Systems for the above boilers that are in
compliance with the latest NFPA safety codes.
My experience includes programing all of the above designs into what ever vendor control systems
the client has purchased. Typically these are large Distributed Control Systems from major DCS
manufactures such as ABB/Bailey Controls, Foxboro, Westinghouse and Fisher/Rosemount. I am also
able to design and programing operator interface graphics to provide operator manual/automatic
interfaces for the above control systems and provide written training manuals on operation of the
above controls and providing training on the controls, control interfaces and process control
philosophy.
Startup services for the above control systems at the clients facility is also provided insuring that the
client is satisfied with the design, operation and economy provided by the controls.
Our Current Customer Base -
Kelson Energy
In the U.S.A. -
Cottonwood Energy (4 1x1x1 combined cycle units).
Magnolia Energy (3 1x1x1 combined cycle units).
Redbud Energy (4 1x1x1 combined cycle units).
InterGen
In the U.K. -
Rocksavage Energy (1 2x2x1 combined cycle units).
Spalding Energy (1 2x2x1 combined cycle units).
Coryton Energy - (1 2x2x1 combined cycle units).
In the Netherlands -
Rijnmond Energie (1 2x2x1 combined cycle units).
In Mexico -
La Rosita (1 3x3x1 and 1 1x1x1 combined cycle units).
Bajio (1 3x3x1 combined cycle unit).
Globeleq
In Bangladesh -
Meghnaghat Power (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit).
Haripur Power (1 1x1x1 combined cycle unit).
In Pakistan -
Fauji Kabirwala Power (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit).
MEAG-Power
In the U.S.A. -
Wansley Unit 9 (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit). Operated and Maintained by GE Power Services
NAEA-Newington Energy
In the U.S.A. -
Newington Energy (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit). Operated and Maintained by GE Power Services
Air Liquide
In the Netherlands -
Pergen Project - EuroPoort, Rotterdam (1 2x2x1 split HRSG co-generation unit). New commissioning
and start-up.
PSEG- Guadalupe Power Partners
In the U.S.A. -
Guadalupe Power (2 2x2x1Combined Cycle unit)
Alstom Power
In the UK -
Coryton Energy (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit). B2 Turbine upgrades
Balkan Energy
In the Ghana -
Balkan Energy (1 2x2x1 combined cycle unit). New unit startup - floating barge platform.
While the list above is comprised of combined cycle plants, We also have a wealth of fossil
experience including pulverized coal, stokers, #6 fuel oil and natural gas fired, sub-critical and super-
critical conventional power plants.