Expert Details
Electrical Power Generation and Control--Design, Project Management and Troubleshooting

ID: 711241
Maryland, USA
Expert'Expertexpertise has been applied to power generation station as well as industrial applications in critical and non-critical situations. The purpose for the systems which he has designed and installed and for which he has provided startup and troubleshooting services range from critical, uninterruptible nuclear power station battery and inverter systems with diesel generator and battery charger backup to a meteorological data station backup diesel power system with a slow transfer switch. Less critical applications involved US Air Force Base power systems on foreign soil designed to automatically start and provide power to on-base residences and diesel power for emergency building lighting.
Expert has provided design, installation supervision, start-up, commissioning, and troubleshooting services for power systems in power plants and industrial applications for more than thirty years. Most of these services have been performed for the nuclear, hydropower, cogeneration, diesel power, and gas turbine industries and the skills directly apply to any critical process plant or power distribution system.
For more than twenty years, Expert has evaluated the technical and financial feasibility of hundreds of potential cogeneration sites. These include small host facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes and large host facilities such as industrial manufacturing plants. The cogeneration equipment he is familiar with includes packaged units as small as 60 kW as well as large scale gas turbines with heat recovery boilers and steam generators in plant configurations up to 500 MW (500,000 kW). Financial feasibility analysis includes evaluation of the present cost of meeting electrical and useful thermal needs and comparing that to the cost of alternative arrangements such as with a cogeneration system installed. Net present value analysis and power generation project cost estimates are used to determine if alternatives have demonstrable economic performance when compared to common investment standards or to host facility cost of capital and investment criteria. Expert is well experienced in presenting complex investment analysis in a way that is understandable by non-financially trained persons.
For more than thirty years, Expert has worked in the power generation industry designing, installing, starting-up and troubleshooting control systems. He regularly purchases text books and reads magazine articles on the subject. He routinely designs complex control systems for sophisticated electrical power generation plant prime movers and auxiliary equipment. Control functions include automatic routine process operation, manual operator participation, electrical protection, mechanical protection and personnel safety. He has followed technological changes from hardwired relay logic systems through remote controlled Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Systems (SCADA). With the technology available today, the question is seldom "Can we do this.." but "Is it cost effective to do this..."
Expert has most versions in his company'Expertlibrary from 1981 through the current version. He has studied and used the NEC every year since the 1970s. He periodically attends refresher courses sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association for the most recent versions of the National Electrical Code. He has the Canadian Electrical Code, Hazardous Locations textbooks and other interpretive texts for more in-depth analysis and comparisons in the ANNA, Inc. library. He has personal contacts at the NFPA offices to secure opinions on difficult interpretations and special circumstances and has also taken courses and maintains a library on the National Life Safety Code (NFPA-101).
Expert has a thorough knowledge of electrical and mechanical physics and theories and has worked with the application of those theories to practical electro-mechanical equipment. As an example a medium voltage circuit breaker is an extremely complex arrangement of electrical and mechanical subcomponents that work in an integrated fashion to perform the overall objective. Expert has, by consulting the vendor manuals and using other sources, the ability to understand the details of electro-mechanical equipment, how it is intended to work and how it may not have worked properly. Furthermore, he is talented at explaining this operation to non-technical persons.
He is an expert in the design of electrical power generation and distribution systems in commercial, industrial and utility facilities. His design objectives include personnel and equipment safety, reliability, availability, expandability, efficiency and cost effectiveness.
He uses computer software to analyze real and reactive power flows, voltage control and the application of protective and control devices in electric power systems.
Expert has an understanding of the business of power generation and the financial benefit of reliable electric power. His understanding of business combined with his analytical skills allow financial analysis of cogeneration feasibility, risk assessment, condition of power generation assets with respect to their capital cost equivalent, maintenance costs, reliability and therefore, financial net present value. His business skills combined with his engineering understanding of power system efficiency and reliability allow him to develop useful financial models for presentation to non-technical persons.
Expert is an experienced project manager for design and construction of power generation systems. He is familiar with the earned-value system in which project status and team performance using both financial and percent completion metrics on the same graph to visually display the project status, history compared to the original plan.
Expert is familiar with transient events such as switching transients, load additions and reductions, lightning strikes, faults and equipment failures within the electric power system that cause transient conditions, which may sometimes damage electrical and other equipment. Transients may be divided into the time frame of their existence and may be in the microsecond range, the millisecond range or the seconds range, each with its characteristics, causes, results and mitigative measures.
Education
Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
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Year: 1985 | Degree: MBA | Subject: Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration | Institution: University of Virginia |
Year: 1972 | Degree: BSEE | Subject: Electrical Engineering | Institution: Clemson University |
Work History
Years | Employer | Title | Department |
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Years: 1988 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Power Plant Consulting Engineering and Business Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:Expert is President and CEO of a small consulting firm. His high level of expertise leads to his engagement to perform consulting services within the international power generation industry. |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1985 to 1988 | Employer: | Title: Power Plant Project Manager | Department: |
Responsibilities:Electrical power engineer, hydropower plant design and construction project manager, cogeneration feasibility analyst and cogeneration marketing manager |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1981 to 1983 | Employer: | Title: Consultant Engineer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Nuclear power plant operational experience review engineer, modification, additions and testing engineer |
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Years | Employer | Title | Department |
Years: 1972 to 1981 | Employer: | Title: Electrical Engineer and begining 1978, Group Leader | Department: |
Responsibilities:Design, fire restoration and construction of commercial nuclear power stations |
Government Experience
Years | Agency | Role | Description |
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Years: 1972 to 1983 | Agency: | Role: Engineer, leader | Description: See employment section for work |
Years: 2006 to Present | Agency: | Role: Project Manager | Description: Architectural Engineering services on six year small business contract |
Years: 1990 to Present | Agency: | Role: Consultant | Description: Provided services through varied companies in perhaps ten engagements related to onsite cogeneration power generation in prime power, paralled fashion |
Years: 1990 to Present | Agency: US Coast Guard | Role: Engineer | Description: Design and field services for ship system upgrades and comnmissioning |
International Experience
Years | Country / Region | Summary |
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Years: 1990 to Present | Country / Region: All Central American and some South American countries | Summary: Dozens of small projects including startup and troubleshooting for days or weeks at a time |
Years: to Present | Country / Region: Ireland | Summary: Worked in Belfast on oil rig at Wolff & Mann shipyard |
Years: to Present | Country / Region: Korea | Summary: Three projects to perform troubleshooting services |
Years: 1989 to 1991 | Country / Region: Philippines | Summary: Startup and commissioning of power generation diesel engine-generators at Clark Air Force Base, Angeles City, Luzon. |
Years: 2004 to 2004 | Country / Region: Malaysia | Summary: Troubleshooting turbine generator problem in shipyard working on new oil rig |
Career Accomplishments
Associations / Societies |
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Expert is a Registered Professional Engineer in Maryland and dozens of other states. |
Licenses / Certifications |
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Expert is certified by the Association of Energy Engineers as a Certified Cogeneration Professional. He is or has recently been a member of EGSA NSPE, MSPE, ACEC, CECM, ASME, ISA, NFPA, IEEE, AEE, and IGTI. |
Awards / Recognition |
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James Wright Educator Award from Electrical Generating Systems Association (EGSA). |
Publications and Patents Summary |
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Several technical papers related to electric power generation and troubleshooting; list and copies of papers available upon request. |
Additional Experience
Expert Witness Experience |
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Expert has performed as expert witness for approximately 20 cases, divided approximately equally between plantiff and defendant sides. Full list available upon request. |
Training / Seminars |
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Expert teaches a half-day course in Troubleshooting several times per year for the Electrical Generating Systems Association. He has developed and taught a four day course titled: Switchgear and Controls for Power Generation |
Vendor Selection |
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Expert has experience locating vendors in the following areas: * Switchgear and components related to switchgear * Power system components such as transformers and circuit breakers * Control systems and components * Data acquisition systems and components. Expert has access to his company'Expertdatabase of thousands of industry contracts and vendors |
Language Skills
Language | Proficiency |
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Spanish | Expert not able to construct sentences but does understand a few hundred words of Spanish and with an interpreter has delivered power generation operator and technician training in Spanish. For the right contract, would attain elementary fluency in six months. |
Fields of Expertise
electric energy generation, electric power plant, gas-turbine generator, generating station, hydroelectric energy system, power generation system, generator design, diesel standby electricity generation, diesel-electric energy generation, gas turbine electric energy generation, standby electric-energy generation, uninterruptible energy generation, electric distribution system, electric power distribution, electric power system, power distribution, power engineering, electrical power engineering, cogeneration, energy-efficient cogeneration, control system analysis, control system design, electric circuit design, electric relay logic, electrical-power system control, National Electrical Code, National Fire Protection Association code, circuit breaker, electric generator, switchgear, circuit protection, electrical load flow analysis, overload protection, energy-efficient engine cogeneration, energy-efficient generator, energy-efficient steam cogeneration, earned-value system, power generation project management, electric surge, industrial control, power control, nuclear industry, electrical design, emergency shutdown system, hazardous location, electric motor standard, protection, startup, electrical safety National Electrical Code, plant operations management, diesel standby generator, automatic transfer equipment, control system performance evaluation, electric distribution system design, combined-cycle electric power generating system, distributed electric power supply system, combined heat and power distribution, electrical building code, electric transient, supervisory control and data acquisition, combined-cycle turbine, steam electric energy generation, energy-efficient electrical system, standby electric-energy system, due-diligence investigation, electrical-load stability analysis, electric power transmission, energy-efficient packaged cogeneration, energy-efficient gas turbine cogeneration, energy-efficient gas turbine, waste-heat recovery boiler, alternating-current transformer, alternating-current power line harmonic, data acquisition, electrical grounding, nuclear power, electrical system, switch, electric device, automatic control, programmable controller, hydroelectric energy, surge arrester, electric battery, uninterruptible power system, remote control, relay, project management, power factor, overvoltage protection, lightning protection, control system