The Elizabeth River Power Station, operated by Dominion Energy, an electricity supplier to parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, is one of the power stations fueled by natural gas. The Elizabeth River Power Station first began commercial service in 1992 and currently provides power to approximately 78,000 homes in the Chesapeake, Virginia area. The facility has a net generating capacity of 348 megawatts, with three operating units.

The Victaulic Vortex™ Hybrid Fire Extinguishing System was recently installed at the Elizabeth River Power Station to protect three systems at the power station:

• Turbine Enclosure (including a Westinghouse 501D Turbine)
• Mechanical Enclosure
• Generator Enclosure

The Victaulic Vortex™ System replaced older Halon, INTERGEN, Novec 1230, and FM 200 Systems that had been installed at the facility.  If these systems were to discharge, accidentally or during a fire event, people located in the protected areas would be faced with a potentially deadly situation.  Dominion Energy wanted to replace these potentially hazardous and dangerous systems to improve life safety at the facility.

Victaulic and Fireline Corporation partnered together to meet Dominion Energy’s requirement of a full discharge test after installation of the Victaulic Vortex™ System.  The system was fully tested to verify and control the oxygen levels in the protected spaces. This provided an opportunity to visually observe the effectiveness and efficiency of the Victaulic Vortex™ System through the full system discharge test.

At the Elizabeth River Power Station, bulk tanks were utilized for the nitrogen supply, which provided maintenance advantages over traditional cylinders. Additionally, the bulk tanks provided a solution that minimized the footprint of the system.

External Link

Dominion Energy – Natural Gas Facilities