Maintenance and commissioning of the Quantum Energía III combined-cycle plant

Soluciones Integrales de Combustión is carrying out maintenance and commissioning of the Quantum combined-cycle power plant, located in Baja California, Mexico. Specifically, the Spanish thermal engineering firm’s work involves the maintenance and commissioning of the power plant’s burner and auxiliary boiler systems, as well as technical training for the facility’s team.

The company is currently carrying out tasks to optimize the burner system—designed by manufacturer E&M Combustión—and the auxiliary boiler supplied by Cerney. The auxiliary boiler is responsible for generating the necessary steam during critical start-up and shutdown phases, before the main heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) reach their nominal operating temperature. These tasks at the combined-cycle power plant are essential for ensuring the facility’s operational availability.

The images show the Baja California team: from left to right, Andrés, Abiud, our colleague Josu, as well as Marco and Rudy. The photograph of the combined-cycle plant also shows the burner designed by E&M Combustión and the auxiliary boiler from Cerney.

Maintenance and commissioning of the Quantum combined cycle plant

1- Maintenance Work (Mechanical and Electrical)

The mechanical and electrical maintenance work performed by Soluciones Integrales de Combustión is designed to ensure the physical integrity of the equipment through preventive, predictive, and corrective actions:

• Shell and Tube Bundle Inspection: Removal of soot from heating surfaces and inspections using non-destructive testing (ultrasonic/liquid penetrant) to rule out thermal fatigue cracking.
• Burner Maintenance: Disassembly, cleaning, and calibration of natural gas injection nozzles, ignition electrodes, and the flame detector (photocell).
  
• Refractory Inspection: Repair or replacement of the combustion chamber’s internal thermal insulation to prevent heat loss.
  
• Water and Steam Lines: Inspection, cleaning, and repacking of safety valves, feedwater pumps, and automatic condensate traps.

2- Commissioning activities

Commissioning activities involve optimizing and calibrating the system to ensure safe, efficient startup that complies with environmental standards:

• Air/Fuel Ratio Regulation: Adjusting the combustion air fan and gas modulating valves to achieve complete combustion, thereby minimizing emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
• Burner Management System (BMS) Logic: Testing trip functions and safety interlocks. Critical faults (such as flame loss, low gas pressure, or low water level) are simulated to verify that the system automatically and instantly cuts off the fuel supply.
• Instrumentation Calibration: Fine-tuning pressure switches, boiler drum level transmitters, and thermocouples responsible for sending signals to the plant’s central control system.

3- Training plan(Personnel training)

Finally, Soluciones Integrales de Combustión is conducting training for the team responsible for the facility’s proper operation, qualifying Quantum Energía’s operators and maintenance technicians to handle any operational scenario:

• Operation During Transient States: Detailed training on gas purging sequences (chamber pre-ventilation), pilot ignition, transition to the main flame, and heating ramps.
• Fault Diagnosis (Troubleshooting): Specific training on interpreting burner panel alarms, identifying the causes of system trips, and safely resetting the system.
• SSafety and Emergency Response: Natural gas line isolation protocols, actions to take in the event of backpressure in the boiler furnace, and emergency purging procedures

Maintenance and Commissioning of a Vital Combined Cycle Power Plant

The Quantum Energía combined cycle power plant has a maximum installed capacity of 314 Megawatts (MW) and is equipped with 1×1 multishaft technology (General Electric gas and steam turbines with heat recovery steam generators and afterburner). The Spanish engineering firm IDOM collaborated on the detailed engineering to ensure efficiency and sustainability in this strategic project, which incorporates gas and steam turbines, a heat recovery steam generator with afterburner, and open-loop seawater cooling systems, guaranteeing the protection of the marine environment.

The transfer of control of the Baja California III plant to Quantum was part of one of the largest energy transactions in Mexico’s recent history. Specifically, in February 2024, Iberdrola formally completed the sale of 78% of its generation assets in Mexico to the federal government for US$6.2 billion. This transaction encompassed 12 combined cycle power plants (including Baja California III) and a wind farm. Wind power.

Since Baja California cannot receive energy from the rest of Mexico through conventional means, its grid is synchronized and electrically interconnected with the California grid in the United States. This allows it to import energy during periods of scarcity (especially in the summer due to air conditioning use) or export surpluses if the U.S. grid requires it.

Because of this transitional and interconnected scenario, the Quantum combined-cycle power plant is vital for ensuring voltage stability and a continuous supply in Ensenada and Tijuana. Its strategic importance lies in its 314 MW capacity, which allows the plant to provide local stability. Fueled by natural gas, it generates constant baseload power to mitigate chronic blackouts and support the industrial growth of Tijuana, Tecate, and Ensenada.