David is a veteran specialist in power plant design, and construction, and commercial generation in deregulated environments. His career also includes hands-on experience in operation and maintenance in commercial generation, decades of support to owners and potential owners of energy generation assets, and experience in the development of Independent Power Producer projects, in both renewable and fossil-fired projects.
Principal technical advisor to Independent Power Producer (IPP). David personally led the fuel and generation technology selections and the site selection for the project. He identified four possible sites, all at coastal locations in Ghana. Working with the IPP developer, David lead the site selection, which then resulted in the purchase of the site by the IPP organization. David has led services which have included the development of the site layout and the engineering concepts, performance of ESIAs both for the power plant and for a possible ‘FSRU’ supply of LNG, plus the provision of the technical aspects of the Power Purchase Agreement. David been the principal technical advisor through the process of obtaining bids for the turnkey contract to build the power station and a long term contract for the Operations and Maintenance of the power station, and is currently assisting in the finalization of the turnkey contract with a major international contractor for the first 450 MW stage of the project. .
Personally responsible for the engineering development and devising the plant configuration and layouts for this plant based on GE 9E technology. Personally devised and developed ‘2 x (3+1)’ plant configuration. Lead the team adjudicating bids for the EPC contract.
Project Director for assistance develop a design to build a crude oil-power station based on GE ‘Frame 9E’ gas turbines and a Siemens steam turbine, on a turnkey basis. David assisted the EPC contractor and an IPP developer with the development of the project to build, own and operate, using debt finance. He led the development of the plant design for tender purposes. David was personally involved in progressive refinements in project thermodynamics and costing and O+M issues with the EPC contractor and the IPP project owner.
Providing engineering and commercial support to the sponsors of Independent Power Projects which are currently under development. Personally responsible for selection of generation technology and for site selections. Technical lead in discussions in Nigeria with The Bulk Trader, the Gas Aggregation Company, the Electricity Regulatory Commission and the gas suppliers, on behalf of sponsors.
Personally responsible for and leading on site investigations in the assessment of life-extension and repowering prospects for a 50 MW Russian-built steam boiler/turbine plant in an ammonia and fertilizer plant near Mazar-i-Sharif. And Projects Director for detailed design for 105 MW heavy fuel Diesel power plant near Kabul airport.
Leader of US Department of Defense search for suitable locations for new gas and crude-fired generation in southern and eastern Iraq. Personally identified two locations for addition of new generation and led conceptual design and procurement activities for new generating units. One of those units was at Buzurgan, near Al Amarah. Responsible for developing the layout of the generating plant and locating the required new 132 kV substation and negotiations with the Ministry of Electricity over the changes at other substations to the re-energizing of the line to Buzurgan (previously energized at 33 kV) at 132 kV. The project was part of the ongoing effort to rebuild Iraq’s electricity infrastructure. The team led by David provided project management, full detailed design, equipment procurement services, and engineering and construction inspection for this GE LM 6000-based project.
David personally devised the concept of adding a Frame 6B gas turbine to fire crude oil adjacent to the existing 4 x 200 MW crude-fired steam plant at Nasiriyah. (This steam plant lacked a black start capability and suffered frequent problems when the 400 kV lines running north to the Baghdad region were disrupted. The 40 MW Frame 6B provides a capability to restart.) David also devised the concept of using a 600 m run of 132 kV underground cables to route the output from the gas turbine through a corridor between the existing power plant and the 400 kV switchyard from the logical location for the gas turbine to the 132 kV switchyard, with the cable partly buried and partly on over-ground pipe racks. Scope included site identification, gas turbine selection and sourcing, conceptual design, identification of available equipment, procurement and expediting, detailed design, and field engineering to support construction.
Responsible for site section, conceptual design, capital and operating cost estimates, and specification of turnkey contract for 50 MW power plant for south east Yemen. The project has been suspended due to the civil war.
Principal Advisor to wind farm developer SWS in the development of wind farm layout and environmentally acceptable means of connection of a group of wind farms to the utility 110 kV system, including analyses of a various routes for a new 110 kV spur line and assistance to SWS in making Planning Applications for those lines. Later responsible for project development and assembly of contracting arrangements to build the wind farm roads, turbine foundations, electrical collector system, substations and 110 kV substations. Later company Director for POWER Engineers’ Ireland subsidiary, Innealtóirí Cumhachta (ICT), responsible for turnkey electrical system design and construction for two 110 kV substations, a 110 kV overhead line and the 20 kV power collection scheme for the 15 x 3 MW Kilgarvan Wind Farm in County Kerry, in a challenging mountain area.
Reported to Board of Zepower Directors, and responsible for all aspects of the debt-financed project, based on two “F” class combined cycle units, to be constructed on a “brown field” site at Sluiskil in the Netherlands, as joint venture between Norwegian utility Norsk Hydro and Dutch distribution utility, Delta. Management responsibilities included engineering development, arrangement of finance, permitting, grid connection and long-term business planning, for the IPP joint venture which intended to build, own and operate this power plant.
David was personally responsible for development of a project to build a 350 MW power plant in the central mountain area of The Yemen, using commercial finance to build, and own and operate the plant. David lead a team on the selection of gas turbines and cooling and fuel arrangements, and the development of engineering contracts, in the light of fuel availability and pressure, and general site and long term operational conditions, including offers of Long Term Service Agreements and O+M contracts. The project was suspended due to the civil war.
David lead the team assisting the IPP developer of combined cycle plant to be built on the outskirts of Sophia, initially in Power Purchase Agreement negotiations and later in developing arrangements for a contract for a ‘full service’ Operations and Maintenance (O+M) contract for . A team lead by David developed a specification for the O+M contract, and sought tenders from international firms qualified in contract O+M for combined cycle plants. David personally visited organizations short-listed and specimen plants run by those organizations, and developed recommendations for the award of the contract.
Responsible for a division of a major international consulting firm with 190 permanent staff, plus additional contract employees, carrying out owner’s engineer and architect engineering activities on generation projects ranging from 6 MW(e) gas turbine cogeneration plants, through various diesel, conventional steam plants, combined cycle and desalination plants, with generating units of up to 630 MW(e) capacity.
The division operated worldwide, typically with staff living and working in around 15 countries.
During this period, in addition to general management duties, personally led team devising and optimizing design for the successful ‘IWPP’ bid made by CMS for a 500 MW (e) and 50 million Imperial gallons per day desalination plant at Tawheelah in Abu Dhabi, based on “F” class gas turbines.
Manager of Torrens Island “B” 4 x 200 MW reheat steam and Dry Creek 3 x 60 MW gas turbine power plants in South Australia, with full budgetary and operational responsibilities, through a period of rapid change, during electricity industry deregulation and extensive restructuring of labor union practices.
Responsible for developing proposals, obtaining budget approvals at utility main board level, and carrying out extensive life extension works, including control and instrumentation system replacements, reblading of turbines, feed heater retubing and various similar works. Personally led studies of future development of the plant assets, to respond to likely future business opportunities when competing in an open competitive generating pool, including identification of opportunities to repower using “F” class gas turbines, or LM 6000s, and development of detailed cost estimates and implementation proposals for repowering.
Station Mechanical Engineer or Maintenance Manager at four different power plants, owned and operated by the Electricity Trust of South Australia, incorporating both gas turbine and steam turbine technologies, with both industrial and aero-derivative gas turbines.
Twelve years’ experience working as a projects engineer on power plant plants in various countries, including three years based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as Turbine Engineer seconded to the Malaysian Electricity Board, providing maintenance and project support for steam and gas turbines power stations.
Six years’ experience in aerodynamics in the development of steam and gas turbine blades and in various aerodynamic issues in the power industry. Specialized in the development of power turbines for use with aero-derivative based gas turbines. Responsible for power turbine design development to suit Rolls Royce RB 211 gas turbine.