For Immediate Release

February 9, 2000

Contact:	Paul Simas
	Phone (508) 563-7181 Fax (508) 564-4851

Cape Cod, Massachusetts – The strategic alliance of AMCO-FERN recently supplied inlet fogging systems for two General Electric Frame 9FA gas turbines to Enron's Dabhol Power Company in India. The systems were up and running less than three months after Enron awarded the contract. Testing after installation of the systems showed they delivered a significant boost in the power output of each gas turbine. The systems were designed to cool the air by 15°F, but as much as 18°F was achieved during the acceptance tests.

American Moistening Co. (AMCO) of Pineville, North Carolina, a 100-year-old company that supplies industrial humidification systems, and Fern Engineering, Inc., a Cape Cod, Massachusetts engineering firm specializing in gas turbines, formed a strategic alliance earlier this year to supply Direct Inlet Spray Coolers, or DISCs, for gas turbine power plants. A DISC delivers a fine mist of water, or fog, into the air intake of the turbine. As the water droplets evaporate, it cools the air. The cooler, denser air results in an increase in power output from the turbine.

"Using water for evaporative cooling of gas turbine inlet air is a well-known technique and has been used for many years", said Stephen Molis, Fern's DISC project manager, "but the real breakthrough that direct spray provides is that it takes up very little space and requires relatively simple equipment." According to Molis, that makes it economical and very attractive for retrofits to existing power plants.

Enron contacted AMCO-FERN early in 1999 about the supply of DISCs to the Dabhol Power Company, an Enron subsidiary, which has a 740 MW twin combined cycle power plant near Mumbai, India.

Enron gave its approval to proceed on August 11, 1999. AMCO-FERN delivered the in-duct components of the cooler and shipped the pump skids and controls, which reside outside of the duct, by mid-October. The complete system was up and running by the beginning of November, less than three months after receipt of the order.

"With both AMCO and Fern being small companies, we knew we could execute projects quickly, but I think we even surprised ourselves on this one", said Denis Hill, AMCO's general manager for gas turbine inlet cooling.

The Dabhol DISCs were designed to cool the inlet air from 90°F (32°C) to 75°F (24°C). For that amount of cooling, the output of each gas turbine is predicted to increase by about 13 MW, which is roughly a 6% boost in power. In addition, the increased exhaust flow will result in increased steam turbine output as well.

During the 1990s, Fern conducted studies for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) that examined various ways to boost output from existing gas turbine power plants. The studies showed that direct inlet spray cooling was, by far, the most cost-effective means of increasing power. "Our analysis showed you could increase output for about $50 per incremental kilowatt. That's less than a quarter of the cost of buying a new gas turbine", Molis said. "Once we saw that, we knew we ought to get into the business of supplying DISCs, but Fern does not have manufacturing facilities. That's why we teamed with AMCO. Our capabilities compliment each other perfectly."

Since kicking off the alliance in March of last year, the interest in DISC systems has been keen. "At this rate, we're going to be busy for a long time", Hill said.