Risk Based Assessment (RBA) for inspection activities within geothermal energy plants has become commonplace in New Zealand to control the risk of premature or unexpected failure and for maintenance planning.
Geothermal energy companies often administer their own pressure vessel inspection requirements following recognized standards such as AS/NZS 3788:2006 with audit and certification provided by accredited inspectors.
The RBA methodology is based on the ability to predict the corrosion chemistry in key parts of the plant so that material-environment combinations can be modeled. This allows for the prediction of damage mechanisms and the most likely location in the plant for that damage to occur.
The intent of the RBA process is to provide operators with a targeted approach to predict areas of potential damage and thus the ability to focus their time and resources. The RBA provides a basis for “what and when to inspect” and a living inspection document identifies “where and how” to inspect.
A natural transition occurs from the initial RBA assessment to inspection based assessments through knowledge gained by physical internal inspections which lead to adjustment of the RBA. Management of change is an integral part of this as new equipment or significant change in equipment or process conditions initiates a review of the RBA.
The RBA and inspection activities are part of an operations philosophy that aims to achieve 98% availability in geothermal plant.
This paper will outline the processes used for geothermal plant RBA and the methodology in place to capitalize on the knowledge gained from risk assessments and downstream inspection activities.