Annual bulb replacements were becoming a significant financial drain in both supply

At its 1,700-megawatt Martins Creek Power Plant north of Easton, Pa., the company recently replaced the antiquated Xenon obstruction lighting system on the facility’s two exhaust stacks with state-of-the-art 270,000 candela LED High-Intensity Strobe systems from Dialight. The retrofit will reduce PPL Generation’s maintenance and energy costs.

Constructed in 1974, the Martins Creek facility consists of two oil/natural gas-fired units with a generation capacity of 850 megawatts each. Twin 600-foot ventilation stacks tower over the facility and its surrounding neighbors, each signaled by the requisite FAA obstruction lighting system.

The existing systems, comprised of two sets of three Xenon strobes at positioned 296 feet and 586 feet, had been in place more than 30 years, since the plant first came online. Annual bulb replacements were becoming a significant financial drain in both supply and manpower costs. In 2010 alone, the Martins Creek plant had to replace 10 out of 12 lamps. The year before, the plant replaced all 12 lamps.

Recognizing the need to upgrade, PPL worked with its electrical and lighting contractor, Fuellgraf Chimney & Tower, to specify a new high-efficiency LED system.