Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | Petty Officer 1st Class Luke Leifeste and Petty Officer 2nd Class Laura Smith remove...... read more read more
ROTA, Spain (NNS) — Four Seabee technicians from Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC), Mobile Utilities Support Equipment (MUSE) division, deployed to support Naval Station Rota, Spain (NAVSTA Rota) on February 1.
MUSE has one 2.5 MW power plant and one 5000 kVA substation deployed to NAVSTA Rota to provide prime power capabilities in the event of a scheduled or unscheduled loss of commercial utility power to the base. MUSE supplements the base power plant, which consists of 10MW of power generation, in order to give the Utilities and Energy Management (UEM) branch the capabilities to carry the full load of the installation. Additionally, it supports all port operations for four homeported Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), USS CARNEY, USS DONALD COOK, USS PORTER, and USS ROSS, as well as various transient United States Naval Ships (USNS) ships and other Forward Deployed Naval Forces.
During a recent scheduled inspection, the MUSE team identified a failed component and quickly found the root cause. A failed turbocharger prevented the power plant from producing the electricity needed to supply power to ships docked at NAVSTA Rota.
“Replacing the failed engine component, a 2800 pound turbocharger, on this mission was no easy effort," said NAVFAC EXWC, Detail Officer in Charge (DETOIC), Petty Officer 2nd Class, Luke Timmerman, a MUSE Technician. "The turbocharger takes in air and compresses it to give our generator’s engine the appropriate air pressure needed for proper combustion. This combustion is what keeps an engine turning, and in turn keeps power flowing."
Weeks of planning and partnership efforts between MUSE, NAVSTA personnel and the local national work force to enable the successful removal and replacement of the power plant’s turbocharger. The mission required a 50 ton crane for 4 days of operations, special tools, and complex coordination.
“It was essential that the MUSE power plant was put back to operational status as we have scheduled outages to repair a damaged utility feeder providing power to our installation's substation,” said UEM Lead Petty Officer, Petty Officer 1st Class, UT1 Chris Watkins, a Utilitiesman. "Having the MUSE operational will allow us to provide prime power to the entire base as well as keep the docked ships from having to rely on their ship's power during the repairs."
MUSE is an all enlisted division of NAVFAC EXWC that provides interim energy independence for U.S. Naval Vessels, critical infrastructures, and facilities throughout the DOD through reliable, responsive, and effective Mobile Utilities Support Equipment and technical assistance. All MUSE technicians are selected from Seabee rates and attend the Army Prime Power School located at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. The year-long school is dedicated to teaching power production and transformation.
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2017 12:10 |
| Story ID: | 226005 |
| Location: | NAVSTA ROTA, ES |
| Web Views: | 439 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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