The following is a list of some of Terry Molloy's
Engineering Accomplishments
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
1990 Designed a system to eliminate the fouling with
"Eel Grass" of the Bearing Cooling Water Heat Exchangers at Morro Bay Power
Plant. Provided procurement specification and reviews services, supported the construction
group during installation, and participated in testing of the system during startup.
1979-81 Functioned as the Project Engineer and Manager for a
full scale Hydrogen Sulfide Abatement system to be designed and installed upstream of an
operating geothermal power plant unit at the Geysers. The detail design work started in
September of 1980. The project was canceled in June of 1991, for a combination of
political and technical reasons beyond Engineerings control. At the time the project
was canceled it was four months ahead of schedule and all major technical issues had been
identified and resolved.
1979-80 Functioned as the Project Engineer and Manager for
the demonstration and test of the "Coury Process" to remove Hydrogen Sulfide
from the steam upstream of the power generation facility. This process was successfully
demonstrated at the Geyser's Power Plant Unit 7. A project was initiated that would allow
a controlled evaluation of the process concepts for a wider range of Hydrogen Sulfide,
CO2, and Ammonia concentrations in the steam. This project was to be implemented at
Geysers Unit 13, the unit with the lowest H2S content. This Coury Process, in the opinion
of the M&NE Department's H2S abatement consultant, had the greatest potential to
reduce the cost of geothermal power generated at The Geysers. The demonstration project at
unit 13 was canceled due to funding constraints and EPRI / Coury patient rights issues.
1971-79 Provided the conceptual design for the mechanical
equipment control systems for PG&E's geothermal power plant units at The Geysers. The
initial effort involved identifying conceptual design flaws in the strategy used to design
the controls for units 5 & 6. These units were in "startup" in August of
1971. The work resulted in revising the control strategy for these units and subsequently
applying that strategy to the control systems for units 7 through 12.
1976 Lead the team of engineers that designed and started up
the first implementation of electronic control system instrumentation at The Geysers Power
Plant. This effort resulted in the acceptance of the use of electronic equipment for all
future units. This resulted in significant savings through reduced design, initial
equipment, installation, and O&M costs for the new units.
1976 Lead the team of engineers that supported the
installation and startup of the sludge removal systems being installed as temporary
measures on The Geysers Power Plant units 3, 4, and 11. The operational date for the
systems was December 31, 1976. The construction of these facilities was well behind
schedule when our team arrived on site in early November. The team was able to support the
construction group, resolving design questions, expediting equipment deliveries, and
providing inspecting support. The advance testing done on the electronic systems isolated
all equipment malfunctions during startup to field wiring errors. Unit 11 was operational
on December 15, 1976. Units 3 & 4 became operational on December 23.
1974 Provided the design, construction, and startup support
for the first Non-condensable Gas Incinerator System at The Geysers Power Plant. This
project was part of PG&E's commitment to reduce Hydrogen Sulfide emissions from the
units at The Geysers and was on a critical schedule. An engineering consulting company
with construction support from PG&E's General Construction (GC) Department was
originally doing the project. When the responsibility for on-site was transferred our
group, the project was well behind schedule. With the help of GC the project was brought
on line in time to meet the regulatory commitments.
Grove Valve & Regulator Co.
1970 Wrote a computer program to model the operation of a
Grove B5 ball valve with the "seats" retracted to simulate improvements in
control capabilities that result from the reduction in "stiction." By matching
the computer output with test data it was possible to predict the benefits of additional
design modifications as well as the control capabilities of the new design.
1968-69 Wrote computer programs to design coil and
Belleville springs for use in Grove Valve & Regulator Co.'s products.
1970 Completed test work on a prototype ball valve regulator
that was later patented.
1969-70 Designed and assembled an electronic test rack for
use by the engineering group to test products and support the sales department when
required. The "First Aid Kit for the Sales Department," as it was sometimes
called, could be shipped by air in the white foam lined box with all instruments
pre-calibrated for the specific site where support was needed. On two occasions I used the
equipment to diagnose long-term control problems at customers sites. We were successful in
identifying the problem at both sites in less than four hours. One problem had been going
on for over a year, the other for several months.