Lignum Vitae North America, LLC is proud to announce the contract for unit nine of the Osage Plant.

This will complete the 100% conversion back to Lignum Vitae Water Lubricated Bearings. Lignum Vitae has saved Ameren $250,000 for one unit alone offering a payback ROI in just two and a half days!! Lignum Vitae North America LLC is pleased to announce the order for the ninth and last unit for Ameren at the Osage 242 MW hydro generating plant. All nine units with 30” inch shafts have material to convert back to Lignum Vitae water lubricated main guide bearings. The conversion process started 18 months ago when two units were unable to run an hour on composite bearings.

Going back to 1931 the plant had experienced many changes over the years. Along with changes came decisions to replace the water lubricated main guide bearings to a synthetic material with mixed results. One of the units converted to a composite bearing experienced inordinate run-out in just a few minutes, requiring the plant to shut down the turbine. Leading consultants were called in to assess the problem and offered expensive solutions requiring months out of service.

Lignum Vitae North America LLC was called in to assess the shaft condition and the decision was made to install one unit. The success of the startup and subsequent smooth running on a unit that could not run for 45 minutes lead management to the decision to replace every unit back to lignum vitae. This was 18 months ago and the units continue to run smoothly on genuine Lignum Vitae water lubricated bearings with no adjustments made to date.

The conversions have not only saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost generating revenue and unnecessary machining costs it also cements Ameren’s environmental commitment by allowing no oil or grease near the water. Lignum Vitae North America is proud to partner with Ameren to solve their problems by offering low maintenance and long bearing life with no threat to the environment.

LVNA continues its growth in the hydro industry with the stated goal of converting every hydro plant to environmentally friendly water lubricated Lignum Vitae. With lawsuits being filed all over the US to stop the threat of oil and grease from getting into our waterways it is our hope not a penny will be spent defending these outdated systems but invest in water lubricated upgrades instead.

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