Expert control for greener coal-fired station

Ovation was a logical choice for the project, as the control system has already been selected to automate the majority of 1000MW units in China.

Emerson Process Management has received a contract from Huaneng Group to apply its Plantweb digital plant architecture at Haimen, a new ultra-supercritical, coal-fired power plant being built in China's Guangdong province.

The new plant will employ digital bus technologies, an approach that has been proven to result in significant construction savings as well as ongoing operational savings for power generating facilities.

When completed, the six-unit plant (6 x 1036MW) will have a total generating capacity of more than 6000MW.

The plant is being built in two phases (four units for the first phase, two units for the second phase).

Under the contract, Emerson will install its Ovation expert control system for units 1 and 2, which are expected to go into service December 2008 and March 2009, respectively.

Emerson has also entered into a purchase agreement with Huaneng Group to automate units 3 and 4.

Emerson's Ovation system was designed and built specifically for the power generation industry and has been proven in thousands of installations.

Ovation was a logical choice for this project, as the control system has already been selected to automate the majority of 1000MW units in China, as well as a large number of plants using supercritical and ultra-supercritical technologies.

Ultra-supercritical plants use new advanced clean coal technology that allows operation at elevated steam temperatures and pressures.

Ultra-supercritical technologies are becoming more prevalent in China because they can boost the efficiency of coal-based electricity generation by more than 50%, while maintaining superior environmental performance.

The digital automation solution for Haiman consists of Emerson's PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation control system and AMS Suite predictive maintenance software, as well as intelligent field devices, including Rosemount 848T temperature transmitters and Rosemount 3051 pressure/level transmitters.

For units 1 and 2 the Ovation system will monitor and control the boiler, sequence control system, electric control system, modulating control system, furnace safeguard supervisory system, flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) system and balance-of-plant processes.

The Ovation system will also provide feedwater pump electrohydraulic control and interface to the Dongfang turbine controls as well as to PLCs controlling soot blowing, dust removing, ash and slag handling, and plasma ignition.

The integrated Ovation solution will unify boiler and turbine operations, which translates into a number of significant operational benefits.

Fully co-ordinated boiler and turbine control not only enhances unit-wide compatibility, but also contributes to improved unit stability, responsiveness and thermal efficiencies; tighter overall control of plant operations; and a more streamlined view of key plant and turbine parameters.

The contract for units 1 and 2 calls for Emerson to supply a total of 64 Ovation redundant controllers (32 per unit), 10 operator stations (five per unit) and four engineering stations (two per unit).

In all, the Ovation system will manage 28,044 hard I/O points (14,022 points per unit) and will incorporate 12 Foundation fieldbus segments (six per unit) and 16 Profibus DP segments (eight per unit), to network 174 Foundation fieldbus devices (87 per unit) and 154 Profibus DP devices (77 per unit).

Use of Emerson's AMS Suite predictive maintenance software will initially streamline configuration of these intelligent devices, translating into cost savings and increased unit startup efficiency.

On an ongoing basis, AMS Suite technology will further increase the availability and performance of the two units by providing online access to instrument and valve process information, predictive diagnostic information, and automatic documentation of field device maintenance information - all of which contribute to ongoing efficiency of plant operations and maintenance activities.

"Emerson's Ovation control system is already used by a number of plants owned by Huaneng Group - Taicang, Luohuang and Yuhuan, to name a few - so we were already confident in the company's automation and control technologies", said Li Yijie, I and C Manager, Haimen power plant.

"Also instrumental in our selection of Emerson for Phase 1 of the Haimen plant was the company's significant experience with other ultra-supercritical units and 1000MW-unit projects, particularly in Asia".

"We are pleased to continue our relationship with Huaneng Group for a project that will play an important role in meeting the area's growing demand for electricity", said Bob Yeager, President of the Power and Water Solutions division of Emerson.

Yeager, who points out that Emerson has won contracts to install its automation technologies at approximately twenty 1000MW units in China alone, continues: "When is comes to implementing projects that are large and complex in scope, no other automation and control supplier can come close to the breadth and depth of experience Emerson offers".

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