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Power Industry Process News
News Release from: Emerson Process Management - Power + Water | Subject: Fawley PS
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 31 August 2007
Ovation optimises operations at RWE
npower Fawley
Integrated Ovation system provides fully coordinated boiler and turbine control for optimised operations at the RWE npower Fawley Power Station Unit 3 in the 500-MW peaking unit
Emerson Process Management announce that Fawley Power Station Unit 3 is standardising on the Ovation expert control system as it upgrades plant operations in several key areas Under separate contracts, the Emerson Power and Water Solutions industry centre is replacing the existing turbine and burner management controls system at Fawley Unit 3 with its Ovation system
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 11 Dec 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The contracts were awarded by RWE npower, the UK's largest electricity supplier with approximately 6.8 million customers.
When the modernisation is complete, Fawley Unit 3, located in Hampshire on the shore of Southampton Water, will feature an integrated control system architecture based on Ovation technology that translates into co-ordinated unit boiler and turbine control.
In the power generation industry, co-ordinated control has been proven to improve unit stability, responsiveness and thermal efficiencies; enable tighter overall control of plant operations; and provide a concise view of key plant and turbine parameters.
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Built nearly 40 years ago, Fawley Power Station originally comprised four 500-MW oil-fired units.
Today, it operates as a two unit, 1,000-MW (2X500-MW) peaking plant that plays an important role in meeting the electricity needs of the area.
As part of its unit-wide adoption of Ovation technology, Emerson is modernising controls for the SIL2-rated burner management system, as well as replacing existing Rolls Royce EHG (Electro-Hydraulic Governor) turbine controls and related hydraulic equipment.
Emerson is a leader in the design, installation and support of steam, gas and boiler feed-pump turbine control solutions, and the Emerson ability to meet a very challenging schedule - just 20 weeks from contract award to commissioning - was an important factor in the RWE npower selection of Emerson for this particular project.
The burner management system and turbine upgrade projects are expected to be completed in September 2007.
Operators at the Fawley Power Station are already familiar with Emerson control technology.
Unit 1 currently uses the previous-generation Emerson WDPF distributed control system.
Since 1993, Fawley Unit 3 also used the WDPF distributed control system for boiler control and balance of plant processes.
In April 2006, Emerson completed a WDPF-to-Ovation control system migration for Unit 3 that allowed RWE npower to preserve its previous investments in WDPF I/O cards and cabling while also enabling them to take advantage of the enhanced functionality of the Ovation control system.
To further enhance operations, in March 2007 Emerson completed an alarm management study for Unit 3.
The Emerson analysis identified areas for improvement that would reduce the proliferation of unnecessary alarms, consequently translating into reduced downtime and increased productivity for plant operators.
RWE npower has also awarded Emerson a contract to provide a high-fidelity simulator utilising virtual controller technology.
Virtual controllers, which reside on a PC platform, mirror the actual Ovation controllers that comprise the plant control system.
Because up to five virtual controllers can reside in one PC, virtual controller technology provides opportunities for achieving higher levels of affordability and scalability with a significantly reduced footprint.
At Fawley Unit 3, the Emerson simulation solution will serve as a valuable training tool - both for the on-going education of existing employees as well as for qualifying new employees for safe and efficient plant operation.
This training capability is becoming even more important to power generators like RWE npower, which are preparing for the expected retirement of experienced operators over the next few years.
"Our relationship with Emerson spans nearly 15 years so we were well aware of the benefits of their comprehensive automation and control solutions" said Nick Stockdale, Fawley and Cowes power station manager: "Based on this experience, we felt strongly that Emerson would be best equipped to provide us with the technologies, services and support that are so vital to extending the service life of the plant".
"We are delighted to add another chapter to our long association with RWE npower," said Bob Yeager, president of the Power and Water Solutions division at Emerson: "With control systems installed in plants representing roughly 650,000 MW of generating capacity around the world, Emerson is clearly a global leader in this industry.
This is a testament to not only our robust automation and control technologies, but also to a customer-centric focus that is second to none among control system suppliers".
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