2008-08-11 - An ABB System 800xA installation in Europe’s largest organically- fuelled electricity generator will help improve energy efficiency at the 38.5 megawatt (MW) plant.
By ABB Communications
The power generating unit is owned by Energy Power Resources Limited in Thetford, U.K. The contract calls for ABB to provide an overview of the entire plant operation by transferring hard-wired data from existing panels into an 800xA control system, and installing a central control desk along with new operator work places.
ABB will integrate separate displays into a single large display, while its power generation information system enables a company-wide reporting system for processes and production that can be easily expanded to serve all EPR's power plants in future.
The upgrade is part of what ABB calls its ‘Evolution’ lifecycle support strategy, which allows owners and operators on tight budgets to upgrade existing equipment over time. It is designed to allow continuous operation while upgrades are achieved through a series of small, cost-effective steps, to meet the needs of changing business environments.
Chicken power
EPR is at the forefront of the renewable energy market in the UK, with a relatively diverse portfolio of plants fuelled by organic materials, or biomass. But this initiative still owes much to the chicken.
Poultry litter can be used as alternative source of fuel, or as a fertilizer for crops like corn or soybeans.
Each chicken produces 1.13 kilograms of litter in its life, a mixture of manure and bedding materials like wood shavings. The litter can be used as fuel for an alternative source of energy, as here, or it can be applied directly to land as a fertilizer for crops like corn or soybeans.
The litter's nutrient-rich elements can also be separated out to create more concentrated fertilizer pellets, which allow a slower release of nutrients into the soil and curb pollution from pathogens in the unrefined litter.
The installation for EPR is one of many ABB projects in the field of alternative energy, and the second Evolution-style project for EPR involving a biomass-fuelled power station.
Interconnecting control systems based on ABB's Extended Automation System 800xA, let the plant operators measure and optimize energy usage while documenting every aspect of production.
The System 800xA process portal extends the reach of traditional Distributed Control Systems to provide total plant management, including production management, safety, discrete and advanced control, information management, smart instrumentation, smart drives and motor control centers.
The power of organic materials: Biomass defined
- Biomass is a renewable fuel produced or processed by organic means. This includes energy crops such as corn, forestry products, and organic waste from mainly agricultural sources.
- Organic waste can be incinerated, or may be further processed to produce biogas, usually methane, which is burned to produce energy.
- Energy crops may also produce biogas when burned. In boilers, the gas produces steam, which is then used to drive steam turbines and create electricity.
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