Emerson to install expert control system at new Chinese thermal power plant

March 25, 2010
Emerson Process Management has received a contract to install its Ovation expert control system at units 1 and 2 of the new 1,200-MW (2 X 600) super-critical ZhenXiong thermal power plant in Yunnan Province in southwest China.The contract was awarded by China Huadian Zhenxiong Power Generation Company Ltd.
PITTSBURGH — Emerson Process Management has received a contract to install its Ovation expert control system at units 1 and 2 of the new 1,200-MW (2 X 600) super-critical ZhenXiong thermal power plant in Yunnan Province in southwest China.The contract was awarded by China Huadian Zhenxiong Power Generation Company Ltd.Units 1 and 2 are expected to be up and running in fall and winter 2010, respectively. When operational, the ZhenXiong plant will not only support local economic development, but it will also play an important role in transmitting power from western to eastern China, providing additional grid stability to Yunnan Province, which derives much of its power from hydro plants.The ZhenXiong power plant is also noteworthy as China's first super-critical plant equipped with Harbin anthracite-fired boilers incorporating vertical tube Posiflow technology from Doosan Babcock. Anthracite coal, although plentiful in China, is difficult to burn. Consequently, the Ovation system will be instrumental to ensuring tight, steady control of the combustion process.In addition to the Harbin boilers, Emerson's Ovation system will also monitor and control each unit's Harbin turbine, turbine DEH (digital electro hydraulic) and ETS (emergency trip system), sequence control system and balance-of-plant processes. This will result in a fully integrated Ovation control solution that unifies boiler and turbine operations. Such coordinated control of the boiler and turbine 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.Emerson will supply a total of 47 redundant Ovation controllers, 12 operator workstations and eight additional workstations for historical data collection and retrieval, engineering, database and OPC functions. In all, the Ovation system will manage more than 20,000 I/O points. The contract also calls for Emerson to provide its SmartProcess Global Performance Advisor, which will model equipment and overall heat balance, adapting to changing conditions and determining the most efficient operating modes for the ZhenXiong plant."Because of the important role this plant will play in supplying power to Yunnan Province and eastern China, we wanted a control system that will help keep the plant operating efficiently and reliably," said Zhengfei Ye, instrumentation and control supervisor, Zhenxiong Power Plant. "Because of their extensive experience automating supercritical plants in China, Emerson was a logical choice for this project."