Cutting the Cost of Flexible Operation in a Competitive Power Market

Overview:

Starting a power-generating unit involves bringing a plant from shutdown conditions to synchronization between the electrical generator and the transmission network or grid. Optimizing this process requires a careful balance which minimizes startup energy costs and limits plant damage. Traditionally, the startup of a coal-fired unit is performed manually by highly skilled operators. For RWE npower, however, an analysis of the startup methodology using the PI System from OSIsoft revealed significant variation in the company's techniques. Having identified the reasons for the variations, RWE npower then standardized and optimized the procedures to ensure that best practices were achieved for every startup.