PARAGON ENERGY SOLUTIONS | ADVERTORIAL FEATURE
Above left: An example of a reverse engineered product Above right: The Paragon I&C repair facility
● Modernization of safety systems has stalled over time, resulting in obsolete technology and equipment that is costly to maintain
● The industry is facing economic challenges and must find innovative ways to reduce labor and material costs while increasing safety and reliability”
The slow adoption of digital technologies in the nuclear industry has led to a lack of innovative solutions in the digital I&C space, especially within safety-related I&C applications. With a dearth of opportunities for upgrades, many suppliers forwent improved designs and kept legacy digital platforms as the primary digital I&C architectures for use in nuclear power plants, long after these technologies have been retired in other industries. One nuclear industry solutions provider offers a FPGA-
based controls platform based on contemporary design. By taking advantage of opportunities at SMR start-up companies, Paragon’s Rock Creek Innovations’ HIPS platform brings much needed innovation to the industry. Designed by Rock Creek, the HIPS platform has revolutionised safety- related I&C by addressing nuclear-centric issues with a de-risked, hardware-based solution. The right controls platform represents a small fraction
of the life-extension effort. We understand the pressure is on to full-scale modernise (and this article is not adding to that push), but that does not mean all plants must fall-in-line for the same cookie-cutter strategy. From our perspective, there are as many viable solutions for the next twenty years as there are operating sites aiming to make it that long. The customer’s appetite for risk, market regulation, and most importantly individual culture must be thoughtfully considered when plotting the future. EPRI’s Design Engineering Guide, EPRI 3002011816 DEG 122018, describes four strategic options for approaching an I&C
upgrade: ● Aggressive: plant-wide replacement of I&C architecture with concepts similar to an ALWR, introduction of an advanced control room, and significant changes to plant operations and maintenance practices
● Resource-constrained: a more limited and incremental approach, foregoing dramatic productivity benefits and instead focusing on managing obsolescence and plant availability risks
● Tactical upgrades: system-by-system tactical upgrades
only when obsolescence or plant availability risks become unacceptably high
● Maintain or replace legacy components: a run-to-failure approach by providing spare parts for existing analog equipment over extended periods, combined with like- for-like component replacements (using either analog or digital components) when necessary
Regardless of where your I&C group identifies on the risk spectrum, Paragon crafts best-fit strategies for a holistic I&C lifecycle approach. In Moneyball, the team’s manager boldly focuses on on-base percentage statistics of the players rather than the conventional “wisdom” of the industry. You, too, can be the analytical, savvy employee who delivers your team (read: plant) from the brink of obsolescence by focusing on the right metrics for your individual circumstance. We call this a bridging strategy. A bridging strategy is a sensible approach to match your long-term plan with available resources. Outside of complete digital upgrades, bridging strategies are not only fiscally responsible but can be a shrewdly weighted choice for the risk averse. Initial considerations from Paragon’s
integrated-approach services include: ● Bolstering spares through industry-wide smart component sourcing
● Technical analysis of key components and reverse- engineering thereof
● The HIPS FPGA-based platform to reduce the regulatory risk of modernization projects involving digital safety related systems (compared to non-deterministic microprocessor-based systems).
● A channel-by-channel HIPS approach to upgrading I&C systems, incrementally funding installation(s) as money becomes available to the project.
We encourage our customers to consider the full spectrum of upgrade strategies then contact the I&C vendor aligned with your site’s values and culture to begin planning for your plant’s upcoming life extension. Regardless of the futuristic atmosphere of your plant, while you are keeping critical systems operating safely and efficiently for the long-term, know that the right vendor has your back and understands our industry’s dire need to keep every plant online if we are to reach our clean energy goals. ■
E:
info@paragones.com W:
https://paragones.com/
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