| Power plant products Dedicated renewable power portfolio


Emerson has integrated its power and renewable energy capabilities with its ‘Ovation Green’ portfolio to ‘help power generation companies meet the needs of customers navigating the transition to green energy generation and storage’: and it has combined its recently acquired Mita-Teknik software and technology with its own Ovation automation platform, its cybersecurity solutions and its remote management capabilities. This has created what Emerson is calling a new extension of its power- based control architecture. The resulting portfolio focuses on the emerging clean energy market to provide simplified renewables automation to ‘help power producers build and scale sustainable operations’.


As renewable portfolios grow, the number of applied technologies will multiply, increasing learning curves and adding complexity to operations as solutions from different vendors require additional integration. Some existing systems can provide layers of connectivity between very specific assets, but the claimed advantage of the Ovation Green portfolio is being able to deliver a single set of purpose-built software and solutions that supports different technologies in one standardised, intuitive system. “Countries around the globe are focused on transitioning to a clean energy economy in the coming decades, and while green energy is a simple concept everyone understands, the road to implementation is not always clear,” said Bob


Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water solutions. “With the Ovation Green portfolio, our software, support and solutions are unified in one system from a single trusted provider to help power producers more quickly, easily and reliably manage their renewable electricity operations.” Full access to real-time and historical operations information gives owners and operators greater visibility and control of all renewable assets across the enterprise. Through ‘an integrated portfolio of data-driven asset control and management solutions’, Ovation Green technologies are said to provide secure, standardised access to data, independent of equipment manufacturer or system type, across a single or multiple sites.


‘Revolutionary’ MV circuit breaker for NEPSI


A new product to meet specific technical challenges of reactive power compensation has been developed by ABB for Northeast Power Systems Inc. From its base in New York, NEPSI’s systems have been used in over 1000 locations worldwide, in a wide range of industries including renewables and electricity generation and distribution.


Over recent years, NEPSI had seen a sharp growth in the capacitor bank market on account of soaring electricity demand and greater regulatory focus on reducing existing line loss. But there is a major challenge in the lack of a dedicated circuit breaker (CB) solution to meet the technical challenges of capacitive load switching. Alongside this, the number of vendors supplying switches at the HV level (38 kV) required for renewables was limited and the lead times were long.


As a result, NEPSI had come to rely on a combination of standard circuit breakers supported with transient inrush reactors,


sometimes as many as ten, to manage the magnitude of inrush associated with back-to-back load switching in renewables.


But this approach posed challenges too. Without full control of the unpredictable levels of inrush involved, there was scope for disturbances to the power network during sudden bursts, along with the potential tripping of relays due to noise, and possible damage to assets and premature asset ageing. It is not a fool-proof solution, and is expensive and cumbersome, given the space needed to house these types of devices. The subsequent conversation between ABB and NRTSI about the need for a dedicated CB kicked off the development of a completely new, ‘industry-first’ MV circuit breaker designed to meet the complex challenges of capacitive load switching. It was designed, tested and fast-tracked to market in a record 17 months. It is designated the VD4-CS and combines new vacuum interrupter technology, servomotor actuation and ‘superior noise-free performance


to provide safer and more reliable switching protection of capacitor banks’. It acts as a circuit breaker and capacitive switching device in one, and can limit inrush itself, negating the need for inrush reactors for businesses operating in reactive power.


It is said that the VD4-CS can perform up to five times the number of electrical operations compared to standard solutions while increasing the lifespan of capacitors by more than 10%. For NEPSI, the VD4-CS has been game- changing. It means its capacitor bank proposition can be scaled up to match evolving power distribution requirements. Sami Raitakoski, Global Product Group manager of ABB’s Control & Protection Products, commented: “The end result [of our collaboration] will support a new era of growth for the reactive power sector. We are … proud to have been able to get it over the line and to market in a record time of just 17 months and are already busy developing a follow-up solution.”


Application of high-efficiency VS drives


ABB has contracted to provide variable speed drives (VSDs) to improve the efficiency of the Beijing Enterprises Environment Group’s 900 tons per day solid waste treatment plant in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province, China. The project is expected to reduce the facility’s annual


coal demand by over 120 000 tons and CO2 emissions by more than 300 000 tons.


Much of the machinery at the 370 GWh facility – including induced draft fans, blowers, and circulating water pumps – is powered by electric motors. Pairing these motors with variable speed drives greatly improves their energy efficiency. Since the plant generates electricity through waste incineration, this also significantly reduces its CO2


emissions.


The facility is using 10 sets of ACS580MV medium voltage VSDs and 13 sets of ACS580 low voltage VSDs to regulate the speed of motors throughout the plant, cutting energy


consumption by approximately 30%. BEEGL also expects greater reliability, safer operation, and increased uptime of its power generation equipment to result.


The plant started operation in late November 2022, with improvements expected to increase the city’s waste disposal capacity from 900 tons to 2250 tons per day. This contributes to Zhangjiagang’s sustainability, as the plant’s emissions will be 40 % lower than if the waste was sent to a landfill. The project is operating on a BOT (Building-Operation-Transfer) basis for a licensed period of 30 years until 2038 for Phase I and 30 years until 2044 for Phase II.


www.modernpowersystems.com | March 2023 | 39


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