| Power plant products
New O&M solution for small scale hydropower
Digitalisation, making it possible to control technical installations remotely, even from a smartphone, has not been much employed in hydropower. Voith, in conjunction with digital specialist Ray Sono, has now developed a solution to change this, allowing the use of real-time data and intelligent analysis to permit faster and better informed decision making.
‘Hydro Pocket’ is a smart, all-in-one solution for small and medium-sized hydropower plants. It is a cloud-based solution that will enable operators to manage the system data on a “smart” basis. This provides a transparent view of assets, and assistance in the form of intelligent analysis methods. Maintenance and repair planning can be optimised and faults or unplanned downtime can be reduced.
Dr Tobias Keitel, COO at Voith Hydro, commented: “The application can be intuitively operated via a clearly configured dashboard, and
can map individual power units, complete stations or even entire fleets. These can be displayed on a computer, smartphone or tablet.” There are currently three different types of digital solution providers in the hydropower market. Original equipment manufacturers can offer supplementary products, which are suitable for their hardware, but are usually unable to offer a customised solution. Third-party providers supply retrofit solutions, but do not possess the technical expertise. The third option of internal development is too expensive and investment intensive for other than very large companies. “With Hydro Pocket, all of these aspects were taken into account during the development stage” said Sebastian Krüger, executive board member of Ray Sono. Work has been carried out directly on the Indonesian pilot project Sion, and the findings made during the project contributed significantly to the expansion and configuration of the functions
and features available. Hydro Pocket is said to be adaptable to individual needs and user requirements, but is also quick to install and easy to configure.
The user receives a starter kit to assist in this process, and attaches the hardware contained in the kit to the power plant. The task of configuring the system is subsequently performed by Voith, with the entire process taking less than four weeks to complete.
The three areas covered by the product are the monitoring, analysis and management of the system. In addition to the 12 MW system at Sion, in Indonesia, which has been using Hydro Pocket since March this year, there are six other systems in Europe and Southeast Asia that already have the product under test.
Storage integrator for grid services
To support the transition to systems that contain increasing amounts of distributed power reserve, ABB is launching ‘PowerExchanger’, a new feature
for its UPS back-up power products, which allows battery reserves to provide ancillary services to the grid.
The back up power of a UPS is drawn from its energy storage capacity, which often goes unused. With PowerExchanger fitted to new or existing ABB UPS systems, these batteries can be used to help the grid respond quickly to unexpected imbalances between power generation and demand. For example, by using PowerExchanger to join markets for grid ancillary services, Fast Frequency Response operators can generate a new revenue stream. Said to be ideal for low and medium voltage data centres, the new product ensures that a minimum energy reserve is retained by the UPS
battery, so in the event of a complete grid outage, the critical load will always be protected. It can also deliver financial and performance benefits via peak shaving.
“… our customers are under increasing pressure to optimise the use of installed assets and improve efficiencies – all while supporting the transition to renewable energy,” commented Paolo Catapane, UPS product manager for ABB. “A powerful way to do this is to harness the untapped potential of the energy storage held within a UPS, which is what our new PowerExchanger can do. It provides demand response functionality, helping to stabilise the grid while generating a healthy revenue for operators and lowering operating costs.”
Asset analysis service for wind installations
UL, a consultant on the technical development and optimisation of renewable energy projects, is increasing its collaboration with ONYX Insight, which provides data analytics and engineering expertise to the wind industry, on an expanded life evaluation programme for wind turbine assets. The two companies hope to combine their expertise to provide a broader range of solutions to the asset life extension challenge and help improve long-term profitability. More than 15% of wind energy sites operating in 2022 will have been in operation for twenty years. As assets age, they give owners three main choices to safeguard their investment, namely repowering, decommissioning or life extension.
Advanced analysis and monitoring technologies can help to transform the economics of life extension by removing some of the uncertainties. The increased collaboration of the two companies includes a review of over 100 GW of assets globally. It also covers technical advisory services on acquisitions involving turbine technical review, evaluation of target sites and operational expenditure forecasts. The two businesses have built on their collaboration with recent life evaluation projects involving hundreds of turbines across a range of makes and models. The collaboration is expected to enhance UL’s in-house structural analysis with drivetrain evaluation capabilities and structural health
monitoring for turbines, towers and foundations through ONYX advanced sensing solutions and analytics.
UL’s track record of life evaluation work includes structural assessment – including turbine, tower and foundation – to ascertain turbine capabilities and estimates of a turbine’s useful life. This includes data on key structural components, including tower and foundation health, to calculate risk levels and projected maintenance costs, allowing them to assign budgets confidently and justify key choices to investors. ONYX foundation monitoring hardware uses additional data streams for analysis, feeding in an informed predictive maintenance strategy.
www.modernpowersystems.com | June 2022 | 39
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