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3 May 2006 - Emerson Process Management announced Tuesday that installation of its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation expert control system is underway at the new Port Westward power plant in Clatskanie, Oregon.
The digital automation solution provided by Emerson also includes deployment of FOUNDATION fieldbus and Profibus technologies, as well as the company's intelligent field devices. Use of these technologies is expected to reduce installation and startup costs at the 400 MW Port Westward plant, as well as translate into ongoing operational and maintenance savings.
Owned by Portland General Electric (PGE) Company, this 1-on-1 combined cycle facility is adjacent to PGE's Beaver Generating Plant. When completed and online in May 2007, the Port Westward plant will produce enough power for roughly 300,000 homes, provide rate stability for PGE customers and help reduce the company's dependence on market-based resources.
According to Gary Tingley, electrical engineering manager, PGE, the latest technologies will be incorporated throughout the plant, making it the most efficient utility-owned plant of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.
"We are looking forward to experiencing the operational and competitive advantages that are possible by adopting a state-of-the-art, digital bus-based approach to the plant's monitoring, instrumentation and control systems," said Tingley.
Black & Veatch, PGE's engineering, procurement and construction contractor, selected Emerson's PlantWeb architecture with the Ovation expert control system to monitor and control the plant's combined cycle operations. The Ovation system will control the heat recovery steam generator as well as balance of plant processes. The Ovation system will also interface to the plant's new high-efficiency Mitsubishi G1 class combustion turbine and reheat steam turbine control systems.
Emerson's comprehensive digital automation solution for Port Westward also includes the AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager. For new plant construction, AMS Device Manager streamlines device configuration, thereby contributing to more efficient plant startup. In addition, the AMS Device Manager provides online access to instrument and valve process information, diagnostic status information, and automatic documentation of all field device maintenance information - all contributing to ongoing efficiency of plant operations and maintenance activities. This important capability will be further enhanced at Port Westward through incorporation of Emerson's SNAP-ON ValveLink application, which delivers additional valve diagnostic information.
Approximately 60 percent of the devices controlled through the Ovation system will utilize FOUNDATION fieldbus and Profibus bus technologies to communicate information from a number of Emerson intelligent devices. These devices include Rosemount(r) 3095 MultiVariable Mass Flow transmitters, Rosemount 848T temperature transmitters, Rosemount 3051 pressure/level transmitters and Fisher(r) valves with FIELDVUE(r) DVC6000 digital valve controllers.
Standardizing on digital bus technology has been proven to yield significant initial installation/ start-up savings, as well as long-term operational and maintenance cost savings. Emerson's PlantWeb digital bus-based approach has gained wide acceptance with customers in the chemical, pulp and paper, and oil and gas industries. Building on its success in these industries, Emerson continues its leadership role in demonstrating to the power industry the bottom-line results that are possible by adopting digital bus technologies.
The benefits of adopting a digital bus-based approach have been reinforced by a recent study conducted by JDI Contracts Inc., indicating that integrating digital bus technology into initial plant design can reduce the total project cost by millions of dollars. As further proof of PlantWeb's real-world benefits, Emerson plans to document the installation/startup savings achieved at the Port Westward Plant.
"Adopting digital bus technologies provides power generators with the best of both worlds: the ability to save millions of dollars in construction costs while also delivering a plant with a state-of-the-art instrumentation, monitoring and control system," said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson's Power & Water Solutions division. "PGE's adoption of PlantWeb's proven, yet cutting-edge technologies is just one of the latest illustrations of how the power industry is also moving in this direction."
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