Emerson awarded $95M contract to modernise instrumentation, control and electrical systems at Europe’s largest thermal power plant

Automation technology and services will help improve efficiency at PGE Belchatow power plant in Poland

PGE (Polska Grupa Energetyczna), the largest electricity company in Poland, has awarded Emerson Process Management a $95 million contract to modernise units 7 to 12 of its Belchatow power station. Emerson will serve as both the main automation contractor and main electrical contractor, responsible for updating the instrumentation, control and electrical subsystems.

The Belchatow plant is the largest thermal power plant in Europe and the largest lignite-fired plant in the world. It currently consists of twelve 370 MW units, with a new unit to be completed in April 2011 that will provide an additional 858 MW of capacity.

The contract awarded to Emerson is part of a major reconstruction and modernisation programme that will increase the lifespan of the existing units, improve performance, increase availability and reduce environmental impact. Under previous contracts, Emerson updated units 3 and 4, which helped PGE improve overall operating efficiency by two percent, and is currently modernising units 5 and 6.

The new project will extend expected life for each of the six units to a total of 320,000 hours of operation, and will contribute to emissions reductions, with CO₂  falling below 200 mg/m³ and NOx below 200 mg/m³ from each unit. Modernisation of the instrumentation and control systems, including turbine vibration monitoring, will also improve reliability of the units, helping the plant to maintain 99.5 per cent availability and enabling PGE to meet the growing demands of the Polish power market.

As the main automation and electrical contractor, Emerson will apply its engineering expertise to design, install and commission its PlantWeb^™ digital plant architecture with the Ovation^™ expert control system, and also perform upgrade services on the units’ electrical subsystems, such as the generator, transformers, feeder ducts and switchgear.

The Ovation system will monitor and control each unit’s boiler and balance-of-plant processes and equipment, as well as the 0.4kV and 6kV electrical switchgear and unit power output. In addition, it will interface with the turbine controls and electrical protection systems of each unit. The system will oversee automatic unit start-up/shutdown and automatic unit operation within the full range of load changes. Emerson will also modernise the electro-hydraulic controls, including digital controller, of the turbine driven feed-water pump.

As part of the PlantWeb digital architecture, Emerson will also install a full range of instrumentation, including its Rosemount^® measurement and analytical equipment. Using open standard IEC 62591 WirelessHART^® technology, an Emerson Smart Wireless network will connect Rosemount wireless temperature transmitters that will monitor boiler temperatures on each unit. HART^® communications protocol will also enable PGE to access the predictive intelligence of the field devices through Emerson’s AMS Suite predictive maintenance software, which will help optimise plant performance, improve maintenance, and avoid unplanned downtime.

In addition, Emerson’s Scenario^™ simulation technology will be used to train PGE operators to run the updated units. The Emerson high-fidelity simulator will be configured using thermodynamic models of the units, providing a realistic training environment.

“We appreciate the opportunity to have earned Polska Grupa Energetyczna’s confidence on the previous two contracts, and we look forward to helping improve the performance of these additional units as well,” said Steve Sonnenberg, president, Emerson Process Management.  “Our goal – as always – will be to provide innovative technology and industry expertise to help maximise the return on their automation investment.”

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