NEWS RELEASE                                                                                                     April 2013

More Than 11,000 Control System Projects at Fossil-fired Power Plants Next Year

Existing coal-fired power plants are upgrading to become more cost competitive and reduce emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. They will account for more than half the 11,250 controls projects which are planned for completion next year at fossil-fired power plants. These are the findings in two McIlvaine publications. Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System and Chinese Utility Plans.

The controls projects vary in scope. There are quite a few modifications to existing systems to incorporate monitoring of new emissions control equipment. Other systems involve safety and security. The largest investments are in major modernization programs.

ABB has won an order from Enel, Italy’s largest power company, to supply its Symphony^® Plus automation and control system to serve one of the major units at the Grazia Deledda Sulcis power plant on the island of Sardinia. Grazia Deledda Sulcis is a 590 MW coal-fired power plant with two units. The existing control systems will be replaced with a total plant automation solution to enhance the unit’s efficiency and improve its environmental performance. The new Symphony Plus solution includes the recently introduced high-performance controller, burner management and flue gas desulfurization systems, instrumentation, a new control room and operator stations.

EDF, the world’s leading nuclear utility, is also counting on coal. It has selected ABB to supply Symphony Plus total plant automation systems and long-term service support for three 600 MW units at the Le Havre and Cordomais coal-fired power plants in France. Recently, EDF initiated an extensive program to modernize Le Havre 4 and Cordomais 4 and 5 units to extend their operating life by 20 years to 2035. These three units are the largest coal-fired units in the EDF fleet.

Korea Midland Power has awarded Emerson Process Management a contract to replace the existing controls on two coal-fired units at the Boryeong plant with its PlantWeb digital plant architecture. Previously, the two units each utilized multiple control systems—analogue Toshiba turbine controls and a Bailey820 analogue system that controlled each unit’s Babcock & Wilcox boiler and balance of plant processes. Boryeong is the biggest thermal power station complex in Korea. With a generating capacity of 4800 MW, it accounts for 7.4 percent of Korea’s total electrical output.

India-based Instrumentation Ltd has signed a deal with Metso, to upgrade an automation system at the 890 MW Parichha thermal power plant located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The generating station in Jhansi will be able to improve process efficiency and ensure safer process operation as a result of the upgrade.

Yokogawa Electric., Ltd. has an order from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. in South Korea to supply control systems for the Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant, which is being constructed in Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam. The Mong Duong 2 coal-fired power plant, one of the largest power plants in Vietnam with a total output of 1,200 MW (two 600 MW units), is scheduled to start operation in August 2014. This order includes the CENTUM^® VP integrated production control system for the power plant's boilers, turbines, and auxiliary facilities and the ProSafe^®-RS safety instrumentation system.

An owner of a large fleet of combinedcycle power plants in the U.S. has awarded Wood Group GTS a contract to install 15 ECOMAX^® systems, an automated combustion tuning technology. Twelve units have already been installed and the remaining units are scheduled to be installed later this year. The independent power producer granted the contract to Wood Group GTS following assessment of a pilot project at one of its facilities operating two GE Frame 7FA turbines. One year after installation the ECOMAX tuning technology demonstrated more than 0.75 percent power increase and more than a 0.15 percent decrease in heat rate.

Wood Group GTS has completed an upgrade of the controls system on a GE LM6000 natural gas-fired turbine at Jonesboro, Arkansas, City Water and Light (CWL)’s northwest combustion turbine site. Wood Group replaced the original controls system with an open-architecture system that will enable CWL to access and configure the turbine to meet fluctuating demands. It also provides CWL with the ability to perform maintenance in-house.

For more information on Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72

For more information on Chinese Utility Plans click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html