2008-02-26 - ABB is applying its Evolution philosophy to upgrade the control systems at EPRL’s 38.5 MW power station in Thetford, Norfolk to the System 800xA Process Portal
January 2007 – ABB is carrying out a major Evolution contract for EPRL (Energy Power Resources Limited) to upgrade the plant control systems at its 38.5 MW poultry litter fuelled power station in Thetford, Norfolk to provide improved control and greater energy efficiency. In addition to upgrading the existing Harmony system to ABB’s state-of-the-art System 800xA Process Portal, the project also includes the supply of a new control desk and the integration of other systems display data into 800xA, as well as the supply of a new control desk and a single large screen TFT display.
ABB is supplying its Power Generation Information Management system, which is intended to form part of a company-wide system for production information and reporting. This can easily be expanded in the future to provide additional optimization facilities for all EPRL’s power plants.
ABB’s ‘Evolution’ lifecycle support strategy is designed to meet the needs of owners and operators of ABB automation systems who operate on tight margins but still rely on continuous, efficient operation of their process plant to remain viable. It provides a clearly defined path to enable their existing automation systems to evolve, through a series of small, cost-effective steps, to meet their changing business environments, both commercial and technical.
The cornerstone of Evolution is ABB’s Extended Automated System 800xA Process Portal that extends the reach of traditional DCS (Distributed Control Systems) beyond control of the process, to provide total plant management and control including: production management, safety, discrete and advanced control, information management, smart instrumentation, smart drives and motor control centres, asset management and documentation management capabilities.
Thetford power station is ABB’s second Evolution project for EPR, and follows the successful installation of System 800xA at the 13.5 MW biomass fuelled power station in Glanford, Lincolnshire.
In addition to the Evolution project, the contract has also included the transfer of hard wired data from existing panels into the new control system, the provision of new operator work places and a main control desk and integration of a number of separate displays onto one large TFT display to provide an immediate over view of the entire power plant operation.
About EPRL
Energy Power Resources Limited(www.eprl.co.uk) is at the forefront of the renewable energy market with one of the most diverse portfolios of plant in the UK.
Founded in 1997, EPRL has grown rapidly to become one of the leading renewable energy generators in the UK. With its acquisition of the Fibrowatt Group in 2002, the group’s history and experience date back to the early 1990’s.
In March 2005 EPRL was acquired by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund (MEIF) Renewable Energy Limited.
ABB Background
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 109,000 people.