China’s Changshu new power plant units set to be automated

The two new units which will support China’s Yangtze Delta area are expected to come online in February 2012 and August 2012.

According to a release, the China Power Investment Group has awarded Emerson Process Management a contract to install its Ovation™ expert control system at two new ultra-supercritical power generating units under construction at the Changshu power plant in Jiangsu Province, China. Ultra-supercritical technologies are becoming more prevalent in China because they can boost the efficiency of coal-based electricity generation by approximately 50 percent, while maintaining superior environmental performance. Emerson’s technology will help China Power run the new units safely and efficiently.

“We were impressed by Emerson’s extensive experience automating 1,000-MW, ultra-supercritical units in China,” said Gu Difeng, I&C Specialist, China Power Investment Group. “We also based our decision on the quality and reputation of the Ovation system, as well as the customer service Emerson offered.”

Expansion of the existing 4 X 300-MW Changshu plant will support economic development of China’s Yangtze Delta area, which has been described as the engine of China’s economy. The two new units, Unit 5 and Unit 6, are expected to come online in February 2012 and August 2012, respectively.

At each new unit, the Ovation system will monitor and control the Shanghai boiler and balance- of-plant processes, as well as interface to the controls of the Shanghai turbine. The Ovation systems for the two units will manage more than 30,800 I/O points. Emerson will supply a total of 18 workstations and 56 redundant controllers.