Emerson gets Samcheonpo under control

Emerson Process Management has won a contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with Ovation expert control system at units 3 and 4 of the Samcheonpo thermal power plant, in South Gyeongsang province, South Korea. The six-unit 3240 MW plant is owned by Korea South East Power Company (KOSEP).

To extend the service life of units 3 and 4, both 560 MWe, the contract calls for replacement of outdated control technology. The new Ovation system will monitor and control each unit’s Combustion Engineering boiler and GE steam turbine, along with balance-of-plant equipment. Unifying boiler and turbine operations in this way translates into a number of significant benefits, says Emerson, including: improved unit stability, responsiveness and thermal efficiency; tighter overall control of plant operations; and a more concise view of key plant and turbine parameters. In all, Emerson will install 17 Ovation controllers and 52 workstations that will manage around 21 300 I/O points (in total).

In addition, Emerson’s scope of supply will include eight Rosemount pressure transmitters and 24 Rosemount differential-pressure-type level transmitters, as well as vibration monitoring and protection system equipment, coal feeder controls, soot-blower optimisation equipment and a boiler tube leak detection system.

The contract included remodeling of a central control room so that the plant operators can efficiently monitor both units from one location. Equipment delivery for unit 3 is slated for September 2010, just six months after contract award. Return to commercial operation for unit 3 is expected in December 2010; unit 4 is scheduled to return to service in March 2011.

The Emerson/KOSEP relationship goes back a long way, with Emerson equipment already in use or being installed at numerous other KOSEP units, including Samcheonpo 1 and 2. In fact, shortly after finalising the Samcheonpo 3 and 4 contract, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the modernisation of further existing power plants and the construction of new plants in Korea, the Middle East, Africa, southeast Asia and Latin America.