Emerson Process Management has won a $7.4 million contract to automate China's new Datang Ningde Power Plant.
Owned by Datang International Power Generation, Datang Ningde is the first large-scale coal-fired power plant to be built in China's FujianProvince. With four 600MW units, the plant is expected to help alleviate the province's reliance on hydropower, which accounts for nearly half of the province's installed power generation capacity. Severe drought in recent years has caused power shortages, underscoring the need for an alternative power generation method.
Expected to be operational in 2006, Datang Ningde will be a supercritical plant, using new clean coal technology that enables operation at elevated steam temperature and pressure. Because this advanced technology makes coal-based electricity generation more efficient while also reducing fuel-related emissions, it is expected to become more prevalent in China as the country expands its generation capacity to meet the growing demand for power.
Emerson's Power & Water Solutions division will coordinate and supervise the project that represents the first application of its PlantWeb digital plant architecture with the Ovation control system and Foundation Fieldbus technology in a supercritical plant in China. PlantWeb is expected to generate major engineering, wiring and commissioning savings initially, as well as ongoing savings due to its asset management capabilities, which use predictive intelligence to optimize plant performance and reliability.
