Regresar

Benefits of computer systems integration for energy management in coal power stations

Abstract:

Computer systems used in power stations have always been a number of isolated units, performing isolated tasks, such as monitoring, on-line and off-line energy audit, data acquisition,... Nowadays, the state-of-the-art in computers networks and systems integration permits however the development of future applications under a new perspective. The most valuable feature is, in fact, the ability to pull together all the common functions and data needed by plant engineers in a unique database using distributed computer systems. This paper describes a project designed under that idea in a 1050 MWe coal power plant. Hardware and software configurations are based on Data Servers and Workstations connected by Local Area Networks. The system includes both general-purpose functions, such as data acquisition, data filtering, database management and supervisory system, and functions specifically designed for its application in coal power stations, including on-line and off-line energy and exergy audit, thermoeconomic cost accounting, fuel accounting, emissions monitoring, maintenance management and operations assistance. The present work focuses on the benefits of the application of the most updated concepts on computer networks to energy management in coal power stations. The system configuration, basic functions, energy audit and thermoeconomic cost accounting functions are described, as well as some of the results obtained until now, showing how the value of currently existing information can be expanded further through the use of an integrated architecture. Moreover, the distributed system concept allows the development of energy saving policies in a much more systematic fashion than before, since the system can be easily expanded. By means of the addition of new software (or even new hardware connected to the local network), it is possible to integrate new sophisticated ideas for energy management, such as specific monitoring and operation assistance modules or expert systems for efficient operation. The paper also describes these developments and current perspectives in this regard.