W-G:
WHAT DOES HONEYWELL SEE HAPPENING IN 2004?
DM: For electrical utilities,
industrial power generation facilities and district heating operations
worldwide, 2004 is the year to invest in new technology - or to at least
begin devising an upgrade strategy.
W-G: WHERE
DO YOU SEE THIS HAPPENING AND WHY?
DM: Honeywell Process Solutions
has three decades of power generation experience and works with power
generation entities in more than 50 countries. We’ve installed more
than 1,300 control systems in power plants around the world through our
power generation business centers in the United States, Europe and Asia.
We’ve seen first-hand how deregulation, privatization, escalating
demand, new environmental regulations and heightened security concerns
have accentuated the need to reduce costs, increase profitability and
protect facilities, employees and the environment.
W-G: DOES
EACH POWER GENERATION SEGMENT FACE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES?
DM: Each power generation segment
is facing specific challenges related to these overarching issues:
Electrical utilities: Coal-fired
generation is coming back, particularly in North American regions susceptible
to power shortages. Coal is cheap and abundant and provides a cost-effective
way to meet increased demand. But emissions from burning coal are also
highly regulated. And system uptime is critical.
Industrial power facilities:
Once viewed strictly as an allocated cost center, industrial powerhouses
now have the potential to become profit centers. Deregulation has made
it possible - and lucrative - for these units to sell off excess power.
Furthermore, with a responsive control technology in place, industrial
powerhouses can also make timely adjustments to their power contracts.
Fluctuating gas prices have also renewed emphasis on cost reduction at
these units.
District heating: Providers
of municipal steam and electricity in the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe
are facing tighter EU emissions regulations and increased demand as populations
grow.
At many of these facilities,
the sheer age of equipment and systems currently in use underscores the
need for a technology infusion. The power generation industry is historically
slow to change. Many facilities a re working with equipment and control
systems that are 20 to 30 years old. Recent surveys of non-utility power
generators indicate that their originally installed instrument and control
systems have not been sufficiently reliable to produce lowest cost energy.
They do not incorporate the advanced design elements necessary to ensure
the availability or performance expected from these generator sets.
W-G: ARE THESE
CHALLENGES BEING MET?
DM: Whatever the challenges,
today’s technology can provide a path to meeting them. Advanced
process control, wireless and digital technologies have moved out of the
gee-whiz stage and into the category of sound investments with proven
benefits. Software applications can enable facilities to comply with coal-emissions
regulations without investing in additional scrubbers. A next-generation
process control system offers the best features of SCADA systems coupled
with leading-edge process control . Wireless and digital systems can reduce
labor costs while the increasing efficiency of individual employees and
bolstering facility security.
W-G: PLEASE
PROVIDE EXAMPLES.
DM: A good example of these
high-benefit technology investments is Honeywell’s Experion PKS(r),
a control automation system that goes beyond a traditional Distributed
Control System (DCS) and delivers a significant increase in benefits to
customers. Experion uses leading-edge open technologies to provide an
unprecedented ability to gather, view, analyze and act on information
from the device level to the enterprise-getting the right information
to the right people at the right time.
Experion is effective
in all segments of power generation because it combines the features of
a SCADA system with powerful controllers and robust process control technology.
The system's open architecture makes it easy to integrate into existing
information systems without a lot of intervening nodes and middleware.
Honeywell also offers a suite
of advanced process applications-known as the Unified Energy Suite-that
provides advanced combustion control. This application optimizes the fuel-to-air
ratio of coal-fired burners so fuel burns more efficiently. Emissions
are also reduced through multi-variable control. UES also offers economic
load allocation for boilers and turbines, which enable loads to be balanced
more cost-efficient across the available equipment. Finally, the Tie Line
Control application models purchased power contracts, so that companies
can forecast steam consumption and electrical generation. This, in turn,
allows them to make informed decisions about buying or generating electricity.
W-G: WHAT’S
THE PAYBACK TIME ON THE INVESTMENT?
DM: The payoff of these investments
is proven. Integration of advanced control applications into industrial
powerhouses can result in 2 to 5 percent savings on fuel purchases for
the combustion process. Electrical use can be reduced 2 to 5 percent as
well, leaving power on the table that can be sold for profit. Payback
can occur in as little as a year, depending on the accompanying infrastructure
improvements that need to be made.
W-G: HOW HAS
HONEYWELL ADDRESSED HOMELAND SECURITY?
DM: Data security and physical
access security can also be improved through technology investments. Through
a partnership with Ensuren, Honeywell now provides a combination of hardware
and software that will shield an open control network from cyber attack
and prevents future attacks by plugging system “leaks.” Card
readers and scanners (including palm and retinal scanners) provide access
control. Digital technology also is making its mark in the realm of physical
security. Honeywell Digital Video Manager couples closed-circuit TV technology
with streaming video technology. More than 1,000 cameras can be controlled
with this system, enabling operators to zoom, pan and record critical
plant areas and processes, and alarm the operator when motion is sensed
in the camera's field of view.
Wireless has become affordable
and practical as well. Honeywell wireless transmitters, for example, can
be used to monitor stack emissions or to diagnose coal yard blockages.
These uses not only provide valuable process information, they keep employees
from having to collect data in hazardous areas.
W-G: HOW DOES
ONE INVEST IN NEW TECHNOLOGY WHILE PROTECTING THEIR ORIGINAL INVESTMENT
IN EQUIPMENT?
DM: At Honeywell, we believe
in protecting that original investment and offer our customers multiple
paths to building their technology level. The process controllers we installed
in the 1970s, for example, can easily be migrated to, or connected with
Experion PKS.
We are committed to helping
our customers achieve continuous evolution, turn resources into results
and achieve quicker startup and immediate results.
We believe in the value our
technology can bring to the power generation industry.
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