Integrated Generator Excitation Improves Power Plant Operation Reliability

The power, reliability and serviceability of the Ovation™ control system coupled with a specialised, high- speed excitation module helps ensure reliable generator operation, contributing to grid stability

Emerson Process Management has integrated generator excitation capabilities into its Ovation™ control system. This capability helps to better control the generator and, in doing so, contributes to grid stability.

Built on the Ovation control system platform, the Ovation generator excitation system offers precise excitation control for rotating, brushless or static exciters. The flexible, single-platform design allows it to be applied to generators with field current requirements of up to 8,000 amps.

While Emerson has provided excitation systems for some time, this new solution leverages the power of the Ovation platform through a high-performance I/O module dedicated to excitation control functions. Having native generator excitation capability on the Ovation platform provides a number of advantages to power generators:

• A common plant automation platform from fuel supply through generator control, simplifying root cause analysis of events
• Simplified troubleshooting of the excitation system via native Ovation alarming, historical data collection and sequence-of-events monitoring capabilities
• Improved operator efficiency with the ability to monitor and control all plant systems from the same workstation
• Simplified excitation system configuration via a common set of standard Ovation engineering tools
• Streamlined personnel training and deployment

Designed for any synchronous generator including those in hydro, fossil and nuclear power plants, the Ovation generator excitation system features integrated Power System Stabiliser software and a full suite of limiting and protection functions. The system is applicable to both new construction and retrofit projects, and Emerson’s team of excitation experts can tailor it to accommodate any plant’s unique layout and generator design.

“Our engineers used decades of experience automating and controlling critical power-generating facilities worldwide to develop a system that can help users achieve the precise generator control and protection that is essential for a reliable electric grid,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson Process Management’s Power & Water Solutions. “By fully integrating generator excitation capabilities into our Ovation platform, we are now able to expand Ovation’s reach from the coal yard to the generator breakers – a comprehensive offering that is unmatched in the industry and that furthers our number-one objective of helping our customers operate their facilities safely, reliably and efficiently.”