Alaskan co-gen plant updates boiler using PlantWeb architecture with FOUNDATION fieldbus-based control.

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2000

The first steam and electric power generating plant in Alaska to implement automated control, based on the Fisher-Rosemount PlantWeb(tm) architecture with the FOUNDATION(tm) Fieldbus protocol for communication of digital input/output signals, is already operating at Aurora Energy, L.L.C., Fairbanks.

State-of-the-art technology replaced outmoded electro-mechanical control devices on the main boiler, Chena No. 5 (200 Kpph), in order to increase efficiency and reliability at the plant, which dates to the 1950s. The system includes 110 fieldbus-compliant transmitters and 36 FIELDVUE digital valve controllers, DeltaV(tm) automation system, pre-configured boiler control strategy, and Fisher-Rosemount Asset Management Solutions (AMS) software.

This advanced control system is one part of more than $4 million invested by Aurora Energy to improve plant operation and expand heat distribution throughout the City of Fairbanks. When the city divested all municipal utilities in 1998, the District Heat and Electrical Co-generation plant was purchased by the Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc., the plant's primary supplier of coal. Aurora Energy was formed by Usibelli to operate the plant and distribute heat energy.

Gerald England, General Manager of Aurora Energy, said, "Getting an up-to-date combustion control system was one of my highest priorities. The project came in on-budget and was completed on schedule. The plant has been operating continuously since mid-August with no interruptions due to the new automation system."

Aurora was aided in this effort by PC&E (St. Louis, MO), a Fisher-Rosemount subsidiary, which provided design, project management and implementation services. PCE Pacific, Inc., an independent Fisher-Rosemount representative based in Seattle, WA, supplied the control system hardware, transmitters, valve controllers and ongoing support during the installation and startup phases. Price Ahtna JV of Anchorage, AK, performed installation.

According to Ron Lutes, vice president of PC&E, "Using fieldbus, we were able to complete the commissioning in record time. Aurora Energy now has a very clean control system that can easily be maintained. Remaining non-fieldbus devices can also be upgraded without added wiring."

During the coming winter, plant personnel plan to optimize boiler combustion and auxiliary operation for greater efficiency. The asset management system will also be fully implemented to improve ongoing maintenance. Next year, the company may upgrade three smaller boilers on the old side of the plant and bring coal and ash conveying systems into the DeltaV automation system.

Reducing environmental impact

Aurora Energy takes special care to address environmental concerns. More efficient burning of coal in one location in itself reduces pollution, and the combustion strategy implemented by DeltaV adds a new level of emission reduction. DeltaV with FOUNDATION fieldbus reacts faster to boiler upsets, minimizing emissions. The company also has plans to tie DeltaV to stack opacity monitors to provide accurate real-time reporting of opacity violations, minimizing delays resulting from manual computations.

Fisher-Rosemount ( www.fisher-rosemount.com ), a part of Emerson Electric Co., is a leading supplier of process management products and solutions, including control valves, regulators, transmitters, analyzers, process management systems and related services. Its revolutionary PlantWeb field-based architecture ( www.testdriveplantweb.com/go/p190 ) combines intelligent field devices, standards and scalable platforms, and modular software to provide not only process control, but also integrated asset management and integration with other plant and business systems.

St. Louis-based Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE:EMR) is a global manufacturer with market and technology leadership in five business segments: industrial automation; process control; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; electronics and telecommunications; and appliance and tools. Sales in fiscal 1999 were $14.3 billion.

PlantWeb, DeltaV and FIELDVUE are marks of one of the Fisher-Rosemount family of companies. FOUNDATION is a mark of the Fieldbus Foundation.