Scheduling power output from generating plants used to be relatively easy with little need for real time information. Today, IPPs (independent power producers) need to run their facilities at maximum efficiency to lower generation costs and increase profits. However, green energy sources can generate power in a somewhat unpredictable fashion, upsetting the balance supplied to the grid. These factors, along with an increased interest in efficient energy usage overall, have necessitated the utilities’ need to continually adjust generation, demand or both – all on a real-time basis. A smarter grid that enables two-way communication is required to make this a reality.
Scheduling power output from generating plants used to be relatively easy with little need for real time information. Today, IPPs (independent power producers) need to run their facilities at maximum efficiency to lower generation costs and increase profits. However, green energy sources can generate power in a somewhat unpredictable fashion, upsetting the balance supplied to the grid. These factors, along with an increased interest in efficient energy usage overall, have necessitated the utilities’ need to continually adjust generation, demand or both – all on a real-time basis. A smarter grid that enables two-way communication is required to make this a reality.
At one time or another, switches in power generation installations may have to withstand the potentially destructive effects of extreme temperatures, humidity, moisture, dust, mud, oil and solvents, corrosive chemicals, abrasion, vibration and ultraviolet radiation. These stresses can wreak havoc on the mission-critical networks tasked with conveying signals between measuring instruments and control devices. Therefore, users need industrial network instrumentation that is designed, manufactured and tested for harsh mission-critical environments.
If an Ethernet switch fails in a power generation facility, the repair costs alone could be 15-20 times the cost of the component itself. But even more importantly, disruptions in the flow of information or control signals in any type of power generation plant could lead to power outages. The use of ruggedised industrial Ethernet switches in coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind, or geothermal plants can help ensure that component failure and downtime problems do not occur.
Challenges to plant operations can come from areas outside of the environment as well. For example, power generation plants are faced with increasing demand for electrical power; as much as 40% over the next two decades. To upgrade their legacy infrastructure to meet the potentially greater demand, while at the same time setting up a data collection and management infrastructure that supports expansion, operators of older fossil fuel-based plants could implement a higwh-performance end-to-end Ethernet system.
To meet the need for a high-speed, seamless data flow and the accurate monitoring and control of power flowing on the grid, Hirschmann provides field proven, leading-edge products for the EMI-stressed substation environment:
* Ethernet switches, security/firewall devices and networking software.
* Wireless LAN(WLAN) systems.
* Factory terminated fibre-optic and unshielded twisted pair (UTP) media.
These industrial grade solutions serve:
* Energy management systems and plant control rooms for burners, boilers, turbines and air quality control systems.
* Plant level PLCs, motors, variable frequency drives, water treatment systems, conveyors and crushers, to name a few.
* Networks that ensure the dependable, uninterrupted operation of distribution and transmission substations, as well as dispatch centres.
Hirschmann’s substation-grade Ethernet infrastructure components are designed to withstand the severe environmental hazards under which they must operate. The products are intended to deliver high performance and reliability over the long term, as well as the high bandwidth and level of network security critical in today’s complex world.
For more information, contact Vladimir Milovanovic, IAC, +27 (0)12 657 3600, vladimir@iacontrol.co.za, www.iaconline.co.za
| Tel: | +27 12 657 3600 |
| Email: | sales@iacontrol.co.za |
| www: | www.iacontrol.co.za |
| Articles: | More information and articles about Industrial Automation & Control (IAC) |
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