ABB to Supply Control Solution for Supercritical Power Plant in India
Integrated control and instrumentation to ensure high levels of plant efficiency and availability
Zurich, Switzerland - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won an order from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India's largest power company, to supply an integrated control and instrumentation solution for the 2x660 megawatt (MW) super thermal power plant in the state of Bihar in northern India.
The ABB solution will provide the coal-fired supercritical power plant with a distributed control system that will enable precise control of the main plant parameters and help the plant to operate at the highest levels of efficiency and availability.
NTPC is progressively adopting supercritical and ultra-supercritical technology to raise the cycle efficiency of its power plants. This will be achieved at Barh 2 by adopting a steam pressure of 247 kg/cm2, a higher hot reheat temperature of 593°C and a super heater temperature of 565°C. Barh 2 is an extension to the 1,980 MW Barh 1 super thermal power plant which is also under construction.
NTPC estimates that by adopting supercritical technology with a unit configuration of 6x660 MW or 5x800 MW, coal consumption can be reduced by up to 30 million tons over a period of 25 years compared to a typical 4,000 MW subcritical plant with a unit configuration of 8x500 MW. The resultant reduction in CO2 emissions is estimated to be about 33 million tons.
ABB's scope of supply for Barh 2 is extensive. It includes a distributed control system for the main power plant and auxiliary systems, field instrumentation including process analyzers and emission monitoring systems, a plant information management system, and large video screen systems for the central control room. ABB is also responsible for design, engineering, installation and commissioning.
The ABB solution utilizes advanced function libraries for precision control of the process parameters to achieve the highest levels of plant efficiency and availability. Other benefits include reduced stress on critical components and extended equipment operating life.
"We are delighted that NTPC has selected ABB to supply a leading-edge solution for this supercritical power plant," says Franz-Josef Mengede, head of ABB's global power generation business. "The order is the latest in a series from Asia for our highly scalable and well-proven control solutions for supercritical and ultra-supercritical power plants."
Barh is part of an NTPC initiative to enhance power supply at a rapid pace and help meet India's growing electricity requirements. When completed the site will have a generating capacity of 3,300 MW and will be one of the largest power plants in NTPC's fleet of 26 generating facilities.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 117,000 people.
