ABB has been selected by E.ON UK to design, manufacture, supply and commission the replacement steam turbine supervisory system for its 1,420MW Connah’s Quay power station at Deeside, north Wales. The new system will be based on ABB’s advanced Harmony platform for process control and automation.
Connah's Quay is a CCGT (combined cycle gas turbine) power station that uses natural gas piped ashore from Liverpool Bay. It was built in 1996 and contains four separate power generating modules. Each module comprises a single power train of gas turbine, steam turbine and AC generator, waste heat recovery boiler and all auxiliaries.
E.ON UK had become concerned that, after 10 years of operation, the steam turbine supervisory systems were out-dated as well as becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. So a tender was issued for the complete replacement of the control systems for all four modules over the next two years.
ABB was awarded the contract after a competitive tender process. In addition to demonstrating the sophisticated level of control and programmability provided by the Harmony platform, as well as the improved interface to the existing plant-level control system, the key factor in ABB’s success was its capability to provide a complete service from design to delivery. This includes manufacture and installation of all panels, wiring and equipment, and commissioning of the system from field devices through to the DCS (distributed control system).
ABB is carrying out the project in two phases timed to coincide with planned outages at Connah’s Quay. The control systems for two modules will be replaced in 2006, and the remaining two will be replaced in 2007.
About E.ON UK
E.ON UK is the UK’s largest integrated power and gas company.
E.ON UK is the second largest electricity generator in the UK producing 10 per cent of the UK’s electricity from a portfolio of world-class power stations and is also one of the leading names in green generation.
ABB Background
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 102,000 people.