The power plant has been in operation since autumn 2009. ABB Business Center is located just half a kilometer away, and that proximity to service and aftermarket, in addition to years of good cooperation, are the reasons why Riskulla chose ABB as its supplier for motors, variable frequency drives and the control system for the plant, ABB System 800xA.
“The construction involved 46 different tenders,” explains Jan Brännström, head of business development at Mölndal Energy and project director at the plant. “This made it necessary for us to be involved in the choice of pumps, motors and other equipment to minimize the amount of suppliers. Preferred suppliers were therefore listed in the terms of the project.”
Even if the investment in motors and drives is less than one percent of costs in a plant of Riskulla’s size, the drives create energy savings up to 80 percent compared to using throttle valves and guide vanes to adjust the flow of air and water.
The largest item supplied to the Riskulla plant was the bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) provided by Metso Power AB. Mikael Berg, project manager at Metso Power, says, “ABB motors are the benchmark for good machinery in the industry, and we have had good experiences all over the world working with them and the variable speed drive equipment. At Riskulla, their selection of ABB motors and drives gave us a large control range and possibilities to run on very low power output and still keep the plant stable.”
There have been very few problems at Riskulla, Anderson says, and the minor obstacles that initially occurred were quickly solved. “This proves the importance of a good aftermarket and the advantage of getting good help and service when it’s needed,” he says.
The facts:
ABB delivered the following:
- More than 100 motors, from the very small up to the 1.4MW motor for the flue gas fan
- Driving pumps, fans, conveyors, screen shakers and crushers
- More than 60 variable speed drives, installed on all motors requiring speed control and on all motors above 75kW
- The integrated control system, ABB System