Ansaldo Energia has completed the project to modernize Unit 1 of the Modugno combined cycle power plant owned by Sorgenia. The plant, located near the city of Bari in Southern Italy, has a nominal power rate of 810 MW. As part of this project, ABB has evolved the plant’s existing gas turbine control systems to the latest ABB Ability™ System 800xA® technology.
The project helps to extend the lifetime of the gas turbine control systems by approximately 20 years.
“ABB’s advanced automation technology helps plant operators to maximize efficiency and reliability, as well as minimize unplanned outages and costs,” noted Michele Mannucci, Manager of ABB’s Energy Industries business in Italy. “This is the first time that our System 800xA distributed control system has been applied to the GT26 gas turbine. The new hardware, pre-tested in factory with a high-fidelity turbine simulator, has been installed in the cabinets of the existing control system, with the same space footprint and preserving the wiring field interface. This allows for a shorter commissioning time, limiting production down-time and risks to a minimum.”
The installation and commissioning of Unit 1 were completed ahead of the scheduled outage period. This early completion minimized operational disruption and ensured a faster return to full production.
During the project, the existing ABB Egatrol-8 GT26 control system based on Advant technology has evolved to the ABB Egatrol-X based on System 800xA and AC 800M controller technology. ABB's control platform integrates the entire plant automation into one single system, helping to boost operational performance and productivity through accurate and timely insights. The modernization also increased cyber security of the gas turbine control systems and the overall security of the plant.
“This significant upgrade in the operating system project improves overall control and security across the Sorgenia Modugno power plant systems and processes,” said Fabio Forghieri, Head of Sorgenia's combined cycle power plant. “Additionally, ABB’s AC 800M controllers offer flexibility and scalability with a wide range of connectivity and expansion options to support future developments.”
In 2018, ABB upgraded the steam turbine control system at the Modugno plant, integrating it into the 800xA plant DCS. With this latest development, Ansaldo Energia has completed the modernization of the plant.
“We use our well-established know-how in every stage of the design, installation and commissioning process to build effective solutions for challenging power generation projects,” said Luca Buzzoni, Service Engineering Director of Ansaldo Energia. “Working closely with successful partners such as ABB we deliver best in class solutions for any turbine automation system supporting our customers all over the world.”
