ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus leading digital control technology is the brain of a new thermal power plant providing more sustainable energy through the latest ultra-supercritical technology.
At the eastern edge of the vast Bay of Bengal sits Bangladesh. It’s the world’s eighth most populous nation and is one of the 11 countries identified by Goldman Sachs as having a high potential of becoming, along with the BRICS countries, among the largest global economies in the 21st century. Being able to meet these economic ambitions requires a number of factors to be in place, including having sufficient power generation capacity. Bangladesh’s current generation capacity is 16 gigawatts (GW), and the government’s plan is to increase this to 24 GW by 2021 and 40 GW by 2030, supporting economic advancement.
Building power hubs
This plan includes the construction of the Payra thermal power plant, located in the port city of the same name, around 200 kilometers south of the capital Dhaka. Upon completion – the first two units are expected to be online next year – the plant is set to be the largest in the country. The coal-fired facility – a joint venture between North-West Power Generation Company Bangladesh (NWPGCL) and China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) – is utilizing ultra-supercritical technology which, as compared to a traditional subcritical thermal plant, uses 10-14% less fuel to generate the same amount of electricity, thus leading to lower emissions, operating costs savings and higher efficiency. Beyond the initial two units of 660 MW each, planning is already underway that could see the plant expanded by another two units. The project is also part of a plan to develop Payra into one of the country’s power hubs, generating 9 GW of electricity from LNG, coal and solar. A similar capacity power plant is also in planning, which is scheduled to commence operation in 2021 – all part of powering Bangladesh’s economy into the future.
Digitally inspired progress
ABB is supplying the ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus automation solution, part of ABB’s digital portfolio, which covers the boiler, burner management safety system, coal and ash handling, and the water and auxiliary systems, where ABB will provide complete design, supply, engineering and commissioning for the total plant. Besides the plant performance monitoring system, ABB will supply the alarm management system which helps customers rationalize and prioritize meaningful alarm information, allowing early detection of any degradation in the plant. This, in turn, helps avoid potential damage, injury and lost production while reducing plant downtime and revenue losses. Being able to effectively take corrective measures and decisions increases operator effectiveness and the overall availability of the plant.
Number one in the market
ABB control system technology has been automating power plants in Bangladesh for the past 50 years. Furthermore, ABB is the number one in the market for distributed control systems (DCS) globally, as confirmed by the “Distributed Control Systems Global Market 2016-2021” report issued by ARC Advisory Group. The company has the largest fleet of installed control systems in the world (70,000) and 70 million connected devices, where ABB Ability Symphony Plus DCS has over 6.8 GW of installations globally. “ABB offers the right combination of advanced control technology and experience in ultra-supercritical technology, with ABB Ability Symphony Plus already automating over 20 GW of ultra-supercritical thermal plants globally, 90% of which are generated by plants in Asia,” says Kevin Kosisko, Managing Director of ABB’s Power Generation & Water business. “We contribute our deep knowledge in power generation and unparalleled digital experience to help our customers achieve long-lasting progress, such as supporting Bangladesh in its future power generation endeavors.” “Utilizing clean coal technology, Payra power plant will be one of the latest additions to eco-friendly generation in the country. With ABB as our partner, leveraging its worldwide experience and technology, we are confident that we can achieve the next level of excellence in Bangladesh’s power and energy sector,” says AM Khurshedul Alam, Managing Director for NWPGCL. ABB is a leading provider of integrated power and automation solutions with unparalleled experience in partnering with the energy and water industries, bringing them improved operations and sustainable progress. We deliver integrated and secure digital systems, services and solutions to automate and optimize the performance of conventional and renewable power plants and water facilities.
