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PITTSBURGH (November 30, 2004) — Integrating
digital bus-based technology into the design of a wet scrubber
can reduce total project cost by approximately $3.9 million, according
to a study released today at POWER-GEN International 2004. This
represents a 5 percent savings in total construction costs compared
with the same project implemented using a traditional hardwired
I/O approach.
The study, commissioned by Emerson, applies new concepts and
methodologies to construction of a wet Flue Gas Desulphurization
(FGD) scrubber. The findings come at a time when many utilities
are responding to current regulations, as well as proposed legislation
such as the 2003 Clear Skies Initiative, by either proceeding now
with environmental control projects or continuing long-term environmental
planning efforts.
"As a leader in providing control solutions designed specifically
for the power industry, we saw an opportunity to apply a rigorous,
objective methodology to an area of great importance to our customers – complying
with increasingly stringent environmental regulations,” said
Al Novak, business development manager, new coal-fired generation,
Emerson Power & Water Solutions.
"This study reinforces Emerson’s approach to helping
the power industry achieve significant savings in multi-million-dollar
environmental projects while also optimizing operations by adopting
digital bus-based technologies,” Novak explained.
"Economic Impact of Digital Bus Technology on Wet Scrubber
Construction,” conducted by JDI Contracts Inc., identified
and compared typical construction costs in several categories:
engineering, construction, startup, system selection and overheads.
Costs were evaluated for two different approaches – traditional
and digital bus-based. For each approach, the study examined instrumentation & control
(I&C) system implementation for an $82.5 million, wet FGD installation
at a 660-megawatt power plant.
According to the study, utilization of bus-based I/O technology
can reduce the project cost by roughly $3.9 million, or nearly
5 percent. “The findings of this study make an incredibly
strong case for adoption of the digital bus approach as an industry-leading
standard for projects of this type,” said Roger Hoyum, author
of the study.
Study Methodology and Approach
General arrangement
(GA) drawings for a 660 MW power block and a three-stage emissions
control systems block including the FGD were developed. Remote
buildings and auxiliary systems were dimensioned to allow development
of accurate project design and construction estimates. The project
DCS I/O specification was partitioned into system designations,
resulting in a total base configuration of 2,678 hardwired I/O
points.
The traditional I/O approach used an Engineer-Procure-Construct
(EPC) model to select an I&C system through an evaluated bid
process and utilized dedicated field cables to hardwire non-intelligent
field devices to I/O cards. The digital bus-based approach used
an alternative selection process – PEpC (Procure strategic
suppliers, Engineer, procure balance of plant and Construct) – and
featured digital bus I/O, high-speed field communication networks
and intelligent field device technology.
Design criteria were developed for both approaches, including
construction labor costs, tray, conduit, cable lengths and material
costs. Individual design parameters were assigned to all I/O points
in the study to complete the construction estimate. Device upgrade
costs from smart transmitters, digital I/O and intelligent motor
interfaces were estimated for the digital I/O approach in addition
to traditional costs.
A plant construction schedule and budget were created to estimate
total spending. From this, a construction financing methodology
was developed to estimate interest during construction (IDC), which
is the cost to borrow money to build the facility. Inflationary
escalation was estimated based on typical utility accounting methods.
Fixed overhead costs were assigned to all construction and startup
line items, and included administrative and general support, construction
management, contingency, contractor indirect charges, freight,
project management, spares and sales tax. Variable overheads included
inflation escalation and IDC at a rate of 3 percent and 6 percent,
respectively, both compounded calculations. Inflation effects were
considered to start at project conception, while IDC begins with
construction.
Researchers determined that the digital bus approach to wet scrubber
construction streamlined the process, providing opportunities for
reduced costs in all areas studied. Items considered for engineering,
construction, startup, system selection and overhead costs for
a traditional I&C system totaled approximately $7.7 million,
compared with $3.9 million for the digital bus-based approach,
resulting in a savings of nearly $3.9 million, or nearly 50 percent.
The across-the-board savings include a $664,667 reduction in
engineering expenses, a $1.4 million decrease in labor and material
(construction) costs, a $133,322 cut in checkout and startup expenditures,
and a $260,024 reduction in costs associated with system selection.
Furthermore, implementation of the bus-based approach resulted
in the reduction of terminated points from 2,678 to 1,616. Despite
the reduction in terminated points, the bus-based approach provides
many times the data available through a traditional hardwired implementation.
The study also demonstrated how digital bus technology can have
a huge impact on fixed and variable overhead costs. In this study,
the use of digital I/O bus technology was estimated to cut three
weeks off of a 15-month construction and startup cycle. Shortening
this phase has a tremendous impact on the bottom line, resulting
in roughly $1.3 million in savings, primarily due to reduced
IDC costs.
Better Information Yields Ongoing Efficiencies
Beyond
these significant cost savings, digital bus-based technology
offers additional advantages, as well. Intelligent field devices
deliver process, health, and additional information simply not
available using the traditional hardwired methods. For example,
while traditional technologies provide a single data point for
each field cable run, digital bus technology provides many measurements
from each device through a single cable. This additional information
arms operators with predictive intelligence – the ability
to constantly monitor actual equipment condition and use the information
to predict when a problem is likely to occur.
"While initial investment in digital bus technology pays
off during installation and startup, investments in new data and
information systems provide dividends not measured here, but that
pay off over the life of new plant additions,” Hoyum explained.
As the power generation industry continues to make significant,
multi-million-dollar infrastructure investments to comply with
current and future environmental regulations, Hoyum points out
that it is now more critical than ever that the industry embrace
the bus-based concept.
"The implications are clear: Digital bus-based technology
is paving the way to a new era of efficiency, quality and cost
effectiveness for distributed control and information systems users,” said
Hoyum. “Power generators that apply the concepts and methodologies
outlined in this study can reap huge financial and operational
rewards.”
About JDI Contracts Inc.
JDI Contracts Inc. is
a privately owned Minnesota-based consulting firm providing industrial
customers with life cycle process control and information system
management services. Specialty development services include enterprise
wide life cycle process system management planning, systems implementation
modeling including bussed plant analysis, and field element to
enterprise data information evaluation and control system development.
Active in multiple industry segments, JDI Contracts Inc. provides
process control and information systems owners a methodology
for developing life cycle plans for technical and operations
groups at all levels of an organization. For additional information,
visit www.jdicontracts.com or e-mail contact@jdicontracts.com.
About Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Management (www.emersonprocess.com),
an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate their production,
processing and distribution in the power, water and wastewater treatment, chemical,
oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and
other industries.
Emerson's Power & Water Solutions division (www.emersonprocess-powerwater.com)
is a global supplier of advanced distributed process control
and information systems. The Pittsburgh-based company is a recognized
leader in developing plant-wide process control solutions for
the power generation, water treatment and wastewater treatment
industries. Power & Water Solutions plays a key role in the
Emerson mission of combining superior products and technology
with industry-specific engineering, consulting, project management
and maintenance services. Emerson brands include: PlantWeb®;
Ovation®; SmartProcess®; Fisher®; MicroMotion®;
Rosemount®; Daniel®; DeltaV™ ; and AMS™ Suite.
About Emerson
St. Louis-based Emerson (www.gotoemerson.com)
is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together
to provide innovative solutions to customers in process control;
electronics and telecommunications; industrial automation; heating,
ventilating and air conditioning; and appliance and tools. Sales
in fiscal 2004 were $15.6 billion.
# # #
Ovation, SureService, SmartProcess, PlantWeb, Fisher, Micro
Motion, Rosemount, Daniel, AMS™ Suite and DeltaV™ are
marks of Emerson Process Management. Other marks are the property
of their respective owners.
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