Digitalisation of power plants is one of the key trends shaping the powÂer sector. The trend is driven by the need for flexibilising power plant operations in view of large-scale renewable energy integration, supply- and deÂmaÂnd-side shocks, and the need for efficiÂent poÂwer generation. Moreover, with the outbreak of Covid-19, utilities accelerated their pace of digitalisation and smart technology adoption, a trend that is likely to remain strong going forward.
Digitalisation has several use cases for power plants including asset management, flexibilisation of operations and emÂission monitoring. Thus, utilities are inÂcreasingly leveraging smart devices, inÂternet of things (IoT), artificial intelliÂgeÂnce (AI), machine learning (ML), bloÂckchain, robotics and data analytics, amÂÂong other technologies, to improve and optimise their operations.
Key benefits
The business environment of utilities is changing, with a focus on improving geÂneÂÂration performance, managing the aging infrastructure and asset base, integrating renewable energy sources, evolving the regulatory framework, and chanÂging stakeholder expectations. Digital technologies have the potential to addÂress the new and emerging requiremeÂnÂts by transforming the operating model of power plants.
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown led to a significant reduction in energy demand, besides changing the energy mix and load curves. Maintenance activities were hampered and the lower utilisation of power plants increased the demand for flexibilisation, leading to a greater focus on deploying digital solutions to support the transition of power generation utilities to new models of efficient and sustainable supply. Another driver for the digitalisation of power plants is the inÂcreasing commercial viability of digital technology. The emergence of softÂwaÂre distribution moÂdeÂls such as software-as-a-service is maÂking digital solutions affordable for developers.
In thermal power plants, the use of digital solutions can help reduce emissions by enabling fuel analysis and better combustion performance. This helps power plants comply with the tightened emission norms issued by the environment ministry in December 2015. DigiÂtaliÂsaÂtiÂon can also improve the flexibility of coal-based power plants to effectively maÂÂnaÂge the impact of cycling and incÂrease the share of renewables. Digital soÂlutions help developers promptly resÂpond to regulatory and market changes, as well as enable data-driven decision-making. The digitalisation of power plants allows reÂmote monitoring and control of operations and guarantees a shorter responÂse time to possible events. The remote moÂniÂtoring of operations is useful for hydropower plants given that they are located in remote and far-flung areas. An intelligent hydropower plant increases productivity, reduces unplanÂnÂed maÂinÂÂtenance cost, and eliminates avoiÂdÂable safety risks.
Key areas of deployment
Operations and maintenance: One of the key areas for the deployment of digital solutions is power plant O&M. DigiÂtaÂlisation can provide data useful for conÂdition monitoring, predictive asset analytics and asset performance manaÂgeÂÂment, allowing developers to maxi-miÂÂÂse return on assets. Besides, it incÂreaÂses the longevity and performaÂnÂce of assets. It extends the periodic insÂpection intervals and flags components under high stress. Apart from this, AI- and ML-based analytics is being undertaken for O&M optimisation. Utilities are also undertaking reliability-centred maintenance (RCM), which foÂcuses on improving the reliability of poÂwer plants by providing insights on risk versus cost for the maintenance of a particular equipment. A case in point is Nabha Power Limited, which has depÂloyÂed RCM and is undertaking data-driven decision-making.
Remote operation and fleet monitoring: Remote operation and fleet monitoring can drive generation optimisatiÂon, imÂprove operational performance and enÂhance equipment reliability. GeÂneÂraÂtion companies are increasingly depÂloying diÂgital technology to facilitate remote woÂrÂking and automate operations to undertake 24×7 power plant moÂnitoring, imÂprove power plant performance and reliability, and undertake diÂagÂnostics of critical equipment and plant systems. To this end, utilities are adopting IoT and digital twins. The digital twin creates a digital model for feedback on plant characteristics and helps power plants leverage big data to drive efficiency. Fusing the physical asset with the digital twin allows for better preventive measures, conditioning and predictive maintenance, besides preventing outages and optimising daily power production. Further, the digital twin allows a detailed modelling of burners, coal particle combustion and analysis of oxygen concentration on the walls in a thermal power plant. In hydroelectric projects, digital twins are useful for optimising reservoir management. Besides digital twins, IoT can help in remote operational monitoring, automated plant controls and asset health monitoring.
Flexibilisation: The flexibilisation of operations is another key area for the deployment of digital solutions. Due to the variable nature of renewable energy projects, power plants need to adopt flexibilisation measures to balance the grid. Renewable energy integration into the grid leads to a lower plant load factor due to ducking of the load curve, increaÂsÂes forced outages and O&M costs, and reduces equipment lifetime, besides causing a poor heat rate and high auxiliary power consumption in the power plant. To this end, digital solutions adÂopted by NTPC Limited for advanced process control include combustion opÂtimisation; temperature control; ramp rate improvement; frequency control and soot blowing optimisation; conditiÂon monitoring solutions such as boiler fatigue monitoring and turbine life moÂnitoring; and frequency support thÂroÂugh condensate throttling and automatic generation control. These are useful in maintaining power plant performance under flexible operations.
Fuel management: Digitalisation can be helpful in fuel management for gencos by providing real-time information on the coal cost, quality and mine-wise ranÂking for effective decision-making. DigiÂtalisation can also help gencos optimise their fuel transportation contracts and fuel sourcing strategy. It can reduce overhead costs through cost-cutting meaÂsures such as unmanned operations in the plant weighbridge. Physical stock assessment of coal can also be carried out through drone monitoring. For instance, Tata Power uses AI-based pit-to-plant sourcing, an international coal price predictor tool for imported coal soÂurÂcing, at its Coastal Gujarat Power Limited Mundra power plant.
In addition, utilities are connecting their power plants to cloud platforms. The data is pulled to a centralised platform and diagÂnostics are performed from a central location. For instance, Adani Power LimiÂted has connected all its generation assÂets to a cloud platform. It also plans to take initiatives including advanced analytics (to monitor and predict failure of transformers and for performance degradation analysis of solar modules) as well as virtual reality-based safety training. Apart from this, utilities are adopting IoT solutions that utilise sensors to track power plant performance.
Issues and the way ahead
One of the challenges faced by utilities in the digitalisation of operations is the lack of an integrated vision and a concrete framework for undertaking digitalisation. Often, the initiatives are limited to single use cases, which fail to deÂliÂver the desired results. Besides, since the impaÂct of digital initiatives on performance indicators like cost, revenue, safety, quality and efficiency is ofÂten not quantifiable, digitalisation initiatives fail to get the required attention. Another challenge faced by utilities in adopting digital solutions is the limited know-how in implementing and scaling up digital initiatives.
In the digitalisation journey, adhering to the four pillars of digital transformation – business case-driven strategy, digital foundation, digital operating model and integration with the digital ecosystem – will be useful for utilities. There is a need for laying down a time-bound road map backed by business cases for utilities to digitalise their operations. Overall, bringing together technology solutions, business use cases, and people throughout different phases of poÂwer plant digitalisation could help deliver the desired outcome.
That said, as power generators move to-wards implementing digital transformation strategies, data security will become crucial. Cybersecurity is a cause for concern for power plant managers exploring digital deployments. ThereÂfore, gencos need to ensure that their risk management and response practices are alÂigÂned with a digitally controlled enviroÂnÂment. Apart from this, adequate workforce training and change management are essential for the smooth adoption of digital solutions.