Our client
This Midwest Energy Utility Company is a diversified energy client that develops and manages energy-related services nationwide, with key electric and gas utility operating units serving millions of clients in the Midwest. The organization is particularly active in philanthropy, volunteerism, and economic progress in Michigan, one of its core service states.
Their challenge
Our client’s 14 MW multi-fuel cogeneration plant provides electric power and steam to local industries like J.M. Smucker Co., Procter & Gamble, and St. Bernard Soap Company. The plant’s supporting control systems, although state-of-the-art from a previous era, needed to be updated for the plant to continue running effectively. The client requested Salas O’Brien to serve as the engineer for the installation of three new combustion control systems.
Our solution
Our work on this project included specification of the new control system, selection of the control system vendor, verification of NFPA code compliance, factory acceptance testing, and validation of all commissioning activities. Each system was installed on an existing steam boiler and replaced the existing distributed control system (DCS). The new system was implemented using Rockwell Automation Plant PAX.
The results
The new combustion control systems are a significant upgrade from the plant’s previous systems. These upgrades allow for better integration of existing controls, reduced costs, and easier support and servicing.
