Emerson s Ovation Control System Selected to Unify Controls at RWE npower s Fawley Power Station Unit 3

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Alice Mitchell
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1 30 th August 2007 Page 1 of 5 Emerson s Ovation Control System Selected to Unify Controls at RWE npower s Fawley Power Station Unit 3 Integrated Ovation system provides fully coordinated boiler and turbine control for optimised operations at 500-MW peaking unit owned by the United Kingdom s largest electricity supplier Emerson Process Management announces that Fawley Power Station Unit 3 is standardising on the company s Ovation expert control system as it upgrades plant operations in several key areas. Under separate contracts, Emerson s Power & Water Solutions industry centre is replacing existing turbine and burner management system controls at Fawley Unit 3 with its Ovation system. The contracts were awarded by RWE npower, the UK s largest electricity supplier with approximately 6.8 million customers. When the modernisation is complete, Fawley Unit 3, located in Hampshire on the shore of Southampton Water, will feature an integrated control system architecture based on Ovation technology that translates into coordinated unit boiler and turbine control. In the power generation industry, coordinated control has been proven to improve unit stability, responsiveness and thermal efficiencies; enable tighter overall control of plant operations; and provide a concise view of key plant and turbine parameters. Built nearly 40 years ago, Fawley Power Station originally comprised of four 500-MW oilfired units. Today, it operates as a two unit, 1,000-MW (2X500-MW) peaking plant that plays an important role in meeting the area s electricity needs. As part of its unit-wide adoption of Ovation technology, Emerson is modernising controls for the unit s SIL2-rated burner management system, as well as replacing existing Rolls Royce EHG (Electro-Hydraulic Governor) turbine controls and related hydraulic equipment. Emerson is a leader in the design, installation and support of steam, gas and boiler feed pump turbine control solutions, and the company s ability to meet a very challenging schedule just 20 weeks from contract award to commissioning was an important factor in RWE npower s selection of Emerson for this particular project.

2 Page 2 of 5 The burner management system and turbine upgrade projects are expected to be completed in September Operators at the Fawley Power Station are already familiar with Emerson control technology. Unit 1 currently utilises Emerson s previous-generation WDPF distributed control system. Since 1993, Fawley Unit 3 also utilised the WDPF distributed control system for boiler control and balance of plant processes. In April 2006, Emerson completed a WDPF-to-Ovation control system migration for Unit 3 that allowed RWE npower to preserve its previous investments in WDPF I/O cards and cabling while also enabling them to take advantage of the enhanced functionality of the Ovation control system. To further enhance operations, in March 2007 Emerson completed an alarm management study for Unit 3. Emerson s analysis identified areas for improvement that would reduce the proliferation of unnecessary alarms, consequently translating into reduced downtime and increased productivity for plant operators. RWE npower has also awarded Emerson a contract to provide a high-fidelity simulator utilising virtual controller technology. Virtual controllers, which reside on a PC platform, mirror the actual Ovation controllers that comprise the plant control system. Because up to five virtual controllers can reside in one PC, virtual controller technology provides opportunities for achieving higher levels of affordability and scalability with a significantly reduced footprint. At Fawley Unit 3, Emerson s simulation solution will serve as a valuable training tool both for the ongoing education of existing employees as well as for qualifying new employees for safe and efficient plant operation. This training capability is becoming even more important to power generators like RWE npower, which are preparing for the expected retirement of experienced operators over the next few years. Our relationship with Emerson spans nearly 15 years so we were well aware of the benefits of their comprehensive automation and control solutions, said Nick Stockdale, Fawley and Cowes power station manager. Based on this experience, we felt strongly that Emerson would be best equipped to provide us with the technologies, services and support that are so vital to extending the service life of the plant.

3 Page 3 of 5 We are delighted to add another chapter to our long association with RWE npower, said Bob Yeager, president of the Power & Water Solutions division at Emerson. With control systems installed in plants representing roughly 650,000 MW of generating capacity around the world, Emerson is clearly a global leader in this industry. This is a testament to not only our robust automation and control technologies, but also to a customer-centric focus that is second to none among control system suppliers. - ENDS -

4 Page 4 of 5 Notes for the Editor: About Emerson Process Management Emerson Process Management ( 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. The Emerson Power & Water Solutions division ( is a global supplier of advanced distributed process control and information systems, a recognised leader in developing plant-wide process control solutions for the power generation, water treatment and wastewater 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 TM, Fisher, Micro Motion, Rosemount, Mobrey, Daniel, Bristol, DeltaV TM, and AMS TM Suite. About Emerson Emerson, based in St. Louis, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Sales in fiscal 2006 were $20.1 billion. For more information, visit Ovation and WDPF are marks owned by one of the Emerson Process Management legal entities. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

5 Page 5 of 5 CONTACT ADDRESSES: If you wish to publish for your readers the address, telephone and fax details to contact Emerson Process Management, the relevant information will be: Emerson Process Management, Horsfield Way, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SU UK Telephone: (UK) (Int) Fax: (UK) (Int) Web: uk-irelandsales@emersonprocess.com FURTHER PRESS INFORMATION: Our Ref: Issued by: Illustration: Photo enquiries: Technical enquiries to: Reader enquiries to: HHC Lewis Limited Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1GE UK Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) To request an image to accompany this release please click on the following link CU_CF1 Genevieve Nicholls genevieve.nicholls@hhc-lewis.co.uk Roger Cherry roger.cherry@hhc-lewis.co.uk Alan Johnson Emerson Process Management Horsfield Way Bredbury Industrial Estate Bredbury Stockport SK6 2SU, UK marcomms@emersonprocess.co.uk

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