BANGKOK. – Aboitiz Power Corp. has partnered with Thai firm REPCO NEX Industrial Solutions (REPCO NEX) to introduce the Philippines’ first smart power plants.
The project dubbed as Project Arkanghel involves the development of digital twins for Aboitiz Power’s existing circulating fluidized bed (CFB) coal-fired power plants; namely, the 300 megawatts (MW) Therma South Plant in Davao City and the 340 MW Therma Visayas Plant in Toledo City, Cebu.
Both assets will serve as pioneer models for future installations in other thermal sites.
Digital twins are a virtual replica of a power plant that mimic its operational processes and systems, giving operators a tool that can simulate or stress-test scenarios, as well as detect faults and glitches earlier and in real time, all within a virtual environment.
Digital twins of power plants will further optimize the performance of the facilities through data science and artificial intelligence (AI) that will empower operators and engineers to make more informed decisions.
As an integrated system, a digital-enabled power plant will streamline data collection and review for the benefit of asset health monitoring, life cycle management and predictive maintenance.
Aboitiz Power said such insights will pave the way for lesser periods of planned and unplanned shutdowns of power plants.
“The energy landscape in the Philippines is constantly evolving on the path towards transition. Our economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, requiring new sources of dependable and reliable power supply to support that economic growth,” said Sandro Aboitiz, Aboitiz Power chief finance officer, in a statement.
“We also see the impact of the continuing decentralization and digitalization of the energy value chain, supported by enabling policies and technological advancement… As more distributed energy resources are added to the grid, and consumers become prosumers, the need for stable and reliable baseload supply becomes even more critical to ensure the security of our grid,” Aboitiz added.
Aldo Ramos, Aboitiz Power Thermal chief operating officer of operated assets, said Project Arkanghel is pivotal in boosting our thermal power plants’ efficiency and resiliency.
“It will also help to ensure that our plants provide reliable baseload supply and lessen downtime due to forced and planned outages,” Ramos said.
The parties said investments in the technology will be recovered through shorter down times for the facilities as the technology can easily predict when a power plant part must be replaced to avoid major disruptions.
