Emerson Process Management Power and Water Solutions

Customer
Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. (Minnkota)

Products/Services
SmartProcess Unit Response Optimization technology

Application
Minnkota’s Milton R. Young power station is the primary source of electric generation for more than 110,000 customers. When Unit 1 began commercial operation in 1970, it operated with some of the most innovative equipment of its time. When Minnkota recently started participating in the MidWest ISO, the units were required to change from producing megawatts at relatively constant levels to quickly and efficiently responding to daily demand changes. This environment was particularly challenging for Young Unit 1 which was also required to offset megawatts whenever recently added wind farms are unable to meet demand. Minnkota needed a solution that would improve the unit’s operational response to efficiently meet constantly changing demand.

Emerson customized a SmartProcess™ Unit Response Optimization (URO) solution to help Minnkota overcome the operational challenges at the Young station. The SmartProcess URO is part of Emerson’s comprehensive suite of engineered optimization technologies seamlessly embedded within its powerful Ovation™ expert control system. SmartProcess offers adaptive improvement solutions that help utilities achieve optimized equipment performance for emissions compliance, temperature control, efficiency, and overall continuous operational improvement.

Prepared For Smart Grid
The SmartProcess URO enables the Young station to significantly improve unit response and more accurately hit targeted setpoints with minimal megawatt overshoot. Among the many benefits this provided, it gave the utility an enhanced ability to precisely and efficiently meet constantly changing demand, one of the key tenets of a Smart Grid.