Blog - Post List

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Solar and Battery Storage Success Comes from Data-Driven Operations

    Jim Cahill
    One of the most exciting things about the rise of solar energy as a viable technology has been witnessing just how quickly solar operations around the globe have grown in scale. Today’s utility-scale solar farms can be huge, generating hundreds or thousands of megawatts of power and making a significant contribution to the grid. With growth, however, comes added complexity. Excess generation cannot simply be pushed…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Turn Excess Energy into Flexibility with H2

    Jim Cahill
    Whether it is utilities generating the electricity that powers homes and businesses around the globe, or more localized power facilities providing generation for industrial processing plants, such as oil cracking or chemical manufacturing, modern power generation is far less predictable than it was just five or ten years ago. Renewables are hot at the moment, with generators installing solar and wind assets at a breakneck…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: The Power of Modern Simulation

    Jim Cahill
    The continuing changes in the electrical grid that have come as a result of the shift toward more renewable energy have dramatically increased complexity of power generation and distribution operations. Operators not only need to keep a close eye on their plants to ensure they are supplying (and not over-supplying) adequate power, but they also need to predict the future and react—following both weather forecasts and…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: 150 Years of Performance

    Jim Cahill
    The year 1874 was 150 years ago. It’s hard to imagine a brand beginning then that is still available today. But so it is with Emerson’s Sempell brand of customized and engineered valve solutions. The company was founded as the Rheinische Maschinenfabrik in 1874 by Albert Sempell. The first valves for nuclear power plant applications in Germany were delivered in 1960. Pilot-operated safety valves came next to this industry…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Optimizing Combined Cycle Operations

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s James Nyenhuis , Ranjit Rao , and Jonathan Gillam presented Consistent and Optimal Combined Cycle Operations at the 2024 Ovation Users Group Conference. Here is their presentation abstract. The increase of renewable assets on the power grid are requiring combined cycle plants to cycle and move load more frequently. This abstract will discuss the process of analyzing the operation of a unit over time using…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Changing Valve Automation Requirements for Sustainability

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Tom Mullins and Daniel Quintero presented How Will Valve Automation Change in a Sustainability and Decarbonization World at the 2024 Ovation User Group Conference. Here is their presentation abstract. Sustainability and Decarbonization (S&D) are increasingly highlighted in corporate annual reports as a desired objective. The move to drive down emissions and use lower environmental impact alternatives will…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Security for Cloud-Based Applications

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Alejandro Cruz and Nick Janouskovec presented Cloud & Security for Cloud Environments at the 2024 Ovation Users Group conference. Here is their presentation abstract. This breakout session will introduce the different cloud service offerings and discuss the basic security concepts that are essential to protecting cloud environments. We will define some of the benefits and disadvantages provided to stakeholders…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Turbine Control Mechanical Updates

    Jim Cahill
    At the 2024 Ovation Users Conference, Emerson’s Jared Lubbert and Steve Sinka presented Mechanical Upgrades for Turbine Control Retrofits. Here is their presentation abstract. No turbine control system upgrade is complete without interfacing to the existing field devices, especially those devices that drive the turbine hydraulic or electro-hydraulic control system. This break-out session highlights several of the mechanical…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Turbine Control Mechanical Updates

    Jim Cahill
    At the 2024 Ovation Users Conference, Emerson’s Jared Lubbert and Steve Sinka presented Mechanical Upgrades for Turbine Control Retrofits. Here is their presentation abstract. No turbine control system upgrade is complete without interfacing to the existing field devices, especially those devices that drive the turbine hydraulic or electro-hydraulic control system. This break-out session highlights several of the mechanical…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Generator Excitation Tips and Tricks

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Matt Pizarchik presented Excitation Theory and Ovation Excitation Tips and Tricks at the 2024 Ovation Users Conference. Here is his presentation abstract. Generator voltage regulators are typically supplied by the generator OEM. This presentation will provide a basic overview of how voltage regulators work no matter who the manufacturer is. Putting voltage regulator controllers on the Ovation network provides…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Generator Excitation Tips and Tricks

    Jim Cahill
    Emerson’s Matt Pizarchik presented Excitation Theory and Ovation Excitation Tips and Tricks at the 2024 Ovation Users Conference. Here is his presentation abstract. Generator voltage regulators are typically supplied by the generator OEM. This presentation will provide a basic overview of how voltage regulators work no matter who the manufacturer is. Putting voltage regulator controllers on the Ovation network provides…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Ready to ROCC?

    Jim Cahill
    With the rise in renewables has come a paradigm shift in the layout of power generation operations. Generators need more variability and versatility, not only to serve increasing demand, but also to hedge against increasingly severe weather and other unpredictable global events. As a result, more and more companies are expanding their portfolios, acquiring assets of many different types, often across wide geographic areas…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Ready to ROCC?

    Jim Cahill
    With the rise in renewables has come a paradigm shift in the layout of power generation operations. Generators need more variability and versatility, not only to serve increasing demand, but also to hedge against increasingly severe weather and other unpredictable global events. As a result, more and more companies are expanding their portfolios, acquiring assets of many different types, often across wide geographic areas…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Looking at Ovation in a Whole New Way

    Jim Cahill
    One of the exciting improvements coming in Ovation 4.0 is a significant overhaul to the human machine interface (HMI). The rise of renewables, and their integration into more and more power generation portfolios has made operations more complex than ever. Consequently, HMIs have had to evolve alongside to give operators access to their wide scope of operations without slowing them down or causing confusion via information…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Looking at Ovation in a Whole New Way

    Jim Cahill
    One of the exciting improvements coming in Ovation 4.0 is a significant overhaul to the human machine interface (HMI). The rise of renewables, and their integration into more and more power generation portfolios has made operations more complex than ever. Consequently, HMIs have had to evolve alongside to give operators access to their wide scope of operations without slowing them down or causing confusion via information…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Realizing the Potential of Renewable Energy

    Jim Cahill
    Renewables are a primary topic of discussion at Emerson’s 2024 Ovation Users Group conference in Pittsburgh, and in a presentation by James Fraser , Brett Benson , Ole Binderup , and Matthew Roberts , attendees could quickly see why. The group shared the many ways the energy landscape is changing, and first and foremost among them is the rise in renewables—often outpacing fossil production. Consequently, it’s not surprising…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Realizing the Potential of Renewable Energy

    Jim Cahill
    Renewables are a primary topic of discussion at Emerson’s 2024 Ovation Users Group conference in Pittsburgh, and in a presentation by James Fraser , Brett Benson , Ole Binderup , and Matthew Roberts , attendees could quickly see why. The group shared the many ways the energy landscape is changing, and first and foremost among them is the rise in renewables—often outpacing fossil production. Consequently, it’s not surprising…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Diving Into Ovation Green SCADA

    Jim Cahill
    We’ve talked a lot in this space about the benefits of Emerson’s Ovation Green SCADA —built-for-purpose renewable energy software that provides a top-down approach to view, monitor, control, and optimize a wide variety of renewable energy and storage assets, across a single piece of equipment or even a full fleet of assets. It can do some impressive things, but just how impressive became even more obvious in Sarah Morgan…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Diving Into Ovation Green SCADA

    Jim Cahill
    We’ve talked a lot in this space about the benefits of Emerson’s Ovation Green SCADA —built-for-purpose renewable energy software that provides a top-down approach to view, monitor, control, and optimize a wide variety of renewable energy and storage assets, across a single piece of equipment or even a full fleet of assets. It can do some impressive things, but just how impressive became even more obvious in Sarah Morgan…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: True Cybersecurity Relies on Quality Engineering

    Jim Cahill
    One of the key highlights of Emerson’s Ovation Users’ Group is the wealth of outside perspectives users are exposed to across the week in Pittsburgh. Tuesday morning’s Cyber-Informed Engineering session was no exception. Virginia Wright , program manager for the Cyber-Informed Engineering program at Idaho National Laboratory shared her expertise with the audience, introducing what, to many, was a new concept in operational…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: True Cybersecurity Relies on Quality Engineering

    Jim Cahill
    One of the key highlights of Emerson’s Ovation Users’ Group is the wealth of outside perspectives users are exposed to across the week in Pittsburgh. Tuesday morning’s Cyber-Informed Engineering session was no exception. Virginia Wright , program manager for the Cyber-Informed Engineering program at Idaho National Laboratory shared her expertise with the audience, introducing what, to many, was a new concept in operational…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Liberate Data for Better Wind Power Operations

    Jim Cahill
    The world has come to an interesting intersection. We need more renewable energy just as the aging wind turbine infrastructure, made up of many assets that are decades old, is beginning to underperform. However, replacing turbines is costly and regulations have changed making new installations more complex. So, power producers are looking to other options. In most cases, retrofitting the turbine control system is the…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Liberate Data for Better Wind Power Operations

    Jim Cahill
    The world has come to an interesting intersection. We need more renewable energy just as the aging wind turbine infrastructure, made up of many assets that are decades old, is beginning to underperform. However, replacing turbines is costly and regulations have changed making new installations more complex. So, power producers are looking to other options. In most cases, retrofitting the turbine control system is the…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Keeping up with the Evolution of Renewables

    Jim Cahill
    One of the highlights of attending the Ovation Users’ Group is getting to hear the experience of a wide variety of Emerson customers, whose experience and insights help users with less experience in a given area run their operations more efficiently and effectively. In 2024, one of those customers sharing his story was Joel Erwin from Vistra. As Vistra expands its renewables portfolio to meet the new energy economy…

  • Alternative Energy Blog: Cleared for Takeoff: Future-Ready Innovations

    Jim Cahill
    As always, Rick Kephart hit the stage ready to talk about technology, once again focused on Emerson’s Boundless Automation vision—from the field to the cloud. While Rick’s entire roadmap for innovation plans for today, tomorrow, and the distant future, his opening presentation focused on short-term technology innovations; those that are coming in the next few years. A new Ovation Everything that is new and exciting…

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