Aviemore Power Station Generator Control System Upgrade - Keeping things exciting but stable for the future

摘要

Meridian Energy has recently completed an upgrade project at Aviemore power station, replacing the main generating units' Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), digital governor and excitation systems. Obsolete PLC hardware was replaced with a new platform, the existing digital governor software was replaced with a modern equivalent and the PLC code was predominantly ported "like-for-like" to the new platform. The obsolete excitation system was removed and replaced with a modern equivalent. The delivery of this project was undertaken internally, with the work shared across a number of design, technical support, equipment supply and construction contracts. The Aviemore upgrade project has now been completed. Although the delivery was late and the budget was stretched, all technical and operational expectations have been met. We are now implementing the knowledge and experience gained during this project on other Meridian hydro assets. This paper discusses some of the challenges faced and the lessons learned when implementing a project with multiple contractors and suppliers and significant engineering complexity.