Power Plant Supervisory Control
AltaStream’s Power Plant automation solution provides a comprehensive suite of capabilities to manage Power Plant monitoring, control, alarming, and safety. Based on Allan Bradley’s Factory Talk architecture, and using the industrial CompactLogix PLC, this scalable solution can be deployed in plants as small as a single generator, and as large as 6 – 8 generators. A color-coded overview screen, with detailed engine, alternator, cogen, and monitor/warning pages allow a full drill down into the equipment performance and safety. Also include in the supervisory package is load trending, which provides a quick view of the load distribution across generators, and plant load fluctuations. Admin user password allows access to control, including switching the generators between ‘On Demand’ mode (generators are brought online as required based on load profile), and ‘Override’ mode (Generators are started / stopped and brought online by the operator). Remote monitoring allows for easy visualization of the plant health and allows AltaStream to make system level adjustments in the control and warning / alarm configuration pages. Integration with popular Gen controllers (eg Caterpillar EMCP, Deep Sea Electronics and others) is included. Also included is SCR control (either directly or through integration with Johnson Matthey systems).
AltaStream’s experience in power plant controls for microgrid, grid tie, greenhouse, or island mode operation will help you get the best possible solution. In addition to providing the plant level control, AltaStream can also help with synchronization of generators, adding diagnostic senders (e.g. for monitoring back pressure, O2 percentage, manifold pressure, breaker state), and bring the entire plant online. With the remote monitoring feature AltaStream can also provide messaging services via text or email to warn the operator when one of the parameters is moving outside of its normal operating values. This can be invaluable for performing preventative maintenance and reducing downtime.
Greenhouse Lighting Control
AltaStream has added Greenhouse lighting controls as an additional capability to the Power Plant control software. Based on inputs from the greenhouse controller or light sensor, the AltaStream software will start and synchronize the generators, ramp lights, and manage the load profile, all in a fully automated fashion. Features include critical systems & safety monitoring, load shedding (turning off lights) in case of a generator failure, manual override of lights (enable or disable for maintenance purposes), cogen monitoring, and remote visualization and control.