“The overall reduction in system complexity with a Rockwell Automation system helps make our aggressive timeline achievable,” said Janmejaya Mahapatra, head of instrumentation and control for Avantha Power.

“Avantha Power is aiming to achieve an installed capacity close to 4,000 MW of power in the next five years, so uptime and reliability are key goals,” said Randy Selesky, director of power and energy for Rockwell Automation. “By standardizing its BOP systems on a single, open control platform that is field-proven, Avantha Power staff can enjoy the reduced maintenance time that comes with improved system flexibility.”

The Rockwell Automation Integrated Architecture system will monitor and control up to nine BOP applications, including coal handling, ash handling, mill reject, water treatment and fire protection systems. Avantha Power’s two coal-based thermal power projects each consist of two 600 MW units being set up at Raigarh, Chattisgarh and Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Janmejaya  said the fact that “the Integrated Architecture system can be easily replicated in both facilities [reduces] our engineering time significantly. We only need to train our operators on one control system for all of our BOP applications. In addition, the system can be managed from a single, central location using one standard EtherNet/IP network to ease data flow throughout the facility for improved troubleshooting and reduced downtime.”  

Uday Lal Pai , udaylalpai@gmail.com, is a freelance journalist based in India.