Two Endesa projects, awarded by the highest electrical R&D organization in the US.

EPRI recognizes leaders and innovators in the electricity sector

The Electric Power Research Institute has recognized in its annual awards, Technology Transfer Award 2016, a project on the Canary island of La Gomera and another at the As Pontes power plant, A Coruña.

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Two projects developed by Endesa en Spain have been awarded in the latest edition of the annual awards Technology Transfer Award 2016, organized by the highest electrical certification body in the world, the Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI.

 

With these awards, the Electric Power Research Institute recognizes leaders and innovators in the electricity sector who have been able to transfer technological research and development into practical applications to help make electricity production more reliable, efficient, competitive and environmentally responsible. It also represents support for the digitalization process of the generation plants that the group is developing. Enel, to which it belongs Endesa, in all the countries in which it operates.

 

The first of the awards, developed at the coal-fired power plant in As Pontes by a joint team of experts from Enel and Endesa, recognizes the use of software for real-time monitoring of the remaining life consumption of critical parts components, such as the boiler. It is about being able to estimate the real life (beyond the manufacturer's theoretical recommendations on hypothetical projections) of different components depending on the specific operation they are undergoing. Specifically, the software allows you to analyze, in real time, thermal fatigue plant data, through the stress calculation of the component from real temperature or pressure measurements, which makes it possible to change the operating conditions (use and startup) to optimize its use. Furthermore, by knowing the real limits of the components, it provides greater flexibility to the plant, adjusting maintenance work and operation to real needs.

 

 

The Awards also represent support for the digitalization process of the generation plants that the Enel group, to which Endesa belongs, is developing in all the countries in which it operates.

 

 

The work has been carried out over a year and a half using more than 40 additional sensors and connectors, which have monitored and analyzed the steam collector and the high-pressure steam pipe, critical and fundamental parts that are the ones that suffer. greater wear and tear in the use of a thermal power plant. For this, there has been the participation of personnel from Enel, Endesa, representatives of EPRI itself, of the American company Structural Integrity, as well as with the involvement of workers from the Galician plant.

 

The second of the awards recognizes the progress made when analyzing the impact, on the electrical grid of island systems, of a high level of distributed generation, in this case of photovoltaic origin. The analysis has focused on offering storage solutions that guarantee the stability of the system, both from the point of view of security of supply and economics. Today, storage technology is not always competitive due to its costs, which is why it requires analysis systems and methodology that allow its design and use to be optimized. This is a detailed analysis using innovative software in the sector, DERCAM, Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model, tested with real data (specifically from the island of La Gomera) over a year and a half, and which is a pioneer in the field of storage.

 

The results of the analysis indicate that, in the medium term, there could be potential energy savings on the island. It would be about assuming a realistic reduction in the price of storage in said period, in the case of an optimized system with high penetration of distributed energy and strategically distributed energy storage, allowing specific emissions to be reduced on the island by around a third of those. current.