INDUSTRY WATCH

Emerson ’ s renewable power generation expertise will help solar energy company Lodestone Energy complete its two 23-megawatt sites at Kaitaia and Edgecumbe – a key step in supporting New Zealand ’ s ambitious goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 .

Solar PV – which converts sunlight directly into electrical energy – has become one of the fastest growing renewable energy sources .

But efficiently generating and delivering solar PV power requires precise orchestration , integrating a wide variety of third-party systems with automation and control technology to provide operators with intuitive functionality and comprehensive visibility . Emerson ’ s advanced automation architecture will combine powerful control software and technologies with enterprise data solutions to create an integrated , scalable control solution to maximize output and profitability while simultaneously contributing to grid stability . controller to provide comprehensive control to minimize the impact of variability and intermittency in solar PV power generation .

The same technologies will also make it easier for operators to quickly respond to grid frequency events .

Ovation enterprise data solutions will provide secure monitoring of solar PV operations from the control room or mobile devices , measuring , monitoring and reporting key performance indicators to increase visibility of plant operations .

“ Meeting New Zealand ’ s renewable energy goals will require power generation companies to rethink the way they operate , democratizing data and increasing visibility for everyone across the enterprise ,” said Bob Yeager , President of Emerson ’ s power and water business .

“ Lodestone ’ s strategy perfectly aligns with Emerson ’ s boundless automation vision of an advanced technology stack leveraging integrated , scalable control to provide access to critical data not only across the plant and industrial edge – but also throughout the enterprise ,” he said .

“ New Zealand ’ s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is an ambitious endeavor that will require many renewable power generation sources to be safely and rapidly brought online ,” said Peter Apperley , General Manager of Engineering , Lodestone Energy .

Lodestone ’ s solar PV project requires multiple interfaces to third-party systems , including inverters , high voltage switchboards , weather stations , site security systems and grid authority remote terminal units .

“ Emerson ’ s expertise in automation software for power generation and sustainability will help us more quickly build a world-class facility , while also more seamlessly integrating with the national grid to drive successful , efficient operation over the lifecycle of the plant .”

Lodestone will take advantage of Emerson ’ s Ovation distributed control system and new OCR3000

Ovation will act as a process orchestration tool to seamlessly connect these devices to provide fast and intuitive visibility for operators .

In addition to providing flexibility and visibility of operations , Emerson ’ s Ovation platform is pitched as ideally suited to support compliance with New Zealand ’ s energy participation code .

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