Invensys to upgrade plant simulation and operator training for three Constellation Energy generating units

Invensys to upgrade plant simulation and operator training for three Constellation Energy generating units

SimSci-Esscor unified simulation environment will preserve established models and integrate new processes and control upgrades for enhanced verification, operator training and engineering analysis

Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest wholesale power seller, has selected Invensys Process Systems (www.invensys.com/ps) for advanced SimSci-Esscor (www.simsci-esscor.com) simulation software for three Baltimore, Maryland area generating units. The new software will enhance and integrate control simulation, aid in controls verification and checkout, and improve plant operator training and engineering analysis, while retaining existing model equity.

Two of the generating units are located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Brandon Shores Unit 2 is a coal-fired 650-megawatt facility, and H.A. Wagner Unit 3 is a coal fired 324-megawatt facility. C.P. Crane Unit 1, in Baltimore County, is a coal-fired facility with capacity of 190 megawatts.

SimSci-Esscor DYNSIM Power software modules will be used to completely simulate each generating unit. The existing model of each generation unit’s boiler, turbine, and balance of plant systems will be integrated into the DYNSIM environment. The contract includes software, engineering and testing services to simulate the upgraded controls at the plants.

Constellation Energy’s chief goal was to preserve the accuracy of, and investment in, well-established existing SimSci-Esscor models and operator training simulators and procedures, as updated controls are being brought into the plants’ infrastructure.

The new Invensys solution will employ the SimSci-Esscor SIM4ME integrated simulation environment. This platform permits all existing and new simulation programs to be tied together for more effective command of plant and control simulation functions. In addition, the implementation will include several “engine links” - API’s (application program interfaces) - that allow the mating of existing simulation software and new controls simulation within the overall SIM4ME environment. The integrated API’s are the key to the versatility of the simulation system; tightly integrated simulation and training can reduce plant upgrade outage time, such as would occur for Constellation’s future scrubber upgrade.

Constellation Energy’s implementation of the new simulation system comprises a complete platform to be deployed at their training simulation site, which in turn provides plant/process simulation, training and engineering analysis functionality for all three generating units.

About Constellation Energy

Constellation Energy (www.constellation.com), a FORTUNE 200 company based in Baltimore, is the nation's largest competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller. Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy-intensive industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of more than 100 generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland.