One of VEO’s largest automation projects completed — Wärtsilä CHP plant for German SachsenEnergie is now in operation

The new highly automated plant contributes to the disengagement from fossil fuels and therefore supports Germany’s ambitious energy transformation as well as Wärtsilä’s target of a 100% renewable energy future.

When the German utility company SachsenEnergie initiated a new power plant project, it was clear what equipment and components they wanted it to contain. After Wärtsilä was selected as a supplier of eight natural gas engines for the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, SachsenEnergie wished to find a certified WinCC OA control system supplier as the plant’s automation and electrification designer. WinCC OA premium partner VEO was a natural choice for the job.

“Once the requested elements were defined, it was up to us to determine how to achieve the maximum benefit with them. The result is a complex multi-engine control system with a particularly high level of automation,” says Mats Warg, Director, Automation, at VEO.

Customisation throughout the entire project

When a project includes many specific requirements and changes, the implementation also requires special knowledge. In such cases, a partner who understands and respects the client’s wishes, but also dares to propose alternative methods, is very valuable.

“Of course, we always strive to fulfil the client’s wishes as far as possible. For example, in Dresden, we partially used the client’s own block library. It takes a lot of working hours to fulfil all the wishes, and in this project, special thanks belong to our Software Development Manager Mikko Valli and the automation team, who built among other functions a highly customised Generation Control, or AGC, with special reverence,” Warg says.

Highly customised projects require creativity not only in design but also in execution. Due to the lack of standard equipment in the plant, VEO had to apply and test how the various components behave as part of the plant and grid system.

“This was also reflected in the electrical design and production. The panels were larger than usual, and the switchgear was equipped with special components, so to put them together as efficiently as possible and on schedule, our electrical design and production team had to make agile changes to its operating model. To ensure the functionality of each detail, a digital twin was made of selected parts of the plant for simulation purposes in the FAT phase,” says Jaana Taittonen, Project Manager at VEO.

The development calls for innovation

The plant supplies the city of Dresden with 94 MW of electricity and 84 MW of district heating and is therefore significantly more efficient than a plant producing a single form of energy, and an excellent demonstration of VEO’s service at its best. The major transition the energy systems are undergoing requires innovative approaches to secure sustainable, secure, efficient, and affordable energy supply.

“The tailormade CHP plant promotes the use of renewable energy sources in Germany and balances the operation of their critical power grid. It’s very important for our shared energy future that such future-proof plants are built. Projects of this scale require seamless cooperation between all participants. So, thank you Wärtsilä, SachsenEnergie, and our entire project team for your contribution. Without all of you, we wouldn’t have such a magnificent plant now in operation,” Taittonen sums up.

The tailormade CHP plant promotes the use of renewable energy sources in Germany and balances the operation of their critical power grid. It’s very important for our shared energy future that such future-proof plants are built.