Industrial technology group Emerson said the company has completed a multi-year modernization project at four hydroelectric dams along the Salt River in Arizona. The upgrades, announced September 30, are at Salt River Project (SRP) facilities with combined generation capacity of 265 MW.
SRP on Tuesday said the work modernized legacy excitation systems at the sites, integrating them with distributed control systems already installed at the dams. The four hydro plants—Roosevelt, Horse Mesa, Mormon Flat, and Stewart Mountain—operate on Emerson’s Ovation Automation Platform. SRP said the project will cut operations and maintenance costs at the facilities by 30%, while also reducing the time needed to troubleshoot issues that may arise at the dams.
“As the long-time operator of the Bureau of Reclamation’s dams, we have a responsibility to ensure delivery of a reliable, clean and continuous source of power the community depends on,” said Shari Brady, SRP Hydro electrical engineer. “By standardizing on Emerson’s fully unified Ovation automation platform across our hydro fleet for excitation and plant control—and through close collaboration between project teams—we completed all system installations on time, even with aggressive schedules. We now have greater operational insight and easier troubleshooting, which helps us maintain unit reliability in the 90th percentile.”
Arizona utilities, including SPR, are experiencing rising electricity consumption driven by record growth in the Phoenix area. Extreme temperatures in the region, often above 100F—readings have approached triple digits this week, even in late September—have meant SRP and other energy providers are studying what investments are needed to improve infrastructure to provide more reliable and resilient service.
“Increased visibility and reliability of hydro operations helps Salt River Project ensure continuous operation to efficiently supply their customers with the power they rely on 24/7,” said Bob Yeager, president of Emerson’s power and water business. “SRP’s vision for standardizing on a fully unified automation system was a transformative step that will position them for success—even in the face of shifting energy markets and increased need for power—for decades to come.”
The custom Ovation Excitation Systems, two of which are for pump and energy storage units that require unique integration when switching to pump mode, are seamlessly integrated into the existing Ovation distributed controls, according to Emerson. The new cohesive plant system improves SRP’s hydroelectric capabilities, which help strengthen grid reliability and meet the demands of an evolving grid using more renewable energy resources like solar and wind.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
