M. LEWIS, Emerson, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (U.S); and T. J. SURBELLA, Emerson’s Aspen Technology business, Arlington, Tennessee (U.S.)
The rapidly growing popularity of electric vehicles and asset electrification, and now the rapid implementation of hyperscale data centers powering the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), has shifted the power generation landscape seemingly overnight. Industry, business and the public are consuming more power than ever before, and utilities are racing to catch up. In areas where they do not catch up quickly enough, industrial operators (e.g., refineries) that are dependent on a consistent supply of power for their processes can find their operations in jeopardy.
Unsurprisingly, this shift has created new challenges for both utilities and their customers. Load balance has become more complicated because power generation scheduling has become more volatile with higher renewable generation penetration. Planning mistakes, unforeseen issues and even catastrophic weather events can lead to outages. In the worst cases, power outages and the resulting chain reaction can have devastating consequences.
Refining is a continuous process, so even if a refinery loses power for only a day, it can be down for weeks dealing with equipment damage and safely bringing all assets back online. While most refineries maintain backup systems, these are often insufficient for prolonged outages caused by grid failure or the utility's inability to meet load demand.
As a result, some organizations with refineries are exploring microgrids—a group of energy resources controlled by the organization itself that can operate in either a grid-connected or islanded mode—to provide additional power to supplement existing utility connection and backup systems. For some, that may mean adding renewable energy generation and battery storage. For others, it may mean islanding with their own power source, possibly supplemented by renewable assets.
The choice these organizations are making to pursue increased independence from the power grid can bring significant benefits, but it also presents unique challenges. In fact, many of those challenges are playing out in real time in another industry that is rapidly implementing independent power generation: hyperscale data centers. Around the world, new data centers built to support the rise of AI are blazing a path to energy independence—often out of necessity—and other industries, such as those with refineries, can take note of the strategies data center projects have employed for more successful implementation.
The hyperscale challenge. Hyperscale data centers use hundreds of megawatts, or even gigawatts, of power continuously. Drawing that amount of power from the grid is often not possible within the timeframe desired. Today’s utility interconnection queues are typically 3 yrs–7 yrs, and data centers cannot wait that long if they want to compete.
As a result, most of today’s new hyperscale data centers are forced to construct onsite microgrids to provide the security of behind-the-meter generation. As they have done so, most have found that success comes from building out a new energy infrastructure in coordination with their local utility, using a comprehensive energy management system (EMS) like those that support the most successful utilities.
There is no shortage of challenges for organizations to manage and optimize their microgrid. Forecasting power loads—as well as variable power generation, scheduling firm generation ramping and augmenting with large-scale batteries, peak shaving, frequency and voltage control, reserve monitoring, energy market participation, islanding from the grid, fault protection and load shedding to name a few—is normally the domain of electric utilities. Today, however, industries with microgrids are taking on these tasks to optimize their comprehensive energy assets.
Planning from the earliest stages to deliver a comprehensive EMS across the value chain helps organizations navigate these challenges. Moreover, when designed as part of a seamlessly integrated enterprise operations platform (EOP), an EMS also helps future-proof operations, making it easier to add additional capability as needed across the lifecycle of the facility’s investment (FIG. 1).
Renewables create extra challenges. Most facilities looking to add supplemental power, such as refineries and data centers, will consider renewables as an option. However, both data centers and refineries put a premium on reliability and availability. The need to run without interruption can be complicated by the intermittency of renewable energy generation, and critical operations that require a steady source of power cannot be subject to such fluctuations.
To navigate these challenges, most organizations are implementing holistic automation solutions that couple deep automation expertise with decades of power industry and green energy expertise to provide simplified but robust automated control. Fit-for-purpose holistic control systems provide the clearest operational visibility across portfolios of traditional and renewable generation and storage assets. By providing a single source of contextualized operations data, integrated control systems fully optimize hybrid microgrid system operations.
In addition, an EMS with a microgrid management system (MMS) helps provide stable, steady power, whether it is produced via renewables or traditional generation assets. An MMS further optimizes the operation of renewables together with traditional electrical generation and battery storage. Leveraging powerful forecasting and scheduling tools, the software can enable peak shaving, generation and load balancing, smart inverter control, and optimized battery charging and discharging (FIG. 2).
An MMS empowers operators to manage all connected devices from any location, unlocking the full range of microgrid capabilities across a global portfolio of industrial microgrid sites. This includes the ability to safely disconnect from the main grid during disturbances and reconnect seamlessly when conditions stabilize. Such functionality enhances power reliability, ensures the continuity of critical assets and allows the microgrid to support the broader grid during periods of high demand or widespread outages.
Advanced forecasting in the MMS further helps optimize energy use. Built-in AI models continuously refine their predictions for both load and generation as more data becomes available. These forecasts drive optimization via the automatic scheduling of assets to reduce emissions, lower electricity costs and streamline dispatch, minimizing the need for manual intervention.
The system also includes a high-speed data historian. The MMS seamlessly integrates real-time and historical data into operator dashboards, enhancing situational awareness and enabling the creation of web-based reports. Operators gain quick access to past performance data through standard analysis tools, empowering faster, more confident decision-making.
An MMS coupled with control software designed for optimal energy management provides owners and operators with a powerful tool to ensure the energy security of their operations. With the ability to forecast and control load demands, as well as renewable generation power production, this software foundation provides an optimal solution for firm power production and intelligent battery use to ensure a balanced system.
Such a solution could be created by piecing together control systems, MMSs, battery energy management systems, automatic generation control system software and more from a wide variety of different providers. However, as the vanguard of data center developers has learned, every added element of complexity means an increased likelihood of downtime when the unexpected happens. Instead, systems should be connected by design, eliminating the complex custom connectivity that can lead to failures when seconds count.
Today’s best automation solution providers have decades of experience in industries such as power generation and hydrocarbon manufacturing. They also have deep expertise in automation, enabling them to deliver an integrated EOP to bridge all the complexities of a microgrid from end to end, as well as the automation complexities of refinery operations. Such systems are designed to work in tandem, offer a recognizable interface across all operations and deliver a single source of support when any problems arise.
Standardization is key. As companies consider islanding or supplemental generation options, they often find themselves mixing and matching generation types. That mix can be as simple as renewable and traditional generation, or it can also be different generation assets within a single type.
For example, if an organization acquires existing solar or wind generation assets, those assets can frequently come from multiple original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with a mix of systems of different vintages and models. Even rotating assets can vary in type. As many data center builders have discovered, demand has led to a shortage of available turbines—mainly gas-fueled for simple-cycle operation—in the market. In many cases, that means years of waiting for a new gas turbine order. While some utilities can wait that long, most data centers cannot, so they have mixed and matched generation assets to supply power as quickly as possible.
What these sites have learned is that such mixing and matching leads to different control packages, varying support structures and a need for users to be trained on a wide array of interfaces and controls to make the system work cohesively. That complexity further increases when sites are mixing brands and types of generation.
Moreover, as an increasing number of experienced personnel retire, it is becoming more difficult to hire new workers with the same industry expertise. Organizations are looking for ways to capture critical industry knowledge while simultaneously supporting and upskilling the next generation of personnel. Fit-for-purpose automation can accomplish both goals.
An integrated EMS can bring all assets—regardless of type or vintage—together into a single platform with a unified, intuitive dashboard for simplified operation. Operators only need to be trained on one system and can see all their assets as a cohesive whole. The most advanced systems also seamlessly integrate human-machine interfaces (HMIs), digital twin simulation, advanced applications, AI-enabled tools and grid management, among others, helping teams deliver operational excellence without increasing system complexity (FIG. 3).
A foundation for future capability. Power generation and microgrid energy management are not set-and-forget solutions. Loads will change. Environmental factors, reliability issues, market costs and demand, and a variety of other factors, will impact the best way to manage operations—not just on any given day, but possibly every hour. Fortunately, refineries typically know their schedules and the power they need well in advance.
However, operational technology teams can do much more than simply prepare for events. Given the right software tools, they can optimize energy management operations, ensuring they are supplying adequate power at the lowest cost, and even monetizing production above and beyond their needs for supply to the grid to generate additional revenue.
Though such advanced capability may seem far off for teams that are in the earliest stages of considering adding supplemental power generation, it is important to remember that the automation choices made today can impact the ability to accomplish such goals down the road without the need to “rip and replace” existing investments. An integrated EMS and EOP set the stage for these and other enhancements that drive value and increase return on investment, now and in the future (FIG. 4).
Improve today, prepare for tomorrow. As electrification accelerates, utilities will face mounting pressure to meet industrial power demands. Hyperscale data centers have shown that onsite generation—planned with foresight and supported by an integrated, platform-based EMS—can deliver both resilience and operational excellence. By investing in a platform-based EMS today, process manufacturers, including refineries, can strengthen current performance, while laying the groundwork for scalable, future-ready energy independence. HP
Morgan Lewis, Product Director for Emerson’s Power and Water Solutions business, is a native Texan, now transplanted into the heart of Appalachia in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (U.S.). Leveraging his extensive experience in oil, gas and renewable energy, he is currently working on invigorating product lifecycles for power and water solutions to drive customer-focused innovation. Lewis earned a Bch degree in energy management at the University of Tulsa, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
TJ Surbella is a Director at Emerson’s Aspen Technology business. He has > 13 yrs of experience leading microgrid projects. He recently helped launch the AspenTech Microgrid Management System for optimal energy management of industrial and commercial campuses. A former U.S. Navy submarine officer, Surbella is a certified nuclear engineering officer with an MS degree in engineering management, and a Bch degree in business administration.