Improving Internal Efficiency and Streamlining Processes | Featured Project

Improving Internal Efficiency and Streamlining Processes

Survalent Partner:
PROA

Customer Name:
Alternativa de Energia Renovable (AER)

Project Location: 
Guatemala

Industry & Markets Served
Renewable Power


Overview

Alternativa de Energia Renovable (AER) had an existing substation automation system but could not support their existing needs and lacked the ability to handle future requirements. The system was unable to maintain historical data or provide sufficient information for operators to make informed decisions. Devices had to be maintained manually and on a regular basis due to the lack of automated alerts or data on usage and performance levels. The system also lacked the ability to track user logins, access to data, or actions taken by the user, raising cybersecurity concerns.

Also concerning was the lack of visibility into devices due to:

  • A lack of support for existing HMI and communication protocols
  • Proprietary protocols
  • End devices not having communication capabilities 

Solution Objectives & Requirements

AER was looking for a highly interoperable solution that would:

  • Deliver global connectivity and improve system availability
  • Provide rich data acquisition capabilities
  • Enable robust reporting, trend analysis, and information portability to other systems and interfaces
  • Support an extensive list of standard communication protocols, offering more options (device type), and more use cases (interfaces)
  • Not require system shut-down to do installation or maintenance since their system controlled multiple power plants simultaneously

Project Highlights

With StationCentral they were able to have multiple engineers work at the same time, allowing PROA to commission the multi-site project in 2-3 months with no downtime.

  • It met all of AER’s functional requirements and was cost-effective and reliable solution
  • StationCentral delivered:
    • Redundancy and interoperability with MS Office applications
    • Quick and easy access to historical information with the ability to generate reports when needed
    • Customized screens providing easy access to information with better control of the process flow
    • Comprehensive alarm reporting for improved situational awareness