Predix Picked For Power Plant

GE Power and Marubeni Corp., a  Japanese power producer and trading company, signed a recent agreement to deploy GE’s Predix-based digital power plant solutions at its 100 MW Nakasode Clean Power Plant in Sodegaura-city, Chiba Prefecture. Installation will start this month and full operation is slated to begin in March 2018.

The Nakasode Clean Power Plant is a combined cycle facility fueled by natural gas.  As part of this agreement, GE’s Asset Performance Management and Operations Optimization software for predictive maintenance and operational efficiency will be installed on two units of LM6000 PD gas turbine, steam turbine and balance of plant. Through software, both companies are exploring ways to increase revenue and reduce costs.

GE said Marubeni has an extensive and diverse portfolio of power plants around the world, including some of the largest power generating capacity plants based in Japan. Marubeni is looking to leverage key insights and outcomes learned from using digital solutions at the Nakasode Power Plant more broadly across their global power generation plants.

“We are considering applying these IoT technologies across our entire electric power business for power generation and retail business owned by Marubeni in England, Japan and Asian countries,” said Hirohisa Miyata, managing executive officer, Marubeni. “By applying IoT technologies, we hope to achieve more efficient power generation, procurement of electricity, and revenue improvements in the future.”

“We are honored that our digital power plant solutions were selected by Marubeni,” said Wataru (Bill) Horie, president, GE Power Japan. “Marubeni plays a significant role in power generation globally and we believe our digital technologies can help strengthen their competitiveness as a power producer to deliver electricity more efficiently to its customers.”

GE will also collaborate further with Marubeni to help improve the profitability of its business by incorporating GE’s Business Optimization (BO) software solutions globally. This software, when implemented, will enable Marubeni to leverage predictive analytics to make improved decisions around power trading, fuel purchases and portfolio management.