When I post a press release, it is so I can point out something that I found interesting. In this release, I found one sentence that just jumped out for me.
This was the sentence: “We selected Honeywell for this strategic project based on the consultancy provided by the company’s Advanced Solutions team,” said Juan Ignacio Burgaleta, director of technology, Torresol Energy.
Why did this jump at me? Because of the word "consultancy." We have all gotten used to big OEM vendors talking about being the MAC or MIC or whatever on projects-- after they've been let. But here we have an example of what a lot of the majors are doing. They want to get into a project at the earliest design stages, so they can craft a solution that includes everything they make, and excludes every other vendor.
Nice work if you can get it, and apparently some vendors can. Honeywell isn't the only OEM vendor doing this, and the others have been quite successful too.
So where does that leave the A&Es and the EPCs? Do they just do the mechanical and process design, move the dirt and build the tanks? Designing the controls, small part of the project though it was, was one of the most lucrative parts of a project.
I can't wait until one of the majors takes a design project in its entirety, from dirt moving forward. Wanna bet it isn't going to come to that?
Here's Honeywell's press release::
HONEYWELL TECHNOLOGY TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE OF THREE THERMO SOLAR POWER PLANTS IN SPAIN
Torresol Energy to Deploy Honeywell's Operator Training Simulator, Business Planning Tools to Boost Safety, Reliability and Efficiency at Key Project Sites
BRACKNELL, UK, Aug. 28, 2012 - Honeywell (NYSE:HON) today announced that Torresol Energy, a leader in the concentrated solar power (CSP) sector, has selected Honeywell's UniSim®Operator Training Simulator (OTS) and business support planning tools to help optimize the performance of three of its thermo solar power plants in Spain.
CSP systems represent a rapidly growing segment of solar energy production. The systems use mirrors to concentrate sunlight to one point, with the resulting heat harnessed to drive turbines and produce electrical power. Spain is a world leader in the development of thermo solar power, with companies such as Torresol Energy at the forefront of innovation.
Torresol Energy will also use Honeywell's UniSim® OTS, to train the plants operators and engineers how to respond to a wide range of potential plant incidents, enabling them to react more quickly and diffuse issues before they occur. With UniSim Operations, Torresol will be able to identify, document and track changes to operational procedures and capture operator experience and best-practices as part of a sustainable operator competency plan.
Torresol Energy will use Honeywell's business support planning tools to create a model for operational performance of thermo solar power plants focussed around safe, reliable and efficient plant operation. The technology will be applied to three key projects sites:
• The innovative 19.9 MW Gemasolar plant, located near Seville, which is the first commercial plant in the world to use molten salt thermal storage in a central tower configuration with a heliostat field that started commercial operation in May 2011;
• Plants one and two of the 2x50 MW Valle facility - both of which use parabolic trough collector technology to convert light into energy - located in San José del Valle, near Cadiz that started commercial operation in January 2012.
"We selected Honeywell for this strategic project based on the consultancy provided by the company's Advanced Solutions team," said Juan Ignacio Burgaleta, director of technology, Torresol Energy. "Honeywell demonstrated a strong understanding of our business and of thermo solar technology processes, and developed a compelling proposition for safe, reliable and efficient energy production. The company's track record and domain expertise in manufacturing execution systems and power was a key factor in our decision."
"Thermo solar power is quickly emerging as a viable alternative to generate electricity, and one that will help shape the future direction of the energy industry," said Ian Brown, vice president and general manager, Advanced Solutions, Honeywell Process Solutions. "We have assigned a specialist team to work alongside Torresol Energy to optimize performance at their key project sites to achieve a high level of performance and effectiveness."
Torresol Energy - formed from an alliance between the Spanish engineering and technology group SENER and Abu Dhabi-based alternative energy provider MASDAR - is focused on the technological development, construction, operation and maintenance of CSP plants worldwide, including the South West belt in the United States, Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The company's aim is to develop thermo solar technologies with the objective of reducing the future costs of electricity generation as well as promoting the development and operation of large, profitable and efficient concentrating solar plants around the world.
