Domo de San Pedro geothermal plant adds digital management solution

Domo de San Pedro geothermal project, Mexico (source: Grupo Dragon)

In a release earlier this month, Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc. shared details about a new digital solution it provided to Grupo Dragon, the operator of the Domo de San Pedro geothermal power plant in Nayarit, Mexico.

For the company it is the first customer operating a geothermal plant adding the Tomoni (TM) intelligent digital solution with the target to improve efficiency and reliability in operation of the plant. Mitsubishi Power has successfully applied the solution to increase profitability of gas and steam turbine plants around the world. Now it is being applied to improve geothermal power plant competitiveness through asset optimization, analytics for operator and maintenance support, and artificial intelligence.

“It is of great support having Mitsubishi Power together with our team closely monitoring the plant, analyzing our data, and developing solutions to ensure that we can provide reliable clean power to our customers.” — Juan Luis Del Valle Luarca

Mitsubishi Power built the 25 MW Domo de San Pedro plant under a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction contract completed in 2016. Because geothermal production wells change over time and steam conditions diverge from optimal design, geothermal plants must be optimized to compensate for these changes. Mitsubishi Power’s TOMONI (TM) solutions now provide the plant with the tools to diagnose and predict operating conditions and to develop optimal solutions that improve plant performance and reliability.

TOMONI (TM) solutions include remote monitoring and real-time data analysis of the plant and geothermal production well. Mitsubishi Power combines its experience in plant design with actual operating data to develop in-situ models that identify opportunities to optimize plant operation and maintenance. For example, Mitsubishi Power monitors equipment online for degradation of thermodynamic performance, an indicator of scale accumulation caused by naturally occurring minerals in the steam and hot water, so optimal outage plans can be developed based on the plant’s actual condition rather than on standardized remedial schedules. Mitsubishi Power’s remote monitoring and support services can also shorten or even prevent unplanned outages by detecting anomalies and providing early countermeasure planning and operational guidance.

Mitsubishi Power’s TOMONI (TM) solutions for geothermal plants are a natural extension of Mitsubishi Power’s product lines. Mitsubishi is a global leader in geothermal steam turbines. Its geothermal plant construction, operation and maintenance experience combined with experience developing advanced technology for gas and steam turbine applications provide a firm foundation for tailoring solutions that help geothermal plant operators manage the unique conditions of their plants for improved efficiency and reliability.

Juan Luis Del Valle Luarca, Operations Director at Geotérmica para el Desarrollo S.A.P.I. de C.V. (GEODESA), which owns and operates the plant, said, “We have been pleased with Mitsubishi Power’s expertise in building our geothermal plant, and we appreciate their expertise even more now as we are bringing TOMONI (TM) intelligent digital solutions onboard to optimize plant operation. It is of great support having Mitsubishi Power together with our team closely monitoring the plant, analyzing our data, and developing solutions to ensure that we can provide reliable clean power to our customers.”

Marco Sanchez, Vice President of Intelligent Solutions at Mitsubishi Power, said, “Geothermal power plants are important contributors to energy sector decarbonization. Because they rely on renewable underground reservoirs for steam to rotate turbines rather than on fuel combustion, they have zero carbon emissions. Geothermal wells present unique plant management challenges that Mitsubishi Power has been excited to model and optimize with our digital solutions for the Domo de San Pedro Geothermal Power Station. Tailoring TOMONI (TM) intelligent digital solutions for geothermal plant applications furthers our company’s mission to provide power generation and storage solutions to our customers, empowering them to affordably and reliably combat climate change and advance human prosperity.”

Source: Company release via BusinessWire