Mitsubishi Power's new T-Point 2 is the world's first operational smart power plant. Located in Takasago about 50 kilometers west of Kobe, Japan, T-Point 2 had its first fire in January 2020. Now operating at full load and dispatching power to the grid, the validation process taking place at T-Point 2 provides a roadmap to what will become the world's first autonomous combined cycle power plant.
T-Point 2 builds on early Mitsubishi Power digital initiatives, moving the vision of a smart power plant to operational reality. It's been a 50-year journey for Mitsubishi Power engineers, partnering with customers to create real-time adaptive control systems and actionable knowledge to optimize power plant performance and significantly improve reliability. The Mitsubishi Power Remote Monitoring Centers have been effective tools for plant operators over the years, becoming increasingly essential in the era of reduced levels of experienced onsite staff and disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Mitsubishi Power has a history of validating new technologies before releasing them to customers. Much of the TOMONI suite of digital solutions were first proven at T-Point 1 which was commissioned in 1997 for long-term combined cycle verification. Now that T-Point 2 has entered commercial operation, more than 20 newly developed TOMONI digital solutions to support increased autonomy of critical systems and facilitate advanced O&M strategies are undergoing validation. These new intelligent solutions represent an important step forward that will lead to autonomous operation of the entire T-Point 2 power plant and enhance its ability to demonstrate needed support to transmission grids worldwide.Â
At T-Point 2, Mitsubishi Power has created an increasingly smart power plant. Each energy producer has a different strategy when it comes to plant operations, the use of AI and the level of autonomy they wish to achieve. At T-Point 2, Mitsubishi Power is proceeding with this need for flexibility in mind, creating intelligent solutions that boost plant efficiency, increase the flexibility and responsiveness of the plant, assist in achieving decarbonization objectives, and drive O&M improvements.
Mitsubishi Power is bringing to life the spirit of the Japanese word TOMONI - which means "Together With." By validating these new TOMONI solutions at T-Point 2 before they are released, plant operators will benefit from proven systems to make their generating assets perform at maximum efficiency and reliability.
While autonomous operation is an exciting next step, improving the performance of already operational generating equipment, enhancing operational flexibility, finding quick solutions to problems, and simplifying operation, maintenance and management challenges makes an immediate impact on plant bottom lines today. The journey to the autonomous power plant is marked with important milestones representing a continual upgrade to the flexibility and reliability of power plants.
Already the world's smartest power plant, T-Point 2 represents the leadership Mitsubishi Power has in the digital transformation taking place in power generation. The average power plant has 10,000 or more sensor data points that generate nearly a million bits of data every minute. TOMONI takes this massive amount of data and transforms it from unmanageable noise into powerful, useful information. The investments being made at T-Point 2 reflect the recognition that digitalization is imperative for the future success of thermal power plants, which are increasingly important partners on the grid with renewable energy sources and evolving energy storage technologies.
The autonomous operating capabilities that TOMONI provides are critical during uncertain times and recent crisis situations have made the benefits of remote visibility and communications capabilities for generating assets very clear. Development and deployment of new ways to provide power plant O&M support, such as remote combustion tuning and remote balancing support, as well as providing remote visibility and communications to channel expert advice and support for on-site staff, is already paying dividends.
Work now taking place at T-Point 2 is focused on innovative solutions using AI and advanced analytics. Mitsubishi Power is working with customers to identify real-world needs, creating tools that will make the autonomous power plant a reality, while applying intelligent solutions at existing power plants to make them more competitive and supportive of the transmission grid, energy storage and overall decarbonization initiatives. The digital ecosystem of the smart power plant of the future will feature enhanced flexibility and security, with a significantly improved level of reliability and lower O&M costs. Mitsubishi Power is pushing forward and T-Point 2 is moving closer every day to becoming the world's first autonomous power plant.
