Emerson selected for plant overhaul in Arizona

The Roosevelt Dam, Stewart Mountain (Image courtesy of Emerson)

The Roosevelt Dam, Stewart Mountain (Image courtesy of Emerson)

Arizona-based Salt River Project, one of the USA largest public power utilities, has selected Emerson to modernize the controls of multiple hydropower units and its central service center. SRP provides electricity to 1 million customers in the metropolitan Phoenix area and is also one of the largest raw-water suppliers in Arizona. To help the utility boost the reliability and availability of its hydro generation fleet, Emerson will replace existing PLC-based controls with a common Ovation™ automation platform.
The SRP hydro fleet comprises eight units at four sites – Roosevelt Dam, Stewart Mountain, Mormon Flat and Horse Mesa – that are controlled by SRP’s Grid Operations in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Emerson is serving as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for this project, responsible for engineering and design, installation, loop checking, commissioning and startup. During the first phase of the project, expected to be complete in the spring of 2018, Emerson will replace controls at Roosevelt Dam, Stewart Mountain and the East Valley Service Center. In phase two, controls at the Mormon Flat and Horse Mesa sites will be upgraded.