AI – A Viable Option To Reduce Thermal Power Plant Emissions

Artificial Intelligence, shortly known as AI, has slowly but steadily made its way into all possible sectors.

Today, we can already see the applications of AI in medicine, education, business and retail sector, gaming and entertainment, and so on.

The power industry is one such sector. From wind farms to solar energy, tech giants have started exploring the new possibilities that AI promises.

Within the power industry, the thermal power industry has also seen some applications of AI.

Why we need AI in Thermal Power?

The world is not the same as it was a few decades ago. With every passing year, more ice caps melt in the Arctic, more abrupt changes in seasons occur, and people have become aware that climate change is a real threat indeed.

Therefore, from lighting to transportation, climate activists have started urging people to switch to greener fuels. Among the growing popularity of renewable resources, thermal power plants stand out as the black sheep.

They emit tons of toxic waste on a day-to-day basis. Also, the maintenance cost of a thermal power plant is high.

One may wonder, ‘So why are we still depending on thermal power?’

Coal is the primary fuel used in these plants. As it is very cheap, thermal power plants, especially in the developing countries, remain popular.

Given the economic situation induced by the pandemic, one can safely say that thermal power plants will continue to operate.

ExactSpace – Where AI meets thermal power

While it may not be practical to shut the operations of thermal plants due to their polluting nature, one can certainly try to reduce the extent of damage.

With this objective in mind, two IoT experts and a thermal power expert came together to form the startup ExactSpace – a firm dedicated to optimize the operation of thermal power plants using AI.

Founded three years ago by a team of three – Rahul Raghunathan, Arun Jose and Boben Anto, the Bangalore-based startup has indeed been able to bring about some change.

The two main advantages of ExactSpace’s AI-based model are –

1. Efficient Operations

Today, most of the thermal plants work in combination with some form of renewable energy. It means that the plant is not running to full capacity. This brings with it a new set of operational challenges. How to figure out the ideal operational condition for thermal plants operating in partial capacities?

The startup’s model offers a solution. It mirrors the entire process and produces a digital clone of it. Then, using all the parameters, the model suggests the best configuration to run the plant. The model can be declared successful as it has been able to increase the boiler’s efficiency by 1%. In the long run, even a slight increase in efficiency translates to tonnes of coal saved.

2. Reduction in Downtime

Reduction in downtime is a valuable advantage. Thermal power plants have complex setups.

Wear and tear of either of the components can result in an undesirable downtime. In business, time is money.

Every minute of the downtime contributes to crores of loss.

To overcome this problem, the startup offers predictive maintenance services so that the power plant operators are not caught unawares at the time of a breakdown.

Through predictive maintenance, one can anticipate when a wear-and-tear situation could possibly occur. Adequate actions can be taken beforehand.

GE – A global leader

GE is making ripples in the global market with its innovative models to optimize power plants.

It identified that the thermal power plants have to become more dynamic if they have to survive the renewable energy wave.

GE partnered with a couple of firms in the power industry and has built an AI-based solution that can recognize the drop in solar or wind energy and automatically ramp up the thermal power to make up for the missing energy.

Given that GE is a global company, it has focused on different kinds of power plants.

Summary

AI in thermal power is still in its nascent stage. As we move forward from here, several on-going researches will possibly yield results.

Then, many more companies could start investing in AI-based solutions for their power plants.

Looking at that impact a three-year-old startup could make, the future of AI in the power industry certainly looks bright!