Architecture and design of smart coal-fired power plants

With the determination of the goal of “carbon peak and carbon neutrality”, it is urgent for coal-fired power plants to save energy and reduce consumption and carbon emissions. This paper discusses the architecture and design of smart power plants, especially coal-fired power plants, taking the Panji Power Plant in Anhui, China, as an example. The fivelayer architecture, including the device layer, the network layer, the control layer, the information management and control layer, and the data visualization layer, is presented and discussed in detail. To achieve a smart power plant, fault diagnosis and health management are the most crucial. Thus, the design of the fault diagnosis and health management system for coal-fired power plants is explored in detail. Moreover, intelligent coordinated control is taken as an example to illustrate smart control in a smart power plant.