GEMS

Power Plant Controller

S P E C I F I C AT I O N S H E E T

The GEMS Power Plant Controller conducts intelligent power control and optimised energy
management operations at power plants of all sizes. It is part of Wärtsilä’s GEMS energy management
platform for energy generation assets—solar, wind, energy storage, and thermal—as well as hybrid
power plants that combine multiple types of energy resources.

SCADA Client Plant Operator

Energy Storage Wind Engine

PV

Power Meter Data Center

Protection Switchgear

Figure 1: GEMS PPC connections

ADVANTAGES
z Maturity – Developed and refined over
decades, GEMS PPC is managing
many power plants across the world.
z Hardware agnostic – GEMS PPC
supports a wide range of devices from
major manufactures of renewable,
energy storage, and thermal generation
equipment.
z Intelligence – GEMS PPC comes with
rich solution libraries encompassing
both on-grid and off-grid applications.
GEMS machine learning and rule
engine technologies enable the
intelligent dispatch and stacking of
value streams to maximise plant
performance and revenue.
z Scalability – A single GEMS PPC
can support thousands of devices
and 100 MW+ of power at a site.
Our micro-service software design
allows the stacking of multiple GEMS
PPCs to control plants of any size and
configuration.
z Future proof – Built upon a software-
as-a-service architecture, GEMS
PPC can be extended with additional
solutions, new applications, and
communication channels which
address new business challenges after
commissioning.

INTELLIGENT CONTROLS
z Rule Engine turns the plant operator
experience into adaptable machine
rules and dispatches plant operations
according to captured human
knowledge.
z Machine Learning predicts future
load and renewable generation based
on historical data and real-time
sensing.
z Digital Optimiser plans the best
operation schedule based on
performance goals and system
constraints.
SUPPORTED SOLUTIONS
z Storage+ — Our energy storage
solution conducts fast grid services
while optimising battery performances
and longevity.
z Engine+ — Our engine + storage
solution delivers efficient thermal
generation to the grid.
z Island Grid+ — Our AI-based grid
dispatch solution manages complex
island grids involving hybrid generation
solutions with engines, storage, and
renewables.
z Renewables+ — Our PV + storage
hybrid solution delivers firmed and
dispatchable premium solar energy to
the grid.
See Wärtsilä solution specification sheets
for additional details.
RELIABILITY
z Dual controllers, switches, and
firewalls in hot standby with failover
arrangement
z Remote software update capability
z Cloud-based long-term data storage
z Controller performance monitoring
COMMUNICATION MEDIA
z Ethernet
z Fiber optic
z Serial
z Wireless
z Analog and digital I/O
wartsila.com
WÄRTSILÄ® is a registered trademark. Copyright © 2020 Wärtsilä Corporation.
Specifications are subject to change without prior notice.
ACCESSIBILITIES
z Web-based UI for local and remote
HMI
z RESTful Web API
z Data stream to GEMS FD in the cloud
z Support for all major SCADA protocols
including Modbus, DNP3, OPC UA,
and IEC61850
z Each interface’s data points are
fully configurable based on plant
composition and functions
CYBERSECURITY
z GEMS PPC IEC 62443-4 certified
z GEMS PPC network IEC 62443-3
compliant
z SSL and IPSec VPN remote access
support
z Security patch service available
HISTORICAL DATA RETENTION
z Standard 1-second data retention:
2 weeks (configurable)
z Standard 1-minute (down sampled)
data retention: 6 months (configurable)
EQUIPMENT SUPPORT
GEMS PPC is hardware agnostic. Over
the years, we have qualified, tested, and
integrated many energy generation, power
measurement, and grid protection devices
from major manufacturers into GEMS
PPC via a plug-and-play device driver
architecture:
z Battery management system (BMS)
from all major vendors
z Power conversion system (PCS) from
all major vendors
z PV inverters from all major vendors
z DC combiners
z Wärtsilä engines
z Third party engine generators
z Wind farm controllers
z Microturbines
z Protection relays/switchgears
z Power metres
z Fire suppression systems
z HVACs
z GEMS Grid Controller
CONTROL LATENCY
z <10 ms
CUSTOMISATION AND EXTENSION
04.2020
BY GEMS SITE BUILDER
z Power plant configuration
z SCADA interface configuration
z Rule Engine configuration
z HMI configuration
z Software version management
z Remote software update
RELATED GEMS PRODUCTS
z GEMS Grid Controller (GC) for
microgrid control. GEMS PPC and
GEMS GC can be co-installed in the
same GEMS Rack to work in unison.
z GEMS Fleet Director (FD) for central
fleet management from the cloud.
z GEMS Virtual Plant Emulator for
testing, commissioning preparation and
training.
See GEMS product specification sheets
for additional details.
HARDWARE
z Control rack dimensions:
2156 x 600 x 800 mm
z Rating: IP10, NEMA1
z Operating temperature: 0°C to 40°C
z Humidity: 5%–95%, non-condensing
z Controller: 2.1 GHz quad-core
microcontrollers, 32 GB memory,
500 GB SSD RAID1
z Network: Three security zones
segmented by network switches and
firewalls
z Power budget: 400 W
z HMI: 15” LCD touchscreen
z UPS: 30 minutes
Figure 2: GEMS Rack