Implementation of virtualization technology for hydro SCADA and control system to support energy efficiency of PT Vale Indonesia

Current SCADA infrastructure that supported hydro automation and control system at PT Vale Indonesia is obsolete. That condition puts the overall operation of power generations in a risk due to obsolete hardware and operating system (OS) infrastructure. The server hardware has no spare part available in the market that can lead SCADA and control system break down at any time. The obsolete OS has no longer receive security update that can lead virus and security breach onto the automation network, therefore SCADA infrastructure upgrade is mandatory to be done to support operation of hydropower generations. Other problems of current automation infrastructure are operating cost, it is due to numerous servers and PCs (personal computers) that installed to serve the automation and control system. Most of these servers and PCs consume a significant amount of electrical power and also the energy of a cooling system, while the utilization ratio of those type of equipment is very low, around 5% to 10 % only [1]. They also - mainly a server - require significant yearly maintenance cost. To overcome the above problems, servers and desktop virtualization technology are studied in this paper as an option for the requirement of SCADA infrastructure upgrade. The technology offering an opportunity to consolidate multiple under-utilized servers and PCs of SCADA control system into a few physical servers and thin client, thereby reducing the energy requirements for the power infrastructure, cooling system, maintenance budget and capital cost of the necessary upgrade. The result of virtual technology implementation reduces 64.80% of upgrade capital cost for material and installation, 40.65% less energy requirements for the infrastructure cooling system, saving 62.20% electrical energy for the entire infrastructure SCADA control system and also reduce 92.43% of yearly maintenance cost.