Managing and monitoring plant power

The Sao Salvador Poultry Processing Plant, better known as SuperFrango (SuperChicken), is a pioneer in modern poultry-raising systems in Brazil’s central region.

Information provided by Cummins Power Generation

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The Sao Salvador Poultry Processing Plant, better known as SuperFrango (SuperChicken), is a pioneer in modern poultry-raising systems in Brazil’s central region. Headquartered in Itaberai, Brazil, the plant was founded in 1970 through a partnership between friends Carlos Vieira da Cunha and Jose Carlos de Souza. SuperFrango routinely invests in new technology to improve operational stability, which was demonstrated during the recent Pintos de Corte incubator.

After 5 years of planning, design, and construction, along with a $12.6 million investment, SuperFrango opened its new slightly larger than 150,000-sq-ft facility on more than 1 million sq-ft of space. The plant provides jobs for roughly 1,400 people, processes more than 180,000 chickens daily, and produces more than 10.7 million eggs monthly. As with most industrial facilities, SuperFrango needs reliable, economical power. Utility power at the site is provided based on “time-of-day” rates, so economics dictated a design that provides a seamless transfer between utility and generator plant. A prime power generation and ramping power transfer system was the solution SuperFrango sought. SuperFrango partnered with Cummins Power Generation, and the installation began in April 2006 with a delivery made in November 2008.

The system Cummins provided included five Cummins model C400D6 456 kWA diesel generator sets driven by Cummins NTA855G5 engines. The generator sets also include alternators and PowerCommand digital paralleling controls and switchgear manufactured by Cummins. The Cummins peak power system helps SuperFrango meet its electricity needs by monitoring utility power, starting and paralleling generators when and if power fails, and transferring from the utility to generators as needed. Depending on the time of day, the system will automatically start the generators, parallel them to the utility, and control their power output to minimize load and utility costs.

The generators provided can operate the entire facility. When the time comes to shut the generators down, the system synchronizes and parallels the generators to the utility, transfers the load back to the utility, disconnects and cools the generators, and leaves them ready to start again. By operating the standby power system in prime power mode at peak hours, SuperFrango achieves savings of 30% during the 3 hours of the day when utility power costs are the highest.

Information provided by Cummins Power Generation