SmartCEM-75 matches a NOx analyzer on a Minnesota turbine

EPA found that SmartCEM-75 software, trained on a Minnesota turbine's own data, matched a certified NOx analyzer over 720 hours, including startups and shutdowns. EPA approved it on 2 June 2009.

  • 1 an organization

    EPA approved the software as Unit 2's NOx monitor in place of the analyzer that GRE had meant to be temporary.

Depth runs from 1, a convenience or time saved, to 5, a life or a livelihood preserved.

Status
Reported benefit.
Evidence

foundstudiedreportedclaimed

An independent regulatory document supports the benefit.

Compared with

Hourly readings from the unit's certified NOx analyzer over the same 720 operating hours, judged by EPA's three statistical tests. Measured.

Without the system
A linear correlation coefficient (r) above 0.8 required
With it
r = 0.9521 over all 720 hours and r = 0.8541 over the 542 non-DLN startup and shutdown hours
The system’s part
Not isolated. EPA measured the software's accuracy against the certified analyzer over the same 720 hours and ran its own tests on the startup and shutdown hours. It did not compare monitoring with and without the software in use. The letter calls the system a statistical hybrid model developed from training data and does not call it a neural network.
Limits
Not yet checked.
Costs and harms
Not yet checked.
Later
Not yet checked.

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Benefit type
Improved Task Accuracy
System
SmartCEM-75 predictive emission monitoring system (PEMS)
Made by
CMC Solutions
Used by
Great River Energy, Cambridge Station Unit 2
Where
Cambridge, Minnesota, United States
Stage
In routine use
Date
, when the source was published
Kind
Aggregate result
Broad benefit
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information, Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
Collections
Scrutiny and findings
Last revised
31 October 2026

Sources

  1. Regulatory document, by authors with no tie to the system.

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Air Markets Division. Approval of the Predictive Emission Monitoring System Installed on Unit 2 at Great River Energy's Cambridge Station (Facility ID (ORISPL) 2038). Letter to Great River Energy, 2 June 2009.

    The PEMS NOx lb/mmBtu output passed each of the three statistical tests for all unit operations.

Details

AI system

Workflow

CMC Solutions collected the training and test data for the 720-hour demonstration. A certified NOx analyzer gave hourly reference data during training and testing. The model read turbine inputs such as fuel flow, power output and exhaust temperatures.

Follow-up

Conditions for replication

Inputs must stay within the range of the training data, or GRE must report the unit's maximum potential NOx rate. The PEMS must keep passing daily checks and monthly audits against measured emissions.

Entry details

Sector

Environment and climate.

Purpose

CMC Solutions built SmartCEM-75 to predict a unit's NOx emissions from its sensor readings so that the prediction can serve as the unit's emissions monitor.

Not yet checked: model, release, provider, role, configuration, inputs and outputs, autonomy, human oversight, AI contribution, beneficiaries, reach, distribution and access, duration, every measurement question, every money question, ownership and control, dependencies, cross-border connections, geopolitical implications, replication attempts, availability, institutional decision, grounds, action and result, success criterion, every evidence question, observed or intended, alternative assessments, related entries, other identifiers, category mappings.

Cite this record

Peter H. Vartanian. (2026). SmartCEM-75 matches a NOx analyzer on a Minnesota turbine (AIBD-0844). Artificial Intelligence Benefits Database, edition of 31 October 2026. https://petervartanian.xyz/aibd/records/AIBD-0844.html (archived at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/AADSII, version 4.0)

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