Power

Monthly Issue | September 15, 2006

National pastime
National pastime

—Dr. Robert Peltier, PE Editor-in-Chief During every summer hot enough to break peak demand records, the rhetoric heats up as well, with calls to rid the U.S. bulk-power system of…


Marmy’s medicine show
Marmy’s medicine show

"I'll find that leak in your buried pipe. All I'll need is a ship's sextant, a plumb line, a galvanometer, and a copy of Kurtz's Theory of Solar-Hydrated Ground Waves,"…


Global Monitor (September 2006)
Global Monitor (September 2006)

Demand records fall nationwide It's been warm around POWER's editorial office in Arizona these past few weeks. When the thermometer doesn't see the south side of 100F, even at night,…


Combating climate change
Combating climate change

The overriding environmental challenge of our time is climate change. The problem originates from the emission of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, mainly from the transport and energy sectors. If…


Focus on O&M (September 2006)
Focus on O&M (September 2006)

INSTRUMENTATION Level measurement in harsh environment A demanding level measurement application in an extreme environment best describes the conditions that Advance Engineer Rick Mezan faced at FirstEnergy Corp.'s 2,360-MW Bruce…


Renewable contracts merit longer terms
Renewable contracts merit longer terms

The length of term allowed for power sales contracts is a critical determinant of the ability of states to meet their increasingly ambitious renewable power targets. Many utilities advocate limiting…


Organics in the boiler and steam: Good or bad?
Organics in the boiler and steam: Good or bad?

Organic compounds pioneered boiler water chemical treatment when lignosulfonates derived from oak bark were used to minimize calcium carbonate scaling. Today's organic boiler treatment methods include the addition of neutralizing…


How to conduct a plant performance test
How to conduct a plant performance test

Completing a power plant's start-up and commissioning usually means pushing the prime contractor to wrap up the remaining punch list items and getting the new operators trained. Staffers are tired…