http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2012 Wed, 8 Feb 2012 14:56:07 EST Handheld smart devices providing custom applications and Internet access at the touch of a virtual button are common today. Hidden beneath their touchscreens is a global network of digital technologies that respond to each command. Will these familiar commercial technologies and apps make their way to industrial digital control systems?... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4327.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Asset management means different things to different people. But it boils down to converting raw data and observations about equipment and components into information and knowledge that is then used, propagated, and shared by workers and digital components to manage performance. Nuclear plants have special asset management needs, given the level of their safety, reliability, and regulatory requirements.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4328.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST The enhanced plant performance achieved at the 1,477-MW Morgantown Generating Station shows the value of model predictive control in conjunction with intelligent distributed control algorithms. This project update looks at how the project team moved from ramp rate improvements to reducing tube metal temperatures to improved component life.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4329.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Control loop performance-monitoring software can help to improve loop performance at electric power plants by automatically collecting data, assessing several aspects of loop performance, and providing the results in reports and user interfaces.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4330.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST The consideration of power supplies has become critical to the success of converting analog instrumentation and control systems to digital control systems (DCSs). Careful planning is particularly necessary for nuclear power plants, where instrumentation systems are required for safely shutting down a reactor, mitigating the consequences of an accident, and performing post-accident analysis.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4331.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST U.S. optimism has been restored by reports of abundant, reasonably priced natural gas to fuel most new generation; however, huge gaps in the fuel delivery system (thousands of miles of pipelines are needed) will soon challenge gas plant development. Meanwhile, the cloud of sovereign debt hangs over all major capital projects in Europe, where the UK moves ahead with new nuclear projects while many of its neighbors shut the door on nuclear and struggle to finance their commitment to renewables.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4255.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST The current largest photovoltaic plant in the U.S., the 48-MW Copper Mountain Solar 1, utilizes approximately 775,000 solar panels to generate emission-free electricity for about 14,000 homes without the use of water. The facility was constructed in less than a year—an unprecedented achievement for a project of this size.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4188.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST Owner/operator: EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG/EnBW Renewables GmbH Germany’s first commercial offshore wind farm—the 48.3-MW EnBW Baltic 1—consists of 21 Siemens wind turbines, each with a capacity of 2.3 MW and a rotor diameter of 93 meters. Siemens constructed the facility in an area covering about 7 square kilometers in the Baltic Sea.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4189.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST The 5-MW Kimberlina Solar Thermal Energy Station is the first to use compact linear Fresnel reflector technology developed to generate continuous superheated steam, a key element for higher-efficiency power generation and integration with new and existing plants. The facility’s innovative technology helps deliver power even during periods of transient cloud cover.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4190.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST The 75-MW Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center is the first hybrid solar facility in the world to combine a solar thermal array with a combined cycle natural gas power plant. Because the facility uses a steam turbine, transmission lines, and other infrastructure from an existing combined cycle unit, financial savings of approximately 20% were achieved compared to what a similar stand-alone solar plant would have cost.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/cover_stories/4191.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST