http://www.powermag.com POWER Mag en-us 2012 Wed, 8 Feb 2012 15:58:00 EST The National Fire Protection Association has issued a new standard for gas line cleaning in response to the urgent recommendations prepared by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4323.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST POWER recently talked with Erika Jakobsson, a project manager at Volvo Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, who is responsible for developing intelligent trucks in response to European Union (EU) directives.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4324.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Synovus relies on emergency standby generator sets to prevent any loss of services or data in the event of a utility outage.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4325.html Wed, 1 Feb 2012 0:00:00 EST Measuring the level of dust and fly ash collected in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) is a very difficult technical problem. At one utility, level switches were so unreliable that operators could not trust their readings because failures were so frequent. When a switch did fail, the precipitator would often clog up, costing the utility up to $100,000 in downtime and repair costs.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4250.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST Over the past 11 years, the Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group (PRBCUG) has grown to become the voice of North American generating companies that are dedicated to the safe and efficient use of PRB coal. POWER, the group’s media sponsor, has reported on the PRBCUG’s annual meetings, which are colocated with the ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition each year. POWER also reports annually on the group’s coal plant of the year award. For 2011, in the large plant category the award went to Kansas City Power & Light’s Iatan Unit 2 (see our August 2011 issue); the small plant category winner, Muscatine Power & Water, is profiled in this issue, beginning on page 56.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4251.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST The 2011 Marmaduke Award winner was CTG Universidad, a two-unit combustion turbine plant built in the early 1970s in Monterrey, Mexico. The award was made to the plant in recognition of its upgrade of one 14-MW unit to operate as a synchronous condenser, thus relaxing power restrictions caused by a lack of sufficient reactive power production in the north of the city. More reactive power production by this urban plant also allows delivery of more power produced by efficient combined cycle plants located outside the city, because it reduces the amount of reactive power that must be moved over transmission lines.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4252.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST In “Siemens Releases ‘ShapingPower’ Option for Renewables... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4253.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST The November issue of POWER featured a special section titled “Condenser Life Cycle.” That set of four articles covered topics including condenser performance, operation and maintenance (O&M), failure mechanisms, and retubing—topics you will... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4274.html Sun, 1 Jan 2012 0:00:00 EST A structure or mechanical system that requires fasteners also demands tools to maintain it properly. In power sectors such as wind, fossil fuel, and nuclear, some work areas may be several hundred feet in the air. While working at those extreme heights, or even just 10 feet off the ground, it’s simply unacceptable to drop anything. That’s why the concept of “tools at height” is being embraced as a way to improve safety and efficiency on the worksite.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4184.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST Inlet fogging systems for combustion turbines achieve their effect at the molecular level: The cooling effect occurs by converting thousands of gallons of water into single evaporated molecules suspended in the air. The right fog pattern comes down to a matter of selecting the best nozzle design and proper placement in the inlet air stream.... http://www.powermag.com/issues/departments/focus_on_o_and_m/4185.html Thu, 1 Dec 2011 0:00:00 EST