The U.S. Navy in late October saw the completion of its largest solar generation system, a 13.78-MW (DC) solar photovoltaic (PV) power system at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake) in California.

Coal used for power generation has been the cornerstone of economic development, social progress, and a higher quality of life around the globe and is now fueling the 21st-century economic miracle rapidly unfolding in China. Meanwhile, China is leading the world in coal-fired plant efficiency and the deployment of clean coal technologies.

As the book title Too Dumb to Meter: Follies, Fiascoes, Dead Ends, and Duds on the U.S. Road to Atomic Energy implies, nuclear power has traveled a rough road. In this POWER exclusive, we present the eighth, ninth, and 10th chapters, “Flightless Birds and Flying Elephants,” “The Devil Flies Nukes,” and “Flatulence in Space,” the concluding chapters of the “Up in the Air: Flights of Radioactive Fancy” section.

Georgia Power Completes 2,500-MW Coal-to-Gas Conversion. Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power on Oct. 28 put online the third and final 840-MW natural gas combined cycle unit at Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Smyrna, Ga. The first gas plant went online in December 2011 and the second on April 26. Bringing the plant’s capacity to 2,500 MW, the […]

Fauske & Associates LLC (FAI) recently patented a specialized pipe clamp to seat vibration-sensing equipment. A beam attached to the clamp protrudes through the pipe insulation. The beam is partially hollow and vented to promote cooling so that accelerometers can be installed on the tip of the beam outside the high-temperature and/or radiation area for […]

The 12th ICS Cyber Security Conference was held at Old Dominion University’s Virginia Modeling Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) October 22–25, 2012. There were approximately 150 attendees from multiple industries, universities, government, and vendors as well as consultants from the U.S., South America, Europe, and Asia.

The new portable, nonmetallic Flex-I-Liner rotary peristaltic pump from Vanton Pump and Equipment Corp. evacuates drums and totes containing acids, caustics, salts, chlorides, and reagent grade chemicals, without corrosion of the pump or contamination of the fluid. The self-priming design has no seals to leak or valves to clog and can run dry for extended […]

It has been a decade since an R0 compressor blade was liberated on one of the eight Frame 9FA combustion turbines at CLP Power Hong Kong’s Black Point Power Station. This catastrophic failure eventually led to GE’s recommendation that operators severely limit or cease using online water wash (OLWW), inlet fogging, wet compression, and evaporative coolers on F-Class turbines.

Martin Engineering introduced a new family of electric screen vibrators for regular duty and hazardous environments. Designed to deliver up to 16,500 pounds of centrifugal force for efficient material separation, Martin screen vibrators are built to withstand the rigors of industrial applications and continuous use, and can run 24/7, as needed. With a traditional screen […]

In 2002, California enacted legislation authorizing municipalities to establish Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs. In September 2012, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted “CleanPowerSF” to be the CCA program available for city residents. Its supporters describe CleanPowerSF as “a 100% renewable energy alternative.” Supervisor David Campos exalted that CleanPowerSF “will stimulate the local economy, create jobs and most importantly secure our independent, clean energy future.”

Note on the Oconee Top Plant Some of our readers may have been confused by the wording of a press release about our November issue’s nuclear Top Plants, the table of contents blurb about Duke’s Oconee plant, or a sentence in the cover story about that plant. In the interest of brevity, it seems we […]

As the largest solar plant of its type in the world, the 30-MW Alamosa Solar Project is currently enjoying its place in the sun. The innovative project consists of 504 concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar trackers, each featuring a CPV solar cell panel assembly mounted on a support column. The modular design of the assembly allows the project to easily accommodate future improvements in cell technology.

A convergence of new environmental regulations and practical realities is creating a boatload of challenges for power producers.

By taking a waste product and converting it into a fuel source, the 6.5-MW Coca-Cola/Mas Energy Facility became the first U.S. operational trigeneration project fueled by landfill gas. Since March, the new system has provided electricity, steam, and chilled water to the adjacent Coca-Cola Syrup Plant, satisfying most of the plant’s energy requirements and reducing its long-term energy costs.

Set up by the Gujarat government, the Gujarat Solar Park is actually a group of solar parks that provide dedicated common infrastructure for photovoltaic-powered projects owned and operated by numerous individual companies. When construction at all the parks is completed by the end of 2013, the Gujarat Solar Park is projected to reach a combined capacity of almost 1,000 MW, which will make it the world’s largest solar energy generation installation.

A post-combustion polymeric membrane system that promises to separate and capture 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted from a pulverized coal plant has been successfully demonstrated and last week received approval from  the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance to a larger-scale field test.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced an award to support a new project to design, license, and help commercialize small modular reactors (SMR) in the U.S. The project supported by the award will be led by Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) on Wednesday approved a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Cape Wind and NSTAR for 27% of power generated by the Cape Wind project, the nation’s first offshore wind farm.

A report released on Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) surveying the U.S. coal-fired power sector says that retirements of older units, retrofits of existing units with pollution controls, and the construction of some new coal-fueled units are expected to significantly change the coal-fueled electricity generating fleet,  but that coal will likely remain a key fuel source through 2035.

A new report from the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) challenges claims by Mississippi Power Co. (MPC) that its 582-MW Kemper Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant under construction in Kemper County, Miss., is 70% complete, and suggests that the project is over budget and behind schedule in several respects.

Duke Energy said  in mid-October that testing was under way in preparation for commercial operation next year of its 630-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) Edwardsport power plant in Knox County, Ind.

A bipartisan delegation of lawmakers from Pennsylvania on Oct. 15 urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider creating a separate subcategory for power plants that convert coal refuse into energy in its final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). Though waste coal plants made an important environmental contribution by reducing coal refuse piles, the hydrochloric acid (HCl) standard in the MATS rule could push them out of business, they said.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Oct. 5 appealed a federal court decision handed down on Aug. 21 that vacated the agency’s July 2011–finalized Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) because, the court said, it violated federal law. The EPA is now seeking a rehearing en banc that would involve all eight judges that serve at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The 15-year-old Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. With U.S. CO₂ emissions at a 20-year low, what’s the point in the U.S. signing a new agreement?

This synopsis of today’s most interesting research related to power generation gives you a glimpse of what’s possibly coming to your plant in the not-so-distance future. Research under way today will surely determine how power plants are designed, operated, and maintained for many years to come.

Insulation and lagging are key to saving energy in a typical steam plant, and plant operators would be well advised to pay close attention to energy losses in their insulation and lagging systems.

Supporters of a new carbon tax are using arguments aimed at conservatives (it can be revenue neutral) and liberals (it can help the environment) alike. The damage to the U.S. economy, manufacturing competitiveness, and society’s poorest citizens outweighs the government’s need for a new revenue stream.

Expect the EPA to increase the use NEPA data requests, ostensibly related to climate change analysis, as an excuse to slow or stymie new energy system development.

The world’s first supercritical pulverized coal–fired low mass flux vertical tube Benson boiler is Jinzhushan 3, located in Hunan Province of the People’s Republic of China. The 600-MW Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. once-through boiler burns Chinese anthracite using downshot pulverized coal (PC) technology. Part 2 of this three-part article discusses the boiler technology. The third and final part will review the plant’s performance test results.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative (Dii) oversees a $508 billion initiative to establish 6,500 square miles of concentrated solar power plants in the vast African and Middle Eastern deserts. Those plants are expected to furnish a fifth of Europe’s power needs by 2050, but in recent weeks the Dii has seen the exit of two of its 57 partners from 16 countries and a project held up by the Spanish government.