Radial, axial, and circumferential metallic seals installed on rotary, regenerative air preheaters have evolved little from the original metal strip designs that date back to the original Ljungström preheaters developed nearly a century ago. Unfortunately, metallic strip seals degrade soon after installation, allowing excessive air-to-gas leakage, which translates into increased fuel consumption and fan power.

Fourteen years ago, the MHI T-Point demonstration combined-cycle plant in Takasago, Japan, changed the way modern gas turbines are validated under real operating conditions. In February, T-Point marked yet another milestone by starting to validate the world’s largest and highest efficiency gas turbine, which operates at the unprecedented turbine inlet temperature of 1,600C.

A report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) today—and presented at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the Energy Department’s role in managing civilian radioactive waste—concludes that uncertainties exist about the direction of the nation’s policy for nuclear waste disposal.

In November 2008, a central Texas utility commissioned HPI, a full-service turbomachinery design and construction firm based in Houston, to perform a major upgrade of its plant’s power distribution and turbine control systems.

With natural gas serving as the fuel de jour, many utilities and merchant generators will be considering the purchase of new combustion turbines in the near future. If you are in the market for a gas turbine, here are some key design features you should discuss with turbine vendors prior to your next purchase.

Duke Energy will retire two coal-fired units at the four-unit 560-MW Gallagher Station in New Albany, Ind., instead of converting them to natural gas if regulators approve the company’s plans to buy the 640-MW natural gas–fired Vermillion Energy Facility in Cayuga, Ind.

Someone once said that "life begins at retirement." For people, perhaps, but not for our aging inventory of coal-fired power plants that are slated for retirement during the next decade.

Even though Texas is again basking in warm weather, federal regulators are still investigating the rolling blackouts that hit the Lone Star state during a record-breaking cold snap in early February.

Life-cycle cost of ownership is a common metric used to compare power plant system alternatives. However, the familiar formula for calculating the cost of generating electricity omits factors that are becoming increasingly important to business decisions. A new formula addresses those blind spots by estimating the value of the part-load performance of cycling combined-cycle plants.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Thursday announced he would withdraw his state by the end of the year from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)—a cap-and-trade carbon trading system that involves 10 Northeastern states—because the “program is not effective in reducing greenhouse gases and is unlikely to be in the future,” he said. The governor also said the state would not permit any new coal plants and that it would shut down “dirtier” intermediate and peaker plants.

Utilities struggling to meet renewable portfolio standards requirements have studied the conversion of existing coal-fired boilers to burn biomass. The results of those studies have been mixed, although test burns continue; the results of one such test are included. Overall, the market is tending toward smaller biomass projects, and the low price of natural gas is perhaps the biggest reason utility-scale projects are now few and far between.

Neural networks have already found practical application in many plants, and recent advancements in artificial intelligence promise to shape the design of the next generation of power plant supervisory controls. Will future plant operators be fashioned from silicon?

ABB has launched its Symphony Plus distributed control system (DCS), a product the Zurich-based company says will improve power plant productivity and energy efficiency as well as enhance operational security and plant safety. Symphony Plus meets a broad spectrum of plant configurations and applications, and it is flexible and scalable, designed to serve the needs […]

A Texas state district judge last week remanded an air permit for White Stallion Energy Center’s 1,320-MW coal- and petroleum coke–fired power plant power plant proposed to be built in Matagorda County to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), potentially posing a delay for the $3 billion project.

Balancing the rising energy needs of a globally expanding population (most of which lives in poverty) against the need to reduce increases in atmospheric emissions is a monumental problem. What role can clean coal technologies play?

Spain has served as both exemplar and scapegoat when it comes to renewable energy policy. Though power policy must necessarily accommodate specific national resources and goals, Spain’s experience as an early and eager adopter of renewable energy technologies and subsidies is a cautionary tale of how the best intentions can have unintended consequences.

Testo’s 350 portable emission analyzer is a complete redesign of the company’s existing emission analyzer for measuring nitrogen oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen. Improvements include a high-definition color graphic display, new exclusive sensor design, and a new housing, bump protection, and industrial connectors, so it can stand up to any field […]

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) last week announced it would take the first step toward issuing the nation’s first lease that would authorize the testing of equipment designed by Florida Atlantic University to use ocean currents offshore Florida to generate power on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

The international policy framework regulating the emissions of greenhouse gases from industrial and utility boilers is in flux. Meanwhile, most boiler owners are evaluating potential strategies for when, not if, more stringent emissions reduction regulations are put in place. One of the most attractive compliance options is the cofiring of biomass in existing coal-fired boilers.

Tightly managed grids require combined-cycle plants equipped with power block controls that can quickly respond to automatic generation control signals with minimal error. K-Power’s successful controls upgrade demonstrates that that goal—and more—is achievable.

The new Moyno 2000 Model WA and WB pumps provide unmatched performance in a compact, close-coupled configuration. The close-coupled pumps are specifically designed for lower-pressure, lower-flow applications that do not require the full features and benefits of the Moyno 2000 G1 pump. They are ideal for municipal and industrial applications that require the transfer of […]

In surprising findings, given the state’s often-contentious relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency, a study released May 11 by the Texas grid operator concludes that a suite of looming EPA rules to reduce conventional and hazardous air pollution from power plants and to tighten power plant cooling water regulations likely would not force the retirement of any Texas coal plants.

Utility mergers and acquisitions are on the upswing again. When faced with flat load growth, pervasive regulatory uncertainty, and the rising cost of doing business, larger companies are better able to afford expensive new plants while maintaining shareholder dividends.

The new Heise DXD digital pressure transducer delivers the unique benefits of digital communication at what the manufacturer says is a bargain price. This instrument is now available with a LabVIEW driver and new LabVIEW-based utility software that allows the user to address, configure, and monitor one or more DXDs. The DXD is offered in […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., May 31, 2011 — By the time you read this, the event may have already happened. The Washington rumor mill is rumbling loudly that President Obama will name John Bryson, former California electric company executive, to be commerce secretary, replacing Gary Locke, who will be named U.S. ambassador to China. […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has acknowledged in a letter to non-profit power trade organization Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG) that it made a conversion error in the way mercury emissions data was calculated to set limits for the agency’s mercury maximum achievable control technology (MACT) floor in the proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule.

Fifteen states on Monday, led by Texas, filed an opening brief in a legal challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) finding that greenhouse gases (GHGs) pose a danger to public health and welfare.

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) on Tuesday rejected a request by Exelon Corp.’s energy delivery arm ComEd to charge customers for several smart grid initiatives, including advanced meter deployment. The commission, however, approved ComEd’s request to collect an additional $155.7 million–a 7.6% increase over current revenue—through new delivery rates.

The Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday conditionally offered a $737 million loan guarantee to support SolarReserve’s Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 110-MW molten salt concentrating solar power (CSP) tower generating facility. The project would be the first of its kind in the U.S. and the tallest molten salt tower in the world, the federal agency said.

Efforts to confirm regulatory review of Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design have resulted in the uncovering of “additional technical issues,” which Westinghouse must resolve before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) can consider finalizing certification for the design, NRC Chair Gregory Jaczko said on Friday.