POWER

Compared with other solid fuel–fired plants, the systems and components required for handling and processing biomass appear quite familiar, but important fuel differences must be considered. A successful biomass plant design must provide flexibility for handling the expected wide range of biomass fuel properties and characteristics.

A recent Washington Post article attacks coal as a fuel with a dim future. The author points to the large number of plant retirements as evidence of its impending demise. Checking the actual data reveals a much different story.

Wheelift Systems introduced its self-propelled trailers (SPT) in capacities up to 100 tons. They were developed for in-plant operation in congested, confined areas and in narrow intersecting aisles. Highly maneuverable, the Wheelift SPTs feature computerized independent steering, on-center rotating front axles, remote control operation, low-profile design, and on-board power generation. Each SPT has two on-center […]

Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design hit several milestones in recent months, prompting speculation that it could take the coveted lead in the charge to deploy the world’s third-generation nuclear power plants.

HD Electric Co.’s new PRX-500 Proximity Voltage Detector is an addition to its voltage detector product line. With nine selectable voltage ranges from 120 V to 500 kV, the PRX Proximity Voltage Detector features an easy-to-use electronic touch pad with large buttons. The PRX provides an audible and visual indication of voltage detected from elbow […]

Efficient boiler operation requires boiler auxiliary equipment to operate in harmony. The air preheater, for example, though it has few moving parts, is vital to maintaining efficient boiler performance. In this second installment of our Power 101 series, we examine performance degradation caused by corrosion and fouling of the air preheater that results from the combustion of coal plus the effects of ammonia and sodium bisulfite injection for SO₃ mitigation.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in late December approved—for the ninth time since October 2010—a solar power project to be built on federal lands.

John Deere Power Systems (JDPS) introduced extended generator drive emergency stationary power ratings for its PowerTech E 6.8L diesel engine—the first John Deere engine to carry both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 Emergency Stationary and European Union Stage III A certification, with dual frequency ratings of 1,800 and 1,500 rpm. The 212-kW rating at […]

San Miguel Electric Cooperative selected and installed an automatic sootblowing system for its Unit 1 to minimize clinkers in the boiler that caused semi-annual unscheduled outages. New boiler surface-cleaning equipment and intelligent cleaning software eliminated these expensive outages.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), the tiny landlocked country in Southeast Asia of just 6.3 million people, in December inaugurated the 1,070-MW Nam Theun 2 Power Station, a hydropower project in Khammouane Province.

Spirax Sarco launched the TD120M Thermo-dynamic Steam Trap, a product engineered for pressure ratings of up to 3,190 psig that is ideal for draining saturated and superheated steam mains. The steam trap has a maintainable disc and seat, which means it can be serviced in-line—a considerable benefit to customers with welded installations. The trap has […]

President Obama’s Jan. 25th State of the Union address proposed that the nation commit itself to developing "clean energy" sources of electricity over the next two decades. A critical assessment of his proposal finds that it’s just a rehash of previously rejected legislative proposals. In fact, to me, it sounds like Waxman-Markey all over again. I have a better idea.

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., January 28, 2011 – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the 112th Congress won’t be your father’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (and certainly not Lisa Murkowski’s father’s committee). With a slew of newcomers – mostly Republican – and none of them particularly attuned to the way […]

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama set a new goal for the nation: To obtain 80% of its electricity from “clean energy” by 2035. But his definition of “clean energy” included “nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas” as well as “wind and solar.”

A federal district court judge on Thursday sided with environmental groups in a suit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and gave the Obama administration only 30 extra days to issue Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules for large and small boilers, and solid waste and sewage sludge incinerators—not a year, as the agency had sought.

The New Mexico Supreme Court today ruled unanimously that freshly elected Republican Gov. Susana Martinez violated the state constitution when she halted publication of cap-and-trade rules that were adopted by the state’s Environmental Improvement Board (EIB) last year.

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday said it was waiting for member countries to confirm that minimum-security requirements had been installed in their emissions registries before reactivating its emissions trading scheme (ETS). The European Commission halted spot carbon trading last week for at least seven days after hackers stole emission permits from accounts in the Czech Republic and Austria.

Massachusetts–based Beacon Power Corp. on Monday said it had energized and grid-interconnected the first 8 MW of flywheel energy storage at its 20-MW frequency regulation plant in Stephentown, N.Y., bringing in the first commercial revenue for the company.

NRG Energy last week received a $967 million federal loan guarantee for its 290-MW Agua Caliente thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar project. When the Yuma County, Ariz., project, which began construction in 2010, is complete in 2014, NRG says it will be the largest PV generation facility in the world.

The fourth unit of India’s Kaiga Generating Station, a 220-MW indigenous reactor that achieved first criticality on Nov. 27, 2010, was synchronized to the grid last week. The unit now brings India’s nuclear power capacity to 4,780 MW with 20 reactors in operation, state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said.

The U.S. Departments of Energy and Commerce on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate further on renewable energy modeling and weather forecasting to help the renewable sector more effectively use the nation’s resources.

Uncertainty about U.S. climate policy direction means that Canada may need proceed with its own measures to mitigate climate change—including a carbon cap-and-trade system—a government-appointed advisory panel has recommended.

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., January 24, 2011 — While many of us have fixated on electric approaches to vehicle propulsion, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been working on another technology that may turn out to be a killer ap for conventional gasoline cars. Earlier this month, with little fanfare or hoopla, Chrysler announced […]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed smart grid cybersecurity guidelines as tasked by Congress, but major gaps still need to be addressed; furthermore, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has failed to develop a coordinated approach for monitoring if and how the standards are being followed by industry, a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says.

In New Mexico, where freshly elected Governor Susana Martinez (R) passed—as one of her first acts upon taking office—an executive order placing a hold on cap-and-trade rules adopted last year by a state agency, the state’s Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments later this month on whether Martinez’s actions were legal.

A settlement over alleged Clean Air violations reached by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department with Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) requires the Merrillville, Ind.–based company to shut down a coal plant while investing about $600 million in pollution control technology at the other three plants in its 3,300-MW coal-fired fleet. In related news, Ameren Missouri strongly disputed similar allegations made in a lawsuit over modifications at a 1,200-MW Missouri coal plant.

A federal court last week lifted an emergency stay that had prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proceeding with a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting of greenhouse gas sources in Texas while it considered legal challenges against the agency’s authority. The court’s decision means that EPA-issued regulations can curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other large stationary sources in that state.

The second 615-MW supercritical pulverized coal unit of We Energies’ Oak Creek Power Plant went commercial last week. The first unit—a POWER Top Plant—went into service on Feb. 2, 2010, and Elm Road Unit 2’s turnover to the Wisconsin Electric Power Co. by general contractor Bechtel Power Corp. last Wednesday completed the controversial expansion of the 1,135-MW power plant.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week instructed staff to address a potential problem at nuclear power plants around the U.S. where the containment sump—an emergency long-term cooling water source—could be clogged by debris accumulating after a high-pressure coolant break.

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., January 17, 2011 – With Hu Jintao, China’s president, in Washington this week, it is worth taking a look at that mammoth country’s energy future. More specifically, it is valuable to look at China’s announced ambitious nuclear power agenda and ask whether it can be realized. China at the end […]