China in mid-November embarked upon building the first massive hydropower project in Tibet, a 6 x 85-MW plant straddling the middle reaches of the mighty Yarlung Tsangpo River (Figure 2). According to the Hunan Daily, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, Sinohydro began damming the river in Shannan Prefecture, Tibet, on Nov. 8, kicking off the 7.9 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) “run of the river” project that is estimated to generate electricity for the surrounding region by 2014.

Paul Browning, vice president, thermal products for GE Power & Water, sees the greatest short-term business opportunities beyond the U.S., in “high-speed” countries.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has begun converting a combined-cycle plant in Japan to prepare for verification testing of its long-anticipated J-Series gas turbine in February 2011—a system that the company claims has the most power generation capacity and highest thermal efficiency in the 1,600C turbine inlet temperature class (Figure 3). The work being carried out at the Takasago Machinery Works facility in Hyogo Prefecture (where the company’s G-Series gas turbines were tested) includes installation of the J-Series turbine, and it marks another major milestone in the technology’s development.

Utilities have achieved success by supplying electricity from central station plants (the supply side) to a grid that carries electricity to customers (the demand side). One way to improve the efficiency of this supply chain is by adopting smart grid technology. The weak link in that chain is convincing customers to use, and regulators to invest in, the smart grid.

TransCanada Corp. on Oct. 28 officially opened its C$700 million Halton Hills Generating Station. The 683-MW 2 x 1 combined-cycle plant on a greenfield site in Ontario (Figure 5) will operate under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). Construction of the peaker plant started in December 2007 and was completed on time and on budget, TransCanada said.

Bill Newsom—vice president, sales & marketing, Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas Inc.—talks about taking the long view with the company’s U.S. investments.

The concept of a smart grid may have been born in the U.S.A., but it’s hitting an adolescent growth spurt just about everywhere else first. Meanwhile, in the U.S., both the regulators and companies that see great potential in a smarter grid are realizing that making substantial smart grid progress will first require making both people and policies smarter. There’s one exception, one piece of the smart grid, that could face fewer obstacles to adoption, and that’s because it offers more obvious and visible benefits to its users: electric vehicles (EVs).

In all of these cases, frequent oil analysis monitoring and preestablished action plans were able to allow for transformer replacement before the occurrence of a catastrophic failure. Exelon’s experience, as well as that of other power utilities across the grid, has spawned a report by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) of Atlanta, Georgia, that recommends that performance monitoring and trending be applied to all large transformers in order to establish a baseline for transformer maintenance strategies.

TANE and Shaw to Provide EPC Services for South Texas Expansion. Nuclear Innovation North America LLC (NINA), the nuclear development company jointly owned by NRG Energy and Toshiba Corp., on Nov. 29 announced that it awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for South Texas Projects Units 3 and 4 to a restructured EPC […]

Sudden bumps and shocks are great fun when you are off-roading or are riding on a rollercoaster. But when you are operating a piece of equipment, you want it to be running as smoothly as a Cadillac rolling down the interstate. Sudden changes in pressure produce vibration, cavitation, and water hammer and generally lower the lifespan and reliability of fluid systems.

European carbon trading is gradually pushing down coal-fired capacity factors, and operating costs are rising. The U.S. may not have a carbon market, but increasing regulatory requirements are having the same effect on coal-fired generation capacity factors and operating costs. In the meantime, gas-fired assets are enjoying increased usage and lower unit costs.

Researchers at Germany’s Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) claim to have developed a small-scale hydroelectric power plant that is capable of operating profitably even at modest dam heights while minimizing impact on waterways.

In November, California voters overwhelmingly rejected an initiative that would have put the brakes on AB 32, the state’s ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction law. Given the role that California has played in climate change policy, that such a vote took place only four years into the law’s implementation process and 10 years before the emissions reduction targets were to be met was a reality check on climate change policy for those on both sides of the issue.

Dr. Michael Weinhold, chief technology officer of Siemens Energy, discusses the company’s 2011 business plans and the role of the smart grid in the future’s energy infrastructure.

If Hollywood were scripting the power industry story for 2011, it would be a sequel to 2010—more of the same, but just not quite as good. Natural gas gets top billing and the accolades, wind power drops to a supporting role, and new nuclear answers the casting call but has yet to get a speaking part. Coal is like Mel Gibson—a talented Oscar winner unlikely to get another leading role. In this, our fifth annual industry forecast report, the story may be familiar, but the price of admission is going way up.

For more than a decade Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. and Air Liquide have been developing oxyfuel technology with the goal of using it to concentrate CO₂ from pulverized coal-fired power plants and achieve up to 90% CO₂ capture and storage. This technology was recently selected for demonstration as part of FutureGen 2.0.

The new Oil Eater all-in-one professional grade emergency spill kits are designed to contain and clean up hazardous spills as required by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Each kit contains absorbent pads, pillows, universal snakes, booms, protective gloves, oil-resistant and high-temperature disposal bags, and an emergency response instruction […]

Voith Turbo H + L Hydraulic’s hydraulic Closed Loop Differential Pump (CLDP) linear axis can be used for all direct linear movements—especially for applications that rely on dynamics, reproducibility, overload protection, and reliability. Compact, highly dynamic, and precise, the linear drive offers overload protection, high power density, and virtually wear-free operation. At its heart is an integrated […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its plan for establishing greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution standards under the Clean Air Act in 2011. The agency looked at a number of sectors and is moving forward on GHG standards for fossil fuel power plants and petroleum refineries—two of the largest industrial sources, representing nearly 40% of the GHG pollution in the U.S.

The General Electric Co. (GE) agreed last week to requirements established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for final cleanup of PCB-contaminated sediment in the Hudson River. The second phase of the cleanup is to begin in late spring.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on Dec. 23 that a $17.1 million loan guarantee has been finalized for the AES Westover facility. The loan guarantee will support the construction of a 20- MW energy storage system using advanced lithium-ion batteries.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced last Wednesday that it is accepting applications for a total of up to $74 million to support the research and development (R&D) of clean, reliable fuel cells for stationary and transportation applications.

In a news conference hosted today by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), presenters argued that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has overstated the economic benefits of recycling coal ash by more than 20 times and exaggerated the potential stigma on recycled fly ash that could result from tougher coal ash regulations. At the same time, the EPA is vastly underemphasizing the costs to human and environmental health of not regulating the substance, presenters said.

Sunflower Electric Power Corp. on Dec. 16 was notified that the Prevention of Significant Deterioration air quality construction permit for its 895-MW Holcomb expansion project was approved by Acting Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) John Mitchell. The permit is expected to be issued by the end of the year. The […]

Basin Electric’s directors decided last week that a proposed demonstration project to capture emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the Antelope Valley Station (AVS) in Beulah, N.D., will remain on hold until the economic viability of such a venture can be further developed.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced yesterday that it had finalized a $1.45 billion loan guarantee for building Abengoa Solar’s Solana, the world’s largest parabolic trough concentrating solar plant (CSP). The 250-MW project in Arizona will require a total investment of around $2 billion.

Following a 26-month environmental and safety review, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week approved a 20-year license extension for the NextEra Energy Duane Arnold Energy Center (DAEC) near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

One of the key updates in the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s early release reference case for its 2011 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) was an update of anticipated power plant capital costs that is good news for solar power and bad news for nuclear power.

On Thursday, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted 9-1 to adopt a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that is scheduled to start in 2012. The program will affect power plants and other industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide.

On Dec. 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing actions under the greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program to address issues about the public availability of certain data that some businesses may consider to be confidential. The total emissions for each facility is still required to be reported to the EPA and released to the public.