Data shenanigans and recent political developments in the U.S. suggest that the climate change frenzy is rapidly fading. Could the backlash also sink renewable energy portfolio standards?

The atmospheric vortex engine exploits the natural energy content of the vortex produced during upward heat convection in the atmosphere. The heat source can be solar energy, warm sea water, warm humid air, or even waste heat rejected in a cooling tower. When mature, the technology — currently in the small-scale testing phase — promises to be an efficiency game-changer for fossil-fired power plants.

A three-year demonstration of the TOXECON process, a technology to reduce mercury emissions while increasing the collection efficiency of particulate matter (PM), was last year successfully completed at a Michigan coal power plant, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) reported in January.

Harrington Hoists launched its new Universal Beam Clamps, a product line that complements its core product offering of hoists, cranes, and material-handling equipment. The beam clamps are available in metric tons rated 1 through 10; they meet ASME BTH-1 and ASME B30.20, and comply with portions of ASME B30.16; and they have a design factor […]

Ethiopia in mid-January officially inaugurated the 420-MW Gilgel Gibe II hydropower project, the second hydropower plant to be opened since November 2009, when the 300-MW Tekezé project began operations.

Offshore wind projects involve regulatory, technological, and economic challenges that are greater than those confronted by onshore wind projects. Overcoming these challenges will be necessary to permit offshore wind to achieve its full potential.

A new power generation system that uses solid oxide fuel cells in conjunction with natural gas and promises lower carbon emissions would not use any new technology, according to researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but rather would combine existing components in a novel configuration.

All rotating equipment power trains found in a power plant have some amount of vibration, usually caused by mechanical unbalance of the rotating system, shaft misalignment, or weakness in the bearing support.

A loosely knit coalition of state leaders and environmental activists petitioned the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late 2007 for interpretive guidance on the corporate obligation to disclose material information about all aspects of climate change. The petitioners received what they asked for and a little bit more.

The U.S. Congress won’t pass anything that looks like a cap-and-trade or carbon tax approach to global warming anytime soon. What’s left? Adaptation, the low-tech, low-cost, slow-cooking, most-sensible policy approach.

Venezuela, a country that relies on hydropower for almost three-quarters of its electricity, has been battling a deepening electricity crisis since a drought in 2009 and a sudden 7% surge in demand brought the country’s power system to the brink of collapse.

Although hydro power in the U.S. is politically incorrect, even though it generates no greenhouse gases and is by far the largest renewable resource in the country’s generating mix, the rest of the world often has a more sanguine approach to using water to generate electricity. For example…

Many consultants are prospering today by creating "new" maintenance strategies. What they’re really creating is new buzzwords.

Sierra Instruments introduced a line of mass flow meters that conform to the new emissions reporting rule from the Environmental Protection Agency. That rule, 40 CFR Part 98, mandates that as of Jan. 2, 2010, U.S. companies that emit more than 25,000 tons a year of carbon dioxide equivalent must report their greenhouse gas (GHG) […]

Ensuring an adequate supply of rare earth elements and minerals may be a hurdle in the renewable energy supply chain. The metals and their compounds are used in battery technologies, windmills, catalysts, and communications technologies. Add lithium (not a rare earth) to that mix, as Latin American politics could cloud the prospects for new lithium supplies.

"Diversify, diversify, diversify." That has long been the mantra of many Wall Street pundits when advising investors on how to weather the risks of the stock market. Now advocates of electric vehicles (EVs) are using this same logic to champion plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

NLB Corp. has extended the operating pressure range of its convertible NLB 325 Series water jet pump units to 40,000 psi — providing what the company calls the "industry’s widest operating pressure range available with up to 400 hp." These units can be converted in just 30 minutes to operate at 8,000 psi, 10,000 psi, […]

What do Gmail, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook have in common? All are examples of cloud computing. All present serious data security challenges.

Tampa Electric will soon complete a comprehensive selective catalytic reduction project on all four units at its Big Bend Power Station that will make Big Bend among the cleanest coal plants in the U.S. The project — the centerpiece of the company’s 10-year, $1.2 billion air quality improvement program — is on schedule to meet all of its air quality improvement goals by mid-2010.

Huffman Corp. introduced model HP-245ACC, a laser welding system with a fully enclosed atmospheric welding chamber for welding in an inert gas environment. The system is designed for welding oxygen-sensitive or -reactive materials like titanium. The system can be configured with a variety of features like antechambers, inert gas handling and purification systems, oxygen and […]

Although law varies by jurisdiction, a recent case demonstrates arbitration panels’ willingness to uphold liquidated damages clauses in power plant engineering, procurement, and construction contracts.

Short of replacement, what are your options when your original electrostatic precipitator fails to meet your current emissions and opacity requirements? The management of Big Stone Plant chose the unconventional, yet economic approach of building a pulse jet fabric filter inside the casing of the old electrostatic precipitator. The upgrades restored plant availability and prepare the plant to meet the next regulated reductions in particulate matter emissions.

The new Navigator 600 phosphate analyzer from ABB Instrumentation greatly reduces the amount of reagents and maintenance associated with phosphate monitoring while providing high accuracy and reliability. Designed for phosphate-dosed high-pressure boilers in the power generation industry, the Navigator 600 phosphate analyzer provides accurate monitoring of phosphate concentrations (0 to 15 ppm PO4) in a […]

Just one person behaving badly at work can send company morale into a downward spiral. It’s time to call out those morale-and-productivity-busting personalities so managers can spot them and steer clear of the mess they make.

Water and gas provide the energy for Peru’s power generation sector, and the country could generate considerably more, especially from hydro and wind. While the nation strives to extend electricity service to all its citizens, it’s also looking beyond its borders for potential future customers.

Spectra-Physics, a Newport Corp. brand, introduced an addition to its Pulseo family of Q-Switched diode-pumped solid-state industrial lasers. The rugged and reliable Pulseo 355-10 provides 10 W of 355-nm output at 90 kHz with a short pulse width of less than 23 ns. Key applications for the Pulseo 355-10 are crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cell […]

Wind generating capacity hit new highs in 2009, but that didn’t mean much for the wind power manufacturing sector, meaning fewer “green” jobs than the Obama administration hoped to see.

Poor lignite fuel quality had plagued the Red Hills Power Plant since it began operation eight years ago. The solution: real-time measurement of coal properties that has allowed Red Hills Mine to carefully monitor fuel quality and adjust fuel collection processes to ensure that only high-quality fuel is delivered to the plant. Now all delivered fuel is consumed, and plant reliability is much improved. It’s a classic win-win project.

Masdar, BP Hydrogen Power Plant to Be Completed in 2014. The $2.2 billion Hydrogen Power project — a joint venture between the United Arab Emirates’ renewable energy initiative Masdar (60%) and oil company BP (40%) — should be completed in 2014, the companies said on Jan. 18. The 420-MW plant, located in Abu Dhabi, would […]

How do pharmacy product displays and regulatory conferences differ? A prominent regulatory thinker ponders the differences, and, ironically, the similarities.