Wireless technology is a mostly untapped resource in the power generation industry that can have a significant impact on the way business is done. It enables a greater degree of connectivity among devices for enhanced monitoring and asset utilization and has led to the development of new applications that improve productivity, uptime, and overall business performance.

Despite hostilities that linger as a result of the 1986 nuclear nightmare at Chernobyl, Ukraine, and pressure from the European Union to shut down older-generation plants, Eastern European countries from the Baltic to Bulgaria are renovating existing nuclear plants or building new ones. If these projects become reality, the region will be able to secure its power supplies as well as cover the ongoing shortages in countries such as Greece, Macedonia, and Albania.

Modern wireless systems improve productivity, monitoring activities, and safety at power plants by enabling the right people to be at the right place at the right time. Wireless technology can put hard-to-access process and asset information at your fingertips, wherever you are, to enable more accurate and timely decisions.

Declining oil prices, supply issues, and dwindling financing may have battered solar energy in recent months, but the industry seems to have sparred well in the research arena. An assortment of institutions separately announced breakthroughs in their quests to boost the efficiency of solar cells. The technological advancements ranged in approach, from the development of an antireflective coating to the formulation of more efficient solar cell materials, but all point to promising possibilities for the industry.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is starting to light the way for power plant operators who want to reduce coal ash deposition in their boilers.

An energy-generating revolving door installed at Driebergen-Zeist railway station in the Netherlands is the latest experiment in eco-building. Dutch company Royal Boon Edam Group Holdings designed the manual door to match the newly refurbished station’s sustainable technology theme, while keeping in mind that the station — converted into a multifunctional area featuring restaurants and a tourist information and visitor center — holds 8,500 commuters at capacity.

High-temperature superconducting cables deliver up to 10 times as much power as conventional electric power transmission cables. They are poised to help to reduce grid congestion as well as installation and operating costs.

The Sri Lankan government in December commissioned the first phase of the 300-MW Kerawalapitiya Thermal Power Plant, the nation’s biggest combined-cycle power plant project. The $300 million plant in the western part of the country commenced operations by generating 200 MW (Figure 7). In its second phase, it will expand to 300 MW. Per government estimates, power produced by the plant is priced at about 20 rupees or $0.18/kWh.

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
One of the key campaign promises made by our new president was that his administration would create five million new “green” jobs by spending $150 billion dollars over the next 10 years. There are serious and substantial reasons that this level of job creation won’t happen in the near future.

In a major decision aimed at preserving the air quality benefits of the program, a federal court on December 23 modified its July 11 decision to throw out the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).

The new U.S. president will have a new set of priorities and regulatory policies that will affect the production and generation of electricity. The specifics of the new administration’s energy policy priorities were scant when this article was written, pre-inauguration, but the industry’s challenges are fairly well defined.

By Roger Feldman
Public-private partnerships are a key to preventing a chill from settling over the green ambitions of the newly capital-strapped state and municipal public sectors.

The 200-MW Dallman Unit 4 under construction in Springfield, Ill., is expected to cost approximately 20% less to operate per megawatt-hour than the most efficient of the three existing Dallman units. A composite stack liner is one element enabling that cost savings.

Whatever type of carbon-limiting regulations the U.S. faces in the future, they will affect the ability of the insurance industry to offer economic insurance options to the power industry.

A zirconium oxide sensor technology originally developed for automotive applications could make in situ, simultaneous measurement of O₂ and NO_x a breeze for coal-fired power plants.

The flue gas desulfurization process requires the use of aggressive liquids that significantly shorten the life of typical construction materials such as metals and concrete. That makes fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) the material of choice for many components in a typical flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system.

By Kennedy Maize “Stimulus” has become the universal political solvent in Washington since the advent of the Obama administration. No matter what narrow special interest, no matter what piece of local pork or advocacy policy preference, it all gets dissolved and incorporated into the administration’s stimulus package. You call it “stimulus.” I call it “earmarks.” […]

A week after the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved transmission lines sought for the proposed $1.6 billion Big Stone II coal-fired power plant in South Dakota, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) objected to the issuance of a state-granted permit for construction of that project.

Following a press briefing on Monday morning, President Barack Obama signed new executive orders intended to spur swift action on both U.S. economic recovery and American energy independence.

Amid his string of new nominations, President Barack Obama last week named Jon Wellinghoff acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Wellinghoff—a Democrat—has been one of FERC’s five commissioners for the past three years.

German powerhouse Siemens AG on Monday said it would shed its 34% stake in the Franco-German joint venture AREVA NP S.A.S., citing a “lack of exercising entrepreneurial influence within the joint venture” as the reason behind the move.

Belarus, the country worst affected by the 1986 nuclear accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, last week moved forward with plans to build its first nuclear power plant, naming Russian company Atomstroiexport to build it.

The Scottish government has approved an application to operate a 4-MW wave energy project that would harness power from the Atlantic Ocean in Siadar Bay—one of the first marine renewable energy projects to be approved in the UK.

Following a press briefing this morning, President Barack Obama signed new executive orders intended to spur “swift action” on both U.S. economic recovery and American energy independence.

By Kennedy Maize   Congress will make a big mistake if it provides money for accelerated wind power development as part of the Obama administration’s new economic stimulus program, according to veteran energy analyst Glenn Schleede. Instead, he says in a recent privately-published paper, “Investment in energy efficient light bulbs would save more than five […]

By Kennedy Maize
Congress will make a big mistake if it provides money for accelerated wind power development as part of the Obama administration’s new economic stimulus program, according to veteran energy analyst Glenn Schleede. Instead, he says in a recent privately-published paper, “Investment in energy efficient light bulbs would save more than five times as much electricity in five years as an equal dollar investment in wind turbine would produce in 20 years.”

By Kennedy Maize A retired Entergy Co. executive, who has loads of hands-on operating experience at nuclear power plants, is a major contender for an open seat on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Daniel F. Packer Jr., 61, who was the first African-American to manage a U.S. nuclear power plant (Entergy’s Waterford plant), confirmed to […]

GE-Hitachi is reportedly expecting to get orders for six to eight nuclear power reactors in India while Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) and Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Friday they would jointly build Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactors and seek orders in the country.

Mississippi Power last week filed for a certificate of public convenience and necessity at the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in Kemper County. The plant represents the first advanced gasification generating facility with carbon capture capabilities in Mississippi, and one of the first in the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an oil-rich region that is preparing to accommodate a 9% annual growth in power consumption, last week signed separate agreements with the U.S. and Japan for the potential development of nuclear power.