With its advanced point infrared combustible gas – sensing element, the new Model IR400 Infrared (IR) Point Combustible Gas Detector from General Monitors delivers reliable protection against explosive hydrocarbon gases with a low-power (4.8 W) design that requires no routine calibration. The detector measures the absorption of infrared radiation passing through a volume of gas […]

The power industry will be challenged in the coming year to chart its strategic direction and meet investor expectations, although business conditions should take a turn for the better going into 2010.

Tungsten inert gas and plasma welding require tungsten electrodes with perfectly ground and polished tips. The improved Techweld TEG – 3 Tungsten Electrode Grinder, from British company Huntingdon Fusion Techniques Ltd. uses a diamond wheel to grind tungsten electrodes longitudinally and produce the same tungsten points every time. This prevents arc flicker or wander caused […]

Many opponents of climate change policies and regulations argue that it is unfair to penalize some sectors — like power generation — more heavily than others when it’s difficult to prove precisely where specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are coming from, where they’re going, and what effect they are having. Toward the ends of scientific understanding and sound public policy, scientists are making progress in isolating GHG sources and sinks.

Though the resurgence of interest in nuclear power in recent years has spurred development of an assortment of reactor designs, emphasis has mostly been on those with capacities to produce thousands of megawatt-hours of baseload power, as is the case with designs from General Electric, AREVA, Westinghouse, and Mitsubishi that are under active review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Power projects using any of those designs will be developed at the cost of many billions of investment dollars.

In an effort to more than double its power capacity by 2030, the Brazilian government in November approved construction of a controversial $3.9 billion hydroelectric dam on the Madeira River, in the Amazon. When completed in 2013, the Jirau hydroelectric plant could add 3,300 MW to the country’s already massive 59 GW hydroelectric capacity.

Most forecasting reports concentrate on political or regulatory events to predict future industry trends. Frequently overlooked are the more empirical performance trends of the principal power generation technologies. Solomon & Associates queried its many power plant performance databases and crunched some numbers for us to identify those trends.

New Zealand’s biggest geothermal energy project in 20 years was officially opened in Kawerau in late November. The state-owned Kawerau Geothermal Station (Figure 5), on the North Island, adds 100 MW to the national grid.

Courtesy: Platts Data source: Platts Energy Advantage and POWERmap. All rights reserved.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has described landfills as an "effectively untapped resource" for renewable energy. The agency estimates that landfills are the source of about 12% of global methane emissions. (Methane is about 21 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than CO2.) The EPA estimated that there were some 1,000 projects around […]

Thirty-five percent of the world’s energy comes from oil, and 96% of that oil is used for transportation. The current number of vehicles globally is estimated to be 700 million; that number is expected to double overall by 2030, and to triple in developing countries. Now consider that the U.S. has 27% of the world’s supply of coal yet only 2% of the oil. Coal-to-liquids technologies could bridge the gap between U.S. fuel supply and demand.

This spring, Xcel Energy, along with state and technology partners, is set to test what the utility says is the first battery capable of storing wind energy. The ability to store energy from renewable generation sources with variable output is key to maximizing the value of renewable power in general and to Xcel’s “smart grid” plans in particular.

The future of high-level nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain remains uncertain as a new U.S. administration considers its nuclear agenda. The European Union’s policies remain just as unsettled. With new projects under construction in several countries and a nuclear ban in effect in others, no unified long-term storage approach is in sight.

On October 21, a mass of basketball-sized jellyfish managed to accomplish what activists of every stripe had failed to do: Abruptly shut down Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.’s (PG&E) 1,118-MW Diablo Canyon Unit 2 reactor in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. (Figure 8).

Power plants in Pennsylvania must be prepared to meet the ozone and fine particulate emissions standards established by the newly reinstated Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) as of Jan. 1, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PDEP) said Monday.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has vowed to clean up the 5.4 million cubic yards of wet coal ash—enough to flood more than 3,000 acres one foot deep—that spilled last week when the earthen retaining wall of an ash pond at the Kingston Fossil Plant, about 40 miles west of Knoxville, failed.

French nuclear reactor builder AREVA and machinery giant Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced early last week they would join forces with others to design, develop, fabricate, and supply nuclear fuel to Japanese customers, while confirming their intent to jointly invest in a dedicated U.S. nuclear fuel fabrication facility.

South Korea will reportedly invest 37 trillion won ($28.5 billion) over the next 13 years in several new nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions.

Nearly a 100 projects around the world—with more than 80 of them in the U.S.—are assessing various aspects of carbon capture and storage (CCS), a database released last week by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) shows.

Demand response and advanced metering programs have made significant progress in serving more consumers across the country, says a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report that charts the expansion of these energy-saving programs since 2006.

By Kennedy Maize At a pleasant Christmas dinner with friends last week, a smart diner posed a question: when should the government or the market have known that the U.S. (and the world’s, as it turns out) financial system was in life-threatening peril? After pausing to scratch my head, I proffered an idea: it all […]

Two days before Christmas, the Federal Appeals Court for the District of Columbia reinstated (PDF) the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes changes to it. Judge Judith W. Rogers said, "The parties’ persuasive demonstration, extending beyond short-term health benefits to impacts on planning by states and industry with respect to […]

By Kennedy Maize Some of my friends on the left have been lamenting the Cabinet choices of president-elect Barack Obama. One of them wrote in an email recently, “As the new government was put together, brick by brick, a disturbing pattern emerged. Time and again, those who had braved the perils of the Clinton… threat […]

By Kennedy Maize Here’s an interesting new wrinkle on wind power, from a researcher at the University of Illinois. According to Somnath Baidya Roy, turbulence from large wind farms can harm growth of crops in the local countryside. Baidya Roy notes that in recent years, wind power has moved from small, isolated turbines to large […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week admitted it would not finalize two air pollution rules that would have eased restrictions on coal power plants before the incoming administration takes office on Jan. 20.

Steven Chu, the 1997 Nobel physics laureate who now directs the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, will be President-elect Barack Obama’s energy secretary. Lisa Jackson, chief of staff for New Jersey’s governor, will head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor of Los Angeles, will lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday approved by a 5-0 vote the licensing and installation of the nation’s first commercial hydrokinetic power station.

A subsidiary of Germany’s RWE Group, the UK’s Peel Energy, and Denmark’s DONG Energy have formed a joint venture partnership to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration project in the UK.

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), a global alliance of GE and Hitachi that was formed last year, said on Monday it had notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its intent to renew design certification for its Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR).

The U.S. coal power industry saw a spate of important announcements this week.