Unlike their regulated counterparts, merchant power generators have increasingly struggled to compete over the last few years and the outlook for many is that this won’t change any time soon. While regulated power companies often enjoy near monopolies in their respective markets, merchant power companies build out their power generating capacity on a speculative basis […]

Driven by increased energy efficiency and the relocation of electricity-intensive industries, electricity demand and consumption has steadily declined in many developed markets during the last decade, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Yet middle- and working-class households, as well as small businesses, are spending more of their income on electricity than their parents’ generation. […]

Power plant control and monitoring can be complex given the need to integrate many different platforms. Adding to the complexity is the fact that HMI’s (Human-Machine Interface) supplied by the OEM often only interface with the OEMs controller and not with ancillary systems. Lastly, ongoing support and updates from the common operating system may be […]

Mechanical Dynamics and Analysis (MD&A) was contracted after a forced outage to perform a major overhaul on a cogeneration unit’s MS5001PA gas turbine, and to remove, test and inspect the generator field. Because the unit dispatches as baseload and the turbine is a critical asset, MD&A was asked to complete the repair work as quickly […]

Mechanical Dynamics and Analysis (MD&A) was retained by a utility to perform a stub-shaft repair of a generator rotor collector-end shaft. The customer reported that the generator rotor had suffered a collector ring failure and also a ground to the main shaft. Major arcing and heat damage occurred to the generator rotor forging shaft. The utility weighed […]

Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis (MD&A) experts recently performed a thermodynamic analysis to assist our client in converting their coal and natural gas plant to combined cycle operation. The customer was able to locate a gray market Gas turbine and Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). Our team modeled how each component would interact with one another, and were […]

MD&A’s San Antonio Service Center can extend the service life of gas turbine components whose OEM service limit has passed or whose configuration is no longer suitable to operate. Significant savings can be realized by opting for lower-cost repaired spares instead of new parts. Elevated temperatures take a big toll on gas turbine components. Repair […]

Mechanical Dynamics and Analysis inspected and repaired an A-10 frame High-Pressure rotor.   The unit was a 3600 rpm, 90 MW combined cycle unit.  MD&A’s Turbine-Generator Repair Facility performed the incoming inspections / evaluations, repair straightening of the rotor, final inspections, as well as high speed balance. Incoming inspections and evaluation consisted of blast cleaning, NDE, visual inspections, […]

New Jersey is yet another state expanding public access to cannabis for medical purposes and is poised to legalize access for recreational use. This means energy service providers and public utilities will

State-owned Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) operates the Shin Boryeong Thermal Power Plant (TPP), a two-unit, 2,000-MW ultrasupercritical bituminous-coal-fired power plant. Shin Boryeong TPP is an extension

China completed its first large commercial-scale parabolic-trough concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at the end of June. The 50-MW Delingha project built by CGN New Energy, a subsidiary of China General

South America’s first and only geothermal power plant, the 48-MW Cerro Pabellón project, sits at an elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level in Chile’s harsh and remote Atacama Desert. Building and

The Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry, reports that solar power has grown in the U.S. at a compounded annual rate of 59% since the solar investment

The inaugural integrated system plan (ISP) released by Australia’s Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in mid-July warns that the country is in the midst of a “transformative and unprecedented” rate of change

The Frades II pumped-storage hydro project in Portugal took advantage of existing dams to incorporate a scheme that includes the largest variable-speed reversible units installed in Europe. The facility

The power industry is changing and leading companies are turning to digital technologies to revolutionize their operations. Monitoring and diagnostics centers are leveraging vast amounts of data from around

Long-distance conveyors are a reliable and energy-efficient method of bulk material transport. Pipe conveyors—fully enclosed material handling systems—offer additional environmental protection and more

Palo Verde is the largest nuclear-generating site in the U.S. It has three of the five largest nuclear units in the country, with each pressurized water reactor licensed at almost 4,000 MWth. Like many plants

Though tidal energy is still considered by many to be in its nascent stages, power generated from turbines harnessing fast tidal flows in the same way wind turbines catch the wind has entered the commercial

Predictive maintenance is preferred over preventive maintenance for critical assets, but the correct application of advanced analytics is required to realize full value. Power plants of all types have a host

Israel Embarks on a Major Electricity Reform. Under a law passed on July 19, Israel will break up a monopoly held by state-owned Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) and open the country’s electricity sector to new

The U.S. power system is separated into three major components—the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The three operate almost independently

Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to realign the transportation sector and present an opportunity for the power industry to transform and reinvent itself in fundamental ways. But whether this

Pumps and pumping systems have multiple applications in power plants and can be located in several locations throughout a facility. These pumps are generally centrifugal and positive displacement pumps

According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, renewable energy is the fastest-growing energy source globally where 24% of the energy generated in 2015 came from renewable sources such as biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, wind, and biofuels. This is expected to increase to 31% by 2040 and will heavily depend on a number of […]

Energy companies are currently taking a hard look at distributed energy and microgrid technologies. That’s a good thing. Microgrids also need advanced communications networks to operate at optimum efficiency. That’s a fact. Microgrids offer incredible potential benefits, including the ability to disconnect from the traditional power grid and deliver electricity during blackouts, natural disasters and […]

According to the International Energy Agency, global natural gas trade has grown by more than 40% over the past 15 years. Over the next five years, current trade flows are expected to significantly diversify, boosted by development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. LNG trade, which grew by 11% in 2017 to 391 billion cubic […]

Through much of the developed world, we have come to rely on a steady flow of electricity just as we have a steady flow of air. Power outages are still disruptive, but they are few in number, and we have

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry last year petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in the nation’s generation resource mix. He wrote

An aluminum smelter in Odisha, India, built a 900-MW coal-fired captive power plant for its own power consumption. Though the plant features new generation turbogenerator sets, it was completed on time and on