Microturbine technology has evolved from early systems of 30 kW to 70 kW to today’s systems, which can have individual ratings of 200 kW to 250 kW. Packages up to 1 MW are now available that can be assembled into multipac units for projects of 5 MW to 10 MW. These modern units are packaged with integrated digital protection, synchronization, and controls; they produce high combined heat and power efficiencies; and they are capable of using multiple fuels.

Correction In the September issue’s “Taming Condenser Tube Leaks, Part I,” the first full paragraph in the main text on page 57 should say, “If chloride and sulfate in the steam cannot be maintained below 8 ppb….” POWER regrets the error.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns had it right. Using the power to see ourselves as we really are, and as others see us, is a key to leadership in business.

Swedish company Vattenfall in late September officially opened the 300-MW Thanet Offshore Wind Farm in southeast England. Covering an area of 35 square kilometers, the installation comprising 100 Vestas V90 turbines, each 115 meters (m) high, is the largest offshore wind farm in the world to date.

Presenters at the inaugural GridWise Global Forum in Washington, D.C., September 21 to 23 had a lot to say about the prospects for smarter grids. This synopsis of facts and opinions shared at the event, which attracted several smart grid A-listers, looks at the major challenges ahead, especially for the U.S.

Sometimes we do things for the wrong reason . . . that turns out to be exactly right.

The pilot-scale project at Georgia Power’s Plant Yates near Newnan, Ga.—the first step in one of the industry’s largest demonstrations of a start-to-finish coal-fired power plant carbon capture and storage system—reached a significant milestone this September, capturing the greenhouse gas for the first time.

Turkey, a country that has long vied to become part of the European Union, is finally part of its grid, at least. The nation’s power system was synchronized with Continental Europe’s interconnected grid this September, marking the beginning of a year-long trial period in which security and performance will be monitored.

In August, researchers from the University of Cincinnati who are working on creating an artificial foam that could absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the flue gas at power plants and convert it into biofuel won the grand prize at the 2010 Earth Awards in London.

TVA’s 550-MW Combined-Cycle Plant Starts Operations. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Sept. 30 officially began operating the Lagoon Creek Combined Cycle Plant, a 550-MW natural gas–fired plant, near Brownsville, Tenn. The federal utility said that the new plant, the first new power generation source built by TVA since 2002, would provide power during days […]