Ultrasonic testing (UT) has long been a key method for detecting defects and service-induced degradation in nuclear and fossil plant components and for supporting remaining component life assessment. But it

Germany’s nuclear power–producing companies will be able to shoulder the costs of the nuclear phase-out—including costs for decommissioning and the disposal of radioactive waste. That’s according to

Baranof Island is home to Sitka, Alaska. Located on the outer coast of Alaska’s Inside Passage, it is accessible only by air and sea (although once on the island, standard forms of transportation are

Siemens, the only provider of direct-current (DC) offshore wind connection projects, in October unveiled a potentially game-changing technology that it says enables cheaper and simpler grid connection of wind

With its vast resources of oil, gas, coal, and tar sands—some of the largest in the world—the province of Alberta has long been known as Canada’s fuel tank. Coal- and gas-fired power has supplied the

GE Completes Alstom Acquisition. GE announced on Nov. 2 that a $10.6 billion deal to acquire Alstom ’s power and grid business is complete. Alstom will now entirely refocus its activities on rail transport

Just how fast are things moving in solar? When we received the nomination for the massive Desert Sunlight Solar Farm in late April, the 550-MW facility was the largest solar power plant in the world, sharing

The Great Rift Valley is a massive continental fault system that runs 6,000 kilometers (km) from Mozambique to Jordan. In Kenya, the East African nation that is neatly halved by the equator, the Rift Valley is

From space, the 12.7-kilometer (km) Sihwa Lake tidal barrage that houses a 400-meter (m)-long tidal power plant looks like a delicate strand stretched across one of many bays and inlets characterizing the

The first effluent limitation guidelines update since 1982 is game-changing for many U.S. power plants.

You can’t spell C-S-P without S-P-A-I-N. Though there are now many nations with concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in operation, and nations with larger ones than Spain possesses, it’s difficult to

GE Evaporation/Solidification System Specifically Designed for Flue Gas Desulfurization Wastewater GE’s Current Biological and Chemical Systems Also Will Meet New EPA Rules New GE Solution is Cost-Effective, Reduces Capital and Operational Expenses  ORLANDO—November 17, 2015—GE (NYSE: GE) today introduced a new evaporation/solidification technology for flue gas desulfurization (FGD) to meet the recently released U.S. Environmental […]

Turnkey solution delivers user-friendly, actionable information for business improvement LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Nov. 9, 2015 – The new Wonderware Office Bundle from Schneider Electric Software streamlines the ability to access and interpret operations data, bringing “big data” benefits to a new set of users. The solution’s easy installation and native connectivity to plant floor and […]

One of the “flexibility” measures built into the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the option for states to join multi-state emissions trading programs for carbon dioxide. Panelists in a session focused on this issue at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) annual meeting in Austin largely agreed on […]

Comments made at the annual meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) suggest that the regulatory group and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been in regular dialog throughout the process of developing the Clean Power Plan (CPP), arguably the most complex environmental regulation affecting the power generation sector and electric utilities. […]

The operation will allow the company to increase its turnover twofold in the coming five years, becoming an international leader in the gas turbine sector with an integrated business model, and expanding its markets in Europe, the Middle East and the United States Following the EU Commission approval on the 8th September 2015 of General Electric’s acquisition […]

The global market for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels shows no signs of slowing down, with cumulative installed capacity expected to reach 700 GW and annual demand to pass 100 GW by 2020, according to GTM Research. This booming market has spurred manufacturers to introduce a variety of innovations intended to increase panel efficiency and reduce […]

AREVA has installed the first-ever boiling water reactor (BWR) assemblies in the U.S. that features an 11×11 fuel rod array, the French nuclear giant revealed this September. The new fuel design, the ATRIUM 11, has been used to produce power at two nuclear plants since April, though AREVA declined to name the reactors. However, the […]

South Africa reached a milestone this September when it put online its first large-scale project owned by an independent power producer (IPP). The inauguration of the 335-MW Dedisa Peaking Power plant located

Dutch Court Clears Eemshaven Coal Plant for Operation. A Dutch court on Sept. 9 rejected claims that an environmental license issued for RWE’s 1.6-GW Eemshaven coal-fired power plant was issued improperly, clearing the way for the $3.36 billion plant to begin operations at full capacity. Environmental groups have opposed the plant’s location near nature reserves. […]

India, the world’s most coal-dependent nation, has over the last few months very publicly shifted its stance on coal power. In October, the country announced its commitment for the upcoming COP21 global

Two hyperbolic cooling towers rise 495 feet over Exelon Corp.’s Byron Generating Station about 110 miles west of Chicago, Ill. The towers help cool the two Westinghouse pressurized water reactors that are capable of generating up to 2,346 MW at the site. Like all classic wet transfer hyperbolic cooling towers (Figure 1), the Byron Generating […]

Begun with grand ambitions in the early 1980s, the second unit at Argentina’s Atucha site ran smack into the country’s economic crises in the following decade. But a determined crew brought the project to completion after a 13-year hiatus through a focus on rebuilding the nation’s nuclear labor force. As with many other nations in […]

The nearly 4-GW, three-unit Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station remains the largest generator of electricity in the U.S. for the 23rd consecutive year, producing more than 30 million MWh in 2014, for the 10th time (the only plant in the U.S. to do so), all while using only treated wastewater for cooling. Palo Verde Nuclear […]

As many coal-fired power plants designed for baseload service are asked to cycle, unforeseen stresses have been introduced to boiler pressure parts. Understanding the effects and implementing mitigation strategies could prevent premature component failure and keep facilities operating reliably. On August 3, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Clean Power Plan, which calls […]

Creeped out and fatigued—that’s the state of many coal-fired boilers these days. Understanding failure mechanisms and suitable testing methods for identifying potential trouble can help you find problems before the problems find you. Even as the current regulatory environment pushes new power generation to utilize natural gas over other fuel sources, a significant amount of […]

See if you can fill in the blanks: “A debate has been created after a paper was published in the BLANK Journal, suggesting the new BLANK Guidelines… are biased and based on an incomplete survey of current studies.” That quote from Digital Journal, referring to the British Medical Journal and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, could […]

Coal dust combustion events injured employees and damaged equipment at Laramie River Station in May 2013. Any dust-filled facility could consider implementing some of the plant’s corrective actions to reduce the risk of experiencing a similar incident. When Laramie River Station (LRS), near Wheatland, Wyo., was built nearly 35 years ago, it was state-of-the-art. Constructed […]

On August 8, 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) was signed into law. It remains, arguably, the last significant piece of energy legislation to be enacted in the U.S. The changes wrought by EPAct are far-reaching and controversial, and for the gas and electric industry, perhaps no change has been more significant than […]

Largely dependent on imported fuel oil, many island systems must grapple with soaring electricity costs and reliability issues, in part because they are isolated and they don’t benefit from economies of scale. But some nations are seeking alternatives. It’s the same story all over the world. To fuel their economies and support growing populations, geographically […]