I was putting the finishing touches on this month’s editorial when I received an email from a reader who owns a company that serves the power industry. He was very complimentary of an article I recently wrote. "Goes without saying," I was thinking to myself. However, actually saying it goes a long way in my book, and I enjoy hearing from readers — at least most of the time.

Rotork Process Controls introduced the SM-6000 S2, an electric rotary actuator for a wide range of heavy-duty damper drive applications found in power plants. The actuator provides high speeds and high torque for continuous modulating duty. It also offers positioning accuracy and can operate well in harsh and rugged environments. The SM-6000 S2 includes an […]

News items of interest to power industry professionals.

Chicago Blower has developed a series of 16 higher-pressure blowers that are suited to combustion air, aeration, cooling and drying systems, and other high-volume processes. The blowers support pressures of up to 91-inch water gauge and volumes of up to 18,000 cubic feet per minute. Features include a lightweight aluminum alloy wheel design to reduce […]

Performing regular oil changes on remote generators is far from simple or cost-effective. Here’s how one firm harnessed technology to extend oil change intervals from one week to two months.

Washington-based software developer Dynamic Systems Inc. launched the Basic Tool Manager, a software based on barcode technology, which has been developed for companies that want to reduce the loss of tools and save time tracking down equipment and tools. Using a wireless barcode reader, users can scan a personnel badge and then a piece of […]

There has been much excitement about the advent of the "smart grid" recently, especially because of the strong push by the Obama administration. Despite the simple-sounding term, the smart grid is not a simple concept.

Posi Lock’s hydraulic line featuring the patented "Safety Cage" has been expanded to include the PH-113IE, a three-jaw, 25-ton internal/external puller that is designed to solve problems associated with the removal of gears, bearings, and other press-fit items. The PH-113IE’s internal puller jaws have a reach from 2.5 inches to 7 inches and a spread […]

The debate over the benefits of using digital bus networks as the communications backbone of new power plants is all but settled. The technology is maturing, and the reliability of digital hardware is superior to that of hardwired systems. Newmont Gold Mining’s 200-MW TS Power Plant is perhaps the power industry’s best example of how a plantwide digital controls architecture can provide exceptional reliability and be significantly less costly to install.

An Arkansas appeals court last week overturned on technical grounds a key decision by the state regulators that authorized construction of Southwestern Electric Power Co.’s (SWEPCO’s) 600-MW John W. Turk Jr. coal-fired power plant in Hempstead County—the nation’s first ultrasupercritical project. SWEPCO on Monday filed an appeal with the Arkansas Supreme Court and said it would continue the plant’s construction because delays could prove costly.