TVA may revive Bellefonte / GE’s globetrotting Jenbaches / Largest PV plant taking shape / When will PV be competitive? / Siemens goes to the wall with solar / Breakthrough in metamaterials / POWER digest

POWER readers today face severe problems in the electricity supply business. But a much bigger problem will soon burst on the scene: the peaking of world oil production. Experts have forecast peaking since shortly after the first U.S. well began production in 1859, and many subsequent forecasts of peaking have proven incorrect. Oil reserves dip […]

The web: Ideal for skills development / Upgrading a New Orleans pumping station / Turn plant failures into successes

A utility executive responsible for procuring renewable power recently lamented that, at the time of contract execution, renewable “projects” are typically at a very preliminary stage of development, offering scant information about project specifics. Regulatory or other objectives often cause the utility to require that the power purchase agreement be executed before critical permits have […]

POWER congratulates DONG Energy and Siemens Power Generation on the October 18 inauguration of their 90-MW Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm. This project was the first commercial application of Siemens’ new 3.6-MW wind turbine and exemplifies how the right developer and supplier team can quickly add much-needed offshore wind power to a country’s generation mix.

Central Vermont Public Service developed the nation’s first farm-to-consumer renewable energy choice by using cow manure to generate electricity. CVPS gave beleaguered farms new economic hope; developed a generation system that provides clean, renewable energy; and helped solve numerous manure management environmental challenges. CVPS and Cow Power’s four member dairies are recognized as a 2007 Top Plant for generating renewable energy one cow at a time.

Concentrating solar thermal projects fell out of favor more than 15 years ago, when the last SEGS plant was commissioned. But advances in reflective mirror, thermal receiver, and tracking system technologies have significantly improved the systems’ energy conversion efficiency at a much lower capital cost. POWER recognizes Nevada Solar One as a 2007 Top Plant for pushing the limits of solar thermal technology and for being the first of a new generation of concentrating solar projects now being developed around the world.

A Luminant-Bechtel team completed replacement of four steam generators and the reactor vessel head—plus almost 200 other work packages—in a short, 55-day outage at Comanche Peak Unit 1. Matching or exceeding this schedule will become the goal for those who follow.

Detroit Edison teamed with Washington Group International to complete a first-of-its-kind nuclear retrofit project: replacing two moisture separator reheaters during a single 35-day outage with a perfect safety record. POWER recognizes this significant accomplishment by naming Fermi 2 Power Plant a 2007 Top Plant.

Just under a year ago, Omaha Public Power District completed perhaps the most complex nuclear power plant renovation in the history of the industry in a scant 85 days—five fewer days than the original plan called for. POWER recognizes Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station as a Top Plant for packing more work into one outage than was thought possible, and then executing the plan ahead of schedule and below budget.