The challenge for suppliers of aftermarket turbine blades is that their starting point is an existing blade and nothing else. There are no CAD models, drawings, measurements, tolerances, or inspection data associated with it. However, thanks to the latest in computer tools, a blade now can be digitally recreated to exact specifications and built using the latest design and manufacturing practices. Here’s an inside look at how turbine blades are captured, reconstructed, inspected, and remade to be better than the originals.

For the past 25 years, Cambridge Energy Research Associates has hosted an annual conference that has drawn the captains of the worldwide oil and gas and electricity industries. The 120 distinguished speakers at this year’s summit attracted more than 2,000 delegates from 55 countries, making it the largest and most diverse ever. Naturally, one of POWER’s contributing editors was there, too; here’s his take on what transpired.

Ten years ago, any self-respecting U.S. utility executive might have been drawn and quartered for publicly promoting a nuclear power revival. How times have changed. Today, more than half of America’s nuclear plants have outsourced their operations to specialty firms, and the prospect of a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. (see Cover Story) is brighter […]

Npower plans big coal plant in UK / Berkeley boffins make thermoelectric discovery / Rinspeed’s roadster: Fast, fun, and green / Dead chickens, the weirdest renewable / Siemens celebrating three big deals / Nevada Power picks P&W, CH2M Hill / Scuderi’s air-hybrid engine / Ovation for huge new Chinese coal plant / PG&E dips toe into wave power / POWER digest

The new congressional leadership has promised a "new" agenda for fighting climate change based on reducing the quantities and rate of growth of greenhouse gases (GHG) discharged to the atmosphere. My first question to the Democrats: Where have you been the past few years? My second: How much are you willing to spend to make […]

Winter storms ravage Nebraska grid / Waste-fired plant coming to Arizona / Wartsila lands jobs in Azerbaijan, Sweden / Yet another controversial LNG project / Siemens lands two-gasifier order in China / IndyCars drink nothing but ethanol / New Otto/diesel engine to debut in Russia / POWER digest / Readers talk back

The critical subset / Aging workforce challenges / Tighter tolerances in retrofits / Writing sensible start-up and shutdown procedures

Almost half of U.S. states now insist that their investor-owned electric utilities serve a specified percentage of their load with electricity from renewable resources by a date certain. Utilities struggling to comply with their mandate increasingly warn that they will be unable to achieve the required level on time. Yet even as utilities express these […]

Because water is more precious than power in many regions of the U.S., plant designers are more frequently specifying the use of treated wastewater for plant cooling. Using "gray water" poses its own challenges for critical service equipment like condensers and heat exchangers. Some problems—like corrosion—are familiar, whereas others are rare. But so far, none has been a match for the ingenuity of multidisciplinary design experts.

Power engineers are in a predicament: Technology is advancing at a dizzying pace, but we are unsure how to mine information from disparate sources or predict the next big thing. Becoming expert at finding technology hones your competitive edge in both the workplace and the marketplace. Bring your pick and shovel, and we’ll show you where to start digging.