A century ago, boiler explosions were an all-too-familiar event. But with the universal adoption of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes in 1914, explosions caused by poor design or manufacturing became relics of history. Electrical classification codes had the same effect on safety. This article explains how designers and operators practically apply those standards. Code details and samples of area classification drawings for a gas turbine plant are included in an online supplement (see end of story).

The 2005 amendment to the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act created some unique challenges for the design of cogeneration plants in general and combined-cycle cogeneration plants in particular. Because utilities are no longer obligated to buy electricity at "avoided cost" from qualifying facilities, plant owners must simultaneously balance power and thermal demand efficiently and economically. Here’s a prescription for your next plant design.

ELECTRIC POWER 2007, sponsored by POWER magazine, will be presented at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., May 1 through May 3, 2007. A full agenda of preconference workshops and tutorials is scheduled for Monday, April 30.

March 1886 POWER reported on the latest development of a new and improved engine: "The chief feature of the Corliss engine [from Kendall & Roberts, Cambridgeport, Mass.] is the valve gear, which consists of four cylindrical valves, two each for admission and exhaust, operated from a central swing or stud plate; the steam valves being […]

As David Wojick explains in his article, "Mapping technology chaos," on page 36, power engineers are under the gun to innovate. The president and Congress are calling for dramatic new advances in power technology. They are even considering legislating progress in areas such as efficiency and emissions control. Turning data into information Power engineers know […]

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 […]

This month’s photo was submitted by David Carter, power generation supervisor at Springerville Generating Station. Readers of POWER may recall that Springerville Unit 3 — the first pulverized coal – fired unit built in the U.S. in more than a decade — was that magazine’s 2006 Plant of the Year. Located in northeastern Arizona, the […]