A coal-fired power plant operating in the western U.S. was experiencing short gearbox life in its coal-pulverizing operation. After an annual gearbox inspection, oil analysis results indicated that the AGMA 6EP (ISO 320) gear oil recommended by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) had failed to provide adequate lubrication and protection. This conclusion was based on […]

The Gasification Technologies Council (GTC, www.gasification.org) was created in 1995 with a straightforward mission: to promote the greater use of gasification as an environmentally and economically preferred alternative for the production of power, fuels, and chemicals from low-value energy sources. Those energy sources include high-sulfur coal, petroleum coke, and wastes. Since that time the GTC […]

Reliant Energy Commits $350 Million for Environmental Upgrades at Two Key Facilities Reliant Energy has announced plans to install state-of-the-art emission control systems at two Pennsylvania power plants, a major step in the company’s strategy for maximizing the long-term value of its power generation assets while reducing air emissions. The utility, Reliant Energy, estimated it […]

In order to promote coal-based technologies, the U.S. Department of Energy will be assisting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the selection of projects to receive tax credits. According to the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, recent legislation has been designed to advance cleaner coal-based power generation and gasification technologies. The Energy Policy Act of […]

Iberdrola is rapidly making a name for itself on the world stage for building large, very efficient combined-cycle plants and for being the largest owner and operator of wind power plants. The utility’s most recent achievement was the successful commissioning of the Arcos de la Frontera Group III project, which marks the commercial debut of General Electric’s Frame 9FB gas turbine.

The world’s largest solar electric system was dedicated in June 2005 in Mühlhausen, Germany. The 10-MW system comprises three separate but interconnected photovoltaic parks in different cities that use an innovative sun-tracking system to maximize their outputs. After one year of operation, all three parks are still going strong—as you’d expect, due to their dearth of moving parts.

A great location, a fish-friendly cooling system, and the extent of environmental remediation needed to permit it distinguish this repowering project on the Hudson River just south of the New York State capital.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration facility supplies critical electricity and steam to New York City. Situated on an historic site, the plant has earned a series of awards and was the first cogeneration plant to be accepted into both the U.S. EPA National Environmental Performance Track and OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program in 2005. Through Delta Power’s unique asset management approach that brings added value to projects, BNYC has reinvented itself from a struggling, prematurely aging facility into one of the nation’s leading plants.

Commercial operation of PacifiCorp’s first new power plant in more than 20 years coincided with the company’s acquisition by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company this past March. Currant Creek treads lightly on the environment, provides needed power to PacifiCorp’s eastern control area, and has demonstrated its commitment to be a good corporate citizen of the local community. By any account, Currant Creek is a model for how to develop a power project.

With the commercial debut of the first of six planned 470-MW turbines in December 2005, the time has come to pay homage to the sheer size (2,820 MW) and longevity (13 years and counting) of TEPCO’s Kannagawa Hydropower Plant. By the time Unit 2 is commissioned in 2010, and Units 3 through 6 go on-line "in and after 2016," two generations of engineers, technicians, and builders will have worked on the "pure" pumped-storage project since its inception. As if those stats weren’t impressive enough, Kannagawa marks the debut of "splitter runners" for pump-turbines. They increase the effective head of the plant to the highest in the world: 2,142 feet, at a flow of 135,000 gallons/second. That’s a very large pump-turbine, indeed.