Latest Stories by POWER

Catalyst regeneration: The business case
Catalyst regeneration: The business case

By regenerating the catalyst of its selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system instead of purchasing a new one, the typical 500-MW coal-fired power plant can save about $500,000 to $1,000,000 annually.…



The 2005 Global Energy Awards
The 2005 Global Energy Awards

The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City was the site of the 2005 Platts Global Energy Awards (GEA). The seventh annual black-tie soiree was the most global ever. Some 400…


Estimating SCR installation costs
Estimating SCR installation costs

The goal of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) signed into law almost a year ago is to reduce NOx emissions by 60%, relative to 2003 levels, across 28 eastern…


Gas storage investment stymied
Gas storage investment stymied

  The U.S. needs to add 600 to 800 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas storage capacity ASAP. Independent storage providers (ISPs) are the entities best equipped to build…


Focus on O&M (February 2006)

MECHANICAL CFB refractory repair Refractory, the heat-resistant materials that line the inside of most furnaces, are an important component of any steam generator because they protect expensive and vital parts…


Duck and cover!

FACILITIES MAINTENANCE Duck and cover! Tippi Hedren learned the hard way—in Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 classic, "The Birds"—the damage that a flock of angry seagulls can do. But what do you do…


Cascadia’s newest highway
Cascadia’s newest highway

The reliability of service to millions of electricity consumers from Puget Sound to Portland improved significantly with the completion of the 84-mile-long, 500-kV Grand Coulee–Bell transmission line (Figure 4). The…


Bay Area T&D upgrade

In early December 2004, the Portrero substation received an early Christmas present. It was a shiny new static VAR compensator (SVC) from ABB (Raleigh, N.C.) that will improve the stability…


Gas-fired tomatoes
Gas-fired tomatoes

Abating the emissions of power plants is a very hot topic these days. So it's not surprising that people are coming up with innovative ways to not only cut emissions…


Tapping the western sun

In an effort to tap the significant solar energy resources of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Texas, and Colorado, the U.S. DOE will support efforts to install a total…