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  • Shaft Alignment Phone/Tablet App

    LUDECA released a new version of its “Laser Align” mobile application. The application provides a free reference tool for shaft alignment of rotating equipment. It allows users to access important reference material and learn about key laser shaft alignment concepts, and it now has an interactive “Tolerance Table.” When users input their machine’s revolution per […]

  • High-Capacity Safety Valve

    Pentair Valves & Controls’ newly introduced Crosby HCI ISOFLEX is a high-capacity safety valve to help power plant operators reduce lifecycle costs and minimize shutdown periods. The valve ensures cost-effective power plant operation with a unique full-nozzle, flanged design and adjustable lift option that reduces maintenance costs while maximizing plant efficiency. Specifically designed for 300 […]

  • EPA Directs 36 States to Revise SIPs for Emissions During Plant Startup, Shutdown, Malfunction

    A rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) directs 36 states to revise their Clean Air Act State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to eliminate exemptions for excess emissions of air pollutants at power plants during startup, shutdown, or when the plant malfunctions.

  • Too Dumb to Meter, Part 10

    As the book title Too Dumb to Meter: Follies, Fiascoes, Dead Ends, and Duds on the U.S. Road to Atomic Energy implies, nuclear power has traveled a rough road. In this POWER exclusive, we present the 18th and 19th chapters, “The Great Uranium Conspiracy” and “Breeding at the Turkey Farm,” the final two chapters of the “False Scarcity and Fools for Fuels” section.

  • America’s Growth Corridors

    The familiar Red State–Blue State map is a symbolic means of quickly communicating political preferences. The maps aren’t meant to be predictive of job, economic, or population trends, yet a recent think tank’s report suggests the metaphor may have broader significance.

  • New Abrupt Arched Expansion Joint

    The new Garlock 204 EPS (extreme pressure service) abrupt arched expansion joint is now available for applications where necessary rated pressures exceed those of the Garlock Style 204 and 204 HP designs. Fully customizable and available in concentric or eccentric designs, the expansion joint features a seamless tube to ensure a reliable seal from flange […]

  • Promised Land: How Well Were You Prepared?

    Much of the natural gas industry was holding its breath when the Matt Damon film Promised Land came out in January, but a few groups weren’t waiting for the fallout.

  • EIA: U.S. Power Sector SO2, NOx Emissions Lowest Since 1990

    Power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the U.S. declined to their lowest level since 1990, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in early March.

  • Europe Embraces Shale Gas

    Several European governments have so far this year bucked a reluctance to extract shale gas via hydraulic fracking even as the practice continues to be strongly opposed in countries like France and Bulgaria.

  • Versatile Boiler Inspection Light

    Larson Electronics announced the release of a boiler inspection light with folding boom designed to provide versatile deployment capabilities and high-output illumination. The WALBL-2X1000WMH Boiler Light features a right-angle extension arm, wheeled base, and a pair of 1,000-W metal halide lamps for effective illumination during the servicing and maintenance of boilers and tanks. The boiler […]

  • A Rock and a Hard Place: California and the Monterey Shale

    The next big shale boom may be taking shape out West. But the challenges of developing the Monterey shale may not be what you think.

  • Four Major EPA Air and Water Rules Forthcoming Through May, Agency Schedule Shows

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates final regulations curbing greenhouse gas (GHG), mercury, and air toxics emissions from new sources could appear in the Federal Register by the end of April. Also forthcoming are final cooling water intake rules and proposed effluent guidelines. The coal ash rule, which has no target date for a final rule, may not be issued this year, the agency said.

  • Bulgarian PM Quits Over Power Price Protests

    Protests in more than 20 cities by tens of thousands of Bulgarians over January electricity bills that averaged more than €100 ($130) forced the country’s prime minister, Boyko Borissov, and his center-right government to resign in mid-February.

  • PV Panel Surge Protection Devices

    The ABB Low Voltage Products division released a line of OVR PV UL 1449 3rd Edition, pluggable DC DIN Rail surge protection devices (SPD) specifically designed for photovoltaic (PV) applications. The new SPDs protect solar panels from damage from direct and indirect lightning strikes, which solar panels are especially susceptible to because of their large, […]

  • Power, Gas CEOs Share Mixed Views on the Future

    The power and gas industries may be joined at the hip, but judging from the talk at a recent conference, not everyone is excited about future directions.

  • Germany’s Expensive Experiment

    Germany’s race away from nuclear and coal to a system heavy with renewables has not followed the expected course. Nuclear and coal plants were supposed to close. Instead, gas plants are closing and coal is making a comeback.

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Subsidy Tug-of-War

    Government decisions to subsidize renewable power to increase its capacity for environmental and security reasons have spurred investments but also increased cross-border tensions. Increasingly, legal actions that seek to settle international trade disputes allege unfair subsidization.

  • The Pacific Northwest’s Wind Fleet Integration Struggles

    Mae West said, “Too much of a good thing can be taxing.” The Pacific Northwest has a good thing—plentiful, carbon-free power from its huge wind and hydroelectric fleets. But wind’s huge variability can be taxing. The Northwest’s scramble to integrate growing wind generation, and the resulting litigation melee, underscore the importance of quickly solving the variable resource integration puzzle.

  • Gas-Power Linkages: Many Moving Pieces

    With the increasing interdependency of the natural gas and electricity, the number of economic and regulatory factors than can shift the future direction of both industries is growing substantially.

  • Mayor Bloomberg Is Wrong on Coal

    New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently gave a presentation in Washington, where he stated: “Coal is dead.” Fortunately, both for the prosperity of the United States and the goal to alleviate poverty for billions of people across the world, Bloomberg’s projection is much different from what is actually happening.

  • Battling White Rust

    Does your power plant use a chiller for combustion turbine inlet air cooling or other processes that reject heat? If so, there is a good chance you also have an auxiliary cooling tower or a wet surface air cooler to cool these systems.

  • When Dinosaurs Roamed California: The Coming Extinction of Fossil Fuel Use

    California’s push to boost its renewable capacity may be doing more than spurring the development of wind and solar. A review of recent data suggests the state’s regulatory schemes have the potential to spell the end of fossil-fuel generation altogether.

  • Bad Policy Built on Bogus Study

    Wind industry’s “inflated numbers” and “erroneous conclusions” misled Washington lawmakers to extend the production tax credit.

  • Filling the Hole in California’s Capacity Procurement Plan

    In February, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) yet again missed an important opportunity to correct structural flaws that have plagued the state’s wholesale generation market in the wake of the 2001 energy crisis.

  • Carbon Capture for Gas Power Appears on the Horizon

    You may think of carbon capture and sequestration as a coal industry issue, but two forward-thinking companies are joining forces to make it work for gas.

  • Kemper County IGCC Project Update

    The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant located in Kemper County, Mississippi, is a 2 x 1 plant that will produce 582 MW at peak and 524 MW fired on syngas, with ammonia, sulfuric acid, and carbon dioxide as by-products. The carbon dioxide will be used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Engineering was completed in Q3 2012, and the facility’s commercial operation date is planned for May 2014.

  • TVA’s Paradise Unit 2 Sets New Continuous Operations Record

    Paradise Fossil Plant Unit 2’s record-setting performance of 259+ days of continuous operation for a cyclone-fired boiler is attributed to excellence in plant operations and maintenance processes, a diligent and well-trained staff, and leadership that places high value on both. The Paradise experience proves that plants can’t help getting older, but they don’t have to get old.

  • New Gas Projects for North American Shale Gas: Come One, Come All

    Low natural gas prices have created opportunities across the market, but also challenges for producers. Several sectors are poised to grow natural gas demand in the coming decade and restore more balance to the supply-demand equation.
  • Project Planning Key to Smooth J.T. Deely 2 SCR Retrofit

    Recent experience on the Deely 2 SCR retrofit project reminds us that the time spent in thoroughly planning a project prior to the start of construction is usually repaid with avoided construction delays.

  • Preparing for a NERC CIP Audit

    Undergoing a NERC CIP audit is an ordeal, particularly when the ground rules are not clearly spelled out in advance. An experienced NERC CIP auditor lays out a comprehensive five-step plan that will show you how to prepare for a successful audit.