Backup generators are gaining a new lease on life in data centers. For decades, they have been a rarely used part of the infrastructure, existing for those moments when other power sources fail. But their profile is shifting due to the chronic shortage of available power across North America. Data center developers have grown impatient […]

Boilers are all around us. From home water heating to massive industrial applications, they are everywhere. This article covers boiler basics, including the basic types of packaged boilers and their thermal configurations.

Back in 2015, ground broke on a combined heat and power (CHP) facility in Florida. It was created as a partnership between Chesapeake Utilities Corp., its Florida Public Utilities (FPU) subsidiary, and Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (RYAM), and comprised a Solar Titan 250 gas turbine and a Rentech heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). Ten years on, how is the $40 million facility doing, how has the partnership worked out, and what lessons have been learned along the way? POWER magazine took a trip to the plant to answer those questions.

As electricity demand soars during summer heat waves, many power plants find themselves constrained by their ability to cool water efficiently for reuse. Innovative floating cooling technology is enabling

With artificial intelligence (AI) causing a surge in electricity demand across the world, power capacity and availability are more vital than ever. The race is on to build more generation assets. In the

Large distances are something you get used to if you live in Australia. Perth, on the west coast, is about 2,500 miles away from Brisbane on the east coast. Even within the state of Western Australia (WA), the

Many power companies face significant risks from coal ash ponds. New solutions based on water flow physics are showing promise in preventing the spread of hazardous particulate matter. Existing coal plants are

Simple cycle gas turbines provide efficiency levels of around 35% to 40%. Combined cycle units boost efficiency to 60% and beyond. But another option is emerging that combines the attributes of simple and combined cycle designs. This hybrid configuration uses a single power turbine expander and recycles exhaust heat back to the combustor to combine […]

The Australian state of Queensland is in the midst of a rapid changeover from coal to renewables. From 70% coal generation today, it is switching to 70% renewables by 2032. This means phasing out 8.1 GW of coal and some of its 3 GW of gas generation, while simultaneously building at least 25 GW of […]

Back in the early 2000s, some controversy emerged about the practice of spraying large amounts of fog directly into the compressor. Some claimed that this led to blade erosion, pitting, and scaling. So, is it safe to use wet compression on gas turbines by pumping water droplets into the compressor inlet? The answer is yes—provided […]

There is plenty of enthusiasm around hydrogen as a possible alternative fuel to natural gas in combustion processes. Some hope it can eventually replace natural gas in applications such as utility boilers. However, any transition to 100% hydrogen has plenty of challenges to overcome due to it having such fundamentally different combustion characteristics. This gives […]

MeeFog’s very first installation of inlet air fogging was done at Harbor Cogen in Southern California in 1991 on a GE 7EA turbine where it continues to be used for power augmentation to this day (Figure 1). When it was installed, the fogging arrays were placed upstream of the air filters. Since that time, more […]

As coal, gas, and nuclear plants are retired, and wind and solar resources are added to the power grid, stability can become a problem. Understanding the solutions that are available to help manage potential issues is important for decision-makers so they can select the best options for their system. Grid stability and system strength have […]