Instrumentation & Controls

The Lackawanna Energy Center in Pennsylvania entered commercial operation Jan. 15, with the $1.5 billion project heralded by its developer, Invenergy, as among the most “technically sophisticated” combined cycle natural gas-fired plants in operation. The 1,485-MW facility, in the borough of Jessup in Lackawanna County, was completed ahead of schedule and features three General Electric […]

The Optimization and Upgrades (OAU) Division of EthosEnergy is singularly focused on growth. As part of its portfolio of independent service offerings, EthosEnergy OAU offers third-party staffing and operations services for utility and commercial power plants. Among the challenges of meeting its aggressive growth goals, OAU needs to serve all its clients’ plants with equal effectiveness, regardless of generation capacity, infrastructure complexity, and staffing model.

Join us to learn how you can teach your old plant new tricks as we dive deeper into the industry drivers, the operational challenges that face us all, and how you can redefine performance for a more efficient, secure, and profitable future of your business.

Digital technology is everywhere today including in most power plants. Computer hardware and software are changing the way plants are operated and maintained. Many technology experts will tell you that

A distribution center in Finland is installing what is being called the country’s largest industrial microgrid, a system that will use 100% renewable energy. The system is being built by Schneider Electric

Control rooms are vital for organizations to efficiently and effectively monitor multiple information streams and make accurate mission-critical decisions. With an ever-increasing number of content sources and

A new system to remove dissolved (ionic) mercury, along with other contaminants, from power plant wastewater is being developed. It is free of the drawbacks of using a traditional stannous chloride reagent

The power generation industry is constantly evolving, with advanced technologies becoming more ubiquitous in power plants. Along with this evolution, instrumentation and control equipment continues to be key

Valmet will supply automation technology to Pori Energia Oy’s Aittaluoto biomass power plant in Pori, Finland. The target of the company’s Aittaluoto 2020 project is to replace the outdated low-efficiency power plant processes, decrease the use of fossil fuels in energy production, and meet the operational requirements of the industry in the area. The modernization […]

Before industrial control systems (ICSs) were network-connected, operators had little to worry about in the way of cyber threats. But as industrial environments, such as energy utilities, become more connected, they’re exposed to vulnerabilities and attacks. ICSs are used in large amounts of critical infrastructure, including the electrical grid, transportation systems, and wastewater plants. How […]

Most operators know that air should be kept out of a heat exchanger’s cooling water supply line. Air can collect in pockets and block flow, increasing velocities, increasing system resistance, decreasing

Supports modern plants with the digital transformation of OT and IT environments Combines Voith’s in-depth knowledge of the OT and IIoT domain with Kudelski’s expertise in hardware- and software-based cybersecurity solutions Delivers tangible cybersecurity products and services for power generation and other industrial sectors YORK, Pa. / CHESEAUX-SUR-LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Voith, a global technology group that […]

Karachi, Pakistan (November 29, 2018) — GE Power’s Grid Solutions business (NYSE: GE) has successfully delivered a turnkey solution to DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKCCL), for its new cement plant, one of the largest in the country to date. Located 30 kilometers northwest of Karachi, in Hub District Lasbella, Baluchistan, the new manufacturing facility […]

Optimizing power plant control systems can be challenging, but new tools are available to simplify and improve the process. On this episode of The POWER Podcast, Executive Editor Aaron Larson spoke with Jon Towslee, digital engagement leader for ABB Inc.’s Industrial Automation Power Generation & Water business. Towslee explained how ABB Ability is focused on […]

Valmet has been selected to supply automation services to seven Dalkia power plants in France for the next five years. The agreements cover the biomass power plants in Facture, Rennes, Tours, Angers, Limoges, Orléans and Strasbourg.  The service agreements are a step forward in the cooperation between Dalkia and Valmet. Laurent François, plant director of […]

Aachen (Germany), November 27, 2018 – Thanks to redesigned plant deployment planning based on the BoFiT solution from ProCom and two dedicated employees for the project, the municipal utility company Stadtwerke Lübeck is now able to manage their plant portfolio even more efficiently. The goal is to meet the demand of eight Lübeck district heating […]

Endress+Hauser opens state-of-the-art calibration and training center Endress+Hauser has invested roughly three million euros in a modern, state-of-the-art calibration and training center in the industrial city of Jubail, Saudi Arabia, thus strengthing direct contact with customers in the Middle East while supporting the country’s economic development. Saudi Arabia wants to expand the private business sector […]

ABB Ability™ digital control technology is optimizing the remote support of Enel Generación’s hydropower fleet across Chile, improving coordination and information-sharing and ultimately helping the country reach its renewable energy targets. With electricity demand set to grow considerably, Chile’s generation capacity has more than tripled over the past two decades. Poised to become a potentially […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved the use of Mitsubishi Electric Total Advanced Control (MELTAC) Nplus S digital safety system controllers in U.S. nuclear power plants. While new to the U.S. industry, Mitsubishi said the MELTAC system is already deployed in 38 nuclear power plants around the world, primarily in Japan and China. MELTAC […]

The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this week said it will fund research and development (R&D) efforts “that will advance first-of-a-kind coal generation technologies.” The FE on November 13 said its Coal FIRST (Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative) program “will develop the coal plant of the future needed […]

The Zhangbei high-voltage direct current (HVDC) grid in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area of China will enable the integration of remote wind, solar and hydro energy in a transmission ring that ensures optimization of power flow. This unique “HVDC grid” is designed by State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), one of the world’s leading power utilities. ABB will supply […]

Understanding which valve to use in which application is essential to operate a steam power plant as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. For example, a critical step in steam power generation is

Washington state’s latest effort to fight climate change, Initiative 1631 (I-1631), is on the November ballot. With a broad coalition of support from business, environmental, and special interest groups

The profitability of a wind farm depends directly upon reducing uncertainty when wind resources are being assessed and when wind turbines are being fine-tuned. Project risks vary from site to site, depending

To remain efficient and profitable, utilities must anticipate the ebb and flow of the market. That means companies must gain visibility into the generation and consumption of energy. With network-level

Coal-fired power plants can significantly improve wet limestone scrubbing with advanced process control. One optimization system implemented at a Japanese facility utilized enhanced regulatory control

A subsidiary of grid operator PJM Interconnection has joined with a Switzerland-based group to build and evaluate a blockchain-based tool to help the U.S. power generation industry. Energy Web Foundation (EWF) and PJM Environmental Information Services (PJM-EIS) on October 25 said they would collaborate on developing and testing a reference implementation of EWF’s open-source Energy […]

Proactive equipment maintenance continues to be a priority for power plant operators. ServiceMax, a GE Digital company that provides field service management software, on October 25 announced it has launched its Predix ServiceMax Asset Service Management (ASM), a new offering to help operators “transform their entire asset maintenance process from a break-fix model to a […]

With its extensive communications capabilities, the Memograph M is ideally suited for IIoT applications and use as an edge device. October 23, 2018—Endress+Hauser releases the Memograph M RSG45 Advanced Data Manager DIN rail version, an intelligent remote device with extensive communication capabilities, making it ideal for IIoT applications and use as an edge device for […]

BlackEnergy, the malware used in a cyberattack that prompted a large-scale blackout in Ukraine in December 2015, has a successor—GreyEnergy. A group is using the malware to target industrial networks outside Ukraine, researchers  from Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET warn.  The researchers said in an October 17–released white paper that analysis of the previously undocumented GreyEnergy […]