Instrumentation & Controls

As power plants and substations become more connected, the need for rugged networking equipment built to withstand tough conditions is amplified. The military has already gone through the growing pains, so

A leading-edge operations center opens in New York The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has taken a huge step forward in increasing the efficiency of its operations with the opening of its new Integrated Smart Operations Center (iSOC), which harnesses the capabilities of state-of-the-art digitization technologies. The center, located in White Plains, N.Y., was officially […]

The Connected Plant Conference will be held in Charlotte, N.C., February 26–28, 2018. The forum is designed for professionals in the power generation and chemical process industries who are leading digital adoption at all stages. Sessions are tailored to offer actionable information and strategies to maximize the use of data, analytics, and related technology to drive efficiency improvements, […]

High-Pressure, Rotary Gear Pumps for Severe Applications  Northern Pump manufactures high-pressure, heavy-duty, positive-displacement, rotary gear pumps for industry, designed to perform in severe

Keeping combustion turbines spinning at power plants across Xcel Energy’s service territory is critical to maintaining reliability and minimizing costs. One of the challenges to meeting that goal is

The Electric Power Research Institute’s full spectrum of online monitoring-related research offers nuclear power plant operators guidance for monitoring program implementation. The research results are used

Power plants have been blowing soot using essentially the same method for decades. However, technological advances now offer boiler operators a much-improved technique. Rather than running sootblowing systems

Associated Electric Cooperative has spent a decade building a pulverizer performance program for its Thomas Hill Energy Center. The effort, combined with a sharp focus on maintaining proper air/fuel ratios

Originally embedded in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code , today the Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants standard for inservice testing of pumps

Utilities across the country are gearing up for an attack on the power grid November 15 and 16. Thankfully, it’s only a drill. But in the event of an actual emergency, a real physical and cyberattack on the U.S. electricity infrastructure, GridEx IV—a biennial exercise conducted by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC)—will help […]

Process engineers at a power plant in Western Europe were upgrading the facility with new combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) technology. CCGT power plants operate with both gas turbines and steam turbines

Power plants are designed to operate at their highest efficiency. Once a plant goes into operation, however, real life takes over and sometimes design outcomes are not regularly realized. Improving plant

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned in an e-mail on October 20 that an ongoing cyberattack campaign is targeting the nuclear, energy, and other critical infrastructure sectors since at least May 2017—with results ranging from cyber espionage to the ability to disrupt energy systems in the event of […]

The Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) in Midland, Michigan, is the largest natural gas-fired combined electrical energy and steam energy generating plant in the U.S. It is capable of continuously producing

New report highlights criticality of utilities. As more and more industries increasingly rely on information technology (IT), the ability to ensure IT systems stay up and running is more critical than ever. But which industries absolutely, positively must stay up and running? Which industries are most critical? That’s the question answered by a team of […]

The potential financial benefits from Industry 4.0 are apparent to plant owners in almost all sectors. The wind power industry is no exception, and existing vendors such as GE (Predix/Digital Windfarm)

Thermal insulation is installed on almost every piping system and much of the plant equipment at power generation facilities. It not only saves energy, but also protects workers, reduces noise, helps protect

The energy sector has been hit with almost one-third of the cyberattacks against U.S. industrial facilities in recent years. It is among the top issues, along with reliability, environmental regulations, and

Coal, by its very nature, is a dusty fuel. That poses a serious risk at coal-fired power plants, because coal dust can be highly explosive. However, actions can be taken to reduce the risk. Implementing strict

It’s no secret that high-radiation areas are scattered throughout nuclear power plant facilities. The challenge is getting work done in those areas while keeping exposure to workers as low as possible. On

The power industry has a critical need to measure the bin level inside fly ash hoppers under electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). The inherent problem associated with these hoppers is that they are usually

In water-strapped California, managing power plant water usage is more important than ever. Southern California Edison implemented novel closed circuit reverse osmosis systems at five of its gas-fired

The microgrid installation at the Ameren Illinois Technology Applications Center (TAC) near the University of Illinois campus in Champaign—designed, engineered, and constructed by S&C Electric Co. of

The challenge was to take a facility that was far off the grid, and move it forward as an energy self-sufficient complex while also turning an idea into a commercially viable product. That was the impetus

Self-contained, small islands of electric generation, storage and distribution inside the existing grid–microgrids–could be the next big thing in electricity. But some argue they may be just another

Grid behavior in today’s power generation environment is a stochastic system that is more variable than in the past. One common issue is the response to economic dispatch, in which formerly baseload thermal

Southern Co.’s Plant Scherer was chosen as the 2017 Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group Plant of the Year based on a rigorous selection criteria, including safety, fire protection, and risk reduction

Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) offer a tried-and-true technology for particulate matter control. However, existing ESPs can be challenged to meet the latest regulatory requirements. Retrofitting power

Some naysayers have argued that developing carbon capture technology for use on fossil-fueled power plants is pure folly. But research and pilot tests have continued nonetheless, and various solutions have

With low particulate loading common in stack emissions these days, particulate matter measurement can be difficult using traditional techniques. Microscopical measurement of particle-size distributions offers