Instrumentation & Controls

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 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

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

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

Regulatory agencies are becoming more and more critical of phosphorus-based water treatment chemicals because they can have a negative impact on lakes and waterways. In the past, treating cooling water with

Coal proponents and climate skeptics often cite China’s current and future reliance on coal power to bolster talking points. What is little discussed is the recent, massive transformation of China’s vast

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

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control is one of the most common types of automatic control used in the power industry. A PID controller continuously calculates an error value as the difference between

New technology is being used throughout the power industry to improve plant efficiency, predict trouble with degrading equipment, forecast weather trends, and train workers. A recent conference hosted by POWER

Continuous condition-based monitoring of electrical conductors and insulation is an effective way to reduce required plant maintenance activities, cut operating costs, and prevent unplanned shutdowns

Small hydro is becoming big business as ongoing technological advances make more small sites economic to exploit. Older plants can also see substantial output and efficiency gains by upgrading from decades-old

What it means to have a secure energy generating facility has changed in recent years as the threat of cyberattacks grows. As the nation’s energy sector becomes increasingly interconnected, it is more

Technology advancements and new regulatory requirements could reshape how power plant owners operate and maintain large power transformers. Experts outline emerging strategies and call attention to overlooked

Remote and online monitoring of plant performance parameters is an important step toward a fully connected plant, but alone it’s not enough to exploit the real value in the Industrial Internet of Things, speakers at POWER’s inaugural Connected Plant Conference on February 15 in Dallas said. Randy Bickford, president and CTO of software firm Expert […]

Background burner control is critical for power and industrial plants because it affects emissions, energy costs, and process efficiencies. For natural gas burners, variations in gas composition can have a

A magnetic level gage may be an excellent addition to a power plant boiler’s drum-level instrumentation. However, before any changes are made, owners must first understand the specific minimum requirements for water level instrumentation defined by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. The code requires a functional water gage […]

China, which continues to build more new coal plants than any other nation, is also on the forefront of deploying the most advanced coal plant technologies. However, these advanced units could face

As installed capacity in the U.S. continues its breakneck growth, the solar photovoltaic sector is poised for another leap forward with a variety of new technologies—if increasingly ill-suited regulations and rate designs can be updated to keep pace. The global solar market has moved beyond its early, uncertain days. The luxury of behaving like start-ups […]

High-speed turbine rotor balancing was once rare because of the costs and logistical challenges involved in doing it during an outage. That’s begun to change as economic options emerge, and experience is showing that high-speed balancing can pay big dividends in reliability and maintenance costs. To a maintenance engineer or fleet manager, unwanted vibration in […]

Like so many other power plant functions these days, regulatory and standards compliance can be automated. Know what you want an automated system to do before you make a vendor decision. As North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) enforcement deadlines and audit dates loom—notably, CIP-003-6 in April 2017, which addresses the […]