News

Parker Hannifin’s Instrumentation Products Division introduced Pilot Pro, a new process sample conditioning system communications interface designed to provide a link between plant process control operations and analyzer maintenance networks, regardless of where the two are located. A sensor and solenoid administration module, Pilot Pro is designed to acquire, transmit, and manage real-time sample system […]

The Max Climber 2000P-IPM rack and pinion personnel and material elevator by Beta Max Inc. uses little space while providing a safe and efficient means of access for workers performing maintenance work at high levels. The Max Climber 2000P-IPM easily attaches to scaffolding or a building exterior and is designed with a base system footprint […]

A week after the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved transmission lines sought for the proposed $1.6 billion Big Stone II coal-fired power plant in South Dakota, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) objected to the issuance of a state-granted permit for construction of that project.

Following a press briefing on Monday morning, President Barack Obama signed new executive orders intended to spur swift action on both U.S. economic recovery and American energy independence.

Amid his string of new nominations, President Barack Obama last week named Jon Wellinghoff acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Wellinghoff—a Democrat—has been one of FERC’s five commissioners for the past three years.

German powerhouse Siemens AG on Monday said it would shed its 34% stake in the Franco-German joint venture AREVA NP S.A.S., citing a “lack of exercising entrepreneurial influence within the joint venture” as the reason behind the move.

Belarus, the country worst affected by the 1986 nuclear accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, last week moved forward with plans to build its first nuclear power plant, naming Russian company Atomstroiexport to build it.

The Scottish government has approved an application to operate a 4-MW wave energy project that would harness power from the Atlantic Ocean in Siadar Bay—one of the first marine renewable energy projects to be approved in the UK.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week announced it would loan up to $300 million to Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s demonstration project to capture carbon dioxide at its Antelope Valley Station near Beulah, N.D.

GE-Hitachi is reportedly expecting to get orders for six to eight nuclear power reactors in India while Larsen & Tourbo (L&T) and Westinghouse Electric Co. announced Friday they would jointly build Westinghouse’s AP1000 pressurized water reactors and seek orders in the country.

Mississippi Power last week filed for a certificate of public convenience and necessity at the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in Kemper County. The plant represents the first advanced gasification generating facility with carbon capture capabilities in Mississippi, and one of the first in the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), an oil-rich region that is preparing to accommodate a 9% annual growth in power consumption, last week signed separate agreements with the U.S. and Japan for the potential development of nuclear power.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) last week unanimously granted approval for 345-kV transmission lines sought for the proposed $1.6 billion Big Stone II coal-fired plant in South Dakota.

Almost a week after Russia’s state-run gas export monopoly Gazprom cut nearly its entire capacity of natural gas exports to Europe over a pricing dispute with neighboring Ukraine, the countries hard hit by the halt in supply are looking for ways to wean themselves from Russian gas.

Entergy Nuclear on Friday temporarily suspended reviews of two new nuclear license applications specific to GE-Hitachi’s Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR), while Dominion said it will explore alternative nuclear power options for its proposed North Anna Unit 3 in Virginia.

Illinois on Monday effected legislation that creates a framework for developing coal gasification projects with carbon dioxide capture and storage, and which requires emissions from these electric generation facilities to be as clean as those from natural gas generators.

As the Florida Public Service Commission reportedly considered implementing a “clean” standard, not just a “renewable” standard, last week FPL Energy changed its name to better reflect its green credentials.

In a major economic stimulus speech at Virginia’s George Mason University on Thursday, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to boost production of alternative energy and improve energy efficiency. He also urged the nation to begin building a smart grid.

Electricité de France (EDF) last week mobilized all its nuclear, hydraulic, and thermal energy generation resources in order to meet France’s climbing electricity consumption, which resulted from an exceptional bout of cold weather.

Weeks after a containment pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant ruptured and caused a massive coal ash flood, the federal utility is now also working to repair a gypsum pond at its Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama, after gypsum slurry overflowed into the creek Friday.

Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. named Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as its 2008 CEO of the Year, citing key investments in energy companies such as General Electric and Constellation Energy as reasons that cemented the award.

Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. last week asked a district court for additional time to decide whether to install expensive pollution controls or close two coal-fired units at its R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside.

Joseph Kelliher, head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), announced Wednesday that he will step down as chairman effective Jan. 20. Kelliher said that although his term as commissioner would not end until 2012, he would immediately recuse himself from FERC business and explore other career opportunities.

Dynegy Inc. and LS Power Associates last week said they had dissolved a 2006 joint development venture that planned to expand Dynegy power plants and build new ones in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada, partly because of credit and regulatory uncertainties.

Progress Energy Florida (PEF) on Monday signed a contract with Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC and The Shaw Group Inc.’s Power Group for the engineering, procurement, and construction of two nuclear units for a proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County, Fla.

A mission including representatives from more than 30 of the world’s leading commercial nuclear companies is scheduled to visit India over the next week, reported The Times of India.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is reviewing proposed transmission projects for the next five years totaling $3 billion, the state’s main grid operator said in a report filed with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Japan, the island nation with nearly a tenth of the world’s active volcanoes, may soon see a resurgence in geothermal power. For the first time in 20 years, several Japanese companies have announced plans to build new geothermal power plants, Reuters reported on Monday.

Why is it that so many of our New Year’s resolutions are focused on self-enrichment, yet they are the first promises we break? The typical resolutions — "get more exercise" or "stop smoking" — are recycled yearly. Surveys find that most resolutions are abandoned or forgotten by, appropriately, Ground Hog Day. I believe it’s time to reboot our resolution-setting software and refocus on others instead of ourselves.

Conventional pump mechanical seals, lip/contact seals, and packing as sealing methods work well when you’re pumping clean liquids, but operators eventually find shaft fretting and wear on the sleeves and shaft when pumping high-solids liquids. To solve this problem, Inpro/Seal Co. recently released its new Water Mizer Shaft Seal, which uses water to maintain the […]