News

Karl Storz’s new 6-mm videoscope combines measurement capabilities with ease-of-use features in an advanced multipoint measuring system. Quartz glass limits the risk of scratching the lens while significantly brighter optics enhance image quality. The videoscope’s multiple interchangeable tip adaptors allow for near and far focus, and — at the same time, without changing tips — […]

In-house testing of the new Hydraulic Vise Column with patented swivel coupling from Jergens Inc. achieved up to a 50% reduction in production time when compared to the manual version performing the same tooling operation. The swivel coupling eliminates the need to disconnect and reconnect the two hydraulic hoses as the column rotates, and each […]

This August, Aquatech International Corp. announced it had expanded its WATERTRAK pre-engineered water treatment components to include six new L-series products. These include multi-media filters, activated carbon filters, reverse osmosis systems (shown here), and water softeners. The new products are designed as cost-effective options for industries that are dependent on external water supplies. Featuring Aquatech’s […]

Power and automation company Schneider Electric this September launched the Square D PowerLogic Branch Circuit Power Meter (BCPM), an advanced metering product designed to assist data center managers, engineers, and operators in delivering reliable power to critical applications. The PowerLogic BCPM monitors the power and energy usage of up to 84 branch circuits, as well […]

VIBXPERT EX, the new two-channel FFT data collector and signal analyzer from LUDECA Inc. monitors and diagnoses machine conditions for potentially hazardous environments that require explosion-proof systems. The VIBXPERT EX features 102,400 lines of resolution, simple joystick operation, acceptance measurements, run-up/coast-down analysis, time waveform analysis, enveloping, bearing data, 1- or 2-plane balancing, and much more. […]

Dynegy Inc. must disclose timely and relevant information to investors about the financial risks that climate change may pose under an agreement the national energy company signed with New York’s attorney general on Thursday. Dynegy is the second of five companies to agree to make climate change disclosures. Xcel Energy was the first, signing a […]

French nuclear engineering firm AREVA and global defense and technology company Northrop Grumman Corp. plan to jointly build a new facility in Newport News, Va., to engineer and manufacture heavy components for AREVA’s U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR). The companies expect that the new facility will boost the U.S. nuclear resurgence. The companies said Thursday […]

Italy’s largest power company, Enel, and its biggest oil and gas company, Eni, will partner to create the country’s first project to capture carbon dioxide from a coal-fired plant and store it underground. The companies’ chief executives signed a strategic agreement last week at Italy’s Ministry of Environment headquarters to join forces and develop an […]

Australia’s University of New South Wales (UNSW) announced last week that a recalibration of the international standard by which solar cells are measured revealed that they had created the first silicon solar cell to achieve the “magic” efficiency milestone of 25%. Physics dictates that the theoretical maximum efficiency for first-generation silicon photovoltaic cells will be […]

The impact of environmental initiatives and the need for transmission infrastructure are among the most important issues facing electric reliability in North America over the coming 10 years, the quasi-public agency North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) said last week in its 2008 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (PDF). Though the total miles of transmission additions have […]

The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) last week announced plans to allow geothermal drilling in more than 190 million acres of federal land, spanning 12 Western states. Dirk Kempthorne, secretary of the interior, said that the proposed initiative could increase geothermal power production in the U.S. tenfold. “Geothermal energy will play a key role […]

Exelon has proposed the purchase of all the outstanding shares of NRG’s common stock for $6.2 billion. The combination of Exelon and NRG would form a utility with a generating capacity of about 47,000 MW and create the largest utility in the U.S., dwarfing both American Electric Power with 36,000 MW and Duke Energy with […]

Europe’s first EPR nuclear power plant, the Olkiluoto 3 in Finland, is now three years behind schedule and will not come on-line until 2012, Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) admitted last week. The delay is the fourth announced for the 1,600-MW plant, which has been plagued with faulty materials and planning problems since construction […]

The UK will build only a quarter of the 29 GW of offshore wind farms needed to reach its target to have 15% of energy from renewable sources by 2020 unless the government acts urgently to reduce costs and risks to developers, a government-funded but independent think tank said in a report launched last week. […]

The Indiana Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled against four environmental and consumer groups and upheld a decision by state regulators to allow Duke Energy to build a $2.35 billion integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant at its coal and oil–fired Edwardsport facility in Knox County, Ind. Duke and Southern Indiana Gas and Electric Company […]

PJM Interconnection has approved $1.8 billion in electric transmission system additions and grid upgrades to enhance the reliability of its power supply system. The grid operator’s system serves parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. On Friday, it said the upgrades and improvements authorized by its board comprised dozens of projects. Most new […]

Belgian utility Electrabel has threatened legal action if the country’s government enacts a bill that would force the its two nuclear operators to pay a € 250 million ($336 million) tax. The one-time levy would force Electrabel and SPE to contribute to the 2008 financial year. If they do not comply, a penalty of 2% […]

A regional system plan for 2008 released Friday by ISO New England Inc. forecasts that the region is likely to have sufficient capacity to meet electricity demand through 2014, but significant challenges—such as major transmission upgrades—remain for the region New England Inc. is the operator of the region’s bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets. […]

After an extensive public process, the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) last week approved construction of a 500-kV transmission line project running through the northern part of that state.   TrAILCo’s $850 million project—named the Trans-Allegheny Interstate Line (TrAIL)—calls for construction of a new 500-kV line extending from southwestern Pennsylvania through West Virginia and into […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last week awarded military-industrial giant Lockheed Martin a cooperative agreement contract worth $1.2 million to demonstrate innovative generation technologies that use the ocean’s thermal gradient.    Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) uses temperature differences of 36 degrees F or more between warm surface water and cold deep seawater to […]

PPL Corp. on Friday submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to build and operate a new nuclear plant—the 17th received by the agency so far.   The company has proposed in its combined construction and operating license (COL) application to build the Bell Bend nuclear plant close to […]

Representatives from both presidential campaigns engaged in a spirited debate about their candidates’ approaches to solving the nation’s energy problems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Oct. 6. Among the notable distinctions were that John McCain favors leaving energy decisions up to the states while Barack Obama calls for significant regulations and investment […]

As fluid passes through Exact Flow’s new DX-DL dual-rotor turbine flowmeter, the dual rotors become hydraulically coupled due to their counter-rotation. Not only does this allow the rotors to overcome the inertia and drag that typically affect single-rotor turbine flowmeters, it also extends the flow range to 500:1—five times the 100:1 flow range of a […]

Enclosure manufacturer Rittal Corp.’s latest products are designed to be incorporated into electrical systems to help ensure safety against arc flash hazards. Data interface flaps, shown here, provide rapid system access via integrated USB, SUB-D9 RJ 45, and NEMA 5-15 sockets when needed. The affected enclosure remains closed and is thereby protected from ambient influences […]

GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies’ new family of ultrasonic flaw detectors incorporates conventional and phased array ultrasound technology in three upgradeable models: Phasor CV, Phasor 16/16 Weld, and Phasor XS. Each solution, designed for applications ranging from corrosion monitoring to defect detection and sizing, is compliant with all major inspection codes. The Phasor XS (shown […]

An advanced seal technology for hydraulic bolt tensioners recently developed by UK-based Boltight Ltd. takes advantage of the latest composite materials to eliminate oil leakage while allowing the tensioning piston to be retracted more easily after use. The new seals are a two-piece self-energizing design with an “O” ring made from a self-lubricating and durable […]

Hawk Measurement Systems has launched a new line of “fourth generation” sonar transducers designed for improved sensing of interface levels in clarifiers and thickeners. The new transducer designs include three to seven sonar crystals mounted in a single head. Each sonar array produces a concentrated sonar beam, providing more emitted power and collecting more returned […]

No U.S. federal standards exist to limit worker exposure to hand-arm vibration (HAV), but the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health suggests that high HAV acceleration levels (5-36 m/s2) can cause physical effects—and even permanent injury—if left unchecked and untreated. A new series of triaxial accelerometers launched this August by PCB Piezotronics’ Larson Davis […]

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Pranab Mukherjee, her Indian counterpart, signed a pact Friday that allows U.S. equipment and service providers to support India’s plans to increase the country’s nuclear capacity.     The accord seals the “123 Agreement,” an historic deal that lifts a 34-year-old ban on U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear trade. After three […]

President Bush on Friday signed into law a measure to renew critical energy tax incentives that had been set to expire at the end of this year. The measure, which gained new life after a political impasse had left its future uncertain only the week before, was one of many added to the financial bailout […]