News

PPL Corp.’s Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Luzerne County, Pa., is the nation’s largest boiling water reactor (BWR) in terms of thermal power and generating capacity, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The plant’s Unit 1, which recently completed equipment and system upgrades during a recent scheduled refueling and maintenance outage, boasts 3,952 MWth and 1,300 MWe when operating at full capacity.

Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) and the Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC) on Tuesday asked the Arkansas Supreme Court for a rehearing, after the high court last month overturned a 2007 permit awarded by the PSC to the utility’s 600-MW John W. Turk, Jr. power plant. SWEPCO said that it plans to continue construction of the $1.7 billion project—the nation’s first ultrasupercritical coal plant—to meet its commitments to serve the company’s customers in three states.

CMS Energy subsidiary Consumers Energy last week announced that it is deferring the development of an 830-MW coal-fired power plant planned for Hampton Township. State regulators had last year approved an air permit for the $2 billion-plus project on the condition that it use stringent emission controls and that it was ready for carbon capture and sequestration when the technology was feasible.

Mississippi Power Co. on Thursday said it would proceed with plans to build a 582-MW integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant as proposed in Kemper County after the Mississippi Public Service Commission (MPSC) relaxed restrictions it had placed on the project.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday dismissed without rehearing, on procedural grounds, a controversial climate change “public nuisance” case in which 14 individuals had filed a class-action lawsuit against insurance, coal, and chemical companies, seeking relief for property damages resulting from Hurricane Katrina.

Depressed power demand due to a slow economic recovery will continue to be a major driver affecting bulk power system reliability during the summer months, the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) said last week in its annual summer reliability assessment report.

Types 510 and 511 diaphragm seals are the newest addition to Ashcroft’s line of instrument media isolators. These economical, all-welded seals protect pressure gauges, transmitters, switches, and other instruments against the potentially harmful effects of caustic media. The seals are available for use with ranges from vacuum through 5,000 psi, and they can be threaded […]

GD Nash introduced the new 2BE4 series vacuum pumps and compressors, a redesign and upgrade of the existing 2BE3 series. The 2BE4 series includes optimized inlet and discharge porting for enhanced performance, and cylindrical roller bearings for improved load ratings and increased reliability (bearing upgrade is possible in existing 2BE3s). The series also includes optional […]

Rental Solutions & Services (RSS), a global provider of rental power and cooling, recently launched its latest product offering, temporary desalination, or mobile water. The company, which recently opened a new office in Cyprus to serve the Mediterranean market, says its rental desalination, or mobile water technology has various applications, especially where freshwater is scarce […]

Caterpillar introduced the G3512E, an advanced natural gas–fueled generator set that was designed for maximum efficiency in extended-duty distributed generation and combined heat and power (CHP) applications. Driven by a Caterpillar electronically controlled, lean-burn gaseous-fueled reciprocating engine, the G3512E generator set offers high power density and fuel efficiency while maintaining tight NOx control. It provides […]