O&M
-
Hydro
Turbo Marketplace – the new online trading platform for Voith Turbo equipment
Global marketplace for new, used and overhauled Voith Turbo equipment Providing an informative product overview including availability Expansion of the Voith service portfolio HEIDENHEIM, Germany. The new global online platform Turbo Marketplace offers the ability to sell or buy unused, used and overhauled Voith Turbo equipment. Safety stocks, changing conditions and cancelled projects lead to […]
-
Workforce
Why Do People Choose Careers in Engineering?
Do you want to solve important problems, contribute to society, and help people? Well, then, you may want to become an engineer. At least that’s why some successful engineers have said they entered and persist in the occupation, according to a recent study published by DiscoverE, an engineering outreach organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. The […]
-
IIOT
The POWER Interview: Exelon Discusses Digitalization
Digitization in the power generation sector continues to expand. Its goal in simple terms—providing easy access to data for power plant operators and engineers, enabling the use of advanced analytics to improve equipment performance and efficiency—has resulted in reduced operating costs for utilities, and also has enhanced plant safety. POWER’s upcoming Connected Plant Conference, set […]
-
Coal
After Long History, Paradise Coal Plant Ceases Operation
The generator breaker for Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Paradise Unit 3 was opened on Feb. 1, removing the coal-fired power plant from service for the final time after 50 years of operation. Notably, TVA retiree Jim Chappell performed the task. Chappell was the electrical control wing operator who originally placed Unit 3 in service. The […]
-
T&D
Public Safety Power Shutoffs: How Utilities Could Partner
Catastrophic wildfires have devastated California in recent years. This article seeks to outline a plan wherein neighboring utilities can send energy to support a utility that has shut down critical paths during wildfire mitigation efforts. On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire erupted 90 miles north of Sacramento, California (Figure 1). This fire […]
-
Connected Plant
How Utilities Can Better Manage and Maintain the Quality of Their Data Assets
Utilities are becoming increasingly skilled at adapting to changes brought on by the digital age: pressure from automation, disruption from new technology, and challenges with how to ingest, manage, and utilize mountains of data. Viewing “data as an asset” is becoming the new industry norm and utilities are beginning to invest heavily in digital tools […]
-
O&M
Fault Ride-Through Using Slip-Capable Torque-Limiting Couplings
As more intermittent renewable energy resources are added to the power grid, generator connectivity during a grid fault becomes ever more important to mitigate the risk of cascading blackouts. An innovative
-
Connected Plant
Data Is the New Power: Key Learnings from a Successful ERP Migration
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage and automate many business functions related to operations, technology, services, and
-
Connected Plant
Increasing Automation for Fossil Energy Plants
An Electric Power Research Institute study has developed a systematic process for introducing sequence automation to fossil power plants. Researchers are now exploring its implementation in case studies. As
-
News
Predicting the Future? There’s an App for That
Power plant operators are turning to predictive maintenance applications to monitor equipment and collect performance data. Asset management systems, using artificial intelligence and other methods, are part
-
Connected Plant
Using Self-Service Analytics to Improve Power Plant Efficiency
There is a widespread movement to reduce carbon emissions around the world. One way to do so is by improving plant efficiency, but that can be easier said than done. However, self-service analytics could play
-
News
Seal Design Key as ORC Turbine Manufacturer Enters Geothermal Market
When a global leader in the design, manufacture, and maintenance of binary Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power systems entered the geothermic energy market, company engineers knew its existing turbines would be
-
News
Minimizing Exposure: RVI Videoscopes Take Radiation Exposure to a New Low
For personnel in nuclear power plants, time and distance are critical measurements when it comes to safe inspections. When workers need to enter a high-radiation area to examine a potential problem or make a
-
Technology
Winsted Releases Paramount Technology Credenza
New Technology Hub Organizes and Protects Control Room Electronics Minnetonka, Minn. – Winsted Control Room Solutions unveiled the newest item in their line of technical furniture, the Paramount technology credenza. Paramount is designed to integrate into boardrooms, conference rooms, control rooms or any other high-tech space. “Paramount is an elegant and functional addition to our technical […]
-
Nuclear
MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded in Russian Reactor, More to Come
Power plant engineers have loaded 18 mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies in Unit 4 at the Beloyarsk nuclear power plant in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. Distinct from traditional nuclear fuel with enriched uranium, MOX fuel pellets are based on the mix of nuclear fuel cycle derivatives, such as plutonium oxide bred in commercial reactors and uranium oxide […]
-
Coal
Bradley Pulverizer Acquired by Lancaster Products Owner
Allentown, Pennsylvania – Bradley Pulverizer is pleased to announce new ownership. Lancaster Products & Kercher Enterprises’ owner Curt Snyder acquired the assets of Bradley Pulverizer through an affiliate effective on January 14th, 2020. Bradley Pulverizer specializes in the design, manufacture, and supply of pulverizing systems for fine and semi-fine grinding of hard, friable, abrasive materials for […]
-
O&M
How Utilities Can Manage Supplier Risk [PODCAST]
Power companies are turning to external suppliers and contractors now more than ever. Utilities are getting help with tasks ranging from the relatively simple, such as vegetation management and the handling of customer calls, to the complex, including turbine repair and large infrastructure projects. Although the benefits of utilizing contractors are often obvious, the dangers, […]
-
Instrumentation & Controls
Burns & McDonnell Selected by NYPA for Major Control System Modernization Project at One of Largest Hydropower Facilities in North America
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell will serve as engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contractor for an extensive $134 million electrical control system upgrade and modernization project for the New York Power Authority’s 2,525-megawatt (MW) Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. The control system project is a crucial component of a recently announced $1.1 billion Next Generation Niagara […]
-
Cybersecurity
FM Global to conduct regular cyber engineering evaluations of industrial control systems for clients
JOHNSTON, R.I., USA—As part of its continuing commitment to cyber risk assessment, prevention and control, FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, has become one of the first insurance carriers to offer industrial control systems (ICS) evaluations at client locations as part of its routine engineering site visits. The ICS evaluation will […]
-
Press Releases
SNC-Lavalin awarded nuclear contract in Romania to assess Cernavoda Unit 1 for continued operation
MONTREAL: January 21, 2020 – Candu Energy Inc., a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group (TSX:SNC), was awarded a $10.8 million (7.3M EUR) contract by Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN) for engineering analyses and assessments on the Cernavoda Unit 1 CANDU® nuclear reactor. The contract is focused on the fuel channel and feeders assemblies with the […]
-
Coal
The world’s most powerful boiler feed pump dispatched
A boiler feed pump with the largest drive rating worldwide was dispatched by the KSB Group based in Frankenthal in late December 2019. It will be used in the coal-fired power plant Pingshan II that is currently being built in Huaibei, China. The supercritical power station employs a new technology that is said to reach […]
-
Coal
B&W Subsidiary Awarded Retrofit Boiler Equipment Installation Contract for U.S. Power Plant
(AKRON, Ohio – January 16, 2020) – Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co., LLC (BWCC), a subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (B&W) (NYSE: BW), has been awarded a contract for more than $5 million to install retrofit boiler equipment at a U.S. coal-fired power plant. BWCC’s project scope includes the removal and installation of […]
-
Nuclear
Exelon Installs New Accident Tolerant Fuel at Illinois Nuclear Plant
Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), a GE-led joint venture with Hitachi Ltd. that supplies boiling water reactor fuel and fuel-related services around the world, said lead test assemblies utilizing its ARMOR-coated zirconium cladding and IronClad Accident Tolerant Fuel solutions have been installed at Exelon’s Clinton nuclear plant in Illinois. “We continue to work with our customers […]
-
Press Releases
Russelectric, a Siemens Business, Offers Customized Switchgear Simulators
Ideal for training personnel on automatic and manual operation of Russelectric switchgear Hingham, MA – Russelectric, A Siemens Business, a leading manufacturer of power control systems and automatic transfer switches, announces the availability of Switchgear Simulators designed to train personnel on automatic and manual operation of Russelectric switchgear. Customized to mimic the operation of the […]
-
Nuclear
A Decade of Turmoil: How Nuclear and Coal Have Struggled to Survive
The past 10 years have been filled with trials and tribulations for both the nuclear and coal power industries. From accidents to plant closures there has been little to cheer about. Still, nuclear and coal power continue to provide reliable baseload generation to billions of customers around the globe. Here’s a look back at the […]
-
Hydrogen
Is Hydrogen the Power Industry’s Holy Grail?
Some power industry insiders believe hydrogen offers a solution to large-scale energy storage problems. The concept generally revolves around utilizing electricity generated by renewables when supply is high
-
News
Well-Planned Retirement: Keys to Successful Coal Plant Decommissioning
Hundreds of coal-fired power plants are now retired or facing retirement in the near future, and utilities face a number of decisions. Are there commercial reuse options for the plant or the site itself? Are
-
Technology
Power Industry Disrupters: Gas, Renewables, and Storage
The power industry is experiencing significant changes. Natural gas, wind, solar, and battery storage seem to be the wave of the future. What’s compelling the transformation? Some people point to
-
Water
Water Chemistry: Power Plant Life and Death
Power plants that use steam to generate electricity need water. Without it, they can’t do their job. But water and steam are complicated, much as is blood in our veins and arteries. So, water chemistry is a
-
Hydro
Hydraulic Stability of Surge Tanks
When needed, surge tanks can provide a critical feature to the hydraulic design of hydropower projects. Principally, they can mitigate the overpressure effects of pressure transients or water hammer and allow