O&M

The U.S. power network received attention for tragic reasons in 2021. From February 10 through 20, Texas suffered a severe power crisis due to a confluence of catastrophic winter storms. Failures occurred across all types of electricity generation facilities—natural gas, coal, and nuclear plants shut down, and wind turbines froze. Problems cascaded, as the compressors […]

Scale removal is an important maintenance activity on heat exchangers and other industrial water handling equipment. Over time, calcium carbonate from hard water builds up on the surfaces of pipes and heat exchangers, reducing water flow and heat-transfer efficiency. Harsh minerals and organic acids like muriatic acid are sure to solve the problem quickly but […]

DAVIDSON, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Teledyne FLIR Defense to supply unmanned systems and integrated solutions to the U.S. nuclear power market and Department of Energy (DOE). Mobile unmanned systems (MUS), including drones, robotics, and submersibles, play a critical role in industrial and defense applications […]

In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused numerous power outages, derates, or failures to start at electric generating plants scattered across Texas and the south-central U.S. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the power supply for about 90% of the load in Texas, ordered a […]

Today, power generators often don’t have the same in-house capabilities that they did in years past. Therefore, managing operations and maintenance at many facilities has become more difficult. Here are some

By the time Lagunitas Brewing Co. began its conversion to solar power in 2017, it had grown to become one of the largest craft beer businesses in the U.S.—a far cry from the one-man, home-kitchen operation

From generation to transmission and distribution, the power industry is changing. With distributed energy resources (DERs) increasingly participating in wholesale capacity, energy, and ancillary services

There are countless risks associated with power plant operations. For example, the risk of equipment failure is present in virtually every power plant system. In some cases, the risk is very low and could even be inconsequential. In others, it’s much higher and could be catastrophic, not only to plant operation, but also to the […]

A new product from GE Digital will improve the operation of gas turbines through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), resulting in lower fuel consumption and reducing emissions, the company announced Jan. 20. GE Digital in its announcement said turbines “require seasonal adjustment of flame temperatures and fuel splits, which is generally a manual […]

The vast majority of 324 electric generation units and transmission facilities in Texas have fully met or “go beyond” new state winter weatherization requirements, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said in a final readiness report filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Jan. 18. Onsite inspections at 302 generation units […]