Magazine

POWER Magazine for April 1, 2011

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In This Issue

  • Commentary

    Frisbees to Flatulence

    BY //

    I recently outlined the top four regulatory obstacles facing existing U.S. coal-fired power plants in the coming years. That list, although not comprehensive, covered issues that owners of coal plants should be concerned about in the near term. However, in the long term, there is one regulatory development that dwarfs all others.

  • Commentary

    Australians Say "No" to Carbon Tax

    BY //

    Australian prime minister Julia Gillard invited Jill Duggan, of the European Commission Directorate General of Climate Action and the UK government’s head of international emissions trading, to help bolster Gillard’s push for support of a carbon tax early in March. However, when interviewed on a morning show, Duggan was unable to estimate either the cost or the benefits of the UK’s program. In fact, the interview was a complete disaster.

  • 520004df16c18-030111_Condensors_Fig1
    O&M

    Condenser Performance Improvement Through Innovative Cleaning and Leak Detection Technologies

    BY //

    One of the largest returns on investment a plant can achieve is the improved condenser performance that results from an effective condenser tube cleaning. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate your choice of cleaning technologies, establish an optimal cleaning schedule, and add routine air and water in-leakage surveys to your plant’s maintenance schedule.

  • 520004df170c0-030111_Refractory_Fig1
    O&M

    Respect Your Refractory

    BY //

    Because refractory is out of sight inside the gas flow path of a steam generator and its auxiliaries, it’s also often out of mind. That is, until the refractory fails and causes a forced outage.

  • 520004df171af-BoilAux_Fig1
    O&M

    Power 101: Improving the Performance of Boiler Auxiliaries, Part III

    BY //

    Efficient boiler operation requires boiler auxiliary equipment to operate in harmony. In this third and last installment of our Power 101 series, we examine ways to decrease the auxiliary power requirements of boiler auxiliaries.

  • Coal

    House Panel Hustles Through Bill Blocking EPA Climate Rules

    BY //

    In an anti-climactic markup that featured little new debate and no amendments by opposing Democrats, the House Energy and Power Subcommittee approved Republican legislation to block Obama administration action on climate change by stripping the Environmental Protection Agency of its Clean Air Act authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

  • Coal

    EPA Requiring Three Oklahoma Coal Plants to Scrub or Use Gas

    BY //

    In an unusual ultimatum, the Environmental Protection Agency said that it is proposing to take over visibility portions of the Oklahoma Clean Air Act implementation plan to require three coal-fired power plants in the state either to switch to natural gas or install sulfur dioxide scrubbers within three years.

  • Coal

    Air Rules Could Risk 11% of PJM Generation

    BY //

    Anticipated clean air regulations could force the retirement of as much as 19,000 MW of coal capacity in the Mid-Atlantic—or 11% of the region’s generation—unless power prices rise to levels that make operation of the plants profitable, according to the independent market monitor for PJM Interconnection.

  • Commentary

    Put the REINS on EPA

    BY //

    The "Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny" Act could put the kibosh on the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulatory surge.