In This Issue
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WindMajor Offshore Players Introduce Colossal Wind Turbines
Competition among offshore wind turbine vendors vying for market share went into overdrive in the first three months of 2011 as several key players announced gigantic new turbine models.
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CoalBenchmarking Fossil Plant Performance Measures, Part III: Metrics Used for Compensation
In Part III of this three-part report, we look at plant- and fleet-level metrics used to determine compensation. As expected from this EUCG-sponsored benchmarking survey, there is broad use of quantifiable metrics to set portions of compensation, but the metrics selected vary substantially across the surveyed utilities. More surprising was the number of utilities that used no performance metrics as part of their employee compensation packages.
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HydroChina Dam Gets World’s First Self-Closing Ring Gate Control System
A major technical advance in hydroelectric dam safety was achieved this March as Alstom’s Chinese arm, the Tianjin Alstom Hydro Co. (TAH), delivered what it called “the world’s first self-closing electronic ring gate control system” to the Ahai hydropower project in China.
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NewsSelf-Propelled Spent Fuel Cask Transporter
The new Wheelift Self-Propelled Modular Transporter increases safety in spent fuel cask transport and alignment for NUHOMS-type ISFSI installations by reducing worker exposure because only one person is needed to operate the transporter from between 30 feet and 50 feet away. The transporter’s omni-directional steering and 10-inch lift capability enables the same operator to perform […]
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EnvironmentalResearchers Develop Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle Turbines
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories say a project that focuses on supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) Brayton cycle turbines is moving to the demonstration stage.
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NewsNOx Burner Optimization Kit for All Burners
Hamworthy Peabody Combustion’s new Q-jet Low NOx Burner Optimization Kit can be retrofitted to practically any existing burner, regardless of manufacturer, to increase efficiency and reduce maintenance. In addition, the Q-jet Kit eliminates the need to replace complete burner assemblies just to meet emissions requirements, saving time and money. A key feature is that the […]
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SolarInterest, Funding Buoys Floating Solar Power Plants
Like most forms of generation, solar power has its disadvantages. Two cited most by critics of photovoltaic (PV) or concentrating solar power facilities are that they require large expanses of land and that solar cell fabrication and maintenance costs are high. Several companies have been assessing a new approach to tackling these factors: installing solar plants on water.
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NewsForged Ball Valves
Valve-maker Conval announced that its popular Camseal zero-leakage ball valves now have forged bodies. These new forged ball valves are available in half-inch through 4-inch sizes with top entry, socket weld, butt weld, and flanged ends. Pressure classes range from ASME 900 through 4500. Camseal forged ball valves feature zero body leakage, zero seat leakage, zero seal […]
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Business
POWER Digest (May 2011)
ABB, BHEL to Deliver $1.1B Multi-Terminal UHVDC Line in India. Zurich-based ABB and Indian state-owned company Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) said on March 23 that they had been selected by Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to deliver an ultrahigh-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission system to convey hydropower from northeastern India to the […]
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Commentary
Solving the Challenges of Growing Energy Demand
The electric power generation landscape in both America and the rest of the world is poised to undergo a fundamental transformation in the next several decades. Global energy consumption is projected to rise dramatically by 2035, and the methods by which we generate electricity and the fuels we choose to use will begin to change as well.