In This Issue
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Readers Talk Back (August 2006)
Cape Wind’s economics questioned The cited study concludes that the Cape Wind Project will “receive a 25% return on equity, 2.5 times the historical average for all corporations” when the present value of federal production tax credits, Massachusetts green credits, and accelerated depreciation for tax purposes are included. Our elected officials passed these laws, and […]
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O&M
Mergers present challenges—and opportunities—for plant managers
The sale or merger of any company takes its toll on employees. Though it’s merely a hassle adapting to a different T&E form, the sudden uncertainty about health-care coverage and pension can be truly stressful. For plant managers, the impact is even greater—adapting to a new budgeting process and reporting requirements, not to mention answering hundreds of subordinates’ questions about the future, even before the deal closes. However, plant managers may actually end up better off as a result of a merger or acquisition.
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O&MFocus on O&M (July/August 2006)
Safer, "virtual" reactor walkdowns; Beating the heat with inlet cooling; Reaching remote substations without fiber; One-year payback for lightning protection systems; Reaching remote substations without fiber
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CommentaryProposed PM2.5 regulation goes too far
By Quin Shea, Edison Electric Institute The U.S. electric power industry is committed to improving America’s air quality. Progress over the past 25 years has been real and significant and something we all can be proud of. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now proposing a new, lower limit on emissions of particulate […]
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Legal & RegulatoryPassing on regulatory risks undermines renewable mandates
More than 20 states now require their investor-owned utilities to serve a certain percentage of their load with renewable energy by a date certain. Other states are considering following suit. Failure to meet its “renewable power” mandate can subject a utility to financial and other regulatory penalties. If structured and supervised correctly, these initiatives […]
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NewsPOWER magazine’s Top Plants of 2006
On the following pages, we introduce the magazine’s 12 Top Plants of 2006. Among this year’s winners are two solar energy plants and another that marries fuel cells with heat and waste gas recovery. As those projects make clear, a plant doesn’t have to be big to earn kudos from us. What we typically like […]
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GasArcos de la Frontera Grupo III Combined-Cycle Plant, Cádiz, Spain
Iberdrola is rapidly making a name for itself on the world stage for building large, very efficient combined-cycle plants and for being the largest owner and operator of wind power plants. The utility’s most recent achievement was the successful commissioning of the Arcos de la Frontera Group III project, which marks the commercial debut of General Electric’s Frame 9FB gas turbine.
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SolarBavaria Solarpark, Germany
The world’s largest solar electric system was dedicated in June 2005 in Mühlhausen, Germany. The 10-MW system comprises three separate but interconnected photovoltaic parks in different cities that use an innovative sun-tracking system to maximize their outputs. After one year of operation, all three parks are still going strong—as you’d expect, due to their dearth of moving parts.
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CoalBethlehem Energy Center, Glenmont, New York
A great location, a fish-friendly cooling system, and the extent of environmental remediation needed to permit it distinguish this repowering project on the Hudson River just south of the New York State capital.
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GasBrooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Facility, Brooklyn, New York
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration facility supplies critical electricity and steam to New York City. Situated on an historic site, the plant has earned a series of awards and was the first cogeneration plant to be accepted into both the U.S. EPA National Environmental Performance Track and OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program in 2005. Through Delta Power’s unique asset management approach that brings added value to projects, BNYC has reinvented itself from a struggling, prematurely aging facility into one of the nation’s leading plants.