POWER [October 1, 2016]

Slide Show Supplement to Mátra Power Plant, Visonta, Hungary

The Mátra Power Plant in Visonta, Hungary, uses a dense slurry system for handling fly ash and other coal combustion residuals. The DSS combines ash and water in a 1:1 ratio,…

TOP PLANT: Mátra Power Plant, Visonta, Hungary

Owner/operator: Mátra Power Plant Co. Ltd. Hungary’s largest coal-fired power plant is a model of efficiency and environmental impact despite its 1960s-era vintage. Continual upgrades have kept the plant running…

TOP PLANT: National Capital Power Station Dadri, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

Owner/operator: NTPC Ltd. India’s state-owned generator NTPC operates a large fleet of power plants across the nation, and one of its top performers is found outside the capital of New…

TOP PLANT: Tanjung Bin Energy Power Plant, Johor, Malaysia

Owner/operator: Malakoff Corp. Bhd. Building a power plant on a site previously used for an aquaculture farm comes with more than a few challenges. For the Tanjung Bin Energy Power…

A Primer on Gas Turbine Failure Modes

When a gas turbine goes down, recovery can be an expensive, time-consuming process. Knowing what can go wrong and how to anticipate turbine failures can help you avoid a difficult…

Chronic Tardiness at South Africa's Eskom Could Be Its Downfall

South Africa’s state-owned utility faces recent generation shortages, plant construction problems, load shedding, and uncertainty at the African continent’s only nuclear power plant. And that’s just on the generation side.…

Coal Combustion By-products Aren't All Bad: The Beneficial Use Solution

While it’s true that coal ash can be an environmental hazard if it’s not properly managed, there are a lot of positive uses for coal combustion products that actually provide…

High-Speed Turbine Rotor Balancing Lowers Costs and Improves Operation

High-speed turbine rotor balancing was once rare because of the costs and logistical challenges involved in doing it during an outage. That’s begun to change as economic options emerge, and…

Is an Automated Compliance Tracking Solution Right for You?

Like so many other power plant functions these days, regulatory and standards compliance can be automated. Know what you want an automated system to do before you make a vendor…

Sasan's Shadow: An Ultra Mega Power Project's Dark Side

For all its record-breaking achievements for speed, innovation, and efficiency, the 3,960-MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project should have been a POWER Top Plant. But the unique project has been…

The Surprising Ground Zero for Electricity Market Fights

Look to the East and you’ll see a major initiative to transform New York’s electric grid into a cleaner, more efficient system. Look to the West and you’ll find ambitious…

Birds Continue to Muddy Permitting for Renewables

The push for clean energy notwithstanding, no silver bullet can cure the challenges that our continued use of carbon engenders. Every form of energy production, green or black, clean or…

Coal Treatment Helps Power Plant Reduce Fuel Costs

Lakeland Electric, the third-largest public power utility in Florida, reported that it saved $12 million in fiscal year 2015 through the use of a coal treatment at its McIntosh Power Plant Unit 3. The savings

Using Radar to Improve Security and Counter Drone Threats

Security is taken very seriously at most power plants. Fences and other barriers are usually installed before construction of a plant even begins to keep curious busy-bodies, thieves, protestors, and—at…

Brazil's Environmental Agency Halts 8-GW Amazon Hydropower Project

Brazil’s environmental protection agency, IBAMA, in early August canceled development permits for an 8-GW hydroelectric project on concerns about its social and ecological impacts. If built as proposed by a…

First Scottish Tidal Energy Array Is Connected to the Grid

One of the world’s first offshore tidal energy arrays was connected to Scotland’s grid this August. On its heels is the grid connection of a second array that is owned…

POWER Digest

Mexico to Launch Pilot Carbon Trade Program. Mexico will launch a yearlong simulation of a cap-and-trade program this November. The pilot program will involve up to 60 companies, allowing them to adapt a

Prototype Power Cell Captures CO₂ and Produces Power

Researchers from Cornell University have developed an oxygen-assisted aluminum/carbon dioxide power cell that uses electrochemical reactions to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and produce power in the process. The cell developed…

Russia Accelerates Efforts to Build Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Under a government decree published in early August, Russia will build up to 11 new nuclear reactors by 2030, including two BN-1200 sodium-cooled fast-neutron reactors. Russia already has 36 operating reactors

Who Is Subsidizing Whom?

For all the words published over the past several years about electric utility customer defection—thanks to the combination of lower-cost residential solar photovoltaic systems, tax incentives, and net