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Thermal power plants are required to use fish protection technologies or make changes in plant operation to protect aquatic organisms. We intuitively understand that some organisms in the water drawn in to cool a power plant can be injured or killed when they hit a screen or enter the circulating water system. You have options for compliance with EPA rules; some are extremely expensive and burdensome, whereas others are brilliant in their simplicity. This article debunks several fish impingement myths and gives practical advice for successful compliance.

The term "water hammer" encompasses a handful of hydraulic and thermohydraulic mechanisms. They include water hammer in steam and water piping, water piston, water induction, flash condensation and evaporation, and shock waves generated by transonic flow. All can lead to failures of steam and water cycle components and put plant operators and workers at risk. Proper design and O&M practices can keep water hammer and similar phenomena under control.

With domestic reserves of natural gas declining and demand for gas rising, imported liquefied natural gas will increasingly fill the shortfall in U.S. pipeline supply. More than 40 LNG receiving/regasification terminals on three coasts are in various stages of development. Yet many questions about the operational and emissions impacts of the "hotter" LNG imports on today’s cleaner-burning gas turbines remain unanswered.

A century ago, boiler explosions were an all-too-familiar event. But with the universal adoption of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Codes in 1914, explosions caused by poor design or manufacturing became relics of history. Electrical classification codes had the same effect on safety. This article explains how designers and operators practically apply those standards. Code details and samples of area classification drawings for a gas turbine plant are included in an online supplement (see end of story).

The 2005 amendment to the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act created some unique challenges for the design of cogeneration plants in general and combined-cycle cogeneration plants in particular. Because utilities are no longer obligated to buy electricity at "avoided cost" from qualifying facilities, plant owners must simultaneously balance power and thermal demand efficiently and economically. Here’s a prescription for your next plant design.

ELECTRIC POWER 2007, sponsored by POWER magazine, will be presented at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., May 1 through May 3, 2007. A full agenda of preconference workshops and tutorials is scheduled for Monday, April 30.

March 1886 POWER reported on the latest development of a new and improved engine: “The chief feature of the Corliss engine [from Kendall & Roberts, Cambridgeport, Mass.] is the valve gear, which consists of four cylindrical valves, two each for admission and exhaust, operated from a central swing or stud plate; the steam valves being […]

As David Wojick explains in his article, “Mapping technology chaos,” on page 36, power engineers are under the gun to innovate. The president and Congress are calling for dramatic new advances in power technology. They are even considering legislating progress in areas such as efficiency and emissions control. Turning data into information Power engineers know […]

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) have elbowed their way into the nation’s lexicon with the rise in concern over climate change. But few of the journalists who are hyping global warming have taken the trouble to learn the ins and outs of producing affordable electricity from coal. Citizens of the industrialized world now wring their […]

The big buzz still echoing through world of coal-fired generation is the move by two big-bucks private equity investors to take TXU Corp. off the public market, including scuttling announced plans for eight new pulverized coal – fired plants. That leaves alive plans for three new units at TXU’s existing Sandow and Oak Grove sites. […]