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The eyes of Texas—and the rest of the world—are upon NRG Energy after its September application for licenses for two new reactors at South Texas Project (see Global Monitor). The filing was the first of its kind in nearly three decades and the first of up to 30 like it expected over the next few […]

NRG applies for first COL / TVA green-lights Watts Bar 2 / Southern Co. and Florida muni launch IGCC project / UK approves wave energy "hub" / New Jersey-New York HV system launched / Membrane strips CO2 from methane faster / POWER digest

The NERC auditors are coming / Winning encore for on-line pH monitoring / Using baloons as temporary barriers / How data logging can cut power bills

This May, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) rejected a proposal by Southern California Edison (SCE) to build Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 (DPV2)—a 230-mile-long, high-voltage transmission line connecting California and Arizona. The line, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) four months earlier, would enable SCE to import additional low-cost electricity from Arizona. The ACC’s rejection of DPV2 highlights a significant challenge for state and regional resource planners—weighing state interests against the regional benefits of interstate electricity commerce.

TVA’s 1,155-MW Browns Ferry Unit 1 returned to service on May 22 after sitting idle since 1985, when all three units were shut down to address management and operational concerns. Units 2 and 3 returned to service in 1991 and 1995, respectively, after extensive upgrades to controls, electrical systems, pumps, motors, and more. The return of Unit 1 began in 2002 with a five-year $1.8 billion restart plan to make all three units essentially identical, and that goal was accomplished in style. Welcome back, Unit 1.

A Luminant-Bechtel team completed replacement of four steam generators and the reactor vessel head—plus almost 200 other work packages—in a short, 55-day outage at Comanche Peak Unit 1. Matching or exceeding this schedule will become the goal for those who follow.

Detroit Edison teamed with Washington Group International to complete a first-of-its-kind nuclear retrofit project: replacing two moisture separator reheaters during a single 35-day outage with a perfect safety record. POWER recognizes this significant accomplishment by naming Fermi 2 Power Plant a 2007 Top Plant.

Just under a year ago, Omaha Public Power District completed perhaps the most complex nuclear power plant renovation in the history of the industry in a scant 85 days—five fewer days than the original plan called for. POWER recognizes Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station as a Top Plant for packing more work into one outage than was thought possible, and then executing the plan ahead of schedule and below budget.

To make the most of their digital devices and enable the sharing of data by different departments, new and old plants alike need a reliable digital data infrastructure.