Latest

U.S. wind power is on a roll, with wind farms sprouting like weeds. But in the near future, utilities may end up paying higher prices for wind capacity because state regulators are, in effect, imposing an artificial floor on national demand for generation fueled by renewable resources. At last count, at least 20 states had […]

Nuclear hot streak continues/Who’s winning in U.S. wind power?/ Canadian wind picking up too/ Brazilian port powers itself/ Biomass meets CHP in Sweden/ Power surfing from Scotland to Germany

Desalination, Italian style; How to minimize DI operating costs; Advanced flow meter works with shorter pipe runs; Why tubing beats piping.

      Steven F. Greenwald and Christopher A. Hilen Utility regulators in California and other states have begun subjecting power plants to extensive oversight of their O&M activities. These oversight programs are a response to allegations that generators purposely shut operational plants down to drive electricity prices up during the 2000–2001 energy crisis. These state initiatives […]

The Valley of the Sun went off the water wagon on March 4, ending a record 136 consecutive days without measurable rainfall. That first 0.05-inch sip, followed by a 0.18-inch gulp the next day, only left residents yearning for more. But Mother Nature was only teasing, because the rest of March remained dry. On March […]

With the 2006 hurricane season about to begin, climatologists are predicting that the Atlantic Ocean will spawn 17 “named” storms this summer and fall, with 9 categorized as hurricanes and 5 expected to be “intense.” Whether or not your plant lies in a vulnerable coastal area, you’d do well to learn a few lessons from Entergy’s unique experience last year.

Understanding why stack emissions become opaque leads to better choices of systems for controlling SO3 and other pollutants, based on current and future plant operating configurations.

Primary airflow has a major impact on the efficiency, capacity, and cleanliness of pulverized coal–fired generation. Inaccurate measurements that underestimate primary airflow levels can lead to negative operational outcomes that include increased boiler gas temperatures, flyash loss-on-ignition, excessive NO_x emissions, and higher-than-necessary fan power consumption. We remind you how to avoid those headaches.

Three years ago, an article in POWER described how Cheng Power Systems, by modifying the combustors of several popular gas turbines, had used steam injection to lower the units’ NOx output to about 5 ppm—but some models had substantial CO levels without combustor modifications. Since then, the company has developed new combustor nozzles that recently […]

If engineered well and drained properly, a simple finned-tube heat exchanger can help maximize a fossil-fueled power plant’s combustion efficiency, capacity, and air pollution reduction. Use the guidelines in this article either to return a disabled steam coil air preheater to service or to improve the performance of a unit that may have been wasting […]