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How does this investment compare to the alternative (buying a new turbine)?
Updating a control system is inexpensive compared to buying a new turbine.  Although new turbines offer higher heat rates, better emissions and overall more MW output than older systems.  The Return on Investment of a new turbine would take more years to recover. 

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are 60 nuclear reactors currently under construction around the world. China leads the way with 20 units in progress, followed by Russia with seven, and India with five. Twelve other countries, including the U.S., round out the list. The IAEA predicts that nuclear power generating capacity […]

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, creating a cement-like slurry. [gss ids=”93802,93804,93832,93808,93834,93836,93838,93840,93842,93844,93822,93846,93848,93850″]

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 smoothly, and a modern dense slurry ash-handling system keeps combustion residuals under control and allows for a zero liquid discharge posture. Unlike some of its […]

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 Delhi. Staff at NTPC Dadri have taken a proactive, innovative approach to maintaining their plant, making it one of the most efficient in India despite […]

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 benefits to the world. Many beneficial uses have been around for decades, but valuable new options are being developed, and some are starting to make […]

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 decision. As North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) enforcement deadlines and audit dates loom—notably, CIP-003-6 in April 2017, which addresses the […]

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 experience is showing that high-speed balancing can pay big dividends in reliability and maintenance costs. To a maintenance engineer or fleet manager, unwanted vibration in […]

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. Moves on the business planning and regulatory side are painfully slow and could, some argue, be writing the utility’s obituary. Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned monopoly […]