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Owner/operator: PSEG New Jersey’s second-largest power plant has been a leader since it opened in 2006, when it was named a POWER Top Plant for its use of reclaimed water for cooling and for fitting an advanced four-unit facility into a constrained brownfield site. Now PSEG’s Linden Generating Station becomes a two-time Top Plant winner […]

Owner/operator: We Energies Converting a boiler’s fuel source from coal to natural gas involves a lot of planning and reengineering. When the plant is the sole steam service supplier to a downtown metropolitan area, it also involves a rigid schedule. The Valley Power Plant overcame several challenges to successfully complete one such conversion. The Valley […]

The second World Nuclear Exhibition was held at a moment in time when the prospects for nuclear power are both tantalizing and frustrating. One thing is clear: The dynamics of the nuclear power industry have changed recently—and so have the solutions proposed for achieving greater certainty. One of the strongest arguments nuclear power has going […]

As combined cycle gas turbine plants are called upon to play a larger and more flexible role in the generation mix, it’s important to schedule a comprehensive assessment of major components at key intervals to ensure reliable operation. Just like humans, power plants can benefit from regularly scheduled condition assessments, which are sometimes called “health […]

Deciding to retire a coal-fired unit is often a tough call, but even tougher decisions follow. The next steps taken by a generation owner have multiple economic, environmental, and stakeholder consequences. Since 2000, U.S. generating companies (Gencos) have announced the closure of more than 200 coal-fired power plants, totaling 102 GW of generating capacity. Closures […]

Inexpensive natural gas, increased renewable energy utilization, and ever-tightening environmental regulations have limited the use of waste feedstocks for power generation. But while often dismissed out of hand, with proper planning and understanding of the market, power producers can realize benefits from waste-to-energy projects. It was a tropically hot day at the plant, and it […]

The U.S. nuclear power business is in trouble, and Exelon has six units totaling more than 5,300 MW of dependable capacity on the chopping block. How will the Chicago electricity giant respond? Perhaps by acquiring more nuclear capacity? Chicago-based Exelon Corp., the largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., is facing what could be the […]

P OWER Editor Gail Reitenbach interviewed King Lee of Lloyd’s Register on June 29 at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Le Bourget, France. The firm is a “non-profit distributing charity with a public benefit

A main bank transformer fire has put a halt to power ascension testing at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Watts Bar Unit 2 nuclear plant. The incident occurred at about 9:10 p.m., on August 30, when an electrical fault on the 2B main bank transformer caused the Unit 2 main turbine to trip. The reactor, […]

Westinghouse, the lead supplier for the V.C. Summer nuclear plant expansion project in South Carolina, said on August 30 that it had successfully placed the reactor vessel for the new Unit 2. The 278-metric-ton vessel was rigged into place by one of the largest construction cranes in the world, a heavy lift derrick with a […]