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Injection of carbon dioxide has begun at one of the world’s first fully integrated coal-fired carbon capture, transportation, and geologic storage projects.

The world’s first supercritical pulverized coal–fired low mass flux vertical tube Benson boiler is Jinzhushan 3, located in the Hunan Province of the People’s Republic of China. The 600-MW Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. once-through boiler burns Chinese anthracite using downshot pulverized coal (PC) technology. Part 1 of this three-part article provides a project summary and overview. The other two parts will look at technology features of the unique boiler design and plant performance test results.

After years of development, design, and construction, your plant is finally nearly ready for startup. But don’t light that cigar yet—at least not until you’ve developed a strategy for commissioning your water cycle chemistry. Root causes of corrosion can be predicted and avoided. The best way to avoid corrosion is to develop and implement plant-specific cycle chemistry commissioning guidelines.

Because Powder River Basin (PRB) coal is smaller, more friable, and contains more fine particulates than bituminous coal, controlling the fugitive dust generated as PRB coal moves from bunker to burner tip is problematic. The challenge for material-handling systems at power plants that have switched coals is to minimize this dust and capture it cost-effectively and without compromising safety.

The Boilermakers union has been a leader among the labor and business organizations that seek to shepherd the coal-fired energy sector through the worst effects of these forces. And we continue in those efforts.

President Obama’s Executive Order on industrial energy efficiency is another incursion of the federal government into the day-to-day operations of American industry. The symbol of a free enterprise is autonomy in determining how to efficiently invest capital, an activity that the government has proven inept time and again.

The American Wind Energy Association’s number one priority is renewal of the production tax credit in order to protect industry jobs. But wind isn’t the only industry sector that’s scrambling to protect jobs.

PPL Montana plans to mothball its 154-MW coal-fired J.E. Corette power plant in Billings, Mont., starting in April 2015. The company cited "effects of pending Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] regulations combined with economic factors," as reasons for its decision.

About 1,792 MW of existing generation in the New York bulk power system is expected to retire or be mothballed over the next decade, and if demand heightens as has been forecast by 2020, the state’s grid could see a 1,000-MW generation gap, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) warned in its recently released 2012 Reliability Needs Assessment (RNA).

More than 300 state and national public interest groups on Friday asked U.S. senators to oppose a bill introduced in August by Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Max Baucus (D- Mont.) that they say will fail to protect public health and the environment because it encourages "unsafe dumping of toxic coal ash."