Departments
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News
Perception Is Not a Science
Is your summer warmer than normal, or did your winter seem colder than in the past? We may perceive changes in weather patterns and draw conclusions, but personal experience is of limited value in science. It’s all about the data. Dr. James Hansen, a senior NASA scientist and long-time global warming apologist, first achieved notoriety […]
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News
Compact Pump Series
Thompson Pump’s new Compact pump series has all the benefits of the popular Thompson Pump JSC series but is lighter, has fewer parts, needs less maintenance, and has a lower price. The Thompson Compact pump is 35% smaller and 20% lighter but offers the same performance as a standard size pump with 24-hour run time […]
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News
Multichannel Transmitter Models
Endress+Hauser introduced the Liquiline CM44 Series, multichannel transmitter models for monitoring and controlling processes in water, wastewater, chemical, power, and other industries. CM44 models accept inputs from up to eight Endress+Hauser Memosens digital analytical sensors, including nitrate, spectral absorption coefficient, pH, ORP, conductivity, oxygen, turbidity, and ion selective electrode sensors. (Memosens sensors are lab-calibrated devices […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Daylight Saving: Energy Policy or Placebo?
In December 1973, President Richard Nixon explained to the American people his administration’s critical initiative to confront the “energy crisis” du jour (precipitated by the 1973–74 Arab oil embargo): “Many [energy savings measures] require inconvenience and sacrifice. But daylight saving time… will mean only a minimum of inconvenience and will involve equal participation by all. […]
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News
Towers Improve Aim of Dust-Suppression Equipment
Dust Control Technology launched a family of tower mounts for the company’s atomized misting equipment, which extends droplet hang time and range while providing more precise aiming capability during slag-handling, aggregate-progressing, recycling, and coal-handling operations. Complementing a product line that already includes wheeled carriages and skid mounts, by delivering millions of 50- to 200-micron droplets […]
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Coal
THE BIG PICTURE: A Big Switch
The widespread transition from coal to natural gas for new generation is exemplified by the morphing fleets of some of the biggest U.S. generators. Figures show the amount of power generated by each company using coal (top) and natural gas (bottom). Sources: POWER, NextEra, Duke Energy, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Southern Co., American Electric Power […]
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Hydro
Three Gorges Dam Completed Amid Technical Victories, Controversy
China in early July installed the 32nd and final turbine of its mammoth Three Gorges Dam, virtually completing the controversial 1994-initiated hydropower project on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
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Coal
EU Ruling Slackens Poland’s Coal Power Expansion Ambitions
Poland, a country that currently depends on coal power for nearly 85% of its electricity and plans to build another 11,300 MW of new coal-fired capacity by 2020, suffered a critical planning setback in mid-July as the European Union (EU) effectively blocked the country from using free carbon emission permits to build new coal-fired power plants.
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Commentary
Fuel Diversity Is Critical in Industry Transition
Success in life and business is all about seizing the right opportunities at the right time. Opportunities abound today in the electric utility business. Our industry is in the midst of an extraordinary period of transformation and investment that will affect how we produce and deliver electricity—and what customers pay for it—for decades. By 2020, […]
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News
Solar-Hybrid Mini-Grid Lights Up Brazilian Island
An innovative mini-grid in April turned on the lights for about 250 residents living in Ilha Grande, a tiny island on the northwest coast of Maranhão State in northeastern Brazil.