POWER

Modern heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) design must balance operating response with the reduction in life of components caused by daily cycling and fast starts. Advanced modeling techniques demonstrate HRSG startup ramp rates can be accelerated without compromising equipment life.

URS recently performed a combined cycle repowering study to determine the feasibility and economics of repowering an existing steam turbine that went into service in the 1950s. The competing option was building a new combined cycle unit. The results of the study provide insight for others considering the same alternatives.

Only through proper troubleshooting and then solving the underlying problems can control loop performance be improved. Process design certainly plays a role in control loop performance, but experience has shown that the majority of control loops can perform better—provided that the root cause of the poor performance is found and corrected.

As the book title Too Dumb to Meter: Follies, Fiascoes, Dead Ends, and Duds on the U.S. Road to Atomic Energy implies, nuclear power has traveled a rough road. In this POWER exclusive, we present the 22nd and 23rd chapters, “The Jimmy, Ron, and Mo Show” and “Screw Nevada and Nevada Will Screw You,” the last two chapters of the “Waste Is a Terrible Thing to Mind” section.

Lawrence J. Makovich, PhD, IHS CERA’s vice president and senior advisor for Global Power, predicts a rebound in electricity consumption from recession levels. Specifically, the rebound will be stronger than government projections, led by growth in electricity use by industry.

New England’s big push toward gas-fired power collided hard with its historical pipeline constraints this past winter, leaving multiple generators unable to respond to start-up requests from ISO-New England during a major storm. In the wake of the episode, the region is looking for some long-term solutions.

Decisions about design and operational options often are determined by one metric: the impact on the cost of electricity produced. An enhanced screening algorithm for power generation system total ownership cost (capital and operating) and thermal performance (output and efficiency) simplifies the analysis.

Have you ever experienced a restaurant menu overflowing with so many tasty entrées that making your selection seemed an impossible decision? Your deliberation probably ended when the waiter began tapping a pen on his order pad and your dinner-mates gave you the evil eye. Picking a commentary topic each month is much like scanning the dinner menu. There are usually many topics that deserve a good slice and dice, but it’s the deadline that forces a decision.

A combination of factors, including a relative scarcity of projects, has cut demand for skilled labor in the power generation sector. Despite the lull, workforce retirements are still expected to challenge the industry.

A massive eight-year construction feat to bore a 41-foot-wide, 6.3-mile-long tunnel deep beneath hard rock under the City of Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, was successfully completed this March.

Oil Filtration Systems introduced a new series of oil purification equipment to remove varnish from hydraulic and lubrication oils. By utilizing the two leading varnish mitigation technologies, a single varnish removal system (VRS) can remove either soluble varnish or suspended varnish from oil. VRS equipment employs granular adsorbent media to remove soluble varnish found in […]

A 10-MW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) pilot plant is being planned off the coast of southern China by global security and aerospace firm Lockheed Martin and Beijing-based cleantech firm the Reignwood Group.

Equalizer International introduced SWi range, what it claims is the “world’s most powerful flange spreading wedges.” Designed to decrease downtime and provide a safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to access and spread flange joints, the tools are capable of generating a spreading force of up to 25T and the SWi range includes a hydraulic (SWi20/25TE), […]

One of the first enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) was connected to the U.S. electric grid this April, marking a major milestone for the fledgling technology that seeks to tap the enormous terrestrial heat potential deep within Earth’s crust using directional drilling and pressurized water.

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products introduced three models of the new Swift Arc series of pre-engineered, robotic welding cells: Swift Arc AL (angle-load), Swift Arc FL (front-load), and Swift Arc SL (side-load) robot cells. Each system is an economic configuration for a complete work cell and is ideal for job shops introducing robotics to their […]

In an effort to create more jobs, the Obama administration is launching competitions to create three new manufacturing innovation institutes with a federal commitment of $200 million across five agencies: Defense, Energy, Commerce, NASA, and the National Science Foundation.  The energy-related institute will focus on next-generation power electronics manufacturing.

Air Products and Chemicals hydrogen production facilities in Port Arthur, Texas, have successfully begun capturing carbon dioxide from industrial operations and are now using that carbon for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The $431 million project, supported by $284 million from the Department of Energy (DOE), is being touted as a milestone in carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) for progressing beyond demonstration to industrial scale.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced on May 9 that it will hold a commission meeting on May 16 to address the difficulties posed by inadequate alignment between how natural gas and electricity markets operate.

The bad luck for Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) crippled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) continued this week. The local ABC affiliate in San Diego reported on April 30 that it had been given a photo of a makeshift repair to the water box in Unit 3  by a plant employee.

In the U.S., where construction of new nuclear reactors has stalled for three decades, two separate nuclear projects completed placement of basemat structural concrete for new AP1000 reactors a few days apart this March. SCANA Corp.’s South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) marked the milestone on March 11 (Figure 2), completing concrete placement of the nuclear island basemat for its V.C. Summer Unit 2 in Fairfield, S.C., while Southern Co.’s Georgia Power completed placement for a nuclear island at its Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear expansion site near Waynesboro, Ga., on March 14 (Figure 3).

Mexico’s Federal Electrical Commission needed a safe way to train new operators at its Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant in Veracruz, so it developed a stand-alone process simulator that allows trainees to practice a wide variety of plant operations and responses to incidents without putting the plant itself at risk.

Solar thermal technologies are experiencing increased popularity around the world. Three recent deployments illustrate how the technology and plant size specifics are tuned to local needs.

The number of regulated air emission constituents is increasing while the acceptable amounts for release are decreasing. In the long run, picking the most flexible multipollutant technology is surely the least cost option.

In a milestone for the fledgling marine power sector, Alstom’s 1-MW tidal turbine (Figure 6) generated power for the first time at the European Marine Energy Centre’s tidal test site in Orkney, Scotland.

Victor, a Victor Technologies brand, has launched its new 400 Series of oxy-fuel torches. The 400 series is a two-piece torch that incorporates innovative handle and cutting attachment designs that offer better ergonomics, a clearer view of the cutting path, visual cues for easier use, and enhanced safety. The new torch is available in medium- […]

Cuadrilla Delays UK Fracking Project to Conduct More Assessments. The UK’s largest shale gas explorer, Cuadrilla Resources Holdings, on March 14 said it would delay hydraulic fracturing operations at its Anna Road project until 2014, after data it had gathered from exploration of the Bowland Basin Shale in Lancashire confirmed assessments that the 1,200-square-kilometer license […]

SKF has launched SKF Insight, intelligent wireless technologies that are integrated into SKF bearings, enabling them to communicate their operating conditions continuously, with internally powered sensors and data acquisition electronics. The miniaturized packaging of sensor technologies enables measurement of parameters such as rpm, temperature, velocity, vibration, load, and other features so that damage can be […]

My career began as a results engineer testing large utility boilers. Ever since that first assignment, I have remained interested in the details of how the measurement and control of the furnace fuel and air inputs can make a huge difference in overall boiler performance. Given that plant operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets are slimmer today than in recent memory, my experience is that targeted performance testing can provide important feedback for prioritizing maintenance expenditures. The combination of plant testing and targeted O&M expenditures provide the best opportunity for efficient and reliable plant operations. I call this approach to plant efficiency improvement “performance-driven maintenace.”

“Safety is as Safety Does” and “Ignoring a Warning Can Cause Much Mourning” are two of the more creative safety slogans I’ve heard. Such inventive catch phrases and workplace safety posters are just part of what helps us achieve our ultimate goal, which is to ensure our employees return to their homes and loved ones in the same condition they left.

The proliferation of battery technologies in modern industry is presenting fire professionals with new sets of challenges. Confusion exists as to the correct approach for protecting industrial batteries from fire, whether that be in battery manufacturing, battery storage, or battery-powered applications.