POWER

Power generators typically allocate construction risks through the process of aversion. Owners have a tendency to shift risk to a project’s primary contractor, who in turn pushes it to lower-tier parties in the contracting arrangement. Research by the Construction Industry Institute has found that there are more equitable ways to allocate project risk.

Aging infrastructure ranks at the top of the U.S. electric power sector’s concerns, flanked by the exorbitant investment needed to keep the system in good repair.

Panelists at the ELECTRIC POWER Keynote and Roundtable Discussion in Baltimore in May wrestled with a range of issues. But despite calls for a “balanced portfolio,” an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, and predictions of “more changes in the next 10 years than in the last 100,” the focus of attention appears to be the decidedly mundane displacement of coal by natural gas.

Siemens Infrastructure & Cities and Munich city utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) this April put into operation a virtual power plant (VPP), linking several small-scale distributed energy sources and pooling their resources so they can be operated as a single installation (Figure 1). The project comes on the heels of a February 2012 expansion of a […]

Panelists at ELECTRIC POWER discussed how U.S. utilities choose renewable power generation technologies based on their geographic locations, state requirements, economics, and other criteria—including reliability and federal regulations.

Within the two months since the Department of Energy (DOE) flourished $452 million in cost-shared federal funding to support engineering, design certification, and licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for up to two small modular reactor (SMR) designs over five years, four developers of reactors under 300 MW have submitted applications: Westinghouse, Babcock & […]

As U.S. utilities seek to increase the percentage of carbon-neutral biomass used in their generation portfolios, they must deal with a number of complex challenges unique to this fuel source. Several breakthrough technologies are poised to help promote greater use of biomaterials.

A two-year project begun this April by Southern Co. and a consortium of partners including boiler vendors Alstom, Babcock & Wilcox, Foster Wheeler, and Riley Power; the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will gather data on the performance of alloy materials under advanced ultrasupercritical (USC) temperatures of about 1,400F. […]

Efforts by power producers to meet clean air rules mean that wastewater effluent streams now face revised EPA regulations. A skirmish involving a New Hampshire power plant could set the tone for the next battle over regulations.

In May—as a trade war raged between Chinese solar panel manufacturers and exporters and their counterparts in the U.S. and the European Union concerning the world’s plummeting crystalline silicone photovoltaic module prices—a 28.8-MW thin-film copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS or CIS) solar power plant came online. Developers Solar Frontier, the world’s largest manufacturer of CIS […]

With new reactors finally under construction, this should be an optimistic time for nuclear power in the U.S. But cheap natural gas, rising construction costs, and the Fukushima accident’s lingering pall have darkened the mood.

The Republic of Korea’s National Assembly on May 2 passed legislation that will mandate cuts in greenhouse gases (GHGs) starting in 2015. The Act on Allocation and Trading of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Allowances passed with a near unanimous vote of 140-0, with three abstentions. It follows the country’s voluntary GHG emissions reduction target of 30% […]

The season’s blockbuster includes white-hatted heroes, good-natured regulatory sidekicks, bar fights, and a lurking menace named Fugitive Dust.

The second of Georgia Power’s three natural gas combined cycle units at Plant McDonough-Atkinson in Smyrna, Ga., came online on April 26 (Figure 7). The first unit at the plant became operational in December 2011, and the third unit, currently under construction, is expected to come online in November 2012, increasing the plant’s capacity from […]

A diverse range of speakers reviewed the state of gas-fired generation at ELECTRIC POWER, but there was one constant: flexibility

UK Unveils Draft Energy Reform Bill. A draft energy bill unveiled by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change on May 22 seeks to attract £110 billion ($168 billion) of investment to build new nuclear, renewables, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) plants to replace nearly a fifth of the country’s total power capacity, […]

Emerson has launched the latest solution for combustion flue gas analysis, the Rosemount Analytical 6888 in-situ oxygen analyzer. The 6888 analyzer provides accurate measurement of oxygen remaining in flue gases coming from combustion processes such as boilers, incinerators, kilns, process heaters, and industrial heating furnaces. By maintaining the ideal level of oxygen in the flue […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has the responsibility for ensuring just and reasonable rates and preventing undue discrimination by public utility transmission providers. Last year FERC defined a new framework for public utilities and regional transmission organizations planning new transmission networks. The framework is provided in Order No. 1000—Transmission Planning and Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities. The Final Rule was issued on July 21, 2011, and reaffirmed by Order No. 1000-A on May 17, 2012.

IDEAL INDUSTRIES released an upgraded version of its popular HeatSeeker handheld thermal imaging camera. The new model features twice the resolution of legacy models and a wider field-of-view to improve troubleshooting efficiency. Engineered with a powerful 320 x 240 2MP sensor that captures 76K pixels, the new HeatSeeker 320 can be used for a wide […]

Oxyfuel technology has been retrofitted at a 700-MW coal-fired power plant in Queensland, Australia, and is now capturing carbon dioxide from one of the plant’s six steam boilers.

Yokogawa’s new FX1000 paperless recording system provides premium features and performance for cost-sensitive OEM suppliers and end user process recording applications. Delivering a high level of measurement, recording, and networking functionality in a compact package, the shallow 6.5-inch case depth behind the panel allows for installation in tight locations and easy system integration. A high-precision, […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has begun commercial operation of the natural gas–fired 880-MW John Sevier Combined Cycle Plant, located near Rogersville, Tenn.

South Carolina–based ESAB Welding & Cutting Products introduced the Aristo Tech 5-13 Welding Helmet with Variable Shade ADF. Designed for the professional welder, the helmet features Auto-Darkening Filter Lens Technology (ADF) and has a variable 5-13 digital control for adjustment of shade level, sensitivity, and delay. The helmet’s Quick Set feature allows for easy change […]

ABB to Refurbish Generators at Two Swiss Hydro Plants. ABB on April 20 said it had received $20 million of orders from two power utilities managed by Axpo, a leading Swiss power utility, to refurbish the generators at two of its hydroelectric power plants. The plants are located in the mountainous canton of Wallis (Valais) […]

The new DustBoss from Dust Control Technology DB-M is designed for applications in which a fan-driven mist could generate undesirable turbulence and is well-suited to operating conditions involving very fine dust particles, including slag dust or fly ash. The unit generates an umbrella-shaped cloud of atomized droplets averaging 50 to 200 microns in size and […]

In March, Cambridge Energy Research Associates hosted its 30th annual CERAWeek, a conference that is renowned for high-profile attendees from around the world.

Cummins Power Generation announced two new internationally styled and designed diesel generator set ranges for global markets. Powered by Cummins engines, both are maintenance-friendly. CE-certification and compliance with international standards make them ideal for a wide variety of applications, including in remote locations. The new low-range 40- to 75-kVA generator sets feature the Cummins S3.8 […]

None of you reading this magazine needs an article—or new governmental regulations—to tell you that flash fires and explosions involving coal dust can cause catastrophic incidents, fatalities, facility damage, and financial consequences.

In a 2006 statement, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said, “We must treat energy security and climate security as two sides of the same coin.” Are energy security and climate change best addressed by reducing fossil fuel combustion, as he suggested?

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program is the only cross-industry, market-based climate change regulatory program in the United States. This program may provide a good investment opportunity for dairy farmers, livestock owners, and others if the program’s Livestock Project protocol for offsets can get off the ground and maintain a viable price for greenhouse gas (GHG) allowances.