POWER

  • Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Is a Winner

    New coal power plant technology is being developed by various companies around the world, but there are some pretty efficient and reliable designs already commercially available. Circulating fluidized bed

  • A Powerful Investment in Education, and the Community

    A new coal-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, replacing old boilers in place since the 1960s, improves the efficiency of the campus’ heating and cooling system

  • Biomass Power: Stalled in the Market, Stalled in Washington

    After flowering between 2008 and 2014, power from biomass has withered in the face of market forces. Furthermore, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have resisted regulatory action that could boost the industry

  • How to Make Shutdown, Turnaround, and Outage Events Successful

    Shutdown, turnaround, and outage events are extremely complex, with multiple stakeholders all focused on minimizing the time assets are offline, delivering their scope on budget, and ensuring zero safety

  • Automated Plant Startups Reduce Fixed and Fuel-Related Costs

    State-of-the-art automation systems are common at power plants these days. Still, many plants start up units in a very manual way. When startups were rare, the implications were minimal, but as units cycle

  • Adding Fog for Power Augmentation and Emission Reduction

    A pilot project was initiated by China’s largest energy provider to test the effectiveness of fog-based power augmentation for a gas turbine at a compressor station. The system provided a significant

  • How to Position Your Power Company for the Future

    Faced with the challenge of making the right moves to accommodate a swiftly changing energy ecosystem, one question draws into sharp focus for generators and the entire power and utilities industry: What will their role become in the years ahead, considering evolving portfolio mixes and changing industry dynamics? Leaders know there’s a very real possibility […]

  • A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power)

    The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an advantageous complement; the two benefit each other. The synergistic combination is an emerging trend in renewable energy and power generation as costs drop. The pairing […]

  • Ultrasonic Testing for the Power Generation Industry

    Ultrasonic nondestructive testing, also known as ultrasonic NDT or simply UT, is a method of characterizing the thickness or internal structure of a test piece using high-frequency sound waves. The

  • PVD Coatings Extend Life of Gas and Steam Turbine Components

    Industrial gas turbine (IGT) manufacturers and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) personnel are continually seeking new ways to improve the performance and longevity of critical components. High-value

  • Maximizing the Solar ITC Phaseout: Lessons from Wind

    Every company invested in our nation’s clean energy transition is aware that 2019 is the last year that solar energy can take advantage of the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) under Internal Revenue Code

  • Egypt Megaproject: An Expedited Power Transformation

    Winning POWER’s highest honor is a set of three gas-fired power plants and related infrastructure—the Egypt Megaproject—which was the single biggest order ever in Siemens’ long history. Completed in a

  • Dogged Determination Brings Innovation to Renovation

    A group of project managers and engineers overcame a host of challenges to help an iconic Minnesota power plant complete its switch from coal-fired power to natural gas. Converting a coal-fired power plant to

  • A Clean Sweep for Invasive Mussel Biofouling

    The rapid proliferation of dreissena rostriformis bugensis—the quagga mussel—has major implications for power plant reliability. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation installed a groundbreaking solution at Parker

  • FPL Uses Smart Technology to Build a Stronger Grid

    Facing Florida’s daunting weather issues, Florida Power & Light consciously set out to improve its outage restoration and grid resilience performance. The company turned to increasingly smart

  • Port’s Microgrid Could Be Sea Change for Industry

    A new microgrid in California, at the nation’s second-busiest seaport, takes an innovative approach to providing reliable, resilient, and sustainable power, providing a glimpse at the future of such

  • Distributed Energy Award Goes to Unique Hog Farm Microgrid

    Power from pig manure is not a public relations stunt, but rather, it’s an innovative solution to several farm challenges. Installing lagoon covers not only reduces odors and eliminates rainwater ingress

  • Bringing the APR1400 Reactor to Market

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducts an extensive evaluation of reactor technology before approving and ultimately licensing nuclear power plants. Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. began the

  • The Clean Energy Conundrum

    The worldwide movement toward a clean energy future is barreling ahead. Most clean energy advocates seem to focus on wind and solar power as their resources of choice, and it shows, as the installed capacity

  • Hydropower Is Vital to Africa’s Future

    Africa has a number of power supply challenges, many of which can be overcome with renewable energy. Foremost among the options is hydropower. While large projects can meet stiff resistance in the development

  • Iraq Developing Solar to Complement GE, Siemens Projects

    Iraq’s $14 billion deal with Siemens to develop power generation projects in the country has grabbed most of the headlines this year, but the country continues to develop power projects with GE, and also in

  • Drivers for Advanced Distribution Management Systems

    There are many reasons for utilities to invest in Advanced Distribution Management Systems, particularly as more renewable resources are utilized and integrated, and the need for reliability and resilience of

  • China, Russia Looking to Build Nuclear Plants in Argentina

    Argentina, the first Latin American country to adopt nuclear power when the Atucha I plant began operation in 1974, has plans to expand its nuclear generation, with Russia and China vying to implement their

  • Equipment Showcase: Construction Equipment

    Successfully operating a power plant or other industrial facility depends on many things, including the vendors who supply equipment for construction of the facility, along with those who provide the materials

  • POWER Digest [July 2019]

    Taishan-2 EPR Achieves Criticality. A second EPR unit in China’s Guangdong province attained a sustained chain reaction on May 28, marking another major milestone for Framatome, EDF, and China General

  • The EU’s Power Provisions: Is Texas a Reliable Indicator?

    What does the 21st century power market look like? That is the question the European Union (EU) is attempting to answer with the new electricity regulation and revised electricity directive passed at the end

  • Chile Presents a Coal Exit Plan

    Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

  • Japan Will Explore New Avenues for Energy Self-Sufficiency

    Japan’s government this June adopted a new energy white paper that suggests the country must rely on a larger share of nuclear and renewables to slash its carbon emissions and meet its target of a 26%

  • The Future Direction of Respiratory Protection

    An estimated 5 million U.S. workers wear respirators. Employers are required to provide National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified respirators using a written respiratory protection program enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Design and manufacturing focus on fit, comfort, and ease of use across product lines incorporating advanced technologies, such […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Siemens’ Corporate History

    Siemens AG, the global technology conglomerate that today has headquarters in both Berlin and Munich, in May 2019 announced it will spin off its energy units to focus on its digital “core.” The news has stunned many in the power sector, where Siemens has clenched a formidable presence since 1866. But restructuring at Siemens is […]