POWER
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Legal & Regulatory
THE BIG PICTURE: Trump’s Regulatory Targets
President Trump campaigned on a promise to reduce regulation and control regulatory costs. One of his first actions after taking office was to issue an executive order calling for the elimination of two existing regulations for every one new regulation issued. Toward that end, the Trump administration has acted or sought to reverse more than […]
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O&M
Select Boiler Chemistry in the Design Phase of Project Life
On many combined cycle projects, the major decisions about boiler chemistry are left until after the plant has been designed, equipment is procured, and construction is well underway. However, the best time to make these chemistry decisions is in the design phase of the project. That enables the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor to […]
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Renewables
Hydro Project Overcomes Physical, Social Obstacles
Hydropower is Brazil’s major source of electricity. The country is moving toward more generation from solar and wind, and away from so-called “mega dams,” but what could be a final mammoth hydro project
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O&M
The Technology Behind One of the World’s Longest Pipe Conveyors
Long-distance conveyors are a reliable and energy-efficient method of bulk material transport. Pipe conveyors—fully enclosed material handling systems—offer additional environmental protection and more
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Renewables
POWER Digest [September 2018]
Israel Embarks on a Major Electricity Reform. Under a law passed on July 19, Israel will break up a monopoly held by state-owned Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) and open the country’s electricity sector to new
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Connected Plant
Digital Tools Help Increase Output, Reduce Costs at Palo Verde
Palo Verde is the largest nuclear-generating site in the U.S. It has three of the five largest nuclear units in the country, with each pressurized water reactor licensed at almost 4,000 MWth. Like many plants
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Renewables
It’s Time for a Macro-Grid Overlay in the U.S.
The U.S. power system is separated into three major components—the Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The three operate almost independently
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Renewables
MeyGen Array Sets Global Records for Harnessing Tidal Power
Though tidal energy is still considered by many to be in its nascent stages, power generated from turbines harnessing fast tidal flows in the same way wind turbines catch the wind has entered the commercial
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Commentary
Power Industry Should Wholeheartedly Support Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to realign the transportation sector and present an opportunity for the power industry to transform and reinvent itself in fundamental ways. But whether this
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O&M
Equipment Showcase: Pumps
Pumps and pumping systems have multiple applications in power plants and can be located in several locations throughout a facility. These pumps are generally centrifugal and positive displacement pumps
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Commentary
Power Struggle: Cannabis Growers Face High Energy Costs in New Jersey
New Jersey is yet another state expanding public access to cannabis for medical purposes and is poised to legalize access for recreational use. This means energy service providers and public utilities will
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O&M
Increase Condenser Efficiency with Latest-Generation Vacuum Pumps
State-owned Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) operates the Shin Boryeong Thermal Power Plant (TPP), a two-unit, 2,000-MW ultrasupercritical bituminous-coal-fired power plant. Shin Boryeong TPP is an extension
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Solar
China Puts Online Pioneering Large-Scale CSP Project
China completed its first large commercial-scale parabolic-trough concentrated solar power (CSP) plant at the end of June. The 50-MW Delingha project built by CGN New Energy, a subsidiary of China General
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T&D
A Wind Experiment: The Hornsdale Wind Farm
Along with producing power from 99 turbines, the 309-MW Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia has helped trial new technologies that could ramp up power system security and reliability. At first glance, the
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Connected Plant
Tesla Virtual Power Plant Takes Shape in Australia
Tesla in July released more details of its virtual power plant (VPP) project in South Australia (SA), outlining the initiative as well as its resources and the benefits it will bring to the region. The company
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Renewables
Cerro Pabellón: Taking Geothermal Power to New Heights
South America’s first and only geothermal power plant, the 48-MW Cerro Pabellón project, sits at an elevation of 4,500 meters above sea level in Chile’s harsh and remote Atacama Desert. Building and
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Renewables
Let the Sun Shine In: Where Is Solar Power Headed?
The Solar Energy Industries Association, the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry, reports that solar power has grown in the U.S. at a compounded annual rate of 59% since the solar investment
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Renewables
Australia Braces for Power System Transformation, Disruptions
The inaugural integrated system plan (ISP) released by Australia’s Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in mid-July warns that the country is in the midst of a “transformative and unprecedented” rate of change
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Renewables
Egypt Brings New Natural Gas and Wind Power Plants Online
New natural gas-fired power plants and wind farms are part of Egypt’s strategy to increase the country’s power generation by at least 50%. It began delivering on that plan in July as it brought three
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IIOT Power
Moving from Preventive to Predictive Maintenance with Advanced Analytics
Predictive maintenance is preferred over preventive maintenance for critical assets, but the correct application of advanced analytics is required to realize full value. Power plants of all types have a host
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Renewables
Award-Winning Pumped-Storage Hydro Facility a Modern Marvel
The Frades II pumped-storage hydro project in Portugal took advantage of existing dams to incorporate a scheme that includes the largest variable-speed reversible units installed in Europe. The facility
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Renewables
Renewed Vision Shines Light on Dormant Nuclear Site
The framework of a cooling tower. Weathered concrete walls, with empty holes as windows. The remains of what might have been provide the backdrop for what is—a solar farm that’s boosting economic
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IIOT Power
A Reimagined Power Future Enabled by Digital Technologies
The power industry is changing and leading companies are turning to digital technologies to revolutionize their operations. Monitoring and diagnostics centers are leveraging vast amounts of data from around
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History
THE BIG PICTURE: A Gas Trade Transformation (Infographic)
According to the International Energy Agency, global natural gas trade has grown by more than 40% over the past 15 years. Over the next five years, current trade flows are expected to significantly diversify, boosted by development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. LNG trade, which grew by 11% in 2017 to 391 billion cubic […]
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Commentary
What is ‘Resilience’, and Do We Need It?
U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry last year petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in the nation’s generation resource mix. He wrote
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Coal
A Captive Power Plant’s Quest for Reliability
An aluminum smelter in Odisha, India, built a 900-MW coal-fired captive power plant for its own power consumption. Though the plant features new generation turbogenerator sets, it was completed on time and on
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Legal & Regulatory
Extensive Planning, Innovative Work Strategies, Teamwork Combine for Successful SCR Project
A coal-fired plant in Colorado needed to further reduce its emissions to comply with more-stringent regulations. The work presented several challenges, and the owner and contractors worked together to complete
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Legal & Regulatory
Dry Fork: A Model of Modern U.S. Coal Power
Dry Fork Station began commercial operation as a swath of older, less-efficient U.S. coal plants contemplated retirement amid a flood of environmental rules. Designed with foresight, this quintessential modern
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Coal
South Korean Plant Finds Flexibility with Advanced CFB Technology
The Samcheok Green Power Plant requires less maintenance and is more cost-effective than conventional coal plants, and more environmentally friendly with its use of once-through ultrasupercritical boilers
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Coal
Clean Air Program Makes Shawnee Power Plant a Winner
Emissions standards have changed a lot since the Shawnee Fossil Plant entered service during President Eisenhower’s second term in office, but the Tennessee Valley Authority has done its part to help the