efficiency

A pioneering horizontal, six-nozzle Pelton turbine developed by Voith Hydro at the 326-GWh Gerlos 1 pumped storage facility in the Ziller Valley, Austria, is setting new benchmarks for the 140-year-old

Steadily increasing demands leading to excessive cycling and starts/stops can cause heat rate loss, poor unit performance, and increased plant outages. See as Marnie and Maya demonstrate that even relatively

The first two GE 7HA.03 machines—the largest 60-Hz heavy-duty gas turbines in the world and the most efficient in GE’s fleet—are now operational at Florida Power & Light’s (FPL’s) newly inaugurated 1,260-MW Dania Beach Clean Energy Center (DBEC) in Broward County.  FPL officially declared the Dania Beach Clean Energy Center near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, commercially […]

Significant advances in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission are in step with rapid changes to energy systems worldwide. Shortly after POWER magazine began publication in 1882, the competitive

The new year is obviously a time when many people reflect on the past and make resolutions for the future. Surveys have shown that exercising more, improving one’s diet, losing weight, and saving money are

For more than three decades, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has led the power industry in developing, advancing, and demonstrating cost-effective heat rate improvements via new technologies, hardware, software, and best operating/programmatic practices for enhancing efficiency at minimal cost and maximum reliability. As the power industry moves toward net-zero carbon emission goals, heat rate […]

The optimal grease to use in power plant equipment is rarely contemplated by people other than truly dedicated operations and maintenance managers, and the workers on their teams who feel the pain when a piece of equipment breaks down due to inadequate lubrication. Yet, for those individuals, the choice of which grease to use in […]

The power sector has been evolving for years and technology has been instrumental in the change. Today, asset performance management and predictive maintenance tools can help power companies avoid outages

The 1993-built 610-MW Prime Termoflores gas plant in Barranquilla, Colombia, set out to boost its efficiency and ramp up performance to provide reliable backup to the region’s volatile, hydro-reliant power

Gas turbines have grown into a hallmark of the modern power system for their high efficiency, reliability, operational flexibility, fuel flexibility, and low-emission power options. But if gas turbines are to

There is no doubt that the energy industry is moving toward decarbonization and renewable sources. But, despite the $2.7 trillion spent on renewables over the past decade, that future is still a long way off. It all comes down to the economics. It’s cheaper to operate an existing fossil fuel plant than build new renewable […]

AKRON, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) (NYSE: BW) announced today that it has entered into two contracts to design and supply advanced technologies to achieve reduced emissions and generate cleaner energy at a power plant in Asia. The total value of the contracts is more than $11 million. B&W will upgrade the plant’s existing combustion […]

Gas power market drivers and a quest for relevance in future decarbonized systems are driving fundamental shifts in gas turbine combustion design approaches. Combustion lies at the heart of gas turbine

The U.S. power industry lacks forward-looking ways to measure grid resiliency and traditional reliability metrics could become irrelevant as more intermittent generation inundates the bulk power system. But rather than continually looking backward to learn from ever-increasing emergencies or close-shaves, power system operators must work to cultivate a balanced portfolio that considers all aspects of […]

Power generation companies, like other businesses, have altered operations due to COVID-19. And it’s more than just having employees work remotely, wear masks, and social distance. Managing data and documents with new protocols in place is critical to any asset-intensive industry, and electricity providers are no different. The Kinsmen Group, an engineering and information management […]

Indian power giant NTPC commissioned the second unit of the vast 1,320-MW Khargone Super Thermal Power Project in Madhya Pradesh this March, completing its first ultrasupercritical power plant. The project’s

Is gas generation quickly going down the same path as coal? Will gas power generation built today be abandoned in 30 years? How can you be serious about climate change and still build gas power generation? As governments, utilities, and private enterprises continue to set aggressive net-zero emissions goals, these are the hard questions being […]

In the competitive power market that exists today, utilities must utilize data to optimize their assets. With proper analysis, individual units, as well as fleets of plants, can balance operating costs

The composition and heating values of fuel gas can vary from one moment in time to another. Using a Coriolis flow meter to obtain a mass flow measurement, rather than relying on a standard volume flow

Hydropower delivers a range of benefits to society and the environment. However, there are two major challenges that face hydroelectric power plant operators—efficient use of water and high availability. To

Innovation is ushering in a new age for nuclear power. As well as boosting plant economics, efficiency, and flexibility, advanced technologies could open up new markets to meet soaring demand for heat and

Efficiency has become the mantra of modern coal power. The 912-MW hard coal–fired RDK 8, a unit that operates in Germany’s challenging power market, achieved a 47.5% net thermal efficiency through

On July 29, 1949, at 2:15 p.m., General Electric’s (GE’s) first gas turbine at the Belle Isle Station in Oklahoma City began delivering power to Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.’s distribution system. The 3.5-MW GE Frame 3 machine reportedly had an efficiency of about 17%. Since the Belle Isle machine (Figure 1) started up seventy […]

Coal power, which has seen a marked decline in the U.S., is necessary for reliability and energy affordability, and sustaining it could boost pollution technology exports and “improve lives while driving down emissions worldwide,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a speech last week. Wheeler made the remarks at a 90-minute event […]

Reality capture uses laser scanning hardware to record the as-built conditions of any environment in a series of scans. These scans, once stitched together, create a holistic picture of structures, equipment

One of the oldest energy efficiency ideas—combined heat and power—is prospering in the U.S. and looks promising elsewhere as the world searches for low-cost energy by increasing efficiency while lowering

The Nishi Nagoya power plant in Japan is more than just the showcase of a successful fuel-conversion project. It’s the holder of a world record, thanks to a GE Power gas turbine that again has set the global

Low power factor reduces an electrical system’s distribution capacity by increasing current flow. Therefore, having a low power factor is inefficient and expensive. But what is power factor and what affects

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule is proposed to replace the 2015 Clean Power Plan—which the Supreme Court stayed in February 2016 and never went into effect. According to the EPA, the replacement is necessary because the Obama-era Clean Power Plan “exceeded the EPA’s authority.” However, like the Clean Power Plan, […]

Building power plants is only the first step to generating success. Running plants efficiently, and consistently improving efficiency as they run, is the path to putting profits on the bottom line. Building