O&M

  • Show Preview – Experience POWER

    POWER magazine is again hosting its Experience POWER event, with the 2021 edition taking place Oct. 18–21 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas. Experience POWER is the only live

  • A Guide to Valve Selection: The Pros and Cons of Different Types of Ball Valves

    Before selecting an engineered solution for any fluid control application, it is crucial to understand the unique application and overall value that each ball valve provides. Ball valves come in a wide variety of styles, materials and actuation types, with each form offering different results. Here’s a guide to help you learn what you need […]

  • Emergency Valve Repair Helps Power Plant Meet Operational Commitments

    The Niagara Falls garbage burning plant recycles waste and transforms it into usable electricity and steam energy for multiple industrial hosts nearby. That energy is generated at the plant through nine boilers and two steam turbines. Steam conditioning valves are utilized at the plant for turbine bypass and to supplement the turbine output if customer […]

  • GE Hitachi: Nuclear Costs, Innovation Must Be a Pivotal Focus for Carbon-Free Future

    Nuclear energy’s future as a critical pillar in a decarbonized world will depend on its adaptability to rapid change, but the sector must focus on costs, certainty of outcome, reliability, and experience to cement its role beyond the transition, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) President and CEO Jay Wileman told POWER in an exclusive interview. […]

  • Rediscovering Fire: Advancements in Gas Turbine 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

  • Advanced Technology, Innovative Solutions Enhance Nuclear Operations and Maintenance

    Incorporating new technology and solutions being used by others could help nuclear power plant staff improve operations and maintenance practices. Nuclear power plants face many challenges. Monitoring heat

  • Troubleshooting Issues and Eliminating Headaches Related to Control Valves

    An oscillating control valve may appear to be the source of control instability and repair efforts are usually focused only there. When this fails to solve the issue, further investigation often proves the

  • Innovative Engineering Results in Successful Steam Blowing Operation

    Experience gained by a project team during a steam blowing operation for a combined cycle power project in Indonesia is described in this article. A specific challenge faced by the commissioning team is

  • ArcVera Renewables Achieves IECRE Approval for Wind Power Performance Testing Services

    GOLDEN, Colorado (Jan. 19, 2021) — ArcVera Renewables, a leading international provider of consulting and technical services for wind, solar, and storage projects, is now one of the first companies based in the United States approved by the International Electrotechnical Commission – Renewable Energy (IECRE) to operate as a Renewable Energy Testing Laboratory. IECRE is the […]

  • NAES Corporation Acquires Bay4 Energy

    ISSAQUAH, Wash., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — NAES Corporation (“NAES”) announced that it acquired Bay4 Energy Services, LLC (“Bay4”), a leading independent renewable energy service provider, effective 12/02/20. “We are excited that Bay4 will be joining the NAES family, bringing with it more than 30 years of asset performance and portfolio management experience,” said Norm Escover, […]

  • Maintenance Planning and Execution Standards and Best Practices

    The equipment and facilities supporting today’s critical infrastructure are vital to modern society. This article provides testing and maintenance tips to ensure systems are kept in top condition. Power

  • Using Planning and Partnerships to Avoid Downtime

    The technology and materials within hydropower plants have advanced substantially over the last century. This has required plant owners and operators to take a more proactive approach to maintenance and

  • Advanced Nuclear Reactor Designs to Get Digital Twins

    Nine projects will get $27 million in federal funding to develop digital twin technology for promising advanced nuclear reactor designs—including Kairos, Xe-100, BWRX-300, and the SSR-W—and help achieve a ten-fold reduction in their operations and maintenance (O&M) costs. The funding announced by the Department of Energy (DOE) on May 13 will be furnished under the […]

  • Wärtsilä signs 15-year operation and maintenance agreement for El Salvador power plant

    March 4, 2020 — The technology group Wärtsilä has signed a long-term operation & maintenance (O&M) agreement with Energía del Pacífico for a 378 MW power plant in El Salvador. The 15-year agreement was signed in Q4 2019 and will take effect when the plant commences operations at the end of 2021. Wärtsilä will start […]

  • Keeping Track of O&M Costs and Processes in the Field

    Cost. The dirtiest word in clean energy—especially with operations and maintenance (O&M) costs set to rise globally to $17 billion in 2020 in the wind industry. Part of saving on O&M costs means taking a look at the inefficient processes that skilled workers are doing as part of O&M procedures to optimize their time. A […]

  • Siemens to maintain and digitalize Shuweihat S2 power plant in Abu Dhabi

    18-year service agreement for Shuweihat S2 IWPP in Abu Dhabi Digital services and extended intervals for optimized maintenance cost Comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to reduce cyber threats Siemens today announced it has signed an extension of a multi-year maintenance service agreement with Shuweihat S2 Operation and Maintenance Company (S2O&M). Under terms of the contract, Siemens will […]

  • Hydropower Bill Overwhelmingly Clears Senate, Heads to President’s Desk

    The U.S. Senate has cleared a major water infrastructure bill that contains several provisions promoting hydropower development, sending it to the president’s desk. The Senate passed S. 3021, “America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018,” on October 10 through a bipartisan vote of 99–1. Because the House of Representatives unanimously passed the bill in a voice […]

  • A Modern Gas Power Plant Thrives on Ancient Wisdom

    Built and developed in accordance with the principles of vaastu shastra, this 1.5-GW “mega” gas power plant in India imbues positivity and proactivity into all aspects of plant operation. It has resulted

  • Maintaining Nuclear Plant Ice Condensers: A ‘Cool’ Responsibility

    Although nuclear plant ice condensers are rare—only seven sites throughout the world have them—the theory behind these passive heat sinks is quite novel. In fact, some next-generation plant designers have built upon the concept and incorporated passive accident intervention schemes into their plans. A nuclear plant ice condenser is a passive, static heat sink that […]

  • Reducing Nuclear Plant Operations and Maintenance Costs Through Online Monitoring

    The Electric Power Research Institute’s full spectrum of online monitoring-related research offers nuclear power plant operators guidance for monitoring program implementation. The research results are used

  • ASME Operation and Maintenance lnservice Testing Program Ensures Nuclear Component Operational Readiness

    Originally embedded in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code , today the Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants standard for inservice testing of pumps

  • GE Power Inks Its Largest Services Deal Ever

    GE Power signed a landmark deal to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for 10 power plants with a combined capacity of 11 GW. Sonelgaz SPE, a state-owned utility in charge of electricity and natural gas distribution in Algeria, owns the facilities. The agreement includes technology upgrades designed to enhance energy efficiency—allowing more than 420 […]

  • SOLV deploys QOS Energy’s O&M management platform to improve performance across 1 GW solar portfolio

    San Francisco, USA, March 22, 2017. SOLV, the leading independent solar O&M service provider in America and a division of EPC contractor Swinerton Renewable Energy, has begun deployment of QOS Energy’sQantum® software to monitor and support the operations and maintenance of more than 1 GW of solar PV plants in the United-states. Qantum® is an innovative cloud-based analytics platform that […]

  • EthosEnergy awarded $8m five year operations & maintenance contract by Quantum Utility Generation

    Houston, TX – EthosEnergy has been awarded a $8m, five year contract for full operations and maintenance (O&M) by Quantum Utility Generation for their Nevada Cogeneration Associates #2 plant in Nevada, US. The contract is for full care, custody and control operations, and maintenance including mobilization. This will be the fourth plant in the Quantum […]

  • Boiler Tube Failure Thermohydraulic Analysis

    Eskom operates 23 power stations in South Africa with a total capacity of more than 42 GW. It supplies about 95% of all the electricity used in the country. One of its coal-fired power stations was experiencing frequent boiler tube fatigue failures in the hopper section—the bottom part of the boiler—of all six units. The […]

  • DOE Report Highlights Triumph, Trouble for Wind Power Sector

    U.S. wind power is becoming more widespread and costs are generally on the decline, but the sector is troubled by policy uncertainties, a new report from the Energy Department says.   After a lackluster year in 2013, wind power capacity additions in the U.S. rebounded nearly 8% in 2014, driven by recent improvements in the […]

  • The Wind Sector’s Elusive Quest for Quality

    Despite wind power’s going “mainstream,” original equipment manufacturers and end users struggle to pin down quality standards for ever-evolving wind turbine component technologies. As more utilities embrace wind power, the U.S. wind turbine market has expanded tremendously over the years. It has proliferated into numerous facilities that specialize in the roughly 8,000 component parts that […]

  • Balancing Risk, Reliability, and Safety at Plants Slated for Retirement

    When the decision is made to retire a power plant, the work of getting there is just beginning. Maintaining safe and reliable generation requires strong leadership, clear communications, and heightened attention to operations and maintenance, staff morale, and post-shutdown plans.   For utilities and other generators facing the challenge of winding down operations at an […]

  • Advanced Bearing Technology Eliminates Subsynchronous Steam Turbine Vibrations

    A facility’s steam turbine ranks at, or at least near, the top of the list of vital power plant equipment. Without it, the thermal energy in pressurized steam can not be converted to rotary motion, which is