Top Plant
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News
The World-Class Coal Power Efficiency of Rheinhafen-Dampfkraftwerk Block 8
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
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News
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
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News
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
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Top Plant
2018 POWER Top Plant Award Winners
Coal-fired See our August 2018 issue for stories covering these plants: Aditya Aluminum Captive Power Plant, Sambalpur, Odisha, India Craig Generating Station Unit 2, Craig, Colorado Dry Fork Station, Gillette, Wyoming Samcheok Green Power Plant, Samcheok, South Korea Shawnee Fossil Plant, West Paducah, Kentucky Renewables See our September 2018 issue for stories covering these plants: […]
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O&M
Precision and Partnership Spur Innovations for Nuclear Project
Replacing two 40-year-old feedwater heaters at a plant of Oconee Nuclear Station’s size and age was fated to be a complicated project, but through meticulous modeling and planning, and seamless
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Gas
Another World Record for Combined Cycle Efficiency
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
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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
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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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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Renewables
More Efficient with Fewer Emissions: Cement Factory Finds Sugar-Based Biomass a Sweet Solution
Environmental regulations and a need to reduce its fuel consumption provide the incentive for an Egyptian plant to change its manufacturing process. Energy companies constantly grapple with controlling the
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O&M
Mirfa IWPP Doubles Water, Triples Power Capacity
In the United Arab Emirates, demand for power and water are inextricably linked. One of its newer and larger plants, the Mirfa Independent Water and Power Plant—which has a power capacity of 1.6 GW and
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O&M
Sustainable from the Start: Tech Company a Model of Efficient Power Management
OWC is known in the tech field for its computer hardware. It’s also known for its on-campus power generation, which sets it apart from others in the high-tech field, showcasing a commitment embraced by the
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Solar
Advanced Microgrid a Natural Fit for Wisconsin Project
Providing power for a nature preserve required not just progressive technology, but also the innovative approach needed to embrace the facility’s educational and environmental missions. Interest in ensuring
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Renewables
Nation’s First Offshore Wind Farm Releases Community from Decades of Diesel
In the early morning of May 1, 2017, Block Island, Rhode Island, shut off the diesel generators that had powered the island for nearly a century. The lights on the island flickered off before turning back on
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Renewables
Sarulla, One of the World’s Largest Geothermal Power Projects, Comes Alive with Private Finance
The 330-MW Sarulla Geothermal Power Plant in Indonesia took decades to develop. Backed by a multinational financing effort along with support from the Indonesian government, the $1.6 billion project may be on
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O&M
Columbia Nuclear Plant Shatters Generation Records in Quest for Reliability, Efficiency
As the sole nuclear generator in the hydro-rich Pacific Northwest region, the Columbia Generating Station’s mission to provide safe, reliable, cost-effective, and carbon-free power has never been more
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Legal & Regulatory
Improved Emission Controls and State-of-the-Art Ash Handling Extend Gallatin’s Life
It may not be the newest plant in the Tennessee Valley Authority fleet, but the Gallatin Fossil Plant has been retrofitted with some of the latest technology available to the coal power industry. It’s got
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O&M
Collaboration and Innovation Produce a Powerful Microgrid Solution
The challenge was to take a facility that was far off the grid, and move it forward as an energy self-sufficient complex while also turning an idea into a commercially viable product. That was the impetus
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O&M
Capturing Carbon and Seizing Innovation: Petra Nova Is POWER’s Plant of the Year
Winning POWER’s highest honor, the U.S.’s first and world’s largest commercial post-combustion carbon capture system at a power plant is distinctively both a globally significant environmental
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O&M
Flexibility, Efficiency, and Low Emissions Make Repowered Facility a Success
The Glenarm Power Plant has been keeping the lights on around Pasadena, California, for more than 110 years. The historic site has expanded over time and has included a total of 17 different power generation
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O&M
Closed Circuit Reverse Osmosis System Squeezes Money Savings Out of Water Management
In water-strapped California, managing power plant water usage is more important than ever. Southern California Edison implemented novel closed circuit reverse osmosis systems at five of its gas-fired
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O&M
Ameren’s TAC Microgrid Seamlessly Integrates Distributed Energy Resources
The microgrid installation at the Ameren Illinois Technology Applications Center (TAC) near the University of Illinois campus in Champaign—designed, engineered, and constructed by S&C Electric Co. of
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Coal
Improved Maintenance Strategy and Excellent Planning Turns Coal Plant into a Top Performer
Southern Co.’s Plant Scherer was chosen as the 2017 Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group Plant of the Year based on a rigorous selection criteria, including safety, fire protection, and risk reduction
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Renewables
TOP PLANT: Amazon Wind Farm Fowler Ridge, Benton County, Indiana
Owner/operator: Pattern Energy Just as Seattle’s Amazon.com jumpstarted the online shopping trend, it’s now part of another trend that has major corporations owning or contracting for sizable grid-connected renewable power facilities. A new wind farm in rural Indiana is part of that story. Cloud computing is big business, and it’s growing as fast as cumulous […]
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Coal
Slide Show Supplement to Mátra Power Plant, Visonta, Hungary
The Mátra Power Plant in Visonta, Hungary, uses a dense slurry system for handling fly ash and other coal combustion residuals. The DSS combines ash and water in a 1:1 ratio, creating a cement-like slurry. [gss ids=”93802,93804,93832,93808,93834,93836,93838,93840,93842,93844,93822,93846,93848,93850″]
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Coal
TOP PLANT: Mátra Power Plant, Visonta, Hungary
Owner/operator: Mátra Power Plant Co. Ltd. Hungary’s largest coal-fired power plant is a model of efficiency and environmental impact despite its 1960s-era vintage. Continual upgrades have kept the plant running smoothly, and a modern dense slurry ash-handling system keeps combustion residuals under control and allows for a zero liquid discharge posture. Unlike some of its […]
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Coal
TOP PLANT: National Capital Power Station Dadri, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Owner/operator: NTPC Ltd. India’s state-owned generator NTPC operates a large fleet of power plants across the nation, and one of its top performers is found outside the capital of New Delhi. Staff at NTPC Dadri have taken a proactive, innovative approach to maintaining their plant, making it one of the most efficient in India despite […]
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Coal
Sasan’s Shadow: An Ultra Mega Power Project’s Dark Side
For all its record-breaking achievements for speed, innovation, and efficiency, the 3,960-MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project should have been a POWER Top Plant. But the unique project has been plagued by serious setbacks—including loss of life—that show how perilous the plant construction journey can be. A decade ago, India was suffering a power crisis […]
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Gas
TOP PLANT: Cane Run Generating Station Unit 7, Louisville, Kentucky
Owner/operator: Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Kentucky has always been coal country, but times are changing, and its generation fleet is changing with them. Facing the prospect of costly emissions control upgrades at the 60-year-old Cane Run Generating Station, Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities opted to retire the aging facility […]