Power Engineering articles from April 2004

Power Engineering archives from April 2004

The outsourcing conundrum.(Opinion)(analysis of outsourcing with regard to the economic growth and job creation)
April 1, 2004... Overseas outsourcing has become a hot-button issue in this year's presidential campaign. Democrats assail the president for the job exodus under his watch, while the president promotes his fiscal policy as the best tool for economic growth and...

Power plant operators need to keep things heated up.(Update)
April 1, 2004... Many power plant components require supplemental heat to maintain optimal operating efficiency. Some plant elements also require supplemental heat to maintain critical temperature levels during shutdown periods and are especially critical...

Oxygen-enhanced coal combustion uses super alloy.(Update)
April 1, 2004... Researchers at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) announced in February major strides in coal power plant efficiency and emission reductions by burning a combination of pure oxygen and coal to generate...

Kelly Engineering Resources announces 2005 scholarship program.(Update)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Kelly Engineering Resources, a business unit of staffing provider Kelly Services Inc., is now accepting entries for its second annual Future Engineers Scholarship program, which recognizes exceptional engineering students throughout the nation....

Canada Power launches in September.(Update)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Toronto's Congress Centre will be the site of an exciting new PennWell event to be held Sept. 28-30, 2004. Canada Power will deliver a comprehensive look at Canada's national energy issues--the only show of its kind. Conference sessions...

Mergers & acquisitions.(Update)
April 1, 2004... American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to sell its 25.2% share of the 2,500 MW South Texas Project nuclear plant to Cameco Corp. AEP subsidiary Texas Central Co. has agreed to sell its remaining generating assets, including eight natural gas...

Constellation Energy.(Personnel & Promotions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Constellation Energy has named Mike Heffley, formerly of the Institute of Nuclear Power Safety, to the newly-created post of chief nuclear officer, responsible for overseeing a nuclear fleet that will consist of three plants upon acquisition of...

Navigant Consulting.(Personnel & Promotions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Dean Maschoff has joined Navigant Consulting's Chicago office as managing director of the financial advisory group in the company's energy practice segment.

ABB Group.(Personnel & Promotions)(ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Fred Kindle has been tapped to become CEO of ABB Group in January 2005, replacing Jurgen Dormann, who will revert to the single role of chairman.

FuelCell Energy.(Personnel & Promotions)(fuel cell research and deployment)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Hans Maru, executive vice-president and chief technology officer of FuelCell Energy, has been awarded the first F.T. Bacon Medal for fuel cell research and deployment.

American Superconductor Corp.(Personnel & Promotions)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... David Paratore has been named president and COO of American Superconductor Corp.

Generator re-build adds life to paper mill unit.(Update)
April 1, 2004... High-voltage motors and generators are the most conservatively designed pieces of rotating equipment found in industry because all other processes depend on them. However, the voltage level at which they operate--from 7.7 to 13.8 kV--results in...

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A report by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services confirms a renewed interest in coal-fired generation by regulated utilities that can place such investments into the rate base where they can be recovered under somewhat predictable circumstances...

Nuclear Management Company.(Business Briefs)(Point Beach Nuclear Plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Nuclear Management Company, operator of We Energies' Point Beach Nuclear Plant, has applied to the NRC to renew operating licenses for the plant's two nuclear reactors for an additional 20 years.

Wisconsin Public Service/Alliant Energy.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The NRC has approved a 6% capacity increase for the Wisconsin Public Service/Alliant Energy-owned 557 MW Kewaunee nuclear unit near Green Bay, Wis., allowing it to operate at 590 MW by the end of May.

AmerGen Energy.(Business Briefs)(license of its 636 MW Oyster Creek nuclear plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... By mid-2005, AmerGen Energy, a unit of Exelon, will apply to extend the operating license of its 636 MW Oyster Creek nuclear plant, the oldest operating commercial nuclear power station in the U.S. The plant will be 40 years old when its...

Wisconsin.(Business Briefs)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Wisconsin Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee voted 9-3 in favor of a bill that would overturn the state's 21-year-old moratorium on the construction of nuclear power plants. The ban is in place until a permanent site for spent nuclear...

The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power.(Business Briefs; refurbishing of San Francisquito water plant)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power has approved a $17 million refurbishment of its San Francisquito hydro unit 2 located along the Los Angeles Aqueduct. The plant was initially completed in 1920.

PowerLight Corp.(St. Francis Winery)(475 kW solar array)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... PowerLight Corp. is providing a 475 kW solar array to St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa, Calif. that will provide more than 30% of the winery's annual required electricity.

Reader comments.(Update)(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2004... I am as much in favor of distributed generation as anyone, but also am quick to realize that it is not a panacea and needs to be fit for purpose. In your article, Landfill Fills Illinois School's Heat and Power Needs (Power Engineering,...

Contracts & construction.(Update)(Alstom Power Inc.)(Calpine Corp.)(Duke Power Co.)
April 1, 2004... Wisconsin Public Service has chosen Washington Group International to manage construction of the 500 MW coal-fired Weston Unit 4 to be built in central Wisconsin. Pending Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approval, construction on the $750...

Study questions value of uranium recycling.(Nuclear Reactions)
April 1, 2004... At the dawn of the nuclear age, Enrico Fermi insisted on developing a breeder reactor because he was afraid there was not enough uranium in the world. During the nuclear plant ordering boom 30 years ago, uranium prices soared as companies paid...

The emissions squeeze: environmental regulations keep getting tighter; Any new legislation or changes in EPA rules will require power plants to reduce emissions of S[O.sub.2], N[O.sub.x] and mercury.(environmental aspects of electric power plants)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... When Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1977 to reduce power plant emissions, it exempted existing power plants. At that time it was assumed that over a few years these plants would be retired and replaced with less polluting plants. The Act...

Water treatment re-design solves quality problems at Duke Energy merchant plants.(quality management)
April 1, 2004... There are many different process designs available for producing the high-purity water needed at modern power plants. Although not typical, initially successful system performance may deteriorate for a wide variety of reasons, including fouling...

Renewable energy enters commercial era.(commercialization of renewable energy)
April 1, 2004... After struggling for decades to convince the industrial community, the financial community, the regulatory community, and the public community that renewable energy was ready for prime time, the effort is finally bearing fruit....

Updating controls improves unit start-up.(Kentucky Utility Company's E. W. Brown power plant)
April 1, 2004... Kentucky Utility Company's E. W. Brown power plant, located in Burgin, Kentucky, recently upgraded the controls on its coal-fired Unit 2. According to Pat Grant, electrical and instrumentation supervisor, the plant had been experiencing...

Fire protection decisions pit cost against risk exposure.(analysis of fire protection systems with relavence to cost and risk exposure)
April 1, 2004... Power plant owners and operators are regularly bombarded with advertisements for a gamut of products and services that have one thing in common: a claim that their use will increase MW output or offer another form of cost savings. Fire...

Pilot project will demo micro hydropower.(News & Views on Distributed Generation)(service development)
April 1, 2004... Laying the groundwork for hydropower developers has traditionally been the sole domain of Mother Nature, who alone has provided sources of water flowing downhill for human engineers to tap. Now, man-made water supply systems can provide a...

May.(Events)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... MAY 2-4 Fuel Cells 2004, Business Communications Company (www.bccresearch.com/fuel_cells2004/), Stamford, Conn. MAY 3-6 Carbon Capture and Sequestration Conference, U.S. Department of Energy (www.carbonsq.com), Alexandria, Va. ...

Hopper Hammers safely remove coal pluggages.(Field Notes)
April 1, 2004... BINS, HOPPERS AND CHUTES used in power plant coal handling systems have inherent pluggage problems. In some cases, pluggages can only be removed by taking the unit offline. However, there are preventive measures for dealing with pluggages,...

Duct balloons reduce maintenance costs.(Field Notes)(inflatable balloon )
April 1, 2004... WHEN A POWER PLANT has multiple units sharing a common chimney/stack, care must be taken in isolating a unit when taking it offline. Although plants have isolation dampers to isolate operating units from nonoperating units, the dampers do not...

Energy Northwest nuclear power increases security.(Field Notes)
April 1, 2004... SECURITY IS A MAJOR concern for U.S. nuclear power plants. One utility, Energy Northwest, has stepped up security measures at its Columbia Generating Station, Washington State's only commercial nuclear power plant. With an overall budget...

Renewables still need R & D.(View on Renewables)(research and development)
April 1, 2004... Research and development activities remain essential to the widespread commercialization of renewable energy. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), operated for the Department of Energy by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle,...

Gate valves.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Burbach North America has announced the introduction of the MF Series of resilient seated knife gate valves. The valves are designed for pulp stock, sewage, soft solids, coal dust, emulsions, granulates, powders and pastes. The MF knife gate...

Mast lift.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Handling Specialty has introduced a new mast lift for power plant turbine inspections. With a capacity of 5,000 lb, the lift allows the turbine to be raised at a rate of approximately 2.5 ft/min. A mechanical actuator allows the turbine to be...

Cavity pumps.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The Moyno 2000 Progressing Cavity Pump, with capacities from two gpm to 2,500 gpm and pressure capabilities to 1,000 psi, is a high-performance pump designed to handle a wide range of applications from shear-sensitive chemicals to...

Inverters.(Products)
April 1, 2004... A single-phase grid-tied inverter, Windy Boy, for direct use with wind turbines, is now available from SMA America. Turbine manufacturers are able to pre-figure the inverter for optimum wind turbine operation. The Windy Boy uses the same...

Multi-gas analyzer.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Marathon Sensors has introduced the Tempest 100 portable gas analyzer. This instrument can be used to monitor both combustion efficiency and stack emissions for regulatory compliance. Using a variety of sampling devices, the Tempest is an...

Air/fuel controller.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Altronic has announced the latest member of its air/fuel ratio control family of products. The EPC-150 Lean-Burn Engine Air/Fuel Ratio Control is designed for use on all lean-burn engines configured with a single fuel regulator. These include...

Metering pumps.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Neptune Chemical Pump has broadened its line of pumps with the announcement of its new Series 7000 mechanical actuated diaphragm metering pumps. The pumps are available to handle viscosities in excess of 5,000 cps and pump chemicals that are...

Emissions monitoring.(Products)
April 1, 2004... GE Energy's latest Data Acquisition and Handling System, NetDAHS, enables authorized access to emission monitoring data from any PC. By shifting from a PC-based application to a web-based architecture, the new system allows accurate data to be...

Transfer Point Technology.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Martin Engineering's new 22-page Transfer Point Technology brochure highlights the company's products that improve the performance of belt conveyor transfer point and loading zones. The full color brochure describes the features and ordering...

Weapons of Math Instruction.(efun@pe.laf)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Date: Wed., 14 APR 2004, 13:02:57 EST At New York Airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and...