Power Engineering articles from February 2003

Power Engineering archives from February 2003

EPA's New Year's Eve Surprise. (Opinion).(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... The revisions to the New Source Review program published in the Federal Register on Dec. 31 - EPA'S New Year's Eve Surprise -- represent a late stocking stuffer for some and a lump of coal for others. Fossil power plant owners gained regulatory...

Sensors moving 'smartly' into power industry. (Update).(GE Power Systems thinks smart sensors will play an increasingly important role in its service business)
February 1, 2003... Advances in manufacturing and micro-chip technology have led to surging interest in the field of "smart sensors," broadly referring to low-cost sensor chips with embedded micro-control units. Smart sensors can monitor a wide range of...

Coalition files "Filthy Five" global warming proxy resolutions. (Update).
February 1, 2003... Proxy resolutions seeking the disclosure to shareholders of potential financial liability from not reducing carbon dioxide ([CO.sub.2]) emissions have been filed with the five largest [CO.sub.2] emitting utilities in the U.S. The filing is by a...

Developer suggests modularized combined wind power transmission towers. (Update).(ENECO Texas LLC develops Wind Amplified Rotor Platform)
February 1, 2003... Imagine electric transmission towers that not only move electricity but also generate it. ENECO Texas LLC's founder Al Weisbrich, developer of the Wind Amplified Rotor Platform (WARP), believes it's feasible. WARP modules, capable of generating...

PG&E National Energy Group. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(wants to sell seven hydroelectric plants in Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... PG&E National Energy Group wants to sell its seven Massachusetts hydroelectric plants and its coal-fired Salem Harbor and Somerset plants. The facilities are among a package of 18 New England properties that PG&E National Energy is shopping.

Mirant. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(sells power plants)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Atlanta-based Mirant has completed the sale of its 33 percent economic interest in the Shajiao power plant in China to China Resources Power Holding Co. Ltd. Mirant has also sold a 612 MW combined cycle gas-fired project under development in...

WPS Resources Corp. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(buys energy center from Calpine)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... WPS Resources Corp., owner of utilities in Wisconsin and Michigan, has completed the purchase of the 180 MW De Pere Energy Center from independent power producer Calpine.

Thermo Electron. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(adds EPM)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... In a move to strengthen its ability to provide complete stack-monitoring solutions, gas analyzer maker Thermo Electron has added EPM, a Dutch supplier of probe sampling systems for continuous emission monitoring applications, to its...

CCI. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(acquires Fluid Kinetics)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Control valve supplier CCI has acquired Fluid Kinetics, a supplier of customized silencers.

Framatome. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Framatome, which completed its acquisition of Duke Engineering & Services (DE&S) last summer, has completed integration of Framatome ANP DE&S. Framatome ANP DE&S will no longer operate as a separate division.

Industrial Acoustics Company. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(acquires Boet Stopson)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Acoustical products and systems provider Industrial Acoustics Company has expanded its European presence with the acquisition of Boet Stopson, one of Europe's largest noise control product manufacturers.

EnerSys Inc. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(acquires Hawker Battery Japan)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... EnerSys Inc., the world's largest provider of stored DC power products, has acquired Hawker Battery Japan. The resulting new organization to be known as EnerSys Japan.

Process optimizing offers performance boost without major capital improvements. (Update).(SimSci-Esscor)
February 1, 2003... Industry deregulation and the continuing challenge to reduce emissions while improving performance are driving energy producers to seek ever-more innovative ways to generate power. Process optimization upgrades are among the more cost effective...

Babcock Power. (Contracts and Construction).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Babcock Power subsidiary Thermal Engineering International has received an order to replace modular tube bundles for the steam surface condenser at Ameren's Callaway Nuclear Power Plant. Louisville. Ky.-based Vogt Power Inter national, another...

Framatome ANP. (Contracts and Construction).(and PSEG Nuclear)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Framatome ANP will supply four replacement steam generators for the 1,150 MW Unit 2 of the Salem nuclear power plant in New Jersey operated by PSEG Nuclear.

Black & Veatch. (Contracts and Construction).(GWF Energy and Wisconsin Public Service Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Black & Veatch will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for GWF Energy's 169 MW peaking facility in Tracy, Calif. B&V has also been selected by Wisconsin Public Service Corporation to provide engineering services for the...

Sierra Pacific Resources Corp. (Contracts and Construction).(with Duke solar Energy LLC)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Sierra Pacific Resources Corp. has contracted with Duke Solar Energy LLC to receive the output of a 50 MW solar power plant that Duke hopes to build near Boulder City, Nevada.

Utility Engineering Corporation. (Contracts and Construction).(with Nebraska Public Power District and The Industrial Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Minneapolis-based Utility Engineering Corporation has been awarded a contract to build a combined cycle plant in Beatrice, Nebraska -- a joint venture of Nebraska Public Power District and The Industrial Company (TIC). Target completion date...

American Superconductor. (Contracts and Construction).(with Nordex USA)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... American Superconductor has announced the sale of a 1 mega-VAR voltage regulation system to wind turbine manufacturer Nordex USA for deployment at a 2.6 MW wind farm in Minot, ND.

TransGas Energy. (Contracts and Construction).(seeks approval for new power plant in New York)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... TransGas Energy is seeking approval from New York State to build an 1,100 MW combined-cycle power plant in New York City. If approved, the plant would be built between the Greenpoint and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn and would come on-line...

Wisconsin Public Power Inc. (Contracts and Construction).(with Pratt & Whitney Power Systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Wisconsin Public Power Inc. has purchased an FT8 TwinPac from Pratt & Whitney Power Systems. The gas turbine unit, which will provide 52 MW of quick response peaking power when it comes on-line in spring 2004, will be sited in Kaukana, Wise....

Parsons E&C. (Contracts and Construction).(with Progress Energy)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Parsons E&C has signed a contract valued at an estimated $18 million to provide architectural and engineering services for Progress Energy's flue gas desulfurization program in North Carolina. The project will extend through 2012 and involve...

Quality coating systems assure beauty is more than skin deep. (Update).
February 1, 2003... A beautiful paint job can make a not so perfect car look great. But imagine a paint job that not only looks terrific, but assures the owner that it isn't hiding something less than perfect. High quality industrial coating systems can provide...

Entergy. (Personnel and Promotions).(Jerry Yelverton to retire)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Jerry Yelverton, CEO of Entergy's nuclear businesses, will retire March 31. Gary Taylor, currently chief operating officer for Entergy Nuclear South, will replace Yelverton.

Invensys. (Personnel and Promotions).(appoints Barry Dyson)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Barry Dyson has been appointed vice president and general manager of Invensys' global utilities industry business unit where he will direct efforts to help utility industry customers improve business performance and maximize return on...

Sierra Pacific Resources Corp. (Personnel and Promotions).(names Richard Atkinson)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Richard Atkinson has been named CFO of Sierra Pacific Resources Corp., replacing Dennis Schiffel who is leaving the company. Atkinson had been vice president, treasurer and investor relations officer of Sierra Pacific.

Wood Group Gas Turbine Services. (Personnel and Promotions).(appoints David Baillie)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... David Baillie has been appointed chief executive of Wood Group Gas Turbine Services. He had been president of Schlumberger Sema UK.

Minnesota Power. (Personnel and Promotions).(Bob Edwards to retire)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Bob Edwards, CEO of Minnesota Power and an executive vice president of parent Allete Inc., has announced he will retire at the end of May.

Burns & McDonnell. (Personnel and Promotions).(names Greg Graves)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Greg Graves has been named president and COO fo Burns & McDonnell. He will succeed chairman and CEO Dave Ruf upon Ruf's retirement on Dec. 31, 2003.

Framatome ANP Inc. (Personnel and Promotions).(names Bobby Abrams)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Bobby Abrams has been named senior vice president, Framatome ANP Inc. He was formerly president of Framatome ANP DE&S.

Ragnar Benson, Inc. (Personnel and Promotions).(names David A. Berthelsen)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Pittsburgh-based engineering and contracting firm Ragnar Benson, Inc. has named David A. Berthelsen senior vice president and general manager. Paul J. Debski has been appointed vice president and assistant general manager.

Duke Power. (Personnel and Promotions).(names Ruth Shaw)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ruth Shaw has been named to replace Bill Coley as president of Duke Power upon Coley's retirement. As newly named senior vice president of Duke Corp.'s energy marketing arm, C. Gregory Harper assumes leadership of Houston-based Duke Energy...

Distributed Energy Resources Public/Private Partnership. (Personnel and Promotions).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ellen Petrill has been named program director of the Distributed Energy Resources Public/Private Partnership at the Electricity Innovation Institute (E21) affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute, responsible for managing research and...

ALSTOM. (Business Briefs).(lowest emitters of nitrogen oxide equipped with ALSTOM boilers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ALSTOM reports that 19 of the nation's 20 lowest emitters of nitrogen oxide, according to the latest EPA data, are equipped with ALSTOM boilers. All 19 ALSTOM units are tangentially fired boilers retrofitted with low [NO.sub.x] firing systems...

Exelon Nuclear. (Business Briefs).(license extention request)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Exelon Nuclear has asked the NRC to extend operating licenses for its Dresden and Quad Cities reactors in Illinois by 20 years. The original 40-year plant licenses expire in 2012 for the twin reactor Quad Cities plant, in 2009 for Dresden Unit...

Wood Group Gas Turbine Services. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Wood Group Gas Turbine Services has formed Wood Group Turbine Control Services, Inc. to provide turbine control upgrades and services for gas, steam, and hydro turbomachinery, including turnkey installations. Formation of the new group follows...

Enerfab and Croll-Reynolds Clean Air Technologies. (Business Briefs).(licensing agreement)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Enerfab and Croll-Reynolds Clean Air Technologies have entered into a licensing agreement allowing Enerfab to market, sell, manufacture and install Croll-Reynolds' WESP technology for fossil fuel power applications. Croll-Reynolds will provide...

ANDEROL and Royal Lubricants. (Business Briefs).(consolidation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ANDEROL and Royal Lubricants have been consolidated under the ANDEROL name to bring its full line of specialty lubricants under one, global product line offered to the power generation sector.

Black & Veatch. (Business Briefs).(nuclear group's focus)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Black & Veatch's energy engineering & construction division's newly restructured focused nuclear group will be responsible for overseeing all nuclear-related work in the division's newly-created geographic regions: Europe, Asia and the...

Corn Belt Energy. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Illinois has issued a construction permit for the state's first new mine-mouth coal-fired electric plant in more than three decades -- a 91 MW project by Corn Belt Energy. The plant's U-fired boiler system, supplied by Babcock Borsig will be...

GE Oil & Gas. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... GE's 100th LM2500+ aeroderivative gas turbines sold was one of five machines supplied to a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation, for use on the Erha Project Floating Production Storage and Off-loading vessel off the shore of Nigeria. GE Oil &...

AEP. (Business Briefs).(Indiana Michigan Power Company.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a 1.66 percent power uprate for Unit 1 at D.C. Cook nuclear plant owned by AEP subsidiary Indiana Michigan Power Company.

New engineers need nuclear inspiration. (Nuclear Reactions).
February 1, 2003... My father was born in 1908, the same year General Motors was founded. He became an engineer and worked for GM for 40 years. I was born just a few months after Enrico Fermi first demonstrated a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. I became an...

American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA). (Special Advertising Section).
February 1, 2003... Companies Providing Innovative Energy Solutions Since 1888 Whether it pertains to efficiency, emissions controls, safety or reliability, the member companies of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association bring a singular expertise to the...

Foster Wheeler. (Advertisement).
February 1, 2003... In recent years, Foster Wheeler's "compass" ad has displayed our promise that customers can depend on the technology, engineering, and servicing we provide. As the power industry seeks to meet rising demand, our one overriding message continues...

Boiler industry: surviving rough waters; market forces have dampened activity in the boiler industry, but various factors are sustaining a surprising level of interest. (Boilers).
February 1, 2003... The boiler industry, which has gone through several ups and downs in recent years, sits in choppy waters these days, buffeted on all sides by an array of economic, regulatory and financial issues. At the beginning of the gas turbine boom, the...

Now that you know who is, find out why we are stronger than ever.(Burnham Commercial )(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2003... Whether it's a commercial heating application or an industrial processing system, Burnham Commercial can fill your needs. Our product designs are reliable, durable and versatile, and we have the right people and manufacturing space to meet...

Detroit Stoker Company: A complete line of combustion equipment. (Advertisement).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... While Stoker is our middle name, it describes just a part of our comprehensive line of equipment for the steam and power industries. Our expertise includes applications in nearly every type of boiler and furnace configuration. Why not put this...

Robinson's SCR fans provide design innovation for high reliability.(selective catalytic reduction)
February 1, 2003... Robinson Industries is becoming known as the premier manufacturer of custom-engineered reliable fans for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in [NO.sub.x] reduction applications. Robinson's SCR fans are favored by customers because they are...

Deltak. (Advertisement).
February 1, 2003... For over a quarter century, Deltak has been a world leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and service of steam generators and auxiliary equipment. Deltak has established its reputation through the supply of over 1000 units for a...

Flame monitoring enhances burner management. (Flame Monitoring).
February 1, 2003... Numerous economic and regulatory factors are accelerating development of tighter controls for utility boilers. Such control will not he possible, however, with conventional technology alone. Advanced boiler management systems are a key part of...

Portable emission/combustion analyzers. (Advertisement).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... ECOM America, a leader in the field of portable emission test equipment, offers several models for accurately monitoring and measuring the emissions of fossil fuel combustion sources, such as mobile and stationary engines, turbines, boilers and...

Long-term service agreements: Top 10 contractual pitfalls and how to avoid them--Part I. (Gas Turbines).
February 1, 2003... Long-term equipment maintenance and service programs are known by many names: long-term maintenance programs, contractual service agreements, and perhaps most commonly, long-term service agreements, or LTSAs. Sooner or later, power generation...

Planning and flexibility key to reducing plant design and construction costs. (Plant Design/Construction).(reducing cost of design, construction and upgrading of power plants is critical)
February 1, 2003... With capital for the construction and upgrading of power plants becoming more elusive and expensive, reducing the cost of design, construction and upgrading of power plants is critical. Until quite recently almost all new electric power plants...

Comprehensive biogas conditioning affords top performance. (DG Update).
February 1, 2003... You probably never knew it, but shaving your face, shampooing your hair or using deodorant is undermining the growing trend toward converting municipally generated biogas into electricity. That's because many consumer and industrial...

Capstone Turbine Corporation. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Microturbine power system manufacturer Capstone Turbine Corporation has documented nearly three million hours -- about 342 years -- of aggregated runtime among its microturbine systems operating in North America and overseas. Capstone has...

Catalytica Energy Systems. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Catalytica Energy Systems has announced an order placed with Kawasaki Gas Turbines by the Reader's Digest Association, Inc. for a 1.4 MW GPB15X generator package featuring Catalytica's Xonon Cool Combustion. The gen-set will be located at the...

Entegris. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The Entegris Composite Bipolar Plate Manufacturing Center has opened in Chaska, Minn. Entegris will make high volumes of bipolar and monopolar plates for major fuel cell developers throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe. Entegris bipolar plates...

American Society of Mechanical Engineers. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A new test code for fuel cell systems, ASME PTC 50 -- Performance Test Code on Fuel Cell Power Systems Performance, is now available from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The code contains methods and procedures for conducting...

SatCon Power Systems. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The R. Jan LeCroy Center for Educational Telecommunications at Richland College in Dallas has purchased a 250 kW (315 kVA) rotary UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system manufactured by Worcester, Mass.-based SatCon Power Systems. The UPS...

Defining DG. (DG Update).(distributed generation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The exact definition of what constitutes distributed generation can be a bit elusive, particularly as the industry grows and evolves. Part of the problem involves size of installation. On-site power installations continue to get bigger and more...

Transfer systems introduced. (DG Update).
February 1, 2003... Gen/Tran, manufacturer of backup power transfer systems for residential and light commercial applications, has introduced a family of pre-wired, transfer systems for backup power applications that can be expanded in the field up to 16 circuits....

Thermal mass flow meters improve plant operations. (Field Notes).
February 1, 2003... After converting its Newton, IL electric power plant to bum Powder River Basin (PRB) coal in 1999, Ameren Energy Generating Company realized it needed to improve the accuracy of airflow measurement to the pulverizers and boilers. Accurate...

Wear protection. (Products).
February 1, 2003... Conforma Glad has introduced a wear protection process specially designed for components of low [NO.sub.x] burners. The wear protection process uses infiltration brazing to bond tungsten carbide to the base material of a component to form a...

Conversion factors. (Products).
February 1, 2003... A list of over 2,280 conversion factors is now available free of charge, including postage, from Industrial Fiberglass Specialties, Inc. This handy list of conversions is helpful in converting bars of pressure to psi, acres into hectares or...

Level float switch. (Products).
February 1, 2003... Designed to be accurate within [+ or -]0.25 inches, level float switches from Aaliant have only one moving part. The flow switches feature high-level warning and overfill protection and are suitable for petroleum, gasoline and fuel oil tanks,...

Inlet air chiller. (Products).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... A new gas turbine inlet air packaged chiller is now available from AAF International. The inlet air package chiller features a McQuay centrifugal chiller with environmentally friendly HFC-134a refrigerant, pumps, controls, electric switchgear,...

Coal Creek power plant. (Managing the Plant).
February 1, 2003... Great River Energy's Coal Creek Station in central North Dakota has twin 550 MW lignite-Fired units. The Alstom (CE) split furnaces, completed in 1979 and 1980, are among the largest in the world at 90 feet wide, 45 feet deep and 210 feet tall....