Power Engineering articles from February 2006

Power Engineering archives from February 2006

The time has come for a carbon cap.(emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants)
February 1, 2006... The power industry must take the initiative in developing a workable plan to cap--and eventually reduce--emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants. The argument for doing nothing because the link between power plant emissions, global...

Progress Energy's CT fleet.(MANAGING THE PLANT)(combustion turbine )
February 1, 2006... Progress Energy, formed in 2000 from the merger of Carolina Power & Light and Florida Power Corp., operates one of the largest combustion turbine (CT) fleets in the United States. It consists of 112 units spread across three corporate entities:...

Will new aeroderivative change the rules?(UPDATE)
February 1, 2006... Electric cooperatives in South Dakota and Kentucky will be the first power providers in the United States to see if--and to what extent--GE Energy's new LMS100 aeroderivative gas turbine changes the way the power industry thinks about gas...

Duke Energy.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(LS Power Equity Partners)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Duke Energy has agreed to sell all generation assets of Duke Energy North America located outside the Midwest to LS Power Equity Partners for approximately $1.54 billion. The assets represent about 6,200 MW located in the western and...

Sempra Energy.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)
February 1, 2006... Sempra Energy has agreed to sell its 305 MW coal-fired Twin Oaks plant in Robertson County, Texas, to PNM Resources for $480 million

Dynegy and NRG Energy.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Dynegy and NRG Energy have agreed to purchase each others' interest in two jointly-held entities that own generation facilities in Illinois and California. Dynegy will acquire NRG's 50 percent ownership in the jointly held entity that owns the...

AEP.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(Appalachian Power Co. and Reliant Energy Inc.)(Columbus Southern Power Co. and Monongahela Power Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... AEP's Appalachian Power has completed the purchase of the 505 MW simple cycle Ceredo Generating Station in West Virginia from Reliant Energy for approximately $100 million. AEP's Columbus Southern Power has completed purchase of Allegheny...

AmerenUE.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(NRG Energy Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... AmerenUE has agreed to purchase the 510 MW Goose Creek and the 340 MW Raccoon Creek plants in Illinois from Aquila, and the 640 MW Audrain plant in Missouri from NRG Energy. The combined transactions are valued at approximately $290 million.

FERC has approved NRG Energy's acquisition of Texas Genco.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... FERC has approved NRG Energy's acquisition of Texas Genco. Although the transaction remains subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, both companies expect it to close in the first quarter of 2006.

PSEG Energy Holdings.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(Seminole Electric Cooperative Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... PSEG Energy Holdings has sold its interest in the 659 MW coal-fired Seminole Generation Station Unit 2 in Palatka, Fla., to Seminole Electric Cooperative for $286 million.

Brookfield Power.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(NewPage Corp. )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Brookfield Power (previously Brascan Power) has agreed to purchase run-of-the-river merchant facilities on the Androscoggin River in Maine, totaling almost 40 MW of capacity, from Rumford Falls Power Co., owned by NewPage Corp. for $144...

Raser Technologies.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)(Amp Resources)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Raser Technologies, a technology licensing company that develops and licenses power generation and related technologies, has agreed to acquire Amp Resources, which has technologies focused on power generation. Raser will acquire Amp and its...

NuStart Energy.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Enercon Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... NuStart Energy has commissioned Tulsa, Okla.-based Enercon Services to prepare combined license applications for new nuclear power plants in the United States. Enercon will lead a team that includes Burns and Roe, William Lettis and Associates,...

Lima Energy Co.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Lima Energy Co., an operating company of Cincinnati-based Global Energy, has announced an upgrade of the Lima Energy integrated gasification combined cycle power plant, currently under construction, from 540 MW to 600 MW. The increase in power...

Xcel Energy.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Denver-based Xcel Energy has announced it will acquire 775 MW of new wind capacity for its Colorado system by 2007, which would make it the largest utility user of wind power in the United States. Xcel also plans to acquire approximately 1,300...

Mirant.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)
February 1, 2006... Atlanta-based independent power producer Mirant emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January and has resumed trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Super Radiator Coils.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(certification from ASME International )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has issued its N-Stamp fabricator certificate of authorization to Super Radiator Coils. The Chaska, Minn.-based company has long supplied ASME U-Stamp coils to the power industry and now seeks to...

BP Alternative Energy.(BUSINESS BRIEFS)(British Petroleum Company PLC)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... BP has announced plans to double its investment in alternative and renewable energy through creation of a new low-carbon power business. BP Alternative Energy will manage an investment program of solar, wind, hydrogen and combined-cycle gas...

Peabody Energy.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
February 1, 2006... Gregory Boyce has assumed the responsibility of president and CEO of Peabody Energy.

Pacific Gas and Electric.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
February 1, 2006... Jack Keenan has been elected senior vice president of generation and chief nuclear officer of Pacific Gas and Electric.

Southern Company.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)(Ellen Lindemann appointed as senior vice president)(Leonard Haynes appointed as executive vice president of supply technologies)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Southern Company has named Ellen Lindemann senior vice president of environmental projects and construction. Leonard Haynes has been named executive vice president of supply technologies, renewables and demand-side planning.

BP.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)(HelioVolt appoints Bob Oswald as vice president )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Former BP Solar Director Dr. Bob Oswald has been named vice president of engineering for HelioVolt, where he will direct the scale-up and manufacture of the company's thin-film/BIPV solar technology.

FuelCell Energy.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
February 1, 2006... FuelCell Energy President R. Daniel Brdar has been named CEO, replacing Jerry Leitman, who remains chairman of the board. Brdar retains the title of president.

Praxair Services Inc.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
February 1, 2006... Gerald Miller has been named president of atmospheric and process gas manufacturer Praxair Services Inc.

LS Power and a joint venture of Zachry Construction, Black & Veatch, and Kiewit Construction.(LS Power Corp. signs a contract with Zachry Construction Co., Black & Veatch Corp. and Kiewit Construction )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... LS Power and a joint venture of Zachry Construction, Black & Veatch, and Kiewit Construction will provide engineering, procurement and construction for LS Power Group's 665 MW Plumb Point coal-fired plant in northeast Arkansas.

FM Operating Services.(FM Operating Service signs a contract)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... FM Operating Services, an O & M company established between Mitsubishi Power Systems and Fluor, has received a multiyear contract to operate and maintain the 730 MW Wolf Hollow I Power Generation Facility in Hood County, Texas.

Foster Wheeler.(Foster Wheeler USA Corp. to develop steam generator for Dallman Industrial Corp. and catalytic reduction systems for AES )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Foster Wheeler will design and supply a 200 MW coal-fired steam generator for a new unit to be built at City Water, Light & Power's Dallman Generating Station in Springfield, Ill. Foster Wheeler will also supply and install selective catalytic...

Burns & McDonnell.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Kansas City Power and Light Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Kansas City Power & Light has selected Burns & McDonnell to provide engineering design services for the 850 MW Iatan Unit 2 coal-fired plant to be built on the Iatan plant site near Weston, Mo. Burns & McDonnell will also provide engineering...

Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control will provide multi-pollutant emission control systems for Dominion's Brayton Point Power Station Units 1,2 and 3 in Somerset, Mass.

Horizon Wind Energy and RES America Developments.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Horizon Wind Energy and RES America Developments have agreed to build the first 200 MW phase of the Cross Timbers Wind Farm in Shackelford County, Texas.

Vestas.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Vestas Wind Systems A/S and Horizon Wind Energy )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Vestas has received an order from Horizon Wind Energy for 600 MW of V82-1.65 MW and V80-1.8 MW wind turbines, with an option for an additional 200 MW.

Emerson Process Management.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Yonghung Thermal Power Plant)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Emerson Process Management has received a $13 million contract to install its PlantWeb digital plant architecture on Units 3 and 4 of the Yonghung Thermal Power Plant, the largest coal-fired plant in Korea.

Invensys.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Foxboro digital automation system)(Omaha Public Power District)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Invensys will provide its advanced SimSci-Esscor virtual simulation technology to the upgraded Foxboro digital automation system at Omaha Public Power District's 492 MW Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Station.

Solar Integrated Technologies.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)(Luke Air Force Base)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Solar Integrated Technologies has won a $2.5 million contract to help Honeywell Building Solutions install a 122 kW solar system at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

Hydrogenics.(Hydrogenics Corp. to provide hydrogen refueling station to Basin Electric Power Coop.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Hydrogenics will supply an electrolyzer-based hydrogen refueling station to Basin Electric Power Cooperative's wind farm in Bismarck, N.D. The station is one of the first U.S.-based hydrogen fueling stations to use electricity from wind to...

ALSTOM.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)
February 1, 2006... ALSTOM will upgrade two GT11N1 gas turbines to GT11NM units at Wisconsin Electric's Concord Generation Station in Watertown, Wis.

To cool or not to cool: turbine inlet cooling enhances the economics of combined-cycle systems without, and even better with, duct firing.(services of international standards organization )
February 1, 2006... A basic flaw of all combustion turbines (CTs) is that hot weather derates their capacities. The impact of this fundamental flaw is 10 percent to 35 percent of the rated/nameplate output capacity, which is always rated at 59 F as specified by...

Putting condensate polishing issues to bed--deep-bed, that is: careful consideration must be given to choosing a condensate polishing system along with the right resins for specific operating conditions.(environmental aspects of electric power plants)
February 1, 2006... Many utility and industrial power generating systems rely on a steam condensate loop, including facilities using once-through steam generators (OTSG), critical and supercritical steam generators, nuclear-fueled boiling water reactors (BWR) and...

The Diamond Edge[TM] in high-efficiency boiler design.
February 1, 2006... How do you make more power with less fuel, reduced emissions and lower operating costs? At Mitsubishi, our answer is integrated supercritical boiler systems. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The only thing that isn't surprising about the world's...

American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA): ... representing the best of the boiler industry.(Special Advertising Section)
February 1, 2006... The American Boiler Manufacturers Association is committed to protecting and enhancing the growth, profitability and stature of the commercial, institutional, industrial and power-generating boiler manufacturing industry. Government regulation,...

Handling nine-chrome steel in HRSGs: steam-plant industry wrestles with increased use of P91/T91 and other advanced alloys.(usage of chrome-moly steels)
February 1, 2006... Nine-percent chrome-moly steels (9Cr-1Mo) have been used successfully in U.S. fossil boilers as far back as the 1980s. Early pioneers included Tennessee Valley Authority, Dayton Power & Light Co., Appalachian Power Co., and Hawaiian Electric...

Dynamic duo captures mercury: there is strong evidence that the combination of wet scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction can prove a viable and formidable combination for knocking out mercury.(MERCURY REMOVAL)
February 1, 2006... Many utilities have added or will add selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems and wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubbers to their plants for N[O.sub.x] and S[O.sub.2] emissions control, respectively. Having addressed these airborne...

Events.(Calendar)
February 1, 2006... FEBRUARY February 28-March 1, Merchant Wind Projects: Financing, Developing and Structuring Conference, EUCI (303/770-8800), Denver, Colo. MARCH 1-3, Nuclear Utility Obsolescence Group Meeting, Scientech (www.scientech.com), San...

Graphite-metal bearings tackle high-temperature job.(FIELD NOTES)
February 1, 2006... THE INLET-AIR SECTION of a utility boiler is a harsh environment for the dampers that control the flow of preheated air into the combustors. Over time, the hot air dries out the lubricant in the metal bearings, or roller elements, that control...

Analyzers.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... SPARGER ASSEMBLY Waters Equipment's Series W7950 Sparger Assembly is used to prepare a sample for taking a degassed cation conductivity measurement. The unit uses inert gas to rid the sample of any C[O.sub.2] that enters the cycle through...

Ash Removal System.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... How Pratt & Whitney's Rocket Science is Keeping America's Boilers Clean [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Operators of coal-fired power plants seek out ash removal methods that enhance a plants efficiency. The...

Boilers.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... Transportable Steam Plant Meets the Needs of Medium- And Long-Term Users [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Transportable steam plants provide a reliable source of steam in applications where a permanent supply in not available or cost effective....

Data acquisition.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... New DXAdvanced Data Acquisition and Display Station [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new Yokogawa DXAdvanced is the latest generation DAQSTATION, a series of data acquisition and display stations that provide panel-mounted solutions for many...

Gas turbines.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... GE Energy is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation technology, energy services and management systems, with an installed base of power generation equipment in more than 120 countries. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GE Energy...

Generating services.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... Primesouth, Inc., a non-regulated subsidiary of SCANA Corporation, provides operating and maintenance services for utility and power generating facilities in different parts of the world. Primesouth has expertise in: * Power plant...

Krytox[R] Lubricants.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... Miller-Stephenson Offers a Wide Range of Chemicals for the Power Industry! What is your Requirement? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Contact Cleaners Solvent Cleaners Glass-Metal Cleaners Conformal Coatings Aero-Duster[R] ...

Performance monitoring system.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... EtaPRO[TM] bridges the gap between your DCS and business systems, providing a single solution for enterprise-wide, real-time plant performance monitoring, modeling, and reporting. When power plant professionals optimize their generating assets,...

Software.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... Piping System Design & Analysis [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CAESAR II is COADE's popular and easy-to-use Windows package for evaluating piping systems according to B31.1 and nuclear piping codes. Along with static and dynamic analysis of...

Varnish Removal System.(SUPPLIER'S SHOWCASE)
February 1, 2006... Varnish Removal Systems Kleentek works electrostatically to purge hydraulic oil of contaminants at the molecular level. Using a patented filter media, these systems remove the sub-micron particles that mechanical filters cannot. Kleentek...

Dishonesty doesn't pay.(efun@pe.laf)
February 1, 2006... Two university students learned a big lesson when they became overconfident going into finals week. The two friends were enrolled in a chemistry class at a large university. They both did pretty well on all of the quizzes, the midterms and the...