Power Engineering articles from January 2002

Power Engineering archives from January 2002

Getting back to basics. (Opinion).(energy companies adopt more conventional business models)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The pace of change in our industry, while still accelerated relative to five years ago, has noticeably slowed the past year, as companies are going "back to basics" and refocusing on core strengths. State deregulation efforts have also slowed...

Feedback.
January 1, 2002... PARTIALLY COMPLETED NUCLEAR PLANTS I agree with John Zink that the partially completed nuclear plants in the U.S. are assets whose value needs to be recovered (Power Engineering, October 2001, p. 30). However, we will need to realistically...

Sootblowing control being integrated: With ASH handling. (Update).(Diamond Power International Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Tasks once performed by many coal plant personnel from numerous locations utilizing control equipment dispersed throughout the plant can now be consolidated. As an example: State-of-the art technology now allows sootblowing and ash handling to...

Nuclear plants May shatter year 2000's record achievements. (Update).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Data released in December by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) indicate the upward trend of nuclear power plant performance in the U.S. continues. In 2000, U.S. nuclear power plants produced a record 754 billion kWh. Based on the most current...

How now green cow, give us cowlowatts now. (Update).(Portland General Electric working to convert cow gas into energy)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Portland General Electric is aggressively enlisting Oregon's dairy industry to tap a renewable source of green power from cows. Not only does the process produce "cowlowatts" from a renewable resource, it captures and uses methane gas that...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2002... The October issue incorrectly reported that Entergy had named Leon J. Oliver president and CEO of the Connecticut Light and Power Company. The item should have stated that Northeast Utilities named Mr. Oliver to those positions. Power...

Thermoelectric superconductors might boost energy efficiency. (Update).(MIT scientists and ENECO Inc. researchers may have developed semiconducting device that can transform heat into electricity)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For many years, researchers have been working to convert heat to electricity directly, without the moving parts of a generator. Until now, however, the efficiency of such devices has been poor, with the amount of electricity they produce from a...

NERC fears power crisis could affect Northern Midwest. (Update).(North American Electric Reliability Council)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) believes the northern portion of the midwestern U.S. is vulnerable to critical power shortages within the next few years. According to NERC's 2001-2002 outlook report, "Planned resources in...

Fuel strategy tool integrates purchasing, transportation and inventory management. (Update).(Black & Veatch and MRC Rail Services set to collaborate)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Developing the best fuel strategy includes addressing long term fuel and transportation plans, target fuel sources, fuel market and trading opportunities, plant fuel flexibility needs, emissions compliance plans and evaluation of unit/fuel...

Construction and contracts. (Update).
January 1, 2002... Duke Energy North America has broken ground an a 600 MW plant in Grays Harbor County, Washington; the 1,200-MW Moapa Energy Facility in Apex, Nevada; and the 600 MW Luna Energy Facility in Deming, New Mexico. USFilter has been awarded a...

IPPS warn that closing Indian point would raise electricity prices. (Update).(Independent Power Producers of New York)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) says shutting nuclear plants in the state would immediately increase the cost of electricity to consumers, cost thousands of jobs, and threaten the reliability of New York's electric system....

Personnel and promotions. (Update).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Frank Bates has; been, named COO of El Paso Electric Co. replacing Eduardo Rodriguez. Bates was previously vice president of transmission and distribution. He will be responsible for the company's generation and transmission and distribution...

Mergers and acquisitions. (Update).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Conectiv has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Atlantic City Electric Company, completed the sale of its ownership interests in three nuclear plants to PSEG Nuclear LLC and Exelon Generation Company. The ownership interests were sold...

Enron gone with the wind but Enron Wind is here to stay. (Update).(Enron Wind Corp. not part of parent's bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Although its parent, Enron, is in bankruptcy, several concerns have expressed interest in acquiring the assets of Enron Wind, the largest provider and operator of wind projects in the U.S. Robert Gates of Enron Wind Corp. assured an audience at...

Black & Veatch. (Business briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Black & Veatch has been granted exclusive license in North America for the Chiyoda flue gas desulfurization technology CT-121. Rather than spraying limestone slurry into the flue gas as in a conventional spray tower, CT-121 disperses flue gas...

Transmutation might mute the critics. (Nuclear Reactions).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... When I first began studying nuclear engineering nearly 40 years ago, I was fascinated by the fact that nuclear reactions can transmute one element to another. As years passed and the nuclear controversy grew, it seemed to me that transmutation...

Unique combined-cycle design caters to plants with cyclical demand profiles.
January 1, 2002... Cyclical load profiles present unique design challenges for power plant developers, particularly for medium-sized facilities (200-300 MW nominal output). Black Hills Energy's Las Vegas Co-generation II power plant showcases a combined-cycle...

Biomass looking to build steam in power market. (Biomass).
January 1, 2002... Biomass and bioenergy resources such as agricultural products, forest and paper products, and waste-derived fuels satisfy 3-4 percent of U.S. energy needs. Included in this total are more than 500 biomass-fired power plants with a combined...

Heat-Rate optimization pays dividends. (Heat Rate Performance Monitoring).(electric generating plants)
January 1, 2002... As the electric utility industry transitions from a regulated to a non-regulated competitive market, improving and maintaining the efficiencies of electric generating plants is critical. A unit's efficiency, or heat rate, is a function of the...

Retrofitted valves reduce costs and radiation exposure. (Valve Retrofit).
January 1, 2002... Constellation Nuclear's Nine Mile Point Unit 2, a 1,124 MW Boiling Water Reactor, was commissioned in 1987. In the mid-90s the plant started to experience cavitation problems with the unit's 2 inch x 2 inch cooling water temperature control...

Optimism abounds at biggest Power-Gen in history. (Power-Gen 2001).
January 1, 2002... The 14th POWER-GEN International Dec. 11-13 in Las Vegas broke every event record. Attendance approached 19,000, shattering last year's record draw by more than 2,000. The fact that this POWER-GEN International was held at the end of a two-year...

Technology improving DG's potential. (News & Views on Distributed Generation).
January 1, 2002... Distributed generation's potential to maximize energy efficiency and reliability -- above and beyond anything the traditional power grid could ever be reasonably expected to achieve -- might finally be realized with a new generation of hybrid...

Real-time microturbine performance analysis now on-line. (News & Views on Distributed Generation).
January 1, 2002... Users evaluating microturbines and related systems now have real-time Internet access to real-world-simulated test stand data. Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) is providing its client manufacturers, customers, and utilities access to...

UTC fuel cells. (Briefly Noted).
January 1, 2002... UTC Fuel Cells has announced the sale of eight PC25 fuel cell plants to the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The 200 kW units will produce power from digester gas methane created in the wastewater treatment process at four treatment plants in...

Revere control systems. (Briefly Noted).
January 1, 2002... Revere Control Systems and Power Generating Systems have announced a new line of combined heat and power "plug and play" units manufactured by Waukesha. The CHPgen 375 engine/generator is able to produce 375 kW of energy input with 88 percent...

Backup in a box. (News & Views on Distributed Generation).(from ORMAT, Compact Energy Converter)
January 1, 2002... ORMAT has introduced its Compact Energy Converter, a fully integrated power system that supplies standby DC power for telecommunications applications in a footprint measuring 3 ft x 6 ft x6ft. The unit supplies rectified, filtered power when...

Distributed generation reduces downtime. (Field Notes).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... HARBEC PLASTICS, Rochester, New York, produces highly engineered, custom plastic parts for customers in the medical, automotive and other industries. Every aspect of the plant's ISO9002, QS9000 and ISO14001 certified operations is designed to...

Gas turbine filter house. (Products).(from Camfil Farr)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Gold Cone filter house from Camfil Farr is designed to prevent fouling of gas turbine blades, resulting in fewer water washes, greater power output and less overall downtime. The filtration system features a patented inner Gold Cone that...

Valve trim. (Products).(Aeroflow T2 High Cain trim from Leslie Controls Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Leslie Controls' Aeroflow T2 High Cain trim offers tighter process control and significant savings over conventional control valves. T2 trim, coupled with Leslie's Digital Positioning System, provides ultra high-speed response, outstanding...

Hand-held tachometer. (Products).(from Ono Sokki Technology Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The new HT-4100 tachometer from Ono Sokki Technology Inc. is small, thin and lightweight, weighing less than four ounces. Measurement setup

Automatic transfer switches. (Products).(from Russelectric Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... For 600 V applications, Russelectric single-operator and dual-operator automatic transfer switches are available in two-, three-, or four-pole configurations for emergency/standby power systems. UL listed through 4000 A and SCADA capable, these...

U.S. Energy Systems. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Independent Power Producer U.S. Energy Systems has renamed its four subsidiaries. Zahren Alternative Power Corporation is now U.S. Energy Biogas, American Enviro-Services is now U.S. Energy Environmental, Steamboat 1 and Steamboat 1A is now...

Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN). (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) has voted to move forward with a $12 million to $22 million project to erect up to 20 wind turbines near Kimball.

Powerspan and FirstEnergy are moving the commercial scale demonstration of multi-pollutant control technology from FirstEnergy's Eastlake Plant in Eastlake, Ohio, to FirstEnergy's R.E. (Business Briefs).(NRG Energy Inc. buys assets from FirstEnergy Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Powerspan and FirstEnergy are moving the commercial scale demonstration of multi-pollutant control technology from FirstEnergy's Eastlake Plant in Eastlake, Ohio, to FirstEnergy's R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, Ohio. FirstEnergy has reached...

Omaha, Neb.-based independent power producer Tenaska has completed financing for the $350 million Kiamichi Energy Facility, a 1,250 MW gas-fired power plant under construction 100 miles south of Tulsa, Okla. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... Omaha, Neb.-based independent power producer Tenaska has completed financing for the $350 million Kiamichi Energy Facility, a 1,250 MW gas-fired power plant under construction 100 miles south of Tulsa, Okla. Tenaska and Diamond Generating...