Power Engineering articles from January 2007

Power Engineering archives from January 2007

Complexity adds risk.
January 1, 2007... On my left sat a woman from an Ohio furniture maker. On my right sat a man from Chevron who drills for oil off the African coast. Scattered around the room were engineers and project managers from manufacturing, government and even a few...

A tale of two titans.
January 1, 2007... Buoyed by stronger balance sheets, and facing emerging concerns such as dwindling reserve margins and climate change, the power industry is stepping back into the sunlight from its self-imposed hibernation. Leading the charge are TXU and NRG...

New structural materials for wind turbine blades.
January 1, 2007... The first decades of the 21st century are likely to witness the start of the energy revolution. Wind energy is already a critical part. Although the United States has made great strides recently in converting to wind energy, currently it...

The hydrogen economy needs nukes.(NUCLEAR REACTIONS)
January 1, 2007... The fuel cell industry recently gave a lifetime achievement award to John O'Sullivan, who spent many years spearheading fuel cell development at the Electric Power Research Institute. In accepting the award, O'Sullivan gave an insightful...

Construction costs won't deter Duke's coal plans.(Startup)(Duke Energy Corp.)
January 1, 2007... Despite revised cost estimates that would increase the total price of two new 800 MW coal units from $2 billion to $3 billion, Duke Energy has decided they represent the best option to meet growing customer demand in combination with other...

ADA-ES.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... ADA-ES will supply a mercury emission control system for a 350 MW unit in the Midwestern United States that burns a blend of Appalachian region and South American bituminous coals.

AREVA and Washington Group's SGT LLC.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... AREVA and Washington Group's SGT LLC joint venture have been contracted by Exelon to provide engineering and construction support for the replacement of two once-through steam generators in Unit 1 of Three Mile Island nuclear plant. The steam...

Xcel Energy and Lea Power Partners.(Construction and Contracts)(ArcLight Energy Partners Fund)
January 1, 2007... Xcel Energy and Lea Power Partners owned by ArcLight Energy Partners Fund will develop a 550 MW combined cycle plant near Xcel Energy's Maddox and Cunningham generating stations near Hobbs, N.M. Project development assistance was provided by...

Emerson Process Management.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Emerson Process Management will install its Plant Web digital plant architecture with the Ovation control system at the 665 MW Plum Point pulverized coal-fired plant in northeastern Arkansas. In 2006, Emerson was chosen to install digital plant...

Invensys Process Systems.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Invensys Process Systems has implemented an Avantis asset management system at the Platte River Power Authority in Colorado for its generation, distribution and maintenance operations, which includes a 274 MW coal fired plant north of Fort...

Xcel Energy Services.(Construction and Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Xcel Energy Services has selected Sargent & Lundy to perform detailed design engineering for the Riverside Repowering Project in Minneapolis, replacing two coal-fired units with a combined-cycle installation consisting of two combustion...

Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control.(Construction & Contracts)
January 1, 2007... Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control will design, supply and install two wet FGD systems at Reliant Energy's Keystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania.

WOW Energy and Siemens Building Technologies.(WOWGen renewable energy power plant )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... WOW Energy and Siemens Building Technologies will supply a WOWGen renewable energy power plant to produce 6 MW of power for the Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. The plant will be a part of Siemens' $39 million dollar contract to provide...

Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Microgy.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Microgy will buy all of the renewable natural gas (RNG) generated over an 18 month period from Microgy's Huckabay Ridge facility in Stephenville, Texas. Huckabay will produce up to 2 million cubic feet...

San Diego Gas & Electric.(Construction & Contracts)(Bethel Energy and Esmeralda Energy contract)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG & E) will procure an additional 120 MW of solar and geothermal power by 2010. Two solar contracts with Bethel Energy will add nearly 100 MW of renewable electricity to SDG & E's energy portfolio, while another...

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding.(Acquisitions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding is selling its Mitsui Babcock business to Doosan Heavy Industries. Upon completion of the deal, Mitsui Babcock will be known as Doosan Babcock.

Duke Energy Indiana.(Acquisitions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Duke Energy Indiana has agreed to sell its 192 MW Wabash River Power Station Unit 1 to the Wabash Valley Power Association for about $115 million. The demonstration integrated gasification combined cycle Unit 1 produces electricity using syngas...

Sierra Geothermal Power.(Acquisitions)(Cayley Geothermal)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Sierra Geothermal Power has acquired majority interest in Cayley Geothermal, giving it an interest in 15 geothermal projects in Nevada and California in various states of development.

Calpine.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(590 MW Aries Power Plant )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Calpine has received approval from the U. S. Bankruptcy Court to sell the 590 MW Aries Power Plant in Pleasant Hill, Mo. to Kelson Holdings for $233.6 million.

GE and Hitachi.(Business Briefs)(alliance for nuclear energy service businesses )(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... GE and Hitachi have agreed to form a global alliance that will combine their nuclear energy service businesses to strengthen existing operations, accelerate development of new products and services, and position the alliance for growth in the...

Bershire Hathaway.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Warren Buffett says Berkshire Hathaway will seek additional utility industry investments in 2007 and 2008. Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway is already the controlling shareholder of MidAmerican Energy Holdings.

BP Solar.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... BP Solar is expanding its North American headquarters in Frederick, Md., doubling the facility's current sizing and casting capacity and making it the largest fully integrated photovoltaic solar cell production plant in the U.S.

Calpine.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... As part of its ongoing program to divest excess equipment inventory, Calpine has completed the sale of 10 turbines, generators and related components for about $112 million.

E.ON U.S.(FutureGen Alliance)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... E.ON U.S., parent of Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, has joined the FutureGen Alliance that is developing the world's first coal-fired near zero emissions power plant. The 275 MW FutureGen plant will gasify coal, capture...

Black & Veatch.(Personnel & Promotions)
January 1, 2007... Black & Veatch has named Dave Harley vice president and director of business development for its nuclear organization.

DTE Biomass Energy.(Personnel & Promotions)
January 1, 2007... Mark Cousino has been named president of DTE Biomass Energy, which develops, owns and operates landfill gas recovery systems throughout the United States.

Duke Energy.(Personnel & Promotions)
January 1, 2007... Jim Stanley, vice president of Duke Energy's Midwest field operations, has been named president of Duke Energy Indiana.

Babcock Power's Vogt Power International.(appointment of Manfred Pouzar)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Manfred Pouzar has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Babcock Power's Vogt Power International. He succeeds Dennie Hunt who will now lead Vogt's business development group.

John Wood Group.(Personnel & Promotions)
January 1, 2007... Allister Langlands has become group chief executive of John Wood Group. Sir Ian Wood will continue as chairman.

Capstone Turbine Corp.(appointment of Darren Jameson)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Darren Jameson has been named CEO of Capstone Turbine Corp. Jamison was formerly president of Northern Power Systems. Ambrose Schwallie, CEO of Northern Power's parent, Distributed Energy Systems, will assume added responsibilities as...

Cummins & Barnard, Inc.(appointment of Charles J. Hookham)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Charles J. Hookham, P.E. has joined Cummins & Barnard, Inc. as Vice President with a focus on project management. Prior to joining Cummins & Barnard, he served as Associate Vice President at Black & Veatch. He presently chairs the American...

The coal-wind connection: electrons from coal plants and wind farms will ride together on new transmission lines they both desperately need.
January 1, 2007... Suppose that as we expand our interstate highway system we decide to reserve entire lanes for the exclusive use of hybrid vehicles. The motive would be to encourage more efficient energy use and reduce pollution. There's little doubt that some...

What lies beneath: significant geothermal energy resources lie a mile or two below our feet.
January 1, 2007... The convergence of new technology and changing power industry dynamics often challenge conventional wisdom. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What conventional wisdom sometimes fails to account for is that potential often extends far beyond what...

Projects of the year: the Peabody Hotel, Orlando, Fla., was the site of Power Engineering magazine's 2006 Projects of the Year Awards Banquet, which kicked-off POWER-GEN International.
January 1, 2007... The global need for reliable, affordable and environmentally responsible energy continues to grow, challenging the electric generation industry. Each year, through the Project of the Year awards program, Power Engineering magazine recognizes...

Hooked on 316(b): power generators face a sweeping fish protection rule.
January 1, 2007... Consider the gizzard shad, a.k.a. mud shad or--in more formal circles--Dorosoma cepedianum. Toothless, stumpy, bony and squished from side to side, this member of the herring family can grow to eight inches in length and spend its life oozing...

New, environmentally friendly power plants being sought: providing new power generation capacity in an environmentally responsible way was the message at POWER-GEN International.(Conference news)
January 1, 2007... The world's appetite for electricity is growing and must be fed with new power plant construction. These new plants must be designed and built in an environmentally responsible way. This was a common theme at the POWER-GEN International...

Hybrid coal gasification: retrofitting gas, oil and coal-fired boilers can reduce operating costs and meet EPA regulations.(United States. Environmental Protection Agency)(Clean Combustion System )
January 1, 2007... Coal remains the most stable low-cost source of energy, but its lower qualities challenge users to meet stringent environmental regulations. The first step in any modification or fuel switching of a boiler requires careful evaluation of the...

On-site CHP shows value down east.(combined heat and power)(Eastern Maine Medical Center)
January 1, 2007... A number of circumstances makes hospitals and other medical care facilities choice candidates for on-site power solutions incorporating combined heat and power (CHP). Those factors include a critical need for uninterrupted power,...

Filling a gap at Gulf Power.(Gulf Power Academy)(West Florida High School of Advanced Technology)(Gulf Power Co.)
January 1, 2007... When Ruben Powers entered high school in Pensacola, Fla. four years ago, he never dreamed that just a few short months after graduation he'd be deeply entrenched in a Gulf Power Company apprentice program. But today Ruben, like 40 other...