Power Engineering articles from January 2009

Power Engineering archives from January 2009

To the editor.(Feedback)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I am writing regarding the article, "Nuclear New Build Cost Visibility and Predictability" by David Haarmeyer (October 2008). I am the Deputy General Counsel for CPS Energy, the other 50 percent owner of the South Texas Units 3 & 4 Project....

Four pros talk credit.(Opinion)
January 1, 2009... Power generators are not entirely immune to effects of the global credit crisis. At POWER-GEN International last month in Orlando, Heather Johnstone, senior editor of Power Engineering International, and I moderated an hour-long panel...

Putting the NSR pieces together.(Clearing the Air)(Column)
January 1, 2009... Past columns have discussed the various pieces of New Source Review (NSR) in some detail. We've covered netting (August 2007), routine maintenance (October 2007) and reasonable possibility record keeping (September 2008) as well as the...

Three views on renewable energy.(View on Renewables)
January 1, 2009... Renewable energy technologies are rapidly entering the mainstream energy mix, presenting myriad challenges for generators and electric utilities alike. At a special Editor's Briefing at POWER-GEN International in early December, a panel made up...

Leadership by example: Q & A with Christopher Wedig, Shaw senior technology specialist.(Interview)
January 1, 2009... Q. What leading-edge technologies is Shaw using on its projects? A. Shaw uses leading-edge technologies in the area of air quality control systems (AQCS) to significantly reduce stack emissions to meet increasingly stringent regulations. We...

Obama picks energy, EPA chiefs.(Startup)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... In mid-December, President-elect Barack Obama said he would nominate Steven Chu for energy secretary, Lisa Jackson for EPA administrator, Carol Browner as energy "czar" and Nancy Sutley to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality....

Canada passes wind energy milestone.(Startup)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) said Canada has become the 12th country in the world to surpass 2,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity. Wind supplies about 1 percent of Canada's electricity demand, with 85 wind farms...

Photovoltaic costs to fall in 2009.(Startup)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The cost of photovoltaic electricity is due to plummet in 2009, according to analysts at New Energy Finance. Its quarterly Silicon and Wafer Price Index shows average silicon contract prices falling by more than 30 percent in 2009, compared...

NERC security deadline approaching.(Startup)(North American Electric Reliability Corp.)(Interview)
January 1, 2009... Just as you use the latest security updates to protect your personal computer from threats of viruses and attempts to steal valuable information, so power plants and the grids to which they are connected must make sure systems that allow plants...

Supersonic emissions control.(Startup)
January 1, 2009... A symbiosis of chemistry and physics might someday remove emissions from coal--including carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2])--more efficiently than is being done today while producing revenue streams for the pure concentrations of materials removed....

Energy Future Holdings.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Rather than engage in a potentially lengthy legal battle, Energy Future Holdings has signed a deal with the Sierra Club negotiated by Public Citizen to install maximum achievable control technology for mercury emissions on two new coal units at...

Emerson Process Management and Fluor Corp.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Emerson Process Management and Fluor Corp. will jointly develop and use processes to improve management and execution of capital projects. As a Fluor preferred automation and control supplier, Emerson will support risk mitigation efforts on...

Brattle Group.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... An unexpected drop in U.S. electricity consumption could make power producers reduce growth projections and the amount of money they will spend upgrading existing facilities. Utilities had been expected to invest $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion by...

Tenaska Solar.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Tenaska Solar has made an equity investment in Soltage solar generating stations to expand the development and use of solar generated electricity. Soltage photovoltaic solar systems--called Soltage Powerstations--are installed on customer...

Frost & Sullivan.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Frost & Sullivan reports global economic turmoil is affecting the wind energy industry, with some companies reducing production forecasts for 2009 as the market shows signs of a slowdown. The report also states a slowdown will reduce turbine...

Honeywell's Process Solutions.(Business Briefs)
January 1, 2009... Honeywell's Process Solutions business announced its Advanced Energy Solutions, a suite of process control, monitoring and optimization applications designed for industrial power generation facilities. The suite allows industrial power and...

GE Energy.(Construction & Contracts)(Iraqi Ministry of Electricity signed a deal for power generation equipment )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and GE Energy announced an agreement for power generation equipment and services valued at nearly $3 billion. GE Energy will provide heavy-duty frame 9E multi-fuel gas turbines capable of supplying 7,000 MW of...

Siemens Energy.(Construction & Contracts)(Florida Power & Light Co. signed a deal with Siemens Energy & Automation Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Siemens Energy received orders from Florida Power & Light Co. to refurbish and upgrade the turbine-generators at its St. Lucie and Turkey Point nuclear power plants to increase power output. The contract is valued at about $250 million. Siemens...

Siemens Energy.(Construction & Contracts)(Siemens Energy & Automation Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Siemens Energy was awarded a contract to supply four simple cycle gas turbine packages for Southern Power's 720 MW Cleveland County generating plant in North Carolina. Siemens will supply four SGT6-PAC-5000F gas turbine packages, including...

Fluor.(Construction & Contracts)(Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Fluor has received a contract for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of Brazos Electric Power Cooperative's 620 MW combined-cycle Jack County Generating Facility Unit 2 near Bridgeport, Texas. The project is expected...

Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... As part of its regional carbon sequestration partnerships program, DOE has awarded $61 million to fund the third phase of the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership aimed at determining if large quantities of C[O.sub.2] can be safely...

Southern Company.(Construction & Contracts)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Southern Company plans to build a plant in North Carolina to provide power to the company's wholesale customers through long-term contracts with North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and North Carolina Municipal Power Agency. The plant...

Richard Killion has been named president and COO of Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group.(Personnel & Promtions)
January 1, 2009... Richard Killion has been named president and COO of Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group. He succeeds Brandon Bethards, who was named president and CEO.

The American Wind Energy Association has named Denise Bode CEO, replacing Randall Swisher who retires after 19 years with AWEA.(Personnel & Promtions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... The American Wind Energy Association has named Denise Bode CEO, replacing Randall Swisher who retires after 19 years with AWEA. Bode was previously CEO of the American Clean Skies Foundation and served nine years on the Oklahoma Corporation...

John Danner.(Personnel & Promtions)
January 1, 2009... Wind energy developer Northern Power Systems has named John Danner CEO. He was previously president and CEO of biotech technologies developer Codon Devices.

California-based Wamar International Inc. has acquired controlling interest of Georgia-based Primesouth.(Mergers & Acquistions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... California-based Wamar International Inc. has acquired controlling interest of Georgia-based Primesouth. Wamar's Energy Division provides overhaul, repair and maintenance services for industrial gas turbines of all sizes, supplying turnkey...

NVEnergy completed acquiging the 598 MW Bighorn Generating Facility located 35 miles south of Las Vegas, Nev.(Mergers & Acquistions)
January 1, 2009... NVEnergy completed acquiging the 598 MW Bighorn Generating Facility located 35 miles south of Las Vegas, Nev. from Reliant Energy for $510 million.

Electricite de France, the largest single stockholder of Constellation Energy, proposed a 50 percent ownership interest in the company's nuclear generation and operation business for $4.5 billion.(Mergers & Acquistions)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Electricite de France, the largest single stockholder of Constellation Energy, proposed a 50 percent ownership interest in the company's nuclear generation and operation business for $4.5 billion. EDF says it can receive necessary regulatory...

Special report: executive roundtable on renewable energy.(Interview)(Discussion)
January 1, 2009... With strong support from the Obama administration, renewable energy could grow in spite of the economic crisis. To find out if the time really is "now" for renewables, Power Engineering magazine talked with executives and analysts, including:...

Projects of the Year Award winners: reflecting the future of power generation.
January 1, 2009... The Power Engineering magazine Projects of the Year Awards banquet, held December 1 as part of POWER-GEN International, recognized eight outstanding projects that meet demands for energy while demonstrating the highest standards for engineering...

Predictable SCR co-benefits for mercury control.(Selective catalytic reduction)
January 1, 2009... Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for N[O.sub.x] removal from utility boilers has been shown to have extremely high removal efficiencies. In recent years, there has been increased focus on a potentially significant pollution control...

Assuring wind flows smoothly into the grid: as wind generation capacity grows, so will the need to ensure that interconnection schemes are designed to maintain grid safety and reliability.
January 1, 2009... During the last 30 years, the size of the largest commercial wind turbines has increased from around 30 kW to as big as 5 MW. The working principle of a wind turbine is based on two well-known processes. The first involves the conversion of...

A record-setting 20th POWER-GEN International: the industry is focused on critical infrastructure projects, but mindful of the financial turmoil and the new administration's energy policy.
January 1, 2009... The global economic crisis dominated the discussion at POWER-GEN International 2008, held Dec. 2-4, in Orlando, Fla. As the financial markets swung widely on the latest round of unemployment figures or speculation about the incoming Obama...

80-year-old solution looks to the future.(DG Update)
January 1, 2009... An historic hotel in New York City is proof that looking back can provide a sound foundation for forward thinking in wise energy production and use. The 79-year-old The New Yorker Hotel is a showcase for how distributed generation, a common...

Valvcon actuators.(Products)(Metso Corp.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Valvcon ADC series battery-backup powered actuators, from Metso, now offer a new hi/low analog alarm capability that monitors operational conditions for each valve automation package. The analog alarm automatically overrides the actuator's...

Metal catalog.(Products)
January 1, 2009... As a resource to support its line of Hobart and Tri-Mark brands of low alloy filler metals, Hobart Brothers offers its new Low Alloy Product catalog. The catalog features information on the company's low alloy stick electrodes and flux-cored...

Transfer Switch.(Products)(GE Digital Energy )(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... GE Digital Energy announces the new Zenith 1600-3000 Amp Horizontal Bypass/Isolation Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) system. The unit has a back-to-back design with a shutter system that uses technology from the American National Standards...

Flow Meter.(Products)(McCrometer Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... McCrometer's new Corrosion-Resistant V-Cone Flow Meter provides flow measurement in liquid, steam or gas media, and can operate where corrosive conditions exist. The design is based on differential pressure technology and uses no moving parts,...

Signal conditioners.(Products)(Moore Industries Inc.)(Brief article)
January 1, 2009... Moore Industries introduces its new miniMOORE family of multi-channel analog signal conditioners. The products deliver up to four I/O channels in a 1-inch (25.4 mm) footprint, which equates to 0.25 inch (6.35 mm) per channel. Providing 1000Vrms...

A compelling narrative.(Generating Buzz)
January 1, 2009... On December 2 at POWER-GEN International, Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and CEO of Dominion (pictured above), delivered the Keynote Session speech "Realistic View of National Energy Challenge Is Needed." An excerpt from that speech...