Power Engineering articles from July 2007

Power Engineering archives from July 2007

It's a date.(nuclear power plant management)(Viewpoint essay)
July 1, 2007... Your calendar might still be free for January 2011, but Dave Christian, Dominion's Chief Nuclear Officer, already has a date. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] That's when he says he needs to start training operators who will be licensed to run...

The power of nanotechnology.(View On Renewables)
July 1, 2007... As worldwide demand for energy surges at an ever-increasing rate, there is a new urgency to improve the efficiency and sustainability of power generation technologies. One of the keys to addressing this challenge is innovation, and some of the...

The Charlie Brown syndrome.(NUCLEAR REACTIONS)
July 1, 2007... Since I started writing this column in 2000 I have frequently touted the possibility that a nuclear renaissance is just around the corner: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved several new reactor designs that could be built with...

Illinois IGCC gets air permit.(Startup)
July 1, 2007... The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has issued an air construction permit for the 630 MW Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) project in Southern Illinois, a move that might allow construction to begin on what could be the first full scale...

Washington Group International.(Construction & Contracts)(FutureGen Industrial Alliance )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Washington Group International has been selected by the FutureGen Industrial Alliance to provide architectural, design and engineering support services for the FutureGen initiative, the partnership to develop and build a $1 billion, 275 MW IGCC...

Salt River Project of Phoenix.(Construction & Contracts)(Rockwood Materials Handling)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The Salt River Project of Phoenix, Ariz., has awarded Rockwood Materials Handling the contract to supply two Circular Overpile Stacker/Reclaimers (COSR) handling Powder River Basin coal for the Springerville Unit 4 plant in Springerville,...

American Municipal Power-Ohio, Inc.(Construction & Contracts)(The Andersons, Inc. )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... American Municipal Power-Ohio, Inc. has committed to using Powerspan emissions control technology on the proposed American Municipal Power Generating Station (AMPGS) Project and has executed a memorandum of understanding with The Andersons,...

WorleyParsons has extended a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide engineering services for TVA's fossil and hydro power plants.(Construction & Contracts)
July 1, 2007... WorleyParsons has extended a contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide engineering services for TVA's fossil and hydro power plants. TVA extended the term of the contract from 2009 to 2014. The average yearly revenue under this...

Babcock Power Environmental Inc.(Construction & Contracts)(Veolia Environmental Services)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Babcock Power Environmental Inc. announced the award of a multi-year contract to supply Veolia Environmental Services Waste-to-Energy (Montenay Power) with activated lignite HOK[TM] for their 10 waste-to-energy plants located in North America.

TXU Power and Texas Energy Future Holdings Limited Partnership, the holding company formed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Texas Pacific Group and other investors to acquire TXU Corp.(Construction & Contracts)
July 1, 2007... TXU Power and Texas Energy Future Holdings Limited Partnership, the holding company formed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Texas Pacific Group and other investors to acquire TXU Corp., plan to install new activated carbon sorbent injection...

PNM Resources said its joint venture with a unit of Cascade Investment, L.L.C., will acquire the CoGen Lyondell Power Generation Facility, a combined-cycle plant, from Dynegy for approximately $467.5 million.(Mergers & Acquisitions)
July 1, 2007... Under a purchase and sale agreement, PNM Resources said its joint venture with a unit of Cascade Investment, L.L.C., will acquire the CoGen Lyondell Power Generation Facility, a combined-cycle plant, from Dynegy for approximately $467.5...

AES Corporation said its wholly-owned subsidiary AES Central Valley, L.L.C. has agreed to sell its 100 percent indirect interest in two biomass fired power plants in California (the 50 MW Delano facility and the 25 MW Mendota facility) and an associated biomass fuels management company to Covanta Holding Corporation for $51 million.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(biomass fired power plants)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... AES Corporation said its wholly-owned subsidiary AES Central Valley, L.L.C. has agreed to sell its 100 percent indirect interest in two biomass fired power plants in California (the 50 MW Delano facility and the 25 MW Mendota facility) and an...

Duke Energy has acquired the wind power development business of Tierra Energy, a wind power development company located in Austin, Texas, from Energy Investors Funds for an undisclosed amount.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Duke Energy has acquired the wind power development business of Tierra Energy, a wind power development company located in Austin, Texas, from Energy Investors Funds for an undisclosed amount. The purchase includes more than 1,000 MW of wind...

The AES Corporation is acquiring two wind farm projects totaling 186 MW from GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric.(Mergers & Acquisitions)
July 1, 2007... The AES Corporation is acquiring two wind farm projects totaling 186 MW from GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The projects include Lake Benton I, a 106.5 MW wind...

Calpine Corp.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Calpine Corp. said it plans to increase power production by up to 80 MW at its The Geysers geothermal operations in northern California. The production program includes a two-year multi-rig drilling effort to expand steam production and...

Entergy.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Entergy said it will meet its second voluntary greenhouse gas stabilization commitment by strengthening the company's clean energy portfolio, driving greater energy efficiency, purchasing energy from clean, efficient sources and actively...

Nevada Power Company.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Nevada Power Company will spend up to $60 million on an advanced burner technology that will reduce [NO.sub.x] emissions from its Clark Generating Station power plant. The upgrade is part of a deal with the U.S. Environmenta Protection Agency...

Progress Energy.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Progress Energy said that its subsidiaries closed on a previously announced sale of its nonregulated power plants, hedges and contracts. Net proceeds from the transactions totaled approximately $480 million, including income tax benefits, and...

Weir Valves & Controls USA.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Weir Valves & Controls USA, which designs and manufactures safety related valves for the nuclear power industry, is moving to a dedicated nuclear valve manufacturing facility, which will be one of the largest focused factory for these types of...

Florida Power & Light.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Following a rejection by state regulators to allow it to build a new coal plant in Glades County, Florida Power & Light said it will explore the possibility of building a wind-power project near the coast in St. Lucie County, despite the fact...

GE and Hitachi.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... GE and Hitachi have created a global alliance of their nuclear businesses whereby they will form cross-shareholding companies in U.S., Canada and Japan to capitalize on their experience in new construction with modularization and...

PNM Resources.(People & Personnel)(appointment of Patricia Vincent )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... PNM Resources has hired Patricia Vincent to take the helm of its utility operations in both Texas and New Mexico. She will report directly to PNM Resources Chairman, President and CEO Jeff Sterba. Vincent comes to PNM Resources from...

Jeff E. Sterba has been elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute.(People & Personnel)(appointment of Jeff E. Sterba)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Jeff E. Sterba, chairman, president and CEO of PNM Resources, has been elected chairman of the Edison Electric Institute. David M. Ratcliffe and Anthony F. Earley Jr. were elected first and second vice chairman, respectively. Ratcliffe is...

Oglethorpe Power Corporation.(People & Personnel)(appointment of James A. Messersmith )(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Oglethorpe Power Corporation has named James A. (Jim) Messersmith as senior vice president, plant operations. He formerly served as vice president, plant operations. Messersmith is responsible for overseeing the management of all generating...

The private investors buying TXU Corp. said that former Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans will become non-executive chairman of the electric utility when the buyout is completed.(People & Personnel)
July 1, 2007... The private investors buying TXU Corp. said that former Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans will become non-executive chairman of the electric utility when the buyout is completed. Other directors will include former EPA chief William Reilly and...

Westinghouse Electric Company.(People & Personnel)(appointment of David Howell)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Westinghouse Electric Company named David Howell to the position of vice president of Field Services for its Nuclear Services business unit. Howell will be responsible for executive oversight for Westinghouse's global Field Services business,...

Keewatin Windpower Corp.(People & Personnel)
July 1, 2007... Keewatin Windpower Corp. appointed Vick Dusik as its Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. He has also joined the Company's Board of Directors.

Tennessee Valley Authority.(People & Personnel)(retirement of Joe Bynum)
July 1, 2007... The Tennessee Valley Authority announced the retirement at the end of the year of Joe Bynum executive vice president of TVA's fossil power group. He will be succeeded by Preston Swafford who has more than 23 years of utility experience and came...

Cummins & Barnard, Inc.(People & Personnel)
July 1, 2007... Peter W. Guletsky, P.E. has joined Cummins & Barnard, Inc. as VP and GM of the Chicago office.

Flow-accelerated corrosion: a critical issue revisited.
July 1, 2007... Sudden failures of high-pressure, high-temperature feedwater piping by flow-accelerated-corrosion (FAC) continue to claim lives in the utility industry, which is, of course, the ultimate catastrophe. The conventional condensate/feedwater...

Protecting critical process fans from catastrophic failure: mitigating catastrophic critical fan failures helps ensure plant health and personnel safety.
July 1, 2007... Power generation plants throughout the world rely on critical process fans for operation. But what happens when a fan rotor, with a wheel rotating at a peripheral speed of 450 miles per hour (mph), breaks? The scene looks something like this:...

Reducing false alarms boosts efficiency: alarm management lets operators concentrate on running the plant without compromising their ability to respond to serious problems.(Cover story)
July 1, 2007... It's another wet coal day at King Hill Power Plant. The operators work to keep mills on line and running effectively despite a cacophony of warning alarms with every mill and feeder trip. Over and over, the operators return the mills to service...

Byproducts can make coal plants green: modifications can make an old coal-fired boiler green.
July 1, 2007... Manufacturing ethanol and hydrochloric acid produces greenhouse gases and air polluting emissions. If coal-fired power plants were to produce these chemicals and reduce emissions in doing so, then they would make a substantial contribution to...

Small-buck change yields big-bang gain: a cost-effective way to cut C[O.sub.2] by improving heat rate.
July 1, 2007... An immediate and economical method to reduce C[O.sub.2] emissions from operating coal-fired power plants is to improve combustion efficiency, or, in other words, reduce heat rate. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stabilizing firing rate, furnace...

Project spec sheet.(provision of electric power for Ronald Reagan Library)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, Ca. Cogeneration System Designer: Syska-Nennessey Group Microturbine Provider: Capstone Turbine Corp. Supervisory Control System: UTC Power PROJECT PLAN: Provide electric power for 1 MW...

Nuclear plant efficiently removes calcium carbonate from condenser tubes.
July 1, 2007... The South Texas Project (STP) Nuclear Power Plant in Wadsworth, Texas, was put into operation in 1988. The plant has two condenser units, acting as heat exchangers to condense the steam back into a liquid state after it passes through the...

Oil cleaning system.(Products)
July 1, 2007... United Air Specialists (UAS)/Kleentek introduces a new Kleentek electrostatic oil cleaning system for use in hazardous locations. These models allow the patented Kleentek technology to be used safely in any environment where explosive materials...

Valves.(Products)
July 1, 2007... TRIAC Series LB Ball Valves from A-T Controls feature an anti-corrosion design. They come with full PFA lining and electropolished 304 stainless steel or epoxy-coated WCB carbon steel bodies. High-purity PFA lines the body and seamless ball at...

Product catalog.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Lincoln Electric has released its latest product catalog highlighting the company's line of welding equipment. The catalog is color-coded by product category. Every section starts with a selection guide that highlights each machine's...

Bolt meter.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Norbar U.S.A. announces the USM-3 ultrasonic bolt meter. This new model builds upon its USM-2 predecessor but offers eight times more memory and two times the processor speed. The display area is a 1/4 VGA backlit LCD. This product is a...

Particle counter.(Products)
July 1, 2007... GrayWolf Sensing Solutions has introduced a portable, six-channel particle counter: the PC-GW3016. It is supplied with data transfer and graphing software. Automated report generation software is also available, as well as an interface to...

Power Recorder.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Fluke Power Quality has introduced the portable 750 Three-Phase Power Recorder. It features a wireless PDA display and transient capture with cross-channel and current triggering. This product is guaranteed for all power quality parameters,...

Vertical Constant Supports.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Piping Technology & Products Inc. has designed and fabricated two styles of 100 Type F Vertical Constant Supports. They support pipe from below by means of a sway strut and are fabricated from A36 carbon steel and hot dipped galvanized steel to...

Air Filter screens.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Universal Air Filter (UAF) has introduced low-profile windowpane products that can be configured with a mesh screen to prevent large insects, hornets and other airborne debris from collecting in an outdoor enclosure. These framed screens can be...

Equipment and service catalog.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Conco Systems Inc. has introduced a new catalog of equipment and services. The catalog includes tube cleaners, tube cleaning equipment and accessories and tube cleaning services that overcome deposit problems. Also included in the catalog are...

Power protector.(Products)
July 1, 2007... MGE Office Protection Systems has announced its new Pulsar MX Frame. This product has a 28-inch frame and accommodates MGE's new Pulsar MX 5000 RT power and battery modules. It uses a modular, redundant architecture that can scale power and...

Flow meter.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Blancett introduces its Advanced B2800 Flow Monitor, which uses technology to provide users with flow measurement data. This model includes compensations for temperature and pressure. It can take the customer's gas turbine meter's calibration...

Busbar module.(Products)
July 1, 2007... Raycap Inc. has developed a 40-millimeter version of the Strikesorb module that can be integrated inside OEM equipment, panel-boards, cabinets and switchgear equipment. The Strikesorb's fuseless design enables direct installation on busbars on...

Goggle Clips.(Products)
July 1, 2007... The GC2000 Goggle Clips by North Safety Products can be snapped onto the brim of a hard hat to hold the goggle headband securely in place. These clips were designed primarily for North and Fibre-Metal brand hard hats, but will work on...

Moooood lighting and the flatulent cow.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... The practice of "long-day lighting"--giving dairy cows about 16 hours of combined daylight and electric lighting daily -boosts milk production an average of 10 percent, according to the National Lighting Bureau. With about 10 million dairy cows...

Electricity from sound.(University of Mississippi develops direct energy conversion techniques)
July 1, 2007... Scientists at Washington State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Utah have developed devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We are converting waste heat to...

Flag, apple pie and power plants.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... White House proposals for energy infrastructure expansion are nothing new. Presidents regularly lay out their visions for how the country can produce more energy. So which president offered the following plan for energy expansion? (The answer...

Counting carbon as well as calories.(effects of overeating on climate change)(Brief article)
July 1, 2007... Think driving an SUV is bad for the environment? How about your eating habits? A 1999 study by the Union of Concerned Scientists said that eating too much meat, poultry and non-organic produce were the most harmful activities a consumer could...