Power Engineering articles from March 2002

Power Engineering archives from March 2002

Transmission's Pandora Box. (Opinion).(U.S. faces electric power distribution problems)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
March 1, 2002... Although power generation is the focus of this magazine, many other outside is sues have a direct impact on the generation sector. Transmission is one such issue. In the traditional regulated utility model, generation and transmission were...

Call To Arms rebuttal. (Feedback).
March 1, 2002... I find it ironic that a nation that rose to greatness based on its technological innovation and imagination is willing to settle for a tired, unimaginative and outdated energy status quo ("An Energy Call To Arms," Oct. 2001, p. 3). While...

Fire suppression systems still needed. (Feedback).
March 1, 2002... The article on Fire-Resistant Fluids in the November 2001 issue makes many good points to promote the use of synthetic fire-resistant lubrication fluids. However, it does not conclude whether such use would preclude the necessity of fire...

Back to Basics. (Feedback).
March 1, 2002... Your January opinion piece ("Getting Back, to Basics") has it all just about right. I read the stories, almost daily it seems, of corporations that are down-sizing by choice or by force of events, and splitting and other acts of economic...

North Dakota research project could increase lignite marketability. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Lignite is noted primarily for its low heating value relative to bituminous coals, typically in the range of 6,200-7,200 Btu/lb. The low heating value is due largely to high moisture content. Now a consortium of companies is trying to put...

Technique sees through corrosion and slag to measure boiler tube thickness. (Update).(electronmagnetic acoustic transducers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Nondestructive testing is an essential tool in predicting the life of boiler tubes, whose failures are the major factor in unscheduled outages costing electric power producers more than $5 billion a year in repair costs and lost revenue. ...

Three new nuclear sites proposed. (Update).(nuclear power plants planned in U.S.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Exelon and Dominion Resources are studying sites to build the first new nuclear power plants in the U.S. in two decades. The Bush Administration, which wants the nuclear industry to build several new power plants by 2010 to boost electricity...

Hybrid system aims at reducing [NO.sub.x] and costs. (Update).(Entropy Technology and Environmental Consultants)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A new [NO.sup.x] reduction technology has been introduced that developers believe can match control levels from selective catalytic reduction at a fraction of the cost. Entropy Technology & Environmental Consultants (ETEC) has introduced...

Tapping top talent key to success in Independent Power. (Update).(Calpine Corp. establishes training centers)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Bill Gates has said, "Take our 20 best people and virtually overnight we become a mediocre company." Speakers and attendees of the 13th Annual Conference of the Independent Power Human Resources Association (IPHRA) echoed Gates' view on the...

Personnel and promotions. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... EPRI has announced two executive appointments. Richard H. Counihan has been named vice president of research programs for the Electricity Innovation Institute (E2I), an EPRI affiliate. He had been vice president and general manager of Green...

Sorbent injection mercury reduction testing continues. (Update).(Wisconsin Electric-Wisconsin Gas, ADA Environmental Solutions L.L.C.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Wisconsin Electric-Wisconsin Gas (WE-WG) and ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA-ES) have released preliminary findings from one of the nation's first full-scale tests of carbon injection to control power plant mercury emissions. The testing was...

AmerenUE has joined the ECO Development Partner Program to further testing and deployment of ECO technology. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... AmerenUE has joined the EGO Development Partner Program to further testing and deployment of EGO technology, Powerspan's multi-pollutant control system designed for coal-fired power plants. The two companies will collaborate on a proposal to...

Enron Corp. announced in February an agreement to sell its wind turbine manufacturing business to General Electric Co. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Enron Corp. announced in February an agreement to sell its wind turbine manufacturing business to General Electric Co. It marks GE'S first investment in wind power. Wind farms owned or operated by Enron are not included in the deal. Enron Wind...

ALSTOM and Rolls Royce. (Business Briefs).(technology agreement for gas turbines)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ALSTOM and Rolls Royce have signed a long-term technology agreement enabling ALSTOM to use Rolls Royce aeroengine technology in the development of its heavy-duty gas turbine product range. Rolls-Royce engines operate using very high temperature...

Duke Energy Corp. intends to sell its Duke Engineering & Services unit to Framatome Advanced Nuclear Power. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Duke Energy Corp. intends to sell its Duke Engineering & Services unit to Framatome Advanced Nuclear Power. Duke Energy says it wants to streamline assets to focus on its wholesale energy business.

Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. (Business Briefs).(to cooperation on engineering technologies related to nuclear power plants)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have agreed to cooperate in subordinate engineering technologies related to nuclear power plants including construction and maintenance of pipes and other auxiliary components. Hitachi and Mitsubishi will...

GE Power Systems has acquired KVB-Enertec. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... GE Power Systems has acquired KVB-Enertec, one of the largest suppliers of air emissions monitoring and data acquisition in the U.S. KVB-Enertec was created in 1998 when data system supplier Enertec acquired continuous emissions monitoring...

Innogy. (Business Briefs).(to sell U.S. wind farm business)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... U.K. utility Innogy, the largest developer, owner and operator of wind farms in the U.K., has put its U.S. wind farm business up for sale and hired J.P. Morgan to find a buyer. The portfolio consists of two 20 MW farms in California and 600 MW...

Aspen Technology. (Construction and Contracts).(Southern Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Aspen Technology has announced that Southern Company has signed a new software licensing agreement to implement its information management technology throughout its 28 fossil fuel plants. The technology helps improve decision-making through...

CAE. (Construction and Contracts).(contract with Alstom S.A.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... CAE has signed two contracts with ALSTOM to develop first-of-a-kind simulators for two different gas turbine-based power plant configurations.

Consolidated Edison is pushing ahead with the addition of more than 2,000 MW of capacity to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic grid by 2004. (Construction and Contracts).(Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Consolidated Edison is pushing ahead with the addition of more than 2,000 MW of capacity to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic grid by 2004. Consolidated Edison's unregulated subsidiary, Con Edison Development, is building a 525 MW dual-fueled,...

Duke/Fluor Daniel. (Construction and Contracts).(Duke Energy Corp., Fluor Daniel Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Duke/Fluor Daniel is building four power plants valued at $2.2 billion to boost Duke's generating capacity in the southern U.S. The natural gas-fired plants in Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia are scheduled to generate a total of 2,560 MW and...

Sargent & Lundy. (Construction and Contracts).(selected for Pebble Bed Modular Reactor)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Sargent & Lundy has been selected to provide consulting services to support the development of the new advanced pebble bed modular reactor nuclear technology (PBMR). The technology is being developed for Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (Pty.) Ltd....

Duke Energy Corp. (Construction and Contracts).(expansion plans cleared in Arizona)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... State regulators have approved a 600 MW expansion to Duke Energy Corp.'s Arlington Valley power plant under construction in western Maricopa County, Arizona. The $200 million expansion will bring the plant's capacity to 1,200 MW. The plant will...

Superstition ain't the way. (Coal).(coal powered plants)(Brief Article)(Column)
March 1, 2002... "When you believe in things you don't understand, then you suffer. Superstition ain't the way. Those are the words Stevie Wonder used to convey the dangers of embracing ungrounded beliefs. Several years after the song came out, we stopped...

That old devil plutonium is back. (Nuclear Reactions).(plutonium disposal raises questions)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... On January 23, the Secretary of Energy announced a decision to dispose of surplus weapons grade plutonium by mixing it with uranium oxide to form mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. The plutonium would then be destroyed by fission in a commercial nuclear...

Power plants: warming to smart instrumentation.
March 1, 2002... MODERN POWER PLANTS ARE TURNING TO SMART INSTRUMENTATION TO PROVIDE THE ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN THE COMPETITIVE GENERATION INDUSTRY. Technological advances in field instrumentation and controls continue to be made in...

Repowering remains cost-effective option in the right circumstances. (Repowering).
March 1, 2002... Repowering commanded a lot of attention in the early to mid-1990s. With relatively little active plant construction at that time, asset owners kept engineers and consultants busy evaluating the technical and economic prospects associated with...

Fine tuning maintenance priorities boosts STP to record performance levels. (Nuclear Power).(South Texas Project safely and reliably keeps costs down and production up)
March 1, 2002... In an era of increasing competition, power plants, especially nuclear power plants, are being challenged to safely and reliably produce electricity while maintaining tight control over the cost of production. For nuclear power stations, the...

Texas power plant upgrades restore lost megawatts to meet summer demand. (Plant Upgrade).(Sabine Plant)
March 1, 2002... The hot, humid summers along the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast keep power plants loaded around the clock to meet constant customer demand for cool air. Recognizing the need for maximum output and operating efficiency during the long summer season,...

Hydro automation program improves efficiency and reduce operating expense at TVA. (Automation and Control).(Tennessee Valley Authority)
March 1, 2002... In today's rapidly changing energy markets, every utility is continually looking for new ways to reduce costs in order to remain competitive. Since the fuel cost associated with hydro generation is basically free, the only means to...

DOE's Freedom CAR program might accelerate stationary fuel cells too. (DG Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... According to energy technology market and research firm Venture Development Corp. (VDC), DOE'S recently announced $1.5 billion funding of a Freedom Car could stimulate the marketplace for stationary fuels cells as well, albeit somewhat...

All FuelCell Energy deliveries will be made despite explosion. (DG Update).(explosion at Torington, Conn. manufacturing plant will not deter delivery)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... January's explosion at FuelCell Energy's Torington, Conn. manufacturing plant, caused a brief delay in shipments, hut the company expects to make all deliveries planned for the year. The company said it expects it will meet its 2002 deliveries...

Preliminary study findings suggest utility support of DG. (DG Update).(favorable outllok for distributed generation technology)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Initial findings from a new study of utility companies indicate that North American utilities are considering and making plans for a role for distributed generation equipment in their service areas. The Newton-Evans Research Company conducted...

Plug Power and partner Vaillant GmbH. (Briefly Noted).(install first European conformity certified proton exchange membrane fuel cell appliance)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Plug Power and partner Vaillant GmbH have installed the first European conformity certified proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell appliance in Europe - in a multi-family home in Germany. The unit will provide heat, hot water and electricity....

Mazda Motor Corp. (Briefly Noted).(using rotary engine technology to develop 40 kW natural gas-fired cogeneration system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Mazda Motor Corp. plans to apply its rotary engine technology in developing a 40 kW natural gas-fired cogeneration system. Experiments with a prototype of the rotary engine-based system' will begin this year. Users of the system can power air...

Vanteck Technology Corp. (Briefly Noted).(providing PacifiCorp with Vanadium Storage System)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Vanteck Technology Corp. will supply PacifiCorp with a 250 kW - 2000 kWh (8 hour) Vanadium Energy Storage System to supply peak power capacity (charging in the off-peak hours) and provide end-of-line voltage support (supplying up to 250 kVAR of...

Ford Power Products and the electric drives and power conversion division of Ballard Power Systems will produce prime. (Briefly Noted).(prime, standby, and emergency power products driven by spark-ignited combustion engines)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Ford Power Products and the electric drives and power conversion division of Ballard Power Systems will produce prime, standby, and emergency power products driven by spark-ignited combustion engines. "Power conversion electronics are a key...

Siemens Power Generation Group. (Briefly Noted).(solid oxide fuel cell plant in Germany)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Siemens Power Generation Group will install a 250 kW standardized solid oxide fuel cell plant in Hanover, Germany on the site of the Herrenhausen power plant. The plant will feed 225 kW to the grid. Simultaneously some 160 kW of heat will he...

Events.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... APRIL APRIL 8 - 9 Fuel Cell 2002, Business Communications Company (www.bccresearch.com/fuel_cells2002), Stamford, Conn. APRIL 8 - 10 Failures, Failure Prevention, Maintenance and Repairs of Pressure Vessels, Boilers, Piping...

Fuel blending increases annual revenues by $4 million. (Field Notes).(Avista Utilities)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... AVISTA UTILITIES GENERATES and transmits electricity and supplies natural gas and related services to nearly 600,000 customers in four states: Washington, Idaho, Oregon and California Recently, when hydro conditions were poor, and the energy...

Inspection camera. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... The slim PTZ-Cam 2.75 from iShot Imaging fits through openings 2.75 inches in diameter to view vessel contents and evaluate structural conditions. The color video camera features a 40:1 zoom, pans 360 degrees and tilts [plus or minus] 110...

Abrasion-resistant backing compounds. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Abrasion-resistant backing compounds from Devcon are high-strength epoxy liquids ideal for protecting rod, ball, pebble, and autogenous mills, as well as cone and gyratory crushers. The formulations cure with negligible shrink and low...

Thermal insulation. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... SilcoSoft from BGF Industries is a needled mat fiber that can be used for thermal insulation in high-temperature power generation applications. SilcoSoft utilizes a silica-like belCoTex fiber that provides excellent acoustical and thermal...

Ball valves. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A 16-page technical brochure from Xomox describes its new line of Tufline ball valves. Particular attention is devoted to the S2 stem seal that provides superior fugitive emissions control. The spherical S2 seal allows the ball valves to...

Ash handling valve. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A new ash handling valve, ASHandler, for hopper outlets of electrostatic precipitators, baghouses and other dry ash collecting systems, is now available from Allen-Sherman-Hoff, a division of Diamond Power International. The pivot rotation of...

Lean burn gas engine generators. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... A new brochure from Cummins Power Generation introduces a line of lean burn gas engine generators for prime and peaking power application. Sized from 334 kW to 1.75 MW, the generators are powered by fuel efficient, spark ignited engines that...

Process control brochure. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... ABB Instrumentation offers a new eight-page brochure on its integrated process control solutions for integrating operations and information software, reducing hardware costs, implementing multivariable controls and optimizing controls for...

Data recorder. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... PocketData Sheet software turns a standard PocketPC into a hand-held data recorder and digitizer. Users pre-specify the names, units and the order of the instruments to be read. The program provides multiple screens that allow for password...

Air Actuated Swaging. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Swagelok's Air Actuated Hydraulic Swaging Unit (AHSU) is designed to reduce makeup torque and installation time for swaged fittings. The unit features interchangeable corrosion resistant, stainless steel tooling to swage 1/4 inch, 3/8 inch and...

Sensor Diagnostics. (Products).(advertisement)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... Moore Industries' transmitters and alarms featuring Total Sensor Diagnostics (TSD) technology checks all leads on a temperature loop for continuity and ensures the sensor is operating correctly. In the event of a lead break a clear error...

The old fire brigade.(fire fighter humor)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... [Editor's Note: Power Engineering dedicates this month's e-fun column to the brave members of the fire and rescue services, whose driving motivation is a commitment to duty rather than money.] One dark night outside a small town, a fire...