Power Engineering articles from March 2003

Power Engineering archives from March 2003

Beware the trackers. (Opinion).(Electric utilities use "trackers" to recover costs related to emissions control equipment and purchased power)
March 1, 2003... Not too many years ago, phone bills were rather simple documents. Except or certain optional services and taxes, most charges were lumped into one aggregate monthly fee. With the demise of Ma Bell and the explosion of competition in the...

Hydrogen economy mislabeled. (Feedback).(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2003... Regarding the article, "When Will the Hydrogen Future Arrive?" (Power Engineering, January 2003, p. 46), I fail to understand why people insist on calling this future a "hydrogen economy." The implication is that hydrogen is somehow the...

Orlando energy storage tank takes heat off of chillers. (Update).(Orange County Convention Center )
March 1, 2003... The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., which hosts POWER-GEN International every other year, has been in the throes of an impressive expansion project the past few years. When completed this year, the OCCC North/South Complex...

Leak testing system proves effective on generators. (Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A method of tracing sulfur hexaflouride (SF6) leaks from high voltage. breakers has shown to he effective in finding difficult-to-trace and repair hydrogen leaks in power plant generators. The method uses SF6 coupled with laser technology and a...

Use of liquefield natural gas projected to increase. (Update).
March 1, 2003... With North American natural gas production poised for a long-term decline, world markets will be called on to provide increasing amounts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to make up a looming natural gas supply gap. A study conducted by...

FERC proposes transmission incentives. (Update).(FERC commissioners approve policy statement that offers new financial incentives for utilities and other companies )
March 1, 2003... FERC commissioners have approved a policy statement that offers new financial incentives for utilities and other companies to build more transmission lines. FERC's proposal would allow additional percentage points on a utility's return on...

Fluid dynamics can identify retrofit improvements. (Update).
March 1, 2003... The value of computerized fluid dynamics (CFD) in the power generation industry is its ability to significantly reduce the time and expense involved in designing power generation equipment, troubleshooting and retrofitting equipment in the...

Pebble Bed Reactor marks development milestone. (Update).(Eskom has investigated technology used in Pebble Bed Modular Reactor)
March 1, 2003... South Africa's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) project recently achieved the successful start-up of a test rig of its power conversion system. The main objectives of the latest development phase were to prove that a three-shaft recuperated...

Constellation Energy Group. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Dynegy Canada Inc. sells electricity division)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Constellation Energy Group has purchased the Alberta-based electricity division of Dynegy Canada Inc. The acquired will become a part of Constellation NewEnergy.

Alliant Energy Corp. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Mirant Corp. sells gas-fired Neenah power plant)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Alliant Energy Corp. has completed the acquisition of the 309 MW gas-fired Neenah power plant in Wisconsin from Mirant.

PPM Energy Inc. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Klondike Wind Power Plant acquisition )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... PPM Energy Inc. has acquired the one-year-old Klondike Wind Power Plant in Oregon from Northwestern Wind Power.

The Securities and Exchange Commission. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(Ameren Corp. receives approval to acquire CILCORP Inc., Central Illinois Light Co.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the purchase by Ameren Corp. of CILCORP and Central Illinois Light Co. from AES Corp.

GE Power Systems. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(acquires Kvaerner Power Equipment Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... GE Power Systems has acquired majority ownership of Kvaerner Power Equipment Co. Ltd of Hangzhou, China, a supplier of hydropower generation equipment in China. The new company will be named GE Hydro Asia Co. Ltd.

MDU Resources Group Inc. (Mergers and Acquisitions).(acquires power farm from National Energy Group)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... MDU Resources Group Inc. has completed the $102.5 million purchase of a 67-MW wind power farm in California from PG&E Corp.'s National Energy Group.

SeaWest WindPower Inc. (Personnel and Promotions).(Martin Crotty senior vice president)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... SeaWest WindPower Inc. has named Martin Crotty senior vice president responsible for operations and maintenance.

Robroy Industries. (Personnel and Promotions).(David A. Marshall president and CE)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... David A. Marshall has been named president and CE of electrical equipment supplier Robroy Industries.

Framatome ANP Inc. (Personnel and Promotions).(Donald L. Janecek senior vice president)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Framatome ANP Inc. promoted Donald L. Janecek to senior vice president.

The American Coal Council. (Personnel and Promotions).(Andy Blumenfeld)(Lance Fritz)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The American Coal Council has elected Andy Blumenfeld of Arch Coal as its 2003 president. Lance Fritz, Union Pacific Railroad, has been elected president-elect for 2004.

Ameren Corp. (Personnel and Promotions).(Scott A. Cisel and Robert G. Ferlmann)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Ameren Corp. has named Scott A. Cisel and Robert G. Ferlmann to be top operating officers at AmerenCILCO. Ameren Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Mueller will be chairman of AmerenCILCO, and Ameren President and Chief Operating...

Edgen Corp. (Personnel and Promotions).(Dan J. O'Leary president and COO)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Edgen Corp. has appointed Dan J. O'Leary as president and COO. Jay Roccaforte, who had been serving as the company's president, will continue to serve as CEO. Edgen executive Bob Gilleland has been named senior vice president of business...

Washington Group International. (Personnel and Promotions).(Stephen F. Piccolo)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Washington Group International has named Stephen F. Piccolo manager of operations for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant.

GE Wind Energy. (Contracts and Construction).(contract with Cape Wind L.L.C. )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... GE Wind Energy has been selected by Cape Wind LLC, of Boston, Mass., to supply 130 wind turbines for the proposed 468 MW Cape Wind project.

Utility Engineering Corp. and TIC-The Industrial Co. (Contracts and Construction).(Corn Belt Power Cooperative awards contract for power plant construction)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Utility Engineering Corp. and TIC-The Industrial Co. have been awarded an EPC contract from Corn Belt Power Cooperative for the construction of the 80 MW Earl F. Wisdom Unit 2 simple-cycle power plant in Spencer, Iowa.

Black & Veatch. (Contracts and Construction).(contract with VECTREN)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Black & Veatch has been selected by VECTREN to perform engineering, pro- curement and construction management for the addition of three selective catalytic reduction (SCR) units at three locations along the Ohio River in Indiana.

Framatome ANP. (Contracts and Construction).(supplying Dominion Energy)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Framatome ANP will provide Dominion Energy with two additional reactor vessel heads and perform the replacement work at North Anna Unit i and Surry Unit 1.

The Department of Energy (DOE). (Contracts and Construction).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the first eight projects chosen for the initial phase of the Clean Coal Power Initiative. The projects arc valued at more than $1.3 billion. Awardees include the City of Colorado Springs, Colo....

Babcock Power Environmental Inc. (Contracts and Construction).(awarded contract )
March 1, 2003... Babcock Power Environmental Inc. has been awarded a project to design, supply, and erect a wet flue gas desulfurization system from South Carolina's Santee Cooper for the utility's new coal-fired Unit 3 at Cross Station. Wheelabrator Air...

GE Power Systems. (Contracts and Construction).(supplying turbines)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... GE Power Systems will supply two LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines and a SAC4 auto extraction steam turbine for a combined-cycle plant that will provide a nominal 150 MW of power to be built on the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus.

Tennessee Valley Authority. (Contracts and Construction).(awards contract to Conforma Clad Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Conforma Clad has received an order from the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide wear protection for all of the ID fans on Units 5 through 9 at TVA's Kingston, Tenn., coal-fired power plant.

Williams Crane and Rigging. (Contracts and Construction).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Williams Crane and Rigging, a division of Barnhart Crane and Rigging Co., has been selected by general contractor Kamtech to transport and set four General Electric 7EA turbine/generator sets and one General Electric 7FA turbine/generator set...

Siemens Power Generation. (Business Briefs).(forms cooperation agreement with Caldwell Energy & Environmental Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Siemens Power Generation has an agreement with Caldwell Energy & Environmental Inc. to foster broader cooperation in development and application of wet compression technology and allow Caldwell to apply the process to existing turbine fleets.

FPL Group. (Business Briefs).(Plateau Systems Ltd. receives contract for its learning management system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... FPL Group has selected Plateau Systems' learning management system to deliver and manage web-based and classroom learning for all of its nuclear power operations.

Calpine Corp. (Business Briefs).(restructures agreements for gas turbines, steam turbines)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Calpine Corp. has restructured agreements with its major gas and steam turbine manufacturers, giving it the option to cancel its existing orders for 87 gas turbines and 44 steam turbines.

The Nuclear Energy Institute. (Business Briefs).(production data, average capacity factor for nuclear power plants)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Nuclear Energy Institute reports that the nuclear industry posted another year of record-high operating performance in 2002. Preliminary estimates show that the nation's 103 nuclear power plants set an electricity production record for the...

The American Wind Energy Association. (Business Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The American Wind Energy Association reports that total installed wind capacity increased in 2002 nearly 10 percent to a total of 4,685 MW. The increase was less than that of 2001, when a record 1,696 MW of new wind capacity was installed.

Bechel Power Corp. (Business Briefs).(partners with Westinghouse Electric Corp. to replace steam generator at South Texas Nuclear Project's Unit 2)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Bechel Power Corp. and its teaming partner, Westinghouse Electric Corp., recently completed a steam generator replacement for the South Texas Nuclear Project's Unit 2 in 65 days.

USFilter's Memcor Products. (Business Briefs).(We Energies receives continuous microfiltration system )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... USFilter's Memcor Products is supplying We Energies' Point Beach nuclear plant with a continuous microfiltration system to treat raw surface water from Lake Michigan as pretreatment to three reverse osmosis systems.

Revealing the secrets of the dirty bomb. (Nuclear Reactions).
March 1, 2003... The U.S. government is increasing its efforts to protect the country from terrorist attacks, establishing the Department of Homeland Security and trying to anticipate future terrorist targets and methods. Last fall's Silent Vector exercise...

Distributed Generation: DGenie is out of the bottle; market forces have unleashed distributed generation upon the electric power market, never again to be confined within the "stand-by power" bottle.
March 1, 2003... In the early days of telecom deregulation, if was said that customers learned. BYOB (Be Your Own Bell). In today's energy environment, the acronym could be BYOE -- "Be. Your Own Edison." With the exception of California and a few pockets of the...

Long-term service agreements: top 10 contractual pitfalls and how to avoid them -- part II. (Gas Turbines).
March 1, 2003... As discussed in Part I of this article in the February issue of Power Engineering, sooner or later, power generation equipment Owners worldwide are likely to come face to face with LTSA agreements in which original equipment manufacturers...

Unit availability not affected by extending outage cycles. (Outage Management).
March 1, 2003... Regularly scheduled maintenance outages are essential if power plants are to operate efficiently and reliably. Careful planning, prioritizing and scheduling of power plant outages will, in almost all cases, increase a plant's availability. A...

Nuclear power return may hinge on advanced gas-cooled reactor designs. (Nuclear Power).
March 1, 2003... In today's power market, where developers give greater weight to first cost and equipment reliability than to life cycle costs, new nuclear power plants based an the expensive light-water reactor design are not financially attractive. However,...

Energy management tools provide efficient control of DG assets. (DG Update).(the use of Web-enabled technology can lead to energy cost savings)
March 1, 2003... Web-enabled technology is allowing unprecedented control of DG assets to maximize energy cost savings. Commercial, retail and industrial utility customers are moving toward Web-enabled enterprise energy management services, often through...

Mom and Pop DG. (DG Update).(Company Profile)
March 1, 2003... Located in the Chicago suburb of Glenview, the Abt family operates the giant Abt retail appliance outlet, which the family started in downtown Chicago in 1936. While customers shop for state-of-the-art electric appliances, two on-site 825 kW...

Generac's Modular Power System (MPS) product line is expanding to provide solutions for standby power requirements from 200 to 3000 kW. (Briefly Noted).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Generac's Modular Power System (MPS) product line is expanding to provide solutions for standby power requirements from 200 to 3000 kW. MPS combines the output of two or more smaller gensets operated in parallel. Although a proven practice in...

The Combined Heat and Power Partnership. (Briefly Noted).(will create combined heat, power roadmap)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Combined Heat and Power Partnership, composed of 17 Fortune 500 companies, city and state governments, nonprofit organizatious and the U.S. EPA, will produce a combined heat and power roadmap to help companies site cogeneration units. EPA...

FuelCell Energy. (Briefly Noted).(announces a Direct FuelCell power plant in Germany begins operations )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... FuelCell Energy has announced that a Direct FuelCell power plant built by its partner in Europe, MTU CFC Solutions Gmbh, owned by DaimlerChrysler AG, has begun operating at a Michelin tire plant in Karlsruhe, Germany. The plant, operated on the...

Backup UPS power. (DG Update).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... MGE UPS Systems has introduced its B.O.S.S. on-site power spare battery system that provides fully charged spare batteries should UPS batteries weaken or fail. Designed for high demand applications, the systems feature batteries specifically...

Bearing replacement program reduces costs. (Field Notes).
March 1, 2003... OVER THE YEARS the cost of replacing the tapered journal bearings in the pulverizers at Great River Energy's Coal Creek Station has increased dramatically. Because of the excessive costs, the plant faced an urgent need to find a less expensive...

Stud damage eliminated on valve flanges. (Field Notes).
March 1, 2003... THE OMAHA PUBLIC Power District's 475 MW Fort Calhoun nuclear station uses 24 conventional hexagon nuts on the flanges of the plant's main steam isolation valves. Unfortunately, during disassembly of the main steam isolation valves the...

Events.(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... APRIL APRIL 6 - 9 National Hydropower Association Annual Conference, NHA (816/931-1311 x. 105), Washington, D.C. APRIL 7 - 8 Coalbed Methane Symposium, Canadian Institute (877-927-7936), Calgary, Alberta APRIL 23 - 25...

Submerged arc welding wire. (Products).
March 1, 2003... Stoody Roll Build 3 submerged arc welding wire is a low alloy steel designed for strength and durability. With its low carbon content, the wire results in excellent weld-ability and mechanical properties. It produces a deposit of unlimited...

Turbine oil. (Products).
March 1, 2003... Conoco Inc., a subsidiary of ConocoPhillips, has added a new product, Hydroclear Turbine Oil Plus, to its line of turbine oil products for the power generating industry. The Hydroclear Turbine Oil Plus was rated at 12,500 hours in an ASTM D-943...

Chemical injection system. (Products).
March 1, 2003... A new CHEMJEX chemical injection system from YZ Systems has the flexibility to inject a variety of process chemicals. CHEMJEX is a pneumatically actuated positive displacement skid which provides proportional-to-flow injection and remote flow...

Flame sensors. (Products).
March 1, 2003... MPS Talentum has announced the availability of new boiler flame sensors that never require calibration. The new sensors operate on a two-wire 4-20mA current loop and are easily adapted as an upgrade to existing boiler management systems. In...

Combustion analyzer. (Products).
March 1, 2003... A new CA-6203 CA-CALC combustion analyzer is now available from TSI Incorporated. The analyzer can be used for tuning burners and low [NO.sub.x] systems for safe and efficient operation. Real time flue gas data, including [O.sub.2], CO,...

Ball valves. (Products).
March 1, 2003... Velan Valve has introduced a one-piece forged metal seated ball valve for high pressure, high temperature isolation services up to 4,500 psi ASME pressure rating. The one-piece HVOP chrome carbide coated ball valve is available in sizes 1/2...

Engine oil. (Products).
March 1, 2003... ExxonMobil's new Exxon Pegasus 905 oil for natural gas-fired engines offers extended drain capacity without sacrificing cleanliness or wear protection. In extensive field tests in Caterpillar, Jenbacher, Cooper Bessemer and Fairbanks-Morse gas...

Pressure gauges. (Products).
March 1, 2003... A digital pressure gauge, DPG-6700, is now available from 3D Instruments. The DPG-6700 pressure gauge uses pressure transducer technology with multi-temperature calibration routines to provide stable pressure measurements. The 316 SS media...

Balancing potential with limitations. (View on Renewables).
March 1, 2003... Advocates claim, "Renewable energy has a bright future," and the skeptics quickly respond, "and always will (have a bright future, that is)." The truth about renewable energy, of course, lies somewhere in between. First, let's clarify what...

Engineering in Hell.
March 1, 2003... An engineer dies and reports to Hell. Pretty soon, the engineer becomes dissatisfied with the level of comfort in Hell, and starts designing and building improvements. After a while, Hell is equipped with air conditioning and flush toilets and...