Power Engineering articles from March 2008

Power Engineering archives from March 2008

Corrections.(Correction notice)
March 1, 2008... The article "Repowering Can Wait" in the January issue of Power Engineering incorrectly reported the amount of wind capacity installed in the United States. The correct number is 11,000 MW. A product listing from Swagelok in the January...

Two graphs, one story.(Opinion)
March 1, 2008... Two graphs tell a basic truth about our energy choices. Both are based on data from the Energy Information Administration. The first shows installed generating capacity for four generation types: coal, nuclear, natural gas and wind. The second...

The "other" waste disposal issue.(Nuclear Reactions)
March 1, 2008... In the nuclear power industry, not all waste is created equal. High-level waste, including spent nuclear fuel, garners the most attention because of its long-term radiotoxicity. Low-level waste (LLW), on the other hand, typically flies below...

Reducing financial risk for new technologies.(View on Renewables)
March 1, 2008... A myriad of technologies exist that could, their eager backers insist, deliver low-cost, sustainable, environmentally neutral and universally applicable solutions to even the most vexing energy questions. One trouble facing many such...

POWER-GEN International @ 20: a look back at issues and events from 1988.
March 1, 2008... Twenty years ago on page 6 of the January 1988 edition of Power Engineering magazine, a full-age ad introduced "POWER-GEN '88" to the world. The inaugural event, which grew to become POWER-GEN International, was held at the Orlando Convention...

EPA mercury rule tossed out by court.(Startup)(Environmental Protection Agency )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A U.S. court ruled last month that the Environmental Protection Agency must reconsider a decision to allow coal-fired power plants to swap rights to emit toxic mercury. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the EPA...

Record performance by U.S. nuclear power industry.(Startup)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Nuclear power plants in the United States generated a record amount of electricity in 2007 while operating at record capacity factors, according to preliminary data from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The country's 104 operating...

Wyoming and California in coal talks.(Startup)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Wyoming politicalleaders and California's top electric utilities regulator said they hope the two states can work together to use Wyoming coal to help meet California's growing power demands. Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and leaders of the...

Exelon CEO calls for partnership in fostering low-carbon economy.(Startup)
March 1, 2008... Exelon Chairman and CEO John Rowe called on industry and government to accelerate the process of building a low-carbon economy that he said is essential to solving the climate change issue and meeting rising demand for energy. "Time is not...

Dominion poses coal-to-gas plant conversion plan.(Startup)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Dominion is proposing to convert its 240 MW Bremo Power Station from coal to natural gas. Dominion said its proposal is possible only by having new coal-fired generation from its proposed 585 MW Virginia City plant available. Virginia City...

Research lab to focus on material and component integrity.(Startup)
March 1, 2008... The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has teamed with EDF and Tokyo Electric Power Co. to create the international Materials Aging Institute, a collaborative research facility that will examine the critical link between materials science...

Duke says CCS will limit future Carolina coal plants.(Startup)(Duke Energy Corp.)(Cliffside coal plant)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... James Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, told a global warming conference in February that his company's 800 MW Cliffside coal plant expansion will be the last coal-fired unit his company will build in the Carolinas. That's because the region's...

Carbon capture projects re-group after FutureGen reversal.(Startup)(FutureGen Alliance)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The U.S. Department of Energy's decision to withdraw its support for the FutureGen project has the FutureGen Alliance and other carbon capture coal plant proposals reassessing their chances to partner with DOE on various fronts. Coupled with...

Interstate Power and Light Co.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Interstate Power and Light Co. proposed to retire coal-fired generating units and switch the fuel source of other coal-fired units to natural gas when its proposed 630 MW, hybrid coal Sutherland Generating Station Unit 4 becomes operable in...

UniStar Nuclear Energy.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Constellation Energy and the EDF Group, has told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission it plans to submit a Combined License (COL) application in late 2008 for a potential advanced design, 1,600...

Alstom and The Dow Chemical Co.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Alstom and The Dow Chemical Co. announced a joint development and commercialization agreement for advanced amine scrubbing technology for the removal of C[O.sub.2] from low pressure flue gases produced by fossil fuel-fired power plants and...

Westinghouse Electric and Emerson Process Management.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Westinghouse Electric and Emerson Process Management announced a 10-year extension to an existing agreement in which Emerson provides key technology for automation of nuclear power plants that use the Westinghouse AP1000 design. The agreement...

Areva.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Areva won commercial nuclear fuel contracts with U.S. utility companies Constellation Energy Inc., Tennessee Valley Authority, PPL Corp. and AmerGen Energy Co. The contracts have a combined market value of over EUR200 million ($291 million)....

Interstate Power and Light Co.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Interstate Power and Light Co. received a decision from the Iowa Utilities Board regarding its request for ratemaking principles pertaining to its proposed construction of up to 200 MW of wind power in Iowa. Regulators approved a return on...

Pratt & Whitney Power Systems.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Pratt & Whitney Power Systems signed an agreement with Tampa Electric Co. for five 60 MW FT8 SWIFTPAC units. The units will provide 300 MW of reserve energy for use during high electricity demand periods. Four units will be located at the...

CER Generation LLC.(Projects & Contracts)(CER Generation LLC buying Hillabee Energy Center from Calpine )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... CER Generation LLC is buying the 80 percent complete Hillabee Energy Center, a 774 MW natural gas-fired power project near Alexander City, Ala., from Calpine for $155 million (or $200/kW). The project is expected to be operational in 2010 when...

Padoma Wind Power LLC.(Projects & Contracts)(Padoma Wind Power LLC joint venture with BP Alternative Energy North America Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Padoma Wind Power LLC, a unit of NRG Energy, Inc., has entered into a 50-50 joint venture with BP Alternative Energy North America Inc. to build the first phase of the Sherbino wind farm near Ft. Stockton, Texas. The wind farm will use 50...

PSEG Power.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... PSEG Power plans to build a $150 million power plant next to an existing generating station. The new plant is the first step in a planned expansion of the company's fleet of power plants. PSEG Power, a unit of Newark-based Public Service...

American Municipal Power.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issued a final air permit for the 1,000 MW, $2.5 billion coal-fired American Municipal Power Letart Falls station. The EPA says the permit requires AMP-Ohio to use the best available control technology...

El Paso Electric Co.(People & Personnel)(appointment of J. Frank Bates)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... El Paso Electric Co. said President and Chief Executive Ershel Redd resigned to pursue other business opportunities after less than a year at the helm. The utility named COO J. Frank Bates as interim president and CEO and said its board will...

Mark C. McCullough.(People & Personnel)(appointment of Mark C. McCullough )(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Mark C. McCullough has been named senior vice president, Fossil and Hydro Generation for American Electric Power. He has been AEP's vice president, Fossil and Hydro Generation-Baseload Assets since 2003. McCullough succeeds Bill Sigmon, who was...

Andrew (Andy) White.(People & Personnel)
March 1, 2008... Andrew (Andy) White will head a new department at General Electric, meant to rationalize and speed development of non-carbon technologies. White was previously president and CEO of GE's nuclear energy division. Jack Fuller succeeds White as...

Jan Carr.(People & Personnel)(Ontario Power Authority)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Jan Carr, CEO of the Ontario Power Authority, plans to step down in June. Carr was appointed at the beginning of 2005 after a year as vice-chair at the Ontario Energy Board.

The evolution of carbon capture technology, Part 1: technologies are being developed that hold the promise of meeting future carbon capture mandates. They won't be cheap.
March 1, 2008... Free market forces are flexing their considerable muscle devising ways to capture carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) from coal-fired power plants. Driving the search is the imperative to reduce the amount of C[O.sub.2] these plants produce, thus...

Measuring unburned carbon in flyash with an automated, on-line monitor.
March 1, 2008... Increasingly stringent N[O.sub.x] regulations have required plant operators to modify traditional combustion processes. S[O.sub.x] regulations and deregulation have forced plant operators to diversify their coal sources. And new mercury control...

Prioritizing power plant maintenance work.
March 1, 2008... Maintenance work in a power plant is prioritized to ensure that the right work is performed at the right time, resulting in the minimum impact to plant operation. When determining how to use existing resources to perform maintenance work...

Modular construction gains ground: rising costs, labor shortages, safety and other factors favor modularization for power plant construction projects. With the potential benefits, however, come some risks.
March 1, 2008... "Plug and play" is a term often applied to electronic devices, especially computers and video games. It is less often used to describe large, expensive and complex facilities. And few facilities are larger, costlier or more complex than power...

The art and craft of applying thermal barrier coatings to improve life expectancy.(Field Notes)(Thermal barrier coatings )
March 1, 2008... Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) protect turbine components from oxidation and corrosion and effectively provide greater durability and reliability to turbine engines. The importance of protecting turbines from the degradation caused by high...

Fuel cells for baseload distributed power generation.(DG Update)
March 1, 2008... The majority of electrical power is produced by centralized power stations--primarily natural gas-, oil- and coal-fired plants. Unfortunately, these plants are disadvantaged to varying degrees by emissions and environmental concerns. Combined...

Vacuum-powered vessel lifter.(Products)
March 1, 2008... The Anver BA1-RV Custom Vacuum Lifter for vessels features three articulated rubber suction pads which adapt to different diameters from 85" to 110" and can lift up to 4500 lbs. The lifter is designed for use with a crane or forklift and boom....

Portable pipe saw chain-mount bracket.(Products)
March 1, 2008... A chain-mount bracket that attaches their universal air-powered saw to pipe and bar stock quickly for applications requiring multiple cuts in the shop or on the job site is available from ESCO Tool. The ESCO Single Cut Bracket clamps their...

Power plant.(Products)
March 1, 2008... FuelCell Energy's Direct FuelCell 1500MA (DFC1500MA) produces 1.2 MW of power with an electrical power generation efficiency of 47 percent and an overall cogeneration efficiency of up to 80 percent. The DFC1500MA can operate on biofuels in...

Compression packing.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Garlock Sealing Technologies released its compression packing for the power generation industry. Garlock compression packing creates seals for valves and rotary shaft applications. Garlock's application specific valve sealing options are...

Engine pre-heating system.(Products)
March 1, 2008... A new coolant pre-heating system is available from Kim Hotstart designed to heat engines ranging in size from 15L to 100L. The pump-driven CSM offers uniform heating throughout the entire engine. The heater is UL listed to United States and...

Potentiometric titrator.(Products)
March 1, 2008... JM Science's new Potentiometric Titrator (COM-1600) features a large color graphics liquid crystal display. GLP functions are designed to enhance the storage and processing of results and process large numbers of samples when configured with...

Powered lifter.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Southworth Products Corp introduced the Dandy Lift lifter with a battery-powered lift mechanism. The Dandy Lift lifts and lowers at the touch of a button and runs on a 24-volt battery. The Powered Dandy Lift is available in five models with...

Insulated electrical tools.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Stanley Proto has introduced a new line of electricians' tools that are designed to help protect users from shock when working on live circuits. The company's 1000-Volt Insulated Tool Line totals over 350 individual SKUs and includes...

Generator.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Terex launched a new generator that makes power output available in three or single-phase voltages. The new Terex T360 Super Quiet Generator is powered by a 426-hp Cummins diesel engine, and offers Tier 3 compliance. The Cummins engine offers...

Self-test verifier.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Transtar Products announced its new generator self-test verifier, a UL/CA approved product designed to evaluate and report results of the regular exercise process undergone by emergency power generators. In addition to the functions of the...

Power buggies.(Products)
March 1, 2008... The Whiteman WBH-16 Series concrete and material handling power buggies from Multiquip have a 16-cubic-foot capacity. The WBH-16 series, which is powered by a 13-HP Honda engine, comes with recoil and electric start (WBH-16E). The WBH-16EAWD...

Electric wire rope hoist.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Konecranes offers the CXT1 electric wire rope hoist designed to meet a broad range of industrial lifting applications. CXT1 electric wire rope hoists are manufactured for one and two ton lifting applications. The CXT1 is designed to...

Welding end prep tools.(Products)
March 1, 2008... A pneumatic clamping option for their right angle welding end prep tools that provides instant attach-and-release for high-volume, repetitive end prep applications is available from ESCO Tool. The Millhog Air Clamp is an air-operated...

Web-based solar-siting tool.(Products)(3TIER)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... 3TIER launched Firstlook Solar Assessment, a web-based tool designed to help developers discover potential solar project sites. Firstlook Solar provides developers with instant access to the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) and relays...

Wireless data logger.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Dickson's Wireless Wizard wireless data logger is now available to diesel power, nuclear power, hydropower and other power engineers needing to monitor temperature and/or humidity. Dickson's Wireless Wizard data loggers can be monitored in...

Adjustable frequency drive.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Yaskawa introduces the V1000 adjustable frequency drive. The V1000 provides side-by-side mounting capability, which allows for multiple drives to be monitored and maintained from a single enclosure and provides motor control systems with an...

Metal knobs.(Products)
March 1, 2008... Jergens Inc. offers a large inventory of metal knobs for clamping, fastening, operating control, and other applications. Materials include cast iron, steel and aluminum. Jergens also offers metal knobs with reamed holes, tapped holes or blanks...

Holding the lions at bay.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... With wind generation growing so fast, finding technicians to build wind farms is tough, said Jason Martinson, who is supervising work on the 56-turbine Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas for Enel North America. "You get one year's worth of...

Wind: the latest four-letter word.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Coal plant developers take heart: It isn't just you the public sometimes loves to hate. Some folks hate wind power, too. Case in point: An estimated 500 people packed a public hearing in Western Maryland recently to protest a plan to build wind...

Foreign share of U.S.-based power plants.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The share of United States electric power generation capacity owned by foreign companies rose in 2005, according to the Energy Information Administration. EIA says foreign entities now own 3.4 percent of U.S. generating units, or nearly 33,000...