Power Engineering articles from November 2006

Power Engineering archives from November 2006

More than skin deep.(petroleum exploration in Gulf of Mexico, renewable energy demand in China )(Editorial)
November 1, 2006... A cosmetics scare in China and a 28,000-foot-deep hole in the Gulf of Mexico. Both have implications for the North American power industry. First, news reports said that Proctor & Gamble skin care products faced a consumer scare in China in...

Nuclear industry petitions Congress.(Skip Bowman of Nuclear Energy Institute )
November 1, 2006... Retired admiral Skip Bowman, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), outlined the nuclear industry's public policy needs to the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee...

The financial state of renewables.(renewable energy like biofuels, solar energy)
November 1, 2006... The industry is experiencing the accelerated growth that the renewable energy community has been predicting, and hoping for, for three decades. Wind power is a global market surging ahead. Solar photovoltaic (PV) is a booming high tech industry...

Modeling new coal projects: supercritical or subcritical?(coal fired power plants)
November 1, 2006... Decisions made on new-build coal-fired plants are driven by several factors--emissions, fuel logistics and electric transmission access all provide constraints. In most cases, capacity and technology are the areas where the greatest...

Getting IGCC a seat at the table.(Gasification Technologies Conference in Washington)(integrated gasification combined cycle)
November 1, 2006... A dominant theme heard at the Gasification Technologies Conference in Washington, D.C. in early October was how all parties need to step up to assure integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology finds a place at the power generation...

Peabody/CMS partner on Prairie State plant.(Peabody Energy Corp. and CMS Energy Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... CMS Energy has signed agreements with Peabody Energy to co-develop the Prairie State Energy Campus, a 1,600 MW mine-mouth coal plant and mine in southern Illinois. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CMS and Peabody will co-develop and each own 15...

California's low-carb diet.(Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 2020 greenhouse gas emissions control bill)
November 1, 2006... California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill in late September setting the ambitious goal of reducing by 2020 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by approximately 25 percent to 1990 levels. "If we do this right, we will be a model for...

NERC issues worrisome assessment.(North American Electric Reliability Council's "2006 Long-Term Reliability Assessment Report")
November 1, 2006... Unless change comes quickly, North America's electric system may soon decline, according to an assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). The warning comes in NERC's first report since being designated as the...

Settlement doesn't affect IGCC status as BACT.(Environmental Protection Agency and environmental organizations )(integrated gasification combined cycle)(best available control technology)
November 1, 2006... A proposed settlement announced by the U.S. Justice Department in October between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and several environmental organizations including Environmental Defense and the Montana Environmental Information...

Shaw Stone and Webster along with consortium partner Alstom Environmental Control Systems.(got the contract of Duke Energy Carolinas )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Shaw Stone and Webster along with consortium partner Alstom Environmental Control Systems have received an EPC contract from Duke Energy Carolinas to retrofit the coal-fired units at the Allen Steam Station in Gaston County, N.C., with FGD...

Black & Veatch.(got a contract from Entergy Nuclear Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Entergy Nuclear has selected Black & Veatch to assist with various analyses in support of preparations to apply for a combined construction and operating license for a possible new nuclear unit at Gulf States' River Bend nuclear plant near St....

Bechtel Power.(got a contract of Peabody Energy Corp. and CMS Energy Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Bechtel Power will provide engineering and procurement services for the 1,600 MW Prairie State coal plant in southern Illinois being developed by Peabody Energy and CMS.

Invensys.(Construction & Contracts)
November 1, 2006... Invensys will supply Triconex control systems for integrated main turbine, reactor pressure control and turbine trip controls at Energy Northwest's Columbia Nuclear Station.

AREVA.(Construction & Contracts)
November 1, 2006... AREVA has received a contract to supply two replacement steam generators for Unit 2 of Xcel Energy's Prairie Island Nuclear Plant in Minnesota.

FuelCell Energy.(upgrading its fuel cell power plant)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... FuelCell Energy will upgrade its 1 MW fuel cell power plant at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in California to use fuel created from a waste by-product of the brewing process, thus reducing the costs of buying natural gas.

Western GeoPower.(building power plant at Geysers Geothermal Field)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Western GeoPower will build a 25.5 MW power plant at Geysers Geothermal Field, 75 miles north of San Francisco. Western GeoPower Unit 1 will supply about 200,000 MWh/year of baseload power to the California market.

Sargent & Lundy.(Construction & Contracts)
November 1, 2006... TVA has chosen Sargent & Lundy to supply routine capital project engineering design services for its fleet of nuclear plants.

Wartsila.(Construction & Contracts)
November 1, 2006... Wartsila will provide reciprocating engines and related equipment for Cogentrix Energy's 115.6 MW Plains End II peaking plant near Denver scheduled for service in 2008.

Tenaska Power Fund.(acquired power assets of Constellation Energy Group Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Tenaska Power Fund will acquire 3,145 MW of gas-fired power assets from Constellation Energy for more than $1.6 billion. The plants are High Desert in Victorville, Calif. (830 MW); Rio Nogales in Seguin, Texas (800 MW); Holland in Shelby Co.,...

The Shaw Group will join with Toshiba to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company.(Mergers & Acquisitions)
November 1, 2006... The Shaw Group will join with Toshiba to acquire Westinghouse Electric Company. Earlier in the year, Toshiba was the successful bidder to acquire Westinghouse from British Nuclear Fuels for $5.4 billion.

Calpine.(sold Thomassen Turbine Systems to Ansaldo Energia)(also sold its interest in Fox Energy Center to GE Energy Financial Services)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Calpine has completed the sale of its interest in the 560 MW Fox Energy Center in Kaukauna, Wis., to GE Energy Financial Services. The combined-cycle plant supplies power to Wisconsin Public Service under a 10-year power sales agreement....

Aggreko.(Mergers & Acquisitions)
November 1, 2006... Aggreko, provider of temporary power, temperature control and compressed air solutions, will acquire GE Energy Rentals for $212 million.

PacifiCorp.(acquired wind project from Renewable Energy Systems Ltd.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... PacifiCorp has purchased the 140 MW Marengo wind project being built near Dayton, Wash., and developed by Renewable Energy Systems Americas. Vestas-American Wind Technology is providing the facility's 78 1.8 MW wind turbines.

TXU.(Business Briefs)
November 1, 2006... TXU will spend $353 million to retrofit existing coal-fired units in Texas with additional air quality control systems.

NRG Energy.(Business Briefs)
November 1, 2006... NRG Energy expects to spend nearly $200 million in environmental capital expenditures in 2007, $300 million in 2008 and $450 million in 2009.

Foster Wheeler North America.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Foster Wheeler North America has entered into a 15-year agreement with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction to provide a technology license for subcritical pressure CFB steam generator projects in Korea, the Indian subcontinent and other...

Exelon Generation.(Exelon Generation construction and operating license )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Exelon Generation will begin the application process for a combined construction and operating license (COL) for the possible construction of a new nuclear plant in Texas. In a letter to the NRC, Exelon said it was reserving its option to...

Cape Wind Associates.(Cape Wind Associates offshore wind farm )(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Cape Wind Associates, which hopes to build the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. in Nantucket Sound, wants to increase the height of its proposed turbines by 5 percent, or 23 feet. The company says increasing turbine height to 440 feet above...

GE Energy.(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... GE Energy has delivered a 6 kW prototype solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system to the U.S. Department of Energy/National Energy Technology Laboratory as part of DOE's program to build a highly efficient, multi-megawatt SOFC-based system that...

Neville Holt of EPRI and Pier Zuidevelf.(Personnel & Promotions)
November 1, 2006... Neville Holt of EPRI and Pier Zuidevelf of Shell Global Solutions International are co-recipients of the Gas Technology Council's 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jennifer Johnson.(Personnel & Promotions)
November 1, 2006... Jennifer Johnson has been named president of Arch Coal's Arch Energy Resources, which engages in coal and emissions trading, coal procurement and terminal management activities.

Stanley Szwed.(Personnel & Promotions)
November 1, 2006... Stanley Szwed will lead the FirstEnergy's FERC policy and compliance group as vice president of FERC policy and chief FERC compliance officer.

John Prescott.(PNGC Power appoints John Prescott)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... John Prescott has been named president and CEO of PNGC Power, a generation and transmission cooperative owned by 15 member utilities with service territory in seven western states.

Tom Kilgore.(TVA appoints Tom Kilgore)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Tom Kilgore has been named the first CEO of TVA. Kilgore has been acting CEO since March. He joined TVA in 2005, when he was named president and chief operating officer. Kilgore earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from The...

Retrofitting comes in small packages.(Clean Air Mercury Rule and Clean Air Interstate Rule)(AES Corp. installed multi-pollutant control technology )
November 1, 2006... CAIR is coming, and it's influencing the fate of over 400 smaller, aging coal-fired plants. The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mercury Rule will force coal power plant owners and managers to either install emissions...

EPA's new PM standards.(Environmental Protection Agency introduced National Ambient Air Quality Standards for particulate matter)
November 1, 2006... The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its adjustments to the national air quality standards in late September after a mandatory five-year review process. The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) address fine and...

SRP wants Mohave back in service.(Salt River Project managing Mohave Generating Station )
November 1, 2006... Salt River Project (SRP) is seeking a new ownership group and wants to increase its stake in the currently closed Mohave Generating Station as part of its efforts to reopen the power plant near Laughlin, Nev., perhaps by 2011. The utility,...

AEP to pursue Texas transmission.(American Electric Power Company Inc.'s plans)
November 1, 2006... By early next year, American Electric Power (AEP) plans to have in place a joint venture company to fund and own new electric transmission assets in Texas. AEP President and CEO Mike Morris says Texas needs transmission investment to...

The first GE 7H gas turbine has been shipped to the Inland Empire Energy Center.(GE Energy)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The first GE 7H gas turbine has been shipped to the Inland Empire Energy Center near Riverside, Calif., where the 60-hertz H System technology will be commercially launched. The 7H is the first of two units planned for the 775 MW Inland Empire...

Fuel cell/microturbine hybrid will lead to utility applications.(Startup)
November 1, 2006... Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has successfully tested a combined-cycle power generation system incorporating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and a micro gas turbine (MGT), also known as a microturbine (Figure 1). As a result of the...

Solar plant opens on former industrial site.(Global Solar Energy L.L.C. opens a photovoltaic power plant)
November 1, 2006... The former site of the Brockton (Mass.) Gas Light Company gas works is now home to a 425 kW photovoltaic (PV) installation. Dubbed "Brockton Brightfield," due to its location on a brownfield site converted into a power installation operating on...

PPL seeks nuclear capacity boost.(PPL Susquehanna L.L.C. request Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... PPL Susquehanna has filed a request with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to increase the amount of electricity its nuclear power plant can generate. "The Susquehanna plant is a proven, reliable and safe producer of...

Entergy unit files reorganization plan.(Entergy New Orleans Inc.)
November 1, 2006... In compliance with Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws, Entergy New Orleans, a unit of Entergy Corporation, filed its proposed plan of reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The proposed plan of...

Get ready: the world's biggest power generation exhibition starts November 27 in Orlando.(POWER-GEN International)
November 1, 2006... Get Ready says it all. Get ready for a renaissance in nuclear energy as the industry powers forward with next-generation designs and plans for new capacity. Get ready for a new wave of clean-coal baseload capacity, whether it comes in the...

Rx for cooling towers.(evaporative cooling)
November 1, 2006... Evaporative cooling has largely withstood the test of time, both in terms of cost efficiency and overall performance. Various makes, models, styles and configurations are available, each offering specific advantages and benefits. Generally...

High purity water standards: verifying the accuracy of critical conductivity measurements.
November 1, 2006... Accurate conductivity measurements are critical to the reliable operation of steam electric power plants. In fact, conductivity is the single most important measurement for monitoring water quality in boiler water, boiler feedwater and steam...

Don't blow money: make the correct fan airflow regulating choice: power plants that regulate fan airflow with mechanical controls may be blowing their money away.(variable frequency drives)
November 1, 2006... Many power plants regulate fan airflow with mechanical controls, such as dampers. In some applications using fixed-speed motors in combination with dampers may not be the most energy efficient option. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) often are...

Generator bushing maintenance: designs & renovation.
November 1, 2006... A generator bushing can be the weak link in the electricity supply chain. It is generally anticipated to be maintenance free but several clues prior to failure must be watched. A number of generator bushing types exist alongside multiple...

Coal: (what your parents never taught you ...).
November 1, 2006... Coal is compressed plant matter that over millions of years transformed into a high-carbon material. Age, type of initial vegetation and location of deposit formation are all significant factors in the quality of a coal deposit. Scientific...

Making waves: Minnesota Power's approach to employee training.
November 1, 2006... A major issue for many power companies is the challenge to locate, hire and train a well-qualified workforce. The ongoing retirements of seasoned power plant personnel (operators, mechanics, instrumentation and control (I&C) technicians,...

Help for the down and out: the decade-old Utilities Service Alliance serves as a model for managing outages.(Omaha Public Power District)
November 1, 2006... The Omaha Public Power District is nearing the end of a 90-day, $417 million outage at its 500 MW Fort Calhoun nuclear station near Omaha. During the outage, which began in early September, some 1,800 contractors have been replacing two steam...

Deaerator shell perforation by FAC: the harmful effects of flow accelerated corrosion can be mitigated by evaluating key components, such as the deaerator and associated piping.(Flow accelerated corrosion)
November 1, 2006... Flow accelerated corrosion (FAC), also called erosion-corrosion, in power plants can be a serious safety problem, as well as a threat to plant reliability. It is a slow, out-of-sight process that can thin large areas of piping and pressure...

Using biology to treat selenium: biologically treating scrubber wastewater can be an attractive alternative to physical-chemical treatment.(Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970)
November 1, 2006... Increasingly stringent air quality regulations, starting with the 1970 Clean Air Act and including the more recent Clean Air Interstate Rule, are driving the continuous improvement of technologies that mitigate the effects of power generation...

A guide to coal chute replacement: good material flow can reduce coal yard maintenance and operational problems.
November 1, 2006... If coal dust collects under transfer chutes or in the transfer area, it's cleaned up. When line components wear out or fail, they're replaced. Should the amount of respirable dust in the air rise to levels prohibited by government regulations,...

Retrofitting lube oil coolers at Progress Energy's Lee Plant.(heat exchangers)
November 1, 2006... Unit 1 of Progress Energy's Lee Plant, in Goldsboro, NC, was installed in 1952 with a Westinghouse RT646 turbine rated at 84 MW. As was standard for that time, the lube oil coolers were shell-and-tube type heat exchangers, physically located...

Seeing the big picture in the 21st century: today's enterprise management software can maximize design, build, operate and dispatch activities for generating assets.
November 1, 2006... It wasn't exactly opening night for a new Edward Albee play, but still, there was drama on both sides of the stage lights. About a dozen people huddled on a stage at the JFK Library in Boston to act out a scenario as an audience of about 100...

DOE/NETL's advanced N[O.sub.x] emissions control technology R&D program: efforts are underway to provide more cost-effective options for coal-fired power plants to meet stringent emissions limits.(Department of Energy and National Energy Technology Laboratory)
November 1, 2006... Commercially available technologies for reducing nitrogen oxide (N[O.sub.x]) emissions from coal-fired boilers are enabling industry compliance with today's regulatory requirements. Low-N[O.sub.x] burners (LNB) and selective catalytic reduction...

Field testing new "super" boiler.(Gas Technology Institute is developing steam generators)
November 1, 2006... Gas Technology Institute (GTI) is developing a new industrial steam-generation system that provides increased efficiency, reduced emissions and lower fuel costs than steam systems presently available. GTI has teamed with...

California gets MW-class hydrogen fuel cell plant.(manufactured by FuelCell Energy Inc.)
November 1, 2006... California has its first megawatt-class hydrogen fuel cell cogeneration plant. The fuel cell plant transforms hydrogen from natural gas into electricity and water without combustion and captures waste heat to improve efficiency. The fuel cell...

Home generator sales surge in U.S.(DG Update)
November 1, 2006... American homeowners hopng to avoid interruptions to their increasingly electricity-dependent lifestyles are buying more home backup power systems than ever before. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The demand for home standby generators has...

On-site power cures energy IIIs.(Dell Children's Medical Center built its integrated hybrid energy plant)
November 1, 2006... State-of-the-art energy systems are becoming increasingly common in medical facilities across the U.S. Hospitals' requirements for power, thermal energy and emergency stand-by power, coupled with their load profiles, provide significant...

Rotary UPS: what can brownouts do to you?(uninterruptible power supplies)
November 1, 2006... Three years ago, we saw the great Northeast blackout shut down the power to tens of millions. Last year Hurricane Katrina and her kin devastated sections of the Gulf Coast. In between we witnessed the Sumatra tsunami. And this spring saw...

Corrosion protection pays off for coal-fired power plants.(hot-dip galvanize)
November 1, 2006... One of the fundamental questions confronting power generation plant maintenance engineers and managers is not what corrosion protection system to specify but how much money to invest upfront to minimize or eliminate recurring maintenance....

Wind farm's welded electrical connections install quickly and save money.(Klondike Wind Farm)(Northern Electrical Contracting Inc.)
November 1, 2006... Named after a red brick schoolhouse, the Klondike Wind Farm is located in Sherman County, Ore. When the wind farm opened in December 2001, it had 16 turbines producing a peak output of 24 MW. Phase II opened in December 2005 with a peak output...

Pre-outage water system audit can prevent headaches.(Field Notes)
November 1, 2006... An uninterrupted supply of high-quality water is vital to power plant operations. When making outage plans that include preventative maintenance on key plant systems, plant personnel should address the plant's water treatment equipment,...

Control system upgrade improves Pagbilao power plant reliability, availability.(Mirant Pagbilao Corp. used Emerson Process Management's Ovation expert control system)
November 1, 2006... Pagbilao power station Units 1 and 2 recently completed a project to upgrade and unify combustion, turbine control and burner management systems with Emerson Process Management's Ovation expert control system. The 750-MW plant, operated by...

Oil proves durable in Cogen application.(Eastman Cogen)
November 1, 2006... In 1999, the Eastman Co.'s Texas operations celebrated its 50th anniversary and announced an agreement with CSW Energy Inc. to construct and operate a 440-MW cogeneration facility at its Longview, Texas, site. Eastman Cogen, formerly known...

Safety terminal enclosure catalog.(from Adalet)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A dalet announces the availability of a new 90 page catalog detailing over 500 increased safety terminal enclosures and systems. The catalog is free upon request and includes primers on Increased Safety, covering its design principles, areas of...

Gearbox lubricant filter.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Philadelphia Gear Corp. recently announced the availability of a new ferrous metal filtration product called CORE to aid in effective continuous gearbox maintenance. The CORE filter derives its name from Continuous Oil Rescue Equipment. It will...

Solar power modules.(Products)
November 1, 2006... SolarWorld, a large global solar company, recently introduced its new Sunmodule product line that will be available beginning in January 2007. This next generation module incorporates an improved low profile, high strength frame and a patented...

IGCC software suite.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Responding to the growing energy industry interest in integrated combined-cycle gasification (IGCC), or cleaner coal technology, Thermoflow Inc. recently released Thermoflow Suite 16 (TFLOW 16), which includes significant IGCC enhancements for...

Gas Flow Meter.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Fluid Components International has introduced the ST75 Flow Meter, which is sutiable for measuring and monitoring fuel gases, such as natural gas, methane and bio-gases, as well as air flows required for the efficient operation of a wide range...

Large format scanning software.(Products)
November 1, 2006... IDEAL recently began shipping ScanOS Version 3.1.4, a powerful large format scanning software that adds extra functionality to IDEAL/Contex scanners, by letting users create an automatic searchable database for their scanned images. With...

One-piece flange adapters.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Brennan Industries Inc. recently expanded its line of fittings and adapters with new one-piece flange adapters. Machined from round stock, Brennan flange adapters are hot-piercing bent for the desired angle and do not have braze and weld...

UPS selection literature.(Staco Energy Products Co. introduced "Common Mistakes in Selecting UPS and How to Avoid Them")(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Staco Energy Products recently published "Common Mistakes in Selecting UPS and How to Avoid Them." This full-color, multi-page literature identifies 17 misconceptions and mistakes that occur when selecting uninterruptible power supplies and...

Electronic component catalog.(from Allied Electronics Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Allied Electronics, an industrial electronic component and electromechanical product distributor, has released its 2007 Allied Catalog, featuring 15 new product lines, rich product imagery and technical information. The 2007 catalog showcases...

I/A Series Field Device Manager.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Invensys recently introduced Field Device Manager for Foxboro I/A Series distributed control systems. It provides a solution that takes advantage of both the latest Enhanced Electronic Device Description Language (Enhanced EDDL) and FDT...

Removable Cover Plate generator coolers.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Unifin, a supplier of cooling equipment and transformer oil pumps and valves to the power industry, recently announced its line of Removable Cover Plate (RCP) generator coolers. Unifin RCP coolers are widely used in new and existing power...

Barrier seal.(Products)
November 1, 2006... John Crane Inc., a leading supplier of engineered sealing systems and associated products, announced the availability of the Type 83 Barrier seal, a dual-segmented carbon ring seal designed to prevent the migration of bearing oil to the dry gas...

Helium filters.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Helium Leak Testing Inc. (HLT) announced its new line of MaxP particle filters for Alcatel, Balzer, Dupont, Edwards, Leybold, Varian, Veeco and VIC systems. The filters are specifically designed to improve the reliability, useful life and...

Custom shaft collars.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Stafford Manufacturing Corp. recently introduced custom shaft collars that can be manufactured from high temperature alloys for power generation applications. The High Temperature Shaft Collars can be manufactured from a variety of alloys such...

Digital valve positioner.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Flowserve Corp. has launched the Flowserve Logix 3400IQ Foundation Fieldbus digital valve positioner. The 3400IQ features a new FISCO-compliant user interface board, improved potentiometer, piezoelectric technology and host interoperability to...

Shaft Grounding Brush.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Electro Static Technology recently announced the new AEGIS SGR Conductive MicroFiber Shaft Grounding Brush, which can extend motor life. By protecting bearings from electrical damage for the life of the motor, the AEGIS SGR prevents bearing...

Zoom inspection camera expansion kit.(Products)
November 1, 2006... Envirosight has announced a new accessory kit that doubles the field of view for its patented QuickView zoom inspection camera, allowing it to inspect all walls of a manhole when looking downward, as well as view wide areas of other close-up...