Power Engineering articles from September 2006

Power Engineering archives from September 2006

It's time to cross the bridge.(energy industry)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... The electric power industry and its customers find themselves standing at a bridge trying to decide whether or not to cross. The perils of hesitating appear far greater than getting on with it. If we don't cross, it appears likely that our...

Five questions on carbon.(VIEW ON RENEWABLES)
September 1, 2006... Two conflicting trends keep getting clearer and gathering momentum as they threaten to erupt into a full-scale confrontation. The first is the reality of climate change and the increasingly urgent calls to transition to a "low-carbon" economy....

Industry must address workforce issues.(nuclear industry)(Column)
September 1, 2006... The birth rate in the U.S. is just above the replacement level, with population growth coming mostly from immigration. This is a world-wide phenomenon, with Western Europe experiencing birth rates so low that its population may decline by as...

Railroads showing response to demand.(coal)
September 1, 2006... America's railroads have been taking it on the chin recently as some coal suppliers and consuming utilities charge them with profiteering and failing to meet delivery needs. But a U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) report released in July...

TXU sets a high bar.(UPDATE)
September 1, 2006... Dallas-based TXU has adopted an unprecedented approach to building one of the most dramatic expansions of baseload generating capacity in U.S. history. The company has proposed a binding contract with the State of Texas requiring TXU to reduce...

Study says nuclear fuel recycling makes sense.("Economic Assessment of Used Nuclear Fuel Management in the United States")(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A new study concludes that recycling nuclear fuel as part of a strategy in which a large scale integrated recycling plant complements a repository, such as the planned Yucca Mountain repository, could be an attractive option for solving the...

GE Energy.(is providing nuclear units to STP Nuclear Operating Co.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... GE Energy will supply two new nuclear units for the South Texas Nuclear Project. The plant's operator, STP Nuclear Operating Co., asked GE Energy to begin work on two GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactors for the Bay City, Texas plant, owned by...

Babcock Power Environmental.(got a contract for pollution control system from AES Corp.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Babcock Power Environmental received a contract from AES to design and supply a multi-pollutant control system for Unit 4 at AES' Greenidge plant. The project is backed by DOE to demonstrate a multi-pollutant control system to cut emissions...

AREVA.(CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTS)
September 1, 2006... AREVA won a contract from Pacific Cas & Electric to provide two replacement reactor vessel heads at the Diablo Canyon Plant Units 1 and 2.

Washington Group International.(won a contract of Reliant Energy Inc.)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Washington Group International will provide detailed engineering, procurement assistance and construction management services to install a flue gas desulfurization system at Reliant Energy's Cheswick Plant in Pennsylvania.

enXco Development Corporation and Mid American Energy Company.(building a wind power plant)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... enXco Development Corporation and Mid American Energy Company signed an agreement to develop and build a 123 MW wind facility in Pocahontas County, Iowa consisting of 82 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. Construction is slated to start later this year...

Mirant.(installs emission control equipment at its plants)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Mirant will install FGD systems on its three Maryland power plants--Chalk Point, Dickerson and Morgantown. Mirant will also install SCR at Chalk Point to further reduce NOX emissions by about 92 percent. The FGDs and SCR will reduce emissions...

Energy Capital Partners.(acquired Northeast Utilities Inc.)(U.S. Geothermal purchased by investment companies)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Energy Capital Partners has agreed to buy the competitive generation assets of Northeast Utilities for $1.34 billion. The sale includes 15 generating plants at 14 sites with a total output of 1,442 MW, the largest of which is the 1,080 MW...

Westinghouse Electric Company.(MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS)
September 1, 2006... Westinghouse Electric Company bought the remaining interest in fuel handling equipment and outage critical cranes subsidiary PaR Nuclear, giving it 100 percent ownership.

Siemens Power Generation.(purchases AG Kuehnle, Kopp & Kausch )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Siemens Power Generation is acquiring AG Kuehnle, Kopp & Kausch of Germany, maker of small steam turbines rated up to 5 MW, turbo-compressors and fans for industrial applications.

Wisconsin Power and Light.(got the rights to develop Cedar Ridge Wind Farm plant)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Alliant Energy subsidiary Wisconsin Power and Light purchased development rights to the Cedar Ridge Wind Farm project, previously owned and developed by Midwest Wind Energy. The proposed 80 to 100 MW wind farm, located in Fond du Lac County,...

UniStar Nuclear.(Areva and BWX Technologies signed an agreement)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... UniStar Nuclear said that AREVA and BWX Technologies signed an agreement to re-establish commercial nuclear power plant component manufacturing in the U.S. to support UniStar's future North American fleet of nuclear power plants. UniStar will...

TXU.(planning of coal plants)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... TXU reports it is evaluating 10 to 12 primarily brownfield sites in the PJM Interconnection region as possible locations for new coal plants. The company narrowed the sites from about 150 based on acreage, access to water, railroads and...

BC Hydro.(given hydro power contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... BC Hydro awarded 38 contracts to independent power producers throughout British Columbia to provide additional power supply by 2010. The contracts include 29 hydro, three wind, two biomass, two waste heat and two coal/biomass projects. Projects...

Southern California Edison.(power purchase contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Southern California Edison has begun soliciting long-term power purchase contract offers from independent power producers to invest in new capacity. The utility told the IPP industry it will solicit contracts for up to 1,500 MW lasting up to 10...

PPL Corporation.(James H. Miller replaces William F. Hecht )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... PPL Corporation Chairman and CEO William F. Hecht retires Oct. 1 and James H. Miller, who has been serving as president, assumes the additional roles of chairman and CEO.

North Carolina Electric Cooperatives.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
September 1, 2006... Richard K. Thomas has been named EVP and CEO of North Carolina Electric Cooperatives succeeding Charles W. Terrill who has announced his retirement.

U.S. Senate.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
September 1, 2006... The U.S. Senate has confirmed the appointments of Philip Moeller, Marc Spitzer and Jon Wellinghoff to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Black & Veatch.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
September 1, 2006... Bart Schubert has been named VP of corporate development for Black & Veatch.

Constellation NewEnergy.(appointed Mark P. Huston)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Mark P. Huston has been named CEO of Constellation NewEnergy, provider of electricity to commercial customers in the non-regulated sector. He was VP electric transmission and distribution for Baltimore Gas and Electric.

ComEd.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
September 1, 2006... George A. Williams joined ComEd as SVP of operations. He had been VP of operations at Entergy's Grand Gulf Nuclear Station.

Foster Wheeler.(PERSONNEL & PROMOTIONS)
September 1, 2006... David J. Parham has been named EVP of global sales and marketing for Foster Wheeler's global power group.

Excelsior Energy.(appointed Dick Stone)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Dick Stone was named SVP of development and engineering for Excelsior Energy, which is in the permitting stages for the Mesaba Energy Project, a 1,212 MW IGCC power plant in the Iron Range of Northeastern Minnesota. He was VP of business...

Positive image fuels nuclear energy's resurgence: more than 24,000 MW of new nuclear energy is currently in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's licensing process. Does this mean nuclear energy is set for a comeback?(NUCLEAR)(Cover story)
September 1, 2006... Unstable fossil fuel prices, concerns about global warming and air quality, a growing economy, government support and incentives, advanced technologies and designs, an exceptional safety record, the best capacity factor of any electricity...

The Final Four: with a shortlist of sites in hand, FutureGen's CEO discusses how the project to build the world's first zero-emission coal plant emerged, where it stands today and where it's headed.(Q & A WITH FUTUREGEN CEO MIKE MUDD)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... The Final Four may represent the near-pinnacle of achievement for college basketball, but its significance pales by comparison to the FutureGen Final Four, the hotly-contested process to be chosen to build the world's first near-zero emission...

Waste not, water not: Burbank Water and power's Magnolia Power Project saves up to two million gallons of potable water a day with its zero liquid discharge and advanced water treatment systems.(WATER TREATMENT)
September 1, 2006... Water conservation and environmental stewardship are nothing new for Burbank Water and Power (BWP), one of six owners of the Magnolia Power Project, as well as its operator. In 1967 BWP became one of the first utilities in the nation to use...

Equipment wrapup: pumps and valves; Static and unchanging? Think again!(PUMPS AND VALVES)(Duke Energy Corp.)(Linear Variable Differential Transformers)(Godwin Pumps of America Inc.'s Dri-Prime)
September 1, 2006... Editor's Note: Pump and valve systems are everywhere in electric generating stations and are indispensable to plant operation. Although the basic technology for most pumps and valves has remained unchanged for decades, innovative applications,...

Coping with uncertainties of mercury regulation: the thermometer is rising as coal-fired plants cope with the uncertainties of mercury regulation. Here's a diagnosis and a suggested cure.(MERCURY REGULATIONS)(Clean Air Mercury Rule)
September 1, 2006... In light of the new United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mercury emissions rule and the advent of even more stringent state rules, planning for new coal-fired power plants or existing plant expansions has become more complex...

Italian engines fitting nicely into U.S. gensets.(John Madey of Iveco Motors of North America)(Interview)
September 1, 2006... Iveco Motors of North America, based in Carol Stream, Ill., is a unit of Fiat Powertrain Technologies and entered the market in January 2004 with one distributor. Since then, the company's operations have grown to include 22 distributors and...

Motor management system improves boiler cleaning.(Clyde Bergemann's Intelligent boiler cleaning systems)
September 1, 2006... High boiler efficiency is vital to power generators trying to trim costs and improve performance with efficient and effective fuel use. Because a boiler's efficiency is determined largely by the cleanliness of its heating transfer surfaces,...

Portable oil skimmer.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... Abanaki Corp. has redesigned its Tote-It portable oil skimmer to include a new removable trough that makes clean up and oil disposal easier. The new design also allows customers to upgrade to wider belt sizes, as their oil removal volumes...

Ultrasonic probes.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... As options to its line of ultrasonic detectors, UE Systems has introduced probes that permit ultrasonic inspection to be performed in difficult-to-access areas. These sensors plug into the company's pistol-shaped instruments, allowing accurate...

Power industry product catalog.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... HD Electric Co. recently announced the availability of a new four-color short-form product catalog. This 46-page catalog contains product offerings in four categories for the electrical power industry; test, measurement & safety; controls &...

Flowmeters.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... Universal Flow Monitors Inc. has introduced CoolPoint vortex shedding flowmeters for dilution water and similar applications in water treatment. The flowmeters are easy to specify, install and set and are available in sizes ranging from 1/4...

High purity steam generator.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... RASIRC recently introduced its first product, the Intaeger UHP (Ultra High Purity) fully automated steam generator. The system benefits companies whose processes are sensitive to impurities and variability in their water vapor and are looking...

Fly Ash Gaskets.(PRODUCTS)
September 1, 2006... EGC Enterprises Inc. introduces TB 1000 Fly Ash Gaskets for pipe coupling systems. Made of Thermabraid high purity, low weight loss flexible graphite yarns and braided packing, EGC's TB 1000 Fly Ash Gaskets stand up to the high operating...

Dead may face emission controls.(protests against mercury emissions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Public protests. Angry residents packing city council meetings. Banners unfurled reading "Over my dead body." Opposition to a power plant? No, it's just Californians up in arms over mercury emissions from crematoriums. Seems that...

Urban farmer.(DaimlerChrysler AG partnered with Michigan State University to convert industrial sites into ethanol growing fields)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Michigan State University is partnering with DaimlerChrysler to look at turning vacant industrial sites into fields to grow crops for ethanol and biodiesel production. The idea is to see if it's possible that crops like soybeans,...

DOE foresees plant-induced congestion.(Department of Energy report)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... A report from the U.S. Department of Energy in August identified four areas where emerging grid congestion problems are a big worry and where new power lines will be needed: New England; the Phoenix-Tucson area in Arizona; the Seattle-Portland...

Strength of their convictions.(coal gasification plant at the prison)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Not in My Prison Yard. That's the message from more than 400 inmates at a Pennsylvania state prison half a mile from the site of a proposed coal gasification plant. Some inmates signed a form letter saying, "the inmates and staff would be...

The iceman cometh (again).(air conditioning can be controlled using ice bear )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Back in great-grandpa and grandma's day folks would cut ice from the pond with long saws during winter, pack it in sawdust in cellars and use some of it for ice cream making come summertime. Seems the more things change the more they stay...