Power Engineering articles from September 2008

Power Engineering archives from September 2008

CCS: the challenge defined.(Opinion)(carbon capture and sequestration)
September 1, 2008... Carbon capture and sequestration represents the "mother of all challenges" facing coal generators, according to Ram Naurla vice president and chief technology officer of Bechtel. He made the statement during a Power Engineering Webcast, which...

The "reasonable possibility" of NSR Reform.(Clearing the Air)(new source review)
September 1, 2008... It's time to change out some tubes in your coal-fired boiler. Do you: A) Justify the expense based on extending the life of the boiler and make the repairs. B) Perform an environmental analysis to determine if the repairs will require...

Four challenges to solar power.(View on Renewables)(Survey)
September 1, 2008... Changing energy economics in the concentrated solar power (CSP) industry will continue to accelerate record-breaking adoption of CSP in domestic and international markets, both in 2009 and for the foreseeable future. Across 96 companies,...

Green blood from a turnip.(Nuclear Reactions)(Alstom )
September 1, 2008... The aging nuclear fleet, the rising cost of new generation capacity and the growing popularity of zero-or low-carbon emitting generation sources are refocusing utility attention on existing assets. In colloquial terms, nuclear plant owners are...

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

Carbon capture and economics dominate COAL-GEN.(Startup)(Conference news)
September 1, 2008... Louisville, Ky. welcomed COAL-GEN 2008 in mid-August and carbon capture and economic themes dominated talk among the 3,500 attendees, a record crowd. Conference delegates heard that continued development of carbon capture and sequestration...

Weston Unit 4 enters service.(Startup)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Wisconsin Public Service Corp. has brought its Black & Veatch-designed Weston Unit 4 electric generation plant online for commercial operation. The new unit utilizes advanced supercritical and emissions technology. The unit was built for...

Limestone 3 deal eases opposition.(Startup)(NRG Texas LLC)
September 1, 2008... NRG Texas LLC, a unit of NRG Energy, Inc. reached agreements with the Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition and the Environmental Defense Fund in which the two groups will drop their opposition to the Limestone 3 permit application in response to a...

U.S. uranium production lags 2007.(Startup)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Production of uranium concentrate in the United States was 1,073,315 pounds uranium oxide ([U.sub.3] [O.sub.8]) for the second quarter 2008, 32 percent higher than the previous quarter, but 4 percent lower compared with the second quarter 2007...

Hyperion power generation.(Business Briefs)(TES Group)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Hyperion Power Generation received a letter of intent from investment company TES Group to buy the Hyperion Power Module, a 27 MWe nuclear power reactor. The intention is to buy up to Six units for various projects in Europe and the Middle...

Southern Nuclear Operating Co.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it found no environmental impacts that would prevent Southern Nuclear Operating Co from gaining an Early Site Permit (ESP) for its Vogtle site in Georgia. An ESP confirms in principle that a site is...

Xcel Energy.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Regulators approved a plan by Xcel Energy to shut down two coal-fired power plants in Colorado, thought to be the first time a utility has volunteered, and regulators have approved, a plan to shut down power plants because of [CO.sub.2]...

South Texas project unit 1.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... South Texas Project Unit 1 turned 20 at the end of August. Using a Westinghouse pressurized water reactor, STP 1 led all 439 reactors worldwide in electrical generation last year. The unit also has delivered two breaker-to-breaker production...

AltaRock Energy.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Google.org is investing nearly $11 million in technology to expand U.S. geothermal reserves. The organization will invest $6.25 million in AltaRock Energy, a startup that is developing enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology. Potter...

Portland General Electric Co.(Business Briefs)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Oregon regulators reportedly want to cut haze-causing pollutants from Portland General Electric Co.'s Boardman coal plant by 65 percent by 2014, which would require $400 million worth of added controls. The state Department of Environmental...

Fuel gasification technology GmbH & Co. KG.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... EPCOR Utilities Inc. selected Siemens Fuel Gasification Technology GmbH & Co. KG as the technology provider for the design of a coal gasification facility. The selection is the latest step in the EPCOR-led front end engineering and design...

Wartsila North America Inc.(Projects & Contracts)(Greenville Electric Utility Service )(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Wartsila North America Inc. has been awarded an engineered equipment supply contract by GEUS, a municipally-owned electric power system in Greenville, Texas. The contract for the 25 MWe gas-fired power plant is valued at over $19 million. The...

Hydro-Quebec.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Hydro-Quebec will invest C$1.9 billion (US$1.79 billion) to refurbish the 675 MW Gentilly-2 nuclear generating station in Becancour, Quebec. Refurbishing the plant will extend its operation until about 2040. The project has two components:...

Unified Testing Services.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Unified Testing Services, a member of TUV Rheinland North America, announced that its non-destructive examination services contract with Southern Co. was renewed for an additional three years. UTS will provide non-destructive testing and...

Pacific Gas & Electric has signed agreements to buy power from OptiSolar Inc., which plans to build a 550 MW farm of thin-film photovoltaic panels.(Projects & Contracts)
September 1, 2008... Pacific Gas & Electric has signed agreements to buy power from OptiSolar Inc., which plans to build a 550 MW farm of thin-film photovoltaic panels. SunPower Corp. will deliver power from another 250 MW plant, both sites in San Luis Obispo,...

Navasota Energy Partners LP.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Navasota Energy Partners LP said it plans to build a third natural gas-fired power plant in Texas and to expand two of its existing gas-fired power plants. Navasota said it expects to obtain a state air permit soon to build the new 550 MW...

Southern California Edison.(Projects & Contracts)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Southern California Edison signed a 20-year contract with DCE, a unit of Caithness Energy, to provide up to 909 MW of wind power. Financial terms were not disclosed. The project involves installing 303 wind turbines across 30 square miles in...

Emerson process management.(Projects & Contracts)(Huaneng Group)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Emerson Process Management received a contract from Huaneng Group to apply its Plantweb digital plant architecture at Haimen, a new ultra-supercritical, coal-fired power plant being built in China's Guangdong province. The plant will use...

Jack A. Fusco.(People & Personnel)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Calpine Corp.'s Board of Directors appointed Jack A. Fusco as President and Chief Executive Officer. He will also serve as a member of Calpine's Board of Directors. Mr. Fusco succeeds Robert P. May, who served as Calpine's CEO since December...

Donald Jernigan, who has been serving as site vice president of Dominion's Surry Nuclear Power Station, joined TVA as senior vice president of nuclear operations.(People & Personnel)(United States. Tennessee Valley Authority)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Donald Jernigan, who has been serving as site vice president of Dominion's Surry Nuclear Power Station, joined TVA as senior vice president of nuclear operations. In his new role, he will provide day-to-day oversight of plant operations. The...

Allied Power Group named Bernhard Rudolph as CFO and Alan Lovelace, PE, as Engineering Manager.(People & Personnel)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Allied Power Group named Bernhard Rudolph as CFO and Alan Lovelace, PE, as Engineering Manager. Mr. Rudolph served as CFO for Preco Turbine Services for eight years prior to GE acquiring the company in 2001. He and a partner then founded...

Electricite de France.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... The board of Electricite de France (EdF) has authorized management to increase the company's stake in Constellation Energy from the current 4.97 percent to 9.9 percent. Under federal regulations, a company owning at least 10 percent of a U.S....

Robert C. Rowe.(Mergers & Acquisitions)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... NorthWestern Energy said it hired Robert C. Rowe as its new president and chief executive officer. Rowe, a former commissioner of the Montana Public Service Commission, will assume the role immediately. He replaces Michael J. Hanson, who...

PE online question of the week.
September 1, 2008... PE Online Question of the Week [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Is the So-Called Pickens Plan for Renewable Energy Feasible? (for more Questions visit www.power-eng.com)

Special report: executive roundtable on coal plant development.(Discussion)
September 1, 2008... Power Engineering magazine invited five leading executives to discuss current issues affecting coal-fired power plant development as well as future prospects for the generation type. Executives included Mike Morris, CEO of American Electric...

Wireless condition monitoring arrives (and just in time).
September 1, 2008... Two major applications for wireless sensing in manufacturing are process measurement and equipment condition monitoring (ECM). While wireless field transmitters for process measurement have been on the market for several years now, equipment...

Digital visual sidewall scanning streamlines pipe inspection.
September 1, 2008... Since the advent of miniature cameras, plant and utility personnel have used them to assess pipe condition and troubleshoot problems. Over the years, new delivery mechanisms have emerged to carry cameras deeper into pipes, while capturing...

Continuous electrodeionization for water treatment at power plants.
September 1, 2008... Power plants have for many years used deionized water as makeup to high-pressure boilers and for producing steam to drive turbines and generate electricity. Although this technology has been popular for half a century, it requires the use of...

Construction cost control: some surprisingly simple strategies can help control many construction project costs.
September 1, 2008... Power plant engineering construction costs have been rising much faster than core inflation for the last several years. All along the supply, build, commission chain pressures are growing to find ways to cut costs. Construction cost...

Meeting NERC-CIP requirements: cyber security rules are forcing big changes in networking and computing infrastructure.
September 1, 2008... As deadlines for the North American Electric Reliability Council Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC-CIP) standards approach, power plants and electric utilities must begin implementing the necessary security practices to meet the...

Becoming carbon capture ready.
September 1, 2008... Only a few years ago, saying that a coal plant was carbon capture ready was a somewhat ill-defined statement at best. To some, it meant little more than providing space to make room for whatever form of capture might eventually be mandated or...

Mobile tool crib increases jobsite efficiency.(Field Notes)
September 1, 2008... It's easy to assume that a company that designs and manufactures hundreds of gas and steam turbines throughout North America isn't all that concerned with the whereabouts of a little 19 mm socket wrench. Actually, nothing could be further...

Duct balloons for use in FGD maintenance.(Field Notes)
September 1, 2008... In order to provide a safe working environment during maintenance of a plant's flue gas desulphurization (FGD) system, many units are equipped with isolation dampers used to isolate various system components and areas of ductwork. Over time,...

Flow meter.(Products)
September 1, 2008... The Wafer-Cone flow meter from McCrometer features a modular design to assist in replacing the flow element and adjust to changing flow conditions in dynamic processes. The Wafer-Cone flow meter relies on differential pressure technology...

Valve catalog.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Conval recently published its new, full-color, 40-page 2008 catalog containing information on the company's line of Camseal ball valves and Clampseal ball, bellows, bonnetless, check, gate, globe, throttling and urea service valves. The catalog...

Fuel filtration system.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Algae-X International expanded its line of automated fuel filtration systems with the new STS-6000 series. Designed for stored fuel tanks in the 5,000-gallon range, the STS-6000's Smart Filtration Controller is user-programmable to run at...

Polymer system.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Master Bond Inc. introduced a new one-component, optically clear, nonyellowing UV and/or heat curable polymer system called UV15-7DC. This system is designed for bonding, sealing and coating applications. It is 100 percent reactive and contains...

LHDV load holding valves.(Products)
September 1, 2008... HAWE Hydraulics released its new LHDV load holding valves. These pressure valves feature dampening components for use with "load sensing" spool valves. HAWE's load holding valves act on the return flow side of double-acting consumers. The...

Sealant paint.(Products)
September 1, 2008... PERMEATE HS-200 is inorganic sealant paint designed for galvanized and other coated metal surfaces. It is intended for surfaces exposed to marine and other extreme environmental conditions including those on offshore oil rigs, oil/gas tanks,...

Flow meters.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Universal Flow Monitors Inc. introduced a series of plastic-construction flow meters designed for transmitting corrosive fluids in water treatment. Applications for the new P420 Series of vortex-shedding flow meters include water, corrosives,...

Pressure switches.(Products)
September 1, 2008... The new series A9 pressure switches are designed to control pressure with higher current capacity. Switches provide SPDT contact form and switch deadband (also referred to as mechanical differential or hysteresis). Series A9 pressure switches...

Pollution control.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Solvay Chemicals Inc. announced a new product, the SOLVAir Select 300. Based on sodium bicarbonate, this new product is specifically designed for use in air pollution control applications, in particular, the treatment of [SO.sub.2]. ...

Torque sensor.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Sensor Developments' rotating torque sensors feature a bearing system designed to allow the structure to be exposed to very high radial loads without damage. This sensor allows for extraneous loads up to 9,000 lbs/40 kN and overturning moments...

O.D. clamping end prep tool.(Products)
September 1, 2008... A new O.D. clamping end prep tool for beveling, facing and boring highly alloyed, small bore heavy-wall header tubes and water wall boiler tubes is being introduced by ESCO Tool. The ESCO C-Hog Millhog O.D. clamping end prep tool features a...

Water filter.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Orival filters are designed to protect heat exchangers and to prevent clogging of nozzles, tubes and other narrow passages by removing dirt particles down to micron size, of any specific gravity, from once-through and recirculating cooling...

Hydrogen flow meter.(Products)
September 1, 2008... With its precision thermal mass flow sensor, no-moving-parts construction and space-saving design, the advanced ST75V hydrogen flow meter from Fluid Components International provides repeatable gas flow measurement in hazardous small line gas...

Pressure transmitters.(Products)
September 1, 2008... The new Ashcroft GC51 and GC52 gauge and differential pressure transmitters offer an alternative to network process transmitters when a digital protocol is not required. The design features a NEMA 4X/IP65 enclosure measuring 2.65" in diameter....

Blower package.(Products)
September 1, 2008... A new factory-engineered blower package has been introduced by Dresser Roots. The Dresser Roots EasyAir X2 is a pre-assembled, skid-mounted blower unit with all piping, valves and instrumentation in place. Produced for both vacuum and...

Generators.(Products)
September 1, 2008... PRAMAC is offering the market a new line of generators from 15 kW to 42 kW powered by Yanmar diesel engines. These generators offer reduced dimensions and weight. The products feature a Stamford alternator, internal residential muffler, voltage...

High-temperature materials for bearing applications.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Metallized Carbon Corp. presents Metcar Grade 2500 and Metcar Grade 9800 from its Resistox family of high temperature mechanical grades. Treated with a specially formulated oxidation inhibitor, these bearings and thrust washers offer greatly...

48-bit digital input board.(Products)
September 1, 2008... United Electronic Industries (UEI) announced the release of the Guardian Series DNx-DIO-448 high density digital input boards The DNA-DIO-448 and DNR-DIO-448 are compatible with UEI's "Cube" and "RACKtangle" I/O chassis, respectively. The...

Wiring duct.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Thomas & Betts is adding a halogen-free offering to its line of Ty-Duct wiring ducts. The Halogen-Free Ty-Duct product line is designed for high-temperature applications up to 95 C (203 F) or where specifications call for products that will not...

Infrared calibrator.(Products)
September 1, 2008... Hart Scientific, a unit of Fluke Corp., announced the 4180 series precision infrared calibrators. The two new models, 4180 and 4181, utilize the same size targets used by thermometer manufacturers to assist in performing infrared thermometer...

Pneumatic torque wrench.(Products)
September 1, 2008... TorcUP announced the release of its latest pneumatic wrench. The Raptor provides continuous and repeatable torque and an accuracy of +/-5 percent. The Raptor can accommodate torque needs from 120 ft/Ibs to 6,000 ft/Ibs. Ranging in five...

Corrosion-proof powder.(Products)
September 1, 2008... A new, water-soluble powder containing vapor corrosion inhibitors is available from SEI Chemical. CPT 500 corrosion proof powder is designed to provide optimal wet or dry corrosion protection. It is designed to protect ferrous and non-ferrous...

Doin' the funky chicken.(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... A bird best known for its comical mating dances in which it patters around like a jittery wind-up toy has found itself pitted against an unlikely environmental foe in northwest Oklahoma. Wind turbines are expected to be built all over the...

Fill it up ... with bacteria, please!(Generating Buzz)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... It's a matter of Hydrogen Highway meeting Bacteria Byway. Scientists in the UK have shown how bacteria could be used as a future fuel. The research, published in the journal Bioinformatics, could have implications for the way we produce...