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Severe Modulation in Feedwater-Control Valves Reveals Need for Periodic Calibration

February 13, 2019

Some combined-cycle plants have two feedwater-control valves: a small startup valve with the extra cavitation-protection needed during startup and low-load operations, and a larger main valve with the high flow-capacity needed during full-load ops. This design is intended to yield a longer service life of these valves. However, as the plant ages, this design also can yield a severe modulation, or “hunting,” in these valves.

At one 10-year-old combined-cycle plant, the two feedwater-control valves started hunting violently, eventually causing a loud boom.

The entire feedwater-piping system lurched, nearly out of its pipe rack. That startled everyone in the plant, and prompted the control room operator to hit his shutdown switch, and put in a trouble call to the maintenance shop. The maintenance technician grabbed his tool bag, went to the feedwater-control station, and began troubleshooting. He noted in his logbook that the incident had occurred shortly after a plant startup, just as the feedwater-control logic was transitioning from the startup valve to the main valve.…

Iraqi Official Casts Doubt on Deals With GE, Siemens

February 11, 2019

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Multibillion-dollar energy deals that both Siemens and General Electric (GE) signed with the Iraqi government last year may not come to fruition, according to the country’s electricity minister.

The Financial Times on February 10 reported that Luay Al-Khatteeb, who took his post late last year after the deals were brokered, told the newspaper, “I don’t have financial allocations or the processes available at hand, it doesn’t allow me to cherry-pick the right consultancies to deal with these multibillion-dollar deals. The bureaucracy that I inherited is . . . illogical.”

GE in October 2018 agreed to a $ 15 billion deal to provide 14 GW of power generation projects to Iraq, including 1.5 GW as early as this summer. The agreement, which was called “principles of co-operation” and is not binding, came after the Trump administration reportedly told Iraqi officials that diplomatic relations with the U.S. would be threatened if Iraq pursued that deal with Munich, Germany-based Siemens, instead of Boston, Massachusetts-based GE.…

Prepare for More Distributed Energy Resources [PODCAST]

February 7, 2019

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Paul DeCotis, senior director in West Monroe Partners’ Energy and Utilities practice, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. West Monroe, in partnership with Greentech Media, conducted a survey of more than 1,700 utility customers, 140 utility executives and managers, and more than two dozen regulators in major markets across North America. Its findings were released in a report titled Planning for a Distributed Energy Future.

Interestingly, 92% of survey respondents said they had distributed energy resources (DERs) on their system, up from 80% when the survey was conducted three years ago. However, DeCotis noted during the podcast that DERs are not yet universally economical throughout the U.S.

“Not all states and regulatory jurisdictions handle DERs the same. It’ll be a few years before we see very significant DER penetrations uniformly across the country,” DeCotis said. “DERs still need substantial backup generation because utilities have the obligation to serve load and be the provider of last resort, so the industry will develop cautiously in some parts of the country until regulations become more certain and incentives become more mature,” he added.…

NIPSCO Announces Three New Indiana Wind Farms

February 3, 2019

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Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO), which is phasing out coal-fired power as part of its “Your Energy, Your Future” plan announced late last year, on Feb. 1 said it will develop three new wind farm projects in the state that will add about 800 MW of renewable power generation capacity to its portfolio.

The Merrillville, Ind.-based utility on Friday said the wind farms will be sited in Benton, Montgomery, and White counties. NIPSCO said the projects are partnerships between the utility and private companies, and were chosen after NIPSCO last year issued a request for proposals (RFP) for alternative energy generation.

Violet Sistovaris, NIPSCO’s president, in a statement said, “We’re excited for the opportunity to add more home-grown renewable energy in Indiana. In addition to the economic benefits that projects like these add, the transition we’re making in our electric generation equates to an estimated $ 4 billion in cost-savings for customers over the long-term.”

The utility said it received 90 proposals for energy projects, including 70 sited within the state.…

THE BIG PICTURE: World’s Biggest Power Companies

February 1, 2019

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In 2017, the 10 largest power companies, ranked by their installed generation capacity, owned 18% of total global installed capacity, while the next-largest 15 owned around 10%—meaning that the top 25 companies own nearly 30% of global installed power generation capacity, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Chinese companies account for more than one-eighth of global installed capacity, owing to that country’s expansion of its generation fleet
to 1,750 GW, from about 400 GW in 2003. By comparison, in 2003, European-owned utilities dominated the list, accounting for almost 13% of installed capacity worldwide. Source: © OECD/IEA 2018 World Energy Outlook.
—Copy and artwork by Sonal Patel, a POWER associate editor.

The post THE BIG PICTURE: World’s Biggest Power Companies appeared first on POWER Magazine.

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PG&E Files for Bankruptcy, Prepares to Reorganize

January 30, 2019

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California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 29, as the company faces as much as $ 30 billion in potential liabilities for its role in a series of wildfires in the state. The filing was expected after the company notified its workers two weeks ago it was preparing a reorganization plan.

PG&E is working on a multibillion-dollar debtor-in-possession financing deal with several banks to provide the company funding to continue operations during its reorganization. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the company’s plans to tap up to $ 6 billion in financing to help it operate while under bankruptcy protection, and the company in a statement Tuesday said it will ask the bankruptcy court to approve $ 5.5 billion in financing.

John Simon, PGE’s interim CEO, said in a statement, “We are fully committed to enhancing our wildfire safety efforts, as well as helping restoration and rebuilding efforts across the communities impacted by the devastating Northern California wildfires.…