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Technology for Advanced Asset Inspections

October 28, 2020

The post Technology for Advanced Asset Inspections appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Netze BW GmbH is the largest distribution system operator (DSO) in Baden-Württemberg, which is the third-largest state in Germany. Netze BW is responsible for high-, medium-, and low-voltage networks across the state. Its power lines stretch over 100,000 kilometers (more than 62,000 miles), and like all power utilities, it faces a constant challenge of monitoring, inspecting, and maintaining the network.

Without rigorous asset inspection, the utility cannot ensure a stable, secure, and safe supply to customers. However, detailed inspection over such a large, disparate area is extremely resource intensive, which creates a tension with the need to control operational costs. Historically, Netze BW has struck a workable balance in this respect; however, times are changing for DSOs.

The Challenge: A Time of Transition

The traditional approach to inspection has been to deploy teams of engineers to manually inspect assets, traveling around the state and climbing utility poles—a job not without danger.…

DOE Launches Program to Demonstrate Advanced Nuclear Reactors Within 5 Years

May 14, 2020

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The post DOE Launches Program to Demonstrate Advanced Nuclear Reactors Within 5 Years appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Bolstered by $ 230 million in Congressionally appropriated funding, the Department of Energy (DOE) has officially launched the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to help U.S.-based private developers of advanced nuclear reactors demonstrate their technology in the U.S.

Much anticipated by industry, the program formally established under the Office of Nuclear Energy program on May 14 is one of three major government-led and Congressionally supported initiatives to boost U.S. nuclear energy research and development. Congress has also appropriated $ 305 million for fuel cycle research and development, and $ 267 million for reactor concepts research, including for the industry-led Advanced Reactor Concepts program and the Versatile Advanced Test Reactor.

The National Reactor Innovation Center at Idaho National Laboratory provides resources for testing, demonstration, and performance assessment to accelerate deployment of new advanced nuclear technology concepts. These are some milestones and a tentative timeline the facility could achieve over the next decade.

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MHPS Grid-Connects T-Point 2 Advanced Gas Turbine Validation Facility

April 6, 2020

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The post MHPS Grid-Connects T-Point 2 Advanced Gas Turbine Validation Facility appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has begun commissioning T-Point 2, its newest combined cycle power plant validation facility that will eventually host the company’s much-watched autonomous combined cycle power project.

The 566-MW facility at Takasago Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, will replace the iconic T-Point facility, which MHPS’s parent company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) completed in 1997 as a 60-Hz followup to the 1992-built 50-Hz K-Point validation plant in Kanazawa. Like its predecessors, T-Point 2 has been designed as an ultramodern power plant—which will actively supply power to the regional grid—and a demonstrator that will enable engineers to push the realms of gas turbine technology.

Construction of T-Point 2 began in late 2017 following years of engineering efforts, and MHPS announced on April 2 it has now been synced to the grid and is currently operating at full load—ahead of schedule. Commercial operations at T-Point 2 are now expected to begin in July 2020.…

How the U.S. Is Investing in Advanced Coal Technologies

June 11, 2019

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The U.S. is investing heavily to ensure its future coal-fired power fleet will be cleaner, more efficient, and more flexible, experts said at the 9th International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies in Houston on June 4.

The conference—which is taking place this week in the U.S. for the first time—is spearheaded by the IEA Clean Coal Centre (IEA CCC), an autonomous collaborative partnership organized under the International Energy Agency (IEA), and co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. Energy Association (USEA), which represents 150 members across the U.S. energy sector, is also backing the conference. As Andrew Minchener, general manager of the IEA CCC, noted, the conference and workshop are modes of “knowledge transfer and capacity building,” but the event also serves as a “clear and impartial dialogue on the relative merits on coal technologies.”

For the most part, discussions at the conference about the future of coal were framed by the drastic changes affecting the energy sector, including concerted decarbonization efforts bolstered by the Paris Agreement, that threaten to diminish coal’s share in global energy demand.…

India’s Coal Future Hinges on Advanced Ultrasupercritical Breakthroughs

June 7, 2019

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India is striving to conserve coal and slash its carbon emissions. The country which depended on coal for 56% of its total capacity of 356 GW as of May 2019, wants to reduce coal’s share to 45% of a planned capacity expansion to 480 GW by the end of 2022. During that period, it will also work to increase its share of renewables from the current 22% to 37%.

Leading the expansion is one of India’s largest power companies, NTPC. Formerly known as National Thermal Power Corp., the 70% state-owned company in 2010 became a “maharatna” company—a special designation that means it has greater autonomy from the central government in decision-making. Furthermore, the designation allows NTPC to incur unlimited capital expenditures, enter into joint ventures or strategic alliances, and restructure or raise debt from capital markets. It also has allowed the company, which currently has a fleet of 53 GW, to diversify, and by 2032, NTPC aims to make non-fossil-fuel-based generation capacity 30% of its portfolio.…

$28 Million in DOE Funding Available for Advanced Energy Systems R&D

June 13, 2017

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The Department of Energy (DOE) is offering approximately $ 28 million in cost-shared funding for research and development of advanced energy systems. According to three separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), the department is looking for research into advanced combustion systems, advanced turbines, and gasification.

“Advanced energy conversion systems are designed to enable efficient, low-cost, and near-zero emission energy from existing and new fossil fuel power plants,” a DOE release says.

University Turbine Systems Research

The University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) program has available $ 5.15 million to fund laboratory/bench scale research and development projects in six technical topic areas:

Low-NOx combustion technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
Advanced cooling technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
Advanced materials technology development for “air-breathing” advanced turbines
Big data analytics
Advanced instrumentation
Pressure gain combustion

DOE anticipates awarding funding for six to nine projects. Up to three awards are expected in each of the first three topic areas, and one per topic in the last three areas.…