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GE Turbines Will Power 1.2-GW Malaysian Plant

March 25, 2021

The post GE Turbines Will Power 1.2-GW Malaysian Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

General Electric (GE) will provide two of the company’s 9HA.01 gas turbines along with other equipment and services to a new power plant in Malaysia. The company on March 24 announced it secured an order from a consortium of three groups, including Mitsubishi Corp., that is serving as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) lead for the project.

The 1.2-GW Pulau Indah Power Plant is sited in Selangor, Malaysia. The two-block combined cycle plant will feature a modular configuration, according to GE. It also will include an STF-D650 steam turbine, a W88 generator, and a once-through heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). GE said the “HRSG technology is a key enabler in advanced water-steam cycles delivering higher combined cycle efficiency, while GE’s 9HA is the company’s flagship and most efficient 50 Hz gas turbine.”

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Texas PUC Outlines Review of Response to Power Disaster

March 12, 2021

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The regulatory group that oversees Texas’ deregulated power market has identified eight areas the agency will focus on as it continues to study the state’s response to a mid-February storm that left millions of electricity customers without power for several days.

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas on March 12, as part of an open meeting, listed items including weatherization of generation equipment, and also a study on how to improve the state’s power market, as part of its ongoing research into the causes and effects of the extreme winter weather on Texas’ power transmission and distribution system.

“I am proud of the work PUC staff is doing to shed light on the issues that combined to interrupt power for millions of Texans—we must make sure it never happens again,” said Arthur D’Andrea, the PUC chair who was appointed to the post after former PUC head DeAnn Walker resigned March 1, one of several resignations or firings—including the head of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator—of officials in the wake of the February power outages.…

Is Nuclear Power Poised for a Resurgence?

February 14, 2021

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The post Is Nuclear Power Poised for a Resurgence? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Since 1990, nuclear power has consistently supplied about 19% to 20% of the electricity used in the U.S. However, very few nuclear plants have been added to the U.S. fleet over that time. Currently, the only new nuclear project in the U.S. is Southern Company’s Plant Vogtle expansion, which is expected to add two new reactors to the grid by the end of next year. Still, there are 50 reactors under construction around the world—12 of them in China—and several countries are considering adding more.

“There has been a fundamental shift in the thinking around the world. As climate change has become front and center as the number one issue globally—environmental issue and societal issue—the recognition that nuclear can and should play a part in helping us overcome the climate change problems has shifted a lot of thinking in governments that I talk to around the world, but also even with people that are environmental-minded—people that have been, in the past, anti-nuclear—and start seeing that nuclear now is and should be part of the solution.…

The POWER Interview: AI, Big Data, and Efficiency

February 8, 2021

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The post The POWER Interview: AI, Big Data, and Efficiency appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the power generation sector has a goal of making electricity production both more efficient, and secure. Developing ways to more quickly analyze ever-larger amounts of data is driving innovation among those people responsible for the operation of power plants and generation equipment.

Many companies are involved in the research and development of technologies to support AI and ML. Beyond Limits, a California company launched in 2014, works in several markets, from energy—including the power generation and oil and gas exploration sectors—to manufacturing and industrial, as well as healthcare. The company says, “Our mission is to create automated solutions with human-like powers of reasoning that amplify the talents and capabilities of people. We specialize in complex challenges in extreme environments.”

Stephen Kwan, the company’s director of product management for Power Generation/Grid Management, provided POWER with his insight into AI and ML as it applies to the electricity sector, with a look at what the future holds as the power generation landscape continues to change.…

The POWER Interview: Climate Change and Renewable Energy in 2021

January 31, 2021

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The post The POWER Interview: Climate Change and Renewable Energy in 2021 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

With the start of a new year comes new year resolutions, new campaigns, new administrations, new policy goals, and new initiatives. To kick off 2021, POWER talked with Jens Wolf, vice president and general manager of Europe at Enviva, a renewable energy company and the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets.

Wolf has more than 20 years of experience working across the value chain within the power, heat, and biomass industries, and has expertise in renewable energy, sustainability, and new market development. From his office in the UK, he works with customers, regulators, policy-makers and external stakeholders to grow his company’s market and customer footprint, and expand the use of its sustainable wood biomass product across Europe.

Wolf previously was the commercial director for Drax, where he was responsible for the development, logistics, trading, and sourcing of biomass on behalf of the company. Prior…

Inline Oil Condition Analysis on Power Generation Engines

January 29, 2021

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The post Inline Oil Condition Analysis on Power Generation Engines appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Oil and lubricants play a critical role in the operation of natural gas and biogas power generation engines, for example, in combined cycle (CC) and combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The oil condition gives valuable insight in the running status of the engine and many critical failures can be flagged.

Benefits of Real-time Monitoring

Conventionally, plant engineers operating and maintaining high-value assets, such as gas engines for power generation, rely on taking oil samples periodically and sending them to a laboratory for analysis. That whole supply chain is very laborious, but more importantly, it introduces a large time lag in the reporting of the oil condition that is lubricating critical parts of the system.

With real-time monitoring (Figure 1) of the oil condition, engineers and operators can have more intimate knowledge of their high-value power generation engine. The cost of ownership vastly decreases by having faster reaction time to failures or trends, by having effective maintenance and service planning, and allowing the plant engineers to extend oil change intervals and minimize engine downtime.…