July PDF

July 2009 Vol. 153 No.
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRY

www.powermag.com
Vol. 153 No. 7 July 2009
Advanced Digital Control

Architectures Save Time
and Money
Designing an Ultrasupercritical
Steam Turbine
The Odd Couple:
Renewables & Transmission
Biomass Cofiring
Cleans Your Coal Plant
ELECTRIC POWER
Conference Reports
BOILERS, TEXAS TOUGH

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boilers tough enough for any specs.
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www.rentechboilers.com
Fired Package Boilers / Wasteheat Boilers / Heat Recovery Steam Generators

Maintenance & Service Strategies / Boiler Repair Services / SCR and CO Systems
CIRCLE 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Established 1882 Vol. 153 No. 7
July 2009
www.powermag.com
TK
On the cover
Image courtesy iStockphoto.com
COVER STORY: PLANT CONTROLS

28 Digital Networks Prove Reliable, Reduce Costs
Digital bus communications are a no-brainer: They save time, materials, and money
during construction and plant operation. This case study of Newmont Gold Minings
200-MW TS Power Plant provides details of the control architecture, equipment and
communication protocols selection, and many of the lessons learned during design,
construction, and commissioning.
SPECIAL REPORT
STEAM TURBINES
34 Designing an Ultrasupercritical Steam Turbine

One proven way to reduce carbon emissions today is to use the most efficient equipment available. Coal-fired steam generation equipment operating at ultrasupercritical
steam conditions can deliver a net plant thermal efficiency of over 44%; efficiencies at
or above 48% are expected within the next decade.
FEATURES
ELECTRIC POWER 2009: WHERE THE GENCOS MEET
40 Power Industry Needs to Do a Better Job of Educating and Messaging

Heres what this years ELECTRIC POWER Conference keynote speaker and Power
Industry Executive Roundtable panelists said about cap and trade, NERC standards
compliance, the publics poor understanding of the industry, and more.
46 The Growing Role of Waste-to-Energy in the U.S.

ELECTRIC POWER included a preconference workshop on biomass fundamentals and
applications plus a conference session on biomass. As you can tell from the story in
this issue on biomass cofiring and another cofiring story online in COAL POWER (see
sidebar, next page), burning waste is a trend thats gaining momentum.
48 Carbon Control: The Long Road Ahead

At this years ELECTRIC POWER Conference, three sessions tackled issues related to
CO2 policy and capture and sequestration technologies. Heres a look at some of the
challenges ahead.
52 Technology Could Deliver 90% Hg Reduction from Coal

Whereas CO2 control technology is in its infancy, mercury control is poised for an adolescent growth spurt. Removal percentages are headed higher than most might have
imagined was possible. Achieving them, however, wont be cheap or easy.
WELDING PROCESSES
58 Improved Filler Metal Enables Higher-Temperature Dissimilar Metal Welds

EPRI recently developed and sponsored the commercialization of a new filler metal.
Its first application is the fabrication of boiler tubes for American Electric Powers
ultrasupercritical John J. Turk, Jr. Power Plant.
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
TRANSMISSION PLANNING
More than an oil. A business tool.
If you think of oil as a line item, or

simply an operating cost, perhaps its
time to think of it as something more:
an opportunity. Better lubricants can
smooth the way to maximized
productivity, reduced expenses and
less down time.
62 The Odd Couple: Renewables and Transmission

An industry analyst argues that a revolutionary approach to the generation and
transmission planning systemincluding new system operation policies and procedureswill be required if the U.S. is to reach its ambitious renewable goals.
TK
COFIRING BIOMASS
68 Biomass Cofiring: Another Way to Clean Your Coal

Biomass can contribute from 2% to 30% of the total heat input needed for generation,
thereby replacing a sizable portion of the typical coal supply. For that reason alone,
cofiring should be viewed as a serious strategy for reducing carbon emissions and
meeting a renewable portfolio standard.
MORE POWER STORIES ONLINE
Which brings us to Mobil SHC. A full

family of scientically engineered
supreme-performance lubricants
designed to stay on the job 6 to 8
times longer than mineral oils in
severe conditions. Developed to
provide better protection of your
capital investment; extend machine
life; and reduce energy consumption.
Visit our online sister publicationsCOAL POWER (www.coalpowermag.com)

and MANAGING POWER (www.managingpowermag.com)for more industry
news, feature stories, and opinion. In the May/June COAL POWER:
Commercial Experience with Concrete-Friendly Mercury Sorbents

Better Combustion Airflow Monitoring at the Hunan Yiyang Power Plant
A New Era in Power Plant Control Performance
FirstEnergy Retools Coal Plant to Burn Biomass
and more
All of which adds up to one thing:

increased productivity.
Mobil SHC products are endorsed
for use in over 5,800 applications by
more than 1,100 major equipment
builders around the world. Theyre
backed by state-of-the-art services
and technical support. And theyre
reason enough to rethink the role
lubricants play in your operation.
Dont just make it run. Make it y.
For more information on Mobil SHC,
go to mobilindustrial.com.
2009 Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Mobil logotype, Mobil SHC

and the Pegasus design are registered trademarks of Exxon
Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
SHC
DEPARTMENTS
6
SPEAKING OF POWER
Our Integrity Is Not for Sale
13
8
GLOBAL MONITOR
8
8
10
11
13
14
15
16
Mitsubishi Wraps Up Development of J-Class Mega Turbine

Sweden Selects Site of First Permanent Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository
Ethiopia Completes Construction of Africas Tallest Dam
Qatar Starts Construction on Middle Easts Largest Power and Water Plant
Smart Turbine Blades to Improve Wind Power
Energy Storage Efforts Making Progress
PG&E Makes a Deal for Space-Based Power
POWER Digest
18 FOCUS ON O&M
18 How Company Size Affects NERC Compliance

18 Optimize Gas Turbine Performance Using Acoustic Simulation Software
23 Extreme Oil Changes
26 LEGAL & REGULATORY
Too Many Fingers in the Smart Grid Pie?

72 NEW PRODUCTS
80 COMMENTARY
Managing Solars Revenue Impact on Utilities

By Mike Taylor, director of research and education for the Solar Electric Power
Association.
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
Power plant turbines are built to run. But what if they could y?
New turbines are placing increased demands on oil. Productivity is at stake. And Mobil Industrial Lubricants has responded.
With Mobil DTE 700 and Mobil DTE 800. Both are specially formulated for demanding gas and steam turbine applications. And
designed to help the latest generation of high efciency turbines not just run, but y. Visit www.mobilindustrial.com for more.
2009 Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Mobil logotype and the Pegasus design are trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRY
Now incorporating
and
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POWER July 2009
Leading the field!

SOLVAir Products, at the forefront of air pollution control.
For more than 20 years, SOLVAir Products have focused on cleaning SOX, NOX, HCl and Hg from stack emissions
at coal-fired power plants. Whether its products are used in wet or dry scrubbers or Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI)
systems, the SOLVAir Group continues to remain at the forefront of air pollution control by offering the most
effective solutions for the treatment of stack emissions.
Abatement of SO2 is the primary aim of SOLVAir Select 300, a new sodium bicarbonate-based product specifically
designed for air pollution control. Produced at our Green River, Wyoming plant, its use can help power plants
achieve compliance with SO2 reduction regulations. Using DSI and Select 300 can provide results that are truly
amazing.
SOLVAir Select 200 trona is the product of choice for DSI systems. As the only producer of SOLVAir Select 200 refined
trona in the U.S, Solvay Chemicals, Inc. can provide product when and where needed, now and into the future.
At Solvay Chemicals SOLVAir group, we pay close attention to the needs of the marketplace. For more detailed
information on the properties and applications of these and other SOLVAir products, go to www.solvair.us or call us
at 800-SOLVAY-C.
The SOLVAir Group

At the forefront of air pollution control.
PRODUCTS
Solvay Chemicals, Inc.
1.800.SOLVAY C (800.765.8292)
www.solvair.us
Copyright 2009, Solvay Chemicals, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chemical Phamaceutical Group
SPEAKING OF POWER
Our Integrity Is Not for Sale

was putting the finishing touches on this months editorial
when I received an email from a reader who owns a company
that serves the power industry. He was very complimentary
of an article I recently wrote. Goes without saying, I was
thinking to myself. However, actually saying it goes a long way
in my book, and I enjoy hearing from readersat least most
of the time.
Wide-Ranging Reader Responses

I especially appreciate readers who take the time to send me an
email about something they learned from reading POWER that
helped solve a nagging problem, or about some new insight into
the future of the power industry they gained. I also enjoy the
sometimes spirited interactions with readers (although the periodic death threats less so). Even messages identifying an error
(thankfully, few) or offering the readers unique opinions of the
power industry are always read and enjoyed. Ive even had readers ask me to retract an editorial I wrote, although its a mystery
how I go about disavowing an opinion I still hold. I also freely
admit that many of the most critical letters often plant the seeds
for future POWER articles.
First among such ideals

is independence . . . to have
no other guides for its opinions
and policies but truth and the
sound interests of the field
it serves.
The second half of this particular readers email included a
question that Ive never been asked before: How much did it
cost company X to have that article published in POWER?
My first reaction to the question isnt fit to print. The implication is that the POWER editors run a monthly auction for editorial space in the magazine and that the high bidders will find
their articles in the next issue. Nothing could be further from the
truth. Yet, this inquiry, made in all seriousness, indicates to me
that we havent done a very good job of explaining our editorial
rules of the road.
Integrity and Independence

POWER, now in its 127th year of continuous publication, remains
the longest-running industry magazine in the U.S., and perhaps
6
the world. From its early issues, POWERs stated editorial policy was one of integrity and independence. In 1924, James H.
McGraw, then president of the McGraw-Hill Co., unambiguously
stated his editorial expectations for this magazine: Industrial
and technical journals must be something more than publications run solely for profit. They must, if they are to fill their
legitimate place, have their own ideals . . . and adhere unflinchingly to them. First among such ideals is independence . . . to
have no other guides for its opinions and policies but truth and
the sound interests of the field it serves.
We serve the power industry by publishing a mixture of industry-contributed and staff-researched and -written articles each
month. Contributed articles undergo a rigorous review process
followed by multiple rounds of editing to ensure that they meet
our very high quality standards for content and readability. I
filter out the majority of article proposals submitted because
theyre either a weak case study, they dont present validated
results, or there isnt a member of the power plant staff willing
to go on the record verifying the results.
The good news is that you dont have to be a professional
writer to have your article selected for publication. If you have
the bones of a good story, well help you put the meat on those
bones, even if it means a staff editor must visit your plant and
write the entire article for you (though it has to be a really
fresh and meaty story to merit the time and resources to go that
far). My sole interest is publishing the best possible collection
of articles each month. (For more information on submitting a
story or a story idea, download our editorial guidelines from the
About Us page. Youll find the About Us link at the bottom of the
powermag.com home page.)
The Great Divide

Finally, we believe that quality journalism requires a wide separation between those who sell and those who write. I have had
the privilege of being POWERs editor-in-chief for more than six
years, and Im only the ninth to hold that position since the
magazines inception. Im proud to say that I have never been
asked to compromise my journalistic integrity by publishing an
article in return for advertising or any other form of revenue. The
entire sales and editorial staff remains committed to conducting
our business in conformance with this bedrock principal. Unfortunately, pay to play is a common practice elsewhere in this
industry.
I believe the secret to the success of POWER over the years
is the magazines entire staff remaining true to these principals
and practices. Without our editorial integrity and independent
coverage of the industry, we would not enjoy the trust and respect of the industry, as we have for 127 years. The editorial
content of POWER, and that of its sister publications, is not for
sale at any price.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, Editor-in-Chief
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
GE Energy
NOW SHOWING
Cleaner burning coal technology is here, and innovation from GE Energy
is playing a leading role. IGCC offers a power solution that taps the globes
abundant coal supply, while reducing emissions and enabling carbon capture
retrot. The largest cleaner coal facility in the world, Duke Energys 630MW
IGCC Edwardsport, Indiana, power plant (now under construction), is
advancing the evolution of proven IGCC technology to the next stage.
GE Energys commitment to sustainable solutions is helping
to transform coal into a star attraction. Visit
us at ge-energy.com/gasication
to nd out more.
GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR GLOBAL MONITOR
GLOBAL MONITOR
Mitsubishi Wraps Up
Development of J-Class
Mega Turbine
This March, Japans Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) quietly completed development of the J-series gas turbinea
machine that has been extolled in the
turbo-machinery world for its ability to
produce one of the worlds largest power
generation capacities and highest thermal
efficiencies. When commercial production
begins in 2011as MHI expectsthe Jseries will be the latest in a new generation of gas turbines, contending for global
sales against heavyweights from General
Electric, Siemens, and Alstom.
The J-series is already being considered the best in MHIs fleet (Figure 1).
Designed to operate at blistering temperatures of up to 1,600C at the turbine inlet, the 60-hertz J-series turbine
achieves a rated power output of about
320 MW (ISO basis) and 460 MW combined-cycle power generation. According
to the company, it is able to withstand
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1
8
1. Monster showdown.
Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries earlier this year completed
development of a 320-MW J-series gas turbine (shown here) whose thermal efficiency is
expected to be well above 60%. The J-series
is expected to be commercially operational by
2011around the same time Siemens will
have completed both phases of the H-class
turbines testing program. Courtesy: MHI
temperatures 100 degrees higher than

the companys existing 1,500 C-class Gseries gas turbine because of a low-thermal-conductivity thermal barrier coating
technology and improvements in cooling
efficiency. The adoption of an enhanced
three-dimensional design contributes to
improved aerodynamics. In the J-series
gas turbine, moreover, the compressor is
designed to provide a higher compression
ratio, while the combustor carries on the
steam-cooled technology originally developed for the G-series turbine.
But the J-series also adopts new technologies derived from an ongoing Japanese
project that seeks to develop core technologies for a 1,700 C-class gas turbine,
MHI says. Gas turbine combined-cycle
(GTCC) systems featuring the resulting turbine are expected to achieve well above
60% power generation thermal efficiency
and generate 1.2 times more power than a
GTCC using a G-series gas turbinewhich,
as MHI points out, is the largest gas turbine commercially available.
So how will it compare with mega
turbines from Europe and the U.S.? The
J-series could go head-to-head with
Siemens H-class SGT5-8000H, a 340-MW
mega turbine and 530-MW combinedcycle power plant whose thermal efficiency exceeds 60%, as Siemens
claims on its website. But the 50-hertz
turbine, based on a combined Siemens
and Westinghouse gas design, has the
advantage of time: Already installed at
the Irsching 4 gas power plant in Bavaria, Germany, the prototype turbine
has been fired and synchronized to the
grid, with full-load testing starting in
2/19/08 10:54:13 AM
www.powermag.com
April 2008. The validation program will

continue until mid-2009. Then, extension of the simple-cycle test plant to
a high-efficiency combined-cycle plant
begins in phase two of the program,
with transfer to the plant operator,
E.ON, expected in 2011.
Meanwhile, GEs advanced combinedcycle system capable of breaking the 60%
efficiency barrierthe H Systemcontinues making headway around the world.
Following a prototype test, the first 50hertz system began operating in 2003 at
Baglan Bay in South Wales, UK. Last July,
the second system began service at Tokyo
Electric Power Co.s (TEPCO) Futtsu-4 plant.
TEPCO is in the process of installing a second system at that plant and this January
received its third system. Meanwhile, the
first two 60-hertz H systemswith a net
rated output of 775 MWare being installed at the Inland Empire Energy Center
in Southern California.
Sweden Selects Site of

First Permanent Spent
Nuclear Fuel Repository
In early June, as U.S. Energy Secretary
Steven Chu confirmed to a House Subcommittee that Yucca Mountain repository was, without doubt, off the table
and that a blue ribbon panel would further advise the government on what it
should do with its high-level nuclear
waste, Sweden announced the site of
what could be the worlds first permanent
spent fuel repository.
The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste
Management Co. (SKB)an independent
company owned by nuclear plant operatorsselected Forsmark in the municipality of sthammar as the site where nuclear
waste from Swedens 10 nuclear plants
will be permanently stored. The selection
of the site culminates almost 20 years of
work during which SKB conducted surveys
throughout Sweden and feasibility studies
in eight municipalities.
The repository relies on three protective
barriers to keep radioactive substances
from spreading into the environment. The
spent nuclear fuel is first encapsulated in
copper canisters that are nearly 5 meters
(m) long and over 1 m in diameter. The
outer casing is a 5-cm-thick layer of copper to protect against corrosion, and inside
is a nodular cast iron insert for strength.
When filled with the spent fuel, these are
expected to weigh between 25 metric tons
POWER July 2009
PROTECTING POWER
PLANT CHIMNEYS
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chimneys against fire. Why
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Research and feasibility studies

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And it makes FGD chimneys safer.

Fire tests by Hadek show that Pennguard linings
protect chimneys in case of fire. At temperatures
of over 500C (932F), alloy-clad flues are at risk
of collapse, and FRP flues are likely to catch fire,
even with fire retardants.
In 1996, an FGD fire at one US power station caused
1,000C (1,832F) temperatures inside a steel chimney.
The Pennguard lining successfully protected the
chimney from collapse.
Pennguard linings could save your chimney from
fire. Contact Hadek for your copy of the Test Report:
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a warranty concerning product performance.
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GLOBAL MONITOR
2.
Spent and buried in Sweden.
Sweden may house the worlds first permanent

nuclear waste repository if regulators approve
the Forsmark site selected in early June by the
Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management
Co. Final disposal of the spent nuclear fuel will
entail using three protective barriers. The spent
fuel will first be encapsulated in copper. The impermeable copper canisters will then be placed
in crystalline basement rock at a depth of about
500 meters, embedded in bentonite clay. After
disposal, the tunnels and rock caverns will be
sealed. Courtesy: SKB
and 27 metric tons. The copper canister

will then be placed in crystalline basement
rock at a depth of about 500 m, embedded
in bentonite clay (Figure 2). When all the
spent nuclear fuel has been deposited in
the crystalline basement, the tunnels and
shafts will be filled in with swelling clay
or a mixture of crushed rock and clay. The
system will also rely on the Clab facility in
Oskarshamn for interim storage of nuclear
waste. The fuel will lie there in large cooling water basins for 30 to 40 years.
SKB President Claes Thegerstrm said
the site offered rock at the repository level that was dry and had few fractures. The
Forsmark site also won over the secondchoice site at Laxemar, in the municipality
of Oskarshamn, because it would require
less space compared to a repository in
Laxemar. This means that less rock needs
to be excavated and less material will be
needed for backfilling, Thegerstrm said.
SKB said it will now begin building surface facilities in the existing industrial area
and proceed to complete applications for
permits that will be reviewed by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Environmental Court. The applications will be
submitted in 2010 and include the environmental impact assessment and a safety
analysis for the Forsmark repository. If all
goes as planned, construction could begin
in 2016 and the first canister could be deposited in the repository in 2022 or 2024.
10
Ethiopia Completes
Construction of Africas
Tallest Dam
Ethiopia, the landlocked nation in East Africa from which key tributaries to the Nile
River originate, completed construction of
the continents highest dam, the 188-meter
Tekez Arch Dam (Figure 3) in February. Located in the Northern Tigre region of Ethiopia on the Tekez Riverwhich has carved
one of the worlds deepest canyonsthe
dam eclipses the previous record height
of 185 m for an African dam, held by the
Katse Arch Dam in Lesotho.
The dam is part of the Ethiopian governmentfunded $365 million Tekez hydroelectric power project that is being
built by state-owned Ethiopian Electric
Power Corp. (EEPCo) and the Chinese National Water Resources and Hydropower
Engineering Corp. It entails, along with
construction of the arch dam, construction of two river diversion tunnels, power
waterways, an underground powerhouse
containing four 75-MW Francis turbines,
a 230-kV substation, and a 105-km transmission line to connect the project to
the national grid at Mekele. The project
is expected to begin generating 300 MW
from the start of the East African monsoon
season this July, bringing Ethiopias total
generating capacity to 1,170 MW.
The Tekez dam has been dubbed the

Three Gorges of Africa, but it is 10 m
taller than the Chinese damand much
more controversial. Nonprofit group International Rivers says that not only will
it cause many of the same environmental
problems associated with the Three Gorges
and other large dams, but the depth of the
canyon in which the dam lies will also
likely contribute to major sedimentation
at the dam site once the region is flooded.
Since the start of construction in 2002,
a massive landslide has already occurred
near the dam site in April 2008, forcing
developers to spend an additional $42
million on retaining walls to keep slopes
from eroding.
Ethiopians, meanwhile, have voiced
frustration at their governments determination to construct 10 hydro power plants
worth more than $13 billion within the
next 10 years. The countrys media say the
nation is suffering a chronic power deficit
of up to 120 MW that is putting a 1% dent
in its gross domestic product. The government reasons that hydroelectric potential
in Ethiopiaa mountainous country, but
one that is also periodically stricken by
severe droughtis estimated to exceed
40,000 MW. Hurrying to alleviate shortages and possibly supply power to the rest of
power-starved East Africa, it plans to com-
3. Dammed if you do. In February, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. (EEPCo) completed construction of Africas highest concrete arch dam on the Tekez River, a Nile tributary
that flows through one of the deepest canyons in the world. The 188-m Tekez Arch Dam is
part of a $365 million hydropower project that will add 300 MW to Ethiopias grid. The nation is
reportedly suffering chronic power shortages. The government plans to meet future needs with
the construction of several mega-dams within the next 10 years, hoping to put threeincluding
the Tekez hydropower projectonline by 2010. Courtesy: EEPCo
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
GLOBAL MONITOR
plete (along with the 300-MW Tekez project) the 420-MW Gilgel-Gibe II project and
the unique 460-MW Beles project, which
taps water from Lake Tana, by 2010.
Qatar Starts Construction

on Middle Easts Largest
Power and Water Plant
4. Gas and a glowing future. Gas-rich Qatar, whose economy is booming despite the
global downturn, is planning ahead to meet its anticipated power needsand those of neighboring Gulf states, which are struggling to meet power demand. It recently began construction
of the $3.9 billion Ras Girtas Power and Water project, which will produce 2,730 MWh as well
as 63 million gallons of desalinated water a day. Also in the works is the Ras Abu Fontas project
(shown here), which has a production capacity of 45 million gallons of water per day. That project will be completed this December. Courtesy: Qatar Electricity and Water Co.
The gas-rich Persian Gulf state of Qatar

in May commenced construction of the
regions largest power and water plant,
a massive project comprising eight gas
turbine generators, eight heat-recovery
steam generators, four steam turbine generators, and 10 desalination units. When
the first phase wraps up next year and
the second is completed as anticipated
in April 2011, the $3.9 billion Ras Girtas
Power and Water project in the Ras Laffan
industrial zone will produce 2,730 MWh as
well as 63 million gallons of desalinated
water a day.
Qatar is in the midst of a construction
frenzy despite the global economic downturn. And it is planning ahead, making
the Ras Girtas Power and Water projecta
joint effort between the Qatar Electricity
and Water Co. (QWEC), a consortium of
Japans Mitsui and Frances Suez Energy
International, and Qatar Petroleumone
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in a string of planned projects. Notable among these projects
will be the Ras Abu Fontas project (Figure 4), a desalination
plant that will produce 45 million gallons of water per day, when
completed this December.
There is no shortage of water or electricity supply and we
do not have any problem meeting the demand, QWEC General
Manager Fahad Hamad Al Mohannadi told reporters recently. Actually, we are ahead of schedule. The water project we are developing now is mainly intended to meet future demand in the next
three to four years with real estate and industrial development
moving fast.
But experts suggest that Qatar is positioning itself to provide bulk power in the Middle East. Business Monitor International expects the state, whose current installed capacity sits
at about 9,000 MW, will increase power generation by an astounding 193.5% before 2018almost at the top of the range
for the Middle East/North Africa region. The Middle East has a
current installed capacity of 152 GW97% of which is thermal
generationaccounting for 3.5% of global electricity generation. According to Nomura Middle East Energy and Power, the
regionand in particular Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates
is already struggling to meet its power needs, and overall demand
increases are expected to average 6% from 2009 to 2020. Making
matters more complex, the Gulf Cooperation Councila European
Unionlike trade bloc created by the six Arab states in the Persian Gulfkeeps power costs in the region artificially low with
subsidies that vary, on average, from 60% to 70%.
Finally, the regionwith the exception of Qatarexperiences
crippling fuel shortages, even though it holds 43% of global crude
oil reserves and 23% of the worlds gas reserves, according to Dr.
Adnan Shihab-Eldin, former OPEC secretary general. The reason for
this, he told Emirates Business on the sidelines of a recent utility
summit, is that the bulk of the Gulfs reserves is associated gas,
which is fully committed until after 2020. Non-associated gas is
found in few placeslike Qatar, which is still restricted by a gas
moratorium. The dilemma will force governments to break their
existing export contracts or find new fuel sources, he said.
5. A smart curve. Purdue doctoral student Jonathan White holds

a cross section of a wind turbine blade like the one used in research to
improve the efficiency of turbines and prevent damage to blades from
high winds. An engineering team has developed a technique that uses
sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades. Such sensors could be instrumental in future
turbine blades that have control surfaces and flaps like those on an airplanes wings to change the aerodynamic characteristics of the blades
for better control. Courtesy: Purdue University/Andrew Hancock
U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDAs) Agriculture Research

Service laboratory in Bushland, Texas. Personnel from Sandia and
the USDA operate the research wind turbines at the Texas site.
Such sensors could be instrumental in future turbine blades
that have control surfaces and simple flaps like those on an
airplanes wings to change the aerodynamic characteristics
Smart Turbine Blades

to Improve Wind Power
Engineers at Purdue University and Sandia National Laboratories have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind
turbine blades. Their achievement could one day improve the
efficiency of wind turbines by providing the blades smart
structure with necessary data to adjust to rapidly changing
wind conditions.
The ultimate goal is to feed information from sensors into
an active control system that precisely adjusts components to
optimize efficiency, said Purdue doctoral student Jonathan
White, who is leading the research with Douglas Adams, a professor of mechanical engineering and director of Purdues Center
for Systems Integrity. The system also could help improve wind
turbine reliability by providing critical real-time information to
the control system to prevent catastrophic turbine damage from
high winds.
The engineers embedded sensors called uniaxial and triaxial
accelerometers inside a wind turbine blade as the blade was being built. Their findings show that using a trio of sensors and
estimator model software developed by White accurately reveals how much force is being exerted on the blades. Purdue and
Sandia have applied for a provisional patent on the technique.
The blade is now being tested on a research wind turbine at the
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com

13
GLOBAL MONITOR
of the blades for better control, the researchers said. Because these flaps would
be changed in real time to respond to
changing winds, constant sensor data
would be critical.
The aim is to operate the generator
and the turbine in the most efficient way,
but this is difficult because wind speeds
fluctuate, Adams said. You want to be
able to control the generator or the pitch
of the blades to optimize energy capture
by reducing forces on the components in
the wind turbine during excessively high
winds and increase the loads during low
winds. In addition to improving efficiency,
this should help improve reliability. The
wind turbine towers can be 200 feet tall
or more, so it is very expensive to service
and repair damaged components.
Sensor data in a smart system might
also be used to better control the turbine speed by automatically adjusting
the blade pitch while also commanding
the generator to take corrective steps, he
said. Or, it could be used to design more
resilient blades because they are capable
of measuring acceleration occurring in
various directions, which is necessary to
accurately characterize the blades bending and twisting and small vibrations near
the tip that eventually cause fatigue and
possible failure.
The sensors also measure two types
of acceleration. One type, dynamic acceleration, results from gusting winds,
while the other, called static acceleration, results from gravity and steady
background winds. It is essential to accurately measure both forms of acceleration
to estimate forces exerted on the blades.
Research is ongoing, and the engineers
are now pursuing the application of their
system to advanced, next-generation turbine blades that are more curved than
conventional blades (Figure 5). This more
complex shape makes it more challenging
to apply the technique.
to storage technologies such as water reservoirs, flywheels, hydrogen production,

or grid-connected batteries.
The bill would certainly boost growth in
the U.S. energy storage market. But even
without government incentivesdriven
primarily by venture capital investment
the global market is poised to grow from
$329 million in 2008 to a stunning $4.1
billion by 2018, Pike Research says in a
recent report. About a dozen technologies that are vying for a piece of the
utility-scale energy storage market will
be favored, especially advanced battery
technologies such as lithium ion and sodium sulfur batteries, pumped hydro, and
compressed air energy storage, the group
concludes.
Researchers around the world, meanwhile, are reporting breakthroughs on
existing and novel technologies. The
University of St. Andrews in the UK, collaborating with colleges from Strathclyde
and Newcastle, in May claimed to have
designed a new type of air-fueled battery
that can provide up to 10 times the energy
storage when compared with designs currently available.
The STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell capacity is based on rechargeable lithium batteries, which are currently composed of a
graphite negative electrode, an organic
electrolyte, and lithium cobalt oxide as
the positive electrode. Instead of lithium
from the layered intercalation compound
(lithium cobalt oxide), the STAIR uses
a porous carbon electrode. The oxygen,

which will be drawn in through a surface
of the battery exposed to air, reacts within
the pores of the carbon to discharge the
battery. The university has discovered
in the course of its four-year study that
the carbon components interaction with
air can be repeated, creating a cycle of
charge and discharge (Figure 6).
Initial results from the project found
a capacity to weight ratio of 1,000 milliamp-hours per gram of carbon (mAh/g),
while recent work has obtained results of
up to 4,000 mAh/g, the researchers said.
The researchers expect that the battery
is about five years away from commercial
availability, however.
In May, a Canadian research team at
the University of Waterloo reported it had
laid the groundwork for a lithium-sulfur
battery that could store and deliver more
than three times the power of conventional lithium ion batteries. As reported in the
online issue of Nature Materials, the team
overcame the challenge of keeping the
electrically active sulfur in contact with
a conductor, such as carbon. The team
choseat a nanoscale levela member
of a highly structured and porous carbon
family called mesoporous carbon.
Filling the tiny voids then proved simple: Sulfur was heated and melted. Once
it came into contact with the carbon, it
was drawn or imbibed into the channels
by capillary forces, where it solidified and
shrunk to form sulfur nanofibers. Scanning
6. Air-fueled battery. Researchers from the University of St. Andrews in the UK have
designed an air-fueled battery that they claim could last 10 times longer than designs currently
available. As the diagram of the lithium-air STAIR (St. Andrews Air) cell shows here, oxygen is
drawn from the air and reacts within the porous carbon to release the electrical charge. Courtesy:
University of St. Andrews
Lithium oxygen
compound
Lithium ion
Electron ow
Carbon
Energy Storage Efforts

Making Progress
The intensifying spotlight on renewable
energy seems to be casting a brighter
light on the energy storage problem, with
lawmakers, researchers, and investors
scrambling to seek out the most feasible
solution to bridge the intermittent nature
of renewable power sources. This June,
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced
the Storage Technology of Renewable and
Green Energy Act of 2009, a bill that would
issue a 20% tax credit for investments in
energy storage systems. If passed, the proposed legislation will also provide credits
14
Maganese oxide
(the catalyst)
Oxygen
Negative
electrode
Li+
Oxygen
Electrolyte
Positive electrode
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
GLOBAL MONITOR
electron microscope sections revealed
that all the spaces were uniformly filled
with sulfur, exposing an enormous surface
area of the active element to carbon and
driving the exceptional test results of the
new battery. The research team continues
to study the material to work out remaining challenges and refine the cathodes
architecture and performance.
PG&E Makes a Deal for

Space-Based Power
Just as reports emerged earlier this year
that NASA had abandoned, for lack of financial resources, its research into spacebased solar power that would be harnessed
via orbiting solar arrays beaming microwaves to earthly receivers (Figure 7), Californias Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E)
wrote the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) requesting its approval of a
power purchase agreement from a similar
technology.
The utility requested that the PUC
consider the 200 MW of power purchased
from Solarens new space solar power
project, anticipated for completion by
2016, as eligible for its Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). It said Solarens
breakthrough technology could provide baseload power from a space-based
technology that collects solar energy as
it travels in a geosynchronous orbit. The
energy would then be converted into radio frequency power via a high-efficiency
generator such as a magnetron or solid
state power amplifier, and then be transmitted from the satellites antenna to a
receiving station in Fresno County, Calif.
The primary obstacle would be the engineering challengenot the technologyof building the space-based plant
and the space solar power (SSP) satellites, which are much larger than current
kW-class communications satellites.
The only fuel-type hindrances the project would experience are brief blockages
of sunlight (from a few minutes to an hour
around midnight) on its solar arrays by
Earth during the spring and fall equinox
periods, PG&E told the PUC.
It also said the technology was fairly
mature, owing to 40 years of research in
the U.S. by NASA and the Deapartment of
Defense. Space solar technology is based
on components that are in use today or
being developed for use with satellite
communications, radar systems, and other
applications, the utility wrote. Consistent with its designation as an emerging
technology, these components must be
engineered, tested, manufactured and integrated into large-scale SSP satellite and
ground system architectures.
The only aspect that PG&E did not
chronicle in its letter to the state regula-
7. Reaching for the stars.
Pacific Gas & Electric asked the California Public Utilities

Commission this April to approve a 200-MW baseload power purchase agreement it made with
Solaren for space-based solar power. Solarens technology proposes to collect solar energy via
a satellite in space, convert it into radio waves, and beam it to Earth. The idea is not new: The
Department of Defense and NASA have been studying it for years. Both have said at some point
that it is not economically feasible. Source: NASA
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15
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tor were the costs involved, though it noted that the RPS statute
required utilities to procure the least cost, best fit eligible
renewable resources.
So how much could space power cost, and has it become more
economically feasible since NASA first studied it in the 1970s?
NASA had then estimated it would cost $300 billion to $1 trillion
to deliver the first kilowatt-hours to the ground. In 2007, when
the Pentagon laid out a roadmap for a 10-MW space-based power
demonstration, it suggested the project could be tested as soon
as 2012. It concluded that significant technological progress had
been achieved, making the approach more straightforwardbut
it would cost up to $10 billion, it said.
POWER Digest
News items of interest to power industry professionals.
CEZ to Build Czech Republics First Gas-Fired Plant. Czech
power utility CEZ plans to build an 800-MW steam/gas power
plant in the Melnk, in the Czech Republics Central Bohemia
region. The project will replace the output of three coal-fired
units in the region, two with an output of 110 MW and one with
an output of 500 MW. All three plants will reach the end of their
life by 2015.
GE Hitachi Signs Agreement with L&T for Indian Nukes. GE
Hitachi (GEH) and Indian engineering and construction company
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) signed a nuclear power plant development
agreement on May 19. GEH expects the agreement to help it establish an extensive network of local suppliers to help build a future
Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) in India. The agreement
was one of the first preliminary nuclear technology trade agreements to be announced by a U.S. majorityowned company since
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the U.S. and India adopted a civilian nuclear energy accord in October 2008. GEH had in March 2009 announced an ABWR development agreement with state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India.
Vattenfall Withdraws Interests from UK Nuclear New Builds.
Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall announced on
June 1 that it had decided to put any decisions about participating in the UKs nuclear new build program on hold for the next 12
to 18 months because of the economic recession and market situation. The company said that it would retain a significant interest in the UK energy market and monitor developments in nuclear
new builds, however. The companys plans to develop the UKs
wind asset portfolio are not affected by this decision, it said.
Masdar Connects 10-MW PV Plant to Abu Dhabi Grid. Abu
Dhabibased solar integrator Enviromena Power System on
June 1 announced the completion of the Masdar 10-MW Solar
Power Plant, the largest grid-connected solar system in the Middle East and North Africa. The 212,000square meter (55-acre)
solar system consists of 87,777 photovoltaic modules and will
produce 17,500 MWh of clean energy each year, offsetting approximately 15,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. The plant
will produce energy to power the initial construction activities of
Masdar City. The AED 185 million project was completed on time
and on budget. Enviromena added that it is also one of the most
quickly constructed and cost-efficient photovoltaic installations
in the world in terms of projected power output.
Brazilian Bank Covers GDF SUEZ for 68.5% of 3.3 Billion
Jirau Hydro Project. The Brazilian development bank BNDES
(Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econmico e Social) has
approved a 20-year loan of BRL7.2 billion (approximately 2.44
billion) for GDF SUEZ to finance the Jirau project, a 3,300-MW
greenfield hydroelectric power station. The loan is the largest
ever granted by the Brazilian development bank and covers 68.5%
of the total 3.3 billion investment in the Jirau plant. Jirau will
help address the growing demand for electricity in Brazil (about
4,500 MW per year) and is currently the largest energy infrastructure project in the country.
Wrtsil Successfully Test Runs Engines on Renewable
Fuels. Wrtsil, a supplier of flexible power plants for the decentralized power generation market, has successfully performed
a number of tests that demonstrate the ability of its engines
to run on a range of vegetable and animal-based oils. In the
tests, conducted between February and April of this year at the
VTT technical research center in Espoo, Finland, a Wrtsil Vasa
4R32 engine successfully operated on jatropha oil, fish oil, and
chicken oil.
The first tests with engines running on a liquid biofuel were
carried out in 1995, when Wrtsil began testing with rapeseed oil. Since 2003, Wrtsil engine power plants have been in
commercial operation using palm oil as the fuel source. Wrtsil
has, as an example, a market share of more than 95% in Italy for
power generation from liquid biofuels. The aim of these recent
tests has been to assess the capability of engines to operate on
renewable fuels that do not compete with agricultural uses.
Alstom to Build Geothermal Plant in Mexico. Alstom in May said
it had won a 45 million turnkey contract with Mexicos Comisin
Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to supply a geothermal power plant,
including key equipment, in Mexico. When completed in October
2011, the 25-MW Los Humeros II geothermal power plant will power Mexicos eastern Puebla state. Mexico is the fourth-largest geothermal energy producer worldwide, after the U.S., the Philippines,
and Indonesia. Alstom will be the engineering, procurement, and
construction contractor for the project.
Sonal Patel is POWERs senior writer.

16
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
Rough Made Easy.
Power plants are among the largest and most complex engineering and construction
projects in the world. Thats why customers turn to Bechtel when they need more power.
For over 60 years, weve been providing governments and utilities with power facilities
delivered on time and within budget. Weve led the industry in every major sector, from
fossil fuels to nuclear. We set the pace for clean and efcient power generation, exploring
renewable energy like carbon capture, solar, geothermal and biomass, so our customers
can meet their goals for a sustainable future. Competing in a world hungry for power can
be rough. Bechtel helps make it easy.
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FOCUS ON O&M
SYSTEM RELIABILITY
How Company Size
Affects NERC Compliance
In the world of North American Reliability Council (NERC) Reliability Standards,
each company (entity) that must comply
with the standards determines for itself
the scope and size of its compliance program, based on the scope and size of its
operations. NERC Standards make no accommodation for or distinction between
the scope of compliance programs for a
large, vertically integrated utility and a
small municipality, independent power
producer, or wind generator. This single
standard is particularly apparent in the
Generator Owner and Generator Operator
sections of the standards and the features
of their internal compliance programs.
Today, registered entities must have a
compliance program in placeits no longer a matter of if but how big. The
standards may be quiet about how the
size and scope of an entity determine the
size and scope of its compliance program,
but policy statements from regulators do
make reference to ways different-size entities can comply with the standards.
An example of a policy statement that
may mean different standards apply to
different-size entities is this passage from
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC) Policy Statement on Compliance
(Docket PL09-1-000 at paragraph 10):
The Commission expects companies
to invest appropriate time and effort in the creation, monitoring, and
growth of strong internal compliance
programs. Depending on a companys
size and organizational structure, the
nature and complexity of the companys involvement in activities subject
to Commission regulation, and the
range of compliance risks resulting
from those activities, a comprehensive and effective compliance program
may be time and resource intensive.
The needs and circumstances of each
company are unique, and we recognize that a company may meet its
compliance obligation with internal
resources, outside assistance, or a
combination of the two.
The desired components of a welldesigned compliance program are well
18
known and are also listed in the FERC

Policy Statement on Compliance, p. 4:
Provide sufficient funding for the administration of compliance programs by

the Compliance Officer
Promote compliance by identifying
measurable performance targets
Tie regulatory compliance to personnel
assessments and compensation, including compensation of management
Provide for disciplinary consequences
for infractions of Commission requirements
Provide frequent mandatory training programs, including relevant real
world examples and a list of prohibited activities
Implement an internal Hotline through
which personnel may anonymously report suspected compliance issues
Implement a comprehensive compliance
audit program, including the tracking
and review of any incidents of noncompliance, with submission of the results
to senior management and the Board
A large utility could easily conclude

that it must assemble a large, comprehensive compliance team with representation
across the company to carry out the specific items on the list, draft an internal
compliance procedure document, establish or modify training programs across
the company to address reliability responsibilities, initiate and develop periodic
monitoring mechanisms with its internal
audit group, and draft more procedures
by which the compliance team will review
and manage all components of the compliance effort by the company.
Alternatively, for a small independent
generator or municipality, these policy statements provide a different, less-cumbersome
path to reach the same results. The smaller
entity will assemble a compliance team
ideally made up of operations, legal, regulatory, and senior management representatives. In some cases for the smaller entity,
this would be a team of one person. Similar flexibility is given for the design and
implementation of training programs, ongoing methods of tracking the latest versions
of applicable standards, and internal audit/
monitoring activities.
These FERC policy statements also give
smaller entities the latitude to use a combination of internal resources and outside
www.powermag.com
assistance as perhaps the shortest and

most cost-effective road to reach the goal
of implementing a robust compliance program while avoiding the substantial costs
of additional staff devoted primarily to
compliance issues.
In the coming months, expect to see
products emerge in the marketplace designed specifically to assist small to
mid-size responsible entities achieve compliance with the NERC Reliability Standards.
The new products will help smaller entities
adhere to the same programmatic requirements as their larger counterparts, but
with a more cost-effective and structured
approach designed specifically for them.
By James Stanton (jamesstanton
@att.net), POWER contributing editor and
executive director of SPS ENERGY, a division of SPS Consulting Group Inc.
GAS TURBINES
Optimize Gas Turbine Performance Using Acoustic
Simulation Software
Increasingly fierce competition driven by
deregulation and privatization is putting
downward pressure on power plant operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets.
Recently, lower natural gas prices have
pushed natural gasfired combined-cycle
plants higher up in many utilities dispatch
order in some regions, a welcome change
from the twice-a-day cycling experienced
by some plants during the past few years.
However, with more operating hours comes
more interest in plant operating availability, and that means increased emphasis on
reliable gas turbine operation (Figure 1).
A phenomenon that potentially in-
1. Keep costs low.
Increasingly fierce
competition in the worldwide power generation business keeps the pressure on plant
owners to find ways to keep O&M costs low
and plant reliability high. Courtesy: Siemens
POWER July 2009
We look at power plant maintenance

from a different angle.
We build customer-centered
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FOCUS ON O&M
2. Oscillation reaction. The combination of fluid flow, heat transfer, thermal expansion,
and acoustic radiation causes combustor oscillations, which may impact operational range and
cause internal damage to the turbine. This turbine cutaway is of a Siemens SGT6-6000G, formally
known as a W501G, nominally rated at approximately 260 MW. The computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) analysis of the combinations of fluid flow, heat transfer, thermal expansion, and acoustic
radiation can identify situations where combustion oscillation may cause severe damage. The
CFD results illustrate, by the change in colors, azimuthal as well as mixed axial/azimuthal oscillation modes, for which no experimental test setups are possible. Courtesy: Siemens
fluences the reliability of gas turbine

operation, and therefore the entire
combined-cycle plant, is the presence of
thermo-acoustic oscillations in the combustion chamber. A can annular combustion system arrangement, for example,
typically has 16 (more or less) separate
can-shaped combustion chambers distributed on a circle perpendicular to the
symmetry axis of the engine. In each of
these combustors, a burner continuously
injects a mixture of fuel gas that is mixed
with compressed air to deliver combustion products at a design temperature,
pressure, and flow rate to the turbine
section to generate the requested electrical power (Figure 2).
The combustor oscillations are determined by a feedback cycle that combines
the effects of fluid flow, heat transfer,
thermal expansion, and acoustic oscillationsa cocktail of effects potentially
causing severe engine malfunction and
component damage. Some combustion
turbine manufacturers have constructed
test rigs where prototype combustors
are tested and evaluated against a long
list of operating regimes and conditions.
The disadvantage of prototype testing is
that it requires a significant investment
of capital and does not provide sufficient
flexibility to test alternative designs
under additional operating conditions,
especially those conditions that cause
damaging acoustic oscillations in the
combustion system.
20
Preventing Thermo-acoustic
Instability
Siemens engineers have analyzed the complicated relationship and interaction between
acoustic performance and thermal heat release and have developed specific measures
to prevent thermo-acoustic instability. Sven
Bethke, engineer at Siemens Combustion
Technology, explains, Since eigenfrequencies and mode shapes of acoustic pressure
are strongly coupled to the stability analysis, the finite-element (FE) mode analysis
and the subsequent stability analysis are the
main tasks in the thermo-acoustic prediction
and evaluation process.
Siemens Power Generation selected LMS
Acoustics Simulation Software as the key
application for acoustic modeling and simulation because of its widespread use and
extensive acoustic simulation capabilities.
In the combustion optimization process
followed at Siemens, engineers take the
output of computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) simulations, including steady-state
flow velocity, temperature, and fluid properties, as input for acoustic simulations
in LMS Acoustics Simulation Software.
For these simulations, several different
acoustic models are used: an FE model of a
single-can combustor configuration; an extended FE model that includes the incoming flow path upstream the burner, turbine
vanes, and exhaust passage; and a complete multi-can annular combustor setup.
An important and inherent part of the
acoustic FE modeling is the definition of
www.powermag.com
specific boundary conditions, which are

determined mathematically or experimentally. Siemens engineers validate the
results from acoustic simulation using appropriate tests performed on specifically
designed single-can test rigs.
Advances in Combustor Acoustic
FE Modeling
The implications of defining boundaries
on the FE analysis of a single-can configuration were investigated using LMS
Acoustics Simulation Software. The FE
model includes the whole combustion
chamber, starting at the head end plate
and ending at the exit of the transition
piece upstream the turbine inlet. The crucial regions through the burner as well as
through the termination at the exit of the
combustion chamber are characterized by
absorbent boundary conditions.
The acoustic boundary condition at the
exit of the burnerat the inlet into the
combustion chamberis represented by
a specific impedance, which is quantified
experimentally using an atmospheric test
rig without combustion. At the exit of the
combustion chamber, the guide vanes of
the turbineor a vane simulation section
(VSS) in the case of test rigsdefine the
acoustic boundary condition.
Sophisticated mathematical approaches
are used to describe the flow field downstream obstacles within the combustor.
Compared to the fluid flow behind the
vanes, cylinders generate many more vortices, which affect the reflection of the
exit boundary condition. The FE model
obtained is suitable for analyzing the effects of different impedances, for example, from different types of burners and
varying Mach numbers (steady-state flow
velocities). The acoustic simulations show
that the burner type has a significant impact, while flow velocity in the combustion chamber affects the mode shapes of
the acoustic pressure only marginally.
When extending the FE model of a combustor test rig with a VSSwhich replaces the vanes of the turbine stagesand
a downstream exhaust discharge tube, it
became clear that the Mach number cannot be neglected. The presence of narrow
passages causes the geometrys acoustic
properties to be influenced by the speed
of the flow. Siemens engineers determined
the reflection coefficient of the VSS on the
basis of the acoustic pressure distribution,
obtained by FE simulations performed in
LMS Acoustics Simulation Software. The
extended FE model is particularly suited to
determining the impedance of the boundary upstream of the VSS and its dependency
POWER July 2009
FOCUS ON O&M
on the Mach number through this section.
The results showed a strong dependency on
the Mach number through the VSS.
Acoustic Modes of a Can Annular
Combustor Setup
To study can-to-can interactions, an FE
analysis of a complete multi-can annular
combustor configuration was performed.
The annular manifold upstream of the
turbine inlet interconnects combustion
chambers with adjacent units. The absorbent acoustic boundary conditions used
to describe the burner and chamber exit
areas were defined in the same way as for
a single-can model. Simulations in LMS
Acoustics Simulation Software show that,
besides the axial modes along each singlecan combustion chamber, the complete
can annular combustor configuration triggers a range of additional acoustic modes.
It concerns pure azimuthal and mixed
axial/azimuthal modes.
Because there are no test rigs available
for measuring the complete can annular
combustor configuration, these modes are
only predictable by performing acoustic
simulations in LMS Acoustics Simulation
Software (see Figure 2).
The main reason why Siemens performs
these acoustic evaluations is to make sure
all potentially hindering or obstructing
eigenfrequencies and acoustic velocities
are known early on in the design and development process. This enables Siemens
engineers to implement specific countermeasures to disturbing eigenfrequencies,
for example by developing and installing
particular burner outlet extensions and
acoustic resonators.
The length of the extensions mounted
on burner outlets defines the frequency
that can excite the feedback cycle and,
hence, affect the risk for combustion instabilities. The installation of these extension units is a quite affordable solution
that is particularly useful for suppressing
oscillations in the intermediate range of
frequencies, typically between 50 and 500
hertz. The sensitivity of these extensions
makes this type of countermeasure somewhat harder to tune.
The use of acoustic resonators, which
are part of the standard engine design, is
another way to influence acoustic eigenfrequencies. This approach is applied very
efficiently to delete acoustic signals with
shorter wavelengths, such as high frequencies between 1,000 and 3,000 hertz.
The geometry of these resonators can
be designed in LMS Acoustics Simulation
Software, but a practical way to avoid recurrent FE meshing is by estimating the
mercury emissions
Complying with the increasingly stringent regulations on mercury emissions is not something to
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July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
21
Coal blending for

Illinois Basin and PRB coal
Coal, limestone
and ash handling
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Coal preparation
and material handling
Barge unloading, conveying,

stack out and reclaim facility
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From feasibility studies to turnkey projects, Roberts &
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innovator of bulk material, coal preparation and fuel
handling/blending systems. We provide total solutions for a
wide range of fuels, including PRB, bituminous, lignite and
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FOCUS ON O&M
geometry analytically and, finally, validating the design using
LMS Acoustics Simulation Software. The cooling of these resonators prevents hot air from accessing the resonator. Resonators
are a very effective means of addressing the problem, although
they add complexity and cost while reducing efficiency of the gas
turbine as a result of the resonators cooling air requirements.
Although the optimization of fluid flow, combustion, and
heat transfer remain primary objectives in gas turbine development, more attention is being paid to the interrelations between
acoustic performance and operation reliability and efficiency.
Sven Bethke concludes, The combination of virtual prototype
simulations with LMS Acoustics Simulation Software and adequate experimental testing allows Siemens to efficiently simulate the impact of specific design modifications and operating
conditions on the acoustic performance of gas turbines. The
predicted acoustic eigenfrequencies and mode shapes of singlecombustion chambers and can-annular combustion systems are
essential in optimizing combustor designs and increasing the
competitive position of Siemens power generation systems.
Contributed by LMS (www.lmsintl.com).
LUBRICATION
Extreme Oil Changes
Performing regular oil changes on remote generators is far from
simple or cost-effective. Heres how one firm harnessed technology to extend oil change intervals from one week to two months.
For most people, an oil change means dropping into the local Jiffy Lube or repair shop and driving away 15 minutes later.
For Dennis Fleming, manager of the Valleyview branch of Tarpon
Energy Services Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, that isnt an option.
Tarpon provides diesel generator sets, primarily to companies
working in the Canadian oil patch, and maintains units up to 700
kilometers away from his headquarters.
It is not uncommon to drive for hours to do a 20-minute oil
change, then hop in the truck and drive back, said Fleming. There
is no way of getting around that when dealing with these remote
locations.
To make matters worse, some locations cant even be reached
by truck. We have even had a couple jobs in northern Alberta
where we were helicoptered in and out for one whole summer
just to change the oil in the unit, he continued. Our guys were
pretty excited about the helicopter rides.
Raising Reliability
Tarpon leases more than 200 Cummins diesel generator sets in
sizes ranging from 20 kW up to 1 MW. The units are mostly used
by oil companies to get a well site up and running until line
power is brought out to the site, though some locations are too
remote to ever connect to the grid. Fleming says that most well
sites use the 100-kW generators to power the surface pumps
or the down-hole submersible electric pumps. The smaller units
might run lights, heaters, and electronics at a site, while the
megawatt-scale generators would be used at new batteries facilities where the liquids obtained from one or more wells are
stored for initial processing before being sent to the refinery.
The oil producers rely on the generators to always be available.
Even a momentary power glitch will cause the electronic systems
running the down-hole pumps to shut down, requiring a manual
restart. If that happens during dinner or overnight, the wells can
fill with sand. At that point, they will have to bring a service
rig in and pull the pump, clean out the well, put the pump back
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July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
23
FOCUS ON O&M
3. Reduce the oil change interval.
Biweekly oil changes are neither practical nor
efficient for remote gen-sets. That frequency
changed about a year ago, when Tarpon Energy Services Ltd. of Calgary, Alberta, a diesel
engine rental company, started using OilMate
from Engineered Machined Products Inc. Oil
changes are now done once every 2,000 hours
(12 weeks) rather than every two weeks. Courtesy: Engineered Machined Products Inc.
down, and hope it works, said Fleming.

It is quite a costly venture for them.
For most applications the staff works on
improving the reliability of the diesel engines. Many locations have a backup generator, in case one goes down, which also
makes it easier to schedule maintenance.
They have also doubled up on fuel filters
and installed more inline fuel filters. Designing buildings with better airflow is
another option, so that bugs, dirt, dust,
and pollen dont clog the radiators.
The biggest area for improvement,
though, is with engine oil. As built, the
generators required a weekly oil change.
Adding additional oil filtration equipment
extended the oil life to 350 hours, about
two weeks. This was better, but still not
good enough or cost-effective for those
servicing the engines. It was also difficult
to schedule changes that frequently. Tarpon
would have to coordinate with the technicians and the oil company representatives
at the locations, and due to schedule con24
4. OilMate in operation. Here the

OilMate provides protection on a diesel generator in a mining operation (top), on a diesel
generator used for powering surveillance
equipment (second), on a diesel engine in an
Army vehicle (third), and on a remote-mounted oil filter on an engine used in a remote telecommunications station (bottom). Courtesy:
Engineered Machined Products Inc.
flicts, the oil changes would usually end up

going over that 350-hour margin.
It is simply too often to be shutting
down their system, especially if they have
www.powermag.com
trouble starting them up again, said Fleming. So I asked the people in my division
to start looking for a way to manage the
short time frame maintenance issue.
Device Enables Less-Frequent
Oil Changes
The answer Fleming found was the OilMate
product from Engineered Machined Products Inc. (EMP) of Escanaba, Mich. OilMate
has an interesting development history.
A large yacht owner had white carpeting
in his yacht, and whenever the engine oil
was changed, some would wind up on the
carpet, which upset the owners wife. The
owner asked for a system that would never need another oil change. The engines
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) approached EMP, which designed the OilMate
to address this specific problem (Figure 3).
The OilMate concept is elegant in its
simplicity. With the OilMate, a small portion of the used engine oil is continually
removed from the engine and burned in
the fuel as productive energy. The OilMate
then adds a little bit of fresh oil back into
the sump to replace what was burned.
That way the engine is continually
running on fresh oil, the additives package is continually refreshed, and you
never have to remove and dispose of the
old oil, explained Bob Vardigan, EMPs
director of sales. A traditional oil bypass
filtration unit does extend the oils life,
though not as much as the OilMate, and
when it reaches the end of life, the oil
is old and dirty, the additive package has
been depleted, and you still have to get
rid of the oil.
The OilMate initially was utilized for
marine diesels and then began being used
as an OEM and aftermarket product for
over-the-road trucks, especially in North
America and Australia. From there the
product expanded to off-road vehicles, including the U.S. Armys eight-wheel-drive
Stryker armored combat vehicles. Finally,
it started being deployed for remote generator sets. With all markets combined,
there are now about 40,000 OilMates in
use worldwide (Figure 4).
Because OilMate had already been tested
by Cummins on the engines run by Tarpon,
Fleming decided to try it out. The system
is capable of going 2,000 hours without
any filter changes whatsoever, and if you
change the filters at that time, the oil in
the reservoirs can last 4,000 hours, he
says. It also extends the service life of the
equipment, so we got a nice bonus.
Contributed by Drew Robb,
a Los Angelesbased writer specializing
in engineering and technology issues.
POWER July 2009
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LEGAL & REGULATORY
Brian R. Gish
Too Many Fingers

in the Smart Grid Pie?
here has been much excitement about the advent of the

smart grid recently, especially because of the strong push by
the Obama administration. Despite the simple-sounding term,
the smart grid is not a simple concept. It encompasses numerous
complex elements. The smart grid has been touted as the means
of, among other desirable objectives, reducing electricity demand
and costs by giving consumers accurate price and usage signals,
integrating renewable and distributed resources, improving the robustness of the system in the event of outages, and providing the
infrastructure for the widespread use of electric vehicles.
Because the smart grid promises to address so many components across the industry, smart grid initiatives are being overseen by manyperhaps too manydifferent organizations and
agencies, as I outline below. This raises the question of whether
the smart grid effort could be advanced more efficiently by using
a more centralized approach.
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs)
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), expanding on 2005 legislation, provides the statutory framework
for much of the national smart grid effort. The EISA gave the DOE
the responsibility to:
Many smart grid technologies will be deployed at the local distribution level, which is subject to state PUC jurisdiction. The
EISA instructed states to consider smart grid issues. The PUCs
have made clear that they do not intend to relinquish their
jurisdiction over advanced meters, rate recovery, pricing structures, and other issues affecting utilities and retail customers
under their domain. State-federal turf battles are possible.
Establish a Smart Grid Task Force made up of members of multiple federal agencies to coordinate federal efforts and make
recommendations to Congress.
Establish a Smart Grid Advisory Committee to include private
and nonfederal governmental entities to advise relevant federal officials on matters involving smart grid development.
Facilitate research on smart grid technologies.
Establish smart grid demonstration projects.
Study and report on infrastructure security aspects of the
smart grid.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)

appropriated funds for smart grid grants, for which the DOE has
issued solicitations of nearly $4 billion. ARRA also instructed the
DOE to establish a Smart Grid Clearinghouse for the sharing of
demonstration results and research.
National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST)
The EISA instructed NIST (within the Department of Commerce)
to develop standards and protocols for the interoperability of
smart grid devices and systems. NIST is directed to seek input
and cooperation from a number of federal agencies and private
organizations, including the Gridwise Architecture Council,
the International Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the
National Electrical Manufacturers Association. NIST has been
working on this complex standards development task for some
time, and a considerable amount of additional work will be
necessary to complete it.
26
The EISA gives FERC a consultation role in many of the DOEs

smart grid activities. In addition, FERC is charged with instituting a rulemaking, after NIST achieves sufficient consensus on
interoperability standards, to approve those standards. The FERC
interoperability rulemaking is expected to commence later this
year. Additionally, FERC will have responsibilities for oversight
of system reliability and security issues associated with transmission aspects of the smart grid and will have to consider rate
recovery for smart grid investments within its jurisdiction.
FERC issued a proposed policy statement in March to begin
sorting out these issues and to advise NIST of criteria for acceptable standards. A Smart Grid Collaborative has been created
between FERC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners, and this group has made recommendations to
the DOE on criteria for smart grid demonstration grants.
Other Players
The Federal Communications Commission will likely play a role
in issues of wireless data transmission, broadband infrastructure expansion, and the potential for radio frequency interference. The EISA also designates the Department of Homeland
Security as a consultation agency for grid security issues. The
recently announced White House coordinator on cybersecurity
issues may have responsibilities to address cyber vulnerabilities of smart grid equipment. And the North American Electric
Reliability Corp. will necessarily be involved in reliability aspects of the transmission system.
Team Captain Needed

This quick overview of the disparate players involved in regulating the development of the smart grid clearly demonstrates
the potential for balkanization of responsibilities with the possibility of overlapping and conflicting efforts. The relationships
become much more complicated when the numerous hardware
and software suppliers and consultants vying for a piece of the
action are added to the mix.
While ensuring technology interoperability, perhaps we should
also enable organizational interoperability by naming a single
smart grid czar with implementation authority over all smart
grid activities.
Brian R. Gish (briangish@dwt.com) is of counsel
in Davis Wright Tremaines Energy Practice Group.
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
MAGENTA (MI) - ITALY

via Robecco, 20
Tel. +39 02 972091
Fax +39 02 9794977
e-mail: stf@stf.it
www.stf.it
BURMEISTER & WAIN ENERGY A/S

DK - 2820 Gentofte.Denmark
jaegersborg Alle 164
Tel. +45 39 45 20 00
Fax +45 39 45 20 05
e-mail: info@bwe.dk
www.bwe.dk
PLANT CONTROLS
Digital Networks Prove Reliable,

Reduce Costs
The debate over the benefits of using digital bus networks as the communications backbone of new power plants is all but settled. The technology
is maturing, and the reliability of digital hardware is superior to that of
hardwired systems. Newmont Gold Minings 200-MW TS Power Plant is
perhaps the power industrys best example of how a plantwide digital
controls architecture can provide exceptional reliability and be significantly less costly to install.
By Ali Abdallah, PE and James H. Brown, PE, PMP, Fluor Corp.
ewmont Gold Minings 200-MW

TS Power Plant (TSPP) (Figure 1)
was a POWER 2008 Top Plant, and
a complete description of the plants design
features can be found in the October 2008
issue. However, that article only devoted a
single paragraph to describe what we believe is the most advanced digital bus architecture ever installed on a coal-fired power
plant. This article provides details of the
TSPP control architecture, equipment selection, and many of the lessons we learned
during this project. It also demonstrates the
cost and potential schedule improvement
opportunities of using advanced digital architectures in future plants.
Fluor Power was selected as the engineering, procurement, construction, and
commissioning (EPCC) contractor to complete TSPP in July 2004. Newmont selected
DTE Energy as the owners engineer to
work with Fluor in developing the plant
design specifications and for consultation
in reviewing Fluors designs. DTE Energy
was also contracted by Newmont to provide
construction oversight services and began
providing Newmont O&M services when
the plant was commissioned in early 2008.
plant DCS server room or a field-located

DCS input/output (I/O) cabinet. A single
plant may have thousands of these devices.
Sometimes there are multiple signal and
control cables from each device, with many
devices even needing a separate power feed
that further adds to the number of wires that
must be individually installed.
Digital bus networking uses a similar
means of signal transport over a shielded
twisted pair of wires. In a digital burst, the
signal is transmitted by varying the voltage
on the two wires as opposed to an analog
current signal, and multiple devices are allowed to share the same wires. This single
cable is typically referred to as a trunk
or segment. The devices connected to the
segments are called drops or spurs. Segment protectors are located along the trunk
or segment as a point of connection for multiple instruments located on separate spurs.
The segment protectors sustain the network
should there be a loss of an instrument along

the trunk line. The devices connected to the
segments can communicate integrally, without requiring a DCS controller in between.
In addition to transmitting signals, power to
some devices is handled through the same
shielded twisted pair of wires.
The major benefits of digital bus networks are the cable purchase savings and
the follow-on material and labor savings associated with their installation, either in underground conduit or overhead tray (Figure
2). The potential savings can be significant:
One control system supplier has suggested
that life-cycle savings up to $20 million
over conventional hardwired analog controls is possible on a greenfield 800-MW
coal-fired power plant.
Critical Design Decisions

Delays in receiving TSPPs air permit restricted Newmonts advanced material
1. Out of sight. TSPP, located in Eureka Country, Nevada, gives new meaning to the
words remote I/O. Courtesy: Fluor
Digital Bus Networking Saves

Time and Money
The traditional power plant distributed control system (DCS) architecture provides device control and monitoring via hardwired
signals over a shielded twisted pair of wires
and has been the standard in new plant design for decades. Electronic signals are sent
to devices (transmitters, control valves, electric motoroperated valves, and the like) by
varying the current through the circuit with
a signal that ranges from 4-20 mA. This design requires each individual device signal
wire to either home run back to the central
28
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
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PLANT CONTROLS
2. Old and new. This diagram compares a traditional analog architecture with the new
digital bus architecture for power plant controls. Source: Fluor
Digital bus architecture
Traditional 420 mA architecture
Control
net
Controller
Profibus V1
HSE
Controller
I/O
subsystem
H1 (Foundation Fieldbus)
I/O
subsystem
ture. Additionally, the steam turbine generators control system would be purchased
with the turbine and would be hardwired;
however, the control system would communicate to the plant DCS via a digital communications platform.
All other process controls and monitoring were eligible for consideration as part
of the digital bus network. Evaluation was
based on suitability of the data transferred
with an available bus protocol, potential
cable savings, and complexity of the interfaces required.
Many Competing Protocols

TT
PT
CV
MCCs/switchgear
TT
PT
CV
MCCs/switchgear
3. One-wire communications. Typical Foundation Fieldbus devices used at TSPP.

Courtesy: Fluor
purchases to critical path equipment only,

such as the steam turbine and boilernot
the plant DCS. Based on prior traditional
power projects, there was no incentive to
select the DCS supplier too early in the
project because the I/O count and the plan
for the distributed network was far from being finalized. The old assumption that early
DCS supplier selection isnt critical is not
necessarily true with the new digital architectureat least not until there is more
widespread acceptance within the power
industry, equipment supplier capabilities
improve, and communications interface development mature.
Although many equipment and instrument suppliers say that they support communications on digital bus networks, even
with the establishment of the Fieldbus
Foundation, Profibus protocols, and DeviceNet standards, you must be very specific
30
about the design approach used for the interface (down to software revision, master/
slave definition, and the like). The earlier
you select the DCS supplier, the sooner
these requirements can be strictly specified
in major and minor equipment specification
requirements, thus reducing future supplier
change requests. As more digital architecture power plants are constructed, supplier
familiarity and support of advanced plant
controls will certainly reduce lead times
to those of the more conventional analog
schemes.
The later purchase of the DCS, and
therefore the bus interface, required a few
exceptions to the goal of using a comprehensive digital bus architecture at TSPP.
For example, the TSPP project team determined that the boiler burner management
system would be hardwired in accordance
with traditional DCS power plant architecwww.powermag.com
Multiple technologies are available for

digital communication in the plant environment network, including Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus, and DeviceNet (Figure 3).
Each has its own limitations, implementation requirements, and capabilities. Selection of the correct approach must be made
by an experienced control systems engineer
familiar with the scalability and robustness
of each protocol.
Consultation with DCS suppliers and
major equipment suppliers is vital to ensure that an appropriate protocol selection
is made and that optimum, reliable, and
cost-effective performance is achieved. The
final selection of the architecture should be
made in collaboration with the DCS supplier to minimize interface issues down the
road and ensure the bus interface requirements are well defined in all equipment
purchase specification.
All equipment specifications must have
a well-defined scope of work that includes
a clear definition of the interface handoff at
the purchase boundaries. For TSPP, definition of the interfaces was made; however,
complications arose in some applications
due to compatibility with varying revisions,
master/slave drivers, and late supplier software changes.
We also made a conscious effort to
standardize our device supplier and communications protocols where possible.
Communications protocols should be defined in advance and be limited to certain
particular protocols that are supported by
the DCS supplier in order to minimize the
use of protocol converters and commissioning interface issues that will inevitably appear later in the project.
If a certain supplier cannot support the
defined communications protocols, then a
traditional hardwired installation may be
more practical than trying to implement
an additional, new protocol. For example, at TSPP the design team recognized
that there would be multiple applications
where variable frequency drives (VFD)
POWER July 2009
PLANT CONTROLS
would be employedsome VFDs purchased direct by Fluor and some provided
through subsuppliers of major equipment
packages. Standardizing on a single supplier reduced the number of communication interface types and simplified factory
acceptance testing.
Next, we made sure the project had a
well-defined tagging convention as part of
the system architecture design. Assignment
of tags to devices needs to be established
for automated devices, and the tag-naming
convention needs to be compatible with the
constraints imposed by the DCS system. For
instance, the tag names on Fluor piping and
instrumentation drawings drawings were
consistent with regard to the number of subfields and the number of characters in the
subfields of the tag name, but the electrical
single lines with equipment with DCS interfaces did not include a loop number, which
made it difficult to define the interface of
these devices with the DCS.
One design approach we used at TSPP
was to provide more than the typical number of spares in remote I/O cabinets. This
extra space served as an insurance policy
against some digital devices dropping back
to a hardwired configuration should a digital communications approach not be feasible. As it turns out, the additional space
was only needed in a couple of instances,
but this preplanning saved much time and
money later in the project.
Table 1 summarizes the various types of
communication protocols used at TSPP by
type. Table 2 illustrates the shift from the
traditional control system structure hard
I/O to the more advanced soft I/O system
architecture in terms of their percentage use
at TSPP.
Given the multitude of communications protocols, the skill level of the suppliers DCS
technicians and engineers must be part of the
evaluation criteria. In the past, many control
system suppliers provided many general-
Table 1. Communication protocols used at TSPP. Source: Fluor

Primary DCS
networks
Foundation
Fieldbus
Control I/O
segments
Probus-DP
architecture
OPC
DCS Selection Criteria

ABBs 800xA series equipment was selected as the DCS for TSPP in August 2005.
One of the key selection criteria was ABBs
open system design, which is well-suited
for this project given the numerous types of
communications employed at this plant.
The criteria for selecting a DCS supplier on a large-scale digital project must be
heavily weighted on the experience the particular supplier will bring to the project. The
value added in working with a supplier that
has significant experience interfacing with
a broad range of devices through various
communication protocols was paramount
to our success with this complicated digital
bus network project.
Additionally, the field support structure
the DCS supplier has in place, and the suppliers experience in commissioning these
systems, is very important in the evaluation.
July 2009 POWER
ists supporting the traditional analog DCS.

Today, multiple highly qualified technicians
familiar with the base control system platform language itself and the communications protocols may be necessary.
Ethernet data
The highest level of communications in the ABB DCS architecture,

tying together the HMI equipment (operator and engineering) to the
various servers and printers and to the plant LAN.
Ethernet control
A level below the servers, ties the ABB DCS controllers together in
a common network. The redundant AC800M connectivity servers
bridge data flow between the Ethernet control network and
the Ethernet data network.
FF HSE
Foundation Fieldbus high-speed Ethernet communication that links

each Foundation Fieldbus gateway (4 H1 ports) to the host DCS
control processor and also links all Foundation Fieldbus gateways
to the Foundation Fieldbus connectivity server that allows for
higher-level Foundation Fieldbus device data collection independent
of control data flow.
FF H1
Foundation Fieldbus H1 segments for connecting to the Foundation

Fieldbus gateways to the Foundation Fieldbus field devices.
RIO FM cluster
Communications between the ABB DCS controllers and the ABB

remote I/O racks via proprietary ABB Fiberoptic ModuleBus
technology (on this project this applies only to the Burner
Management System controllers and I/O racks).
RIO PB cluster
Communications between the ABB DCS controllers and the

ABB remote I/O racks via Profibus-DP technology that incorporates
ABBs dual redundant Profibus-DP architecture.
PB-DP RIO
Profibus-DP segments for remote third-party I/O interface.
PB-DP device
Profibus-DP segments for direct connection to field device.
PB-DP to DN
converters
Profibus-DP segments for connection to DeviceNet networks

via AnyBus PB/DN.
MB serial
RS-232 and RS-485 serial connections to devices utilizing

the Modbus protocol.
OPC/D-EHC
Ethernet connection utilizing OPC for sharing data with

the Toshiba D-EHC DCS system.
OPC/PLC
Ethernet connection utilizing OPC for sharing data

with PLC controllers.
OPC/DNP
Ethernet connection utilizing OPC for sharing data with devices that
utilize the DNP protocol (SEL-2032 and the Generator Protection Panel).
SEL RS-232
Serial communications between the SEL-2032 Communications

Processors and the medium-voltage protective relays that ultimately
utilize DNP via OPC to the DCS.
OPC/MB
Ethernet connection utilizing OPC for sharing data with devices

that utilize Modbus over Ethernet.
D-EHC=digital electro hydraulic control
Table 2. Percentages of I/O bus architecture type at TSPP. Source: Fluor

I/O
category
Soft I/O
Bus
code
Bus node
type
Bus code description
Percent
total I/O
DN
Device
DeviceNet to field device
11.1
FF
Device
Foundation Fieldbus to field instrument
11.7
11.0
FM
RIO
Fiber optic ModuleBus to I/O modules cluster
MB
NIC
Modbus: DCS E-Net link with foreign controller
MB
Serial
OP
NIC
Modbus: Serial link with DCS controller

OPC: DCS communications with foreign controller
Subtotal soft I/O:

Hard I/O
1.6
0.5
33.2
69.1%
V1
Device
V1
RIO
Profibus-DPV1 to field remote I/O device

hardwired to components
Profibus-DPV1 to I/O modules cluster hardwired to devices
Subtotal hard I/O:

Total I/O
0.3
30.6
30.9%
100.0%
www.powermag.com
31
PLANT CONTROLS
DCS supplier training, with a key emphasis on interfaces, should also be part of
the DCS supplier evaluation.
Beyond the DCS

There are multiple approaches to designing
and implementating the segment definition
and device assignment. Finding the best approach for this digital bus project depended
largely on the project schedule, availability
of supplier information, definition of device
locations, the number and skill of the field
engineering staff, and complexity of the
network. DCS supplier controller processing speed, loading, and critical loop defini-
tion can also be used to evaluate segment

assignments.
Unfortunately, most new power projects
dont have the luxury of a completed design prior to the start of construction. The
potential schedule gains and early project
completion opportunity associated with
fast-tracking projects typically outweighs
the additional risk of field rework due to
late supplier information and design completion. Newmonts TSPP was no exception: Construction was mobilized when
engineering was just over 50% complete.
Where final design information was
unavailable, instrument location drawings
4. Safe and secure. This segment protector installation at TSPP serves as the communications hub for multiple digital bus devices. Courtesy: Fluor
were developed based on preliminary data

or good engineering judgment given the
processes and plant general arrangement.
Instruments were located in the plant 3-D
model and plan cuts made to produce construction drawings. The instruments directly purchased by Fluor (typically installed
on Fluor-supplied pipe and equipment)
were much easier to locate in the plant 3-D
model than equipment supplierprovided
instruments.
After development of these instrument
location drawings, a first-pass Fieldbus
segment assignment was made. The power
draw for devices on the segment and the
length of the segment will impact segment topology, and these factors were also
considered in the design. Fieldbus wiring
guidelines typically limit the number of devices on each Fieldbus segment to 32, but
this number is derated to 16 devices if powered by the segment, and further reduced to
just six devices if they are in intrinsically
safe applications. The Fieldbus Foundation
further recommends that spur lengths be
limited to 120 meters (393 feet).
There is one downside of the digital bus
architecture: If a single trunk cable fails,
there are potentially more devices in jeopardy than if you lose a wire to a single 4-20
mA hardwired device (Figure 4). This is
another consideration in segment assignments, as multiple critical instruments
may be segregated to ensure that failure of
any single segment does not cause a catastrophic failure or a plant forced outage.
Factory Acceptance Testing

5. Plan ahead.
A typical level transmitter is shown with excess prefabricated cable

coil. The excess cable is due to using precut lengths with shop-installed connectors to ease
installation. Courtesy: Fluor
Unlike the traditional straightforward 4-20

mA interfacing between the control system and monitoring equipment and instruments, digital bus projects must deal with
the communication interfaces necessary for
an open control system design. Proponents
have suggested that one of each like-kind of
instruments or devices be sent to the DCS
manufacturers shop for functional testing
and to ensure that the communications interface is verified. For like-kind devices, we
believe it is critical that the exact software
and appropriate revision used for factory
acceptance testing is the same as what will
be deployed on the project. We believe this
approach was well worth the additional coordination expense incurred.
Construction and Commissioning

One of the greatest benefits of digital bus
architecture is the reduced need for expensive analog system cables. Fluor evaluated
the cable savings potential at project initiation versus a similar-size reference plant
that had traditional control system architec32
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
PLANT CONTROLS
ture with the majority of the I/O hardwired.
Beyond the direct cable savings, benefits
were realized in fewer cable trays, smaller
cabling corridors/rooms, less physical congestion, and lower labor density in work
areas. All of these benefits contributed to
greater construction productivity. For TSPP,
the projected cable savings was approximately 30% of the total cable footage.
In the event that an instrument is located
too far from the assigned segment protector,
construction can add an additional segment
protector daisy-chained to take full advantage of the Foundation Fieldbus available
trunk line length limits rather than change
the way the instruments are assigned in the
DCS (Figure 5).
The typical commissioning process
includes a point-to-point check or loop
check of each control and signal wire from
the control room DCS to the field device.
Loop checks using traditional 4-20 mA
hardwire communications serving as the
primary means of data transfer always seem
to eventually become the critical path tasks
to complete construction and to begin the
commissioning tasks.
The digital bus architecture used at TSPP
streamlined much of the traditional loop
checking, thereby significantly accelerating
the wire-checking process. The traditional
loop check metrics are often based on the
number of loops completed per day in a given shift. Though the rate of loops completed
per shift can be improved on a digital bus
project with more field device technicians,
control room density for the other end of
the loop usually limits the number of checks
possible at any particular time (Figure 6).
Another advantage of the streamlining
that the DCS enabled concerned labor. The
remote, high-desert area around TSPP made
it difficult to attract and retain experienced
electricians. Any design planning or advanced technology that could help reduce
the need for onsite labor was especially
beneficial at TSPP given the plants remote
location.
6. Digital domain. The control room operators oversee the network of device communications at Newmonts TSPP. Courtesy: Fluor
digital communications on a more recent

power project, a 2 x 800-MW supercritical
coal-fired facility that is currently being
constructed and commissioned. As with
any new technology advancement, experiences gained will benefit future project executions and the way engineers approach
implementation.
The authors wish to acknowledge

the technical expertise and support of
Patrick Wilhelm, an electrical design

engineer at Fluor. His contributions to
this article and to the successfully implementation of the digital bus network
at TSPP are greatly appreciated.
Ali Abdallah, PE is electrical and
controls supervisor and James H. Brown,
PE, PMP (james.brown@fluor.com) is director of design engineeringsolid fueled
projects for Fluor Corp.
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Newmonts TS Power Plant project provided Fluor the unique opportunity to broaden
its experience using digital bus communications in the power industry. Since entering
commercial operation in June 2008, TSPP
has operated with an annual availability greater than 95% and an availability of
100% thus far for 2009 going into its first
planned annual outage in May, demonstrating that the digital bus architecture is here
to stay.
We have built on the lessons learned
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July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
33
STEAM TURBINES
Designing an Ultrasupercritical
Steam Turbine
Carbon emissions produced by the combustion of coal may be collected and
stored in the future, but a better approach (in the near term at least) is to
reduce the carbon produced through efficient combustion technologies.
Increasing the efficiency of new plants using ultrasupercritical technology
will net less carbon released per megawatt-hour using the worlds abundant coal reserves while producing electricity at the lowest possible cost.
By Heinrich Klotz, Alstom, Germany; Ken Davis, AEP; and Eric Pickering, Alstom, USA
ushing the technology envelope to simultaneously minimize pollutants and

fuel consumption through improved
plant efficiency is the goal of every utility with an environmental conscience. One
approach to achieving these goals is selecting coal-fired steam generation equipment
operating at ultrasupercritical (USC) steam
conditions. At these extremely high pressures and temperatures, a coal-fired power
plant can operate with a net plant thermal efficiency over 44% based on the higher heating value of coal. Future development efforts
target net plant efficiencies at or above 48%
within the next decade.
In this article, we show the effects of increasing the steam turbine operating conditions for a new USC project in the U.S. and
quantify the potential CO2 reductions this
advanced design makes possible.
1. One of a kind. AEPs John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant will be the only ultrasupercritical
power plant in the U.S. when the $1.5 billion project enters commercial service in 2012. Shown
is an artists concept of the project at completion. Courtesy: AEP
Coal Conundrum
Coal is a very attractive resource in the
U.S. for power generation due both to its
availability and the estimated 250 years
of reserves still in the ground. As utilities
strive to keep up with rising demand for
electricity, coal-fired generation remains
exceedingly economical and the preferred
fuel source for 50% of the U.S. electricity
consumed.
The bad news is that coal-fired power
plants are under heavy scrutiny, and there is
strong political pressure to further limit pollutant emissions and begin regulating greenhouse gasses. Currently, 30% of worldwide
CO2 emissions come from power plants,
and most U.S. plants average more than 30
years of age. Alstom estimates that if all existing plants in the world were replaced by
the latest, most-efficient plants, two gigatons
of CO2 emissions would be avoided every
year. If all coal-fired units in the U.S. were
replaced by state-of-the-art coal combustion technology, the coal power sectors CO2
emissions could drop by 25%, or almost 500
million metric tons annually.
First U.S. Ultrasupercritical Project
Table 1. CO2 from various technology options.
AEPs evaluation of John W.

Turk, Jr. Power Plant emissions for different combustion technologies. The fuel used in the
evaluation is subbituminous coal. Source: AEP
Emission
CO2
34
Ultrasupercritical
Subcritical
Integrated gasication combined cycle
0.97 tons/MWh
1.06 tons/MWh
0.99 tons/MWh
www.powermag.com
American Electric Power (AEP), one of the

largest electric utility power producers and
distributors in the U.S., recognizes the need
to continue to develop new coal-fired generation to meet projected load growth in its
service territories, including west Arkansas
and east Texas. To that end, construction on
the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant (TPP), a
600-MW net coal-fired project that will introduce USC technology into the U.S., began in November 2008 (Figure 1). Integrated
gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) was
also explored as an alternative, although the
supplier guarantees were stronger from the
vendor supplying the USC plant. Table 1 illustrates the slight difference in CO2 emis-
POWER July 2009
STEAM TURBINES
2. Compact and reliable arrangement. The TPP steam turbine is a condensing tandem compound single-reheat design.
It includes a four-casing steam turbine with a
single-flow high-pressure turbine, a doubleflow intermediate-pressure turbine, and two
double-flow downward exhaust low-pressure
turbines. The turbine operates at 3,600 rpm.
Courtesy: Alstom
3. Eight is enough.
The TPP steam cycle uses eight feedwater heaters in a HARP configuration. The optimized steam cycle is shown with data taken from the average conditions for
the heat rate guarantee. Source: Alstom
750 psia/1,125F
3,515 psia/1,110F
672 MW
HP
IP
2x LP34B
570F
1.23 psia
(2.5 in Hg)
378F
Table 2. Steam conditions for

AEPs John W. Turk, Jr. Power
Plant. Source: Alstom
Measurement
Main steam pressure
Boiler
outlet
Turbine
inlet
3,625 psia 3,515 psia
Main steam temperature
1,115F
1,110F
Reheat steam temperature
1,130F
1,125F
sions from IGCC, subcritical, and USC plant

designs considered by AEP.
Another key metric that persuaded AEP
to adopt USC technology is its efficiency.
A USC plant operates with steam conditions above 3,500 psia and 1,100F (593C).
For comparison, a conventional supercritical unit operates at steam temperatures of
1,000F to1,050F (538C to 566C) and pressure typically up to 3,500 psia, levels that
require careful equipment configuration
decisions.
The design for TPPs steam turbine efficiently optimizes steam cycle and operating
parameters, uses the best advanced materials
to operate reliably under these pressures and
temperatures, uses a welded rotor design to
match materials with the extreme operating
environment, and includes new high-pressure
(HP) and intermediate-pressure (IP) turbine
design. Also, an Alstom Gigatop generator
with direct hydrogen-cooled rotor and stator
core and water-cooled stator windings, rated
at 840 MVA, was selected.
Compact and Reliable

Configuration
The resulting USC steam turbine configuration for TPP is a condensing tandem
compound single-reheat, 3,600-rpm steam
turbine generator set. The proven Alstom
STF60 design includes a four-casing steam
turbine with a single-flow HP turbine, a
double-flow IP turbine, and two double36
4,390 psia
388F
Pmech
20.8 MW
flow downward exhaust low-pressure (LP)

turbines. The IP turbine is connected to the
LP turbines through crossover pipes. The
complete turbine configuration is illustrated
in Figure 2.
HP and IP turbine casings are separate
in Alstoms standard design. This compact
design is not prone to self-excited vibration, which may occur in some combined
HP/IP turbines. Unbalanced axial thrust
forces experienced in some combined HP/
IP designs cannot occur because the axial
thrust of each cylinder is balanced under all
operating conditions, including load rejection and bypass operation. Furthermore, the
long-term efficiency of the separate HP and
IP casing design is superior because steam
cannot leak through the seal between the HP
and IP sections.
The compact casings, together with the
single-bearing design, lead to a short overall shaft length and thus a shorter turbine.
All turbine and generator bearings are independent of the casing structure and are
directly supported on the foundation. This
principle makes shaft alignment easy, shortens overall unit erection time, and ensures
long-term, stable running behavior of the
steam turbine generator set. Inlet valves are
directly flanged to the HP and IP casings
in the design used at TPP. This eliminates
turbine inlet loop or connection piping and
yields higher efficiency, better accessibility,
and ease of maintenance.
Optimized Steam Cycle

There are rules of thumb we use to quickly
determine the benefits of USC operating conditions versus subcritical steam turbine conditions that we would like to share:
www.powermag.com
Raising the main pressure by 100 psia improves the plant net efficiency by about
0.16%.
Increasing the main steam temperature by
10F improves plant efficiency by 0.16%.
Increasing reheat steam temperature by
10F improves plant efficiency by approximately 0.13%.
A 10F increase of the final feedwater temperature improves plant net efficiency by
about 0.1%.
These rules do have application limitations. For example, increasing steam conditions to improve efficiency is limited by
available metallurgy and cost. Nevertheless,
the key to improved cycle efficiency is to
raise steam temperatures as high as possible.
The final optimized steam conditions selected for TPP are shown in Table 2.
TPP was designed with eight heaters to
raise the final feedwater temperature to improve efficiency as compared with a traditional subcritical unit utilizing six to seven
heaters (Figure 3). Also, a heater above the
reheat pressure (HARP cycle) is used. Downstream, four stages of low-pressure condensate heaters, one deaerator, and three stages
of high-pressure feedwater heaters are used.
An extraction from the HP turbine steam path
feeds the top heater.
The HARP cycle has one big advantage:
Its design allows optimization of the final
feedwater temperature independent of the
reheater pressure while reducing moisture
at the LP exhaust. At TPP, a final feedwater
temperature of 570F was chosen to optimize
performance while maintaining boiler operating constraints.
TPPs optimized steam cycle heat rate
POWER July 2009
STEAM TURBINES
Major Material Advances

Realizing a robust steam turbine design operating at USC steam conditions is all about
selecting the right materials of construction.
Alstom and its partners completed extensive
studies of forgings, castings, and piping on
high creep rupture strength, resistance to
embrittlement, metallurgical stability, low
oxidation velocity, oxidation layer strength,
and ease of manufacture. Inside the turbine,
advanced materials in the HP and IP rotor, inner casings, valve casings, and inlet blading
stages were selected. In particular 9% to12%
Cr ferritic steels are used in order to maintain
operational flexibility. Table 3 shows the specific materials used in the TPP steam turbine
design. The CB2 materials for castings and
the FB2 materials for forgings were developed in the COST 522 program.
Figure 5 shows the progression of material selection from X20 steel used in a conventional subcritical design to the active
European development program COST 536,
which is developing suitable steam turbine
materials for the next generation of USC
steam turbines. Materials from the COST
July 2009 POWER
501 program for applications up to 1,130F

(610C) have been in operation for almost
10 years. New materials with higher creep
strength and higher oxidation resistance are
available from the COST 522 program for
operation up to 1,165F (630C) and will be
applied to many Alstom USC steam turbine
projects under construction in Europe (up to
1,148F/620C for reheat) as well as the TPP

steam turbine.
Turbine Design Features

Constructing rotors from several smaller
forged disks allows the use of different materials for each section of the rotor, to match
the optimum material for the exact opera-
4. Reducing CO2 emissions. Ultrasupercritical steam conditions will increase the TPP
plants efficiency by approximately 6.2% and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 300,000
metric tons per year over a conventional subcritical steam plant design. Source: Alstom
PS = 5,075 psia
TS = 1,290F
TRH = 1,330F
TFFW = 625F
100
Efficiency improvement (%)
guarantee is based on 20% summer, 20%

winter, and 60% annual average operating
conditions. The condenser pressure on the
cycle diagram (Figure 2) represents the average condition for the heat rate guarantee. In
addition, the TPP cycle uses a 100% singleflow boiler feed pump turbine that is fully integrated into the main steam turbine systems.
The entire steam turbine system is controlled
by an Alstom digital control system.
Due to the elevated steam parameters and
increased final feedwater temperature, the
672-MW gross TPP plant will be about 6.2%
higher in efficiency than a new-build subcritical unit of comparable power rating. This
increased efficiency equates to a reduction of
more than 300,000 metric tons of CO2 per
year and about 10 million metric tons of CO2
over a 30-year lifetime compared to a newbuild subcritical steam turbine unit. A comparison of various cycle parameters based
on Alstom cycle calculations is illustrated in
Figure 4.
Alstom has been in the business of supplying supercritical steam turbines since 1957.
Alstoms supercritical fleet now numbers
66 units with a total capacity of 44 GW. Included in that total are AEP and Tennessee
Valley Authority cross-compound units rated
at 1,300 MW each. The two units in the Lippendorf power plant in Germany (930 MW
each) are Alstoms largest single-shaft units.
They have been in operation since 1999. An
1,100-MW single-shaft unit is under construction today with main steam temperature
of 1,112F and reheat up to 1,148F.
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
14.0%
PS = 2,400 psia
TS = 1,000F
TRH = 1,000F
TFFW = 490F
0.0%
Subcritical
PS = 3,515 psia
TS = 1,000F
TRH = 1,050F
TFFW = 545F
PS = 3,515 psia
TS = 1,110F
TRH = 1,125F
TFFW = 570F
PS = 4,135 psia
TS = 1,112F
TRH = 1,150F
TFFW = 590F
7.3%
6.2%
3.2%
Supercritical
USC Turk
USC max today
Notes: PS = steam pressure, TS = steam temperature, TRH = reheat steam temperature,

TFFW = final feedwater temperature.
USC tomorrow
1,300F+
Table 3. Steam turbine material specifications for AEPs John W. Turk,

Jr. Power Plant. Source: Alstom
Components for 1,110F main
and 1,125F reheat steam conditions
Alstom material specication
High-pressure turbine
Main steam valve casings
9 Cr
COST 522 designation: CB2
EN designation: GX13CrMoCoVNbNB9-2-1
Turbine main steam piping
N/A attached to casing
Outer shell
EN designation: G17CrMo5-5
Inner shell
9 Cr
EN designation: GX12CrMoVNbN9-1
Rotor inlet section
9 Cr
COST 522 designation: FB2
EN designation: X13CrMoCoVNbNB9-2-1
Rotating bladinginlet stages
Nimonic (Ni80TiAL)
Intermediate-pressure turbine
Reheat inlet valve casings
9 Cr
Turbine reheat inlet piping
N/A attached to casing
Outer shell
EN designation: G 20 Mo 5
Inner shell
9 Cr
Rotor inlet section
9 Cr
COST 522 designation: FB2
EN designation: X13CrMoCoVNbNB9-2-1
Rotating bladinginlet stages
EN designation: X12CrNiWTi17-14
Note: EN = European Normal code.

www.powermag.com
37
STEAM TURBINES
5. Steel history. The development history of steel alloys for steam turbine components.
Source: Alstom
X20 steel
(11% to 12% Cr) for:
Rotors
Casings
Blades
Pipes
COST 501 materials

up to 1,130F
Forging and casting alloys
Addition of 1.5% Mo
Reduction of Cr to 9%
Pipe steels 9% Cr
+0W (P91)
+1W (E911)
+2W (P92)
Introduction:~1960
1994
COST 522 materials

up to 1,165F
Materials with Co (to 3%)
and B (to 0.01%)
(CB2/FB2 for turbines)
Creep strength
Increased Cr (to 11%)
(VM12 for boilers)
Oxidation resistance
COST 536 (20042009)

up to 1,200F
Materials without Co or
W but increased B
Creep strength
C free with nitrides
Optimized Cr (~10.5%)
Possible need for
coatings
2005
after 2010
Creep strength
(105 h) in psia
29,000
14,500
0
932F
1,022F
1,112F
1,210F
Notes: B = boron, C = carbon, Co = cobalt, Cr = chromium, Mo = molybdenum, W = tungsten.
6. Forged steel. Rotor sections are queued for their next machining operation (L). First-step
rotor welding begins (R) for the TPP steam turbine in the Alstom factory. Courtesy: Alstom
7. Close tolerances.
A high-pressure inner casing with rotor before (L) and after (R) assembly into the lower outer casing. Courtesy: Alstom
tional conditions with a specific stage on a

rotor. The high and intermediate inlet rotor
selection for TPP is an FB2 material that has
been developed for improved creep properties. Stress levels of welded rotors during
thermal transients can be up to 40% lower
compared to monoblock rotors operating
under the same conditions. Alstoms welded
rotors, therefore, have an additional benefit
of allowing faster start-ups and/or lowering the life consumption rate compared to
monoblock rotors. Examples of forged disk
materials and welding were photographed in
38
the Alstom manufacturing plant (Figure 6).

Radial symmetry is a big concern, in
particular at higher temperatures. The HP
turbine shrink ring design, utilized by Alstom successfully since the 1960s, eliminates inner casing bolt flanges and therefore
maximizes radial symmetry. Lower inner
casing stresses reduce creep and distortion,
thus extending unit life and outage intervals.
Because the inner casing is in symmetrical
compression, ovalization, as known from
flange designs, does not occur. The benefits
of this design are long-term stable clearwww.powermag.com
ances and sustained efficiencies. In regard

to USC applications, the benefits extend
to long-term reliability and excellent operational flexibility. Figure 7 shows an HP
inner casing with rotor before and after assembly into the lower outer casing.
The basic double-shell IP turbine design
with horizontal split outer and inner casings
is common but was adapted to higher-temperature USC conditions through judicious
selection of materials. In addition, the IP
turbine inner casing was modified with a
more-harmonic mass distribution in the inner shell to minimize distortions at elevated
temperatures in the inlet section. The benefit is long-term sustained clearances and
efficiencies.
Many Efficiency Improvements

The Alstom principle of using separate cylinders for the HP and IP turbines gives the
steam path designer full freedom to optimize
the number of turbine stages given the long
expansion line of an USC unit compared to a
subcritical unit. The number of stages in the
HP turbine, as well as in the IP turbine, were
increased by about 25%, compared to a typical subcritical application.
Other design parameters were considered
when maximizing performance of the TPP
steam turbine design for USC steam conditions. Full arc inlet scrolls improve efficiency
and minimize component thermal fatigue
damage. In this design the control valves typically operate wide open with flow control
through the boiler feed pump. Overpressure
operation provides the turbine flow margin
to produce additional electrical output when
required.
The TPP steam turbine will also be
equipped with Alstoms latest steam path and
sealing technology. Alstom has continuously
improved the airfoil design and optimized
the complete steam path by reducing gap and
leakage flow interactions with the main flow.
Brush seals and abrasive coating seals will be
considered to further improve efficiency.
The exhaust area plays a critical role in
steam cycle efficiency; therefore, optimizing the performance of the last stage blade is
critical. The TPP exhaust area of 4 feet x 72.1
feet ideally covers the operating range at the
various design ambient conditions.
Heinrich Klotz (heinrich.klotz@power

.alstom.com) is a senior product specialist
for Alstom Turbomachines Group, Alstom
Power Systems GmbH, Germany.
Ken Davis (kedavis@aep.com) is manager
for New Generation Design & Engineering
for AEP. Eric Pickering (eric.pickering
@alstom.power.com) is regional
sales development manager for
Alstom Power Inc., USA.
POWER July 2009
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Power Industry Needs

to Do a Better Job of Educating
and Messaging
At the opening ELECTRIC POWER 2009 plenary session, both the keynote
speaker and the Power Industry Executive Roundtable participants kept
circling back to the problems created by a public and lawmakers who
seem to be promoting policies without an adequate understanding of energy realities. Most of the speakers acknowledged that the industry itself
is partly to blame, but nobody offered a way forward.
By Gail Reitenbach
s youd expect, this years keynote

speaker and roundtable panelists addressed issues of carbon legislation,
renewables, and financing. Those were the
subjects of the stated questions. But woven
into the answers was a strong thread of what
one conference delegate perceived as frustration. Power industry frustration with the
ways of Washington is nothing new, but this
year the speakers also expressed frustration
with the public.
Energy Education
Gets a Failing Grade
A major subtext of the ELECTRIC POWER
2009 opening plenary session was the industrys need to better-manage the message
about the tradeoffs required for achieving a
lower-carbon electricity portfolio.
Keynote speaker Jason Makansi (Figure 1)
said, Weve been defined by our discharge
not our product. Makansi, president of Pearl
Street Inc. and executive director of the Ener-
1. Keynote speaker Jason Makansi. Source: POWER
40
www.powermag.com
gy Storage Council, observed that everyone

wants to know how to stop global warming.
His answer: renewables plus energy storage,
nuclear with fuel reprocessing, coal with sequestration, and electric vehicles. Note the
multipart answer. Note that no single generation type can stand alone, without modification and without partnering.
Industry doesnt do a good job of educating the public about the power value
chain, Makansi said. Theres a need for better
public understanding of everything from the
difference between kilowatts and kilowatthours to the smart grid, because even discussions of the smart grid tend to be one-sided.
Public focus is on the smart element: the
software and end-user devices; as for the
grid componentthe hardwareits the
stuff nobody wants.
Makansi noted that the industry is in part to
blame for the publics poor understanding of
its business. Nobody puts a coal plant on the
home page, he observed, though many now
feature wind turbines, so the public gets a false
impression of where their electricity comes
from. And, while acknowledging that nuclear
is absolutely necessary, as is coal, the coal industry needs a wakeup call, he said.
Makansi sounded another cautionary
note when predicting that carbon trading
could be the next Wall Street debaclethe
new financial engineering platformand
his penultimate slide urged the power industry to Invest in infrastructure engineering,
not financial engineering.
From Makansis perspective, the industry is at a pivot point at which its favoring
demand-side management over new supply.
Nevertheless, this industry is fortunate, he
said, because its the centerpiece of economic
recovery.
POWER July 2009
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2. The 2009 Power Industry Executive Roundtable panelists. From left to right: American Electric Power Chairman, President,
and CEO Michael Morris; Dynegy Chairman, President, and CEO Bruce Williamson; Edison Mission Group Chairman, President, and CEO Ron
Litzinger; Exelon Corp. President and COO Chris Crane; Sempra Generation VP of Asset Management Michael P. Gallagher; Moderator Dr. Robert
Peltier, PE, editor-in-chief of POWER. Source: POWER
Though neither Makansi nor the executives offered a multistep plan for addressing
the problem, at least the industry has taken the
first step in admitting that there is a problem.
Energy Education Deficit

In his introduction of the Power Industry
Executive Roundtable panelists (Figure 2),
POWERs editor-in-chief, Dr. Robert Peltier,
PE, noted that different utilities and power
generators have different problems, and the
executives comments proved that point. But
some common themes, including the cost of
the energy education deficit, emerged that transcended regional and fuel type differences.
Michael Morris, the first of the panel to
offer opening remarks, set the theme by stating that the industry needs to educate Capital
Hill about CO2. Morris, chairman, president,
and CEO of American Electric Power (AEP),
noted that Congress doesnt understand that
customers pay for the costs of production.
In the Q&A segment, Bruce Williamson
chairman, president, and CEO of Dynegy
commented that theres a big difference
between old and new pollutantsSOx
and NOx vs. CO2. The press, he said,
doesnt want to deal with the fact that industry doesnt know yet how to use CO2. We need
42
to make sure CO2 will stay underground.

Later, when asked about their response
to recent comments by new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon
Wellinghoff and Secretary of the Interior Ken
Salazar about the potential for renewables to
supplant fossil fuel and nuclear generation,
Williamson hit the education theme again
by addressing the need to educate the public
about everything related to electricity, including the fact that power moves at the speed
of lightfaster than FedEx (which garnered
one of the rare audience laughs).
Morris added later that such comments by
officials (even if theyre intended to set a vision for 30 or 40 years down the road) give
the general public the impression that achieving grand goals is simple.
Ron Litzinger, chairman, president, and
CEO of Edison Mission Group (EMG), said
hes still amazed how few people [outside of
the industry] realize that you cant store electricity. And thats a very basic, fundamental
principle that needs to be well-understood.
Cap-and-Trade Stances
Most of the roundtable panelists generally
expressed support for the Edison Electric Institutes position on cap and trade (which recwww.powermag.com
ommends that 50% of the initial allowances

be allocated free and that the power sector
should be given 40% of the allowances) but
said that the initial allocation of carbon allowances should be completely free. They
also offered some individual thoughts about
carbon regulation.
To some extent, these executives seem to
welcome a decision on climate change legislation for its ability to remove at least one
layer of uncertainty. By taking on climate
change, you do get some clarity, said Litzinger. Exelons president and COO, Chris
Crane, added that we lack clarity on a national energy policy. Weve never looked at
it holistically in terms of what the country
needs.
Morris, whose company is undertaking
a test of carbon capture and sequestration
(CCS) at its Mountaineer Plant in West Virginia, said, I respect Congressman Waxman
and Congressman Markey. Theyre tackling a
very difficult issue. Yet he called for greater
honesty in defining the terms of the issue. Of
cap and trade, Morris said, if you auction off
carbon allowances, its a carbon tax. So dont
call it cap and trade; call it a carbon tax.
Williamson took up the baton by addressing the question of who would benefit from
POWER July 2009

the revenue generated by carbon allowances:
Lets do it for the climate and the environmentnot for revenue generation [for some
unrelated purpose].
Michael P. Gallagher, VP of asset management for Sempra Generation, concurred
and called for any cap-and-trade revenues
to be reinvested in energy infrastructure and
renewables.
Although these executives back the notion
of cap and trade, they made note of the devilish details to be worked out in any carbon
mitigation program.
Litzinger believes cost will be the big
driver, and Williamson expressed the hope
that any carbon regulatory system would be
transparent so that theres not an Enron of
carbon cap and trade.
Litzinger said he thinks there should be
free allowances, as there were under the
SO2 program, especially because there is no
proven removal technology for CO2 now
as there was for SO2 when that program was
initiated.
In the Q&A session, when asked what
would be the most important issue for CCS
by 2025, Morris said, we know capture
works, but he said hes worried about parasitic impacts, and the systems need to be
demonstrated on a large enough scale. He
also hopes well find a use for CO2 that could
avoid the need to sequester it underground.
Williamson mentioned a company in California (Calera, funded by venture capitalist
Vinod Khosla) thats using CO2 in cement,
though that process has significant hurdles to
overcome before the product is commercially
accepted.
With its only visible action consisting of
the hyperbolic efforts of the coal lobby to
promote undefined clean coal as a currently available option for counteracting the
climate effects of CO2, the power generation
industry has essentially ceded the rhetorical
battle to those pushing for more renewables
and swifter action on carbon controls. Morris mentioned a company (ecoAmerica)
that, in the companys words, uses psychographic research, strategic partnerships, and
engagement marketing to shift personal and
civic choices of environmentally agnostic
Americans.
If its a scam, its a scam. Lets have an
honest debate about [CO2 and credit auctions], Morris concluded.
The Future of the Power Industry

Williamsons refrain (picked up by others)
was that we need to promote the future rather than punish the past. (In later iterations of
this sound bite, he called for not punishing
the present.) Though he never specified what
lawmakers might want to punish, it seemed
July 2009 POWER
clear that he hoped Washington would assist

utilities and other power generators in meeting whatever new climate change regulations
are ahead rather than making fossil fuel
burning generators and their customers bear
the brunt of the impact. (Dynegys fleet is
powered by gas, coal, and oil.)
Theres no quick fix for the industry,
he said, because its taken 100 years to get
the infrastructure we have now. Renewables
will increase, but change isnt going to happen overnight. Hitting the education theme
again, he emphasized that the industry needs
the public and Washington to understand
that we need it all. Furthermore, because
development is pretty much at a standstill,
existing plants of all types will have to run
hard in the future.
Morris alluded to the potential danger of
ceasing construction of new baseload capacity with a reference to the devastating effect
that running out of power (in January 2008)
had on South Africas economy when it had
to shut down industry and commerce.
Although each executive mentioned something his company is doing to address climate
change concerns, those Gallagher mentioned
had the largest numbers attached: a thin-film
photovoltaic plant in Boulder City, Nev., that
could become the largest in the world and a
wind project in Baja, Calif., that could reach
300 MW. Clearly, Sempra (mainly a gas-fired
generator, with most of its 2,600 MW located
outside California) is affected by Californias
aggressive renewables goals.
To Peltiers question, Whats the next
plant your company is bring on? the executives answered:
Morris: the 600-MW ultrasupercritical

coal-fired Turk Power Plant in Arkansas
(the first plant of this type to be built in the
U.S.). (See page 34 for more information
on this plant.)
Williamson: a solar pilot plant next to an
existing gas plant.
Litzinger: a wind plant.
Crane: 400 MW of additional nuclear capacity via turbine changeouts and efficiencies.
Gallagher: additions to the Boulder City
solar plant.
Dealing with the Credit Crunch

Tight management of existing resources was
the theme when panelists addressed the financial crisis. Dynegys current focus is on
liquidity, costs, and operating well. But
Williamson expressed confidence that, as
the economy comes back, energy demand
will come back.
Edison Mission Group, a primarily coalfired independent power producer, is in a
cash preservation mode, yet it is looking
www.powermag.com
to diversify into renewables and integrating

biomass into coal plants as well as pursuing
demand-side management, Litzinger said.
His company faces very high investments
in environmental controls and uncertainty
about the price of carbon. EMGs approach
to this challenge is technical innovation
and changing mindsets, which includes
exploring selective noncatalytic reduction
for larger, older coal plants that remain economic to run.
Exelons nuclear fleet used to be inefficient, Crane noted, but now fleetwide
capacity factor is over 93%. His company
is also looking at transmission system efficiencies. Looking forward, we need to continue to find growth opportunities, he said,
but noted that new nuclear development is
very difficult because of liquidity problems
and gas markets.
Policy Uncertainty
In addition to the usual hoops that nukes have
to jump through (including financial viability
and public acceptance of a proposed site),
Crane noted that today there are new uncertainties:
Regulatory uncertainty: The industry is

getting mixed signals from various administration officials about nuclear power.
Leadership uncertainty: The industry is
waiting to see who the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission chief will be.
Waste disposition uncertainty: The industry needs to know what path the federal
government will take with regard to spent
fuel, especially now that the Yucca Mountain repository is officially dead.
Multiple panelists hoped that the country

would soon see a comprehensive, sensible
energy policy. When an audience member
asked if there were anything that the U.S.
could learn from energy policy models in
other countries, the answer was nowith
various explanations appended.
Morris pointed to France choosing nuclear
in the middle of the previous century because
its next best option was sourcing coal from
Germany, and to the EU, which is leaning toward liquefied natural gas because Russian
natural gas supplies are unreliable. Japan
marries nuclear power and energy conservation, but these models dont work in the
U.S., he said. Americans react to financial
incentives almost exclusively. (Coal provides 73% of AEPs generation capacity.)
Based on his familiarity with power projects in Asia and Europe that his company
previously operated, Litzinger concluded
that power policy is easier to do in smaller
countries.
43

Who Will Win the Fuel Fight?
When Peltier asked the panel about a proposed national renewable portfolio standard
(RPS), Gallagher voiced approval for such a
standard but added that there also needs to be
a price for carbon.
Crane wants to see a federal RPS thats
reasonable and takes into consideration
that the Southeast is at a great disadvantage.
Earlier, Crane had observed that in the 70s
and 80s, the U.S. developed mainly nuclear
resources. In the 90s it was gas plants. Today
the policy focus is disproportionately on renewables. Whats needed instead, is a blended
generation portfolio for the nation as a way to
protect prices for consumers, he said.
Morris, who is not in favor of one standard
for all states, offered the notion of different
low-carbon resources, including nuclear, for
different regions plus tradable renewable energy credits as a better answer.
Gallagher added that the answer may
not be here today, but weve got to work on
the technologies that are available to make
it so that we can burn the coal that weve
discovered. You know, I started out in the
nuclear business. I think its fantastic. Its
just going to take a little while [to change
the minds of those who dont know] how
great nuclear can be.
44
In response to an audience question about

the optimal percentage of renewables that the
grid can accommodate, Litzinger said that it
varied but was probably between 15% and
20%, because of the intermittency. Above that
level, more fossil-fueled capacity would need
to be added, and for any notable amount, a
lot of transmission needs to be built (a point
Morris seconded). Crane answered that its
going to depend on the area of the country
youre in.
One particular audience question elicited
a round of pointed answers. When asked
about the government basing renewable
policy on estimates from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that assume a
40% capacity factor for wind, Morris jumped
in to say that The EIA has never been right
with any number theyve ever forecasted.
Its not, he clarified, that theyre dishonest,
but theyre wrong.
Litzinger added that the EIA has favored
the high end of capacity factors.
In Cranes view, consumers are being
sold a bill of goods on high capacity factors
that may not be achievable.
Gallagher made the point crystal clear by
saying, All our wind developers would be
jumping off the roof [in excitement if they
got 40% capacity factors].

www.powermag.com
One More Worry:

NERC Standards Compliance
One audience question concerned an issue that
all power generators across North America
have to grapple with: North American Electric
Reliability Corp. (NERC) reliability standards.
Gallagher noted that Sempra in the past
three years has probably spent five times as
much on NERC compliance as it did before
the Critical Infrastructure Protection program became mandatoryeven though the
company was in compliance before.
Morris asked, Theyre creating something
they think is well thought through, but does
it add to the stability of the grid? Though he
believes 100% in audits, I thought it was
a great idea, but its getting out of control,
Morris said.
At Exelon, the NERC compliance group
grew from 3 to 17 people. Even if the audit
phase goes well, Crane observed, there can
be problems with interpretation.
Litzinger, too, identified NERC compliance as a cost-driver and added that its
unclear if the standards have added to grid
reliability. Yet, he noted that, given whats
happened in the financial sector, regulatory
compliance is likely going to get stronger.
Gail Reitenbach is POWERs

managing editor.
POWER July 2009
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The Growing Role

of Waste-to-Energy in the U.S.
Using nonhazardous waste for power generation is a trend thats gaining steam
for several reasons. Though there are several environmental reasons, another is the reliability of the fuel supply.
By Angela Neville, JD
ossil fuels will play a smaller role

in our energy future. Renewable
and indigenous fuels will become
more prominent. Carbon management is
here to stay, said Dr. Marco J. Castaldi, a
professor in the Department of Earth and
Environmental Engineering at Columbia
University in New York City, citing the findings of the National Research Council of the
National Academies.
This was just one of many forward-looking statements made during the presentations
and discussions that occurred on May 11 at
the preconference workshop on biomass fundamentals and applications, which was held
in conjunction with ELECTRIC POWER. In
particular, Castaldis presentation centered
on trends related to U.S. power plants that
use waste-to-energy (WTE) technology. He
emphasized that WTE plants are poised to
become an important part of the U.S. electric
generation industry.
New Power Paradigm

Castaldi pointed out that the new paradigm
emerging in U.S. energy policy has an emphasis on the following issues:
The security of the procurement of fuel

and growing concerns about supply chain
disruptions.
The projected increased energy demand.
The rising concentration of atmospheric
CO2.
Space-constrained or preferred land use.
In the U.S., there is a strong need for carbon-neutral energy production, he said. Zero
emissions mean more than just sequestering
CO2 from fossil fuels. We need to reduce our
dependence on single feedstocks. We need to
turn to indigenous and distributed sources of
fuel. However, power produced from waste/
biomass must be as economically attractive as
current sources such as fossil fuels.
Castaldis presentation focused on the increased use of WTE facilities as a response
to these issues. WTE conserves fossil fuels
by generating electricity, he said. One ton
of municipal solid waste (MSW) combusted
equals 45 gallons of oil or 0.28 tons of coal.
Currently, WTE facilities process 14% of all
U.S. MSW.
One clear advantage of using nonhazardous MSW as a fuel source for American
1. WTE goes worldwide. Several Asian countries, including Japan and Taiwan, are
the global leaders in terms of extensive use of waste-to-energy facilities. There are 780 WTE
plants worldwide processing 140 million tons of waste per year. Courtesy: Waste to Energy
Research & Technology Council
Waste to energy (WTE)
Recycling/composting
Landfill
electric power generation is its sheer volume.

More than 220 million tons of MSW are
generated each year in the U.S., according
to Castaldi. U.S. landfills are filling up, and
MSW disposal costs are steadily increasing. Another benefit of using MSW as a
fuel source for generating electricity is that
it emits two-thirds less CO2 than coal when
combusted.
Currently, two modern ways to dispose
of post-recycling solid waste exist, Castaldi
said. First, there is thermal treatment with
energy recovery. The heat content per MSW
metric ton can generate more than 2,800 kWh
of electricity. The second way is through
controlled landfilling with partial methane
recovery. The heat content in the methane
generated from an MSW metric ton can generate more than 760 kWh of electricity.
The use of WTE is experiencing strong international growth (Figure 1). Castaldi cited
the following statistics:
Thirty-five nations are currently using

WTE technology.
More than 600 WTE plants are in operation.
The global WTE industry processes approximately 170 million metric tons of
waste per year.
In the U.S., the WTE industry processes
more than 26 million metric tons of waste
per year.
Globally, urban landfilling manages approximately 830 million metric tons of
waste per year.
In comparison, U.S. landfills handle
around 225 million metric tons of waste
per year.
U.S.
89 WTE facilities
29 million tons per year
46
Western Europe
388 WTE facilities
China
Singapore
Taiwan
Japan
Ireland
U.K.
Italy
Average
Germany
Sweden
Denmark
U.S.
Overcoming Dioxin Challenges
Asia
301 WTE facilities
www.powermag.com
In the past, there was a widespread perception that WTE facilities emit a large amount
of dioxins, Castaldi noted. The reality is that
the total dioxin emissions from all U.S. WTE
plants have been estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be at
12 grams TEQ (toxic equivalent) of dioxins,
he said. However, before the Maximum
POWER July 2009

2. Dispelling dioxin myths. Due to improved air quality control systems, present-day WTE plants no longer emit high levels of
dioxin. Today, U.S. municipal waste incinerators produce less than 1%
of known dioxin emissions. Courtesy: Waste to Energy Research &
Technology Council
Emissions
250
MSW disposal
106,000
104,000
100,000
98,000
150
96,000
94,000
100
92,000
MSW disposal (tons/day)
102,000
Emissions (kg/year total)
200
90,000
50
88,000
0
1990
1993
1996
Year
1999
2000
86,000
Achievable Control Technology regulations under the Clean Air Act

were enacted, they emitted about 10,000 grams TEQ. Now the major
source of dioxins in the U.S. comes from backyard barrel burning,
with levels at 580 grams TEQ.
According to EPA data, dioxin emissions from WTE generators
now account for less than 1% of total dioxin emissions in the U.S., he
pointed out (Figure 2).
Benefits of WTE Plants

Most WTE facilities in the U.S. process between 500 and 3,000 tons
of waste per day, which provides enough electricity to power 2.8 million homes, he said. Furthermore, WTE is compatible with recycling
and helps to promote resource minimization. For example, WTE plants
annually remove more than 700,000 tons of ferrous materials.
Another important advantage of WTE facilities is their positive
impact on U.S. air quality, according to Castaldi. He emphasized that
todays U.S. WTE facilities have to meet some of the worlds most
stringent environmental standards. They achieved compliance with
new Clean Air Act pollution control standards in 2000.
In addition, as stated earlier, WTE facilities produce lower levels
of greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional coal-fired power
plants. The EPA estimates that WTE facilities prevent 33 million metric tons of CO2 per year from being emitted, he noted.
WTE facilities also save valuable real estate, he added. They
reduce the space required for landfills by about 90%.
Finally, one important fact not to be ignored during this challenging economic period is that WTE facilities provide positive economic
benefits. WTE is a $10 billion industry that employs more than 6,000
U.S. workers, and the annual wages exceed $400 million, he noted.
Future Outlook
In 2007, the U.S. WTE industry had 87 plants that used approximately
29 million tons of MSW as a fuel source. The net generation of these
WTE plants totaled approximately 2.6 GW, and theres potential for
an additional 20 GW of WTE capacity in the U.S., which would be
equivalent to saving 200 million barrels of oil or avoiding the mining
of 70 million tons of coal and 420 million tons of overburden ore,
according to Castaldi.
Abundant supplies of MSW make WTE electricity generation
well-positioned to be an attractive and dependable source of renewable power in the years ahead.
Angela Neville, JD is POWERs senior editor.

July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
47
Carbon Control:
The Long Road Ahead
The industry is preparing for carbon legislation by exploring options for dealing with CO2. But even if the technical issues are resolved, actually sequestering CO2 poses a number of other daunting challenges.
By Angela Neville, JD
1. Looking ahead. This
Electric Power Research Institute chart shows projected 2030

targets for certain practices that would affect carbon emissions. Source: EPRI
Annual Energy
Outlook (AEO)
2007
AEO 2008
(Early release)
3,500
3,000
U.S. electric sector
CO2 emissions (million metric tons)
n the U.S., climate change has gone from

being an obscure topic to the subject of
household discussions in the matter of a
few short years. Reflecting the growing impact that carbon constraint issues have had on
the electric utility industry, this years ELECTRIC POWER conference offered a session
titled CO2 Control Policy Alternatives and
Implications, which featured two insightful presentations about this complex topic.
The two speakers, Block Andrews, PE, with
the Strategic Environmental Solutions Division of Burns & McDonnell Engineering,
and Steven M. Carpenter, director of carbon
management at Marshall Miller & Associates
Inc., took a balanced look at both the progress achieved so far and the technical challenges ahead related to implementing carbon
capture and storage (CCS).
It is likely that some form of global
warming legislation will be enacted within
the next two years, and the electric utility sector is certain to be impacted, said Andrews.
The legislation could take the form of a carbon emissions tax, taxes on fuels, a cap-andtrade program, or other hybrid combination
of programs. The reduction levels that will
be required and the timeframe to achieve the
reductions are still unknown. With all these
uncertainties, utilities still have to provide
adequate, reliable, low-cost power to their
customers (Figure 1).
Several of the current CO2-capture projects that will utilize the greenhouse gas for
enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are progressing
and are pushing the commercialization of
several promising CO2-capture technologies,
according to Andrews (Figure 2).
AEO 2008
2,500
Impact of efficiency
measures in Energy
Independence and
Security Act of 2007
(EISA2007)
2,000
Carbon emissions of existing generation resources
1,500
1,000
500
0
1990
1995
2000
2005
Technology
Efficiency
Renewables
Nuclear generation
Advanced coal
generation
Carbon capture and sequestration

Plug-in hybrid
electric vehicles
Distributed energy
2010
2015
2020
EIA 2008 reference

Load growth ~ +1.05%/yr
55 GWE by 2030
15 GWe by 2030
No heat rate improvement
for existing plants
40% new plant efficiency
by 20202030
None
None
<0.1% of baseload in 2030
2025
2030
Target
Load growth ~ +0.76%/yr
100 GWe by 2030
64 GWe by 2030
1%3% heat rate improvement
130 GWe existing plants
46% new plant efficiency
by 2020; 49% in 2030
Widely deployed after 2020
10% of new light-duty vehicle
sales by 2017; 33% by 2030
5% of baseload in 2030
2. A trio of CO2 capture technologies. Currently, integrated gasification combinedcycle technology is the most likely to become commercially viable within the next six years.
Courtesy: Burns & McDonnell
Pre-combustion (convert syngas to H2-IGCC)
Pilot
Demonstration
Commercial
CCS Challenges
Andrews pointed to a number of realities related to the removal of CO2 through geologic
sequestration:
Post-combustion (flue gas cleanup)

Pilot
Demonstration
Commercial
Oxyfuel combustion (pure oxygen combustion)
The volume of CO2 is huge. One ton of bituminous coal generates 2.5 tons of CO2.
The supply of CO2 will overwhelm the current demand from EOR. For example, in
48
Pilot
Today
2010
www.powermag.com
Demonstration
2015
Commercial
2020
2025
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3. A slow slog. A number of industry analysts predict that geologic sequestration of captured CO2 may not be commercially feasible until almost 2025. Courtesy: Burns & McDonnell
Enhanced oil recovery
Commercial
Geological sequestration (will vary greatly by type and location)
Pilot
Today
2010
Demonstration
2015
Commercial
2020
Texas the Permian Basin oil fields current

EOR demand is approximately 7,000,000
tons of CO2 per year. In comparison, one
600-MW coal-fired power plant produces
5,000,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The CO2 pipeline network will need to be
expanded.
In order for geological sequestration of
CO2 to work, the U.S. will have to use
both depleted oil and gas field sites plus
greenfield sites.
The U.S. is still in the initial education
process with the general public.
The permitting of geologic sequestration
sites will probably be fought by national
environmental groups and face local opposition. Landowners will probably take
the position of not under my backyard
(NUMBY).
There will be a very long research and de-
2025
velopment process. He estimated that geologic sequestration wont be commercially

available in the U.S. until approximately
2025 (Figure 3).
Other Barriers to Success

In his presentation, Carpenter cited many of
the same concerns about CCS implementation expressed by Andrews; in addition,
he pointed out some other potential roadblocks.
Cost. Carpenter emphasized the estimated
cost increase if CCS is widely adopted by the
U.S. electric industry in the coming years.
The current average consumers power cost
is estimated to be 10.6 per kWh more than
the current cost, said Carpenter. Another
cost is the parasitic load to power plants
created by the carbon capture process. One
analyst estimates if CCS were implemented
efciency solutions for

power providers
through the entire U.S. fleet, that would create a 40-GW parasitic load, which equals 80
new 500-MW plants.
He also noted that the lease costs of storing CO2 under the surface of private landowners property is unknown, but could be
quite expensive.
Storage Validation. Measure, monitor,
and verify has become monitoring, verification, and accounting, Carpenter said. In
general, there is a lack of geological homogeneity and a lack of federal and international
standards.
Standards and Regulations. Carpenter referred to several laws that could potentially govern CCS activities in the future.
For example, he cited the Safe Drinking
Water Act Class VI underground injection
control well regulations. He also mentioned
the current House bill (the American Clean
Energy and Security Act of 2009), which
was introduced recently by Reps. Henry
Waxman and Edward Markey. The bill
(H.R. 2454) seeks to establish a carbon
emissions reduction goal, a cap-and-trade
program, and a federal renewable energy
standard.
Other unresolved legal issues affecting the
future development of CCS projects pertain
to the acquisition of geologic storage rights
and the creation of sequestration storage
fields, according to Carpenter. Either federal
or state laws will have to resolve issues related to eminent domain, contractual rights
of impacted parties, compulsory pooling, and
unitization.
Risks and Liabilities. In addition, he emphasized that new laws and insurance products will need to be developed to deal with
the allocation of risk in regard to geologic
sequestration. For example, one possible
resolution is the governments assumption of
liability for CO2 stored underground and the
release of the landowner from liability if the
CO2 migrates onto adjacent properties or in
some other way causes damage.
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The ability to expand CO2 sequestration

beyond EOR to include greenfield geological structures, such as saline formations or
unmineable coal seams, presents daunting
challenges that clearly need to be resolved by
additional technological development, public
education, and regulatory structure. Successful implementation of CCS also will require
that risk issues be identified and risk mitigation strategies developed for project participants and other affected parties. Its hard to
predict how far down the road these goals
will be accomplished.
Angela Neville, JD is POWERs

senior editor.

50
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
Clean energy is the ultimate goal, and the reality

is that coal will be a major source of energy for
many years to come. Industry needs carbon
capture methods that it can utilize today. Carbon
capture is a worldwide imperative and complementary to overall clean energy strategies.
Process Economics Program Report:

Carbon Capture from Coal Fired Power Generation
Coal is an abundant and relatively
inexpensive energy source. Coal-fired power
plants produce forty-six percent of the
world's power, but in the process are
responsible for forty-one percent of GHG
emissions. Clean Coal Technology (CTT)
initiatives aim to revamp aging power plants
to decrease CO2 emissions, but no proven
methods exist at base load power plant
scale to accomplish this daunting technical,
economic and operational challenge.
In its Carbon Capture from Coal Fired Power
Generation report, SRI Consulting's PEP
program publishes the results of its
simulation research that confirm the first
baseline models for capturing CO2.
The Carbon Capture from Coal Fired Power Generation

report includes:
Introduction
Summary
Industry Status
- Coal Resources, Reserves and Activity
- Chinese Coal Industry
- US Coal Industry
- Carbon Capture Projects
- Coal and the Economy
Technology Review by Process
- Advanced US Government Sponsored R&D
- Gasification
- ICC with CO2 Capture
- Acid Gas Removal
- IGCC Air Blown Gasification
Supercritical PC Technology and Economics
- Background
- Process Description
- Block Flow Diagram
- Process Economics
IGCC Process Design and Economics
- Power Block
- Total Plant Air Emissions
- Process Economics
For more information on this report, including abstract, table on contents and purchasing
information, contact Angela Faterkowski, +1 281 203 6275,
afaterkowski@sriconsulting.com or visit our website.
www.sriconsulting.com/PEP
Smart Research. Smart Business.
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Technology Could Deliver

90% Hg Reduction from Coal
Reducing mercury emissions at coal-fired power plants by 90% has been considered the holy grail of mercury control. A new technique promises to get
us thereat a price.
By Kennedy Maize
or at least a decade, the electric utility industry has argued that reducing
airborne mercury emissions from coalfired power plants to the 90% level that environmentalists and many regulators have
advocated is technically impossible. That
may be about to change, according to presentations in the Hg Technologies sessions at
the ELECTRIC POWER conference in Chicago this May. Much greater mercury capture
than the 30% to 50% now available may be
on the horizon for both eastern bituminous
and Powder River Basin coal.
Mitigating Mercury
According to Sam Kumar, manager of Babcock & Wilcoxs (B&Ws) particulate control
group, the 90% holy grail of mercury control is in sight. But attaining that 90% goal is
going to be difficult, complicated, and costly.
And capturing mercury before it gets into
the air may, if not managed very carefully,
degrade a plants particulate control systems.
Kumar was lead author on a B&W paper presented at the conference.
The emerging approach, Kumar told the
audience, is a tricky mixture of chemical approaches, including powdered activated carbon injection into the gases coming off the
combustor, along with injection of trona or
calcium carbonate to reduce sulfur trioxide
(SO3) in the exhaust gas. The big research
discovery, Kumar said, is the role of SO3 in
limiting the role of activated carbon injection. The SO3 gets on the activated carbon
before the mercury, limiting the ability of
the carbon sorbent injection to do its job
(Figure 1).
The trick, Kumar said, is to capture the
mercury as a particulate on the carbon and
then capture the particulate in the plants
particulate control system, typically an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) or, less often, a
fabric filter bag house. In some cases, Kumar
noted, plants may require both an ESP and a
bag house to achieve the 90% removal standard. That will add considerable capital dollars to the whole Hg removal operation.
52
said, are Norit Americas, ADA-ES, Calgon

Carbon, and Sorbent Technologies.
Getting the mercury job done, Kumar
said, will require tailoring the chemical
Several companies, Kumar said, are offering commercial carbon sorbent technology, as well as doing considerable private
research and development. Among these, he
1. Injecting chemicals. Coal-fired power plant owners have many options for controlling
mercury emissions. Source: Babcock & Wilcox
Boiler
Powdered
activated carbon
injection
Spray dryer
absorber
CaCl2 injection
(if needed)
Fabric filter or
electrostatic
precipitator
Coal
preparation
Different systems, different results. These are the mercury removal potentials for
different AQCS technologies when a plant is firing bituminous coal. Source: Babcock & Wilcox
AQCS
conguration
Baseline
Hg removal
Mercury
control
Expected total
Hg removal
Notes
PAC
50%70%
SO2 <5 ppmd
CS-ESP
10%30%
TOXECON
90%
SO2 <5 ppmd
PJFF
50%70%
PAC
70%90%
SO2 <5 ppmd
PAC
50%70%
SO2 <5 ppmd
SDA/ESP
30%50%
TOXECON
90%
SDA/PJFF
50%70%
PAC
70%90%
SO2 <5 ppmd
Absorption Plus
60%90%
Absorption Plus/PAC
80%90%
SO2 <5 ppmd
Absorption Plus
80%90%
Absorption Plus/PAC
90%
SO2 <5 ppmd
CS-ESP/WFGD
50%60%
SCR/CS-ESP/WFGD
70%90%
Notes: AQCS = air quality control system, CS-ESP = cold-side electrostatic precipitator, PAC = powdered activated
carbon, PJFF = pulse jet fabric filter, SDA = spray drier absorber, WEGD = wet flue gas desulfurization.
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
Clean Energy Update Drilling Down on

Renewable Regulation and Technology
Clean Energy Update, brought to you by the editors of
The Energy Daily, is the only weekly e-newsletter focusing on the business,
technology and implementation of alternative energy generation. Its
designed for the executives and engineers who are building and planning
new plants, capacity and infrastructure to capitalize on renewable
energy geothermal, wind, hydro, solar and biofuels.
Check us out at www.cleanenergyupdate.info

For advertising opportunities contact Erica Lengermann at
(301) 354-1598 or at elengermann@accessintel.com
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streams to the plant characteristics and its coal (see table, p. 52).
In the case of ESPs, he said, the additional particulate load from
activated carbon injection can overwhelm the ESP, increasing particulate emissions and altering stack plume opacity. This puts a
premium on ESP maintenance, he said, noting that potentiality
simply increases the need for best practices when it comes to ESP
maintenance. Thats not a problem with bag houses, but they exist
on few of todays coal-fired plants. Adding them would mean major
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Among the considerations in the Hg reduction game, Kumar said, are

where to locate the carbon injection and alkaline (trona or calcium
carbonate) injection. In some cases, he noted, it may make sense to
put activated carbon injection downstream from the ESP. Doing so
preserves the quality of the fly ash, which is useful in the manufacture
of concrete, providing a CO2 reduction benefit.
An ESP uses electro-physics to capture particulates and involves a
balance of spaces and electrical charges to tune the machine, whereas
a bag house presents a classic physical barrier. The injection of sorbents may upset the ESP parameters, but a bag house downstream
from the ESP essentially shuts the door to particulates, although it is
an expensive option.
The bottom line, said Kumar, is that considerable progress has been
made to increase mercury reduction performance by activated carbon
injection and other sorbent advancements. The holy grail of mercury reduction may be within the grasp of coal plant operators.
Kennedy Maize is a POWER contributing editor and executive

editor of MANAGING POWER (www.managingpowermag.com).
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POWER m agaz ine

From the editors of POWER: The online magazine
devoted to the coal-fired power generation industry
Te chnolog ie s f or coa l- f ire d po we r pla nts a re

e volving ra pidly, a nd COAL POWE R ha s e volved
t oo. In it s la t e s t online f orma t you g et e ve r y thing
you va lue d in print a nd s o much more :
s !CC ES S TO COAL POWE R wher ever you c an
us e a br o ws er.
s 4EC HNIC AL AR TIC LES COAL PO WER NE WS BL O GS
opinion, and infor mation.
s %AS Y R ETR IEVAL OF AR CHIVED COAL POWE R features.
s ) NS TANT ACC ES S TO OUR ADVER TIS ER S FOR M O RE
infor mation about their pr oduc ts .
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Th e n v i s i t t h e o n l ine home of COAL POWE R

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Special Advertising Section
overage of ELECTRIC POWER 2009 wouldnt

be complete without acknowledging the
important role that all of the exhibitors play
in the event. Though we didnt have time to photograph all exhibitors, this section is a reminder of,
and thank you to, a few of our valued exhibitors and
advertisers.
(Top) Flexco Engineered Systems Group provides engineering

conveyor solutions by solving customer transfer point challenges
using its CFMTS technology. (Bottom) Rentech Boiler Systems
designs and manufacturers high-quality custom boilers in a
variety of categories, including fire-packaged boilers and waste
heat boilers.
(Top) Siemens Power Generation provides products, plants,

and services for the generation of power and district heat. (Bottom) Benetech provides a full range of products and services
relating to the safe storage, transfer, and processing of coal.
(Left) Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd. is a leading supplier of equipment and services for new thermal, nuclear, and
hydro facilities and retrofit applications. (Above) Solvay Chemicals SOLVAir group offers solutions for air pollution control of
acid gases, and can help plants become economically viable.

56
056_POW_0709_EP Vendor Gallery.indd
56
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
6/17/09
7:50:23 AM
Gallery of Exhibitors
(Top) Mitsubishi
offers gas and steam
turbines, boilers/
SCRs, and dedicated
power generation
services as well as
parts manufacturing
for the Americas.
(Middle) ConocoPhillips is an international, integrated
oil company that
licenses several
world-class technologies, including
E-Gas gasification.
(Bottom) Roberts &
Schaefer designs
and constructs fuelhandling facilities for
the electric power
industry.
(Top) Nebraska Boiler offers watertube steam generators,

specializing in packaged D-, A-, and O-type boilers. (Middle)
Day & Zimmermann is the leading provider of managed
maintenance solutions to the U.S. power generation industry.
(Bottom) GE Water & Process Technologies Power Industry Solutions includes fuels and combustion additives for
combustion processes, and integrated solutions for cooling
water, boiler feedwater, water reuse, wastewater, and FGD
wastewater.
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
57
WELDING PROCESSES
Improved Filler Metal Enables

Higher-Temperature Dissimilar
Metal Welds
The welding of dissimilar metal joints in new and retrofit power plant boiler
tubing has long proved challenging. New plants designed to operate at
higher temperatures and pressures require advanced alloys and a filler
metal that produces reliable welds. EPRI recently developed and sponsored the commercialization of a new filler metal. Its first application is
the fabrication of boiler tubes for American Electric Powers ultrasupercritical John J. Turk, Jr. Power Plant.
By Kent Coleman, Electric Power Research Institute and John Hainsworth, Babcock & Wilcox
oiler tubing is made of different types

of steel. For superheater and reheater
sections that operate at higher temperatures, components are manufactured from
austenitic stainless steel due to its properties
of high creep strength and good corrosion resistance. However, because austenitic stainless steel is expensive, tubing in the earlier
boiler stages, where design temperatures are
lower, can be made of less-costly ferritic alloys such as Grade 22 steel, which contains
chromium and molybdenum, and is commonly known as a Cr-Mo steel. Unfortunate-
ly, at some point, the austenitic steel and the

ferritic alloy have to be welded together, with
the result that, among the thousands of tubing
joints in a typical boiler, many are transition
joints, where the two metals have to be joined
by dissimilar metal welds (DMWs).
Historically, DMWs have proven to be
a weak location where premature failures
may occur. If not properly fabricated, these
welds can result in inferior properties and
substantially reduce component life. Careful
selection of welding filler material, preheat
temperature, and postweld heat treatment
1. Filler metal. Cross section of filler metal weld. Courtesy: EPRI
58
www.powermag.com
temperature are paramount for dissimilar

welds to avoid poor reliability.
Why Dissimilar Metal Welds Fail

In the 1980s, research conducted by the
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and
others indicated that a number of the issues
associated with DMW failures are related to
the composition of the welds filler metal
the metal added in the making of a joint during the welding process (Figure 1). Research
also showed that conventional 309 stainless
steel filler metal resulted in the shortest life
and that nickel-based filler metals resulted in
three to four times that life.
Research further indicated that DMW
failures are caused by two key mechanisms.
One mechanism is a result of the difference
in the rates of thermal expansion among different alloys and filler metals. Thermal expansion of an alloy is the amount that the
material expands upon heating and shrinks
during cooling, and that property is unique
to a given material. When two alloys with
different thermal expansion rates are joined,
stress develops at the fusion line between
the alloys as temperature changes. This differential expansion mismatch can contribute
to creep fatigue damage.
Research also showed that premature failures of DMWs are caused by a mechanism
called carbon migration. One of the factors
that give the Cr-Mo alloys their creep strength
is that they form carbides by the combination of carbon and other elements, including
chromium. When two materials with different
levels of chromium are joined together, the
carbon migrates during elevated temperature
service from the lower-chromium-containing
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WELDING PROCESSES
2. Carbon migration. In dissimilar
metal welds using conventional filler metals,
carbon can migrate, under increased temperature, from the low-alloy base metal to the
high-alloy filler metal, creating a weak, carbondenuded zone in the base metal next to the
fusion line. Courtesy: EPRI
Filler metal
Denuded zone
3. EPRI P87 filler metal. This is the commercial version of P87, manufactured by Metrode
Products Ltd. Courtesy: EPRI
100 microns
alloy to the higher-chromium alloy. As the

temperature rises, the rate of carbon migration increases. This migration results in an
area of depleted carbon, called a carbondenuded zone, in the lower-alloyed material and results in lower creep strength due
to there being less carbon available to form
carbides (Figure 2).
In the 1990s, based on this research, EPRI
developed a new filler metal, called HFS6,
that was intended to solve these problems.
The high nickel content of the filler metal resulted in thermal expansion similar to that of
low-alloy ferritic tube materials. HFS6 also
contained a low chromium content that would
result in a smaller carbon-denuded zone than
was possible with available nickel-based and
austenitic fillers, thereby eliminating carbon
migration. HFS6 was never commercialized,
however, because of its tendency to develop
microscopic cracks, called microfissures,
which resulted in lower service life.
A New Filler Metal for Grade 91

and 92 Joints
Over the past 10 years, the need for a new
filler metal for DMWs has become even
more pressing as new plants have been designed for higher efficiency and as advanced
alloys, such as the higher-strength ferritic/
martensitic Grade 91 and 92 alloys, have
been developed for higher temperature/pressure operation. (See Why new U.S. supercritical units should consider T/P92 piping
in POWER, April 2006.)Grade 91 is specially modified and heat-treated steel with 9%
chromium, 1% molybdenum, and is vanadium enhanced. Grade 92 is similar to Grade
91, except that some of the molybdenum has
been replaced with tungsten, resulting in
even higher creep strength. These alloys have
been the materials of choice for piping, tubing, and header retrofits and new installations
for many cogeneration activities. They offer
60
several advantages over conventional Cr-Mo

steels in that they are often less expensive to
install because their higher strength allows
for lower material tonnage and fewer overall welding requirements due to the thinner
cross sections required.
With the increasing use of Grade 91/92 steel,
EPRI took another look at HFS6 to see if it
could be reconstituted to avoid microfissuring
and provide a new filler metal for weld joints
between Grade 91/92 pipes and tubes and lowalloy ferritic or austenitic pipes and tubes.
Given the promising nature of the original
filler metal, the research team used that metals composition as a starting point. More than
55 different chemical compositions of filler
metals were manufactured and evaluated for
microfissuring tendencies. The filler metals
were produced through controlled additions
of 16 different elements: carbon, silicon, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, molybdenum, iron, vanadium, tungsten, copper,
aluminum, cobalt, niobium, tin, and nickel.
Modifications to the baseline alloy composition eventually yielded an alloy that is
virtually microfissure-free in the area where
the weld is deposited. Like its predecessor,
HFS6, the new filler metal, named EPRI P87
(P87), avoids the damage mechanisms that
lead to failures in conventional filler metals. The thermal expansion of P87 is closer
to that of low-alloy ferritic base metals, such
as Grades 22, 91, and 92, than to traditional
Inconel 625 and 309 stainless steel filler metals. This means that, as tubing is heated and
expands, there is less difference in expansion
between the filler metal and the base metal
on the ferritic side of the joint, and therefore
less stress on the welds. Because it contains
less chromium, P87 also eliminates carbide
www.powermag.com
formation and carbon migration, which have

historically been shown to be detrimental in
traditional DMWs.
In addition, P87 offers several advantages
related to how the welding process is done.
Welding requires post-weld heat treatment
(PWHT), which is a standard tempering procedure of applying heat following the welding process in order to toughen the weld metal
and the base metal affected by the welding.
Current construction codes require PWHT
at different temperatures for the hardenable
ferritic materials, Grade 22 and Grade 91/92
steels. However, when two different steels
are joined, the PWHT must be performed using the higher temperature of the two materials. If the lower-alloyed materials are heated
to too high a temperature, it can weaken the
base metal affected by the welding, and failures can occur.
Many studies have also shown that, at low
stress levels (where piping and tubing normally operate), Grade 91 and 92 weldments
will fail in the so-called Type IV location,
which is an area of the base metal affected
by the heat of welding. Research conducted
by EPRI shows that P87 can be used, prior
to making the final joint, to butter the base
metals, or to add metal to the end of the tube
or pipe and thereby provide a protective buffer, allowing separate PWHT of each alloy at
the optimum temperature. Once this step is
performed, the final weld may then be made
without PWHT.
The EPRI filler metal also allows this
separate PWHT to be done at the factory, on
many components at a time, rather than at
the plant site, joint by joint. This capability
can avoid the need for additional bracing that
may be required during field PWHT to pre-
POWER July 2009
WELDING PROCESSES
vent distorting piping and can significantly
reduce the time allotted for PWHT, thereby
shortening the construction schedule.
Commercialization and Application

Metrode Products Ltd., an English manufacturer of welding consumables, has commercialized EPRI P87 (Figure 3). Although P87
can be used in retrofit applications, one of
Metrodes first sales of the filler metal was
for a new plant application. The company
sold about 1,500 pounds of the filler metal in
shielded metal arc welding form to Babcock
and Wilcox (B&W) for construction of Unit
1 of American Electric Powers (AEPs) John
W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant, a 600-MW baseload
plant near Texarkana, Arkansas, and the first
ultrasupercritical (USC) pulverized coal plant
in the U.S. (See page 34 for an artists depiction of the completed plant and a detailed description of Turks steam turbine design.)
B&W was contracted for the engineering,
design, supply, and installation of a 600MW net pulverized coalfired spiral-wound
universal pressure boiler. USC plants are
designed to operate with overall plant heatto-electricity conversion efficiencies that are
higher than those of supercritical plants. To
achieve these efficiencies, USC plants operate at higher temperatures; in the case of the
Turk Plant, the design calls for a main steam

condition temperature of 1,110F at 3,675 psig
and a reheat steam condition temperature of
1,125F at 775 psi.
These higher temperatures pose challenges for the DMWs in the tubes of a USC
boiler. For this application, the P87 filler
metal was used because it allows the design
to increase the temperature use limits for the
DMWs between the Grade 91 and 92 alloys
and the austenitic stainless steels above the
boiler roof line. With the P87 filler metal, the
operating temperature of the DMWs can be
increased, while the inherent joint stresses
can be maintained at values similar to those
of the traditional Inco Weld A/182 DMWs
used at lower operating temperatures.
Fabrication of the boiler pressure parts
for the Turk plant has been completed, and
the parts are being delivered to the plant site
for erection. The plant is under construction,
and major foundations are being installed.
Figure 4 shows sample welds using P87.
These DMWs also used the EPRI modified
60-degree weld prep angle, on the Grade 91
side of the joint.
Future Work
The P87 filler metal used for the Turk plant
was supplied as shielded metal arc elec-
4. Sample welds.
Sample welds made

with P87 filler metal using the modified EPRI
weld prep. Courtesy: B&W
trodes. Work is ongoing between EPRI and

B&W on the development of a solid wire
form of P87; a prototype has been tested in
trial welds, but the material has not been
commercialized. A solid wire P87 would
allow the filler metal to be used in gas
metal arc welding (also called metal inert
gas welding) and gas tungsten arc welding
(also called tungsten inert gas welding). Use
in these other welding processes would increase applications of the filler metal.
Kent Coleman (kcoleman@epri.com)

manages EPRIs Boiler Life and Availability
Improvement Program. John Hainsworth
(jhainsworth@babcock.com) is a technical consultant with Babcock & Wilcox in
Materials and Manufacturing Technology.
Where Does the

Industry Find Its
Best People?
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easier than ever for industry professionals to find career opportunities and for hiring authorities to find the
best candidates for open positions. The Careers-in-POWER job board on powermag.com allows visitors to post
resumes anonymously, view the latest job positions, post job listings, and set up personal job alerts.
JOB SEEKERS:
Access the most recent positions available to engineers, operations and maintenance managers, and
corporate and general managers at coal, nuclear, combined-cycle, and alternative power facilities.
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|
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
61
The Odd Couple:

Renewables and Transmission
The tension between the growing number of renewable energy projects and
limited transmission capacity is reflected in Washingtons legislative agenda of establishing a national renewable portfolio standard and new transmission lines dedicated to moving renewable energy coast-to-coast. Even
if those ideas become law, hurdles to the happy marriage of renewables
and transmission remain.
By Martin Piszczalski, PhD, Sextant Research
total overhaul of the U.S. power delivery system, commercial practices,

and regulatory oversight is required
to accommodate the higher levels of renewable energy expected to be generated over the
next decade. Specifically, transmission of the
anticipated enormous quantities of renewable
energy from coast to coast poses several key
challenges and risks that must be mitigated
as part of any comprehensive energy plan.
The key question is, Can a growing body of
renewable energy and a federal transmission
plan be forced into what is surely a shotgun
marriage?
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recognizes the challenges posed
by bringing electrons from new and disparately located renewable energy sources to population centers. In late May, FERC announced a
1. How the grid is managed.
The
U.S. electricity grid is divided into three separate management units or interconnections.
Within each interconnection are further levels
of grid operation involving states, utilities,
regions, and a host of different regulators.
The fractured nature of the grid impedes the
efficient flow of energy between interconnections and complicates adding renewable
energy to the mix. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tap, interconnection
Balancing authority
Backbone (typically 500 kV)
Utility
Notes: ISO = independent system operator,

RTO = regional transmission organization.
62
Market push, not pull, is driving project

development.
Longer distances are hindering new transmission capacity additions.
The intermittency of most renewable energy drags down new transmission line
economics.
Together, these planning changes make it

unlikely that evolutionary changes alone will
enable the nation to reach its ambitious renewable goals. Rather, a more revolutionary
approach that includes a proactive, regional
approach to wind and other renewable energy
generators will be required, as will electric
system operation policies and procedures, and
electricity market development, to keep access
to transmission corridors open (Figure 1).
Remote,
renewable
power site
RTO/ISO
series of transmission planning meetings that

will focus on wider integration of regional
energy resources into the nations power grid.
In essence, renewable energy generation,
principally wind energy, is located where the
transmission infrastructure does not exist, and
other distributed energy resources are located
in transmission-constrained regions.
According to FERC Chairman Jon
Wellinghoff, Planning is one of the three
legs on the transmission policy stoolthe
others are siting and cost allocationand all
are crucial to meeting the goals of assimilating demand resources, renewable energy and
distributed generation into the grid for the
benefit of consumers.
We believe that the FERC review process
currently under way will acknowledge that
renewable energy development is changing
the traditional energy source and transmission
planning process in three principal ways:
Moving from Market Pull

to Product Push
Historically, load-serving entities (LSEs)
dictated when, where, and how much new
www.powermag.com
generation would be added. Their integrated

resource plans (IRPs) determined the timing of plant additions, the fuel sources, and
the location of the new generation resources.
Transmission planners followed the lead of
LSEs to route the necessary transmission capacity while also seeking to lessen area congestion, if necessary. Traditionally, new power
generation resourcesand, by extension, new
transmissionresponded to a market pull:
predicted load demand. The role of the state
and local governments was oversight, providing access to transmission, and setting rates.
In contrast, renewable mandates have upended the traditional approach to developing
an IRP. Rather than anticipated customer
demand driving generation and transmission
decisions, government mandates are now in
the drivers seat. Twenty-nine states and the
District of Columbia have a renewable portfolio standard that requires utilities in those
states to supply some percentage of renewable electricity by a date certain.
For instance, the California Public Utility Commission (PUC) requires that 33% of
that states power originate from renewable
energy sources by 2020. In order to achieve
this extraordinary goal, all new power generation procured by the states utilities must
come from renewable energy sources. In this
new world, the pull of market demand has
been supplanted by a government-mandated
technology push that determines which renewable developers pushing new power into
the system in response to state-mandated levels of renewable power have access to limited
transmission infrastructure.
One of the other challenges to building
new transmission capacity to move renewable energy long distances that was discussed
by Wellinghoff is identifying acceptable siting locations for renewable energy facilities.
One important initiative toward this goal in
the Western Interconnection (Figure 2) is the
Western Governors Associations (WGA)
POWER July 2009
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2. Power flow. Transmission of energy from renewable projects, from the plant to the load,
should be invisible to grid users, regardless of which interconnection they are in. Source: U.S.
Energy Information Administration
Western
Interconnection
Eastern
Interconnection
Texas
Interconnection
Western Renewable Energy Zones (WREZ)

study. In the WREZ studywhich covers 11
western states, two Canadian provinces, and
areas of Mexico that are part of the Western Interconnectionas many as 50 zones with substantial renewable resources are in the process
of being identified so that renewable projects
can be expedited and transmission projects can

be planned in advance (Figure 3).
The ultimate goal of the WGA is to develop 30,000 MW of clean and diversified energy
by 2015. This work is in turn driving transmission planning. For instance, in Californias
Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative,
arkline
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Whats Your Reason?
competitive renewable energy zones are being

developed in the most cost effective and environmentally benign manner.
The state with the largest installed wind
power capacity has already identified Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ)
within the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas (ERCOT) Interconnection. In March,
the Texas PUC assigned approximately $5
billion of transmission projects to be constructed in these CREZ that will eventually
transmit 18,456 MW of wind power over
more than 2,300 miles of new transmission
lines from power-heavy West Texas and the
Panhandle to highly populated metropolitan areas of the state. The regulatory body
expects that the new lines will be in service
within four or five years. The Texas PUC took
about three years to select the most productive wind zones in the state, designate them
as CREZ, and devise a transmission plan to
move power generated from those zones to
various populated areas in the state. Many of
these new transmission projects will begin
construction later this year.
Longer-Distance Transmission
The principal renewable resourceswind,
solar, geothermal, and hydroelectricare
usually great distances from load centers.
Typically, the greater the length of the transmission lines, the more time, money, and
regulatory hurdles there are to clear.
There are positive indications that a more
regional transmission planning process is taking hold; however, the long period of time necessary to develop interstate transmission lines
makes planning, siting, and permitting problematicfor the developer as well as the investor. We recommend several actions to shorten
these too-long projects that delay bringing additional renewable energy to market.
Provide More Regulatory Oversight.
We believe that more oversight needs to be

provided by regulators who have the authority
to resolve any impasse that occurs, especially
when new transmission lines cross state lines
and more regulatory agencies are involved.
A super-regulator is needed both for master
planning as well as for specific project approvals. Today, federal agencies such as FERC, the
U.S. Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and
others are involved in virtually every interstate
transmission project, not to mention a host of
state and local regulators, any one of which
can bring a project to a standstill for a host of
reasons.
More market oversight is also required
so that even when transmission does exist,
a renewable developer doesnt have to negotiate with multiple companies to deliver
power at a distance. For instance, Claude

64
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
3. Mapping renewable hubs. The most recent draft map from the Western Governors Association illustrates Qualified Resource Areas
(QRAs) as those areas with a high density of developable renewable energy resources after screening for known technical and environmental
limitations for which data are available. These data will be used to determine Western Renewable Energy Zones (WREZ) in the Western Interconnection. When the WREZ are determined, then an overall transmission plan, much like ERCOTs, can be developed. Source: Western Governors
Association
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
65
Mindorff of Mainstream Renewable Power
said his company contracted with six transmission operators to move power from one
Alberta, Canada, wind farm to one customer.
There should be one authority for one-stop
shopping to determine the costs of delivering
electricity anywhere at any time.
Shorten Procedural Time. The surge
in renewable power is stretching out project
completion times. For instance, a necessary
project step is acquiring a transmission interconnection agreement. The California Independent System Operator recently had 361
interconnection requests pending at one time,
overloading its processing and planning capabilities. In a similar queue at the Southwest
Power Pool, 61% of the requesters were from
the wind industry alone.
Minimize the Extra Money Required.
Greater transmission distances, in general,
increase per-unit transmission costs. In particular, the more transmission operators

that are involved in connecting a generation
source to a single customer, the greater the
potential for pancaking charges (multiple
rate surcharges for electricity crossing service territory boundaries).
More insidious are unpredictable transmission costs. Power sellers, buyers, and
investors adamantly want price certainty in
the total delivered cost. However, congestion
charges can make the delivered price vary,
especially in locational marginal pricing.
For new transmission construction and upgrades, cost allocation and recovery remains
contentious. The issue here is how to apportion costs. To the new generator? Across all
users of the upgraded network? Ultimately,
rate payers cover the cost of transmission.
Everyone wants to know the answer to the
question, What is the added premium to deliver renewable energy? Many transmission
networks have both fossil fuel and renewable
generators sharing the same network. Certainly, intermittent renewable sources have
higher system-integration costs. Load balancing is more involved as well.
A recent Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory study may provide an early answer to the cost question. It indicates that
transmission unit costs for wind are only
about $15/MWh (see sidebar).
However, that cost varies, depending on
the configuration. For instance, the lowest
cost scenario is having a concentrated pool
of new power (thousands of megawatts). In
this case a very high voltage line (765 kV)
can transport that power very economically,
even over great distances.
Nevertheless, renewables do add addition-
What Will New Transmission Cost?

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL) recently issued a research report
that examines the expected costs for new
transmission infrastructure that would be
needed to support an accelerated program
for renewable energy projects, particularly wind energy. The report, The Cost of
Transmission for Wind Energy: A Review
of Transmission Planning Studies was released in February 2009. (A copy of the
report can be downloaded at http://eetd
.lbl.gov/ea/ems/reports/lbnl-1471e.pdf.)
The authors objectives in preparing
this report were threefold: to define the
transmission costs for a rapidly growing
wind power industry, to discuss different
transmission planning approaches, and to
examine the models used to estimate future wind deployment. Our interest in this
article is to focus on the transmission cost
estimates prepared by LBNL.
The cost estimates are based on a review of 40 transmission planning studies
completed between 2001 and 2008 by
various developers, independent system
operators/regional transmission operators, state agencies, and individual utilities. There is a wide range in transmission
costs, although the costs are generally
less than $500/kW. The cost of the median study scenario was $300/kW, or about
15% to 23% of the typical installed cost
of a wind turbine plant.
The authors also concluded that variation in the study methodologies used in
66
Table 1. Qualitative effects of grid study methodology and grid characteristics may affect estimated transmission costs. Source: LBNL
General framework
Congestion focused
(tends to decrease cost)
Deliverability focused
(tends to increase cost)
Objective of building
new transmission
Economically reduce congestion Accommodate the full nameplate capacity

costs created by the addition
of any new generation during a peak snapshot
of new generation
in time
Treatment of
wind energy
Account for the expected

generation characteristics
of wind energy
Treat all new generation the same, based

on the nameplate capacity of the resource
Transmission system
characteristics
Integrated network of highly

connected transmission
Sparsely interconnected transmission lines
Table 2. Estimated installed cost of wind transmission based on

three higher-level studies of wind transmission. Source: LBNL
Study
Wind capacity
Unit cost of transmission for wind power
10% Wind Energy by 2030:

AEP 765 kV Overlay Study
200400 GW
$150$300/kW
20% Wind Energy by 2030:

Wind Deployment System
290 GW
$207/kW
Annual Energy Outlook 2008

Projections for 2030: National
Energy Modeling System
40 GW
$450/kW consisting of $316/kW for transmission

and $133/kW for long-term multipliers
these 40 transmission siting studies and

the characteristics of the specific grid
may affect transmission installation costs
(Table 1). Depending on the original purpose of the transmission line under study
(whether it was congestion or deliverability focused), the authors concluded that
the purpose affected the costs of adding
wind energy to the mix.
The study also reviewed three highlevel wind transmissiononly studies, as
shown in Table 2. These costs are generally consistent with the median cost
www.powermag.com
identified in the original study sample of

$300/kW.
What isnt adequately discussed are the
operating costs, in say $/kWh, for a transmission system installed solely for delivering wind energy to a load center. Given the
high installed costs of transmission and
the low capacity factor of wind compared
to conventional forms of generation, perhaps a more appropriate figure of merit to
compare the cost of any form of generation
is its cost per unit of electricity delivered,
rather than purely installed costs.
POWER July 2009
al costs to the whole system. For instance, speedy ramp-up of backup
power is essential when a wind farm goes down with as little as onehour warning. Reliability issues kick in as well.
Wind and Solar Generation Are Intermittent

Wind and solar farms produce power intermittently due to weather
changes and time of the day and season. For either technology, the
nameplate power can be produced only over about one-third of the
daily hours. Stated another way, a plants potential annual capacity
factor is typically around 33%.
Some opponents of wind projects take an overly simplistic approach
and state that any utility that has renewable energy sources must provision three times the number of wind/solar megawatts and claim that
that overhead produces the equivalent baseload power. Unfortunately,
simply scaling up wind or solar power in this manner does resolve
the delivery mismatch to the baseload demand that is actually needed.
Someplace in the delivery chain this intermittency of energy production versus load demand must be smoothed out. LSEs traditionally have taken on this burden themselves. Typically, an LSE backfills
wind/solar gaps with natural gasfired plants to make up for any
shortfall in energy production based on a number of factors, including the season, weather, and the regions operating experience. Using
the same approach with very remote wind and solar farms isnt as
straightforward. To do so would make the entire long-distance energy
delivery chain, in effect, run intermittentlyif the remediating, balancing measures are not applied.
A more recent procurement practice is for the LSE to insist that the
renewable producer directly supply steady, baseload-style power. In
particular the LSE expects the renewable power producer to have its
own storage or natural gas backup. An example would be Xcel Energys April 2009 request for proposal for 600 MW of solar thermal
that is fortified in this way.
must encourage and sustain the renewable power renaissance rather

than be the cause of project delay and deferral, as it is today. The
transmission planning now under way in the Western Interconnection, and the new transmission lines recently awarded by ERCOT,
are excellent examples of rigorous regional planning. The next step:
Interconnect each of the regions to form the ultimate grid.
Questions Awaiting Answers

The electricity industry is now facing up to several very important
decisions that demand answers now rather than later. Will it be necessary to have almost the entire fossil fuel fleet dispatchable to fill the
gaps in renewable power production? Will the U.S. need to move to
a French-style infrastructure: highly centralized operations that are
regulated at the national level? Should the federal government assume
complete responsibility for siting new transmission corridors?
Some have even questioned whether the federal government should
be picking winners and losers by specifically allocating capacity on
interstate transmission lines or whether the government should consider direct investment in what has been a market-driven business if
private investors are not available.
Answers to these questions must be forthcoming, as they will direct the overhaul of the countrys power delivery system, change todays commercial practices, and streamline regulatory oversight of
future transmission infrastructure projects.
Martin Piszczalski, PhD (martinp@ic.net) is an industry

analyst with Sextant Research. He works with renewable power
developers, governments, and multi-lateral agencies to develop
renewable power markets, especially for geothermal energy. For
the past year he was in the Western Renewable Energy Zones
study group of the Western Governors Association.
Its All About the Dispatch

Energy researchers have been seeking the holy grail: a technology
that transforms intermittent forms of energy production into the
same sort of firm, baseload capacity we now enjoy from coal-fired
and nuclear power plants. Many have proposed the standard list
of energy storage options, such as compressed air energy storage,
pumped hydro, stored heat or ice storage, batteries, flywheels, and
the like. None of these alternatives has been proven in a utility-scale
energy storage facility, so their use remains hypothetical.
The ultimate grid would accept power generated from any type
of plant, especially widely dispersed wind or solar farms that have
complimentary operational patterns. This grid would also serve to
pool the many disparate, nondispatchable renewable plants so that
they would appear to the grid as a reasonably predictable, virtually
dispatchable, baseload energygenerating plant. Nature, in effect,
would do the energy balancing. This approach assumes an extensible
and far-reaching transmission grid that is all but invisible to the energy generator but that has sufficient capacity to absorb all projected
future renewable power sources.
Developing this renewable energy transmission superhighway is
sure to require a legislative push to mature the concept into steel,
concrete, and wires. Such a radical transformation of the transmission grid would allow resources planners to move past the antiquated
concept of a market pull for traditional baseload power, because
supply and demand would be average over large numbers of plants,
especially the predicted plethora of small renewable projects located
in every corner of the country.
Today, building renewable plants is not the problem. The principal
problem facing developers is economically connecting those plants
with the grid to get the power to market. New transmission planning
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67
COFIRING BIOMASS
Biomass Cofiring:
Another Way to Clean Your Coal
Demand for renewable power is burgeoning as state governments (and maybe
soon the U.S. federal government) impose increasingly rigorous environmental and procurement standards on the energy industry. Surprisingly,
biomass cofiring has yet to attract much attention, even though it could
help many utilities meet their renewable portfolio requirements, reduce
carbon emissions, and solve other regional environmental problems. U.S.
developers, investors, and regulators should consider including cofiring
as part of the energy mix going forward.
By Larry Eisenstat, Andrew Weinstein, and Steven Wellner, Dickstein Shapiro LLP
iomass cofiring is neither a new nor

an experimental technology; it is a
tested and proven one, vetted by private industry and government agencies both
in the U.S. and abroad. Cofiring involves replacing a portion of a coal-fired generating
plants coal supply with biomass, which is
then combusted with the remaining coal to
generate electricity. With relatively straightforward, plant-specific modificationstypi-
cally involving alterations to fuel-processing,

storage, and delivery systemscofiring can
be deployed in nearly all types of coal-fired
boilers, including stokers, fluidized beds,
pulverized coal boilers, and cyclones.
Once deployed, biomass cofiring can
contribute anywhere from 2% to 30% of the
total heat input needed for generation, thereby replacing a sizable portion of the typical
coal supply.
For that reason alone, cofiring biomass in

U.S. coal-fired boilers should be viewed today
as a serious option for reducing carbon emissions and as a strategy for meeting a renewable
portfolio standard. That rationale was behind
FirstEnergys decision to go even further and
convert two units at its coal-fired R.E. Burger
Plant to 100% biomass (see sidebar).
Although in the late 1980s through the
1990s there were many successful field tests
FirstEnergy to Convert Coal-Fired Burger Plant to Biomass

Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. announced in April that it will convert two units at its coal-fired R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside,
Ohio, to burn biomass (Figure 1). Ohios renewable portfolio standard requires that 25% of the electricity sold in the state come
from renewable forms of energy by 2025. Today, 86% of the states
power is produced from coal.
Units 4 and 5 at Burger have been designated for the $200 million retrofit scheduled for completion by 2013. Combined, these
two units are rated at 312 MW. FirstEnergy expects these two units
to burn biomass grown specifically as a fuel source, such as corn
stalks, wheat, or grass. FirstEnergy will conduct test burns of varying amounts of the biomass fuel leading up to the conversion.
Improved environmental performance is certainly one of the
big attractions of cofiring biomass fuels, especially in utility-scale
projects. Biomass generally has lower sulfur content than typical
coals consumed today, so SO2 emissions will decrease for an equivalent energy content added to the furnace. NOx reductions also
have been noted in operating plants because the nitrogen content
of biomass fuel is usually lower than the nitrogen content found in
an equivalent amount of coal, and adding biomass can also reduce
flame temperatures, leading to lower levels of thermal NOx.
A closer look at typical biomass fuel properties reveals further
fundamental fuel differences with coal. Biomass fuels are typically more volatile than coal fuels and have higher oxygen content. Also, wood fuels in particular have very little ash content,
typically on the order of 1% or less. For the typical utility-scale
68
1. Converting to biomass. FirstEnergy Corp. recently announced that Units 4 and 5 at the coal-fired R.E. Burger Plant will be
retrofitted to combust 100% biomass. Courtesy: FirstEnergy Corp.
power plant, each of these fuel qualities is a big improvement

over burning coal, especially the ash advantage, as there is less
ash to handle and send to a landfill.
There are downsides to biomass fuels. Some forms of biomass,
such as some straws and grasses, have a higher percentage of
potassium and chlorine than coal, which can lead to increased
slagging, fouling, and corrosion of furnace tubing.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
COFIRING BIOMASS
at utility installations in the U.S. with support
from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, there has been comparatively little
new work over the past decade.
The European Union, on the other hand,
has been very actively engaging in retrofitting many central station coal-fired plants
to cofire a variety of biomass and waste
products, and the number of installations is
steadily rising. The worlds largest cofiring
project is at the Drax Power Station, in North
Yorkshire, UK. The 4,000-MW power station
is producing 10%, or 400 MW, from biomass
cofiring with a goal of reaching 12.5% by
mid-2010. Drax is also developing two other
300-MW biomass projects in the UK that,
together with Drax, will produce 15% of the
renewable energy in the UK.
Although wood historically has been the
most common cofiring fuel, any number of
other biomass fuels can be used, with the options typically driven by proximity to local
supplies. Thus, even though regions such as
the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest might
have the largest potential native wood stocks,
other regions have their own potential fuel
stocks. Also, the type of available biomass
fuels will help define the best of the cofiring
technology options for a particular plant (see
Three Cofiring Options, next page).
Why Cofire?
The main reason to use cofiring, of course,
is environmental: Sustainably grown biomass is widely recognized as a greenhouse
gasneutral fuel (Figure 2). Although other
renewable options, such as wind and solar
energy, are cleaner, in that they do not
require burning any fossil fuels, cofiring
directly reduces the levels of sulfur oxide,
nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide from
emissions-heavy coal-fired facilities. Accordingly, cofiring should be an increasingly attractive option in todays regulatory
environment.
In addition, cofiring can uniquely address
a number of basic circumstances concerning
U.S. electricity production and delivery:
The U.S. remains heavily reliant on coal, a

fact unlikely to change anytime soon.
Transmission infrastructure limitations
could make the procurement of wind and
solar energy prohibitively expensive for
certain regions of the country.
Those same regions possess a plentiful
amount of biomass that may be utilized to
cofire coal-fired generators.
Why So Little Cofiring?

Although cofiring is a step in the right direction, thus far it has made little headway in
the U.S., as the nations imagination remains
July 2009 POWER
2. Carbon neutral or better. The carbon lifecycle and energy balance when cofiring
15% biomass with coal. In this example, carbon emissions are reduced by 18%. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Total greenhouse gas emissions

868g CO2 equivalent/kWh
1.3
Biomass
transportation
2.3
Construction
1.0
Fossil
energy
in
25.9
Coal
mining
Coal
transportation
focused largely on wind and solar energy.

Domestic cofiring is currently limited to just
a few dozen plants, many of which use waste
biomass from industrial and agricultural production facilities to generate power for production at those same facilities, rather than
for other customers.
The reason for this lack of development
usually is quite simple: cost. For the most
part, the financial commitments and other
costs of developing cofiringincluding the
real and perceived cost of regulatory uncertainty and the potential exposure to unknown
future costshave outweighed its benefits.
But that calculus may be about to change.
New Incentives for Renewables

Obviously, the political landscape for renewable mandates and carbon regulation has improved significantly in recent years. There are
now concrete initiatives in placeand more
likely to comethat should make investors,
developers, and plant operators alike investigate cofiring as a profitable and pragmatic
renewable resource alternative.
Currently, 28 states and the District of
Columbia have mandatory renewable portfolio standard (RPS) regimes that require
end-use electricity providers to procure a
portion of their electricity supply from qualifying renewable resources. Whether cofiring qualifies under these programs varies.
A number of states have explicitly defined
cofiring as a qualifying resource, while
others have excluded it outright, likely because of its dependency on coal facilities.
Other programs are silent and, arguably, the
governing state commission would have to
determine whether cofiring constitutes a renewable resource on a case-by-case basis.
What is clear, though, is that, although RPS
rules might be specific to each state, these
standards typically attach real financial valwww.powermag.com
1,024.9
Power plant
operation
18.7
Landfill and
mulching
Electricity
out
0.34
220.7
Avoided
carbon
emissions
ue to electricity produced from renewable

resources.
In addition to the existing state RPS programs, the president and the Democratically
controlled Congress have indicated that
both a federal RPS and a national carbon
regulation regime are top priorities for this
session. If adopted, a federal RPS would
impose a significant renewable obligation
upon electricity providers across the country, filling in the existing gaps among the
states and requiring electricity providers to
procure renewable resources that will satisfy their obligations.
The leading Senate RPS proposal is by
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and includes biomass as a qualifying resource,
but cofiring is not explicitly addressed.
Bingamans draft is still under review in the
Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee but is expected to move to the Senate
floor in late summer.
Representative Henry Waxmans RPS proposal, now H.R. 2454, the American Clean
Energy and Security Act of 2009, is expected
to be on the full House floor in early summer. H.R. 2454 explicitly includes cofiring
as a renewable resource, providing that the
proportion of electricity attributable to the
biomass qualifies for renewable energy credits (RECs).
Legislators also continue to debate the
definition of biomass and are focusing especially on the easing of restrictions on renewable feedstocks to allow for procurement of
biomass from federal lands.
Both a national RPS and carbon regulation
should fundamentally alter the incentives underlying the current resistanceor, at least,
indifferenceto cofiring by encouraging the
swift deployment of renewable resources at
the lowest possible cost, particularly in those
regions of the country where wind and so69
COFIRING BIOMASS
lar production would be relatively limited.
Cofiring, by taking advantage of existing infrastructure, certainly fits this bill and could
serve as a key component in any RPS and
carbon regulation regime.
Indeed, the UKs experience with similar reform bears this out. Most of the UKs
coal-fired plants, which collectively generate
a sizable portion of that nations electricity,
have now been modified to utilize biomass
as a portion of their fuel stocks. The UK
agency governing energy and the environment attributed the proliferation of cofiring
to the enactment of renewable requirements
and carbon regulations. As likely will be true

of the final U.S. legislation, the obligations
and incentives created by the rules in the UK
included the attachment of a tradable value
to electricity produced from renewable resources, which fundamentally changed the
cost-benefit analysis for owners, developers, and, importantly, regulators of coal-fired
generating facilities.
With the increased use of cofiring, costs
for this technology have dropped. The expanded use of cofiring has promoted the
development of an expanding biomass fuel
market, driving down cost while increas-
ing supply. Developers in the UK also have

gained increased familiarity with cofiring
technology as well as with the capabilities
of existing coal-fired technologies to incorporate it. This has led to decreased capital
costs and shorter lead times for the modification of these facilitiesexperience that
operators in the U.S. could rely upon to ease
the transition here.
The UK experience reinforces the conclusion that anticipated changes in U.S. renewable obligations and carbon regulation will
considerably alter the factors that have hindered U.S. investment in cofiring. No doubt,
Three Cofiring Options

There are typically three distinct options for cofiring biomass in
conjunction with a coal-fired power plant. Each option has its
own advantages and disadvantages (Figure 3). The common theme
of each is to fire the biomass in a way that reduces the quantity
of coal fired in the furnace.
Direct Cofiring
Direct cofiring is a straightforward and low-cost option, and therefore usually the first choice of plant operators. The biomass and
coal may be mixed in the coal yard or perhaps prior to entering
the plants mills. They also may be prepared separately and mixed
on a conveyor prior to entering the fuel storage hoppers. In other
plants, the coal and biomass are injected separately into the furnace, which complicates the equipment arrangement, fuel processing, and controls but does allow the burning of greater quantities
of biomass. Usually, this approach enables cofiring up to about 5%
without any significant equipment or controls changes.
The final selection of direct cofiring is contingent on the quantity and type of biomass expected to be consumed. Successful
projects that are using this cofiring approach include Centrale
Gelderland 13, located in Nijmegen, Netherlands, which uses 5%
to 8% construction and demolition wood (with the percentage
based on heat input) and Electrabels Maasvlakte power station,
Rotterdam, Netherlands, which uses secondary fuel types such as
wood pellets, rice pellets, and other wood scraps. The Nanticoke
Power Station in Ontario, Canada (the largest coal-fired plant in
North America) is conducting extensive testing of biomass fuels.
Indirect Cofiring
Indirect cofiring entails the gasification or pyrolysis of the biomass and then injecting the gaseous fuel produced into the furnace of the boiler. In other plant configurations, the flue gas from
a biomass precombustion chamber is vented to the furnace, where

combustion is completed. This option requires much new equipment and a possibly complicated connection to the furnace and
control systems. On the plus side, it does not contaminate the ash
used for resale and avoids other unpleasant side effects such as
scaling and fouling on the furnace tubes.
These modifications also add a new capability to the furnace:
gaseous fuel flexibility. This approach for burning biomass fuels
is only recently getting traction with installations at the Zeltweg
plant in Austria, the Lahti plant (Kymijrvi Power Plant) in Finland, and the AMER-9 Power Station in the Netherlands, which
uses 27% direct wood waste and 5% indirect cofiring through a
circulating fluidized bed gasifier.
Parallel Cofiring
Parallel cofiring involves constructing a completely separate biomass-fired boiler and then cross-connecting the two steam supplies into a common header. This approach is very straightforward
in application but does require a large investment in duplicating
much of the furnace-side equipment and fuel-handling systems.
Parallel cofiring has found favor in pulp and paper plants, where
separate boilers are installed for bark and waste wood. The limiting factor when selecting this retrofit approach is the existing
steam turbine. This approach has the highest capital costs among
the three cofiring options. One successful project that is using
this cofiring approach is the Avedre Power Station in Denmark.
For more information on cofiring technology or projects, the
International Energy Agency IEA Bioenergy, Biomass Combustion
and Cofiring subgroup, Task 32, publishes a Handbook of Biomass
Combustion and Cofiring and maintains a international cofiring
project database at www.ieabcc.nl.
Dr. Robert Peltier, PE
3. Biomass options. These are the three principal biomass cofiring technology options. Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Biomass
Boiler
o
oooo ooo
Coal
Biomass
Boiler
Coal
Boiler
Boiler
o
oooo ooo
Coal
Direct cofiring
70
Gasification
reactor
Biomass
Indirect cofiring
www.powermag.com
o
oooo ooo
Parallel cofiring
POWER July 2009
COFIRING BIOMASS
it still will be the case that the localized nature of biomass stocks, the potential technical
challenges associated with modifying existing coal-fired facilities, and a continuing degree of regulatory uncertaintyparticularly
any requirement to re-open air permitswill
be cost-related hurdles that potentially could
discourage the adoption of this technology.
Yet, on the basis of lessons learned from the
UK experience, each of these hurdles can be
overcome with the right mix of policy and financial incentives.
Indeed, as familiarity with the technology increases and stakeholders and the public
recognize the tangible benefits of cofiring,
it should increasingly be accepted as one
piece of the solution, and the costs of regulatory uncertainty should continue to diminish over time.
Will Biomass Cofiring

Work for Me?
Cofiring should be part of any conversation
about how best to meet renewable obligations. However, given the wide variety of
boiler technologies, accessible fuel stocks,
and state-by-state regulatory regimes, the
economic viability of cofiring has to be evaluated on a plant-by-plant basis. Any generator owner or operator investigating the use of
cofiring should consider a number of factors,

including these:
Cofiring technologies available for use

with specific boilers.
Capital costs of retrofitting existing or
modifying proposed coal facilities.
Availability and cost of local biomass resources.
Environmental benefits.
Financial benefits (for example, tax credits and RECs).
Potential funding availability under the
2009 Recovery Act.
Though these considerations demonstrate

that cofirings cost-benefit analysis differs
from similar analyses for other renewable
resources, the UKs experience demonstrates
that these factors are not inherently prohibitive but, rather, entirely manageable.
Most importantly, biomass generally, and
cofiring specifically, seem to be an effective solution to the lingering and significant
concern that regional variation in wind and
solar potential would require some regions,
particularly the Southeast and Midwest, to
develop alternate renewable resources or purchase RECs from regions flush with those resources. As fate would have it, most of those
Material Handling for

Biomass Power Generation
areas with limited wind and solar energy

have the necessary components for cofiring:
a plethora of coal plants and significant biomass fuel potential. Thus, cofiring is an ideal
solution to the regional hurdles confronting a
federal RPS.
Recently in Kansas, state officials approved Sunflower Electric Corp.s construction of a controversial coal plant in exchange
for, among other things, the owners commitment to cofire a specified percentage of the
coal plants heat input with biomass.
In short, cofiring is an underutilized opportunity for domestic renewable generation. If past experience is any indication, the
coming changes to the industry should fundamentally alter the incentives for cofiring,
rendering it a low-cost, reliable source of renewable energy. Plant owners and operators,
as well as politicians and regulators, should
seize this opportunity to investigate it for
themselves.
Larry Eisenstat (eisenstatl

@dicksteinshapiro.com) is a partner at
Dickstein Shapiro LLP and head of its
Energy Practice. Andrew Weinstein
(weinsteina@dicksteinshapiro.com)
and Steven Wellner (wellners
@dicksteinshapiro.com) are associates in
Dickstein Shapiros Energy Practice.
U
N I T E D STATES
STATES
UNITED
CCANADA
ANADA
SW
EDEN
SWEDEN
Silos
Biomass Handling Equipment

Complete Engineered Systems
Pulverized Coal Boiler Conversions
CFB Boiler Feed Systems
Wood Hogs
Disc Screens
Open Storage
Closed Storage
Truck Dumpers
Chain Conveyors
Bucket Elevators
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Screw Reclaimers
See our Biomass video at www.jeffreyrader.com/videoB

USA: CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
Jeffrey Rader Corporation
398 Willis Road
Woodruff, SC, USA 29388
Phone: 864.476.7523
Fax: 864.476.7510
CANADA: Montreal, Quebec

Jeffrey Rader Canada
2350 Place Trans-Canadienne
Dorval, Quebec H9P 2X5 Canada
Phone: 514.822.2660
Fax: 514.822.2699
CANADA: Vancouver, BC
Jeffrey Rader Canada
Unit 2, 62 Fawcett Road
Coquitlam, BC V3K 6V5 Canada
Phone: 604.299.0241
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Pneumatic Conveying
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Jeffrey Rader AB
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Phone: +46 8 56 47 57 47
Fax: +46 8 56 47 57 48
For information on how Jeffrey Rader Corporation can solve your Biomass Handling needs, visit us at www.jeffreyrader.com/pow
July 2009 POWER

www.powermag.com
71
NEW PRODUCTS
TO POWER YOUR BUSINESS
CO2 Sensor/Transmitter
The recently released EX-5165 Sensor/Transmitter from ENMET Corp.

is a three-wire 4-20 mA sensor for the detection of carbon dioxide
in ranges from 0 to 500 ppm and 0% to 100% by volume. It also
features a 24 VDC loop-powered transmitter. The nondispersive
infrared sensor continuously monitors high concentrations of the gas,
and it can operate in an anaerobic environment. The device provides
an LCD of carbon dioxide concentration and has three LED alarm
point indicators. EX-5165 is meant to be used in conjunction with an
appropriate power supply and any one of several controllers available
from ENMET. It is approved for location in Class I, Division 1, Groups B,
C, and D atmospheres. (www.enmet.com)
Tool and Equipment

Management Software
Washington-based software developer Dynamic Systems
Inc. launched the Basic Tool Manager, a software based
on barcode technology, which has been developed for
companies that want to reduce the loss of tools and
save time tracking down equipment and tools. Using
a wireless barcode reader, users can scan a personnel
badge and then a piece of equipment. The tool manager
software can then track who has the tool.
(www.click2barcode.com)
Remanufactured Generator Ends

Caterpillar Inc. introduced a new family of remanufactured
generator ends for standby, prime, and continuous power
applications. The C32 and 3500 series Caterpillar engines
have been used for applications ranging from distributed
generation to prime power for remote communities. The
rst wave of remanufactured generator ends includes 34
part numbers, which are available worldwide in 60-Hz
and 50-Hz packages with ratings from 910 kW to 2.5 MW.
Caterpillar says that the remanufactured generators come
with same-as-new quality at a fraction of the price of
new. Turnkey support is available from the Cat dealer
network. (www.cat.com)
72
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
NEW PRODUCTS
25-Ton Hydraulic
Internal/External Puller
Posi Locks hydraulic line featuring the patented
Safety Cage has been expanded to include the PH113IE, a three-jaw, 25-ton internal/external puller
that is designed to solve problems associated with the
removal of gears, bearings, and other press-t items.
The PH-113IEs internal puller jaws have a reach from
2.5 inches to 7 inches and a spread from 8 inches to 21
inches. The external jaws have a reach of 12 inches and
a spread of 2.5 inches to 18 inches with standard jaws.
The optional long jaws offer a reach of 20 inches and
a spread of 1.5 inches to 30 inches. Jaws are changed
simply by removing the ball-lock pins and replacing
the jaw. The internal and external slots are lined up,
so users can change from internal pulling to external
pulling in a matter of seconds. (www.posilock.com)
Pressure Blowers
for High-Volume Applications
Chicago Blower has developed a series of 16 higher-pressure
blowers that are suited to combustion air, aeration, cooling
and drying systems, and other high-volume processes. The
blowers support pressures of up to 91-inch water gauge and
volumes of up to 18,000 cubic feet per minute. Features
include a lightweight aluminum alloy wheel design to
reduce motor loads. Designated constant velocity, the
convex wheel sides and precisely shaped air chambers
maintain consistent velocity to produce a stable ow across
the entire performance range, while also reducing sound
levels. The Design 53 single-stage pressure blower (shown
here), which is also commonly used in pneumatic conveying
systems, is available in fan sizes of between 4 inches and 14
inches. (www.chicagoblower.com)
High-Torque Electric Rotary Actuator

Rotork Process Controls introduced the SM-6000 S2, an electric
rotary actuator for a wide range of heavy-duty damper drive
applications found in power plants. The actuator provides high
speeds and high torque for continuous modulating duty. It also
offers positioning accuracy and can operate well in harsh and
rugged environments.
The SM-6000 S2 includes an internally mounted digital
amplier that can be easily programmed via non-intrusive rotary
switches and a vacuum uorescent display on the front of the
unit. Standard features include an operating temperature of 40F
to 185F, automatic torque limiting, and a watertight, doubledsealed enclosure with a separately sealed terminal compartment
designed for hostile environments. Several options are also
available, including an extended temperature range to 225F and
faster speeds. The actuator is available in many speed/torque
combinations, which can be adjusted to meet specic application
requirements. (www.rotork.com)
Inclusion in New Products does not imply endorsement by POWER magazine.
July 2009 POWER
www.powermag.com
73
Power plant Buyers Mart

POWERPROFESSIONALS
Opportunities in Operations and Maintenance,
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First-line Supervision to Executive Level Positions.
Employer pays fee. Send resumes to:
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email: dwood@powerindustrycareers.com
(360) 260-0979 l (360) 253-5292
www.powerindustrycareers.com
READERSERVICENUMBER 200
BIOMASS COFIRING?
Want to:
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Store in piles or domes?
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July 2009 POWER
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75
Power plant Buyers Mart
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76
www.powermag.com
BOILERS - 200,000#/HR Combustion Engineering

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INTERNATIONAL POWER MACHINERY CO.

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Power Plant Buyers Mart

Need a Thorough Mix?
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POWER
Classifieds
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July 2009 POWER

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77
Advertisers Index
Enter reader service numbers on the FREE Product Information Source card in this issue.
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Service
Number
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Service
Number
Applied Bolting Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . . . 10
Parkline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 . . . . . . . . 35
Ashross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . . . . . . . . 31
Petro-Valve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 13 . . . . . . 4, 11
Babcock & Wilcox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 4 . . . . . . . . . 3
Plymouth Tube Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 . . . . . . . . 24
Baker Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . . . . . . . . 23
Process Barron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . . . . . . . . 29
Bechtel Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Rentech Boiler Systems Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 2 . . . . . . . . . 1
Benetech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 . . . . . . . . 26
Roberts & Schaefer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 . . . . . . . . 34
Beumer Maschinenfabrik GMBH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . . . 17
Siemens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 . . . . . . . . 20
Conoco Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . . 22
Solvay Chemicals Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . 7
Day & Zimmermann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . 15
SOR Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 . . . . . . . . 13
Entech Design Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . 12
STF SPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 . . . . . . . . 19
GE Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . 8
Superbolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . . . 21
Hadek Protective Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . 9
Turbine Energy Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 . . . . . . . . 25
Hitachi Power Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover 3 . . . . . . . . . 2
Turbocare Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 . . . . . . . . 32
Jeffrey Rader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 . . . . . . . . 37
Victory Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . . . . . . . . 36
Mitsubishi Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 . . . . . . . . 28
Westinghouse Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . . . 18
www.appliedbolting.com
www.ashross.com
www.babcock.com
www.bakerconcrete.com
www.bechtel.com
www.benetechusa.com
www.beumer.com
www.conocophillipslubricants.com/POWER
www.dayzim.com
www.entechdesign.com
www.ge-energy.com/gasification
www.hadek.com
www.hitachi.us/hpsa
www.jeffreyrader.com/pow
www.mpshq.com
www.parkline.com
www.petrovalve.com
www.plymouth.com
www.processbarron.com/power
www.renetechboilers.com
www.r-s.com
www.siemens.com/energy/cybersecurity
www.solvair.com
www.sorinc.com
www.stf.it, www.bwe.dk
www.superbolt.com
sales@turbineenergysolutions.com
www.turbocare.com
www.victoryenergy.com
www.westinghousenuclear.com
Mobil Industrial Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2, 3 . . . . . . . 5, 6

www.mobilindustrial.com
Norit Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . 16

www.norit-americas.com/mercury
Paharpur Cooling Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . . . 27

www.paharpur.com
July 2009 POWER
Classified Advertising
Pages 74-77, To place a classified ad, contact:

Diane Hammes, POWER magazine, 713-343-1885,
dianeh@tradefairgroup.com
www.powermag.com
79
COMMENTARY
Managing Solars Revenue

Impact on Utilities
By Mike Taylor
ince 1882, when Thomas Edison installed the worlds first
central generating plant in New York City, utility business
models have varied little from the basic one: cover costs
and generate profit by selling more electricity. But today, unprecedented challenges are sweeping through the industry. Soon
utilities will face yet another new challenge: the large-scale implementation of distributed solar power, which can result in lower
electricity sales. As solar implementation further challenges business-as-usual models, whats a forward-thinking utility to do?
The PV Industrys New Business Models

Much like the wind energy industry earlier in this decade, the
global photovoltaic (PV) industry is poised for significant growth
over the next five yearson the order of tens of gigawatts installed annually by 2015. Unlike wind, however, PV can readily
scale from watts up to hundreds of megawatts per installation.
Ownership can vary from the utility to the utilitys customer or a
solar developer, and installation can occur on both the customer
and utility sides of the meter.
Recent innovative business models for PV projects include the
installation of 40 MW of PV on 200,000 utility poles, implementation of distributed power plants (up to 500 MW distributed
on hundreds of customers property on the utility side of the
meter), and announcements for centralized projects up to 550
MW. It is not an exaggeration to say that PV will become a new
disruptive technology in the electricity sector, just as personal
computers and cell phones were in their respective industries.
For most utilities, the question of solar implementation should
not be If but How soon? By whom? and Where?
Anticipating Solar Energys Impact

on Utilities Profits
Lets fast forward five years. You are an electric utility located
in a state with leading solar generation capacity. Solar companies are rapidly installing residential and commercial PV systems
using no-cost performance contractseffectively selling your
customers solar electricity at a lower price than you can. Solar
is a phone call and credit check away from everyone. Currently,
5% are reducing their annual utility consumption 25% to 75%,
and your revenues are falling commensurately. This is on top
of revenue fluctuations from weather, energy efficiency, electric
vehicles, fuel-switching, population growth or decline, and other
electricity consumption changes. Profits, if not eroding, are potentially volatile, and the long-term forecast is unknown.
With this scenario to look forward to, what are your options
for managing PVs revenue impact over the coming years? Here
are seven possible options.
Net Metering Limitations. You could ask regulators to limit
the size of any one PV installation and/or the aggregate of PV
systems in your territory. Prognosis: Unpopular. This runs counter
to the energy democratization movement that PV represents. Do
80
you really want to be that utility in the age of viral Internet?

Increase Fixed Charges. You could increase the monthly
fixed charge to recover fixed costs and lower the volumetric energy charge. Prognosis: Incomplete. Simple economics (and the
justification for your smart meter initiative) was predicated on
aligning pricing with the cost of service.
Fuel Clause Adjustments. You can calculate, or more likely
guesstimate, your lost revenues based on the performance of
your customers PV systems, and recover them through a fuel
clause adjustment. Prognosis: Incomplete. Regulators may question whether your utility can push that particular risk on ratepayers without also sharing other revenue risks with them.
Real-Time Pricing. The fundamental problem with electricity
markets is the mismatch between cost of service and price, something that real-time pricing can address, as PV generation will be
compensated at more cost-appropriate levels. Prognosis: Efficient.
But is it possible? Time-of-use rates have business appeal, but
they may not be practical for the average consumer. And what if
both energy storage and advanced energy management are available, allowing customers to maximize the arbitrage difference?
More-Frequent Rate Cases. You can increase the frequency
of rate cases to minimize the under- and overcollection of revenues, followed by an adjustment of rates. Prognosis: Possible.
But is that efficient? Are annual rate cases appealing?
Decoupling. You can change the mechanism for utility compensation, breaking the link between customer consumption and
utility revenues and profits by targeting revenues based on another metric, such as the number of customers. Prognosis: Possible. But change is difficult. Do you prefer the devil you know
rather than something new?
A New Paradigm. Played out over time, the PV marketin
concert with storage, electric vehicles, the smart grid, and other
developmentscertainly has the potential to drastically change
the traditional utility business model within our lifetimes. Prognosis: To be determined. Will you be ready?
Getting Ready
Within the 10- to 15-year timeframe of your next integrated
resource plan, this scenario will no longer be hypothetical. To
learn more about this important issue, download the Solar Electric Power Associations recently released report, Decoupling
Utility Profits from Sales: Issues for the Photovoltaic Industry,
from www.solarelectricpower.org.
Large PV deployment and market developments wont occur for
all utilities in every state, but even conservative estimates point
toward a large percentage of electricity consumers having a costcompetitive PV option by 2015. Its time to see PV as a viable
business option rather than a technological novelty. Decoupling
is one strong option to consider.
Mike Taylor (mtaylor@solarelectricpower.org) is the director of
research and education for the Solar Electric Power Association.
www.powermag.com
POWER July 2009
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July 2009 Vol. 153 No.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRY

Vol. 153 No. 7 July 2009

Advanced Digital Control

BOILERS, TEXAS TOUGH

Fired Package Boilers / Wasteheat Boilers / Heat Recovery Steam Generators

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COVER STORY: PLANT CONTROLS

34 Designing an Ultrasupercritical Steam Turbine

40 Power Industry Needs to Do a Better Job of Educating and Messaging

46 The Growing Role of Waste-to-Energy in the U.S.

48 Carbon Control: The Long Road Ahead

52 Technology Could Deliver 90% Hg Reduction from Coal

58 Improved Filler Metal Enables Higher-Temperature Dissimilar Metal Welds

July 2009 POWER

If you think of oil as a line item, or

62 The Odd Couple: Renewables and Transmission

68 Biomass Cofiring: Another Way to Clean Your Coal

MORE POWER STORIES ONLINE

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Commercial Experience with Concrete-Friendly Mercury Sorbents

All of which adds up to one thing:

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Our Integrity Is Not for Sale

Mitsubishi Wraps Up Development of J-Class Mega Turbine

18 How Company Size Affects NERC Compliance

Too Many Fingers in the Smart Grid Pie?

Managing Solars Revenue Impact on Utilities

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