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BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRYDecember 2007 Vol. 151 No. 12Vol. 151No. 12December 2007 www.powermag.comTop Plants:Five model renewable energy projects A developers guide for wind projectsSafeguard your closed cooling systemBUYERS GUIDE 2008vea a machIae aeeds to he ameredYour most valuable employees are your equipment, so it only makes sense to treat them right. Conoco Hydroclear Diamond Class Turbine Oil is specially formulated for the harsh conditions of the power generation industry-providing superiorrust,corrosionandoxidationprotectionwhileminimizingharmful sludge and varnish deposits. t's the kind of service your equipment demands, the kind of service you expect from Conoco lubricants.'ETSIT$ONEI0hes.coaoco.com18002559556 Copyright 2005 ConocoPhillips Company. Conoco and the Conoco Logo are trademarks of ConocoPhillips Company or its subsidiaries.CIRCLE 1 ON READER SERVICE CARDDecember 2007 | POWERwww.powermag.com1 www.powermag.com Established 1882 Vol. 151 No. 12December 2007 On the coverAstringoftwenty1.5-MWwindturbines wasphotographedbyNRELsToddSpink nearMontfort,Wisconsin. FPLEnergy owns and operates the turbines; power is sold to Wisconsin Power and Light and We Energies. Courtesy: NRELDEPARTMENTS4SPEAKING OF POWER6GLOBAL MONITOR6TVA may revive Bellefonte8GEs globetrotting Jenbachers10Largest PV plant taking shape12When will PV be competitive?14Siemens goes to the wall with solar14Breakthrough in metamaterials14POWER digest18FOCUS ON O&M18The web: Ideal for skills development22Upgrading a New Orleans pumping station24Turn plant failures into successes28LEGAL & REGULATORY78RETROSPECTIVE82NEW PRODUCTS 152COMMENTARYCOVER STORY: RENEWABLE TOP PLANTS 30Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm, UKA Danish company and the UK government demonstrate just how smoothly offshore wind generation can be developed. Projects like this 90-MW one are proving that the Old World is more forward-thinking than the New World when it comes to state-of-the-art wind power.34Central Vermont Public Service Cow Power ProgramImagine thanking the same farmer for the milk on your cereal and the electricity that brewsyourmorningcoffee.Thatsthecasefornearly3%ofoneVermontutilitys customers.40Nevada Solar OneInterest in solar thermal plants is growing, thanks to rising electricity costs, state re-newable mandates, plus improved materials and energy conversion efficiency. This Nevada plant may be called Solar One, but it wont be the last one built.46Raft River Geothermal Project, IdahoAdd together increased demand for renewable power, a combination of federal and state incentives, proven resources, plus basic infrastructure, and youve got one hot site for a profitable geothermal power plant.52Steel Winds Project, New YorkSmallinsizebutlargeinitslistoffirstsanduniqueattributes,thissteelmillsto windmillsprojectprovesthatrenewableenergyprojectsdonthavetobebigto have a big impact.INDUSTRY TRENDS58Map of geothermal, wind, hydro, and wood power plants in North America SPECIAL REPORTPROJECT MANAGEMENT60Developing wind projects in CaliforniaA professor and consultant offers a crash course in everything youve ever needed to know before committing to a wind project in the most renewable-hungry state in the U.S. (Much of his advice also applies to projects developed beyond the Golden State.) You will be tested.FEATUREWATER TREATMENT72Forgotten water: Stator cooling water chemistryIgnore the stator cooling water system at your peril: Reduced generating capacity or even catastrophic failure of the generator can result from deposits of copper oxides in the wrong places. 88The POWER Buyers Guide, updated each year, provides product and service source information plus company contact information. Plant managers and procurement specialists keep our directory handy to use as a resource when making purchasing decisions throughout the year. 2008BUYERS GUIDE2008www.powermag.comPOWER |December 2007 2Now incorporatingand EDITORIAL & PRODUCTIONEditor-in-Chief: Dr. Robert Peltier, PE480-820-7855, [email protected] Editor:Gail ReitenbachExecutive Editor:John JavetskiSenior Editor:Kennedy MaizeContributing Editors:Mark Axford;David Daniels;Bill Ellison, PE;Steven F. Greenwald; Tim Hurst;Jim Hylko;Douglas Smith; Jim Stanton; Dick StormSenior Designer:Leslie ClaireDesigner:Danielle JamarSenior Production Manager:Tracey Lilly, [email protected] Manager:Jamie ReesbyADVERTISING SALESNorth American OfficesNortheast/Mid-Atlantic/Eastern Canada:Matthew Grant, 832-242-1969, [email protected]; and Catherine Ryan, 516-978-3150, [email protected]/West/Western Canada:Dan Gentile, 512-918-8075, [email protected]:Matthew Grant, 832-242-1969, [email protected] South Central/Mexico/Central & South America:Myla Dixon, 832-242-1969, [email protected] OfficesUK/France/Benelux/Scandinavia:Peter Gilmore, +44 (0) 20 7834 5559, [email protected] Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Eastern Europe:Gerd Strasmann, +49 (0) 2191 931 497, [email protected]:Ferruccio Silvera, +39 (0) 2 284 6716, [email protected]/Portugal:Tatiana Gana, +34 91 456 08 47, [email protected]:Katsuhiro Ishii, +81 (0) 3 5691 3335Thailand:Nartnittha Jirarayapong, +66 (0) 2 237-9471, +66 (0) 2 237 9478India:Faredoon B. Kuka, 91 22 5570 3081/82, [email protected] Korea:Peter Kwon, +82 2 416 2876, +82 2 2202 9351, [email protected]:Tony Tan, +60 3 706 4176, +60 3 706 4177, [email protected] AdvertisingMyla Dixon, 832-242-1969, [email protected] Buyers Guide SalesMatthew Grant, Account Executive, 832-242-1969, [email protected] DEVELOPMENTAudience Development Director:Stuart BonnerFulfillment Manager:George SeverineCUSTOMER SERVICEFor subscriber service:[email protected], 800-542-2823 or 847-763-9509Electronic and Paper Reprints:[email protected], 717-666-3052All Other Customer Service:832-242-1969 extension 327BUSINESS OFFICETradeFair Group Publications, 11000 Richmond Avenue, Suite 500, Houston TX 77042Publisher:Brian K. Nessen, 832-242-1969, [email protected]:Sean GuerreACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850301-354-2000 www.accessintel.comChief Executive Officer:Donald A. PazourExec. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer:Ed PinedoExec. Vice President, Human Resources & Administration:Macy L. FectoDivisional President, Business Information Group:Heather FarleySenior Vice President, Corporate Audience Development:Sylvia SierraSenior Vice President & Chief Information Officer:Robert PaciorekVice President, Production & Manufacturing:Michael KrausVice President, Financial Planning & Internal Audit:Steve Barber BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRYVisit POWER on the web: www.powermag.comSubscribe online at: www.submag.com/sub/pwPOWER(ISSN0032-5929)ispublishedmonthlybyAccess Intelligence,LLC,4ChokeCherryRoad,SecondFloor, Rockville,MD20850.PeriodicalspostagepaidatRockville, Maryland, and additional post offices. Canada Post Publication MailAgreementNo.41279020.RETURNUNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO DPGM Ltd., 2-7496 Bath Road, Mississauga, ON L4T 1L2. E-mail: [email protected]. Printed in the USA. ISSN 0032-5929 (print), ISSN 1936-7791 (online).POSTMASTER:PleasesendaddresschangestoPOWER, P.O. Box 2182, Skokie, IL 60076. Printed in the U.S.Subscriptions:Availableatnochargeonlyforqualified executivesandengineeringandsupervisorypersonnel inelectricutilities,independentgeneratingcompanies, consultingengineeringfirms,processindustries,andother manufacturingindustries.AllothersintheU.S.andU.S. possessions: $59 for one year, $99 for two years. In Canada: US$64 for one year, US$104 for two years. Outside U.S. and Canada: US$159 for one year, US$269 for two years (includes air mail delivery). Payment in full or credit card information is requiredtoprocessyourorder.Subscriptionrequestmust include subscriber name, title, and company name. For new or renewal orders, call 847-763-9509. Single copy price: $25. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any order. Allow four to twelve weeks for shipment of the first issue on subscriptions. Missing issues must be claimed within three months for the U.S. or within six months outside U.S.For customer service and address changes, call [email protected] or write to POWER, P.O. Box 2182, Skokie, IL 60076. Please include account number, which appears above name on magazine mailing label or send entire label.PhotocopyPermission:Wherenecessary,permissionis grantedbythecopyrightownerforthoseregisteredwith the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers,MA01923,978-750-8400,www.copyright.com, to photocopy any article herein, for commercial use for the flatfeeof$2.50percopyofeacharticle,orforclassroom usefortheflatfeeof$1.00percopyofeacharticle.Send paymenttotheCCC.Copyingforotherthanpersonalor internalreferenceusewithouttheexpresspermissionof TradeFairGroupPublicationsisprohibited.Requestsfor special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisherat11000RichmondAvenue,Suite500,Houston TX 77042. ISSN 0032-5929.Executive Offices of TradeFair Group Publications: 11000 Richmond Avenue, Suite 500, Houston TX 77042. Copyright 2007 by TradeFair Group Publications. All rights reserved.FOR MORE DETAILS VISIT WWW.DARATECHPLANT.COM OR CONTACT KIM ARELLANO AT 832.242.1969 EXT. 313 OR [email protected] by:Media Partners:12775Achieving Max Performance with Limited Resources.Who Should Attend:CEOs CTOs CIOsWhy Should You Attend: Participate in strategic discussions Network with and learn from your peers from around the world Discover innovative ideas and best practices See emerging technologies Create strategic alliancesJANUARY 28-30, 2008WYNDHAMGRE E NSPOI NT HOT E LHOUST ON, T E XASGlobal Interaction Technology SolutionsLowering Risk Total Executionwww.powermag.comPOWER |December 2007 4SPEAKING OF POWERCarbon credits and debitsCarbon control legislation made it out of a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in late October, but no one is happy with it. The bill, S. 2191, Americas Climate Security Act of 2007, would direct the U.S. EPA to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Though it doesnt stand a chance of moving beyond the Senate floor, it does highlight the most contentious issues facing any attempt to legislatively control CO2 emissions.Besidesprovidingfinancialaidtolow-andmiddle-income taxpayers to help them adapt to new energy-efficiency rules, and fundingaprogramtoacceleratethedevelopmentanddeploy-ment of innovative energy technologies, S. 2191 would:Require the three sectors that account for 75% of Americas CO2 emissions (electric utilities, industrial manufacturing, and oil refining) to lower their emissions to 2005 levels by 2012, to 1990 levels (about a 15% reduction) by 2020, and to 65% below 1990 levels by 2050.Createacap-and-tradeprogramforsixGHGs,withthecaps proportionaltothegasesglobalwarmingpotential.Some 20% of the tradable emissions allowances would be given to existing carbon generators; the rest would be auctioned. Total credits available would then be ratcheted down over 24 years to meet the emissions-reduction goals.If Congress is going to choose a cap-and-trade plan as its big gun in the fight against climate change, then it should recognize and acknowledge the collateral damage it will cause in terms of economic inequities both domestically and internationally. BlowbackResponses to the bill, which is still being marked up, were pre-dictable.TheLosAngelesTimeseditorializedthatbecausethe cap-and-tradeapproachinvitesprofiteeringandcheating,the newspaperfavorsacarbontax.TheNaturalResourcesDefense Councillikescap-and-tradeinconceptbutwouldlikeanac-celeratedtimelineandfewercreditshandedtoexistingpower plants and factories. Lewis Hay, chairman of FPL Group (which ownstwonuclearplants,partofonlytwocoal-firedstations, and hundreds of wind turbines) also took issue with the initial distribution of credits. Unfortunately, the . . . proposed [bill], if left unchanged, would reward the countrys biggest emitters of carbon dioxide with billions of dollars of free allowances.Ineffect,anycarboncontrolmandatewouldredistribute wealthfromthosestates(andtheirregulatedutilities)with lowerelectricrates(primarilyduetomorecoal-firedgenera-tion)tothosewithmorenuclear,gas-fired,andrenewable energycapacity.Isitfairtodoleoutsomeemissionscredits tocoal-firedutilitiestosoftentheblowontheircustomers, whose rates will rise the most as a result of carbon caps? Thats somethingforthe110th(or111th)Congresstodetermine. But,astheEuropeanUnionlearnedthehardway,anycap-and-trade scheme will lose credibility and efficacy if the public decides that the initial allowances were oversupplied and badly distributed, via grandfathering rather than auctioning.Doctrines without bordersNot only would U.S. carbon cap-and-trade legislation create do-mestic energy cost inequities, it would also have negligible prac-tical impact on the international scene. By 2050, regardless of any carbon legislation Congress adopts, or how fast the ratchet handle is cranked, Americas CO2 emissions will likely be only a fraction of the worlds totaland the total is all that matters to the climate. Americas Climate, as the bill puts it, is inextrica-bly part of the global climate. ManysaythatonlytheU.S.canprovidethepoliticallead-ershipandtechnologydevelopmentneededtocombatclimate change.Perhaps,butIdoubtthatChinaandIndiaarewait-ing for either. Having avoided signing on to the Kyoto Protocol, neithercountrywillbelikelytostuntitseconomicgrowthto comply with any future GHG-limiting global treaty. Together, the U.S., the EU, China, and India currently account for 56% of worldwide CO2 emissions. To reduce worldwide atmo-spheric concentrations of CO2, the entire industrialized world must participate. If China and India dont endorse and comply with the terms of the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, their carbon emis-sions will overwhelm those of the rest of the world for generations to come. In the meantime, the few who do adopt cap-and-trade schemes will bear a disproportionate burden of carbon costs.Coal: Asias energy present and futureIf China makes good on plans to add as many as 500 coal-fired plantsoverthenextdecade,theywouldaccountforhalfthe worldstotalinthatcategory.HavingjustpassedtheU.S.in carbon emissions, China will surely increase its lead in coming years. And dont forget India, which has 200 coal plants of its ownindevelopment.TheU.S.hasapaltryfewdozenserious projects in the queue. Chinaseconomyisgrowingatawhite-hot10%ayear,and itisbeingfueledbycoal-firedelectricity.Soon,itmayalso be driven by nuclear power, thanks to a building program that dwarfsoursmorethan30,000MWofnewreactorsby2020. Although the new nukes wont produce any GHGs, their 30 GW of clean capacity will be overwhelmed by the dirty capacity of new Chinese coal plants growing at 8 GW a month over the past two years. China doesnt have much choice. Use of natural gas is limited by its high price and the countrys undeveloped pipeline network. Big hydropower, represented by the Three Gorges Dam, is by all accounts an environmental disaster.Its time we realized that coal combustion will be increasing in China and India for decades to come. If we spend trillions over thosesamedecadestoreduceourCO2emissionsinwaysthat drive up power costs, the only guaranteed outcome is that China and India are going to eat more of our economic lunch. Dr. Robert Peltier, PEEditor-in-ChiefAs sure as the sun rises, the need for reliable electricity grows by the day.Yet increasingly, success is being measured not only by megawatts generated,but also in terms of your business ability to operate in diverse environmentsand operating scenarios from base load to mid merit and peaking.GE Energy offers a wide array of innovative gas turbine and combinedcycle products and services. Through these proven solutions, were helpingour customers achieve greater operating flexibility, including the abilityto dispatch quickly and turndown while maintaining emissions compliance.To lean more about how GE Energys quick, reliable and efficient solutions canhelp keep you ahead of the demand curve, visit www.ge.com/energy today.GEEnergyGas Turbines, Combined Cycle Systems, Steam Turbines, Generators, and Contractual Service AgreementsOperations and Maintenance| Outage Services | Balance of Plant Services | Engineering| Upgrades | New and Refurbished Parts | RepairsEnergy demandisnt flat either.CIRCLE 4 ON READER SERVICE CARDwww.powermag.comPOWER | December 2007 6GLOBAL MONITORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORGLOBALMONI TORTVA may revive Bellefonte TheU.S.NuclearRegulatoryCommission (NRC)hasreceivedthesecondcomplete application to build a new nuclear plant in as many months. On October 30, Tennes-see Valley Authority (TVA) and the NuStart consortiumofnuclearutilitiesandreac-torvendorsappliedforacombinedcon-struction and operating license (COL) for twoadvancedpressurizedwaterreactors (PWRs)atTVAs1,600-acreBellefonte Nuclear Plant site in Jackson County, Ala. (Figure 1).InSeptember,NRGEnergyInc.be-came the first U.S. energy company in 29 yearssince before the Three Mile Island accidentto fully apply for a license for a new nuclear plant (see POWER, November 2007, p. 6). NRG and the operator of two PWRs at South Texas Project would like to build two next-generation 1,350-MW boil-ingwaterreactors(BWRs)designedby GeneralElectricadjacenttotheexisting units, to more than double the sites gen-erating capacity.Bellefonte should be a familiar name to industrygraybeards.InDecember1974, the NRC issued TVA permits to build two PWRs there. Fourteen years later, with Unit 1 90% complete and Unit 2 a little more thanhalf-done,TVAsboardofdirectors deferred further construction in response to lower-than-expected load growth. The project remained in limbo until November 2005, when TVA officially notified the NRC thatitwascancelled.Theconstruction permits then were withdrawn.Ducksinarow.TVAsCOLapplica-tionforBellefontespecifiestheuseof twoAP1000advancedpassivereactors fromWestinghouseElectricCo.,which wasboughtbyToshibaCorp.in2006. ThisJuly,Westinghousesignedcontracts withtheChinesegovernmenttobuild four plants based on the AP1000 by 2015. Sinceoneofthedealscallsfortransfer-ringdetailsofthereactorstechnology (Figure2)toagovernmentagency,the AP1000 will likely be a linchpin of Chinas nuclear power future.Although TVA has not yet committed to buildthenewreactors,industryobserv-ers cite several reasons for believing that Bellefonte 2.0 has a good chance of com-ing to fruition. For one, the federal utility does not face the financial pressures that make investor-owned utilities risk-averse. Whats more, the Bellefonte site still has intactandusefulinfrastructurebuiltfor theabortedproject,includingplentyof transmission lines. And TVA has the sup-port of NuStart, which has been working withitontheBellefonteCOLsubmittal for the past two years. Participating with NuStart in this ap-plicationisacost-effectivewaytopre-serveTVAsnuclearpoweroptionforthe futureaswecontinuetoexploreand developthebestalternativestomeet growing demand for electricity in the Ten-nesseeValley,saidBillMcCollum,TVAs chiefoperatingofficer.Likeotherutili-ties, we face long lead times to build and start new plants needed to meet around-the-clock baseload power demand. 2.Passive design, aggressive marketing. An artists conceptual rendering of the containment and power building of a nuclear unit based on the AP1000, an advanced passive next-generation reactor rated at 1,117 MW to 1,154 MW. Courtesy: Westinghouse Electric Co.1.Backfromthedead.TennesseeValleyAuthority,withsupportfromtheNuStart Consortium, has asked the NRC for permission to build two Westinghouse AP1000 next-gen-eration pressurized water reactors on the site of the utilitys unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Plant in Alabama. Source: TVAPENNGUARDBlock Lining SystemPROTECTING POWERPLANT CHIMNEYSTel: 412 928 [email protected] www.hadek.comHadek is the expert on power plant chimney and ductwork protection, and a global distributor of thePennguardBlock Lining System.We deliver: Research and feasibility studies Detail engineering Installation supervision Lifetime Performance Monitoring System 10 year limited warrantyTomorrows chimneydesign: lighter, cheaper,built to lastThe New Chimney Design from Hadek is a revolution in powerplant chimney construction.Its slim and lightweight, but built to last even in seismicregions. Its normally around five months faster and 20% less expensive to build than traditional chimneys. The design is simple: a smooth reinforced concrete shell, withthe PennguardBlock Lining System applied directly to itsinside surface. So theres no need for a separate internal flue.Why is the New Chimney Design the future? Its low maintenance, with minimal risk of component failure.Its long-lasting the Pennguardlining has a projected servicelife of at least 20 years. It has outstanding seismic tolerance.Also it is designed specifically for a wide range of operatingconditions including low temperature FGD operation.Make the New Chimney Design part of your plans. Contact Hadek now: 412 928 4693, [email protected] is a registered trademark of Henkel KGaA and is used with their permissionThis advertisement is not to be considered a warranty concerning product performanceConcrete shellAmbient temperature15c44c23cPennguard Block Lining System protects against acid condensate, high temperatures and thermal shockFlue gas stream44c23c130c50cCIRCLE 5 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 8GLOBAL MONITORTimingiseverything.NuStartchose BellefonteinSeptember2005asoneof twositesforwhichitsaiditwouldde-velopandsubmitCOLapplications.The other is Entergy Nuclears Grand Gulf plant inMississippi;iftheNRCapprovesafu-tureapplication,thesitewouldaddan advanced BWR of the same type that NRG envisions building at South Texas.If the NRC approves the Bellefonte ap-plication, its COL license would be issued to TVA. But NuStarts members also would benefit by being able to reference TVAs BellefonteapplicationforanyAP1000 reactordesignstheymightsubmit.In-deed,fouroftheconsortiumsutilities have announced plans to submit COL ap-plications for AP1000 projects to the NRC bytheendof2008thatwillmakethat reference.SupportbyNuStart(whichisitself backedbyaU.S.DepartmentofEnergy subsidy)madethedecisiontoapplyfor the Bellefonte COL a no-brainer for TVA. Whiletheutilityisaddressingthelast naggingproblemsatBrownsFerryUnit 1 (see POWER, November 2007, p. 30 for aninsidelookattheAlabamareactors restart this May), it is preparing to spend anestimated$2.5billionoverthenext fiveyearstocompletetheunfinished Unit2atitsWattsBarNuclearPlantin Tennessee. If all goes according to plan, the Watts Bar 2 project will be wrapping up when the NRC issues a COL for Belle-fonte,freeingupfundsforaconstruc-tionprojectthatcouldcost$10billion or more.TheNRCsaysitexpectstoreceiveup to 21 applications for as many as 30 new reactors over the next few years. The pro-posed new units have enjoyed tremendous support from the Bush administration and the U.S. Congress, which included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 loan guarantees and cost-overrun support of up to $2 bil-lion,spreadoverasmanyassixplants, aswellasaproductiontaxcreditof1.8 cents/kWh for six years, totaling as much as $125 million annually.GEs globetrotting JenbachersAnationswealthdeterminesitsability toreduceemissionsofthegreenhouse gaseswenowknowcontributetoglobal warming and climate change. That is clear from a survey of recent installations of GE EnergysJenbacherreciprocatingengines in three countries.Those in the two richer countries burn coal-mine methane that would otherwise bereleased,ormakemunicipalenergy systemsmoreefficient,therebyreducing their average fuel consumption and emis-sions.Ofnecessity,therationaleforthe reciprocating plants in the poorest coun-tryisincreasingreliability,ratherthan mitigating environmental impact. Firststop:China.Thereciprocating engine plant powered by coal mine meth-ane that Shanxi Yang Quan Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. built this May (and that GEcommissionedthreemonthslater)is atypicalbecauseitisntamine-mouth plant. Its fuel is extracted from an active coal mine and delivered via pumps, stor-age tanks, and pipelines several miles to the companys Shentangzui Power Plant in Yang Quan, 60 miles north of Taiyuan City, the capital of coal-rich Shanxi Province.ThenewplanthasfourJenbacher Model JGS 620 GS-S.L. engine-generators withamaximumoutputof3MWanda thermal efficiency of 40.6%. The gensets weremanufacturedatGEsgasengine headquarters and manufacturing center in Jenbach, Austria.Nextstop:Bangladesh.Oneofthe worldspoorestnations,Bangladeshdes-perately needs reliable electricitywhat-everitscarbonfootprinttosupportits industrial economy and raise its citizens standard of living. Because factories cant dependonpowerfromthepublicgrid, on-sitegenerationisanattractivealter-native, and one made even more so by the regionalabundanceoflow-costnatural gas (Figure 3), as demonstrated by these installations:ThetextilecompaniesParityFash-ionandR.K.Spinning,bothowned byMohammadAbdulHamid,arenow satisfiedJenbachercustomers.Parity commissionedthreeModelJMS320 GS-N.L. cogeneration modules in 2006, two years after R.K. Spinning installed fourModelJGS320GS-N.L.gensets. BothfactoriesareinNarayangonj,18 milessouthofBangladeshscapital cityofDhaka.Together,thethreeco-genunitsattheParityFashionplant deliver3MWofelectricity,aswellas 1.7 MW of heat energy (from their wa-terjackets)forusebyanabsorption chiller.Theenginesexhaustgasheat alsoisusedtoproducesteamneeded fordyeingfabric.Thefourgensetsat R.K. Spinning provide only one kind of energy: 4.2 MW of reliable electricity.The Sinha Textile Group of Kanchpur, 15 milessoutheastofDhaka,ordered12 JGS 320 GS-N.L. gensets between 2000 andthebeginningof2007toprovide 12.5MWforseveralofthecompanys mills in the region. Six of the engines, whichoperateinislandmode,have alreadyaccumulated40,000operating hours. Inmid-2005,AFBL,adivisionofthe Akij Group, installed four JGS 320 GS-N.L.gensetswithacombinedrating 3.Do it yourself. GEs Jenbacher engines have been a boon to Bangladeshs burgeoning industrial economy. Examples include these three Model JGS 320 GS-N.L. units, which pro-duce 3.1 MW of on-site power for a Roshawa Spinning Mills Ltd. facility in Dhaka. Courtesy: GE EnergyHydrolox traveling water screens are designed and constructed to combat the mostpersistent and costly issues encountered in your cooling water intakes. They are built ofimpact-resistant, engineered polymer modules that last two to ve times longer than traditionalsteel chain and basket screens. And they are approximately 40% lighter than steel screens,making them easier and safer to work with.Even in the most abrasive, corrosive environments,Hydrolox screens improve operational efciencies and eliminatemaintenance costs.For more information, please visit www.hydrolox.com or contact us at 1-866-586-2825.ENGINEERED POLYMER SCREENS Traveling water screen technology for today and tomorrowHydrolox...the anti-corrosion,anti-abrasion, low-maintenancetraveling water screen.Patented three-piece debris-handlingight facilitates repairs if damaged; easilyreplaced with sh-handling attachments.Smooth polymer screen surface is designedfor easy cleaning; is less likely to biofoul.Positive drive system eliminates unevenwear and extends life of the screen.CIRCLE 6 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 10GLOBAL MONITORof 4.2 MW to power its beverage plant inManikgonj,30milessouthwestof Dhaka. There, the company produces a variety of locally popular libations, in-cludingacola,alemondrink,andan energy drink.Last stop: Hungary. Since the Iron Cur-tain parted and fell in 1989, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have adapt-ed to capitalism and global competition, somemoreeffectivelythanothers.Hun-garyexemplifiesthesuccesses.In2002, realizingthatitneededtomodernize itseconomy,theHungariangovernment passedseveralinitiativesthatencourage greater energy efficiency.One of the rules specifically promotes greater use of combined heat and power (CHP)plantsfordistrictheatingofcit-ies.Sincetheruleswentintoeffect, Hungarianmunicipalitieshaveordered andinstalledroughly220MWworthof Jenbacherreciprocatingenginegensets tailored for CHP service.Dunaujvaros,40milessouthofBuda-pest,isonesuchcity.ThisOctober,it commissionedaplantwhose12natural gasfueledModel620GS-N.LC.gensets togetherdeliver36.5MWofelectricity and36.8MWofthermalpower,making itthelargestdistrictheatingprojectin Hungary to date.The plant in Dunaujvaros, which operates at an overall thermal efficiency of 86.4%, wasdevelopedbyitsowner,thegeneral contractor Energott Kft. Last year, the firm completed another cogen plant with eight similar gensets (Figure 4); it now supports the local grid and district heating system of the industrial city of Szkesfehrvr, 40 milessouthwestofBudapest.Thatplant cangenerate24.4MWofelectricityand 22.4 MW of thermal power.Largest PV plant taking shapeAlthough the 40-MW Solarpark Wald polenz projectnearLeipzig,Germany,wontbe completed until the end of 2009, it is al-readysupplying8.4MWofsunlight-gen-eratedelectricitytothelocalgrid.The projects developer is The Juwi Group (www.juwi.de), a wind and solar power specialist based in Mainz, Germany, with U.S. offices in Kansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.The photovoltaic (PV) power station is beingbuiltinthetownshipsofBrandis and Bennewitz in eastern Saxony on half of a 540-acre site formerly occupied by a militaryairbase.Theinstallation(Figure 5) covers an area equivalent to 200 foot-ball fields. With 11,000 posts in place, the first 2,600 aluminum substructures assem-bled, and 100,000 solar modules mounted andwired,thefirstphaseoftheproject now is complete. When it is finished, the plant will aggregate current from 550,000 thin-film PV modules.Construction has moved at a rapid pace; the first six megawatts were completed in justfourmonths.Theestimatedcostof thefinishedprojectis$188million,or $4,700/kW.Whencompleted,Solarpark Waldpolenzwilltakeacommandinglead intheever-changinglistoftheworlds largest-capacity PV projects (see table).4. Efficiency expert. GE Energy recent-lycelebratedthecommissioningof12ofits 3-MWJenbachernaturalgasfiredgensets atHungaryslargestdistrictheatingplantto date in the city of Dunaujvaros. The units are similar to the one shown being delivered to a cogeneration plant in Szkesfehrvr in 2006. Courtesy: GE Energy5.Deutschlandberalles.SolarparkWaldpolenzisontracktobecometheworlds largest photovoltaic power plant when it finishes expanding in 2009. The plant is now sending 8.4 MW to the grid. Courtesy: Juwi GroupThe worlds 15 largest photovoltaic power plants (as of October 2007). Source: www.pvresources.comPlant name Country Installed capacitySolarpark Beneixama Spain 20.0 MWPlanta Solar de Salamanca Spain 13.8 MWSolarpark Lobosillo Spain 12.7 MWSolarpark Gut Erlasee Germany 12.0 MWSerpa PV Power Plant Portugal 11.0 MWSolarpark Pocking Germany 10.0 MWHuerta Solar Monte Alto Spain 9.5 MWParque Fotovoltaico Viana Spain 8.8 MWSolarpark Zeche Gttelborn Germany 8.4 MWSolarpark Waldpolenz Germany 8.1 MWaHuerta Solar de Olmedilla de Alarcn Spain 6.5 MWSolarpark Mhlhausen Germany 6.3 MWHuerta Solar de Aldea del Conde Spain 6.0 MWSolarpark Rote Jahne Germany 6.0 MWSolarpark Darro Spain 5.8 MWNote: a. Still being expanded; 40 MW planned.PSMhasearneditsreputationbyimprovingthelongevity,performanceandreliabilityof industrial gas turbine hot parts. From ultra-low NOx retrot combustion systems to airfoils that better resist the wear-and-tear of todays demanding duty cycles, we design and manufacture a full range of critical capital parts for large gas turbines that are less expensive and perform as well as or better than the big boys parts that they replace. Fully compatible and available for 7FA, 501F, 6B, 7E/EA, 9E, and 501B and D series machines.psm.comT h e P r o v e n A l t e r n a t i v e1440 West Indiantown Rd.Suite 200Jupiter, Florida 33458Phone:561-354-1100Fax:561-354-1199THE BIG KIDS ALWAYS CAME TO USWHEN THEY NEEDEDSOMETHING FIXED.FUNNY, THEY STILL DO.CIRCLE 7 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 12GLOBAL MONITORIfyourewonderinghowsuchanex-pensiveplantisbeingfinanced,lookno furtherthanGermanysRenewableEn-ergySourcesAct.SinceAugust2004,it hasrequiredthecountrysgridoperators topayownersofhydroelectricandgeo-thermal plants, wind farms and PV plants, and plants fueled by landfill gas, sewage treatmentgas,methanefrommines,or biomassafixedfeeforeverykilowatt-hour of their production over a period of 15,20,or30years(dependingonplant type). For PV plants, the current rate is a whopping 51 cents/kWh, which makes the useofinnovativetechnologiessuchas Solar Waldpolenzs thin-film arrayscom-mercially cost-effective (at least for plant developers and owners).Naturally,thecostofsubsidizing greenelectricityispassedontoend users. According to Eurostat, the statisti-calarmoftheEuropeanCommission,on January1,2007,theaverageEuropean householdconsumingmorethan3,500 kWhannuallywaspaying28.21cents/kWhforelectricity,includingtaxes.By contrast,theU.S.DepartmentofEner-gysEnergyInformationAdministration reportsthattheaverageU.S.household electricitypricewas10.53cents/kWhin July2007.Nationwide,thelowestprices were7.12cents/kWhinWashingtonand 7.2centsinKentucky.Thehighestwere Hawaiis22.8cents,Connecticuts18.84 cents,NewYorks16.89cents,andCali-fornias 14.4 cents.When will PV be competitive?A report released in September by Green-peaceandtheEuropeanPhotovoltaic IndustryAssociation(EPIA)predicts thatgrid-connectedsolarpowerwillbe able to compete on cost with electricity generated by conventional means (burn-ing fossil fuels, nuclear fission, spinning hydroturbines)by2015inpartsofEu-rope and by 2020 in many regions of the world.SolarGeneration2007concludes thatinEurope,thepriceofconvention-ally produced power is likely to continue a 15-year upward trend. As a result, solar power is likely to be cost-competitive in southernEuropeasearlyastheendof thisdecade,andthroughoutEuropeby 2020. Under the most conservative of the three scenarios used to model the growth ofsolarthrough2030,PVwouldsupply 5.35% of global demand in that year.In the press release announcing the re-port, Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, president of the EPIA, said, Between now and 2010, the solar photovoltaic industry will invest 14billioneuros[$19.1billion]globally [to expand] PV factories. Mass production will enable us to reduce prices and we ex-pect to be competitive, in some regions, with end consumer prices by 2015. In the future there is no doubt that PV will be-comeafirst-choicetechnologyforelec-tricityconsumerstoprovideprice-stable and reliable electricity for private house-holds and other users.Global installed solar capacity in 2006 exceeded6,600MW.Thatsmorethan fourtimesthe1,200MWinservicein 2000.InstallationofPVcellsandmod-ules around the world has been growing at an annual rate of more than 35% since 1998.Accordingtothereport,large-scale grid-connected PV arrays larger than 1 MW represent 10% of the European PV market. They are also driving the current boom in projects, most of them in Organization for EconomicCooperationandDevelopment (OECD)countries.In1994,only20%of PV capacity was connected to the grid. By 2006, nearly 85% was. That kind of explo-CIRCLE 8 ON READER SERVICE CARDUni t edBrot herhoodOf Carpent ersWeGet i t DoneandWeGet i t DoneRi ght .Each year, UBC spends more than $100 million to hone the skills andcraftsmanship of our members.So, when you hire a trained UBC craftsman for your millwrightswork, youll know the job will get doneright. We have the skills to satisfy yourmost demanding customers, and a commitment to productivity that helpsyou meet your deadlines. Todays UBC can guarantee a highly trained workforce so, let 180 training centersand 100,000 trained craftsman make the difference for you.TheDi f f er enc ei sTrainingCIRCLE 9 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 14GLOBAL MONITORsive growth was exactly what many OECD countriesenvisionedwhentheycreated biggovernmentsubsidiesforrenewable energy development.Attheendof2006,Germanyledthe world in total installed PV capacity, with 2,530 MW. It was followed by Japan (1,708 MW), the U.S. (620 MW), and Spain (120 MW).Germanyalsowastheworldleader incapacityinstalledin2006,with750 MW.JapanandtheU.S.wereadistant secondandthird,with290MWand141 MW installed, respectively.Interestingly,thereportacknowledges that the two organizations predictions of likely installed solar capacity worldwide in past reports have consistently fallen way short of what the industry has produced. Thatmaybethecaseagain,particularly ifnewPVmodulefactoriesundercon-structionallowsupplytocatchupwith demand.Siemens goes to the wall with solarIn two projects that could be poster chil-drenfordual-useenvironmentaltech-nology,SiemensPowerTransmissionand Distribution(www.siemens.com/ptd)has clad the faades of a waste recycling plant andabiomass-firedpowerplantindif-ferentcitiesinItalywithsolarmodules and linked each system to the local power grid.Bothplantsareownedbythesame company:Ecosesto,asubsidiaryofthe Milan-basedActeliosGroup,whosecore businessincludespowergenerationfrom renewableenergysources.Onbothproj-ects,Siemensinstalledthearrays,grid-connected the systems, and is responsible for servicing and maintaining them.The waste recycling plant is in Trezzo, Lombardy. Its 100-foot-wide by 400-foot-highfaadenowiscoveredwithPVar-raysthathaveacombinedpeakoutput of 70 kW. According to Siemens PTD, it is the first photovoltaic system of this size tohavebeenintegratedintoanItalian building.Thebiomass-firedpowerplantisin Rende in southern Italy. A 40-foot by 500-foot steel structure on its faade supports 5,500single-crystalsolarmodules(Fig-ure 6) from Sharp Electronics Corp. (www.sharpusa.com). Each module has a rated maximum output of 180 watts, so the sys-temcangenerate1.4GWhenoughto supply 450 households.Breakthrough in metamaterialsA Princeton-led research team has demon-strated an easier and more reliable way to manufacture metamaterialsthose with a negative index of refractionusing con-ventional semiconductors and commercial techniques and tools for stacking them in layers.Metamaterialsareuniquefortheir abilitytorefract,orbend,lightinthe oppositedirection(Figure7).Theycan do that because their internal structural dimensionsaremuchsmallerthanthe wavelengthsoflightpassingthrough them. Because any wave passing through ametamaterialgoesthroughmultiple layers at once, it behaves as if manipu-lated by a single material with properties unlikethoseofanysemiconductorlayer alone.Simplifyingthemanufactureofmeta-materialsmayleadtoadvancesinmany areas,includinghigh-speedcommunica-tions, medical diagnostics, superior lenses andlasers,smallerlaser-basedsensors, and detection of terrorist threats.Previousmetamaterialsweretwo-di-mensional arrangements of metals, which limited their usefulness. The Princeton in-vention is the first 3-D metamaterial con-structed entirely from semiconductors.All non-opaque materials have an index of refraction, a measure of the degree and direction in which light is bent as it pass-es through them. Though materials found in nature have positive indices of refrac-tion,themetamaterialsmanufacturedby the Princeton researchers have a negative index of refraction.Negativerefractionholdspromisefor thedevelopmentofsuperiorlenses.The positiveindicesofrefractionofnormal materialsnecessitatetheuseofcurved lenses,whichinherentlydistortsomeof the light passing through them in devices such as telescopes and microscopes. Flat lensesmadefrommaterialsthatexhibit negative refraction could compensate for this aberration and enable far more pow-erful microscopes capable of seeing things as small as molecules of DNA.Significantly, the Princeton metamate-rialsalsocannegativelyrefractlightin the mid-infrared region, which is used in awiderangeofsensingandcommuni-cationsapplications.Theiruniquecom-positionresultsinlesslostlightthan from previous metamaterials, which were made of extremely small arrangements of metalwiresandrings.Thesemiconduc-tors that constitute the layers of the new materialsaregrownfromcrystalsand fabricatedusingprovenmanufacturing techniques.The Princeton researchers next plan to incorporatethenewmetamaterialsinto lasers.Theywillalsocontinuetomodify themandstrivetomaketheirfeatures eversmaller,whichwouldexpandthe range of light wavelengths capable of be-ing manipulated.POWER digestNewsitemsofinteresttopowerindustry professionals.ConocoPhillips and Peabody studying coal-to-gasprospects.Conoco Phillips andPeabodyEnergyhaveannounced theirselectionofasiteinKentuckyfor studyingthefeasibilityofdevelopinga commercial-scale coal-to-gas facility. The optimalfacilitywouldbeastate-of-the-artmine-mouthgasificationplantthat 6. Climbing the wall. Siemens Power TransmissionandDistributionrecentlycom-missioned a PV system it mounted on the fa-ade of a biomass-fired power plant in Rende in southern Italy. Courtesy: Siemens7. Curved optical backboard. A com-putersimulationofametamaterialwitha negativeindexofrefraction.Researchersat Princetonhavesucceededinmanufacturing several types with layers of the semiconduc-torsgalliumarsenideandaluminumindium arsenideusingcommonintegrated-circuit manufacturingtechniques.Courtesy:Keith Drake, Princeton UniversityCIRCLE 10 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 16GLOBAL MONITORusesConocoPhillipsE-Gastechnologyto produce as much as 1.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from coal over its lifetime. The feasibility study will vet several pos-sible designs and sites and will continue into 2008.Thestudywillfocusonassessingde-signs that meet or exceed state and fed-eral environmental protection regulations and technologies for reducing carbon foot-prints. For example, the two firms plan to work with the Midwest Geological Seques-tration Consortium and the Kentucky Geo-logical Survey to examine carbon capture and storage options.GElandsbigwindturbinedealwith EDP. GE Energy has signed a $730 million contract to supply Energias de Portugal, SA (EDP)the worlds fourth-largest wind farmdeveloperwith281windturbines totaling more than 500 MW of capacity for wind projects to be built during 2008 and 2009 in Europe and the U.S.Under the terms of the contract, GE will supply Neo Energia, the European renew-ables subsidiary of EDP, with 80 wind tur-binesratedat2.5MWeachforprojects in Europe, and Horizon Wind Energy LLC (EDPs American subsidiary) with 201 tur-bines rated at 1.5 MW for projects in the U.S.atsitesyettobedetermined.EDP purchased Houston-based Horizon earlier this year as part of an expansion into the North American wind energy market.AlloftheU.S.projectswillbeowned by Horizon Wind Energy or affiliates. Six-ty-seven of their turbines, and 30 of the turbinesfortheEuropeanprojects,are expectedtobecommissionedbeforethe end of next year.The wind industry is well established on theIberianpeninsula.Accordingtothe European Wind Energy Association, Spain had 11,615 MW of installed wind capacity at the beginning of 2007. That puts it in third place globallybehind Germany and the U.S. Portugal ranks much lower, with 1,716 MW.Basin Electric to build new CC plant in South Dakota. An area near White, S.D., hasbeenselectedasthesiteforanew BasinElectricPowerCooperativecom-bined-cyclepowerplantwithacapacity of about 300 MW to be fueled by natural gas. The proposed plant has been named theDeerCreekStationandisscheduled to be operational in 2012, pending permit approvals. White is about 12 miles north-eastofBrookingsintheeasternpartof the state.Theadditionalcapacityisneededto meetmemberloadrequirementsandwill serveasanintermediatepowersupply, saidDaveRaatz,managerofmarketing and power supply planning. Intermediate power supply is categorized as somewhere betweenbaseloadandpeakingcapacity, heexplained.Itisdesignedtocycle with demand, typically running about 12 to 16 hours a day when demand for elec-tricity is higher.This new generating resource is the best fit for Basin Electrics members, Raatz ex-plained, because of the sites proximity to fuel supply and transmission. The plants fuelwillbesuppliedbyBasinElectrics Dakota Gasification Co. via the Northern Border Pipeline.ProposedCanadianprojecttofeature CO2recovery.GEEnergyandBechtel OverseasPowerCorp.havesignedan agreementwithCalgary-basedTrans-Canada Corp. to develop the first polygen-eration facility in Canada capable of using petroleumcokeasafeedstockandincor-porating carbon capture and storage.Theproposedfacility,tobelocated inBellePlaine,Saskatchewan,would convertpetcoketohydrogen,nitrogen, steam,andcarbondioxideforfertilizer productionandenhancedoilrecovery.It alsowouldhaveaninstalledelectricity generation capacity of about 300 MW.TheplantwoulduseGEEnergysgas-ificationandflexible-fueltechnologyto generatepowerandsupportlocalindus-trial processes. GEs scope of supply is the gasificationislandandthepowerisland equipment, which includes two GE Frame 7FB gas turbines designed to run on syn-gas with high hydrogen content.UndertheagreementwithTransCana-da, GE and Bechtel Overseas Power Corp., whichhavealreadydonetheprojects preliminaryengineering,willadvanceto thenextengineeringphaseearlynext year.Ifstudiesindicatethattheproject is economically viable, detailed engineer-ing design would follow. Assuming timely receipt of construction and environmental permits,thepolygenerationplantcould come on-line as soon as 2013.FosterWheelerconsiderscapturing Spanish CO2. Foster Wheeler Ltd. recently announcedthattheSpanishsubsidiary ofitsGlobalPowerGrouphassignedan agreementwithFundacinCiudaddela Energa (CIUDEN) to develop an oxy-com-bustion process and CO2 capture solution foracoal-fireddemonstrationfacilityin Spain.TheagreementhiresFosterWheeler tohandletheinitialphaseofthisproj-ect (including providing engineering ser-vicesandtechnicalspecifications)and toreviewCIUDENsconceptualandbasic designforthedemoplantscombustion island.Theislandwillincorporateboth pulverized-coalandcirculatingfluid-ized-bed technologies. The demonstration plant is scheduled to become operational in mid-2009.FirstChineseCCplantfiredbyblast furnace gas. GE Energy has signed a mul-timillion-dollar contract with Wuhan Iron andSteelCo.,Ltd.tosupplytwocom-bustion turbine-generators and associated blastfurnacegas(BFG)compressorsfor acombined-cyclepowerplantinChina. Each package will comprise one Frame 9E gasturbine,onegenerator,andoneBFG compressor.BFG is created during the production of pig iron in steel mills and as a by-product ofcokecombustionandironoremeltin blastfurnaces.Itcanberecoveredand usedasfuelinacombinedcyclewith higherefficiencyandloweremissions than a traditional BFG boiler power gen-eration system.Deliveryofthegasturbinesissched-uled for late 2008. The plant is slated to be commissioned in late 2009.AEPbuysunfinishedDresdenplant. American Electric Power says it has com-pleted the purchase of a natural gasfired combined-cyclepowerplantstillunder constructionnearDresden,Ohio,from DresdenEnergyLLC,asubsidiaryofDo-minion, for $85 million.Constructionofthe580-MWDresden plant began in 2001 after its major equip-ment began arriving on-site. AEP expects tofinishtheplantin2009or2010and add to its generation portfolio.CovantaNSPSwaste-to-energyplant debuts.InlateOctober,CovantaHold-ingCorp.announcedthatithasbegun operatingthefirstwaste-to-energyunit built in compliance with the U.S. Environ-mentalProtectionAgencysNewSource Performance Standards.The new unit expands the Lee County Solid Waste Resource Recovery Facility in southwest Florida, which entered com-mercial service in December 1994. Before the$120millionexpansion,LeeCounty was able to convert 1,200 tons per day of solid waste into up to 39.7 MW of gener-ating capacity, for sale to Seminole Elec-tricCooperative.Nowitcanprocessan additional 636 tons daily and produce an additional 18 MW.Notably, the facility uses the secondary sewage treatment effluent from a nearby waste treatment plant for the majority of its process water. It uses both ferrous and nonferrous recovery systems to remove all metals from the residue. CIRCLE 11 ON READER SERVICE CARDwww.powermag.comPOWER |December 2007 18FOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUSONO&MFOCUS ON O&MTRAININGThe web: Ideal for skills developmentTo power the operations of large industrial customers and keep appliances and equip-menthumminginhomesandbusinesses, MinnesotaPower(MP)employeesmust collectivelyperformlikeawell-oiledma-chine24hoursaday,365daysayear. Perhapsnooneatthecompanyknows that better than MPs operations training administrator, John Batchelder (Figure 1). A 31-year MP veteran based at the coal-firedBoswellEnergyCenter,Batchelder cuthisteethonpowerplantoperations in the U.S. Navy. Since then, hes realized that people naturally take a task-oriented approachtodoingtheirjobsometimes at the expense of understanding how their work affects coworkers. Which is why, he emphasizes, training courses offered to MP employeesmustincludethebig-picture fundamentals, including how electricity is generated. You cant put the roof on the walls of your career home before you build the foundation, Batchelder said.In2005,MPfirstofferedworkersthe opportunitytosignupforoneof100 company-paidseatsforusingGeneral PhysicsCorp.sGPiLearnportal.Since then,interestintheGPmodulecover-ingpowergenerationfundamentalshas increased substantially. To meet demand, MPdoubledthesupplyoffreetraining seats to 200.ThankstoeffortsledbyBatchelder and MPs training site coordinatorsand lotsofcustomerfeedbackGPtrain-inghasbeenaugmentedbyMP-specific trainingdevelopedin-house.Nowem-ployeescantapinto3,200lessonand testing modules.MP wrote the job description for Batch-elderspositionin1999.Assoonashe gotthejob,Batchelderbeganworking toimprovetrainingopportunitiesfor allBoswellemployees.Forthenextfew years, his responsibilities were limited to the plant housing his office. But in 2004, Batcheldersdomainwasexpanded,to meetVPofGenerationAlHodniksgoal of enhancing training for employees at all MP plants by December 2005.WorkingwithhissupervisorMadelen Schuemann,thermalbusinessoperations manager for Boswell Units 1 and 2Batch-elder hunkered down to analyze the offer-ings of web-based training providers. After reviewing the curricula of the vendors he foundmostimpressiveintermsofthe price, quality, and applicability of training modules to MPs future needsBatchelder recommendedgoingwithGP.Hewasal-readyfamiliarwiththecompany,having taken some of its training courses in 1998 toprepareforanupgradeoftheBoswell plant to a distributed control system.ThethreecoremodulesofGPsPower Plant Operators training curriculum are:PowerFundamentals(Figure2),which gives all kinds of plant workers the the-oreticalandpracticalfoundationthey need. Among its topics are boilers, tur-bines, combustion basics, ash removal, electricalsystems,watertreatment, emissions control, and safety. CoreSkillsDevelopment,designedto help generation companies qualify their craftpersonnelanddevelopamulti-skilledworkforce.Thismoduletargets several plant personnel categories with 1.Trainingguru.JohnBatcheldermanagesMinnesotaPowersweb-basedoperations trainingprogram.Trainingopportunitiesareavailabletoeveryone,fromapprenticestosea-soned operators and technicians. Courtesy: Minnesota Power2.Trainingondemand.GeneralPhysicsweb-basedtrainingcurriculumbeginswith the fundamentals and progresses to advanced, specific topics, such as steam turbine auxilia-ries. Courtesy: Minnesota PowerIts not just Operations & Maintenance.ProEnergy runs your facility like it were our own.www.proenergyservices.comYouhaveahugeinvestmentinyourpowerplantsandequipment.Wehavetheexpertiseandexperiencetooperatethemtomaximizeyourprofit.Together,wecanmakeagreatteam;justaskourcustomers.Regardless oftheoperatingprofileofyourfacility,ProEnergys philosophyandflexibilityenablesustocustomizethe performanceparameterswhichmakethemostsenseforyour project, for the best net results.Visit the ProEnergy web site to view our O&M services.Then contact our Director of Operations & Maintenanceat 660-829-5100.M I S S O U R I G E O R G I A T E X A S M E X I C O V E N E Z U E L A A R G E N T I N A T A N Z A N I AIts our O&M philosophy.CIRCLE 12 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER |December 2007 20FOCUS ON O&Msubject matter such as instrumentation andcontrol(I&C),electricalandme-chanicalmaintenance,andplantand coal yard operations.AdvancedOperatorTraining,forsenior technicians.Itcoversboilerwater chemistry,heatratecalculations,and other advanced topics.Toaugmentthecoremodules,Batch-elderandMPstrainingsitecoordinators worked with GP to develop several levels oftraining.Asemployeescompletethe coursesattheirownpace,theyadvance throughbasictopicslikeappliedmath andcomplexoneslikeinstrumentation. Thetraininghelpsthemhandletheir ownjobsbetter,Batcheldersaid,but because they now have power generation basicsundertheirbelts,theyalsohave that big-picture view. Instead of just re-calibrating an instrument, they know why doing so is so important to overall plant performance.AnotherstepthatBatcheldertookto augmentthecoremoduleswastocre-ateanI&Ctrainingdevelopmentgroup, comprisingseniorI&Cpersonnelfrom various MP plants. They traveled to each MPplant,spenttimediscussingitsspe-cificI&Ctrainingneedswithmanagers, and then created lesson plans germane to each location.Lastyearsofferingoffreetraining sparkedplentyofemployeeinterestin continuingeducation.ButsodidMPs creation of a new position: apprentice op-erator. According to Batchelder, those of usleadingthetraininginitiativesnoted howmanyentry-levelemployeesbecame interested in fuels after that department introduced a fuels technician apprentice-ship program. Fuels created the template forourefforttocustomizeemployee training levels.Batchelderexplainedthatoncesome-one successfully completes an apprentice-ship,heorsheisimmediatelycertified byMinnesotasDepartmentofLaborand Industryasanexpertattheircraft.The certification is recognized by many other states (Figure 3).Thatsthecasebecauseeveryonewho takesaweb-basedtrainingcoursemust pass a test to prove theyve retained what theyve learned. Batchelder said, The in-dustry-standard passing grade is 70% re-tention, and thats MPs cutoff, too. If an employee doesnt pass the test, he or she can take it again. Employees can monitor theirprogressthroughthevarioustrain-ing levels at any time, as can their super-visors.MPencouragesitsemployeesto avail themselves of free training to reach theirshort-termgoal,whetherthatgoal is to do their current job better or to be promoted, Batchelder explained.Do supervisors like the new web-based approach?Absolutely,forseveralrea-sons. One is the outpouring of employee interestincontinuingeducationithas produced. For example, Boswell alone cur-rently has 81 people enrolled in training courses.Companywide,164employees have registered for some sort of training, and 99% of them are operators or special-ists in fuels or I&C.Anotherreasonthetrainingprograms have worked so well is that they are open toeveryone.Interestedemployeesdont even have to work at an MP power plant; all they need is a desire to learn how elec-tricityisgenerated.Severalmembersof the companys General Office Building de-partment are in that category.Athirdmeasureoftheinitiatives success:Severalsupervisorshaveasked Batchelderwhetheradditionaltraining modules could be developed to help their employeesgetthelicensesrequiredfor certainMPpositions.Theoptionsfor reconfiguringtrainingcurriculatomeet the needs and interests of craft and other workersarealmostendless,Batchelder said.Headdsthattheirsupervisorsof new MP engineers specializing in various disciplinesareveryinterestedinmaking sure that they receive training in the fun-damentals of power production.Finally,theweb-basedtrainingpro-gram has led to an expanded menu of ap-prenticeship opportunities, like those for operators and fuels specialists mentioned earlier.Anothernewapprenticeshipthat Batchelder helped create is in hydro plant operations, at the behest of hydro opera-tions supervisor Tom Hughes. To get this programupandrunning,Batchelderand HughesmetwithrepresentativesofGP, visitedall11ofMPshydroelectricfa-cilities, and then supervised the develop-mentofaweb-basedtrainingcurriculum specific to hydro plants.AccordingtoBatchelder,MPisnow looking to expand the web-based training initiativewhileensuringthatemployees takecoursesattheappropriatelevel.As an example, the company has established a credentials committee whose members wouldincludeBatchelder,plantproduc-tioncoordinators,unitsupervisorsand managers, and representatives of Local 31 of the International Brotherhood of Elec-trical Workers.The committee is responsible for slot-3.Are you experienced? Completing an apprenticeship program at Minnesota Power isanexcellentcareermove.Thestatescertificationisportabletootherstates.Courtesy: Minnesota PowerSolutions fromPre-feasibility to Plant Operations and SupportOur services to the Power industry cover the full asset spectrum both in size and lifecycle from the creation of new assets to services that sustain and improve operating assets.We offer extensive expertise across our comprehensive global network for renewable energy, clean coal, nuclear and natural gas generation, power distribution networks, and retrot projects. EcoNomics - Environmental and social imperatives now affect the bottom line for all major corporations and projects globally, which are particularly challenging in the resources and energy sectors.WorleyParsons is uniquely positioned to work both globally and locally with our customers to deliver on the value of EcoNomics.Our range of services and technologies embed environmental, social, and nancial sustainability into project delivery, across the asset lifecycle.www.worleyparsons.com23,800Personnel32Countries84OfcesCIRCLE 13 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER |December 2007 22FOCUS ON O&Mting employees in courses at the correct level,takingintoaccounttheirexperi-enceandexpertise.Workerswouldhave asayintheirassignment.AsBatchelder explains,forexample,someonewhos been here for 20 years could argue before thecommitteethattheyshouldnthave totakeanentry-levelcourse.Andifa younger worker brings plenty of computer savvy to the table, he or she would like-wise get credit for that. We have a huge workforce transition to prepare for as ex-perienced people retire; plant technology is a lot more complex. Thats another rea-son training is so important.ThroughGPsco-fundingoption,MP and two other power companiesAmeren andColoradoSpringsUtilitiesaresub-sidizingthecreationofmoreGPtraining modules. Its good for all parties involved, Batchelder said. GP can offer more train-ing to all their clients, and the co-funding utilities can get the training they want to develop for their own employees at a lower cost.Takingstockofwhatshappenedover the past year, Batchelder says its gratify-ing to see employees responding to, and wantingtohelpdevelopmore,training opportunities. We dropped a pebble into a pond a year ago with GP, he said, and itsjustincrediblehowtherippleshave spread.Contributed by Julie Aho of Minnesota Powers Public Affairs Department.FAST-TRACKING PROJECTSUpgrading a New Orleans pumping stationThestart-upofa2,300,000-gpmpump-ing station on the London Avenue Canal in New Orleans this August was cheered byallCrescentCityresidents.Butfew willeverappreciatehowquicklythe projectwascompletedninemonths from awarding a contract for the pumps to their commissioning.Akeypartofthecitysflood-control system,theLondonAvenueCanalcol-lectsdrainageandpumpsitintoLake Pontchartrain. In August 2005, neighbor-hoodsalongthecanalsufferedsomeof the worst damage from Hurricane Katrina andthesubsequentfloodscausedbyle-vee failures.On December 22, 2006, the U.S. Army CorpsofEngineers(USACE)changedits floodandstormwatercontrolstrategy bycallingfortheinstallationofhigh-capacitydirect-drivepumpsatLondon AvenueCanal,whereHurricaneKatrina caused two major breaches. The problem was that the USACE said the new pumps wereneededwithinninemonthsby mid-August 2007, the beginning of hur-ricane season. At the time, several pump vendorswerequotingdeliverytimesof 18to24months;theyconsideredthe timeframe impossible.WithindaysoftheUSACEappraisal, MichaelPittmanofM.R.PittmanGroup LLCalocalgeneralcontractorspecial-izingininfrastructureprojectswason thephonewithAlHuber,presidentof Patterson Pump Co. (www.pattersonpumps.com),asubsidiaryofGorman-RuppCo. PittmanimpresseduponHuberthehuge boost his pumps could give to the ongo-ingNewOrleansrecoveryeffort.Pittman alsoemphasizedthatthedirect-drive pumps were the critical missing pieces of theproposedproject;itsfoundationand surrounding infrastructure were already in place, thanks to the heroic efforts of the federalteamresponsibleforrecoveryof the Greater New Orleans area.Answeringthecall,Hubercommitted tomanufacture,deliver,andtesteight 68-inch x 72-inch semi-axial vertical flow (SAFV) Patterson pumps within 150 days. A contract was awarded on December 22, 2006.WhilePattersonwasbuildingand speciallyfittingthepumps,therecov-ery team was installing new surge gates, dischargepipes,andotherfoundational unitsofthepumpingstationtoprepare for the pump deliveries. Hubermadegoodonhiscommitment bydeliveringthepumpstoNewOrleans on schedule. Lengthy dry tests conducted duringthesecondweekofAugust2007 verified the pumps ability to run in water. Afterequallysuccessfulwettests,per-formed the following week, all eight pumps were officially accepted by the USACE. The pumps were then delivered to the London AvenueCanal,wheretheywereinstalled (Figure 4) and passed final tests.Col.JeffreyBedey,commanderofthe USACEsHurricaneProtectionOffice,re-centlyreflectedonPattersonPumpCo.s contributiontotherecoveryeffort:On August15,wecompletedtestingofall eightpumpshereatLondonAvenueCa-nal.Itwasanunbelievableeffortbya team that made history. Im proud to be part of the team, just as Patterson Pump should be proud of itself. They were there all along the way.Bedey summed up the project succinct-ly: Between December 22 and August 15 we had the award of a contract, the deliv-ery of eight pumps, and their installation and acceptance and final testing. I chal-lenge the engineering community to find a better example of making things happen quickly.What we are doing here in New Orleans isaboutmorethanjustbuildingpumps. Itsaboutrestoringthefaithandconfi-dence in the people. Not in the U.S. Army CorpsofEngineers,butthatinnerfaith and confidence such that people want to come back to this great community.As of September 2007, the population of metropolitan New Orleans was 70% of 4.Eightisenough,fornow.Oneoftheeight68-inchx72-inchSAFVmixed-flow pumps being installed at the London Avenue Canal in New Orleans. Courtesy: Patterson Pump Co.Now you can jump to the forefront of high-efficiency control with ABBs best-in-class 800xA Automation Control System technology. In fact, our OPTIMAXCombustion Optimizer solution alone delivers a minimum 0.5% improvement in heat rate, savinga typical 500 megawatt power plant $300,000 or more annually. We also have raised the bar higher by making our solution easy to implement with any control system. So if you are ready to reduce emissions and heat rates while optimizinglifecycle costs, visit www.abb.com/powergeneration or contact us at+1 440-585-8484.If raising the bar for power generation was easy, anyone could do it.ABB goes above and beyond.www.abb.comCIRCLE 14 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER |December 2007 24FOCUS ON O&Mpre-Katrinalevelsupfrom50%inAu-gust 2006.PLANT MANAGEMENTTurn plant failures into successesWhen a mishap occurs at your power plant, do you care to fully understand why? Some people dont. Others care, but only to the extentrequiredbyregulationsorcorpo-rate policy. Still others care passionately, and see immense value in understanding the root causes of failure.Root-causeanalysisisnotjustfor catastrophic accidents; its for day-to-day problem-solving,too.Atroublesomein-duced-draftboilerfan,forexample,may requireroutinereplacementofbearings. Your mechanic might be content to go on changing bearings every month, but if you conduct a root-cause analysis and find the bearing failures are due to an out-of-bal-ance rotor, then you can fix the problem and stop wasting the mechanics time and yourpreciousO&Mmoney.Thisiswhat root-causeanalysisisallabout:getting to the heart of a problem. Its not just a one-time exercise, but a way of thinking.A lot of people dont like to talk about plant failures. In fact, many peopleusu-allythoseatthehighestlevelsofman-agementtrytocoverthemup.Butby nottalkingaboutfailures,bychanging thefocus,peoplemissthepoint.Fail-ureisperhapsthesinglemostvaluable experienceinanyoneslifetime.Infact, root-cause specialists like to say that the secret to success is failure.Ifyoubelieveinroot-causeanalysis and in learning from mistakes, you prob-ablyalreadyhaveanincidentreporting programatyourplant.Youvealsoprob-ably already learned that it can be tough to make the program accurate, impartial, andeffective.Abigimpedimenttoac-curacyiscost,particularlywhentrying todeterminethecauseofcatastrophic equipment failures.Threelevelsofinvestigationcanbe undertaken:(1)determiningthemode offailure,(2)recognizingcontributing causes, and (3) finding the true root cause. If the first level costs X, then the second level probably costs 3 to 5X. Reaching the third level, experts estimate, can cost 10 to50X.Contributingtocostrun-upare such potential land mines as undocument-edrepairwork,inadequateknowledgeof metallurgytheprocessesoforiginal equipmentmanufacturers(OEMs)andre-work facilities are often proprietaryand secondary damage that masks the trigger-ing event. Otherimpedimentstoimpartialityare commercial,social,andpoliticalgoals. Forexample,investigatorsmayskewthe findings toward equipment design in order to recoup money from OEMs and insurance providers. Or they may point the finger at faulty instrumentation to avoid harming a power companys reputation.Even if incident reports rise above the bias and deliver accurate, impartial find-ings, they still may not be effective if the results are incorrectly applied. Results are oftenappliedineitheroftwoways.At one end of the spectrum, written reports are simply circulated via intra-office mail and employees are directed to read and initial them. This approach, according to trainingspecialists,failstodemonstrate managementcommitmentandtellsem-ployeesthattheincidentreportholds little importance.At the other extreme, conducting exces-siveinstructionandrammingtheresults intoemployeesheadscouldbeequally ineffective. The nuclear-powered Navy, for example, laid its cornerstone on accurate, CIRCLE 15 ON READER SERVICE CARDDecember 2007 | POWER25FOCUS ON O&Mhard-hittingincidentreports.Butmany veterans believe the programs value was diminished by marathon training sessions and overzealous disciplinary action.Trainingspecialistssaythatthemost effectivewaytoapplyincidentreports liessomewherebetweenthetwoex-tremes,andthatcorporatecultureplays a key role. The culture, they say, must en-couragethefollowingfourtypesofstaff behaviorthatleadtoeffectiveincident-reporting programs.First step: Freeze! Criminal investigators say that it is liter-ally impossible for someone to walk into a room without leaving behind some evi-denceoftheirpresence.Similarly,when a power plant mishap occurs, there is al-wayssomeevidence.Butthetrailfades astimepasses,sotheevidencemustbe capturedorfrozenassoonafterthe incident as possible.Considerthistruestory:Anengineer-ing team was called in to investigate an unexplainedsteam-turbinetripandits subsequentcatastrophicfailure,which sent flames leaping through the plant and metalflyingintothecontrolroom.Two monthsintotheinvestigation,theteam was at a loss to explain the event.Then,oneday,ajuniormemberof the team noticed that the turbines local emergency-stopbuttonwaspushedin, and jammed so it could not be released. The team then realized that the lone on-dutyoperator,whoclaimedhehadnot manually tripped the unit, was hiding the truth.Hewaspetrifiedofbeingblamed for the destruction.Asitturnedout,pushingtheemer-gency-stopbuttonwastherightaction, andthecatastrophicfailurewasnotthe operatorsfault.Afterfeelingasudden eruption of horrendous vibrations, he had pushedthebutton,asheshouldhave. Doingsowassupposedtoslamshutall steam-supplyvalvestotheturbineand electricallydisconnectthegenerator. Buteveryoneofthevalveswasrusted initssleeve,andhungopen.Thegen-erator disconnect, however, worked flaw-lessly,sotheturbinefailedfromsevere overspeed.Thatjammedemergency-stop button shows the importance of freezing evidence.Whenanincidentoccurs,note the positions of everythingevery push-button, valve, indicator, person, piece of equipment, mark, or blemish.Next, introduce ignorance Whensearchingforthecauseofafail-ure,weoftenoverlooktheobvious.This isespeciallytrueforformallyeducated technologistswerelishthethoughtof diggingintonitty-grittydetailsandex-ploring all kinds of complex possibilities. But what we should be doing is purposely introducing ignoranceasking the simple questions first. One failure specialist tells this story:Iaccompaniedafellowworkerto one of our sulfuric acid plants to help rebuildoneofitswaste-heatboilers. Barneywasmuchmoreexperienced thanIwas,andhadbeencomingto thesiteannuallyforalongtimethese waste-heat boilers had been re-built once a year for the last 20 years becauseofsulfuricacidcorrosion.I respectedBarneygreatly,asdidall site personnel.Thenextmorning,wemetwithan equallyrespectedteamofcorporate metallurgists who had also been com-ing to the site annually, as well as the plantsreliabilityengineeringstaff.I learnedthatonceperyear,theseex-perts would get together to try to get more life out of the boiler tubes. They had tried just about every metal they could think of.I looked around the room and noted thatwhileindividualmembersofthe group had changed from time to time, the collective team of experts had in-heritedallthefolkloreandtradition fromtheirpredecessors.Theirbias-eswereobvioustome,soIstarted askingsomesimple,straightforward questions.Theyansweredmyques-tionspolitely,buttheywereclearly annoyed.Thatnight,Icamerightoutwith it and asked Barney, What causes the boilertubestocorrode?Heflashed me a disgusted look and said, This is asulfuricacidplant.Acidismadein theboilers.Boilertubesandsulfuric acid dont mix well. So dont ask such a stupid question. The next morning, we met with the plant manager. Still troubled, I blurted out, I just dont understand why any-one would design a boiler with tubes that will corrode in one year! Barney couldhaveshotme.Buttheplant managerwaswide-eyed.Youknow, hesaid,Ivebeenwonderingthe same thing, but I didnt want to sound stupid.Ourothersulfuricacidplant isnt having these problems. Sure, we begin the acid-making process in the boilers, but theres not supposed to be acid until after those tubes.Encouragedbythisexchange,I calledmybossatthehomeoffice and suggested that we conduct a full-blownroot-causeanalysis.Heliked the idea so much he flew to the plant site to personally propose the project. When he was explaining the proposal, mybosssaidthatonlythetrulyig-norant can ask the questions that lead to discovery because they dont know enough to be ashamed of themselves. Then, he looked at me and said, Weve gotoneofthemostignorantpeople imaginable right here! The proposal was accepted, and the study pinpointed as the cause of failure a dew point problem, not a metallurgi-cal one. When we verified our hypoth-eses, we moved the affected tubes one footbehindtheiroriginallocation.It worked! In fact, we eventually changed the tube materials back to their origi-nal, less-expensive specification.The team of experts had looked at this problem for 20 years! They were brilliant intheirfield,buttheymadetwoofthe mostcommonmistakesinproblem-solv-ing. First, they tried to solve the problem before they looked at the evidence (some have described this as a medical problem calledprematureevaluation).Second, they failed to introduce ignorance. To help breakwhatoftencanbeathinshellof understanding, you must intentionally pit ignorance against expertise.Third, grow a why tree The root causes of all industrial incidents lie in the little things that present them-selvesonaday-to-day,moment-by-mo-mentbasis.Touncoverthem,wemust sincerely ask, Why?Experts recommend using a unique de-vice called the why tree. Its similar to thefaulttreeusedindesignindustries, but its much easier to use. What you must remember, however, is that the why tree is not probabilistic in nature, and therefore doesnotpredictpotentialfailurerates. Instead,itusesevidence,alongwithig-noranceandexpertise,todiglogically into an actual problem.Whenincidentshappeninourphysi-calworld,wecanalwaysfindaphysical problem.Butallphysicalproblemsare caused by people who do something inap-propriate. In other words, people are trig-geringmechanisms.Unfortunately,the usualreactionistofindthepersonwho triggeredtheproblemandblamehimor her.Oureagernesstopointthefinger and discipline the scoundrel implies that POWER |December 2007 26FOCUS ON O&Mthe cause lies with peoplenot whats in their minds, not the way they make deci-sions, but the physical person.Granted,sometimesdisciplinemakes sense.Butonlywhenwedefinespecifi-cally what we want it to accomplish. Our intentionsshouldbeprecise,fair,and appropriate.Moreimportant,wemust continuedownthewhytreeandunder-stand why people did what they did. The following is a good test of when to stop asking why: Do I understand the causes wellenoughthatImconvincedIwould do the same thing under the same circum-stances? When you can answer yes to thatquestion,youreatthepointwhere you can identify the root causes and make lasting, constructive improvements.Make the findings visible When a root-cause investigation is finally complete,theteamletsoutacollective sighofrelief.Finally,wehavecracked the shell. We know what caused the fail-ure. Victory is ours.BILGEWATER,asMarmadukeSurface-blow might say.Whocaresiftheinvestigatingteam understandsthecausesoffailure,ifno-bodyelseunderstands?Whocaresifthe principalinvestigatorhasbeenenlight-ened, but not the plant manager? What is thepointofroot-causeanalysisifevery single individual in the company does not learn the lessons? Read the sage advice of a failure specialist:Several years ago, I was investigat-ing a large electrical system failure at anindustrialfacility.Theentirecom-plexhadlostpowerformanyhours. When I arrived on the scene, I felt al-most overwhelmed by the complexity of the electrical system and its cascading seriesoffailuresIwasanelectrical novice. Our team eventually completed its work and produced a final report. I knew what was in it because I was part oftheteam.ButIdidntwriteit.In fact, I couldnt have written it because it was too complicated. The report was fiveinchesthickpageafterpageof detailed, technical writing.BecauseIwascontractuallybound to contribute my own narrative, I de-cided to write a different reportone that people could read. I limited it to a few pages, and, because most peo-plepreferlookingatvisualimages,I includednumerousdrawings.Ieven hiredanartist,whichmeantIhad to translate the causes of a complex, technicalcatastrophetoaperson trained only in fine arts.At times, I found myself talking to the artist as I would to a 10-year-old. But in the process, I found areas that even I didnt fully understand. I real-izedthatIwasfallingintothesame trap as other so-called expertswhen youstrippedawaythetechnicaljar-gon, there was little substance to what I was saying. It was then that I real-izedtheimportanceoftranslatinga studys findings. When my final report was ready, the artist fully understood thecausesofthemultimillion-dollar, technologicalfailure.Sodidothers with no technical trainingincluding my secretary and my wife. This specialists final report was only 30 pages15oftextand15ofsupporting graphics.Mostofthegraphicswerecar-toonsthatexaggeratedthephenomenon beingexplained.Theabilitytoexagger-ate added immensely to the reports clar-ityit was a way of raising the volume to get the readers attention. POWER editorsht t p: //www. appl i edbol t i ng. comemai l :power@appl i edbol ti ng.com1 800 552 1999the best way to bolt!1 802 460 3100T E CHNOL OGYappliedboltingTRAI NI NG FI ELDSUPPORT TECHNI CALEXPERTI SEforget torqueforget torqueUsing torque values means some bolts will be loose, some overtightened!You use squirters for your power plants,now use squirters for your wind turbines!tension! get tension! get no daily torque testing tension all bolts the same makes inspection visual makes retightening unnecessary easy to understand by any crewCIRCLE 47 ON READER SERVICE CARDCIRCLE 16 ON READER SERVICE CARDwww.powermag.comPOWER |December 2007 28LEGAL & REGULATORY Steven F. GreenwaldJeffrey P. GrayRigid COD deadlines do more harm than goodBy Steven F. Greenwald and Jeffrey P. GrayA utility executive responsible for procuring renewable power recently lamented that, at the time of contract execution, renewableprojectsaretypicallyataverypreliminary stage of development, offering scant information about project specifics. Regulatory or other objectives often cause the utility to require that the power purchase agreement be executed before critical permits have been obtained, transmission arrangements havebeenfinalized,orthequalityoftheprojectsfuelsource hasbeendetermined.Theutilityspokespersoncontrastedthis amorphous state of renewable projects as of contract execution with natural gas projects, which have far fewer unknowns.Despite their recognition of the schedule challenges confront-ing renewable projects, utilities usually insist that project spon-sors commit to an absolute, firm guaranteed commercial operation date (COD) and that substantial daily delay and other damages be imposed for any delay. Issues relating to the CODincluding security, penalties, and reasons for not imposing delay penaltiestypically emerge as the most contentious issue in negotiations.Benefits of punitive COD deadlines are IllusoryUtilitieshavelegitimatereliabilityandeconomicintereststo justifytheirdemandthattheCODbespecifiedandthatthe suppliercontractuallycommittoachievethatdate.However, these needs do not justify imposing a do or die COD deadline accompanied by draconian penalties. Utilities rationalize these measuresonthebasisthattheyarerelyingontheprojects capacity to meet their load as of the guaranteed COD and are providingtheprojectsponsorthenecessaryincentivesto commence operating as soon as practicable.Neither ground justifies the resistance to offering renewable projects some degree of scheduling flexibility. On the contrary, the insistence on guaranteed CODs increases project coststo the detriment of the utility, electric consumers, and the project sponsorwhile failing to increase the likelihood that the target COD will be achieved.Ironically,aninflexibleCODmaybemorelikelytodelaya projects on-line date. The scheduling uncertainties endemic to developing a renewable project, coupled with harsh late penal-ties, offer the project sponsor a perverse incentive to commit to a later COD than is potentially achievable, because any risk of being late must be avoided. This risk of daily delay damages, coupled with the security the utility requires to cover that con-tingency, necessarily increases project costs.Reliability is not threatenedThe argument that the utility needs a hard and fast COD deadline to satisfy its capacity needs is overstated and misconstrues the overriding objective of renewable power. The specter that a util-ity with supply resources in the 10,000s of megawatts would be unable to serve its load or would be economically damaged by a few weeks delay in a 30- or 40-MW biomass projector even a 100-MW intermittent wind projectis just that: a specter. Just in time inventory programs promote efficiency for grocery chains, but they are a nonproductive distraction in promoting renewable generation.Thecapacityrenewableprojectsofferisbeneficial, but the overriding attractions of such projects are the displace-ment of fossil fuel generation and reduction in carbon emissions.Project sponsors have strong incentives to achieve CODTheclaimthatutilitiesmustresorttoeconomicsanctionsto incentivizeprojectstoachievecontracted-forCODevidencesa lack of understanding of the economics motivating independent power producers. Renewable projects have compelling economic incentives,independentofutilitythreats,toachieveCODas quickly as possible. In stark contrast to regulated utilities, which earnAFUDC(allowanceforfundsusedduringconstruction) incomeduringaprojectsprecommercialperiod,forthein-dependent producer, each day preceding COD accrues additional and nonrecoverable expenditures. The price at which the renew-able producer commits to deliver power to the purchasing utility reflects an assumed COD and associated commencement of any return on investment; if COD is missed, project economics neces-sarily sufferthere is no backstopping by ratepayers. The simple reality is that in many instances the schedule on whicharenewableprojectcanachieveCODisoutsideofthe projects control. Additional economic incentives do not enhance the sponsors ability to prevent delays caused by administrative and judicial challenges to necessary permits or by the purchasing utility being unable to obtain requisite regulatory approvals. In fact, when presented with the facts, in most instances, utilities and regulators excuse the delay in a projects COD.Proposed solutionThe goal of utility procurement should be to enable the project sponsor to achieve the earliest COD at the least cost. Contract provisions imposing punitive measures for a late COD are more likely to result in later CODs and escalating prices. Utilities and regulatorswhoarecommittedtoadvancingrenewablepower must recognize that firm schedules that may be appropriate for utility-ownedorfossilfuelprojectsshouldnotbeassumedto workforrenewableprojects.Onesizedoesnotfitall.Sincere proponentsofrenewablepowershouldbereceptivetoflexible COD deadlines based on the project sponsor contractually com-mittingtocommerciallyreasonablemeasurestoachieveatar-geted date and to objective and nonpunitive standards by which the date can be advanced or deferred. Steven F. Greenwald ([email protected]) leads Davis Wright Tremaines Energy Practice Group. Jeffrey P. Gray ([email protected]) is a partner in the firms Energy Practice Group. %%www.woodgroup.com/gts [email protected] Group Gas Turbine Services nolps oxtond tno produotivity and lio oyolo o oompononts or ontiro rotating systoms:Turbinos Gonorators and motorsPumps and oomprossorsControlsAooossorios and oompononts Balanoo-o-plant Our solutions mako suro your world koops on turning, wnorovor you aro in tno world.EEP ON TURNING KEEP ON TURNINGCIRCLE 17 ON READER SERVICE CARDwww.powermag.comPOWER | December 2007 30TOP PLANTSBurbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm,Liverpool Bay, UKOwner: DONG Energy A/SOperator: SeaScape Energy Ltd.POWER congratulates DONG Energy and Siemens Power Generation on the October 18 inauguration of their 90-MW Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm. ThisprojectwasthefirstcommercialapplicationofSiemensnew3.6-MW wind turbine and exemplifies how the right developer and supplier team can quickly add much-needed offshore wind power to a countrys generation mix. By Dr. Robert Peltier, PEDenmark has 380 MW of offshore wind capacitythemostintheworld.So itshouldcomeasnosurprisethata Danish company, DONG Energy, is deeply involvedinoffshorewindprojectdevel-opmentbothathomeandintheUK.The companys projects include construction of the166-MWNystedOffshore WindFarm, locatedintheBalticSeaoffshoreofDen-mark, where 72 turbines generate 166 MW in what is the largest offshore wind farm in theworld.DONGhasseveralotherproj-ects under development, but its latest entry into the market is the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm, which first produced power on July 21 and was commissioned on October 18 (Figure 1).Thesuccessofthisandotheroffshore 1.First choice. DONG Energy was first to deploy the Siemens Power Generation 3.6-MW offshore wind turbine, shown here at the Burbo Bank Offshore Wind Farm. Courtesy: Siemens Power Generation December 2007 | POWER31TOP PLANTSwind projects is nothing to take for granted, as the U.S. experience demonstrates. Wasted vs. achieved potentialThe U.S. may have assumed the lead position on the worlds list of installed wind capacity, but we have zilch in the burgeoning offshore market. The University of Delaware recently completed a study that concludedU.S.offshorewindresourcesfromCapeCod,Mass.,to Cape Hatteras, N.Y., could be as high as 330 GWenough to satisfy alltheelectricityneedsofthenineMid-Atlanticstateswithplenty to spare. SeveralU.S.projectsalongtheEastandGulfcoastshavesome momentum, but recent history has shown that much more than loca-tionisrequiredtositeanoffshorewindpark. Witnessthepolitical and regulatory hurdles still facing Cape Wind, a proposed project off Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. Parochial interests led by Sena-torTedKennedy(D)havedelayedthat420-MWprojectatevery turn. Down the coast, Long Island Power Authoritys Offshore Wind Park, sited along Long Islands south shore, was cancelled in August becauseinitialcostestimatesforthe140-MWprojecthaddoubled since the project was announced in early 2005.TheUKalsohashugeoffshorewindpotential:Estimatesrunas high as three times the islands current power demand. The difference isthattheUKhassummonedthepoliticalwillandpublicsupport to vigorously pursue its renewable obligations goal of 15% genera-tion from renewables by 2015. The European Union (EU) took that number a step further in its March vote to increase its legally bind-ing target to 20% by 2020. Thats not out of line with the renewable portfolio standards adopted by many American states. The EU coun-tries,andespeciallytheUK,aresingle-mindedintheirpursuitof windpower to meet their commitments, and that resolve has attracted developers and billions of dollars in investment. 2.A tale of three blades. Siemens uses a three-bladed turbine design. Each blade is over 170 feet long and is connected to the turbine hub at sea. Courtesy: Siemens Power GenerationEnjoy the benefits of free updates, low owner-ship cost and unlimited tech support from theproven leaders of maintenance technology.Breakthrough technologies such as 102,400 lines ofspectrum resolution, 2 Gigabyte compact flash storage,order spectrum, phase, cepstrum, cross-channel phase,orbits, run-up, negative averaging, coast-down, signalpost processing and more make the VIBXPERT andOMNITREND software powerful tools whether in thehands of an expert or a less experienced user.A New Choicefor VibrationAnalysisLUDECA, INC. (305) 591-8935 www.ludeca.comWatchVIDEOOnlineCIRCLE 18 ON READER SERVICE CARDPOWER | December 2007 32TOP PLANTSThe UK started small by approving sever-al successful offshore projects limited to 30 turbines.Developersthenpushedforlifting the limit on turbines and eagerly anticipated deployingthenew,largerwindturbineson futureprojects.Offshoreleasesaregranted by the Crown Office, which owns the off-shoreuptoa12-milelimit.Oncealeaseis won in a competitive bid, the developer then mustobtainaseriesofotherpermitsfrom thesamegovernmentthatiscommittedto offshorewindpower.Disputestendtobe withthelocalcitizenry,overwherepower cables come ashore and interconnect with a substation. ThesecondroundofCrownOfficeoff-shorelicensescamewithnosizelimit. London Array, billed as the worlds largest offshorewindfarm,justreceivedagreen lightfromtheBritishGovernment.This 90-square-milewindfarmlocatedoffthe southeastcoastofEnglandisbeingdevel-oped by a consortium of Shell WindEnergy, E.On,andDONGEnergy.Theirplanis toinstallabout340turbinescrankingout 1,000MWaboutaquarterofLondons electricitydemand.Theprojectissched-uledforcompletionby2011justintime for the London Olympics.Banking on new turbinesThe Burbo Bank installation is the first off-shore project using the 3.6-MW Siemens Pow-erGeneration(SPG,www.powergeneration.siemens.com)SWT-3.6-107turbines.SPG supplied and installed the 25 turbines on a 4-square-mile lease in the Burbo Flats in Liver-pool Bay at the entrance to the River Mersey, approximately 4 miles from the Sefton coast-line. TheBurboBanks,oncefearedbysea-menforstrongwindsandshallowdepths, isanexcellentlocationforawindfarmfor thoseverysamereasons(seebox). The90-MW wind farm is operated by SeaScape En-ergy Ltd., a company owned by DONG. Eachwindturbineassemblyconsistsof theturbine,blades,andnacelle;asupport tower; and a foundation. Each turbine is con-figured with a 350-foot-diameter three-blad-ed rotor with blades 172 feet long (Figure 2). Therotorassemblyisconnecteddirectlyto thegearboxandgeneratorcontainedinthe nacelle and mounted on top of a 210-ft tower (Figure3).Eachtowersupportingaturbine isanchoredtotheseabedbyafoundation consistingofasinglemonopilestructure over16ftindiameterandover170ftta