Fish-friendly hydro turbines move center stage
June 24, 2008 at 7:10 am | In Environmental, Power Plant | Leave a Comment
The 91,000 MW of hydropower capacity in the U.S. comes from about 180 federal projects and more than 2,000 non-federal projects regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Although the country has substantial undeveloped hydropower resources, little new construction is expected, and hydropower’s share of the nation’s generation is predicted to decline through 2020, due to a combination of environmental issues, regulatory pressures, and changes in energy economics. FERC is the lead permitting agency for private hydroelectric plants. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the eastern part of the country, and the National Marine Fishery Service for the western part, are other agencies that make recommendations on fish mortality goals. In response to the 1986 Electric Consumers Protection Act, these agencies have set their target as “no fish production loss” for all new hydro projects as well as for any projects for which the hydraulic lease is expiring. That last phrase is key, because there are hundreds of plants in the U.S. that must pass through the relicensing minefield over the next decade. About 80% of California’s hydropower is subject to a FERC license, and about half of those facilities—approximately 4,000 MW at 150 projects—are due for license renewal in the next 15 years. Continue reading Fish-friendly hydro turbines move center stage… |
How fish-friendly turbines work
June 24, 2008 at 7:09 am | In Environmental, Power Plant | 2 CommentsQuantifying the fish injuries caused by a hydroelectric turbine often has been based more on model predictions than actual measurements. Survival rates measured for fish passing directly through a modern large turbine range from 88% to 94%. By comparison, fish bypass system survival rates typically range from 95% to 98% percent and from 95% to 99% percent for a spillway system.
Gas turbine combustors drive emissions toward nil
June 24, 2008 at 7:06 am | In Environmental, Gas Turbine, Low NOx, New Technology, Power Plant | 1 Comment| Best available control technology continues to be ratcheted down to achieve ever-lower NOx emissions. Some dry low-NOx combustors can achieve 9 ppm without post-combustion control, while newer catalytic combustors are operating below 5 ppm NOx. In the late 1980s, gas turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) began to integrate dry low-NOx (DLN)—also referred to as dry low-emission (DLE)—combustion technology into their product lines to eliminate the need for steam or water injection, which had been the traditional method of NOx control. Many DLN technologies were evaluated, and lean premixed combustion emerged as the most promising approach for near-term application. Continue reading Gas turbine combustors drive emissions toward nil… |
Oyster Creek Power 8, Freeport, Texas
June 23, 2008 at 1:05 am | In Combined Cycle, Environmental, Gas Turbine, Low NOx, Natural Gas, New Technology, Power Plant | Leave a CommentTags: Combined Cycle, Gas Turbine, low emission, Low NOx, Natural Gas
Operated and maintained by Dow Chemical Co., Freeport, Texas
Owned by Dynegy (50%) and American National Power (50%)
Sub-10 ppm NOx has been the dream of gas turbine users for many years, and currently there is only one OEM that can deliver on that promise. But OEMs are no longer the only suppliers of NOx retrofit hardware. Power Systems Manufacturing has developed a sub-5 ppm NOx retrofit kit for the GE 7EA that has taken dry low-NOx technology to the next level. Dow Chemical took a chance with the new technology and now operates the world’s cleanest—in terms of NOx—gas turbine.
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