Grid-scale energy storage is getting lots of media attention, both within the electric power industry and in the general press. Should gas-turbine advocates be nervous? Electric utilities have relied on large-scale pumped hydroelectric storage (PHS) for decades. A representative from one of the largest US utilities once said, at a briefing for Congressional staffers, that its pumped-storage plant is like duct tape, it responds within minutes to manage or avoid a variety of grid-related operating problems, many falling in the category of ancillary services. More than 20,000 MW of PHS is operating nationwide. more

7EA owner/operators have been conditioned to look for clashing damage in compressor stages 1 and 2 during inspections. Numerous presentations at the 7EA Users Group and CTOTF meetings by plant personnel, the OEM, Rod Shidler and Mike Hoogsteden of Advanced Turbine Support LLC, and others have kept the fleet on alert. Although the bases of some vanes, and the tips of some rotating blades, have been banged up by contact, there have been no public reports of vane and/or blade liberations traced to clashing-at least not yet. more  

At a powerplant, a great deal of attention is given to the generators, turbines, and everything else needed to generate electricity. The substation often gets overlooked because it is outside the plant and requires a very different set of skills to maintain and understand. But it is on the critical path from generation to profit and must be considered an integral part of any successful power production operation. This article reviews six key steps to a better understanding of substation maintenance requirements. more 

Inspecting heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG) often is like detective work, HRST Inc's Daniel E Acosta, PE, told the editors. Given a mystery issue, you need clues to help solve the case. Like a seasoned sleuth, the equipment inspector must know how to distinguish tell-tale signs and use them to identify the culprit. While not all criminal minds or HRSG problems are created equal, a few basic forms of investigation can go a long way in helping to assess a situation. more 

Energy storage encompasses a plethora of options which can be deployed at many different points along the electricity production and delivery value chain for bulk or wholesale transmission, substation support, distribution-system support, microgrids, customer-end services, and intermittent and peaking capacity. Thumbnail sketches of the competing technologies, presented below, can help the novice come up to speed quickly. more 

TVA undoubtedly conjures up, at best, mixed emotions in electric-utility veterans-a federal government entity created to solve a particular problem morphing into a bureaucratic behemoth, a source of employment and opportunity during a time of severe economic distress (the Great Depression) and now a calcified organization hell bent on integrated resource management. The Tennessee Valley Authority: Design and Persuasion is likely to reinforce your opinion rather than alter it. more 

• GE selects Sulzer to repair LM5000 power turbines
• NAES, CC Jensen ink preferred-vendor agreement more