Power Air Quality Insights No

				Power Air Quality Insights No. 52 April 19, 2012

WELCOME

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· "Particulate and Condensable Removal" is "Hot Topic Hour" on April 26, 2012

· “Create and Trade” is a Better Way to Deal with Coal-fired Power Plant CO₂ Emissions

As you know the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS or historically referred to as the Utility MACT) was published February 16, 2012 with an effective date of April 16, 2012. All existing coal- and oil-fired electric generating units larger than 25 Mw (EGU’s) will have three years from the effective date to comply with the standards, although the rule allows states to grant specific units an additional year for equipment installation. Although legal challenges to the rule both from affected parties and challenges from Congress are expected, operators of the affected EGU’s will now need to move the compliance process to high gear.

This final rule specifies using filterable PM as a surrogate for the metal toxics limit and sets a challenging limit for PM. This is a significant change from the earlier proposed rule that also regulated condensable particulate matter. However, control of condensable PM cannot be neglected. The Cross State Air Pollution (transport) Rule (CSAPR) that was issued earlier this year and the NAAQS may well force control and reduction of condensable particulate emissions. The states are now in the process of finalizing and beginning implementation of their SIP’s required to meet the NAAQS standards. The NAAQS regulations establish standards for CO, lead, NO₂, ozone, particulate matter and SO₂ all of which (except perhaps CO and lead) can have a significant impact on current EGU’s combusting coal or oil.

The following speakers will discuss the impact of MATS, CASPR and NAAQS on coal and oil fueled power plant operators relative to filterable and condensable PM such as the key issues to be considered when developing a strategy to achieve compliance, available control technologies and equipment that can be utilized to achieve the emissions limits as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the various control technologies and criteria for selecting specific technologies – existing facility configuration, existing control equipment installed, fuel type and others.

Steve Jaasund, Manager, Geoenergy Division of A. H. Lundberg Associates in Bellevue Washington, will discuss the effective control of solid and condensable particulates with wet ESP’s. Wet electrostatic precipitation has been employed on an industrial scale for over 100 years. Yet the potential of this technology to collect fine solid and condensable particulate matter has not been fully developed. This presentation will highlight the fundamental advantages of wet ESP technology in applications where fine solids and/or condensable particles present a challenge. Recent full-scale and pilot performance test data will be presented.

Terence (Terry) R. Ake, Product Manager for Circulating Dry Scrubber Technology at Babcock Power, Inc., will present “Circulating Dry Scrubbers Remove Particulate and Condensable Particulate to Meet Environmental Regulations.” Circulating Dry Scrubbers effectively remove particulate and the acid gases that form condensable particulate with a fabric filter and injecting lime, water, and recirculated byproduct in an upstream reactor. Environmental regulations such as the EPA Mercury Air Toxic Standards and Cross State Air Pollution Rule have only recently been signed for filterable and fine particulate as well as SO₂, NO_x, and Hazardous Air Pollutants. Standards for condensable particulate continue to evolve. Field data of operating CDS systems show that the CDS eliminates any uncertainty of meeting the particulate, SO₂, and HAPS regulations for existing Electric Generating Units including condensable particulate.

James "Buzz" Reynolds, Vice-president of WESP Technology for Siemens Environmental Systems and Solutions, will present "WESP Technology for Filterable and Condensable Control."

On Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System. The cost is $125.00 for non-subscribers. Market Intelligence webinars are free to McIlvaine market report subscribers and are $400.00 for non-subscribers.

DATE	Non-Subscribers Cost	SUBJECT	Webinar Type
April 26, 2012	$125.00	Particulate and Condensable Removal	Power
May 3, 2012	$125.00	Flyash Pond and Wastewater Treatment Issues	Power
May 10, 2012	$400.00	$330 Billion Market for Air/Gas/Water/Liquid/Flow and Treatment (high growth segments plus regulatory, technology, application, and market drivers)	Market Intelligence
May 17, 2012	$125.00	Role of Renewable Energy in U.S. and World	Power
May 24, 2012	$125.00	Status of Carbon Capture Programs and Technology	Power
May 31, 2012	$400.00	Air Pollution Control Markets (geographic trends, regulatory developments, competition, technology developments)	Market Intelligence
June 7, 2012	$125.00	Dry Sorbent Injection and Material Handling in Coal-fired Power Plants Plants	Power
June 14, 2012	$125.00	Report from Power Gen Europe (update on regulations, speaker and exhibitor highlights)	Power
June 21, 2012	$400.00	Pumps and Valves (impacts of mergers, new markets, market drivers, forecasts)	Market Intelligence
June 28, 2012	$125.00	Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators	Power
July 12, 2012	$125.00	CFB Technology and Clean Coal (Update on CFB Reactor Technology)	Power
July 19, 2012	$400.00	Future for Coal, Gas, Nuclear and Renewables (forecasts by region and discussion of market drivers and regulatory constraints)	Market Intelligence
July 26, 2012	$125.00	Beneficial Byproducts of Coal Combustion and Gasification	Power
August 2, 2012	$125.00	Mercury Control and Removal Status and Cost	Power
August 9, 2012	$400.00	Filter Media (forecasts and market drivers for media used in air, gas, liquid, fluid applications both mobile and stationary)	Market Intelligence
August 16, 2012	$125.00	Report from Coal-gen (highlights of speeches and exhibitions)	Power
August 23, 2012	$125.00	Report from Mega Symposium (highlights of speeches and exhibitions at this important air pollution conference)	Power
August 30, 2012	$400.00	Instrumentation for Air, Gas, Water, Liquids (forecasts , market shares, growth segments)

§ Fortum to participate in Two Power Plant Enlargement Projects in Russia

The combination of a building boom for new coal-fired power plants in Asia plus environmental upgrades in Europe and the Americas has led to a record number of environmental projects in planning and construction. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking Systems. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

The project values are fairly evenly spread across the globe. The reason is that the developed countries, while not building new coal-fired power plants, are spending lots of money to clean up existing power plants. In the developing world, there is a great deal of new coal-fired capacity underway.

The typical U.S. coal-fired power plant has embarked on one project to reduce mercury and air toxics, another to reduce NO_x and SO₂, a third to improve energy efficiency, a fourth to meet water intake standards, and a fifth to renovate ash ponds.

East European power plants are moving forward with environmental upgrades to meet European Union (EU) standards. Meanwhile, present EU members are dealing with tightening environmental and greenhouse gas emission limits. In China, India, Vietnam and many other Asian countries, the bulk of the projects are associated with new coal-fired power plants.

The projects are very sizable. A 1000 MW coal-fired power plant in the U.S. can expect to spend $400,000/MW or $400 million just to meet the latest air quality standards. Some power plants are switching from once-through water to cooling towers. This type of project is also costly.

In the U.S., the decision makers include some of the large utilities with their own engineering groups (e.g. Southern). They also include the major architect engineering firms such as Black & Veatch, Sargent & Lundy and Burns & McDonnell. There is another group including Bechtel, Kiewit and Shaw which function in both an advisory and EPC role.

In China the five large utility companies are not only involved in operations but also in design and supply.

Larger system suppliers such as Babcock & Wilcox, Alstom, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Longking and Doosan are willing to take on turn-key responsibilities and, thus eliminate the need for the initial A/E analysis and bid preparation.

In Europe, the big system suppliers are most likely to deal directly with the utilities. Some utilities such as Eon and Suez headquartered in Europe have operations in many countries.

“Create and Trade” is a Better Way to Deal with Coal-fired Power Plant CO₂ Emissions

EPA is proposing limits on CO₂ emissions from new coal plants but not existing ones. This approach will actually increase CO₂ emissions and the cost of energy. The McIlvaine Company in its Utility CO₂ Mitigation Markets proposes an alternative which would much better reach the objective. This concept is called “Create and Trade.” It empowers the utility industry to reduce CO₂ and other emissions in innovative and cost effective ways.

A new ultrasupercritical plant would emit 30 percent less CO₂ than an existing plant. However, the just proposed limits on CO₂ emissions from new plants will effectively eliminate their construction. On the other hand, we need coal for somewhere between 30 to 50 percent of our generation capacity over the next 30 years. If we do not build new plants to operate over this timeframe, we will be emitting 30 percent more CO₂ than would be emitted with new plants.

Natural gas can be economically converted into LNG and liquids. There is no expectation that the world price will be low enough to allow gas to compete with coal for power generation. It is an illusion to believe that gas producers will not seek lucrative offshore markets rather than supply cheap gas to domestic users. Some LNG facilities built to regasify LNG are already in the process of conversion to allow them to liquefy and export gas. Therefore, a plan to completely eliminate coal over the next few decades would be very unwise.

The air pollution control industry has made big strides in developing technology to very effectively reduce mercury, SO_2, NO_x, fine particulate, hydrogen chloride and toxic metals. The limits for new power plants are just a fraction of what is being allowed for old power plants. Replacing the old power plants with new ones would make a very big difference in the emissions of the whole range of air pollutants.

McIlvaine proposes a whole new approach called “Create and Trade” as opposed to “Cap and Trade.” Utilities which reduce CO₂ and other pollutants to a much greater degree than the average would receive payments from those utilities with higher than average emissions. A base line for CO₂ would be established based on good practice for an old power plant. The base line for other pollutants would be the limits which already apply to old power plants.

The payments to the clean power plants would start with reductions beyond the baseline and accelerate as they go beyond a midpoint between limits for existing power plants and NSPS. So an exceptionally clean power plant would generate much more revenue per ton of pollutant reduced than would a moderately clean power plant.

There will be some new power plants that will opt for carbon capture and sequestration. Those that can sell the CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery will choose this route. The problem is that this opportunity will only be available to a small number of power plants. The net CO₂ reduction is reduced by the large energy consumption in CO₂ capture and transport.

The system will give credit to technologies which more broadly reduce emissions. Coal plants can make hydrochloric acid and reduce the net pollutants by eliminating chlor–alkali plants. New coal plants can be integrated with cellulosic ethanol plants where they supply the low pressure steam rather than lose the energy in cooling towers. These plants will also burn the cellulosic waste and displace some of the coal.

One of the biggest opportunities is to co-locate sewage treatment and garbage burning facilities with coal plants. The complex will have far fewer emissions and much less water consumption than non-integrated operations. Europe is already doing this.

The premium on highly efficient removal technologies would cause a flow of investment into cutting edge technology. All payments would be among utilities and would not involve government regulation. The only need would be for government to eliminate some of the legal barriers to new plant construction.

If the environmental community can be assured that “Create and Trade” will really result in the greatest pollution reduction and that the lifespan of the new coal plants is limited to the anticipated retirement dates for the existing old fleet, then there should be hearty endorsement by this faction.

McIlvaine’s Renewable Energy Update and Projects tracks the technology advances which allow for increased performance in the generation of wind power.

Suzlon S95 – 2.1 MW Receives Type Certification; Delivers 102 Percent of Estimated Power Curve

Suzlon Group, announced completion of testing and certification of its S95 STV (Standard Temperature Version) turbine in its 50 Hz and 60 Hz variants. The testing was carried out by independent third party testing agencies, and the certification by Germanischer Lloyd, a global leader in certification.

The S95, with a rotor diameter of 95 meters and tower heights of 80, 90 and 100 meters, is specially designed for medium wind speed sites (Class II wind regimes). It is part of the S9X suite of turbines, which has already seen over 1,000 MW in orders since its launch in April, 2011.

The S95, in testing and validation, delivered 102 percent of its estimated power curve, translating to higher than projected power generation, and improved returns for customers — an increase in energy yield of over 3 million kilowatt-hours over the turbine s lifetime.

Speaking on the development, Mr. John O Halloran, President, Technology Suzlon Energy Limited, said: “This is a phenomenal achievement; it is incredibly rare that a complex product like a wind turbine with over 2,000 parts and weighing over 250 tones generates more power than was even projected. This increase is mainly attributed to our new smart aerodynamic technology and efficient control systems. We are pleased to report that the S9X suite is consistently delivering 97 percent plus uptime on all installations, over a period of more than 10 months now.”

The G10X-4.5 MW wind turbine, installed by Gamesa near Alaiz (Navarra, Spain), on March 11 set a new record for energy output by a wind turbine in Spain. The turbine generated electricity for 23.24 equivalent hours at nominal capacity (98.26 percent of the day), for a total of 104.6 MWh.

The turbine's performance broke the previous record of 98.5 MWh, which was set by the same machine on January 22, 2012. The Alaiz machine is the second G10X-4.5 MW prototype Gamesa has erected in Spain with the aim of achieving the highest possible levels of availability, energy efficiency and network codes for this turbine system from day one. The first prototype is installed at the R&D wind farm in Jaulín, Zaragoza.

3B – The fibreglass company announced the introduction of a renewed range of reinforcements each designed for specific resin systems and engineered to provide optimum performances for the manufacture of wind turbine blades.

The first product in the series to be revealed is SE2020 made with Advantex® glass a new single-end roving specifically engineered for epoxy polymer systems utilized in resin infusion or prepreg processes.

Luc Peters, 3B Wind Technical Leader: “At 3B we focus on understanding the needs of wind energy OEMs by working hand in hand with the designers, the weavers and ultimately the manufacturers of turbine blades. Collaborating with the entire value chain enables us to bring to market new benchmark rovings which further pushes the limits of glass fibre composite blade designs to address new challenges facing the wind industry.”

At present multi-compatible reinforcements are commonly used with different resin systems such as epoxy (EP), unsaturated polyester (UP), vinyl ester (VE), etc. However by developing innovative and proprietary sizing technology focused on a specific resin family (epoxy), 3B is changing the rules of the game. By optimizing the coupling of the reinforcement uniquely for epoxy resin systems 3B thereby achieves best-in-class composite properties. With such a value proposition, 3B’s renewed product offering becomes an industry benchmark for structural resins.

Compared to conventional materials in the market place, 3B’s new SE2020 made with Advantex® glass roving for epoxy resin systems offers better wet out therefore providing a more consistent laminate quality, a significantly improved resin matrix adhesion which delivers higher shear strength, and substantially greater interfibre strength. This, together with the resulting enhanced fatigue performance, makes the new SE2020 roving the solution that designers need to greatly improve existing blades and, more importantly, to create the next generation of epoxy wind turbine blades.

EWEA 2012 held in Copenhagen in April provided the backdrop for the Nordex efficiency class. Nordex SE showed visitors a broad range of measures and additional components aimed at boosting the efficiency and yields of the Gamma Generation turbines.

Nordex showcased an innovative anti-icing system for the rotor blades of its N100/2500 and N117/2400 turbines targeted at the European and North American markets in particular. In sub-zero temperatures, the accumulation of ice on the surface of the rotor blade can lead to a loss of yields as the greater load causes imbalances in the rotor, shortening the life cycles of the components. What is more, the resultant change in dynamics compromises the efficiency of the turbine, which results in reduced yields caused by extensive down times. With the Nordex anti-icing system, operators are able to rely on secure yields from their wind turbines and maximum availability in low-temperature regions. The system has already been successfully implemented at a wind farm in Sweden, where energy yields have been increased by 25 percent in the months with severe icing conditions.

The anti-icing system comprises an ice sensor and heating elements fitted to the front edge of each rotor blade. The sensor continuously monitors ambient conditions and reports the status to the wind turbines operation management system. If this data indicates the presence of conditions liable to cause icing, the heating elements are automatically activated. Energy-efficient heating prevents ice from accumulating on the rotor blades. Integrated into the blade structure, this solution de-ices the rotor blades during operations free of any loss of yield. Even during down times, the system detects any icing, triggering the de-icing process and resuming operation.

A further highlight at Nordex’s fair stand was the presentation of additions to the range of towers available for the N117/2400 on-shore turbine. Topographic obstacles in non-coastal locations may impair yields. The higher the hub height the better wind qualities and, hence, also annual yields become. Nordex is offering the N117/2400 on a 91-meter and 120-meter tubular steel tower as well as in Europe on a 141-meter hybrid tower. The additional annual yield from a hub height of 141 meters stands at 21 percent compared with a hub height of 91 meters.

Following the upgraded wind class suitability, Nordex offers the N90/2500 for strong wind regions (IEC-1) and the N100/2500 for regions with medium wind speeds (IEC-2). With a rotor diameter of around 117 meters, the N117/2400 is specially configured for light wind locations, making it the most efficient turbine for IEC-3 sites.

Power Climber Wind, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, announced the launch of the first CE-compliant 360° blade access platform solution that simplifies wind turbine blade and tower maintenance work for O&M providers, blade contractors and wind plant owners.

Modeled after its North American cousin who has racked up hundreds of operating hours, the CE 360° platform is modular, stable, fast to install, and easily configured to also meet tower access work needs with minor changes to components. Its small footprint makes it easy to transport by fitting inside a standard work truck, reducing the total mobilization cost. Extensively engineered and tested, the 360° blade access platform is compatible with all major wind turbine manufacturers and is CE approved.

Its solid connection to the tower and ability to easily reposition provide a stable working deck without requiring counterweights, improving workers’ confidence and productivity. Its unique design easily adapts to various blade profiles and can be conveniently converted to larger blade openings.