·        Hot Topic Hour  – June 2, 2011

·        Utility E Alert – May 20, 2011

·        Unconventional Fuels Market for Filtration and Flow is $3.4 Billion

·        10 Largest Air Quality Challenges for Power Plant Operators

·        Military Turns to Renewable Energy

“Valves for Power Plant Steam and Water Applications” is “Hot Topic” on June 2, 2011

Valves used in the steam and water loops of a power plant can be subjected to very large pressure drops, high fluid velocities and large thermal transients. This severe service can lead to valve failure and subsequent loss of process control and significant damage to downstream piping systems.

There are many different types of valves available from many manufacturers to meet the various requirements for service in the steam and water applications of a power plant. Each manufacturer has many reasons why one of their particular valves is best for each specific application. How do we sort through all of this and determine which valve is best for which application in our plant steam and water systems based on life-time cost, maintenance, energy efficiency and safety issues?  What are the costs and operational problems with each?  What other special valve designs should be considered for the application?  What are the maintenance and operational guidelines to insure long failure free operation?  Maintenance personnel also have questions related to existing valves.  How can corrosion be minimized to extend the life of existing valves?  Is it better to rebuild a valve or replace it?  How do I know when a valve is going bad?

The following speakers will address these issues for the various valve applications in power plant steam and water systems:

Don Bowers, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing at Weir Valves & Controls, will discuss the different challenges solation valves in steam applications face as they perform their various functions essential to the safe, efficient plant operation, whether in the generation of power or in other refining, pulp & paper or process applications.  Two of these challenges include Center Cavity over Pressurization (CCOP) that can cause Pressure Locking (PL) and Thermal Binding. His presentation will define the potential for these phenomena's, delineate the responsibility for identifying and safeguarding against CCOP and PL, and provide various solutions to preclude the effects, both in plant design and in operating plants.

Ory Selzer, Valve Doctor - Power, Americas, at CCI -Control Components, Inc, will describe the important requirements of severe service control valves, as they apply to steam and water applications in a modern power plant. Though specific application based information and data is often needed to select the proper control valve, there are several key parameters that can be considered as starting points for proper selection in any application.  These parameters will be presented and discussed during this brief seminar.

Loyal Fischer, Regional Manager for Energy at KSB, Inc.

Aneta Stephens, Director, Global Marketing Communications, CRANE ChemPharma Flow Solutions & CRANE Energy Flow Solutions.

To register for the "Hot Topic Hour" on Thursday, June 2, 2011 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago time), click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

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Here are the Headlines for the May 20, 2011 – Utility E Alert

UTILITY E-ALERT

#1025– May 20, 2011

Table of Contents

COAL – US

EPA to Delay Industrial Boiler MACT Final Rule

EPA Conversion Factors off by Factor of 1,000 in Utility MACT Proposal

Republican Congressmen Urge EPA to Extend Comment Period for Utility MACT Rule

EPA Releases Plans to Improve Safety of Coal Ash Impoundments

Settlement over Alleged Opacity Violations by OG&E

COAL - WORLD

CEZ May Build $1.4 Billion Coal-fired Plant in Germany

Maamba Collieries to Build 300 MW Power Plant In Zambia

Gayatri Projects to Invest Rs 9.94 Billion in Power Project in Andhra Pradesh, India

Benga Energy of Malawi Plans $400 Million Coal-fired Power Plant

Toshiba/Hyundai to Supply Turbines-Generators for 2,000 MW Samcheok Supercritical Power Plant in Korea

Aboitiz Power Plans P100 Billion for Two Coal-fired Power Plants in Subic and Davao

GAS / OIL - US

Little Gypsy Power Plant Gas-to-Petcoke Conversion Officially Dead

GAS / OIL – WORLD

NB Power could convert One Unit of Coleson cove to Natural Gas-firing

GazEnergoStroy to Build 600 MW Power Plant in Moscow

Larsen & Toubro to Build PPN Power Generating Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India

MPX to Construct 1860 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant at Pamaiba in Brazil

ABB Wins $22 Million Power Generation Order for 400 MW in Az Zour in Kuwait

Tepco to Add Gas Turbines at Hitachinaka in July

Enel’s €2.5 Billion Fuel Oil to Coal Conversion Plant Blocked for Porto Tolle

CO₂

Senate Energy Committee to mark up CCS Legislation

Britain sets Strict Targets for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

NH Senate votes to Stay in RGGI

NUCLEAR

License Renewal for Oyster Creek Upheld

Iran:  Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Online

Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant Expansion gets Favorable Environmental Impact Reports

Environmental Hearings on New Nuclear Power Unit in Armenia to be held in Geneva in June 2011

Japanese Prime Minister Calls for Nuclear Regulation Overhaul

NRC:  No Environmental Risks from Proposed Calvert Cliffs 3 Nuclear Reactor

Duke agrees to Cap Development Costs over 18 Months for Proposed Lee Nuclear Power Plant

BUSINESS

More on the People and Products at the Electric Power Expo

NMDC to set up 300 MW Power Plant at Steel Plant in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, India

CoaLogix’ SCR-Tech Awarded Contracts Valued at $5.5 Million

Fuel Tech Announces FUEL CHEM^® Demonstration on Lignite-fired Boiler

Carbonxt to build Activated Carbon Manufacturing Plant in WV

HOT TOPIC HOUR

Status and Technology of Solar Power Generation is Hot Topic May 26, 2011

Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.

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­­­­­­­Unconventional Fuels Market for Filtration and Flow is $3.4 Billion

Sales of filtration and flow control equipment and consumables in the unconventional fuels sector are going to generate revenues of $3.4 billion this year. This is the latest forecast extracted from a number of McIlvaine market research reports. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

The world is rapidly depleting the easy to reach fossil fuel sources. New finds are smaller and more expensive to extract. In addition, there is turmoil putting into question the reliability of these sources. The problem is exacerbated by the rapidly increasing needs in Asia and other developing regions. As a result, much of the current investment is being directed toward unconventional fuel sources. There are immediate short term opportunities in the following categories:

·         Gas Shale

·         Coal-Bed Methane

·         Heavy Oil

·         Gas-to-Liquids

·         Coal-to-Liquids

·         Biofuels

·         LNG

Valves represent the largest category, with revenues projected at $700 million.

Unconventional Fuels – Sector Filtration and Flow Revenue ($ Millions)

Liquid/solids separation combines the forecasts in three McIlvaine reports: (cross-flow membranes, liquid macrofiltration and cartridges).

Sedimentation and centrifugation includes a number of categories including various devices for liquid/liquid separation as well as liquid/solid separation.

Air treatment includes forecasts from three McIlvaine reports: Scrubbers, Adsorbers, Biofilters as well as Thermal/Catalytic Oxidation and NO_x Control.

The markets are fairly evenly split among the three regions of the world.

The biggest potential for gas shale is in the U.S.   Coal-to-liquids activity is greatest in China.  The U.S. and Brazil are the leading biofuels investors.  The Middle East is the largest investor in gas-to-liquids projects.  Canada is the most active market for heavy oil.

The rising price of oil has increased the investment in unconventional fuels.  The market for filtration and flow control equipment and consumables in this sector will grow at close to double-digit rates in the coming years.

For more information on McIlvaine market reports, click on:  www.mcilvainecompany.com.

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10 Largest Air Quality Challenges for Power Plant Operators

Power plant operators around the world are faced with difficult decisions relative to meeting the air quality requirements of the future. The largest challenges have been listed by the McIlvaine Company in its service entitled Power Plant Air Quality Decisions.  The top seven most difficult decisions are:

When do I retire the existing coal-fired power plant?

Should I invest to meet the regulatory requirements of the next few years or for the ones subsequently anticipated?

How do I prevent an air pollution problem turning into a water or solid waste problem?

When will global warming become significant in decision making?

How do I maintain or increase boiler efficiency when I am adding a substantial parasitic load?

How do I accurately measure emissions so that they will have legal validity?

Will any presently non-regulated air pollutants likely be regulated during the lifetime of the boiler in question?

Each of these challenges is made difficult by a number of variable factors.  Here are some of the variables associated with each challenge:

Retirement variables

·         Cost of electricity from alternatives such as wind, solar, gas

·         Electricity demand

·         Air, water and other environmental regulations

Matching investments with regulatory requirements

·         Cost of incremental vs.  holistic investments

·         Uncertainty relative to timing of regulations

·         Uncertainty relative to severity of regulations

Concerns about contributing to water and solid waste pollution

·         Which pollutants will be regulated in water or solids

·         What quantities of cross contamination will be generated from each alternative

·         Cost of removing these from the water or solids

Global warming variables

·         Timing of legislation

·         Severity of regulation

·         Certainty of evidence

Boiler efficiency concerns

·         Parasitic load of anticipated new pollution control systems

·         Efficiency increase potential through component upgrades

·         Risk of triggering new source review

Emission measurement concerns

·         Will limits be set below the detection limit of available instrumentation

·         Will a reliable measurement method for condensable particulate be available

·         Will measurement of surrogates be acceptable ( i.e. particulates for toxic metals)

Potential for new pollutants to be regulated

·         Dioxins and organics

·         Toxic metals other than mercury

·         Acid gases other than HCl

·         Carbon monoxide

The uncertainties resulting from all these variable factors will continue to challenge the power plant operators.  One of the ways to meet these challenges is to have the latest insights as provided by Power Plant Air Quality Decisions.  For more information on this service, click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/PPKS/Default.htm

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Military Turns to Renewable Energy

The Military is looking to renewable energy to supply electricity and fuel needs. Energy independence is very important to them.

Skyline Solar, a manufacturer of High Gain Solar (HGS) arrays for the commercial, industrial, government and utility markets announced that the company has been awarded a project by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for the deployment of HGS systems at two domestic military bases. The object of the project is to demonstrate Skyline Solar’s HGS performance in hot and sunny climates, and validate its field upgradability and rapid system deployment capability. The estimated combined output for the projects is 436 MWh per year.

In an effort to promote U.S. energy independence, the DoD launched the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) to promote innovative, cost-effective environmental technologies through demonstrations on DoD sites. Skyline Solar has been awarded an ESTCP project in a competitive solicitation intended to identify technologies that solve key DoD needs and have the highest potential for widespread deployment.

SkyBuilt Power a leading renewable energy product integrator for rapidly deployable renewable energy power systems has a broad range of commercially available renewable energy systems, from 500W to micro-grid capable systems. Systems range from suitcase, skids, and trailers to containers and micro-grid solutions.  These proven, rugged, mobile or fixed, rapidly deployable hybrid renewable systems include solar, wind, battery backup, and generator options, operate on or off-grid, and have been saving up to 97% on fuel with the military in the field for years.  They can pay for themselves in months to a few years in operating cost savings.

SkyBuilt's pre-packaged power solutions include telecommunications power, Army Tactical Operations centers and Forward Operating Base power, USAF (renewable airfield power with Lockheed Martin), and power for green telecom towers, DOE, and Department of Homeland Security solutions.  Systems also are ideal for intelligence, disaster relief, health clinics, crisis management, water pumping water treatment and sustainable economic development.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) thanked Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) for introducing the “Domestic Fuel for Enhancing National Security Act of 2011,” which would authorize the DOD to engage in 15 year contracts for advanced biofuels.

“Advanced biofuels have the ability to create thousands of American jobs and, more importantly, help reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said Rep. Jay Inslee. “This legislation makes common sense changes to Department of Defense procurement policies that will bring certainty to advanced biofuel producers that will result in additional private capital. With bi-partisan support, this legislation will take us another step closer to true energy independence.”

UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, announced that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel™ was to power two Air Force F-16 aircraft as part of a Thunderbirds demonstration at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.   During a Joint Services Open House at the base on May 20 and 21, two Thunderbird aircraft were to perform using a 50/50 blend of Honeywell Green Jet Fuel made from camelina and petroleum-based jet fuel. Camelina, grown and harvested for the Air Force by Sustainable Oils LLC, is an inedible, second-generation plant source for biofuels that does not deplete valuable food, land or water resources. This event will mark the first use of an alternative fuel blend by an air demonstration team.  

To date the Air Force has fully certified Honeywell Green Jet fuel on the C-17 Globemaster III the F-16 and successfully demonstrated the fuel on the A-10 Thunderbolt, the F-15 Eagle and the F-22 Raptor platforms.

Honeywell UOP produced 400,000 gallons of Green Jet Fuel from sustainable, non-food sources for the Air Force as part of a joint program for the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency – Energy (DLA-E) for alternative fuels testing and certification. The final fuel delivery under this program took place in early May 2011.  

"The Air Force has clearly shown its commitment to diversified sources of energy through biofuels testing and certification," said Jim Rekoske, vice president and general manager of Renewable Energy and Chemicals for Honeywell's UOP. "We are proud to have successfully supported each of these efforts and that the Thunderbirds can continue their superior legacy using our Green Jet Fuel."

Honeywell UOP's Green Jet Fuel process technology was originally developed in 2007 under a contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to produce renewable military jet fuel for the U.S. military. The process is based on hydroprocessing technology commonly used in today's refineries to produce transportation fuels. It produces an aviation biofuel that can be blended seamlessly with petroleum-based fuel. When used as part of as much as a 50 percent blend with petroleum-derived jet fuel, Green Jet Fuel is a drop-in replacement that requires no changes to the aircraft technology and meets all critical specifications for flight.

The McIlvaine Company has been tracking the Energy field since 1974 and has been following the renewable energy field for the last five years.

McIlvaine’s Biofuels Update and Projects keep subscribers current with all the latest happenings in the biofuel industry.

Further details may be found at:

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Brochure/renewable_energy_WM_brochure.htm

You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Free_Newsletter_Registration_Form.htm

Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112

rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com