Hot Topic Hour on February 16, 2012 is Power Plant Cooling Towers and Cooling
Water Issues
Power
plants utilize significant quantities of water mostly for cooling purposes while
generating electrical energy. The most common method for cooling is flowing
water withdrawn from a well, river, lake or ocean once through a heat exchanger
and then discharging the water back into the source. Cooling towers that
recirculate the water multiple times before discharging it are generally used
only where water is scarce. This situation however is about to change and the
use of open or closed recirculating cooling water systems may become necessary
throughout the power industry.
Proposed rules on power plant water intake and discharge as well as an
increasing scarcity of fresh water will drive this change. Although intake
screens may be a solution to the proposed Section 316(b) Phase II Rule on water
intake structures, many plant operators may select a much more expensive cooling
tower as the best alternative considering the discharge rules. The EPA estimates
that about 670 power plants will be affected by this rule. McIlvaine Company has
estimated that 343 fossil plants and 42 nuclear plants would have to install
cooling towers and recirculate 150,000 MGD after the final discharge rules are
issued. The tighter air pollution rules recently finalized may also drive
utilities to adopt cooling towers since the towers can help reduce emissions of
SO3 and particulates.
The adaption of a cooling tower is not done without other problems however.
Maintaining water quality to prevent scale and fouling is one. Permitting issues
other than those related to 316(b) that are unique to cooling towers is another.
The following speakers will address the latest cooling tower technology,
maximizing exchange efficiency to improve efficiency and reduce evaporation
loses, water maintenance issues, affect on other pollutants and other cooling
water issues such as economic factors promoting or discouraging water
conservation, alternative sources of water to reduce freshwater withdrawal and
energy consumption for example municipal wastewater or gray water and reuse of
plant wastewater, current and future regulatory compliance issues affecting
power plant water intake, use and discharge and current and developing
technologies to enhance water quality and reuse during all phases of the power
generation process:
Mark Gerath,
Technical Director, Water Resources, AECOM Environment, will discuss
planning for the pending section 316(b) rule. His presentation will briefly
summarize USEPA’s proposed 316(b) Rule published in 2011, including potential
issues and challenges for compliance. Perceptions on likely changes
in the final Rule expected this summer and strategies to facilitate compliance
will also be discussed.
Larry Schimmoller,
P.E., Global Technology Leader - Water Reuse at CH2MHill, will
review two case studies of using municipal reclaimed water for cooling water
applications at power plants. Population growth, climate change, drought and
dwindling water supplies have increased the beneficial use of municipal
wastewater, including its application for cooling water at power plants.
This presentation will discuss water quality considerations specific to
reclaimed water use at power plants and will review two case studies of power
plants using reclaimed municipal wastewater.
Ivan A. Cooper, P.E., B.C.E.E., Practice Leader at Golder
Associates NC, Inc, will discuss water management issues at power plants. The
use of open or closed recirculating cooling water systems may become necessary
throughout the power industry. Proposed and new rules on power plant water
intake and discharge as well as an increasing scarcity of fresh water will drive
this change. However, the adaption of a cooling tower is not done without other
problems. This presentation will describe some of the options available and the
problems associated with them.
Trent Gathright,
Product Manager, Power & Intakes at Energy Group-Americas, Ovivo USA, LLC, will
discuss
Intake Screens, Fish Handling, and general plant cooling water systems.
Matthew L. Haikalis, Technical Resource Engineer at Veolia Water
Solutions & Technologies of Crown Solutions, will discuss water treatment for
recirculating cooling water. Cooling water treatment demands can change when
switching from a once-through system to a cooling tower system. These
demands require significant thought when determining technologies that allow for
optimal system control while managing economics, environmental impact and
operational and maintenance requirements. Perhaps the most significant
demand for cooling tower water treatment programs is the ability to control
biofilm and microbiological activity, but also the cycling effect of a cooling
tower effects scale control and corrosivity. Retention time of a tower compared
to once-through cooling is also a significant factor.
To register for the Hot Topic Hour on February 16, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (central
time), click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.
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Lots of Air Quality Equipment and Services in the Procurement Process
Between India and China there will be more coal-fired power plants built in the
next seven years than exist in the U.S. India will add over 100,000 MW and
China over 300,000 MW. In the meantime, the U.S. fleet will hover around
300,000 MW with a slight net reduction from the 320,000 MW peak. But, with the
MATS and other regulations, the U.S. will be buying lots of power plant air
pollution control equipment.
The reality, however, is that air pollution purchases by U.S and Western
European, coal-fired power plants in the next seven years will be relatively
small compared to ROW. Asia will be the big market. Japan has to offset
the nuclear reductions. Vietnam has a big coal-fired program. All these
power plants will have efficient particulate control equipment. Most of the
Asian plants will be equipped with scrubbers and a fair number will also
purchase SCR systems. Do the Asians share our environmental values and
should they?
While you are receiving this e-mail, McIlvaine will be conducting a webinar on
MATS. One of the questions to be probed is the $9 million value set on human
life by EPA in justifying the MATS cost. There has been push back from industry
who point out that the value was previously closer to $7 million.
This is an important issue because it forms the basis for all the justification
of our environmental laws. McIlvaine believes a completely new approach is
desirable. This approach has to take into account life quality (not just
quantity), the discounted present value of future benefits and the tribal
discount.
One argument is that global warming reduction investment appeals to rich people
a lot more than poor people. The reason is that it is a present sacrifice for a
future benefit. Poor people as well as rich people are willing to
sacrifice for their children and maybe even their grandchildren. But the
sacrifice is greater and the benefits less certain for poor people. If the
children starve to death in the next few years, then the global warming impacts
20 or 40 years from now are going to be irrelevant.
There are still hundreds of millions of people in India and China whose life
expectancy and quality of life are low. So it is very hard to argue that they
should not take the least expensive course for generating the power to improve
that condition. The radically different approach to measuring the benefits and
harm of any endeavor, have been posted in the McIlvaine Global Knowledge Orchard
under:
Sustainability Universal Rating System.
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More Insights from Speakers and Exhibitors at EUEC
Pictured below is Dan Kietzer, Environmental Market Manager, SICK Maihak,
Inc.
Dan was involved in several speeches plus activity at the SICK stand. So he had
a busy week. SICK’s has technologies for in-situ and extractive gas analysis and
measurement instrumentation for dust, opacity and flow. They have over 60
years of technical experience serving the industries of power, cement, refining,
petrochemical, natural gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, waste incineration, water
treatment, pulp and paper, steel, food and beverage, glass and other areas.
Pictured below, left to right, from Novinda are Jay Crilley, VP Sales,
Megan Koeberle, Office/HR Manager and Scott Terhune, VP Business Development.
Formed in 2009 as a spin out of CH2M HILL to commercialize
environmental technologies for the power utility industry, Novinda is a
technology company that has pioneered a commercially available, non-carbon
mercury control product that is one hundred percent compatible with fly ash use
in concrete products. The product, Amended Silicates, is a reagent that
removes mercury via chemical reactions, rather than through absorption
technologies.
Pictured below, left to right, from Schick Environmental Systems are
Eric Jegen, Engineering Manager, Environmental Systems Group and Dennis
Marx, Environmental Systems Manager, Environmental Systems Group.
Schick USA has been active in the activated carbon injection (ACI) process for
mercury removal in flue gas streams since 1997. They have engineered
manufactured and installed convey systems for various FGD applications,
including PAC, Trona, sodium bicarbonate, limestone and hydrated lime.
Their systems include self-contained, factory assembled and tested, skid mounted
designs within bulk storage silos. They also offer bulk bag unloading
systems configured to either discharge sorbent as a bulk solid or slurry for
small volume systems. Services include CFD modeling, custom PLC
programming and DCS interface, and injection manifold/lances.
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Here are the Headlines for the February 3, 2012 – Utility E-Alert
UTILITY E-ALERT
#1060
– February 3, 2012
Table of Contents
EUEC
COAL – US
GAS / OIL – US
GAS / OIL – WORLD
GASIFICATION
CO2
§
Foster Wheeler Selected to Lead Don Valley CCS Project
§
RGGI Cuts Carbon Cap; Re-evaluates Trading Program
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
HOT TOPIC HOUR
For more information on the Utility Environmental
Upgrade Tracking System, click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.
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World FGD Market to Exceed $7.8 Billion This Year
The market for FGD hardware and components will exceed $7.8 billion in 2012.
When you add another $4 billion for reagents and chemicals the total outlay will
be close to $12 billion this year. This is the latest forecast in the ever
changing FGD World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company (www.mcilvainecompany.com).
World FGD Market $ Millions
World Region
2012
Africa
78
CIS
0
East Asia
4,743
Eastern Europe
320
Middle East
109
NAFTA
1,854
South & Central America
37
West Asia
89
Western Europe
619
Total
7,849
The big driver will be new coal-fired power plant construction in Asia.
Over the next ten years, the Asian countries will average over 50,000 MW of new
coal-fired power plant construction. Some will not have FGD, but they will be
offset by Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese retrofits and replacements.
The result will be a $5 billion/yr Asian FGD market over the rest of the decade
even with the price discounts in China.
In the U.S. there is a growth spurt brought about by the Mercury and Air Toxics
Standards (MATS). This will result in investment in dry sorbent injection
(DSI) for those power plants with low sulfur emissions, efficient precipitators
and/or precipitators which need replacement. Contrary to popular belief,
utilities are unlikely to spend the money for DSI and new fabric filters if the
above parameters are missing. The reason is that the combination is as expensive
as a wet system which does not require any ESP replacement. Further, the
reagent and operating costs will be more with the DSI/fabric combination.
Another parameter is anticipated coal plant life. This, in turn, is a function
of the price of natural gas. Here a distinction needs to be made. It
is not the actual future price of natural gas, but the perception of that price
by the utility decision maker. There could easily be a repetition of the
2000 experience which resulted in the closure of a number of gas-fired power
plants.
Uncertainty relative to future regulations is another driver. The DSI injection
can be an inexpensive initiative to meet the regulations over the next few
years. There are already instances where utilities have elected to choose DSI,
but are also planning for longer term wet FGD systems.
Another factor is the perceived ability of the sorbent supplier industry to
deliver its product at a reasonable price over the next decade. There was a
chicken and egg problem a few years ago. Lime producers were willing to
build new plants but needed assurance that there would be a market for their
products. This lack of assured supply led some utilities to select wet
limestone. This time around, sorbent suppliers will need some guarantees before
making the large investments in manufacturing facilities.
For more information on FGD World Markets, click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#N027
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Transmission Projects Aid Renewable Energy Development
Most renewable power needs to be transmitted to the grid. Fortunately new
transmission lines are being installed in many parts of the country. McIlvaine’s
Renewable Energy Update reports on these developments each month.
*****
ABB Wins $160 Million Order to Supply World’s Longest Underground Cable System
ABB has won an order worth around $160 million from Svenska Kraftnät, the
national grid operator, to provide a new high-voltage underground cable system
for the South-West Link power transmission project in southern Sweden. When
completed in 2014, this will be the longest and most powerful underground cable
link in the world. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The main objective of the new transmission system is to enhance capacity and
strengthen the reliability of the national power grid. It will help boost
transmission capacity in the south of the country and between Sweden and Norway.
The link will also facilitate the future integration of large-scale wind power
into the Swedish power network.
ABB’s underground HVDC cable system will have the capacity to transport 2 x 660
megawatts (MW) of electric power at a voltage level of 300 kilovolts (kV) across
a distance of about 200 kilometers between Barkaryd and Hurva in southern
Sweden. ABB is responsible for the design, engineering, manufacture, supply and
installation of the entire cable system, including terminations, joints and
other accessories.
ABB recently announced investments of $90 million and $400 million in the U.S.
and Sweden to increase production capacity of land and subsea cables
respectively.
Nearly $8.7 Billion in Transmission Projects Planned in Next Five Years
Nearly $8.7 billion in transmission improvements are planned in the next five
years, according to the annual transmission report from the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas, (ERCOT), the state grid operator and manager of the wholesale
electric market.
The planned projects are expected to improve or add nearly 7,000 circuit miles
of transmission lines and more than 17,000 megavolt amperes (MVA) of
autotransformer capacity to the grid, including the Competitive Renewable Energy
Zones (CREZ) transmission additions that are scheduled to be in service by 2013.
The 2011 Electric System Constraints and Needs Report, filed with the
Public Utility Commission, identifies existing and potential constraints in the
transmission systems that pose reliability concerns or may increase costs to the
electric power market and Texas consumers.
Since 2010, ERCOT transmission providers have completed construction and
improvements to approximately 966 miles of transmission and more than 5,000 MVA
of autotransformer capacity, at an estimated capital cost of $870 million.
The largest project completed last year was a 173-circuit-mile 345 kilovolt (kV)
line in South Central Texas, the Zorn/Clear Springs – Gilleland Creek – Hutto
Switch.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved a transmission line, access road
and substation on public lands that will connect a 150-megawatt solar energy
project to the power grid in California. The proposed project, Rice Solar
Energy Project, will be built on private land in Riverside County and, when
constructed, the facility is expected to power 68,000 homes, create up to 450
jobs, and generate more than $48 million in state and local tax revenue over the
first 10 years of operation.
Proposed by Rice Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of SolarReserve LLC, the thermal
“power tower” facility will be located on 1,410 acres of previously disturbed
private land near Blythe. The above-ground 230 kilovolt transmission line that
crosses eight miles of land administered by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will
connect with the Western Area Power Administration's Parker-Blythe #2
transmission line. The project’s innovative molten salt storage system can
capture solar energy and deliver power to the grid even after the sun goes down.
The project has undergone extensive environmental review and reflects strong
efforts to mitigate potential environmental impacts. SolarReserve will be
required to fund the acquisition and enhancement of 1,522 acres to compensate
for impacts to desert tortoise habitat on private and public land.
Tres Amigas Announces $12 Million Investment from Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Tres Amigas LLC, the U.S.-based national grid interconnection project known as
the Tres Amigas SuperStation, announced that Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a global
trading, IT and industrial infrastructure services company, has agreed to invest
$12 million. In exchange, Mitsui will obtain an equity position and actively
participate. By partnering with Tres Amigas, Mitsui plans to further
internationalize their “Smart Green Information Technology” business model,
which includes Smart Grid IT, renewable energy development and management, and
CO2 emissions mitigation strategies.
The SuperStation project represents, in essence, the world’s first high
capacity “Renewable Energy Hub,” although trading of conventional sources of
electricity will be accommodated, too. This first-of-its-kind power transmission
hub is designed to interconnect America’s three primary electricity grids, the
Eastern (Southwest Power Pool), Western (Western Electricity Coordinating
Council) and Texas (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) networks by utilizing
information technology. Coordinated via market-based dispatch through the Tres
Amigas SuperStation, the goal is to create firm and reliable renewable power
from intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind. Most significantly,
the new strategy will allow customers to purchase a reliable portfolio of power
with the largest possible component of solar and wind power. The clean
generating capacities and the needs of varying regions, including the state’s
renewable portfolio standard requirements, will have more opportunities to be
accommodated.
The buildout of the $1.5 billion SuperStation is expected to occur in stages.
Engineering design for Phase I is well underway, with construction scheduled to
commence in 2012, and Phase I commercial operations scheduled for 2015. The
initial power transfer capacity will be 750 MW between the Western and Eastern
grids. Once energized, energy producers and marketers will be able to transfer
sizable blocks of power from region to region. Energy purchasers will also have
access to regions heretofore inaccessible for their needs. In addition to
improving the reliability, efficiency and economics of the nation’s separate
grids, the SuperStation will provide value-added services and larger market
opportunities to intermittent power sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and
storage.
NorthWestern and BPA Agree to Discuss Ways to Collaborate on MSTI Project
NorthWestern Energy and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) have agreed to
explore collaboration on the Mountain States Transmission Intertie (MSTI)
project. The line would allow the transfer of renewable and other energy sources
from Montana, Idaho and other regional markets, and could allow BPA to serve
customers in Idaho, western Wyoming and Montana and provide other operational
benefits.
BPA has current and future requirements to serve customers in Idaho, western
Wyoming, and southern Montana. BPA currently serves these customers through
agreements with PacifiCorp using the South Idaho Exchange Agreement and
PacifiCorp General Transfer Agreement. Because the South Idaho Exchange
Agreement will terminate in 2016, BPA is evaluating various alternatives to
serve its customers affected by the termination.
For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update
please visit
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Projects_Brochure/renewable_energy_projects_brochure.htm
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Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
Copyright © 2012 McIlvaine Company. All Rights Reserved
191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093
Ph: 847-784-0012 | Fax: 847-784-0061
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