I was privileged last week to be among the few suppliers able to attend the EPRI Fleet-Wide Monitoring Interest Group Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina. I thought I’d share some of my observations and notes.

The meeting was not a trade show, but rather a forum for generators subscribing to this particular EPRI interest group to share information and brainstorm about the different approaches, objectives and challenges of monitoring performance and equipment health (as it pertains to reliability) for heterogeneous, geographically dispersed generating assets.

Themes
The major theme throughout the afternoon "open" sessions was underutilization of technology investments and the need for a dedicated service component to help realize...
[Read More]

Expert systems model processes by representing knowledge in the form of situation-action rules.
A rule engine of this type is what allows SootOpt® to model sootblowing processes opportunistically, taking advantage of all the things that various experts know and whatever information is available, even when that knowledge isn’t comprehensive and is instead based more on available instrumentation, historical experience, and tested habits.

Like a super-vigilant operator
SootOpt works in conjunction with existing sootblowing controls and instrumentation – whether the plant has PLC-based controls or an advanced ISB system. SootOpt overlays these controls with a rules-based model and an optimization search algorithm that relates boiler cleaning...
[Read More]

There is a popular misconception that combustion optimization is primarily focused on reducing NOx (nitrogen oxide), and that it accomplishes this mostly by taking oxygen out of the boiler. This two-part misconception is wrong on both counts. In fact, the key to combustion optimization is improving the balanced mix of fuel and air, as well as attuning the temperature profile so that it will help achieve objectives.

NOx Isn’t Everything
While reducing NOx is an objective for many CombustionOpt® installations, it’s never the only objective, it’s often not the primary objective, and in many cases it’s not even an explicit goal. In fact, some CombustionOpt installations are configured to keep NOx at a setpoint, and in certain instances...
[Read More]

The rules of environmental compliance changed this past July when a federal court threw out the U.S. EPA’s CAIR (Clean Air Interstate Rule) for NOX, SO2 and particulates. The ruling poses immediate questions for power plant operators and environmental control vendors alike. Since the ruling, there’s been much discussion, quite a bit of speculation, and a few significant developments.

Increased Likelihood of Stricter & Multi-Pollutant Bills
An industry CAIR panel at Coal-Gen was quickly assembled to discuss its implications and possible paths forward. "The CAIR Ruling: A Briefing on Implications and Next Steps," was open to all Coal-Gen attendees and exhibitors. I was honored to be a part of if this panel, which was moderated by David...
[Read More]

Something in a recent discussion with a NeuCo colleague made me dig up an ancient memory about how far we’ve come with respect to computing power.  I was recalling the early days when I worked at CRA International (formerly Charles Rivers Associates). It was the early 1990’s, and I had developed a computer model that performed stochastic simulations of large thermal-hydro regional electric power systems. The model determined the optimal combination of power plants and demand-side management that would be required over a 20-year time horizon in the face of uncertain fuel prices, demand growth, and rainfall (i.e. hydro-electric availability).

Another CRA Principal was depending on my model for a big project with an IPP. The project was facing a major deadline with...
[Read More]