Showing posts with label power generators. Show all posts
Showing posts with label power generators. Show all posts

The Hidden Industrial Coal Power Generator of Camp Lejune

Posted by The Power Generation Blog on Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Looks can be deceiving. Obviously. The Camp Lejune Globe has a charming (if brief) story about the steam industrial power generator on the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejune.

Marines, sailors and patrons aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune drive on Holcomb Boulevard every day and at one point or another, glance over at the rusty industrial building and have no idea that they are looking at the steam generator plant.

The unnoticed plant actually houses two massive industrial power generators: one, dating back 70 years, is exclusively coal powered, and another, only 25 years old, runs on natural gas and diesel. Overall, the story is a lovely look at how industrial power generators don’t have to be big, flashy, or noxious in order to keep a community powered.

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Industrial Hydropower Generator Development in Africa

Posted by The Power Generation Blog on Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Africa, roughly speaking, is growing its hydro-electric power generation capabilities. According to Dean Pratt, a power executive with ties to Africa, “There is great potential for hydro-power in Africa, particularly in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, the DRC, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Uganda.”

That’s great news for a whole continent that’s been suffering from social and economic woes for the better part of four hundred years.

This September, according to the same piece, Johannesburg will host a hydropower event, that will boast presentations and events based on industrial power generators, hydropower schemes, and more.

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Smart Grid Power Generation From an Automation Standpoint

Posted by The Power Generation Blog on Monday, August 8, 2011

InTech, the trade publication for automation technology, has an interesting overview of Smart Grid technology. Calling it a “new buzzword in industrial circles”, the piece walks the reader through the ins and outs of Smart Grid.

In a nutshell, Smart Grid describes a sort of lean, super-efficient way of manufacturing and delivering energy. They make the analogy that Smart Grid is like an assembly line, where you need to balance the line so you don’t get a bottleneck at one station holding up other stations. Smart Grid is predicated on eliminating waste and continually improving efficiency.

One important part of the real-life applications of Smart Grid power generation is the equipment used. The InTech piece gives the example of a large, anonymous electric user:

Siemens Access Energy Management engineers worked with facility engineers and consultants to define what the existing EPMS system could do to help them with the solution. The solution was to install new closed transfer switches and some additional generator sets. The new and existing generator sets and transfer switches would be tied to the EPMS system for manual control of the utility to on-site generation. There was also a need to send generated KW, data to the existing Building Automation System (BAS), via staged dry contact closures at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 90% loading to shed load in various buildings to reduce HVAC loads during peak summer and winter months. The BAS to EPMS link was also setup with e-mail alarming if any communications were lost to the electrical generator panel. If the system failed or lost communications, the generator system would fail in “safe mode.”

The example highlights how having the right industrial power generators and power generation equipment facilitates the very most efficient Smart Grid practices.

If you’ve ever wondered at what “Smart Grid” means, or how it can help you and your business, then check out the InTech essay.

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Huntsville, Alabama Tornado Lessons

Posted by The Power Generation Blog on Sunday, August 7, 2011


When a series of tornadoes rocketed through the Huntsville, AL area, there was massive destruction. But now that we’ve got some distance on the tragedies, we can also learn from them. Popular Mechanics just published an overview of the lessons we learned from the terrible Huntsville tornadoes.

For individuals, they advise you to stay together—don’t get cut off from the community and its ability to band together. Keep cash in hand so you can keep supplies and food in hand. Hand-crank radios are the best way to stay in touch with civilization and its larger goings on: whether rescue announcements, messages from the government, or important community info, you need to know what’s happening.

One of the most important lessons is also one of the most surprising. In the event of an emergency, it’s a good bet to go to a national hotel chain. Big hotels not only have big stocks of food and supplies, but they also have industrial power generators, which can continue to supply life-saving power when the utilities go down.

Be sure to check out the whole post for more details on the lessons we learned from the Huntsville tornadoes.
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