The Publication

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 14 2015


The increasing prevalence of 'smart grid' technology has multiplied the opportunities for monitoring power quality. Used intelligently, such information can help utilities provide the reliable, stable power supply a thriving economy demands, but tackling the huge volumes of data available can be a problematic task. Bill Howe of the Electric Power Research Institute, speaks to Sarah Williams about how to gather and analyse grid data for maximum effect.

Still a year away from commercialisation, General Electric's FlexEfficiency 50 power plant continues to court fervent scrutiny as to its host of purported cost and economic benefits. Could it be too good to be true? Ross Davies meets Marcus Scholz, director of advanced combined cycles at GE Power & Water, to find out.

Also in this issue: James Lawson hears from the International Energy Agency's Dr Keith Burnard about his recent visit to China, the world's biggest electricity consumer, Shell's Dr Peter Smith reveals how the company is developing specialist turbine oils and Professor Helge Madsen of the Technical University of Denmark talks about smart-blade control and flap systems that help turbines deal with strong winds.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 13 2014


With renewable sources playing an increasingly prominent position in the energy mix, conventional power plants need to be more flexible than ever. Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition speaks to Anna Stoppato, industrial engineer at the University of Padova, about the operational challenges ahead.

The increasingly central role played by renewable sources makes global power supply vulnerable to unpredictable dips and spikes. DONG Energy's Ivan Pedersen briefs James Lawson on how virtual plants keep everything running smoothly.

Also in this issue: Emergency preparedness coordinator Jean-Francois Lafortune briefs Elly Earls on the role played by the International Atomic Energy Agency in ensuring its member states are ready for any eventuality, and Breanne Gellatly, spokesperson for the Carbon Trust's flagship Offshore Wind Accelerator programme, explains why wake modelling is an essential strategy when it comes to encouraging investment in the construction phase of wind farms in the UK.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 12 2014


In this issue of Modern Power Systems BRICS Edition, Elly Earls speaks to Alstom's Bill Miller and Nuon Energy's Adriaan Temmink to discuss the benefits of powerplant optimisation in an era of non-dispatchable generation.

Smart grids too can help ease the burden of the rapidly changing power industry, but not without proper policy support. Bob Moser examines how smart-grid projects are progressing slowly in Brazil as distributors shoulder the telecom burden and the public policy lacks teeth.

Also Jaap Koppejan, of IEA Bioenergy, examines the health and safety aspects of solid biomass storage, transportation and feeding.

Meanwhile, China isn't only investing heavily in renewable sources, refusing to nail its colours to any one mast. Nuclear energy has been gathering momentum for many years in the country, with 20 reactors now operating and a further 28 units under construction. Growth has been characterised by the evolution of several domestic and imported reactor designs. Caroline Peachey provides an in-depth review of development of China's nuclear power.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 11 2013


In this edition of Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition, James Lawson speaks to Marc Antoine, R&D programme manager for plant automation systems at ABB Switzerland, to find out how life-cycle optimisation for power plants can lessen risk exposure for utilities, while also helping to improve financial and operational performance. Elly Earls finds out why the provision of training and development has soared up WANO's agenda in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Elsewhere, Alstom's Dr Matthias Muscholl discusses smart grid technology and Professor Christopher Sumby of the University of Adelaide explains the potential a new nanomaterial that could reduce CO2 emissions from power stations much more cheaply than current techniques.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 10 2013


In the BRICS nations, the discussion does not focus as heavily on support for renewable energy, since capacity addition in any form is often an economic imperative, regardless of the source fuel. New energy production capacity is key to sustaining the high rates of economic expansion seen over the past decade. In this issue of Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition, Elly Earls finds out how coal-fired power generation, one of the biggest drivers of growth in India and China, is cleaning up its act using ultra-supercritical technology to reduce CO2 emissions. Bob Moser turns his attention to Brazil, home to one of the world's greenest energy mixes, thanks to its large hydropower resources.

James Lawson speaks to Chris Ehlers of ACWA Energy about the Bokpoort 50MW concentrated solar power project in South Africa and Will Dalrymple travels to Chernobyl in Ukraine to see firsthand how the construction of the new sarcophagus to protect the stricken reactor is progressing.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 9 2013


Despite the looming 'fiscal cliff' in the US and the eurozone crisis rumbling on, economic expansion is continuing apace in the BRICS nations, although perhaps at a slightly more measured pace than before. With this increased economic activity comes greater demand for electricity, delivered as efficiently and cleanly as possible. In this issue of Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition, Laura Walkinshaw speaks to Arup Roy Choudhury, chairman and MD of India's state-owned power generation company NTPC to find out how the market leader is meeting the country's rising power demand using supercritical technology. We also hear from GlobalData, which explains how extension projects for reactors sustain the competitiveness of nuclear power. While Simon Richards and Denis Chatrefou of Alstom Grid outline the drivers towards digital substations, and Westinghouse tells us how small modular reactors could prove particularly beneficial in the BRICS nations.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Issue 8 2012


There are 1.3 billion people who lack access to modern electricity. The world needs to address this major challenge, and access to energy must be one of the key outcomes from the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. All energy sources and technologies have a role to play in delivering energy to those who need it, but coal will be at the heart of solving the energy poverty crisis. In this issue of Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition, Rajiv Mishra of CLP India talks about renewables, regulations and infrastructure bottlenecks. While elsewhere. the NEA's Luis Echávarri explains safety concerns following the Fukushima disaster and Cameco's Chaitanyamoy Ganguly reveals the background to India's growing nuclear power sector

Modern Power Systems BRICS Edition Issue 7 2011


Japan's natural disaster in 2011 and the associated nuclear accident at Fukushima have done nothing to alter the inexorable growth of electricity demand and the urgent environmental necessity of constraining carbon emissions in order to protect the stability of the Earth's climate. The challenge of reconciling these two realities is especially acute in BRICS countries, where economic growth far exceeds the world average. These nations recognise that nuclear power is a vastly expandable clean-energy technology, and they know that the limited health and environmental consequences of the event at Fukushima have not changed this technological truth. In this edition of Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition, Ramesh Subramanyam of the Tata Power Mundra Project tells us about India's electricity generation needs. Daryl Govender of Eskom discusses South Africa's power generation expansion programme and Rosatom's Evgeni Kudriavtsev talks to Mark Brierley about the safe long-term storage of spent fuel.

Modern Power Systems BRICS Edition Issue 6 2011


This year's BRIC nations summit was marked by the formal inclusion of South Africa, following its successful participation in last year's event. This addition gives the summit its new title, BRICS, and internationally recognises South Africa's growing role as a developing economy. To mark this event, our next issue will be renamed Modern Power Systems - BRICS Edition and will include the latest news and insight from the South African power industry, along with all the usual content. In this issue, we take an inside look at the changing nature of power production in the BRIC countries; GlobalData reports on Brazil's efforts to ramp up renewables by incentivising green energy; and Josef Spitzer discusses the potential of one of China's underutilised resources: bioenergy.



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