june 2015 international

June 2015 Vol. 159 No. 6

Vol. 159 No. 6 June 2015

Women in the Power Industry

Network Security Monitoring for ICS

Duke Energy Changes Course

Diagnosing Slagging and Fouling

ELECTRIC POWER 2015 Reports

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June 2015 | POWER www.powermag.com 1

ON THE COVERWomen and men work side-by-side in many sectors of the power industry. Here, Scott Larson, maintenance mechanic, and Anita Johnson, fuel hall manager, discuss the testing procedure for indicator lights on a motor control center at the Fibrominn biomass power plant in Benson, Minn. See our cover stories for the latest on how women add value to power firms as well as results of our recent survey of women in the industry. Source: POWER/Aaron Larson

COVER STORIES: WORKFORCE22 Women Are Essential to a Thriving Power Generation Sector

Retirements and competition for qualified employees across engineering-based in-dustries are only the most obvious reasons to be sure your company is working to recruit and retain female employees. Others include building a team that has a wider range of management and problem-solving skills and positioning your operation for stronger financial results.

30 POWERs 2015 Women in Power Generation SurveyIn part because there are still relatively few women in the power industry, there have been few reports on their experience. This survey provides a glimpse at what con-tributes to a successful and satisfying career in power for women in the industry.

36 Power Plant Boot Camp: Training the Next Generation of Leaders and ManagersThis article offers some practical answers to the question, How do we properly train and prepare our people to take on leadership roles in the future? (Dont be scared off by the military analogy; nobody will bark orders at you.)

SPECIAL REPORT: CYBERSECURITY41 Has Your ICS Been Breached? Are You Sure? How Do You Know?

What you dont know can hurt you if you are responsible for ensuring the security of a power plant industrial control system (ICS). A security expert shares actionable information you can use as soon as youve finished reading this article.

FEATURES

GENERATION TRANSITIONS

45 Duke Energy: Wholesale RetreatDuke, the largest U.S. utility, has looked at the business horizon and decided that merchant generation is not in its future. Instead, it is charting a course toward the traditional, regulated market, powered by a fleet in transition.

PLANT MOTHBALLING

49 Watts Bar Unit 2: A Deferred Nuclear Plant Gets Back into the GameAs most readers of this magazine will know, Watts Bar 2 nuclear plant has had a very long gestation period. Details of how the plant was mothballed and revived hold les-sons for any plant that may be facing extended layup for economic or other reasons.

Established 1882 Vol. 159 No. 6 June 2015

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36To fulfill its future goals, Turkey must reject its past (p. 69).Sponsored Report: Power in Turkey

www.powermag.com POWER | June 20152

OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE

54 CO2 Blasting Restores HRSG PerformanceCleaning a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) with pressurized carbon dioxide is generally recognized as a cleaning best practice. Two case studies demonstrate its benefits, as well as the advantage of on-site gas pellet production.

FUNDAMENTALS

58 Typical Causes of Slagging and Fouling Problems in BoilersIf youve got a coal-fired power plant, youve got slagging and fouling. Although theres no way to completely eliminate these maintenance problems, you can miti-gate them if you understand the contributing causes.

ELECTRIC POWER

62 DOE Highlights Challenges to Infrastructure in Quadrennial Energy ReviewOur highlights from the general sessions at the 2015 ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition begin with a summary of the keynote speakers comments regarding the first part of the first-ever Quadrennial Energy Review.

64 Clean Power Plan Is Achievable, but Challenges Loom LargeThis years Environmental Mega Session panelists at ELECTRIC POWER discussed and debated the viability of the proposed Clean Power Plan and offered their sug-gestions for improvement.

66 Executives Say Power Sector Faces Fundamental ChangesThe proposed Clean Power Plan was also a hot topic during the Executive Round-table. While recognizing that change is a given, panelists disagreed on what that should mean for policy implementation.

DEPARTMENTS

SPEAKING OF POWER6 From STEM to STEAM Education

GLOBAL MONITOR8 A Spring Nuclear Upheaval 8 Fabrication Begins for ITER Fusion Reactor Central Solenoid 10 THE BIG PICTURE: The Job Transition1 1 EU to Investigate Measures to Ensure Power Supply12 New U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Breaks Ground12 Reports: Renewables Were Revived in 201413 Last Module Is Installed at 250-MW Copper Mountain PV Project13 POWER Digest

FOCUS ON O&M16 Optical Gas Imaging Camera Offers Hydrogen Leak Detection Solution

LEGAL & REGULATORY20 CAISO Goes Big and Leaves Home

By Thomas W. Overton, JD

COMMENTARY84 10 Million Tons of CO2 Stored

By Christopher A. Smith, assistant secretary for fossil energy, Department of Energy

If youre only reading this magazine, youre missing much of what the POWER brand

offers, including these web exclusives:

PRB Coal Users Group: Power Industry Regulatory Updates from Washington EPCE: An Extra Tool for Workforce Development Faraday Awards Honor Efforts in Hiring Veterans QER Draws Praise, Fire in Senate Hearing DTE Electric to Get NRC Combined License (COL) for Proposed Nuclear Reactor Famous Last Words, Its Never Happened to Us!

Read More About These Topics at powermag.com

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SPEAKING OF POWER

From STEM to STEAM

Education

Im sure readers of this magazine have noticed the increased emphasis in the U.S. recently on promoting STEM

(science, technology, engineering, and math) education. Thats a good thing, but its not enough. To improve the odds of achieving the goals that STEM pro-moters haveincluding a better-trained workforce and economic leadershipwe should be adding an A for arts to that acronym. Encouraging education in both the liberal arts and fine arts, even for those pursuing STEM careers, would re-ally put some STEAM into the workforce and economy.

Im not just saying that because STEAM is a clever acronym for a power generation publication.

Its true that, on average, someone with a STEM degree is projected to earn more over a lifetime than someone with a degree in the liberal or fine artsthough I know one well-paid former utility execu-tive with a PhD in philosophy. However, someone with a background in both STEM and the arts is more likely to leverage that technical degree into maximum career success, for a couple of reasons.

People who have been trained in just one way of thinking about problems are less likely to come up with effective so-lutionsespecially when contexts or re-sources changethan someone who has been trained to think about situations from multiple angles. Additionally, bril-liant scientists and engineers who cannot communicatein speech and in writing, to colleagues, staff, and the publicrun the risk of being less effective in advanc-ing their ideas than mediocre peers who have mastered the art of shaping and de-livering an argument. Thats why books such as Learning to Communicate in Sci-ence and Engineering (MIT Press ebook) have been written.

And dont ignore the edge that the fine arts can provide. Playing a musical instrument, for example, enhances hand/eye coordination and can help train the brain to pay attention to multiple data feeds at virtually the same time. Mak-

ing musicnot just listening to itcan enhance ones ability to learn everything from math to languages and can strength-en organizational and problem-solving skills, because making music integrates mathematical and linguistic (left hemi-sphere) with creative (right hemisphere) brain functions.

For an engaging scientific and artistic explanation of this, watch the TED talk How playing an instrument benefits your brain (http://bit.ly/WCqQkA), which sug-gests that the connections made in mu-sicians minds may help them to solve problems more effectively and creatively in both academic and social settings. (Incidentally, while working on this issue, I learned that, although her father was a math teacher and she built a career in fi-nance, Duke Energy CEO Lynn Goodwho has had more than her share of problems to solve since taking the top jobstudied piano as a child.)

Strength Comes from BalanceWhen I think about the value of a STEAM background, I often recall one of my husbands former golfing buddies dur-ing our Boston years. Shunichi, who was employed as an engineer in Japan, was in the U.S. for a year to study at Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), but what really impressed me was his ex-planation of why he chose a STEM career. Although his natural abilities and inter-ests were in the arts and humanities, he chose something that was initially harder for him, in order to achieve better bal-ance, he said.

We do need to encourage students to develop STEM competencies, but we also should encourage them to develop strengths in the arts so they have the optimal set of learning modes, problem-solving approaches, and communication skills to succeed in an increasingly com-plex world. Without a STEAM education, the workforce of the future may find itself with self-limiting skills. This goes for folks in the trades as well.

Note that I also would encourage liber-

al arts students to make a deeper commit-ment to STEM subjects, not only because technology is working its way into many fine and liberal arts but also because un-derstanding STEM fields, and their history, is increasingly essential to understanding our world.

Reject False LimitationsJust as companies with more gender-diverse workforces and leadership enjoy stronger economic performance (see this issues Women Are Essential to a Thriv-ing Power Generation Sector), individuals with more diverse educational backgrounds may enjoy better career success. There are exceptions, of course, but especially in our fast-changing global economy, those with multiple ways of viewing and solving problems are more likely to land on their feet when circumstances changewheth-er that be a result of a business downturn, a physical disability, or simply a desire to try something new.

We do not need to buy into the false choice between STEM and the arts. Surely our students are smart enough to ma-jor in engineering while playing in the marching band, or to major in English while studying biology and physics so they can craft more-accurate journalism or more-informed public policy. A little cross-pollination might even make for more-interesting and happy lives outside of work.

Im not alone in calling for STEAM edu-cation. Among those in the STEAM move-ment is Dr. Loretta Jackson-Hayes, an associate professor of chemistry at Rho-des College, who wrote for the Washington Post on Feb. 18, Our culture has drawn an artificial line between art and science, one that did not exist for innovators like Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs.

If you have a story about the value of a STEAM education in the power indus-try, please share it in the online com-ments or via the POWER LinkedIn group discussions.

Gail Reitenbach, PhD is POWERs

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A Spring Nuclear Upheaval From Sweden to China, the worlds nuclear sector saw an eventful spring.

Sweden to Shutter Two Ringhals Units Early. On the same day that E.ONformerly one of Europes most formidable power companiesannounced it would spin off its nuclear assets owing to Germa-nys energy transition, its Swedish partner, Vattenfall, which is 70% co-owner of the 1975-built Ringhals 1 and 2 nuclear units (Figure 1), said it would shutter the two reactors between 2018 and 2020, instead of 2025 as initially planned. The reason: declining profitability and increased costs.

Vattenfall executive Torbjrn Wahlborg explained in an April 28 statement that a combination of low electricity prices and soaring production costs in coming years would challenge the units bottom lines. Vattenfalls decision is business driven. It is of course regrettable to close down well-functioning production units but sometimes this is inevitable, he said.

Vattenfalls five other reactors, Rin-ghals 3 and 4, and Forsmark 1, 2, and 3 will remain open for at least 60 years of operational lifetime, until the beginning 2040s, he said.

Experts noted that the decision was likely also based on Swedens December decision to nearly double fees paid by util-ities into the countrys nuclear waste fund over the 20152017 period. The fees have

increased taxes on nuclear power from US$0.29/kWh in 2014 to $0.49/kWh.

More Hurdles for UKs Nuclear Ambitions. Delays on a final decision to build two AREVA EPRs at the Hinkley Point C site have prompted EDF Energy to slash 400 jobs, reducing staff numbers to 250 onsite. Further doubt was cast on the future of the project after AREVA in April informed French regulators of manufac-turing anomalies in components impor-tant for safety at the Flamanville EPR under construction in Normandy. Project critics point to other EPR construction concerns at Flamanville, where delays have pushed back startup by five years to 2017, and at the Olkiluoto 3 project in Finland, where construction on an EPR now lags almost a decade behind schedule.

Indian Companies, AREVA Sign Agreements for EPRs. Despite these setbacks, AREVA on April 13 signed two agreements with Indian companies in preparation for a project to build six EPR units at Jaitapur in Maharashtra State. The agreement with companies like Larsen and Toubro will prepare for the licensing of the EPR reactor design in India.

Turkey Breaks Ground on First Nu-clear Plant. Turkey officially marked the launch of construction at Akkuyu, its first nuclear plant, which will feature four 1.2-GW AES-2006 VVER pressurized-water re-actors. Russias Rosatom is building the

reactors on a unique build-own-operate model. The $22 billion project is expected to be complete by 2020. In April, mean-while, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Er-dogan approved parliaments ratification of an agreement with Japan to build the countrys second nuclear power plant, at Sinop on Turkeys Black Sea coast. That 4.8-GW plant will consist of four Atmea 1 reactors to be supplied by an AREVA and Mitsubishi consortium, with construction to begin in 2017.

China Greenlights Construction of Hualong One Pilots. In China, where the bulk of the worlds new nuclear plants are being built, the government on April 15 approved construction of new units using Hualong One reactor designs. The 1,100-GW, three-loop pressurized-water design is based both on China General Nuclear Power Groups CPR-1000 and on China National Nuclear Corp.s ACP-1000 reactor technol-ogy. The two firms have been ordered to develop the design on a 50-50 partnership basis. Chinas State Council did not provide details on the chosen site or construction timelines, but experts say two possible sites are at Fangchenggang in Guanxi Prov-ince and Fuqing in Fujian Province.

Sonal Patel, associate editor

Fabrication Begins for ITER Fusion Reactor Central Solenoid Workers at San Diegos General Atomics (GA) on April 10 began the years-long process of winding the 1,000-ton super-conducting electromagnet that will power the ITER fusion reactor under construction in southern France.

The $16 billion ITER project, a con-sortium of the U.S., the European Union, Russia, China, Japan, and other nations, aims to test reactor-scale nuclear fusion using plasma contained within a magnetic field. ITER has been under development for nearly a decade and will be the larg-est tokomak (toroidal magnetic chamber) ever constructed. The ultimate goal, once the facility is online in the 2020s, is to produce net power from fusion for the first timeup to 10 times the energy required to generate the magnetic field.

The central solenoid, being manufac-tured in a specialized facility built by GA for the project, will form the heart of the tokomak. It will be composed of more than four miles of superconducting cables

1. A foggy future. Swedish utility Vattenfall will permanently shutter the Ringhals 1 and 2 nuclear units in Sweden early in large part due to declining profitability and increased costs.

Courtesy: Vattenfall


wound into six individual modules and will stand nearly 60 feet tall (Figure 2). The cables are composed of copper, niobium, and tin components within a steel jacket, but because the superconductor material

is brittle, it must be created by heating the modules after winding.

The wound modules will be placed in-side a large oven, where they will be baked at 650C over a five-week process, with the

heat converting the cable interior into a superconducting niobium-tin ceramic. Af-ter the winding and heating processes, the cable will be wrapped with fiberglass insu-lating tape and fused together with resin to create a single solid module.

Each module, composed of 3,000 feet of cable, will take two years to complete. GA expects the seven modules it is manufac-turing (one is a spare) to be completed by 2019. They will then be shipped to Texas for transport across the Atlantic to the ITER site in Saint Paul-lez-Durance, France. The individual components of ITER, includ-ing the solenoid modules, are so large and heavy that specialized transport vehicles had to be produced and the French gov-ernment spent 110 million to upgrade the roads and bridges leading to the site.

When operating, the central solenoid will achieve a peak field strength of 13.1 Teslas and store enough energy to lift a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. The field will contain plasma heated to more than 200 million degrees Celsius, where the fusion reactions will take place. ITER will initially use hydrogen in the plasma, later transi-tioning to deuterium, and ultimately, a deuterium-tritium mixture.


2. Spooling up. Workers at General Atomics in San Diego begin the process of winding the superconducting modules that will form the central solenoid of the ITER fusion reactor.

Source: POWER/Tom Overton


COAL

NATURAL

GAS

WIND SOLARGENERATION

24%

GENERATION

+40%

GENERATION GENERATION

+154% +400%

COAL JOBS

49,534Total jobs in 2008: 430,385

Total jobs in 2012: 380,851

CHANGE

20082012

(37% share of U.S.

generation mix in 2012)

(30% share of U.S.

generation mix in

2012)

(3% share of U.S.

generation mix in

2012)

(


Ned Sauthoff, director of the U.S. ITER Project Office, said power density is what sets fusion apart from all other genera-tion resources. Theres a factor of 20 mil-lion between the amount of energy you get per pound of fuel from fusion relative to chemical processes. If fusion can be made economic, he said, It would really change the world.

The ITER group is officially shooting for first plasma by 2020, but Sauthoff told POWER he thinks 2025 is a more re-alistic date.

The ITER project will test a wide va-riety of heating, control, diagnostics, and remote maintenance technologies that would be required for use of fusion for power generation. If successful, ITER could lay the groundwork for commercial fusion reactor plants that could be online by the 2040s.

Thomas W. Overton, JD, associate

editor

EU to Investigate Measures to Ensure Power SupplyThe European Commission (EC) this April launched an extensive investigation into subsidies that 11 European governments provide to utilities to ensure future power reliability, saying it is concerned that the measures may distort competition.

The sector inquiry into capacity mecha-nisms is the first under European Union (EU) state aid rules introduced in May 2012, which prohibit government aid un-less justified by reasons of general eco-nomic development.

The EC said it recognizes that capacity mechanisms are designed to fill expected capacity gaps, encourage investment in new power plants, and ensure that pow-er plants continue to operate, providing enough capacity to avoid blackouts.

But, typically, capacity mechanisms offer additional rewards to capacity pro-viders, on top of income obtained by sell-ing electricity on the market, in return for maintaining existing capacity or invest-ing in new capacity needed to guarantee security of electricity supplies, it said. Depending on how they are implemented, capacity mechanisms could potentially fragment the EU single market, distort competition by favoring certain producers or types of technology, and create barriers to trade across national borders, it added.

The sector inquiry will initially focus on Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germa-ny, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. However, the EC said that it

may expand the sample of member states, depending on preliminary results. It will also seek details from generators, power suppliers, and network operators. A draft report is expected at the end of the year and a final report by the summer of 2016.

The bulk of Europes generators are seemingly on board with the idea that capacity markets must evolve from na-tional to regional solutions. According to Hans ten Berge, secretary general of industry group EURELECTRIC, capacity

markets should strengthen rather than undermine ongoing efforts to complete the Internal Energy Market. We there-fore urge policymakers to make sure that capacity markets go beyond national borders. In addition, capacity markets should follow a set of basic design fea-tures: they should be market-based, technology-neutral, open to new and existing plants, and open to generation, demand response and storage.




New U.S. Offshore Wind Farm Breaks GroundOn April 27, the U.S. saw yet another sig-nificant milestone for its so-far nonexis-tent offshore wind sector as Deepwater Wind broke ground on the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island.

The company says that the five-turbine 30-MW wind farm will produce enough elec-tricity to power all of the islands homes and businesses when it comes online in 2016. The Alstom 6-MW Haliade 150 direct-drive offshore wind turbines (Figure 3) could re-place diesel generators that the islanders currently rely on. It will also send power to the mainland through an undersea cable.

The project was originally conceived in 2009 when Deepwater Wind signed a con-tract with National Grid to provide 100% of its power to Block Island. Environmen-tal groups the Sierra Club, Audubon, and the National Wildlife Foundation testified in favor of the project in rounds of hear-ings that followed the projects proposal.

According to the American Wind Energy Associations (AWEAs) 2014 annual market report, at least 11 offshore wind projects spanning 10 states are in various stages of development. The projects represent more than 2,500 MW of capacity with turbine sizes ranging from 3 MW to 6 MW.

One of those projects, however, the 486-MW Cape Wind project planned for off-shore Massachusetts, suffered a crippling setback this January when two utilities terminated contracts to buy the projects power because the company failed to meet a Dec. 31 deadline to obtain financ-

ing. This March, Cape Wind president Jim Gordon said the company is pushing on with the $2.5 billion project, seeking to restore the agreements with National Grid and Eversource Energy.

Meanwhile, the three projects selected in May 2014 by the Department of Energy to each receive up to $46.7 million over four years and accelerate their completion by 2017 are seemingly thriving. Those projects are Fishermens Energys 25-MW project offshore of Atlantic City, N.J.; Do-minion Powers 12-MW project offshore of Virginia Beach, Va.; and Principle Powers 30-MW project offshore of Coos Bay, Ore.


Reports: Renewables Were Revived in 2014Despite plunging oil prices, 2014 was a formidable year for renewables, according to two reports released in early 2015.

According to the Global Trends in Re-newable Energy Investment 2015the annual report prepared by the United Na-tions Environment Programme (UNEP), the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, and Bloomberg New Energy Fi-nanceenergy investments in renewables rebounded, surging 17% over the previous year, to $270 billion worldwide.

A primary reason for this was that 2014 marked a rapid expansion of renewables into new markets in developing countries. While China, predictably, saw by far the biggest renewable energy investments (a

record $83.3 billionand a stunning in-crease of 39% compared to 2013), the top 10 investing countries also featured the U.S., Brazil, India, South Africa, and, on a smaller scale, Indonesia, Chile, Mexico, Kenya, and Turkey.

The U.S. saw investments of $38.3 billionup 7%. Comparatively, the rise in investments in Europe was small, less than 1% to $57.5 billion. That includes $3.8 billion for the largest-ever single renewable energy asset finance deal out-side large hydro for the 600-MW Gemini offshore wind project that will be located in Dutch waters.

The UNEP report notes that wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-power, geothermal, small hydro, and marine power accounted for an estimated 9.1% of world electricity genera-tion in 2014, compared to 8.5% in 2013. In-vestments jumped particularly for solar (29% compared to 2013) and wind (11%).

In its annual market survey released in February, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) noted that 51,477 MW of new wind capacity was added in 2014. The record-setting figure is a solid sign of the recov-ery of the industry after a rough patch in the past few years, it said.

Total cumulative wind installations worldwide stood at 369,553 MW at the end of 2014, GWEC noted (Figure 4). Growth surged in Chinawhich now represents 45% of the global marketwith 23,351 MW of new wind power. Indias 2,315 MW was a distant second in Asia, although the stage is now set for a new round of market growth in that country, said GWEC.

The European market grew marginally in 2014, with 12,820 MW of new capacity, just shy of 2012s record. Brazils 2,472 MW in new installations led Latin Ameri-can installations of 3,749 MW, although Chile (506 MW) and Uruguay (405 MW)

3. Coming to America. Alstoms Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine, one of the largest ever installed in sea waters, is currently being tested off the coast of Ostend harbor at

the Belwind site in Belgium, but it could soon be the first commercial wind turbine of its size

in the U.S. if erected as part of Deepwater Winds Block Island wind farm in Rhode Island. This

image shows a nacelle and blades that are ready for transport in Ostend, Belgium, in November

2013. Courtesy: Alstom

4. Countries with the top cumu-lative wind capacity in December 2014. Courtesy: GWECRest of the world PR China

Brazil

Italy

France

Canada

United

Kingdom

India

Spain

Germany USA


also made strong showings. Meanwhile, the U.S. market recov-ered in 2014 from 2013s nadir with 4,854 MW, Canada (1,871 MW) set a new record, and Mexico (522 MW) was solid.

Australias 567 MW showed that the renewables industry in Australia is not dead, despite the best efforts of the government to kill it, GWEC said.


Last Module Is Installed at 250-MW Copper Mountain PV ProjectThe installation of more than one million solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at Sempra U.S. Gas and Powers and Consolidated Edison Developments 250-MW AC Copper Mountain Solar 3 project in Boulder City, Nev., was completed in early April. Cupertino Elec-tric and Amec Foster Wheeler said on April 6 that the last module was put in place at the 1,400-acre, fixed-tilt, ground-mount proj-ect that broke ground in early 2013 (Figure 5).


POWER DigestAustralias First ERF Carbon Abatement Auction Results Sur-pass Expectations. Australia held its first Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction under the Abbott governments Direct Action plan on April 15 and 16, and figures released by the Clean Energy Regulator indicate that the mechanism that replaced a controversial carbon tax and cap-and-trade program could result in four times the carbon reductions. The ERF is essentially an A$2.55 billion fund that pays Australian emitters (via voluntary bids at reverse auctions) to slash carbon emissions. The government pays for the lowest-cost abatement, and the Clean Energy Regulator sets a benchmark price and buys 80% of abatements offered below that price.

The mechanism seeks to achieve Australias emissions reduc-tion target of 5% below 2000 levels by 2020. The results of the first auction indicate that the government is on track to buy about 180 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020 if the current price of A$13.95 per metric ton holds. About A$660 million in carbon abatement contracts were awarded in April to 43 contractors covering 144 projectsmostly relating to sequestration, landfill gas capture, and waste treatment. Con-tract lengths range between three and 10 years, with the major-ity being for seven years.

5. New under the sun. Electricians from construction com-pany Cupertino Electric install the millionth solar module at Copper

Mountain Solar 3 in Nevada, marking a key milestone in the 250-MW

project built in conjunction with Amec Foster Wheeler for Sempra

U.S. Gas & Power and Consolidated Edison Development. Courtesy:

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Ontario Joins Carbon-Curbing Initia-tive. The eastern Canadian province of On-tario on April 13 announced it would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions in each sector of its economy by joining a cap-and-trade system under the Western Climate Initiative. The initiative, originally estab-lished in 2007 by the governors of five U.S. states, now consists of California, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec. Ontarios government said it would rein-vest funds raised through cap and trade in

a transparent way back into projects that reduce greenhouse gas pollution and help businesses remain competitive. Per its long-term energy policy, Ontario has shuttered all its coal-fired power plants or converted them to burn biomass. Ontario Power Generation on Feb. 9 converted the last coal-fired plant in the province, the Thunder Bay Generating Station, to combust biomass pellets made from lumber mill sawdust.

URENCO Gets License to Expand Eunice Plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Com-

mission (NRC) in March granted URENCO USA a license to increase enrichment production capacity to 10 million separative work units (SWU) from the current 3.7 million SWU at its Eunice, N.M., uranium enrichment plant. According to the World Nuclear Association, the expansion means the facility could be able to supply about 60% of U.S. needs in the 2020s, boosting competition for AREVA, Centrus (formerly USEC), and Global Laser Enrichment. The NRC also amended the companys license to allow it to use high-assay depleted uranium (DU) tails from early military enrichment as feed for the new im-proved centrifuges it has been using since 2012. URENCO subsidiary Louisiana Energy Services (LES) intends to add three new sep-aration building modules to the facility over the next several years. Last year LES asked the NRC to increase its licensed limit to pos-sess up to 2.2 million kilograms of enriched uranium and up to 251 million kilograms of uranium in all forms.

U.S. and South Korea Renew Com-mercial Nuclear Trade Pact. After four years of negotiations, the U.S. and South Korea on April 22 reached a provisional 20-year deal that will revise a 40-year-old civil nuclear pact allowing South Korea to pro-duce nuclear plant fuel for its 23 reactors but which still curbs its ability to reprocess spent fuel. For the U.S., the economic ben-efits include exports to South Korea, U.S. exports to third countries to supply South Korean projects and joint ventures, and im-ports of materials from South Korea to sup-ply projects to the U.S., said the industry group the Nuclear Energy Institute.

E.ON Spins Off Conventional Gen-eration Assets to New Company: Uniper. German utility E.ON will spin off its coal, oil, gas, and nuclear assets to a new com-pany, Uniper, while retaining its renewable business at E.ON, the company announced on April 28. The new company will start op-erations on January 1, 2016, and have its headquarters in Dusseldorf, while E.ON will move to Essen. E.ONs current finance chief, Klaus Schaefer, will be Unipers future CEO, while E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen will con-tinue to head the company that intends to focus on renewables, energy networks, and customer solutions. Forced to compete with subsidized renewables, E.ONs conventional business activities have proven difficult in Germany. This March, it informed the Fed-eral Network Agency of plans to shutter the 2010-built high-efficiency gas plants Irsch-ing 4 and 5 effective April 1, 2016, as they are no longer profitable. However, the com-pany has also reported losses from business in the UK, Sweden, and Italy.


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Optical Gas Imaging Cam-era Offers Hydrogen Leak Detection Solution

The operation of an electric power genera-tor produces large amounts of heat that must be removed to maintain efficiency. Depending on the rated capacity of the generator, it might be air-cooled, hydro-gen-cooled, water-cooled, or, in the larg-est capacity generators, a combination of water for the stator windings and hydro-gen for the rotor.

Hydrogen cooling offers excellent ef-ficiency thanks to the gass low density and high specific heat and thermal con-ductivity. However, hydrogen is highly combustible when mixed with air and can be dangerous if the concentration level builds in an unwanted area. Turbine gen-erators will leak some hydrogen during normal operation and rely on proper ven-tilation to keep the hydrogen levels from being a safety and explosion risk. Thus, hydrogen gas safety is critical for power plant operators.

Hydrogen molecules are very light and small, and therefore hard to contain. Between outages, the wear and tear on valves, seals, and equipment can allow large leaks to form and hydrogen levels to build in areas that could affect plant safety. The amount of hydrogen added each day is carefully monitored. An in-crease in makeup hydrogen would need to be investigated to find the source of the leak.

Traditional methods for leak detection and repair (LDAR) tend to be slow and may not find the leak quickly enough to avoid a shutdown. A shutdown peri-od could last two to three weeks, with multiple days dedicated to leak detec-tion alone. The cost associated with an unscheduled shutdown can run into the millions of dollars for a generating plant. The industry would prefer to perform LDAR online to avoid unscheduled out-ages, but until now the ability to do so was limited.

Traditional Detection MethodsMethods for detecting leaks range from using a soapy solution to create bubbles on each potential component to using mi-croelectronic hydrogen sensors (sniffers) to detect hydrogen over a wide area. The soapy solution is sufficient for checking a single component, but checking for a

leak in an unknown location could take weeks. Also, this method only works for tiny leaks because too much hydrogen flow will push the solution aside without forming bubbles.

The sniffer is a hand probe that produces an audio-signal when in proximity of a leak. Although this is a relatively affordable de-tection method, the sniffing test has some drawbacks. Generators are typically well ventilated. This can dilute the hydrogen, making it difficult to detect unless one is in close proximity to the source. Ventila-tion airflow can also move the hydrogen quite far from the source, leading to hits without adequately narrowing down which component needs repair. Sniffers do not allow operators to see a leak, so there is always some guesswork involved and time lost in the search for the source.

A New Approach As a more recent evolution in gas detec-tion technology, infrared cameras have become much more popular with mainte-nance teams. Infrared, or thermal imag-ing cameras as they are also called, have been used successfully to detect insuf-ficient insulation in buildings or to find heat-based safety hazards in electrical

installations. Optical gas imaging with thermal cam-

eras came into use a few years ago, using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as a tracer gas. However, some utilities have concerns with using SF6 as a tracer gas due to the cost, global-warming potential (GWP = 23,900), and, in some cases, restrictions on expanded use of SF6.

FLIR Systems partnered with the indus-try to develop a new generation of optical gas imagers (OGIs) using a tracer gas that eliminates those concerns. The new FLIR GF343 optical gas-imaging camera (Figure 1) uses CO2 as a tracer gas, which is read-ily available at generating stations. CO2 is inexpensive, has a much lower GWP, and has a lot fewer restrictions on use versus SF6. This will allow broader application of OGI for finding leaks.

Because only a small concentration of CO2 (generally 3% to 5%) needs to be added as a tracer gas to the hydrogen to make leaks visible to the OGI camera, the purity level of the hydrogen in the turbine is maintained, and normal gen-erating operations are allowed to con-tinue. The FLIR GF343 gives engineers a new tool for finding the source of leaks, without a shutdown.

1. Seeing is believing. An optical gas-imaging camera allows detection of even small leaks from a safe distance. Courtesy: FLIR Systems

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Detecting CO2 Tracer GasBy adding a small concentration of CO2 (less than 5%) as a tracer gas to the hydrogen supply, the generator will still operate at a safe and efficient level. This allows the operator and maintenance teams to moni-tor and check for hydrogen leaks during full operation.

During tests in the U.S. and Italy, it was proven that the FLIR GF343 can visualize a small amount (approximate-

ly 2.5%) of CO2 as a tracer gas in the system when there is a leak, therefore helping maintenance crews find and pinpoint leaks (Figures 2 and 3), tag-ging them for repair during shutdown or for immediate repair of any signifi-cant leaks.

The benefit that the GF343 offers over other detection technologies is that leak detection can now be per-formed under full operation, saving time

and money by reducing shutdown time. Shutdown time could be reduced by two or even three days, and with each day of shutdown costing as much as $100,000 (depending on the type and size of the generator) the payback and return on investment afforded by using CO2 as a tracer gas and the FLIR GF343 CO2 cam-era is significant.

But small leaks are not only very frequent; they can also turn into large leaks. With the new camera, mainte-nance teams can keep the atmospheric hydrogen concentration below the ex-plosion limit more easily.

How the FLIR GF343 Works The FLIR GF343 camera uses a focal plane array indium antimonide (InSb) detector, which has a detector spectral response of 35 micrometers (m) and is further spectrally adapted to approx-imately 4.3 m by use of cold filtering and cooling of the detector by a Ster-ling engine to cryogenic temperatures (around 334F or 203C). The spec-tral tuning or cold filtering technique is critical to the optical gas imaging technique and, in the case of the FLIR GF343, this makes the camera specifi-cally responsive and ultra-sensitive to CO2 gas infrared absorption.

Practically, the gas absorbs the back-ground energy in view of the camera, such as from the sky, ground, or other sources. The camera shows this energy absorption by way of thermal contrast in the image. The camera not only shows the spectral absorption but also the mo-tion of the gas; hence, you visualize the gas as a smoke plume.

The GF343 has an additional frame subtraction technique, which enhances the motion of the gas.

The high-sensitivity mode (HSM) has been the cornerstone of detecting the smallest of leaks. HSM is in part an image subtraction video processing technique that effectively enhances the thermal sensitivity of the camera. A percentage of individual pixel signals from frames in the video stream are subtracted from subsequent frames, thus enhancing the motion of the gas and improving the overall practical sensitivity of the camera and the ability to pinpoint the smallest of CO2 gas leaks, even without the use of a tripod.

Steve Beynon is business develop-ment manager for GF cameras and optical gas imaging systems in the

European, Middle Eastern, and African markets for FLIR Systems Ltd.

2. Needle in a haystack. A leak in a pressure gauge may not be easily found using tra-ditional methods. Courtesy: FLIR Systems

3. Pinpointing trouble. Gas leaks are clearly visible on the thermal image. Courtesy: FLIR Systems

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CAISO Goes Big and Leaves HomeThomas W. Overton

No one can accuse the officials who oversee Californias en-ergy market of lacking ambition.

Fresh on the heels of Gov. Jerry Browns January prom-ise to raise the states renewable generation target from 33% in 2020 to 50% in 2030, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in April announced that it and Oregon utility and Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary PacifiCorp were beginning discussions on Pa-cifiCorps joining the ISO as a participating transmission owner.

PacifiCorp and CAISO are already cooperating with the Energy Im-balance Market (EIM) they launched in November. This move would go further, to put PacifiCorps grid under CAISO control. The planwhich would expand CAISOs territory by a whopping 40%is cer-tain to shake up energy markets throughout the western U.S.

Too Much of a Good ThingThe reason this move matters so much is that CAISO and Paci-fiCorp operate the two largest grids in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Putting both under the same management means not just a broader pool of power supplies to draw on but also more resources to balance the regions substantialand rap-idly expandingwind and solar generation. That means fewer curtailments for renewable generators.

A harbinger of things to come can be found in CAISOs fourth-quarter report on the EIM, which it released in February. The report estimates that gross benefits to the participants in No-vember and December alone came to almost $6 million. Most of thisabout $4.73 millionaccrued to PacifiCorp. (These figures do not include additional benefits from reduced flexibility re-serves.) During that period, PacificCorp sent 180,786 MWh south to CAISO, while CAISO sent 27,361 MWh to PacifiCorp. Though these numbers are not huge, they represent a significant amount of generation that would likely have otherwise been curtailed.

Electricity oversupply events have been a perennial problem in the Pacific Northwest for decades, one that has grown worse as the regions wind capacity has expanded. Spring is typically the worst, as this is when peak runoff coincides with peak wind volumes and low demand. Dam operators can only spill over a certain amount of water without causing problems for aquatic life, so this has often meant wind generation has to be shut down so water can keep flowing through the turbines. Neither wind farm owners nor transmission owners like this solution, but with nowhere to put the excess power, there has been little choice. PacifiCorps entry into CAISO would help change this.

Regional TensionsSome observers in the Pacific Northwest have complained for years that generators in the region have been unfairly blocked from the California market because of that states regulations. One of the big-gest issues is AB32, Californias cap-and-trade greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scheme, which has been in force since 2012. Among oth-er things, it places certain restrictions on power generated out of statethe price asked must reflect the cost of GHG emissions.

How this will affect PacifiCorpwhich has about 8 GW of coal

and gas generationshould it join CAISO, remains to be seen. Currently, EIM participants have to include a price adder if they want to avoid dispatch into CAISO, something neither the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) nor some participants are happy with. In response to FERCs concerns, CAISO has proposed a different method by which participants can flag bids they do not want dispatched into California.

The complication here is that there are constitutional limits on the degree to which regulations in one state are allowed to affect economic activities in other states. One can certainly expect that authorities in Wyoming, where PacifiCorp has operated four large coal-fired plants for decades, will look askance at the possibility that their generating resources might be negatively affected by California emissions regulations.

Environmental groups in California, which have made much of the states progress in getting off coal also will surely object to the possibility that CAISO might import more coal-fired power.

Balancing ActThat being said, a CAISO-PacifiCorp joinder would be a clear win for renewable generation.

Ive written in the past about the issues surrounding renew-able intermittency, issues that have continued to grow. Dealing with renewable intermittency generally requires three things: dispatchable generation (typically gas-fired), robust energy stor-age resources, and enough transmission capacity to balance fluc-tuating generation across a large grid. This proposal would be a big contribution to the latter element.

California, with its Mediterranean climate, can often suffer from stifling heat in the spring (trust me on this one), the very period when the Pacific Northwest has traditionally experienced overgeneration. Having an outlet south means that hydro and wind in the Northwest can reduce the degree to which they have been offsetting each other.

Meanwhile, Californias summer-to-late-summer spikes in solar gen-eration, which have had CAISO officials worried for years as the states installed capacity continues to explode (California installed about as much solar as the rest of the U.S. combined in 2014), would have an outlet north to replace the fall lull in hydroelectric generationa lull that would require less fossil generation to backstop.

The losers here are merchant generators in CAISO with gas-fired plants, who are already complaining that the proposal threatens their bottom lines. With the large amounts of gas-fired power added to the CAISO grid in recent yearscapacity built with expectations of profiting off renewable fluctuationsthis isnt a trivial concern.

Obviously, much work remains before a seamless integration between CAISO and PacifiCorp can be achieved. But with other utilities like NV Energy and Puget Sound Energy moving to join the EIM, and the Bonneville Power Administration looking at starting its own EIMone for which CAISO submitted a bid to operatethe hopes of renewables advocates for widespread grid integration appear bright.

Thomas W. Overton, JD is a POWER associate editor.

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WORKFORCE

Women Are Essential to a Thriving Power Generation Sector

For our November 2008 issue, at the

suggestion of my predecessor, Dr. Rob-

ert Peltier, PE, I researched and wrote

Workforce Management Lessons from

Women in Power Generation, the first sub-

stantial examination of women in this indus-

try. Bob was curious about why there were

so few women in power. When he went to

meetings at plants or with companies serving

the industry, hed usually find, at most, one

woman at the table. Things havent changed

much since then, but if the power industry

is to achieve optimal results going forward,

employers should look seriously at recruiting

women for jobs in all areas, from engineering

and chemistry to the crafts and compliance.

One can take a short-term view of the

challenges, which might focus on the exit of

the Baby Boomer generation and the need to

fill jobs, or a longer-term view, which would

seek to build a sustainable supply chain that

includes a diverse pool of potential future

candidates for positions at all levels. In either

case, there are increasingly compelling rea-

sons to develop a more diverse workforce.

One is that the new variables that both

power generators and their supporting indus-

try partners must jugglefrom an increas-

ing number of regulations to new industry

entrants to unfamiliar market changesre-

quire something other than business-as-usual

thinking and operations. Greater complexity

requires greater creativity, which often results

from teams that can bring a variety of experi-

ences, perspectives, and problem-solving ap-

proaches to the table.

Why Women in Power MatterYes, that subhead has a double meaning.

Most studies of women in the workplace

focus on women in higher-level roles, espe-

cially in executive positions and on corporate

boards. Thats important, both for womens

value as role models and the economic value

they bring to their organizations.

However, especially in fields like power,

where women have been traditionally under-

represented, looking at career entry points is

equally important. After all, unless women

are interested in a field, they are unlikely to

enter it, build a career, and reach the high-

est levels. There are more signs now than

in 2008 that efforts to encourage girls and

young women to consider science, technolo-

gy, engineering, and math (STEM) education

With the increasing number of technical and economic changes affecting the power industry, the value of women in the workforce has never been higher. This follow-up to our 2008 special report, Workforce Management Lessons from Women in Power Generation, looks at how having women visible throughout the industry can make it more successful.

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Courtesy: Platte River Power Authority

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WORKFORCE


are building momentum. The Engineer Girl

website (see the web supplement Resources

for Women in Power Generation associated

with this issue at powermag.com) is just one.

Others include local, industry, and govern-

ment initiatives.

Ill get to why having women in power

matters to the industry shortly, but heres one

reason that having women in power and other

STEM fields matters to women: Women in

STEM jobs earn 33 percent more than those

in non-STEM occupations and experience a

smaller wage gap relative to men, accord-

ing to the White House Office of Science

and Technology Policy (OSTP). Another, ac-

cording to OSTP is that STEM careers offer

women the opportunity to engage in some

of the most exciting realms of discovery and

technological innovation.

Women at the Top Improve the Bottom LineIf youve been reading or listening to any

mass media in recent years, youll have

heard about some of the many research stud-

ies that have found that having women in

management and on corporate boards results

in higher earnings. That pattern holds true

around the world and for different types of

businesses, as multiple reports by the likes of

McKinsey & Co. have shown.

For a global view of this issue from a wom-

an who holds one of the most powerful posi-

tions in the world, consider comments made

by Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head

the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a

March 2014 interview, Managing Director

Lagarde mentioned an IMF study on women

in the workforce: We found that if females

were working in the same proportion as men

do, the level of [gross domestic product] in a

country like Egypt would be up 34 percent,

up 27 percent in a country like India but also

up 9 percent in Japan and up 5 percent in the

United States. All economies have savings

and productivity gains if women have access

to the job market. Its not just a moral, philo-

sophical or equal-opportunity matter. Its also

an economic cause. It just makes economic

sense. Its a no-brainer.

In particular, she noted that Japan and

South Korea policymakers have decided to

put women at the center of their budget and

policies going forward. Why is that? Well,

first of all, they have aging populations and

they need to respond to that problemthey

need more people to come to the workforce.

They have available talented, well-educated,

very often hard-working female workers that

they can tap. Does that sound like any sce-

nario in the power industry that youre famil-

iar with? (For the full interview, visit http://n.

pr/QmBjh8.)

Within the power industry, a March re-

port by Ernst & Young LLP (EY), Talent

at the Table: Women in Power and Utilities

Index 2015, found that utilities with more

women in leadership ranks performed bet-

ter than their peers. Its analysis showed that

the top 20 utilities for gender diversity, with

a combined average return on equity (ROE)

of 8.5%, significantly outperform the lower

20, with a combined average ROE of 7%. As

the EY report notes, Given the asset-heavy

nature of this industry, a 1.5% difference in

ROE between the two groups can translate

into millions less in profit.

At the top of its global top 20 list for wom-

en in boardrooms is Eskom (South Africa)

with seven women on its 12-member board,

followed by Duke Energy (U.S.) and Sempra

Energy (U.S.). Looking at senior manage-

ment teams (SMTs), the utilities with five or

more women were:

BC Hydro (Canada) CLP Holdings (Hong Kong) CMS Energy Corp. (U.S.) Dominion Resources (U.S.) Empresas Pblicas de Medellin (Columbia) Manila Electric Co. (Philippines)the

overall leader, with eight women on an

18-member SMT

NRG Energy (U.S.) Singapore Power Ltd. (Singapore)

Whether the CEO is male or female may

in some cases be less critical to financial suc-

cess than whether a company is a regulated

utility, with an ensured rate of return, or an

independent power producer, subject to the

market. In any case, one female CEO in par-

ticular, Lynn Good, has been gaining plaudits

for her leadership of Duke Energy, in part for

her decision to move the largest utility in the

U.S. away from wholesale market genera-

tion. (See Duke Energy Generation: Whole-

sale Retreat in this issue.)

A Nov. 8, 2014, Fortune.com article asks,

Is Lynn Good the smartest (new) CEO in

the energy industry? The answer that author

provides is essentially, yes. In terms of the

bottom line, in Goods first year and a half at

the helm, the article notes, Duke provided a

total return of 32%, beating the S&P 500 by

almost four points. (Profits fell in the fourth

quarter of last year, however.) True, the com-

pany has had several recent difficulties, in-

cluding troubles concerning its Edwardsport

integrated gasification combined cycle facil-

ity and coal ash spills, but those problems

were many pre-Good years in the making.

Particularly during times of industry stress

and change, which the power industry is fac-

ing in spades, having a more gender-balanced

workforce and leadership can be an advan-

tage. Lagarde has suggested that if Lehman

Brothers had been Lehman Sisters, the fi-

nancial industry catastrophe might have been

averted.

To that point, she said, I do believe

women have different ways of taking risks,

of addressing issues . . . of ruminating a bit

more before they jump to conclusions. . . .

Im not suggesting that all key functions and

roles should be held by women. But I think

that there would have to be a much bigger

diversity and a better sharing of those func-

The top 20 utilities for gender diversity, with a combined average return on equity (ROE) of 8.5%, significantly outperform the lower 20, with a combined average ROE of 7%.

Ernst & Young LLP

Whats in a Name?

As this article was being written, POWER

Associate Editor Sonal Patel was working

on a news story about a corporate name

change and passed along this timely an-

ecdote. The French energy group formerly

known as GDF SUEZ is changing its name

to ENGIE. Deputy CEO Isabelle Kocher,

49, who is soon to replace 66-year-old

CEO Grard Mestrallet, reportedly said

the new name looks and sounds like a

womans first name. Mestrallet said a fe-

male name is a coincidence that doesnt

displease him, as the company will soon

be run by two women, Ms. Kocher and

CFO Judith Hartmann.

WORKFORCE


tions and roles. If you look at the studies

. . . its apparently very clear now that those

companies that have several female direc-

tors on their boards and females in their top

management actually do better, are more

profitable, and actually give a better return

to their shareholders.

The EY report also noted the glacial pace

of change in the power and utilities indus-

try. Only 5% of board positions are held by

women (a 1% increase from last year), while

non-executive directors are at 17%, down 1%

from last year. In order to benefit from the

value of having women in corporate lead-

ership positions (see sidebar Whats in a

Name?), it helps to have a plan for career

development that provides industry entry

points all along the way.

So, Why Arent There More Women in Power Generation?Determining the percentage of women in the

power industry, even in just the U.S., is dif-

ficult. There is no single industry group that

Fairbanks Morse Leverages the Benefits of Diversity

Women in the power industry include those who work for power

generators as well as for the wide variety of firms supporting

those generators, from equipment manufacturers to service pro-

viders to consulting and legal firms. Work on the vendor side

of this industry poses many of the same challenges for women

as working in a power plant, explained Sheila Gailloreto, mar-

keting director for Fairbanks Morse Engines, a power systems

equipment provider.

Women who participated in POWERs 2015 Women in Power Gen-

eration online survey were invited to contact the editor if they had

additional information to share. One who followed up was Gail-

loreto, who is based in Beloit, Wis. In an April 28 phone interview,

she told POWER that women in firms like hers also face some of

the same day-to-day issues as women in power plants, including

gaining a seat at the table and ensuring that their voices are

heard. However, she feels good about the executive team of 10

that she sits on, which recently added its third woman.

As at most companies that are dedicated to fostering all kinds

of workforce diversity, the commitment to that goal comes from

the top. Gailloreto said that Fairbanks Morse President Marvin Riley

holds a high level of awareness with regard to the diversity of the

team, and we talk very openly about it. The company wants

women on its leadership team not only for their individual contri-

butions but also because it knows that companies with women on

their boards tend to do better financially.

But the company doesnt stop at hiring a diverse team; its also

leveraging that diversity by developing a learning organization.

Teams throughout the company have read Professor Edward D.

Hesss book Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge

Learning Organization, which promotes continuous learning and

innovation. In an interview with Columbia University Press, which

published the book, Hess said, many of us are good learners but it

is highly probable that we are suboptimal learners. We know from

research that cognitively we are fast reflexive thinkers who seek

to confirm what we already know. We are confirmation machines.

Emotionally, we tend to be defensive thinkers protecting our views

and ego. Emotionally, we defend, deny and deflect. The saboteurs

of learning are ego and fear. That is our humanness. To be a great

learner requires one to overcome those natural proclivities. Learn

or Die puts forth a blueprint of how to do that.

Among Hesss predictions for the future of business organiza-

tions: The required humanization of many business organizations

and the increased importance of soft skills such as empathy, hu-

mility, emotional and social intelligence, mindfulness etc. could be

challenging to many men. Men can learn these skillsbut many

men need to learn to lean out. I predict the upcoming learning

revolution in business will propel more women into C-level posi-

tions and that will likely accelerate in many cases the humaniza-

tion of organizations.

To enhance the collaborative and creative business environment

that supports that goal of building a learning organization, Fair-

banks Morse recently began using a program called Books@Work

(booksatwork.org), which, according to the nonprofit organiza-

tion, brings professor-led literature seminars to workplaces and

community settings to build confidence, critical thinking, com-

munication, collaboration, and creativity.

Gailloreto explained that once a month, the leadership team,

as well as other teams formed throughout the organization, are

assigned a book or, more often, a short story, to read individually.

Then, as a group, on work time, their discussion of the reading is

facilitated by a local professorfrom Beloit College for Wisconsin-

based groups or from George Washington University for the team

located at the companys D.C. office (Figure 1). Readings have

included stories by two American writers: John Updikes Trust Me

and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

The sessions allow the team to explore how men and women

interpret pieces of the story differently, giving them a non-work,

non-personal way to discuss those differences. Both men and

women have enjoyed the discussions so much that the sessions

have run over their allotted time. The benefits have been two-

fold, Gailloreto said, were having dialogue outside of work or

sports related topics, and were boosting our creative and critical

thinking skills as a team.

1. Book work. Shown here is a Books@Work session held live at the Fairbanks Morse headquarters office in Washington, D.C., as well

as virtually using a Google Hangout for staff members located at the

companys manufacturing location in Beloit, Wis. Courtesy: Fairbanks

Morse Engines

WORKFORCE


gathers such data, even by fuel or technol-

ogy breakout, and the U.S. Bureau of La-

bor Statistics (BLS) data is difficult to parse

for exactly these purposes. However, BLS

data for 2014 indicate that in the Electrical

power generation, transmission, and distribu-

tion industry, women accounted for 23.3%

of all employees. Note that this accounts for

all job functions across the industry, from

power plant operators to line workers to of-

fice workers.

Other estimates place women in the indus-

try at between 1% and 25%, depending on

the sector. Kristen Graf, executive director of

Women of Wind Energy, supplied POWER

with a June 2013 National Renewable Ener-

gy Laboratory report (A National Skills As-

sessment of the U.S. Wind Industry in 2012)

that found: According to our survey, which

only captures a segment of the domestic wind

industry, women comprise approximately

20% of the known wind workforce. The vari-

ance across occupations is large. Six occu-

pations of the 26 in our survey exhibited a

majority of women in their workforce. These

six included paralegals, admin/clerical, gov-

ernment regulatory workers, operations and

maintenance accountants/bookkeepers, sup-

ply chain/purchasing managers, and devel-

opment finance. The occupations with the

lowest female representation were assembly

workers, construction laborers, transporta-

tion/logistics workers, and wind technicians,

each with less than 10%. One note of caution

in this section is that according to BW Re-

search staff, companies asked about numbers

of female employees tend to over-report the

number of women working in their compa-

ny (emphasis added).

A 2013 job census by The Solar Founda-

tion found that 19% of all solar workers were

women.

I was unable to find numbers for the ther-

mal power sector, despite contacting major

industry groups.

Respondents to our 2015 survey (the larg-

est share of whom are working in the coal

sector) indicated that the percentage of wom-

en in their plant or division was no more than

10%. (For full survey results, see POWERs

2015 Women in Power Generation Survey

in this issue.)

Many, often competing, theories have

been advanced to explain the under-represen-

tation of women in STEM fields in general

and in the power industry in particular. There

are surely some women, as well as men, who

rule out this industry because many plants are

located in remote or sparsely populated ar-

eas. Some people enjoy small town, rural life;

some dont. Others will rule out the thermal

generation sector of the industry because they

dont want to work in a sometimes noisy and

dirty environment. On the other hand, Ive

talked with one woman in charge of a coal

yard who beamed when she spoke about her

job. Another cohort of workers and potential

employees will be interested in only specific

generation typeseither for environmen-

tal reasons or technology reasons. Someone

who is fundamentally opposed to fossil fuels

is unlikely to seek a job at a coal plant, while

someone who is fascinated by physics will

likely be drawn more to the nuclear or solar

sector than the others. Personal preferences

are neither right nor wrong; they just are.

Beyond personal preferences, the reasons

for a dearth of women in any given industry

are typically a mix of factors that cut across

industries and ones that are more industry-

specific. For example, an August 2014 Asso-

ciated Press story noted that the construction

industry is increasing its efforts to recruit

women. In addition to stereotypes about that

industry, the National Womens Law Cen-

ter found that pervasive sexual harassment

of women at work sites was another factor

responsible for low numbers of women in

construction.

Generally speaking, Gender bias,

workplace exclusion, and a lack of sup-

port structures are some of the factors con-

tributing to the lack of women working in

engineering and computing, according to

a March 2015 report by the American As-

sociation of University Women (youll find

a link to that report in the Resources for

Women in Power Generation web supple-

ment associated with this issue in the ar-

chives at powermag.com).

In the power industry, shift work may pose

an obstacle for some, whereas others may find

the work and schedules manageable but the

work environment less conducive to job satis-

faction. I have heard more than one woman in

the power industry comment that you have to

have a thick skin and a strong sense of humor

to survive the culture of power plants. Some

women may be willing to put up with every-

thing from snarky to sexist comments and at-

titudes; some of those women may have little

choice because of where they live or want to

live. But others may decide that their energy

is better used where it is appreciated.

Some, after giving a particular plant or

company a try, may decide that the effort

and growing ever-thicker layers of skin just

isnt worth it. Women in that situation, when

they can, may decide to move to a different

segment of the industry or may leave with

their skills and talents to seek t

june 2015 international

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