Advanced Heat Resistant Steels for Power Generation PDF

INTRODUCTION

The United States is the world's largest power market, a $250 billion industry and one that is rapidly opening up to competition and deregulation. Fossil plants are being bought and sold; more than 20 000MW have changed hands to date. There are more than 100 active buyers in this market that include domestic and international utilities, independent power producers, energy companies, power marketers, and financial houses. Also emerging in the US are scores of power marketers seeking to connect buyers of electricity with sellers. Often such marketers own generation. The regulated utilities too can be both sellers and buyers of electricity, and frequently have independent arms that own generating plants outside of their regulated territory. These plants may have been bought from others or constructed as merchant plants with the intent of supplying low cost energy to the spot market.

In charge of ensuring the requisite flows of power across the grid system are independent system operators (150s). An ISO provides open access to the transmission system, uniform transmission pricing, and system security. One important role of the ISO is to procure ancillary services for customers, such as spinning reserve, VAR support, and black start capability, a business estimated at $19 billion in the USA.

Edited by: R. Viswanathan, J. Nutting