VGB Hydro – Technical Programs

VGB with its leading role in understanding about good and best practices in hydropower operation and development launches in cooperation with its members different Technical Programs. These programs are part of the comprehensive activities of VGB for the hydropower sector to support the daily work in operation, maintenance and plant optimization as well as in techno-economic, environmental and strategic challenges. Therefore, the programs are open for VGB members as well as non-VGB members.

The following two technical programmes were published:

• Cost comparison for run-of-river power plants
  The run-of-river cost comparison is based on a proven and unique methodology which assures an objective and best-in-class benchmarking of all O&M cost categories taking into account the vast variety of such plants and their specifications.
• Operations management comparison for storage and pumped storage power plants
  Storage and pumped storage power plants are even more specific than run-of-river power plants. Thus, VGB will start the comparison of such plants with a moderated survey and overview of operation management strategies, approaches and processes. This will provide deep insights into the differences of operating and maintaining such plants throughout the industry and by this help to adapt and optimize own approaches.

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VGB Quality Award 2021: Proposals welcome

Ordinary and Sponsoring members can nominate projects for the award that have delivered an outstanding quality in execution.

The VGB Quality Award has been established to increase awareness for the commercial value of quality and to highlight examples of suppliers who have delivered extraordinary quality in services and products. The VGB Quality Award is covering all electricity and heat generation technologies: hydro, wind energy, biomass, biogas, nuclear, oil-, gas- and coal-fired power stations, as well as storage technologies, and all kind of projects: new build, refurbishment, maintenance, or decommissioning.

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Efficient electricity generation through wind power, even in icy temperatures

An interdisciplinary team of experts from VERBUND, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, the University of Vienna and Meteotest is researching the use of intelligent rotor blade heaters in wind turbines in the joint research project SOWINDIC. These heaters are intended to ensure efficient electricity production in winter temperatures.

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HYDROPOWER EUROPE hosted a Partner Event about potential pollution in hydropower during the EU Green Week 2021

On 8 June 2021, over 70 of the almost 100 registered attendees joined the experts in a roundtable discussion on the topic “Hydropower: how to avoid potential pollution sources and to mitigate environmental impacts by innovative measures and concepts” to shed light on good practice that should serve as the basic standard for hydropower deployment.

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VGB Safety & Health Award 2021 – Call for nominations

The VGB Safety & Health Award was established in 2012 to underline the importance of safety & health culture in the power and heat generation sector. The award shall honour projects for outstanding achievements in fostering and improving occupational safety and health.

The nominations will be evaluated by a jury, consisting of members of the VGB Technical Committee „Safety and Health at Work“ and the VGB Technical Group „Safety at Work and Occupational Health“.

The VGB Safety & Health Award will be handed over at the VGB Congress in September 2021.

All ordinary VGB member companies are invited to nominate eligible candidate projects. Deadline for online submission of nominations is 30 July, 2021.

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VGB PowerTech Journal 5 (2021): Nuclear power plant operation, Grid stability

Editorial

Christopher Weßelmann

Topic: Numbers about nuclear power: 2020

Some topics:

• Quo vadis, grid stability?
  Challenges increase as generation portfolio changes (Kai Kosowski and Frank Diercks) Download ...
• The World’s first power plant to produce 400 billion kilowatt hours (Matthias Domnick, Sebastian von Gehlen, Stephan Kunze, Gerald Schäufele, Dietmar Schütze and Ralf Südfeld)
• Forum Energy Supply: Europe on the road to a main disaster
  After the lockdown, a blackout? (Herbert Saurugg) Download ...
• Development of safety-related residual heat removal chains from German technology pressure water reactors (light and heavy water) (Franz Stuhlmüller and Rafael Macián-Juan)
• Operating experience with nuclear power plants 2020 (VGB PowerTech) Download ...

Issue PT Journal 5/2021

VGB-S-823-34-2020-12-EN-DE - RDS-PP® - RDS-PP® - Application Guideline Part 34: Plants for Energy Supply with Combustion Engines - Now available as eBook!

The VGB-Standard VGB-S-823-34 RDS-PP® - RDS-PP® - Application Guideline Part 34: Plants for Energy Supply with Combustion Engines applies to the designation of plants for energy supply with combustion engine according to the RDS-PP in accordance with the international sector specific standard ISO/TS 81346-10 for power plants.

This VGB-Standard is addressed to those responsible for the design and operation of Combustion Engine Plants, i.e. planners, operators, authorities, suppliers, manufacturers, service providers, experts, research institutions.

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VGB provides energy-related reading material in the home office

As a consequence of the corona restrictions, a large number of employees in the power industry currently work at home, and thus unfortunately without access to the printed edition of our VGB PowerTech Journal. What could be more obvious than to quickly use the possibilities of digitalisation? In anticipation of an ongoing project to further digitalize publications, VGB offers an online edition of the VGB PowerTech Journal, starting with issue 1/2019.

In order to not only give the existing readership access to our energy and power plant technology information and specialist articles, but also to gain new readership, access is activated for the period of corona-related restrictions via our website. VGB is looking forward to receiving feedback on this offer.

Online edition

VGB-S-014-2011-EN - Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Flue Gas Denitrification Systems (DeNOx) - Now available as eBook!

This VGB-Standard deals with flue gas denitrification (DeNOx) at large combustion plants. This standard covers processes downstream of combustion (secondarymeasures) not combustion technology processes (primary measures).

The goal is to describe the plant technologies and operational experiences with SCR-plants and specific designs. The reader will be able to find items matching his experience and type of facility. In the event that particular problems only occur in a certain type of facility, reference will be made to this type. The most important section comprises operational experiences. Due to lack of experienced operational personnel during new planning, there is a risk that operational experience from existing facilities will not be taken into account.

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