Singapore

For 17 years, Unit 1 at Browns Ferry nuclear plant on the north shore of Wheeler Reservoir in northern Alabama sat dormant. One of three operating Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear plants, Browns Ferry is a three-unit GE design and began commercial operation in 1974, just 11 years before it was shut down in 1985. When the TVA decided in 2002 to return Browns Ferry Unit 1 to operational status, extensive decontamination, repair and replacement work were necessary to bring the unit up to present-day standards. The TVA chose Flowserve to help them tackle the unique challenges associated with bringing Unit 1 back online.

The "9th Regulators and Policy Maker Retreat" at the Hotel Marriot Resort in Goa was an astonishing event. Organised by the IPPAI (Independent Power producers Association of India), endorsed and supported by the IPPF, this was beyond the intimate compact gathering implied by the word "Retreat". It was a full blown conference of major proportions incorporating key themes of vital importance. Subtitled "Pan-Asian Perspective on Regulatory Convergence Across Key Infrastructure Sectors". Under this cross-sector banner, the IPPAI's Goa conference drew an amazing array of top experts from three key sectors: power, oil & gas, energy, etc., telecommunications and aviation.

The priority of Asia’s power plant operators have been reshaped by surging fuel prices and tight supply of replacement parts, says ABB Vice President Frenk Withoos, who oversees the company’s operations for Power Systems in the South Asia Pacific region. It is a dramatic turnaround from the situation just two years back when Asian Power last caught up with Mr. Withoos. At the time, Chinese equipment vendors were making serious inroads in Asia and fuel prices were low, replacement parts in plentiful supply and operators were little concerned with efficiency.