Efficiency and emissions remain core priorities as owner-operators work to improve performance, manage compliance and extend the life of existing assets. This topic covers heat rate improvements, combustion optimization, controls, aftermarket upgrades, emissions control systems, maintenance strategy and the operational tradeoffs that shape plant performance. For many facilities, incremental improvements still matter because they directly affect cost, output, compliance and competitiveness.

Efficiency & Emissions Educational Opportunities 

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10:15 AM
  1. O&M and Reliability Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 4455
    50 mins
    Bayswater is a large coal-fired station that has spent the past five years becoming something it was never designed to be: a flexible, market-responsive asset in a grid increasingly shaped by solar an …
  2. 250B
    50 mins
    Flexible coal operation starts in the mill, not the boiler. As renewable penetration forces coal units to cycle deeper and more frequently, pulverizer performance becomes a direct constraint on plant …
11:15 AM
  1. 251B
    50 mins
    With new combined-cycle lead times stretching to 2029 and beyond, the strategic value of optimizing existing gas turbine assets has never been more direct. This session presents an updated fleet-wide …
  2. O&M and Reliability Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 4455
    50 mins
    Steam boilers were designed for steady baseload operation. As grid conditions push thermal fleets toward more frequent starts, deeper turndowns and aggressive cycling, the operating envelope shifts we …
1:30 PM
  1. 250A
    50 mins
    Military installations operate under reliability requirements that most utilities and IPPs rarely face: uninterrupted power during grid outages, cyber events, and extreme weather, with no tolerance fo …
2:30 PM
  1. 250F
    50 mins
    Co-locating prime power generation at a data center campus, whether natural gas turbines, reciprocating engines, or combined-cycle systems, converts a facility that was previously a minor emissions so …
11:15 AM
  1. Thermal & Nuclear Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 1238
    50 mins
    Grid operators are asking combined-cycle and simple-cycle gas turbines to turn down deeper and more frequently than their original designs anticipated. Emissions-compliant operation at lower loads is …
1:30 PM
  1. 250D
    50 mins
    Post-combustion carbon capture is increasingly relevant to utilities and IPPs managing emissions compliance on existing thermal assets, but the integration questions, energy demand, solvent performanc …
2:30 PM
  1. 250E
    50 mins
    On-site generation at data center campuses is growing faster than the decarbonization frameworks designed to govern it. Diesel backup conflicts with emissions targets. Natural gas prime power triggers …
  2. 250D
    50 mins
    As power and industrial operators face increasing pressure to decarbonize, many carbon capture systems today are still difficult to deploy in practice due to operational complexity, energy penalties, …
  3. Data Center & New Demand Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 5004
    50 mins
    Hyperscale data centers need power on 12 to 24-month timelines. Interconnection queues run five years or longer. Meanwhile, oil and gas producers across North America are managing stranded gas, flarin …
9:30 AM
  1. O&M and Reliability Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 4455
    50 mins
    A 2 x 250 MW lignite-fired plant in India increased its plant load factor from 50% to 65% through a focused O&M program targeting the highest-leverage reliability and performance gaps. The program cov …
10:30 AM
  1. 250C
    50 mins
    Supercritical CO₂ power cycles have been in development for two decades. They are now approaching commercial deployment, and the applications relevant to the POWERGEN audience are specific: gas turbin …
11:30 AM
  1. Thermal & Nuclear Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 1238
    50 mins
    The U.S. has more than 134 GW of installed simple-cycle gas turbine capacity. Most of it was never paired with a steam bottoming cycle for straightforward reasons: high capital cost, large footprint, …
  2. O&M and Reliability Zone - Exhibit Hall Booth 4455
    50 mins
    Gas-side fouling deep within HRSG harp sections, including ferrous oxide scale, ammonium bisulfate deposits from SCR ammonia slip and insulation debris, accumulates on finned tube bundles where conven …

Other Efficiency & Emissions News

Visit Our Official Media Partner, Factor This Power Engineering, for more Efficiency & Emissions News

EPA announces repeal of greenhouse gas rules for coal- and gas-fired plants

The action, announced Monday, would eliminate Biden-era carbon standards that called for CCS at long-running coal plants and heavily utilized new gas-fired units beginning in the 2030s.
September 14, 2026

New gas analyzer technologies simplify emissions monitoring systems

Versatile sensor designs increase the type of measurement technologies available in a single analyzer, reducing cost and operational complexity, writes contributor Dr. Beth Livingstone.
July 31, 2026

EPA guidance could give power projects more flexibility on emissions offsets

Developers may be able to secure key air permits before fully locking in emissions credits, though projects would still be barred from operating until required offsets are in place.
July 07, 2026

EPA rolls back 2024 MATS updates, returns coal plants to 2012 toxics standards

Zeldin cites $670 million in avoided compliance costs and grid reliability, while environmental groups warn of higher mercury and metals exposure.
February 20, 2026

 

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