Green energy company EI-H2 has appointed Worley to develop the concept design for Ireland’s first green hydrogen production facility. To be built at a cost of €120 million, the 50 MW plant in County Cork will supply over 20 tonnes of green hydrogen per day for industrial use and power generation, once operational in 2023.
Lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE), a widely-used metric to compare the profitability of power sources, is “not the right approach” for hybrid units. “A paradigm shift is underway,” the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) says, arguing hybrid plants with energy storage need to be rewarded for flexibility and grid ancillary services.
Australian LNG producers strive to lower their high carbon footprint as buyers announce Net Zero targets. However, most cargoes from Down Under incur more than the world’s average 0.56 ton of CO2e per ton of LNG produced. Carbon offsets an option, as are retrofitting liquefaction plants with CCS and replacing gas gensets with renewables and batteries.
GE gas turbine technology will power Australia’s first natural gas and hydrogen-fired power unit at the Tallawarra B station in New South Wales. The 316 MW Tallawarra B unit, driven by a 9F.05 gas turbine, helps to stabilize the grid in the face of the closure of the 1,680 MW Liddell coal power plant in 2023.
Natural gas spot price at the US bellwether Henry Hub keeps rising amid growing LNG exports and higher gas industrial consumption. Analysts expect spot prices to reach $2.92 per MMBtu in the third quarter, up from $2.66/MMBtu in April, prompting a fuel switch to thermal coal for power generation.
The German economy ministry has dedicated €900 million for a hydrogen auction platform, set up by Siemens Energy, Linde, Nordex and ThyssenKrupp. Green hydrogen or derivatives will be bought abroad through the H2Global Foundation, and resold to industry via annual auctions starting from 2024.
Brill Power, a spin-out of Oxford University, has had its new lithium-ion battery management technology verified by the classification society DNV. Simulations and testing at DNV’s laboratory in Arnhem, the Netherlands, confirmed a higher utilized pack capacity that could reduce lifetime cost.
Finnish utility Vantaa Energy has engaged Wärtsilä to pre-engineer and develop a Power-to-Gas (P2G) plant. Due commissioned in early 2025, it would be the first P2G plant in Finland to produce carbon-neutral, synthetic methane on a commercial scale with a fuel capacity of 10 MW.
Norwegian transmission system operator Lyse Elnett has contracted Siemens Energy to build new substations and modernise existing ones in the Sør-Rogaland region. Under an 8-year framework agreement, worth up to €200 million, the TSO will eliminate fluorinated gases in their substations by adopting Siemens’ clean air insulated switchgear.
Power generation in Nigeria dropped to 3,059 MW on May 28 and stayed below 4,000 MW for the following seven days, 6% below average production. Low pressure on the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) had left several gas turbine power plants with insufficient fuel, leading to widespread blackouts that “could have been avoided,” Wärtsilä claims.
Commissioning is underway for Nord Stream 2 and once the pipeline starts up in late August, or early September, cheap Russian gas supply will likely reduce US LNG exports to Europe. These days, the arbitrage between the United States and Europe is still “very healthy” at $6/MMBtu, analysts noted, hence 36% of US LNG cargoes were headed to Europe through mid-May.
Transporting electricity to the UK costs dearly, particularly on the Nemo Link from Belgium where the May 2021 auction resulted in a price of €19.42/MWh – the most expensive in Europe. Researchers at the market data platform EnAppSys explained the high export price with “regulatory differences” between the GB electricity market and its EU neighbours.
News in Brief
Growing production puts a lid on oil price
June 18 – Rising crude oil production – driven by OPEC, Russia and the United States – will limit price rises for global crude oil benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which impacts long-term natural gas prices. In the June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), US government analysts expect the Brent crude oil price will average $68 per barrel in the third quarter of 2021, fall to $64/bbl in the fourth quarter and decline further to average $60/bbl in 2022.
CPH2 to install 1 MW electrolyser in Belfast
June 16 – Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2), together with B9 Energy, has won an order from Northern Ireland Water for a MFE220 1-MW membrane-free electrolyser via its main contractor LaganMEICA. Oxygen, generally regarded as a by-product of hydrogen production is used to more efficiently treat wastewater at NI Water’s Belfast plant. Due to be installed by September this year, the MFE220 electrolyser will produce up to 451 kilograms of hydrogen and up to 3609 kg of medical-grade oxygen per day.
MTU subsidiaries to bear Rolls-Royce brand name
June 15 – As of today, Rolls-Royce's Power Systems has implemented a new brand architecture for its five MTU subsidiaries. MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, for example, will become Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH. German subsidiaries in Augsburg and Ruhstorf, as well as regional companies in America and Asia will be renamed with geographical references. All others will be rebranded by the end of September 2021.
KBC adopts BakerHughes AI simulation
June 11 – Yokogawa Electric subsidiary KBC will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the BakerHughesC3.ai (BHC3) alliance to better simulate its oil and gas processes. The AI solution will continuously update physics-based simulations through a flexible modelling, scalable to any industry. KBP anticipates customers’ improved will yield more than $0.65 per barrel.
OneSubsea selects Siemens sensors for deepwater project in Brazil
June 10 – Houston-based OneSubsea has selected Siemens Energy to provide pressure and temperature sensors for the subsea production system for the Bacalhau oil and gas condensate field in Brazil’s Santos basin. The sensors will provide monitoring data for the production system on the seabed at a water depth of 6,726 feet. Installation and commissioning of the equipment is slated for 2022 and 2024.
Wärtsilä to service Malta power plant
June 9 – Wärtsilä has signed a second long-term service agreement renewal for the Delimara Power Plant 3 (D3) in Malta. The accord covers four 50DF dual-fuel engines and four 50SG gas engines. The flexible Delimara plant is vital to ensure stability of power supply for Malta’s island grid.
BV launches digital simulation tool
June 8 – Classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has launched Opera, its new digital simulation tool for testing and certifying floating power units. The integrated modelling can inspect all components, e.g. those of a floating wind turbine, from mooring systems to blades.
Linde selected to build Russian GPP
June 7 – Linde and Renaissance Heavy Industries have been contracted by Gazprom to carry out the design works, equipment supplies, construction, and commissioning of gas processing plant (GPP) and off-site facilities at the Gas Processing Complex near Ust-Luga. The consortium intends to start construction this June.
Start-up of Tema LNG delayed
June 4 – Ghana sees LNG as a “relatively quick and inexpensive way” to meet growing gas demand for power generation but country’s aspirations to become sub-Saharan Africa's first LNG importer is being delayed to later in June. The commissioning cargo was meant to arrive at Ghana’s new Tema LNG terminal by the end of May, but our data indicates the FSU Torman II is still at Singapore’s Sembawang shipyard.
ACWA sources biofuel to power tourism
June 3 – Saudi developer, investor and operator ACWA Power has teamed up with the Gulf’s largest biofuel producer Neutral Fuels to supply green energy for Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project on the Red Sea coast.
CNE sets up Houston offices
June 2 – Carbon Neutral Energy (CNE) is setting up in Houston due to the huge demand for mobile energy storage systems to mitigate the risk of emergencies like the Texas blackout earlier this year. CNE raised $420 million funding in the UK and is now seeking to strengthen its foothold in the US.
AEG equips Swedish hydrogen plant
June 1 – Amsterdam-based AEG Power Solutions has supplied components for a high-pressure electrolysis process at a pilot plant, built by Hydrogen Pro on behalf of the metal research institute Swerim. The electrolysis process selected by Swerim is an alkaline electrolyser with a high level of dynamics driven by Thyrobox DC2, industrial DC power supply.
Li-ion batteries lose their lead
May 31 – Li-ion batteries have dominated the energy storage field, but are expected to lose their leading role in stationary applications. According to IDTechEx findings, Redox flow batteries are gaining traction and likely to overtake the installed Li-ion battery energy capacity before the end of 2030.
Kuwait Petroleum supports Jenbacher S engine oil
May 21 – The Austrian engine maker INNIO and Q8Oils, part of Kuwait Petroleum, have launched the Jenbacher S Oil 40 gas engine oil designed to lubricate engines that run on biogas and landfill gas. The new product is based on INNIO’s high-performing oil for stationary gas engines and provides very long drain intervals, reduces oil consumption and extends oil filter life.
J320 engine powers pasta factory
May 19 – Clarke Energy and INNIO have commissioned a Jenbacher gas engine to power a new Pasta factory in Cameroon. The gas-fuelled J320 engine installed is now delivering a resilient on-site power supply to the manufacturing facility, situated in the town of Douala.
Magma delivers composite riser pipe to HWCG
May 17 – Houston-based Magma Global has delivered the world’s first high-pressure composite riser pipe to HWCG’s gas storage location on the U.S Gulf Coast. HWCG is one of two deepwater oil and gas emergency response consortiums, set up after the Macondo blowout in 2010. It provides a capping stack within 7-14 days and the restart of contingent hydrocarbon flow and capture operations within 18 days of an incident
SynCraft orders J412 engines for biomass plant
May 14 – INNIO Jenbacher has received orders to supply two J412 gas engines, with 500 kW electrical output, for SynCraft biomass power plants in Austria. Each year the two units will process 6,000 metric tons of residual wood into 7,000,000 kWh of renewable power and 10,000,000 kWh of process heat.
