Taiwan Power Company has awarded a contract worth 130 billion Japanese Yen ($1.17bn) to GE and its EPC partner Marubeni for the DaTan 8&9 project. The upgrade will see GE equip the units with four HA turbines, boosting output to over 2,000 MW.
After more than a century in operation, Alabama Power’s 1,221 MW Plant Gorgas will be shut down as retrofits, mandated under Obama-era regulation, would be too costly to run it at a profit. Retrofits related to the handling of coal ash would cost around $300 million, said the operator, who now takes steps to shift to cleaner fuels.
Reciprocating internal combustion engines – typically used for backup, standby, or emergency power – are playing a fast advancing role in utility-scale power generation applications, according to EIA findings. In Texas alone, the share of gas-fired recip engines surged 20% to over 4,600 MW largely as a reaction to the state’s rapid growth in installed wind power capacity.
Today’s power grids are becoming increasingly complex as more decentralized power sources are added, requiring the network to carry bulk power in ways it was never designed to do. Recent order wins for GE’s Fixed Series Compensation (FSC) total over $60 million as TSOs turn to the technology to enhance flexibility of the grid.
Proposals to put a price on carbon emissions – in the form of a CO2 tax – will not be realise in the current legislative period, Germany’s energy state secretary Andreas Feicht said. The Conservative-led Government had earlier dismissed the initiative, saying it was not in the governing coalition’s agreed agenda.
To stabilize power supply in Guinea, MAN Energy Solution will install six 18V32/40 engines in a power plant near the capital city Conakry. The 53 MW power plant is being set up on behalf of Guinea’s Tè Power Company in collaboration with the Turkish EPC company Iltekno.
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has won an order to supply a turbine and other components for a blast furnace gas (BFG)-fired combined-cycle plant build to power operations of the Chinese steelmaker Maanshan. Operations of the 180 MW plant are scheduled to start at the end of 2020.
The Japanese energy majors JERA and Tepco Power Grid have agreed to jointly invest up to $32.68 billion (£25 million) in Zenobe Energy, a UK-based battery storage company. Zenobe owns and operates some 73 MW of batteries and is currently looking to use its technology in related business areas, notably the charging of electric vehicles.
The Japanese trading house Itochu has pulled the plug on investments in thermal coal mines and coal-fired power projects. Having just sold its stake in the Rollestone mine in Queensland, the Japanese firm said it seeks to increase the renewables ratio in its power plant portfolio to over 20% by the end of fiscal 2031.
Electricity, not natural gas, will drive the compressors of the Annova LNG export project in a bid to lower the facility’s carbon footprint. Developers already signed an agreement with the South Texas Electrical Cooperative (STEC) for supplies of 405 MW of electricity to cool and liquefy up to 6 mtpa of LNG.
On the market for nearly a decade, the Siemens H-class gas turbine has now exceeded one-million fired hours in commercial operation. The output rating of the SGT5-8000H turbine has grown over the years from 375 MW to 450 MW, with efficiency improvements to over 61% in combined cycle operation.
Ground has been broken on the Montgomery County Power Station, a 993-MW combined cycle gas turbine plant under construction next to the existing Lewis Creek Power Plant in Willis, some 46 miles north of Houston. For Energy Texas it is their first plant in 40 years, and due operational by mid-2021.
Burning hydrogen (H2) in a combined-cycle power plant is a step towards dispatchable, totally CO2-free power generation. However, the main challenge of H2 combustion lies in its properties, notably its increased reactivity. In contrast to natural gas, the flame position moves upstream during H2 combustion, which increases the risk of flashback.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources and Siemens have signed a joint development agreement for the construction of an integrated LNG regas and power generation project. The 3,600 MW plant will be built at Payra, a small seaport in southern Bangladesh.
Abundant supply of cost-competitive shale gas, combined with technological advances, has led to an ever-increasing average size of a combined-cycle gas power block in the United States. While the average CCGT had about 500 MW installed capacity before 2014, the power block capacity has since then increased to an average 820 MW, according to the EIA’s electric generator report.
News in Brief
Controversy about planned CCGT in California
Feb 22 – Environmentalist have filed a lawsuit against plans to build a 634 MW combined-cycle gas power plant in Palmdale, a city north of Los Angeles. The hybrid gas and solar plant had been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC), although a developer has not been found yet.
GE installs and services 9E turbine in Iraq
Feb 21 – GE Power has delivered and installed a 9E gas turbine to Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity’s (MoE) Al Qudus power plant. Throughout 2019, GE will also service up to seven GE 9E gas turbines at the facility, helping to maintain a stable power output of up to 875 MW.
MHI to join Cybersecurity Charter
Feb 20 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) signed a letter of intent to join the Charter of Trust for cybersecurity by the end of September, expanding the charter’s reach into Asia. Initiated by Siemens, the charter calls for binding rules and standards on cybersecurity as digitalization advances. Other signatories include AES, Airbus, Allianz, Atos, Cisco, Daimler, Dell Technologies, Deutsche Telekom, Enel, IBM, NXP, SGS, Total and TÜV Süd.
Substation market grows at 9.4% rate
Feb 19 – The gas-insulated substation market, currently valued at $17.3 billion, is anticipated to grow at a rate of more than 9.4% in the years through to 2025. Analysts say rising demand for low maintenance and small power systems will boost the market, particularly for large infrastructure projects such as smart city where GIS substations are well-suited due to their high efficiency and compact size.
Amprion advances P2G project in Germany
Feb 18 – Amprion, together with Open Grid Europe (OGE), are striving to get a €150 million Power-to-Gas project in Germany into operation by 2023. The pilot plant includes a 100 MW electrolyser that converts renewable energy into hydrogen and methane for use in the district of Emsland, northern Germany.
MHPS leads on post F-class turbines
Feb 15 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power System (MHPS) secured most orders in 2018 for newest-generation turbines, while GE booked most order for turbines of all classes amongst its rivals. For so-called post F-class turbines, MHPS reportedly achieved 49% of orders, compared with 34% for GE and 16% for Siemens.
UK inflation down amid fall in energy prices
Feb 14 – Falling energy bills and fuel prices have pushed down UK inflation to a two-year low in January, according the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Inflation had peaked at a five-year high of 3.1% in November 2017, and is currently at just 1.8% – below the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target.
Lahmeyer is now Tractebel
Feb 13 –The German engineering and consulting company Lahmeyer International is now operating under the Tractebel, with the new company name; Tractebel Engineering GmbH. Tractebel reached a turnover of €662 million in 2018, and is part of the French energy group ENGIE.
BECCS pilot project starts at Drax
Feb 12 – The 4,000-MW Drax Power Station has started using bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology, capturing up to 1 ton of CO2 per day. The Drax demo plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, moves Britain further ahead in the race to develop BECCS technologies
Demand for power ships up 3.6% through 2026
Feb 11 – The global market for floating LNG-fuelled power ships is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 3.6%, exceeding exceed $1,073 million by 2026, according to ResearchandMarkets estimates. Power ships with a capacity between 100 MW and 150 MW, and usually leased for short durations, will cover most of the demand growth which is centred in Asia Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.
Australia’s H2U uses NovaLT turbine
Feb 8 – H2U, an Australian hydrogen infrastructure developer, will use Baker Hughes NovaLT gas turbine at is hydrogen and ammonia supply chain demonstrating plant in Port Lincoln. The greentech project integrates a 15 MW electrolyser plant, a 10 MW hydrogen-fired gas turbine and a 5 MW fuel cell, all of which set to supply electricity to the power grid in South Australia.
EC rules out Siemens/Alstom mobility merger
Feb 7 –The European Commission has decided to prohibit the proposed combination of the Siemens and Alstom mobility businesses. As a result of this prohibition, the merger will not proceed.
PG&E seeks to re-organize
Feb 6 – Having just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) now seeks to restructure and access up to $6 billion in financing to help it operate while under bankruptcy protection. In a filing to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district of northern California, PG&E listed assets of $71.39 billion and liabilities of $51.69 billion.
Contigo enhances trading of DB Energy
Feb 5 – Contigo, together with the consulting firm Nevento, have introduced a new energy trading system at DB Energie of Deutsche Bahn. The system’s new functionality provides fast and easy access to business data and credit risk information, enabling effective decision making in energy trading.
ABB, Intel cooperate on digital substations
Feb 4 – ABB and Intel have agreed to jointly sell automation systems for utilities. At the core of the agreement is ABB Ability smart substation control for electrical systems, SSC600, powered by Intel Xeon processors.
Backup power for Hinkley Point C
Feb 1 – Rolls Royce will provide MTU diesel gensets to provide back-up power to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. The generators, Type MTU 396 TB33 with 3600 kW output each, will provide emergency power in case of an outage of the site’s standing power supply
Gauging UK’s shift to green energy
Jan 31 – Engineering consultancy WSP has been selected to model the impact of low carbon technologies on the UK’s electricity networks. It will also work with the Energy Networks Association (ENA) on the Distribution Losses Mechanism Study.
