The Atlantic LNG production plant at Point Fortin, Trinidad, has been shut and evacuated after a fire flared up at one of its power generating units. The company said it contained and extinguished the fire, with no injuries reported.
In the U.K., new offshore wind power is dramatically undercutting new nuclear generation on cost which signals that the sector has become a mature, bankable new segment of the energy sector. The lowest successful bids in last week’s auction results at €63 ($83) per MWh, were 50% less than a corresponding UK auction in 2015.
Targeting the decentralized power market, Siemens is launching a 57 MW upgrade of its SGT-800 gas turbine at the Power-Gen Asia trade show, which, opened its doors in Bangkok today. In combined-cycle configuration, Siemens SGT-800 now achieves 163MW power output at a net efficiency of more than 58.5%.
By 2040, coal and renewables will both contribute 31% to world electricity generation. In Europe, strong renewable energy expansion will eradicate the growth of gas use in the power sector over the next 10 years, according to the EIA’s just-released International Energy Outlook 2017 (IEO2017). Only after 2030, pipeline gas and LNG is seen regain market share in Europe, displacing nuclear power and lignite coal.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has announced to grant $50 million in funding for projects aimed at strengthening grid resiliency in the face of storms and cyberattacks. The lion’s share of the funds, or $33 million, is reserved for seven projects from the Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC).
At the peak of Hurricane Harvey’s impact along the US Gulf Coast, more than 10,000 MW of electricity generating capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) had to be shut down. But despite the significant amount of generator outages, ERCOT was able to meet total electricity demand due to lower levels of demand.
LNG imports to Spain have kept rising over the summer driven by record levels of gas-burn in the power generation sector. At the end of the peak summer season in August, Spain imported 19 LNG cargoes originating from Qatar, Nigeria, Algeria, Norway, Peru, Trinidad and the U.S.
Pushing the limits, the new MAN 20V45/60 engine achieves a power output of 26MW at a considerably lower fuel consumption than its predecessor, the MAN 48/60. At the launch event in Augsburg on September 11, the new flagship genset was presented as “the most powerful four-stroke engine in the market.”
Bergen Engines, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Power, has agreed to deliver two power stations with a contract value of €133 million to Bangladesh. Together, the two power stations will have a capacity of 262 MW and set to be fully operational in 2018.
Southern Co. has rejected a revised offer on rates for the Kemper County power plant. The offer would have enabled Mississippi Power to collect an additional $100 million in assets. After abandoning efforts to complete the Kemper gasifier, Southern had to take up nearly $6 billion in losses on the $7.5 billion project – but the regulator say some of the costs it now wants to recoup are “unjustified.”
German power producer Uniper is considering dismantling some German power plants, reassemble them in the UK, and could purchase stakes in British gas-fired power station, CFO Christopher Delbrück told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The US natural gas market was partially impacted as Hurricane Irma approaches Florida where six of the state’s largest power stations are running on gas. If the storm follows the forecast path and destroys key power transmission lines, Florida’s gas demand will be largely wiped out, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly natural gas report.
Ohio-based First Energy Corp. has reduced the sales price for five gas-fired power plants and a hydro electric facility in Pennsylvania and Virginia in an effort to close on a drawn-out deal with Power Equity Partners, a New-York based infrastructure fund. The assets, with a combined capacity of 1,615MW, will now be sold for $835 in cash.
Despite declining costs for generating electricity from fossil fuels in the U.S., retail electricity prices have continued to rise in line with inflation – mainly due to higher expenses for delivering the electricity to end-customers. Power transmission costs have increased in real 2016 dollar terms from 2.2 cents/kWh in 2006 to 3.2 cents/kWh in 2016, roughly offsetting the decrease in the generation costs.
Silver Spring Networks and Genus Power Infrastructures, a smart meter provider in India and Southeast Asia, have agreed that the latter will integrate Silver Springs IPv6 network interface cards (NICs) into its single-phase and three-phase smart electric meters.
News in Brief
GE to build four substations in Egypt
Sept 19 – Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and GE have closed a $250 million contract that will see GE build and install four Gas-Insulated Substations (GIS) across Egypt to connect 7 GW to the country’s national power grid by the end of 2018. The contract is fully financed through Deutsche Bank and HSBC France which helps secure smooth execution of the project.
Irma slashes energy demand in Florida
Sept 18 – Hurricane Irma has proved to be a demand-side event in Florida. At its trough, the state appeared to lose 1.9 bcf/d of demand versus pre-storm levels, mainly in the power sector. According to Energy Aspects figures, electricity demand on September12 dropped to 0.8 bcf/d, compared to a pre-storm baseline of 3.6 bcf/d.
Drax plans to convert two coal units to natural gas
Sept 15 – Drax Group has filed plans to the UK Planning Inspectorate to build a 200MW battery storage unit, and convert up to two coal units at the Drax power station to run on natural gas. If approved, the repowering could result in up to 3.6 GW of new flexible gas generation capacity. The utility stated its investment at Drax is backed by a 15-year capacity contract.
Azura Edo IPP ready to startup in early 2019
Sept 8 – Siemens-built Azura Edo Independent Power Project (IPP) is planned to add 459MW to the Nigerian national power grid by early 2019, Siemens Nigeria CEO Onyeche Tifase said. The Azura Edo IPP is an open-cycle gas turbine power plant project, which could potentially account for up to 20% of Nigeria’s installed capacity of 12.5MW by 2020.
Oman’s oil output hits new record
Sept 7 – Oil production in Oman has reached a new record, totalling 1 million barrel per day (b/d) in 2016. Dependent on revenues from oil and gas exports, Oman’s state finances have been hit by the plunge in oil prices which made 2016 oil and gas revenues plunge 67% compared with 2014 levels.
Petrofarc to build South Stream
Sept 6 – UK contractor Petrofarc won an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract worth 340 million Euros ($404m) by the Gazprom-owned South Stream Transport company to build onshore pipelines and a gas receiving terminal near the Turkish town Kiyikoy.
Gas prices slowly return to normal after Harvey struck
Sept 5 – The price of natural gas and other petroleum products has surged in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Yet as of Monday, key gasoline prices started to return to pre-Hurricane levels as key refineries and pipelines along the US Gulf Coast are resuming operation, easing supply concerns.
ACER to set deadline
Sept 4 – The European energy regulatory authority ACER is consulting until September 15 on an implementation date for harmonized prices in the EU's day-ahead and intraday power markets. Introducing maximum and minimum prices is meant to enhance market coupling.
Pöyry to review Shoaiba-4 plant
Sept 1 – The Saline Water Conversion Company (SWCC) has awarded Pöyry with the owner's engineer services assignment for the Shoaiba-4 desalination plant which will meet the potable water requirements of Saudi Arabia's second largest city and its five million people. Pöyry's scope includes review of contractor's engineering and supervision of construction, erection and commissioning.
Wärtsilä wins 220 MW power plant contract in Bangladesh
Aug 31 – Desh Energy Chandpur Power Company, an independent power producer (IPP) in Bangladesh, has contracted Wärtsilä of Finland to supply twelve 18-cylinder Wärtsilä 50 engines for a new 220 MW baseload power plant to be installed in Chandpur. The customer required a nine-month implementation time, with the plant due to be fully operational in May 2018.
Works start on Hickory Run CCGT
Aug 30 – Tyr Energy has started construction works on the Hickory Run Energy Center in Pennsylvania. The combined-cycle gas power plant has a nominal generating capacity of 1,000 MW.
Canadian Cats dealers merge
Aug 29 – Toromont Industries will acquire the businesses and net operating assets of fellow Canadian Caterpillar dealer Hewitt Group. The deal was agreed in turn for C$917.7 million cash plus the issuance of 2.25 million Toromont shares, the two companies said.
Ansaldo to service Thai cogen plant
Aug 25 – Glow Energy, one of Thailand’s private power producers, has contracted Ansaldo of Italy to service a 328 MW cogeneration plant, located in Map Ta Phut Industrial Park, 200km southeast of Bangkok. Apart from electricity, the plant produces 160 tonnes/hour of steam to support local industries. Ansaldo’s 15-year service deal covers maintenance, replacement capital parts and remote monitoring and diagnostics for the gas turbine.
Low voltage drives for China
Aug 24 – Siemens is to equip several Chinese aluminum factories with medium and low voltage drives. The value of the order is in the low tens of millions Euros. Commissioning will be completed in several stages between November 2018 and April 2019.
Oil price seen rebound toward $60/bbl
Aug 23 – Oil pricing dynamics will increase, through near-term $50-60 range, forecasts Wood Mackenzie principal analyst, Patrick Kirby. For olefins, and polyolefins, this means the global and particularly European view is sensitive to demand, particularly from China, given that the supply landscape is well defined.
GS EPS commissions 900 MW plant in Oman
Aug 22 – South Korea’s GS EPS and GS Holdings have completed the construction of Phase IV, a 900 MW combined-cycle plant in Muskat, Oman. The CCGT has a power efficiency rating of 64% and is run by imported LNG. As an independent associate of Oman Oil Company (OOC), the Korean power producer helped with knowledge transfer and now aims to realise renewable energy projects in Oman.
U.S. demand to eke out growth
Aug 21 – Energy Aspects says the total U.S. power sector is about to “eke out growth”, with balances for the week ending August 18 averaging 34.3 bcf/d, meaning demand was just 0.5 bcf/d higher week-on-week. Although cooler weather is forecast for the Western and Central US over the next 10 day, much warmth is set to emerge in the East, limiting energy demand.
