Myanmar’s Thanlyin LNG-to-Power venture is now seen importing LNG near full capacity, with the super-chilled fuel supplied by Petronet of Malaysia. The 350 MW power unit, developed by V-Power and CNTIC, has been built within seven months though commissioning was delayed over fuel supply issues.
Siemens Energy has been selected to supply 20 centrifugal compressors for Saudi Aramco’s Hawiyah Unayzah Gas Reservoir Storage (HUGRS) project. With injection capacity of 1,500 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d), the storage will enable Aramco to manage its surplus gas volumes effectively.
The number of battery storage systems in the United States has more than doubled from 49 to 125 within just three years, pushing up available capacity for storing electricity from 351 MW to over 869 MW. Analysts expect growth to continue once the U.S. comes out of the Covid-19-related recession.
Royal Dutch Shell today posted a significant asset impairment of 16.8 million post-tax. Net losses amount to $18.1 billion, mainly from write-down on assets such as Queensland Curtis LNG and the Prelude FLNG hull, compared with a profit of $2.99 billion, the oil major said in an update to its Q2-2020 outlook.
Hanwha Energy has announced completion of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell power plant that generates electricity from waste hydrogen. Built at a cost of $212.4 million, the 50 MW power plant makes use of waste hydrogen left over from the Daesan petrochemical complex to generate 400,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Italian energy major Eni has said its latest exploration in Block 114 of the Song Hong Basin offshore Vietnam shows a “significant natural gas accumulation.” The Ken Bau discovery will complement LNG imports and “provide a fast-track solution” to realise several gas-fired power projects.
Tesla will be manufacturing battery cells for energy storage along with electric vehicles at its planned German factory in Grünheide near Berlin. “There will be local cell production that meets the needs of the Berlin factory," Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors during a virtual conference.
Uniper, Europe’s largest utility based on sales, is decarbonising its gas-fired power plants in the Netherlands and the UK with the help of GE technology. The two partners agreed to focus on converting units to hydrogen co-firing, and will set out a detailed decarbonisation roadmap by early 2021.
Duke Energy, a U.S. utility servicing 7.4 million customers, has announced the operational start-up of its $817 million Asheville combined-cycle power station. The 560 MW plant consists of two blocks and replaces a 1906s-ear coal unit at the same site in Arden, North Carolina.
Latest ‘Future Energy Scenarios’ (FES 2020), published by UK’s National Grid strike a more confident tone that enough fossil and new technologies can be deployed to achieve the Government’s Net Zero by 2050 targets. At least two of four scenarios show pathways to accomplish this.
Chiahui Power, a Taiwanese independent power producer (IPP), and GE have won an occupational safety award, signalling out the 500 MW expansion of the Chia Hui combined-cycle power plant as a ‘model site’. GE is delivering the turnkey plant expansion, powered by a 7HA.02 gas turbine, with operations due to start in 2021.
Producing electricity from gas, coal or wind sees substantial amounts of input energy lost during the generating process. In 2019, U.S. utility-scale power plants consumed 38 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy to provide 14 quads of electricity, with over 60% input energy lost.
News in Brief
Tokyo Gas snaps up US shale assets
July 31 – The Japanese utility Tokyo Gas has agreed to raise its stake in the U.S. firm Castleton Resources to 70 percent from 46 percent to increase its foothold in shale gas production in Texas and Louisiana. Castleton Resources holds acreage in the Haynesville and Cotton Valley formations. The transaction is scheduled to be completed on August 14.
Electrical PE market to grow 1.7% through 2027
July 30 – The market for electrical protective equipment (PE) in North America, valued at $2,787 million in 2019, is forecast to rise at an annual rate of 1.7 percent to reach $3,163 million by 2027. Main growth drivers, according to ResearchandMarkets, are ongoing power transmission projects in the context with U.S. LNG export infrastructure expansions.
GE wins turbine order from Italian paper mill
July 29 – DS Smith Paper Italia has ordered a GE LM6000PF aero-derivative gas turbine for its paper mill in Lucca, Italy. The paper mill is currently powered by two aero-derivative turbines, and the additional unit will increase plant efficiency by 2%, while assuring steam supply for the industrial process.
Aceleron secures £2m green energy investment
July 28 – UK battery developer Aceleron today announced receipt of a £2 million equity investment from BGF and Mercia Asset Management. Aceleron is BGF’s second investment into a pure clean technology, signalling a shift in behaviour as more and more fund managers support a green recovery and the UK’s policy of net-zero carbon by 2050.
NRG buys Centrica’s North American arm for over $3.6bn
July 27 – U.S. utility NRG Energy has agreed with Centrica to acquire the latter’s North American subsidiary Direct Energy for $3.625 billion in an all-cash transaction. The transaction will diversify NRG’s earnings by adding more than three million retail customers and generate an estimated $740 million in adjusted EBITDA upon closing.
Siemens rolls out Comfy app
July 24 – Siemens is deploying its workplace experience solution Comfy across its global offices, including major utility customers. The aim is to equip approximately 600 company locations by October 2020.
BlackRock puts $18bn into sustainable investment
July 23 – Sustainability aspects are poised to bring about "fundamental change" to the way financial market actors operate, said Philipp Hildebrand, vice head of U.S. investment company BlackRock. About 18 billion dollars have been put into BlackRock's sustainable investment products since the beginning of 2020, he told the German business daily FAZ, arguing this would be "only the beginning" of a much larger shift in investment practices.
Vaca Muerta output slows
July 22 – Argentina has resorted to importing LNG for the Southern Hemisphere winter as domestic production at the vast Vaca Muerta shale formation fell in the first half of 2020. State-owned IEASA purchased 28 LNG cargoes at average prices of $2.87 million British thermal units (mmBtu).
GE to implement air quality control systems in India
July 21 – GE Power India Ltd (GEPIL) has won three contracts with a combined value of $112.57 million to supply air quality control systems. One semi-dry flue-gas desulfurization (FDG) unit will be installed for Hindalco Industries’ 1x150MW power plant at the Aditya aluminium smelter in Sambalpur. A wet FDGs system will be installed on behalf of NTPC for their Feroze Gandhi Unchahar thermal power plant (2x210MW plus 2x210 MW plus 1x210MW units) in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.
Wärtsilä CEO sees “tough” H2 ahead
July 20 – Wärtsilä CEO Jaakko Eskola has told analysts he sees a “tough second half of the year ahead,” as the Finish manufacturer seeks to mitigate Covid-related business disruptions. In the segment of up to 500 MW, Wärtsilä’s market share fell from 9% to 8%, while orders for gas- and liquid- power plants increased by 1% to 17.8 GW during the twelve-month period ending in March 2020.
GE launches update to digital plant software
July 17 – GE Digital has unveiled updates to its digital power plant software: Proficy Plant Applications, Proficy Operations Hub, Proficy Historian, and Proficy CSense. The software accelerates digitization for industries and integrates related onsite power generation units.
Germany EEG fund slips into the red
July 16 – Germany's green energy fund, funded through the renewable energy surcharge (EEG levy), has slipped into the red for the first time since 2013, according to TSO data. The account, funded by end-customers through a surcharge on their power bill, fell from about €2 billion in available funds to €-1.16 billion in the first six months of 2020.
China seen overtake Japan as worlds’ largest LNG buyer by 2025
July 15 – The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects China to overtake Japan as the world’s biggest LNG buyer with imports of 128 Bcm a year by 2025, equivalent to around 174 million tonnes. However, IEA analysts cautioned this scenario is “highly dependent on China’s future policy direction” and whether that includes an ongoing push for coal-to-gas switching for industry, residential heating and power generation.
IEA stages Clean Energy Transitions Summit
July 14 – Ministers from dozens of countries, accounting for over 80% of the world economy, have participated in the first Clean Energy Transitions Summit organised by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director, said there “clearly is momentum” behind a sustainable recovery from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Participants agreed to reconvene in mid-2021.
Siemens Energy to exit coal
Jul 13 – Newly formed technology company Siemens Energy wants to phase-out any operations and technology to related to coal-fired power generation, CEO Joe Kaeser said, without giving a specific timeline. Siemens had been harshly criticised earlier this year for participating in the Adani coal mine project in Australia.
Statkraft, GE enhance GB grid stability
July 10 – Statkraft and GE Power Conversion are working together to stabilise Britain’s power grid. To that end, GE will manufacture and install two Rotating Stabiliser synchronous machines at Statkraft’s site in Keith, Moray. Statkraft was awarded four stability contracts (two at Keith and two at Lister Drive) by National Grid ESO (NGESO) earlier this year.
Siemens Energy spin-off approved
July 9 – A large majority of Siemens shareholders have voted to approve the spin-off of the company’s energy business. The spin-off was approved by 99.36 percent of capital stock represented at today’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
