China’s State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) and Siemens have signed a strategic partnership framework agreement, building on the companies' earlier agreed technology collaboration for heavy-duty gas turbines. The contract was sealed in Beijing today by SPIC chairman Qian Zhimin and Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser. The aim is to create a China-based supplier eco-system.
MAN Energy Solutions has agreed to buy a 40% stake in the Lübeck-based electrolysis technology and hydrogen specialist H-TEC SYSTEMS for an undisclosed price. The contact also makes provisions for a complete takeover of H-TEC SYSTEMS at a later date.
Security of European natural gas supply is coming under threat as around 100 billion cubic metres (bcm) of long-term contracts expire by 2025, domestic production declines and consumption increases as coal and nuclear power plants are being retired. IEA analysts say the EU needs to secure additional imports – either pipeline gas or LNG – to meet up to one-third of its consumption.
Additive manufacturing, or 3D metal printing, is planned to “go systematic” across Wärtsilä Group a based on plans to create a dedicated research centre in Vaasa, on the west coast of Finland. Researchers from ABB, Wärtsilä and two universities will collaborate, with construction for the R&D centre planned to start in 2019 or 2020.
Ansaldo Energia and China United Gas Turbine Company (UGTC) have signed technology collaboration agreement in the field of heavy duty gas turbines. The cooperation is meant to help UGTC to complete its goal of developing China’s proprietary technology to manufacture gas turbines independently.
Following a multimillion investment, General Electric today launches its GT26 HE gas turbine at Uniper’s Enfield Power Station in greater London. GE's launch customer Uniper will retrofit its 400-MW Enfield combined-cycle power station with the new GT26 HE technology starting from in 2020, and subsequently upgrade of its 3-unit Grain combined-cycle plant (1,200 MW).
Seeking to streamline Siemens AG, chief executive Joe Kaeser is actively considering various options including the sale of the company’s large gas turbine business. Talks are being held with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) about a partial sale of the division or a joint venture, but no final decision has been taken.
Eddyfi Technologies, a Canadian developer of inspection technology based in Québec, has launched Spyne – a non-destructive ECA-adaptable screening and testing screening tool that can detect cracks, fatique and corrosion faster and with a higher probability than traditional tools. Spyne is applicable on pipelines, vessels or power generation equipment.
Seeking to secure attractively-priced LNG for its power plant fleet, Thailand’s state-run Electricity Generating Authority (EGAT) has announced it will hold a bidding round in May and June. To qualify, interested bidders need to register by April 18. EGAT will then shortlist participants for the first auction in early May.
With more than a third of Germany’s electricity generated by renewables, the number of Power-to-X projects has surged in a bid to make use of this intermittent energy supply. Over 35 plants with over 50 kW of installed electrolysis capacity will be in operation by 2022 in Germany alone, according to forecasts by certification service provider TÜV SÜD.
Investment in wind power is largely driven by China, where removal of regulatory restrictions in the country's northern provinces sparked a 2 GW, or 37%, rise in 2018 to a total installed capacity of 5.6 GW. Worldwide, nearly 52.2 GW of net wind power capacity was added last year – a 4% annual rise, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Global Wind Power Market Outlook Update: Q1-2019.
Renewable generation in the United States has nearly doubled over the past ten years, reaching a new record of 742 million MWh of electricity, or 17.9% of the total U.S. power supply. Amid a steep drop in construction costs, the contribution of wind and solar surged to nearly 90% installed renewable capacity, and the IEA anticipates more capacity additions in the near-term future.
Chart Industries and Indian Oil Corp, owner of India’s first East Coast LNG import terminal at Kamarajar Port, Ennore, have entered a cooperation to promote LNG developments in India. In focus are modular liquefaction and regas technologies, which could spur new decentralized LNG-to-Power projects and alleviate gas shortage for some of India’s stranded power plants.
State-owned GAIL India, the country’s largest gas transmission operator, has contracted Siemens to install its remote diagnostic services at 29 gas turbines operating across GAIL’s Hazira-Vijaipur-Jagdishpur gas pipeline and the Vijaipur C2/C3 power plant.
As renewable energy combined with batteries are becoming part of modular power networks, natural gas the ideal fossil fuel source to supplement these power networks, says Craig Wilkins, Director Prime Power at Cummins. Headquartered in Indiana, U.S., the manufacturer has responded to the intermittency challenge of renewable power supply with the launch of its HSK78G gas-powered generator.
News in Brief
PetroChina’s net profit jump 130%
March 26 – Hong Kong-listed PetroChina has posted a 130.7% jump in profits because of higher energy prices and soaring gas demand. PetroChina’s full-year 2018 net profits at amounted to RMB52.6 billion yuan ($7.86 billion) compared with 22.79 billion yuan ($3.39bn) in 2017, while gourp revenues increased 16.8% to 2.35 trillion yuan ($350.44 billion).
GECOL grid-connects Ubari power station
March 25 – General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) has carried out final test to connect the Ubari gas-fired power station to the Libyan power grid. The Ubari plant has an overall capacity of 530 MW, featuring two gas-fired units with 263 MW each. The station is ready to go into service as planned and will supply electricity to Libya’s southern and western regions.
France imports more Russian gas
March 21 – Demand for Russian gas continues to grow in France, with Gazprom’s exports rising 5.4% last year to 12.9 billion cubic meters (bcm). The upward continued into early 2019 and provisional estimates show some 2.5 bcm of gas was exported to France from January 1 to March 14, 2019, a 1.9% increase on the previous year period, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller noted when discussing contractual supplies with his counterpart at ENGIE, Isabelle Kocher.
Merger wave grips UK oil &gas sector
March 20 – Significant pressures are here to stay in the UK oil and gas sector, with the trade association Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) saying the industry is facing a “new reality” amid high levels of M&A activity and the related transfer of assets. The ongoing consolidation process forces the industry to embrace new forms of collaboration and business models.
Chevron Nigeria to supply gas to Dangote
March 19 – Chevron Nigeria has agreed to supply natural gas to Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria. The deal is part of the international oil major’s gas supply obligation to the domestic market under the Nigerian Gas Master Plan.
POSCO wins $100m CHP deal in Mexico
March 18 – POSCO Engineering & Construction, part of the leading South Korean steelmaker POSCO, has signed a $100 million agreement with Ener AB to build a 100-MW combined heat and power plant in Mexico. Situated in Coahila, the CHP will serve the energy needs of the nearby Magnelec chemical plant.
Wood to install Siemens turbine in North Carolina
March 15 – Wood Group has secured a contract from Siemens to install a HL-class gas turbine at a power plant in North Carolina. Construction works are estimated to involve 400 people and last for approximately 11 months, Wood Group said. Once installed, the turbine will add 400 MW to the plant's existing capacity 1,200 MW. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
J-series turbine passes 750000 hours
March 14 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has announced their global fleet of J-Series gas turbines accumulated over 750,000 hours of commercial operation. The J-Series fleet now includes 39 turbines in commercial operation, with 28 of those exceeding 8,000 hours and the fleet leader having more than 45,000 hours of operation.
German gas prices up 9% in March
March 13 – Household energy prices in Germany have risen substantially in March 2019, compared to the same month in the previous year, according to the price comparison site Verivox. Electricity prices increased 5% to a new record of 29.42 cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh) in March to date, up from 27.99 cents a year ago, while natural gas prices jumped 9% to 6.1 ct/kWh.
MAN turbines commissioned at Chinese CHP
March 12 – MAN Energy Solutions has installed and commissioned a MGT6000 gas turbine and a THM-series gas turbine at a combined heat and power (CHP) plant that replaces a coal-based power plant in Changsa, Hunan Province. Another MGT6000 just started commercial operation at a cogeneration plant, optimized to run on natural gas, at an industrial zone of Dongguan City in Guangdong Province.
Gazprom breaks ground on 200-MW CHP plant in Serbia
March 11 – Russia’s state-run Gazprom has started construction of a combined-cycle gas cogeneration plant near Pancevo Refinery in Serbia. The site is owned by Novi Sadpart, part of Gazprom Neft Group. The 200 MW plant will be Gazprom Energoholding Group’s first power project outside of the Russian Federation and is slated for commissioning in 2020
ABB pilots digital control rooms in Sweden
Jan 8 – Swiss-based ABB has launched a new digital solution for control centers that is being pioneered and tested in a pilot project by the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE). The cloud-based application works in synergy with many other ABB Ability solutions, and provides a platform for information-sharing.
MHPS opens new office in Bangladesh in bid to boost sales
Jan 7 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has opened a branch office in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, to strengthen its regional sales capabilities for thermal power stations. With the economy growing 6% in recent years, the Bangladeshi government seeks to boost the nation’s power generation capacity from currently 17 GW to approximately 24 GW by 2021 and further to 40 GW by 2030. To reach this goal, Bangladesh has started importing LNG amid state supports for private sector investment in large scale LNG-to-Power projects.
Shell mulls sale of Mahanagar Gas stake
March 6 – Shell India, the local business of Royal Dutch Shell, is considering to exit its city gas distribution business by selling its 10% stake in Mahanagar Gas Ltd. Shell acquired the stake in connection with the BG takeover in 2016, and last year already offloaded most of shareholding two two bulk divestment deals.
Siemens buys KACO’s string inverter arm
Jan 5 – Siemens announced it will acquire the string inverter business of the KACO GmbH, a manufacturers of power electronics, for an undisclosed amount. Siemens said wants to integrate KACO in its new Smart Infrastructure Operating Company, and expects the deal to close in H1-2019.
Power gen dominates Rolls-Royce’s engine business
March 4 – For the first time, Rolls-Royce Power System has manufactured more engines for electric power generation than for marine propulsion, the UK-based company said when reporting solid full year results. Revenue surged 15% to a record €3.9 billion in 2018, with adjusted profit up at €358 million resulting in a 9.1% return on sales.
Siemens produces module batteries in Trondheim
March 1 – Siemens has invested in a battery module factory in Trondheim, northern Norway, equipping the factory with a robotizied and digitally supervised production line with eight 300 MWh stations. Up to 55 battery modules per shift can be assembled every day, for use mainly in the marine and offshore market.
