Terna, operator of Italy’s high-voltage power transmission grid, has awarded a 70 million Euros order to Ansaldo Energia and ABB to improve the quality of grid services. Ansaldo will design, supply and install three synchronous condensers, each rated 250 MVAR, in central and southern Italy in 2022.
The cost of producing hydrogen gas from renewables is forecast to fall sharply over the next decade, providing an affordable fuel to decarbonise the energy and transport sectors. In Germany and Texas, RES hydrogen costs could fall to $1.40 a kilogram by 2030 from the current range of $2.50 to $6.80, according to research published in Nature Energy.
The California Energy Commission has withdrawn the license for the Palmdale Energy Project, just north of Los Angeles, after the developer Palmdale Energy signaled it was unable to secure a customer for the gas-fired plant. Attitudes in California have changed as consumers favour carbon-neutral power generation over fossil fuels.
Abundant production and mild temperatures has left working gas in storage in the Lower 48 states at 12 percent higher levels at the end of the winter heating season than the previous five-year average. Some 1,935 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas are forecast to remain in storage at the end of March, despite rampant pipeline gas sales to Mexico and LNG exports.
Mobile power provider Aggreko has signed a 4-year contract to provide a hybrid power and energy storage solution for an upstream company in Argentina’s remote Patagonia region. The integrated battery storage will allow the gas-fired generator to take large steps in electric load, without compromising voltage and frequency.
Though Chinese workers have returned to factories of Airbus, General Motors and Toyota in recent days, many remain shuttered due to coronavirus quarantine measures. The recovery of Chinese gas demand is likely to stay subdued well into March, Energy Aspects says, forecasting a drop in LNG offtake volumes at least until early April.
The OPEC+ alliance, dominated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, is reacting to the global coronavirus spread by considering additional cuts to oil and associated gas production. As an emergency measure, crude oil output could be cut by 0.6 million barrels per day (mb/d) on top of the 1.7 mb/d already pledged, in a bid to stabilize prices.
Utilities, particularly in China and Europe, are retrofitting their gas turbines with combustor enhancements to make assets more cost-effective. To support this market, Ansaldo Energia affiliate PSM developed a Low Emission Combustor (LEC-III) and new FlameSheet combustor retrofit for B, E and F-class gas turbines.
Energy intensity keeps falling in the United States, with the Government forecasting energy consumption will grow more slowly than gross domestic product (GDP) through 2050. In the AEO2020 High Economic Growth Case, more effective energy use of U.S. industry is set to lower energy intensity by 1.6 percent annually.
Saudi Aramco has received regulatory approval to develop the Al-Jafurah unconventional gas field in the Eastern Province. State-run Aramco said it will invest $110 billion to start commercial production by early 2024, in line with the government’s goal to turn Saudi Arabia into a gas and petrochemical exporter.
Asian markets will be able to absorb most of the global gas and LNG supply growth from the mid-2020s, as new supply slows from 30 million tons of new liquefaction capacity last year to less than 20 mtpa by 2025, Royal Dutch Shell said. Europe will hence cease to be a balancing market.
Gazprom’s latest international gas marketing strategy is refocusing the company’s remit on growth in Asia. Having just started pipeline gas deliveries to China, the Russian gas giant seeks to scale up LNG supplies to Asia-Pacific while trying to maintain its strong position in Europe.
Sempra Energy's Mexican subsidiary IEnova has seen fourth quarter earnings rise 22 percent to $253.4 million as the South Texas-Tuxpan pipeline went in service. However, these gains were partially offset by the revenue deferment at the Guaymas-El Oro gas pipeline.
Falling technology prices make solar-plus-energy storage preferable over gas peaking power plants on a levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) basis. According to Wood Mackenzie, unsubsidized utility-scale LCOE for a 4-hour lithium-ion solar-plus-storage will outcompete gas peakers in all National Electricity Market (NEM) states of Australia in 2023.
Venture Global has awarded Siemens a contract to supply and install three boil-off compressor (BOG) packages for the Calcasieu Pass LNG project, currently under construction. Kiewit, the project’s EPC contractor, selected Siemens as equipment supplier.
News in Brief
MHPS extends service for Thai power station
Feb 26 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has been awarded a third long-term maintenance agreement for the 1,400 MW BLCP Power Station in Thailand. The service accord covers the power plant’s major equipment including boilers, steam turbines and flue gas cleaning system built by MHPS on a turnkey basis.
VPower signs PPA in Sri Lanka
Feb 25 – Hong Kong listed VPower Group has entered into a power purchase agreement for two 38.8 MW projects in Sri Lanka. The latest deal brings VPower Group's installed capacity in the Chinese city state to nearly 100 MW.
UAVT launches portable genset
Feb 24 – UAV Turbines has launched a lightweight microturbine generator for on-demand electrical power ranging from 3 kilowatt (kW) to 40 kW. The new device extends UAVT’s micro propulsion technology, the Monarch 1, and features a new portable micro-turbogenerator system that fits in a small case that can be carried by two people.
Castleton buys CCGT in Spain
Feb 21 – Castleton Commodities International (CCI), a British independent power producer, has acquired the Amorebieta combined-cycle gas power plant in Bilbao, Spain, for an undisclosed amount. CCI claims the 786 MW plant is “one of the most efficient CCGTs in the Iberian Peninsula.”
NNPC scrutinizes Abuja IPP project
Feb 20 – Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is scrutinizing technicality and economics of developing a 1,350 MW Independent Power Plant (IPP) project in Abuja. The project is likely to be realized, as it is backed by a $1.1 million grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and will be powered by GE gas turbines.
Batteries vs. hydro power
Feb 19 – More than 28 GW of lithium batteries deployed for stationary storage applications by the year 2028, according Navigant Research. Pumped hydro power plants, however, dominate the market as they account for 96 percent of installed energy storage worldwide.
Micro CHP market to top $3bn by 2026
Feb 18 – The global micro CHP market revenue is forecast to exceed $3 billion by 2026 amid rising demand for captive combined heat and power units by industry. According to Global Market Insights, micro CHPs are also increasingly combined with solar PV and energy storage into hybrid power units.
Rio Tinto uses battery to power Pilbara mine
Feb 18 – Australian mining company Rio Tinto has freed up $98 million for a new solar PV unit and a lithium-ion battery energy storage system to help power its entire Pilbara mining network. The 12 MWh battery storage at Tom Price will provide spinning reserve to help stabilize the local grid.
Japan and Korea eager to build ‘hydrogen economy’
Feb 17 – Liquid hydrogen is meant to become the basis of Japan’s and South Korea’s new energy economy. Several public-private partnerships accelerate efforts to produce hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and use hydrogen as a clean energy source, gradually replacing oil and natural gas.
MHPS teams up with KBR to expand sales
Feb 14 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has agreed to cooperate with U.S. firm KBR to expand sales of SDA pitch-fired power plants. The fuel for these plants is insoluble matter (SDA pitch), which remains when light oil fractions are recovered from heavy oil fractions using the solvent de-asphalting (SDA) process. The petroleum industry can now utilize this residual material for power generation.
Turboden provides CHP to First Nations
Feb 13 – Brescia-based Turboden, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), has agreed to an 8,000 kW combined heat and power (CHP) plant, running on woody biomass to indigenous First Nations in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power gen system will uses sawmill residual woody biomass as fuel and help electrify some 5,000 homes.
Himoinsa gensets win award
Feb 12 – Himoinsa has received an Innovation Trail Live award for its rental gas generator sets. Three gensets – HRGO 30, HRGO 40 and HRGO 70 – were distinguished due to their long running time, low operational costs, as well as reduced emissions and sound level.
Ofgem lowers default price cap
Feb 11 – UK energy regulator Ofgem has announced it will lower the default price cap by £17 to £1,162 for the six months effective from 1 April 2020. Analysts say Ofgem’s decision comes amid a “warm winter” and “healthy LNG supply,” which pushed down wholesales gas prices to a 13-month low. Looking ahead, there might well be “another slight reduction to the cap later this year.”
Opel plans Gigafactory for battery cells
Feb 10 – German carmaker Opel, part of French PSA, plans to manufacture enough battery cells for half a million e-cars annually in a new factory in the western German town of Kaiserslautern from 2024. Two billion Euros would be invested in the factory, designed to house three units with 8 GWhs each, which would be the largest in Europe so far.
GE adds 235 MW in Ivory Coast
Feb 7 – GE is carrying out a gas turbine extension at the Azito power plant in the Ivory Coast. Under the contract, GE will supply its GT13E2 gas turbine in combined-cycle configuration, one HRSG, one steam turbine and associated equipment. The upgrade will boost the plant’s capacity by 30 percent, or 253 MW to reach a total of 710 MW.
FID on Azito extension
Feb 6 – Independent power producer Globeleq and IPS have reached financial close on expanding the Azito gas-fired power plant in Ivory Coast. The plant currently has 460 MW installed capacity and provides 25 percent of the country’s power supply. Once the lasted upgrade will be completed, Azito’s capacity will be boosted to 713 MW.
Batteries vs. hydro power
Feb 5 – More than 28 GW of lithium batteries deployed for stationary storage applications by the year 2028, according Navigant Research. Pumped hydro power plants, however, dominate the market as they account for 96% of installed energy storage worldwide.
