Energy Storage
Technology of battery-based energy storage has matured and industry stakeholders in some regions of the United States have gained experience financing, procuring, and operating power storage installations. Lithium-ion chemistries batteries currently make up 80% of large-scale U.S. power storage, and most of the capacity is being installed in California followed by the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection (PJM).
Mexico, the largest buyer of US pipeline gas and LNG, is preparing a tender for strategic storage at depleted oil and gas reservoirs. Cenagas, the Mexican National Natural Gas Control Centre, has already selected four underground sites – Acuyo, Brasil, Jaf and Saramako – from a list of 15 proposed sites. Registering strong bidding interest from foreign players, the Mexican Energy Secretariat (Sener) will hold the tender in September 2018.
Opinions differ widely when it comes to energy storage. Dominion Energy in its new long-term plan for Virginia and North Carolina notes that the price of battery storage showed it wasn’t ready for full consideration. Instead, the utility is looking to intensify the deployment of new gas-fired peaking power plants.
Dry natural gas production in the United States is forecast to reach a new record of 80.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, up from 73.6 Bcf/d in the previous year. According to the EIA’s latest Short-term Energy Outlook (STEO), the rise in US natural gas production will help replenish storage levels from current lows and support increasing natural gas exports, both via pipeline to Mexico and in the form of LNG.
Technological challenges are “taking root on the grid,” the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) said with reference to an array of battery storage projects and the first offshore wind project off Long Island. Looking ahead, NYISO expects both baseload and peakload power demand to fall by about 0.14% through to 2028, caused by a rising use of distributed power sources and energy efficiency measures.
Elon Musk, the man at the helm of Tesla, has hinted at the company’s Q1 investors’ call that a giant 1 GWh energy storage project would be announced soon. Highlighting the impact of Tesla’s 129 MWh battery in South Australia, he said “its grid stabilization was much greater actually than even a gas turbine plant, which normally respond quite fast.”
Siemens is applying its electrification experience in the marine industry to offshore oil and gas, focussing on reducing emissions and risk in harsh operational environments. BlueVault, Siemens’ advanced lithium-ion battery-based solution, is suited for both all-electric and hybrid energy-storage applications.
ITM Power and Northern Gas Networks (NGN) have announced the outcome of a feasibility study, evaluating the potential of deployment and cost-effective operation of 50MW energy storage capacity within the boundaries of the NGN gas distribution network. Low Thornley in Gateshead is being recommended as the most suitable site for a power-to-gas demonstration plant in the size range 50-100MW.
April 17 – Enel X, the energy services division of Enel Group through its US subsidiary EnerNOC, has struck an agreement with Algoma Orchards of Ontario, Canada to deploy a 1 MWh lithium-ion battery storage system under a contract spanning 11 years. The storage system will be deployed in the first half of 2018.
GE Reservoir, a new power storage platform for AC or DC coupled systems, condenses 4MWh of energy capacity into a 20’ box. The system improves battery the lifecycle by about 15%, delivers 5% higher efficiency and reduces installation time and costs, GE said, adding it already has a 20 MW, 80 MWh pre-launch commitment.
Greensmith Energy, a part of Wärtsilä group, has completed two grid-scale energy storage systems in Texas. Called ‘Texas Waves’, the two 9.9-MW short-duration storage facilities are fed by E.ON’s 249-MW Pyron and the 197-MW Inadale wind farms, both near Roscoe, delivering energy on short notice to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Arenko Group, a leading energy storage systems operator, has selected GE to deliver a 41-MW battery – one of the largest in the UK – to supply power on demand to approximately 100,000 homes. The grid-scale energy storage is designed to enhance efficiency of power transmission, balance renewable energy supply and help reduce customers’ energy bills. To be sited at a strategic location in the Midlands, the battery storage will commence operations in 2018.
Jan 17 – California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has ruled that Calpine needs to replace three gas-fired peaking power plants with energy storage facilities by 2019, “if feasible and at a reasonable cost to ratepayers.” Calpine had initially sought regulatory permission to maintain “must-run status” for the two 47-MW peaking plants in Feather River and Yuba and a 605-MW gas power plant in Metcalf.
News in Brief
Growing production puts a lid on oil price
June 18 – Rising crude oil production – driven by OPEC, Russia and the United States – will limit price rises for global crude oil benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which impacts long-term natural gas prices. In the June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), US government analysts expect the Brent crude oil price will average $68 per barrel in the third quarter of 2021, fall to $64/bbl in the fourth quarter and decline further to average $60/bbl in 2022.
CPH2 to install 1 MW electrolyser in Belfast
June 16 – Clean Power Hydrogen (CPH2), together with B9 Energy, has won an order from Northern Ireland Water for a MFE220 1-MW membrane-free electrolyser via its main contractor LaganMEICA. Oxygen, generally regarded as a by-product of hydrogen production is used to more efficiently treat wastewater at NI Water’s Belfast plant. Due to be installed by September this year, the MFE220 electrolyser will produce up to 451 kilograms of hydrogen and up to 3609 kg of medical-grade oxygen per day.
MTU subsidiaries to bear Rolls-Royce brand name
June 15 – As of today, Rolls-Royce's Power Systems has implemented a new brand architecture for its five MTU subsidiaries. MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH, for example, will become Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH. German subsidiaries in Augsburg and Ruhstorf, as well as regional companies in America and Asia will be renamed with geographical references. All others will be rebranded by the end of September 2021.
KBC adopts BakerHughes AI simulation
June 11 – Yokogawa Electric subsidiary KBC will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the BakerHughesC3.ai (BHC3) alliance to better simulate its oil and gas processes. The AI solution will continuously update physics-based simulations through a flexible modelling, scalable to any industry. KBP anticipates customers’ improved will yield more than $0.65 per barrel.
OneSubsea selects Siemens sensors for deepwater project in Brazil
June 10 – Houston-based OneSubsea has selected Siemens Energy to provide pressure and temperature sensors for the subsea production system for the Bacalhau oil and gas condensate field in Brazil’s Santos basin. The sensors will provide monitoring data for the production system on the seabed at a water depth of 6,726 feet. Installation and commissioning of the equipment is slated for 2022 and 2024.
Wärtsilä to service Malta power plant
June 9 – Wärtsilä has signed a second long-term service agreement renewal for the Delimara Power Plant 3 (D3) in Malta. The accord covers four 50DF dual-fuel engines and four 50SG gas engines. The flexible Delimara plant is vital to ensure stability of power supply for Malta’s island grid.
BV launches digital simulation tool
June 8 – Classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) has launched Opera, its new digital simulation tool for testing and certifying floating power units. The integrated modelling can inspect all components, e.g. those of a floating wind turbine, from mooring systems to blades.
Linde selected to build Russian GPP
June 7 – Linde and Renaissance Heavy Industries have been contracted by Gazprom to carry out the design works, equipment supplies, construction, and commissioning of gas processing plant (GPP) and off-site facilities at the Gas Processing Complex near Ust-Luga. The consortium intends to start construction this June.
Start-up of Tema LNG delayed
June 4 – Ghana sees LNG as a “relatively quick and inexpensive way” to meet growing gas demand for power generation but country’s aspirations to become sub-Saharan Africa's first LNG importer is being delayed to later in June. The commissioning cargo was meant to arrive at Ghana’s new Tema LNG terminal by the end of May, but our data indicates the FSU Torman II is still at Singapore’s Sembawang shipyard.
ACWA sources biofuel to power tourism
June 3 – Saudi developer, investor and operator ACWA Power has teamed up with the Gulf’s largest biofuel producer Neutral Fuels to supply green energy for Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project on the Red Sea coast.
CNE sets up Houston offices
June 2 – Carbon Neutral Energy (CNE) is setting up in Houston due to the huge demand for mobile energy storage systems to mitigate the risk of emergencies like the Texas blackout earlier this year. CNE raised $420 million funding in the UK and is now seeking to strengthen its foothold in the US.
AEG equips Swedish hydrogen plant
June 1 – Amsterdam-based AEG Power Solutions has supplied components for a high-pressure electrolysis process at a pilot plant, built by Hydrogen Pro on behalf of the metal research institute Swerim. The electrolysis process selected by Swerim is an alkaline electrolyser with a high level of dynamics driven by Thyrobox DC2, industrial DC power supply.
Li-ion batteries lose their lead
May 31 – Li-ion batteries have dominated the energy storage field, but are expected to lose their leading role in stationary applications. According to IDTechEx findings, Redox flow batteries are gaining traction and likely to overtake the installed Li-ion battery energy capacity before the end of 2030.
Kuwait Petroleum supports Jenbacher S engine oil
May 21 – The Austrian engine maker INNIO and Q8Oils, part of Kuwait Petroleum, have launched the Jenbacher S Oil 40 gas engine oil designed to lubricate engines that run on biogas and landfill gas. The new product is based on INNIO’s high-performing oil for stationary gas engines and provides very long drain intervals, reduces oil consumption and extends oil filter life.
J320 engine powers pasta factory
May 19 – Clarke Energy and INNIO have commissioned a Jenbacher gas engine to power a new Pasta factory in Cameroon. The gas-fuelled J320 engine installed is now delivering a resilient on-site power supply to the manufacturing facility, situated in the town of Douala.
Magma delivers composite riser pipe to HWCG
May 17 – Houston-based Magma Global has delivered the world’s first high-pressure composite riser pipe to HWCG’s gas storage location on the U.S Gulf Coast. HWCG is one of two deepwater oil and gas emergency response consortiums, set up after the Macondo blowout in 2010. It provides a capping stack within 7-14 days and the restart of contingent hydrocarbon flow and capture operations within 18 days of an incident
SynCraft orders J412 engines for biomass plant
May 14 – INNIO Jenbacher has received orders to supply two J412 gas engines, with 500 kW electrical output, for SynCraft biomass power plants in Austria. Each year the two units will process 6,000 metric tons of residual wood into 7,000,000 kWh of renewable power and 10,000,000 kWh of process heat.
