GE has started to assess the hydrogen readiness of Uniper’s combined-cycle power plant (1,365 MW) on the Isle of Grain, UK. The gas-fired plant will run on hydrogen blends up to 40% by volume, once all existing GT26 turbines are modified to accommodate the zero-emission fuel.
Four H-class turbine driven power plants will be built by Siemens Energy in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in southern China. Guangdong Energy ordered a 675 MW combined-cycle plant in Guangzhou, while Shenzen Energy wants to add three CCGTs at the Dongbu and Mawan plants, all due operational between mid-2023 and mid-2024.
Gas-burn in the European power sector could be halved and fuel costs curbed, if electric generators rapidly scaled up renewables. Modelling by Wärtsilä shows that investment to deliver up to 80 GW per year of new wind and solar power capacity, backed by balancing technologies, would help utilities save €323 billion ($356bn) in fuel costs by 2030.
Japan is considering diverting additional LNG cargoes to Europe from April, government officials said after a meeting in Brussels. In March, Japan had already offered its surplus LNG cargoes to the EU to alleviate the bloc’s gas crisis after Russia lowered supplies. Shifting to green energy sources, both sides now want to cooperate on hydrogen.
The United States has promised to deliver at least 15 bcm of LNG to the EU this year to support the bloc's energy security and reduce dependence on Russian gas imports. In return, the Commission will work with European market operators to pool demand for additional US LNG until at least 2030.
Suddenly stopping all energy imports from Russia would plunge Europe’s economy into recession, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned. Defying criticism about the EU’s slow reaction, he said the bloc is unprepared for an embargo which would have “incalculable consequences” – though German authorities and power generators already discuss a shutdown sequence in case of an emergency.
An electrolyser in the 50 MW range is being deployed by Siemens Energy to the Danish town of Kassø, where it will be powered by a nearby 300 MW solar park. The green hydrogen plant will produce cost effective e-Methanol for sale to the shipping line Maersk and fuel retailer Circle K. Start of commercial production is slated for autumn 2023.
Lithium-ion based batteries are still dominating the stationary energy storage sector but a rising number of companies try to develop different technology types. Among the Li-ion batteries competitors, the Redox Flow Battery (RFB) system – based on flowing two liquids as electrolytes across the electrode – is seen as an attractive approach.
Start-up Vulcan Energy will produce carbon-free lithium from geothermal power in Germany from 2024. Lithium prices soured by over 600% in less than a year, as the component is irreplaceable for e-car batteries and stationary power storage. Today, four-fifth of battery-quality lithium comes from China but Vulcan will sustainably produce it near Karlsruhe.
The world needs to double-down on efforts to limit the rise in temperatures to within 1.5˚C by 2050. Electrification, renewables build-out and carbon capture retrofits will help – but to reach Net Zero emission the global carbon price would need to soar from of $25 per tonne of CO2 today to $175/t CO2 in 2050, Wood Mackenzie finds.
Responding to the UK Chancellor’s Spring Statement, Shell has announced plans to invest between £20 and £25 billion into the UK energy system over the next decade. Over 75% of this will be spent on low and zero-carbon products and services – notably offshore wind, hydrogen and electric mobility, said Shell UK country chair David Bunch.
BP, Shell and the likes have been spared a windfall tax on promises to boost upstream spending. The UK Treasury’s takings from the North Sea are forecast to more than double to £7.8 billion in 2022/23 as companies cash in on soaring oil and gas prices, but Chancellor Rishi Sunak refuted calls for a windfall tax as this might jeopardise investment.
GE has secured an order to deliver gas turbines and related generating equipment for the 670 MW Generadora Gatún power plant in Panama. Built on behalf of a consortium which includes InterEnergy Group and AES Panama, the flexible gas plant will help support Panama’s goal to generate 70% of its energy from renewables by 2050.
Through a licensing agreement, ESG Clean Energy has acquired a new patent for a Bottoming Cycle Power System and its related impact to carbon capture. Technology based on the new patent will be first used in ESG’s power project in Holyoke, which is about to be finalized.