Carbon emission prices in the US Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have soared to unprecedented highs due to more stringent emission rules and fears that US President Biden will enact a fracking ban. In the latest RGGI quarterly auction, held on March 3, the clearing price hit $7.60 per ton of CO2.
Mitsubishi, part of the Zero Carbon Humber (ZCH) Partnership, has won a £75 million ($103 million) government contract to help decarbonise the region by 2040. Locally produced hydrogen will be distributed by a shared pipeline network, carrying green hydrogen to industrial customers, electric utilities and to Centrica's gas storage facility at Easington.
Vattenfall Wärme and Siemens Energy have agreed to demonstrate and trial a large high-temperature heat pump (8 MW) at Vattenfall’s cooling plant at Berlin Potsdamer Platz. Known as the Qwark³ project, it will generate green district heating using waste heat and electricity from renewables, and feed it into Berlin’s district heating network.
A cross-section of 30 US shale oil and gas producers shows the industry has enjoyed the first full year of positive free cash flows since the fracking boom began. Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found the 30 producers generated $1.8 billion in free cash flows in 2020 after slashing capital spending by $20 billion.
Japanese and Australian partners – J-POWER, Iwantani Corp, Kawasaki HI, Marubeni, AGL and Sumitomo – have launched the HESC Pilot plant that uses coal from Australia’s Latrobe Valley to produce hydrogen, destined for the Japanese market. The aim is to scale up the output of the HESC produce to 225,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually with CCS.
Reactive power compensation helps Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) integrate renewable energy into the grid. A reactive power plant, supplied by Siemens Energy, combines static synchronous compensation (STATCOM) technology and a modular multilevel converter (MMC) to enhance the functionality of Barren Ridge Switching Station.
The Electric Highway Coalition – made up of American Electric Power, Dominion, Duke Energy, Entergy, Southern Co., and the Tennessee Valley Authority – plan to establish a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to enable seamless travel between Gulf Coast, Midwest and Atlantic State destinations. Over 18 million EVs are estimated to be on US roads by 2030.
Italy’s gas network operator Snam will become Europe’s first TSO to test the injection of a hydrogen blend into its gas grid through a cooperation with UAE-based Mubadala Investment. Snam imports LNG via the FSRU Toscana and the onshore Panigaglia regas facility near Genoa, where carriers with the hydrogen-LNG blend from Abu Dhabi are likely to berth.
Withdrawals from US gas storage kept falling this week, with analysts attributing the storage-build to mild weather in South Central regions and a subsequent rise of gas injection into salt cavern storage. South Central was badly hit by the mid-February ‘Big Freeze’ in Texas but temperates already sprung back to a 10% warmer-than-normal March to-date.
The Norwegian government has ruled the sale of Bergen Engines to TMH Group of Russia “must be stopped.” Rolls-Royce had announced the €150 million deal on February 4, but Oslo’s ruling threatens to derail the sale and undermines the company’s target to raise £2 billion from disposals.
Germany's Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) has granted approval for the upgrade of over 24 transmission pipelines to also transport hydrogen. German gas grid operators had said an initial hydrogen grid could be established at “justifiable cost” of around €660 million, largely by converting current pipelines.
Schlumberger New Energy, the energy transition start-up of the US oilfield service giant, is working on a lithium extraction pilot plant in response to growing demand for utility-scale battery storage in the transport and power sector. To be built through NeoLith Energy in Clayton Valley, Nevada, the pilot plant is due operational before the end of 2021.
News in Brief
Tula dDSF helps curb NOx emissions by 74%
April 15 – Tula Technologies, a leader in propulsion technology, and Cummins have showcased the results of a study on the effectiveness of Tula’s diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) in reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 74% and carbon dioxide emissions by 5% on a Cummins X15 HD Efficiency Series diesel engine. In comparison with current engine technologies and modifications to the thermal management techniques, use of the dDSF system saved 20% in fuel and related costs.
Marubeni starts EPC works for Rabigh IPP
April 14 – Japan’s Marubeni Corp has been granted limited-recourse financing for the 300 MW Rabigh solar IPP project in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Province. The loan was granted by Mizuho Bank, Al Rajhi Banking and Investment and Japan’s Bank for International Cooperation. EPC work on the project is scheduled to start in early May. All electricity from the Rabigh IPP will be sold to the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for 25 years starting with the plant’s commissioning.
BASF’s power demand set to triple
April 13 – Chemicals group BASF expects its electricity consumption will triple to over 44 TWh per year by 2035, rising from 14.7 TWh last year. The growth estimate is based on demand forecasts for Ludwigshafen, the group’s biggest site, where energy demand is anticipated to rise from 6 TWh to around 20 TWh. Currently, BASF meets most of its electricity needs with combined-cycle power stations, many of which are installed on or nearby its chemical production sites. The company has site in 390 locations worldwide.
Romgaz pulls the plug on Iernut CCGT
April 12 – Romania’s Romgaz has terminated a contract for the construction of a 430 MW combined-cycle power plant in Iernut, in Romania’s central Transylvania region. The construction consortium consisted of DuroFelguera and Romelectrico.
Wärtsilä test bio LNG fuel at Coast Guard vessel
April 9 – Gasum, Finland’s state gas company and biogas refiner is supplying Wärtsilä with green fuels that are currently being tested in a Coast Guard patrol vessel. The 96 metre long ship, the named ‚Turva’, is fitted with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. Use of Bio LNG, a 100% renewable fuel, emits no particulate matter, and close to zero nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) when burnt and has over 90% lower CO2 emission compared to conventional fuels.
ACWA Power signs PPA for Kom Ombo plant in Egypt
April 8 – Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has finalised a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) for the 200MW Kom Ombo PV plant. Financial close is now scheduled for Q3-2021, developers said, provided they will obtain $40 million in debt financing and a $14 million equity bridge loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as a $27.2 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Scottish network charges keep rising
April 7 – Network charges payable by Scottish generators continue to rise. According to National Grid’s 5-year view Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges, annual TNUoS costs for a typical 40 MW onshore wind site in Northern Scotland will rise to £1.28 million by 2025-26 – a 180% increase in nine years. Critics warn some developers see these costs as a potential investment barrier which could undermine the UK’s path to net zero emissions.
LYTT launches well visualisation dashboard
April 6 – The British software and analytics company LYTT has launched a cloud-based visualization dashboard, enabling operators of oil & gas wells to visualise the operation and resource base of reservoirs, Insights are derived from acoustic and temperature data sourced from fiber optic sensors that allow oil & gas to “see exactly what is happening downhole.“
PIC Group to staff North Valmy Generating Station
April 1 – Atlanta-based NV Energy has awarded PIC Group the staffing services agreement to help with the selection of key personnel at its 552 MW North Valmy Generating Station in Valmy, Nevada through 2025. Under the agreement, PIC Group will also provide Operation & Maintenance (O&M) services up until the plant’s staggered retirement starting from 2022.
MHIET launches new 2,000 kVA genset
March 31 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger (MHIET) has developed a 2,000 kVA diesel generator with the highest output level in a Japanese-made packaged generator. The genset is designed for use in critical infrastructure such as factories, hospitals and data centers. Sales of the new system will officially begin on April 1.
NextDecade sells $10m of Series C stock
March 30 – Houston-based NextDecade Corp has agreed to sell $10 million of Series C preferred stock in a private placement to OGCI Climate Investments. Earlier this month, NextDecade announced its subsidiary NEXT Carbon Solutions is developing one of the largest CCS projects in North America at Rio Grande LNG, designed to enable the capture and permanent geologic storage of more than five million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Linde to help Gazprom advance Amur GPP
March 29 – German engineering and industrial gases company Linde has been contracted by Gazprom to help fast-track works at the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in the Russian Far East and build a new natural gas liquefaction and GPP at Ust-Luga west of St. Petersburg. Gazprom underlined the Ust-Luga complex will be “the largest in northwest Europe in terms of LNG production at 13 mtpa” and a gas processing capacity of up to 45 Bcm of gas per year.
Spectrolytic improves turbine oil monitoring
March 29 – Edinburg-based Spectrolytic has developed an in-line measurement system to monitor turbine oils by streaming key operating data to a cloud-based control centre which provides the customer with real-time process control. Called Fieldkit, the plug-and-play system can be integrated into the main oil flow of the engine or in a bypass flow from the oil sump or tank.
Toshiba recycles CO2 into carbon monoxide
March 26 – Toshiba has developed the world’s most efficient electro-catalyst technology for converting CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a raw material for fuel and chemicals. The electro-catalyst has the size of a C5 envelope, operates at room temperature, and can process up to 1 ton of CO2 a year.
Gazprom and TMK/ChelPip discuss future cooperation
Mar 25 – The heads of Gazprom and TMK, one of Russia's largest producers of steel pipe coatings, are in talks about their future cooperation following TMK’s merger with ChelPip. Alexey Miller and Dmitry Pumpyansky discussed how the merged company could best meet Gazprom’s needs with regards to pipeline supplies for wells and transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as technical maintenance and support and repair services.
ADM develops Barracuda oil and gas field
Mar 24 – ADM Energy has agreed to invest up to US$1.3 million in developing the Barracuda oil and gas condensate field by acquiring a 51% interest in K.O.N.H. UK. Named OML 141, the field is situated in shallow waters offshore Nigeria. Developers said they intend to provide or procure funding in return for 235% of approved Capex to be recovered plus a 15% net profit interest (NPI) from the field.
Wärtsilä services engines at NYK’s LNG carriers
Mar 23 – Japan-based NYK LNG Ship Management has awarded Wärtsilä two long-term Optimised Maintenance agreement. The 15-year contracts cover Wärtsilä’s 50DF dual-fuel engines and other equipment installed on two LNG carrier vessels. The deal took effect from January 2021.
