Canadian power producer EmberClear has teamed up with U.S.-based Tyr Energy to build the Good Spring I & II gas-fired combined cycle power plants in Pennsylvania. The terms of the joint venture agreement give both parties a 50% stake in the deal which will see two new 330MW power plants built.
Malta's state-owned energy company Enemalta has signed a deal with China Power Investment Corporation (CPIC) that will see the Chinese investor pay €320 million in exchange for a 33% stake in the indebted Maltese company. The terms of the agreement dictate that the Chinese firm will have a representation on Enemalta’s board of directors but that the chairman will be appointed by the Maltese government.
Keen to block tough new regulation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on new coal-fired power generating capacity Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have voted through a bill aimed at thwarting the rules. The vote in the Republican-controlled House passed by 229 to 183 but commentators are sceptical it will make it past the Democrat-controlled Senate.
National energy company Saudi Aramco plans to deliver 160 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of unconventional natural gas by 2018 to fuel a new power plant. The gas-fired plant will be located in Waad al Shamal Mining City and attached to a new phosphate project which will receive a further 40 mmcfd.
GE Power Conversion has won two orders to supply 24 units of 18-megawatt MV7000 variable speed drives (VSD) to for Saudi Electricity Company's (SEC) Jeddah South and Shuqaiq steam power plant projects.
Gas-fired power has been partly classified as "intermittent" as the U.S. Independent System Operator for New England (ISO-NE) created a new category – "Generation at Risk due to Gas Supply Issues" – for planning future capacity needs in the New England Power Pool in early 2015.
Up to 3.5 GW of gas-fired power generating capacity are "expected to be at risk during cold weather conditions or gas pipeline maintenance outages," ISO-NE forecast.
South African energy firm Sasol believes there is significant upside in Mozambique’s vast natural gas reserves and is pushing ahead to capitalise on further exports. Estimates of reserves Mozambique have risen ten-fold recently and the government’s Gas Master Plan forecasts 10 liquefaction trains will be in operation by 2026, with an overall capacity of 69 Bcm/y, making Mozambique one of the world’s top LNG exporters.
Security at power plants in the United States is under threat from cyber-attacks, according to a recent report from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC). “Evidence collected by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suggests that cyber-attacks on key energy infrastructure—and on the electricity system in particular—are increasing, both in frequency and sophistication,” said Margot Anderson, lead author of the report and director at the BPC.
U.S. power provider AES has launched a new modular battery product designed to deliver energy to the grid at comparable rates to smaller gas-fired power plants. The Advancion solution allows companies to combine multiple battery units to achieve output similar to a 50MW peaking plant with the option to grow incrementally.
Ukraine has missed the March 7 deadline of paying Russia $1.89 billion for February's gas deliveries, prompting threats from Moscow about a halt of future supplies; but analysts suggests even if Russia cuts off gas flows to Ukraine it would have "much less of an impact [on Europe] than in 2009".
New gas pricing policy in India that is due to come into force in April will affect an estimated 19 GW of power generating capacity from gas-fired plants, potentially causing further shutdowns or shortages. The price of gas is expected to almost double from the current rate of $4.2 per MMBtu when the new regime starts next month, leading to a power price hike of as much as $10/kWh for end users.
Shifting from exporting its oil and gas resources to domestic consumption, Indonesia is reorienting its energy production to cater for growing demand of its buoyant industry and power producers. Keen to give 90% of its citizens access to electricity by 2020, the government has introduced a fast-track plant to step up power generating capacity by 20 GW.