FuelCell Energy (FCE) and UIL Holdings Corp. have developed an integrated fuel cell that will be installed at a gas pressure-reduction facility in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The new Direct Fuel Cell Energy Recovery Generator (DFC-ERG) will harness unused heat and produce 600 kW of electricity.
State-owned electricity generator Hydro Tasmania is aiming to sell the majority share of its 210 MW gas-fired Tamar Valley power station in in Bell Bay, Tasmania. The operator was forced to acquire the asset by the previous government and claims it paid an estimated $160 million above its value of $200 million.
Diamantina Power Station Pty is close to firing up its new 242 MW power station in Queensland after Siemens has completed the commissioning and hand-over. The Diamantina plant is powered by two combined-cycle blocks, performing at well in excess of 50% efficiency.
Midwestern utility Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) has announced plans to construct a 400 - 500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine unit at the site of the existing Fox Energy Center near Wrightstown, Wisconsin. The proposed plant is expected to be commissioned by 2019.
LNG Canada Development Inc. has selected GE's LMS100-PB dry low emission aeroderivative gas turbine as well as vertically and horizontally split centrifugal compressors for its proposed gas liquefaction plant in Kitimat, British Columbia.
French technology developer Alstom has surpassed 17,000 hours of operation of the world’s highest operating-temperature steam loop at Plant Barry Unit 4. Ultra-Supercritical Steam systems operate at temperatures above 374°C, while the temperature at Barry Unit 4 reached 760°C.
German engineering conglomerate Siemens has won an order for the turn-key construction of a combined cycle power plant, equipped by an H-Class gas turbine. The customer for the 596 MWe plant in the city of Płock is PKN Orlen, Eastern Europe's largest mineral oil company.
Japanese technology developer Toshiba has announced the successful prototyping of a process that combines waste CO2 from thermal power plants with energy from the sun to create fuel at a higher efficiency than was previously possible. Toshiba said the new photosynthesis process can “deliver a viable chemical feedstock or fuel with potential for use in industry.”
After receiving 1.6 million comments on its proposed carbon rule, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now reviewing the often critical remarks by utilities before submitting a final standards by June 1, 2015.
Saudi Arabian developer ACWA Power is set to build a $1 billion combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant near the city of Kirikkale in Turkey. The 950 MW plant will be built by ACWA subsidiary, Acwa Guc Elektrik Isletme ve Yonetim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
U.S. power plant developer Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) and partners Marubeni and Toyota Tsusho have started construction of the $775 million St. Charles Energy Center in Waldorf, Charles County, Maryland.
Financing of $890 million has been agreed by a consortium of investors to develop the Azura-Edo Independent Power Project (IPP) in Edo State, Nigeria. Construction works for the 450 MW open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plant are now expected to begin in January 2015.
The Russian president Vladimir Putin has conceded a 6% discount on natural gas sales to Turkey as of January 1, 2015, as Gazprom announced plans to build a 63 Bcm pipeline through the Black Sea to transit Turkey and reach the Greek border – in replacement of the South Stream pipeline link to Bulgaria.
Bottlenecks and ongoing restrictions in New England’s gas pipeline networks are forcing many gas power plants in the region to sit idle, such as the 265 MW Rumford Power plant, the largest gas-fired facility in Maine.
News in Brief
Rolls-Royce conducts laser field tests in the US
May 18 – Rolls-Royce has successfully conducted laser field tests to demonstrate ‘deep magazine’ power capability for directed applications in connection with Lockheed Martin’s layered laser defense project. Deep magazine power can be provided by a battery-only system, but the Rolls-Royce ColdFire system includes both battery-powered and near-continuous firing modes provided by M250 gas turbine engines.
Gas vs oil ratio increases in the Bakken
May 17 – The ratio of natural gas to crude oil production has risen in North Dakota’s Bakken region since 2008, and continues to accelerate. According to the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report, annual gas gross withdrawals in the Bakken increased by 9% to an annual high of 2.97 Bcf/d in 2021, even though the region’s crude oil production fell by 6%.
Middle East shifts to gas power
May 16 – The Middle East, a region vulnerable to climate change, is undergoing a major shift from petroleum-based power plants towards gas-fired generation and renewable power sources. Capacity additions of over 185.46 GW are the pipeline, according to ResearchandMarkets, as the regions electricity demand for industry and residential cooling is set to grow. In fact, cooling already accounts for 70% of residential power demand.
Carbon utilisation in strong demand
May 13 – The market for carbon utilisation is forecast to grow rapidly from the 2030s onwards to surpass $285 billion by 2042, driven by rising climate commitments and a favourable regulatory framework. In its latest report IDTechEx also highlights the role of technology advances such as thermodynamics which help sequester CO2 permanently.
MTU gensets approved for biofuels
May 12 – Rolls-Royce has gained approval to use synthetic fuels in its MTU Series 4000 and Series 1600 diesel engines for power generation application. Field testing confirmed both engines can use a range of sustainable fuels including biomass-to-liquid, hydrotreated vegetable oil and power-to-liquid fuels such as e-diesel.
E.ON tells Germans how to save gas
May 11 – A large-scale switch to heat pumps, solar power and better demand-side management could help save Germany nearly 100 TWh of natural gas per year, E.ON has said, calling on households to contribute to Europe’s efforts to reduce reliance on Russian gas imports. “If 10% of the homes in Germany are equipped with solar PV installations, 20% of gas boilers are replaced by heat pumps, and the average temperature in all households is reduced by one degree Celsius on average, this would lead to natural gas savings of 103 TWh per year," E.ON Energy CEO Filip Thon said, noting this volume would equate to about 30% of Germany’s current gas imports from Russia.
Exelon Q1 earnings lower following Constellation cave-out
May 10 – Exelon has reported lower first quarter earnings and a higher operating revenue, having completed the separation of Constellation Energy – Excelon’s former power gen business. Focussing now solely on transmission and distribution, Exelon’s net income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2022 decreased to $0.49 per share from $0.53 a share in pre-year period. In contrast, adjusted operating earnings notched up to $0.64 per share, primarily due to due to higher electric distribution earnings at ComEd from higher rate base and higher allowed electric distribution. Rate increases at Excelon’s group companies PECO, BGE, and PHI were partially offset by higher depreciation expenses at BGE and PHI.
South Africa to add 2.6 GW of new capacity
May 9 – South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, has just announced the REIPPPP BW6 Request for Proposals (RFP). The bid round will add 2,600 MWs of new capacity to the energy mix. The ministry seeks to procure 11,813 MW of electricity from various power sources including renewable energy, storage, gas and coal.
GE Gas Power authorized as CVE Numbering Authority
May 6 – GE Gas Power’s increased focus on cybersecurity has been recognized by the Common Vulnerability and Exposures Programm as a ‘CVE Numbering Authority (CNA). As such, GE Gas Power can now assign CVE identification numbers to newly discovered vulnerabilities potentially related to its products and allow GE Gas Power to directly publish new CVE Records and streamline the reporting process.
Heliogen gets nearly $90m in funding
May 5 – Heliogen has moved from design into testing and implementation of its supercritical CO2 power gen system that will be deployed for Woodside in California. The system consists of a 5 MWe sCO2 power block integrated with high temperature solid media thermal energy storage. The demonstration project is being funded with up to $50 million from Woodside, along with $39 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE).
Capstone to install microturbine in the Caribbean
May 4 – E-Finity Distributed Generation, Capstone's distributor for the Mid-Atlantic, Southeastern United States and the Caribbean, has secured an order for two C1000S microturbines for a government water authority in the Caribbean. The 2 MW system will provide emergency standby power to several pumping stations throughout the remote island community and is scheduled to be commissioned towards the end of 2022.
Forecasting solar and energy storage in CAISO
May 3 – Marubeni has chosen Veritone’s AI-based distributed energy resource management solution (iDERMS) to provide price, demand and generation forecasts at their pilot project in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) SP-15 region. In addition to day-ahead and real-time generation figures, Veritone will also forecast production and demand for the overall CAISO region.
Forecasting solar and energy storage in CAISO
May 2 – Marubeni has chosen Veritone’s AI-based distributed energy resource management solution (iDERMS) to provide price, demand and generation forecasts at their pilot project in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) SP-15 region. In addition to day-ahead and real-time generation figures, Veritone will also forecast production and demand for the overall CAISO region.
Steam turbines in high demand
April 29 – The market for steam turbines for power generation will grow around 6.5% through to 2027, driven by the build-out of combined-cycle gas power plants – notably in Asia and the United States, ResearchAndMarkets finds. Coal power projects in China, India and Bangladesh also require significant numbers of steam turbines. “Many of the countries in Asia-Pacific cannot provide 24-hour electricity to its citizens, and the cheapest way to achieve the objective is to build thermal [coal power] plants and use steam turbines,” analysts commented.
LNG-fuelled power for Antigua
April 28 – Antigua Power Company Limited (APCL) has contracted Wärtsilä to supply and install a 46 MW dual-fuel power plant on the Caribbean island. The plant will operate primarily on regasified LNG, imported through a small-scale import terminal developed by U.S.-based Eagle LNG in partnership with APCL.
ION launches risk analyser
April 27 – ION Commodities has built a cloud-based solution – FEA Analyzer – to help energy and commodity firms transition to new renewable energy markets while simultaneously optimizing trading strategies and supply chains. The tool combines pre-trade analytics with risk management and asset optimization, all powered by predictive analytics and stochastic models.
Capstone to service 600kV microturbine
April 26 – Capstone has landed a rental contract for a 600 kilowatt (kW) microturbine-based system with one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America. Due for commissioning in mid-May 2022, the plant will supply power to remote mid-stream operations along the customer's gas pipeline in Colorado.
