Uniper, formed in 2016 as a spin-off of E.ON's fossil power plant assets, has started producing methane gas from excess wind and solar power through electrolysis at its Falkenhagen Power-to-Gas (P2G) plant. The project demonstrates it is feasible to produce entirely green energy with qualities identical to natural gas.
New-built gas power stations and weather-related factors have led to 3.8 Bcf/d increase in domestic natural gas demand in the United States, pushing up the country’s total gas use by 10% to total of 82.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, according to EIA’s recently released Natural Gas Monthly.
Florida Power & Light (FLP), a principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy, is advancing plans to build the world’s largest solar-powered battery energy storage system that will replace two fossil power units due for retirement. The future FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center will have 409 MW of capacity when it begins serving customers in late 2021.
Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the Mexican oil and gas company, says its 2% month-on-month rise in its natural gas production is aimed at reducing the country’s dependency on pipeline gas and LNG imports from the United States. It consequently strives to intensify fracking at its new Ixachi find in the state of Veracruz.
Growth in global energy demand picks up speed, up 2.3% last year, its fastest pace this decade. Demand for all fuel types grew but fossil fuels still cover about 70% of incremental growth. According to IEA data, natural gas “emerges as the fuel of choice” accounting for 45% of the rise in energy consumption amid strong demand in the U.S. and China.
Siemens has inaugurated Qatar’s second largest power station – the 2.5 GW Umm Al Houl combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant. First fire at the plant took place in April 2017 with first power delivered in August 2017, and combined-cycle running began in May 2018.
MAN Energy Solutions is targeting ASEAN and Africa with its new integrated LNG-to-Power solutions. “We have new projects under development mainly in Asia and western- and northern Africa. But this is a business we are still building,” said business development manager Carsten Dommermuth. “For the entire project development up to the commercial operating date we allocate a time frame of 3 to 5 years.”
IGas Energy, an independent UK shale oil and gas exploration company, expects “extremely positive prospects” for developing the country’s shale resources as a preferred alternative to importing pipeline gas or LNG. Demand for natural gas is bound to rise, IGas CEO Stephen Bowler said, suggesting “gas will be the transition fuel in Britain as we move to a cleaner energy future.”
The CEO of German regional utility EnBW, Frank Mastiaux, has forecast Germany will see a significant number of new gas-fired power stations being built over the coming years. Flexible combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) capacity, in particular, is deemed vital to guarantee cost-efficient supply of electricity and grid stability as the country exits coal and nuclear energy.
Despite closures, electricity supply from U.S. nuclear power plants has hit a record high in 2018, surpassing its previous peak. By 2025, however, the EIA expects U.S. nuclear capacity to fall by 10.5 GW due to the closing of twelve reactors. Much of this lost capacity will be replaced with flexible gas power plants and renewable energy.
U.S. engine manufacturer Cummins will present its newly launched HSK78G gas generators at the Energy Hannover trade show on April 1-5, where the series will be showcased in Europe for the first time. With a power density from 1.6 to 2.0 MW from a 78L engine, the HSK78G generator can reach up to 44.2% electrical efficiency on 50Hz models.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have entered the first-ever cofinancing of an infrastructure project in Indonesia by granting loans of $70 million and $50 million, respectively, for a 275-MW combined-cycle gas turbine power project in Riau, central Sumatra. Another $82 million will come from the commercial lenders Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and MUFG Bank.
Bayat Power, part of Bayat Group – one of the largest privately-held investors in Afghanistan – has an order for Siemens’ SGT-A45 trailer-mounted, mobile power generation unit. The order will see Siemens deliver the first gas-fired power unit in the war-torn country since the 1970s, with first electricity supply planned for summer 2019, in just a few months time.
NGN Group’s Star of Bosphorus data center in Istanbul, Turkey – the nation’s first carrier-neutral and Tier-III certified data center – is based on a ABB-designed and built power feeding and distribution infrastructure. The heart of the center forms ABB’s System pro E power main distribution switchboard.
China’s State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) and Siemens have signed a strategic partnership framework agreement, building on the companies' earlier agreed technology collaboration for heavy-duty gas turbines. The contract was sealed in Beijing today by SPIC chairman Qian Zhimin and Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser. The aim is to create a China-based supplier eco-system.
News in Brief
Smart grid market to top $70bn by 2027
April 24 – The global Smart Grid Market is expected to reach around $70 billion, growing at an annual rate of 15.56% in the coming years through to 2027.North America is forecast to see the largest revenue growth, according to ResearchNester, while Europe also shows promising growth in smart grids due to high awareness for decentralized power generation, battery storage and conserving energy.
China eases ban on coal power
April 23 – The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) has allowed 11 provinces to resume building coal power plants in a move that lies bare the country’s dependency on thermal coal even after several hundred billion dollars were invested cleaner energy sources, notable wind, solar and natural gas. Areas earmarked by NEA for new coal power plants include Qinghai, Chongqing, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou and Henan.
$500m Birdsboro plant gets powered up
April 17 – Birdsboro Power, a subsidiary of EmberClear of Canada, is in the process of commissioning the $500 million Birdsboro open-cycle gas power plant. Built on a site of the former Amourcast steel foundry, and driven by a GE 7H02 turbine, the new power unit will generate about $500,000 in revenue for the Reading Area Water Authority and another $125,000 city of Reading, Pennsylvania. All electricity will be supplied into PJM Interconnection, the power grid operator in the U.S. Northeast.
Gas now dominant fossil fuel in Europe
April 17 – Rising cost of carbon emissions and closures of coal power stations throughout Europe have led to gas-fired generation overtaking the output of other fossil fuels for the first time. According to EnAppSys figures, gas power plants in the EU produced 117 TWh of electricity in the first quarter of 2019, compared with a combined 110.9 TWh from coal, lignite and gas-to-coal plants.
ABB, Porsche co-develop electric vehicle chargers
April 16 – ABB and Porsche have agreed to develop electric vehicle chargers for Porsche Japan’s new electric vehicles, including Tayan – the carmakers’ first fully electric car due to be launched in 2020. Under the deal, Porsche will install ABB chargers at its public facilities across Japan, creating a network of fast-charging stations for its electric vehicles. The first installation is set to go live in mid-2020.
Power gen from biomass flatlines
April 15 – Increases of U.S. electricity generation from biomass have stopped after a decade of growth. Power produced from biomass totaled 70.6 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2018, or about 2% of total U.S. electricity generation, according to EIA figures. Having grown from 2004 through 2014, and the 2018 output was 2% below its peak generation of 71.7 million MWh.
Aeroderivative GT market to top $3.5bn by 2024
April 12 – The global market for aeroderivative gas turbines is seen grow at a 7% rate to surpass $3.5 billion by 2024. A main growth driver, according to Global Markets Insight, will be the rising adoption of small-scale turbine-driven cogeneration plant and the trend towards decentralized energy supply.
Lumenaza creates regional green power grids
April 11 – Utility-in-a-box software, developed by Lumenaza, creates a regional green power grid by connecting producers and consumers of locally produced wind and solar energy. The system monitors renewable power output, balances supply and demand, and can help organize the billing process. Pilot projects have been implemented with two of Germany’s big utilities, E.ON and EnBW as well as with various smaller players.
MHPS licenses H-25 turbine production to Chinese manufacturer
April 10 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has agreed to license production technology for its H-25 series gas turbines to the Chinese manufacturer CSIC Longjiang GH Gas Turbine Co. The agreement will establish a small local supply chain which helps expands MHPS’ share in the Chinese market, the Japan-based company stated. So far, MHPS received five orders for H-25 Series gas turbines, or nine units in total, from Chinese power plant developers.
SIEW 2019 to focus on energy transformation
April 9 – “Accelerating Energy Transformation” will be the theme for the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2019. This theme has been chosen by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore to address mounting challenges in Asia over meeting climate change commitments against a backdrop of continuously rising energy demand.
ENGIE launches 1st mini-grid in Zambia
April 8 – The French utility ENGIE has inaugurated its first PowerCorner – an off-grid renewable energy solution – in the Zambian village of Chitandika. Located in the East of Zambia, Chitandika counts 1500 inhabitants who previously had no access to electricity.
Global gas engine market to reach $4.4 billion by 2020
April 5 – Over the next five years, the global gas turbine market is forecast to grow 11.1% annually in terms of revenue, reaching a market size of $24,100 million by 2024, up from $14,300 million in 2019. Market-leading companies include: GE, Siemens, Ansaldo Energia, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Shanghai Electric Group.
EDAC, Siemens seek ‘industrial app’ for 3D-printing
April 4 – Siemens is intensifying its cooperation with the EDAG Group, an independent engineering company for the automotive industry, to promote industrial applications of additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing. The companies’ joint "NextGenerationSpaceframe 2.0" project is on show at the Hannover Messe this week.
ABB electrifies Lodi campus of Milan University
April 3 – The Swiss manufacturer ABB will ensure smarter, safer and more reliable electricity supply for students at the Milan University’s new campus in Lodi. Covering an area of 20,000 square meters, the campus has installed ABB’s UniSec switchgear and main distribution switchboard solution, System pro E power.
Chevron launches $90m Fund VII
April 2 – Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) has set up Fund VII, a new $90 million fund focused on venture capital investment across the energy industry. Investments target early- to mid-stage companies as well as limited partnership funds with the aim of supporting breakthrough technologies that have the potential to improve Chevron’s oil and gas business performance.
Siemens to implement VW Industrial Cloud
April 1 – The German carmaker Volkswagen has chosen Siemens as integration partner for the VW Industrial Cloud. Based on Siemens’ MindSphere system, the VW Industrial Cloud will link production systems, machinery and equipment of various manufacturers at the 122 Volkswagen manufacturing plants worldwide. The resulting data transparency and analysis is meant to enhance productivity at the sites.
Marubeni, 4R Energy to deploy large refurbished batteries
March 29 – Marubeni Corp and 4R Energy, along with SIGNET EV have achieved a Proof of Concept (PoC) using 4RE’slarge refurbished batteries for the development of the world’s first mass-productional EV charger in Namie-machi, Fukushima-Prefecture. The installation, with an output of more than 50kW, helps the community reduce electricity demand from the central power grid, which saves costs.
