Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has invited developers to come forward with expressions of interest (EoIs) to finance, build and operate a 2,000 MW combined-cycle gas power project at Fujairah, UEA. Bids need to be submitted by February 10.
A new ‘Distributed Resource’ Desk, just launched by UK’s National Grid, allows for faster dispatch instructions to small gensets, battery storage and demand-side response. In the first 24 hours of operation, the number of bids and offers accepted from these aggregated providers was 87 MWh, up 113% on average.
Energy-related emissions in the United States are poised to fall as the country’s GDP growth is anticipated to slow from 2.9% in 2018 to 2.7% this year and down to 2.0% in 2020. According to EIA projections, industrial production will soon grow at a slower rate than overall GDP.
General Electric and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. will build Sharjah’s first combined-cycle power station in Hamriyah, UEA, under a public-private partnership with Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA). The 1.8 GW project will consists of three blocks, the first of which is slated to come online in May 2021.
Strong order intake and some very large orders support Siemens’ overall business, although Q1 net profits plunged 49% and revenue growth is seen to stay moderate. “There is still much to do before we achieve industry-leading margins in all our businesses,” CEO Joe Kaeser said in an analyst call today.
Reacting to lower net earnings Wärtsilä will lay off 1,200 employees globally, the Finnish company said in connection to its annual report. The order intake of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions’ business fell, CEO Jaakko Eskola noted, mainly due to “slower decision-making among our customers.”
Trinidad & Tobago’s Cove Power Plant is now running on a new LM2500 aero-derivative turbine following a $132 million plant expansion. For GE, it was the first gas turbine to be supplied and commissioned in Tobago – but it has already sold more than 2,200 units around the world.
Oman’s Duqm Integrated Power and Water project (DIPWP) will be driven by Siemens gas and steam turbines, as well as digital solutions. The €200 million contract marks Siemens’ largest order win in Oman, with project completion due in 2022.
California-based Sempra Energy has decided to sell its equity interests two utilities in Chile and Peru to focus on its LNG export ventures in North America. Sempra CEO Jeffrey W. Martin said “this planned sale allows us more focused capital investment in the U.S. and Mexico.”
Contrary to U.S. President Trump’s policies to strengthen the role of coal in America’s energy mix and support cash-strapped mining companies, the use of coal is falling faster than in the Obama-era. According to EIA estimates, the coal share of total power generation reached a new low of 28%, well below the 35% share of natural gas.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, has been proposed as a solution to Australia’s current energy crisis, with advocates calling for the removal of state bans to allow the production of unconventional oil and gas resources. Matthew Meagher, researcher at Northern Australia and Landcare Research Programme says “fracking is cheaper than current renewable technologies and refurbishing old coal-fired plants.”
Two Canadian utilities – New Brunswick Power (NB Power) and Nova Scotia Power (NSP) – have selected Siemens for new C$92.7 million (€ 60.95m) smart grid project. A new Energy System Platform (ESP) will optimize integration of renewables, ensure grid stability and manage decentralized distribution.
The German ‘coal commission’ has reached a historic decision over the weekend to shut down all of the country’s lignite- and hard coal-fired power plants in less than 20 years. By 2038, at the latest, no more electricity will be generated from coal and Germany’s coal-dependent federal states will get €40 billion in compensation.
China’s state-owned CNOOC is making a concerted effort to meet, and even overshoot, its target on capital expenditure. The company’s revised strategy follows President Xi Jinping's call for greater self reliance in the face of a growing economic slowdown.
Russia’s Gazprom has decided to invest another RUB 17.7 billion ($266m) on top of an earlier RUB 120.9 billion ($1.8bn) spent on the Sakhalin-III project in Russia’s Far East. The Sakhalin project is at the heart of Gazprom’s Eastern Gas Program, designed to establish a new export route for Russian gas to Asia-Pacific.
News in Brief
Controversy about planned CCGT in California
Feb 22 – Environmentalist have filed a lawsuit against plans to build a 634 MW combined-cycle gas power plant in Palmdale, a city north of Los Angeles. The hybrid gas and solar plant had been approved by the California Energy Commission (CEC), although a developer has not been found yet.
GE installs and services 9E turbine in Iraq
Feb 21 – GE Power has delivered and installed a 9E gas turbine to Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity’s (MoE) Al Qudus power plant. Throughout 2019, GE will also service up to seven GE 9E gas turbines at the facility, helping to maintain a stable power output of up to 875 MW.
MHI to join Cybersecurity Charter
Feb 20 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) signed a letter of intent to join the Charter of Trust for cybersecurity by the end of September, expanding the charter’s reach into Asia. Initiated by Siemens, the charter calls for binding rules and standards on cybersecurity as digitalization advances. Other signatories include AES, Airbus, Allianz, Atos, Cisco, Daimler, Dell Technologies, Deutsche Telekom, Enel, IBM, NXP, SGS, Total and TÜV Süd.
Substation market grows at 9.4% rate
Feb 19 – The gas-insulated substation market, currently valued at $17.3 billion, is anticipated to grow at a rate of more than 9.4% in the years through to 2025. Analysts say rising demand for low maintenance and small power systems will boost the market, particularly for large infrastructure projects such as smart city where GIS substations are well-suited due to their high efficiency and compact size.
Amprion advances P2G project in Germany
Feb 18 – Amprion, together with Open Grid Europe (OGE), are striving to get a €150 million Power-to-Gas project in Germany into operation by 2023. The pilot plant includes a 100 MW electrolyser that converts renewable energy into hydrogen and methane for use in the district of Emsland, northern Germany.
MHPS leads on post F-class turbines
Feb 15 – Mitsubishi Hitachi Power System (MHPS) secured most orders in 2018 for newest-generation turbines, while GE booked most order for turbines of all classes amongst its rivals. For so-called post F-class turbines, MHPS reportedly achieved 49% of orders, compared with 34% for GE and 16% for Siemens.
UK inflation down amid fall in energy prices
Feb 14 – Falling energy bills and fuel prices have pushed down UK inflation to a two-year low in January, according the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Inflation had peaked at a five-year high of 3.1% in November 2017, and is currently at just 1.8% – below the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target.
Lahmeyer is now Tractebel
Feb 13 –The German engineering and consulting company Lahmeyer International is now operating under the Tractebel, with the new company name; Tractebel Engineering GmbH. Tractebel reached a turnover of €662 million in 2018, and is part of the French energy group ENGIE.
BECCS pilot project starts at Drax
Feb 12 – The 4,000-MW Drax Power Station has started using bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology, capturing up to 1 ton of CO2 per day. The Drax demo plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, moves Britain further ahead in the race to develop BECCS technologies
Demand for power ships up 3.6% through 2026
Feb 11 – The global market for floating LNG-fuelled power ships is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 3.6%, exceeding exceed $1,073 million by 2026, according to ResearchandMarkets estimates. Power ships with a capacity between 100 MW and 150 MW, and usually leased for short durations, will cover most of the demand growth which is centred in Asia Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.
Australia’s H2U uses NovaLT turbine
Feb 8 – H2U, an Australian hydrogen infrastructure developer, will use Baker Hughes NovaLT gas turbine at is hydrogen and ammonia supply chain demonstrating plant in Port Lincoln. The greentech project integrates a 15 MW electrolyser plant, a 10 MW hydrogen-fired gas turbine and a 5 MW fuel cell, all of which set to supply electricity to the power grid in South Australia.
EC rules out Siemens/Alstom mobility merger
Feb 7 –The European Commission has decided to prohibit the proposed combination of the Siemens and Alstom mobility businesses. As a result of this prohibition, the merger will not proceed.
PG&E seeks to re-organize
Feb 6 – Having just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) now seeks to restructure and access up to $6 billion in financing to help it operate while under bankruptcy protection. In a filing to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district of northern California, PG&E listed assets of $71.39 billion and liabilities of $51.69 billion.
Contigo enhances trading of DB Energy
Feb 5 – Contigo, together with the consulting firm Nevento, have introduced a new energy trading system at DB Energie of Deutsche Bahn. The system’s new functionality provides fast and easy access to business data and credit risk information, enabling effective decision making in energy trading.
ABB, Intel cooperate on digital substations
Feb 4 – ABB and Intel have agreed to jointly sell automation systems for utilities. At the core of the agreement is ABB Ability smart substation control for electrical systems, SSC600, powered by Intel Xeon processors.
Backup power for Hinkley Point C
Feb 1 – Rolls Royce will provide MTU diesel gensets to provide back-up power to the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset. The generators, Type MTU 396 TB33 with 3600 kW output each, will provide emergency power in case of an outage of the site’s standing power supply
Gauging UK’s shift to green energy
Jan 31 – Engineering consultancy WSP has been selected to model the impact of low carbon technologies on the UK’s electricity networks. It will also work with the Energy Networks Association (ENA) on the Distribution Losses Mechanism Study.
