The rental market for mobile power gen equipment is seen grow at a 6% annual rate, expanding by $1.5 billion in the years through 2024. Growth is largely driven by infrastructure programs, as well as rising demand from mining and the oil and gas industry.
U.S. pipeline operator Williams has placed in service Phase II of the Hillabee project, an important Transco expansion that brings more natural gas to Florida’s growing power generation market. The expansion provides firm capacity via Sabal Trail Transmission, allowing for uninterrupted flows from Alabama all the way to Florida.
Utilities, particularly in China and Europe, are retrofitting their gas turbines with combustor enhancements to make assets more cost-effective. To support this market, Ansaldo Energia affiliate PSM developed a Low Emission Combustor (LEC-III) and new FlameSheet combustor retrofit for B, E and F-class gas turbines.
TC Energy Corp has sold its interests in three Ontario gas-fired power plants to Atura Power, part of Ontario Power Generation, for $2.8 billion. The units include Halton Hills Power Plant (683 MW), Napanee Generating Station (900 MW) and TC Energy’s 50% interest in the Portlands Energy Centre (550 MW).
Electricity use in Europe increased for the first time in eight weeks as lockdowns are lifted, Entso-E data shows, but prices remain in the doldrums. Wholesale power prices collapsed 30-40% in the wake of the pandemic and may not fully recover until 2025, Aurora Energy Research finds.
Electrification of transport has propelled up demand for batteries, increasing the risk that battery metals – cobalt, lithium, and nickel – will face a supply crunch by the mid-2020s. If automotive manufacturers realize their pledge to “go completely electric” by 2050, demand for battery metals would skyrocket – as would the electricity-use of these vehicles.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast global energy demand will fall 6% this year – seven times the decline after the 2008 global financial crisis. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic marks the biggest shock since the Second World War, with electricity demand down 2.5% in Q1-2020 though lockdown measures were in place for less than a month.
Falling technology costs for battery storage systems, down half over the last two years, have made batteries the cheapest new-build technology for peaking purposes in gas-importing regions, like China or Japan. Pairing renewables with battery storage is cost competitive with open-cycle gas peaking units, Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds.
As lockdowns are gradually eased in Europe, gas demand stages a cautious recovery. If current restrictions persist for three months, Wood Mackenzie expects 17.6 Bcm of demand will be lost across seven of Europe's largest gas markets: Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.
Wärtsilä is finalising a 70 MW energy storage system project in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) energy market. The system will allow the grid operator to add renewables and store the surplus energy for later use, once operational in mid-2020.
Aspiring to become climate-neutral by 2050, the German government is supporting clean hydrogen technologies both at home and as a future export success for the country’s engineering companies. “Green hydrogen is tomorrow’s oil,” the German research ministry noted, stressing the flexible energy carrier “opens up new markets.”
Kawasaki Heavy Industries has commissioned MAN Energy Solutions to supply two 12V51/60 dual-fuel engines for the Miyako Island power plant, owned and operated by the Okinawa Electric Power. The order prompts the very first installation of dual-fuel engines in Japan.
News in Brief
BelGAS launches new pressure regulator
May 29 – BelGAS has introduced its new P1098 High-Capacity Pressure Reducing Regulator, a large-volume regulator for natural gas, propane and other fuels. The pilot-operated device has a large-area actuator diaphragm, allowing for fast and accurate response to modulating gas flow conditions. It is adaptable for low to extra-high pressure—up to 400 psi main valve inlet.
GE to sell lightning business
May 28 – GE has signed a definitive agreement to sell its lighting business to Savant Systems, a provider of smart homes. CEO H. Lawrence Culp called the divestment “an important step in the transformation of GE into a more focused industrial company.” The transaction is expected to close in mid-2020.
China’s fuel demand recovers
May 27 – The Chinese government has lifted restrictions on private travel since April which pushed up demand for transport fuels. Gasoline demand has recovered particularly fast and is expected to return to last year’s levels by June 2020. Wood Mackenzie estimates gasoline consumption to reach 3.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in the second quarter, down just a 0.8% year on year. Diesel or gasoil demand is expected to reach 3.4 million b/d in Q2 2020, a 3% decline year-on-year. Overall, China’s oil demand is seen rise a “modest” 13.6 million bpd, or 2.3%, in the second half of 2020.
Wärtsilä to retrofit CHP in Spain
May 26 – The Finish engine maker Wärtsilä has bagged an order to supply and install a 34SG gas-fuelled engine generating set for Rofeica Energia's combined heat and power plant in Barcelona, Spain. The installation of the gas engine will allow Rofeica to switch the CHP from heavy fuel oil to gas-fuelled operation, reducing emissions.
New York body rejects William’s plans for gas pipeline expansion
May 21 – New York’s and New Jersey’s state bodies for environmental conservation have rejected Williams’ plans for the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, designed to transport 400 million cubic feet per day of gas from Pennsylvania to New York. The state bodies had already denied wetland permits in 2019, but Williams pipeline subsidiary Transco filed another application with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), arguing firm services under the project were agreed with UK’s National Grid for customers in New York City districts of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.
UK inflation at 4-year low amid falling energy costs
May 20 – The rate of inflation in the UK has fallen to a four-year low as the pandemic pushed down global oil and fuel prices which translate into lower wholesale power prices. The consumer price index fell to an annual rate of 0.8% in April, down from 1.5% in March, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Deficit grows in German green energy fund
May 19 – German regional grid operator TransnetBW has warned of a growing shortfall in the country’s fund for green energy sources, financed under the so-called renewable energy (EEG) levy. TransnetBW, the TSO in southwest Germany, said “due to the EEG cost allocations defined for 2020, we anticipate there will be a negative year end bank account balance in the high three-digit million euro range for 2020.”
Spanish gas companies ‘resilient’
May 18 – Spain’s regulated gas companies “should prove to be resilient” to external shocks arising from coronavirus containment measures, Standard & Poor’s analysis finds, calculating with an average drop in EBITBA at less than 3% in 2020. A new remuneration framework for 2021-2026, recently enacted by the Spanish government, provides enhanced visibility rated grid operators amid the pandemic.
German electricity prices second highest in EU
May 15 – Taxes and the renewable energy surcharge have pushed up Germany’s household electricity prices to the second highest level in Europe, topped only by prices in Denmark. While Danish households paid 29.2 Euros per 100 kWh on average in the second half of 2019, prices in Germany averaged 28.7 Euros, according to the EU statistics office Eurostat.
Calpine’s Q1 earnings fall
May 14 – Calpine, America’s largest generator of electricity from gas and geothermal, has reported a net income of $128 million for the first quarter of 2020, down from $175 million in the prior year period. Lower commodity margins and unfavourable change in income taxes were partially offset by earnings from hedge positions for the three month ending March 31.
Siemens to supply hybrid plant in the Philippines
May 13 – Berkley Energy has contracted Siemens Energy to build a hybrid power project on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. The project links 16 MW wind power with battery storage, stabilizing energy supply in a remote location with a weak link to the grid and reducing its dependence on diesel.
U.S. energy emissions fall
May 12 – Energy-related carbon emissions in the United States have fallen more than energy consumption, down 2.8% over the course of last year to 5,130 million metric tons (MMmt). Power sector emissions were down 145 MMmt, due to a switch from coal to gas and renewables. In April 2020, emissions experienced another unprecedented fall in due to Covid-19 lockdowns.
MAN expands Omincare concept
March 11 – MAN Energy Solutions’ service brand has extended its ‘PrimeServ Omnicare’ concept from turbomachinery to the marine and power segments. The one-stop service solution is now also applicable for maintenance of third-party machinery, including engines, turbochargers and related auxiliaries.
MIVOLT launches cooling fluid
May 7 – MIVOLT, part of the British company M&I Materials, has launched two specialist fluids to improve cooling efficiency at data centres. The electricity demand of data centres is forecast to rise to 20% of global supply to accommodate lifestyle changes like 5G internet network, autonomous vehicles and bitcoin mining.
Germany adds 1,300 km to power grid
May 6 – Germany has made progress in expanding its strained power grid. According to the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), over 1,300 kilometres of new power transmission lines have been built and another 830km approved. A further 3,600km are planned to be built by 2030 to alleviate grid bottlenecks and allow transporting rising volumes of offshore wind southbound.
Oman nationalizes first IPP
May 5 – Manah Power, the first privately-run Independent Power Project (IPP) in Oman, has been transferred to state ownership, following the expiry of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between United Power Company and state-owned OPWP. Manah IPP was developed under Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, which stipulates an eventual nationalization of the assets – a feature absent in subsequent IPPs.
U.S inventories at record highs
May 4 – Inventories for crude oil and natural gas have reached a new record high in the United States, as fuel demand declines both for transport and the electric power sector. From March 13 – when a national emergency was declared due to the Covid-19 pandemic – to April 24, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 74 million barrels, or 16%, according to government figures. The acute scarcity of crude storage on April 20 led to a sell-off of future contracts at negative prices.
