RWE AG, starting from 1 January 2013, will bundle its entire power generation capacity of 50,000 MW in Germany, UK and the Netherland in a new entity.
GE will supply eight gas turbine-generators for the expansion of Saudi Electricity Company's (SEC) Riyadh Power Plant 12 (PP12). Once operational in 2015, the combined-cycle plant will be the first application of GE's 7F-5 series gas turbine technology in Saudi Arabia, adding nearly 2,000 megawatts of electricity to help meet the Kingdom's future energy demand.
Revenues in the Russian market for diesel and gas generators (gensets) are estimated to rise to $614.9 million in 2015 – a steep increase from $428 million in 2011, Frost & Sullivan research manager Malavika Tohani forecast.
Gas demand in Europe is forecast to remain fairly stable but could see a 1% year-on-year decrease in 2012, mainly due to subdued demand from the power generation sector, latest statistics published by gas industry association Eurogas show.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) effective October 1st has launched a new company in Singapore, named Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering & Services Private Ltd. (MIES). The new entity, capitalized at 15 million Singapore dollars (SGD), integrates the business of 3 local affiliated companies including Mitsubishi Power Systems (Asia Pacific) Private Ltd.
RWE's decision as to which gas turbine vendor to use for its newly opened Pembroke Power Station has been largely driven by Alstom's service agreement, according to Andy Smith, project development manager at RWE.
"In the UK, the market for building new combined-cycle plants is EPC-based and we were therefore exposed to the equipment choices that the different turbine manufacturers have on offer," he told Gas to Power Journal at a conference organised by the publication in London.
Alstom Thermal Power, in consortium with Duro Felguera, has signed a €640 million contract for construction and equipment supply and service for the projected 880-MW Carrington power plant project near Manchester.
Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller and senior Chinese officials have continued negotiations in Moscow about the terms of Russian gas supply to China. "Special attention" was paid during negotiations to "results of the design and survey operations for the Altai gas pipeline", Gazprom said.
Carrington Power Limited, owned by ESB, has reached Financial Close with a syndicate of international banks for a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant just outside Manchester.
Rolls-Royce has launched the retrofit upgrade RB211-Gzero that can provide existing users of industrial RB211 aeroderivative gas turbine engines with a nominal power increase of 10 percent, depending on ambient temperature and engine type.
Toshiba Corp and GE have joined forces to sell a combined cycle power generation system that integrates GE's advanced 7F 7-series gas turbine and GE's 60Hz gas turbine with Toshiba's high efficiency steam turbines and generators.
A flurry to invest in new gas generation, sparked by the launch of support schemes in the form of capacity payments in the UK and Germany, might prompt a bottleneck in equipment supply, forecast Erno Rech, Sales Manager GT Power Plant Solutions at Siemens.
GE has won deals worth nearly $1.2 billion for selling 19 gas turbines for projects in the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Japan and 13 turbine of the 7F5-series and six of the new 7F 7-series to unnamed offtakers.
Capacity payment mechanism should not only consist of a lump sum for availability but should include a premium for flexibility, says Edward Nagelhout, Market Development Analyst, Wartsila Power Plants.
ESB and 15% shareholder Carlton Power is getting close to finalise the financing for the 910-MW Carrington plant.
ESB has reportedly already signed a first deal for a £450m of senior debt, split between a 10 year and a 17 year SERV covered tranche backed by an ESB EI toll with a liability cap on termination.
News in Brief
BOL finances entire 220 MW plant in Nassau
Dec 6 – Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) has agreed to cover the entire costs to build a 220 MW power plant at the Clifton Pier site in Nassau, and transfer the assets to Shell North America. BPL and Shell had agreed to jointly develop a 220 MW power plant plus LNG regas terminal, but the Bahamas state utility later signed a $95 million contract with Wärtsilä to install a 132 MW engine-driven power plant at the same site.
Kepco to operate CCGT in Uruguay
Dec 5 – Kepco KPS has been awarded a contract to operate and maintain the recently commissioned combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Punta del Tigre, Uruguay. Under the O&M contract, Kepco said it expects to earn 17 billion Won in sales every year, for a maximum eight years.
Siemens to create thermal twin for Bajaj Energy plant
Dec 4 – Lalitpur Power Generation Company Ltd (LPGCL), part of Bajaj Group, has contracted Siemens to create a complete twin for its fossil power plant in Uttar Pradesh, India. The thermal twin, powered by thermodynamic analysis and machine learning, allows power plant operators to diagnose performance gaps for every asset in the cycle in real time.
Talks between Gazprom and Naftogaz continue
Dec 3 – Russia’s Gazprom and Naftogaz Ukrainy have continued difficult negotiations about an extension of Russian gas supplies and transit after the current contract expires on December 31, 2019. The two state-run companies are embroiled in a legal dispute that still needs resolving, however, they confirmed talks are underway and focus on the technical aspects of transiting Russian gas to Europe from 2020 onwards.
Asia seen add 400 GW by 2030
Dec 2 – Asian nations are expected to add more than 400 gigawatts (GW) of electrical capacity to the grid over the next decade — equaling about twice the installed capacity of Germany. Much of the new capacity will be renewables, backed up by some 140 GW of dependable gas-fired capacity, according to GE Energy findings. Hence, the U.S. turbine manufacturer decided to invest up to US$60 million to convert its Singapore repair center into a HA engineering and development center.
Total starts up hybrid plant with energy storage
Nov 29 – Total Quadran has started up the largest hybrid power plant combined with energy storage to harness the ample solar power potential of New Caledonia, a French overseas territory. With an installed capacity of 16 MW-peak, the plant also features a 10 MW lithium-ion energy storage system. Combining of hybrid solar PV units and possibly gas-powered generator sets with energy storage balance out supply swings and enhances the reliability of the electricity grid.
Rolls-Royce, AVK partner on standby gensets
Nov 28 – AVK, Britain’s largest supplier of critical power solutions for data centres and the financial sector, has partnered with Rolls-Royce’s MTU brand for standby gensets in UK and Ireland. The deal covers MTU Series 2000 and 4000 diesel systems in a range from 825 to 4,000 kVA. In the past 30 years, AVK has developed into the largest solutions provider in the UK’s critical power market and has to date supplied gensets equipped with MTU engines with a total capacity of more than 3.5 GW.
Golar suffers setback amid restructuring
Nov 27 – Golar LNG, owner of a fleet of 27 vessels, has seen operating revenues plunge 20% to $98.67 million, in the first nine month of this year, while net losses amounted to over $236 million. Bermuda-registered Golar in May 2019 announced plans to spin off its LNG carrier fleet with the aim of becoming a gas project developer. It recently won a contract for the Barcarena power project (605 MW) in northeastern Brazil.
Burckhardt buys remaining share of Arkos
Nov 26 – Burckhardt Compression’s subsidiary in North America has purchased the remaining 60% of Arkos Group. The US has the world’s largest installed base of reciprocating compressors, and the integration of Burckhardt and Arkos Field Services, will turn the company into the only independent one-stop provider for equipment and service in the upstream, midstream and downstream business.
Gazprom’s exports to Austria reach fresh record
Nov 25 – Supplies of Russian gas to Austria and transits to Western Europe have already exceeded record levels set last year. From January 1 through November 21, 2019, Gazprom delivered over 12.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas – 33.5% more than in the same period in 2018. Austria’s OMV imports Russian gas under a long-term contract that was recently extended until 2040.
OGUK responds to Labour Party Manifesto
Nov 21 – The UK North Sea industry association Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) has warned of an investment hiatus in reaction to Labour’s pledge to introduce a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, if it wins the General Election on December 12. Responding to this, OGUK said any increase in tax rates would drive investors away, damage the competitiveness of the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry, and could potentially increase the country’s reliance on imports. OGUK underlined it has put in place a ‘Roadmap 2035 a blueprint for net zero emission’ and is investing in technology to achieve this goal.
France, Germany and UK led on demand-side flexibility
Nov 21 – France, Germany and the UK are leading on demand-side flexibility (DSF) and grid-integration of decentralized energy sources while Sweden, Spain and Portugal are lagging behind the rest of Europe, the consultancy Delta-EE and SmartEN finds. Areas covered by their new DSF monitoring tool include availability and accessibility of demand-side response, and its monetization across the gas value chain.
AI predicts peak in power use
Nov 20 – ABB and Verdigris Technologies have developed machine-learning algorithms to predict unplanned peaks in electricity consumption and help avoid them. The Energy Forecasting app will enable users to reduce their electricity bills by reducing peak demand charges.
India’s first UHVDC link commissioned
Nov 19 – GE Grid Solutions has commissioned Pole-3 - the ultra high-voltage direct current (UHVDC) transmission line in India, capable to transmit 4,500 MW of electricity. Once completed the Champa-Kurukshetra UHVDC project will be expanded to transmit 6,000 MW of electricity at 800 kV, serving customers in the areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh.
COP25 urged to step up climate efforts
Nov 18 – The COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid is urged to enshrine greater commitments from the world's industrialised nations to curb their greenhouse gas emissions. “Europe will have to play a key role in this regard,“ environment minister Svenja Schulze said, adding Germany's recently announced climate package marks a "restart" in the country's climate policy.
Wärtsilä launches ‘Expertise Centre’ in Singapore
Nov 15 – The Finish technology group Wärtsilä has chosen Singapore as the location for its latest Expertise Centre (EC) that provides operational support and dynamic maintenance planning, both for marine and energy business customers. All of Wärtsilä’s Expertise Centres combined currently monitor some 900 installations with more than 2,000 engines around the world.
U.S. storage injection hits record high
Nov 14 – Near-record volumes of natural gas have been placed into storage in the United States in the current injection season. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the amount of gas held in storage in 2019 surged from a relatively low value of 1,155 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at the beginning of April to 3,724 Bcf at the end of October.
