Spain saves an estimated €1,250 million per year thanks to the utilisation of combined heat and power (CHP) plants, representing an increase in savings of €70 million or 6 percent from two years ago. The figure is based on the sum of savings from primary energy costs included avoided grid losses, savings from avoided CO2 emissions, and energy transport and distribution savings.
The EU's 2004 CHP Directive has played an important part in the encouragement and recent introduction of CHP incentives across several member states, according to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report on Cogeneration and District Energy. The Directive establishes general principles for CHP policy but leaves detailed implementation to member states.
The introduction of Capacity Payment Mechanisms (CPMs) as suggested under the UK Electricity Market Reform may solve immediate problems of renewable output increasing revenue volatility for operators of coal- and gas-fired power plants, but could introduce many more, says James Marshall, Senior Consultant, Pöyry Management Consulting. "Conventional generation must expect to rely on a smaller number of hours to cover fixed and capital costs, with the timing largely determined by weather patterns with only short-term predictability," he told Gas to Power Journal.
GE has launched a new corrosion protection technology for refinery steam systems, based on its Steamate low salt amine (LSA) product series that have been specifically designed for refinery boiler and steam condensate systems.
EU carbon emission permits almost halved in value today in a record drop after the European Parliament rejected the backloading proposal that had been intended to temporarily curb the surplus of allowances. MEPs turned down the proposal by 334-315 votes, with 63 abstentions.
Hours before today's vote in the European Parliament on backloading, Société Générale analyst said they expect MEPs to adopt the proposal, in a move likely to propel up traded carbon prices in the EU ETS from current lows around 4.8€/t to closer to €6/t.
On the eve before the European Parliament's vote on backloading – a measure deemed crucial for the future of EU emissions trading - over 40 power producers and technology developers including Areva, Alstom, EDF, EnBW, E.on, GDF Suez, GE, Shell and Statkraft, have made a strong case in favour of the proposal, arguing current carbon price levels at 4-6 €/ton are "insufficient to stimulate investments in low-carbon power generation.
Clarke Energy, a distributor and service partner for GE's Gas Engine Business, has been contracted by the Nigerian medical equipment maker IMIL to build a 14MW captive combined heat and power (CHP) plant power the company's manufacturing of syringes and healthcare products for the West African Market.
Even though Malta's Delimara power station could be immediately converted from using heavy fuel oil to diesel and eventually natural gas, the government has decided to shelf such plans for about two years until the necessary gas transportation infrastructure is in place.
Power markets in South America and Mexico are currently dominated by thermal power, but analysts expect the market share of thermal power in the total energy mix will drop to 35 percent by 2020, while the share of renewable energy will "increase substantially".
Wood Group GTS has won a contract to install 15 ECOMAX systems –an automated combustion tuning technology – for an unnamed owner of a large fleet of combined-cycle power (CCPP) in the US. Twelve of the units have already been installed and the remaining three will be installed later this year, the company said.
Project sponsors in Germany seem to have shelved nineteen out of 46 larger power plant projects by leaving open commissioning dates for the proposed plants in reaction to uncertain investment climate, German energy industry association BDEW told Gas to Power Journal.
News in Brief
Mott McDonald starts construction on ALCP6
Oct 20 – US construction firm Mott McDonald has started building the ALCP6 waste to energy project in Krabi province, southern Thailand. The plant will incinerate 144,000 tonnes per year of municipal solid waste, and the heat obtained will be converted into 6 MW of electricity to be exported to the Thai national grid.
Brace for EU sustainable finance rules
Oct 19 – Sustainable finance practices, drawn up by the European Commission, could create a "bureaucratic monster" that smaller companies and energy investors would find overbearing, the Munich-based Institute for Economic Research (ifo) warned. The regulation should hence prioritise closer scrutiny of large and listed companies.
UK could become net power exporter
Oct 16 – Increased interconnection could provide a route for excess offshore wind power in Britain to be consumed elsewhere in Europe. National Grid Interconnector Register shows up to 16 GW of interconnection could be operational by 2025 and up to 25.4 GW by 2030.
Wärtsilä to deploy GridSolv in US city
Oct 15 – AEP OnSite Partners has contracted Wärtsilä to deploy its GridSolv Quantum energy storage in the city of Martinsville, Virginia. The system includes an UL9540A limiting 2-hour battery firewall and will help lower the city’s energy costs.
Rolls-Royce spends $13.9m in Mankato
Oct 14 – Britain’s engine maker Rolls-Royce has decided to invest nearly $14 million in its Power System business to build a new R&D centre at its MTU manufacturing plant in Mankato, Minnesota, US. The expansion will see 28,000 square foot added to the facility’s existing hall, making room for the production of high-power MTU gas gensets, enhanced product testing and the creation of 20 new manufacturing positions.
Clarke commissions Vitalait power unit in Tunisia
Oct 13 – Clarke Energy and INNIO Jenbacher have completed the commissioning of an onsite power plant of a milk producer in Tunisia. The installation of another Jenbacher gas engine has increased the plant’s output to 4 MW of electricity as well as 1,100 kW of hot water and 800 kW of steam.
Secondary battery market to top $55bn
Oct 12 – Technavio expects the secondary battery market to grow by $55.62 billion through 2024, rising at an 11% rate over the forecast period. Falling costs for lithium-ion batteries as well as growing demand in Asia Pacific allowed the market to grow 2.01% this year, despite adverse effects of the pandemic. Top battery suppliers are Tesla, Clarious, Exide, LG Chem, GS Yuasa and Samsung.
Shift to sustainable tech
Oct 9 – Three quarters of utilities, surveyed by EIT InnoEnergy, are considering adopting sustainable technology over the next 12-18 months. However, over one third of the respondents found it hard to recruit the skills they need.
Generator rentals slow
Oct 8 – The rental market for power generators has slowed down due to the pandemic, with genset rentals from the oil and gas industry forecast to grow by just $153.87 million this year. However, Technavio expects the market will return to a 3% annual growth rate by 2024.
GE upgrades Italian CHP
Oct 7 – GE has completed an axial fuel staging upgrade on its 9E gas turbine at an onsite combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the Milazzo refinery in Sicily. The entire electricity needs of the refinery, over 780 GWh in 2019, will soon be supplied by the upgraded and more flexible gas turbine.
Operating assets ‘from anywhere’
Oct 6 – GE Digital’s latest software gives electric utilities remote and mobile control over their power stations for remote start-up, external monitoring and operational fine-tuning. The goal is to safe cost through autonomous operation from any location.
Chart wins order from New Fortress Energy
Oct 5 – Chart Industries has secured a second leasing order, worth $7.7 million, for ISO containers for LNG applications from New Fortress Energy for a project in the Caribbean. The US equipment maker sees double digit near-term growth in its repair, service and leasing business, notably from growing demand for LNG equipment for infrastructure.
Siemens energises Togo
Oct 2 – Siemens Energy has delivered a SGT-800 gas turbine and other components for the Kékéli Efficient Power plant project. Located in the Togolese capital Lomé, the 65 MW plant will cover almost 40% of country’s expected electricity demand.
Batteries get cheaper
Oct 1 – Cost for battery production is falling rapidly as manufacturers bring large Gigafactories on-line. By 2030, Bloomberg New Energy Finance anticipates battery pack prices to drop to $73 per kilowatt-hour, down from a current volume-weighted average of below $270/kWh.
Barclays may help fund Rolls-Royce
Sept 30 – UK’s prime engine maker Rolls-Royce is understood to be close to getting fresh financing from Barclays Bank. The Derby-based company, however, insists no final decision has been taken on the precise amount that may be raised or any allotment of shares to any investor.
Petronas to truck LNG to off-grid users
Sept 29 – Petronas Dagangan Group is gearing up to build a LNG truck delivery service for off-grid customers in Peninsular Malaysia. Trucks fitted with cryogenic tanks will bring the super-chilled fuel to remote industries and small-scale power generators with no access to the natural gas grid. Malaysia’s Peninsular Gas Utilisation (PGU) pipeline is only 2,500 kilometers in length and was initially built to export gas to Singapore.
Siemens to reduce emissions at NLNG
Sept 28 – Nigeria LNG has contracted Siemens Energy to provide a cryogenic boil-off gas (BOG) compression train for its liquefaction plant on Bonny Island. The new BOG train will be driven by an high-efficiency electric motor and includes two compressors. Manufactured in Duisburg, Germany, the equipment will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021.
