American IPP Calpine Corporation this week started commercial operations of two CCGT power plants with a combined capacity of almost 1GW near San Francisco, California, the new 619MW Russell City Energy Center and the preexisting 309MW Los Esteros Critical Energy Facility.
RWE, Germany's second largest power producer by output capacity, has decided to close a total of 3,100MW, or around 6% of its total generation capacity of 52GW, as first-half year profits plunged 38% amid a recession-induced drop in electricity demand and competition from renewables.
US manufacturer Capstone Turbine Corporation will supply six turbines for shale gas treatment facilities of an undisclosed producer at its gas pipeline in West Virginia. Jim Crouse, Capstone's executive vice president, said "We normally provide turbines to power site load at the wellhead for processing equipment and treatment equipment."
PW Power Systems (PWPS), part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has struck the first sale of an aero-derivative 120 MW simple-cycle FT4000 gas turbine to Exelon Generation.
Clarke Energy has bought the Bangladesh arm of Orient Power Systems in an effort to become a market leader, and has also been appointed as distributor and service provider for GE Jenbacher gas engines in the country.
Widening cost divergence between coal and gas generation and spark spreads becoming ever more negative amid rising renewable feed-in, has caused a 42 percent plunge in E.ON's first-half 2013 profit and heralds further power plant closures in Europe.
"A sober view of the situation indicates that, at least for 2013 and 2014, no recovery is in sight," said E.ON CEO Johannes Teyssen when presenting the results.
EDF has handed over operation of three of its nuclear plants in the US, two in New York and one in Maryland, to its joint venture partner Exelon, citing higher profitability of generating electricity from gas and operational risks of nuclear reactors.
South Korea's state-owned Kogas has forecast its domestic LNG sales in 2013 will jump 3.6 percent year-on-year to reach 36.548 mtpa amid rising demand from gas-fired power generators. A heat wave propelled up electricity consumption and squeezed reserve margins, prompting the energy ministry to ration energy use to avert the risk of blackouts.
Despite the growth in capacity, not all gas-fired plants are continuously used as Brazil's gas industry is going through a transition period and is adjusting to changes in the gas supply balance whereby lower imports of pipeline gas from Bolivia are balanced with rising LNG imports and new domestic gas reserves from upstream projects in Santos, Campos, and Espririto Santos basin.
This insight comes from a thought-provoking book released by the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Brazil (Britcham) entitled Doing Energy Business in Brazil.
Use of premix combustion chambers has helped MAN Diesel and Turbo achieve a breakthrough by reducing nitrogen-oxide (NOx) emissions at its MGT 6100 gas turbine (6-8 MW) to single digits at up to 100 percent load.
Capacity markets will provide stable cash flows to thermal generators in the UK to enable them to finance new projects at lower discount rates, reflecting lower risk. However, financiers may find that regulatory uncertainty exceeds the price risk in energy-only markets, warns Dr. Jim Fitzgerald, associate partner at The Advisory House.
Alstom has validated its MXL2 upgrade for GT26 gas turbines, enabling operators to flexibly dispatch their plants and match production hours to fluctuating demand – a key requirement in markets with high volumes of intermittent renewable power supply such as Spain or Germany.
News in Brief
Tula dDSF helps curb NOx emissions by 74%
April 15 – Tula Technologies, a leader in propulsion technology, and Cummins have showcased the results of a study on the effectiveness of Tula’s diesel Dynamic Skip Fire (dDSF) in reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 74% and carbon dioxide emissions by 5% on a Cummins X15 HD Efficiency Series diesel engine. In comparison with current engine technologies and modifications to the thermal management techniques, use of the dDSF system saved 20% in fuel and related costs.
Marubeni starts EPC works for Rabigh IPP
April 14 – Japan’s Marubeni Corp has been granted limited-recourse financing for the 300 MW Rabigh solar IPP project in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Province. The loan was granted by Mizuho Bank, Al Rajhi Banking and Investment and Japan’s Bank for International Cooperation. EPC work on the project is scheduled to start in early May. All electricity from the Rabigh IPP will be sold to the Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC) for 25 years starting with the plant’s commissioning.
BASF’s power demand set to triple
April 13 – Chemicals group BASF expects its electricity consumption will triple to over 44 TWh per year by 2035, rising from 14.7 TWh last year. The growth estimate is based on demand forecasts for Ludwigshafen, the group’s biggest site, where energy demand is anticipated to rise from 6 TWh to around 20 TWh. Currently, BASF meets most of its electricity needs with combined-cycle power stations, many of which are installed on or nearby its chemical production sites. The company has site in 390 locations worldwide.
Romgaz pulls the plug on Iernut CCGT
April 12 – Romania’s Romgaz has terminated a contract for the construction of a 430 MW combined-cycle power plant in Iernut, in Romania’s central Transylvania region. The construction consortium consisted of DuroFelguera and Romelectrico.
Wärtsilä test bio LNG fuel at Coast Guard vessel
April 9 – Gasum, Finland’s state gas company and biogas refiner is supplying Wärtsilä with green fuels that are currently being tested in a Coast Guard patrol vessel. The 96 metre long ship, the named ‚Turva’, is fitted with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. Use of Bio LNG, a 100% renewable fuel, emits no particulate matter, and close to zero nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur oxides (SOx) when burnt and has over 90% lower CO2 emission compared to conventional fuels.
ACWA Power signs PPA for Kom Ombo plant in Egypt
April 8 – Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power has finalised a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) for the 200MW Kom Ombo PV plant. Financial close is now scheduled for Q3-2021, developers said, provided they will obtain $40 million in debt financing and a $14 million equity bridge loan from the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as a $27.2 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Scottish network charges keep rising
April 7 – Network charges payable by Scottish generators continue to rise. According to National Grid’s 5-year view Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges, annual TNUoS costs for a typical 40 MW onshore wind site in Northern Scotland will rise to £1.28 million by 2025-26 – a 180% increase in nine years. Critics warn some developers see these costs as a potential investment barrier which could undermine the UK’s path to net zero emissions.
LYTT launches well visualisation dashboard
April 6 – The British software and analytics company LYTT has launched a cloud-based visualization dashboard, enabling operators of oil & gas wells to visualise the operation and resource base of reservoirs, Insights are derived from acoustic and temperature data sourced from fiber optic sensors that allow oil & gas to “see exactly what is happening downhole.“
PIC Group to staff North Valmy Generating Station
April 1 – Atlanta-based NV Energy has awarded PIC Group the staffing services agreement to help with the selection of key personnel at its 552 MW North Valmy Generating Station in Valmy, Nevada through 2025. Under the agreement, PIC Group will also provide Operation & Maintenance (O&M) services up until the plant’s staggered retirement starting from 2022.
MHIET launches new 2,000 kVA genset
March 31 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engine & Turbocharger (MHIET) has developed a 2,000 kVA diesel generator with the highest output level in a Japanese-made packaged generator. The genset is designed for use in critical infrastructure such as factories, hospitals and data centers. Sales of the new system will officially begin on April 1.
NextDecade sells $10m of Series C stock
March 30 – Houston-based NextDecade Corp has agreed to sell $10 million of Series C preferred stock in a private placement to OGCI Climate Investments. Earlier this month, NextDecade announced its subsidiary NEXT Carbon Solutions is developing one of the largest CCS projects in North America at Rio Grande LNG, designed to enable the capture and permanent geologic storage of more than five million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Linde to help Gazprom advance Amur GPP
March 29 – German engineering and industrial gases company Linde has been contracted by Gazprom to help fast-track works at the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in the Russian Far East and build a new natural gas liquefaction and GPP at Ust-Luga west of St. Petersburg. Gazprom underlined the Ust-Luga complex will be “the largest in northwest Europe in terms of LNG production at 13 mtpa” and a gas processing capacity of up to 45 Bcm of gas per year.
Spectrolytic improves turbine oil monitoring
March 29 – Edinburg-based Spectrolytic has developed an in-line measurement system to monitor turbine oils by streaming key operating data to a cloud-based control centre which provides the customer with real-time process control. Called Fieldkit, the plug-and-play system can be integrated into the main oil flow of the engine or in a bypass flow from the oil sump or tank.
Toshiba recycles CO2 into carbon monoxide
March 26 – Toshiba has developed the world’s most efficient electro-catalyst technology for converting CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a raw material for fuel and chemicals. The electro-catalyst has the size of a C5 envelope, operates at room temperature, and can process up to 1 ton of CO2 a year.
Gazprom and TMK/ChelPip discuss future cooperation
Mar 25 – The heads of Gazprom and TMK, one of Russia's largest producers of steel pipe coatings, are in talks about their future cooperation following TMK’s merger with ChelPip. Alexey Miller and Dmitry Pumpyansky discussed how the merged company could best meet Gazprom’s needs with regards to pipeline supplies for wells and transportation of hydrocarbons, as well as technical maintenance and support and repair services.
ADM develops Barracuda oil and gas field
Mar 24 – ADM Energy has agreed to invest up to US$1.3 million in developing the Barracuda oil and gas condensate field by acquiring a 51% interest in K.O.N.H. UK. Named OML 141, the field is situated in shallow waters offshore Nigeria. Developers said they intend to provide or procure funding in return for 235% of approved Capex to be recovered plus a 15% net profit interest (NPI) from the field.
Wärtsilä services engines at NYK’s LNG carriers
Mar 23 – Japan-based NYK LNG Ship Management has awarded Wärtsilä two long-term Optimised Maintenance agreement. The 15-year contracts cover Wärtsilä’s 50DF dual-fuel engines and other equipment installed on two LNG carrier vessels. The deal took effect from January 2021.
