GE and the Sakhalin provincial government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop power generation projects with a view to improving the energy security of Sakhalin Island, Russia's largest island which relies heavily on oil and gas exports.
As part of the accord, GE will deliver and install two LM2500+G4 aeroderivative gas turbines for the 60-megawatt Nogliki project which is currently under development.
Johnson Matthey's Stationary Emissions Control (SEC) LLC announced that it has sold oxidation or CO catalysts with a combined capacity of more than 2 GW within 2 years, for simple and combined-cycle gas turbine applications.
Los Angeles will stop using electricity generated from coal-fired power plants by 2025, pledged Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "In a couple of weeks, I will be signing agreements to get completely out of coal by 2025," he said at an event sponsored by the UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.
Fears that Britain might face a severe energy shortage intensified last night after British Gas dropped plans to build four nuclear power plants, deemed vital to fill the gap left by the scheduled decommissioning of ageing fossil power plants, a committee of MPs warned.
Japan will require significant investment in its natural gas infrastructure to cope with the increase in demand following the Fukushima nuclear incident which propelled up the power sector's share in national gas demand from 60 percent to 65 percent, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published under the lead of Warner ten Kate, Senior Gas Expert.
Growth in the Asia-Pacific gas turbine market is driven by rising demand for eco-friendly cogeneration combined cycle power plants (CCPPs) as utilities and independent power producers are increasingly concerned about global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds.
Emerson Process Management has replaced the controls on the Nikiski Generation Plant's GE Frame 6B gas turbine with its Ovation control technology. The replacement of the controls was part of phase one of a two phase initiative to increase generation capacity with a minimal increase in fuel consumption by converting the 40MW simple-cycle power plant into a 60MW combined-cycle facility.
A decrease in the use of coal and an increase in the use of gas for electric power generation due to cheaper natural gas prices has played a significant role in reducing US SO2 and NOx emissions in recent years, according to the US Energy Administration (EIA). Between 1990 and 2012, SO2 emissions from electrical power generation fell from over 15 million short tons to about 3 million short tons, while COx emissions dropped from about 6 million short tons to less than 2 million short tons.
GE has supplied two Frame 6B 3-series gas turbine generators for the currently under construction UBE Batam Power Plant, owned by PT Medco Power Indonesia, a subsidiary of PT Saratoga Power and PT Medco Energi Internasional. Once operational, the gas-fired plant, located on Indonesia's Batam Island, will reduce the company's dependency on burning oil to generate electricity by adding about 80MW of gas-fired capacity.
India's power sector is slowing down in the midst of a supply crunch of both coal, the dominant source for generating electricity, and natural gas which is seen as a cleaner alternative.
Sam Laidlaw, Chief Executive of Centrica has warned of an imminent "energy gap" in the UK, suggesting "the loss of [old coal-fired] power stations will seriously reduce our capacity to generate electricity." Renewables will help but they're intermittent, so he suggested the only realistic option to solve the problem would be new gas-fired power stations.
The emergence of a harmonised pan-European capacity market design is "unlikely" and efforts may come "too late", says Håkan Feuk, Chairman of TF Market Design for Renewable Energy Integration at Eurelectric, adding that some common denominators for national CRM schemes need to be established to ensure a level playing field for investors and consistency with the integration process of European energy markets.
News in Brief
Supercapcitors to replace batteries
Sept 25 – The global market for supercapacitors was valued at over $487 million last year and is forecast to top $1,570 millio by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 21.8%. Supercapacitor, an emerging technology for energy storage systems, can offer higher power density than batteries was may soon replace the latter.
Atos, Siemens expand digital partnership
Sept 24 – Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, has expanded its strategic partnership with Siemens AG for five years, helping the latter with data driven digital, cloud transformation and cybersecurity. The extension comes in the context of 5-year total €3 billion agreements which were separately signed with Siemens AG, Siemens Energy and Siemens Healthineers.
Rotterdam Port to store CO2 beneath the North Sea
Sept 23 – The Porthos project, a joint venture between the Port of Rotterdam Authority, Gasunie and EBN, seeks to transport CO2 from industry in the port to empty gas fields beneath the North Sea. In its early years, the Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) will be able to store approximately 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year with plans to be operational by 2024.
German power sector to reach net zero in 2040s
Sept 22 – Revisions to Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG) stipulate the power sector should become greenhouse-gas neutral in the early 2040s. Despite the gradual electrification of heating and transport, the German energy ministry is so far sticking to its estimate of 580 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power consumption in 2030 – close to current levels.
B&W to supply superheaters to Lumiant
Sept 21 – Babcock & Wilcox’s thermal segment has been contracted to design, manufacture and supply new superheater components for a high-efficiency boiler at Luminant’s Oak Grove Power Plant near Franklin, Texas. Material delivery to Oak Grove is scheduled for February 2021.
EC targets 55% emission cut by 2030
Sept 17 – The European Commission’s latest 2030 Target Plan stipulates a 55% cut in emissions by 2030, compared to 1990-levels. The lobby group COGEN Europe stressed the importance of combined heat and power generation (CHP) to reach that goal, calling for more stable policies and supportive regulation.
Rolls-Royce may sell ITP Areo
Sept 17 – Britain’s prime manufacturer Rolls-Royce confirmed it is looking to strengthen its balance sheet, possibly by disposing of ITP Aero which his hoped to generate proceeds of more than £2bn over the next 18 months. Further cost cutting is meant to deliver £1 billion and revamping of the company’s Civil Areospace business should save another £1.3 billion.
China’s GDP may grow 1.8%
Sept 16 – China’s GDP is forecast to grow 1.8% this year as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. The government slashed electricity tariffs to support manufacturing but the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warns of mounting credit risk for banks. Fiscal revenue pressure also intensifies as 1.5% of China’s GDP growth in the first half of 2020 was based on bond-funded investment by local governments.
Zeebrugge goes for green hydrogen
Sept 15 – Colruyt Group (Eoly), Parkwind and Fluxys aim to spend up to 35 million Euros to develop a green hydrogen plant in Zeebrugge, Belgium, by 2023. The plan is to convert off-shore wind energy into green hydrogen which can then be injected in the high-pressure natural gas transmission grid.
Shale gas market to top $41bn
Sept 14 – Global markets for unconventional gas, mostly developed by shale fracking, is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 7% to reach $ 41.76 billion by 2024. According to Technavio, the Americas region will remain dominant with an 87% market share as hydraulic fracturing technologies evolve. Top players in the market are BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, PetroChina, Gazprom, Shell, Santos, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., and YPF.
SNAM, Saipem join forces on hydrogen
Sept 11 – Two Italian energy companies, SNAM and Saipem, have agreed to develop initiatives for green hydrogen production and transport, as well as for carbon dioxide capture, transport and reuse or storage (CCRS). The move supports the European Commission’s Hydrogen Strategy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
MAN, Wasco to drive Power-to-Gas Tech in Asia
Sept 10 – MAN Energy Solutions and Wasco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote and commercialize Power-to-X (PtX) projects in South-East Asia. The technology in question converts electricity into carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, gas or liquid, for use as a clean, carbon-neutral energy source.
Romgaz, GSP to realise 200 MW gas and solar project
Sept 9 – Romania’s state gas company Romgaz has agreed to build 200 MW power generation capacity with the privately-owned Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) which is controlled by the local businessman Gabriel Comanescu. The project entails a 150 MW gas-fired power plant and a 50 MW solar photovoltaic park, to be built on the site of a disused coal power plant in southern Romania.
Alaska uses twice as much energy for transport as NY
Sept 8 – More energy is used per person for transportation in U.S. states with low population density. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA), people in geographically large states with small populations, such as Alaska, Wyoming and North Dakota, are useing twice as much energy for transportation than the U.S. average on a per capita basis. That’s in stark contrast to states with higher population density, such as Rhode Island and New York.
Hydrogen Council launched in Kobe/Kansai area
Sept 7 – Mitsubishi Power, part of MHI, and various Japanese energy companies have set up the so-called ‘Kobe/Kansai Hydrogen Utilization Council’ to develop new utilization methods and establish a regional hydrogen supply chain. The aim is to help Japan shift to a carbon-free, hydrogen-powered society by 2030.
B&W sets up Asia-Pacific HQ in Perth
Sept 4 – Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has setup new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Perth, Australia, and named Nick Carter as managing director of the region. Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, the engineering company is also establishing or expanding operations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, China and India.
Germany boosts RES targets
Sept 3 – Striving to meet 2030 emission targets, the Germany government is increasing its renewable energy targets while adjusting the grid to accommodate a greater influx of fluctuating power supply. The draft reform of the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) stipulates raising the solar photovoltaic capacity to 100 GW (up from 52 GW today), onshore wind capacity to 71 GW (from 55 GW), offshore wind to 20 GW and biomass to 8.4 GW.
