GE has launched its new FlexEfficiency 60 power generation portfolio, saying the solution was "engineered to harness natural gas" while taking into account the rising market share of renewable energy.
European shale gas developments are "not yet a game changer" as natural gas produced at shale gas plays can only compete with conventional gas pricing when appropriate drilling equipment is easily available to enable economics of scale, says Mohamed Ayyad, Senior Consultant – Global Gas at Nexant.
At least 10 GW of secured available generation capacity would be needed in Germany to backup renewables, however investment in combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGTs) power plants is "highly problematic" as profit margins are low, or even negative at times, and available financing remains restrained, says Reinhold Rümler, senior advisory practise at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Germany.
Coal will not keep its current position in the power generation market, and after a few years' time gas generation will see a comeback in Europe, Alexander Antonyuk, gas and electricity market analyst at the International Energy Agency (EIA) said in London today.
To launch a capacity mechanism in Britain is the right approach to incentivise new investment for security of supply, says to Ray Tomkins, founder and director at Economic Consulting Associates.
"We have been lucky that due a combination of circumstances - such as the dash-for-gas, the investment strategy of the vertically integrated oligopoly, and more recently the recession depressing demand- that major blackouts have been avoided as private generators have 'over-invested'," he said. "This cannot be relied on in the future...
Driven by healthy economic growth, Russia’s market for diesel and gas generators (gensets) has grown by 9.7% on average in the five years between 2010 and 2015, Frost & Sullivan analysis shows.
As the EU targets 20 percent wind power generation by 2020, smart power generation based on flexible fast-starting gas combustion engines are essential to guarantee security of power supply while maintaining grid reliability. Flexibility is the key feature of Wartsila's so-called Smart Power Generation. "The 'dinosaurs', those vast old-fashioned power plants are, if not already obsolete, certainly not the answer to the variability challenges of the future....
After a summer of internal debate, the Spanish government is about to introduce a 6% tax on all forms of power generation, as well as new taxes on nuclear and large-scale hydropower plants, in an effort to reduce the country's electricity tariff deficit which stands at a staggering €24bn (£31.3bn).
The United States is likely to stay the country with the lowest cost of power production worldwide as an abundance of shale gas production will put in a ceiling at about $4/MMBtu, Andy Weissman, energy adviser at Haynes and Boone forecast.
Sept 21 - Going into the winter withdrawal season, gas storage volumes in the UK are on healthy levels on soft European demand for UK gas through the Interconnector, Deutsche Bank analysts said today.
Month-to-date Interconnector flows have averaged 9mcm/d this year versus 52mcm/d last year in early September (excluding the maintenance period), the bank said in a weekly commodity report.
Volumes in the UK are nearly equal to that seen last year, even with the large withdrawal in September, compared with a net injection last September into medium-range storage.
As Germany's power grid operators are busy negotiating with power plant operators over the amount of available cold reserves, the federal network regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNA) confirmed that Germany will need over 2,000 MW of capacity reserve to guarantee supply security in during the upcoming winter.
Alstom has entered a 12-year long-term service agreement (LTSA) with Sembcorp Cogen Pte for its "Sembcorp Cogen Power Plant" in the Sakra district of Jurong Island in Singapore.
News in Brief
KKR buys stake in First Gen
July 3 – Valorous Asia Holdings, owned by KKR investment funds, has bought a 11.9% stake in First Gen through a voluntary tender offer. First Gen, one of the Philippines’ largest independent power producers with 3,492 MW installed capacity, is owned by First Philippine Holdings which is controlled by the Lopez family. KKR’s acquisition of the First Gen stake is worth nearly $192.3 million.
Gazprom’s ‘BBB’ rating affirmed
July 2 – S&P Global Ratings, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings have affirmed Gazprom's long-term credit ratings as part of their annual reviews. The ‘BBB’ ratings for Gazprom from S&P and Fitch are in line with the sovereign credit rating of the Russian Federation, while Moody's ‘Baa2’ rating is a notch higher.
MHIEC to refurbish WtE plant in Kushiro
July 1 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co (MHIEC) has received an order from the Kushiro Wide-Area Federation to repair and improve the core equipment at the local Waste-to-Energy plant in Takayama. The WtE plant has a capacity of 240 tonnes per day (tpd). Renovation will increase the energy efficiency of the fluidized bed type gasification and ash melting furnace facility, reducing emissions by around 15% annually. Works are due completed in September 2023.
Nigeria: Only two of six power projects on target
June 30 – Nigeria’s Bureau of Public Enterprises has disclosed that only two out of six privatized power plants were delivered on target. Only Transcorp Power Ltd and Geregu Power Ltd out of the six privatised electricity generation companies (GENCOs) were said to have met their performance targets since taking over.
German investors prefer solar over wind
June 29 – Energy infrastructure investors are keen to build solar power projects in Germany, but shun wind parks. In the latest solar power auction, investors offered to build almost 450 MW of capacity – more than four times the 96 MW of volume on offer– with the average successful bid at 5.27 cents per kilowatt-hour (ct/kWh). The wind auction, in contrast, was undersubscribed: The German network agency (BNetzA) tendered around 826 MW, but successful bids only totalled 464 MW, at an average price of 6.14 ct/KWh.
MAN ventures into synthetic fuels
June 26 – MAN Energy Solutions has entered the hydrogen economy with the recent pro rata acquisition of H-TEC SYSTEMS, an electrolysis tech firm. The German OEM also committed itself to upgrading its gas turbines to run on 100% hydrogen by 2030.
Varegro starts using Cummins gas genset
June 25 – Belgian-based horticultural company Varegro, has started to use a Cummins HSK78G gas generator to power its greenhouses in Oostrozebeke, West Flanders. Varegro said it selected the Cummins HSK78G genset to produce combined heat and power (CHP) on its premises at a competitive cost for use in energy-intensive greenhouse facilities.
GE names Deloitte as independent auditor
June 24 – GE’s audit committee has selected Deloitte as the company’s independent auditor for the 2021 fiscal year, replacing KPMG. The selection of Deloitte concludes GE’s latest audit tender process.
Northern German states push for hydrogen pilot cluster
June 23 – Northern German states are pushing for greater hydrogen use with a pilot project cluster. Some 12 large demonstration plants for the production and use of green hydrogen are meant to be realised in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The aim is to demonstrate how 75% of CO2 emissions can be saved in the region by 2035.
Wärtsilä to design and equip battery-powered ferries
June 22– The Finish engine maker Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract to design and equip two new zero-emissions ferries on behalf of the Norwegian operator Boreal Sjö. For each ferry Wärtsilä will supply the thruster motors, batteries, onboard and shore-based battery charging equipment, the back-up generators, and various electrical systems. The equipment is scheduled for delivery to the yard in early 2021 for the ships to start commercial operations in autumn 2021.
Subsidy cut slashes Chinese wind turbine margins
June 19 – China’s wind turbine original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) could have their gross profit margins halved due to subsidy cuts, Wood Mackenzie forecasts. Commissioned onshore wind power capacity is expected to drop by more than 16% to 19 gigawatts (GW) from 2020 to 2021 as government subsidies were terminated. This could also lead to a 27% drop in turbine prices over the next five years, slashing OEMs’ gross profit margins by half.
PowerPHASE converts gas peakers into storage engine
June 18 – U.S. emergency power provider PowerPHASE has developed an upgrade to convert 7F gas turbine-based peaking plants (350 MW each) to a so-called Storage Engine (400 MW). The unit would be able to store 3500 MWh daily and discharge 4800 MWh daily. CEO Bob Kraft claims utility customers could dispatch the Storage Engine, despite its lower heat rate (4000), ahead of higher heat rate options (9000 for gas peakers) in a competitive market like ERCOT in Texas.
Cummins names Davis head of New Power unit
June 17 – Cummins has appointed Amy Davis as Vice President and President of the company’s New Power Segment, effective July 1. The new unit includes Cummins’ electrified powertrains, battery design and assembly, battery management, fuel cell and hydrogen generation.
GE powers USS Zumwalt
June 16 – The US Navy has taken delivery of the USS Zumwalt, its first full-electric power and propulsion ship, equipped by GE’s Power Conversion. The ship features a high-voltage system, propulsion drive trains with multi-phase VDM25000 power converters and advanced induction motors. Kevin Byrne, head of GE’s North America marine segment said “the full-electric power and propulsion ship has the flexibility to direct energy where it is needed on the platform.”
New England power prices down 40%
June 15 – Spot electricity prices in New England (NE) has fallen since winter 2019/20 when it stood at an average $28/MWh, down 40% from an average $47/MWh in the previous winter. Low natural gas prices, warmer-than-normal temperatures, lower loads, and reduced needs to run expensive peakload generators were the cause for the substantial drop in NE’s winter electricity prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) finds.
Calpine closes $1.1bn in financing for Geysers Power
June 12 – Calpine Corp has closed $1.1 billion Climate Bonds Certified financing for its subsidiary, Geysers Power, the largest complex of geothermal power plants in the U.S. Geyers will use the proceeds to repay some debt it owes to Calpine and to fund ongoing operations and maintenance.
UK coal-free for two months
June 11 – The UK managed to keep the lights on without using coal for power generation for two months by now, National Grid figures show. Lower demand due to lockdowns and a rising contribution from gas and renewables has rendered less-efficient coal power units uneconomic. All unabated coal power stations are mandated to close by 2025, though Britain’s largest fossil power station Drax has converted its coal units to biomass.
