India's TATA Power Company Limited (TPCL) will use natural gas, not coal, as a fuel to operate its proposed 2,000 MW power plant, located near Naraj Marthapur, Barang. TPCL decided to change the technology of its proposed plant towards using more environmentally friendly natural gas, following a row with green activists over potential fly ash generation from the proposed coal-fired plant on the wildlife in the Chandaka Dampada sanctuary.
Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said it will increase the power generation capacity of gas turbines at its Chiba power plant, located close to Tokyo. The move is part of efforts to boost the company's overall power generation capacity from gas-fired plants to counterbalance the loss in electricity generated from nuclear reactors after the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
Russia's Gazprom and the German utility RWE have ended negotiations on a potential joint venture (JV) for building and operating gas-fired power plants in Germany, the Netherlands and in the U.K., RWE confirmed. "We were unfortunately not able to agree on a framework for co-operation which would be sustainable for both parties," Jürgen Grossmann, RWE chief executive commented on the end of JV talks today.
Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom is considering building gas-fired power plants in the southern German state of Bavaria, following the ratification of a roadmap for cooperation in power generation and gas supply. "The document sets out the intentions of Gazprom and the Federal State of Bavaria to cooperate on power production in Bavaria," Gazprom said today.
China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC) has won a $1.19 billion contract to build a 1,260-MW gas-fired power station in Iraq. CMEC will construct the plant over a timeframe of 45 month in Salahuddin governorate north of Bagdhad, an Iraqi electricity ministery spokesman told local reporters during the signing ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday.
China Gas has rejected a bid from China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and ENN Energy, saying the offer of $2 billion in cash to buy the entire company would not fully reflect its value. Sinopec and the Chinese gas distributor ENN Energy had made a joint bid of HK$3.50 ($0.45) a share for the Hong Kong-based gas distributor China Gas, they said in a regulatory filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange .
BG Group will sell the entire volume of natural gas produced at Kazakhastan's vast Karachaganak gas condensate field to local utilities for use in CNG vehicles and power generation. "All raw gas produced from the Karachaganak field is sold locally and into Russia or it is re-injected into the reservoir to help maintain reservoir pressure," Mark Todd, spokesman for BG Group, told 'Gas-to-Power Journal' today.
Siemens has started to build a new combustion test center for gas turbines near Berlin, the German engineering company announced today. "We are investing 66 million euros to be able to study and validate the combustion processes in gas turbines in our own test center," said Roland Fischer, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division within the Siemens Energy Sector.
Stadtwerke Düsseldorf's board has approved the construction of a 400 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant in the city to come online in 2016. The German municipal utility took a final investment decision (FID) on the plant, taking into account projections on fuel costs and the expected balance between electricity supply and demand in Germany.
Germany's E.ON is on track to comply with the new regulation to power generation assets in the UK against the dangers of climate change such as flooding, Richard Busby, E.ON's Environment Manager said. E.ON has identified this risk at two of its power stations and has now introduced new Reverse Osmosis water treatment plants to tackle the problem. The Enfield power station doesn't have access to river water for cooling and has to use air for cooling.
News in Brief
GE repowers Azito plant in Ivory Coast
May 21 – Azito Energy has contracted GE to deploy its Predix software for two GT13E2 gas turbines and two generators at the Azito III plant site in Ivory Coast. The MXL2 upgrade for the two gas turbines is expected to boost the power plants overall output by 15 MW per turbine which, according to GE, is equivalent power for up to 120,000 homes
ERCOT at risk of brownouts this summer
May 20 – Texans is at risk of power emergency alerts this summer, and even rotating blackouts, as the current electric reserve margin of about 8.6% may prove insufficient to meet strong electric demand growth, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) warned. Power grid operators typically aim for reserve margins of 10% to 15%.
ABB microgrid makes Indian villages energy self-reliant
May 17 – ABB’s MGS100 microgrid is helping some 39,000 homes and shops in remote regions in India to become energy independent, relying solely on renewable power sources and energy storage. Together with Husk Power Systems, ABB developed the MGS100 microgrid using wind and solar power to reduce household energy costs by up to 40% and improve productivity in 85% of factories and small businesses.
J-ENG develops new biofuel engine
May 16 – Japan Engine Corp. (J-ENG) has started to cooperate with Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line) to research and development a test engine running on biofuel. The new engine is designed for use in the maritime sector and is likely to be re-calibrated at a later stage for use in small-scale power generation applications.
‘Smarter E-Europe’ conference opens doors in Munich
May 15 – Today, the 2019 “Smarter E-Europe” conference and trade show is opening its doors to visitors in Munich. At the exhibition, Siemens is presenting decentralized energy solutions based on renewables and intelligent energy management systems for buildings, infrastructure and industry. Expert presentations on transforming the energy system, renewable integration and storage technologies can be seen at Siemens’ exhibit at Booth 110 in Hall B2.
Marubeni buys stake in U.S. distributed energy firm
May 14 – Japan's Marubeni Corp. has invested an undisclosed sum to buy an equity stake in GridMarket, a U.S.-based provider of development services to distributed energy resources (DER). Using proprietary analytics and machine learning, GridMarket’s distributed energy project platform helps utilities by recommending best-fit solutions like battery storage, solar PV, fuel cells and combined heat and power. By cooperating with GridMarket, Marubeni expects to identify cost-effective projects and source best-fit technologies for its own DER network in North America and Japan.
Global RES additions stall after 20-year growth
May 13 – The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported an “unexpected flattening of growth trends” in the deployment of renewable energy sources (RES) deployment that raises concerns about meeting long-term climate goals. After two decades of strong annual growth, renewable energy developers around the world added as much net capacity in 2018 as they did in 2017.
RWE cancels €1.5bn coal power project
May 10 – The German utility RWE has decided to no longer invest in any coal-fired power projects and has cancelled a planned €1.5 billion ($1.68bn) lignite-fired power plant in Niederaussem, Germany. Instead, the utility is accelerating its transformation to renewables, energy storage and gas-fired generation through an asset swap with Europe’s largest utility, E.ON.
China’s CPECC to process gas from Iraq’s Halfaya oilfield
May 9 – Iraq and China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation (CPECC) have signed a $1.07 billion deal to build and operate facilities to process natural gas extracted alongside crude oil at Iraq’s giant Halfaya oilfield. CPECC, an affiliate of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will process around 300 million standard cubic feet per day (mcf/d) of natural gas extracted from the field alongside crude oil, the oil ministry said. Halfaya, operated by PetroChina, is Maysan Oil Company’s largest oilfield, producing 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) of the company’s total output of around 510,000 bpd.
Iraq continues to flare some of gas extracted alongside crude oil but the Iraqi oil minister Thamer Ghadhban told Reuters Iraq is in talks with international oil companies to build a 300 mcf plant to process gas from the West Qurna 2 and Majnoon oilfields.
Chiyoda to get large cash injection
May 8 - Following losses of nearly $1 bill on an liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project in Louisiana, Japanese construction company Chiyoda is to get a $1.4 bill cash injection. The company suffered a $953 mill loss in the six months to 30th September, 2018 after costs spiralled on the $10 bill Hackberry LNG plant in Louisiana, largely, due to escalating labour costs, it was claimed. Chiyoda was expected to record a net loss of about $1.4 bill for the fiscal year to March. Mitsubishi Corp, which owns a 33.4% stake in Chiyoda, and the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, have agreed to provide capital while the company implements a rescue strategy, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
Siemens, TÜV SÜD partner on digital energy security
May 7 – Siemens and the German technical verification association TÜV SÜD have come together to address the growing risk of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, notably in the energy sector. The companies will digitally asses industrial control systems in both the oil and gas and power generation sectors (nuclear applications excluded). All tests will be vendor-agnostic.
UK ‘can cut emissions to net-zero’ by 2025
May 6 – Advisors to the British government have urged the Cabinet to “set and vigorously pursue” a new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions to ‘net-zero’ levels by 2050, replacing the current target of an 80% reduction against 1990 levels. The the Committee on Climate Change, which published the report, believes the new target could be achieved within the same cost-framework as the current more lenient goals.
Iraq’s gas imports from Iran bound to rise in June
May 2 – Iraq has no alternative to importing more Iranian gas to meet peak summer demand, the country’s electricity ministry said. He specified that halting imports would cost Iraq’s power grid 4,000 MW per day. Some 14 GW of Iraq’s installed capacity is run on domestic gas, and supplies from Iran keep an additional 4GW operational. “Until now, we have no alternatives to Iranian gas,” a spokesman of the energy ministry said, adding imports from Iran are expected to increase in June from currently 28 million cubic metres per day to 35 MMcm/d.
Waukesha gas engines delivered to CHP in East Germany
May 1 – INNIO’s authorized partner, S&L Energie-Projekte, has provided four packages of INNIO’s Waukesha VHP 9394GSI gas engines for a CHP, operated by the municipal utility of Lutherstadt Wittenberg in eastern Germany. The modernized district heating plant is claimed to achieve an overall efficiency above 95%.
Burns & McDonnell oversee commissioning of fast-ramp plants in Michigan
April 30 – Two quick-ramp gas power plant projects in Michigan, overseen by Burns & McDonnell, are now commissioned and in full commercial operation. Both the F.D. Kuester and A.J. Mihm generating stations are powered by 18-MW, gas-fueled Wärtsilä 18V50SG reciprocating engines. The two plants have a combined 180 MW in generating capacity.
Gazprom advances start of ‘Power of Siberia’ link
April 29 – Russia’s Gazprom is preparing to start injecting natural gas into the ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline to China in Q3-2019. Preparations are “going according to schedule”, Gazprom chairman Alexey Miller told CNPC chairman Wang Yilin at a working meeting in Beijing.
Siemens to focus on energy transition at OTC 2019
April 26 – “Navigating the new normal” in the oil and gas industry - against the backdrop of the global energy transition - is in focus of Siemens’ exhibit at the 50th annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). The event will be held in Houston, Texas, on May 6-9.
