As African governments seek to boost electrification levels, a GE whitepaper evaluates the role of smart technology to transform grids and the way energy is generated, distributed, traded, managed and stored. Today’s key challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa are inadequate power generation and more significantly, low levels of electrification caused by faulty, aged or wrong setup of transmission and distribution infrastructure.
Expanding their partnership, GE and Microsoft have announced plans to combine operational and IoT technology by integrating GE’s Predix solutions with Microsoft Azure’s cloud capabilities. The partners will also co-sell and go-to-market together, offering end-customers Industrial IoT solutions across verticals.
GE Power has commissioned of the first leg of a grid-stabilization project by handing over a Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for the Northern Grid. The Indian electricity network is the world’s largest synchronized grid with a capacity of 363 GW, and Northern Grid is committed to digitizing its power system.
Siemens has introduced a new SGT-800 performance enhancement that is applicable to all existing SGT-800 units with 43-47.5-MW ratings. For turbines in simple-cycle mode, the upgrade offers up to 3.5% efficiency increase and an additional 10 MW output which boosts the installed capacity of a 47.5 MW unit to up to 53 MW.
Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has joined forces with Énergir, a Canadian gas utility, along with French utilities GRDF and GRTgaz, focusing on research into clean energy sources. Targeted innovations include renewable natural gas, solar-powered hydrogen generation, fuel cells, power-to-gas and energy storage.
By 2025, there will be 29 GWh of second-life electric vehicle (EV) batteries available, far exceeding the size of today’s stationary storage market with 10 GWh available for storage application. For Hyundai Motor Group and Wärtsilä this presents “a blue ocean in the new energy business” they aim to capitalize on.
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced a JAC-series gas turbine, using enhanced air cooling, has surpassed 8,000 cumulative hours of combined-cycle operation at the Takasago power plant in Japan. Exceeding this mark is taken as an industry benchmark for demonstrating a turbine's reliability.
First fire of Toshiba’s 50 MW(th) commercial-scale combustor has been carried out at NET Power’s oxy-combustion CO2 power-cycle demonstration plant in La Porte, Texas. Testing uses CO2 working fluid to produce low-cost electricity while virtually eliminating emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other pollutants.
RWG (Repair & Overhauls) Ltd, a Siemens and Wood Company, has been appointed for new assembly and testing of Siemens SGT-A05 (KB7 HE) gas turbines. The Houston-based facility of RWE will handle all aspects of the new-build programme including sub-assembly, dynamic balance, engine assembly and factory acceptance testing.
Ansaldo Energia and Leonardo – one of the top ten players in aerospace, defence and security – are setting up the "Start 4.0 Competence Centre for the Security and Optimisation of critical Infrastructures" in Liguria, Italy. Their mission is to identify adequate solutions through experiments and validate methodological approaches to map risk and protect infrastructure, notably power plants.
Bilfinger, an industrial service provider, is driving forward internal digitalization by using Siemens’ Comos Engineering & Maintenance Platform across its many sites and subsidiaries. The deal gives Siemens access to feedback on how SMEs are utilizing using the platform – useful insights to selectively drive forward further development of the software.
