Wärtsilä, a leading supplier of gas engines, has singled out the United States as a fast growing market for Smart Power Generation (SPG). "Ancillary services such as spinning reserve, frequency regulation and black start capability can all be sold in the market," Melle Kruisdijk, Director Market Development, Wärtsilä Power Plants told Gas to Power Journal.
While the Indian government is blaming the federal states for causing the blackout by overdrawing electricity from the grid, Wartsila India told Gas to Power Journal that "to remedy, if not prevent future crippling power cuts" the creation of decentralized, reserve power is of paramount importance.
"This is one thing we have to work on in right earnest," Rakesh Sarin, Managing Director of Wartsila India said.
Gas-based smart generation power plants are crucial to help beat the continued high level of peaking shortages in India. “Capital-intensive thermal plants should be used for operating baseload and gas-based smart generation plants should be deployed for meeting peak deficit,” suggests Rakesh Sarin, Managing Director, Wartsila India. “This is possible only if a peak tariff mechanism is evolved first,” he told Gas to Power Journal’ in an interview.
General Electric (GE) has launched the PowerXpand Portfolio as an integrated power solution to provide flexible and rapid power supply. The scalable product bundles GE's TM2500 and TM2500+ mobile aeroderivative gas turbine generator sets, the Jenbacher J320 containerized gas engine generator set and the V250/V228 diesel engine generator sets.
Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) said it will be using Phillips 66's E-gas technology for its planned gasification plant at Jamnagar, billed to be the largest in the world. The gas produced at the site will fuel the refinery's existing gas turbine power generation units and serve as feedstock for a new chemical complex.
General Electric (GE) and the Russian power engineering company REP Holding (REPH) have signed a contract to assemble an additional 28 GE MS 5002E gas turbines at REPH's Nevsky Zavod manufacturing facilities. Today's deal is the third to be covered under a technology transfer and licensing agreement (TOT) between GE Oil & Gas and REPH.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has launched "MEGANINJA*1," - a transportable power generation system driven by gas engines - capable of producing electricity within 24 hours after its arrival at the installation site. The first order for two units came from China's Dongguan Xinao Gas Co, MHI said.
GE will provide the Spanish utility Gas Natural Fenosa's (GNF) with advanced dry low NOx (DLN) 2.6+ combustion technology for a GE 9FA gas turbine operating at one of GNF's combined-cycle power plants. The project is the first of its kind in Spain negotiated under a new GE contractual service agreement (CSA), GE said.
Siemens Energy has presented the SST-111 - a new industrial steam turbine for outputs of up to 12 MW - and an Enhanced Platform industrial steam turbine design at PowerGen2012 in Cologne. The first order for a SST-111 came from Devon County Council and Viridor Waste Management, with the new turbine set to be installed in a refuse incineration plant situated in Exeter.
Carbon capture reduces the efficiency of the combined-cycle gas turbine power plant (CCGT) by 11%-point, a study by Sari Siitonen, Gasum Oy and Leena Pirhonen ÅF-Consult shows. The study analyses how the integration of pre-combustion carbon capture technology in the gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant affects the efficiency, power-to-heat ratio, CO2 emissions and costs of the power plant.
News in Brief
Hiroshima waste-to-energy plant gets upgrade
Aug 23 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been chosen to upgrade and refurbish the combustion facilities at a waste to energy plant in Hiroshima. The Naka plant in Minamiyoshijima, Naka-ku, has a total waste treatment capacity of 600 tonnes per day and generates 15.2 MW of electricity to power the equipment in the factory, while selling the remainder to the grid.
China eases ban on coal power
Aug 22 – The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) has allowed 11 provinces to resume building coal power plants in a move that lies bare the country’s dependency on thermal coal even after several hundred billion dollars were invested cleaner energy sources, notable wind, solar and natural gas. Areas earmarked by NEA for new coal power plants include Qinghai, Chongqing, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Guizhou and Henan.
Blackout after Didcot demolition
Aug 21 – Yet another blackout hit thousands of British households early Sunday after the demolition of cooling towers at the disused Didcot-A power station in Oxfordshire. Moments after the explosion at 7am to bring down the cooling towers some nearby electricity poles and overhead transmission lines caught fire, causing a sudden loss of electricity that lasted for one hour and twenty minutes.
Fuel cell vehicle market gathers speed
Aug 20 – Sales revenue from fuel cell vehicles will soar to $255.2 billion in 2032, up from just $400 million last year, driven by fast growth in China and wider Asia. Hydrogen fuel cells achieve an energy conversion efficiency of 50% to 60% amid zero emissions and a low maintenance cost thanks to the engine’s modular design.
Tohoku Electric tenders for LNG cargo
Aug 19 – Tohoku Electric Power, the fourth-largest electric utility in Japan in terms of revenue behind Tepco, Kepco and Chubu, is understood to be seeking an LNG cargo for delivery in September. A tender process is ongoing.
Cost for decarbonizing industry tops $21tr
Aug 16 – Total costs to fully decarbonize the four most polluting industries – cement, steel, ammonia and ethylene – are estimated to amount to $21 trillion between today and 2050. McKinsey said this could be lowered to about $11 trillion if zero-carbon electricity prices come down further compared to fossil fuel prices. In this event, industry could switch to using electricity for heating processes.
Co-firing Braskem plant with hydrogen
Aug 15 – Siemens is making fossil energy greener at the Braskem onsite power plant in Brazil. In this modernization project two SGT-600 gas turbines are co-fired up to 60% with hydrogen, enhancing efficiency for the production process of the adjacent the petrochemical complex.
Canada's CO2 tax to hit CCGTs
Aug 5 – Change in Canada’s carbon emissions tax regulation for new power plants has changed to also affect cleaner-burning, gas combined-cycle power stations starting from 2021. The move could significantly lower the profitability of gas generation and could prompt SaskPower reconsider its planned Moose Jaw gas power station.
GE CFO steps down
Aug 2 – Jamie S. Miller, General Electric’s chief financial officer, has decided to quit after two years in the job and 11 years with the company. Having overseen GE’s fiscal activities during a period of intense restructuring, Miller will remain in office while the GE board is looking for a successor.
Siemens HR boss quits
Aug 1 – Janina Kugel, Siemens chief HR officer, is leaving the company amid an apparently scattered working relationship and stark personal differences with CEO Joe Kaeser. Her contract will expire by mutual agreement on January 31, 2020.
ABB standardizes eBus chargers
July 31 – Zurich-based ABB, a member of the ASSURED consortium, is working on standardizing the specifications for automatic charging of heavy vehicles. The aim is to drive down the total cost of ownership for electric fleet operators, helping increase adoption of eBuses and eTrucks. Conformance and interoperability tests will be carried out in Q4-2019.
U.S. Senate helps fund EV charging stations
July 30 – The need for expanded electric vehicle charging infrastructure is greater than expected given that there had been over 1.75 million electric vehicles (EV) in North America at the end of 2018, a nearly 60% increase from the previous year. To help fund additional charging stations, among other things, the U.S. Senate approved the $287 billion America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA).
PNOC, Lloyds to develop merchant LNG-to-Power projects
July 29 – Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lloyds Energy to develop a 1,200 MW LNG-fuelled power plant in partnership with Mitsubishi. Dubai-based Lloyds Energy is looking at ways to develop integrated LNG import facilities and gas power plants on a merchant basis in Bataan and Batangas provinces.
Macquarie finances CCGT in Mexico
July 26 – Macquarie Capital has chosen Credit Agricole, Natixis and SMBC to co-finance a $380 million combined-cycle gas power plant. The 560 MW plant is designated to be built in San Louis Potosi, a city in central Mexico.
Naturgy cashes in on gas network
July 25 – Spanish gas utility Naturgy has posted a 7% rise in core earnings for the first half of the year due to strong gains from its gas network business that helped offset falling revenues from power generation and slimmer LNG margins.
French court rejects appeal against Total CCGT
July 24 – Judges at an appeal court in Nantes have thrown out an appeal by environmentalist against Total’s planned Landivisiau combined-cycle gas power plant in Brittany. The 440 MW project, initiated by Direct Energy which was since acquired by Total, is over two years behind schedule. The French grid operator RTE has singled out the Landivisiau CCGT as “critical” in guaranteeing supply security in winter 2020/21 due to the planned shutdown of four coal power plants.
U.S. gas production falls in wake of ‘Barry’
July 23 – Shut-ins related to Hurricane Barry have scaled back U.S. gas production by 1.6 billion cubic feet per day, compared to last week, while power sector gas demand rose by just over 2.0 bcf/d. Consequently, there is significantly less gas available for storage so the injection rate has halved, according to Energy Aspects figures.
