RWE sees fossil power plants as vital partners of renewable energy sources. Quick ramp rates are vital to provide flexible backup capacity and gas-fired plants still in the lead, outperforming coal-plants. "It takes RWE only 18 minutes to ramp the output of its 876 MW Lingen combined cycle gas turbine plant up or down by 600 MW," a RWE spokesman told Gas-to-Power Journal.
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Roland Fischer |
Siemens Energy is expanding turbine sales based on the attractiveness of its H-class technology. "We believe our H-class technology is two to three years ahead of competition," Roland Fischer, CEO of the division Fossil Power Generation at Siemens told Gas-to-Power Journal in an interview.
Siemens now holds over 40% in the market segment of advanced gas turbines in terms of gigawatts (GW). In terms of unit sales, the number is slightly below 40%. "We will surely not rely on our lead as competition is tough and challenging. We will do our utmost not to allow any rival to take that position from us," Fischer said.
Renewable gas – in the form of biogas, syngas or hydrogen – will cover a growing share of Denmark's gas demand. "By 2020, we expect to have about 5% of biogas in the Danish gas system," Nybroe, senior project manager, Energinet.dk told Gas-to-Power Journal at the sidelines of a conference in London today.
The implementation of Smart Grids – as a flexible demand response mechanism - is rising. "In Europe, we are selling Smart Grids based on the rise of green energy. In the U.S., the key driver for smart grids is to ensure security of power supply," Dietrich Biester, representative of Siemens' Smart Grid Division told Gas-to-Power Journal' in an interview.
Bis Enerji, the developer of one of Turkey's largest independent power plants has again selected General Electric (GE) as a supplier of a 48-megawatt (MW) LM6000-PC Sprint aeroderivative gas turbine and related services to independent power producer Bis Enerji Elektrik Uretim AS. The new LM6000-PC Sprint unit and an associated steam turbine–generator will increase the cogeneration plant's installed capacity from 410 MW to 495 MW when it enters commercial operation in August 2012.
Siemens Energy has received a first order for the supply of its SGT-750 industrial gas turbine. The buyer is Wingas, a joint venture of the BASF subsidiary Wintershall and the Rus-sia's Gazprom. Siemens is responsible for supply, installation and commissioning of the SGT-750 gas turbine together with the generator and auxiliaries, and for the electrical infrastructure for the grid connection.
MetCap and General Electric energy unit have teamed up to realise a gas-fired power plants, named Dervish, based on GE's FlexEfficiency technology. Dervish - a 1,080-MW gas-fired power plant in Karaman in central Turkey - will start operations in 2016, Sera Geray, chief financial officer at Metcap Energy told 'Gas-to-Power Journal'.
Honeywell has introduced a new Safety Manager Field Device Unit (FDU), particularly designed to implement integrated safety measures for power plants.
"The module's small size makes it ideal for plants that need to quickly implement integrated safety measures for applications such as burner or boiler management systems," the US-based manufacturer said in a statement.
RWE npower is gearing up to start the commissioning stage of its gas-fired Pembroke plant "any time soon". The 2,000 MW gas-fired power plant is slated to start operations in late 2012, RWE npower spokeswoman Kelly Brown told Gas-to-Power Journal.
"Everything is in place to start the commissioning stage. We are ready to start the boiler any time soon," she said.
French engineering group Alstom has won a contract by Isolux Corsán to supply gas turbine equipment and associated services for a 180 MW simple cycle gas-fired power plant in Bangladesh's Kulna region.
News in Brief
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.
Norway’s sovereign fund invests $14bn in renewables
April 25 – The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) has been given permission to invest up to $14 billion in unlisted renewables. Norway’s finance minister, Siv Jensen, said the new approach was based on financial rather than environmental considerations. Moreover, Norway’s GPFG decided to tighten its coal criteria, which will lead to the divestment of large mines and coal-exposed power companies.
Smart grid market to top $70bn by 2027
April 24 – The global Smart Grid Market is expected to reach around $70 billion, growing at an annual rate of 15.56% in the coming years through to 2027.North America is forecast to see the largest revenue growth, according to ResearchNester, while Europe also shows promising growth in smart grids due to high awareness for decentralized power generation, battery storage and conserving energy.
