Power Engineering International articles from April 2005

Power Engineering International archives from April 2005

Help or hindrance?(Up Front)(energy industry deregulation )
April 1, 2005... Sometimes you wonder whether liberalization is a help or hindrance when faced with the task of meeting increasing electricity demand. I guess the short answer is both. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While most Europeans believe that...

When will nuclear add up? It was economics that killed the nuclear industry and economics that could revive it. Is that good news for the industry?(Analysis)
April 1, 2005... Will Europe and the USA start investing again in nuclear power? The debate is in full flow and it is worth looking again at why the first rush to build nuclear came to such a sudden end. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The accident at Chernobyl...

Russia and China talk power link.(international)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... During a visit to Beijing in March, RAO UES vice-president Leonid Drachevsky and Liu Zhenya, president of the State Grid Corporation of China, revived the prospect of a long-distance interconnector between Russia and China. A memorandum...

Turkey to up power exports to Iraq.(international)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Turkish energy group Karadeniz Toptan Elektrik Ticareti (Kartet) has signed a contract with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity for an additional 1000 MW of electricity exports to Northern Iraq by the first half of 2006. Kartet started supplying...

Eskom plans Congo solution.(international)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Plans to harness the power of the Congo River to generate electricity are being drawn up by Africa's largest energy company Eskom Holdings. Reuel Khoza, chairman of the South African utility, announced the plan at the United Nations Environment...

GCC grid target.(international)(Gulf Cooperation Council)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The first phase of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interconnection Grid will be operational by mid-2008, according to officials. Phase one will link Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar's power transmission systems with the second phase...

Oman T & D privatization.(international)(transmission and distribution)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Laws passed last August will result in more opportunities for private investors in Oman's power and water sectors including a planned privatization of the country's transmission and distribution system, according to Robert Bryniak, chief...

Developing countries best for distributed energy.(international)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The recently published annual survey of world decentralized energy (DE) published by the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE) concludes that some developing and emerging countries offer better growth prospects than the slower growing...

Kuwait.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Kuwait: Siemens has won a [euro]70m ($90m) 300/132/11 kV transformer substation turnkey contract from the Kuwait Ministry of Electricity, incorporating high-voltage gas-insulated switchgear.

Moldova.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Moldova: Moldova's Chisinau Thermoelectric Power Plant-1 is to be sold to a strategic private investor under a tender process to be announced shortly, the country's energy minister has declared. The loss-making plant is in serious need of...

Niger.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Niger: The Niger State Government has entered into a build operate transfer agreement with the Austrian consortium ICFC to establish a 900 MW hydroelectric power station on the River Kaduna at Zungeru.

Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Russia: Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service has approved the purchase by Gazprom of a 53.85 per cent stake in privately-owned Russian nuclear power developer Atomstroyeksport, following the announcement of the deal in November.

Russian power monopoly RAO UESR Anatoly Chubais.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Russia: The chief executive of Russian power monopoly RAO UESR Anatoly Chubais has survived an assassination attempt, involving both explosives and gunfire. Chubais is one of the architects of the country's post-soviet privatization and is...

Saudi Arabia.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Saudi Arabia: Malaysia's TNB and Malakoff consortium were the only bidders to meet the deadline for Saudi Arabia Power and Water Company's Shoaiba IWPP. The $2.3bn project will be Saudi Arabia's first privately run power and water venture for...

Slovakia.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Slovakia: Privatization documents have now been signed between Slovakia and Italian utility Enel that transfer ownership of 66 per cent of electricity producer Slovenske Elektrame to Enel for [euro]840m ($1.081bn). Under the deal, Enel has...

South Africa.(News digest)(Chinergy Co Ltd)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... South Africa: An agreement has been signed between PBMR (Pty) Ltd of South Africa, developers of pebble bed nuclear technology, and Beijing's Chinergy Co. Ltd, whose pebble bed concept is based on a 10 MW research reactor in Beijing. The...

Uganda.(News digest)(Umeme Limited)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Uganda: Umeme Limited, a company jointly owned by Globeleq and Eskom Enterprises, has begun operating the electricity distribution system in Uganda under a 20-year concession agreement with the government of Uganda. Umeme is to invest capital...

ETS slow on allowances.(europe)(emissions trading scheme)(National Allocation Plans)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Only three EU member states had completed their allocation of emission allowances for the EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the deadline at the end of February, reports Environment Daily. All member states were due to launch online...

Areva IPO delayed.(europe)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... French Finance Minister Thierry Breton has announced that the planned offering of shares in France's state-owned nuclear group, Areva, has been delayed. The launch is now planned for 2006, although it had been planned for late summer 2004. ...

Netherlands plans radical network restructuring.(europe)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Netherlands government has decided to adopt a radical approach in liberalizing its national electricity market, according to Economics Minister Laurens Brinkhorst. The applicable EU Directive calls for production and supply of power to...

Eurelectric warns on over-regulation.(europe)(Europe's Union of the Electricity Industry)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Europe's Union of the Electricity Industry (Eurelectric) has called on the EU to "end the trend to wards the ever-increasing and incoherent regulatory burdens on electricity companies", saying the burden was cancelling out efficiency and...

EU countries set emissions target.(europe)(European Union)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The European Council set a new benchmark for international efforts to prevent climate change on 23 March, when it agreed that industrial countries should reduce emissions by up to 30 per cent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. The Council...

Exchange extends trading to Austria.(europe)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Austria and Germany now have a common exchange for wholesale electricity trading. The trading platform was launched by European Energy Exchange (EEX) on 1 April; according to EEX, it is the first exchange offering the service. A spokesman...

Baltic Sea.(News digest)(undersea link of power grids)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Baltic Sea: A 350MW undersea link across the Gulf of Finland will be completed by 2006. The [euro]110 m cable will link the Nordic power pool and Baltic grids for the first time, but according to a Finnish utility spokesman the effect on power...

Belgium.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Belgium: Interconnections with France are to be doubled and those to the Netherlands will also be increased, under two new contracts signed by the Belgian economics ministry.

Denmark.(News digest)(Vestas)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Denmark: Vestas is to close an assembly plant at its headquarters in Randers, following its merger with NEG Micon. Operations will be transferred to Vivero, Spain, where NEG has an assembly plant.

Global Wind Energy Council.(News digest)(reports of wind parks)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Europe: Over 72 per cent of new wind capacity in 2004 was built in Europe, according to the Global Wind Energy Council, adding 5774MW to the EU's wind park. The Council said Germany still has the world's highest installed wind capacity with...

European Commission.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Europe: The European Commission has threatened to take ten member states to the European Court over their failure to incorporate EU Directives on energy market liberalization into national law.

Spot electricity prices in Europe have been driven up.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Europe: Spot electricity prices in Europe have been driven up by the cold winter, low rainfall feeding hydro resources and increased fuel prices. The Spanish regulator Omel said average spot prices in Spain rose from [euro]49.5 to [euro]73.1...

Netherlands.(News digest)(Christian Democrat party opposition for nuclear energy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Netherlands: A plan to shut down the nuclear plant at Borssele could cost [euro]1bn, according to the Dutch government. Plans to close the plant, the only Dutch nuclear unit, have recently come under fire from the opposition Christian Democrat...

Spain.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Spain: Endesa plans to invest in 277MW of renewable energy in 2005. The utility said it would spend [euro]286m on wind farms and mini hydro projects.

BNFL.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... UK: BNFL is suing three German power companies for [pounds sterling]13 m, said to be due in respect of unpaid storage and reprocessing bills for spent nuclear fuel. But the German companies say BNFL has missed deadlines on its reprocessing...

Foster Wheeler Energy.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... UK: Foster Wheeler Energy is to build a biomass-fuelled power station in the northeastern UK. The 30 MW unit will burn new and recycled wood using the company's bubbling fluidized bed technology and will qualify for Renewables Obligation...

Cabinet clears radical policy.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The government of India's state of Maharashtra has granted IPPs a host of concessions in a radical policy designed to attract serious investment in the region's power generation industry. Concessions included in the policy include faster...

Yangtze covets coal.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... China's top listed power producer and operator of the world's largest hydropower project has announced its intention to diversify into coal fired power generation. If Yangtze Power were to buy some coal plants from the 6500 MW of capacity...

Roadshow attracts investment.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A recent foreign investment drive from the Pakistani government has led to two pledges which cover 25 per cent of the funds needed to complete the country's power projects over the next ten years. Water and power minister, Liaquat Ali...

Tata studies $2bn spend in Bangladesh.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Tata has announced that it is about to embark on a pre-feasiibility study with the intention of creating a 1000 MW coal fired plant in north west Bangladesh. The Indian industrial company recently signed an Expression of Interest to invest...

China encourages clean energy.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... More emphasis will be placed on non fossil energy sources after a new bill encouraging use of renewable energy was passed by the Chinese government. Effective from next year, the new law includes a range of incentives to ensure that renewable...

India shakes up transmission.(asia-pacific)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... In a move that is expected to lead to the creation of a national grid, the Indian government has directed NTPC to diversify into transmission, bringing to an end the monopoly enjoyed by the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL). PGCIL...

Australia.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Australia: Singapore Power is poised to sell its retail and generation assets in Australia to CLP Holdings for approximately $1.6bn. CLP is looking to boost its overseas presence to combat its slow growing home market.

National Development and Reform Commission.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... China: National Development and Reform Commission chairman, Ma Kai, has announced that 2005 will see China begin work on a further 65 000 MW of generating capacity, with a similar figure expected to come online.

Shanghai Electric Company.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... China: One of the country's largest power generation equipment makers is to float on the Hong Kong stock exchange next month. The Shanghai Electric Company could raise as much as $480m.

Lingao II.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... China: Contracts have been signed for the building of Lingao II, China's first 1000 MW domestically built nuclear power plant. It will be operational by 2011.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Reliance Energy and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation.(News digest)
April 1, 2005... India: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Reliance Energy and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation have all expressed serious intentions of developing further India's wind energy industry.

Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... India: The public offering of shares in Jaiprakash Hydro Power Ltd, was oversubscribed within minutes of opening. At the close of the day the offer had twice as much interest as stake available.

The country is faced with a peak power shortage.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... India: The country is faced with a peak power shortage of 10 625 MW, India's power minister has told parliament. Against a peak demand of 87 906 MW, only 77 281 MW is generated domestically.

New Zealand.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... New Zealand: Genesis Energy has put plans for a coal fired station on hold, because of concerns about the availability of cheap local coal. Mighty River's Marsden B plant will, however, go ahead because it is due to be fuelled by imported coal....

A PHP 128m ($2.3m) 69 kV interconnection project between Panay and Boracay.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Philippines: A PHP 128m ($2.3m) 69 kV interconnection project between Panay and Boracay will be completed by the National Transmission Corporation by mid December 2005 after the Energy Regulatory Commission gave the project the go ahead.

The Department of Energy.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Philippines: The Department of Energy has launched its first auction for the development of wind projects in a bid to turn the country into the leading producer of wind power in Southeast Asia.

Thailand.(News digest)(Glow Energy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Thailand: Glow Energy and Hemaraj Land and Development have entered into a joint venture to develop independent power projects that will supply the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

Vietnam.(News digest)
April 1, 2005... Vietnam: From 1 July 2005 China's Yunnan power grid company will provide 50-70 MW of electricity for Vietnam's northern provinces of Ha Giang and Yen Bai.

Quebec may shift stance on transmission grid.(americas)(Provincial Department of Natural Resources)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The Quebec government may participate in the development of an east-west power grid, as long as the conditions were right, according to a provincial official. When the development of a national grid has been discussed before, Quebec has...

EPA emissions ruling.(americas)(US Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The US Environmental Protection Agency has passed a rule that will reduce emissions. The Clean Air Interstate Rule will permanently cap emissions of SOx and NOx. By 2015 SOx emissions in the eastern states and the District of Colombia will...

Largest wind award for Quebec.(americas)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... The largest single order for wind generation capacity has been awarded in the Canadian province of Quebec. GE Energy has signed contracts with two developers to supply up to 660 1.5 MW wind turbines for eight locations. When the projects...

DOE invests in clean coal research.(americas)(Department of Energy)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... In a bid to develop the world's first zero eimssions coal fired power plant, the US Department of Energy has awarded $62.4m for 32 clean coal research projects. The DOE named four programme areas: carbon sequestration; power systems advanced...

Argentina calls for transmission bids.(americas)
April 1, 2005... Argentina is to capitalize on the generation potential in the south by building a $100m, 500 kV transmission line between Puerto Madryn and Pico Truncado. Scheduled to begin operating in July 2007, the new line will be a continuation of the 500...

Chilean operator feels the heat.(americas)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... A blackout in central-southern Chile has been blamed on human error by the electric power dispatch centre CDEC SIC. It said the error, which resulted in an outage that reached the northern border of the country's central grid, occured in the...

Argentina.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Argentina: Energy company Capex is investigating the possibility of creating a $19bn wind project that will generate 16 000 MW of wind power. With a probable location in Santa Cruz, the power generated would be used to produce 13.3 million...

ISA.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Bolivia: A local unit of Colombia's state transmission company, ISA, has been commissioned to carry out a $374 000 study into the possibility of creating an interconnection with Peru. The route will transport 150 MW from Peru to Bolivia and 120...

Bids.(News digest)
April 1, 2005... Bolivia: Bids have been called by the national energy regulator, SIE, for the contract to build and operate a transmission line connecting Tarija to SIN, the national grid. The closing date for bids is 17 June.

Brazil.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Brazil: Two 12.3 MW biomass plants are to be built in Parana by Areva, after it was awarded a [euro]16.6m ($21.5m) turnkey contract by CCC Machinery. The plants will be operational by February and June 2006.

New wind projects.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Canada: New wind projects at the Mount Miller and Mount Copper wind farms are to provide 108 MW of wind energy capacity, raising Canada's total wind power generation capacity from 444 MW to more than 550 MW, an increase of nearly 25 per cent.

Two nuclear units.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Canada: Two nuclear units at the Bruce generating station near Tiverton, Ontario, which have been shut down since the mid 1990s, could be recommissioned after operator Bruce Power reached a 'tentative agreement' with the province. Two units at...

Mexico.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Mexico: A consortium has been awarded the $500m contract to engineer, procure and construct the first LNG receipt terminal along the Pacific coast of the Americas, at Sempra Energy's Costa Azul terminal located just north of Ensenada. The large...

Environmental Protection Agency.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... USA: In a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency, FirstEnergy will invest $1.1bn in environmental improvements and pay an $8.5m civil penalty to the Department of Justice. Several groups brought actions against the company for the...

The first geothermal generation plant.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... USA: Work has begun on the first geothermal generation plant to be built at Steamboat, Nevada since 1991. Several units are in operation at the site and when completed, the new project will bring the total output from this geothermal complex to...

ABB to settle on asbestos claims.(companies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Swiss based engineering group ABB has reached agreement on a reorganization of two of its subsidiaries, which would resolve outstanding asbestos claims on both companies but which will involve setting aside an additional $232m. ABB's...

Siemens extends deal.(companies)(Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Siemens AG has extended and expanded its research agreement with the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres in an effort to develop new technologies. Helmholtz is Germany's largest research institution. Norbert Koenig, member...

Electrabel finds foreign form.(companies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Electrabel sold over half of its electricity outside Belgium for the first time last year as it increased electricity sales by 5.7 per cent to 145.1 TWh. Income on sales rose 12 per cent to [euro]12.1bn ($15.6bn). Despite increasing...

Calpine borrows $503m for new energy centres.(companies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Five banks have agreed to loan Calpine Corporation the necessary $503m to complete the construction of two new energy centres in the USA. The two projects were seen by Calpine as the next step on the route to becoming a vertically...

PWPA signed for Ras Laffan B.(companies)(Power and Water Purchase Agreement)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Project partners International Power, Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation and Chubu Electric of Japan have signed a 25 year Power and Water Purchase Agreement for the entire power and water output from Ras Laffan B in Qatar. The total...

VA Tech returns mixed financial results.(companies)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... After a year of restructuring, takeover speculation and sizeable orders, VA Tech's financial results for 2004 were as diverse as expected. While the company saw sales rise by six per cent to [euro]4bn ($5.1bn), the group lost [euro]67.8m....

Babcock good cop.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Babcock good cop: UK based Mitsui Babcock has strengthened its position in the North American market with a four contract win with Alliant Energy worth $5.6m. The four contracts cover a variety of projects ranging from reheater replacement to...

Czech mate.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Czech mate: RWE's attempt to acquire a majority interest in Czech power distribution enterprises and heating plants has been rejected by the Czech competition office, which said it would not relax conditions until the privatization process has...

Elsam return.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Elsam return: The Danish utility has recorded a net profit of DKK2bn ($346.7m) made through a DKK1.8bn increase in turnover. The board has recommended a dividend of DKK22.50 per share.

EnBW Turnaround.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... EnBW Turnaround: The south German energy group EnBW saw a return to profit in the end of year results for 2004. Net earnings were [euro]308.1m ($398m) compared with a [euro]1.1bn loss the previous year.

Eon and on.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Eon and on: Eon AG has increased its dividend to shareholders after posting a rise in pre-tax profits. The financial results for 2004 saw the level rise from [euro]6.2bn ($8bn) in 2003 to [euro]7.3bn. The company expects higher electricity...

Fresh and green.(News digest)
April 1, 2005... Fresh and green: A wind turbine design that has been twenty years in development and combines increased efficiency with aesthetically pleasing qualities has been declared ready for commercial production by McKenzie Bay.

Going Dutch.(News digest)(CBK Netherlands Holdings)(Japan Bank for International Co-operation)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Going Dutch: The Japan Bank for International Co-operation is to loan $100m to CBK Netherlands Holdings to support its power project in the Laguna province of the Philippines.

Indian investment.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Indian investment: Skoda's plans to invest $14m in India over the next five years have begun with the opening of an office that will concentrate its activities on supplies, modernization and services to power units.

New advisor.(News digest)(Econ group)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... New advisor: A new company has been created by the Econ group. Based in Paris, Econ Energia will offer clients detailed market and competitive advisory services in energy, environment and related industries.

Sachs purchase.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Sachs purchase: Goldman Sachs has announced it will acquire Zilkha Renewable Energy for an undisclosed sum. Zilkha is a privately held Houston based wind energy development firm with a portfolio of nearly 4000 MW in various stages of...

Volume up.(News digest)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Volume up: Vattenfall has increased its net profit by almost 30 per cent to SEK11bn ($1.5bn) aided by increased electricity generation volumes and positive hedging outcomes. A much improved performance in Poland also contributed.

It's good to talk: with so many communication protocols costing transmission grid companies time and money, a new IEC standard aims to streamline resources by speaking everyone's language.(REPORT)(International Electrotechnical Commission )
April 1, 2005... Since protection and control were automated in substations, the large number of communication protocols involved has undermined the joint operations of devices from different manufacturers. The introduction of IEC 61850, a single communication...