Power Engineering International articles from December 2003

Power Engineering International archives from December 2003

The merchant of menace.(Upfront)(Editorial)
December 1, 2003... Shakespeare with a twist. Visualise: the financially troubled power plant developer cast as Shakespeare's character Shylock imploring: "If you prick us do we not bleed?" The scene came to mind when reading a recent story about the increasing...

Blackout fallout: the US-Canada power outage task force has released its interim report on the August blackout. Sian Green looks at the implications of the report for FirstEnergy.(Analysis)
December 1, 2003... The US-Canada Task Force investigating the August blackout has concluded that the outage could have been prevented. In its interim report, the Task Force says that although a number of factors contributed to the blackout, it was started and...

Bulgaria outlines sale of distribution companies.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Bulgaria is to offer for sale 67 per cent stakes in the country's seven electricity distribution companies (EDCs) which are to be divided into three pools and sold concurrently in three separate tenders, according to the Bulgarian Privatization...

Slovenske Elektrarne assets generate interest.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ten investors have so far expressed interest in bidding for Slovakia's dominant power producer, Slovenske Elektrarne, with several offering to buy both nuclear and conventional assets. The sell-off was reopened earlier this year having failed...

Abu Dhabi chooses Taweelah expansion.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Following the decision by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) to cancel a tender to develop the Al Mirfa independent water and power plant (IWPP), the utility has said the country's fifth IWPP will be the Taweelah B/C project....

Eastern European emissions targeted.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Dutch government and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are setting up a [euro]32m ($38.2m) fund to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in central and eastern Europe. The fund will be used to buy carbon...

Alstom wins Sudan order.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Alstom is to supply electro-mechanical equipment for the Merowe dam project on the river Nile for Sudan's Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources under a contract valued at [euro]250m ($298m). Alstom is to supply ten hydro turbines and...

Russia trades.(International)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Russia's new electricity exchange announced its first power trades at market prices, an important step towards deregulation of the market in 2006. Electricity traded at less than the state regulated whole-sale rate which showed the...

Swiss investigation spreads blame for Italy blackout.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... An official Swiss government investigation into events leading to a power blackout across Italy on September 28 said that the Swiss grid operator must take some of the blame, but criticised the Italian operator for responding too slowly and...

German power plant prediction.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A study that polled 100 industry decision-makers says German electricity companies will build 45 new power plants with a combined capacity of 24 000 MW by 2020. The new plants would partly replace the current base of 119 000 MW total capacity....

Arklow Bank offshore project commissioned.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Commissioning of the giant 3.6 MW wind turbines has begun at the Arklow Bank Wind Park in the Irish Sea. The project marks the first commercial application of offshore wind turbines of this size, which have been manufactured and supplied by GE...

Metso automates Greek CCGT.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Metso Automation is to supply a control system for a new 400 MW combined cycle power plant being built by VA Tech Hydro in Thessalonika, Greece. It will provide its metsoDNA automation and information management solution and is the third...

First major UK offshore wind park starts up.(Europe)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The first large-scale offshore wind farm to be constructed in UK coastal waters--National Wind Power's North Hoyle wind farm--has been officially switched on just three months after the first turbine was erected. The 30-turbine wind park, which...

Mission Energy exits Thai power project.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... US-based Mission Energy has sold off its interest in Thailand's Bo Nok power project leaving the door open for Electricity Generating (Egco) and Japan-based J Power Group to take a 50 per cent stake each in Gulf Power Generation Co., the...

Sime acquires 50 per cent stake in 715 MW power project.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Sime Darby Berhad (SDB) has purchased a 50 per cent share in Island Power Company's 715 MW natural gas fired combined cycle power project to be built in Singapore. Island Power is a wholly-owned subsidiary of InterGen, and hopes to...

Power deregulation in Japan is too slow, says IEA.(Asia-Pacific)(International Energy Agency)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The international Energy Agency (IEA) has said that Japan has the highest electricity prices within the IEA member countries and that it should speed up liberalization of its power sector. The energy agency reviews its 26 member states once...

Tasmania commissions storage system.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Pinnacle VRB, a VRB Power Systems subsidiary, announced that it has commissioned the King Island Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB/EES) at a Hydro Tasmania site in Australia. The VRB/EES will smooth the short term output...

China funds new generators.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China's Three Gorges project, owned by China Yangtze Power Co., has tapped banks for [yen]8.35bn ($1.01bn) to finance new generators. The company also launched a [yen]9.9bn initial public offering (IPO) of 1.279bn shares in November. The...

China Resources Power grows.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China Resources Power Holdings has added to its portfolio by purchasing a ten per cent stake in Huaneng International Power Development Corp., China's biggest independent power producer. The move is the latest in a series of deals which...

Competitive rates key to Brazil's new power model.(Americas)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The aim of Brazil's new energy model will be the provision of affordable energy for consumers, according to Luiz Pinguelli, president of Electrobras. Speaking at Power-Gen Latin America in November, he said that the new model would soon be sent...

Task Force sheds light on US blackout.(Americas)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A US and Canadian Task Force has published a report detailing the causes of the August blackout that lead to millions of people losing electricity supplies throughout an area stretching across the northeastern USA and Canada. The report...

Reliability product launched at TVA.(Americas)(Tennessee Valley Authority)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... American Superconductor has delivered to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) a SuperVAR dynamic synchronous condenser that stabilises grid voltages while maximizing transmission capacity. The synchronous condenser is installed at a TVA...

Energy Bill delayed.(Americas)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Introduction of a US Energy Bill drafted by Republicans and designed to overhaul the country's energy policy has been delayed after the Senate failed to vote on it in November. The new legislation provides $23bn in tax breaks, two-thirds of...

Rapid City strengthens US transmission grid.(Americas)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... ABB has announced that it has successfully commissioned a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission link which interconnects the eastern and western power grids of the USA. The $50m Rapid City Tie project is expected to boost grid...

Urenco and Areva create a richer partnership.(Companies)(Enrichment Technology Company )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... French nuclear technology company, Areva, has acquired a 50 per cent stake in Enrichment Technology Company (ETC), a unit of Urenco--the joint venture between the UK, Netherlands and Germany established in 1971 to develop a centrifugal uranium...

Core divisions drive ABB improvement.(Companies)(core Power Technology )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The core Power Technology and Automation divisions of Swiss-based ABB reported double-digit growth for the third quarter of 2003, lifting the group's earnings before interest and taxes to $262m, an increase of $348m compared to the same period...

Diboride joins FCL research.(Companies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... UK-based Diboride Conductors (also known as Cambridge Superconductor), has joined a group of companies carrying out research and development into a new kind of self-resetting solidstate fuse--a 'superconducting fault current limiter' (FCL)....

Wartsila engineering partnership.(Companies)(Citec Engineering Oy Ab )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Finnish firms Wartsila and Citec Engineering Oy Ab have signed an engineering partnership under which all future power plant engineering services will be supplied by Citec for Wartsila-developed power projects. Citec has previously provided...

RWE gains from acquisitions.(Companies)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... RWE's nine months to September figures show group operating profits up 24.6 per cent to [euro]4bn ($4.8bn) with recently acquired companies Innogy, American Water and Czech gas operations boosting core business performance by nine per cent,...

Abu Dhabi.(News Digest)(Umm Al Nar power and water plant in Abu Dhabi)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Abu Dhabi: GE Power Systems has signed a 23-year service contract for the Umm Al Nar power and water plant in Abu Dhabi, valued at more than $200m.

Algeria.(News Digest)(Soneltrach)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Algeria: Vienna-based VA Tech T & D has won contracts in Algeria totalling [euro]45m ($54m) to supply Sonelgaz and Soneltrach with high voltage products and substations. VA Tech has been awarded eight projects in Algeria in the last two years.

Croatia.(News Digest)(International Hydropower Association )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Croatia: At its General Assembly meeting in Croatia, the International Hydropower Association awarded its biannual 2003 Blue Planet Prizes to the Palmiet pumped storage scheme in South Africa and the Salto Caxias hydro plant in Brazil.

Estonia.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Estonia: ABB has been awarded a [euro]4.3m ($5.1m) contract by the Eesti Energia northern grid to refurbish its power plant in the Estonian city of Paide--a strategic power hub in the central part of the republic.

Iceland.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Iceland: VA Tech Hydro has won a contract worth [euro]60m ($72m) to supply equipment for the Karahnjukar power plant in Iceland managed by Landsvirkjun, the national utility company.

Iraq.(News Digest)(Baiji power plant)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Iraq: India's Bharat Heavy Electricals has commissioned a 150 MW gas turbine at the Baiji power plant, 250 km north of Baghdad, Iraq. The $200m project was the largest single order under the UN's 'Oil for Food' programme.

Israel.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Israel: An agreement has been reached in principle to finance Israel's first two large privately-owned power stations. The tender to build the two $250m Mishor Rotem power stations is expected to be awarded to Ofer Brothers.

Kazakhstan.(News Digest)(Mangyshlak nuclear power complex )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Kazakhstan: Kazakh nuclear company Kazatomprom plans to spend $52.5m to upgrade and expand the Mangyshlak nuclear power complex between 2003 and 2010 to meet the increasing demand for power arising from the region's industrial development...

Montenegro.(News Digest)(Perucica hydropower plant)(Elektroprivrede Crne Gore )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Montenegro: Siemens is to provide equipment and undertake modernisation of the Perucica hydropower plant, responsible for 23 per cent of Montenegro's power. Montenegro utility Elektroprivrede Crne Gore will receive international donations to...

Oman.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Oman: India's National Thermal Power Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electrical are to form a consortium to compete for Oman's $1bn power and water desalination project planned for the city of Sohar. The consortium will also include an established...

Serbia Montenegro.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Serbia Montenegro: The European Investment Bank is to provide a [euro]22m ($26m) loan for the modernization of the power control system of EPS, the Serbian Electric Power Company.

Belgium.(News Digest)(University of Liege)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Belgium: Fuel Cell Technologies Limited has signed a contract to manufacture and supply one of its Second Generation Series Solid Oxide Fuel Cell 5 kW units to the University of Liege in Belgium.

Germany.(News Digest)(German Cartel Office blocks purchase)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Germany: The German Cartel Office has blocked E.ON's [euro]250m ($300m) purchase of energy distributor Stadtwerke Luebeck on the grounds that it would bolster E.ON's dominant market position.

Germany.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Germany: E.ON has met a further government requirement for its acquisition of Ruhrgas by selling its 32.36 per cent stake in SWB AG, a Bremen-based utility, to EWE AG, for [euro]305m ($366m).

Germany.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Germany: The small Baltic coastal town of Neustadt-Glewe has become the site of Germany's first geothermal power station. The plant is rated at 210 kW and extracts hot water from a 2000 m-deep bore hole.

Ireland.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ireland: Six power companies have tabled bids for a [euro]1.4bn ($1.67bn) contract to supply Ireland's Electricity Supply Board with up to 3400 MW over a ten-year period.

Italy.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Italy: Enel has completed the divestment of its third and last genco, Interpower, to Newco, held by Energia Italiana, Electrabel and Acea. The three sales, required under market liberalization laws, netted Enel [euro]8.3bn ($9.95bn).

Italy.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Italy: Enel has placed an order worth approximately [euro]10m ($12m) with Alstom for six hydro generators for its hydropower plants at Bussolengo, Gallicano and Rovesca in Italy. All three plants are scheduled to enter commercial operation in...

Spain.(News Digest)(EHN )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Spain: EHN is to install Catalonia's largest wind farm comprising 33 of its own-designed 1.5 MW wind turbines, at a cost of [euro]50m ($60m). The wind park will be operational in 2004.

Spain.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Spain: Iberdrola is planning to add additional combined cycle power plants with 1600 MW of generating capacity by 2007 to the 4000 MW CCGT build, scheduled by 2006.

UK.(News Digest)(payment for energy lost in transmission)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... UK: A group of power companies in Scotland and northern England challenging plans by UK energy regulator, Ofgem, to make them pay for energy lost in transmission, have won the right to have their case heard in court.

UK.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... UK: British Energy was forced to shut two units at its 1940 MW Eggborough coal fired power plant, following boiler tube leaks. A third unit was also closed for short-term maintenance.

UK.(News Digest)
December 1, 2003... UK: The UK has leapfrogged Germany into third place in Ernst & Young's Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index due to its improved offshore wind rating. Spain has overtaken the US as the most favourable international venue.

International.(News Digest)(Vladivostok)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... International: Russia, North Korea and South Korea have agreed to build an electric power line from Vladivostok to South Korea. Talks between Russia and South Korea have been taking place for some time, and North Korea has now agreed to the...

Australia.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Australia: Gas and electricity supplier Australian Gas Light Co. said it has addressed competition issues that could stop it from winning a A$3.5bn ($2.5bn) bid for the Loy Yang power station. AGL is seeking court approval to buy a 35 per cent...

China.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China: China requires more than 20 nuclear power plants by 2020 to meet rapidly growing electricity demand. The country needs the new facilities to meet a projected nuclear electricity output of four per cent of total capacity or 32m kW, by...

China.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... China: The Hongshui river in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was successfully dammed in November to pave the way for the construction of the Longtan power plant. The plant will start operating in 2009.

Indonesia.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Indonesia: Amoseas Indonesia said it will build a third geothermal electricity generating plant in West Java, scheduled to start operation in 2006. The Indonesian unit of CheveronTexaco Corp. said the 100 MW plant, called Darajat Unit III, will...

Philippines.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Philippines: Four Japanese companies have been prequalified to bid for a contract to build a wind power farm in the northern province of Ilocos Norte that is expected to cost $56m. Sumitomo, Kanematsu, Marubeni and Mitsui have been declared...

Philippines.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Philippines: The Philippines sale of 30 state-owned power plants is due to start this month, according to Energy Secretary, Vincent Perez. The first plant on the auction block is the 200 MW oil-fired Navotas 1 power plant.

Sri Lanka.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Sri Lanka: The government of Sri Lanka has invited the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to build a 300 MW power project. The project will be constructed on build-operate-own (BOO) basis and will be set up as a joint venture with the...

Uzbekistan.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Uzbekistan: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a technical assistance grant of $350 000 to assess the potential and options for renewable energy development in Uzbekistan.

Argentina.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Argentina: Argentina's government has scheduled formal meetings with foreign utility companies to discuss a long-awaited increase in service rates. The meetings with gas and electricity companies are the first formal talks in months on one of...

Brazil.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Brazil: Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has launched a major project to bring electricity to 12m rural Brazilians. The $2.4bn 'Light for All' project will be financed mostly by the federal government and the rest from state and...

Brazil.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Brazil: Higher power sales, a tariff hike and a stronger Real helped lift Brazil's largest power distributor out of the red in the third quarter 2003. Eletropaulo Metropolitana reported a net profit of R$6.9m ($2.4m) compared with a loss of...

Brazil.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Brazil: Brazil's federal power holding Eletrobras announced a joint project to complete a hydroelectric power plant with Electricidade de Portugal and said the partnership may be extended abroad. The stalled project is the Pexie Angical...

Chile.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Chile: A major blackout that left Chile's economic heartland without power for several hours stemmed from faulty grid operation, government officials said. They denied a lack of investment resulting from low power prices as the cause, which...

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... USA: A DTE Energy Technologies unit has received a $5.4m contract to develop, build, operate and maintain a microgrid at the NextEnergy site in Detroit. The project will use several emerging onsite energy technologies including fuel cells,...

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... USA: Wisconsin Energy regulators approved a final order for utility Wisconsin energy Corp. to build two coal-fired power plants to serve growing demand for electricity in the state. The Public Service Commission rejected a third power station,...

USA.(News Digest)(CheveronTexaco Corp)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... USA: A CheveronTexaco Corp. subsidiary. Port Pelican, has received approval for a deepwater port license to construct, own and operate an offshore liquefied natural gas receiving and regasification terminal on the Louisiana coastline in the...

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... USA: Caterpillar and FuelCell Energy Inc. have installed a 250 kW fuel cell-based power plant in Illinois. It will be connected to the local electricity grid and will be used as a demonstration unit.

Alstom bonds.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Alstom bonds: Shareholders in engineering group Alstom have agreed to a capital increase and bond issue to raise up to [euro]1.8bn ($2.16bn). The rights issue and sale of convertible subordinated bonds are subject to French regulatory approval....

Aquila lowers losses.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Aquila lowers losses: US energy group Aquila, which is undergoing a radical restructuring and asset sale programme, posted a third quarter loss of $169.9m compared with a $331.6m deficit for the 2002 third quarter.

Capstone milestone.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Capstone milestone: Microturbine power systems manufacturer Capstone Turbine has achieved five million operating hours for its microturbine systems over five years--equivalent to 570 years of continuous operation.

CEZ success.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CEZ success: Czech Republic power producer CEZ posted better than expected nine months profits. The CKr13.68bn ($495m) profit was boosted by the sale of its 66 per cent stake in the CEPS national electricity operator.

Doosan down.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Doosan down: Third quarter figures from Doosan Heavy Industries showed a net loss of 6.2bn won ($5.16m) with the Korean construction group seeing sales down 36.7 per cent and the impact of a series of labour disputes. Doosan also cited a global...

Enron pair negligent.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Enron pair negligent: Two former senior Enron executives, Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, were negligent over the widespread accounting abuses that led to the collapse of the Houston-based energy company, a bankruptcy court-appointed examiner...

E.ON third up.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... E.ON third up: Germany's E.ON group benefited from contributions from its Powergen and Ruhrgas acquisitions in reporting a 33 per cent increase in sales for the nine months to September. Consolidated internal operating profit rose by 11 per...

Fenosa advances.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Fenosa advances: Spanish utility Union Fenosa reported net income up 2.3 per cent to [euro]316m ($379m) for the first nine months of 2003, boosted by a 4.7 per cent increase in gross margin from international electricity business, particularly...

GE retirement.(News Digest)(Del Williamson, Jim Suciu)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... GE retirement: Del Williamson, president of Global Sales for GE Power Systems, has announced his intention to retire at the end of March 2004, after 45 years with GE. He will be succeeded by Jim Suciu, currently the company's vice president of...

Climate change: better off in a warmer world?(Report)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... Concerns over global warming are driving an era of change characterized by emissions trading and investment in new and renewable energy technologies. But a new book expresses doubts on the need for such investment, and blames 'climate...

Latin America: renewed incentives.(Renewable Energy Review)
December 1, 2003... The list of reasons in favour of the development of renewable projects in Latin America is as long and diverse as the region's geography and resources. However, only favourable government incentives can provide the necessary impetus to...

Solar flair.(Gas Turbine Technology)
December 1, 2003... Solar Turbines has announced the commercialization of the Mercury 50 gas turbine. This advanced, 4 MW unit represents a breakthrough in recuperative gas turbine technology, and will, says Solar, address barriers commonly faced in distributed...

A class of engine-uity.(Distributed Generation)
December 1, 2003... Rolls-Royce has developed a new gas engine designed for the growing reciprocating engine market. The B-gas engine is the world's most powerful spark-ignited gas engine, and the first unit--a 5 MW, 12-cylinder engine--has been operating in...

RADical: substation solution.(Distribution Systems)
December 1, 2003... CLP provides power to a large area of Hong Kong, including the busy shopping and commercial districts of the Special Administrative Region. A robust, efficient communications network is therefore vital to ensure reliable power supplies. ...