Power Engineering International articles from February 2008

Power Engineering International archives from February 2008

Beefing up the EU carbon trading scheme.(UP FRONT)
February 1, 2008... Late last month the European Commission (EC) announced plans to strengthen the Europe Union's (EU's) existing carbon trading scheme, as part of its commitment to reduce the EU's overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 per cent, compared to...

Nuclear power: the UK's weapon of choice in the war on carbon; In January the UK backed the building of a new generation of nuclear power stations in its latest Energy Bill. But that was the easy part. How close is the UK to building its first nuclear reactor since the 1980s?(ANALYSIS)
February 1, 2008... That the UK should put its weight behind nuclear power in its latest energy policy Energy Bill surprised few. The Labour Government's Energy Review of 2006, ultimately thrown out by the High Court after a legal challenge by Green-peace, had...

Bahrain.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Bahrain: A total of 13 bids have been prequalified for the Addur independent power and water project in Bahrain. They include International Power of the UK, India's Reliance Energy, Sembcorp of Singapore and France's Suez.

Egypt.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Egypt: Orascom Construction Industries of Egypt in partnership with Belgium's Besix, have been awarded a EGP560m ($101 m) civil works package for Egypt's 750 MW Sidi Krier combined-cycle power plant.

Iran.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Iran: Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of the country's atomic energy agency, expects Bushehr, Iran's first nuclear plant, to be producing electricity at full capacity of 1000 MW within a year.

Jordan.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Jordan: Qinetiq has won a $1m contract from Jordan's Central Electricity Generating Company to provide independent performance assessments at seven of the country's power stations.

Kyrgystan.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Kyrgystan: EDF and PricewaterhouseCooper have won the tender for an investment study of Kyrgystan's Kambarata-1 and -2 hydropower plants.

Libya.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Libya: Doosan Heavy Industries Et construction Company has won a $260m order to build a 1400 MW gas fired power plant for Libya's Gerneral Electricity Company.

Qatar.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Qatar: A multi-national group comprising Larsen & Toubro of India, South Korea's Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Isolux Corsan of Spain has won contracts for Phase eight of Qatar's [euro]800m ($1.19m) power transmission system expansion...

Russia.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Russia: The board of directors of RAO UES has recommended that OGK-2 approve the turnkey deal for a consortium led by JSC E4 Group to build two combined-cycle power generation units at the Stavropolskaya power plant.

South Africa.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... South Africa: Eskom is to build 20 GW of nuclear power by 2025. The first plant, expected to have a capacity of 3300-4000 MW, could be in commercial operation by 2017, if approved.

UAE.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... UAE: The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company is preparing to issue tenders to prequalified developers to build what is said to be world's largest solar thermal power project. Siemens and GE are expected to bid for the 1000 MW project.

Russia plans major atomic investment.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Petr Shchedrovitskiy, the deputy director of OAO Nuclear Energy complex, has said that Russia plans to build and put into operation two GW of nuclear power generation capacity per year, beginning from 2012. Shchedrovitskiy made this...

Power crisis forces South Africa to rethink its energy policy.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... South Africa's continuing electricity crisis is forcing Eskom, the state-owned utility, to look at diversifying its energy mix, moving towards renewable energy sources. Eskom has commissioned a study, which found that a comprehensive solar...

Areva signs power deals in Qatar.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Areva Transmission and Distribution has signed a [euro]470m ($699m) electricity distribution and transmission deal with Kahramaa, the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation. The deal is part of the Qatar Power Transmission System...

Abu Dhabi takes control of northern emirates generation.(INTERNATIONAL)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... A long-awaited agreement has been signed that will hand responsibility for power generation in the northern emirates to Abu Dhabi, according to a report in MEED. Under the deal, the five northern emirates will depend on the Abu Dhabi Water...

Abu Dhabi to host hydrogen power plant with CCS.(INTERNATIONAL)
February 1, 2008... Masdar, Abu Dhabi's initiative for alternative energy, and Hydrogen Energy, the joint venture between BP and Rio Tinto, are to develop the front-end engineering design of an industrial-scale hydrogen-fired power generation project with carbon...

European Union radically revamps Emissions Trading Scheme.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... The European Union (EU) is to slash the number of carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) permits it issues to utilities under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and will auction all permits from 2013. The European Commission proposed that C[O.sub.2]...

Evidence for building new generation of nuclear power stations "compelling": UK.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... A new generation of nuclear power stations in the UK has been given formal backing by the government. In a policy statement to the House of Commons, Business and Enterprise Secretary John Hutton urged utilities to build a new generation of...

UK energy minister gives backing to new geopressure energy technology.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... UK energy minister Malcolm Wicks has announced his government's support for electricity generated from geopressure. Geopressure is pressure naturally occurring through geological activity, and can be harnessed to generate electricity by...

RWE Power and GE to develop advanced storage technology with zero emissions.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... RWE Power has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GE for the joint development and validation of a zero-emission storage technology. The technology is called Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage, and a major challenge will...

Siemens, E.ON to cooperate on carbon capture.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Germany's Siemens and utility E.ON are to cooperate on a new process to remove carbon dioxide emissions (C[O.sub.2]) in power generation. The companies said the starting point of the partnership is the development of a solvent with special...

Aker to invest $160m in carbon capture unit at gas fired plant.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Norwegian industrial group Aker is to invest $160m in a facility to capture carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) emissions from a power plant, saying it would be the first and biggest of its kind. Aker said it would build the unit at Kaarstoe in...

Finland.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Finland: Fortum is to develop a carbon capture pilot plant at the 565 MW coal fired Meri-Pori power plant. Building should commence by 2013, with completion by 2015.

Iceland.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Iceland: The Reykjavik Energy Graduate School of Sustainable Systems (REYST) has been officially launched. REYST offers an international graduate programme focusing on sustainable energy use, especially geothermal energy.

Italy.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Italy: According to Anev, Italy's National Wind Energy Association, in 2007 the installed wind energy capacity in the country rose to 2726 MW up by 30 per cent on the previous year. New installations amounted to 633 MW and the electricity...

Netherlands.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Netherlands: Alstom has won an order worth over [euro]400 ($591m) from Suez unit Electrabel Nederland to build a 870 MW combined-cycle power plant in Lelystad, in the centre of the Netherlands. The plant will be the first of its type to be...

Norway.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Norway: Transmissions system operator, Statnett, and German counterpart, E.ON Netz, are to engage in a joint feasibility study of a subsea DC-cable linking Norway and Germany. The interconnector would have a capacity of 700-1400 MW and would be...

Poland.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Poland: Poludniowy Koncern Energetyczny (PKE), Poland's second largest power group, will put on line a new coal and biomass fired 460 MW power station in Bedzin in the first quarter of 2009.

Spain.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Spain: According to the Wind Business Association (AEE) in Spain, wind energy experienced growth of 30 per cent in its installed capacity during 2007, reaching 15 GW, with a total of 3.5 GW being added during the year.

Ukraine.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... Ukraine: Emergencies minister Volodymar Shandra has told of plans to remove nuclear fuel stored at three power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Ukraine by 2010.

UK.(EUROPE)
February 1, 2008... UK: British Energy has said that remedial engineering work lasting several months is required to return four reactors at its Hartlepool and Heysham-1 power stations to service.

Bangladesh.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Bangladesh: The Bangladeshi government has decided in principle to invite private sector investors, nonresident Bangladeshis and banks to submit expression of interests for participating in a public-private joint venture to set up a 450 MW...

China Electricity Council.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... China: According to the China Electricity Council, the country's major power plants produced 3.26tn kWh of electricity last year, up almost 14.5 per cent year-on-year.

BP.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... China: Energy major BP is to conduct a feasibility study with the China Academy of Sciences into clean coal conversion technologies, and has signed a framework agreement with Beijing Tianrun New Energy Investment Company for new wind power...

ITER.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... China: ITER, the international fusion power research and development project is to receive a significant injection of cash from China. It is anticipated that China will invest RMB10bn ($1.4bn), which represents ten per cent of the overall cost...

The first coal fired power plant employing carbon capture and storage in China is planned to begin operation in 2009 under a joint venture partnership called GreenGen.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... China: The first coal fired power plant employing carbon capture and storage in China is planned to begin operation in 2009 under a joint venture partnership called GreenGen. The $1bn, 650 MW plant will be built at Tianjin near Beijing.

India.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... India: As part of its endeavour to install 200 MW of wind capacity within the next two years, Oil & Natural Gas Limited has placed an order with Sulzon Energy to build a 51 MW wind farm in the Kutch region of Gujarat.

Japan.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Japan: A five-year, $10bn fund, called the 'Cool Earth Partnership' has been set up by Japan to support developing countries in their efforts to reduce their emissions, and therefore help in the combat against global warming.

Laos.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Laos: Than am Lik 1-2 Power Company Limited, a Chinese investment firm, is to develop a 100 MW two-turbine hydroelectric plant in Laos' northern Vientiane province. The first turbine will go online in May 2010 and the second in July 2010.

Nepal.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Nepal: The much-discussed Tamakoshi 390 MW hydro project is finally to go ahead. At a board meeting of the Employees Provident Fund and the Nepal Electricity Authority the decision was made to finance the deal.

Nuclear giants court Thailand.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... The world's major nuclear technology manufacturers are reported to have expressed interest in bidding for Thailand's proposed civil nuclear programme. According to the Bangkok Post, Toshiba and Mitsubishi of Japan, France's Areva and GE...

Conergy's subsidiary to build Australia's largest wind farm to the tune of.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... A unit of Conergy, a leading German solar energy company, has teamed up with Australia's Macquarie Bank to construct a A$2.5bn ($2.2bn) wind farm on the eastern coast of Australia. Under the joint venture, Conergy's wholly-owned unit Epuron...

Construction of China's first third-generation nuclear power plant imminent.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... The construction of China's first third-generation nuclear plant, the Sanmen power plant, is set to begin in March says the State Nuclear Power Technology Company (SNPTC). Wang Binghua, SNPTC's chairman of the board, said the plant in east...

India's Reliance to invest $28bn in power projects.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Indian utility Reliance Power has announced it will generate 28 GW of electricity by building 13 projects in the next seven years with an investment totalling $28bn. Lalit Jalan, director of Reliance Power, said that the 13 projects would...

KEPCO succesfully injects carbon in deep coal beds.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... According to a report by Kyodo News International, Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) of Japan has successfully injected a large amount of carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) into deep coal beds by using nitrogen. The technology is claimed to be...

South East Asia power cooperation.(ASIA-PACIFIC)
February 1, 2008... Industry officials from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia signed a power cooperation deal at the end of last year. Under the agreement, Cambodia will purchase electricity from the Electricity of Vietnam Corporation for its Kongpongcham province...

Argentina.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Argentina: Spanish engineering firm Duro Felguera has won a [euro]26m ($38m) contract to build a gas fired power plant in Buenos Aires for Brazil's state-run oil producer Petrobras.

Maritime Electric.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Canada: Maritime Electric is inviting expressions of interest from firms willing to develop wind energy projects on Prince Edward Island.

Seven firms will be competing in the final stages of bidding for ten wind projects.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Canada: Seven firms will be competing in the final stages of bidding for ten wind projects, ranging from 66 MW to 100 MW, being planned by Manitoba Hydro.

A fire in its turbine building has resulted in Colbun's 368 MW Nehuenco 1 thermal plant being offline since late December.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Chile: A fire in its turbine building has resulted in Colbun's 368 MW Nehuenco 1 thermal plant being offline since late December. Siemens is providing technical assistance for the repairs.

Suez Energy International.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Chile: Suez Energy International has agreed to supply up to 150 MW to the new Esperanza mining project in Northern Chile from 2011, and to do so will build a new unit at the Central Termoelectrica Andina coal fired plant.

A Fluor Corporation-led team.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: A Fluor Corporation-led team has won a $4bn US Department of Energy contract for the management and operation of the Savannah River nuclear materials storage site for a five-year period.

A survey from the Geothermal Energy Association.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: A survey from the Geothermal Energy Association has identified geothermal project potential totalling 3368 MW across the USA.

The US wind energy industry installed 5244 MW of new capacity in 2007.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: The US wind energy industry installed 5244 MW of new capacity in 2007, increasing the total capacity by 45 per cent, at a cost of $9bn.

UniStar Nuclear Energy.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: UniStar Nuclear Energy has agreed with PPL Corporation to prepare and submit a Combined Licence Application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a potential third reactor near PPL's Susquehanna plant near Berwick, PA.

URS Corp.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: URS Corp has been awarded a $180m contract to help the Tennessee Valley Authority design, build or renovate combined-cycle and simple-cycle gas fired power plants including a new 600 MW CCGT at Lagoon Creek, TN.

Wartsila.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... USA: Wartsila has won an equipment supply contract worth over $100m by South Texas Electric Cooperative for a 202.5 MW gas fired power plant, including 24 Wartsila 20V34SG engines.

Ontario set for $40 bn investment in nuclear power over next 15 years.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Bruce Power and Canadian Manufacturers & Exports (CME) are preparing for up to $40bn of new nuclear investment in Ontario over the next 15 years. Nuclear energy plays a large role in Ontario's energy plan announced last year. CME and Bruce...

BNDES approves $4.35bn in Brazilian hydro plants.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Brazil's federal development bank BDNES is to provide additional loans totalling 7.79bn reais ($4.35bn) for the construction of 13 hydroelectric power plants, under Brazil's PAC growth development programme. This brings the total investment in...

US regulatory commission approves cyber security standards.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved eight mandatory critical infrastructure protection reliability standards to protect the USA's bulk power system against potential disruptions from cyber security breaches. These...

Mitsubishi seek US design approval for PWR.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has applied to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for standard design certification (DC) in respect of the US-APWR, the company's 1700 MW class advanced pressurized water reactor aimed at the...

Energy Northwest ditches project to bury emissions.(AMERICAS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... US utility Energy Northwest is abandoning plans to inject some of its carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) emissions underground at its proposed Pacific Mountain Energy Centre near Kalama. The 793 MW project was initially touted as a candidate for...

Georgia power selects turbines for 2520 MW CCGT.(AMERICAS)
February 1, 2008... Georgia Power has agreed to buy up to six M510G gas turbines from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to be installed at the company's Jack McDonough combined-cycle power plant in Smyrna, GA, USA. The gas turbines will be supplied by Mitsubishi...

Search for solar.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Search for solar: Google has invested $10m into eSolar, a Californian company specialising in solar thermal energy, as part of its pledge to use some of its profits to "develop renewable energy cheaper than coal".

The nuclear option.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... The nuclear option: Sweden's Vattenfall has appointed Per-Olof Waessman to the newly established function as chief nuclear officer.

Hungry for success.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Hungry for success: Hungarian oil company MOL has sold seven per cent of its shares to Czech utility CEZ as part of a strategic alliance that will involve the construction of two 800 MW combined-cycle plants at MOL's refineries in Hungary.

Raising the stakes.(COMPANIES)(BKW FMB Energy Limited is acquiring a 33 per cent share in coal fired power plant of Electrabel Deutschland AG.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Raising the stakes: BKW FMB Energy Limited (BKW) is to expand its presence in Germany and is to acquire a minority interest in a planned coal fired power plant of Electrabel Deutschland AG. BKW is acquiring a 33 per cent share in a 720 MW coal...

Wafer thin.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Wafer thin: China's LDK Solar has agreed to a 10-year solar wafers supply deal with Taiwanese solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp.

Swedes for sale.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Swedes for sale: German energy group E.ON has plans to invest SEK90bn($14bn) in energy production in Sweden over the next few years. E.ON is also planning to acquire Norwegian group Stakraft's 44.6 per cent stake in E.ON Sweden and finalize the...

California dreamin'.(COMPANIES)(partnership between SunPower Corp. and GE Energy Financial Services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... California dreamin': SunPower and GE Energy Financial Services are partnering to build solar power installations generating eight MW in California by the end of 2008. The five projects include what could become the nation's largest solar panel...

Not drowning, waving.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Not drowning, waving: Fortum is to invest approximately [euro]0.6m ($0.89m) in the research and development of Swedish wave power, acquiring a share in the Islandsberg wave power test site.

Turning Japanese.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Turning Japanese: Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited has signed an agreement with Paloma Industries Limited of Japan to develop fuel cell micro-combined heat and power (CHP) products for the Japanese residential market.

Share price plunge forces Denmark to delay Dong flotation for third time.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... The Danish government has postponed the flotation of Dong Energy for the third time, citing the poor condition of global equity markets. This meams that Copenhagen has stalled the launched of what would have been Denmark's second-largest...

Carbon permits auction could cost Drax its independence as a generator: report.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Drax, operator of Europe's biggest coal-fired power plant, is facing a crippling increase in operating costs after the European Union decided to begin auctioning carbon emission permits rather than giving them away, according to The...

Ireland's Airtricity sells for $2.7bn.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has bought Airtricity in a $2.7bn deal, which makes SSE the biggest wind farm company in the UK. The principal assets of Airtricity that SSE will acquire comprise a 308 MW portfolio of operating onshore...

Ofgem: no evidence for big six secret meetings.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... There is "no evidence" that the UK's 'big six' energy providers are operating a secret cartel to keep gas and electricity prices falsely high, the industry watchdog Ofgem said. Alistair Buchanan, chief executive at Ofgem, denied that a...

GE signs wind turbine pact with Invenergy.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... Atlanta, USA based GE Energy has inked a $1bn deal with wind farm operator Invenergy. The deal between GE Energy, the energy arm of engineering conglomerate GE, and Invenergy LLC is one of the largest deals in the history of the wind...

EDF and ACS in joint Iberdrola bid talks.(COMPANIES)
February 1, 2008... EDF, the French electricity group, and ACS, Spain's largest construction group, are in preliminary talks over a joint bid for Spain's largest utility, Iberdrola, politicians and investment bankers said, according to the Financial Times. ...

China: taming the power hungry dragon; China has the second-largest electricity market in the world, and its demand for power is set to grow exponentially. In the IEA's latest World Energy Outlook the impact of differing future scenarios on the development of this market is explored. We focus on the impact of two of those scenarios.(CHINA)
February 1, 2008... The 2007 edition of the International Energy Agency's (IEA's) well-respected World Energy Outlook (WEO) has a special focus on China and India, the world's two emerging economic and energy giants. As in previous WEOs, a scenario approach was...

Reacting to rising nuclear standards: last month the British government gave the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power plants. Four new designs are in the running to be the first to replace the UK's ageing Magnox and Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors (AGRs). Chris Webb considers what each has to offer.(Nuclear Reactor Designs)
February 1, 2008... More than half a century since it became the world's first nuclear power generator, the UK has signalled its endorsement of a technology that remains embroiled in controversy. Despite concerns of its critics about the perceived long-term...

The hard cell: smart solutions for renewable energy storage.(Energy Storage)
February 1, 2008... The number of utilities interested in renewable power is growing and more large-scale projects are being implemented, but the wider acceptance of these technologies is still being hampered by their intermittent nature. However, the Smart...

Hiring and firing: the joy of fuel flexibility; Finland's Alholmens Kraft CHP plant is unique in that it utilizes different fuels from biofuels to coal to fire its large-scale boiler. By using this wide range of fuels, the plant is able to be both environmentally friendly and highly competitive. PEi finds out how.(Multi-fuel Boiler Technology)
February 1, 2008... The overriding objectives of the Alholmens Kraft power plant, which was commissioned in early 2002 in Pietarsaari, Finland, was to demonstrate for the first time novel technology for multi-fuel and low emission co-generation at a new commercial...

Weighing up the risks of power procurement: David Titterton of npower business discusses how a new service is arming major energy users with the tools they need to tackle the risks inherent in energy buying.(Power Procument)
February 1, 2008... In the past five years trends in energy purchasing and use have undergone significant changes. Gone are the days when organizations procured energy by simply buying the best value fixed-price contract and then turned their backs on energy...