Power Engineering International articles from March 2007

Power Engineering International archives from March 2007

The Russian bear stirs from its slumber.(Up Front)(Unified Energy Systems of Russia plans its investments)
March 1, 2007... In August last year, RAO UES (Unified Energy System of Russia), the dominant player in the Russian electricity sector, put forward an investment programme for the period 2006-2010, totalling RUB2 trillion ($76.4 billion) and providing 20.9 GW...

Keeping a lid on carbon emissions.(Analysis)
March 1, 2007... The IPCC's Fourth Assessment report on climate change concluded that it is 'very likely" that global climate change has been induced through anthropogenic carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) emissions. As a major C[O.sub.2] emitter, which options does...

Human activity responsible for climate change--report.(international)
March 1, 2007... The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been published, concluding that anthropogenic carbon emissions are to blame for global warming. "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is...

GE Energy wins Saudi contracts worth $1bn.(international)
March 1, 2007... GE Energy has announced a series of new contracts for projects in Saudi Arabia with a value topping more than $1bn in total. Among the contracts is a deal for the Marafiq generation and desalination project, located in Jubail Industrial...

Azerbaijan plans transmission link with Turkey.(international)
March 1, 2007... Plans for a power transmission line that will link Azerbaijan with Turkey via Georgia have been launched. The Tbilisi Declaration on regional cooperation, signed by leaders of the three nations, includes the statement: "We agree to support...

Siemens substation for Abu Dhabi.(international)
March 1, 2007... Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution is to construct a [euro]120m ($158m) 400 kV turnkey substation for the power supply on Saadiyat Island off Abu Dhabi. The substation forms part of a three-phase plan for the island, some 500 m...

Albania.(News digest)(KESH and Marie Engineering contract )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Albania: KESH, the Albanian Electro-Energy Corp, has signed a contract with Marie Engineering of Italy for the development of a [euro]92m ($121m) power plant. The 100 MW oil fired station will be located in the south of the country, 140 km...

Belarus.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Belarus: Two new nuclear plants are planned to begin generation by 2016. The first unit is due for commissioning in 2014, with the second to follow two years later.

Kenya.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Kenya: Ormat Technologies has exchanged securities with the Kenyan Power and Lighting Exchange as part of the development of a 35 MW geothermal project at Olkaria.

Oman.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Oman: Wood Group has been awarded a 16-year maintenance contract for GE turbines at the 665 MW Al-Rusail Power Company project in the Sultanate. The deal, from subsidiaries of Suez, is worth around $92m.

Qatar.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Qatar: Kahramaa, the Qatar General electricity and Water Corp has allocated a budget of QR12.6bn ($3.5bn) for the development of four main areas of water and power network infrastructure. The budget includes QR7.6bn for electricity...

Romania.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Romania: Italy's Enel is planning to invest some [euro]1.5bn ($2bn) in the Romanian energy sector. Plans include an oil pipeline to be developed between Constanta and Trieste.

Norlisk Nickel.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Russia: Metals giant Norlisk Nickel is planning to spin off power assets worth some $2.5bn before the end of the year. The move is seen as a precursor to a state buy up of the strategic metal production assets.

Leningrad.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Russia: Units 3 and 4 of the Leningrad nuclear power station is to be modernized, extending its lifespan beyond their original decommissioning dates of 2009 and 2011, respectively.

Saudi Arabia.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Saudi Arabia: A [euro]7.6m ($10m) turnkey contract to deliver two 7 MW power plants to a Saudi dairy project has been won by Wartsila. The 14 MW project, due for operations in June 2008, will be located at Haradh agricultural project site, 280...

South Africa.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... South Africa: The country's first landfill gas-to-energy project is underway. Two projects will be developed near Durban in early 2007 using methane from the La Mercy and Mariann landfills, and will have a 1.5 MW capacity.

Turkey.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Turkey: A planned sale of Turkish distribution grids is to be delayed until after parliamentary elections due in November.

Uganda.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Uganda: IPL Skandinavian and MAN B & W have revealed plans to develop a 100 MW thermal plant.

Eon blamed for November European power outage.(europe)
March 1, 2007... The Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity (UCTE) has unveiled a detailed final report on the power disturbances that struck much of Western Europe on 4 November 2006, finding Eon Netz largely responsible. The report,...

UK wind-gas hybrid scheme gets go-ahead.(europe)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A unique wind-gas dual energy scheme to be sited off the UK's Cumbrian coast has been given the green light. The 200 MW Ormonde project from Eclipse Energy will be sited 10 km from Walney Island near Barrow in Furness. Almost half of the...

BP defers zero carbon plans.(europe)
March 1, 2007... A decision to build a 'zero emissions' power plant at Peterhead in Scotland has been deferred by BP after doubts were raised concerning the political climate. The proposals envisage a 475 MW station that would use reforming technology to...

Germany set to reconsider nuclear phase-out plans.(europe)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Controversial plans to phase-out nuclear generation in Germany are expected to come under review in the face of uncertainty over Russian energy supplies, climate change considerations and growing power demand. The phase-out of nuclear power...

Denmark.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Denmark: New energy plan proposals will see the country increase its generation from renewables to 30 per cent, up from the current level of 15 per cent, by 2025.

France.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... France: Total has launched a pilot carbon dioxide capture and sequestration project in the Lacq basin in Southwestern France. The [euro]60m ($79m) oxy-fired project will see 150 000 tonnes of the gas injected into a depleted oil field over two...

Germany.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Germany: Zenergy Power has won the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation award for its work on high temperature superconducting cables. The company's wires have 100 times the current density of conventional copper cables.

Greece.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Greece: A lack of rainfall and the closure of a number of Eastern European nuclear reactors is expected to mean that Greece will begin importing expensive power from Italy in order to meet its summer demand.

Poland.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Poland: Warsaw wants to postpone full liberalization of the natural gas market, as required under EU rules, until at least 2010.

Slovenia.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Slovenia: The European Commission has approved an 8.3m tonne per year emissions cap for the 2008-12 phase two of the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).

Spain.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Spain: Union Fenosa has awarded a [euro]80m ($105m) contract to Alstom for the retrofit of a boiler at the 550 MW Meirama coal fired power station. The boiler will be converted to run on bituminous coal from brown coal, the biggest such...

Sweden.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Sweden: Vattenfall has admitted unacceptable quality deficiencies in its operation of the Forsmark reactors. From July 2007 the reactor at Unit 1 will be shut down in order to investigate the faulty operation of reserve generators.

Officials planning the London 2012 Olympic Games.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... UK: Officials planning the London 2012 Olympic Games are negotiating with developers to install and operate all energy needs at zero cost, in return for keeping any assets and selling future output to those businesses on the site.

RWE.(News digest)(RWE npower plc's new gas turbine station)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... UK: RWE npower is to build a combined-cycle gas turbine station in the UK as part of a [pounds sterling]900m ($1.8bn) investment plan for the UK. Alstom will carry out the work. Two potential sites have been identified for the plant, with up to...

The Airtricity Braes O'Doune.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... UK: The Airtricity Braes O'Doune windfarm near Stirling in Scotland has pushed the UK over the 2 GW installed wind power capacity level. The 36 turbine, 72 MW project pushes the UK into seventh place worldwide for installed wind capacity.

Soaring energy use shocks China.(asia-pacific)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... State figures recording China's massive energy demand growth have prompted industrialized nations to press the country to take action on cutting carbon emissions. The latest figures show that the country added 102 GW of new capacity in...

Mitsubushi and AES commence Pakistani plant negotiations.(asia-pacific)
March 1, 2007... AES and Mitsubishi have been given the go-ahead to open negotiations for at least one $1bn coal-fired power project from Pakistan's Private Power and Infrastructure board (PPIB). The agency has issued a letter of interest to both companies...

Renewable target increase for Japan.(asia-pacific)
March 1, 2007... Japan's trade ministry has drawn up a plan requiring generators to produce 16 TWh of energy from renewable sources by March 2015. The proposal marks a 31 per cent increase over the previously set target of 12.2 TWh by March 2010. ...

Hydropower plans unveiled by Malaysia.(asia-pacific)
March 1, 2007... Malaysia is planning a massive increase in its hydropower generation over the next decade in an effort to reduce its dependence on gas fired capacity. The proposals call for hydroelectricity to provide 30 per cent of the nation's capacity...

Report on Australian energy costs questioned.(asia-pacific)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A recent study which predicts massive hikes in energy costs for Australians by addressing greenhouse gas emissions has been dismissed by a leading academic. The study to determine the least costly forms of generation in 2030 to meet...

A bilateral alliance with China will see the two countries join efforts to develop clean coal technologies.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Australia: A bilateral alliance with China will see the two countries join efforts to develop clean coal technologies. The agreement follows a recent summit between Australian premier John Howard and his Chinese opposite number Wen Jiabao.

American Superconductor.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Australia: American Superconductor has received an order from Suzlon for a Dynamic VAR system for Australia's 94.5 MW Hallet wind farm. The D-VAR will be delivered in the second half of 2007 to connect the AGL project to the national grid.

Bangladesh.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Bangladesh: The caretaker government has announced plans to add 957 MW of capacity to the national grid this year through accelerated construction programmes and refurbishment of existing units. A further 3435 MW of projects are due to commence...

A $5.8bn programme to triple installed wind capacity by 2010 has been launched in China.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... China: A $5.8bn programme to triple installed wind capacity by 2010 has been launched in China. The government has raised its target to 8 GW, up from the previous 5 GW target and a huge increase on the current 2.3 GW installed.

The first domestically made 1 GW supercritical coal-fired station has been installed at the Hueneng Yuhan plant in Zhejiang province.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... China: The first domestically made 1 GW supercritical coal-fired station has been installed at the Hueneng Yuhan plant in Zhejiang province. Clyde Bergemann supplied the ash handling system and FGD equipment for the plant.

Vestas.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... China: Vestas has received a number of orders for wind turbines with a total capacity of 187 MW for two projects in China. Datang Chifeng Saihanba Wind Power and Yilan Longyuan Wind Power have collectively ordered 220 Vestas 850 kW turbines....

India.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... India: ABB has won a $42m contract for the installation of an integrated power distribution system for India's Karnataka Power Transmission Corp. The SCADA-based system will monitor 830 substations within the state.

Indonesia.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Indonesia: Jakarta's PLN has signed 10 contracts with independent power producing companies (IPPs) for power at up to $0.05/kWh. The contracts, worth $462 m, will see 423 MW of coal-fired capacity developed by 2010.

Philippines.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Philippines: The government has failed for the fourth times to divest the national electricity transmission system after only one bidder submitted an offer. The government is now considering entering into a negotiated agreement rather than...

Vietnam.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Vietnam: China Shanghai Corp for Foreign Economic and Technical Cooperation has selected GE to install an OC 4000 distributed control system at the Son Dong thermal power plant in Vietnam.

Argentina.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Argentina: Two decrees have been signed by President Nestor Kirchner ratifying rate increases for distribution companies Edenor and Edesur. The decrees allow for a 15 per cent rate hike.

Canada.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Canada: The Canadian Renewable Energy Corp has signed a [euro]7m ($9.22m) contract with cable company Nexans for the supply of a 7.8 km 245 kV HVDC submarine cable for the 200 MW Wolfe Island wind project in Lake Ontario. Commerical operations...

Cuba.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Cuba: Researchers are investigating thermo-oceanic energy as a source of both energy a clean water. Several zones have been identified in Cuba that could be used to develop the technologies necessary.

Mexico.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Mexico: The Veracruz state government is to renegotiate a contract with Germany's Inek for the 150 turbine Valle de Perote wind farm. The government had previous rescinded the [euro]350m ($461 m) contract over land payment issues.

Siemens.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... USA: Siemens is leading a consortium to supply equipment for a new $1bn, 700 MW coal-fired station in West Virginia, due online in 2011. The ultra-supercritical project is being developed by Longview Power, a subsidiary of GenPower.

Wartsila.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... USA: Wartsila is to supply equipment for a 115.5 MW gas fired project to be built in Northern California for Tierra Energy. The $50m contract will see 14 Wartsila engines begin commerical operations in May 2009 at the Eastshore plant.

Solar Integrated Technologies.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... USA: Solar Integrated Technologies has won a $13m contract from retail chain Tesco for a roof-mounted 2 MW photovoltaic system. The system is to be installed at the Tesco distribution centre under construction in Riverside, California.

A Federal Appeals Court.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... USA: A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must force power plants to protect aquatic life, saying that decisions must be based on "technology, not cost."

Wal-Mart.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... USA: Retail giant Wal-Mart has entered the energy market by creating an electricity company in Texas. Texas Retail Energy will supply its stores with energy bought at wholesale prices.

AES Corp.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Venezuela: AES Corp has agreed a deal with Venezuela for the purchase of AES' 82 per cent stake in La Electricidad de Caracas (EDC), for $739m.

CVG Edelca.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Venezuela: State-owned CVG Edelca has contracted VA Tech Hydro and Voith Siemens to modernise the 10.3 GW Simon Bolivar hydro station in Guri. The [euro]100m ($131m) deal will see the five refurbished turbines commissioned between 2010-12.

US power groups back bill to cut carbon emissions.(americas)
March 1, 2007... A Congress bill that aims to cuts carbon emissions by 25 per cent below projected levels by 2020 has been backed by six US power companies. Senator Dianne Feinstein and co-sponsor Tom Carper, both of the Democratic Party, said the cap and...

EU urges California to join up to its carbon trading scheme.(americas)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... European Union environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has held talks with Californian officials on fitting the state's proposed emissions trading scheme with the existing European scheme. "We are trying to make their trading scheme...

Brazil plans for new thermal capacity.(americas)(Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. contract with Skanska)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... Petrobras, the Brazilian national oil company, is to build a 220 MW co-generation power plant in Cubatao, 60 km from Sao Paulo. The contract for detailed engineering, procurement, construction and assembly, commissioning and start up...

Canada unveils plans to bolster domestic renewable energy supplies.(americas)
March 1, 2007... Canada has announced more than C$1.5bn (US$1.29bn) in funding to boost the country's renewable energy supplies to the tune of 4000 MW. The first component of the so-called ecoEnergy Renewable Initiative will see C$1.48bn invested to boost...

Texan utility TXU agrees to $44.5bn private equity takeover bid.(americas)
March 1, 2007... The board of TXU, Texas' largest electricity producer, has approved a $44.5bn takeover by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Texas Pacific Group, in what would rank as the largest private buyout in USA corporate history. KKR and Texas...

Areva RePowers.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Areva RePowers: German wind power company REPower is the subject of an Areva bid offer. The [euro]850m ($1.12bn) move, which represents a cash offer of g105/share would bring significant offshore experience to the Areva group.

Big biomass for Areva.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Big biomass for Areva: The French technology company Areva is to construct six 10-12 MW biomass power plants in Brazil and in Thailand in a series of deals worth [euro]70m ($92.1m). The contracts are with CCC Machinery in Germany and Bua Sommai...

China has Solarfun.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... China has Solarfun: Chinese PV manufacturing company Solarfun Power Holdings has announced a three year sales agreement from some 140 MW of capacity to UB Garanty Project. The deal, which is expected to have a value of $40-$50m, will see the...

Fuel cell identity switch.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Fuel cell identity switch: MTU CFC Solutions, developers of a molten carbonate hot fuel cell for power and heat cogeneration is to be re-branded as CFC Solutions.

Infinis power.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Infinis power: RE-Gen, a biogas fired power generation company with a combined 42 MW of capacity across 24 sites in the southern UK has been acquired by Infinis from Summerleaze. The [pounds sterling]80m ($157m) deal will give Infinis access to...

Laird low.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Laird low: Designer and manufacturers of antennas and EMI shielding products Laird Technologies has acquired AeroComm for $38m. AeroComm produces wireless communications systems for OEM applications where high reliability is required.

Moroccan roll out.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Moroccan roll out: ABB has announced its decision to sell its stakes in two independent power projects in Morocco and India to Abu Dhabi-based investor group Taqa. The combined sale amounts to g490m ($654m).

Mott MacDonald supersizes.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... Mott MacDonald supersizes: Massachusetts-based engineering design firm Careba Power has been acquired by Mott MacDonald. Careba, which focuses on major power generation and transmission projects, will join the group's North American team.

PAS the Honeywell.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... PAS the Honeywell: PAS has sold its Advanced Control and Optimization business to Honeywell. The transaction includes linear and non-linear control technologies as well as related customer contracts. Commercial terms were not disclosed

RENK outsider.(News digest)
March 1, 2007... RENK outsider: RENK intends to take over Switzerland's MAAG Gear's business within new gear types for MAAG turbo gears and the service for MAAG turbo and marine gears.

Brussels to investigate low power prices in Spain.(companies)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The European Commission has launched an investigation into regulated electricity tariffs, which it suspects constitute illegal state aid for some power firms. The regulator opened a formal inquiry into Spain's regulated electricity tariffs...

Enel purchases 9.99 per cent stake in Spain's Endesa.(companies)
March 1, 2007... Enel could decide to launch a bid for Endesa SA as one of a series of options open to it following its acquisition of 9.99 per cent of the Spanish energy group, according to an Italian newspaper report. The daily Il Sole 24 Ore said Enel...

Essent and Nuon merger faces up to antitrust investigations.(Netherlands Competition Authority )(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... The Netherland's two largest energy utilities, Essent and Nuon, appear set to clash with Dutch antitrust regulators after agreeing a [euro]24bn ($31.6bn) merger. The merger, which would create one of the largest European energy groups, is...

Wartsila acquires green tech firm.(companies)
March 1, 2007... Wartsila has signed an agreement to acquire the Swedish company Senitec, a privately-owned environmental technology specialist that supplies products for separating waste such as oily water and sludge in power plants. This new business expands...

Beleaguered boss of Forsmark quits.(companies)(Lars Fagerberg, Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB)(Brief article)
March 1, 2007... A series of recent events at Sweden's troubled Forsmark nuclear station has prompted the managing director of the plant to resign. Lars Fagerberg decided that he no longer had the full confidence of the board. Goran Lundgren, head of...

Diary dates.(Calendar)
March 1, 2007... March European Nuclear Forum 13th-14th March Paris, France www.marketforce.eu.com Asia Power & Energy Congress 20th-23rd March Singapore www.terrapinn.com Fatigue 2007 26th-28th March ...

M & A power surge: merger and acquisition activity in the world's utilities market broke all records in 2006, with Europe's electricity sector leading the way.(UTILITY BUSINESS)
March 1, 2007... In the recently published Power Deals Annual Review 2006 by PricewaterhouseCooper, total bid values reached a record $298.8 billion. This represents an extra $102.6 billion, or a 52 per cent increase, on 2005, and almost seven times the $43...

Gas conversion provides Turkish delight: power plant owners operating heavy fuel oil burning engines are under pressure from authorities to adapt them to run on natural gas. When Turkish cement manufacturer Denizli Cimento's diesel engine was due an overhaul, the choice to convert was obvious.(Gas Engines)
March 1, 2007... Denizli's Wartsila 16V46 diesel engine had completed 53000 hours of operation and a major overhaul was approaching. The plant was also on the wrong side of Turkey's environmental authorities--placing the plant's operating licence in...

Submarine Baltic exchange: talk of creating a power link between the Baltic States and the Nordic region began back in the 1990s, but little movement followed. However, it finally become a reality when the Estlink commenced operation.(Transmission & Distribution)
March 1, 2007... In early December 2006 the official inauguration ceremony for the 'Estlink'--the first power link between the Baltic States and the Nordic countries--took place simultaneously in Estonia and Finland. The link between these two key grids is...

Planning for a rainy day: in unplanned power plant outages, with commercial implications and financial costs mounting, the pressure to provide a quick and effective solution is high. Alstom's Emergency Response Planning offers one such solution.(Operation & Maintenance)
March 1, 2007... In today's increasingly commercial and efficiency-driven environment in the power industry, forced outages have a significant effect on revenues. Thus, the reliability and availability of any plant are key drivers. When a forced outage...