Power Engineering International articles from November 2003

Power Engineering International archives from November 2003

Banking on power?(Up Front)(Cogentrix Energy )
November 1, 2003... I found the news that Goldman Sachs is to buy stricken US developer Cogentrix Energy intriguing to say the least. After all, what business does a bank have owning power assets? The $2.4 billion acquisition will add 26 generating plants and...

Powergen boosts UK presence; Powergen's acquisition of Midlands Electricity in the UK will reinforce its growing position in the UK, and indicates that E.On's plans for growth show no sign of slowing. Sian Green reports.(Analysis)
November 1, 2003... UK utility Powergen has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Midlands Electricity, a UK electricity distribution company, from its US owners. The announcement came just a few weeks after another UK utility, Scottish and Southern...

Iraq restores power levels.(International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Iraq's senior deputy electricity minister, Dr Karim Hasan, told delegates at last month's Power-Gen Middle East conference in Abu Dhabi, that power levels in the country have reached the pre-war level of 4400 MW. He added, however, that this...

Iran starts up gas facility.(International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A 1053 MW combined cycle gas fired power plant along with a connecting 23 kV power transfer line has been inaugurated in Fars Province, Iran by president Mohammad Khatami. Work on the latest phase of the project began in 1999 and consists of...

BP Solar wins Morocco deal.(International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Apex-BP, a subsidiary of BP France and Moroccan oil company CMH has won a contract for the supply and installation of solar power systems to provide 20 000 domestic users in rural Chichaoua province, Morocco. The turnkey contract, awarded...

Russia, EU propose grid integration.(International)(European Union)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Russia and the European Union have agreed to work towards the full integration of their respective electricity grids by 2007. Brussels and Moscow plan to draft an agreement establishing joint institutions to work on the details. A working group...

Japan firms lead Jebel Ali development.(International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A consortium led by Japanese firms Mitsubishi and Toshiba has won the Dh3bn ($821m) order to construct the expansion of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) Jebel Ali power and water plant. Italy's Fisia Italimpianti will handle the...

Austrian firms win Bulgarian order.(International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bulgaria's National Electricity Company and three Austrian companies have signed agreements for the construction of an 80 MW hydroelectric power plant at Tsankov Kamak on the Vacha River, 250 km south east of Sophia. The [euro]200m ($234m)...

Bahrain.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bahrain: Nissho Iwai Corporation has received a [yen]15bn ($138m) order to build a power substation and supply other equipment for Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) to be used in an aluminium refinery to be built by June 2005.

Central Europe.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Central Europe: A Frost & Sullivan report forecasts high demand for power rentals in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly from the construction sector, in the near term. However, it warns that Western investors will have to accept longer...

Cyprus.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Cyprus: With Cyprus due to join the EU on May 1 2004, the authorities are offering a number of new energy plans and tender opportunities to comply with EU requirements. These include a combined cycle unit at the Vasilikos power station to run...

Czech Republic.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Czech Republic: Chief executive of Czech Republic state-controlled power producer CEZ, Jaroslav Mil, has been dismissed by the supervisory board following a disagreement with the government over plans for CEZ to bid for a majority stake in a...

Egypt.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Egypt: The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company has awarded Alstom a [euro]14m ($16.3m) contract to design and build the largest regional electricity dispatch centre in the country, connecting five power plants and 65 substations.

Egypt.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Egypt: The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Energy has outlined ten power projects through which it plans to increase power generation by 6300 MW by the end of 2007.

Egypt.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Egypt: Russia's Power Machines Group in a consortium with Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation and Hydro Plants Generation Company of Egypt has signed a contract for the reconstruction of Aswan High-Head Dam. The project will extend operations...

Poland.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Poland: Environmental Investment Partners, based in Poland, is to launch a new fund in the middle of next year, investing in renewable energy in Central European countries joining the EU in 2004. The fund will be in the range ($35-117m).

Russia.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Russia: UES chief executive Anatoly Chubais has announced that the company will seek to acquire generation and transmission assets in CIS countries and participate in the privatization of neighbouring power utility assets.

UAE.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... UAE: Al Mirfa, Abu Dhabi's fifth independent water and power project, has been shelved and the Taweelah B plant is likely to be developed instead, according to local reports

Finland chooses EPR for fifth nuclear power unit.(Europe)(European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR))(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Finland's fifth nuclear unit will use a plant design based on the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) following the decision to select the Areva and Siemens consortium for supply and construction work. The plant will be owned and operated...

UCTE investigates Italy power blackout.(Europe)(Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... An interim report into the recent power outage in Italy by the organization representing European grid companies, UCTE, has pointed to errors committed by Switzerland's grid operator, Etrans. UCTE believes Etrans miscalculated the output cuts...

EC backs R-R fuel cell research.(Europe)(European Commission)(Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Limited)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Work being carried out by a group led by Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Limited (R-RFCS) into the advancement of Europe's fuel cell capabilities has received financial backing from the European Commission (EC). The total value of the programme...

Powergen adds Midlands Electricity.(Europe)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The decision by Scottish & Southern to pull out of a bid for Midlands Electricity has opened the way for E.ON's Powergen to buy the British utility for [euro]1.6bn ($1.9bn) and add 2.4m customers. Powergen agreed to buy the electricity...

Goldisthal plant enters operation.(Europe)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The inauguration of Germany's biggest pumped storage power plant in Goldisthal, Thuringia has taken place in the presence of German chancellor Gerhard Schroder. Owned by Vattenfall Europe and costing [euro]620m ($723m), the facility has an...

Three agree to hydrogen research.(Europe)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Spanish renewables group Corporacion Energia Hidro-electrica de Navarra, Norwegian power utility Statkraft and Stuart Energy Systems of Canada signed an agreement with a view to the evaluation, demonstration and development of energy solutions...

Europe: Rating agency Standard & Poor's has warned that regulatory requirements.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Europe: Rating agency Standard & Poor's has warned that regulatory requirements for securing electricity supply could increase, with stricter obligations for European transmission system operators, following recent electricity blackouts across...

Europe: A WWF report says the 15 European member states are unlikely to hit their Kyoto Protocol target.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Europe: A WWF report says the 15 European member states are unlikely to hit their Kyoto Protocol target of generating 22 per cent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010. It blames a lack of effective policies for renewable power.

Greece: Construction of the 330 MW lignite fired Florina power plant in Greece has been completed.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Greece: Construction of the 330 MW lignite fired Florina power plant in Greece has been completed by the consortium of Prometheus Gas, OAO Gazprom, Alstom Power Boilers and Alstom Power Generation with the plant scheduled to be transferred to...

Ireland: Wartsila has been appointed EPC contractor.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Ireland: Wartsila has been appointed EPC contractor for an Irish biomass CHP plant using sawmill bi-products owned by SWS Group and Grainger Sawmills. The plant will supply 1.83 MW electricity to the national grid and 3.5 MW of thermal energy...

Italy: Colorado-based Nathaniel Energy has been contracted.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Italy: Colorado-based Nathaniel Energy has been contracted to build two '1800 Thermal Combustors', capable of generating 6 MW each, for a power plant fueled by refusederived fuel in Cologna, Veneta. Italy.

Norway: The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has rejected plans.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Norway: The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has rejected plans for Statnet and National Grid Transco to run a 1200 MW interconnector between Norway and the UK, saying that the socio-economic viability of the project is too uncertain...

Portugal: Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark has won a turnkey contract worth [euro]57m ($66.5m).(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Portugal: Vestas Wind Systems of Denmark has won a turnkey contract worth [euro]57m ($66.5m) from Portuguese wind energy companies Enersis SGPS and Enernova for the supply of 17 of its V80 2.0 MW wind turbines.

Switzerland: Alstom has been awarded a [euro]7m ($8.2m) contract.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Switzerland: Alstom has been awarded a [euro]7m ($8.2m) contract to enhance four steam turbines in blocks 1 & 2 of the Beznau nuclear power station in Switzerland including the provision of an advanced turbine protection and control system.

UK: Anticipated increased winter demand and firmer UK wholesale power prices have resulted in the reinstatement.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... UK: Anticipated increased winter demand and firmer UK wholesale power prices have resulted in the reinstatement of a 250 MW unit at International Power's Deeside power plant and the recommissioning of two of the three 131 MW units at RWE's...

UK: SembCorp Utilities Teeside has approved the funding.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... UK: SembCorp Utilities Teeside has approved the funding to complete the gas turbine project suspended 18 months ago at its Wilton power station. The project had been put on hold following the collapse of previous owners, Enron.

New exchange for Japan.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Japan's biggest power producers have joined forces to set up a power exchange involving nine major utilities and nine new entrants. The exchange could start in April 2005. The move, designed to lower the price of electricity in Japan, will...

China unites in world's biggest power grid.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... China has built the world's biggest power grid with a combined installed capacity of 140 000 MW stretching across 14 provinces. The feat was achieved through the successful connection of two of the country's main power grids in September. ...

Dabhol partners consider re-start.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... After reports that GE and Bechtel had begun filing law suits for the Dabhol project, new talks have begun over restarting the plant. Both US-based companies have offered to restart phase I and complete phase II of the $3bn project in India....

Banks pledge $700m for EVN.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) will use loans totalling $700m from seven banks to develop its hydropower resources. The 15-year loans will be used to construct and equip up to six hydroelectricity plants totalling 1600 MW. The largest single...

Shanxi to reduce emissions.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mitsui Babcock has won a [pounds sterling]115m ($184)design/supply contract for two 600 MW boilers and equipment for the Wangqu power plant in Shanxi Province, China. The boilers will use supercritical clean coal technology. The boilers,...

Laos hydro woes continue.(Asia-Pacific)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) has discounted power purchases from the Nam Theun II hydro project from its latest development plan. The company has not signed a power purchase agreement with the project developers,...

Australia: Alstom has won two contracts.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Australia: Alstom has won two contracts from SPI PowerNet totalling over [euro]20m for two turnkey substations to boost power supplies near Melbourne. The 220 kV/66 kV substations will supply electricity to Melbourne's outer south-eastern area....

Bangladesh: US-based USAID has pledged Rs6.3m ($0.108m).(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Bangladesh: US-based USAID has pledged Rs6.3m ($0.108m) for the reconstruction of mini power plants in Bangladesh which were damaged during severe flooding in Ratnapura and the Southern Province.

China: Beijing will invest $2.8bn.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... China: Beijing will invest $2.8bn over the next five years to upgrade its power grid for the 2008 Olympic Games. Beijing will set up 81 new electricity transmission facilities and install more than 1600 km in power circuits.

China: GE Wind Energy announced it will supply ten 1.5 MW wind turbines.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... China: GE Wind Energy announced it will supply ten 1.5 MW wind turbines for the 15 MW Huitengxile Wind power plant in Inner Mongolia.

China: China's west to east gas pipeline project.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... China: China's west to east gas pipeline project has made its first delivery to the eastern city of Shanghai. It represents the first step in a project designed to carry natural gas from the Tarim Basin in northwestern China's Xinjiang region...

India: Power Finance Corp.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... India: Power Finance Corp. has accepted the Andhra Pradesh model payment security mechanism (PSM) for meeting the funding requirements of the 1015 MW Mangalore power project promoted by Nagarjuna Power Corp. Based on this PSM, project financial...

Singapore: Singapore's Energy Market Authority.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Singapore: Singapore's Energy Market Authority will allow large electricity consumers to begin selling their power offtake back to suppliers for profits in the event of a sharp spike in the wholesale pool price from Jan.1, 2004. The change in...

Sri Lanka: Wartsila has won a contract to supply a 100 MW turnkey power plant.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Sri Lanka: Wartsila has won a contract to supply a 100 MW turnkey power plant to the Heladhanavi project in Puttalam, Sri Lanka. This latest win follows the Honduras order (Lufussa) in the same month. The two heavy fuel oil plants will have a...

Taiwan: The Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan's largest publicly held petrochemical maker.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Taiwan: The Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan's largest publicly held petrochemical maker, is preparing to spend $2bn to build a coal-fired power plant in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan County.

Vietnam: Vietnam plans to nearly triple.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Vietnam: Vietnam plans to nearly triple its high voltage electricity transmission lines to around 3850 km by 2010 to meet soaring domestic and export demands.

Exelon to acquire British Energy's AmerGen share.(Americas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... US-based Exelon Corp. will acquire British Energy's 50 per cent interest in AmerGen Energy for $276.5m. The deal would give Exelon sole ownership of AmerGen, whose assets include the 1017 MW Clinton power station in Illinois, Three Mile...

Brazil's BDNES to fund power companies.(Americas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Brazil's development bank, BNDES, is to implement a BRL3.0bn ($1bn) capitalization programme to help improve the finances of the country's power distributors. BNDES will acquire ten-year debentures, convertible into shares, in the...

Canada restarts mothballed unit.(Americas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Canada's Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has restarted Unit 4 of its Pickering nuclear complex. The plant's remaining three units are also expected to be restarted, although exactly when is unclear. The reactors were taken out of service in...

First sale of FuelCell plant in CA.(Americas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Caterpillar and FuelCell Energy announced their first joint sale of an ultra-low emissions, 250 kW fuel cell power generation plant in California. The acquirors, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts will receive $1 125 000 from the...

Peru delays privatization plan.(Americas)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Peru has delayed the privatization of the 130 MW Yucan hydropower project in order to give potential bidders more evaluation time. The government was scheduled to collect bids for the $262m project last month but has delayed the deadline...

Brazil.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Brazil: The Brazilian government said it expects an investment of more than $10bn in electric power plants until 2007 to expand the country's generation capacity by about 25 per cent.

Canada.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Canada: Newfoundland-based energy company Fortis Inc. is paying nearly C$1.4bn ($1bn) to acquire Alberta and British Columbia electricity businesses owned by Aquila Networks.

Canada.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Canada: Atco said it will build a $68m power line between Edmonton and Fort McMurray, Alberta, where new generating plants are being constructed to fuel multi-billion dollar oil sands projects.

Chile.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Chile: A six year protest that has blocked the construction of the $570m Ralco hydroelectric dam in southern Chile has ended after four elderly women accepted $1.2m and 761 acres of land in exchange for allowing Endesa to flood their ancestral...

Columbia.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Columbia: Columbia's government has decided to privatize the natural gas transport company Ecogas to encourage rapid growth of the country's natural gas sector.

Honduras.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Honduras: The Hounduran government has cancelled a 12-year, $477m contract to buy power from AES Honduras, a unit of AES Corp. Empresa Nacional de Energia Electrica claims that AES Honduras did not fulfill certain clauses in a 200 MW supply...

Mexico.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Mexico: Calpine and Mitsui & Co have won a bid to build, own and operate a 525 MW gas-fired power plant in Mexico. The project on the Yucatan Peninsula will deliver electricity to Comision Federal de Electricidad for 25 years.

Puerto Rico.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Puerto Rico: VA Tech T&D won its first outdoor GIS switchgear contract in Puerto Rico. The contract, valued at nearly [euro]1.65m and awarded by Prepa Utility, is for the Viaducto Isla Grande project in Puerto Rico and was signed in July.

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... USA: The North American fuel cell industry enjoyed a 71 per cent rise in revenues to $219m in 2002, up from $128m in 2001. But according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' 2003 Fuel Cell Industry Survey, the sector also experienced operational losses...

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... USA: Aker Kvaerner's North American Union Construction division, Kvaerner Songer, has signed a MOU with Hitachi America to construct MidAmerican Energies' 790 MW Council Bluffs power generation unit in lowa.

USA.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... USA: Fluor Corp. has been awarded a turnkey contract by Brazos Electric Power Cooperatives to provide EPC and commissioning services for the 620 MW Jack County Generation Facility, near Texas.

Nature inspires fuel cells whilst lowering costs.(Companies)(Morgan Fuel Cells Limited )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... UK fuel cell researcher Morgan Fuel Cells Limited (MFC) has drawn inspiration from designs found in the natural world to boost power available from fuel cells and bring down manufacturing costs. Its Biomimetic bipolar plate technology...

Elsam adds North Zeeland.(Companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Denmark-based electric utility Elsam has bought a controlling stake in the North Zeeland power company Nesa. Elsam paid Dkr8.27bn ($1.3bn) for a 78.8 per cent stake but intends to acquire the remaining shares in Nesa through a public offering,...

Brussels backs Alstom rescue.(Companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... A revised rescue package for troubled French engineering group Alstom involving the French government and 32 creditor banks has won the approval of the European Commission. Instead of taking a direct stake in Alstom, the French government will...

Creditors agree British Energy rescue.(Companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... British Energy has announced that the terms governing the UK government's [pounds sterling]5bn ($8.5bn) rescue package have been met, although the European Commission will not rule on the agreement until July 2004. Shareholders in the UK's main...

Multi-utility restructures.(Companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Harry Roels, chief executive of German muti-utility RWE, has implemented a restructuring within the group in which RWE's multiple units will be replaced by seven divisions, one for each strand of the company's business and all utilising the RWE...

Nexans tester.(Companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Nexans completed performance testing on a new design high temperature super conductor component. With a protected power of more than 130 kVA, the component has been developed for use in a super-conducting fault current limiter (SCFCL) which...

C60s roll again: Production of Capstone's C60 microturbine models.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... C60s roll again: Production of Capstone's C60 microturbine models has resumed after a temporary interruption caused by a component issue.

CESS sales success: Orkney-based surplus power equipment supplier Combustion.(News Digest)(Combustion, Energy and Steam Specialists )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... CESS sales success: Orkney-based surplus power equipment supplier Combustion, Energy and Steam Specialists has notched up over 800 MW of gas/steam turbine sales since its formation in 1995, the latest being a 15 MW Siemens steam turbine on...

EDF and Konarka co-operate: Electricite de France.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... EDF and Konarka co-operate: Electricite de France, through its Silicon Valley-based Easenergy division, has entered into an agreement with photovoltaic nanotechnology company Konarka Technologies to help develop and launch Konarka's products...

EdP cuts jobs: State-owned Portuguese.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... EdP cuts jobs: State-owned Portuguese utility Electricidade de Portugal is planning to cut between 1300 and 2000 jobs out of its 9000 work force by the end of 2004. EdP is allowed to pass the cost of redundancies on to customers.

EPRI solutions tests CTC: Composite Technology Corp.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... EPRI solutions tests CTC: Composite Technology Corp. has contracted with EPRIsolutions to provide further characterization and validation of specifications of its aluminium conductor composite core, a high temperature, low sag cable which can...

Good vibrations: Hitachi Ltd.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Good vibrations: Hitachi Ltd. has developed a new technology that generates electricity using naturally occurring vibrations on the micron scale. An experimental prototype measuring 2.5 x 7.0 cm generated 0.12 microwatts from air vibration...

Huaneng backed: Chinese independent power developer Huaneng power international.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Huaneng backed: Chinese independent power developer. Huaneng Power International has secured a RMB27bn ($3.26bn) credit facility from the Bank of China for its development plans.

Iberdrola corrals: Spain's second largest electricity company, Iberdrola.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... Iberdrola corrals: Spain's second largest electricity company, Iberdrola, is to create a new company to manage its combined cycle power plants. It plans to have seven in operation by 2005, with total capacity of 4 GW.

International Power refinances: UK power utility International Power.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... International Power refinances: UK power utility International Power has agreed a $450m refinancing package with its banks a year early "to provide more certainty in its medium-term capital structure." The firm has also recommissioned its...

REpower UK formed: UK-based specialist engineering company.(News Digest)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2003... REpower UK formed: UK-based specialist engineering company, Peter Brotherhood and wind turbine supplier REpower Systems from Hamburg have formed a joint venture, REpower UK enabling the German company to supply, service and support its products...

Pushing on a string.(Power-Gen)
November 1, 2003... A global economy fuelled by an assortment of alternative, non-hydrocarbon technologies is widely hailed as the ultimate pathway to sustainable economic growth. But the challenge of bridging the immense gap between our hydrocarbon-based global...

Outline of the US electricity sector.
November 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Table 1. Existing Capacity by Energy Source, 2001 (MW) Energy Source No of Generators Generator Net Summer Nameplate Capacity (MW) ...