Power Engineering International articles from October 2006

Power Engineering International archives from October 2006

The price of betrayal.(Up Front)
October 1, 2006... My first reaction to the news that former Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling had been sentenced to 24 years and four months in jail for his part in America's largest corporate fraud was one of surprise at the severity of the jail...

Europe's marginal difficulty: despite increased investment in the power sector across Europe, a recent report shows decreasing capacity margins with security of supply becoming an increasing problem, writes Nigel Blackaby.(Analysis)(Industry overview)
October 1, 2006... For the last eight years the consulting firm Capgemini has published its European Markets Observatory. The latest report, covering 2005 and the start of 2006, gives an update on the main indicators within the electricity and gas markets, in...

Egypt wants first reactor ...(international)(nuclear power programme)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Egyptian government has relaunched its nuclear power programme after an interval of twenty years by announcing that approval has been given to a plan for a 1000 MW nuclear power plant at El-Da'ba. The proposed plant, with a completion date...

... and Czechs wants two more.(international)(nuclear capacity )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Czech industry minister, Martin Riman, has indicated that he supports the construction of new nuclear capacity in the Czech Republic. The minister would like to see two new units installed at the country's Temelin nuclear site according to...

ZERC seeks power investment.(international)(Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Zimbabwe faces regional power shortages in 2007 and its electricity sector needs $837m to expand and refurbish the country's power stations according to the Zimbabwe Electricity Regulatory Commission (ZERC). The commission said that $600m is...

New lignite fired project in Bulgaria.(international)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The US company AES has awarded a turnkey contract for a new lignite fired power plant in Bulgaria to French company Alstom. The 670 MW Maritza East 1 power station will be built near Galabovo in the south east of the country under a deal worth...

Russia power tight this winter.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The electricity supply to 16 of Russia's regions will be restricted this winter according the head of the Unified Energy Systems of Russia. Five of these, including Moscow and St Petersburg, will face a very difficult situation. With...

Namibia announces hydropower project.(NamPower )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Namibian utility NamPower has announced plans for a 500 MW hydropower project on the Kunene river. A feasibility study will begin this year and the dam should be in place by 2013. The hydropower project comes on top of the Kudu offshore gas...

Abu Dhabi.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Abu Dhabi: A 232kV submarine link between Abu Dhabi mainland and Delma island will be installed by Nexans under a [euro]100m ($125m) contract. The link will have 100 MW capacity.

CEZ.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Bulgaria: Czech power producer CEZ has taken control of the Varna thermal power plant in Bulgaria. CEZ paid [euro]206m ($260m) for the power station, which has a generating capacity of 1260 MW.

European Union.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Bulgaria: Two units at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria will close this year with help of a grant of $64m from the European Union. Two units were closed in 2002 and two more remain in service.

Czech Republic.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Czech Republic: Skoda Praha is to add a 44 MW GE gas turbine to its Kladno combined heat and power plant west of Prague. The unit will be used to provide reserve capacity for the national grid.

Dubai.(Dubai Electricity and Water Authority tender)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Dubai: The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has issued a new tender for the Jebel Ali M power and desalination project, reducing the generating capacity of the new plant from 2000 MW to 1200 MW and reducing the fresh water output too. In...

Namibia.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Namibia: Namibian Utility NamPower is seeking bids for a 400 MW power station in the coastal town of Walvis Bay. The new plant should be on line in time for next winter, NamPower said.

Poland.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Poland: GE is to establish a European clean coal centre of excellence in Warsaw. The company intends to use the centre to support the sale of integrated gasification combined cycle power plants across Europe.

Qatar.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Qatar: Qatar Shell GTL is to install six 42 MW gas turbine generators at its Pearl gas-to-liquids project at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar. The units from GE will be fitted with IGCC combustor systems to enable them to burn a range of low...

Saudi Electricity Company.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Saudi Arabia: The government of Saudi Arabia has come to the aid of Saudi Electricity Company with $5.3bn to help it avoid a financial crisis. The ministry of Water and Electricity had suggested raising electricity tariffs but this was rejected...

Finavera Renewables.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... South Africa: Irish company Finavera Renewables is to develop a 20 MW wave power plant off the South African coast over the next five years. Investment in the project is expected to exceed $40m.

Eskom.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... South Africa: Eskom plans to refurbish the 1000 MW Komati coal fired power plant which has been out of service for several years. The plant will be modernized by Siemens in a deal worth [euro]45m ($56m).

European electricity margins are shrinking.(europe)
October 1, 2006... The amount of spare electricity generating capacity in Europe is shrinking as investment in new capacity fails to keep pace with the growth in demand according to the consultancy Capgemini. The average margin dropped to 4.8 per cent over...

Scottish offshore site hosts 5 MW turbine.(europe)(REpower contracts with Grenzstrom Vindtved GmbH )
October 1, 2006... A 5 MW wind turbine has been installed in the Scottish North Sea. The turbine, supplied by German company REpower, sits in 44m of water at the Beatrice demonstration wind farm owned by Talisman Energy. A second 5 MW turbine will also be...

Flamanville turbine island order placed with Alstom.(europe)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The French utility EDF has placed a [euro]350m ($447m) order for the turbine island for the European Pressurised Reactor plant at Flamanville, France, with Alstom. The system will comprise a 1750 MW turbine island based on the company's...

EU will miss its 2010 renewable target.(europe)(European Union)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The European Union will not reach the target for renewable electricity generation set five years ago, according to research company Datamonitor. The target for 2010 sought to provide 22 per cent of electricity consumption in the EU from...

Forsmark reactors restarted.(europe)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The two nuclear units at the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Sweden have returned to service after a two month shutdown caused by discovery of a fault in the power plant's backup supply system. The units were forced to shut down on 25 July...

Ground-breaking for giant Whitelee wind farm.(wind farm construction)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Construction work has started on a wind farm at Whitelee in Scotland. The wind farm, which is being built on Eaglesham Moor south of Glasgow by Scottish Power, will have a final generating capacity of 322 MW. The wind farm is expected to...

Finland.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Finland: Vattenfall is to buy a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Finland from Fortum. The Hameenlinna CHP plant generates 65 MW of electricity and 95 MW of heat. Heat from the plant will be used to supply a districting heating network in...

Germany.(EnBW Energie and Siemens planning)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Germany: EnBW Energie and Siemens are planning to develop a hybrid fuel cell power plant based on solid oxide fuel cells. The plant will utilize a gas turbine to extract energy from the heat generated by the fuel cells. Following a pilot scale...

Italy.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Italy: Endesa has purchased a 50.1 per cent stake in two combined cycle plants in Italy, each with a capacity of 150 MW.

The Netherlands.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... The Netherlands: A biomass fired power plant in the Netherlands town of Alkmaar will be based on a circulating fluidized bed boiler built by Foster Wheeler. The value of the contract is $29.5m.

Norway.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Norway: The state utility Statkraft has announced plans for a wind farm with a total installed capacity that could reach 750 MW. The farm is to be built in Lebesby and Gamvik, Finmark, northern Norway. Called the Nordkyn wind farm, it would...

Portugal.(photovoltaic power plant construction)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Portugal: A photovoltaic power plant with a generating capacity of 62 MW is to be built by Acciona at Moura in Portugal. The first stage, involving installation of 40-45 MW will be finished by 2008 and the remaining capacity will be in place by...

Spain.(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Spain: Denmark's Vestas is to supply 35 of its V90, 1.8 MW and 2 MW wind turbines to Neo Energia, part of the Energias de Portugal group. The units will be installed at three wind farms in the Cadiz province of Andalusia in southern Spain....

Sweden.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Sweden: A consortium of Hitachi and GE will build a gas fired cogeneration plant for E.ON Sverige in Malmo, Sweden. The plant will have an electrical output of 440 MW and a heat output of 250 MW.

Voith Siemens Hydro and its subsidiary Wavegen.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... UK: Voith Siemens Hydro and its subsidiary Wavegen have signed an agreement with npower renewables, part of RWE, with the aim of developing a 3 MW wave power plant based on Wavegen's Limpet unit currently operating on the island of Islay.

German company Lentjes.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... UK: German company Lentjes is to supply and build two flue gas desulphurization units for two 500 MW coal fired units at the Rugeley power station in Staffordshire. The contract is worth [euro]145m ($185m). The power plant is owned by Rugeley...

PLN runs into problems with project bid shortfall.(asia-pacific)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Indonesian state electricity company PLN has run into problems with tenders for new capacity after several bidders failed to submit bidding documents by the required deadline. Doubts about a government guarantee to support the projects has...

Thai government halts EGAT privatization.(asia-pacific)
October 1, 2006... The new government of Thailand has abandoned one of the key economic plans of the ousted government, the privatization of the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The proposed privatization was a contentious issue...

Chinese plan big energy cut.(asia-pacific)
October 1, 2006... China's government aims to cut energy intensity by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2010. The country's 11th five-year plan, adopted recently by the National People's Congress, calls for a 20 per cent reduction in the amount of energy used to...

Vietnam seeks $80bn power investment.(asia-pacific)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Vietnamese power sector needs to invest close to $80bn by 2025 according to a recent plan unveiled by the Ministry of Industry. Under the National Electricity Development Strategy for 2006-2025, just over $50bn will be used to build...

India to award two 4000 MW projects this year.(asia-pacific)(National Thermal Power Corp)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Indian Power Finance Corp (PFC) has announced that it intends to award contracts for two 4000 MW power projects by the end of the year. The first project, Mundra in Gujarat, has received 13 requests for qualifications while Sasan in Madhya...

Doosan and GE collaboration wins nuclear order.(asia-pacific)(Doosan Heavy Industries)(General Electric Co.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries, under an agreement with GE, is to manufacture and supply two 1455 MW steam turbines for two new nuclear reactors at Shin Kori, southeastern Korea. The two pressurized water reactors will increase the...

Australian Gas Light Co.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Australia: Plans for a 140 MW peaking hydropower plant at Bogong in the state of Victoria's alpine region have been announced by the Australian Gas Light Co. A nearby 12.2 MW plant has recently been commissioned by the company.

Alstom.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Australia: The 450 MW gas fired Braemar power station has been commissioned by Alstom after 15 months of construction. It comprises three GT13E2 gas turbines.

China could import 60 000 Gwh of electricity from Russia each year by 2020 according to the director of the Melentiev Energy System Institute in Russia.(News digest)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... China: China could import 60 000 GWh of electricity from Russia each year by 2020 according to the director of the Melentiev Energy System Institute in Russia. The institute and another organisations are currently evaluating the possibility of...

Huaneng Power International.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... China: Huaneng Power International is to build two 1000 MW coal fired power plants at the Haimen in Guangdong Province following approval from the National Development and Reform Commission.

Gamesa.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... China: Spanish wind company Gamesa has signed a [euro]240m ($300m) deal to supply wind turbines to the Longyuan Power Group. Under the deal Gamesa will supply 600 units with a combined capacity of over 500 MW. The company has established a...

Bharat Aluminium Co.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... India: Bharat Aluminium Co has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chhattisgarh Government to build a 1200 MW coal plant in the state.

Power Grid Corp.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... India: The Power Grid Corp of India has synchronized the grids of the north, east, northeast and western areas of the country following the commissioning of a new transmission line and an east-north interconnector. Total capacity on the...

Pakistan.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Pakistan: The Water and Power Development Authority is to import a second-hand 150 MW power plant from the USA under three-year rental deal with GE.

Philippines.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Philippines: A 210 MW coal fired power plant is expected to start full commercial operation in January 2007, when it will be able to supply 15 per cent of the power demand in Mindanao according to the plant owner, Steag State Power Inc.

South Korea.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... South Korea: A three megawatt solar power plant at Yong Gwang, South Korea, will use solar power modules supplied by GE. The solar plant is being developed by Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Co.

Sri Lanka.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Sri Lanka: The Power and Energy Ministry of Sri Lanka has announced plans for a 1000 MW coal fired power plant in the Sampur area of Trincomalee costing $500m.

Pleasant Prairie test for carbon capture.(americas)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A pilot plant is being built at the We Energies power plant in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, USA to test a carbon dioxide capture process developed by Alstom. The project is being supported by Alstom, We Energies and the Electric Power Research...

Brazil plans 2008 hydro auction.(americas)(Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A recent inventory of the Teles Pires river in Brazil's Amazon region has shown a potential generating capacity of 3697 MW at six sites, according to a study by the federal electricity company Eletrobras. The Teles Pires is a tributary of the...

Texas to invest $10bn in wind schemes.(americas)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The US State of Texas, along with private sector companies, is to invest more than $10bn in a new wind energy infrastructure. The wind energy initiative is aimed at diversifying the state's energy production, working towards the ten per cent...

Guadeloupe solar project will test lithium batteries.(americas)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A two year project taking place on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe will test the viability of using lithium ion batteries in conjunction with solar photovoltaic (pV) power systems. The project will involve the installation of 14 pV...

Transmission line to link Alberta and Montana.(americas)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A new cross-border transmission line which will link the Canadian province of Alberta and the US state of Montana is to be built by SNC Lavalin under contract to Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. The 347 km transmission line will be designed to...

Argentina.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Argentina: Mendoza province in Argentina is seeking bidders for construction of a 500 kV transmission line to link Mendoza and Neuquen provinces. The cost of the scheme is expected to be around $290m.

Brazil.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Brazil: Energias do Brasil is considering construction of coal fired power plants if it cannot find suitable hydro projects for investment. Brazil currently needs an additional generating capacity of 3500 MW-4000 MW each year, the company said....

Ontario Power Generation.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Canada: Ontario Power Generation has begun to seek federal approval for construction of a new nuclear units at its Darlington power plant.

BC Hydro Corp.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Canada: BC Hydro Corp has signed a power purchase agreement with the Canadian subsidiary of AES Corp to take power from the latter's prospective 184 MW coal and biomass power project in northeastern British Colombia. The deal will run for 30...

Mexico.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Mexico: The Mexican state power company CFE has launched an international tender for a 535 MW hybrid solar-thermal, combined-cycle power plant at Agua Prieta in Sonora state. The project is being supported by the Global Environment Facility.

CMS Enterprises.(News digest)(Peabody Energy)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... USA: CMS Enterprises has signed a deal with Peabody Energy to develop a 1600 MW power plant and coal mine scheme in southern Illinois called the Prairie State Energy Campus. The two companies will each take a 15 per cent stake in the project...

GE and Bechtel.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... USA: GE and Bechtel have signed their second agreement with American Electric Power for a proposed integrated gasification combined cycle power plant. The two companies will now carry out front-end engineering design for the 630 MW project in...

Siemens Power Generation.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... USA: Siemens Power Generation is to build a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility at a site in Fort Madison, Iowa. The company has executed a purchase agreement for the site where, initially, blades for its 2.3 MW wind turbines will be...

Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... USA: The Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center in Texas has a capacity of 662 MW, according to FPL Energy, making it the largest wind farm in the world the company claims. Final capacity at the site will be 735 MW.

Xcel Energy and SunEdison.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... USA: Xcel Energy and SunEdison are to build an 8 MW solar power plant in south central Colorado. Around 1.2 MW of the capacity will come from concentrating photovoltaic units and the remainder from advanced flat plate solar panels.

Acta extends Sumitomo deal.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Acta extends Sumitomo deal: Acta, a company which has developed a platinum-free fuel cell catalyst, has renewed and extended its marketing and distribution agreement with Sumitomo Corp. The Japanese company will now market the catalyst in China...

AEI acquires Prisma Energy.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... AEI acquires Prisma Energy: AEI has finalized acquisition of Prisma Energy International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enron, for around $2.9bn. The price includes $800m in cash dividends received earlier this year by Enron from Prisma.

Alliant leaves NZ.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Alliant leaves NZ: Alliant Energy Corp. is to sell its interest in Alliant Energy New Zealand Ltd. The wholly-owned subsidiary holds interests in two publicly traded companies in New Zealand, TrustPower Ltd and Infratil Ltd.

Alstom acquires Strongwish.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Alstom acquires Strongwish: Alstom has signed an agreement for the acquisition of Shenzen Strongwish, a company which specializes in remote monitoring and diagnostic services.

Dupont invests in pV.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Dupont invests in pV: Dupont is to invest $50m to expand its production plant for Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride film for photovoltaic solar panels. The new facility will be completed in 2007. The company has also launched the PV2100 Series of films...

KeySpan shareholder approval.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... KeySpan shareholder approval: The shareholders in the US natural gas distribution and power generation company Keyspan Corp have approved the company's takeover by National Grid.

SGT-500 in HFO test.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... SGT-500 in HFO test: The Siemens SGT-500 gas turbine, a 17 MW unit, has been successfully tested burning heavy fuel oil (HFO) and has passed the IF180 HFO test.

Tenaris to sell.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Tenaris to sell: Tenaris SA is to sell its 75 per cent interest in Dalmine Energie, and Italian energy supply company, to E.ON for [euro]39m ($50m). The transaction is expected to be completed this year.

US geothermal site.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... US geothermal site: US Geothermal Inc has acquired a new geothermal property with surface rights at Neal Hot Springs, eastern Oregon. The company hopes to develop and initial 25-30 MW plant on the site.

Wartsila Helius deal.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Wartsila Helius deal: Wartsila BioPower and the UK company Helius Energy have signed a cooperation agreement for power and heat plants. Under the deal Helius Energy will develop projects based on Wartsila technology.

Wind cross-licensing.(News digest)
October 1, 2006... Wind cross-licensing: GE Energy's wind business and the German company REpower Systems have entered into a cross-licensing agreement related to GE's variable speed technology for wind turbines. The deal includes the use of several patents.

Toshiba deal clears hurdles.(companies)(Westinghouse Electric Corp.)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Toshiba Corp's $5.4bn bid to purchase Westinghouse from BNFL has received regulatory clearance in both the USA and the UK, the company has announced. Toshiba reached a deal to buy the company, which includes BNFL USA Group Inc and Westinghouse...

Three-way talks over MAN Scania tussle.(companies)(M.A.N. Wolffkran GmbH)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... German truck and diesel engine manufacturer MAN has dropped a hostile $12bn bid for the Swedish manufacturer Scania in order to allow three way talks involving the two companies and Volkswagen to take place. VW is a major shareholder in the two...

ACS takes stake in Iberdrola.(companies)(acquisitions)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Spanish construction company ACS, which holds a 37.5 per cent stake in the power company Union Fenosa, has acquired a 6.3 per cent holding in Iberdrola, Spain' second largest electricity company. The stake cost [euro]3.3bn ($4.1bn). ...

Foster Wheeler licences CFB in China.(companies)(Wuxi Huaguang Boiler Co licensing agreements)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Foster Wheeler has entered a fifteen year licensing agreement with Wuxi Huaguang Boiler Co (Wuxi) which will allow Wuxi to build subcritical pressure circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) steam generators in China. Under the terms of the deal Wuxi...

French assembly passes GdF Suez-merger bill.(companies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The French National Assembly has passed the part of a new energy law crucial to a planned merger of Gaz de France and Suez. Under Article 10 of the law the French government can reduce its stake in Gaz de France from 70 per cent to 34 per cent...

E.ON pursues Endesa with increased bid.(companies)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The German energy group E.ON has increased its offer for control of the Spanish electricity company Endesa to [euro]37bn ($46bn), valuing the company's shares at [euro]35 ($44). In February of this year E.ON made a bid for Endesa which valued...