POWER Digest (May 2009)
Siemens and Rosatom Form Nuclear Joint Venture. Siemens and the Russian State Atomic Energy utility Rosatom on March 4 announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a nuclear joint venture. The two companies plan to push forward with development of Russia’s pressurized water reactor (VVER) technology, as well as handling sales, marketing, and construction of new nuclear plants. The joint venture may engage in business opportunities along the entire nuclear conversion chain, from fuel fabrication to decommissioning of nuclear power plants. In a next step, the parties will negotiate the terms and conditions of the agreement, with Rosatom holding the majority stake of 50% plus one share in the joint venture.
FPL Signs Lauren Engineers & Constructors for 75-MW CSP Plant. Florida Power & Light (FPL) on March 26 said it signed an engineering, procurement, and construction contract with Lauren Engineers & Constructors for a new 75-MW concentrated solar power plant near Indiantown, Fla. That project, the Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, will be located on 500 acres of land adjacent to FPL’s Martin Plant, and it will use parabolic trough technology. It will be the second-largest solar thermal power plant in the world, and the first hybrid solar facility in the word to connect to an existing combined-cycle power plant, FPL said.
Foster Wheeler Signs License Agreement for Advanced Coal Technology in India. Foster Wheeler announced in early April that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group had entered into a 20-year agreement with BGR Boilers Private Ltd., an affiliate of BGR Energy Systems Ltd. (an engineering, procurement, and construction contractor) to provide an advanced technology license for wall-fired subcritical and supercritical pulverized coal steam generators to be sold in India. The deal has yet to receive the Indian government’s authorization, which is required for BGR to enter into such a contract. The agreement also allows the two companies to cooperate on multiple prospective projects under separate contracts within the next five years. Foster Wheeler will provide the engineering and design for those projects, along with selected major components.
Siemens to Supply 500 Offshore Turbines for DONG Energy’s European Farms. Germany’s Siemens Energy will supply Danish company DONG Energy with 500 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of up to 1,800 MW, according to the terms of an agreement signed by the two companies in early March. Each turbine will be rated at 3.6 MW, similar to turbines in operation at DONG’s Burbo offshore wind farm and those being installed at DONG’s Gunfleet Sands I and II projects. DONG said that the turbines will be deployed on planned offshore wind farms in northern Europe. Permitting procedures and country-specific wind regime economics will determine where and when the individual projects will be built, it added.
Alstom and Dow Collaborate on Carbon Capture Plant in W.Va. Per a contract signed in late March, Alstom will design, construct, and operate a pilot plant to capture carbon dioxide from the flue gas of a coal-fired boiler at a Dow Chemical Co. facility in Charleston, W.Va. That plant will use Alstom’s advanced amine technology. Dow will provide the site and utilities as well as the chemicals and its amine technology expertise. All coal for the plant will be sourced locally in West Virginia. The pilot plant is expected to be operational in the third quarter of this year.
AREVA to Supply MOX to Japanese Nuke. AREVA said on April 3 it had signed a contract to supply mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies for Japan’s Ohma nuclear power plant, which is under construction in the Aomori prefecture. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2014. The fuel will be fabricated at AREVA’s MELOX plant in southern France using Japanese plutonium recovered from the treatment operations performed at AREVA’s La Hague plant. AREVA said that the contract comes as part of Japan’s nuclear program to recycle used fuel and follows contracts signed in 2006 and 2008 with Japanese utilities Chubu, Kyuhshi, Shikoku, and Kansai. MELOX has been fabricating MOX fuel assemblies since 1995 for nuclear power plants in several other countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.S.