POWER Digest [August 2021]
Bangladesh Scraps 8 GW of Coal-Fired Projects
Bangladesh’s government on June 26 approved the Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Ministry’s proposal to scrap 10 coal-fired power plants, given their lack of progress. The 10 projects are among 18 coal-fired projects the country approved after 2008 to boost its power supplies, and support its industrial and economic development, but State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told reporters on June 27 that the abandoned projects will not affect power supply “as there is a surplus power generation now.”
The canceled projects, a total 8,451 MW, include: the 1,320-MW Patuakhali project; the 1,200-MW Uttarbanga Super Thermal Power Plant in Gaibandha; the 522-MW project at Mawa; two 282-MW projects in Dhaka and Chattogram; the 565-MW project in Khulna; a 1,320-MW project at Moheskhali; a 700-MW Coal Power Generation Co. Bangladesh Ltd. (CPGCBL)-Sembcorp ultrasupercritical power plant; and a 1,200-MW CPGCBL-Sumitomo Corp. joint-venture plant.
Nasrul said that while the nation is already making gains to boost its share of renewable power to 40% by 2041, it will need to increase its use of liquefied natural gas power generation. It will also seek to import hydropower from Nepal and Bhutan.
Rolls-Royce Teaming with Babcock International on SMR Program
UK firm Rolls-Royce and Cavendish Nuclear, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Babcock International Group, on July 8 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities through cooperation on the Rolls-Royce small modular reactor (SMR) program.
Under the agreement, the companies will work together to develop roles that Cavendish Nuclear can perform in the design, licensing, manufacturing, and delivery aspects of the Rolls-Royce factory-fabricated SMR power plant.
Rolls-Royce says it has been working on the design of the power station for the last two years as part of a consortium that has the UK government’s support. The consortium also includes Assystem, Atkins, BAM Nuttall, Laing O’Rourke, National Nuclear Laboratory, Jacobs, The Welding Institute, and Nuclear AMRC.
Growing Membership Suggests Multi-Sector Interest in Hydrogen
The Hydrogen Council, a Brussels, Belgium–based global CEO-led coalition that is working to accelerate the energy transition through hydrogen, on July 12 announced 14 new members, bringing its total membership to 123 firms.
The organization said its growing membership represents a variety of sectors—from utilities, chemical producers, energy companies, and engineers to mobility providers and bankers, among others—showing how hydrogen ecosystems are rapidly expanding to involve a wide variety of sectors active in hydrogen production, distribution, or different end uses. Among its new members that are active in the global power space are: John Cockerill, Komatsu, MAN Energy Solutions, Honeywell, TÜV SÜD, FiveT Hydrogen, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
German Entities Join Forces to Explore Floating Solar PV Prospects
RWE Renewables, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, and the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) on July 2 said they are jointly working to further develop and test several floating solar PV systems with different structure designs under real conditions over a three-year period.
Under the PV2Float project, RWE, which is implementing a floating PV project in the Netherlands with Volta Solar, will carry out a comprehensive potential analysis of the German and international market for floating PV. Fraunhofer ISE will investigate the regulatory framework for floating PV plants and is also developing a procedure for the participation of local stakeholders.
Additionally, the institute will perform durability tests on the individual system components, further develop PV modules as well as simulation models on energy yield, adapting them to meet the particular requirements of floating applications, where necessary. BTU will spearhead aquatic ecology monitoring. According to Fraunhofer ISE, Germany alone has about 500 open pit lakes left over from lignite open cast mining. It said the potential of these open-pit lakes from a purely technical standpoint is in the “mid double-digit gigawatt range.”
GE Steam Power Selected for Steam Turbine Upgrades at Darlington
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) on June 30 said it selected GE Steam Power for a $120 million turnkey installation project, featuring both hardware and software technologies, as part of its ongoing refurbishment of the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Canada. Under the contract, GE will spearhead the turnkey installation and commissioning of steam turbine and excitation control system upgrades, as well as generator and auxiliaries refurbishment for three units.
GE Steam Power said it has been actively involved in Darlington’s long-term refurbishment strategy that began in 2013. Previous projects include the supply of a 400-ton generator stator in 2019, ongoing support with steam turbine/generator maintenance outages, and resident engineer service since the plant began operation.
—Sonal Patel is a senior associate editor for POWER.