POWER Digest (April 2010)
Siemens Hands Over 870-MW Dutch Gas Plant. Siemens Energy on Feb. 12 handed over the 870-MW Sloecentrale combined-cycle power plant to the joint venture of Dutch company Delta Energy and Electricité de France. The natural gas – fired plant in the Dutch town of Vlissingen-Oost reportedly has an efficiency of 59% and uses a state-of-the-art burner technology to keep nitrogen oxide emissions below 15 ppm. The plant is designed for 250 starts per year and is capable of supplying power to the grid within 30 to 40 minutes, Siemens said.
Sloecentrale comprises two single-shaft plants, in which the main components are arranged on a single line of shafting. Siemens built the plant as a turnkey project and supplied the main components — two SGT5-4000F gas turbines, two SST5-5000 steam turbines, two hydrogen-cooled generators, and all the electrical and instrumentation and control equipment. The company also signed a long-term service agreement for the main components.
Norway Pledges Funds to Develop World’s Largest Wind Turbine. Enova, an entity owned by Norway’s petroleum and oil industry ministry, on Feb. 12 announced it would provide Bergen-based company Sway AS with NOK 137 million (US$23 million) to demonstrate what it called "the world’s largest" turbine by 2011. Standing 162.5 meters tall, the 10-MW turbine will have a rotor diameter of 145 meters. The turbine’s concept was developed by Sway in cooperation with Norwegian technology firm Smartmotor AS, and it involves reducing turbine weight and the number of moving parts, as well as the use of a gearless generator system. The prototype will be tested on land in Øygarden, southwestern Norway, for two years before being installation the North Sea as part of a Sway project that involves floating turbines.
eSolar and Ferrostaal to Deploy Solar Tower Projects in Spain, UAE, and South Africa. California-based solar thermal power technology maker eSolar and Ferrostaal on Feb. 18 said they had struck a deal to jointly deploy turnkey solar power projects in Spain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and South Africa. Under the agreement, eSolar will provide solar field and receiver technology, while Ferrostaal will provide the power block as well as manage the overall realization as general contractor, including financing activities. The companies will use eSolar’s Sierra SunTower, a 5-MW commercial-scale solar power plant that uses mirrors to reflect sunlight onto a tower.
B&W Pilot Test of RSAT Carbon Capture Technology Successful. Babcock and Wilcox Power Generation Group (B&W PGG) on Feb. 1 said that researchers had successfully captured CO2 emissions from a pilot-scale, coal-fired boiler using advanced solvents and a proprietary CO2 -capture process developed at the company’s research center in Barberton, Ohio. During the demonstration on flue gas from a coal-fired boiler at the company’s Regenerable Solvent Absorption Technology (RSAT) Pilot Plant, researchers were able to continuously remove more than 90% of the CO2 from the Small Boiler Simulator II’s flue gas stream using a fully integrated RSAT process.
The RSAT process uses a liquid solvent in an absorber vessel to remove CO2 from a plant’s flue gas stream. B&W PGG researchers are now evaluating proprietary solvents and characterizing their performance at this scale, the company said. Pilot-scale testing of solvents began at the B&W Research Center in June 2009 and will continue throughout 2010.
MAN Diesel Wins Major Equipment Contract for Brazil Diesel Plants. MAN Diesel, the Augsburg-based manufacturer of large-bore diesel engines, in early February said it had won a contract worth €300 million from Brazilian company Grupo Bertin to supply electromechanical equipment for six diesel power plants. These components include 120 large-bore diesel engines and generators, which together will form the heart of the plants.
Wärtsilä Wins Contract for 119-MW Heavy Fuel Oil Plant in Greece. Wärtsilä in December won a contract to supply equipment and engineering for the 119-MW South Rhodes Power Station proposed for the island of Rhodes in Greece. The plant, expected to become fully operational during the second half of 2011, will generate electricity for the island’s grid from seven Wärtsilä 18V46 engines running on heavy fuel oil. The order was placed by Terna S.A., which has been awarded the overall project contract by Public Power Corp. S.A., the national electricity utility of Greece.
Foster Wheeler to Design, Supply Equipment for 1,200-MW Vietnamese Coal Plant. Foster Wheeler AG announced on Feb. 9 that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract by Lilama Corp., a Vietnamese EPC contractor, to design and supply two steam surface condensers and auxiliary equipment for the Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant in Vietnam. The two-unit 1,200-MW coal-fired power plant will be located in Ha Tinh province on the north central coast of Vietnam. The project is being built by investments from the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group as part of the government’s National Power Development Plan for the 2006 – 2015 period. Commercial operation of the first unit is scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. The second unit is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2013.