Siemens Energy to Build Turnkey Gas Power Plant in Düsseldorf

Siemens Energy will design and build a gas-fired power plant in Düsseldorf as a turnkey project on behalf of the municipal utility. The value of the order, including a turnkey construction and a long-term maintenance contract, is between €400-500mn. Gas to Power Journal, 5th July.

China's Fleet of 'Ghost' Ships Signals Worsening Slowdown

China's huge fleet of coastal ships, usually confined to plying the Chinese seaboard, has sailed out of the shadows to seek international business in yet another sign that China's economy is slowing. The fleet, previously unnoticed by the global market, is suffering from a slowdown in China's coastal trade amid weaker domestic demand from utilities and steel mills and a growing glut in Chinese coal and iron ore stockpiles. The vessels are now being forced to seek new business such as in the Indonesian coal trade, dealing a further blow to the depressed global dry bulk shipping market. CNBC, 5th July.

New Offshore Wind Farms Will Bring Huge Boost to UK Capacity

Consent was given by the Government for the construction of two wind farms off the Norfolk Coast with a combined capacity of over 1GW. This means that 6.6GW of offshore wind power is now either operational, under construction or consented in the UK. DECC, 6th July. 

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Orders Given For 'Hard Core' France

French authorities have laid out the improvements they want to see from the country's nuclear operators to ensure safety in case of extreme natural disasters like those that led to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi. The extensive measures described by the Nuclear Safety Authority (Autorité de sûreté nucléaire, ASN) ...affect the operations of three organisations: EDF, which operates 58 large reactors at 19 nuclear power plants; Areva, which has fuel cycle facilities; and the CEA, which operates fuel and research facilities.....Some 32 decisions were made ...translating into 30 new regulatory requirements across the entirety of French nuclear infrastructure. In general, what the ASN wants in nuclear facilities is a 'hard core' of systems at each facility that are incredibly robust and will provide essential safety services during even the most extreme circumstances. This should push the safety of all facilities well beyond their original design bases. World Nuclear News, 29th June.

Tepco's Shareholders

Japan's nine nuclear power utilities have rejected calls from some of their shareholders to reduce or even eliminate the use of nuclear energy. Tokyo Electric Power Co's (Tepco's) shareholders approved a ¥1trn ($12.5 bn) injection of state funds which effectively nationalizes the company....Some 4500 shareholders attended Tepco's meeting in a gymnasium in Tokyo, which lasted about 5.5 hours. During the meeting, shareholders voted against a proposal for the company to permanently shut down its 7-unit Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant in Niigata prefecture, replacing them with advanced gas-turbine generators. However, the company is relying on the restart of those reactors to help improve its profitability. World Nuclear News, 29th June.

Belgian Reactors Learn Their Fate

Nuclear plant operator Electrabel has reacted with dismay to a government announcement that two of the country's seven nuclear units will not get a previously promised ten-year licence extension. Belgium's Council of Ministers has announced that Doel 1 and 2 - 433 MWe pressurized water reactors (PWRs) that have been in operation since the mid 1970s - are to close in 2015 after 40 years of operation. Tihange 1, a 962 MWe PWR that will also celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2015, is to be permitted to operate to 2025. This will "avoid the risk that 500,000 to 1 mn inhabitants are plunged into darkness at times during the winter," according to a statement from the council. World Nuclear News, 5th July.

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Goldwind Sells 19.5MW Australian Wind Farm

Goldwind, China's second biggest turbine manufacturer has sold a 19.5MW Australian wind farm to CGN Wind Energy, a division of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group. Located in Western Victoria, the Morton Lane project is expected to use 13 of the manufacturers' 1.5MW turbines and will be the first time that the new owner has invested in Australia's renewable energy market. www.awordaboutwind.com, 2nd July.

Ming Yang to Supply 2.5GW to India

Ming Yang has entered into an agreement with Indian Power Reliance Capital to set up a joint venture to develop up to 2.5GW of wind projects in India. Under the agreement, Reliance Capital will hand over a share in Global Wind Power Limited, a wind power solutions provider in India. Reliance Capital is the largest shareholder in Global Wind Power. Windpower Monthly, 3rd July.

Salazar Announces 2.5GW Chokecherry Consultation Plan

The final environmental impact statements for a planned 2.5GW wind farm in Wyoming have been published....The project will comprise 1,000 2.5MW turbines spread across 2,000 acres of a 320,000-acre ranch in Carbon County, Wyoming. It is being developed by Power Company of Wyoming, which expects the project to cost between $4-$6bn and construction to start in 2013 following federal, state and county approval. Windpower Monthly 3rd July.

EON, GT Energy Plan 140mn Pound Geothermal Growth in UK

GT Energy, an Irish geothermal power developer, plans a 140 mn-pound ($219 mn) expansion across Britain in partnership with EONs U.K. unit. The companies will build five 7-megawatt plants to provide heat to homes and businesses. The first, in northwest England, is scheduled to start operating in 2014. Bloomberg, 4th July.

Argentina Plans Biggest Wind Project with Loan from China

An Argentinean renewable-energy developer is planning Latin America's biggest wind-power project, saying it expects to obtain $3 bn in financing from China Development Bank Corp. Generadora Eolica Argentina del Sur SA said it will receive the funds to install 1,350 MW of Chinese turbines across 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) in the Chubut province in the nation's south. Bloomberg Business Week, 5th July.

Centrica Wants Planning Rules Eased After Wind Farm Rejected

Centrica urged the UK government to relax planning rules after its application to build a 540 MW offshore wind farm was turned down following a three-year wait. The Department of Energy and Climate Change cited the "potential impact" on seabirds for rejecting the proposed Docking Shoal project, for which Centrica said it incurred "considerable costs." The government needs to eliminate "undue constraints" from the planning process if Britain's target to get 15% of its energy from clean power sources by 2020 is to be met". ...It was the first time an application for an offshore park has been turned down in the U.K. Bloomberg, 6th July.

Coal Demand Doldrums Put Damper on $11.6Bn in Capital Expenditure Plans at US Mines

Inexpensive natural gas, environmental regulations, reduced energy usage and high coal inventories at power plants are all factors that have had a negative impact on coal demand fundamentals in 2012. These factors are starting to impact capital expenditures at US coal mines as a number of mine closures, production reductions and capital expenditure postponements have been announced by the nation's leading coal mining companies including Peabody Energy Corporation (St. Louis, Missouri), Arch Coal Incorporated (St. Louis), Alpha Natural Resources Incorporated (Bristol, Virginia) and CONSOL Energy Incorporated (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Market Watch, The Wall Street Journal, 2nd July.

China Major Ports Face Coal Oversupply

Coal inventories in Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Huanghua, China's major coal ports, have reached record highs in recent days.... According to the latest figures, coal supplies among the three ports totalled 18.3 mn tons on June 30.....Qinhuangdao Port, located in north China's Hebei province, is the world's largest coal loading port, and it handles half of China's coal needs. On June 25, the coal inventory in storage at Qinhuangdao totalled 9.08 mn tons, while the designed volume for pile is 10.18 mn tons. "China's coal stocks are estimated at about 300 mn tons, equivalent to the entire country's coal consumption in one month," said Li Xin, a senior official with the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association. China Daily News. 2nd July.

Sumitomo Fuels Coal Mining Drive with Likely Deal

Looking to become a bigger player in the coal industry, Sumitomo Corp. expects to snap up 50% of an Australian mine deal worth A$430mn (US$441.2 mn) this month. If the Japanese trading house seals the deal, it will land its biggest stake in a coal mining project to date, demonstrating its growing appetite for the hot commodity as it boosts its annual output by a third. The Wall Street Journal, 6th July.

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UK Gas Rises to Digest Steep Oil Gains, Tight Prompt

The benchmark front-season contract in Europe's largest traded gas market rose close to a one-month high on Monday, digesting a steep rise in oil prices from Friday and reacting to tight supply on the prompt, traders said. The key contract added 0.50 pence to 65.40 p/ therm, its highest level since early June, while summer 2013 gas traded at 58.60 pence, up 0.15 pence day on day. Reuters, 2nd July.

Russian Power Markets, IEA Transparency Deal

An agreement between the IEA and Russia in the electricity sector should help ensure Russian markets are transparent...IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven signed a MOU with officials at Russia's Energy Forecasting Agency to share data and best practices in the electricity sector. The program would give both sides an opportunity to share information on efficiency, renewable energy and clean-coal production under the terms of a 3-year deal. PO Review, 2nd July.

China-Vietnam Row Heats Up Over Competing Offshore Claims

Chinahas deployed four combat ready patrol ships to a disputed area of the South China Sea, state media Xinhua news agency said. Tensions in the South China Sea rose to a new level on June 25, when state-backed China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) said in a statement on its website that it is opening nine offshore blocks in the South China Sea for joint operation with foreign companies. Seven of the blocks are sited in the Zhongjianan Basin, while two are located in areas covering the Wan'an Basin and the Nanweixi Basin. Rigzone, 2nd July.

Eurelectric Analyses Role of Decentralised Energy Storage on Grid

Decentralised energy storage can play an important role within the context of tomorrow's smart grid, next to demand response by means of flexible power generation, a Eurelectric report finds. Gas to Power Journal, 5th July.

Carbon Floor Price to Put Gas and Coal Generation on "Equal Footing" In April 2015 - Deutsche Bank

The introduction of a carbon floor price under Britain's Electricity Market Reform (EMR) is estimated to make natural gas catch-up with coal in terms of profitability. "Using our forward-price assumption for coal, gas-fired generation and coal-fired generation are very nearly on equal footing in the April 2015 timeframe in the UK," Deutsche Bank forecast today. Gas to Power Journal, 5th July.

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