·        Absorbers Will Account For 45 Percent of Scrubber Sales In 2014

·        More Than 92,000 MW of Gas Turbines Will Start Power Generating Next Year

·        Renewable Energy Briefs     

·        Headlines for the August 16, 2013 - Utility E-Alert

·        Controlling Dissolved Gases in Power Plant Water Systems with Gas Transfer Membranes Webinar on August 28, 2013 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

·        Status of Carbon Capture and Storage Programs and Technology” is the “Hot Topic Hour” On August 29, 2013

·        McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour Registration

Absorbers Will Account For 45 Percent of Scrubber Sales In 2014

Sales of scrubbers, absorbers, biofliters, and adsorbers will exceed $6.8 billion next year.  This is the latest prediction in the McIlvaine report, Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets. (www.mcilvainecompany,com)

($ Millions)

Absorbers will lead the way with revenues of $3.1 billion. These devices are used for acid gas capture.  SO_2, HCl and other acid gases are generated when ores with sulfides are processed. They are also a result of a number of chemical processes. Municipal waste-to-energy power plants use either absorbers or dry scrubbers to capture the HCl created in the combustion of the plastics.

The cement industry is starting to purchase scrubbers to capture both HCl and SO₂.  New regulations in the U.S. are creating a significant market. However, other countries are also requiring cement plants to meet acid gas emission limits.

Adsorbers and biofilters are used for odor control and where the contaminant loadings are relatively low.   Particulate scrubbers sales are strong in the developing countries where they are a low cost alternative to either fabric filters or electrostatic precipitators.

The market is growing fastest in Asia due to the expansion of industrial activity but also to the retrofitting of existing power plants to meet recently enacted standards.

For more information on Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets, click on: 

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/component/content/article?id=48#n008

More Than 92,000 MW of Gas Turbines Will Start Power Generating Next Year

McIlvaine has identified 18,000 MW of U.S. gas turbine projects with start-ups slated for 2014.  Start-ups elsewhere in the world (ROW) will total 74,000 MW.  These are all projects tracked in the McIlvaine publication, World Power Generation Projects.  (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

2014 start-ups in U.S.

2014 start-ups in ROW

For more information on World Power Generation Projects:  click on:

http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/databases/28-energy/486-40ai.

Renewable Energy Briefs

President Obama Signs Groundbreaking Legislation to Expand U.S. Hydropower Production

Legislation designed to expand hydropower production in the U.S. by improving and streamlining the licensing process for small hydropower projects is now law. The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act and the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act were signed into law by President Obama. Previously, the Senate unanimously passed the legislation just before it adjourned for August; the House passed each bill with nearly unanimous support earlier in the year.

“President Obama’s signature on hydropower legislation is terrific news for expanding renewable energy and creating jobs across the country,” said Voith Hydro President and CEO Kevin Frank. “There’s no better indication that hydropower is at the center of the national policy debate than the widespread and bipartisan support these bills received in both the House and Senate. We wouldn’t have gotten to this point without the outstanding leadership of Chairman Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Murkowski (R-AK) in the Senate and Representatives McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) in the House.”

The Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act will improve the permitting process for small and conduit hydropower projects on Bureau of Reclamation facilities. The Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act will:

•Increase the small hydro exemption to 10 MW (currently at 5MW)

•Remove conduit projects under 5 MW from FERC jurisdiction and increase the conduit exemption to 40 MW for all projects

•Provide FERC the ability to extend preliminary permits

•Require FERC to examine a 2-year licensing process for non-powered dams and closed loop pump storage.

Metso to Supply Biomass-fired Heating Plant to Elenia Lämpö in Finland

Metso will supply a biomass-fired heating plant for district heating production to Elenia Lämpö in Turenki in Finland. The heating plant is scheduled to go on-stream in the early winter of 2014. The value of the order will not be disclosed.

Metso's turnkey delivery will include process equipment, buildings and installation work. The plant will have a heat output of 10 megawatts and will produce hot water for the district heating network of Turenki. The plant will be fired by locally sourced wood-based biomass, such as forest residue and optional also peat.

GE, Sandia National Lab Discover Pathway to Quieter, More Productive Wind Turbines

GE Global Research, the technology development arm of the General Electric Company, announced research that could significantly impact the design of future wind turbine blades. Utilizing the power of high-performance computing (HPC) to perform complex calculations, GE engineers have overcome previous design constraints, allowing them to begin exploring ways to design reengineered wind blades that are low-noise and more prolific power-producers.

Partnering with the Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, GE’s work focused on advancing wind turbine blade noise prediction methods. Aerodynamic blade noise is the dominant noise source on modern, utility-scale wind turbines and represents a key constraint in wind turbine design. Efforts to reduce blade noise can help reduce the cost of wind energy and increase power output. In fact, GE predicts a 1 decibel quieter rotor design would result in a two-percent increase in annual energy yield per turbine. With approximately 240 GW of new wind installations forecasted globally over the next five years, a two-percent increase would create 5 GW of additional wind power capacity. That’s enough to power every household in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles, combined.

White House Solar is Just the Beginning

Sungevity, a recognized leader in the global solar market, issued the following statement in response to news reports that the White House is installing solar panels this week:

"Sungevity applauds President Obama for upholding his commitment to renewable energy by putting solar panels back on the White House. Solar is fast becoming America's most popular home improvement, and we are very pleased to see the First Family follow the American peoples' lead. Support for solar energy is one issue that rises above the political fray. All Americans can reap benefits from widespread solar adoption – solar power saves money, boosts the economy and creates jobs.

Putting solar panels back on the White House sends a strong message to the American public and the world that the United States has the technology, resources and ability to supply cleaner, more efficient energy alternatives.

Sungevity helped lead the effort to get solar panels back on the White House. In 2010, their Globama petition garnered over 50,000 signatures and was successful in getting President Obama to commit to go solar.

Duke Energy Renewables Acquires One of the Largest Urban Municipal Solar Projects in California

Duke Energy Renewables, a commercial business unit of Duke Energy, announced it has acquired a 4.5 megawatt (AC) solar project in San Francisco from solar project developer Recurrent Energy.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is purchasing the emissions-free energy under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

The solar power system, developed and operated by Recurrent Energy since 2010, consists of nearly 24,000 solar panels mounted on top of the Sunset Reservoir. The facility provides electricity for the city and county of San Francisco’s municipal services and facilities.

For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update please visit

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Projects_Brochure/renewable_energy_projects_brochure.htm

Headlines for the August 16, 2013 – Utility E-Alert     

UTILITY E-ALERT  

#1138 – August 16, 2013 

Table of Contents 

COAL – US

• AQC System for 90 MW Lon D. Wright 8
• Sierra Club files Lawsuit against OG&E Muskogee
• PJM asks FirstEnergy to delay Retirement of Two Coal-fired Power Plants in PA
• APCo unclear about APCo/Wheeling Power Merger
• Sierra Club, KCP&L spar over 2007 Agreement for Iatan 2

COAL – WORLD

§  MoU signed to set up 6,000 MW of Power Plants in the Sindh State, Pakistan

§  Alstom involved in Plan to build Polish 2 x 900 MW Opole Power Plant

§  300 MW Bhushan Energy Power Plant in Odisha, India shut for Environmental Reasons

§  GRDA approved $357 Million 400 MW Natural Gas-fired Power Plant near Chouteau, OK

§  Russian Firm ready to invest in 500-600 MW Coal-fired Projects in Pakistan

§  Fortum to shutter Inkoo Coal-fired Power Plant in Finland

GAS/OIL – US

• Wisconsin Public Service must build New Power Plant by 2019
• FT4000 SWIFTPAC for 120 MW Harford County (MD) Power Plant

GAS/OIL – WORLD

• RWE shuts Fifth of its German Gas-fired Power Capacity
• OUR opens Bids for 360 MW Power Project in Jamaica

BIOMASS

• Tilbury B closed in UK

NUCLEAR 

• Court of Appeals says NRC needs to decide on Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Facility
• Russia set to build Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Expansion for Iran
• License to build Belarusian Nuclear Station expected by end of August

BUSINESS

• China Can Remove Mercury at Low Cost Thanks to U.S. Developments
• $152 Billion Liquid Treatment and Control Market Will Grow At 6%/yr Thanks to Asia
• Lots of New Developments relative to Mercury Removal

HOT TOPIC HOUR

• New approaches to FGD Wastewater Treatment unveiled at Hot Topic Webinar Yesterday
• Answers to your Power Plant Pump Questions Provided in “Hot Topic Hour” on August 22
• Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Tracking System, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72.

Controlling Dissolved Gases in Power Plant Water Systems with Gas Transfer Membranes Webinar on August 28, 2013 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Liqui-Cel^® Membrane Contactor technology can optimize water processes in power plants by cost-effectively controlling dissolved gases. Fred Wiesler, Global Sales Director at Membrana, will be discussing performance, operating costs, efficiency and other key benefits of using Liqui-Cel^® Contactors compared to traditional technologies at the Webinar from 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EDT August 28 (8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. PDT).

Key Takeaways:

• Understand where gas transfer membranes fit into power plant water systems
• Learn how CO₂ removal from IX systems improves efficiency and reduces bed regeneration frequency
• Learn how O₂ removal can result in significant cost and maintenance savings in steam deaeration processes
• Discover the benefits of Liqui-Cel^® Contactors compared with conventional deaerators and chemical methods of degassing
• Featured case studies covering real-world application of gas transfer membrane technology in power plants. 

For more information click on

http://www.globalspec.com/events/upcomingevents

   “Status of Carbon Capture, Storage Programs and Technology” is the “Hot Topic Hour” On August 29, 2013

President Obama’s recently announced "Climate Action Plan” will seriously affect all new and existing fossil-fueled power plants especially coal-fired power plants. His climate advisor Daniel Schrag stated, "a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.” However, most experts believe that coal will continue to provide a significant share of our energy for at least the next thirty years. The concept of quickly replacing coal with other fuels is impractical, costly and not the best environmental option. Perhaps recognizing this, President Obama’s plan also creates a new $8 billion loan guarantee program for advanced fossil-fuel projects (such as carbon capture) through the Department of Energy.

Carbon capture with sequestration and perhaps beneficial reuse of the CO₂ is seen as the solution to the GHG issues for fossil-fueled power plants. At our recent Hot Topic Hour on “GHG Compliance Strategies, Reduction Technologies and Measurement,” Dr. James Staudt PhD, President of Andover Technology Partners reviewed the economic situation for coal-fired power plants and CCS. He concludes new coal-fired power plants with CCS will cost $5000/kW or more, but can emit less CO₂ per MWh than natural gas combined cycle without CCS. The tradeoff between NGCC and coal then depends upon the differential in fuel cost and CO₂ price. He went on to say that CCS on existing coal units only makes sense if coal-fired power plants can absorb the additional cost of CCS and still compete. The industry will need an adequately high CO₂ price signal to justify CCS – sufficiently high to justify CCS on NGCC also.

However, as typically happens with all new technologies, we could anticipate that the cost for removing CO₂ will come down and change the economics.  Over the last few years, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded millions of dollars to projects to explore the use of enzymes, hollow fiber membranes, liquid and solid solvents, carbonated salts, ionic liquids and even rocket science to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of CO₂ capture. Funds were also awarded to projects to explore beneficial uses such as the use of CO₂ to produce algae for the production of bio-fuels, for the production of useful chemicals to replace petroleum derived products, to produce fertilizer, for the production of cement and other aggregate building materials and even to make methane gas.

The following speakers will address the issues relative to carbon capture, storage and reuse and update us on the status of the various technologies being developed, the pilot projects underway to test CO₂ capture technologies and technologies for the beneficial reuse of CO₂. Speakers will also address the overall economic, political, regulatory and societal situation relative to carbon capture, sequestration and beneficial reuse.

Theresa Pugh, Director, Environmental Services at the American Public Power Association (APPA), will discuss the many impediments to commercial demonstration of geologic sequestration of CO₂ as an acid gas in non-EOR locations by the power sector. She will address legal, other environmental laws and commercial law limitations as well as the huge 'infrastructure lift' needed before CCS can be commercially demonstrated and deployed.

Neeraj Gupta Principal Research Scientist and Lydia Cumming at Battelle Memorial Institute, will provide a briefing on the work being done at Battelle related to Carbon Capture and Sequestration. 

A key milestone in CO₂ utilization and geologic storage research was recently achieved when the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (www.mrcsp.org) team led by Battelle initiated its large-scale CO₂ injection program in Michigan with the overall goal of injecting, monitoring, and modeling at least 1 million tonnes of CO₂ in multiple oil-bearing fields operated by Core Energy, LLC.  Dr. Gupta will present an overview of this effort, with emphasis on project development, geologic setup, monitoring, and infrastructure aspects.  The critical role of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) infrastructure in enabling research on CO₂ geologic storage and applicability of the project to the nine-state MRCSP region will be presented.  Dr. Gupta will also explain how geologic characterization work is helping with research on shale gas development and related produced water disposal that rely on utilization of resources in the same geologic space – illustrating a need for integrated resource assessment and planning.

Jeffrey (Jeff) H. Michel MSc. Ing.-Büro für Energieforschung, Energy Consultant, Hamburg, Germany, will discuss CCS implementation costs and considerations of how great the respective hurdles remain. A second related factor will be certain technical miscalculations that would be difficult to surmount at any cost.

He has conducted investigations on the German lignite industry, European CCS strategies, intelligent power metering, and European prospects for shale gas exploitation. His recent study "Lost hopes for CCS" has been issued by the Swedish Air Pollution & Climate Secretariat. 

Despite CO₂ emissions increasing to the detriment of climate stability and ocean chemistry, the European Union is employing fossil fuels to implement re-industrialization policies. Little incentive exists for carbon capture technologies due to declining CO₂ trading prices. Yet even with maximum deployment by 2050, less than 2 percent of global greenhouse emissions could be avoided by a EU CCS strategy.  

To register for the August 29 “Hot Topic Hour” on “Status of Carbon Capture and Storage Programs and Technology” at 10 a.m. DST, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour Registration

On Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Tracking System. The cost is $125.00 for non-subscribers. Market Intelligence webinars are free to McIlvaine market report subscribers and are $400.00 for non-subscribers.

 To register for the “Hot Topic Hour”, click on:

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

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 You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Free_Newsletter_Registration_Form.htm.

 Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112

rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

www.mcilvainecompany.com

 
191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093

Ph: 847-784-0012 | Fax; 847-784-0061