German tech giant Siemens has won an order from a consortium between Duro Felguera, Elecnor and Elecnor Mexico to deliver turbines for 791MW Empalme II combined-cycle power plant in Sonora, Mexico.

The firm will also be offering technical assistance during construction and commissioning of the facility, for which the consortium is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor.

The project has an estimated worth of $397m (€363m) and will be equipped with two gas turbo-generator units, two heat recovery boilers with three pressure levels and a steam turbine.

Commissioning of the power plant is expected to be completed in April 2018, following which the state-owned energy giant Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) will be in charge of its operations.

Besides 791MW Empalme II, the German conglomerate has won orders for six H-class gas turbines for the 770MW Empalme I and 615MW Valle de México II combined cycle power plants in Mexico, since early 2015, as well as a contract to deliver two SGT6-5000F gas turbines for the Tula plant in Hidalgo, Mexico.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Convion will be demonstrating, in Italy, fuel cell systems supporting cogeneration of heat and power, from biogas generated through waste water treatment.

The 175kW cells have been developed by the Finnish company Convion and will be presented as part of a pilot project for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) technology.

The partners will be installing fuel cell plant in the Collegno waste water treatment plant of the Italian Società Metropolitana Acque Torino (SMAT) in Turin.

This technology will enable power production from biogas that usually goes to waste or is burned for heat production only.

In terms of size and technology, the innovation is the first of its kind in Europe and is expected to offer energy self-sufficiency to waste water treatment plants.

It has been claimed to meet 30% of the power requirements for waste water treatment processes and 100% of its normal thermal needs.

As a part of the DEMOSOFC project, the technology will be delivering more than 53% electrical efficiency rate, which accounts for up to twice as much electric energy as compared to conventional technology implementations through power plants.

This fuel cell plant also offers fuel flexibility as it operates with both natural gas and biogas, is noise-free and does not lead to particulate matter, hydrocarbon or nitrous oxide emissions.

This DEMOSOFC project will extend over a five year period until 2020 and is backed with a €4.2m grant from the European Union under its Horizon 2020 programme. The estimated total cost is €5.9m.

It has been coordinated by the Italian Politechnico di Torino, and multinational European project consortium comprising Finnish entities Convion and VTT, POLITO and SMAT from Italy, and the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine from the UK.

A £107m energy-from-waste plant (€151m) planned for Belfast has moved a step closer with news that the finance for it has been put in place.

The operating company is Full Circle Generation Ltd, made up of a consortium of equity investors including RiverRidge Energy Limited, UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB), Equitix and P3P Partners.

It will service aeroplane company Bombardier’s facility in the harbour estate in the east of the city, and is expected to be operational by late 2017.

What will be the north’s largest energy-from-waste facility, providing 14.85 megawatts of energy from household waste, will also provide 250 construction jobs and 20 full-time jobs once completed.

Planning documents suggest it could cut Bombardier’s energy bill by a quarter.

The energy from waste plant has the capacity to take 180,000 tonnes of fuel a year derived from black bin waste, and it currently has planning permission to deal with 120,000 tonnes.

The scheme will incorporate the use of gasification technology – a process that converts any material containing carbon into synthesis gas (syngas) which can then be burned to produce electricity or further processed to manufacture chemicals or fertilisers.

Managing director of RiverRidge Energy and RiverRidge Recycling Ltd, Brett Ross, described the announcement as “a significant day” for the Northern Irish waste management sector.

“It is also a significant day for the Northern Irish economy as a whole”, Mr Ross said.

Details of the new application for the Edenderry Power Plant in Co Offaly, which was lodged in August, emerged after An Taisce yesterday secured a court order overturning a planning permission for the continued operation of the plant, which employs 180 people.

The permission was quashed by Mr Justice Michael White on foot of his ruling, on October 10, about the adequacy of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) carried out in relation to the plant at Clonbollogue. It argued the environmental effects of extracting the peat as a fuel source for the plant had not been properly assessed in accordance with an EU environmental impact assessment directive.

Mr Justice White found there were possible indirect effects on the environment by using peat from designated bogs to power the station. He ruled the assessment of the environmental impact of the continued operation of plant was too narrow.

He also found that the relevant legislation around the EIA Directive had been misinterpreted, but granted a six-month stay on the order, until the end of April, to allow time for ABP to decide on a new planning application involving a wider environmental impact assessment.

The decision poses a threat to BNM’s two other turf-burning power plants in the midlands on which planning permission runs out in 2019.

Siptu organiser and BNM group of unions secretary John Regan said the High Court decision was “concerning”. However, he explained the union expected a second planning application to be approved next year.

Edenderry was first developed as a peat-fired power plant in 1998 and was purchased by Bord na Móna from German utility E.ON in 2006. It was due to close in December this year. In 2014, it consumed 670,000 tonnes of peat source from Bord na Móna-owned bogs, and 212,000 tonnes of biomass.

German technology giant Siemens has received a turbine supply order from Samsung C&T for a 2.5GW combined-cycle power generating facility in Qatar.

Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will deliver six SGT5-4000F gas turbines, four SST5-4000 steam turbines and ten SGen5-1200A-series generators for the power plant.

The facility is being developed as a part of a complex that also houses an integrated seawater desalination unit.

It is under development by Samsung C&T, along with its consortium partner Hitachi Zosen, in the Umm al Houl Economic Zone in the south of the country.

Siemens Power and Gas Division gas turbines and generators business unit CEO Theo Maas said: “This order is yet another indicator of the strong confidence that Middle Eastern countries have in Siemens’ technology. Thanks to our close collaboration with Samsung C&T right from the very start, this order also reinforces our excellent partnership with our partner and the customer.”

Once developed, the facility will be handed over to its owner consortium Umm al Houl, which consists of Qatar Foundation (QF), Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatar Water and Electricity (QWEC), Mitsubishi (MC), and Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco).

In addition to accounting for around 25% of Qatar’s installed power generating capacity, the plant will also deliver up to 136 million imperial gallons of potable water a day.

The power plant will feature two blocks each in a 3+2 configuration. These will house three gas turbines that will generate steam to drive two downstream steam turbines.

As well as the turbines and generators, Siemens will also provide technical support for the project’s field erection and commissioning phases.

Phase one commissioning of the facility is expected to take place in 2017, with the entire complex scheduled to be operational in mid-2018.

Finland-based Wärtsilä has won an equipment supply contract for a 378MW Flexicycle power plant in El Salvador from Energía del Pacífico.

The €240m contract entitles the Finnish technology giant to deliver equipment for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) fired power plant, which is expected to be completed by 2018.

Energía del Pacífico managing director Alejandro Alle said: “One of the reasons why we selected Wärtsilä technology was the high reliability offered by Wärtsilä’s multi-unit Flexicycle solution.”

The dry Flexicycle technology features a closed loop cooling system, which can eliminate water usage for cooling purposes. This makes the solution suitable in a country such as El Salvador, which has been coping with one of the worst droughts in 40 years.

Once developed, the plant is claimed to be the largest and most efficient power plant in the North American country and is expected to bring down electricity prices in the region.

It will be equipped with 19 Wärtsilä 50SG engines and a combined cycle steam turbine, which can promise fuel efficiency of up to 50%.

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions business development manager Raúl Carral said: “This landmark project will produce the cleanest thermal energy in El Salvador, and it will lower the price of electricity in the country.”

El Salvador generates about 1600MW of power, 50% of which is based on oil.

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions regional director Sampo Suvisaari said: “This project proves that LNG can be imported into a relatively small country, and to a mid-sized power plant in a well-designed LNG-to-power project.”

Last year, Energia del Caribe picked the Finnish firm to deliver a 139MW Flexicycle power plant in Mexico.

To be equipped with seven 50SG gas engines and a combined cycle, the plant is expected to start operations in 2016.

German industry giant Siemens has secured a contract to deliver turbines and related equipment for the 615MW Valle de México II combined cycle power plant.

Situated in the municipality of Acolman in Mexico, the natural gas-fired plant will feature two SGT6-8000H gas turbines and one SST6-5000 steam turbine, manufactured by Siemens.

The German firm will also supply three SGen-1000A generators and the SPPA-T3000 control system for the turbines.

Under the terms of the contract, Siemens will also be responsible for delivering auxiliary equipment, materials, spare parts and special tools, along with TFA onsite engineering support for the facility.

Siemens has won the contract from the consortium comprising Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios, Initec Energía, and Avanzia Instalaciones, which is the developer for the power plant under an EPC deal with Mexican power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).

Commissioning of the power plant is expected to be done in December 2017.

Once operational, the power plant will support rising energy demands in the country, which are expected to increase at an average of 4% annually in the central region.

Siemens Latin America Power and Gas Division vice-president José Aparicio said: “This second order of Siemens’ high efficiency H-class power plant technology demonstrates CFE’s commitment to generate affordable, reliable and sustainable power.”

The first order for the H-class technology in Mexico was placed in May for the 770MW Empalme I combined cycle power plant (CCPP) in Sonora.

Under the terms of a contract from the Sener-led consortium, Siemens will be delivering two SGT6-8000H gas turbines and two SGen-2000H generators for the plant, which is expected to start commercial operations in November 2017.

Last week, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, attended the signing of the grant agreement on the GIPL (Gas Interconnector Poland – Lithuania), the first pipeline connecting Poland and Lithuania. The gas interconnector will end the long lasting isolation of the Baltic Sea region and bring the energy needed for a new economic dynamism to the area.

The gas pipeline will stretch some 357 km in Poland and 177 km in Lithuania. It will be capable of delivering 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Poland to Lithuania, and 1 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Lithuania to Poland.

Witnessed by Prime Minister of Poland Ewa Kopacz, with the President of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaité, the Prime Minister of Latvia, Laimdota Straujuma and the Prime Minister of Estonia, Taavi Rõivas, the signature is also a breakthrough increasing the security of supply and bringing more resilience to the European energy market.

Construction of the project is set to start by December 2019. Its total cost is €558 million which will be funded by the Baltic States and private investment alongside the Commission’s contribution, made under the Connecting Europe Facility.

GIPL is the first gas interconnector between the Eastern Baltic Sea region and the Continental Europe. It is one of the energy infrastructure projects that benefits of the status of Project of Common European Interest. Projects of Common Interest are critical for completing the European internal energy market and for the attainment of the Juncker Commission priority to establish an Energy Union to secure, affordable and sustainable energy.

The EU accounted for only 5.8% of the world’s energy production in 2013, compared to China with 19.2% and the US with 13.8%, according to the EU’s latest statistical energy pocketbook. Meanwhile, the EU consumed 12% of the world’s total energy, China accounted for 22.4% of energy consumption and the US 16.1%.

The latest statistics reveal that, in 2013, Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta were the most fuel import dependent EU countries with over 80% of their energy imported. Denmark, Estonia and Romania were the least import dependent with less than 20% of their energy imported.

Other figures show that in 2013 the EU imported 39% of its natural gas from Russia, 29.5% from Norway and 12.8% from Algeria. For crude oil, 33.5% came from Russia, 11.7% from Norway, 8.6% from Saudi Arabia and 8.1% from Nigeria. Overall in 2013, the EU’s import dependency for all energy products was at 53.2%, rising to 65.3% for natural gas alone and 64.6% for hard coal.

In 2013, the renewable energy share in gross final energy consumption reached 15% for the whole of the EU, and the primary energy intensity – a measure of energy efficiency calculated as units of energy per unit of GDP in 2010 – decreased by about 15.6% from 2005 levels.

The 2015 statistical pocketbook covers a whole range of energy statistical data and indicators including energy intensity, carbon intensity, renewable energy shares, energy efficiency, employment and EU country profiles.

Gemma Power Systems (GPS) has started construction of the 475MW natural gas-fired power plant in Middletown, Ohio, US.

Commencement follows receipt of full notice to proceed with activities under the $300m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services contract with NTE Ohio, an affiliate of NTE Energy.The interim notice to proceed to commence activities under the contract was issued in August.

GPS CEO William Griffin said: “We’re pleased to be working with NTE on this state-of-the-art facility and look forward to delivering a great project experience for them.”

Employing around 300 craft workers at the peak of construction, the Middletown Energy Centre project will generate up to 30 full-time jobs in the region to operate the facility when completed.

The power plant will feature an advanced Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas M501GAC combustion turbine generator, a Vogt Power International supplementary fired heat recovery steam generator, and a Toshiba America Energy Systems steam turbine generator.

Work on the Middletown Energy Centre project is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2018.
Ohio power plant is one of two similar projects that GPS has been contracted to undertake for NTE. The second power plant will be built in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, for NTE Carolinas.

Requiring similar components to the Middletown Energy Centre project, the Kings Mountain Energy Centre project is expected to be released this month and will be completed in late 2018.

GPS has won several EPC contracts in the last few months, to construct nearly 3,000MW of natural gas-fired generation power plants in five states across the US.