Pei20130708 DL

The magazine for the international power industry July-August 2013
SUB-SAHARA SET FOR

RENEWABLES BOOM
EUROPES CAPACITY
BALANCING ACT
MAXIMISING PUMP
PERFORMANCE
Nuclear fusion
Looking beyond fssion
TRIGEN: TECHNOLOGY
FOR CHANGING TIMES
www.PowerEngineeringInt.com
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www.PowerEngineeringInt.com 1 Power Engineering International July-August 2013
POWER ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL
Contents
JULY-AUGUST 2013/// VOLUME 21/// ISSUE 7
2 Industry Highlights
4 News Analysis
8 News Update
44 Diary
46 Project & Technology Update
52 Ad Index
Features
12 Causing a frisson over fusion
With several projects well underway, harnessing nuclear
fusion to generate power could be a lot closer to fruition
than anticipated.
28 Realising a renewable energy dream
With technology prices dropping and international
agencies backing low-carbon solutions, is sub-Saharan
Africa set for its long-awaited renewables boom?
34 Trigeneration: A technology for the times
As trigen technology wins devotees around the world, we
highlight its success stories and examine its most notable
failure.
38 Pump up the volume
Advanced coatings can boost the performance of a
pump beyond its as new and can maintain this standard
throughout its life with minimal maintenance.
POWER-GEN Europe Best Paper Award Winners
Articles based on two of the six winning papers from this years
POWER-GEN Europe Best Paper Awards are featured.
16 A new market design for Europe?
New technology and market mechanisms can help
Europes electricity system cope with the growing role of
renewables while ensuring adequacy of capacity.
22 FEM helps ease generator repair
Modelling of a stator casings destructive vibration allowed
its modifcation on-site, a reft that was of short duration and
minimum complexity.
On the cover
The target chamber of the US National Ignition Facility. The holes in the
chamber provide access for the laser beams and viewing ports for
the diagnostic equipment. p.14
Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Free Product Info
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Trigen system in Sydney. Find out why the
Australian city has become the poster child
for trigeneration. p.34
1307PEI_1 1 7/19/13 8:43 AM
2 Power Engineering International July-August 2013 www.PowerEngineeringInt.com
Industry Highlights
R
enewables will surpass gas
and nuclear by 2016. That is the
somewhat surprising headline
fnding of the International Energy
Agencys report published late June.
According to the report, renewable power
generation will increase by an astonishing
40 per cent in the next fve years, making
up almost a quarter of the global power
mix by 2018.
According to the IEAs second Medium-
Term Renewable Energy Market Report, two
main factors are driving this positive outlook
for renewable power generation. The frst is that
investment and deployment are accelerating
in emerging markets and the second is the
growing need for energy diversifcation and
local pollution concerns.
Certainly evidence of the former is plentiful.
One recent example is the latest MENA
Renewables Status Report, which found that
investment in the renewable energy sector
the Middle East and North Africa increased
by 40 per cent from 2011 to 2012, despite a
worldwide decline over the same period.
It is of no surprise that the IEA expects
the majority (two-thirds) of this emerging
market growth to come from China. Despite
what appears to be a slowing (or it is a
rebalancing?) of its economy, China recently
announced an ambitious plan to essentially
quadruple its installed solar power capacity to
35 GW by 2015. Some arguably cynical reports
suggest that this initiative has been devised by
Beijing to help soak up the countrys sizeable
share of the global glut in solar technology
and thereby protect its domestic industry.
Africa also looks set to beneft from
renewable energy. On his recent three-country
visit US President Barack Obama pledged
$16bn of American funding to double Africans
access to electricity, with a strong focus on
renewable energy development. In this issue,
we explore what is said to be a renewables
boom in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in
smaller-scale projects that are helping to
bring light to rural communities.
As youd expect the IEAs renewable
energy report is not all good news, with a slow-
down in growth anticipated in more mature
markets, most notably Europe and the US. It
cautions that renewable energy development
is becoming more complex and faces
challenges in terms of governmental policy,
especially in a number of European countries.
If you are a power generator with a mixed
feet of both conventional and renewable
energy you will be all too familiar with these
challenges.
You only have to look at some recent
headlines to get some idea of the challenges
facing those participating in the European
renewable sector. For example, Dong Energy
recently sold its Danish onshore wind power
business as part of a plan to focus solely
on offshore wind. This may well be a smart
move by the Danish utility in light of the June
announcement that the European Union has
awarded a welcome 1m in funding towards
a detailed study for the ongoing initiative to
build an offshore grid between Scotland,
Northern Ireland and Ireland.
E.ON, Germanys largest utility by sales, has
withdrawn from the Pelamis marine energy
project at the European Marine Energy Centre
in Scotland. According to a spokesperson,
the decision was taken because of the slow
progress in wave technology development
and a shift in the utilitys focus towards more
mature renewable technologies. Is this an
indication that novel renewable and low-
carbon technologies with huge potential but
little tested will lose out to more conventional
renewables in the continuing uncertainty over
renewable energy policy?
Furthermore, Germanys RWE has pulled
the plug on its Tilbury biomass-conversion
project in the UK, which it started in 2011 and
would have made it the largest biomass-
only power plant in the world. According to
RWE, it decided to halt work on the biomass
plant whilst options on project feasibility are
assessed and reviewed. RWE may well be
thanking its lucky stars considering the recent
announcement by the British government.
It is proposing to cap subsidies for bespoke
biomass burning plants to 400 MW per plant
and end subsidies by 2027 for existing stations
combusting biomass. It does make one
wonder what Drax thinks of that, considering
its 700 million investment in converting three
of its six boilers to 100 per cent biomass.
Renewable power
will increase by an
astonishing 40 per
cent, making up
almost a quarter of
the global power mix
by 2018 and driven by
emerging economies
Dr. Heather Johnstone
Chief Editor
www.PowerEngineeringInt.com
1307PEI_2 2 7/19/13 8:44 AM
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News Analysis
Strike prices unveiled, a shale boom predicted,
regulator warnings and tabloid hysteria Kelvin Ross
examines 24 hours in the evolving UK energy market
ELECTRICITY TO BE RATIONED. That was the
headline on the front page of UK middle-
market tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail
earlier this month.
Britain could face a return to Seventies-
style power rationing to prevent blackouts the
paper told its readers.
The story appeared the morning after a
busy 24 hours for the UK energy industry, a day
dubbed Super Thursday. The governments
Department of Energy and Climate Change
(DECC) revealed some long-awaited details
of its Electricity Market reform package by
publishing draft strike prices for various forms
of renewable energy, the British Geological
Survey published a report on the potential
reserves of shale gas in Britain, and energy
regulator Ofgem issued a warning over
electricity supply.
It was this last report that prompted
the Daily Mails screamer headline and it
is the latest of many occasions in recent
months when energy has grabbed the front
page, sometimes with measured reporting,
sometimes not.
So what was in these reports and DECC
announcements and what did the power
industry make of them? Is it all doom and
(literally, as the Mail would have us believe)
gloom, or are there reasons to be upbeat
about the British power sector.
What Ofgem actually said was this: that
electricity supplies are set to tighten faster
than previously expected in the middle of this
decade. It stated that the risk to electricity
supplies is projected to increase from the
current near zero levels, although it added
and heres a rather vital caveat that it does
not consider disruption to supplies is imminent
or likely, providing the industry manages the
problem effectively.
Ofgem chief executive Andrew Wright said
the report highlights the need for reform to
encourage investment in generation.
He said Britains energy industry is facing
an unprecedented challenge to secure
supplies and added that it would be prudent
to consider giving National Grid additional
tools now to procure electricity.
Ofgem believes these tools would give
network operator National Grid the option to
buy extra demand-side response and reserve
generation to balance the electricity network.
Dr Monica Giulietti, Associate Professor of
Global Energy at Warwick Business School,
has studied UK energy prices for more than
a decade and says Ofgems warning is the
latest of several alerts.
There have been warnings the gas
reserves are getting tight in the UK as its
storage capacity is a lot smaller than the rest
In the dark on the
reality of blackouts
1307PEI_4 4 7/19/13 8:44 AM
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BUILDING A
NEW GENERATION
OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
Containment Vessel Bottom Head set at V.C. Summer Unit 2
Westinghouse Electric Company congratulates South Carolina
Electric & Gas Company and Georgia Power Company on the
major milestones recently achieved in constructing new AP1000

nuclear power plants, marking the start of a new generation of
nuclear energy in the United States.
Westinghouse delivered the worlds rst pressurized water reactor
in 1957, and were proud to provide todays most advanced
nuclear energy technology. A new era of safe, clean and reliable
nuclear power is beginning.
For more information, visit us at www.westinghousenuclear.com
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1307PEI_5 5 7/19/13 8:44 AM
News Analysis
of Europe, she says. Plus there is also an issue
with the decline in gas production from the
North Sea. A change in demand will see the
energy companies rely on the spot market
and import gas, which is subject to variations
in price. With such low reserves the UK might
have to import more.
The Ofgem report came a day before the
government made key announcements on its
Electricity Market Reform. It revealed the strike
prices for renewable energy that it proposes to
pay under its contracts for difference scheme
and also outlined details of its planned
capacity market.
Contracts for difference form a key plant
of the governments Electricity Market Reform.
Varying in amount for each form of power
generation, they guarantee to pay generators
a fxed sum or strike price for the electricity
they generate.
The government revealed fgures covering
each year from 2014 to 2019. For projects with
a potential deployment capacity of more
than 1 GW, the government plans to pay
155/MWh for offshore wind in 2014, falling to
135/MWh in 2019; Onshore wind will get 100
from 2014, dropping to 95 in 2019, while large
solar PV will receive 125 in 2014 and get 110
in 2019. Hydro and biomass conversion will get
the same amount for the 2014-2019 period:
95 and 105 respectively.
On the capacity market, the government
confrmed that subject to EU state aid
approval the capacity market will be
launched next year, with participants such
as existing generators and investors in new
plant bidding in auctions to provide the total
amount of electricity that the UK is predicted
to need from 2018-2019.
Successful bidders will receive a steady
payment in the year they agree to make
capacity available. In exchange, they will
be obliged to deliver electricity in periods of
system stress or face fnancial penalties.
Energy Secretary Ed Davey must have felt
he was directly answering Ofgems concerns
when he said: Developers and investors have
been crying out for more details sooner, and
that is what we are giving them today.
The announcements were welcomed
albeit with some key caveats by many in the
energy industry. Andrew Horstead, head of
commodities research at energy and carbon
management specialists Utilyx, said: This is
the frst real assurance that weve seen from
the government to make a real and lasting
commitment to improving the UKs energy
infrastructure. The measures outlined should
fnally provide investors with the clarity they
need to commit funds for energy projects.
But he added that this will take time to get
through the legislative process and said he
believed it was highly unlikely that we will see
the real benefts of these plans until the latter
stages of the decade at the earliest, which
has serious implications for the countrys short
term energy needs.
Maria McCaffery, chief executive of trade
group RenewableUK, said the publication of
the draft strike prices was a welcome step
forward in setting out how the long term
market is going to work.
However, she added that more details
do need to be set out. The most important
ingredient remains investor confdence
and that will take time to land. The secret is
consistent long term support and investors
seeing that government is behind renewables
and low carbon generation for the long term.
Paul Massara, UK chief executive of RWE
one of Britains Big Six power utilities said
a signifcant level of detail is not yet fnalised.
This, along with the overall complexity of the
proposals and the need to gain EU state aid
approval, means uncertainty remains.
And Katja Hall, chief policy director at the
Confederation of British Industry, said DECCs
announcements were a big step forward and
should unlock the private investment we need
to keep the lights on and costs down.
Shale gas
In what proved to be a bumper day for UK
energy announcements, the government also
published details of a report from the British
Geological Survey on the potential volume of
shale gas in the north of England.
The BGS estimated there is likely to be some
40 trillion cubic metres (1300 trillion cubic feet)
of shale gas in the ground in this area a
fgure far exceeding all previous estimates.
However, it should be noted that the fgure
relates to technically recoverable volumes
and not to commercially recoverable gas.
Emma Wild, head of the upstream advisory
practice at consultancy KPMG, was far from
bowled over by the BGS report and the
governments shale gas package.
She said what had not been addressed
was the high cost of operating in the UK, the
availability of alternative sources of gas supply
for UK power and how these factors contribute
to shale gas commerciality.
Therefore the likelihood of large scale
developments remains uncertain.
However, Dan Byles, chairman of the All-
Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional
Oil & Gas, was much more upbeat. He said
the fgures in the BGS report confrm the UKs
potential to become a major global player in
the shale gas market.
Even if only ten per cent of what BGS
believes is there was extracted, this would
support the UKs gas needs for four decades
and the report only covers one part of the
country. Now we need to know how much
of this valuable resource we can extract
and what it will mean for UK consumers and
industry.
The UK faces a very
real energy crunch
over the next few
years to 2020
1307PEI_6 6 7/19/13 8:44 AM
1307PEI_7 7 7/19/13 8:44 AM
News
EUROPE
Germanyss EnBW to shut down four plants
and mothball RDK 4
German utility EnBW is to close four power
plants two coal, one gas and one co-
generation which have a combined output
of 668 MW.
And it is also planning a short-term
shutdown of RDK 4 in Karlsruhe, which it says
is hardly being utilised and is consequently
also unable to cover its full costs.
The four plants being closed permanently
are an oil fred co-generation unit and a gas
fred plant in Marbach and two coal fred
plants in Walheim. They will shut at the earliest
legally possible date according to EnBW.
Both coal plants were commissioned in
the 1960s, while the Marbach gas plant was
commissioned in 1971 and the cogen plant
went operational in 1975.
The company said the decision to close
the plants was taken as a result of rapid
structural change in the energy sector.
EnBW said: As a result of the marked
additional construction of renewable energy
sources, numerous fossil plant are exposed to
great commercial and fnancial pressure, and
frequently continue to be operated solely as
marginal power plants. This is resulting in a
drastic fall in revenue.
The company said older coal plants and
especially gas power stations can no longer
cover their full costs given todays electricity
market prices, and can consequently not be
operated on a commercially viable basis.
Around 100 staff will be affected by the
closures and EnBW is in talks with them over
their future.
EnBW is also in talks with Germanys Federal
Network Agency over RDK 4 at Karlsruhe. The
company said the gas and steam plant is
hardly being used and it plans to shut down
the plant on a short-term and provisional basis
as a consequence.
The potential of a later recommissioning is
to be left open, added EnBW.

Conergy fles for
insolvency
Conergy, once one of Europes largest solar
power companies, has fled for insolvency.
The German company has cited
inability to bring on board a new investor
as well as what it referred to as an
unexpected delay in payment from a big
project.
Philip Comberg, Conergy chief
executive, said in a statement: In the last 15
months, we have presented two concrete
concepts on the investment by investors
to our lenders. We very much regret that
they repeatedly could not reach a reliable
agreement on a timely implementation of
the proposal.
He added: The management board will
now fully support the preliminary insolvency
administrator in order to hopefully secure all
jobs and to continue business operations
without any disruptions.
Conergy employs about 1,200 staff
globally 800 in Germany and about 400
in its international subsidiaries.
A global glut in supply combined with
plunging prices amid stiff competition
from Asia has brought down or seriously
debilitating some of the biggest names in
the sector in the past two years.
Spain closes second oldest nuclear plant
The Spanish government has closed down
the aging Santa Maria de Garona nuclear
power plant.
The plant is one of eight nuclear reactors in
Spain and is 42 years old the second oldest
in the country.
It was closed under an order issued by the
Industry and Energy Ministry but its operator
Nuclenor owned by Iberdrola and Endsea
said the closure was solely due to economic
reasons and not for technical or safety
concerns.
Spains Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz
Santamaria said Nuclenor has asked for the
plants operating license not to be renewed
but she added that the government has not
ruled out reactivating the plant at a later date.
The closure ends a prolonged period
of uncertainty over the future of the plant.
Its licence renewal frst came up for review
in 2009 and the Nuclear Safety Council
recommended a 10-year extension be
granted.
However the then Socialist government
granted only a four-year licence extension to
this year. In January 2012 a new conservative
government removed the 2013 operational
limit with a view to allowing the plant to run
until 2019, subject to Nuclenor renewing the
licence.
But Nuclenor delayed that application
until it had details of new government rules
and taxes, since it said it would have to spend
480m on the plant to give it a 2019 shelf life, a
price it now seems was too high to pay.
1307PEI_8 8 7/19/13 8:44 AM
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News
AFRICA
Continents biggest
gas plant inaugurated
Africas largest gas-fred power plant at
Sasolburg, outside Johannesburg, has been
offcially inaugerated.
The Sasol plant is the largest power plant
running exclusively on gas engines on the
African continent, and the frst of its kind ever
in the Republic of South Africa.
The complete turnkey project package
at a demanding altitude of 1500 metres was
supplied by Wartsila on a fast-track basis with
performance guarantees.
The Finnish company is also responsible for
the engineering, procurement, construction
and project management of the new power
plant, which is powered by 18 Wartsila 34SG
generating sets running on natural gas with
an operating capacity of 140 MW
The electricity produced by the plant will be
used on-site by Sasols chemical factory next
to the plant, with about half of the production
being fed to the national grid.
Despite the high altitude of the Sasolburg
plant, the Wartsila gas engines are able
to operate with an extremely high level of
effciency.
The closed-loop cooling system used by
Wartsila also imposes a minimal demand for
water, which is an important factor in areas
such as this where water resources are limited.
1307PEI_9 9 7/19/13 8:44 AM
News
MIDDLE EAST
Middle East power sector at greatest risk of cyber attack
The energy sector in the Middle East is more
vulnerable to cyber attacks than anywhere
else in the world, according to DNV KEMA.
And the company has warned that a
cyber attack on crucial energy supplies and
transiting routes in this region would impact
the entire world.
DNV KEMA said that no regional cyber
security strategy has been implemented in the
Middle East, despite a rise in hacking attacks.
Until recently, most of these attacks
focused on computers and websites, the so-
called front doors to energy companies, but
DNV said that as viruses become increasingly
sophisticated, physical assets such as power
stations and power grids are also under threat.
Last year, Saudi Aramco and RasGas
reported cyber attacks while in Iran computers
at several nuclear power stations were
infected.
The Middle East is littered with gas and oil
installations and is planning to boost its energy
mix by introducing nuclear and renewable
energy power plants.
Mohammed Atif, managing director of
DNV KEMA in the Middle East, said the regions
planned and existing cyber protection plans
are lagging behind the rest of the world. This is
a situation to really worry about, he added. A
cyber attack on crucial energy supplies and
transiting routes in this region would impact
the entire world.
He said awareness in the region of
cyber threats is insuffcient in relation to the
technology developments and the level of
impact a cyber-attack could have on an
average Middle Eastern utility.
As cyber security threats are not restricted
to one single group, but can come from
different corners such as governments,
activists and hackers, criminal and terrorist
organisations and even from within, it is time
we all open our eyes and take appropriate
actions to protect our countries and guarantee
a safe and sustainable energy provision.
What is needed to remedy the situation,
said Atif, is national governments to develop
coherent cyber security strategies and plans,
supported by standards and regulations
across the major infrastructure sectors.
Sharing responsibility between
governments and companies in vital sectors
is a frst, necessary step in securing safe and
reliable cyber networks, he said.
DNV KEMA found that information on
common cyber defense systems like SCADA,
Stuxnet and ISPs is increasingly becoming
publicly available both in and outside the
region. On top of this, industrial control systems
are all interconnected with corporate IT
networks and the internet, while at the same
time the interconnectivity of energy assets
such as power grids, is strongly increasing.
These developments, in combination with
insuffcient awareness and the absence of a
cyber-defense plan, make the energy sector
in the Middle East vulnerable, more than
elsewhere, said Atif.
GDF Suez mulls Saudi
nuclear project
The chief executive of GDF Suez, Gerald
Mestrallet has revealed that the company is
considering involvement in a nuclear reactor
project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government is considering
building 17 GW of nuclear capacity by 2032.
Mr Mestrallet told Les Echos newspaper
that GDF is ready to cooperate, on the
condition that we are given the right amount
of room, and said that the company would
only ever be in a position to take on a nuclear
project by being a partner rather than sole
player.
We will never take an entire nuclear
project on our balance sheet, he said. We will
always be in partnerships, at least at the 50
per cent level.
1307PEI_10 10 7/19/13 8:44 AM
YELLOWSTONE POWER GENERATION PROJECT
INVITATION FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR EPC CONTRACTOR FOR A 350MW
GAS-FIRED THERMAL POWER PLANT IN NIGERIA
Yellowstone Electric Power Limited (Yellowstone), an affliate of Quantum Power International Holdings Ltd (Quantum Power), wishes to invite interested
qualifed parties to express interest in providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC services) necessary for the Turnkey implementation of
its 350 MW simple cycle gas fred power plant. The power plant shall be constructed near the town of Ajaokuta in Kogi State, Nigeria (the Yellowstone
Project).
Any party wishing to submit an Expression of Interest to provide EPC services for the Yellowstone Project (an Applicant) is hereby
encouraged to contact the Designated Representative listed below. Each Applicant will be supplied with detailed information regard-
ing the process for submission of an Expression of Interest, including the required supporting documentation. The deadline for receipt of
Expressions of Interest is September 2, 2013.
Based upon an evaluation of the Expressions of Interest received, Quantum Power and Yellowstone (in their sole discretion) will select those Applicants to be
invited to tender for EPC services for the Yellowstone Project. Successful Applicants will be issued a Request for Proposal (RfP) and other bidding documents.
It is anticipated that the RfP will be issued in September 2013.
Designated Representative:
Yellowstone Electric Power Ltd
76B Ebitu Ukiwe, Jabi
Abuja, Nigeria
Attention: Ms Sandy Eyal
Email: sandy.eyal@quantum-power.com
Please note that this is not an invitation to tender. Neither Quantum Power nor Yellowstone shall be responsible for the cost of any submission.
Any submission shall be at the cost of the Applicant. Yellowstone and Quantum Power reserve the right to accept or reject any submission.
LATIN AMERICA
Noja Power wins $12m deal for Brazilian grid
Australian switchgear engineers Noja Power
has won a $12m deal to boost the safety and
reliability of Brazils electricity supply.
The contract was awarded by Latin
Americas largest utility Eletrobras and will see
Nojas Brazilian arm install and link its OSM15
and OSM38 automatic circuit reclosers to six
operation centres.
Eletrobras will monitor and control the units,
optimising network operational characteristics
such as protection and load shedding.
The deal comes as the Brazilian government
is encouraging Eletrobras to modernise
its electricity generation, transmission and
distribution infrastructure.
The government has implemented a
modernisation programme called Project
Energy+ which aims to greater integrate
renewable energy resources such as
hydroelectric, solar and wind into the countrys
energy mix.
In addition, grid improvements under the
project will reduce power loss, eliminating the
need to add more centralised conventional
generating capacity to meet increased
demand. As such, Brazil is expected to
cumulatively spend $27.7bn on smart grid
investments by 2022.
Brazil is a rapidly developing country and
the government is encouraging power utilities
to upgrade their electricity infrastructure
to meet the needs of the future, said Bruno
Kimura, Nojas managing director in Brazil.
He said Nojas automatic circuit reclosers
will be a fundamental component of Brazils
new smart grid.
ASIA
Target date for frst
foating nuclear plant
Rosatoms Akademik Lomonosov foating
nuclear power plant, the worlds frst, could be
up and running as early as 2016.
The 70 MW plant is designed to serve large
industrial projects, port cities and offshore gas
and oil-extracting platforms and has attracted
interest in China, Indonesia and Malaysia.
The plant will be situated in the town of
Vilyuchinsk of the Kamchatka region in Far
East Russia.
Akademik Lomonosov is a non-self-
propelled vessel, which is 140m long, 30m
wide and 10m high and built at Sevmash
submarine-building plant in Severodvinsk.
. It will be equipped with a power unit of two
35MW KLT-40C nuclear reactors, or 300 MW of
heat and two steam-driven turbine units.
News
1307PEI_11 11 7/19/13 8:44 AM
H
arnessing nuclear fusion has
been a dream of technologists
almost from the moment that
nuclear processes taking place
within the sun were recognised
early in the 20th century.
The frst, unsuccessful attempts at fusion
took place in the 1930s and the quest was
taken up again in the late 1940s. Since then
there have been a string of successful and
increasingly large fusion reactors built. Today
there are 20 in operation around the world.
Since 1958, co-operation has been an
important feature of fusion research and has
centred on reactors that utilise magnetic
confnement to contain the superheated
plasma at the heart of the fusion process.
The latest, largest and most expensive
of these is the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER - Latin for the
way), which is under construction in the
south of France. ITER is expected to be the
frst such reactor to be capable of delivering
more energy from a fusion reaction than
is used to generate the reaction in the frst
place, a key requirement if fusion is ever to
serve as a viable power source. If it keeps to
schedule it will reach full-scale operation by
2030 or before.
Recently, however, an alternative approach
to fusion has started to make headlines. This
is based on a completely different concept
called inertial confnement and if it can be
perfected, it promises a demonstration during
the 2020s and commercial fusion plants by
2030, sooner than the magnetic confnement
path can deliver.
Rather than being international, the most
advanced inertial confnement development
is being carried out in the US, where it has
emerged, almost unannounced, from the
defence establishment. Like the magnetic
confnement approach, inertial confnement
has yet to produce more energy from fusion
than is used to achieve a fusion reaction.
However, the US programme is confdent that
it will achieve this milestone in the near future.
The fusion problem
Fusion is attractive because it promises almost
limitless energy from a simple process that is
largely free of atmospheric emissions or toxic
by-products. The principle reactions that take
place within the sun involve hydrogen atoms
fusing to produce heavier atoms.
The mass of the resulting heavier atoms
is not the exact sum of the two initial atoms,
some mass has been lost and great amounts
of energy gained. This is what Einsteins
formula E = mc describes: the tiny bit of lost
mass (m), multiplied by the square of the
speed of light (c), results in a very large fgure
(E), which is the amount of energy created by
a fusion reaction.
There are two important fusion reactions
in the sun and the stars. The frst involves
Nuclear fusion update
Harnessing nuclear
fusion as a means of
power generation has for
decades been the Holy
Grail for atomic scientists
across the world, but
there are several projects
underway that could
deliver results much sooner
than anticipated, writes
Paul Breeze.
The most diffcult
project on earth
12 Power Engineering International May 2013 www.PowerEngineeringInt.com
Causing a fusion frisson: the ITER site in the south of France
Credit: ITER
1307PEI_12 12 7/19/13 8:46 AM
fusion of two hydrogen atoms to generate a
deuterium or heavy-hydrogen atom. In the
second, deuterium and hydrogen atoms fuse
to create a helium atom.
However it is a third reaction between
deuterium and the even heavier hydrogen
isotope tritium that interests fusion scientists
because it proceeds more easily than the
other two and under relatively more benign
conditions. A fusion reaction between these
two hydrogen isotopes produces one helium
atom and one neutron and it is the latter that
carries most of the energy released during
the fusion process. That energy must then be
captured and used to generate electricity.
The potential is massive. The energy from
one tonne of deuterium is equivalent to
3 x 1010 tonnes of coal. Unfortunately the
prize is not easily won. The reaction will only
take place in a plasma at massively high
temperatures and in the case of inertial
confnement, under conditions of enormous
pressure. Reaching the conditions necessary
for fusion to take place and then controlling
and maintaining them have been the
primary challenge of fusion research.
Magnetic confnement
When matter is heated to temperatures that
approach anywhere near those of the sun,
the material becomes a plasma in which the
individual atoms disintegrate into a sea of
atomic nuclei and electrons that are bound
by electromagnetic interactions.
It was recognised early on in fusion
research that such a material state could not
be contained using conventional materials
and the idea of magnetic containment was
born. This proved much more diffcult to realise
that had been expected and it was Russian
scientists that eventually solved the problem
with a toroidal magnetic confnement which
they called a tokamak. Although exploration
of other approaches continued, this become
the de facto design for a fusion reactor.
The two largest fusion reactors in operation
today are the Joint European Torus (JET) at
Culham in the UK and the Tokamak Fusion
Test Reactor (TFTR) at Princeton in the US. Both
started experimenting with deuterium-tritium
(DT) fuel during the 1990s, and in 1997 JET set
the current record for the largest amount of
power generated by a fusion reactor 16 MW.
The reactor consumed more than
16 MW to achieve this record although the
ratio of power in to power out (the gain of
the reactor), at 0.7, was close to the break-
even target. However, JET could only sustain a
plasma burst for 5 seconds before its ancillary
services started overheating.
Both JET and TFTR are experimental, pilot-
scale fusion reactors and achieving break-
even is a matter of scale. It requires a big
reactor to achieve a gain of much more than
one and get signifcant power generation.
That will be the job of the next fusion reactor
based on the tokamak design, ITER.
However the work at the smaller reactors is
far from over. JET is being upgraded to extend
its operating range to carry out more pre-ITER
experiments, particularly on plasma stability.
The plasma in the tokamak fows along
lines of magnetic force. The temperature at
the centre of the JET plasma reached 170 x
10
6
C. Inside the hottest regions the plasma
is bubbling like a boiling liquid and this
creates eddies that make it both unstable
and ineffcient. Controlling and reducing the
turbulence inside the plasma is one of the
keys to an effcient fusion reactor and work
at JET from 2015 to the end of the decade
should help advance the understanding of
plasma turbulence.
There are also design problems that
have yet to be solved before ITER can start
to operate, such as the material used for the
lining of the reactor chamber. In JET, these
are carbon tiles, but the carbon absorbs
tritium so an alternative must be found. The
favoured replacement is beryllium tungsten
and this will be tested at JET. Further work
on the operating modes for the reactor will
also help ITER. In essence, JET is the model
for ITER.
ITER has had a long gestation. It was
conceived in 1988 under the auspices of the
International Atomic Energy Authority and
initially involved the EU, Japan, Russia and the
US. An engineering design was completed in
2001, the Cadarache site selected in 2005
and the ITER agreement was signed in 2007
by the now seven members, following the
addition of China, India and South Korea.
The project will have a plasma volume of
800m
3
, ten times larger than JET and it will have
a thermal power output of 500 MW, which is
30 times larger than JET has achieved. It is
hoped that at this size, the reactor should
be able to achieve a gain factor of ten, so
50 MWth will drive an output of 500 MWth.
However, ITER is not a commercial
demonstration project. It has been designed
to prove that it can generate 500 MW of
fusion power for 400 seconds. A commercial
plant will need to be able to operate round
the clock for weeks if not months on end.
If it was being designed today, then
perhaps ITER would have been more
ambitious, but most of the basic parameters
were set during the 1990s when the costs and
risks involved in trying to build a plant that
would generate electricity seemed huge.
So the plant will be virtually commercial size
but will not have steam or turbine generators.
More signifcantly, it will not have a full-sized
system for capturing the energy generated
by the fusion reactions in the plasma. There
will be test modules within the reactor shroud
but the full energy capture system will have to
wait for the frst demonstration plant.
So ITER is another experimental reactor, but
even so it is probably the most challenging
project being built on the earth today, at least
Some 633 of these massive stainless steel forgings will be
necessary for the construction of the ITER vacuum vessel sectors
Credit: ITER
1307PEI_13 13 7/19/13 8:47 AM
in the opinion of Michel Claessens, head of
communication and external relations for the
Offce of the Director-General at ITER.
With seven members and a total of 34
countries that will jointly build the project,
many of the components will not be built
by one fabricator but by manufacturers
in different countries. Scheduling the
construction and maintaining the level of
quality control for a project of this complexity
will be a Herculean task. But if all this can be
mastered then in theory the frst experiments
will take place at ITER in 2020.
Inertial confnement
While the research into fusion based on
magnetic confnement edged forward there
was, behind the facades of defence research
establishments in the US and elsewhere a
completely different approach to the fusion
being pioneered. However the defence-
related nature of much of this work has meant
that until very recently little was known about
what is called inertial confnement.
While a reactor such as ITER will contain
a plasma that maintains conditions for
fusion continuously within its heart, inertial
confnement instead uses a series of small,
discrete fusion reactions, each producing a
burst of energy. This has been likened to a
piston engine in which energy is generated
is a series of small impulses rather than in a
continuous stream.
The concept is relatively simple if
developing it into a commercial power station
design is not. A small capsule containing a
few hundred micrograms of a DT mixture is
subjected to a massive pulse from a system
of multiple lasers focused onto its surface. The
laser energy striking the surface of the capsule
causes the outer surface to explode in a pulse
of x-rays and this creates an equal and opposite
shock wave which travels into the capsule,
heating and compressing the DT mixture to the
point where the fusion reaction takes place at
its centre.
Once the fusion reaction starts it radiates
outwards through the whole capsule,
travelling faster than the material itself can
expand so that the whole charge of fuel is
consumed and energy released. The inertia
consequent on the mass of the atoms of the
DT mixture prevents them from expanding as
fast as the fusion front advances, hence the
name inertial confnement.
It is possible to imagine this being
achieved in a single shot experiment but to
turn the concept into a power station, the
process must be repeated endlessly. For a
practical plant there would be about 15 of
these fusion explosions each second. Yet this
is exactly what a major programme in the US
is proposing. What is more, the US government
has built a plant, called the National Ignition
Facility (NIF) that has the capability to prove
the practicability of the process.
The new road to fusion
NIF is an expensive and ambitious project
that has come about partly as a result of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty designed to
eliminate nuclear weapons testing.
The facility will provide experimental data
to support this treaty which is why it has been
able to attract $5 billion of US government
funding. However, NIF will also have two
other purposes as a tool for fundamental
scientifc research and to prove the viability
of power generation from fusion based on
inertial containment.
The heart of NIF is its laser system. The
facility has 192 lasers which are capable
of delivering as much as 5 MJ of energy in
20-nanosecond pulses. So far it has operated
at 1.8 MJ, equivalent to a power delivery of
500 TW. The lasers initially generate infra-red
light but this is converted, frst to visible light
and then to ultra-violet before it strikes the
target. That target is a tiny capsule called a
hohlraum which is about 2 mm in diameter
and contains 150 mg of the DT mixture. It is
this tiny charge that is subjected to around
500 TW of power.
The importance of NIF from a power
generation perspective is that the laser power
is of the scale necessary to build a 1000 MW
power station. It can therefore simulate at full
scale the capacity for inertial containment to
deliver energy for electricity generation.
NIF started operating in 2009 and has
carried out a series of ignition experiments
since then. Ignition, in this context, is the point
at which the capsule of DT produces more
energy that the laser pumps into it.
During the frst experiments, the results
were around 50 to 60 times short of the
target required by ignition.Over the past
three years it has crept closer to the target,
which is now only a factor of two or three
away. Once ignition is reached, the fusion
reaction becomes self-sustaining because it
generates the energy necessary to maintain
the temperature and pressure required. So
while they cannot say when ignition will be
achieved, the scientists as NIF are confdent
that they will achieve it.
If ignition can be demonstrated, then
a power plant based on this principle is
possible. Work to defne what this power
station will look like has already started and
forms the basis of the Laser Inertial Fusion
Energy (LIFE) project. The design for the
LIFE plant has been developed through a
collaboration between technologists, electric
utilities, power plant vendors, regulators and
environmental groups. Its aim is to build a
demonstration power plant within ten years
of ignition being achieved at NIF using
components that can be fabricated today
by technology companies.
NIF will continue to be the benchmark for
testing LIFE concepts but the belief is that if
ignition can be achieved, then a LIFE plant
can be built. The demo plant would initially
be designed to produce 400 MW of electrical
power but with the ability to be scaled up to
1000 MW. Based on current estimates, this
plant could be operating in the early part
of the next decade, with commercial plants
available by 2030.
An artists concept of a LIFE power plant with the exterior cut away to show the fusion chamber
Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
1307PEI_14 14 7/19/13 8:47 AM
Visit www.PowerEngineeringInt.com
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If LIFE could achieve this target, then it
would be a remarkable milestone. Before
that, however, there are some major hurdles
to cross. These include integrating all the
components of a LIFE plant from the laser to
the fuel delivery system to the heat extraction
and power generation. Operating the cycling,
piston engine type of ignition has yet to be
demonstrated at power plant scale. And
there is one technological hurdle that faces
both LIFE and the frst full-scale fusion power
plant based on magnetic containment the
design of the blanket system.
The blanket system is the layer that
surrounds the plasma chamber in the
case of a tokamak reactor and the ignition
chamber in a LIFE-style power plant. It has to
serve two functions: the frst is to slow down
the very high energy neutrons that emerge
from the fusion reaction, absorbing their
energy and converting it into heat that can
be used to generate electricity. The second
is to manufacture tritium. Fusion reactors are
expected to breed their own fuel and this will
take place inside the blanket.
Precisely what the blanket will look like
remains a matter for speculation but whatever
form it takes, it will contain lithium because
this will be the source of tritium. When a lithium
atom is exposed to neutrons such as those
generated by fusion of deuterium and tritium
it reacts to form an atom of tritium and an
atom of helium.
This tritium must then be harvested from the
blanket ready to provide fuel for further fusion.
Liquid lithium could itself form the coolant
inside the reactor, cycling through a heat
exchanger to generate steam. Alternatively
some other coolant such as helium might
be used and the lithium contained within
a ceramic rather than in liquid form. Molten
salts containing lithium might also be used.
The future
So what does the future hold for fusion?
Optimistically, a fusion plant based on inertial
confnement might deliver a commercial
plant by 2030, although based on experience
with other complex projects, the timeline is
likely to be a little longer than this.
Meanwhile, ITER hopes to demonstrate
commercial plant scale fusion by around that
time too. If ITER progresses as expected then
work on the frst demonstration plant, referred
to as DEMO in the fusion industry, will be well
under way by then.
It is often said that a commercial fusion
plant is always 30 years away. While there is
clearly still a long way to go and nobody has
yet demonstrated that fusion can produce
electricity rather than simply consuming it,
that threshold does seem palpably closer
today than at any time in the past.
The potential is
massive. The energy
from one tonne
of deuterium is
equivalent to over
3000 tonnes of coal.
Unfortunately the prize
is not easily won
1307PEI_15 15 7/19/13 8:47 AM
New market design
A
long with renewables
growing role in Europe
comes unprecedented
change in the regions
energy sector. System
operators are already
calling for fexibility from thermal units to cope
with the variability of increasing wind and solar
production, and green energys low operating
costs and subsidies are causing turbulence
in electricity markets. Capacity from thermal
units will clearly be necessary in the future to
provide balance, but will markets be able to
deliver it?
Capacity mechanism designs presented
to date will not solve this problem. Market
mechanisms to attract capacity are still
unclear. Wrtsil has devised a market model
for the future that will incentivise fexibility and
ensure adequacy of capacity. It is based on
two case studies that have shown the value
of fexibility in two large power systems: the UK
and the US state of California.
Since renewables production generally
has feed-in priority, remaining capacity has
to adjust its output to balance total electricity
production and demand. System operators
need to have capacity available that can
respond quickly to changes in electricity
demand and output from renewables, which
can be rapid.
The impact of the deployment of
renewables on electricity markets is severe.
Such sources generate electricity at low
marginal costs and therefore push thermal
capacity higher up in the merit order
or completely outside it. This means the
operating hours of thermal capacity fall
and it generates less revenue. Subsidies for
renewables also depress electricity prices,
which makes the feasibility of thermal plants
even more challenging. Thermal capacity is
still needed in a high-renewables system for
balance, but its proftability is jeopardised.
Several EU Member States have stated
that plant closures and a lack of investment
in new capacity may prevent the market
from bringing forward suffcient capacity
under current market arrangements. Allowing
electricity prices to reach high levels at peak
times would be necessary to allow plants
running at low load factors to recover fxed
costs. However, it is not simply capacity that is
required in a high-renewables system.
Without appropriate price signals, there
is an equally important concern around
missing fexibility. Systems require a
suffciently fexible mix of capacity as well as
the right types of capacity.
The importance of fexibility
Transmission system operators (TSOs) and
other market players recognise the increasing
need for fexibility but the value of fexibility has
not been quantifed or identifed in market
arrangements. Wrtsil has conducted
several studies around this topic.
The frst step in the process is to defne the
future power system architecture, which will
be based on objectives such as emissions,
reliability and costs, which policy makers set.
To determine how to achieve these objectives
requires the creation of several capacity
scenarios with different mixes of technologies.
The output of step one is an architecture that
can meet future objectives.
The architecture provides input to the
second step of the process, i.e. the modelling
of power system operations, or despatch.
Despatch software PLEXOS was used in recent
studies of the UK and Californian systems.
Inputs for the model are the expected
capacity mix (including the capabilities
of these technologies), weather and load
data, system requirements (such as required
system reserves) and market operation, for
example how reserves are procured and at
what price. The tool optimises the generating
costs of a system in a chosen interval in line
with the trading blocks of the system, for
example every 30 minutes.
The third step defnes the value of fexibility
by comparing the results of different scenarios.
Power system modelling provides the system
operating costs and CO
2
emissions as an
output for each scenario.
Different generating technologies have
different ways of providing fexible electricity.
Some can start up from zero output and ramp
up within seconds. Others may take hours,
but can quickly fex their output up to meet
the system needs once they are generating
above a stable level. This is typical of large
units such as large combined-cycle gas
turbine (CCGT) or coal-fred plants. Typically
these slower technologies provide a systems
fexibility requirement today.
Part-loading may have been effective
in the past but today it is not likely to be
the most effcient method of providing the
greater fexibility needed in the future.
Part-loading generates extra costs
because of increased carbon costs,
reduced fuel effciency, the greater number
How can the regions electricity system cope with the growing role of renewables
while ensuring fexibility and adequacy of capacity? Matti Rautkivi and
Melle Kruisdijk say innovative technology and new market mechanisms can help.
Europes
balancing act
1307PEI_16 16 7/19/13 8:47 AM
New market design
of generators needed on the system, and
the costs of curtailing wind generation to
maintain system security.
Given these costs, if conventional sources
of fexibility are used in a system with a
high level of renewables, the full benefts of
decarbonisation may not be achieved and
consumers will pay higher prices.
Smart power generation (SPG) describes
power plants such as modern gas-fred
types that are fexible and avoid the costs
associated with part loading. SPG can
provide savings for three reasons.
The frst is speed. From zero output, SPG
can respond almost instantaneously to
fuctuations in supply and demand, so they
do not need to be part-loaded.
The second is sustainability of output.
Unlike other fast-start technologies, SPG can
start up quickly and hold output without
needing to be relieved quickly afterwards.
Finally, SPG is effcient. Such plants incur
minimal costs for being on standby as reserve
but can deliver much needed electricity as
quickly as conventional fexible technologies
and even more quickly in some cases.
Valuing fexibility UK
August 2012 saw the UKs Department of
Energy and Climate Change (DECC) publish
an analysis that estimates how fexibility from
a range of sources can generate signifcant
savings to UK consumers, particularly in a
scenario of high wind penetration. These
sources include demand-side response
(DSR), increased interconnection, storage and
thermal generation.
Redpoint Energy and Imperial College
London followed the report with further
analysis of the potential value of fexibility
through detailed modelling of the UK power
market and balancing costs. The focus has
been on supply-side fexibility provided by
SPG. The results, however, are more generally
applicable to all sources of fexibility, whether
DSR, storage or interconnection.
The modelled scenarios are based on
projections by the DECC and National
Grid, the UK TSO, for demand and capacity
mix development by 2020 and 2030. Two
capacity mixes came under investigation in
the scenarios of high wind and base wind,
with and without SPG, for the years 2020 and
2030, as Figure 1 shows. In a No SPG capacity
mix, effcient gas generation capacity comes
from a mixture of combined-cycle gas turbine
(CCGT) and some open-cycle gas turbine
(OCGT) generation. In an SPG capacity mix,
4.8 GW of SPG replaces the same amount of
the most fuel effcient CCGT capacity. SPG
has a slightly lower net electrical effciency
but superior fexibility compared with CCGT.
What is the impact of SPG on the provision
of system fexibility? Depending on the
case, SPG is the least cost option to provide
fexibility 3540 per cent of the time. With SPG
providing system fexibility in an optimal way,
more room is available for effcient CCGTs
and coal-fred generation to run at full load,
providing cheap electricity to consumers.
The analysis showed that, depending on
the wind scenario, fexible gas generation
could save the UK consumer between
380 million and 550 million ($566 million
and $820 million) per year by 2020 through
reduced balancing costs. By 2030, savings
range from 580 million to 1.5 billion, as the
volume of wind in the system is expected to
increase further.
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1307PEI_17 17 7/19/13 8:47 AM
New market design
A comparison with the UK system-wide
generation costs is useful to give some
scale to the potential savings in balancing
costs. With an increasing amount of low-cost
renewables generating electricity at almost
zero marginal cost, the total generation
costs will fall when the output of renewable
generation increases. However, the need for
balancing actions will increase accordingly,
and these costs will have a signifcant role by
2030.
The savings potential of SPG is as high as
5 per cent in 2020, increasing to an impressive
19 per cent of total generating costs in 2030.
Valuing fexibility California
California aims to increase generation from
renewables to 33 per cent by 2020. However,
this development has started a debate about
what fexible assets will be required to secure
the reliable operation of the power system.
Californias system will face another issue
in the near future when new environmental
regulation may force the retirement of plants
with once-through cooling that total 12 GW in
capacity. The states system operator CAISO
concludes that 5.5 GW made up of equal
amounts of new CCGT and OCGT is required
by 2020 to secure reliability.
DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability has
analysed the Californian system for 2020 by
using dynamic system modelling. The base
case for the power system modelling was the
Californian system for 2020 with a renewables
penetration of 33 per cent, made up of wind
and solar but excluding hydro, and 5.5
GW of new gas turbine plants, made up of
equal amounts of new CCGT and OCGT.
The alternative modelling scenario had the
same basic assumptions but 5.5 GW of SPG
replaced that amount of gas turbines.
By introducing 5.5 GW of SPG instead
of 5.5 GW of gas turbines in the system,
Californias consumers save around
$900 million per year, representing 11 per
cent savings in system-level generating costs.
Figure 2 shows the cost breakdown of the
total system operating costs for the modelled
scenarios.
The studies conducted by DNV KEMA,
Redpoint Energy and London Imperial
College make evident that the inclusion of
SPG in a generation portfolio reduces total
system operating costs in systems with a high
penetration of renewables. This is because
SPG provides fexibility at low cost.
In addition, by adding SPG to the capacity
mix of a power system, other thermal plants
no longer need to run in part load and can
produced electricity at a higher effciency,
which reduces overall generation costs.
A system without SPG can provide
fexibility by running plants at part load, but
such actions signifcantly increase costs to
consumers, as the studies show. The value
of fexibility in the examined 60 GW UK and
California peak load systems with high
renewables penetration is greater than
500 million ($642 million) per year.
Translating this to a system the size of
Europes, the value of fexibility is estimated
to be greater than 5 billion per year, even
by 2020. Consequently fexibility should be
one of the key parameters in the design of a
future power system and energy market.
A new market vision
In February 2013, the European Commission
asked for stakeholders inputs on potential
ways to secure capacity adequacy and
system reliability in a future system with high
amounts of renewables. In a high-renewables
power system, fexibility is no longer an
invisible and low-cost side product of power
generation but a key factor in power system
design and optimisation.
Although the studies of the UK and
Californian systems clearly indicate the
beneft of fexibility in the capacity mix,
current market arrangements do not
refect the value of fexibility or incentivise
investments in fexibility. They also hide the
cost of infexibility within consumer bills and
consequently prevent investments in new
fexible capacity. At the same time, energy-
only market setups are struggling to keep
capacity at adequately healthy levels.
Wrtsil has studied several electricity
market models with the aim of developing
one that will incentivise fexibility and ensure
capacity adequacy for a system with a high
contribution from renewables. The market
model should secure capacity adequacy,
incentivise the right type of capacity and
lead to the least cost to consumer. Figure 3
shows the overall market model design that
will deliver this. It is based on two markets
existing next to each other.
The energy market, consisting of the
wholesale electricity markets (day-ahead,
intra-day and balancing markets), and a
fexibility market, establish a competitive
environment. A competitive capacity market
would be introduced only if needed, to
secure capacity adequacy.
A competitive energy market forms the
basis of the market model. The objectives
of energy markets are to provide low-cost
electricity and low CO
2
emissions in all
situations via competitive short-term markets.
Cost-refecting imbalance prices will
increase the imbalance exposure of all
market participants (where all participants
are responsible for balancing), which
incentivises balance at gate closure. Supply
and demand for energy closer to gate closure
is therefore expected to increase because
each market player, in order to reduce the risk
Figure 1: Capacity mixes for power system modelling in the UK, with base and high wind scenarios
1307PEI_18 18 7/19/13 8:47 AM
New market design
of out-of-balance penalties, will make efforts
to be in a balanced position at gate closure,
either through changed positions within its
own portfolio of options such as changing
the outputs of its own power plants or DSR, or
through trading.
This development enhances the liquidity
in intra-day markets and provides additional
income for fexible assets through balancing
and intra-day markets because these units
will be in a position to supply energy shortly
before gate closure. However, it would be
hard or even impossible for providers of
fexibility to capture the total value of fexibility
through energy prices alone. Therefore, in
addition to the energy market, we propose
the introduction of a market for fexibility.
A competitive fexibility market would be
a day-ahead option market for fexibility to
increase or decrease energy the following
day. The fexibility market would replace the
existing procurement strategies of TSOs and
would make the procurement of system
services more transparent to market players.
TSOs would go to the fexibility market to
procure the fexibility, or reserves, required
to satisfy the needs of the system for the
following day, when the volumes are not
locked away under long-term contracts.
The fexibility market would also be open
for market participants to procure fexibility
to hedge against intra-day prices and
imbalance exposure.
There are many key features to the fexibility
market. When it comes to buying fexibility, the
TSO would always procure it according to the
needs of the system. However, procurement
by market participants could reduce the
amount procured by the TSO.
Market participants determine their own
volume requirements depending on their
willingness to hedge against price risk, and
the TSO acts as a backstop in the day-ahead
auctions to ensure that the system has the
fexibility needed. The TSO procurement
strategy provides stable volumes and liquidity
in the fexibility market and makes known the
total volume of the fexibility requirement.
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Figure 2: Value of fexibility in California in 2020
1307PEI_19 19 7/19/13 8:47 AM
New market design
Another feature is that multiple products,
such as 5-minute or 30-minute ramping, are
defned by the TSO. This ensures the needs of
the system are met. All products require an
option to deliver an increase or decrease in
the physical energy in any future settlement
period.
Also, the day-ahead timeframe aligns with
the energy market or allows co-optimisation
with it and provides a daily reference price
for different fexibility products. A secondary
within-day market for participants and the
TSO allows them to trade their options as
more information emerges. Clear day-ahead
reference prices can allow long-term fnancial
contracts to be struck between fexibility
providers and market players or the TSO.
The option holder (i.e. market participant
or the TSO) may exercise the option by
calling for energy to be delivered prior to
gate closure. Self-provided fexibility must
provide information to the TSO within-day on
whether it will be exercised. After gate closure
any unused options would be exercisable by
the TSO in the balancing market.
Another key feature is cash fows. Flexibility
cleared through the day-ahead auctions,
other than self-provided reserve, is paid the
market clearing availability fee per megawatt
for the contract period. A utilisation fee per
MWh is paid on exercise. Unused fexibility
must be offered into the balancing market
at the fxed utilisation fee for despatch and
payment by the TSO.
Ensuring cost recovery is also important.
The option holder pays the availability fee
to the fexibility providers. The availability fees
incurred by the TSO can be recovered via an
information imbalance charge levied on out-
of-balance market participants.
Finally there is the monitoring feature. The
TSO would certify the physical capability of
capacity providers who seek to offer into the
day-ahead auctions. Any options exercised
would be notifed to the TSO in the same way
as physical energy.
A central capacity market would be
established if the energy and fexibility
markets are not delivering investments or
are not able to keep existing plants in the
system. The purpose of the capacity market
is to ensure capacity adequacy by providing
so-called administrative capacity payment,
which compensates the missing money
from market operations.
While future energy and fexibility markets
are volatile by their nature, investors may
require stable cash fows to be able to fnance
new projects. A capacity market could
enhance the bankability of new projects.
The capacity market, like any capacity
mechanism, should concentrate on securing
capacity adequacy rather than specifying
what type of capacity is needed. It should
treat all forms of capacity on an equal basis.
Thus, a well functioning energy market
together with a fexibility market would reward
capabilities, while a capacity market provides
the all-in price required by investors to make
investments.
Change in market design needed
An increasing penetration of variable
renewable generation into a power system
changes its operations and impacts market
fundamentals. But while system operators
are calling for fexibility from the generation
side, the thermal feet takes a big hit as
its operating hours are reduced while the
average electricity price is lower. The result is
increasingly uncertain market-based revenues
for thermal plants.
There are potential market-based
approaches to incentivise investments in
fexibility. These approaches do not require
administrative cash fows but call for a
reallocation of system costs from the TSO to
the market, making the cost of fexibility visible
for market players. To develop a reliable,
affordable and sustainable power system
necessitates several actions.
Firstly, there must be an understanding
that more renewable generation has caused
dramatic changes in the energy market
environment. Secondly, there must also be
recognition of the value of fexibility, which
must be made visible for market players
through cost-refective imbalance prices and
by developing short-term energy markets.
Thirdly there must be a transparent market
explicitly for fexibility. This will enable effcient
procurement of system services and provide
clear market signals for investors in fexibility.
Finally, new players must be able to enter
the market and new projects must be made
bankable by introducing a capacity market
if the energy and fexibility markets are not
delivering investments.
To avoid the risk of locking in the wrong
type of capacity, it is important to take the frst
three actions before considering the fourth.
Many market players are calling for a
market-based approach regarding the EU
electricity market structure. We hope we have
shown that it is possible to design a market
that provides investment signals for the right
type of capacity and ensures capacity
adequacy at the same time.
Matti Rautkivi is general manager,
Business Development, Power Plants, and
Melle Kruisdijk is director, Market Development
Europe, and Business Development, Power
Plants at Wrtsil. For more information, visit
www.wartsila.com
This article is based on a Best Paper Awards
winner at POWER-GEN Europe 2013.
i

Figure 3: A new market design for a power system with high renewable energy integration
1307PEI_20 20 7/19/13 8:47 AM
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W
hen the operation
of a 1980s-designed
generator led to
damage to its
components over time,
vibration of its frame
was determined to be the culprit.
But rather than removing the unit as a
whole to allow it to undergo modifcation to
reduce this movement, repairs instead went
ahead with the machine in-situ.
Not only did the ensuing changes to the
60 Hz machine extend the life of the stators
frame but the complexity of the reftting
operation and the time taken to complete it
were reduced too.
This was because the work was carried
out during a major overhaul outage and
because the repair was on-site in nature,
which in turn was due to optimisation of the
necessary generator modifcations for such a
repair.
A high level of vibration during operation
of the steam turbine-driven generator had
caused fatigue stress that had resulted in
severe damage, such as the fracture of the
connecting bolts between the upper and
lower parts of the frame of the generators
stator.
During a test on run up, measurements
revealed that substantial vibration of
the unit occurred only with the generator
in its excited state and at the natural
frequency of the frame, close to
123 Hz, or about twice the angular speed
of the rotor when it was running at nominal
speed.
The frame vibrates in response to the
vibration of the stator core, which deforms
under the electromagnetic force produced
by the rotating magnetic feld. Figure 1 shows
how the high level of distortion of the frame
stresses the bolts that join the two parts of the
frame and ultimately causing their rupture.
A 3D fnite element model (FEM)
of the stator under the action of the
Plant optimisation: Generator retroft
Modelling of a stator casings destructive vibration has allowed its modifcation
on-site. Fabio Parodi, Massimiliano Manarini and Michele Raciti explain why its reft
and its optimisation was an operation of short duration and minimum complexity.
FEM eases
on-site repair
Figure 1: Vibration in the stator frame deforms it
Figure 4: Radial vibration at the top of the upper frame, channel 7 (mm/s rms rpm)
Figure 2: Frame vibration, channel 3 (mm/s rms rpm)
Figure 3: Frame vibration, channel 10 (mm/s rms rpm)
1307PEI_22 22 7/19/13 8:51 AM
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electromagnetic force allowed us to
determine what modifcations should be
made to the frame to raise the frequency of
its resonance. The modifcation implemented
reduced the vibration by 50 per cent, as
calculations predicted.
Five sequential stages characterised the
process of repair. First was an initial vibration
measurement and reverse engineering of
the main components, followed by computer
simulation of the dynamic behaviour of
the stator. Design of the frame modifcation
and numerical verifcation of this reft then
followed, after which came the on-site repair
of the frame. Our activity concluded with a
fnal measurement of the frames vibration to
ensure the modifcation had been successful.
Initial measurement
During the frst stage, placing vibration probes
at three regions of the frame allowed us to
investigate the vibration of the stator frame
during a run up with the machine excited.
Probes inserted through openings at the
horizontal centre line allowed the vibration of
the core to be recorded. We then determined
the ratio between the two types of vibration,
horizontally and radially.
At a number of measurement points the
frame vibration amplitude increased strongly
when the machine was operating at near the
nominal speed. A natural frequency of the
frame of about 123 Hz was causing dynamic
amplifcation, as Figures 2, 3 & 4 show.
The ratio of frame vibration to core vibration
(R) was greater than 2, which confrmed that
a natural frequency was causing a strong
increase in the amplitude of the vibration.
Simulation tool
We employed multi-purpose 3D FEM software
from ANSY to perform the simulation of the
stators dynamic behaviour. By measuring the
dimensions of the frame and core we were
able to reverse engineer them and complete
the model.
Figure 5 shows the FEM model of the
machine with all the structural components
affected by the vibration, the lower and upper
parts of the stator frame, and the stator core.
Under load conditions
Under load conditions, the generator was
under the same conditions as during the
vibration measurement: a run up with
excitation at no load.
Here two more forces became apparent.
One was a tangential load due to the active
power torque and bar bouncing load. As the
overall effect is a reduction of radial vibration
depending on apparent power and power
factor, this does not change the nature of the
problem.
The rotor produces a rotating
electromagnetic force at 120 Hz, which is
twice the network frequency. The stator core
vibrates under the action of this force and
transmits movement to the frame through the
fxing points, the core supporting rings.
The amplitude of the vibration of the
frame is a function of the vibration of the
core and of the natural frequency of the
frame, so to reduce vibration of the generator
frame it had to be modifed in a way that
changed its natural frequency because the
vibration of the stator core during operation
is unavoidable, i.e. its vibration is inherent in
the nature of the electromagnetic machine.
The rotation of the excited rotor produces
a magnetic feld with an elliptical and
synchronous load distribution on the stator
core. The rotating load can be thought of as
the sum of two components: one constant
and one alternating. The frst has no effect
on the stator frame. It simply squeezes and
shrinks the core. The second component,
however, excites a mode shape with four
nodes at twice the rotor frequency.
Consequently the numerical simulation
of the physical phenomenon becomes
a harmonic analysis under the action of
the alternating component of the magnetic
feld. Simulation of a rotor run up from 0 Hz
to 75 Hz requires the calculation of harmonic
response from 0 Hz to 150 Hz because the
excitation of the magnetic feld is at twice the
network frequency.
Design and verifcation
Considering that the natural frequency is
above 120 Hz, the most rational modifcation
would be a stiffening of the frame to shift the
resonance and consequently reduce the
amplitude of vibration when the machine
operates at at nominal speed.
Thus, the designed modifcation
comprised eight stiffening ribs welded to the
internal walls. Figure 6 shows the FEM stiffened
model with all structural components, the
lower part, the upper part, the stator core and
the stiffeners.
The design of the dimensions of the
stiffening ribs aimed to achieve a shift in the
natural frequency of 10 Hz and consequently
a reduction of 50 per cent in the amplitude
of vibration. The calculated R of the
displacement of the stator frame to that of
the stator core decreased from 2.2 to 1.0,
confrming the positive effect of the design
(Figures 7 & 8).
The design of the ribs also allowed them to
be welded onto the frame while it was in the
power plant and to allow the future opening
of the upper part of the cover during a major
overall. Figure 9 shows the modifcation made
to the actual generator. There are eight
Not only did the
changes to the
60 Hz machine
extend the life of the
stators frame, but
the complexity of the
reftting operation
and the time taken
to complete it were
reduced too
Figure 5: The FEM model of the complete stator
Figure 6: The FEM stiffened model of the stator frame
1307PEI_24 24 7/19/13 8:51 AM
San Paulo
Secretaria Energia
September 2426, 2013
Transamerica Expo Center | So Paulo, Brasil
www.power-genbrasil.com
LAUNCH OF WORLD-CLASS CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION
This years launch of POWER-GEN Brasil completes the global network of POWER-GEN events, which collectively attract nearly 70,000 power
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1307PEI_25 25 7/19/13 8:51 AM
semicircular and transversal ribs attached to
the internal walls.
Five stages
characterised the
repair: vibration
measurement,
computer simulation,
design of the frame
modifcation and
numerical verifcation,
on-site repair and
measurement of the
vibration of the frame
Final measurements
Vibration of the case after the application
of the stiffening ribs is lower than before the
modifcations. The measured value of R now
ranges from 0.6 to 1.1. According to Ansaldo
Energias experience, that is the correct range
of values for a generator with this core support.
The corrective action on the generator
has cut the level of vibration by 50 per
cent. This reduction is due to the on-site
vibration measurements, the analysis of the
root cause (which was based on collected
vibration pattern data), the FEM software
and the knowledge of and experience in the
mechanical design of the generator.
The use of 3D FEM analysis has allowed
measurements to be made on site and
confrmed the result of the root cause
analysis. It also allowed us to validate and
tailor the solution step by step, to consider
different possibilities, which reduced outage
time and the complexity of the intervention.
Fabio Parodian is an engineer, Massimiliano
Manarini is Generator Balancing Test Room
manager and Michele Raciti is a mechanical
engineer, all at Ansaldo Energia, Italy. For more
information, visit www.ansaldoenergia.it.
This article is based on a Best Paper Awards
winner at this years POWER-GEN Europe in
Vienna.
i
Figure 9: The stiffening ribs welded in place on the actual generator
Figure 7: Harmonic response of orginal model, according to measures points: R = 0.04/0.018 = 2.2
Figure 8: Harmonic response of stiffened model, according to measures points: R = 0.018/0.018 = 1
1307PEI_26 26 7/19/13 8:51 AM
ADVANCING ASIAS ENERGY FUTURE
2 4 October 2013
IMPACT Exhibition & Convention Centre
Bangkok, Thailand
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OWNED AND PRODUCED BY: PRESENTED BY SUPPORTED BY OFFICIAL SUPPORTER: SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS:
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Dr. Twarath Sutabutr, Deputy Director-General, Department of Alternative Energy Development
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Governor of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Thailand
Dr. Piyasvasti Amranand, Chairman, Energy for Environment Foundation, Thailand
Mr. Markus Lorenzini, Head of Energy Sector, ASEAN Pacifc Cluster, Siemens, Indonesia
TOPICS DISCUSSED AT THE CONFERENCE INCLUDE:
Trends, F|nanoe & P|ann|ng
Env|ronmenta| Oha||enges, Fue|s Opt|ons &
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Power P|ant Teohno|og|es
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1307PEI_27 27 7/19/13 8:51 AM
Small-scale renewables in sub-Saharan Africa
In sub-Saharan Africa ownership of mobile phones outstrips access to electricity.
The continent has good solar, wind and hydro potential as well as geothermal
resources, yet renewable energy production is tiny. With technology prices
dropping and international agencies backing low-carbon solutions, is Sub-Saharan
Africa set for a renewables boom, asks Penny Hitchin.
A
ccess to power is vital for
both social and economic
development. However,
sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a
vast area containing nearly
50 diverse countries with
a combined population of over 830 million
people, is the region with the lowest global per
capita access to electricity.
Seven in ten people have no access
to electricity and with population growth
outpacing electrifcation, there is no sign of
the gap closing. By contrast, investment in
telecommunications infrastructure is racing
ahead and the number of mobile phone
connections in SSA is increasing at the
fastest rate in the world, with over 650 million
connections.
SSAs energy consumption is tiny in
comparison to the rest of the world. The
African Development Bank calculates that
48 sub-Saharan countries have combined
installed generation of only 68 GW, of which 40
GW belongs to South Africa (population 50m).
As well as low access, SSAs electricity supply
is plagued by under capacity, poor reliability
and high costs.
Africa is one of the continents most
vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change because of its high dependency on
agriculture and the water shortages already
affecting it.
SSA has signifcant hydrocarbon energy
resources for electricity generation but they
are unevenly distributed. Coal is mined in
South Africa and Zimbabwe. Nigeria, Angola
and a number of other countries produce oil
while Mozambique and Tanzania have gas
reserves. With 12 per cent of world population,
Africa is responsible for just 2.4 per cent of
world emissions. South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya,
Uganda and Nigeria all have high emissions
intensity, but the overall low fgure results from
energy poverty rather than deployment of
clean energy.
Central and Eastern Africa have good
hydropower resources, especially DRC,
Ethiopia and Cameroon, but droughts
have had a signifcant impact on hydro-
electricity generation. Several East African
countries Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have access
to potential geothermal energy from the
East African Rift Valley. Southern Africa has
excellent wind power potential and much of
SSA receives high solar irradiation. While the
region has the natural resources for renewable
energy generation capital, infrastructure, skills
and governance are required in order to
develop a stream of projects.
South Africa is in the top ten global coal
consumers and is the 13th biggest emitter
of carbon dioxide. Electricity consumption in
Realising a renewable
energy dream
Excitement in Kigoma as plans for Tanzanias largest off-grid
solar project are unveiled to locals
Credit: Camco Clean Energy
1307PEI_28 28 7/19/13 8:52 AM
South Africa has been growing rapidly for over 30 years fuelled largely
by indigenous coal supplies with some gas, hydro and nuclear power. Its
electricity supply system is underfunded and over stretched and winter
blackouts are not unusual.
A 2003 White Paper laid the foundations for widespread
implementation of renewables in South Africa. In the decade since then,
the targets have been successively ramped up and the 2011 Integrated
Electricity Resource Plan (IRP) includes an ambitious scheme to kick start
renewable projects and develop local skills, capacity and supply chain.
Pretoria is looking to procure 3.2 GW of renewable capacity, largely
onshore wind and solar in the next few years, rising to 18GW by 2030.
Proposals for renewable energy schemes have been rewarded with
government backed power purchase agreements, turning South
Africa into a very attractive market for international renewable energy
developers. UNEPs Global Trends in Renewable Energy published June
2013 identifed a spectacular jump in of $5.7 billion investment in South
African renewables in 2012, giving it the biggest annual clean energy
investment growth rate in the world last year.
A quarter of the money went on wind farms, with the $251 million
Rainmaker Dorper Wind Farm I, the biggest scheme at 100 MW. Three
quarters of the investment went into solar projects, with two 75 MW
facilities the Solar Capital De Aar PV Plant Phase 1and the Scatec Solar
Kalkbult PV Plant each receiving around $260 million.
In November 2012, government signed power purchase,
implementation and direct agreements approving 28 wind and solar
projects under South Africas Renewable Energy Independent Power
Producer Procurement Programme. Investment of R47 billion ($4.6 billion)
in the projects will yield a combined installed capacity of 1415 MW.
South Africa ranks 23rd in Ernst and Youngs 2013 Renewable Energy
Country Attractiveness Indices, 30th for wind and 22nd for solar power,
The country is the main player in the Southern African Power Pool, (SAPP)
which interconnects the electricity transmission systems of a dozen
countries. Total installed generating capacity in the SAPP countries is
currently 54.7 GW, of which three quarters comes from South Africa.
Barriers to development
While nature may provide abundant resources, man must resolve vital
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Figure 1: Renewable electricity generation development, 200012
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2013
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 20100 2012
Y
e
a
r
Africa, excluding Egypt & Algeria (GWh)
1307PEI_29 29 7/19/13 8:52 AM
issues such as the technology, regulation,
fnance, transmission access and off-take
arrangements,
The Baker & McKenzie report The Future for
Clean Energy in Africa published June 2013
says that renewable energy has the potential
to play a major role in reducing Africas acute
power supply gap and that it can compete
with conventional energy sources in SSA
particularly away from transmission networks.
Many projects rely on funding from
international development fnance institutions
and export credit agencies. However, in South
Africa, local banks have fnanced most of the
countrys programme.
In Europe, the mechanism used by
governments to boost development of
renewables has been a regime of feed in
tariffs (FiTs), while in the US renewable targets
have been used.
Marc Fvre of Baker & McKenzie told Power
Engineering International: We have seen
with successful projects in SSA that you dont
necessarily need a FiT regime. What you do
need is a power purchase price that makes
sense. The IPP model, which South Africa has
chosen has been very successful. Projects
are also being developed in Cote dIvoire,
Mauritiana and Kenya under an incentive
regime but on a bilateral basis between
developers, governments and development
fnance institutions. The biggest large scale roll
out of renewable energy in SSA has been on
that basis rather than FiTs.
The under-developed transmission
networks in SSA mean fnancing and
developing infrastructure is an issue for large
scale renewable projects. This is a continent
where deployment of small scale renewables
makes economic sense. Fvre says: There
is not one problem and one solution. Its a
question of getting the economics and legal
framework right in a particular project and
being able to put it in place sensibly.
Scott McGregor, chief executive of
Camco Clean Energy, told Power Engineering
International: The key is getting security of
off-take arrangements. South Africa is leading
the way and other countries are learning from
this experience. Ghana is fnalising its systems,
but it wil take another two years to sort out tariff
and off-take arrangements. Donor fund are
helping governments to design proper policies.
Africa can be a challenging place to do
business and companies accustomed to
developing renewable energy in developed
markets dont necessarily have the know-how
or the contacts to do business there. South
Africa is an easier place to do business than
most of SSA and its procurement policy has
brought in experienced developers. Fvre
says that once developers are based in
South Africa, they will start looking at other
opportunities. Developing a large base of
skills in SSA which can then be deployed
elsewhere will have a very positive effect on
the renewable energy sector in Africa.
Wind power as a catalyst?
Wind Energy Development in Africa, a
2012 report by the African Development
Bank, identifes wind power as a potential
catalyst for socio-economic development
of the continent. It picks out Somalia, Sudan,
Mauritania, Madagascar, Kenya and Chad
as countries with signifcant potential wind
resources. However, currently scarce use
is being made of the resource and much
development and investment is needed to
bring this to fruition. Onshore wind projects are
in the pipeline in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya
and Senegal. For example, the 633 million
Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) in
Kenyas Highlands could provide 300 MW of
wind power to the national grid, (augmenting
the current electricity generating capacity
by one ffth). The plan is for 365 turbines, a
high voltage substation and upgrades to the
transmission line and road network.
The Cape Verde islands, 570 km off the west
coast of Africa, aim to be entirely powered by
renewables by 2020. The windswept islands lie
in the Trade Winds belt and the government
wants to develop wind projects to reduce
reliance on imported diesel and fuel oil.
Currently 30 new wind turbines on the four
islands produce up to 28 MW of electricity.
Cabeolica is the frst commercial-scale,
privately fnanced, public private partnership
wind farm in SSA. Debt funding for the
$85 million project was provided by the
European Investment Bank and the African
Development Bank. Public private fund
manager EleQtra developed the fnance
model using capital from Infraco, an
infrastructure development company funded
by European governments and the World
Bank. It hopes to deploy the model elsewhere
and work is underway in Senegal and Ghana.
Harnessing geothermal
In areas of tectonic and volcanic activity high
pressure steam can be extracted from deep
underground and used to turn turbines and
generate electricity. The East African Rift Valley
stretching nearly 5000 km through East Africa
is one such location. Hot springs, geysers, and
earthquakes are surface manifestations of
immense subterranean activity.
Geothermal power projects are more
capital intensive than many other renewable
energy projects and have a longer lead time
before costs can be recovered. Developing
geothermal energy involves early risk and
costs in surface studies, exploration drilling,
appraisal drilling and feasibility studies.
However if it can be harnessed, geothermal
energy has the potential to provide base-load
electricity, improving security of supply and
increasing access to electricity
The Rift Valley passes through a number
of East African countries which rely on
hydro-power for electricity, but a succession
of droughts have reduced output. Kenya,
one of the worlds top ten producers of
geothermal energy, has been the most active
in harnessing this renewable source. It has
an estimated geothermal potential of 10
Africans access to electricity
Population
without
electricity
(millions)
Electrifcation
rate (%)
Urban
electrifcation
rate (%)
Rural
electrifcation
rate (%)
Africa 587 41.8 68.8 25.0
North Africa 2 99.0 99.6 98.4
Sub-Saharan
Africa
585 30.5 59.9 14.2
Source: IEA, 2009
1307PEI_30 30 7/19/13 8:52 AM
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1307PEI_31 31 7/19/13 8:52 AM
GW. The Kenyan government wants to see
5000 MW of geothermal energy developed by
2030. Currently 250 MW of capacity has been
installed, with another 280 MW due to come
on-stream within a year.
Kenya has a liberalised and unbundled
electricity supply structure. It has established
a legal and regulatory system covering
geothermal exploration and development,
ownership of steam resources and licenses
and set up the Geothermal Development
Company, a state-owned Special Purpose
Vehicle to fast track the development of
geothermal resources in the country.
Ethiopia has 7 MW of installed geothermal
power generation at Aluto Gangana with
another 70 MW in the pipeline. Rwanda and
Tanzania each have estimated geothermal
potential of around 600 MW to 700 MW. Some
exploration and identifcation of sites has taken
place, but the absence of national structures
(notably regulatory regime and renewable
incentives) has discouraged development.
Developing geothermal energy will take
external input: agencies including The World
Bank, African Development Bank, USAID, and
the Icelandic International Development
Agency now have schemes offering
fnance to Rift Valley governments to enable
exploratory phase geothermal investigation
and to encourage development of capacity
and skills in geothermal energy.
While East Africas geothermal potential
has been neglected until fairly recently,
developments in Indonesia could spur Asian
interest and investment in the Rift Valley
geothermal, but governments will need to put
secure off-take arrangements in place.
Solar and off-grid renewables
The cost of solar power technology has fallen,
making it an attractive proposition throughout
the region. Solar PV is suitable for projects of
different scales on and off-grid - and the
technology is seeing uptake in projects of
varying scale. The frst concentrated solar
power plant in SSA is being planned in South
Africa.
McGregor told Power Engineering
International: I see great opportunities for
communities using solar power to take a
quantum leap from no generation into
renewable energy.
Vast swathes of the region have no access
to transmission networks. Power comes
primarily from solid biomass and isolated
diesel generators. In Malawi and Uganda less
than 10 per cent of residents have access to
electricity. The International Energy Agency
estimates that investment of more than
$300 billion is needed to achieve universal
electricity access by 2030, but there is no
prospect of this happening in the short term.
For off-grid, rural communities, solar-
powered microgrids are a realistic source
of electricity. Across the continent, various
organisations are funding initiatives to
introduce small-scale off-grid solar, hydro and
geothermal power to rural areas.
Case Study: Tanzania off-grid solar
The Tanzanian government encourages
private sector, renewable energy approaches
to rural electrifcation which is leading to the
development of a thriving market for solar
photovoltaic technology.
Tanzanias largest off-grid solar project was
rolled out at Kigoma in 2012. It targeted public
sector, business, and households in a rural
area, and solar modules have been installed
in 45 secondary schools, 130 health facilities,
25 village markets, and 90 fshing boats. The
$5 million project was funded by Millenium
Development Corporation and managed by
Camco Clean Energy which worked with a
Tanzanian solar contractor, Rex Investment.
Another Tanzanain project managed by
Camco Clean Energy is a Clusters Solar PV
Project fnanced by the European Union. The
objective is to install 1000 solar systems in rural
Tanzanian homes, and at the same time train
local people to run their own solar businesses.
McGregor explains: We have been
working in Tanzania for seven years. A lot
of the work weve been doing is setting up
distribution channels, training importers,
distributors and installers. We have set up a
supply chain across Tanzania. It is very smart
use of public money some of the best use of
non-proft funding Ive seen.
Tanzanias Rural Energy Agency provides a
small subsidy for each solar system installed
under the Cluster project and the farmer pays
for the rest of the system over three years via
a commercial loan acquired by his farmers
association. Standardising equipment, bulk
purchase, credit-fnancing and subsidies
make the scheme work. The clusters are groups
of a minimum of 1000 members who tender
for the equipment, to ensure value for money
and quality. Both local and international
solar PV equipment suppliers bid to become
providers and suppliers for the Clusters Solar
PV Project. McGregor is proud of the way that
these funded projects have established a
solar PV industry in Tanzania. Dozens of solar
Cluster Groups around Tanzania could beneft
tens-of-thousands of rural households.
McGregor says: There is a lot of work
being done in Kenya and Tanzania into local,
independent grids rather than extending
existing grids. The supply networks can be
quite entrepreneurial energy demand is
coming from new technology uses such as
the need to charge mobile phones. So, a
village might have a telecoms tower with fuel
support [diesel or solar] where people can
plug in and charge mobiles. This can then be
a micro-power source allowing the village to
charge up devices and provide lighting.
The big question is whether South Africas
$8.8 billion programme will open the door for
development of renewable energy throughout
the SSA region.
McGregor adds:We are seeing a lot of
new approaches bringing power to SSA.
Fvre says: What I think is really exciting
is that the resources are there in a lot of
countries and developers are starting to turn
their attention to the opportunities.
Once you have a few projects with a track
record and a bit of experience, that will create
confdence and more investors will come
in. I think we are seeing acceleration at the
moment. Over the next couple of years we will
see a number of successful projects across
the continent which will lead others into the
market.
Penny Hitchin is a UK-based freelance writer,
specialising in energy matters.
Global horizontal irradiation in South Africa
Source: solargis
i
1307PEI_32 32 7/19/13 8:52 AM
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1307PEI_33 33 7/19/13 8:52 AM
T
rigeneration may not have a lot
of charisma, like solar and wind
energy, and few people know
what it is. But the technology fnds
itself in a somewhat enviable
position these days. Many places
in the world have developed energy problems
that trigen uniquely fxes.
What are trigens bragging rights? By
providing cooling, heat and power, all in one
place with one fuel, trigen units are highly
effcient. Also called combined cooling,
heating and power, or CCHP, trigen reuses the
waste heat produced in electric generation
and leads to lower carbon dioxide emissions.
Onsite trigen also can serve as back-up power
when the grid goes down. And, perhaps
most important, trigen helps meet the globes
heightened demand for air conditioning and
refrigeration, without putting further strain on
the electric grid.
As a result, trigen plants are springing
up worldwide at data centres, airports,
supermarkets, offce buildings, universities
and industrial facilities.
Still, it is not always easy for trigen projects
to win acceptance. Barriers exist that can
make inroads hard for the technology, even
where trigen makes sense, as it does for
facilities with a steady need for power, heat
and cooling. Like other forms of decentralised
energy, trigen often must compete against
utilities that enjoy an incumbents advantage.
And network connection rules and outdated
regulation sometimes work against trigen too.
Sydneys good and bad
In many ways, Sydney in Australia has become
the poster child for trigen in both its glory
and defeat. The city of 4.6 million people has
set a goal to reduce its greenhouse gases
70 per cent by 2030 from 2006 levels.
Centralised power plants account for
80 per cent of the citys emissions, much of it
from coal-fred generation. So the city has a
master plan to swap out coal, decentralise its
system and reduce emissions. Sydney wants
to have 100 per cent local power and trigen
is the centrepiece of the strategy.
Sydney envisions adding 360 MW of trigen,
valued at A$440 million ($401 million) in 2010
dollars. The gas-fred trigen would reduce the
citys greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 to
1.7 million tonnes a year. This could put the
city more than a quarter of the way towards
reaching its emissions goal.
Trigeneration
Trigeneration reuses
waste heat produced
in electric generation
to provide cooling, heat
and power, and the
technology is winning
devotees around the
world. Elisa Wood
highlights trigens success
stories and examines its
most notable failure.
No casualty of nature: when Superstorm Sandy hit New York City last year, the
Overlook Medical Centre lost no power thanks to its trigeneration system
Credit: Atlantic Healthcare
A technology
for the times
1307PEI_34 34 7/19/13 8:52 AM
Trigeneration
the
em
e
Further, trigen could reduce Sydneys
electricity consumption 30 to 60 per cent and
lop $1.5 billion off its electricity costs by 2030.
To get its plan underway, Sydney issued
a tender in 2010 seeking trigen to supply fve
aquatic centres, the Town Hall precinct and
Customs House and the citys remaining
200 buildings. By spring 2012, the city had
an agreement in place with Cogent, a
subsidiary of Australian energy giant Origin,
as its preferred developer. The company went
to work negotiating with private building
owners and preparing to install trigen for the
city-owned facilities.
It looked as if Sydney was well on its way to
rolling out Australias frst mega trigen system
and becoming what Lord Mayor Clover
Moore described as Australias leading
low-carbon city.
Then came the bad news. In June,
Sydney announced that it was no longer
going to pursue the project with Cogent. The
economic and regulatory tide had turned
against the plan. The city cancelled the frst
trigen project planned for Greene Square, a
light industrial and high density residential
area of the city. A combination of factors
undercut the projects economics, including
the federal governments decision to lower
the future carbon price, a loss of state
and federal incentives, and unfavourable
electricity network rules.
But Sydney is not giving up. Its chief
executive Monica Barone called the
cancellation a small roadblock. The city
plans to lobby state and federal offcials for
better rules and renewed incentives with the
hope of revisiting the Greene Square project
in the future. Sydney also plans to continue
to pursue trigen for city-owned buildings and
will issue a tender that invites Cogent and
others to bid.
Still, city offcials lamented that Australia
appears to be backsliding on trigen while
elsewhere in the world London, New York,
Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen and Seoul the
technology is on the rise. It is important to
note that trigen is being built in Australia just
not with the gusto that offcials had hoped.
Cogent installed a trigeneration system
in Coca-Cola Place in North Sydney in
2011. The project, which provides power, hot
water and chilled water, includes a 774 kW
gas-fred reciprocating engine and a
650 kW absorption chiller that can supply
either chilled or hot water to the building.
More recently, Cogent installed Australias
frst urban distributed energy project in
Victoria, which included trigen technology.
The 6-MW installation is part of a larger urban
renew project in Central Dandenong.
Around the world
Elsewhere in the world, trigen is fnding
successes in a wide range of businesses and
government applications.
In London, PricewaterhouseCoopers won
a key UK sustainability award after installing a
unque trigen system in its offce adjacent to
the Tower of London. In Germany, Daimler in
May commissioned its third trigen plant at a
Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt, and Spanish
brewer DAMM has installed a trigen system at
its facility in Barcelona.
In Saudi Arabia, CES Energy has teamed
with Al Aman to build and operate a 16 MW
trigen facility in Headquarters Business Park,
a mixed-use centre in Jeddah that includes
Combined Heat, Power
and Cooling Solutions
Our Trigeneration solutions utilize
Cummins lean-burn gas fueled
generators to produce electricity,
a heat recovery system to capture
waste heat and absorption chillers
for cooling. This approach can
achieve potential energy savings
of 40%.
trigeneration
Our energy working for you.
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1307PEI_35 35 7/19/13 8:52 AM
Trigeneration
a 52-story tower. Meanwhile, Fleming Gulf, a
business intelligence company, has a trigen
summit set for 29-30 September in the Saudi
capital, Riyadh to create more interest for
trigen. The conference sponsors see Saudi
as highly suited to trigen because of the
kingdoms rising power demand and its
desire to cut costs and emissions.
Light in a storm
In the US, trigen has become part of the larger
discussion about storms and the havoc they
infict on the grid. Superstorm Sandy knocked
out electricity for weeks in parts of New York
City last year. Facilities with trigen, such as
Overlook Medical Centre, never lost power.
The Summit, a New Jersey hospital, had the
luck of good timing it had begun operating
its trigen system only shortly before the storm
hit. We had just started doing commissioning
before Sandy and it was good thing we
had, says Robert Peake, director of facilities
construction and real estate for Atlantic
Health System, the hospitals parent company.
When hospital offcials saw the massive
storm approaching, they decided to island
the hospital from the larger grid and rely
solely on its new, natural gas-fred, 2 MW trigen
system and a 2 MW diesel backup, both
Mitsubishi products. The system powered the
entire hospital when the grid was down.
When hospital offcials installed the
system last year, they were not envisioning
a superstorm barrelling down upon their
facility. Electricity costs were their worry then.
The offcials initially investigated solar energy,
but found the technology wouldnt provide
the facility with enough power. They began
exploring trigen and saw that it made sense,
given the hospitals large steam load.
Overlook has cut its $4.8 million annual
electricity bill down to about $2.8 million
thanks to the trigen system. The hospital
received a $1 million grant for the system
from the state of New Jersey. Because of the
grant, the hospital expects to see a return on
investment within about 2.5 years.
Not surprisingly, Atlantic Health System
is investigating trigen for three of its other
facilities in New Jersey. Peake sees the
benefts as many. Our hospitals are located
in residential communities. So we look for
ways we can be better neighbours. One way
is to become a greener, he says.
All eyes of the US power industry are now
watching President Barack Obamas renewed
interest in greenhouse gas regulation. On June
25 Obama announced his Climate Action
Plan, a series of executive level effects meant
to bypass a deadlocked Congress. A central
part of his plan involves complex rulemaking
by the US Environmental Protection Agency
that will govern emissions from power plants.
Although trigen is generally viewed as a
green technology especially when fuelled
with natural gas or biofuels uncertainty
exists about how it will fare under the EPA rules.
Trigen supporters are hopeful that regulators
will take into account trigens effciency.
But the industry needs to work to ensure it
gets a seat at the table, according to Paul
Gutermann, a partner with Akin Gump who
specialises in environmental law.
They are going to need to take a look
and get involved in the weeds of the policy
development. They have to some extent a
sympathetic audience at EPA but [trigen]
is a small piece of fruit for the agency to
pick up. It is not going to be a major focus,
Gutermann says.
Obama has directed the EPA to submit
a proposed rule for new power plants on
September 20, a date that could prove
important to both the US and international
trigen industry, according to Peter Wyckoff, an
attorney with Pillsbury and head of its Climate
Change and Sustainability Group.
Why? Because the EPA rules will
likely infuence use of emissions control
technologies worldwide, he argues.
The EPA is developing a vision for what
forms of control technology are sensible,
he says, which no doubt will have big
ramifcations in Europe and elsewhere.
Innovating and improving
Meanwhile, the trigen industry is not standing
still. In Northern Ireland, ContourGlobal
uses what it calls quadgeneration at its
Knockmore facility. The unit not only creates
power, steam and chilled water, but also
food-grade carbon dioxide for a nearby
Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Company.
Clarke Energy was hired for engineering,
procurement and construction on a turnkey
basis for the plant, which produces 15 MW
of power and 13.5 MW of thermal energy
from gas engine generators. Exhaust heat
from the generators makes process steam
for the bottling plant. Additional waste heat
gets recovered as hot water and fed to three
absorption chillers that provide the bottling
plant with chilled water. As a last step, carbon
dioxide is removed from exhaust and refned
The trigeneration facility uses biogas from Orange County Sanitation Districts
wastewater treatment plant to produce hydrogen, heat and power
Credit: Energy Department
Trigen biogas system at DAMM brewery in
the Spanish city of Barcelona
Credit: DAMM
1307PEI_36 36 7/19/13 8:52 AM
Trigeneration
to a food grade. It is then used to used to carbonate the Coca Cola.
In California, a wastewater treatment plant run by Orange County
Sanitation District has a trigen system that produces electricity, heat
and hydrogen. The system works with a high-temperature fuel cell
and biogas from the facilitys anaerobic digestion process. The power
and heat are used onsite for the facility and the hydrogen goes to a
vehicle fuelling station.
Maersk Oil offers an unusual trigen system; it produces power,
clean water and carbon dioxide as part of oil and gas recovery. The
company mixes contaminated gas with pure oxygen and burns it
in an engine under high pressure and temperature. The separated
carbon dioxide is injected under the ground, making oil fow more
easily. This improves oil recovery rates. The engine creates steam
that drives a turbine to generate power. The process also produces
distilled water, a useful byproduct for desert drilling operations.
So trigen continues to experience ups and downs in a world that
does not always understand its worth. Yet it is clearly a technology of
the times, solving existing energy problems by lowering greenhouse
gas emissions and anticipating societys future needs by fuelling
hydrogen cars and bringing clean water to deserts.
Elisa Wood is a freelance writer based in Virginia, US, who specialises in
energy issues, policy and markets.
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Trigeneration system at Pyrmont in Sydney
Credit: Cogent
1307PEI_37 37 7/19/13 8:52 AM
C
onsidering that pumping
systems account for
20 per cent of the worlds
electrical demand and
a typical steam power
plant will run more than
60 pumps sets, it is obvious that the power
industry would beneft from any solutions
aimed at increasing pump performance.
Pumps fulfl the critical role of continuously
delivering water throughout a thermal
power plant. Circulating water is an integral
component of thermal power generation
and the water is typically used in two ways: in
the internal steam cycle to create steam via
the thermal energy source and convey it to
an electricity-generating turbine; and in the
cooling cycle to cool and condense the after-
turbine steam and then discharge surplus
heat to the environment.
This fuid handling equipment can suffer
from several physical and mechanical
problems, including general and/or localised
corrosion, cavitation or reliability linked with
poor effciency or performance.
All these parameters may affect the
power consumption of the equipment,
increasing considerably its lifetime running
cost and reducing the energy effciency of
the power plant. Minimising performance
deterioration is a major consideration for
pump manufacturers and users.
One effective way, other than corrosion-
resistant alloys, is to protect pumping systems
using erosioncorrosion resistant coatings.
Problem origins
We should start by recognising that it is virtually
impossible to design a pump that is totally
immune to in-service deterioration. Typical
problems encountered with fuid handling
equipment will be similar whether we look at
nuclear or fossil power generation or turbine
components in the hydro power industry.
Pumping systems are designed to work
at specifc fow and heads, however, they are
rarely running at full effciency, which could
be explained by different mechanisms, aside
from purchasing an off the shelf pump where
the intended service does not exactly match
the Best Effciency Point (BEP).
Three main categories can summarise
the origins of pumps performance reduction.
Mechanical losses due to friction in bearings,
worn wear rings or seal problems. Leakage
losses are explained by recirculation through
wear rings, seals and balancing devices.
Energy losses, also called hydraulic losses,
represent the majority of the effciency
reduction, highly relying on surface conditions.
The metallic substrate is subject to erosion
corrosion, leading to its degradation. In
order to offer a better understanding of the
problems, we should consider different forms
of corrosion and erosion.
Corrosion
There are several main mechanisms of
corrosion, in particular those which affect
metals used in pumping systems, such as
stainless steel, cast iron or bronze.
Uniform corrosion is most widely known
as the oxidation of the entire surface, however
it also includes tarnishing, active dissolution
and polishing in chemicals (especially acids),
anodic oxidation and passivation. Passivation,
or anodic polarisation, occurs with alloys such
as stainless steels and aluminiums, where the
surface oxidises, stabilising and preventing
further corrosion.
Experience has shown that passivated
alloys, such as aluminiums and stainless steels
exhibit excellent resistance to corrosion in
some immersed conditions, however, despite
Maintaining pump performance
Performance coatings can boost the performance of a pump beyond its as new
and can maintain this standard throughout its life with minimal maintenance,
writes Jrmie Maillard.
A diffuser pump that has had a solvent-free epoxy coating applied to protect
it from erosioncorrosion damage and thereby maintain its performance
Pump up
the volume
1307PEI_38 38 7/19/13 8:52 AM
Be sure to mark your
calendar to return to North
Americas most inuential all-renewable
event November 12-14 in the Orange County Convention
Center Orlando, FL. Once again, well be co-locating with
POWER-GEN International bringing renewable energy to
the forefront of the mainstream energy industry.
Owned & Produced By: Co-located With: Presented By: Supported By: Media Sponsor:
Learn more & register @ RenewableEnergyWorld-Events.com
Progressive
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for the future
Nov. 12-14, 2013
Orange County
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1307PEI_39 39 7/19/13 8:52 AM
this passive oxide layer, when in close proximity
to a more noble metal such as bronze, can still
suffer bi-metallic corrosion.
With Localised corrosion, certain areas of
the metals corrode faster than others and it
is in localised corrosion where the difference
between oxidation and corrosion is seen.
The process is accelerated as clear anodic
and cathodic areas are defned, often with
the corroded area invariably becoming
increasingly anodic to the neighbouring
cathodic area. It is one of the most
problematic types of corrosion, and it is these
forms of localised corrosion which often lead
to component failure due to their severity.
The various manifestations of this form of
corrosion are as follows:
Bi-metallic corrosion occurs when two
metals of differing potentials are placed in
solution and electrically connected together,
a current fows between the two and electrons
are given up by the metal with the greater
potential the anode. This principal is true for
many types of corrosion, including uniform
corrosion, where different potentials are
present in the different grains of the structure.
In the case of two separate, different metals,
the results can be quite dramatic.
If we compare the potentials of cast iron
with bronze in fowing sea water, we see typical
potentials of -0.61 V for the cast iron compared
to -0.23 V for the bronze. Specifc attack will
occur because the cast iron is the cathode,
compared to the anodic bronze.
Deposit corrosion occurs under or around
a discontinuous deposit on a metallic surface.
In sea water, gaskets, fttings, and marine
growth are primarily the cause of propagation,
leading to pitting. This form of corrosion is
similar to crevice corrosion.
The most probable causes of pitting
corrosion are defects in the surface of the
alloy, which may be either in the smoothness
of the surface, or the internal structure of the
alloy. In both cases there is small localised
corrosion, leading to oxygen depletion.
Corrosion is propagated as the greater area
outside of the pitted area, which has ready
access to oxygen, becomes cathodic despite
its being of the same material.
Selective dissolution occurs in certain alloys,
where the more active element can become
corroded away. A good example is the
graphitisation of iron, where the iron corrodes in
preference to the (non-corroding) carbon, and
dealuminifcation in some brasses.
Erosion
The high fuid velocities encountered in
fuid handling equipment contribute to the
rapid degradation of the components. In
addressing the solution for erosion problems
it is important to be able to diagnose the
erosion sub category.
Impingement is caused solely by high
velocity fuid fow, and its effect on the
substrate, such as in this example where high
fuid velocities are occurring due to high
pressure to low pressure leakage.
Entrainment is when silts and gravel are
carried up in the fuid stream they are said
to be entrained. This type of erosion causes
greater material loss than impingement alone
for the same given fuid velocity.
Cavitation occurs as a result of a pressure
difference in the fuid and can be found on
the pump body or most commonly on the
impeller, in particular the low-pressure surfaces.
It is recognized by a peppering of the surface,
caused by the implosion of vapour bubbles
onto the substrate.
Conventional solutions
All of these deteriorations will greatly reduce
the effciency with which the pump is running.
It is important to fnd solutions to reduce
these effects and to extend the lifetime of
equipment.
Pump manufacturers have been looking at
different ways to reduce corrosion and erosion
damage onto metallic substrate.
In addressing the erosioncorrosion
problem, the frst consideration is always the
material. One possible way to reduce the rate
of deterioration is to select the best material
suited for specifc operating conditions.
Conventional materials such as cast iron
are generally used whenever possible due to
cost implication. However, their resistance to
erosioncorrosion is relatively low, implying a
quick degradation of the substrate.
Stainless steels are extensively used for
their resistance to general corrosion, through
the creation of a protective passivation layer.
Providing this passive flm stays undamaged,
corrosion rate will be very low. However, if the
flm is damaged and the environment does
not favour rapid flm repair, then localised
corrosion can occur.
By understanding the principle of the
oxidation/reduction process, it is clear that
the noblest metals are more likely to be
protected against corrosion, but no metals
are completely immune against erosive and
corrosive attack.
As stated earlier, the usual criterion
for the choice of a particular material, or
combination of materials of construction will
be cost, provided that the materials have
suffcient physical properties to function within
the environment. However, this design ethic
can cause more problems than it solves,
particularly if the equipment is to be immersed
in an electrolytic solution. The resultant
bi-metallic corrosion, which will inevitably
ensue due to the different metals used, will
lead to the premature failure of the equipment.
Over many years attempts have been
made in areas of fuid fow to select specifc
materials with corrosion resistant properties
and also to try to match up galvanic
potentials to minimise the difference and
thus the galvanic effect. However, ultimately
when using only metals, there will always be
a compromise either in performance or cost.
Coating technology
The only way to greatly reduce erosion
corrosion effects is to isolate the metal surface
from its environment. For fuid fow situations,
there is a wide range of factory applied
coatings, including PTFE, FBE and rubber
linings, but a more limited range of options
available to the designer which can be feld
applied or repaired in situ.
Historically, glass fake coatings have been
used and specifed for the protection of fuid
handling, processing and storage vessels. They
have good corrosion protection properties
and with correct selection of binder, have a
An example of impingement
An example of entrainment
1307PEI_40 40 7/19/13 8:53 AM
Owned & Produced By:
Supported By:
Presented By: Co-located With:
NOVEMBER 13-14, 2013 ORANGE COUNTY CONVENTION CENTER ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The POWER-GEN International Financial Forum is
co-located with POWER-GEN International, the largest
conference and exhibition for the power generation
industry. The Financial Forum is designed to provide
corporate-level project developers and fnanciers an
exclusive venue to learn, network and do business.
The Financial Forum combines the learning and
networking experiences of an industry-leading
conference with the opportunity to do business one
on one with the worlds top engineering, procurement
and construction frms as well as hundreds of original
equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
CHANGE
from the
TOP DOWN
www.powergenfinancialforum.com
1307PEI_41 41 7/19/13 8:53 AM
good chemical resistance.
Nevertheless, glass fakes systems do
have many drawbacks. The level of volatile
organic compound through solvents as well
as styrene may be a serious health and safety
issue. The polymerisation process involved
in curing process of glass fake system leads
to shrinkage causing the bond line to be
permanently stressed.
The adhesion, cavitation and impact
resistance are relatively poor and in
comparison with conventional solvent free
epoxy system, their general erosion resistance
is lower. Glass fake systems are notoriously
brittle and easily damaged during routine
maintenance of equipment.
Glass fake are also high build, typically
1.52 mm thick. This could cause fow restriction
in critical areas affecting performance
characteristics. In terms of performance, this
thick glass fake coating will shift the effciency
curve to the left. This will improve the effciency
of a pump which is operating left of BEP but
will reduce effciency of pump operating at or
to the right of BEP.
If we compare, for example, the 2 mm
thickness of a glass fake coating on a 100
mm pump inlet, we see a reduction of the
cross section area of approximately 8 per
cent; and fow rate is highly infuenced by the
cross sectional area.
Modifed solvented epoxies are very
versatile in use, as they can be designed
with many different properties, depending
on the binders used. Generally, they offer
good resistance to erosioncorrosion. Epoxies
can be modifed using phenol, coal tar and
hydrocarbon resin to give special properties,
such as better chemical resistance, better
penetration and improved water resistance.
One drawback with solvented epoxy
coatings is that they contain large quantities
of solvent, which is associated with health
and safety problems. The content of solvent
also implies shrinkage, thus stress within
the coating. Poor immersion resistance of
modifed solvented epoxies may limit their use
within fuid handling equipment.
The design of thermosetting polyurethane
coatings allows them to be stiff or fexible
as required, offering good curing at low
temperatures, cavitation and impact erosion
resistance.
Their disadvantage, however, tends to be in
long term immersion as some can be moisture
sensitive, tending to absorb water more readily
than other coatings.
Applying at a greater thickness helps
to overcome this problem, and there have
recently been developments in diffusion
resistance to provide systems which avoid
these shortfalls.
Modifed solvent-free epoxies offer similar
benefts as solvented epoxy coatings, such as
resistance to erosioncorrosion and chemical
resistance. The key beneft of solvent free
material eliminates associated health and
safety problems whilst also reducing the
shrinkage to a negligible level. There is also
signifcant scope to work with the properties of
the coating and required service parameters,
modifying for strength, fexibility, corrosion and
erosion resistance, and temperature and
chemical resistance. Resistance in immersion
is generally excellent which offers long term
protection for fuid handling equipment.
Solvent-free epoxy coatings, such as
those developed by Belzona, are applied at
a relatively low thickness, about 500 microns,
which do not lead to interference with the fuid
fow, compared to glass fake coating for the
majority of pumping situations
Improving on as new conditions
We have seen that in-service deterioration
is possible through mechanical damage,
leakage and hydraulic losses. Leakage and
hydraulic losses can be addressed by material
selection, or the use of performance coatings
to provide the pump with protection against
damage caused by bi-metallic or general
corrosion, or erosive effects such as cavitation.
Use of the correct performance coating
has been shown to not only improve the
performance of the pump compared to
its as new condition, but to maintain this
throughout its life with minimal maintenance
of the coating necessary. Preventing
bi-metallic corrosion under wear ring seats can
prevent leakage from the high to low pressure
side (on split casing pumps for example) and
general corrosion can be halted in the main
body of the pump and impeller.
Jrmie Maillard is an engineer in the
Technical Services Department at Belzona
Polymerics. For more information, visit
www.belzona.com.
Belzona 1341 case studies
Celebrating its 25th birthday, Belzona

1341 Supermetalglide was designed
to meet the key service requirements
of the pump, i.e. immersion, corrosion,
erosion and cavitation resistance,
excellent adhesion, fexibility and ease of
application and maintenance.
In 1991, a water supply company in
Australia had a rapidly deteriorating
water transfer pump with falling fow
output. Belzona 1341 was specifed
and applied. The customer reported an
8 per cent effciency gain along with
11 per cent fow increase, which resulted
in close to A$60,000 ($55,500) energy
savings per year. In 2010, the pump was
brush blasted and a further coat applied
over the original layer of material. The
pump is still in service today.
In 2010, two cooling water circulating
pumps in a power plant in Northern
Ireland, each weighing over 11 tonnes
without the motor, were failing to deliver
suffcient fow. Belzona rebuilt the eroded
and cavitated pump components using
paste grade composites, pump casing
were coated with an immersion grade
coating and the internals of the pump
protected with Belzona 1341. Both pumps
were returned to service within an eight
week period and are still in service.
In 2012, the continuous fow of water
through cooling water pumps in a French
power station had caused the concrete
construction to wear both upstream and
downstream of the pump, as well as the
pump volute inside. This erosive wear had
led to micro cracking of the concrete and
the rough concrete surface had led to
a loss of effciency as the worn concrete
walls created a more turbulent fow.
Severely eroded sections were restored
using Belzona materials for the rebuilding
of concrete and coated with Belzona
1341 to create smooth surface with
optimum effciency. This restoration work
was repeated for all the colling system
lines at the power station.
i
Split casing pump coated with Belzona 1341
1307PEI_42 42 7/19/13 8:53 AM
Conference & Exhibition
4 - 6 March 2014
Expocentre, Moscow, Russia Federation
Co-located with:
www.russia-power.org
For information on exhibiting and
sponsorship at Russia Power, please
visit www.russia-power.org or contact:
International:
Gilbert Weir Jnr
Sales Manager
T: +44 (0)1992 656 617
F: +44 (0)1992 656 700
E: gilbertw@pennwell.com
Russia and CIS:
Natalia Gaisenok
Sales Manager
T: +7 495 249 49 15
F: +7 495 249 49 15
E: nataliag@pennwell.com
Svetlana Strukova
Sales Manager
T: +7 495 249 49 15
F: +7 495 249 49 15
E: svetlanas@pennwell.com
Russia Power is the leading conference and exhibition for power professionals
that enables your organization to explore business opportunities and meet
infuential decision makers in the Russian and international power sector.
Over three days, Russia Power provides a world class exhibition foor featuring
the pre-eminent organizations from the global power sector. Accompanying the
exhibition is a thought-provoking two-track conference programme featuring
presentations by industry leading lights.
Supported by the Russian Ministry of Energy and the Council of Power
Producers, Russia Power 2013 attracted 105 exhibitors and over 5,500 visitors
from 64 countries over two days.
BOOK YOUR EXHIBITION SPACE NOW FOR RUSSIA
POWER 2014 AND BE PART OF AN ESTABLISHED EVENT
THAT CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE THE INDUSTRY.
System Operator of Russia
Owned and Produced by: Presented by: In Partnership with: Supported by:
Promoting Modernization
Effciency and Innovation
The 12th Russia Power conference and exhibition
returns to the Expocentre, Moscow on 4 - 6 March 2014.
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
1307PEI_43 43 7/19/13 8:53 AM
Diary Diary
3rd International Conference on
Power and Energy Engineering
2122 September
Phuket, Thailand
www.icpee.org
DistribuTECH Brasil 2013
2426 September
Sao Paulo, Brasil
www.distributechbrasil.com
HydroVision Brasil
2426 September
San Paulo, Brazil
www.hydrovisionbrasil.com
POWER-GEN Brasil
2426 September
San Paolo, Brazil
www.powergenbrasil.com
Energy from Waste 2013
2526 September
London, UK
www.smi-online.co.uk
RENEXPO 2013
2629 September
Augsburg, Germany
www.renexpo.de
VGB Congress Power Plants 2013
2527 September
Maastricht, the Netherlands
www.vgb.org
EU PVSEC 2013
30 September 4 October
Paris, France
www.photovoltaic-conference.com
October
POWER-GEN Asia
24 October
Bangkok, Thailand
www.powergenasia.com
Renewable Energy World Asia
24 October
Bangkok, Thailand
www.renewableenergyworld-asia.com
22nd World Energy Congress
1317 October
Daegu, South Korea
www.daegu2013.kr
November
Nuclear Power International 2013
1214 November
Orlando, FL, USA
www.nuclearpowerinternational.com
POWER-GEN International
1214 November
Orlando, FL, US
www.power-gen.com
December
Global Energy 2013
35 December
Geneva, Switzerland
www.globalenergygeneva.com
2nd International Conference on
Power Science and Engineering
2021 December
Paris, France
www.icpse.org
2014
January
International Conference on
Electrical Energy and Networks
45 January
Phuket, Thailand
www.iceen.org
March
Russia Power
46 March 2014
Moscow, Russian Federation
www.russia-power.org
POWER-GEN Africa
1719 March 2014
Cape Town, South Africa
www.powergenafrica.com
DristribuTECH Africa
1719 March 2014
www.distributechafrica.com
September
Universities Power Engineering
Conference
25 September
Dublin, Ireland
http://dit.ie/upec2013
International VDI Conference:
Biomass to Energy
34 September
Munich, Germany
www.vdi-international.com/biomass
The Power & Electricity Show
45 September
London, UK
www.terrapinn.com
Western Energy Policy Research
Conference
56 September
Portland, OR, US
http://epi.boisestate.edu/conference
International Conference on
Engineering and Innovative
Materials
78 September
Shanghai, China
www.iceim.org/
Asia Pacifc Clean Energy Summit
911 September
Hawaii, US
www.ct-si.org/events/APCE2013/
The Energy Event 2013
1011 September
Birmingham, UK
www.theenergyevent.com
Bioenergy and Biofuels
1618 September
Brisbane, Australia
www.ausihem.org
Power Engineering and
Automation
1820 September
Beijing, China
www.engii.org
i
1307PEI_44 44 7/19/13 8:54 AM
INVITATION TO EXHIBIT
POWER-GEN Africa, co-located with DistribuTECH Africa, will once again
provide comprehensive coverage of the power needs, resources, and issues
facing the electricity generation industries across sub-Saharan Africa.
A three day event, POWER-GEN Africa serves the industrys information
and networking needs with a dedicated trade show foor featuring the
prime movers in the conventional power and renewable energy industries.
Additionally, a multi-track conference covering strategic, technical and
renewable topics will feature commercial and practical solutions and
experiences, for power industry businesses.
POWER-GEN Africa has quickly established itself as sub-Saharan Africas
premier and leading event dedicated to the power generation industry,
focusing on the current and future trends, as well as the needs and resources
within this region of the world. Nowhere else provides you with the
opportunity to reach and meet over 2,000 high-level industry professionals
in one place, allowing networking, business and sales opportunities with key
industry buyers and infuencers from around the continent.
If your company supplies, or is looking to supply products or services to the
power generation industries in Africa, then POWER-GEN Africa is essential to
reaching the key industry professionals and decision makers.
SOLUTIONS FOR AFRICAS
ENERGY FUTURE
Conference & Exhibition
1719 March 2014
Cape Town International Convention Centre
Cape Town, Republic of South Africa
www.powergenafrica.com
Owned and Produced by:
Presented by: Supported by:
Leon Stone
Exhibition Sales
International
Phone: +44 (0) 1992 656 671
Email: leons@pennwell.com
Andrew Evans
Exhibition Sales
Africa
Phone: +27 (21) 913 5255
Email: andrewe@pennwell.com
Tom Marler
Exhibition Sales - Renewable/Hydro
International
Phone: +44 (0) 1992 656 608
Email: tomm@pennwell.com
For exhibition and sponsorship
opportunities contact:
Co-located with:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT:
WWW.POWERGENAFRICA.COM
1307PEI_45 45 7/19/13 8:54 AM

Tratos Cavi unveils Fraday Cage test site
Specialist cable manufacturer Tratos Cavi has
completed the construction of a Faraday
Cage test site at the companys headquarters
in Pieve Santo Stefano, Italy.
Measuring 24m x 16m and standing at
14m high, the new Faraday Cage (pictured)
enables Tratos to effectively administer AC
resonant tests on site, allowing testing of up
to 220kV of nominal voltage cables and up to
20km of medium voltage cable.
AC resonant testing is now the standard
method of testing higher voltage cables.
However, it is vital that these tests are carried
out in a controlled environment, and this is
exactly what the new Faraday Cage provides.
The facility incorporates a new innovative
locking system to ensure shielding from
any sort of external interference. Inside
are sophisticated tools for testing and an
adjustable high voltage reactor which,
together with the exciter and the regulator,
comprise the heart of the system.
The reactor is insulated in oil and consists
of two identically wound high voltage coils
mounted on a platform, with a motorised drive
mechanism providing variable air gaps. Its
upper part includes space for oil expansion
and it offers 12 MW of resonance power,
allowing three taps of 350kV, 150kV and 70kV.
The exciter section is mounted in a separate
oil-flled steel tank and contains a single
phase, step-up transformer which supplies the
AC voltage required for the resonant circuit.
The regulator provides an adjustable input
voltage to the exciter and controls the input
voltage of the reactor.
Project Update
Alstom clinches
contracts in Poland
and India
Alstom has won a contract worth around
$32 million to retroft unit 2 of Elektrownia
Belchatow (pictured above), Europes largest
lignite power plant and the second biggest in
the world.
The contract is with Polish power company
PGE and covers the modernisation of the high
pressure and intermediate pressure parts and
related auxiliary systems of the steam turbine
as well as the generator in unit 2.
The retroft is expected to increase the
plants output by 20 MW.
The Belchatow modernisation started in
1997 when PGE and Alstom signed a contract
to retroft steam turbine low-pressure parts of
all units. Since then, PGE has been continuing
with the modernisation of units 3-12 in order
to meet the requirements of EU Directives on
pollution emissions and to extend the units
lifetime.
Alstom has also won a contract with
Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) to supply
components and services for the 2 x 660 MW
Suratgarh Super Thermal Power Project in
Rajasthan, India.
Worth around $35 million, the contract
will see Alstom design the boilers and supply
identifed pressure parts of the 660 MW
supercritical boilers, along with windboxes.
It will also assist BHEL with technical advisors
during the erection and commissioning of the
units. Key components will be manufactured in
Alstoms manufacturing facilities in Concordia
in the US as well as in India at Durgapur. Units
1 and 2 are expected to be commissioned by
2016.
UK university to set up
Centre for Cryogenic
Energy Storage
A university in the UK has won 6m ($9m)
funding to create a new Centre for Cryogenic
Energy Storage.
The University of Birmingham claims that
the liquid air technology could revolutionise
the storage of energy, reducing the costs
of integrating intermittent generation into
the electricity system and ensuring power is
available when it is most needed.
The funding has come in the form of a
grant from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council and is part of
an 85m government investment to support
university research.
The centre will be based on the university
campus and will be the UKs frst dedicated
research facility for energy storage
using cryogenic liquids, comprising new
laboratories, state-of-the-art equipment, and a
major demonstration plant.
Cryogenic energy storage systems use off-
peak electricity to liquefy air. The cryogenic
liquid that is formed is stored in a vessel then
vapourised into a gas during an expansion
process, which drives a turbine. This system
generates electricity when it is most needed,
and the university says that taking off-peak
electricity and using it at peak times will
solve the wrong-time wrong-place energy
generation and supply problem. A grid-
connected pilot plant has been operating in
Slough in England since 2010.
Professor Richard Williams is pro-vice
chancellor at the university, head of the
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
and is also lead investigator on the project.
He said: Energy storage is the missing
link in the UK energy strategy and is critical
to future domestic electrical energy supply
and industrial needs. This award is for the
groundbreaking technology of using cold
liquefed air as a safe, cheap, large-scale
energy warehouse. It will also provide the UKs
frst research demonstrator plant to enable
development of applications for use in the city
and region.
1307PEI_46 46 7/19/13 9:04 AM
17-19 March 2014
Cape Town International Convention Centre
INVITATION TO EXHIBIT
The inaugural DistribuTECH Africa is a must attend event for
any company involved in the power and water transmission and
distribution industry..
With Africas electricity consumption expected to grow at a
rate of 3.4% per year until 2020, DistribuTECH 2013 is
expected to play an important role in the expanding market
and lead the way in the advancement of the transmission and
distribution industry.
This annual forum not only provides the ideal opportunity
to address technological challenges, but also launch new
products and showcase your company amongst an audience
of key decisions makers from leading international operators,
manufacturers and suppliers.
BOOK YOUR BOOTH TODAY
For booth and sponsorship enquiries, please contact:
Leon Stone
Exhibit Sales Manager - Rest of the World
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 671
F: +44 (0)1992 656 700
E:leons@pennwell.com

Andrew Evans
Exhibition Sales - Africa
T: +27 (21) 913 5255
F: +27 (0) 86 770 7447
E: andrewe@pennwell.com
WWW. DISTRIBUTECHAFRICA.COM
EQUIPPING
UTILITIES FOR
THE FUTURE
NEW PENNWELL EVENT COMING TO AFRICA
Co-located with
Owned &
Produced by: Presented by: Host Utility Sponsor:
Supporting
Organization:
1307PEI_47 47 7/19/13 9:04 AM

RWE pulls plug on Tilbury biomass plant
RWE npower has pulled the plug on its UK
biomass plant at Tilbury the largest 100 per
cent biomass plant in the world.
The company said that it had decided
to halt work on the biomass plant whilst
options on project feasibility are assessed and
reviewed.
RWE Generation chief technical offcer
Roger Miesen said the announcement was
made with regret and added that this
decision has not been taken lightly.
Tilbury opened as a coal-fred plant in 1969
and in 2008 RWE decided the power station
would opt-out from the EUs Large Combustion
Plant Directive (LCPD), meaning it would shut
after 20 000 hours of operation or by the end
of 2015.
RWE decided to convert Tilbury to run on
biomass and in 2011 started to change the
plants units, which with a capacity of 750
MW made it the biggest biomass plant in the
world.
However in February 2012 wood pellets
caught alight and a fre ripped through the
storage area of the plant, shutting the facility
for months.
It re-opened later last year but todays
announcement ends RWEs ambitious
biomass experiment.
Miesen said that Tilbury remains a good
site for future power generation and added
that RWE still believes that biomass has a role
to play in future power generation and will
continue to progress options at strategic sites.
Tilbury will now close under the LCPD
legislation on 31 October this year.
Project Update

London Array, the
worlds largest
offshore wind farm,
opened by British PM
London Array, the worlds largest offshore wind
farm, has been offcially opened by British Prime
Minister David Cameron.
Developed by Dong Energy, E.ON and
Masdar, London Array is located off England in
the outer Thames Estuary, 20km from the coasts
of Kent and Essex.
Powered by 175 turbines Siemens turbines,
the wind farm has a capacity of 630 MW
enough to power nearly half a million homes.
1307PEI_48 48 7/19/13 9:04 AM
POWERING
INDIAS GROWTH
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
Join experts from the Indian and international power industry for the joint annual POWER-GEN India & Central Asia, Renewable
Energy World India, HydroVision India and DistribuTECH India 2014 conference and exhibition as the event returns to
New Delhi under the theme Powering Indias Growth.
This must attend event for the power industry will feature informative conference presentations and lively panel discussions that
address important and up-to-date conventional, renewable and hydro power issues plus diverse exhibition foor showcasing
the very latest equipment and technologies by leading international companies.
DONT MISS THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF INDIAS EXCIT-
ING SURGING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
5-7 MAY 2014
PRAGATI MAIDAN
NEW DELHI, INDIA
POWER-GEN India
& Central Asia
Samantha Malcolm
Conference Manager
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 619
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E: samantham@pennwell.com
Renewable Energy World India
HydroVision India
Amy Nash
Conference Manager
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 621
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E: amyn@pennwell.com
FOR CONFERENCE ENQUIRES:
FOR SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRES:
Event Organizer: Presented by: Supporting Organization:
www.power-genindia.com www.renewableenergyworldindia.com
www.hydrovisionindia.com www.distributechindia.com
Kelvin Marlow - International
Exhibit Sales Manager
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 610
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E: kelvinm@pennwell.com
Avnish Seth
Project Head - India
T: +91 (124) 4524-508
M: +91 (9810) 707-214
E: avnish-seth@interadsindia.com
Tom Marler
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 608
F: +44 (0) 1992 656 700
E: tomm@pennwell.com
Amanda Kevan
T: +44 (0) 1992 656 645
F: +44 (0)1992 656 700
E: amandak@pennwell.com
POWER-GEN India & Central Asia Renewable Energy World India / HydroVision India
1307PEI_49 49 7/19/13 9:04 AM

Energiewende challenges highlighted at
TRANSFORM Campus
For the energy revolution to be successful, the
foundation must be laid correctly, particularly
with regard to the German high-voltage
network.
Those were the words of Professor Stefan
Tenbohlen, Director of the Institute for Power
Transmission and High-Voltage Technology at
the University of Stuttgart as he delivered the
keynote speech at the TRANSFORM Campus
2013 in Berlin.
The event brings experts in the transformer
industry together with young engineers to
exchange knowledge.
Professor Tenbohlen noted during
his opening remarks that Germanys
Energiewende which has seen it shun
nuclear in favour of renewables has
imposed immense requirements on the
energy highways of the future.
An immensely important role in this regard
is played not only by the high-voltage lines,
but specifcally also by power transformers
as the connecting links between individual
network areas and voltage levels. Therefore,
it is essential for all operators to have solid
knowledge of their transformers and the
interaction of the key components.
TRANSFORM Campus brought together
more than 50 participants from all around the
world and attempted to deliver information
about transformers in a compact and easy-
to-understand manner.

DNV KEMA releases new offshore turbine standards
DNV KEMA has released its new standard for
foating offshore wind turbine structures.
The company says the new standard will
help ensure safety and reliability in foating
wind turbines and give the nascent foating-
turbine sector the confdence to continue its
development to commercial maturity.
According to Johan Sandberg, head of
renewable energy at DNV KEMA, the standard
covers a broad range of issues, including
safety philosophy and design principles; site
conditions, loads and response; materials
and corrosion protection; structural design;
design of anchor foundations; foating stability;
station keeping; control and mechanical
systems; transport and installation; in-service
inspection and cable design.
As demand for wind energy increases, we
predict offshore deployments will continue to
move into deeper waters and, consequently,
theres a need to establish design standards
that will help ensure safety, reliability,
and confdence in future wind turbines, he
said.
To that end, the new standard, developed
as a joint industry project with ten participating
companies, aims to spur progress in foating
offshore wind through a framework for best
practices and technical requirements, plus
producing guidance for design, construction
and in-service inspection.
The new standard for foating wind
structures, devised under DNV KEMAs
leadership through project manager Anne
Lene Hopstad and technical specialist
Knut Ronold supplements the developed
DNV Guideline for Offshore Floating Wind
Turbine Structures, and the existing standard
DNV-OS-J101 Design of Offshore Wind Turbine.
Technology Update
GE launches remote
monitoring unit
GE has announced the availability of its
MultilinTM DGCM Field Remote Terminal
Unit (RTU) to help utilities improve network
effciency and reliability by monitoring and
automating distribution assets.
The Multilin DGCM Field RTU monitors
distribution assets to determine load
constraints and overloading conditions in the
network, which GE says helps utilities better
understand grid conditions to reduce outages
and equipment damage.
If faults do occur, utilities can use
customisable control schemes to reduce
the time required to bring the lights back on,
lowering repair costs and helping improve
customer satisfaction. Visual fault detection,
communicated by operators to feld crews,
helps locate failed equipment faster making
power restoration quicker.
Juan Macias, GEs general manager of grid
automation, said: With demand on electrical
grids continuing to increase, effective network
planning and the ability to remotely manage
the network becomes a key factor in ensuring
grid reliability.
The Multilin DGCM Field RTU minimises
the total installed cost of monitoring and
automating distribution assets so that utilities
can cost-effectively deploy network reliability
and effciency improvement strategies.
Professor Stefan Tenbohlen.
1307PEI_50 50 7/19/13 9:04 AM

Metso targets Asia
Pacifc with new
control valves
Metso is targeting the frst phase of the launch
of its new line of Neles globe control valves at
the Asia Pacifc, China and India.
Metso says the addition of the globe
valve product line means that its customers
in those regions will have access to
a complete portfolio of control valve
solutions backed by product, applications
and service expertise.
The new globe control product line
builds and expands on technology and
service capabilities acquired when Metso
purchased South Korean Valstone Control
last year.
Metsos new Neles globe valve product
line is intended to play a key role in many
critical processes where extreme pressures
and temperatures are issues.
See Hoe Lau, vice-president of Metso
Automations Asia Pacifc sales & services
said: The introduction of our globe valve
product line to the APAC market is very
much part of Metsos international strategy
for providing our customers with complete
control performance business solutions
that encompass both products and
services that provide a clearly quantifable
payback.
The new Neles series is designed for both
general and severe service applications.

Cylmate quickly
detects engine fault
at Barbados plant
ABBs Cylmate monitoring system successfully
detected a fault in the cylinder of one of The
Barbados Light & Power Companys (BL&P)
Spring Garden power stations diesel engines.
According to BL&P, it was able to quickly
confrm that a piston ring had broken. Running
the engine for too long with a high P
diff
can
ultimately lead to piston ring breakage. A
major beneft of Cylmates trend fles was that
BL&P was able to look back and see when the
piston ring actually broke.
The Cylmate systems are installed on the
plants two 9K80MC-S engines - the frst in April
2010 and the second in December last year.
Cylmate continuously monitors diesel
engine performance and enables the user to
see cylinder pressure changes, and therefore
effectively plan maintenance activity.
With more than two years of experience
working with Clymate under its belt, Barbados
only power company is confdent of the
systems high-reliability and accuracy.
Technology Update

No crane, no gain for
biomass plants
Finnish company Konecranes has launched
the CXT Biomass, fully automated crane for
handling different kinds of biomass, from peat
and wood chips to communal waste.
Konecranes says that one of the big
advantages of the CXT Biomass crane is that
its more compact than a traditional loader
conveyorbased solution, which increases the
fuel storage capacity of a plant.
The crane receives biomass from a tipping
area and lifts it to a storage area or directly to
a feeding hopper.
The crane can also feed biomass from the
storage area to the hopper.
1307PEI_51 51 7/19/13 9:05 AM
Technology Update
Ad Index
AMETEK PROCESS ANALYTICAL 21
AVEVA SOLUTIONS LTD 23
CUMMINS POWER GENERATION 35
DRESSER-RAND 17
DTECH AFRICA 47
DURO FELGUERA SA C4
ERC GMBH 19
FINANCIAL FORUM 2013 41
GEOMETRICA, INC. 3
INDIA POWER 49
INDIAN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURERS
ASSOC 7
MERSEN C2
NEM ENERGY B.V. 9
POWER GENERATION WEEK 31
POWERBARGE LLC 15
POWERGEN AFRICA 2014 45
POWERGEN ASIA 27
POWERGEN BRASIL 2014 25
POWERGEN EUROPE C3
POWERGEN INTERNATIONAL 2013 33
QUANTUM POWER SERVICES LTD. 11
REWNA 2013 39
RUSSIA POWER 43
SIPOS AKTORIK GMBH 29
WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CO 5
WOODWARD GMBH 37
PennWell Global Energy Group,The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill, Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, United Kingdom.
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Emerson launches
temperature
measurement guide
Emerson Process Management has launched
what it is calling a go to guide for temperature
measurement information.
The Engineers Guide to Industrial
Temperature Measurement has been
developed to help engineers, designers,
operators and technicians understand
and implement temperature measurement
technology and was compiled in association
with a number of global companies, including
Dow Chemical Company, Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation, BorsodChem, Beamex
and Bilfnger.
We did not write this guide in a vacuum,
says Michelle Weimert, marketing manager,
Emerson Process Management. Rather we
consulted with our customers to determine
the most common temperature questions
and review the content written. Their insight
was invaluable.
Weimert said the guide is a comprehensive
book of technical information on the entire
temperature measurement system. It discusses
the individual components, including the
thermowell, sensor and transmitter.
It includes several levels of technical
detail from answering the most commonly
asked questions on transmitters, sensors and
thermowells, to guidelines on calibration,
confguration, maintenance, diagnostics and
safety.
The guide is available to order for free at
www.rosemount.com/tempguide.
1307PEI_52 52 7/19/13 9:05 AM
CALL FOR PAPERS
Submit your abstract for Europes largest power industry conference
Deadline 20 September 2013
POWER-GEN Europe, the regions largest event dedicated to electric power generation, comprises a comprehensive exhibition foor
populated by the major players in the thermal energy sector. Complementing the exhibition is a multi-track conference that addresses the
key issues facing our industry.
The Advisory Board of POWER-GEN Europe, is now accepting abstracts for the 2014 conference. Share your knowledge, experience and ideas
with technical and strategic decision-makers and strategists.
A full listing of suggested conference topics and themes is available on the POWER-GEN Europe event site.
Please visit www.powergeneurope.com and select the conference tab.
For queries relating to the conference, please contact:
Emily Pryor
Conference Manager
T: +44 1992 656 614
F: +44 1992 656 700
E: emilyp@pennwell.com
3 5 JUNE 2014 I KOELNMESSE I COLOGNE I GERMANY
NAVIGATING THE POWER TRANSITION
WWW.POWERGENEUROPE.COM
Owned and Produced by: Presented by: Supported by: Co-located with:
If you have a smart device equipped with a scanning app,
please scan this QR code to be taken directly to the conference page
1307PEI_C3 3 7/19/13 8:43 AM
1307PEI_C4 4 7/19/13 8:43 AM

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The magazine for the international power industry July-August 2013

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