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J-Power CCS Pilot on Target
09 September 2009
J-Power has announced that its $200m Callide OxyFuel carbon capture project in Australia is on target and scheduled for completion in 2011.
J-Power is part of a Japanese consortium collaborating with Australia to market the first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project to fight CO2 emissions.
The company will build the project at the existing 30MW unit of the Callide 'A' power station in Queensland.
The project, a joint initiative of the Governments of Australia and Japan, adopts Japanese OxyFuel technology at Australia's CCS fields.
J-Power managing director Masaharu Fujitomi said that the main advantage of the project was that existing coal stations can be retrofitted to adopt the OxyFuel technology, reducing CO2, writes Reuters.
The OxyFuel system burns coal with pure oxygen instead of air, generating pure CO2 gas and water vapor, enabling CO2 capture.
The CO2 is then separated, condensed to a liquid, transported by trailers and pumped deep underground.
During the three-year experiment, a maximum of 100,000 tons of CO2 will be stored, which represents 10% to 15% of the plant's overall emissions.
J-Power, Japan's largest coal consumer, is promoting CCS technology to try and decarbonise coal stations that account for 40% of the world's energy.
The company said it does not currently have plans for a CCS-integrated commercial scale power station, but might implement the technology in India and China in the future.
POWER GENERATION
POWER PLANT TRAINING CLASSES
The Shenyang Power alliance will have as its CEO Mr. Jinxiang Lu, A-Power's Chairman and CEO, and Gaoke as the lead investor and majority stakeholder. The Shenyang government will fund the alliance through subsidies and provide preferential bank loan terms for any future DG projects undertaken by Shenyang Power. The ultimate goal for Shenyang Power is to create economies of scale by aggregating the potentials of power industry companies, talented individuals as well as natural resources in the local area. The advantages of such an alliance will be most salient in "Total-Responsibility" contracts, which entail the financing, design, procurement, manufacturing, installation, test and maintenance of large-scale, technologically advanced and managerially sophisticated electricity-generation systems both within China and overseas.
In addition to Gaoke, the founding members include Northern Heavy Industry Group (comprising Shenyang Mining Machinery Co. and Shenyang Heavy Machinery Co.), Shenyang Blower Group, Shenyang Boiler Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Liaoning Electricity Design & Planning Institute, Liaoning Construction & Installation Group Co., Ltd., Liaoning International Construction Engineering Group and three major power system manufacturers in Harbin. This collection of firms is a balanced mix of state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises, and their expertise spread across power-system manufacturing, construction, design, accessories, etc.
"A-Power is the proud conceiver and co-planner of the Shenyang Power alliance, and it is very exciting for us to spearhead such an initiative with strong government support," said Mr. Lu. "With Shenyang Power, whose total is greater than sum of parts, we expect to raise the bar of bidding, winning and executing large-scale DG contracts in China and overseas. The City of Shenyang has always enjoyed abundant natural resources and engineering talent, and it has historically been a heavy-industry capital for China. A-Power, with its six years of history in the DG business, is very pleased to build up Shenyang Power with other local power industry giants. By leveraging the alliance's manufacturing expertise, aggregating our bargaining power and developing turn-key solutions for utilities clients, we are confident Shenyang Power will serve as a platform to satisfy the growing needs of DG systems in China and beyond."
Industry’s Highest Power, Integrated PoE-PD Controllers from ON Semiconductor Meet Upcoming IEEE PoE+ Standard
Two integrated PoE-PD / DC-DC converter controllers pass latest University of New Hampshire PoE+ tests to support high power communications, industrial and consumer applications
PHOENIX — ON Semiconductor (Nasdaq:ONNN), a leading global supplier of high performance, energy efficient, silicon solutions, has announced that its NCP1081 and NCP1083 integrated Power-over-Ethernet Powered Device (PoE-PD) / DC-DC converter controllers have been verified to meet the upcoming IEEE802.3at standard for high power communications applications. Both devices have not only passed the IEEE 802.3af standard tests but have also been verified by the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) for the recent draft IEEE 802.3at (D3.1) standard - which includes a test of the two event physical layer classification. The UNH tests confirm that these devices can enable PoE+ compliant platforms on the market, and are in line with the evolving high power requirements of the WLAN access point, WIMAX, industrial and IP camera markets.
“Future changes to the IEEE802.3at standard that could result in PoE-PD silicon changes are not anticipated,” said Koen Geirnaert, ON Semiconductor’s PoE-PD product marketing manager. “As such, the NCP1081 and NCP1083 are expected to be in line with the final IEEE802.3at standard. These devices will enable the industry’s first movers to deliver standard PoE+ based platforms to the market.”
Device Features
ON Semiconductor’s portfolio of integrated PoE-PD products contains four devices. The NCP1081 and NCP1083 provide power levels up to 25.5 watts (W) for applications in line with the draft IEEE 802.3at (D3.1) standard and up to 40 W for proprietary high power PoE applications. The NCP1080 and NCP1082 offer IEEE802.3af compliant power levels. The NCP1082 and NCP1083 are also capable of providing power via an auxiliary parallel supply.
The NCP1080/1/2/3 are pin-compatible and offered in a TSSOP-EP 20 pin package. This feature allows the customer to easily mix-and-match different PoE capabilities on different platforms.
The PoE-PD portfolio utilizes ON Semiconductor’s automotive qualified, high-voltage SmartPower process to provide superior cable electrostatic discharge (CESD) and surge protection levels compared to other integrated PoE-PD /DC-DC converter controllers. Low on-resistance (Ron) and extended temperature range from -40°C to 85°C with full operation up to 150°C junction temperature allows these PoE-PD controllers to achieve record power levels while operating in harsh environments.
Companies Retrofit Steam Generation Power Plants, an Industrial Info News Alert
On Tuesday May 19, 2009, 6:00 am EDT
SUGAR LAND, TX--(MARKET WIRE)--May 19, 2009 -- Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- With the economic contraction seen in the past year and the uncertainty about the new administration's emissions-control legislation, power plant owners have looked for innovative ways to increase their load requirements while addressing financial uncertainties. To address these issues in the short term, companies are looking to spend money by retrofitting existing generation with the latest technologies to meet the electrical needs of their customers.
Renewable sector offers careers in tough times
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLLUMBIA Every day, Gwendal Castellan loads 36 kilograms of gear onto his electric bicycle and heads off to conduct energy assessments on homes.
The 32-year-old Castellan signed on with City Green Solutions eight months ago as a certified energy advisor. He visits all kinds of Metro Vancouver homes, giving advice on everything from the financial advantages of solar panels to the efficiencies of ground-source heat pumps, which are powered by electricity.
Castellan is part of a sector that’s bucking the trend of the economic downturn. It’s expected to have plenty of work in the coming years.
“This [the electricity and renewable energy sector] is an industry [in which] I think there will be long-term growth regardless of what the economy does,” Castellan said in an interview. “Despite the downturn, it continues to grow moderately. There’s a big shift towards [more] electricity in the home. And this is something I’m passionate about.”
Castellan, whose employer is a Victoria-based non-profit society that does home energy assessments throughout the province, said his job doesn’t involve installing anything.
Rather, he measures homes and sets up models to do heat-loss calculations.
“And since I was hired, City Green has gone through another round of hiring.”
Blair Lekstrom, provincial minister of energy, mines and petroleum resources, recently announced with the Electricity Sector Council the launch of Bright Futures BC, a skilled-labour career-awareness program for the electricity industry.
Lekstrom said in an interview the electricity and renewable energy sector needs skilled workers to ensure continued growth.
“We think the future’s bright,” Lekstrom said. “The trades are every bit as important as getting a university degree. Conservation is one part of the reason, [and] demand for electricity is going to grow. And [the grid] has to be maintained. There’s an aging workforce. We see a real need and focus to bring new people along.”
According to the ministry of energy, mines and petroleum resources, one-third of the skilled workers in B.C. will be ready to retire in the next decade. It is estimated that in 2009, 57 per cent of province’s power-systems operators will retire, with an additional 21 per cent retiring by 2012.
Estimated retirement rates for civil engineering technicians are 11 per cent in 2009 and 15 per cent in 2012, and for civil engineers, they are 13 per cent and eight per cent, respectively.
A ministry release also stated that B.C. has a wealth of post-secondary training — including apprenticeship technical training programs — to prepare youths for a career in the electrician and electrical engineering fields.
“Between now and 2014, the equivalent of about one-third of the workforce is on its way out the door,” Catherine Cottingham, executive director and CEO of the Electricity Sector Council (an independent organization funded by the government of Canada), said in an interview. “There are all kinds of opportunities.”
Cottingham said there is already a shortage of power-line workers. “There’s been a shortage in B.C. for two years. And it’s a very well paid job.”
Other trades in the industry with a bright future, she said, are systems operators, energy auditors, electricians and installers of solar panels.
She said there will also be a lot of infrastructure work needed in the coming years — and people are needed to do it.
But it’s not just the electricity and renewable energy sector that will need a lot of new workers in the coming years.
With the recession increasingly bearing down on the economy, large numbers of workers are starting to feel its effects.
But some sectors are expected not only to survive, but to thrive in the future, with plenty of growth and more than enough work to go around.
The power industry and Combined Cycle Procedures for power generation - Combined Cycle Principles and Combined Cycle Procedures.
Epcor spins off power generation business into new public firm
Module body
Fri May 8, 2:21 PM
By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
City of Edmonton-owned Epcor Utilities Inc. said Friday it is spinning off its vast power generation business into a new publicly traded firm, to be called Capital Power.
Capital Power will acquire all of Epcor's power assets, including 3,300 megawatts of capacity at 31 coal, natural gas and renewable plants in Canada and the United States.
It will also control Epcor's 30.6 per cent interest in publicly-traded Epcor Power L.P.
"This initiative is a natural evolution that creates two strong stand-alone businesses and allows both to continue to grow and generate shareholder value," stated Epcor president and CEO Don Lowry.
The new entity will sell a quarter of its business to investors in an initial public offering, slated to wrap up mid-year. It will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Epcor will hold a 75 per cent interest in Capital Power, but it may decrease its holdings in the future, depending on capital requirements.
Epcor will continue to operate its wastewater treatment and power transmission businesses.
"Epcor has had significant growth historically. It's gone from having five facilities to 50 facilities over the last decade and has experienced tremendous growth," Brian Vaajso, who will serve as Capital Power's president and chief executive officer, said in an interview.
"(The spinoff) allows both the power business and the water and wires business to continue having growth by providing the access to capital."
About a third of Epcor's 3,000 employees will be going to Capital Power, which will be governed by an independent board of directors and will be headquartered in Edmonton.
More jobs will likely be created as a result of the transaction, Vaasjo said.
"If you look at the broad proposition, which is with access to capital, both of these organizations are going to be able to have the ability to grow more than they have historically. That sort of points that there should be increasing employee counts," he said.
Also Friday, Epcor Utilities reported its first quarter net profit rose to $104 million from $68 million last year. Revenues increased to $890 million from $799 million.
"Epcor reported solid first quarter operating results in both our power and water operations," said Lowry.
"The availability and performance of our Genesee power plants was above target and higher than last year, and we continue to execute our capital plan, including construction of power generation at Keephills 3 and Clover Bar Energy Centre, and water and wastewater treatment facilities at the Suncor Voyageur site."
