Pima 10

PIINSIDER POWER

A S I A’ S L E A D I N G P O W E R R E P O R T

THAILAND: THE ENERGY JIGSAW FALLS INTO PLACE

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3

PLUS • Thailand Market Review 2012 • Powergen India follow up • FGD Asia

FEATURES INSIDE: Interview with Ruprect Lattermann MWM |Polysilicon production India|Green Hydrogen Asia|Desalination India |Air Preheaters|Generator re-wedging|Fukushima PI_MayJune_Cover.indd 1

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welcome Welcome back! What a few months its been!

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This exciting edition takes a look at Thailand! Thailand is the largest energy consumer in the ASEAN, recording the highest peak demand of 24,630MW in 2011, followed by Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. For the other ASEAN countries – Burma, Brunei, Laos & Cambodia – the peak demands are less than 1000mw each. In 2025, the projected peak demand of Thailand will have increased by a massive 365% from levels in 2007.

Contact us: Editor: Charles Fox Contributing Editor: Rachael Gardner-Stephens Journalist: Robin Samuels Creative Director: Colin Halliday Sales Director: Jacob Gold International Sales Manager: Sam Thomas Account Manager: Daniel Rogers Accounts & Customer Service Manager: Katherine Stinchcombe Managing Director: Sean Stinchcombe SKS Global Limited Kingswood House South Road Kingswood Bristol UK BS15 8JF E: info@sks-global.com W: www.pimagazine-asia.com W: www.sks-global.com T: +44 (0) 1179 606452 F: +44 (0) 1179 608126 SKS Global Power Insider Asia magazine is published bi-monthly and is distributed to senior decision makers throughout Asia and the Pacific.

The publishers do not sponsor or otherwise support any substance or service advertised or mentioned in this book; nor is the publisher responsible for the accuracy of any statement in this publication.

Copyright: the entire content of this publication is protected by copyright, full details of which are available from the publisher. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electric, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.

Energy demand in Thailand also topped the list at 163,660(GWh). Projects through to 2025 are substantial, especially for Thailand whose demand growth is expected to jump 264% to 595,722(GWh).

Thailand is the biggest and second fastest growing consumer of electricity in ASEAN. At about 22,000 MW its power consumption is roughly two thirds of the UK and even allowing for weakening in the economy, demand for electricity is forecast to grow by 5-7% per year over the next few years.

To meet these energy demands, Thailand is heavily dependent on imported energy supplies. Natural gas presently accounts for 74% of fuel in power production, imported and domestic coal 18%, hydroelectricity 6%, with the rest of renewable energy and power purchase from Laos and Malaysia.

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We have our usual in-depth market review of the Country and many other exciting articles that I am sure will take your fancy.

I would like to welcome Rachael Gardener-Stephens to the team. Rachael has written some great articles, which you are sure to enjoy.

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Once again, if you have any stories, news or PR you want me to look at, please shoot me an email; Charlie@pimagazine-asia.com I hope that you enjoy this edition.

All the best

Charles Fox Editor

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A system solution for cost-saving energy? Ask the inventors.

The efficiency of your supply is the benchmark of our success.

This is why analysis of your plant takes first priority. Only afterwards do we begin planning a customized system solution that works highly efficient and integrates seamlessly thanks to individually configured MWM components. www.mwm.net

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02/07/2012 16:30 04.05.12 12:15

CONTENTS 6

News Thailand 27 Overview

12

Interview with Dr. Ruprecht Lattermann 22 Multi-Contact Case Study

26

Thailand Solar

30

3S Case Study

34

Polysilicon in India

36

Revitilisation of Green Hydrogen Production 40 Switching on India’s Power Future

44

Wet Cooling

49

Solar Cube Case Study

54

Desalination in India

56

Flue Gas Desulphurisation in Asia

60

Reliance Dahanu Seawater FGD System 67

56

Air Preheaters

70

78 Generator Rewedging

73

SBS Case Study

79

Fukushima: Out of The Woods?

82

Wind Development in South East Asia

82

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NEWS DESK ASIA’S TOP SMART GRID MARKETS TO HIT $19 BLN BY 2016 The cumulative smart grid market in China, Japan and South Korea currently valued at USD8.5 billion is forecasted to increase to USD19 billion by 2016, according to GTM Research’s latest market report, The Smart Grid in Asia, 2012-2016: Markets, Technologies and Strategies.

At report presents a clear understanding of the energy scenarios in China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as their respective smart grid technology and deployment trends will be crucial to achieving meaningful entry in Asia.

With a detailed five-year smart grid forecast, domestic vendor taxonomies, and strategic perspectives on how smart grid players should position themselves for success in each market it is being touted as the definitive source for organizations looking to capitalize on Asia›s predominant smart grid markets.

“We expect to see the smart grid in Asia move forward at a breakneck pace,” said Kamil Bojanczyk, the report›s lead author and an analyst-at-large with GTM Research. “Over USD45 billion in funding has been earmarked by governments and utilities across China, Japan and South Korea, with the clear majority of those funds and opportunities originating in the Chinese market.”

Bojanczyk indicated that each country›s growth will be characterized by the specific needs of their utilities and existing grids. The vast majority of smart grid investment in China centers around transmission, distribution automation and automatic metering reading (AMR) to support a developing grid and robust renewable energy build-out.

In Japan, the sunsetting of all of the country›s nuclear plants has created an acute need for demand response, home energy management and smart meter deployments.

While in South Korea, the market is developing quite differently; for the country with the most reliable grid in the world, South Korea and its chaebols are looking to develop next-gen smart grid technologies across all segments primarily for global export.

COMPANY NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Tenaga names Azman as CEO, president

Datuk Azman Mohd, 54, who is currently TNB’s executive director and chief operating officer, will be heading the utility giant for three years, Tenaga Nasional Bhd has appointed Datuk Azman Mohd as its new president and chief executive officer effective July 1, succeeding

Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Noh whose contract expires June 30. Azman, 54, who is currently TNB’s executive director and chief operating officer (COO), will be heading the utility giant for three years, said the company in a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The announcement confirmed Business Times’ report yesterday that an internal

candidate will be appointed to replace Che Khalib. Before Che Khalib’s appointment, TNB has a history of promoting from within the management, such as the late Datuk Pian Sukro.

Azman was appointed as executive director/COO on April 15 2010 and is a board member of TNB and several other subsidiaries.

Azman is also actively involved in International Conference on Electricity Distribution (CIRED) Malaysia and was appointed as chairman from 2008 to 2010.

He is now in the process of establishing the Institute of Asset Management (IAM UK) Malaysian Chapter.

Azman has held several key positions in TNB for the past

31 years.

He started his career in TNB as an electrical engineer at a district office and gradually moved to higher posts at various offices over the years, holding positions such as district manager, state general manager and general manager of strategic management & organisation development at the headquarters before

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Adani inks coal supply deal with NTPC Adani Enterprises, largest importer of coal and a part of the Adani Group, has signed five agreements for supply of imported coal to NTPC. Adani will supply four million tonnes of coal imported from global sources between March and June 2012 to NTPC’s 14 power stations. The imported coal is needed to meet the coal blending requirements of NTPC power stations. It will supply one million tonnes of coal to NTPC’s Talcher power stations, one million tonnes to Farakka and Kahalgaon stations, 5 lakh tonnes to Simhadri and Ramagundam stations, 8 lakh tonnes to Dadri, Rihand, Singrauli, Tanda, Unchchar and Vindhyachal stations, and 7 lakh tonnes to Korba and Sipat.

Adani Enterprises has a 50 per cent market share for coal in India with almost all state-run power utilities as its customers. It is developing and operating mines in India, Indonesia and Australia and importing and trading coal from other countries.

The company said that it expected to mine 200 million tonnes of coal a year by 2020.

getting appointed as TNB senior general manager (operational region 2) in 2006.

Assuming office on November 14 2008 as vicepresident (distribution), Azman emphasised the importance of enhancing customer service level through the introduction of a customer charter and internal service standard.

He also believes that a systematic model or plan that

incorporates compliance, standards, consistency and service levels together with the right people are vital to make it happen.

Azman obtained his diploma in engineering from England Newark Technical College, the UK, in 1976 and degree in engineering from the University of Liverpool in 1979.

In 1996, he obtained his Master of Business Administration from Universiti Malaya.

IEA sets out the “Golden Rules” needed to usher in a Golden Age of Gas

Exploiting the world’s vast resources of unconventional natural gas holds the key to a golden age of gas, but for that to happen governments, industry and other stakeholders must work together to address legitimate public concerns about the associated environmental and social

impacts. A special World Energy Outlook report on unconventional gas, Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas<http://www. worldenergyoutlook.org/ goldenrules>, released today in London by the International Energy A g e n c y < h t t p : / / w w w. i e a . org/>, presents a set of “Golden Rules” to meet those concerns.

“The technology and

the know-how already exist for unconventional gas to be produced in an environmentally acceptable way,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven.

“But if the social and environmental impacts are not addressed properly, there is a very real possibility that public opposition to drilling for shale gas and other types of unconventional gas will

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news desk Submetering Market ‘Will Grow to $1.5B in 2020’ The worldwide market for submetering technology and services totals $771 million and will grow to $1.58 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate of 9.4 percent, according to a new Pike Research report.

North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific collectively amount to 85 percent of the global market, with the remaining 15 percent spread between the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. This split will remain consistent over the next eight years as demand for submeters and their associated services surges in the largest three regions, the cleantech market intelligence firm forecasts.

While Schneider Electric, Honeywell and a number of other major building efficiency solutions providers lead the submeter technology and services market globally, Pike Research says pureplay vendors play an important role on a national and regional level, offering high-quality products that often fill important niches.

The technology’s basic capabilities and configurations have not changed significantly over the last few decades. Submetering has long provided a way for savvy energy managers concerned with the untapped efficiency potential of buildings and factories to understand energy use and identify areas for improvement.

However, this market is starting to grow

significantly as building professionals tie the technology into broader energy management packages for property owners and managers, Pike analysts say. The expansion of green building markets worldwide is a key driver of submetering demand, as green building certification programs like LEED and BREEAM recommend, incentivize, or even require submetering to be installed in certified properties.

In addition, a number of regulations such as building codes and governmental imperatives are coming into effect, requiring submetering or continuous energy monitoring. These trends are driving demand for submetering technology and services that leverage the data that submeters provide.

A report from Groom Energy published in March said that enterprise smart grid – the integration of submetering, hardware and software with the aim of increased control over energy consumption – is a $5.2 billion industry in the US and is growing at 40 percent per year. The report said C3, CA Technologies, ecova, EnergyCAP, EnerNOC, Lucid, Phoenix Energy Technologies, Schneider Electric, SCIenergy and Siemens are the enterprise smart grid vendors to watch because of their innovation, customer proof points, market momentum, product development and increased emphasis on enterprise-wide and multiple-site implementations.

ADB to provide assistance to build 2 wind farms ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has participated in its first Shariahcompliant project financing, providing assistance to two projects to build wind farms close to the port city of Karachi, using two partial credit guarantees worth up to $66 million to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

“This transaction allows ADB to be more responsive to borrower demand and provides an opportunity to participate in the fast-growing Islamic finance market,” said ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Senior Investment Specialist Siddhartha Shah. The Fauji Foundation, which owns majority stakes in the two projects had requested that all

company news from around the world halt the unconventional gas revolution in its tracks. The industry must win public confidence by demonstrating exemplary performance; governments must ensure that appropriate policies and regulatory regimes are in place.”

The Golden Rules

underline the importance of full transparency, measuring and monitoring of environmental impacts and engagement with local communities; careful choice of drilling sites and measures to prevent any leaks from wells into nearby aquifers; rigorous assessment and monitoring

of water requirements and of waste water; measures to target zero venting and minimal flaring of gas; and improved project planning and regulatory control.

At their recent Camp David summit, G8 leaders welcomed and agreed to review this IEA work on potential best practices for

natural gas development.

“To build on the Golden Rules, we are establishing a high-level platform so that governments can share insights on the policy and regulatory action that can accompany an expansion in unconventional gas production, shale gas in particular,” said Maria

van der Hoeven. “This platform will be open to IEA members and nonmembers alike”.

“If this new industry is to prosper, it needs to earn and maintain its social license to operate,” said IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol, the report’s chief author. “This comes

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India’s gas demand to rise to 473 mcmd by 2017 India’s gas demand is estimated to rise to 473 million cubic metres a day (mcmd) in 2017 from 166.2 mcmd now, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy said, as the energy-hungry nation is boosting use of cleaner fuel to power its economic expansion and cut subsidies.

Natural gas accounts for about 10 percent of India’s energy market with the world average of 24 percent, Reddy said at an event in Turkmenistan.

Companies from Turkmenistan, India and Pakistan signed a gas sale purchase agreement for supplies from the U.S.-backed pipeline passing through chronically unstable Afghanistan India, Asia’s third-largest oil consumer, imports about 80 percent of its oil needs while falling local

gas output has forced it to buy costly liquefied natural gas (LNG). But imports are curbed by inadequate pipeline and LNG infrastructure.

India’s annual LNG re-gasification capacity would increase to 48 million tonnes by 2017 from the current 13.5 million tonnes, Reddy said.

He said India’s current 13,000 kilometres long gas pipeline infrastructure has a capacity to transmit 334 mcmd gas and this infrastructure will be expanded to 31,757 km by 2017 with a capacity of 876 mcmd.

To spur local gas output, Reddy said India aims to put in place a regulatory regime for licence rounds in shale gas, by December 2013.

financing be obtained in compliance with Shariah principles, so ADB used an innovative structure in which it provided a partial credit guarantee to half of the IDB financing, which is in form of an Ijarah, akin to lease financing. The remainder of the financing is provided by a consortium of Pakistani banks using a Musharaka, a partnership structure with profit-sharing elements that is used in Islamic finance. The structure allowed the projects to raise their entire financing on a Shariah-compliant basis. The financing will have a term of 12 years. IDB will use the assistance to finance two projects that will each produce 50 megawatts (MW) of much-needed additional power for Pakistan and lower reliance on fossil fuels. The wind farms will avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 136,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The projects will also create local employment in southern Sindh, one of the poorest regions in Pakistan. With an estimated 50,000 MW of wind capacity available in the south of the country alone, the government of Pakistan is now engaged in a major drive to tap its wind resources. staff report.

with a financial cost, but in our estimation the additional costs are likely to be limited.” Applying the Golden Rules could increase the cost of a typical shalegas well by around 7%, but, for a larger development project with multiple wells, investment in measures to reduce environmental

impacts may in many cases be offset by lower operating costs.

The report argues that there is a critical link between the way governments and industry respond to these social and environmental challenges and the prospects for unconventional gas

production.

Accordingly, the report sets out two possible future trajectories for unconventional gas: In a Golden Rules Case, the application of these rules helps to underpin a brisk expansion of unconventional gas supply, which has far-reaching consequences:

• * World production of unconventional gas, primarily shale gas, more than triples between 2010 and 2035 to 1.6 trillion cubic metres.

• * The United States becomes a significant player in international gas markets, and China emerges as a major

producer.

• * New sources of supply help to keep prices down, stimulate investment and job creation in unconventional resourcerich countries, and generate faster growth in global gas demand, which rises by more than 50% between 2010 and 2035.

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NEWS DESK

COMPANY NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD • By contrast, in a Low Unconventional Case where no Golden Rules are in place, a lack of public acceptance means that unconventional gas production rises only slightly above current levels by 2035. Among the results:

• The competitive position of gas in the global fuel mix deteriorates amidst lower availability and higher prices, and the share of gas in energy use barely increases.

• Energy-related CO2 emissions are higher by 1.3% compared with the

Golden Rules Case but, in both cases, emissions are well above the trajectory required to reach the globally agreed goal of limiting the temperature rise to 2°C.

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ONE POLLUTER TO RULE THEM ALL IN CHINA? When it comes to charting China’s growing rural-urban divide, can there be any greater yardstick than pollution? In a country beset by environmental problems, we are now finding that as development levels surge ahead in second and top tier cities, their countryside counterparts lag behind and carry a greater burden of the environmental damage. So much pollution is now being either generated in the countryside – or exported out to – that those living in China’s urban power centers can barely relate.

But there’s one problem that touches every single life in China: coal. It’s the one pollution to rule them all. From the lowliest of rural workers, to the country’s most powerful political elite, the environmental fallout from coal is so complicated and far-reaching that there’s simply no escaping it.

That said, coal pollution and pollution from coal production affects different parts of the country in different ways. Coal mining in China is mostly concentrated in the country’s northern regions, a “coal belt” that stretches from Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia to Xinjiang, along with a couple of spots in Sichuan and Guizhou. The honeycomb of tunnels that make up these pit mines have turned the earth into cottage cheese, sometimes with whole villages collapsing. Not to mention polluted waste leeching into the ground and surrounding water systems.

From these Northwestern regions the coal then clocks up thousands of kilometers traversing China’s web of highways to reach the coal production factories dotted across the countries. The logistical nightmare involved in having millions of coal-filled trucks and trains hurtling across the country each year have seen the government show signs they want to move coal power plants (which turn coal into electricity) to the same areas as mining, as detailed in the 12th five year plan.

While mining remains by far the most water intensive chain in the link, coal production too is sucking up the water that was once destined for China’s farmlands. It’s a problem that has been compounded by climate change, deforestation and agricultural and industrial pollution – including waste water from coal production. This leads to one, incontrovertible fact: there simply isn’t enough water to go around. A 2010 report by the Ministry of the Environmental Protection (MEP) named 30 percent of China’s water as failing to meet national standards, with other experts calling this a conservative estimate, claiming 50 percent as a more accurate figure.

The lack of clean water is forcing farmers to drill deeper and deeper in order to reach groundwater. Meanwhile, herders take their cattle to graze in plots that have turned into giant dustbowls, both of which is putting strains on China’s food supply. Desertification is particularly severe in the Northwest “coal belt” where the winds pick up dust – coal ash, a waste byproduct – and sends it all over the country. Every four tons of coal burned produces one ton of coal ash. And each year, Beijing is attacked by these notorious dust storms.

“Sandstorms can actually be called ‘coal dust storms’,” says current Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner Sun Qingwei, previously a

government scientist based in the western province of Gansu.

“Coal ash is a very tiny and light particle, easily picked up by wind. Winds traveling at eight meters per second can already disperse coal ash up to 150,000 square kilometers from their origins in open-air dumping sites.

Winds in a sandstorm are very strong, with speeds of at least 25 meters per second – thus they can spread coal ash very far. This means that even people who live far from thermal power plants in eastern and southern China must face the threat of coal pollution at their doorstep.”

Is it any surprise that air pollution has been the hot topic when it comes to environmental issues that gripped the country? And the issue in which this year we saw definitive action from the government? This is the one pollution that cannot be swept under the rug. It drifts through rural-urban boundaries, affecting the richest of CEOs and most powerful political elites who are forced to every day breathe in the smoggy air of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Coal burning releases pollutants like sulphur dioxide, which leads to the acidification of watersheds. Together with the other bad guy, nitrogen oxide, these pollutants can turn into PM2.5 particles, which are also directly produced by the burning of coal. The danger of PM2.5 – particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers – is that they are small enough to enter the lungs and the bloodstream and thus into other organs. High levels of PM2.5 have been linked to increased incidence of heart disease, heart attacks, asthma and other cardiovascular issues.

Late last year, the government finally announced a decision to begin publishing PM2.5 particulate matter in air pollution measurements, a vital move that had been long awaited by citizens and environmentalists alike, urgently wanting to deal with the nation’s severe air pollution problems.

At the time, the official Xinhua news agency said of the news, “A stirring campaign on the country’s social network websites since last autumn seemed to have gained a satisfying response from the country’s policymakers.”

But the most dangerous pollutant to be released from coal is CO2. China is now the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and even on a per capita count equals some developed countries, such as Italy and France.

Carbon emissions is the main contributor to climate change – which we’re already seeing impact China’s rural poor – as well as many parts of the rest of the world.

While there have been some signs from the government of a desire to reduce the nation’s output and consumption of coal, there remain a number of hurdles before we ever see a coal-free China. In the 12th five year plan the central government set a purely indicative limit to coal use of 3.9 billion tons by 2015. However, coal use is increasing so fast that country might be using more than this already this year.

“Fact is that if we want to curb the country’s increase of coal we’re going to need coal caps on key provinces. This is the only way for China to meet its targets on climate and also ease the local pollution and environmental damage from coal,” said Sun.

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THAILAND OVERVIEW

THAILAND A POWER REVIEW

BY CHARLIE FOX

THAILAND IS THE LARGEST ENERGY CONSUMER IN THE ASEAN, RECORDING THE HIGHEST PEAK DEMAND OF 24,630MW IN 2011, FOLLOWED BY MALAYSIA, VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES, SINGAPORE AND INDONESIA. FOR THE OTHER ASEAN COUNTRIES – BURMA, BRUNEI, LAOS & CAMBODIA – THE PEAK DEMANDS ARE LESS THAN 1000MW EACH. IN 2025, THE PROJECTED PEAK DEMAND OF THAILAND WILL HAVE INCREASED BY A MASSIVE 365% FROM LEVELS IN 2007.

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d w

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nergy demand in Thailand also topped the list at 163,660(GWh). Projects through to 2025 are substantial, especially for Thailand whose demand growth is expected to jump 264% to 595,722(GWh).

Thailand is the biggest and second fastest growing consumer of electricity in ASEAN. At about 22,000 MW its power consumption is roughly two thirds of the UK and even allowing for weakening in the economy, demand for electricity is forecast to grow by 5-7% per year over the next few years.

To meet these energy demands, Thailand is heavily dependent on imported energy supplies.

Natural gas presently accounts for 74% of fuel in power production, imported and domestic coal 18%, hydroelectricity 6%, with the rest of renewable energy and power purchase from Laos and Malaysia.

The energy ministry has revised the 15-year power development plan (PDP) for 2007-2021 to place greater emphasis on coal, nuclear and renewable fuels and less emphasis on natural gas.

Under the revised PDP, natural gas usage would be reduced to 38% of total power output by 2021, with imported power from neighboring countries 28%, coal 21% nuclear Power 10% and renewables the remaining.

Over the past 40 years, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), a state power enterprise under the ministry of energy, has been the countries monopoly provider of dependable energy. EGAT is responsible for the stability and reliability of the national electric power supply system including the reserved capacity. It is the sole investor in domestic transmission system operation.

EGAT has a share of about 53% of the

countries total generation, with the rest coming from private power plants and purchases from neighboring countries.

With concerns over the price and supply of fossil fuels, the government of Thailand has been working to secure the countries energy through additional renewable energy sources.

The governments latest 15 year renewable energy development plan (2008-2022) has set objectives to turn renewable energy into the main energy source for Thailand and replace oil imports. The plan also wants to strengthen the security of energy provision for the country and promote the use of energy for an integrated green community.

First: to establish sustainable energy security.

The Government has a strong policy to develop domestic energy resources for greater selfreliance in order to increase energy stability and to sufficiently meet the demand by expediting

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thailand overview

the exploration and production of energy resources at both domestic and international levels. A target has been set to increase domestic crude oil production to 250,000 barrels per day by 2011, while the current level is at 225,000 bpd in 2009. The supply of natural gas from the Malaysia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Thailand Joint Development Area ( JDA) will also be accelerated to help meet this goal. The electricity production from renewable energy is also encouraged, particularly from small and very small-scale power projects, as well as the introduction of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Adderâ&#x20AC;? and other

incentive measures. The nuclear energy will also be an option of about 1,000 MW in the energy roadmap toward 2020 and another 1,000 MW in 2021.

Second: to expedite and promote alternative energy. The Royal Thai Government has elevated alternative energy as a national agenda by encouraging the production and use of alternative energy, particularly bio-fuel, biogas and bio-mass, for example, gasohol (E10, E20 and E85), bio-diesel (B5) and municipal solid waste, through our current 15-Year

Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP) 2008-2022 to enhance energy security while reducing environmental impact. We strongly promote community-scale alternative energy by encouraging the production and use of renewable energy at community level with appropriate incentives for the benefit of farmers, as well as rigorously and continuously promote research and development of all forms of renewable energy.

Meanwhile, we also encourage the use of natural gas in the transportation sector by expanding natural gas distribution system nationwide.

Third: to monitor energy prices and ensure appropriate levels, in line with wider economic and investment situation. The Government has supervised and maintained energy prices at appropriate, stable and affordable levels by setting appropriate fuel price structure, which supports the development of energy crops that reflect true production costs. We attempt to manage energy prices through the market mechanism and Oil Fund levee to ensure effective use of energy and encourage greater investment in energy business to improve service quality and safety. The roles of the newly established Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will also be strengthened.

Fourth: to effectively save energy and promote energy efficiency. Thailand has created the energy saving discipline as a national culture and encouraged energy conservation in all sectors -household, industrial, services & commerce and transportation -- through campaigns aiming to build up energy-saving conscience. We also keep promoting efficient use of energy by providing incentives to attract the private sector to

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thailand overview opt for energy-saving appliances. We also set incentive measures to reduce electricity use during the peak period. Four Main energy saving initiatives have been launched to raise awareness i.e, Revolving Fund for EE/RE, ESCO venture capital funds, Tax incentives for energy saving and DSM Bidding. Furthermore, we research, develop and set standards for electrical appliances and energy conservation building; encourage the development of mass public transportation and railway system to promote effective energy use which will reduce the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s investment in energy procurement.

Thailand has a strong policy to protect the environment from impact of energy industry generated by both energy production and consumption processes, especially from oil refineries and power plants, and in the transportation sector. The Government also takes into account the importance of Climate Change issue and supports the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects to reduce social and environmental impact and reduce greenhouse gas emission while promoting appropriate technology innovations with moderate costs and being environmentally friendly to help tackle global warming problems in the long term.

Intention is made to bring about a reduction of CO2 emission at least 1 million tons per year.

These five energy policies outline the main mission of the Ministry of Energy to devote its efforts to creating energy security, supporting alternative energy development and maintaining the fairness and stability of energy prices. With the ultimate aim of ensuring the well-being of the Thai people, the Ministry has thereby defined its primary objectives to help alleviate the current economic crisis and raise Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy self-reliance.

II. Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Renewable Energy Policy: Impacts on Climate Change Climate change is already occurring in the region. Thailand is likely to experience intensified precipitation during the wet season and longer dry season periods. The rainfall patterns during the last 25 years have been seen an increasing in both magnitude and frequency, leading to either floods or droughts. The Thai government has spent up to THB 13 billion to relieve the people who suffer from such natural disaster in the last 10 years. Consequently, this would mainly affect the rural poor through floods, landslides, river bank erosion, and reduced food security as well as impacts on natural habitats and ecosystems which threaten biodiversity.

These would have direct implications on social and environmental issues.

Thailand has demonstrated its regional leadership in the South East Asia region during the last 20 years in energy and environment.

Though having relatively low levels of GHG emissions in the last decades, now Thailand has increasingly experienced higher levels of GHG emissions and expects an even stronger increase in the future due to its continued economic development and population increase, among others. As a result, Thailand should, 16 may/June 2012 power insider

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therefore, contribute to mitigate the impact of climate change as a member country of the world community, in a drive towards a decrease in GHG emissions resulting from activities in various sectors. It is likely that the main threat that will face fossil energy in the future is the development of catastrophic evidences on the climate change. It will put strong pressure to reduce drastically the carbon emissions. Even emerging countries will not escape penalization of the goods they produce on the export market if they are not carbon free.

To deal with the above issues, the Ministry of Energy has launched an ambitious program to increase investments in renewable energy e.g. wind, solar, biomass and other clean renewable energy sources. The Ministry has also set in motion the plans to speed up the preparation of the 15-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP) 2008-2022 as well as the implementation pursuant to the Energy

Conservation Program, Phase 3 (2005-2011), under which the target of energy saving has been adjusted from 10.8% to 20% by focusing mainly on energy saving promotion in the industrial and transportation sectors. These policies will promote energy security of the kingdom by reducing energy imports and increasing energy resources, building competitive energy market for sustainable economic growth, and help reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in the long run.

At present, the Ministry of Energy continues to push its Renewable Energy Policies forward to relief security effects, towards the promotion on utilization of alternative energy such as Biofuel (Gasohol, Biodiesel) and Natural Gas for Vehicles (NGV ), in parallel with campaigns urging for efficient use of energy. Currently, we has pushed all efforts in encouraging the production and use of bio-fuel and bio-mass such as gasohol (E10, E20 and E85), bio- diesel (B5), solid waste, agricultural residue and energy crops

through the implementation of the mentioned 15-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP), aiming to achieve the 20% target by the year 2022. We have promoted community-scale alternative energy by encouraging the production and use of renewable energy at community level with provision of the government incentive for the benefit of the villagers. We also rigorously promote R&D of all forms of renewable energy, as well as encourage the use of natural gas in the transportation sector by expanding natural gas distribution system nationwide.

The energy ministry will set up a budget of 15.6 billion baht (ÂŁ284 million) for renewable energy development under the 15-year renewable energy plan. The aim of the plan is to increase the proportion of renewable energy in total energy use to 20% by 2022 from 5% currently.

The ministry of energy has set a target to increase electricity generated by renewable energy to 5,608MW in 2022 from the present 1,750 power insider may/june 2012 17

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thailand overview

MW. Of the overall 5,608 MW 500 MW will be generated by solar power, 800 MW by wind power, 324 MW by Hydropower, 3,700 MW from biomass, 120 MW from biogas, 160 MW from waste and 3.5 MW from hydrogen.

In particular, 7.11 billion baht (approx. £128 million) will be allocated to developing biomass through upgrading technology, building pilot projects and improving the efficiency of raw material consumption. The target for power generation from biomass is to generate 3,700 MW of electricity and a heat output of 6,725 million tons of oil equivalent (toes) in 2022, up from 1,760 MW and 2.665 million toes presently.

For power from municipal solid waste, a budget of 4.83 billion baht (approx. £87 Million) has been estimated, with a target of increasing output to 160 MW in 2022 from around 7% at present. Biogas development is projected to require 2 billion Baht (approx.. £36 million) to raise power generation capacity to 120 MW and a heat output to 600,000 toes from 35 MW and 100,000 toes currently.

Wind turbines, meanwhile, could be developed through investing 1.46 billion baht, (approx.. £26 million) mainly on R&D to lower production costs. 800 MW in 2022 has been targeted for wind power, up from 2.5 MW. Finally, a 3.5 MW generated from fuel cells and hydrogen fuel are estimated to require a budget of 203 million Baht (approx. £3.66 million)-mainly for pilot projects.

Though fossil fuels still continue to play a major role in Thailand and global energy needs, co- operation, including joint research& development, deployment and transfer of low and zero emission technologies for their cleaner use will be essential, particularly on the enhancement of energy efficiency and 18 may/June 2012 power insider

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thailand overview

diversification of energy sources and supplies, particularly renewable energy.

Sensible deployment of renewable energy will accelerate the economic and social development of the country. Renewable energy is seen as the right candidate to complement fossil fuel in order to support sustainable energy development.

According to Thailand’s 15-Year Renewable Energy Development Plan (REDP) 2008–2022, clear policies and responsive plans and programs for renewable energy commercialization have been addressed.

Meeting the country’s energy needs – with unprecedented increases in oil and gas imports, coal use and GHG emissions – will thus prove to be a challenge. For Thailand, which has demonstrated a rapid economic growth and a high need of energy supply, the challenge to ensure a secure supply is an overriding concern. For one, rising demand has led the country to scout and compete among other countries for available energy resources.

And as worldwide energy demand soars, so does GHG emissions. For Thailand, the challenge is more serious as the country is both a contributor and victim of the effects of climate change. With projected dominance of fossil fuels, we are also poised to become one of the big contributors to global warming in the future.

Thailand needs to seriously look at a risk on the impact of climate change with improved ability and capacity to cope with its effects. Moreover, it is likely that we may be confronted with additional costs associated with climate change mitigation and adaptation in the future.

EGAT is planning to spend 22 Billion Baht (£400 Million) over the 15-year period (20082022) to construct renewable energy-driven power plants with a combined capacity of 258 MW. The plan will focus on 4 types of power plants: mini hydropower plants with a combined 170 MW capacity, waste power plants with a combined 15 MW capacity, wind power plants with a combined 65-MW capacity and solar power plants with a combined 8-MW capacity.

EGAT divides its plan for developing renewable energy into 3 phases: 2009-2012, 2013-2017 and 2018-2022 with total budget allocation of 7.4, 7.9 and 6.7 billion baht (approx.. £134, £144, 121 Million GBP) for each phase respectively.

Hydropower is a significant power source that EGAT places great importance on. More than 4.4 billion baht (approx.. £80 Million) has been allocated for the construction of six small hydropower plants to be installed downstream of irrigation dams across the country. The generating capacity of these projects is expected to be 78.7 MW or 380 million units per year.

In addition to the cross border hydropower projects with Burma, China and Cambodia, Thailand has committed with its neighbors as part of the regional energy co-operation, there are prospective hydropower projects in Laos and Burma totaling around 11,000 MW. There is plenty of hydro-energy potential along the Mekong River known as the greater Mekong River Basin, promising up to 27,601 MW. The potential hydropower projects in the area are located in China, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

According to older PDP on Thailand, two nuclear power plants are to come online in 2020 and two more in 2021. The combined electricity generation of all four units will be 4000 MW. In 2021, nuclear power will account for about 10% of the electricity production.

In particular, Thailand has put in place multifaceted policy packages which put the country at the forefront of bioenergy developments for both power and heat generations, liquid transportation fuels and biogas from wastes and co-products from agro-industry. Apart from policy commitments, Thailand has mobilized its scientific & research institutions, its armed forces and its private sectors to actively and collectively adopting the new ‘bioenergy concept’ which originated from His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s initiatives as demonstrated in the Royal Chitralada projects. It can be said that the ‘energy self reliance’ is part of the ‘Sufficiency Principles.

Now that Thailand has recently adopted policies setting specific targets for a share of renewable energy mixed to be 20% of the country final energy demand in the year 2022, Thailand stands firm to cooperate with other dialogue partners to strengthen our energy security through greater effort in increasing access to further utilize renewable energy and other alternative energy as our future energy choices. Thus, greater involvement and engagement of various sectors and partners in the country will definitely make Thailand rise above the challenges.

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Thailand’s GDP is predicted to see a 5.6% growth, leading to a 6% growth in peak power demand between 2012-2016 to 35,600 MW and 44,200 MW by 2021. With current capacity of around 28,500 MW, and despite current energy imports from neighbouring countries, Thailand will see a shortfall in capacity in the next few years.

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09/09/2011 20/02/2012 16:34 21:32

interview with Dr. Ruprecht Lattermann

Feature Interview with Dr. Ruprecht Lattermann

Managing Director, MWM Asia Pacific Can you give us a brief outline of MWMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s business in Asia Pacific?

MWM covers the Asia Pacific Region with three subsidiaries, MWM Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, MWM Energy Australia Pvt. Ltd. in Melbourne/Australia, and MWM Beijing Co., Ltd. in Beijing/China. Each of these subsidiaries cooperates with their dealer and packager network in their own areas of responsibility.

Jointly with our dealers/packagers, we cover all the gas-genset market segments, from straight power generation with natural gas to co-generation and tri-generation systems, biogas applications, coal bed/ seam methane, and other special gas applications.

2) Caterpillar recently completed a well-documented acquisition of MWM; what advantages does this bring to your operations?

Before the acquisition by Caterpillar, MWM was owned by the British private investment company 3i.

3i invested heavily in MWM and made it a first-class production facility, enabling MWM to become one of the industry leaders worldwide in the gas-genset power range that MWM manufactures.

This advancement in the worldwide market position made MWM an attractive acquisition target for Caterpillar, whose strategic objective was to expand their gas-genset market approach.

As the new owner of MWM, Caterpillar decided to establish a COE for all its gas-genset related activities in Mannheim/Germany. Caterpillar has embarked on a dual-brand strategy. The established MWM distribution organization continues to market MWM-branded gas-genset products, whereas the established Caterpillar distribution organization is still marketing CAT-branded gas-genset products.

In Caterpillar we have a parent company that will invest in new gas-engine platforms to secure the success of MWM and Caterpillar in the long run.

Thailand is one of the most exciting markets in Asia with strong government incentive and vast biogas potential. What sort of projects have you been involved in

for this country?

Yes, Thailand is an exciting place for biogas applications. German governmental and nongovernmental organizations were actively engaged in the feed-in tariff policies implemented by the Thai government.

MWM has so far been successful in various biogas segments in the Thai market: pig farms, the starch industry, the bio-ethanol industry, landfill projects, and recently the palm-oil industry. Currently we are working hard to get chicken farms into the market, and we are confident that we will be able to add them to our list of successes in Thailand soon. With Thailand being the home of the biggest food-canning industry, this industry segment also offers quite a lot of potential for gas generator sets, and MWM has had success there too.

Besides the biogas segments, with the expansion of its natural-gas distribution system Thailand is also becoming an increasingly interesting market for natural-gas applications. MWM has been successful in the food industry and the automotive industry.

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h

A recent study by the Faculty but&particularly the most Oxidation Mixing basin prior to common contaminant, of Agriculture at Chiang Mai hydrogen (H2S), has to be removed from the outfall at Reliancesulfide Energy, University has shown that there 2 x 250MW gas. The contamination Dahanu Thermal level can range from 500 ppm Maharashtra, India.Chemical and biological are over 3300 pig and dairy farms Power Station, to 20,000 ppm and above. with the potential to provide scrubbing systems are available to bring down the biogas for energy production in contamination to a level that ,akes it safe to operate Thailand. Why should farmers the engine for longer periods without premature consider implementing this corrosion of vital engine components. And from technology? experience I am compelled to highlight that the Yes, we are aware that Chiang Mai University performance of the scrubbing system must not only is very active in promoting biogas applications be ensured when the plant is commissioned, but must in Thailand. A number of their projects are be monitored continuously during operation to avoid being conducted in partnership with German any unpleasant surprises. universities. It should also be emphasized that the Thai Royal Family is actively engaged in advancing How can an agricultural company alternative energies for the Kingdom of Thailand in Thailand gauge whether it has that includes any form of bio-gas. sufficient gaseous by-products to Any farm from a certain size upwards that produces generate electricity? a sizeable flow of waste water with considerable There are a few simple rules of thumb for farmers organic content should consider implementing with which they can estimate how much electricity gensets running on biogas for a number of reasons. they can produce from their organic waste water.

First and foremost, with the favorable feed-in tariff Typically, biogas has a lower heating value of implemented by the Thai government the farmer around 5.5 kWh/ mN3. Applying this figure and can generate a second source of income from selling assuming an average electrical efficiency of 42% for electricity to the public grid. Secondly, the methane the biogas generator, we estimate that to generate 1 generated from the waste water burned in the gas MWe, we need approx. 260 tons of cow dung , 175 engine while sustaining the combustion process of tons of pig dung , 150 tons of chicken dung, 700 the gas engine, is transformed into mainly carbon tons of total palm-oil fruit bunches, or 70 tons of dioxide and water vapor, which contribute far less tapioca/cassava daily. to the green-house effect compared to the initial methane. So at the same time as earning money 6) The production of palm from the gas generator, the farmer is helping to save oil in southern Thailand our environment. creates significant quantities I would like to take this opportunity to highlight of wastewater which then that biogas, prior to being fed into the gas gensets, decomposes in open lagoons. How needs to be purified. Gas composition varies, can this be harnessed effectively?

Yes, you are right, open lagoons are still widely used.

Organic waste water from the palm oil mill is pumped into these open lagoons where it decomposes partly aerobically, as the surface is exposed to oxygen from

the atmosphere, and partly anaerobically in the layers below the surface where atmospheric oxygen cannot penetrate. Anaerobic decomposition (or digestion) leads to the formation of methane which surfaces in the form of bubbles and escapes into the atmosphere.

As mentioned before, methane contributes considerably to the greenhouse effect and to global warming; that’s why it is so important to harness the methane escaping from the open lagoons, either by covering the lagoon, or by replacing the lagoons with professional agitated digesters that provide a higher methane yield and at the same time occupy far less land compared to lagoons.

One of the major challenges in the use of special gas is ensuring a constant feed. How does MWM help end users when supplies fluctuate?

Fluctuation of feed stock for biogas generation is a challenge that needs to be tackled at an early stage of the project. I dedicated a paper to this topic during an international conference on anaerobic digestion in Thailand in 2010. Essentially, there are two different solutions depending on the user´s requirements: With acceptable fluctuation, the solution is a multiple genset installation where a few or only one of the gensets runs when the biogas yield is low, and where all of them might be in operation at times of high biogas availability.

If fluctuation is not acceptable, over relatively short periods, for example, gas storage buffer tanks are the solution. In this case, the power plant is sized to average gas availability and the fluctuations have to be covered with buffer tanks.

Certain gas turbines are designed to use special gas. What advantages does a combustion engine offer?

If you are referring to biogas as a “special gas”, i.e. a gas with approx 45% - 65% methane

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interview with Dr. Ruprecht Lattermann content, the customer has the choice of going for a gas-engine based solution or a gas-turbine based solution. Gas engines typically offer higher electrical efficiency than gas turbines. On the other hand, with less fuel energy converted into electricity, slightly more waste heat is available for hot-water or steam generation. We believe that electric power, in most cases, carries more weight and value than heat, that’s why MWM has concentrated all its efforts on gas engines and gas-engine-based energy systems, and we stopped all our previous gas-turbine activities when MWM was part of the DEUTZ organization, between 1985 and 2005.

If in “special gases” you are referring to gases with extremely low calorific values such as certain synthetic gases with heating values under 1.5 kWh/ mN3, I have to admit that reciprocating gas engines will have difficulty burning such gases in their discontinuous combustion process, whereas gas turbines, with their continuous combustion process, are able to burn gases with extremely low calorific values. In this context it may be noted also that the combustion efficiency of gas turbines is also reduced with such extremely low-calorie gases, so small gas turbines will also have difficulty burning these gases, and the unit sizes of gas turbines that can burn these gases are outside the range of reciprocating internal combustion gas engines, anyway.

Many large aging plants are due for decommissioning in Thailand and obtaining environment permits for new sites is a difficult task. Do you think there is much potential for re-powering?

I understand that your question is related to large, lignite-fired power plants in Thailand. They are quite old and may require re-powering. Getting permission for new large power plants, be it coal fired or gas fired, is indeed not an easy task. This is due not only to environmental considerations but also to the fact that as in other countries, people do not want to have a large power plant on their door steps.

However, large power plants are not so much in the focus of MWM, but as a manufacturer of gas generator sets in unit sizes up to 4.3 MW we are looking for another replacement market: gas gensets that may have been destroyed beyond repair during the severe flooding last year in Thailand. It is not a very big market, but MWM is going after every potential business, be it big or small, as long as it fits our product range in single-genset or multiple-genset installations.

What are the recent achievements for the TCG range of gas engines you produce?

As I am responsible for the MWM business in Asia Pacific, I would like to highlight our achievement in Australia where we are regarded the leading technology provider for the buildingefficiency market. With the carbon tax expected to be implemented in Australia by mid 2012, this is considered a major growth market.

Other recent achievements in China were orders for power plants running on coal-bed methane with individual sizes in excess of 100 MW. By securing these orders for MWM we have gained a considerable market share in the Chinese gas genset market accessible to foreign brands.

In Indonesia we have been able to implement a low-methane-gas solution for the TCG 2020 range of gas gensets. For both, the 12-cylinder model as well as the 20-cylinder model, we have developed a system that allows the start and the operation of these models on low-methane, low-calorific value gas. Depending on the actual calorific value of the gas there is some minor derating from the nominal values for natural gas (1,200 kWe and 2,000 kWe respectively).

With further development and new adaptations we are expanding the range of applications for our products into uncharted territories.

Maximum availability is a critical term for IPPs and industrial users in Asia. What features does the MWM TCG range include to ensure performance requirements are met?

You are right, maximum availability must be the primary target for the operator of a power plant, so maximum availability is also a primary development target for MWM as the engine/genset manufacturer.

The availability of the genset is determined by the time required for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.

During the continuous further development of the existing engine series, components that require regular inspection, maintenance or replacement, which determines the necessity of a certain level of scheduled maintenance, are being reviewed and are being developed further with the target of extending the maintenance intervals. By doing so, we will not only be able to extend the maintenance and overhaul intervals, but also eliminate certain maintenance steps altogether, representing a major step forward in increasing the availability of our products.

Besides the drive to extend maintenance intervals, MWM has embarked on a robustness program for

‘MWM has so far been successful in various biogas segments in the Thai market: pig farms, the starch industry, the bioethanol industry, landfill projects, and recently the palm-oil industry. Currently we are working hard to get chicken farms into the market, and we are confident that we will be able to add them to our list of successes in Thailand soon.’

our gensets. Robustness means that we are constantly working on strengthening the engine against operational imperfections, and extending the range of operation, for example with respect to temperature ranges or step-load-acceptance capability, etc.

Markets such as Indonesia offer huge potential with extensive sites across industrial and mining applications with a wealth of flammable gases emitted during operation. Can you give any examples of units delivered for these sectors in Asia?

Indonesia is a country with huge coal reserves and active mining sites. Before, during and after the active mining process, these coal mines emit methane that escapes into the atmosphere if not harnessed. In Europe, Australia and China, the methane emerging from the coal mines is being put to use in gas gensets.

The electricity generated is used by the mining operation and/or fed into the public grid. MWM has extensive experience in the utilization of coal-bed

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methane (CBM) and coal-seam methane (CSM) in Europe and in Asia Pacific. In China this technology is well developed, and MWM has recently secured orders for projects exceeding 100 MW which are currently at the implementation stage.

For Indonesia, the utilization of CBM is relatively new, but we are working on similar projects. What makes capturing CBM more difficult in Indonesia is the fact that all the sites are mined through openpits and not through underground shafts, so the methane slippage is higher and the methane is more contaminated with air from the atmosphere. This lowers the CBM quality, especially with respect to the calorific value of the gas.

What exciting new technologies can we expect to see from MWM in the future?

A variety of new products and product variants, optimized for various applications and special gases, are being made at the MWM factory in Mannheim.

We will announce them to the public in due course.

What is your opinion on Asia’s energy outlook for 2030? How do you envisage the industries’ development?

2030 is less than 20 years away. Until then with the strong growth of the majority of the Asian countries there will be a steep rise in the demand for electricity.

For the time being, nuclear power is not an option as the basis for the growth in electricity production.

On the other hand there is still the abundant availability of “cheap” coal that will take the majority of the base load in Asia. However, we will also see a shift from “dirty coal” to “clean coal” technologies that will be more environmentally friendly compared to today’s coal-based power plants.

The proportion of electricity generated from natural gas will grow steadily during the next 20 years or so, both in large-scale power plants and in decentralized power stations with co-generation and tri-generation capabilities. The latter will see an even steeper increase in numbers compared to large-scale, gas-fired power plants.

Hydro power is expected to continue with the

same share of the total electricity produced, as the hydro-power potential is exhausted to a large extent and the installation of new hydro power plants cannot keep pace with the overall growth of the total electricity demand.

Alternative energies such as solar energy in various forms, wind, wave, biomass, biogas and other special gases continue to grow their share in power production, but altogether they will not be able to satisfy more than 20% of the total electricity demand.

Biogas and other special gases, although their overall volume is small measured against total electricity production, are still regarded as an important and growing pillar for MWM, complementing the natural-gas applications, and we looking forward to competing in these market segments in Asia Pacific and worldwide with our products.

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multi-contact case study

Dangers of using counterfeit connectors PV

Connectors are one of the most critical parts of an installation in regards to safety, and yet they are often overlooked compromising the performance of the array and putting the home owners safety at risk. The wrong connector or the miss-mating of different brands can cause high resistance connections or allow water ingress which can result in premature failure of the array and possibly fire.

The term MC4 stands for Multi-Contact 4mm system (MC3 stands for Multi- Contact 3mm system), but unfortunately there are some unscrupulous companies in Asia selling counterfeit connectors and calling them MC4. It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between these copies and the genuine product. Legitimate connector companies use their own branding on their connectors, and yet some “unknown” manufacturers hide behind other people’s brands.

The biggest loser in all of this is the home owner who has paid many thousands of dollars for a solar installation and ended up with an inferior, and potentially dangerous, product on their roof.

been added2 These devices have only been assessed for UL Recognition with specific types of mated connectors within their product family. They have not been assessed to operate with any other similar devices from any other manufacturer.

TUV state3 Compatibility of PV-Connectors can be currently confirmed only for products of the same series from the same manufacturer.

Don’t Risk It.

The manufacturer of the connector is very important: Clean Energy Council guidelines state1 Only connectors which are the same type/ model from the same manufacturer are allowed to be married at a connection point.

In the Conditions of Acceptability (C of A) section from UL, the following statement has

If this advice is ignored, then the installation does not meet CEC/ORER requirements, and it will not follow manufacturers guidelines, leaving full responsibility for any failure of the connectors on the installer, unless the installer has been deceived by misleading supply of counterfeit product.

Excerpt from CEC Code of Conduct4 All persons holding any form of Clean Energy Council Accreditation: shall solicit work,

26 may/June 2012 power insider

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multi-contact case study more, therefore don’t risk it, for the sake of saving a few cents in the overall cost of an installation, always ask for, and demand the genuine MultiContact MC connector. advertise and promote their services and products with dignity and truth, avoiding any potentially misleading statements or omissions.

A growing number of suspect copies of MultiContact’s world renowned MC Solar components have recently appeared on the market. Comparative measurements and material tests have revealed substantial deficiencies in quality, and compromised safety and system performance.

Visually, the copies are virtually indistinguishable from the genuine MC products. Multi-Contact is defending itself on the one hand by taking court action against the imitators and on the other hand by increasing awareness to protect you and your customers from the financial and reputational damage that can result from the use of inferior products. Concerns have been highlighted about the safety characteristics such as UV-resistance, contact resistance, and material quality, that may be dangerous when installed in a PV system.

The serious problems which result from inadequate compatibility or the use of inferior copies frequently occur only after a considerable period of time has elapsed. The use of poorly matched connectors can cause contact problems that can directly or indirectly lead to a marked rise in the temperature of the plug connector due to a higher contact resistance. This can subsequently result in arcing and ultimately to a fire.

This can lead to substantial damage to your professional reputation, loss of revenue from the PV system, material damage, and quite possibly personal injury.

Toughness test for PV plug connectors Multi-Contact subjects PV connectors to extremely rugged tests. For this purpose the test laboratory in Allschwil has been enlarged and equipped with stateof-the-art climatic exposure test cabinets.

Components for PV connectors are manufactured at various sites in Switzerland and abroad. The injection moulding tools used must be approved by Multi-Contact for the production of these parts.

‘Multi-Contact has been involved in the solar industry with their high quality plug connector systems for photovoltaic installations for more than 10 years, and has gained considerable experience on the long-term behavior of millions of plug connectors.’

If a tool is replaced, new testing is immediately carried out. Identical qualitative characteristics and exact compliance in form and the properties of the material are an essential requirement for the compatibility of the individual components and thus for the correct function of the finished plug connectors.

The test laboratory in Allschwil has been enlarged and equipped with modern climate cabinets.

In order to better supervise this important process and to save time, MC decided to expand the test laboratory and carry out the tests itself. What tests are needed, and on what scale, is determined by the various PV standards.

The tests are recorded digitally and the results for the individual assemblies and test sequences set down in a test report. In the climatic shock cabinet, specimens are exposed to extreme temperature variations from -40°C to +85°. They are then subjected to a visual assessment and the functionality of the plugs is checked. If these tests are passed, they are followed by a 1000-hour moist heat test at 85% atmospheric humidity and 85°C. Connections with different cable types are tested in a single batch.

In the moist heat test the specimens are subjected to an atmospheric humidity of 85% at an ambient temperature of 85°C. An IP test in an immersion tank shows whether the connection is watertight. Further electrical tests are carried out in order to determine the safety of the plug connectors, as well as a strain relief test and a torsion test (twistingoff of the cable). The connector is not released for production until it has satisfactorily passed all these tests.

Multi-Contact (South East Asia) Pte Ltd t: +65 6266 0900

How can you recognise the genuine products?

Using copies mated with the genuine MultiContact connectors can result in a poor fit between insulator parts that can result in system failure due to compromised sealing against the elements such as rain or dust. As a result, the insulating properties are no longer assured and a person touching the connector may be electrocuted.

For your safety, we do not recommend using inferior copies, as the mating forces, plating materials and insulation properties cannot be guaranteed.

Effects such as fretting corrosion may be caused by incompatible plating materials, contact forces and other influences. In order to avoid such adverse effects, the contacts and insulating parts of the connectors must have compatible properties. Tests of such properties are time-consuming and are not covered by certification tests.

Multi-Contact has been involved in the solar industry with their high quality plug connector systems for photovoltaic installations for more than 10 years, and has gained considerable experience on the long-term behavior of millions of plug connectors.

Inferior copies can be disastrous, potentially resulting in overheated connectors and cables which has dangerous consequences. As an installer or OEM, you guarantee your system for 20 years or 28 may/June 2012 power insider

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AZISINDIA2012_Master 1.1._end:v1 12.03.12 11:58 Seite 1

November 6â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8, 2012 India's Largest Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

350 Exhibitors 20,000 sqm Exhibition Space 10,000+ Visitors

www.intersolar.in

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thailand solar

Thailand Solar Developments R

enewable energy developments typically require that countries exploit and utilise their natural renewable resources with subsidies reducing and supporting in line with technology costs and market development. Renewable energy investment in Thailand rose a whopping 320 percent in one year to $700 million in 2010. Large-scale solar projects were the biggest beneficiary of that investment, according to a Bloomberg New Energy Finance report.

Like other developing economies, Thailand needs renewables because its commercial energy needs are increasing, especially in cities. Long hours of strong sunshine allows peak photovoltaic generation during the day, corresponding with peak demand in cities like Bangkok where massive air-conditioning systems keep the capital’s residents cool, as an example of this

added need and way to which address it.

With regards to tapping into renewable energy resources, by way of addressing pricing issues and key to developing such potentials lies with support from the government. The amount of subsidy provided by the government therefore is critical for a countries renewable power success. The Thai government have hence been supporting solar developments since back in 2002 when they introduced the ‘Adder’. Although this scheme has been revised and developed much since, it highlights the symbolic focus the government has long had established when it comes to tapping into this ready-made energy source.

Thailand has established this approach to such developments due to the helping of the fact that the country benefits from strong year-round solar

radiation. Such initiatives and support have hence ensured the country is making a very strong case for itself in attracting investment. 20th in the world by population, 25th in GDP, and 23rd in electricitygenerating capacity, Thailand clearly offers a welldeveloped infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, generally pro-investment policies, and strong export industries. This means from almost every economic angle, and as an established energy producer, Thailand’s experience in developing its solar industry could be studied by countries where solar is at any part of earlier developmental stages.

An example of this from 2009 is where the country adopted an ambitious national renewable energy plan, having already established itself as a regional and global exporter in several manufacturing

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and processing sectors. The countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewable energy plan placed the greatest emphasis on the development of solar energy and estimated that in theory it could eventually power the whole country.

Sensibly it avoided setting such an ambitious target and other renewables such as biomass were

highlighted and included in such plans. More realistically the plan set of the objective of increasing its PV capacity 15 times in 15 years, from around 35 MW in 2007 to 550 MW in 2022. A target that from the projects and plans in the pipeline already, is on course to becoming reality.

The Thai renewable energy plan has resulted already in over 1 GW of capacity receiving firstphase approval under the feed-in tariff, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the adderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as mentioned above (to base electricity prices) of THB 8/kWh (US 25 cent/kWh). The approval does however cover only the right to the FiT, not other permits, but has been cited by neighbouring countries including Malaysia as a model for the promotion of renewables.

The renewable energy plan has also lead to the ongoing construction of a 73 MW thin-film PV solar farm outside Bangkok by 2011, by a consortium including Thai, Chinese and Japanese companies.

Details of which are addressed below. Finance of $250 million has been lined up, through local banks and the Asian Development Bank, backed by a 25year power purchase agreement (PPA) with the main Thai electricity utility; while a further 92 projects for solar farms, with a total capacity of 250 MW, already announced by March 2010.

The first national conference on PV solar energy also in March 2010, attracted speakers and exhibitors from all over Asia and Europe, and assisted in further establishing the clear message that Thailand is open for business in solar energy.

The conference also helped clarify the technological frame for developing solar, producing a consensus that solar irradiance in Thailand is inadequate to

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thailand solar

justify major short-term attention to CST/CSP technology at current cost levels.

The governmental support, capability and success of these projects and developments shows how “There’s a lot of money out there looking to invest in solar, and Thailand is an attractive place for that,” says Christopher Greacen, a consultant to the World Bank on solar energy production who has worked significantly throughout the energy sector in the region.

Building from this, the most recent and proactive developments have began to take shape and show such progression. The country has demonstrated these credentials by way of the already mentioned Lopburi Province installation which has since began and lead to attraction of large scale solar developers on the back of this for other new and interesting developments. Natural Energy Development (NED) together with Sharp Corporation are leading proceedings for the Lopburi plant. The plant itself is set to be the largest solar plant to date in Thailand.

The 73 MW (DC) plant in Lopburi province will eventually go on to be expanded to 84 MW. NED Chairman, Vinit Tangnoi, highlights how ‘The Lopburi solar project is the first that responds to the Thailand 15 year Renewable Energy Development Plan from the Ministry of Energy.

The development of such Feed-In-Tariffs and the other similar support measures have stimulated growing interest in maximising output from any given area. With the key economic drivers dictating that developers must ensure maximum output, such new projects will need to have a very close eye on the longevity and continued success kept over each plant.

Thai Solar Energy Co., Southeast Asia’s only solar-thermal energy producer, have also released plans to spend more than 14 billion baht ($447 million) over the next five years to develop projects

with a total capacity of 135 megawatts. Thai Solar plans to increase its total capacity to 35 megawatts in the next two years, and develop 11 more projects within three to five years. The company secured 3 billion baht from Thai banks to fund the first stage of development and is in talks with potential partners for future projects, Chief Financial Officer Prapharat Tangkawattana said.

Along with such large scale and showcased projects, another Thai Developer ‘Solar Power Company’ (SPC) have expressed plans for 34 solar plants throughout Isaan totalling 204 MW by the end of the year with full capacity being reached by mid 2013.

This shows how locally based energy companies are of course also making the most of these prolific opportunities and Feed-In-Tariff supports. Oil company Bangchak Petroleum for example last year secured a THB 4.2 Billion loan from the Asian Development bank for two solar power plants North of Bangkok in Ayuttaya. The ADB loan is part of their ‘Solar Energy Initiative’ which seeks to support solar projects to assist Asia in capitalising on its vast solar power potential.

One of Thailand’s own most forward-thinking investments in solar power generation is the recently-completed Yanhee Solar 3 MW Solar Park in Ayutthaya, 70km north of Bangkok. This solar park produces enough energy to power 1,530 Thai homes with its production potential of 4,471 megawatt hours of clean energy each year while also saving a phenomenal 1,971 tons of carbon emissions annually. This defining project, which is home to 40,000 solar modules, shows the future of solar power generation in Thailand and how it has become a model incubator for potential investment throughout the region. The Ayutthaya park is anticipated to provide a double-digit return

on investment over a period of 25 years and has already outperformed expected energy production to date. Power generated at the park, which was the first privately-owned of its kind in Thailand, is fed to the mainline electricity grid of the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA).The PEA on the back of such success has in principle already approved further developments of this kind by Yanhee Solar-associated companies worth more than $100 million (THB3 billion), indicating the scale of progress made in this field.

To coincide with such projects already in operation and construction, a number of international companies are looking to take advantage of such resources and use Thailand as the Solar hot spot that it clearly holds the potential to be. Suntech Power Holdings, world’s largest solar module manufacturer, and Sun Edison, North America’s largest solar services provider included. Suntech are looking to invest $20 Million in a solar cell assembly plant with plans set to be finalised by 2013. Such movements have been initiated due to the country being Suntech’s largest Asia Pacific market over the last two years behind only Australia.

Such examples prove how the cocktail of support measures from within and outside of Thailand, in conjunction with companies as keen to develop such projects, are making these advances highly lucrative and prosperous for all those on board.

The rewards for being involved in the Thai solar market are unquestionable. With abundant sunlight almost daily, Thailand’s solar power players are guaranteed a consistent and effective return of investment. With such projects coming live, and local and international companies supporting and investing throughout the next decade and beyond looks set to ensure Thailand’s Solar future is met with guaranteed success.

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global energy source

global energy s T

he nuclear disaster at the Fukushima reactors in March 2011 sparked a fresh political debate about an exit from nuclear energy and the need for more renewable energy sources. Some countries have already decided to pull out of nuclear power and are now seeking suitable opportunities within the energy mix to cover the consistently growing demand for electricity. In the long-term, we are convinced that photovoltaics will remain a strong growth market and that solar power will be an increasingly important energy source in the future. We will use innovation, highly developed systems and first-class services to make an important contribution to the reduction of manufacturing costs of solar systems so that grid parity can be reached worldwide. We are in an excellent financial and strategic position from which to profit sustainably from a recovery in demand in the photovoltaic equipment market in the years to come.

Swiss Quality for Solar Energy 3S Modultec is a member of the Meyer Burger Group. 3S Modultec develops and produces both solar modules and the production equipment needed to manufacture them. A strategy of mutual interaction between both areas of business fosters an environment of continuous innovation and permits synergies between departments. It gives us a unique perspective and expands our know-how of the whole solar module manufacturing process. So we are familiar with both, the perils of mechanical engineering and the practical everyday requirements of module production. This enables us to find solutions for you where others fail.

We go to the very edge of the feasible to satisfy your needs. New systems are tested rigorously by us in our own module production facilities before they are released for sale. Many of our highly qualified personnel have been involved in photovoltaic technology since its very beginning and between them have an immense cumulative knowledge. As a customer, you benefit from a comprehensive know-how transfer for the entire process, as well as from innovative solutions, which take into consideration all relevant aspects of efficient, reliable production.

Swiss specialists with top-notch education and years of experience deal with our customers’ concerns personally, and that, together with a clearly arranged organizational structure with rapid communication channels, guarantees your total satisfaction with all our products. 3S Modultec is a member of the Meyer Burger Group. We have for years been the world’s technological market leader for production plant for the manufacture of solar modules.

Know-How all over the Solar Module Production The key components in our product range are automatic soldering machines (define the electrical output excellence of your module over its lifetime), laminating lines (deciding on the lifetime of your product) and module testers (measuring your real module efficiency). Production equipment from 3S Modultec guarantees stable, reliable processes, a high throughput and outstanding product quality. Knowhow transfer and many additional services are available only to our customers, an added value you find only at 3S Modultec – we offer more than the production equipment, we offer entire solutions for the whole module production system.

Know-How in Cell Connection In solar module production, cell connection is a critical process which determines the duration of electrical output, i.e. the performance and lifetime of the module.

Due to the proven Soft Touch soldering process and the precise temperature management system of the Meyer Burger Group company Somont we deliver excellent soldering results every time. We have realized a high-speed soldering and handling concept: a unique modular system offering solutions for every capacity.

Our machines are used by the leading solar module producers all over the world, as they have come to trust our well engineered solutions.

Know-How in Lamination The reproducibility of the lamination process determines the quality and thus the lifetime of the PV modules. Our lamination lines are equipped with our patented hybrid heating system to guarantee unmatched temperature homogeneity, compatible for all cell technologies. Furthermore, it guarantees highest process stability and though best module quality. The solar modules are able to operate over a long period without any significant power degradation even under most extreme climatic conditions.

Monte Rosa Lodge, Switzerland

For example, we developed extremely weatherproof solar modules for the Monte Rosa Lodge in Switzerland, which is almost 3000 meters above sea level and must therefore bear up under most extreme weather conditions. Through the aesthetically appealing integration of the solar panels into the façade, the result is a perfect synthesis of a robust, weatherproof building shell and efficient, environmentally friendly generation of electricity.

Know-How in Testing Pasan, also member of the Meyer Burger Group, is the worldwide technological leader in testing systems for solar cells and modules and sets the industry standard.

Their testers have a unique light uniformity on the illuminated surface and outstanding light stability during the flash. Only with this accurate testing system an appropriate quality control is warranted.

Furthermore, testing decides on your profit. Testing is decisive for sales because this is where the solar modules that have been produced are classified and sold in relation to their performance. The more precise the measurements are, the more the producer can restrict the target values. This is how we offer our customers a decisive advantage in the classification of their products, with a sustained effect on the revenues.

Fully automated for highest electrical output 34 may/June 2012 power insider

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Y SOURCE show our customers how to produce solar modules efficiently and the materials with which good solar modules are produced. By dedicated training sessions we support their personnel in an optimum way as well as how clients can sustainably improve their income and the quality of production.

In certification, we are able to support our customers in such a way that their own module certificate becomes available as quickly as possible after production of the modules has begun. The process of certification begins with us parallel to production of the equipment that has been ordered. That is possible because we are able to process important partial steps of certification on our own automated production line at the factory in Switzerland.

We transfer our know-how to our customers GET SWISS KNOW-HOW IN MODULE PRODUCTION Module manufacturers who develop new products benefit from our know-how in production. The module production and process know-how is the true source where 3S Modultec has been coming from and where a long term experience has been accumulated. This is a unique value, where others can hardly compete. With our assistance, new customers can position themselves better on the market. We

FROM SOLAR SILICON TO SOLAR SYSTEMS WITHIN ONE GROUP The present Photovoltaic module mass market is clearly dominated by the crystalline technology, which is our focus. 3S Modultec makes important efforts to improve the module production equipment and optimise the module design to continuously lower the module costs and enhance its quality as well as lifetime.

As a part of the Meyer Burger Group, 3S Modultec is able to act on a broad part of the photovoltaic value chain. This results in a global view of the whole process from the solar wafer to the solar module. Therefore, collaboration with other companies in the solar value chain is for us part of the daily business. New developments as e. g. the highly efficient HJT-cells, developed by Roth&Rau, member of the Meyer Burger Group, can be integrated in the machine and module design development process at a very early stage. Herewith, the market introduction of the latest technologies can be done on a most efficient way.

As we always strive to be a premium supplier, we never make any compromises.

Our products are innovative, reliable, long-lasting, rock solid, they are Swiss quality.

POWER INSIDER MAY/JUNE 2012 35

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india polysilicon Why is India interested in Solar PV and polysilicon?

Solar power makes sense for India. The case for investment in the solar industry has been made many times. To sum up some of the key advantages, India has the best natural resource for producing solar power, with over 3000 hours of sunshine every year.

The abundance of flat, arid land means that there is the space to produce large-scale solar parks. Solar parks globally are also are built with exceptional speed, with the Gujurat Solar Park up in just sixteen months at Charanka.

For these reasons, India is possibly the biggest growth market in the world for solar power, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV). What is costly, however, is the initial price of electricity generation; solar power is up to four or five times more expensive than fossil fuels. Before plants can even start producing electricity, the materials required to produce solar power are high. This is because of the production of polysilicon, a vital component in the production of PV panels.

Polysilicon helps to produce solar power by being converted into wafers, cells and solar module panels that will produce solar energy. The cost of creating these products is high and fluctuating. There are two categories of price in polysilicon, spot and contract prices. In periods of booming installations, such as in late 2010, price rallying will rarely occur, and contract prices will be way below spot prices. However, it is difficult to acquire enough polysilicon. During these periods buyers will accept down payments and long

contracts just to secure enough stock. However, in periods of low installation of Solar PV technology, spot pricing will undercut contract, and prices of polysilicon will be dragged down.

Energy intensive, very specialist and market sensitive, the cost of buying in PV panels from abroad, as Indian solar parks currently do, makes many projects unfeasible. This is an issue that has drawn much attention from policy makers and component suppliers in recent years, especially after the announcement of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, and its aims to install 20,000MW of solar generated energy by 2022.

What is the Global Situation for Polysilicon?

Globally, market growth for polysilicon is very fast. In July 2011, the total polysilicon production for 2010 was 209,000 tons. First tier suppliers hold 64% of the market with China-based polysilicon companies holding 34%. Total production is set to rise by 37.4% to 281,000 by the end of 2011, and predictions are that 2012 will see a rise to 328,000 tons. However, they also predict that there will only be 196,000 tons of demand, which will result in a fall in spot prices by 56%. This is excellent news for the prospects of renewable energy, but bad news for manufacturers, who are expanding their capacities whilst newcomers move into the market. It’s unclear which of the leading companies will be able to run polysilicon plants cost effectively enough to make a return after plummeting spot prices. Recovery is being hinted at,

however, with companies such as Hankook Silicon reviving plans to build polysilicon plants with huge outputs (see below). The leading markets for Solar PV are Germany, Spain, USA, Italy, Japan, South Korea and China, with leading producers of polysilicon across the board: • Hemlock Semiconductor (2010: 36 kt, $3 billion expansion mulled in addition to $1.2 billion expansion due in 2012.) Established since 1961, Hemlock Semiconductor are proven source of safe, sustainable and reliable polysilicon production.

• WackerChemie (2011: 32 kt, Jan 2012: 42kt, Jan 2014: 67 kt). WackerChemie is a German company whose many business interests include renewable energy and solar PV, delivering high quality silicon materials.

• GCL-Poly (2010: 21 kt, Jan 2012: 46 kt ). The leading polysilicon and wafer suppliers in China, GCL-Poly is a Hong Kong based company that produces and sells polysilicon to companies in the solar industry worldwide.

• OCI ( June 2010: 17 kt, Dec 2010: 27 kt, Jan 2012: 42 kt, Oct 2012: 62 kt). Based in Seoul, OCI is actively engaged in developing and maintaining long-term relationships with customers in China, Asia, Europe, North and Latin America.

Polysilicon production in India: Prospects and potential

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• Renewable Energy Corporation ASA (REC) (2010: 17kt). REC are world leaders in the production of polysilicon, PV wafers, cells and modules. Based in Norway, they are the world’s largest producer of silicon materials.

• LDK Solar (2010: 15kt). Established in China in 2005, LDK Solar haveexpanded their business to ensure the delivery of high purity and low cost polysilicon. The company also markets other solar materials such as ingots, chemicals and wafers.

• Tokuyama (2009: 8 kt, Jan 2013: 11 kt, 2015: 31kt).

Tokuyama started out in 1918 producing soda ash, and have progressed through to chemicals, plastics, building materials and electronic materials, as well as solar technology.

• MEMC Electronic Materials (2010: 8 kt, Jan 2013: 18 kt). Based in the USA, MEMC together with SunEdison have just opened a 250MW solar park in Gujarat, India.

• Hankook Silicon (2011: 3.2 kt, 2013: 14.5 kt).

Together with Isofoton, Seoul based Hankook Silicon is planning to build one of the largest polysilicon plants in the world in Andalusia, Spain. It is estimated to have s 2,500mt output.

• Nitol Solar, (2011: 5 kt, Jan 2011). A Russian company, NitolSolar’s main business activities

revolve around the scientific development and manufacture of products used to generate solar energy, focussing on the manufacture of the primary raw materials used for Solar PV. • Mitsubishi Polysilicon (2008: 4.3 kt). Established as an industry leader, Mitsubishi strive to become the world’s preferred supplier of polysilicon.

• Osaka Titanium (2008: 4.2 kt). Specialising in titanium and silicon, Osaka Titanium continue to promote the use of these two key materials.

• Daqo, (2011: 4.3kt, under construction 3kt).

Another large Chinese firm, Daqo will be a polysilicon manufacturer with an annual capacity of 4,300 metric tons of polysilicon, using the Siemens closed loop process.

• Beijing Lier High-temperature Materials Co, (2012: 5kt). Established in 2000, BejingLier specialise in the manufacture of high temperature materials.

• Qatar Solar Technologies is currently building a polysilicon manufacturing plant RasLaffan.

Estimated at an 8,000mt output, the facility will open in 2013.

The opportunity for polysilicon industry in India: The Solar PV industry in India is healthy. As stated

above, the conditions are ideal and the policy makers are backing projects. 2012 in particular will see huge leaps forward in solar power production. In April this year, L&T Construction smashed convention by taking a plan for a Solar PV power plant from detailed design to commission in just 129 days. This commissioning means that L&T Construction have now installed 114MW of utility scale PV plants over a fiscal year; setting a benchmark in India’s solar industry. The new plant will be the largest in India, owned by Reliance Power Ltd and based in Rajasthan. The plant will produce 40MW, and will be equipped to supply more than 70 million units of energy to 75,000 households, displacing nearly 70,000 MT of CO2 annually.

MEMC and SunEdison have already successfully built the massive solar park at Charanka Village in Gujurat, producing 25MW of electricity, opening in April 2012. Spread over 1000 acres, the plant is being promoted by the government as India’s first project to help combat global warming. These solar plants are still importing the polysilicon and solar panels required to harness solar energy.Therefore, with more solar parks being built, the greater the demand and opportunity for domestic polysilicon manufacture.

Lanco Solar will be first on the map with a fully integrated Solar PV plant in India, opening a factory for the manufacture of polysilicon, ingots, wafers, PV cells and PV modules in the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Coporation, near Charvardhal village. Lanco Solar plan to be fully operational by this year, and produce equipment with the capacity of 200MW per year. Lanco Solar will be supported by GT Solar International, who will be providing polysilicon production equipment to the new plant. The first of its kind, but not producing anywhere near the capacity to meet the National Solar Mission’s targets, what Lanco have done has shown that it can be done but there is still room for potential investment. However, there are a number of factors to consider before moving forward: • Time: Typically, a polysilicon plant will take between 19-24 months to go from design to full operation.

• Focus on Solar Grade Polysilicon: because the electronics industry is unlikely to move away from established players, new plants should focus on producing solar grade polysilicon.

• Integration: in Asia, the manufacture of solar grade polysilicon has had three generations. The first manufactured the polysilicon based on rejects or scrap from the electronics industry, whilst the second are PV product manufacturers who are backward integrating their supply chain. They could then improve their margins because they had the entire supply chain under their control, though producing polysilicon presented very different challenges. Third generation polysilicon manufacturers were chemical industry players and could use that knowledge and experience to produce low cost polysilicon. However, long term commitment to full capacity manufacture to long term supply contracts with PV businesses may put them at a disadvantage; they will not realise the best margins at boom times because they don’t own the downstream value chain.

Economies of scale: plant capacity decisions will need to be made carefully by investors. Despite power insider may/june 2012 37

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india polysilicon some plants in Asia now having productions capacities of 3,000-10,000 tons a year, such a high amount in India would be a huge risk. Investors will have to weigh up their risk appetite, previous experience of the sector, finances, human resources and marketability when assessing a new plant’s capacity.

Capital cost: whilst the cost of building a plant in the developed world may cost as much as $125 per kilogram of polysilicon capacity, building in the developing world may produce significant cost savings.

Market: The investor needs to decide early whether the polysilicon produced in their new plant will be sold locally or globally.

Pricing: another key decision will revolve around which currency to price the product, with exchange rate fluctuations affecting the investor and client in opposite directions. Transparent and flexible contracts will need to be built.

Technical Considerations: There are also a number of technological considerations. Siemens CVD looks set to dominate 80% of the polysilicon manufacture for the next five years. New entrants into the market are therefore recommended to select a low risk process route for their facilities. However, this technology and the feed material manufacturing technology is offered by many licensors, many of which are ex-employees of established players. Useful parameters for choosing a licensor are as follows: • Previous productivity, capital and operating costs in the plants established by them in the past.

• Commercially proven energy consumption per kilogram of polysilicon.

• Other technological considerations include: • The Environmental and safety considerations, • The local availability of equipment and raw materials, • Post-commissioning support for the upgradation of the process, • Achieving the lowest possible power consumption per kilogram of polysilicon, which is impacted by factors such as selection of feed material for CVD deposition, energy integration that reuses waste heat, the selection of equipment and technology and process optimization, which in some companies through good R&D capability supported by a pilot plant and a strong technology team, has been shown to achieve production levels of 15-20% about the name plate capacity.

Infrastructure Considerations The final set of considerations revolves around India’s infrastructure: • Electrical power: The CVD process needs high quality electric power for its operation, but the Indian grid suffers from significant fluctuations in voltage and frequency and long power cuts during times of supply shortfall, as well as complete breakdowns in power supply. Supply from 220KV lines appears to be free from these problems, but investors need to consider self generation.

• Standby Power Supply: As most standby power systems take nearly a minute to restore power (which would be too late to save a batch in production) and because of the high cost of maintaining a standby power supply, the provision of one is pretty much ruled out. Captive Power Plants are often seen as a solution for the problems of cost and quality of grid supply, but capex requirements of a CPP create disadvantages for Indian projects.

• Costs of Electrical Power: Due to the varied and high cost of electricity in India (between INR 3.00 (US$0.07) to INR 5.50 (US$0.12) per KWh), projects without subsidies needs to be evaluated carefully.

• Manpower: India is full of quality engineering talent, so adoption and adaptation of state of the art technology is quick, but training simulators for engineering personnel can be advantageous.

• Plant Location: Two major factors may cause issues in India; proximity to a source of low cost electrical power and continuous availability of water for cooling needs.

Future Projects Having weighed up all these factors and considerations, Lanco Solar have so far been successful in building a fully integrated Solar PV plant, with

commercial operation expected to begin by the end of 2012. How successful they are in production remains to be seen, and there are still plenty of opportunities to invest, which a number of key players in the Solar PV industry are currently planning to do: • The Yash Birla Group have acquired a 600 acre site near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh to set up a polysilicon and solar power generation unit.

The Rs 10,000 croreinvestment will need further investments of Rs 9,000 crore in order to produce a capacity of 15,000 tonnes of polysilicon and 50MW per year.

• BHEL is likely to join forces with BEL for a 10,000 tonne per year polysilicon manufacturing facility, and are looking at locations in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Their aim is to set up an integrated Solar PV cell facility and acquire polysilicon manufacturing technology. They’re aim is to blow Lanco Solar out of the water with a whopping 1,000MW of solar power per annum.

• Horizon Solar PVT Ltdare experienced suppliers of polysilicon, and have a fair degree of market power, comfortable selling future production under long-term contracts. They plan to open polysilicon plants in both India and the Middle East in two phases. Horizon’s capacity aims are between 6000-12000 tonnes.

What remains clear is that India beholds an emerging market for Solar PV, and the future is bright for companies wishing to exploit the country’s need for reliable, sustainable and renewable energy. The risk that energy companies and polysilicon manufacturers will have to assess, however, is how much India will need domestic polysilicon plants. Should Solar PV plants continue to be built to meet the government’s requirements on solar energy output, the greater the need will be for PV panels requiring polysilicon technology. If that continues to be too expensive to import, then the potential for investment in plants in India is enormous. On the other hand, if polysilicon production continues to rise and outstrips demand by the end of 2012 as predicted, then prices for the technology will fall, making ventures across the entire market less profitable. Manufacturers will have to weigh the balance before choosing to invest in polysilicon production in India.

38 may/June 2012 power insider

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NEL Hydrogen is the worldwide leader of large scale electrolyser technology for environmentally friendly production of hydrogen. We have successfully delivered electrolyser solutions since the 1920â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with a wide number of references across numerous industrial segments.

Phone: +47 35 09 38 38 www.nel-hydrogen.com

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Mail: sales@nel-hydrogen.com

If the future could choose

02/07/2012 16:25

HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

REVITALISATION OF GREEN HYDROGEN PRODUCTION

THE EXCITING AND FAST PACED GROWTH OF THE SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC INDUSTRY HAS LED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MANY NEW LARGE POLYCRYSTALLINE SILICON (POLYSILICON) PLANTS. THIS HAS IN TURN REVITALISED AN OLD TECHNOLOGY; ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN THROUGH LARGE SCALE WATER ELECTROLYSER PLANTS.

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H

ydrogen has been used for various industrial purposes for more than 100 years. And over time, the development of production methods for hydrogen has also changed. From the dominance of coal gasification in the early industrial ages, the technology of producing hydrogen from water by the electrolysis process had its great era from the 1920’s/30’s until the mid-1960’s. Since then reforming of natural gas has truly taken the dominant position as the major technology for large scale hydrogen production. Through a development of a “hydrogen economy” it is a general belief that electrolyser technology will grow in importance again, as this is the only established technology for hydrogen production without any greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is already a trend moving back to water electrolyser technology, also for large scale applications. Over the last years we have witnessed several projects for new polysilicon plants within Asia, where the hydrogen requirement for the process is solved by large on-site electrolyser plants.

NEL HYDROGEN: INNOVATION AND HERITAGE The Norwegian manufacturer of electrolyser plants, NEL Hydrogen, is a company exemplifying this.

The history of the company dates back to 1927 as part of the company Norsk Hydro. Norsk Hydro then started to use water electrolyser technology to provide hydrogen for ammonia fertilizer production.

Two large electrolyser installations were set up, each producing about 30.000 Nm3/hour of hydrogen.

The first one was set up in Rjukan, Norway where the energy was supplied by Vemork power station – the largest hydro power station in the world at that

Electrolysers installed at the ammonia fertilizer plant in Rjukan, Norway time. The second one was set up in Glomfjord in the north of Norway, also with energy supply from a large hydro power station.These two installations are to date still the largest water electrolyser installations ever constructed in the world. The last installation in Glomfjord was shut down in the early 1990’s, but in the meantime NEL Hydrogen had started commercial sales of its technology to other industries and applications. However, as steam methane reforming has been dominant in large applications,

NEL Hydrogen has sold its plants in much smaller sizes, ranging from 10 Nm3/hour up to approximately 500 Nm3/hour of hydrogen production. The change came in 2009, with installations starting at polysilicon plants requiring higher quantities of hydrogen.

NITOL SOLAR AND TOKUYAMA CORPORATION In Asia, NEL Hydrogen has been working on three projects since 2009. The first project is with the

A simplified flow diagram illustrating the process of transforming water into hydrogen and oxygen gas through an electrolyser plant from NEL Hydrogen

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hydrogen production

Modern electrolyser plant consisting of 2 units from NEL Hydrogen Russian company Nitol Solar, that has established the first polysilicon factory in Russia for solar grade silicon. The location is in Usolie-Sibirskoe in the Irkutsk region just north of Mongolia. In March this year NEL Hydrogen started up at site four of its electrolyser model NEL A•500, with a total production capacity of 1.940 Nm3/hr. The next two projects in Asia are both for the new polysilicon factory being constructed by the Japanese giant Tokuyama Corporation in Samalaju Industrial Park located 50 kilometres northeast of Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia. Tokuyama today holds about 20% world market share in polycrystalline silicon for semi-conductors from its current plant in Japan, and aims to achieve a world market share of minimum 10% of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells through its investments in the new plants in Malaysia. The annual capacity for the first plant is 6.000 tonnes of polysilicon, with construction commenced in 2011 and operations planned for start-up in 2013. The second plant has a plannedd annual capacity of 13.800 tonnes of polysilicon with construction commenced in 2012, with start-up for operation planned in 2015. For these two plants NEL Hydrogen has already supplied in April this year the first five NEL A•500 units with a total hydrogen capacity of 2.500 Nm3/hour, and are planning delivery of the next six units in November this year for a total capacity of 3.000 Nm3/hour.

These three projects are the largest electrolyser deliveries for some decades, and have one major common factor with the project in Norway; they are all supplied with energy from nearby large hydro power stations, a major contribution to the location of both the plants in Norway as well as in Russia and Malaysia.

The energy provided by the new Bakun Dam hydro power plant, with installed capacity of 2.400 MW, is a key factor in Tokuyama’s final decision to choose Sarawak as the location for their major investment. And with renewable energy powering the electrolysers, a complete “green” hydrogen production is ensured, which increasingly is used as a competitive differentiator by polysilicon manufacturers.

Reasons for electrolyser technology There are different production processes for polysilicon, of which the Siemens process, developed in the 1960’s, is dominant. In the Siemens process, hydrogen is required for reaction with thrichloresilan at high temperatures to produce polysilicon for solar grade or semi-conductor. Hence the hydrogen itself is a critical key component in a polysilicon plant.

Any polysilicon manufacturer has the strategic option of hydrogen sourcing, to produce hydrogen onsite or to buy hydrogen from industrial gas companies, where costs and reliability of supply are key decision criteria’s. Location of factories also has an impact on which hydrogen supply method is chosen. Today, the global polysilicon production is moving away from areas with established hydrogen infrastructure in North America and Europe to growth regions like India, Russia, China, Middle East and South East Asia. In many of these areas there is a lack of hydrogen infrastructure and availability of natural gas as source for hydrogen production is often limited. In addition, as polysilicon plants are extremely energy intensive, new factories are often located in areas with low electricity prices, i.e. connected to nearby hydro power plants with abundant energy.

These are all reasons in favour of on-site electrolyser technology. To run electrolyser plants, only water and energy is required, and as long as water is available, and the electricity costs are quite low, the costs of operation of the plants are also minimised.

In addition, the robustness of electrolysers such as the

NEL A•500 ensure security of future hydrogen supply for polysilicon manufacturers. - Our NEL A•500 is a very good fit to the polysilicon industry, says Henning G. Langas, Director of Sales & Marketing in NEL Hydrogen. – It is a model producing large quantities of hydrogen, but the main feature is the well-known reliability of these plants. They are made for large scale application with minimum requirements to operation and maintenance. Once installed, our plants run automatically and has a lifetime of at least 30-40 years. Further, the high flexibility of the plants is a major benefit for the operators. They automatically adjust the production ratio between 20% and 100% of the installed capacity according to the needs of the production process in the polysilicon plants.

Another factor in favour of electrolyser technology is the high purity requirements for the hydrogen.

Many of the polysilicon plants produce both solar grade silicon and semiconductor silicon from the same plants, where the purity requirements for semiconductor silicon are extremely high, in example with regards to nitrogen impurities in the hydrogen gas. In comparison with hydrogen made from natural gas reforming, electrolyser made hydrogen easily achieve the purity requirements.

-With an on-site solution from us, polysilicon manufacturers are independent of gas suppliers and in complete control of their own demands for hydrogen.

Further, the future costs of hydrogen are more or less known at the time of investment in an electrolyser plant, as the major operating costs are driven by the cost of electricity, says Langas.

Although the market conditions for polysilicon manufacturers currently are under pressure, Langas believes the trend with establishment of new polysilicon factories using electrolysers for green hydrogen production will continue, especially within markets in Asia.

Below: 3D model of a complete hydrogen plant based on the NEL A•500 electrolyser from NEL Hydrogen. The model shows the various modules needed for a complete plant: transformer, rectifier, control panel, electrolyser with separator vessels, gas holder, gas scrubber, compressor and purification system (dryer and deoxidiser)

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INDIA POWERGEN

SWITCHING ON INDIA’S POWER FUTURE: POWER-GEN INDIA & CENTRAL ASIA 2012

T

he Indian power sectors 12th five year plan will require a consolidated effort from all corners to reach the targets set. The month of April saw proceedings take place for the industry’s premier gathering, Power-Gen India & Central Asia, coming at exactly the right time for the bold new ventures, in the threshold of major capacity increases for the Indian power sector.

The event was held from the 19th-21st April 2012 at the Pragati Maidan Exhibition Centre, New Delhi, attracting record numbers for the conference and exhibition. It was co-located with Renewable Energy World India & HydroVision, obtaining strong support from The Ministry of Power with a global audience attendance of over 9,000 individuals from a fascinating 43 countries, up by more than 25 per cent from last year’s event. Over the course of three days the show brought together technocrats, industry leaders and senior officials from central and state government as well as eminent experts from overseas with wide experience in the field of power generation and its related sectors.

More than 125 eminent chairs and speakers

India’s key stakeholders shared opinions and views with regards to the sectors growth from 16 countries delivered 86 conference topics across all three sectors: conventional, renewable and hydropower, about the very latest research, technologies and developments as well as insights into cutting edge benchmark projects.

The conference highlighted critical bottlenecks

facing the industry with policies and strategy solutions to diminish gaps in the market and move forward to attain a sustainable power future.

The show opened with the traditional inauguration ceremony that included addresses from respected dignitaries responsible for undertaking

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Satnam Singh, Chairman of The Indian Power Finance Corporation

the phenomenal growth task. The opening delivery was handed to Mr. Sunand Sharma, the Country President of Alstom India & South Asia who made a grand start to proceedings, he was optimistic and echoed exciting times ahead as India’s 12th fiveyear plan set by the Government of India Planning Commission is forecasted to play greater emphasis on the nation’s environment to ensure growth, inclusion, sustainability and secure the country’s energy future.

Alstom are currently responsible for around 25% of the world’s power technology, it gave Mr. Sharma great pleasure to be awarded the opportunity of opening the ceremony looking at the clear visible attendance during the early exchanges. In India’s 62nd year as a republic nation, he stated that the nation still awaited fulfilment of the power sector’s promises, he didn’t need to mention the problems and or relay the statistics. In stark approach he bellowed ‘we still remain short of power’ Mr. Sharma admitted that in 2006 he was publicly sceptical on whether assurances could be delivered to a nation depending on them, but in his own admission, a speech at a university a week prior to

the show revealed the country expects to have full manufacturing capacity by 2013 in every power sector, with major factories already in operation and some others being finalized like the new facility at Mundra, Gujarat, for the Alstom and Bharat Forge Joint Venture. Construction is at full swing and the operations are likely to commence from 2013.

The state-of-the-art integrated plant, set up over 120 acres to manufacture super critical power plant equipment with an annual capacity of 5,000 MW, will be one of the largest integrated facilities for turbines, generators and auxiliaries manufacturing in the country. Mr. Sharma stated that following his scepticism in 2006, he was glad to have been proven wrong on the progression the country is making.

Sunand Sharma echoed in a bold statement ‘The Indian power industry is becoming self sufficient, but we will continue to look to the government of India and regional states in ensuring the world can witness the delivery of a revolution as the country did in agriculture’, he went onto reiterate ‘ there is now a sense of urgency as the 11th five year plan is over, people were doubtful of coming anywhere targets 4 times as big as that of the 10th plan, but we only just missed out, and will be full steam ahead for the next.

Our colleges in USA + Europe would give a leg to have the GDP growth of India.’

It was a valid notion by Mr. Sharma, but a countries economic growth depends heavily on electricity availability. He stated that everything would be done in Alstom’s power to reach targets, they have had presence in India for over 100 years and needed to keep pressing. This is being demonstrated through increased relationships with NTPC & BHEL for the manufacturing of advanced boilers and also increased forage into Nuclear.

Mr. Sharma finished his grand address by stating that ‘he had never seen so much potential in the Indian power sector’ but he also pleaded to the government to provide as much support as possible to overcome barriers with coal, land acquisition and environmental challenges with hydro.

What made the inauguration such an occasion was high level representation of the major components for India’s continued growth. Mr. Satnam Singh, Chairman of the Power Finance Corporation was the next key figure to speak his mind. He stated that he wanted to share how the power sector was being

viewed by the investors and lenders, as most of the concerned generators are publicly listed.

Mr. Singh stated that ‘issues surrounding fuel availability and environmental concern had meant that the competitive bidding for private and state developers is not happening anywhere near the way expected.’ This is a view commonly shared by all, the big question is should generators have had more hindsight with the international coal situation?

Competitive bidding undoubtedly brings benefits for the consumer through lower tariffs, but the knock on effects for the supply chain through cost shaving on technology and project development will ultimately be felt by the consumer when the operating demands of the supercritical application are felt.

‘The government are not solving the issues, the power sector is in the process of evolution, why does everyone feel the need to go to the prime minister’s office to voice concerns?’ Satnam Singh was logical in his approach and stated that as ‘investors, why should we provide funding when there is no clarity on fuel?’ It is a valid perspective given the risk taken by investment bodies, essentially they have a significant say in decision making regardless of coal supply if there is no financing, there is no project.

The time really has come for India to start delivering, but as Mr. Singh rightly mentioned ‘the sector needs to change it’s image and rather than just talking, targets need to be met, providing the glue for other critical industrial sectors to grow.’ He revealed some interesting initiatives that are in place such as a restructuring scheme for bringing down distribution losses, the PFC funding 50,000 crore.

Mr. Singh also discussed how the performance of state regulators was being analyzed carefully, and shared views on how ‘tariffs should be fixed, and loss levels should be targeted for a specific city not felt by the entire state.’ He mentioned a recent meeting he partook with key ministers from power stricken regions Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to seek a uniform strict lending criteria and clarity on tariffs.

The requirement for synergy between Coal India Ltd, the Ministry of Power and The Ministry of Environments + Forestry was once again highlighted, but the Power Finance Corporation’s Chief, closed by asking the question ‘has the power sectors problematic development affected the PFC’s POWER INSIDER MAY/JUNE 2012 45

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india powergen growth?’ The answer was a very convincing no, as he revealed their asset book had grown by 28 percent despite well documented challenges.

The next perspective was to come from the Ministry of Power’s Additional Secretary Ashok Lavasa who extended an extremely warm welcome to friends from abroad. He opened by revealing his speaking task had been made easy and difficult by the two that took the podium before him, bellowing ‘that if there were no challenges in the power sector, then there would also be no opportunities’ stating that he very much agrees with Mr. Sharma of Alstom.

There is undoubtedly a buzz that surrounds all three components of the Indian power sector (generation, transmission + distribution) as companies from around the globe, some established and some growing, turn their hand to attempt success in the region. Ashok Lavasa mentioned that the morning prior to the keynote speech, he was ‘drawing up a balance sheet of the power sector and since 1997, there was 150 times more capacity, 200 times more electricity availability and the power per capita had increased by almost 50 times. These are facts that need to be appreciated.’

A key area touched on by the additional secretary was the liberalization of the industry with introduction of the private sector, and their growing presence. At present private generators are responsible for 65,000 MW of the 200GW capacity, approximately 33 percent, and in the 12th Five Year Plan over 50% is expected to come from the private sector. Their role is evident and critical in meeting capacity additions.

Shri Lavasa reiterated achievements of the 11th Five year plan and mentioned that ‘in comparison the 8th, 9th and 10th plans consisted of only 15,000 MW additional capacity, whereas the total additions for the 11th Five year plan consisted of a phenomenal 55,000 MW.’ Despite the fact that many people are critical and say the industry did not achieve targets it’s clear how far the power sector has come.

The role of technology providers is more important than ever, as introduction of supercritical technology has seen many key manufactures and components suppliers open impressive facilities in India. The dignitary revealed that during the 12th plan, 50-60% of capacity is expected to come from advanced super

Shri Ashok Lavasa, The Additional Secretary of The Ministry of Power

critical technology.

The misconstrue surrounding the ministries competitive bidding processes are ones that the Additional Secretary is well aware of as he made it known that re-consideration is well underway. ‘We are in the process of revising the bidding process following extensive comments from over 400 stakeholders, which are actively being used to address the problems.’

Following projection for the generation sector, Ashok Lavasa spoke at length with regards to great improvement on the transmission sector, focussing on developing inter-regional transfer lines. ‘We want a greater role for the private sector in transmission and will be opening projects up for competitive bidding, the role has been limited, and a taskforce has been designated to create a PPP model for private companies to participate.

Following the impact of the private sector on generation capacity, it is clear the same level of involvement is required for transmission.

Transmission and Distribution growth in India has it’s own set of challenges which clearly require equal consideration and collaboration, those include right of way issues, with sensitivity to ecology and the integration of renewables to the grid. Shri Lavasa

Mr. Daniel Hügli, President of Huegli Tech has recently opened an office in Bangalore In order to cover the deepest areas of India, with an additional sales and technical office in Pune

also mentioned that the ‘accountability level for transmission and distribution has significantly risen.’

The Additional Secretary also mentioned that hydro growth has come across many difficulties but they are desperately trying to work around barriers to utilize the potential. He also revealed that they are looking to promote a much awaited smart grid program. Several Indian state governments reportedly laid plans for smart grid projects, ranging from smart meter rollouts in the Indian territories of Puducherry and Bangalore, to a nationwide deployment of phasor measurement devices across the nation’s five independent grid systems -- a first step in synchronizing them to share power -- at an estimated cost of 239 rupees crore ($48 million).

Siemens have recently announced a 18.5 million euro ($24.3 million) contract to provide SCADA and distribution management systems for eight cities, including Mumbai, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The German smart grid giant will install more than 4,000 remote terminal units (RTUs) at substations and along the medium-voltage grid, and link customer care and mapping systems to it to do things like detect faults, direct outage repairs and spot power theft.

Ashok Lavasa did not get too carried away as he echoed the challenges that the country still faces in rural electrification, but on a positive note he revealed that almost 1040 villages have had infrastructure for connection and almost 23,000,000 families have been connected, so there was significant progress that has been made. The secretary finished his approach by proclaiming, ‘The power sector is like a pilgrimage, it is not an easy journey, it requires determination to be shown by all of the stakeholders, but when we pull together our goals can be reached and visions realised.’

The final key figure to open proceedings was Shri B.K. Chaturvedi, Energy Member from the Planning Commission of India. The first point of discussion formulated around components of the 12th Five year plan. The government member indicated ‘that before doing anything the first hurdle is access for power to all, with a challenge of how to provide electricity for 300 million individuals’ The rural areas really are a priority, especially considering that urban areas have almost 97-98% coverage.

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india powergen

Durag Group presented advanced flame scanning solutions for optimal combustion One of the most popular conference tracks covering this area, was the high level panel discussion looking at: How can India Balance Supply and Demand? The chair person was Mr. Anil Razdan, Former Secretary, Ministry of Power, India, and he had some real heavyweights sitting on the panel to voice opinions and concerns such as Mr. T N Thakur, Chairman, Power Trading Corporation, Mr. Arun Srivastava, Vice President (Regulatory), Tata Power Ltd and Mr. R.K. Madan, Director, Adani Power Ltd. Shri Chaturvedi went on to breakdown the forecasted capacity addition, with a very big role for renewables. In total the Planning Commission have sanctioned between 85,000 MW and 95,000 MW, and almost 30,000 MW of that is too come from renewables. He mentioned that ’10,000 MW will come from solar, in comparison 400 MW was included in the 11th Five year plan, and 20,000 MW will come from wind, biomass and cogeneration.’

They are ambitious figures and only time will tell if they can be reached.

Since India’s independence only 20,000 MW of renewable capacity has been installed. The desire to increase this is evident with huge investment into solar, through the well documented national solar mission. Shri Chaturvedi stated that ‘all of our resources are in place, targets will be based on CSP

Perkins display plans for a state of the art facility to manufacture the robust 4000 series in India + PV additions’ He also discussed the importance of tapping into the potential of wind power, and claimed that ‘including offshore there are resources totalling over 600,000 MW in India.’ With such focus on renewable introduction, the policy maker stated that in the 13th Five year plan, coal plants would only be considered with ultra efficient supercritical technology.

Shri Charturvedi also revealed that nuclear was ‘still going to be an important resource for India, and although 3,000 MW was planned in the 11th Five year plan, 2 plants didn’t come to light that were intended for Rajasthan + Madhya Pradesh. Another key area with much controversy for India is hydro power. The dignitary revealed that as ‘India is a democracy the environment is always a major concern, and we will always try and be sensitive and considerate of that.

It is for this reason that ambitious capacity targets haven’t been capped and set for hydro, we want to do things right.’ These opinions were shared by Mr A. B Giri, CEO of Moser Baer Projects Pvt India at ‘India’s Hydroelectric Future’ conference track where an insight was given into cooperation between India & Nepal for Hydropower Project Development and also news of new hydropower projects under construction in India were revealed.

Running alongside the conference, the three-way POWER-GEN India & Central Asia, Renewable

Energy World India and HydroVision India exhibition saw more than 265 local and international exhibiting companies from around the world showcase the very latest technologies, equipment and cutting-edge design solutions.

Notable exhibitors included Perkins Engines that displayed plans for upcoming manufacturing facilities in Pune, with life size models of the Series 4000 + 2500 combustion engines. HUEGLI TECH of Switzerland raised awareness of their new office in India and core competences in Engine Governing Systems, Generating Set Controls, Hydraulic Engine Starting Systems, Gas Engine Management System, Engine Accessories and Dual Fuel Conversions. Fans AS from Czech Republic made intentions known across their offering for the Indian market within the cooling sector. The Alstom +NTPC joint venture for plant maintenance and retrofits bode well with The Bureau of Energy Efficiencies recent study and incoming program on asset improvement for every major plant in India. Durag India was represented displaying advanced technology for thermography and flame scanning. All of the heavyweight boiler manufacturers such as Cethar, BHEL, Hitachi, L+T MHI & ISGEC had eye-catching booths competing for the title of India’s premier supercritical supplier, with significant representation at all levels from procurement, engineering and senior executives.

The traffic for the show was extremely busy throughout, and in the tepid Indian climate Pragati Maidan was a hive of activity with people from across the globe sharing knowledge and making extensive contacts.

Covering all aspects of the power sector under one roof, the exhibition allowed visitors and delegates the chance to see first-hand new technologies being launched as well as techniques that lay the foundations for significant advancements and practical business intelligence for the future. The year of 2013 will see India & Central Asia’s principal power gathering take place between the 6th and 8th of May at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India. The bustling metropolis and business capital will see an increased audience and interest as the 12th Five Year Plan comes into action. For increased opportunities within the Indian power sector and enquiries on participation please contact Penwell’s Kelvin Marlow at +44(0)1992 656 610 or visit www.power-genindia.com

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WET COOLING

I

WET COOLING EXPERIENCE FOR STEEL STRUCTURE COOLING TOWERS

ndustrial plants always need cooling of thermal processes. Whether we talk about power plants, petrochemical plants, sugar mills, steel mills, refineries, chemical plants etc, wet cooling is the most common type of cooling in industrial applications. In a wet way of cooling, the warm water entering the cooling tower is cooled to a temperature lower than the ambient air dry-bulb temperature, if the air is relatively dry. As ambient air is drawn against a flow of water, a small portion of the water evaporates, and the energy required to evaporate that portion of the water is taken from the remaining mass of water while reducing its temperature.

In top level of division of wet cooling there are two main types of cooling plants – natural draught and mechanical draught which is usually talked about as induced draught (more commonly used than forced one) cooling towers. While natural draught cooling towers known for its specific hyperboloid shape and height, also called itersonic towers, are built mainly at nuclear power plants or bigger units of coal fired thermal power plants (mostly above 300 MW or so), induced draught cooling towers, when cooling air is enters inside the tower and its flow up is induced by fan seated on its top, are most common and suitable at any plant.

However, sometimes in industry it is not appropriate to declare something as common or usual. Industrial practice may differ region by region, market by market or customer by customer.

For example in large scale power plants, investors consider it appropriate to cool down plants thermal process by natural draught cooling towers, others prefer induced draught cooling towers. This is typical for example across the Indian market where power plants of 660 MW Units are served with cool water from multi cells induced draught cooling towers. Reasons for preferring induced draught cooling towers may be various. Generally known factors consider by investors and are substantially lower height of induced cooling towers compared with natural draught towers. Lower investment costs are certainly advantageous for which induced cooling towers are preferred by investors who also appreciate high quality job combined with fast and

easy installation.

The main factors to be considered for proposal of cooling tower are generally: amount of heat to be removed, required degree of cool down, physical ambient condition, property of water flowing inside the cooling circuit, local environment requirements and technical feasibility of the construction. The type of structure of cooling tower body can be seen as minor in decision of investor, as far as impact on cooling performance is concerned. Structures of body developed and used over the past time of cooling towers constructions are wooden, steel, concrete skeleton or monolithic structure and pultruded fiberglass. Investors mostly follow local market recognition or suggestions of their consultants or hired engineers. If this is the case the investors have limited chance to realize and understand difference between various types of cooling towers and their structures and their advantages. Thus market investors may remain rather conservative and tend to have built what they see around in their market.

In most Asian countries investors prefer concrete structure cooling towers over any other type. Yes, wooden structures are still in use in existing cooling towers (or even required in far East) and use of pultruded FRP structures is on rise. But reinforced

concrete structure remains most common for wet cooling in Asia. Unlike in most European and ex Soviet countries where investors prefer steel structure cooling towers on their plants.

However these kind of steel structure Cooling tower are very much suitable for most industrial plants and have several advantages that need underlining. They are: • Flexible structure solution • Sufficient life • Easy and extremely fast construction at site • Seismic resistance • Low weight • Low maintenance costs • Easy dismantling after service life • Complete Recyclable Construction • Easy transport in containers The said features are very much appreciated by customers who like perfect and fast services. Since the steel structure is completely prepared and manufactured in the workshop by machines which are usually not available at site and under shop quality control there is no need for any machining at site. No cutting, no welding, no drilling at site. Easy bolting only of tailor made structure components is sufficient to build the structure. One can imagine

Design aerial view on Circulation center in Slovakia (implemented in 2012) POWER INSIDER MAY/JUNE 2012 49

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wet cooling how fast and economical the site activities could be.

The erection crew is small and spends just limited period of time at site. Walls of the cooling tower are provided by cladding of metal, PVC or FRP sheets and internal are quite standard.

Company FANS, a.s. is a supplier of cooling towers who is very much experienced in designing, manufacturing and supplies of steel structure cooling towers. FANS, a.s., is a company established in the Czech Republic which has been in cooling market since 1992. It developed its design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities over the time and became reliable partner for supplies of concrete and steel structure cooling towers in mid European countries, ex-Soviet countries, but also in Turkey, Pakistan, Sudan, Venezuela and other.

FANS earned its reputation with customers through its professional and personal approach, reliability of its supplies and high performance of its cooling towers. FANS has been ambitious since long to serve customers abroad and has been strongly export oriented. FANS has set up branch offices and subsidiaries in the Slovak Republic, Russia and Kazakhstan. Realizing potential of Asian markets in long term and of India in particular resulted in setting up a joint venture FANS ASIA in India based in Visakhapatnam.

FANS has supplied numerous projects in steel structure and concrete structures too and have been also EPC contractor on complete cooling circuits including pumping station, water chemical treatment plants, piping, electrical part etc.

On entering some Asian countries markets FANS has seen the customers sticking to conservative approach tobuild concrete structure cooling towers on their plants. Yet, some admit they could consider steel structure cooling towers and understand their advantages but raise question about negative features.

They are mainly uncertain about steel profiles surface finish and are worried about rusting of the structure, operation treatment and life. Also they usually consider rolled steel structure more expensive than reinforced concrete structure. Well, there is no worry in place about steel structure, service walkways and staircase surfaces. They are always hot dip zinc treated(according to ISO standards EN ISO 1461) and hence well protected against potential rusting and deterioration. For example steel of thickness from 6mm is coated with 85 μmof zinc mean thickness or 70μm of coating is applied on steel of 3 – 6 mm mean thickness hence securing lifelonger than 30 years.

Typical steel structure induced draught cooling tower in operation (18.540m³/ hour, Russia, 2009)

View of typical steel structure cooling tower during construction(12.000m³/hour,Kazakhstan, 2008)

Mean coating mass means the average value of the coating masses determined either by using a control sample selected in accordance with EN ISO 1460 or by conversion of the mean coating thickness.

If water pH value is maintained at 7 and above the surface will stay intact for life of the cooling tower.

Connecting material is hot dip zinced too or could be stainless steel if wished.

Investment costs, which are of concern to the investors, are not easy to evaluate completely for concrete and steel structure cooling tower alternatives for same ambient condition and for the same cooling parameters. It mostly depends on costs of raw materials purchased locally – cement, sand, diesel, reinforcement bars, steel, disposal of excavated soiletc, equipment rent, labor costs and even construction energies etc. However, though the steel structure material can be seen as expensive, over cooling tower project evaluation would show that extremely short and simple construction time at site make steel structure cooling towers perfectly competitive and even cheaper compared with concrete structure towers.

FANS has, for example, managed to make complete installation at site of steel structure cooling tower of capacity 8.000 m³/hour in 30 days. The cooling tower is located in Kazakhstan, wet bulb temperature was

19,5°C, hot water temperature was 42°C and outlet cold water temperature was 27°C. Total heat of cooling tower was 140 MW. Since the first lift of the first piece of structure at site throughout installation of internal equipment, cladding, connection of piping and electrical part until start of operation the whole work was complete in one month. This is substantial feature of steel structure induced draught cooling tower. Such a way positively affects project cash flow of the investor who can order the cooling tower at later stage of the whole plant construction. Thus financial benefit increases.

FANS has developed modular solution of steel structure cooling towers which use type design and components and thus order of material and manufacturing of cooling tower components can start immediately after order from investor or EPC Contractor. Modular cooling tower is even cheaper and the whole cooling tower project in even more faster in implementation.

During its acting on markets FANS supplied cooling towers with several hundreds of cooling cells in overall. Recent project example could be design, supply, construction and commissioning of Circulation center in petrochemical plant in Slovak Republic consisting of 3 cell steel structure induced draught cooling tower of 13.500 m³/hour capacity. Each of the cell is of 20m x 20m and fan diameter is 12,4 meters.

FANS accepted EPC responsibility for complete plant inclusive of the cooling tower, cooling water pumping station including all piping, water chemical treatment and filtration, electrical part and instrumentation.

Steel structure cooling tower have their customers.

There are certainly investors who do not think of how cooling on their plants would be provided. This article could be a little guidance for them to get basic idea about steel structure induced draught cooling towers and could encourage them to try to find more from professionals. FANS is definitely available to serve them.

Michal Kasan Commercial Director for Asia and Africa, FANS, a.s.

50 may/June 2012 power insider

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Cooling Towers

from Design to Commissioning

• Cooling Towers – induced draught, natural draught, steel or concrete structure, micro coolers • Air Cooled Condensers and Air Coolers

• Cooling circuits incl. pumping station, water treatment, electrical part etc.

• Repairs, reconstructions and overhauls of cooling towers, enhancement of parameters • Spare parts – ventilators, motors, gear boxes, ϐills, eliminators, nozzles, etc.

• Supplies of technology for the puriϐication and treatment of industrial water • Testing, measurement, analysis and consultancy services in the area of cooling and industrial water treatment

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04/04/2012 13:09

solar cube

solar cube

Solar Cube GmbH & Environmental Carbon Solutions (pvt) Ltd establish A Strategic Joint Venture in India.

S

olar Cube GmbH, an innovative PV Solutions company, based in Munich, Germany, and Environmental Carbon Solutions (pvt) Ltd, based in N.Delhi, India have established an agreement to operate MS Solar Cube India (pvt) Ltd, a joint venture of the two companies.

This strategic partnership has as a main focus to provide Solar solution services and innovative photovoltaic (PV) products to one of the fastest growing solar markets in the world, India’s. According to a 2011 report by GTM Research and Bridge, India is facing a perfect storm of factors that will drive solar adoption at a “furious pace over the next five years and beyond”.

Solar Cube and ECS share a common vision for the future of mounting system technologies, that of innovation and invstement, aiming to leverage their respective assets, experience and skills in utilizing high grade steel manufacturing, R&D and project installation services, as part of a long term strategy to successfully provide Solar Parks in the Indian & SE Asian market.

Solar Cube is a young company in age, although in principal the team members posses decades of collective experience in the Solar industry markets around the world, and since its foundation it has experienced a constant growth, successfully expanding the company client base, suppliers network and operations in Europe, North America

and now Asia.

As a result, te company has established a strong brand-name, and reputation, by consistently providing innovative and reliable solar mounting technologies and exceeding client expectations in highly competitive global solar industry markets.

The company’s expansion plans in emerging solar markets, made India, a country that is targeting huge investments in infrastructure in the renewable energy sector, provides a massive potential for growth and opportunites.

Environmental Carbon Solutions was established on a stong business foundation and philosophy.

“Working towards a greener, sustainable future for India” is the fundamental belief of ECS, and it’s endeavours & methodology the driving force behind it’s notable achievements. Government support and ample solar resources have helped to increase solar adoption, but perhaps the biggest factor is need.

India, “as a growing economy with a surging middle class, is now facing a severe electricity deficit that often runs between 10 and 13 percent of daily need”.

By establishing a progressive attitude and actions to enhance sustainability, the Company brings professional solutions and a skilled team effort to the table, to converting business opportunities into renewable energy expansion success.

“This joint venture is considered as a strong step to a positive development for ECS, as it adds value and state of-the-art technology in our efforts and the solar market of India, as a whole” was stated by Rajiv Ranjan MD of ECS, and President of the joint venture, MS Solar Cube India.

MS Solar Cube, will bring great benefits to the rapid growth of India’s Solar efforts, from PV industry technology expertise, professional project management and technology transfer to the local assets from Solar Cube Gmbh, as well as knowledge, expertise and an established business network already in place in the Indian market by ECS, providing the foundation for a successful venture for years to come.

Adopting Solar Cube’s motto, “Switch to solar”, is the first step in addressing the need for a global energy change - for a healthier planet, it’s people and their economy.

As a joint venture, MS Solar Cube is making significant investments, for a successful renewable energy future. for generations to come.

54 may/June 2012 power insider

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Innovative

Solar Solutions PV Rackmounts & Equipment.

Solar Cube is a provider of infrastructure for solar power systems.

Start your Solar project with German engineering and global experience in Solar projects..

We design, produce and supply state of the art Photovoltaic mounting equipament for all kind of Installations (Ground fixed, Roofing and Carport systems) and all terrain types.

We use leading technology and product solutions and services designed to meet the needs of any type of solar installation.

By partnering with the industry’s premier manufacturers, integrators and project developers, Solar Cube delivers custom-designed solutions using highly engineered mounting technology, providing excellent end-to-end technical support.

Contact us SolarCube GmbH Edisonstraße 11, 85716 Unterschleissheim Munich P: +49 89 5708 4105 F: +49 89 5708 4168

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SolarCube LTD Strymonos 5 Votanikos Athens, 118 55 P: +30 210 689 9212 F +30 210 689 9211

Solar Cube India (pvt) Ltd Corporate Office R-8, Nehru Enclave, Nehru Place New Delhi - 110019 P : +91-11-41076672

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desalination

Desalination: Aiding Indian Industries’ Appetite for H20

By Rachael Gardner-Stephens

T

he power industry uses an unbelievable volume of fresh water. Thermal power plants use vast quantities of water to heat up steam for the rotation of the turbines, and fresh water is also used for cooling circuits. It is used for FGD systems, and in high-pressure supercritical boilers, and ‘feed’ water has to be fresh and high quality. The key word here is ‘fresh’; there are potentially grave consequences in using water with impurities through accelerated scale and corrosion within the boiler. In this way, fresh water availability is as important as coal supply itself.

And like coal in India, the supply of fresh water is becoming problematic.

The world’s water consumption rate is doubling every 20 years, outpacing by two times the rate of population growth. It is projected that by the year 2025 water demand will exceed supply by 56%. Many arid areas simply do not have fresh water resources in the form of surface water such as rivers, and lakes, and have only limited underground water resources.

It is likely that water shortage will be considered, like fossil fuel, to be one of the determining factors of world stability. India itself faces major challenges with limited ‘fresh’ water availability, presenting a huge stumbling block in many upcoming power projects.

This problem is well illustrated by the Delhi-

Mumbai industrial corridor. Dotted with industries, the state government water board has labelled the district ‘most critical’ in terms of ground water. Any industry would need to think hard about investing in this area; seven years ago the Coca-Cola plant at Plachimada was closed after environmental campaigners had accused the company’s bottling operation of causing a severe water shortage. Despite this, in India approximately 62% of existing and 79% of planned thermal and hydroelectric power plants are still located in water scarce or stressed areas.

A possible solution for water stressed industries is desalination technology, in which seawater is purified through an energy intensive process. The majority of the Earth’s water is in the oceans, but nearly all water consumed by man is fresh water taken from surface water and precipitation (see figure 1). Seawater presents a huge untapped resource for power companies and government municipals. Desalination technology artificially imitates the natural hydrologic cycle, but does it more rapidly, using alternative sources of heating and cooling. There are several different methods of desalination with plenty of technology available (see figure 2).

There are already more than 7,500 desalting plants in operation worldwide producing several billion

gallons of water per day. 57% are in the Middle East and 12% of the world capacity is produced in the Americas, with most of the plants located in the Caribbean and Florida, and examples in the Middle East and China provide good models for how desalination plants could work in India.

Examples of Desalination Success in China and the Middle East Today, 400 cities out of 668 in China are faced with the challenge of water scarcity, and the Chinese government is investing heavily in desalination to tackle the issue. Tianjin is the largest desalination project. Costing 26-billion-renminbi, the coalfired generator is mated to advanced multieffect distillation from major Israeli player IDE Technologies, using leftover heat to distil seawater into fresh water. The efficient plant already supplies a suburb with 10,000 tons of desalted water daily, but the owners of the complex, the State Development & Investment Corporation (S.D.I.C.) and the Hyflux Group from Singapore, are now moving to quadruple the plant’s desalinating capacity from 680,000 cubic meters daily to three million cubic meters by 2020. Other desalination plants ran by Hyflux are located in Yingkou, Huangdao, Guangdong Huizhou Pinghai and Guangdong Yuedian Huilai. There is also a plant in Tangshan, built by the Norwegian company Aqualyng and the Beijing city government. For more information on the Chinese Desalination Industry, see the China Seawater Desalination Industry Report, 2011-2012

by ResearchInChina.

The Middle East is one of the most arid areas in the world, and water shortages cause social, economic and military issues. As a result of this, countries in the Middle East, mainly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain, have been proactive in developing desalination technology, and have the highest concentration of desalination plants in the world, at 70% of the worldwide capacity. One major project includes the plant at Hadera in Israel.

Israel Desalination Enterprises Technologies (IDE) and Shikun & Binui own the plant, and it is the third of five desalination plants that will supply the country with 750 million cubic meters of water per year. In Qatar, the Qatar Electricity and Water Company Corporation (QEWC) is funding the development of a 567MW power and 29.1 million gallons per day water desalination facility. Saudi Arabia is the biggest

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producer of desalinated water in the world.

Already producing 24 million cubic meters of water per day, the Saudi government is building the largest solar-powered water desalination plant in the world in Al-Khafji. This is in order to decrease the 1.5 million barrels of oil used per day to power the country’s 30 government-operated water desalination plants. A key player in desalination in Saudi Arabia is SAWACO. It is the leading supplier of un-bottled potable water in Saudi Arabia. It currently owns and operates more than 30,000 m3 of desalination capacity, with plants at North Obhor, Corniche and South Jeddah. For more information on the Middle East Desalination Industry, see The Middle East Desalination Research Centre.

Desalination in India India’s water desalination market value is set to triple to $1.2 billion, stimulated by the rising demand from industry. The number of units that process sea water in India will reach leap from just 182 to 500 by 2017, with more than 300 plants being built in the states of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Power plants and pharmaceutical companies use 72% of the current capacity, with the remainder taken up by municipal corporations. Gujarat, once considered a water-scarce state, now has the highest desalinated water generation capacity in the country and Tamil Nadu contributes 24% to the total output.

The biggest players in the Indian desalination industry are the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) and the Chennai Water Desalination Ltd (CWDL). Successfully installed plants include CWDL’s plant in Madras, which opened in 2010. The plant supplies 100 million liters of water a day to Madras, processing 237 million liters of seawater per day. Because the plant uses “energy recovering technology”, electricity consumption is reduced - making water produced there arguably the most competitively priced in India. The $140m plant is the joint venture between Indian company IVRCL and Befessa of Spain. It is built under the DBOOT system - design, build, own, operate and transfer. The government-run CMWSSB will buy the purified water for the next 25 years. Another desalination plant with similar capability is expected to be commissioned this year.

The Minjur desalination plant in Tamil Nadu has supplied 100 million liters of water a day to Chennai city since 2010. As a drought proofing measure and to augment supply of water to the city, CMWSS set up the plant also on a DBOOT basis with CWDL. The INR5.15bn (€91m) Minjur desalination plant has a capacity of 100,000m³/day. The plant produces potable water using reverse osmosis (RO) technology.

Besides the Minjur plant, CMWSSB is also constructing a 100mld capacity desalination plant at Nemmeli. Water from the desalination plant will be

supplied for industrial purposes such as the Ennore Port Trust and North Chennai thermal power plant.

83% of the work has been completed at Nemmeli, with CMWSSB estimating that the plant should be operational by September. There are a number of other upcoming desalination projects in India: • A consortium of Hitachi Ltd and Itochu Corporation of Japan with Hyflux Ltd of Singapore announced a seawater desalination project in Gujarat on 22 March 2012. The project goal is to resolve shortages of industrial water, which will be supplied to companies setting up operations in the coastal industrial region of Dahej. Upon completion, the project will be the largest seawater desalination project in Asia.

• India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MES) released an update in 2011 about its program for development of Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD). To date, four LTTD plants have been successfully commissioned, each in the Lakshadweep island communities of Kavaratti, Minicoy and Agatti, and one at the Northern Chennai Thermal Power Station. MES is working to set up six more plants, funded by the Lakshadweep administration, in each of its islands: Amini, Chetlet, Kadamath, Kalpeni, Kiltan and Andrott. According to estimates made recently by an independent agency, the operational cost per litre of bottled quality power insider may/june 2012 57

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desalination fresh water currently works out at 19 paise (US$ 4/m³).

• H2O Innovation India announced in February 2012 that it is presently completing a water treatment system which it has designed, assembled, and installed for Larsen & Toubro Heavy Engineering’s nuclear forging facility in Hazira. Combining state-of-the-art ultra filtration and reverse-osmosis technologies, this water treatment and reuse system has a total capacity exceeding 7,000 m3 /day, and is unique in India. The Tapi river water purified by the plant is then used as process water for the steel forging facility, but subsidiary treatment systems have also been provided for steam boilers, compressors and cooling towers.

• Texas-based MECO, which supplies desalination equipment to the offshore, pharmaceutical and military sectors, announced in December 2011 that it would be designing and constructing two vapour compression (VC) desalination plants for an oilfield off the Indian coast. Two MECO 1250M3C VC desalination plants will be used for the production of drinking and process water in the Mumbai High oilfield.

For more information on The Indian Desalination Market, see Indian Water Desalination Plants Market Forecast & Opportunities 2017, published

by TechSci Research Key Considerations for Successful Development of Desalination Water desalination has a lot of advantages.

Desalination plants are comparatively small, and are a flexible means of water output, allowing for differing quantities of seawater to be processed according to demand. The water produced is safe, free from chemicals and salt. Desalination doesn’t require chemicals or spew out toxic waste. Also, the byproducts of desalination, like salts, can be marketed.

Desalination Type Distillation Multi-stage Flash Distillation

Advantages

However, whilst water desalination is a practical solution in theory, there are still a number of issues in practice: Cost Desalination is still far too expensive. For the same cost as desalination, fresh water can be pumped to an altitude of 6,000 feet or transported nearly 1,000 miles. Recycling and water conservation are still far cheaper options. In certain areas of the US, desalination still costs five times more than other sources of fresh water, and desalinated water from the Tianjin plant costs twice as much to produce as it sells for. Tianjin and S.D.I.C. is losing money hand over fist, but it is considered worthwhile because of the community impact. Improvements in technology have cut costs, however, with hybrid technologies and reverse osmosis cutting production costs and becoming attractive to investors. Also, 85% of plants in India are membrane technologies, because it is considered 23% cheaper when compared with thermal technologies.

Energy One of the reasons why desalination is so expensive is because of the massive amount of energy consumed.

Typically, it takes 4 kWh of electricity to desalinate one cubic meter of water. So a 15-million-gallon per day facility would use around 228,000 kWh of electricity. However, the desalination process can be teamed up with power plants, in a method known as co-generation. By coupling these two energy sectors, the thermal discharge from power plants can be used to fuel thermodynamic desalination, reducing the energy costs of running a desalination plant.

Environment However, this impacts on the environment. Even using co-generation, the desalination process does contribute to greenhouse gases because of the energy used. To combat this, experts are encouraging the use Disadvantages

· Produces a lot of waste · High operating costs heat and can be paired with cogeneration · High corrosion Multiple-effect evapo- · High efficiency · A large heating area is rator (MED/ME) required · Relatively low cost Vapour-compression · Copes with high salt · High maintenance and evaporation (VC) content spare parts requirement for compressors · Flexible operation Evaporation / Conden· Easiest · Time consuming sation method · Inefficient Membrane Processes Electrodialysis Reversal · Long membrane · High capital and (EDR) lifetime operational costs · 80-94% efficiency Reverse Osmosis (RO) · Removes all types of · Requires extra precontaminants to some treatment of seawater extent · More plant maintenance Nanofiltration (NF) · Very high efficiency · High capital cost · Unknown lifetime of membrane Forward Osmosis · Low or no hydraulic · Cannot produce pure (FO) pressures water Membrane Distillation · Low energy consump- · Not as effective (MD) tion and fouling with large quantities Figure 2

Companies Doosan Heavy Industries, IHI Corporation, Aquatech International Niro, IDE Technologies Vacom, Water Desalination International Aqua Chem

General Electric, Ryan Herco Flow Solutions

of renewable energy to power desalination plants.

This possibility has potential in places like India, whose renewable energy schemes are creating more plants. However, even though it drastically reduces carbon emissions, using renewable energy still adds to the initial capital costs of a desalination facility.

Secondly, desalination creates a concentrated waste stream called brine. Up to twice as salty as seawater, and often containing process chemicals such as chlorine, anti-scaling and anti-caking agents, this discharge can have a significant effect on marine life. There have been conflicting sets of data on how detrimental increased salinity is on marine life, but investors will have to consider implanting schemes to manage the issue.

Conclusion Water supply is an awkward problem without an elegant solution. To continue to function, power industries in India have to secure sustainable supplies of water to their facilities, without impacting detrimentally on the communities they serve. Whilst water conservation and recycling may be cheaper than desalinisation, it does not provide as plentiful a harvest as a desalinisation plant. But this comes at a cost, both economically and environmentally.

However, with the number of thermal power plants already built and being developed in India, the potential for co-generation is enormous, as is the potential to power desalination plants with renewable energy. What is certain from the examples in China, the Middle East and existing Indian plants is that Asia and the power industry needs fresh water supplies, and desalination can provide it.

Aqualyng, Hyflux

Stoneybrook Purification, Woongjin Chemical Co Ltd Modern Water Veolia Water

Figure 1 – Distribution of Earth’s Water (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

58 may/June 2012 power insider

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Desalination with an edge As a global water solutions provider addressing diverse water needs for a variety of concerns, Aqualyng is carving a unique trail in the desalination industry. Our spectrum of successful, state-of-the-art products services deliver vital, timely water solutions for communities Desalination with&an edge and corporations alike.

As a global water solutions provider addressing diverse water needs for a variety of concerns, Aqualyng is carving a unique trail inand the feeding desalination industry. spectrum From solving freshwater scarcities the growth of Our heavy industryof tosuccessful, revolutionising state-of-the-art products & services deliver vital, timely water solutions for communities the desalination sphere through cutting-edge innovations, Aqualyng’s desalination water and corporations alike. systems get the job done – time after time.

From solving freshwater scarcities and feeding theallows growth of heavy * The Recuperator is our patented energy-saving device which recycling up to industry 98.5% to revolutionising the desalination sphere through cutting-edge innovations, Aqualyng’s desalination water of the energy contained in the reject of the desalination process, which lowers operating costs. systems get the job done – time after time.

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02/07/2012 16:32

Flue Gas Desulphurisation

Profitability verses accountability: Flue Gas Desulphurisation in Asia Rachael Gardner-Stephens

by Rachael Gardner-Stephens

60 may/June 2012 power insider

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T

he impetus behind implementing Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) units was largely environmental. Coal is the second source of primary energy in the world after oil, and the first source of electricity generation. It has been the fastest-growing global energy source in the 21st century.The main problem with this energy source, sustainability aside, is the emissions generated by the waste output. The major pollutants in these emissions are Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Sulphur Trioxide (SO3). SO2 and SO3 are greenhouse gases that damage the ozone layer and create global warming. These FGD System Type Wet Scrubbers

Spray Dry Scrubbers

pollutants are responsible for adverse effects on the environment and nearby settlements, such as reduced visibility, health problems, and acid rain. In the sixties and seventies governments, environmentalists and industry professionals began to realise the significance of cutting down on sulphur emissions, developing FGD technology. FGD units control and reduce sulphur emissions, cutting on between 9098% of sulphur emissions.

Today, many coal-fired plants deploy some form of sulphur control system, and it has become standard practice in developed countries to install FGD units

Process Advantages Calcium, sodium and ammonium based sorbents, such Removal efficiencies as high as 99%. as low cost limestone, are injected into the flue gas to Integrated single tower system react with the SO2. requires less space, making it easier A forced oxidation step produces the saleable byto retrofit in existing plants. product, gypsum.

No secondary dust sources

Disadvantages Wastewater treatment is required due to the amount of water required.

Uses lime or calcium oxide as a sorbent

Application is limited to plants with a flue gas volume of 200 MW on average

The lime slurry sorbent is sprayed into a reactor vessel, and the heat of the flue gas evaporates the water

Sorbent Injection

to both existing and new coal-fired plants. Most systems are “end-of-pipe”, and involve taking the acidic sulphuric gases before they are released into the atmosphere through the flue and treating them with an alkaline. This creates a compound that can either be disposed of or reused (like gypsum, for example) and neutralises the gas that is then released into the air. FGD systems are classified as wet, dry or semi-dry, and these techniques can be further divided with different methods and raw materials(see table). Clearly, there is an abundance of technology available.

Absorber construction can be less expensive compared with wet scrubbers

SO2, SO3 and HCl react simultaneously with the slurry to form a dry mixture of calcium sulphate/ sulphite

Wastewater is not required

Four different types:

Low capital and operating costs

Furnace Sorbent Injection: Dry sorbent is injected into Reduced installation area requirethe upper part of the furnace ments due to compact equipment Economiser Sorbent Injection: Hydrated lime is injected into the flue gas stream near the economiser zone

No slurry and wastewater handling Easy to retrofit

Unfeasible in areas of acute water shortage.

High potential for corrosion problems

Use of lime increases operational costs

Removal Efficiency not as high as FGD techniques Many factors that influence the performance of sorbent injection process such as sorbent reactivity, quantity of injected sorbent, relative humidity of the flue gas.

Duct Sorbent Injection: Sorbent distributed evenly in the flue gas duct after the preheater Hybrid Sorbent Injection: Combination of the furnace and duct sorbent injection systems Dry Scrubbers

Circulating fluid bed and moving bed technologies Does not require high-maintenance utilise a dry sorbent to reduce SO2 emissions in a flue mechanical equipment such as abragas stream in a dedicated reaction chamber sion resistant slurry pumps, water atomisers or sludge dewatering Hydrated lime is injected into the CFB reactor devices.

Produces dry product for ease of handling

Regenerable System

The sorbent is regenerated chemically or thermally and re-used.

Dewpoint problem at low temperature Acid gas control not as high as with wet scrubber

Produce little waste water and have Pre-scrubber is essential to control low sorbent make-up requirements chlorides

Elemental sulphur or sulphuric acid is recovered from Processes can achieve high SO2 the SO2 removed removal efficiencies (>95%)

In developed markets such as Germany and the UK, mandatory FGD installation is driven partly by a desire to protect the environment, but also by governments who place high tax on emissions. It is therefore advantageous and profitable for manufacturers to cut their emissions. In Asia, emission policies are mixed.

The markets of developed countries such as Japan and Korea have FGD installations as mandatory, and the developing markets of Indonesia and Thailand are setting spectacular examples in profit efficiency versus environmental impact. Conversely, other countries in Asia, developed and developing, have limited regulation for the control of sulphur dioxide. However, policy is changing, with tax on power generators and their emissions increasing, countries have to consider the implementation of this technology to reduce their footprint and stay profitable. Developing countries have greater potential to produce cleaner energy right

Risk of damage (fabric filter) at high temperature

off the bat, because they are building new plants, as emission standards for new plants are stricter than for existing plants. However, without legislation in these countries no power producer is likely to voluntarily install FGD because of the installation and operation costs.

The rest of this article gives an overview of the market in six major Asian countries: Japan, Korea, Australia, India, Indonesia and Thailand. It will detail current power plants and their FGD installations and future projects, and will weigh up the key question of FGD retrofitting: is it worth it?

Japan The development of FGD technology in Japan is a good example of how environmental concerns plus government taxation can drive down emissions. Japan began developing FGD systems for two reasons. The

High capital costs and power consumption

first was environmental, and the panic over adverse health effects caused by emissions, which was also thought to spread Minamata disease. The second was pressure from the Nixon government, who felt that by not having to spend the extra capital costs on FGD systems as the Americans were doing, Japan had gained an unfair competitive advantage in the energy market. By pressuring the Japanese to invest some of their profits back into the power plants, the intention was to level the playing field. However, Japan started to invest heavily in FGD systems in the 1970’s and soon overtook the states in their overall FGD installed capacity. This ensured that companies such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained a market lead in developing the technology, which as of 2011 has delivered 204 FGD installations worldwide.

Kawasaki have also delivered 111, the most recent at the 4100MW Hekinan Thermal Power power insider may/june 2012 61

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Station in Japan, one of the largest coal plants in the world ran by Chubu Electric Power. This shows how investment in widespread FGD technology can spark profit rather than hindering it.

Kyoto Protocol In 1997, Japan developed and committed to the Kyoto Protocol, a UN international agreement that requires nations to reduce climate change. The protocol encourages policy and business links that will improve the environment, and sets out targets that Japan are obliged to meet. Market based mechanisms and a fund are also available to help the Japanese government stimulate green investment.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has major assets in nuclear power, but they also have a number of coal and natural gas power stations.

They own and run Fukushima, and as a result of the disaster, TEPCO have diversified their portfolio by re-opening old coal plants. Facilities at Hirono, Hitachinaka and Kashima are either being speedily re-opened or repaired to deal with the energy deficit caused by the tsunami. TEPCO is considered the ‘father’ of emission regulation, with the environment at the forefront of their priorities. The company conduct programmes to plant trees, protect the natural environment and keep local water resources clean. As well as the mandatory FGD units that reduce SO2, TEPCO’s green policies significantly reduce NO2 and carbon dioxide, as well as investing in the latest technology to encourage the highest level of thermal efficiency.

Tepco Offical’s announce plans to re-open coal plants following Fukishima Kansai Electric Power Company The Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) has similar aims. At their coal fired power plant in Maizuru, they use desulfurization and denitrification units. KEPCO’s desulfurization system can reduce the sulfur content of exhaust gas to around 0.1% even when fuel oil with a sulfur content of 0.6%-1% is used. As a result of these efforts, Japan are world leaders in profitable, sustainable, and relatively clean production of electricity using coal as a power source, as can be seen in the following graph:

stringent environmental regulations on emissions.

Also signed to the Kyoto protocol, all new builds have mandatory FGD installations and the existing plants are looking at retrofits where space and overhaul windows will permit. Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) is the conglomerate power generator in Korea with a capacity of 65,863 MW. The company consists of six power generating subsidiaries, who in turn are responsible for the ownership and operation of a number of major coal fired power plants in Korea. Many of the FGD units on Korean plants have been installed on a retrofit basis, and in the 90’s KEPCO invited tenders for 14 FGD systems for the Hadong, Taean and Boryeong plants.

A characteristic feature of the South Korean power plant market is the government’s insistence on an aggressive and comprehensive technology transfer program for thermal units. Overseas vendors are retained to build the first units, but follow-on units have progressively greater domestic content. 15 partnerships competed in bidding for the FGD systems. Each partnership included a FGD technology holder and one or more Korean companies. The companies were from Germany, Austria, Japan and the USA. The partnership of Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Babcock & Wilcox were most successful with orders for 10 of the 14 systems.

Korea Western Power Company (WP) The portfolio of the Korea Western Power Company accounts for 13.1% of Korea’s total generation capacity, they also own & operate the 4000MW Taean plant. Babcock & Wilcox licensed wet limestone in-situ forced oxidation (LSFO) technology for flue gas desulfurization to Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) as part of their successful orders for the 10 FGD KEPCO tenders, and subsequent installation on the Taean plant.

The Taean plant was presented with challenges and to ease space limitations and to accelerate the construction schedule, portions of the absorbers for the system were made in modular form. The Taean absorber towers were built in four sections. The first section consisted of the absorber reaction tank. The second section was the absorber inlet area. The third section included the absorber tray, absorber spray headers, mist eliminators and mist eliminator spray

headers. The fourth section was the absorber outlet transition. The first section, the absorber reaction tank, was field fabricated. The remaining sections were constructed in modular form at HHI’s shipyard and barged to the job site.

Korea Southern Power Company (KOSPO) KOSPO are the operators of the Hadong power plant. Powered from imported bituminous coal, it is one of Korea’s largest coal fired facilities, with 8 units of 500MW. The Hadong plant is equipped with technology for desulphurisation and wastewater disposal. The Hadong FGD equipment was some of the first in Korea, and the 1996 contract was worth $100 million to Babcock & Wilcox. The contract included the supply of FGD process equipment, controls and overall system design. HHI the prime contractor to KEPCO, was responsible for the balance of plant design, procurement of locally manufactured equipment and construction. The system uses wet limestone gypsum-producing scrubbers, that are designed to remove more than 90% of the sulphur dioxide from the power stations’ stack emissions. Site specific conditions prevented the Hadong absorbers from being modularized so the towers were fabricated in the field from rolled plate. The absorber utilizes a perforated absorber tray and two absorber spray levels for SO2 removal. The two spray levels include one undertray spray level and one upper spray level.

Two interspatial spray headers comprise each of the two levels. A dedicated absorber recirculation pump feeds each header, for a total of four recirculation pumps per absorber. Interestingly South Korea has also started engineering and installing carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies at the Hadong power station, Unit-3 has a 0.5 MW-equivalent research facility in operation and Hadong Unit-8 is aiming to have a 10-MW system.

Korea East Western Power Company (EWP) The Dangjin plant currently has eight 600MW units, with a total investment of around $2.7 billion. The plant has been equipped with desulphurisation and denitrification scrubbers. A low NOx burner and twostage burning reduces nitrous oxide in the flue gas.

Particulate air pollution is controlled with coal dust suppression equipment, an electrostatic precipitator and high stacks. FGD Units 7&8 were installed by KC Cottrell. The company is in the middle of

Korea The majority of utilities and power stations in Korea are state owned, and as such have to comply with 62 may/June 2012 power insider

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Flue Gas Desulphurisation expanding the plant to accommodate two additional units of 500MW, in which STX Heavy Industries are to commence the EPC on dry FGD systems in March 2013. Another key coal fired facility in EWP’s portfolio is the 500 MW Honam Coal-Fired Power Plant, situated in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex. The plant began its life utilizing heavy oil in 1973. Today, following a government-led energy diversification program in 1985, it has been modified to use bituminous coal. Honam Power Plant in 2010, underwent construction to extend the life of units 1 and 2, as well as the construction completion of its environmental equipments, retrofitting an FGD unit.

Korea Midland Power Company (KOMIPO) Boryeong Thermal Power Plant became the Korea’s first 500MW capacity power plant. It is now the biggest thermal power station complex in the country. With a generating capacity of 4800MW, it accounts for 7.4 percent of Korea’s total electrical output. Construction of the two original coal-fired units began in 1979 and was completed four years later. In 1983 and 1984, units 3, 4, 5 and 6 were added – bringing capacity up to 3000MW. The addition of a 1800MW combined cycle plant in 2002 brought the complex up to today’s overall capacity. MHI & STX were selected as the chosen partnership for the installation of the wet scurbbers, and with Hadong & Taean, the plant formed part of the first FGD systems in Korea.

Korea South Eastern Power Company (KOSEP) The Korea South Eastern Power Company (KOSEP) is responsible for power generation in the South East of Korea, and sees environmental conservation as the only viable management strategy. Their Samcheonpo Thermal Power Station has been in operation since 1983.This six-unit, 3,240-MW plant has been installed with proprietary wet limestone FGD technology on all units. KC Cottrell undertook a turnkey contract including the limestone and gypsum handling. Their other coal burning power plant at Yeongheung has also established denitrification and dust-collector facilities, and a highly effective wet scrubbing desulphurization system with S0x ultimately discharging below 45ppm. In sum, Korea has invited and participated in intelligent investment to install environmentally friendly and sustainable energy systems and have set a fantastic example to other countries in the region as to standards that can be met.

Australia In a stark contrast to Korea and Japan, Australia emits 28.1 tonnes of carbon per person: the highest per capita level in the developed world. This is five times more than China, and mostly caused by the use of coal for electricity. Australia boasts a huge portfolio of coal fired power plants,but has no FGD installations.This is a big talking point in Australia amongst politicians, industrialists, environmentalists, and the population directly affected by the pollution. Signed up to the Kyoto Protocol with their own targets, much must be done in order to protect the sensitive ecosystems of Australia from rapacious and aggressive pollution.

Understandably the brown coal predominantly used beholds lower ash and sulphur content, but as C02 and SO2 capture is being investigated as more pilot projects are in place to curb emissions, does FGD

have a chance of installation in Australia?

With so many coal power plants already up and running, the capital outlay for retrofits and the operational costs for FGD systems verses the economic damage environmentally (such as the surrounding crops) is a big talking point. Huge efforts are being made by the government and industry alike to dismiss reputation as one of the planets’ major polluters. The Government are introducing a carbon tax, putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions from July 2012 that will have a profound impact on the electricity market and its participants.Australian power conglomerates will have to decide what is more profitable: the outlay for FGD resulting in less emissions, a better reputation and lower tax, or taking the tax hit without having to pay for FGD systems.

Delta Electricity State owned Delta Electricity is the largest electricity generator on the Australian national electricity market, with an installed capacity of approximately 5,000 MW. Consumer prices are expected to rise in line with the proposed carbon price, though not sufficiently for Delta to cover its costs. This will lead to the impairment of Delta’s assets to the tune of $320 million. Currently their fleet of coal plants include the 1,400MW plant at Mt Piper, the 1,320MW plant at Vales Point, the 1,000MW plant at Wallerawang and the 600MW plant at Munmorah. Not a single FGD unit is currently installed in any of these plants, and the big question for Delta Electricity is: Is it worth it? With the limited water availability in Australia, can asset impairment justify the heavy water use of wet FGD? In other words, is it just as environmentally irresponsible to use this method of flue gas desulphurisation? And as for the other methods, none are quite as effective or established as wet systems, so is the cost to Delta Electricity worth the eventual result?

Delta Electricty Power Station at Wallerawang.

Delta Electricity is currently undertaking a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project alongside the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). This is different to FGD and more advanced technologically, but it is risky and unproven. CCS technology captures carbon dioxide and stores it offshore in deep underground structures. The CSIRO and Delta Electricity pilot plant successfully used ammonia as a capture chemical for the CO2, effectively broadening the suite of options available for the future large-scale demonstration. The CSS experimental program at Munmorah Power Station has made progress, exceeding its targets for capture rate, carbon dioxide purity and sulphur removal.

AGL The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) has a diverse power generation portfolio including base, peaking and intermediate electricity production plants. These are spread across traditional energy sources as well as renewable sources (including hydro, wind, landfill gas and biogas). AGL is in process of acquiring 35% ownership in Loy Yang Power consortium, which would give them ownership of Loy Yang Coal Plant in Victoria. It generates electricity using vast reserves of brown coal to power four 500MW turbo generators. Loy Yang

Power’s generation capability stands at more than 2,200MW consuming more than 60,000 tonnes of coal a day from the Latrobe Valley. It has a high efficiency electrostatic precipitator installed, which removes over 99% of the ash from the flue gases before they reach the chimney. Stack emissions at Loy Yang Power are virtually invisible, minimising environmental impact. Because of this, FGD systems have been investigated, but there are no plans to build. In sum, Australia has much work to do to reduce its emissions. Policy and opinion are moving in the right direction, but power companies appear to be more interested in investigating and investing in less costly but less scientifically proven SO2 and CO2 removal systems than FGD. India Despite the challenges presented by coal shortages and allocation, it is forecasted that coal-fired capacity in India will increase from 90GW in 2010, to 200 GWs in 2020, and 400 GWs in 2030. India has National Ambient Air Quality Standards for SO2 of 80 microgram/M3, and power plants are just about meeting this by increasing the stack height. But the fact is that SO2 is still being emitted into the atmosphere.

The Planning Commission of India is focused on overcoming the weak infrastructure and power deficit in the industry, and prioritises investment in these sectors. Many projects are being planned including oil and refinery and ferrous and non-ferrous industries, and the impact on the environment needs to be considered while planning. To overcome this and maintain sustainability and viability of projects, the right technology such as FGD plays a major role.

However, India has no SO2 emissions standards, which means that the installation of FGD systems is not mandatory for new plants. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) require new plants to provide space for the installation of future FGD requirements, and require power plants in close proximity to install FGD systems. The MOEF also stipulates that space be set aside in power plants over 500 MW capacity to facilitate retrofitting of a FGD unit. Although provisions exist in the law for closing down of the thermal power stations for not meeting environmental standards, India can hardly afford to close any unit in the power starved situation.

Reliance Power Of the utilities working within this framework, Reliance Power is one of the most ambitious independent power producers, taking on the highest workload of large scale coal projects in India. Reliance on its own and through its subsidiaries has a portfolio of over 35,000 MW of power generation capacity, both in operation as well as under development.The projects under development include seven coal-fired projects to be fuelled by reserves from captive mines and supplies from India and elsewhere. Installations of FGD are still being deliberated but many of the plants achieve relief from loop holes such as stack height, unit numbers and location.

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Project

Capacity

First Unit

Rosa Phase I

600 MW (2 Units)

March – 10

Rosa Phase II

600 MW (2 Units)

Butibori

600 MW (2 Units)

Sasan UMPP

3,960 MW (6 Jan – 13 Units)

Last Unit

Land Acquisition

Environmental Clearance

Financing

Project Cost

Technology

BTG

(Rs crore) 3,113

Sub-critical

Shanghai

June – 10

Acquired

Acquired

Acquired

Central Coalfileds Ltd

Jan - 12

March – 12

Acquired

Acquired

Acquired

Central Coalfields Ltd

3,098

Sub-critical

Electric Shanghai

April – 12

July – 12

Acquired

Acquired

Acquired

Western Coalfields Ltd

3,633

Sub-critical

Electric Shanghai

June - 14

Acquired

Acquired

Acquired

Coal Block 20,000 Moher, MoherAmroli & Chhatrasal Imported coal 17,450 from Indonesian concessions

Super-critical

Electric Shanghai

Super-critical

Shanghai

Surplus Coal 21,000 from Sasan/ Linkage from Ministry of Coal Coal Block 25,000 Kerandari-BC

Super-critical

Electric Shanghai

Krishnapatnam UMPP

3,960 MW (6 June – 13 Units)

Feb – 15

In progress

Acquired

Acquired

Chitrangi

3,960 MW (6 June – 14 Units)

Sep – 15

Acquired

Acquired

In progress

Tilaiya UMPP

Fuel Supplier & Source

3,960 MW (6 May - 15 Units)

May - 17

In progress

Acquired

In progress

There may be no clear signs yet that Reliance will install FGD initially on these plants, but they did undertake the countries first seawater FGD at The Dahanu Thermal Power Station. The 500 MW plant is located in an environmentally sensitive area, and in 2000, the Indian Supreme Court ordered that an FGD be installed at the plant. The advanced seawater FGD unit now consistently ranks among the cleanest—as well as the most reliable—generating stations in India. In a developing country where air pollution is worsening, the Dahanu Thermal Power Station disproves the notion that energy production and environmental protection are mutually exclusive.

Indonesia Indonesia is a coal-exporting country, but has only about 5 GWs of installed coal-fired capacity. Despite this, a report from 2009 showed that Indonesia is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter.

Indonesia plans to increase investment in new coalfired plants substantially by building approximately 30 GWs of new coal plants by 2025. There are emission standards in Indonesia, but only for new coal fired power plants. Legislative limits became more stringent in the year 2000 on SO2, and in 2011 The Asian Development Bank loaned Indonesia $100 million to help reduce emissions.

NTPC State owned NTPC has the largest generation capacity in India. With a current portfolio of over 37,514 MW, NTPC has embarked on plans to become a 75,000 MW company by 2017. NTPC have one of the biggest coal fleets in the world, but none of these have FGD systems. Bongaigaon is the first of NTPC’s newest plants to include an FGD unit, utilizing a wet lime system provided by BHEL. NTPC has rescheduled the commissioning of the first 250-MW unit of the much-delayed three unit 750 MW power station in Assam to July 2012. Conceived in 2007, the Bongaigaon plant has had approximately Rs4,400 crore invested into the FGD units. If the Indian power sector is to take environmental responsibility seriously then NTPC must be one of the first to set example when looking at FGD retrofits.

Two other prominent Indian power plants with FGD installations exist: Trombay and Udupi. TATA Power applied seawater FGD systems to its plant in Trombay. The FGD unit was commissioned in 1986, with another stream added in 1994 on Unit 5. Two-thirds (66 %) of the total flue gases can be treated for sulphur dioxide removal. Secondly, Lanco Infratech has installed a wet limestone-based FGD in its 1,200 MW Udupi Thermal power plant near Mangalore.

The FGD technology is a zero discharge system utilizing all wastewater in the system thus reducing the need for fresh water and eliminating waste disposal costs.

PT. Central Java Power PT Central Java Power, a Sumitomo Corporation subsidiary, is an independent power producer that owns the Tanjung Jati power plant in East Java.

The power plant consists of 4 units of 660 MW. Central Java Power has been leasing the plant to the Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), a government owned power corporation, since October 2006. PLN are responsible for the operation, maintenance and fuel supply of the facility. Black & Veatch’s were tasked with the engineering, procurement, and commissioning services for coal handling, limestone handling, electrostatic precipitators, FGD, fly ash handling & continuous emissions monitoring system. The units’ design features a limestone wet FGD system that utilizes seawater. Total investment of the two most recent units was projected to be in excess of $1.5 billion, and the deployment of this technology at Units 1 & 2 is one of the first examples of air quality control technology in the Indonesian region.

PT. Jawa Power PT. Jawa Power is another prominent independent power producer, owning a 1,220 MW power station located at the Paiton power generation complex in Jawa Tengah, East Java. The complex is located on the coast and is designed to accommodate eight power generation units.Units 1 & 2 (2x400 MW) are owned by PT. Pembangkitan Jawa Bali, Units 5 & 6 (2x610 MW) are owned by PT. Jawa Power, and Units 7 & 8 (2x610 MW) are owned by PT. Paiton

Electric

Electric Super-critical

Shanghai Electric

Energy. The seawater washing process here represents a relatively recent development of FGD technology, combining the benefits of high sulphur removal at lower costs than limestone-gypsum alternatives. The process relies on the natural alkalinity of raw seawater to remove the SO2 from the gases. The process does not require the quarrying, supply and transport of a solid reagent or the transport and disposal of a byproduct.The seawater washing FGD plant installed at Paiton II is one of the largest in the world. The FGD unit is designed to remove approximately 94% of the SO2 contained within the flue gases. The area for Units 3 & 4 is now being developed for a single unit 800 MW supercritical power station by Paiton Energy, and will be utilizing the same FGD principles to meet regulation. Indonesia has the potential to produce very green power. With few developed power plants, the overall cost of retrofitting existing power stations would not be as substantial as Australia, and the new plants being built with FGD are significantly reducing Indonesia’s impact on the environment.

Thailand Coal makes for approximately 17% of the generating portfolio in Thailand. Thailand has only two major coal fired power plants, as gas forms the bulk of capacity of power generation, but the major domestic gas resources from the Gulf of Thailand are starting to dwindle. The country has to deal with an upcoming shortfall in natural gas output resulting from maintenance shutdowns at the country’s two major offshore fields later this year. Gas from Myanmar also accounts for 26.2% of Thailand’s total gas supply, and a recent shutdown at the Yadana Block reiterated the importance to diversify supply. Policy is very strong for renewables but they cannot form the baseload for generation. Planning permission for coal plants is not an easy task, with extreme public opposition to the environmental impacts. As a result, FGD units must be mandatory to assist in changing public perception.

EGAT The Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) owns the Mae Moh power plant. Mae Moh is South East Asia’s largest coal fired power insider may/june 2012 65

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power plant, consisting of 13 generating units with a total capacity of 2,625 MW. The fuel used is mined from the adjacent Mae Moh coalfield, where approximately 17.5 million tonnes of high sulphur lignite is transported to the plant. Consequently, S02 emissions are high and the Mae Moh plant used to contribute approximately four million tons of carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere annually. In addition, around 1.6 million tons of sulphur gas was released from the power plant into the air every day.

This caused severe health problems for the people near the site and has led to the deterioration of the environment. More than 200 people have died due to respiratory diseases and lung cancer since the Mae Moh power plant opened, and it has been claimed that more than 30,000 people have been displaced.

Farmlands have also been negatively affected by acid rain that is attributed to the sulphuric dioxide released by the coal power plant. In October 1992, when EGAT operated 11 units at Mae Moh, people residing within the seven-kilometre radius of the plant fell ill with breathing difficulties, nausea, dizziness and inflammation of eyes and nasal cavities.

After two months of operation, 50% of the rice fields were damaged by acid rain and around 42,000 people were found to have breathing ailments. In April and May 1996, six people in the Mae Moh vicinity died of blood poisoning.

The decision was made to install the FGD units between 1994 and 2000. During this period EGAT completed an extensive program of backend pollution control equipment retrofits at Mae Moh. Mitsubishi FGD scrubbers were installed on Units 12&13 and Noell retrofitted wet limestone forced oxidation FGD on the other three 300-MW sets from September 1997 to April 1998. ABB and Marubeni then added FGDs to the 150 MW units with completion in February 2000.

The plant is not allowed to operate without FGD units in operation, but during August 1998 there was

significant challenges faced as two of the installed FGD units were out of service.An abrupt change in atmospheric conditions as high levels of sulphur dioxide were observed.The before and after of Mae Moh emissions has been used in several examples and technical papers to study economic feasibility verses environmental impact. The completion of FGD systems on all units has subsequently meant that SO2emissions have been reduced from 150 tons/hrs to less than 7, and concentration levels are meeting the national standards.

BLCP Power BLCP is an independent power producer operating the country’s second largest coal plant in Map Ta Phut. The 1,347MW project is one of the largest IPP investments in Southeast Asia, and sells base load power to EGAT under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement. Two 700MW units were delivered to the site by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in October 2006 and February 2007. The site can accommodate three more 700MW units if required later.

The plant employs some of the most advanced technology for clean combustion, and the results of the continuous emission monitoring system are accessible to the general public. Heavy ash settles at the bottom of the boiler furnace, and fly ash is carried with the flue gas through the boiler and is trapped by an electrostatic precipitator. NOx is minimised by use of low NOx burners and the plant also has an advanced Flakt seawater washing FGD system. Each boiler is equipped with a single absorber tower capable of treating about 70% of the flue gas. Additionally there is no heavy metal from the FGD process. Like Indonesia, the potential to build clean coal fired plants is enormous. The need for growth alongside the stringent legislation and relative reduced costs in integrating FGD units into original plant designs makes it easier for companies to include FGD units.

Conclusion As we have seen, FGD systems are easier to put in place if you start early. Developed markets that began investing in FGD technology in the 1960’s and 1970’s and developing countries who’s lack of existing power stations have enabled them to build FGD technology into their growth plans have the best access to greener coal energy. It is the markets that already have a large number of existing power stations that are struggling.

The issue then, for both developed and developing markets, is the cost versus environmental impact of retrofitting FGD systems into existing coal fired plants. Australia simply has too many power stations for the immediate widespread implementation of FGD units. Though the main power conglomerate is state owned, and whilst coal tax will increase the running costs, there is still a question of whether or not installing FGD systems are cost effective. It is a simple equation: if implementing this technology affects profit, then it is not worth doing. Only until installing FGD units is a mandatory measure will power companies feel obliged to meet global emission standards. This can be seen in countries such as Japan, Korea, and Thailand. Not only do these countries provide interesting before and after examples of how FGD systems can improve the environment and surrounding settlements, but they also prove that it can be done profitably and sustainably. It is perhaps their lead that India should follow, instead of adopting a ‘let’s-cross-that-bridge-when-we-come-to-it’ attitude to FGD systems; making space for them for the future will simply land them in exactly the same position as Australia is now. Coal, despite dwindling supply, is still an enormous growth market. It is also a highly dangerous pollutant. The technology exists to neutralise some of the danger this industry poses to the planet and to people, and it has been proved that the technology can be implemented profitably.

So is Flue Gas Desulphurisation technology worth investing in? Of course it is.

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ducon case study

Reliance Dahanu Seawater FGD system – Case study D

ucon Technologies Inc., the New York head quartered technology based company was the first to establish its own subsidiary in Indian sub continent during early 2005 to cater to the air pollution control systems’ market with specific thrust on Flue Gas Desulphurization systems for power boilers in India and neighboring countries. Beginning with a small team of experienced engineers and 7 years into its journey, it has on board, over 125 engineering & management personnel, carved itself a niche position having secured 8 large FGD packages from Reliance Energy, Lanco Infratech, BHELNTPC and Sterlite Industries.

Ducon Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd was conferred “Niche Market Player 2009” award by Frost & Sullivan and “Leaders of Tomorrow 2010 Engineering Products” award by IndiaMart.Com & ET NOW. Here they passionately discuss their first ever FGD contract executed in India – a seawater FGD system for Reliance Energy Limited at 2 x 250 MW

Dahanu Thermal Power Station in Maharashtra.

Uniqueness of the project: According to Dr Aron Govil, President & CEO of Ducon Group, “this project had several ‘firsts’ attached to it - the first Ducon FGD system secured and executed in the Indian sub continent on a turnkey basis and the first ever seawater FGD system treating 100% of flue gas. Unique, as it brought together the FGD system experts in the New York and India office of Ducon, to work in close coordination to achieve contractual obligations and the result being a “pride of an installation”.

Role play & execution methodology: Recalls Mr. Ben Velasquez – Head of Engineering, New York HQ (above right), “the overall contract was jointly executed by Ducon Technologies Inc. USA & Ducon Technologies (I) Pvt Ltd, with the basic engineering done at New York head quarters, while the detailing, procurement, logistical aspects,

site construction management and erection were all handled by the Indian outfit. At any point of time, nearly 10 experts were working on the project to ensure flawless engineering and high quality construction of the package. Once the equipments were erected and ready for trial run, experts from both New York HQ & India office were mobilized at site to conduct performance trials and necessary fine tuning”.

Critical milestones: Adds Mr. D. S. Hegde – Associate Vice President, Ducon India (opposite page), “every project has its own contractual deadlines to be adhered to, while this project had a bit more to it since the implementation was monitored by a designated Ducon Seawater FGD system at Reliance Energy, 2x 250MW Dahanu Thermal Power Station, Maharashtra, India

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Duconn Technologies

7 Years e s in India d

Several Milestones First-ever Seaw water FGD treating 100% flue gas at Reliance Energy Ltd, 2 x 250MW Dahanu Thermal Power Station First-ever full-fledged Limestone FGD at 2 x 600MW Udupi Thermal Powerr Station First Limestone FGD system in NTPC at 3 x 250MW hermal Power Project Bongaigaon Th First-ever dual alkali FGD system at Sterlite Industries, per Smelter Tuticorin Copp

Largest FGD system supplier in Ind dia Proven track record for EPC & LST TK solution DUCON TECHNOLOGIES INC. 19, Engineers Lane, Farmingdale, NY 11735, USA Tel. : (631) 694-1700 Fax: (631) 420-4985 Email : sales@ducon.com

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Engineering Center with 125+ engineering personnel

DUC CON TECHNOLOGIES (I) PVT. LTD. Ducoon House, Plot No. A/4, Road No.1, MIDC, Waglle Industrial Estate, Thane (W) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 400 604. India Tel. : +91-22-41122114, Fax +91-22-41122115 Email: gsekhar@ducon.com URL : www.ducon.com 03/07/2012 08:23

s

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Oxidation & Mixing basin prior to outfall at Reliance Energy, 2 x 250MW Dahanu Thermal Power Station, Maharashtra, India.

legislative body comprising specialists from leading engineering institutions, local authorities and NGO”.

“Being a retrofit job and despite several challenging situations, 2 nos. of RCC scrubbers of about 34 meter height each with corrosion resistance lining were constructed in 8 months time. There were about 400 construction personnel and 12 to 14 high boom cranes mobilized at site during this period. Bypass dampers and inlet duct nozzles were installed in a meticulously planned manner in 48 hours. After this untreated and treated gas ducts were connected to the scrubber and stack respectively in about 12 hours ensuring smooth transition and minimum outage” recalls Mr. Hegde.

After 4 weeks of normal and continuous operation of the FGD system, performance trials were taken up for 72 continuous hours during October 2007 that showed overwhelming test results.

Road ahead: The seawater FGD system at Reliance Dahanu, now into its 5th year of uninterrupted and successful operation, is considered a bench mark installation by Ducon, that would serve as an ideal launch pad for its future growth plans in India and South East Asia through EPC companies like Marubeni, Doosan, CTCI, and Independent Power Producers in India like Lanco, Adani, L & T Power and BGR Energy.

“Having already executed and in the process of executing several limestone and dual alkali FGD systems for clients in India, I believe that we are adequately equipped in all spheres of activities like engineering, procurement, logistics and site construction management and are ready for the FGD system market to mature in India. Once the environmental norms come into place, clients in India can rely on us for globally proven FGD technologies, timely and professionally executed by the Indian outfit” opines Dr Aron Govil.

‘Ducon Technologies Inc., the New York head quartered technology based company was the first to establish its own subsidiary in Indian sub continent during early 2005 to cater to the air pollution control systems’ market with specific thrust on Flue Gas Desulphurization systems for power boilers in India and neighboring countries.’

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AIR PREHEATERS

NTPC - AIR PREHEATERS

M

arkets in Asia are facing unprecedented shortages in coal supply. Indonesia has proposed a 25% tax on coal exports to prevent overexploitation of its mines, with plans to double the levy to 50% in 2013. African countries are planning on taking a similar stance to Indonesia and Australian prices have heightened considerably following a domestic carbon tax. India is the major country to feel the aftermath of regulatory actions from the coal producing powerhouses.

Despite the fact that the government has ordered Coal India Ltd (CIL) to supply coal to all power plants getting commissioned within this fiscal, even if they have not signed legally binding fuel supply agreements (FSA) with the PSU miner, new domestic mines are finding land acquisition difficult to obtain. For continued generation many plants are firing undesirable levels of blended coal, which in turn presents an additional challenge at operational level, with excess particulate produced and increased levels of stress on key components such as the air pre-heaters.

Air pre-heaters are heat recovery systems used in boilers to improve boiler operating efficiency.

There are two major types of air pre-heaters: the recuperative and the regenerative. For higher sizes boilers, say 350t/hr and above, general conscientious is to adopt the regenerative type. This is mainly due to the compactness of regenerative

air pre-heaters for higher heat duty.

The poor performance of air pre-heaters in the modern power plant is one of the main reasons for higher Unit Heat rate and can be responsible for deterioration in boiler efficiency. The main problem of an air pre-heater is the leakage of air to the flue gas side and thereby poor thermal performance. The experience of the automatic sealing system used in rotary regenerators has proved to be a failure and the designers are reverting back to fixed sector plate design. The higher ash content in Indian coal and added particulate from coal blending also adds to the problems associated with rotary regenerators.

In some air preheaters, space is provided to permit the addition of extra elements at a latter stage if under performance is observed. But many underperforming air preheaters are not equipped with this provision of additional space. In such air pre heaters performance can be improved by substituting old elements with new element profile and better thermal performance. At NTPC air pre heaters are provided Double Undulated, Corrugated Undulated elements at hot end and notched plate at cold end. However presently many more element profiles with increased thermal performance & higher undulation angle are available.

A performance evaluation program can be used to predict the performance of air preheaters with change in element profile or element height. This

can also help in selecting a particular element profile for the air pre heater while going for performance improvement. It has been observed that modifying element profile yields appreciate temperature rise in air side without much rise in pressure drop. This temperature rise will be much pronounced if economizer by pass is open and high temperature flue gas are allowed to pass through the air pre-heater.

The transfer of heat from the hotter flue gas stream to the colder air stream creates temperature gradients, which cause thermal distortions throughout the structural members. The relative distortion of the various components affects clearances between the seals and sealing surfaces.

Therefore, control of air pre-heater leakage is not an easy task.

As policy becomes increasingly stringent many existing NTPC plants will consider retrofitting selective catalyst reduction. For high dust systems the SCR will generally be upstream of the air pre heaters. New gas conditions imposed by the use of SCR will undoubtedly have a performance effect on the air pre-heater, as any unused ammonia from the SCR process will produce ammonium bisulphate, which can condense on the air pre-heater elements at metal temperatures between 150 and 220ยบC. In addition the catalyst has the potential to increase the amount of SO3 in the flue gas, which in

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combination with fly ash can be a major cause of fouling at the cold end of air preheaters.

Low levels of ammonia slip, generally minimize the potential for air pre-heater pluggage and flyash contamination with ammonia. Operational experience indicates that ammonia slip of less than 5 ppm minimizes air pre-heater plugging due to the formation of ammonium bisulfates and depending on ash characteristics, generally assures the marketability of the flyash.

Enhancement can be undertaken on the rotors to increase the number of seals, and modify the sector sealing plates. Air heater leakage, which in turn reduces the fan flow, essentially allows the FD & ID fans to generate more pressure which will compensate, fully or partly, for the extra draft losses associated with the SCR system.

In addition to challenges originating from surrounding auxiliaries and operational parameters, another key area that has been apparent in aging Indian plants is safety procedure and inadequate fire suppression systems. An air pre-heater fire can be extremely severe depending upon the intensity of the fire. In many cases it has made the regenerative air pre-heater elements a molten mass. The boiler availability loss is costly and undesirable if a fire takes place in the air heater.

In both recuperative and the regenerative type of air heater, fires are not uncommon in boilers, but generally more common in the regenerative type.

When a boiler is operated with pulverized coal on a higher load, then the probability of air pre-heater fire is low. An air pre-heater fire can happen during start-up or shutdown when there is a possibility of a large volume of unburnt particles reaching the air pre-heater. The unburnt matter gets deposited in the air pre-heater elements and gets ignited when the temperature rises and particles that are still burning reach this area.

We have had to quickly respond to symptoms that show a tendency for air pre-heater fires to start. The possibility of detecting a fire in the air pre-heater from the operating parameters of boiler can be a very difficult task. However, indications of an air pre-heater fire can be verified from a certain parameter changing its trend suddenly. When both air and flue gas temperature leaving the air preheater increase suddenly with a steep gradient, then the reason for it is to be verified. Fires evolving from heavy unburnt oil and soot deposits can happen for a number of reasons, some of those include: wornout oil burner tips, low air flow through the burner, inadequate frequency of operation and low blowing steam pressure of air pre-heater soot blowers.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In both recuperative and the regenerative type of air heater, fires are not uncommon in boilers, but generally more common in the regenerative type. When a boiler is operated with pulverized coal on a higher load, then the probability of air pre-heater fire is low. An air pre-heater fire can happen during start-up or shutdown when there is a possibility of a large volume of unburnt particles reaching the air pre-heater. The unburnt matter gets deposited in the air pre-heater elements and gets ignited when the temperature rises and particles that are still burning reach this area.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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Air and Gas pre-heaterOptimised Heater Element Life It is not acceptable with the current technologies available for heat exchanger baskets to have short life expectancy.

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All our Baskets are produced from Approved and Certified grades of Material of European origin.

Elements profiles are produced using a unique method of rolling and pressing which enables us to produce any pattern available and introduce new designs with modified heat transfer characteristics if required.

Raw coil edges are de-burred during production on Elements which are to be enamelled. This ensures that the whole edge is covered with enamel and that no steel is open to corrosive attack. This is unique to Power System Services limited.

Enamelling of our elements is carried out by our sub-contractor Ferrotechniek in Holland as they are recognised as the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leader for this operation because of their experience, their materials technology, the wet application electrostatic spraying method used, their element packing techniques and the quality assurance measures taken throughout the process.

Our subcontractor is the only enamelling applicator to hold the European Enamelling Authority certification for coating heating elements. Independent test reports prove these claims.

All baskets are subjected to rigorous testing for material, size, welds, packing pressure and identification.

We despatch all our baskets on pallets, with a robust shrink wrapped cover to protect them for transporting and storage plus with climatic moisture absorption material to ensure that the product arrives at site in excellent condition.

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Air and Gas pre-heater Performance Enhancements Significant leakage reduction can be achieved using our technologies, which include; flexible radial seals, axial seal modifications, sector modifications, Circumwrap seal and gas deflectors.

Thermal transfer enhancement measures such as our patented basket seals and Circumwrap, to name just two have provided excellent results at many sites.

Tel: +44 1246 268800 Fax: +44 1246 268811 Email: info@powersystemservices.co.uk Middle East advert.indd 31 PI_MayJune_Ads.indd

20/04/2012 02/07/2012 11:03 16:22

Generator rewedging

GENERATOR REWEDGING

By Tony O’Brien

D

uring a routine maintenance shutdown, the generator specialist performing a routine inspection on your stator windings, has just informed you that the slot wedges have been checked and found to be loose. OK, where now? What does this mean? What does this entail? When should we rewedge the stator? What would happen if we don’t rewedge? Can it be done on this shutdown? Who should do this work and what is regarded as the best procedure nowadays?

The questions are many, especially if it is a first

time repair for you and your company. This article will hopefully shed some light on the many questions and is written from hands on experience.

During the course of operation, stator windings and their components (wedges, bracings, blocking etc...) will wear away and become loose , due to heat stress, vibration, or if we may say, incorrect procedures at manufacture. This is not unusual, all windings undergo these stresses and will need repair or refurbishment at some point in its life. The generator specialist will perform all types of checks to determine the extent

of these, if any, problems. But back to the question at hand, rewedging!

Firstly, what does this mean and what can happen if we don’t perform a rewedge?

The stator bars beneath the wedges are not secure and firm in the iron core. The bars may be vibrating laterally between the sides of the slot or may be ‘bouncing’, up and down, under the wedges . Not only will this wear away the bar insulation, but it means there will be air voids producing destructive corona, quickening the insulation breakdown process. power insider may/june 2012 73

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generator rewedging

If the wedges are not ‘locked in’ by some mechanical method, the end wedges may, depending on how loose they are, exit the slot and become a foreign object running around inside the generator.

If we leave the rewedge until the next shutdown in 6-12 months, fine, but for a relatively simple process that may set back the shutdown a week or so, the peace of mind in knowing that all has been done to secure those windings, has to be ‘priceless’? Keep in mind the possible catastrophic failures, insulation breakdown to ground, either on a top or bottom bar, resulting in a possible, lengthy rewind, or, I’m afraid to say, a stator bar exiting the top of the slot, being demolished by the rotor, therefore possibly damaging the rotor windings and the iron core! A major repair, rewind, rotor rewind, possible iron core restack and possible mechanical damage to the rotor. The machine could be out of action for a year.

OK, we realise that it can become drastic if something is not done, now.

A stator rewedge normally takes between 5-10 working days, depending on the size of the machine.

There are a few variables to this. Are the old wedges reusable? Are they epoxied in during manufacture?

Can we find a supplier of new wedges to drop everything they are doing to manufacture new wedges and materials. To work through the questions let me say, old wedges can be used but if it is possible to find a supplier willing to supply new wedges and materials urgently, then I would recommend using new wedges.

Why, firstly, removing the old wedges can then be done without worry of damaging them and trying to keep them sound, for refitting. This also depends on how many, if any, spares you have, because there is no possibility to reuse all the old wedges. Secondly, it is hard to say how they have been originally inserted, meaning have they been split horizontally (this is a

very important point on wedges, being split reduces the integrity of the wedge dramatically) and finally the evolution of wedging materials and procedures make for a positive outcome.

The next step after evaluating the idea of rewedging the stator on the current shutdown, is how and who?

The evolution of wedging materials and procedures I mentioned earlier is open for discussion by all engineers, but, I must admit from past, hands on experience and trying to stay logical, the ripple spring method is by far, the most effective method of re wedging a stator winding. There are many ways of wedging and most OEM’s have their own unique methods. Whether it be a hard packing method or a taper system, from my experience, the ripple spring wins hands down every time.

Ripple spring is basically straight forward, as the name says. The main wedge is what is seen on top of the slot, under the wedge is a ripple spring material that compresses along the length of the wedge to approximate 85%, under the ripple spring is a ‘slipper’ wedge of about 3mm thickness that slides in between the ripple spring and the packing on top of the bar, therefore keeping and maintaining a constant force against the wedge and

the bar. The space between the ripple spring and the main wedge is measured with a taper gauge before fitting the slipper wedge, to ensure the correct compression of the ripple spring. If there is any slight deviation of dimension between the main wedge and the bar, the compressed ripple spring takes up that ‘space’ and keeps a pressure on both points. If there is a deviation of dimension as stated and we were using the normal hard packing method, there would definitely be a void between both points. The diagram (below) shows the setup of the ripple spring wedging system.

Finally, who can mobilise experienced winders to perform this type of urgent service? Australian Winders have a team of professional winders at call who have and will assist in any urgent project.

Australian Winders have all the correct resources to assist in any aspect of generator repair, inspection, refurbishment, rewinding etc., capable of supplying experienced professionals with 30-40 years experience in the field and an alliance with National Electric Coil of Texas, USA, who is our large machine coil supplier and engineering support. This alliance enables Australian Winders to supply a cost effective solution to all power producers for their generator requirements.

‘A stator rewedge normally takes between 5-10 working days, depending on the size of the machine. There are a few variables to this. Are the old wedges reusable? Are they epoxied in during manufacture? Can we find a supplier of new wedges to drop everything they are doing to manufacture new wedges and materials. To work through the questions let me say, old wedges can be used but if it is possible to find a supplier willing to supply new wedges and materials urgently, then I would recommend using new wedges.’

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SUSTAINABLE HYDRO POWER

SUSTAINABLE HYDROPOWER CAN BENEFIT US ALL

BY CHARLIE FOX

T

he words “sustainable hydropower” reflect the growing recognition around the world that hydro projects need to benefit everyone involved: from the local villagers to the government; from the private or public investor to the energy consumer; from the country to the global community.

In Lao PDR, the joint work between government, developers, donors, civil society and local communities is making it possible to develop financially-sound hydro projects that are socially and environmentally responsible and will improve the living standards of its people.

Thailand, in turn, as the main buyer of energy from the Lao market, is showing its commitment to ensuring that the energy it

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sustainable hydro power

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is buying is socially and environmentally ‘clean’; that it is not supplying its thriving market with energy while damaging the environmental resources of its neighbor, but on the contrary, that it is helping its neighbor make the best use of its resources.

If we take a step back to look around the world, we can find examples that show that sustainable hydro can indeed benefit all stakeholders involved.

Hydropower, for example, can be one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to generate renewable energy; it does not produce the same harmful emissions as fossil fuels, such as natural gas, oil, or coal. It can also reduce the impacts of catastrophic events, such as floods and drought. In this way, hydro shows it can be globally beneficial.

If soundly implemented, hydropower projects can also improve environmental management while mitigating impacts, and can help improve the living standards of the local people. Hydro can thus benefit local communities.

Moreover sustainable hydropower can provide enduring economic benefits through sustained revenue flows that can allow countries like Lao PDR to reduce poverty and ensure benefits to all its citizens. Hydro can have country-wide benefits.

However, poorly planned hydropower development can pose significant environmental and social challenges. It can have adverse impacts on the aquatic ecosystems, involve displacement of a considerable number of people and alter the ecological landscape of an area.

To avoid this, great efforts must be made to minimize the social and environmental impacts and to ensure that the economic benefits of hydropower projects will be shared equally. All stakeholders can, and should, benefit from hydro. But challenges need to be properly addressed if they are to be overcome and that is also, everyone’s responsibility.

In this context, perhaps the most current example in the region of sustainable hydropower is the Nam Theun 2 project being developed in Lao PDR. It is a project where all involved are working hard to ensure that resettled villagers will experience improved living standards; that the country will have needed revenue to invest in poverty programs; that an ecologically-rich watershed will be protected; that investors will obtain forecasted profits; and that part of the Thai energy demand will be economically met, among other things.

This project is a continuation of the partnership between Thailand and Lao PDR in the development of hydropower that has nearly two decades of history, and that is being strengthened with the first ‘Lao-Thai High Level Forum on Sustainable Hydropower Development’ taking place in Bangkok today.

Lao and Thai authorities, private developers, donor organizations, civil society and media have come together to share lessons on past hydro developments and discuss how to ensure future projects are environmentally and socially sound as well as financially viable.

All sides have lessons to share and things to learn from each other. But more importantly perhaps, all sides have a responsibility to ensure that Lao develops its resources in a way that is beneficial to its environment and to the Lao people, while at the same time beneficial to the Thai population and investors, as well as the global community.

It is time to look beyond ‘one-off ’ benefits, or to think of benefits as only for some and not for others.

We can and should aim for benefits for all involved.

This first high-level forum taking place today is a major step in this direction. It will, of course, now be up to all of us to ensure that sustainable hydro does benefit us all.

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ď&#x20AC;

POWER GENERATION ď&#x20AC; Repair : Refurb : Rewind Australian Winders can offer complete inspection, testing, cleaning and overhaul of all your power generation equipment from hydro through conventional cooled to high voltage liquid cooled units.

Fast 24 hour response globally with a full service onsite workshop, testing equipment, dry ice cleaning and induction braze welding.

Complete turnkey project capable including coil or bar supply We are able to supply high quality large machine coils and bars for any size project, plus any re-design requirements or reverse engineering to upgrade the capability of your generator.

We offer project management, self sufficient winding teams, or just supplemental project labour at cost effective rates.

Australian Winders can provide inexpensive solutions for your power generation equipment service allowing you to get back in service quickly saving considerable lost revenue.

Visit us at www.australianwinders.com.au For personal assistance from one of our specialists: Perth, Australia +61 412 989 173

PI_Aussie_Winders_Ad.indd PI_Aussie_Winders.indd 1 57

21/12/2011 11:49 07:28 03/07/2012

HYDRO BEARINGS

MAINTENANCE-FREE BEARING MATERIALS FOR HYDRO APPLICATIONS DANIEL HALLAUER, SBS – SINGA BEARINGS SOLUTIONS® PTE LTD, SINGAPORE CHRISTIAN HOCKER, SBS – SINGA BEARINGS SOLUTIONS® PTE LTD, SINGAPORE DISCUSSING THE INCREASING VARIETY OF MAINTENANCE-FREE BEARING MATERIALS FOR HYDRO TURBINES AND HYDRO-MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT.

T

his article wants to give more general information about several maintenance-free bushing materials to stimulate the interest of plant owners & managers, maintenance engineers as well as design engineers. Deeper technical information and discussions can be obtained from the authors.

With modern technology there is an increasing amount of materials for bushing application available in the market but not all technologies are useful for hydro power applications.

In the past solid bronze was the only available and trusted bearing material used for any kind of bearing application in turbines and gates. Bronze itself is a very good bearing material and can last under ideal conditions and well - maintained for decades. Yet, the most common reason of bearing failure is insufficient lubrication, resulting in metal-to-metal contact, which increases friction and leads to premature bearing wear and even seizure. Emergency repairs on turbines, like bearing exchanges, can translate into a high financial loss for the operator.

With raising standards and expectations of turbine operation and environmental responsibilities, the upgrade to maintenance – free bearings is aspired.

The expectations on Hydro Power Plants as a “green” energy source also demands more and more for “green” operations. Using bearings, which demand grease for maintenance and therefore contaminating water is becoming unacceptable.

Decades ago the combination of Bronze and a PTFE fabric was among the first maintenance-free bushings used in the guide veins and regulating rings, soon followed by bronze with graphite plugs and sintered bronze materials with graphite powder.

Only since a few years non-metallic materials like composites and high strength thermoplasts found their acceptance in the hydro industry.

A still very commonly used material for guide vein bushings is the Bronze/ PTFE fabric version.

This material has been used for decades and proved of a very reliable track record. It was dominantly used among European Turbine manufacturers but

in nowadays it is mainly used for overhauls than for new builds.

The advantage is that due to the PTFE fabric it can be machined with an extreme tight ID tolerance, which helps to absorb unwanted micro vibrations.

This kind of vibration is often found in Pump Storage Plants and can cause major damages and operation interferences.

The backing material is normally a Bronze but can also be made from normal steel for the linkage ring or from stainless steel. This last option could be considered if environmental factors like aggressive sulphur water in volcanic areas e.g. (Indonesia) or contamination of the water through excessive fish farming occur.

Another widely used material for turbines, but also for gates and sluices is Bronze with solid lubricants.

Very important to consider using this material is the right choice of Bronze alloy and even more importantly the right solid lubricant. If the wrong lubricant is chosen, even stainless steel shaft can start to corrode, as the graphite emphasises electrolytic corrosion in combination with water (even more saline water) or damp environments. The right alloy also needs to be considered depending on the type of water.

Again, for acidic water qualities, generally no bronze is a good choice as oxidisation will happen.

This will increase the surface roughness in the ID and therefore increase the friction tremendously. The result will be higher efforts of turning the shafts and in severe cases seizing of the guide veins or gates.

Generally this material is found dominantly in turbines from Japanese manufacturers, however European companies tent to use is it fairly frequently as well.

Bronze as a metal does not allow any misalignments and therefore would not be a good

choice, if the application suffers from deflection. The resulting high edge loads will cause early wear on the bushings and in most cases also damage the shafts.

This is will lead to very expensive overhaul costs. In this case other materials would need to be considered.

However in the contrary the strength for this material is, when the application demands a high stiffness and flexibility in the bushing cannot be accepted e.g. in a Kaplan Runner Hub or certain rollers in gates.

It is also a good choice for refurbishments, especially if there is severe corrosion on the housings and shafts. It can be easily customised to a nonstandard ID or OD, but the new fitting tolerances have to be discussed with a bearing engineer.

For gates and sluices this material is also frequently used as Spherical Plain Bearings in combination with Stainless Steel. There are two versions: a) “floating bearing” where the spherical ball is made out of bronze with solid lubricant on the ID and the spherical surface. (ref. to fig. 1) b) “fixed bearing”, where the outer ring is made of bronze with the lubricant on the concave inside and the ball is made from stainless steel. (ref. to fig. 2) This is an excellent choice when constructions show possible misalignments like e.g. in a radial dam or sluice gates. Different water pressures on the gate surface as well as unequal performance in the hydraulic systems can cause deformation in the gate structure. With standard cylindrical shaped bushings the misalignment can cause severe damages on the shaft and bushing or even cause the gates to get stuck.

Fig. 1 Floating Type

Fig. 2 Fixed Type

For about a decade fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) became more popular and could convince leading turbine manufacturers from its great properties.

Next to its high strength, low friction and POWER INSIDER MAY/JUNE 2012 79

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HYDRO BEARINGS selflubricating properties it has 2 big advantages towards other materials: flexible material structure and 100% non – corrosive. The material flexibility in combination with its high load capacity makes FRP bearings extremely helpful for guide vanes (wicket gates) which suffer from misalignment.

Especially low to medium head turbines, high specific speed and high power output turbines have a higher risk of misaligned operating guide vanes shafts in the bearings. The misalignment in bearings with a high stiffness (like bronze) will cause the contact surface to decrease and lead to high edge loads with the common result of premature bearing failure. The flexibility of FRP’s will allow the bearing material to adjust to the misalignment of the guide vane shaft and keeps the contact surface between bearing and shaft on a satisfying level which allows a long bearing performance. The second big advantage of FRP’s is the non-conductive property. Galvanic corrosion of bushing and shaft is not possible.

In acidic and saline waters this property becomes very important for an extended bearing life and performance.

If a high material stiffness is needed, like in a Kaplan runner hub, a material combination of FRP and bronze or stainless steel is advisable. A very thin layer of FRP is added into the metallic sleeve, allowing extremely high pressures without any deformation of the FRP. The other preferred properties like the low friction and the corrosion resistance of FRP’s remains.

FRP’s gain also importance for the hydro mechanical equipment. Trunion bearings and guide roller bearing of radial gates can mostly be furnished with FRP’s. Especially in very large diameters this material type is more cost competitive compared to bronze with solid lubricants. With a six times lower density than bronze, the installation of large diameter FRP bearings becomes significantly easier than with bronze. FRP’s can be freeze-shrunk in liquid nitrogen and makes the usage of special installation equipment needless.The market also offers Spherical plain bearings in a FRP/Stainless Steel combination.

This combination allows the bearing to run without lubrication and to be corrosion resistant, even in saline and waste waters. There are two types available: a) “normal duty” (ND-Series), where the bearing

Fig. 3 ND-series

Fig. 4 HD-series

We are looking forward to hear from you!

SBS-Singa Bearings Solutions® PTE. LTD. 50 Bukit Batok St. 23 #06-08 Midview Bldg. has aSingapore stainless steel shell and a FRP Ball is inserted.

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This can also be referred to a “loose bearings” (ref. to fig. 3) Tel.: +65- 6316 3850 b) “heavy duty” (HD-Series), this type has a stainless shell and also 3851 the ball is made of Fax:steel+65-6316 stainless steel. The ball and outer ring are separated by awww.sbs-bearings.com.sg thin layer of FRP, which is securely sitting in the concave shape of the outer ring. This thin FRP @ sbs-bearings.com.sg layerinfo has a very high stiffness and allows extreme high contact pressures. (ref. to fig. 4) FRP with Stainless steel spherical plain bearings will be the safest choice if corrosion enhancing environments are present.

It is very important to highlight that cheaper solutions using chrome plated/PTFE or steel on steel spherical bearings will in most cases only bring a short Another big advantage of this material is the monetary benefit. Often corrosion breaks through the thin wall thickness allowing it to fit in almost every chrome in a very short period of time, destroying the compact space – even with big diameters. This PTFE layer. Also maintenance for the steel on steel makes it an excellent choice for any upgrade, where Our partners in Germany versions will hardly be carried out in regular intervals previously no bearing was considered. and GLT-GleitLagerTechnik automated grease lines ®are unreliable due to As alreadyLHG-GleitlagerKomponenten highlighted several times in this® article GmbH GmbH & Co. KG corrosion holes, clogging, etc. The result is that the it is very important to know and understand the Münchener Str. 1a Högerstrasse 38a gates are not able to be operated properly, causing environmental conditions of the power plant, barrage D-85646 Anzing D-85646 Anzing early major overhaul costs. or gates etc. Every material discussed has certain Germany Germany This last self-lubricating bearing we are advantages and disadvantages. It is the condition of mentioning has a sintered bronze with incorporated the water quality as well as the location of the plant Tel: +49 -(0)8121 -2233-0 Tel: +49 -(0)8121-2530-0 graphite powder as a sliding layer. The standard or application that+49 will-(0)8121-2530-35 determine the right choice of Fax: +49 -(0)8121 -2233-44 Fax: backing material is steel but more corrosionmaterial. A hydro station located in the mountains info @ glt-gleitlagertechnik.de infodeal @ lhg-gleitkomp.de resistant bronze or stainless steel can be an option. will most likely with high abrasion due to glacier Awww.glt-gleitlagertechnik.de special sintering technique guarantees a strong silt whereas www.lhg-gleitkomp.de a plant located at a river with a high bonding between the backing material and the sliding concentration of e.g. fish farms or paper mills will layer. The dispersed graphite as the lubricant acts like have to consider the chemical contamination of the a “grease layer” and is perfect for micro movements water for the bearings. allowing it to be nearly stick-slip free. Moreover it Unfortunately it is still common that there is not SBS products are manufactured according to is a very robust with a high resistance to a abrasion too much attention paid to the bearing applications DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 and DIN EN ISO 14001 quality assurance! intense environment. Depending on the backing in the hydro sector.

Decisions are made against material it also has very good chemical resistance and a proper investment in good quality bushings, the load capacity is also on the high end. spherical bearings and wear plates, which are chosen This material can be manufactured with optional specifically for THIS application considering all the cleaning groove (as seen in the photo) this type of environmental factors. groove is “open” towards both ends of the bushing, It is always important to remember that allowing dirt to be collected inside and slowly being WITHOUT the bushing, the whole equipment does moved out of the sliding surface.

NOT work!

‘IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF THE POWER PLANT, BARRAGE OR GATES ETC. EVERY MATERIAL DISCUSSED HAS CERTAIN ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. IT IS THE CONDITION OF THE WATER QUALITY AS WELL AS THE LOCATION OF THE PLANT OR APPLICATION THAT WILL DETERMINE THE RIGHT CHOICE OF MATERIAL.’

80 MAY/JUNE 2012 POWER INSIDER

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03/07/2012 08:43

FUKUSHIMA CRSIS

FUKUSHIMA: OUT OF THE WOODS?

BY CHARLIE FOX

SPENT REACTOR FUEL, CONTAINING ROUGHLY 85 TIMES MORE LONG-LIVED RADIOACTIVITY THAN RELEASED AT CHERNOBYL, STILL SITS IN POOLS VULNERABLE TO EARTHQUAKES.

M

ore than a year after the Fukushima nuclear power disaster began, the news media is just beginning to grasp that the dangers to Japan and the rest of the world are far from over. After repeated warnings by former senior Japanese officials, nuclear experts, and now a U.S. senator, it’s sinking in that the irradiated nuclear fuel stored in spent fuel pools amidst the reactor ruins pose far greater dangers than the molten cores. This is why: • Nearly all of the 10,893 spent fuel assemblies sit in pools vulnerable to future earthquakes, with roughly 85 times more long-lived radioactivity than released at Chernobyl • Several pools are 100 feet above the ground and are completely open to the atmosphere because the reactor buildings were demolished by explosions. The pools could possibly topple or collapse from structural damage coupled with another powerful earthquake.

• The loss of water exposing the spent fuel will result in overheating and can cause melting and ignite its zirconium metal cladding resulting in a fire that could deposit large amounts of radioactive materials over hundreds, if not thousands of miles.

This was not lost on Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who after visiting the site on April 6, wrote to Japan’s U.S. ambassador, Ichiro Fujusaki, that “loss of containment in any of these pools... could result an even larger release of radiation than the nuclear accident.”

The urgency of the situation is underscored by the ongoing seismic activity where 13 earthquakes of magnitude 4.05.7 have occurred off the northeast coast of Japan between April 14 and 17. This has

been the norm since the first quake and tsunami hit the Dai-Ichi site on March 11 of last year. Larger quakes are expected closer to the power plant.

Spent nuclear fuel is extraordinarily radioactive and must be handled with great care. In a matter of seconds, an unprotected person one foot away from a single freshly removed spent fuel assembly would receive a lethal dose of radiation within seconds. As one of the most dangerous materials on the planet, spent reactor fuel requires permanent geological isolation to protect humans for thousands of years.

It’s been 26 years, since the Chernobyl reactor exploded and caught fire releasing enormous amounts of radioactive debris -- seriously contaminating areas over a thousand miles away. Chernobyl revealed the folly of not having an extra barrier of thick concrete and steel surrounding the reactor core that is required for modern plants, in the U.S., Japan and elsewhere.

The Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident revealed the folly of operating several nuclear power plants in a high consequence earthquake zone while storing huge amounts of highly radioactive spent fuel in vulnerable pools, high above the ground.

What both accidents have in common is widespread environmental contamination from cesium-137. With a half-life of 30, years, Cs-137 gives off penetrating radiation, as it decays and can remain dangerous for hundreds of years. Once in the environment, it mimics potassium as it accumulates in the food chain. When it enters the human body, about 75 percent lodges in muscle tissue, with, perhaps, the most important muscle being the heart.

Last week, Tokyo Electric Power

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Company (TEPCO) revealed plans to remove 2,274 spent fuel assemblies from the damaged reactors that will probably take at least a decade to accomplish. The first priority will be removal of the contents in Pool No. 4. This pool is structurally damaged and contains about 10 times more cesium-137 than released at Chernobyl. Removal of SNF from the No. 4 reactor is optimistically expected to begin at the end of 2013. A significant amount of construction to remove debris and reinforce the structurally damaged reactor buildings, especially the fuel- handling areas, will be required.

Also, it is not safe to keep 1,882 spent fuel assemblies containing ~57 million curies of long-lived radioactivity, including nearly 15 times more cs-137 than released at Chernobyl in the elevated pools at reactors 5, 6, and 7, which did not experience meltdowns and explosions.

The main reason why there is so much spent fuel at the Da-Ichi site is that the plan to send it off for nuclear recycling has collapsed. It was supposed to go to the incomplete Rokkasho reprocessing plant, just south of the Fukushima nuclear site, where plutonium would be extracted as a fuel for “fast” reactors. This scheme is based on long discredited assumptions that world uranium supplies would be rapidly exhausted and that a new generation of “fast” reactors, which held the promise of making more fuel than they use, would be needed. Over the past 20 years the Rokkasho’s costs have tripled along with 18 major delays. World uranium supplies are far from depleted.

Moreover, in November of last year, Japan’s “fast” reactor project at Monju was cancelled for cost and safety reasons -- dealing a major blow to this whole scheme.

The stark reality, if TEPCO’s plan is realized, is that nearly all of the spent fuel at the Da-Ichi containing some of the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet will remain indefinitely in vulnerable pools. TEPCO wants to store the spent fuel from the damaged reactors

?

in the common pool, and only to resort to dry, cask storage when the common pool’s capacity is exceeded. At this time, the common pool is at 80 percent storage capacity and will require removal of SNF to make room. TEPCO’s plan is to minimize dry cask storage as much as possible and to rely indefinitely on vulnerable pool storage.

Sen. Wyden finds that that TEPCO’s plan for remediation “carries extraordinary and continuing risk” and sensibly recommends that “retrieval of spent fuel in existing onsite spent fuel pools to safer storage... in dry casks should be a priority.”

Despite the enormous destruction from the earthquake and tsunami, little attention was paid to the fact that the nine dry spent fuel casks at the Fukushima Da-Ichi site were unscathed. This is an important lesson we cannot afford to ignore.

Radioactive cesium was detected in 51 food products from nine prefectures in excess of a new government-set limit in the first month since it was introduced April 1, according to data released by the health ministry Tuesday.

The limit was exceeded in 337 cases, or 2.4 percent of 13,867 food samples examined by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Cesium exceeding the previous allowable limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram was detected in 55 cases, while the new limit of 100 becquerels was exceeded in 282 cases.

By prefecture, there were 142 cases in Fukushima, 69 in Tochigi, 41 in Ibaraki, 35 in Iwate, 32 in Miyagi, 13 in Chiba, two each in Yamagata and Gunma, and one in Kanagawa.

Mushrooms and other agricultural products containing cesium in excess of the tougher limit were involved in 178 cases, while 156 cases pertained to fishery products such as flat fish and bass. In addition, two cases involved black bear meat and one case fried “moroko” fresh water fish.

The main thing here which is critically obvious to the international community is the disaster is far from over, more work needs to be done to ensure the safety and security of Japan’s citizens and food chain.

The international community are watching!

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ASIA WIND POWER

WIND ENERGY IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

BY CHARLIE FOX

SOUTH-EAST ASIA: SOME OF THE REGION’S COUNTRIES ARE TAKING MEASURES TO ENCOURAGE WIND-POWER DEVELOPMENT, BUT REGULATORY AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY AND POOR TRANSMISSION ARE HOLDING BACK PROGRESS IN THE PHILIPPINES, WHICH HAS JUST A SINGLE 33MW WIND FARM BUILT IN 2009.

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THAILAND With plans to build four wind farms totaling 242MW, Thailand is aiming to boost its current installed capacity of just 7MW, 2MW of which was added last year.

At 90MW each and using Siemens turbines, the Huay Bong II and III wind farms are due to be built this year in Nakhon Ratchasima. Construction of the 90MW Thep Sathit Farm, which was to begin shortly, has been delayed indefinitely, according to turbine supplier GE, due to government departments disagreeing on the location. Sites with the best wind potential in Thailand are often in stateowned conservation areas, which makes gaining land permission complex.

Projects totaling 645MW are in the development pipeline. Thailand promotes renewables investment by awarding renewable-energy technologies an additional tariff on top of the standard THB 3.2/ kWh ($0.1/kWh). Wind projects receive an extra THB 3.50/kWh. For wind farms in the three southernmost provinces, an additional THB 1.50Baht/kWh is paid.

Siemens AG, the world’s largest maker of offshore wind turbines, is making big moves into Asia’s onshore sector with the announcement of a big win in Thailand and plans to take on its competitors in the hotly contested China market.

The Thai contract is a bit of a milestone for Siemens and Thailand as it marks the country’s first major foray into wind energy.

Siemens will supply and install turbines two projects in the country’s northeast on behalf of Thailand’s Wind Energy Holding Company with a

total capacity of 200 MW. The towers and blades will be sourced in China Thailand now only has a wind energy capacity of 5 MW but has ambitions of becoming Southeast Asia’s wind power hub with 800 MW installed by 2022 through a government-sponsored incentive regime aimed at international investors.

Siemens, meanwhile, admitting to underestimating the pace of China’s wind energy market, has found itself having to play catch up as its competitors increase their lead and as earnings in the sector decline.

Though China led the world in installing windpower capacity last year, Siemens is lagging far behind suppliers such as Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S and its Chinese counterparts.

Siemens in 2009 set a goal of becoming one of the world’s top three wind-power companies by installed generating capacity. It ranked ninth in 2010, according to estimates by a Bloomberg New Energy Finance, analyst who estimates the German company may climb to fifth place by 2015.

Vestas and Chinese producers Sinovel Wind Group and Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology will remain the top three manufacturers for the near future, in terms of megawatts sold, the analyst said.

Siemens is sitting on a record backlog of almost €12 billion (USD16 billion) worth of wind-power orders, including its first from China for offshore equipment. The company said in December it would expand wind-turbine manufacturing, sales and service units in China through two ventures with Shanghai Electric Group.

VIETNAM Power consumption in Vietnam is continued to rise over the year fueling the socio-economic development of the country.

Concerning the consumption structure, industry continued to take the biggest share of from 47.4 % to 52 % in total consumption in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Household consumption occupied the second largest share but slightly reduced due to fast industrialization in Vietnam, from 42.9% in 2006 to 38.2% in 2010. Altogether service, agriculture and other sectors occupied approximately 10% of electricity consumption.

Wind-power generation targets of 1GW by 2020 and 6.2GW by 2030 are in place under Vietnam’s Power Master Plan VII, introduced last year, with an obligation on Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) to purchase all electricity generated by on-grid wind plants at a price of VND 1,614/ kWh ($7.8/kWh).

A yearlong project is in progress to collect data for a countrywide wind atlas. Different studies have estimated Vietnam’s wind resource to be between 521GW (World Bank) and 1,785GW (EVN).

According to GIZ Wind Energy Project, a Vietnamese-German initiative advising the government, 42 wind-power projects ranging from 6MW to 150MW are at different stages of development in Vietnam, for a total capacity of 3.9GW. Last year, the Vietnam Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company completed the first phase of a 120MW wind farm in Binh Thuan Province, with 20 1.5MW turbines connected to the grid so far.

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