Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 08

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
GAS-FIRED GENERATION
AG&P breaks ground on
its LNG import facility at
Karaikal Port
AG&P, the global downstream gas and LNG logistics company, has broken ground on
its LNG Import Facility at Karaikal Port, Puducherry, paving the way to broader access to natural gas as a primary fuel in South India. The Karaikal LNG import facility is expected to commence commercial operations by Q4 2021.
Owned and operated by AG&P, Karaikal LNG import facility is being built on a 12-hectare site within the Karaikal Port, which enjoys the only deep-water access on the
East Coast of India south of Chennai, with all-weather capabilities and 24/7 operations. Karaikal LNG, which will have an initial capacity of 1mn tonnes per annum (MTPA), will include a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) leased through a long-term charter agreement with ADNOC Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S) from 2021, providing an efficient solution that will enable the supply of this clean fuel to be affordable.
Strategically located 280km south of Chennai and in close proximity to Tamil Nadu’s thriving manufacturing clusters, the new terminal will provide natural gas to power plants, industrial and commercial customers within a 300 km radius. In addition, Karaikal LNG will serve the important city gas networks of AG&P and other city gas companies that bring CNG and LNG to vehicles and piped natural gas to households and other establishments. Truck loading bays will enable delivery of LNG to remote customers by AG&P’s own fleet of trucks.
AG&P
COAL-FIRED GENERATION
Japan to re-examine
policies supporting coal-
fired power plant exports
Japan will launch a review by the end of June aimed at tightening conditions for the export of coal-fired power plants, environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on February 25, Reuters reported.
The move follows global criticism over the Japanese government’s support for building coal-fired plants in countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as the roll-out of new plants in Japan.
The announcement is a major victory for Japan’s environment ministry, which has until now been opposed by other ministries over its opposition to power technology exports.
Koizumi said in December that global criticism of his country’s “addiction to coal” was hitting home, but warned he had yet to win wider support to reduce backing for fossil fuels.
On February 25, he said the environment ministry had agreed the review with other ministries, including the finance ministry and the powerful industry ministry, which has traditionally held more sway over coal policy. The discussions will form an outline for Japan’s new infrastructure export policy to be mapped out in December, he told a news conference.
Under its current policy, Japan supports coal-fired power plant projects if and when a country which needs to choose coal as a power source requests Japan to provide its highly efficient coal power technology.
Japan, a big financier of new coal plants in Southeast Asia, is seen as an outlier among industrialised countries as it is the only G7 nation still building coal-fired plants at home.
MHPS wins 12 Year service
extension for Thailand’s
BLCP power station
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has concluded a third long-term maintenance agreement (LTMA) for the BLCP Power Station in Thailand.
The original LTMA for the power station, operated by BLCP Power Limited (BLCP), an independent power producer (IPP), lasted three years, which was followed by a second agreement for six years.
The comprehensive LTMA includes regular inspections, equipment replacement, and efficiency improvements. The extension concludes in 2032, when the 25-year power purchase agreement with the Electricity Authority of Thailand completes. MHPS’ strong track record in maintenance and optimisation will help ensure a long service life for the power plant.
The BLCP Power Station, located in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in Rayong Province in eastern part of Thailand, is a 1,400MW thermal power generating facility comprising of two power plants for which the handover from MHPS was completed in 2007. The LTMA covers the power plant major equipment including boilers, steam turbines and flue gas cleaning system built by MHPS on a turnkey basis.
COAL
China says major coal firms
restore 95% of production
capacity
China’s coal companies controlled by the central government have resumed operations and are back at more than 95% of their capacity, an official with the National Energy Administration said on February 23.
Lu Junling, head of the administration’s coal department, told a news conference that the capacity resumption rate for all coal firms has reached 76.5%.
The adverse impact from the coronavirus outbreak on China’s coal production has been largely eliminated, Lu added.
ENERGY STORAGE
SMI invests $46mn in
Highview Power’s storage
technology
Japan’s Sumitomo Heavy Industries (SHI) has invested $46mn in UK storage operator Highview Power as it strengthens its position in the cleantech and energy storage industry
The investment accelerates the growth and deployment of Highview’s CRYOBattery energy storage technology at projects worldwide.
The investment signifies SHI’s move
into the clean energy storage market, while Highview Power will now be able to accelerate its global growth initiatives.
CRYOBattery is a liquid-air energy storage (LAES) concept that is calculated
to be cheaper than lithium ion batteries. Highview claims that the technology offers
a new benchmark for a levelised cost of storage (LCOS) of $140/MWh for a 10-hour, 200MW/2GWh system.
SHI’s fully owned daughter company Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) will become SHI’s technology centre and hub for the CRYOBatteryTM business, thereby expanding the technology’s geographical footprint in Europe, Asia, and Americas.
Executives, Shaun Dean, Vice President at Sumitomo Heavy Industries and Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO at SFW will join the Board of Highview Power and bring with them extensive engineering, manufacturing, and global energy market expertise to its leadership team.
“One of the biggest barriers to a carbon-free future has been the ability of
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