November/December 2015: Industry News

GE Swallows Alstom

The deal is now approved for GE’s Alstom acquisition. GE Power & Water and Alstom Power have combined to form GE Power, headquartered in Schenectady, NY. Steve Bolze will serve as president and CEO, leading more than 65,000 employees in 150 countries with estimated revenue of $30 billion.

The merger creates a sprawling GE Power empire encompassing a large range of gas turbines (GTs), boilers, steam turbines (STs), reciprocating engines, generators, software and controls. It consists of six businesses: Power Services headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, led by Paul McElhinney; Gas Power Systems in Schenectady, led by Joe Mastrangelo; Steam Power Systems in Baden, Switzerland, led by Andreas Lusch; Distributed Power in Jenbach, Austria, led by Lorraine Bolsinger; GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy in Wilmington, North Carolina, led by Jay Wileman; and Water & Process Technologies in Trevose, Pennsylvania, led by Heiner Markhoff.

The transaction has been approved in over 20 countries and regions including the EU, U.S., China, India, Japan and Brazil. It’s GE’s largest-ever industrial acquisition of €12.35 billion, and the company believes current projects will benefit including:

•  PSEG Sewaren, New Jersey combined cycle power plant (CCPP); GE 7HA GT and Alstom heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)
•  Punjab Pakistan Bhikki CCPP; two GE 9HA GTs and an Alstom ST
•  Several Exelon plants in Texas; GE 7HA GTs and four Alstom HRSGs
• Chempark, Leverkusen, Germany combined heat and power project (CHP); GE 9HA GT.

Starting off, GE and Alstom are both preferred bidders for a combined cycle plant project in Asia that would use two GE 7HA GTs, two Alstom HRSGs and one Alstom ST.

Alstom farewell news

Prior to its dissolution, Alstom handed over a part of the newly constructed Block 9 of the GKM coal-fired power station to Grosskraftwerk Mannheim. The plant is operating at advanced ultrasupercritical conditions, in which the steam is produced and used at the highest pressure and temperature, allowing it to reach the highest efficiency. It has a power output of 911 MW, efficiency of 46%, and 70% maximum fuel consumption in cogeneration mode.

Meanwhile, Alstom and German utility RheinEnergi have synchronized the 453 MW Niehl3 power plant in Cologne with the German electricity grid. The facility generates heat and power from natural gas, and is based on Alstom’s KA26 combined-cycle plant design. It has 265 MW of thermal heating output.

And Alstom and Dalia Power Energies have inaugurated the 835 MW Haruvit CCPP in Israel. The facility is equipped with two units that integrate Alstom’s GT26 GT, ST, generator and HRSG. Alstom’s Alspa Series 6 distributed control system and 420kV gas-insulated substation connect the facility to the power grid.

Ansaldo’s gains

Ansaldo Energia is a major beneficiary of the deal. As part of the Alstom merger approval, GE had to sell Alstom’s GT business to its Italian rival. GE divested to Ansaldo Alstom’s heavy-duty GT product line, key development personnel and associated technology, as well as Alstom’s existing service contracts for 34 GT 26 turbines and its U.S.-based subsidiary Power System Manufacturing (PSM).

Ansaldo now owns all Alstom’s GT intellectual property rights for the latest ratings of the GT26 and GT36 turbines, existing upgrades and pipeline technology for future upgrades. Along with the machines come more than 400 Alstom employees in Baden, Switzerland who will continue to develop the Alstom GT technology.

Subsea compression

Extensive subsea testing of MAN

HOFIM compressors has just

been successfully completed and

the first unit has now been

deployed on the seabed

Subsea compression was the subject of a recent cover story (Turbomachinery International, Sept/Oct 2014). Since then, we have waited for the results of underwater testing of hermetically sealed compressors at the Statoil Åsgard field in the North Sea. The good news: Statoil has declared the project a success.

The Midgard and Mikkel reservoirs are said to increase recovery from 67% to 87% and 59% to 84%, respectively. This compares to an average recovery rate of 50% off Norway. The goal: to enable recovery of an additional 306 million barrels of oil equivalents and extend the Åsgard field’s life to 2032.

Developed by Aker Solutions under a $419 million contract, the subsea gas compression facility is 300 meters below the surface. It features two 11.5 MW centrifugal compressors developed by MAN Diesel & Turbo, as well as associated equipment.

The High-Speed, Oil-Free, Integrated Motor (HOFIM) compressors use a highspeed motor and active magnetic bearings in a hermetically sealed design, said Urs Baumann, Head of Calculation and Development at MAN Diesel and Turbo. This technology eliminates dry gas seals and the oil system, reducing complexity, improving reliability and shrinking the footprint. Aker and MAN have now an alliance to make further subsea compression systems.

Centrax orders

Utility Hera SpA has ordered two 3.9 MW Centrax generator sets for its new district heating facility in Bologna, Italy. Centrax will supply CX501-KB5’s gas turbines, boilers, attenuators, and exhaust stacks per turbine. Delivery is scheduled in early 2016.

Centrax also has received an order from A2L Energy to supply a CX-KB5 to power the Favini papermill in Crusinallo-Verbania, Italy. The indoor unit will provide 3.8 MW of electricity plus 23 metric tons per hour of saturated steam to be used in the paper making process. It is expected to be online by late 2015.

The company will also install an additional CX501-KB7 at a dairy in Ireland. The new 501 package will sit alongside Centrax’s original generator set installed in 2009. Installation is planned for February 2016.

Finally, Centrax sold a 5.2 MW natural gas-fueled generator set to the Azerbaijan company Aztikintiyol, which produces crushed rock and asphalt. It will provide one CX501-KB7 to generate electricity for 8,000 hours per year.

Floating production decline

Energy Maritime Associates (EMA) has announced a decline in market activity for all types of floating production systems, including floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) and Floating LNG (FLNG).

EMA reports that the pace of orders has been slowing throughout the year: four orders were placed in Q1, three orders in Q2 and two orders in Q3. 2015 will likely end with nine or ten orders, similar to the 1998-1999 downturn. The analyst firm believes orders will pick up by mid-2016, assuming crude oil prices do not decline below $40/bbl. However, a rapid rebound is unlikely.

Out of the 255 potential floating production projects being tracked, 20 have been shortlisted as likely awards by 2016 with a total investment of $22 billion. Half would go to LNG-related projects, particularly Woodside’s Browse FLNG project in Australia. Other potential orders include 10 FPSOs destined for Brazil, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Mexico and the North Sea.

Capstone orders

Capstone Turbine received orders for: two C600 dual-mode microturbines to power a facility and on-site equipment at an Alaskan oil field; four C1000 microturbines at a 4-MW Australian facility to be commissioned in early 2016; and multiple microturbine orders from E-Finity Distributed Generation for oil and gas operations in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions. One customer selected a skid-mounted C30 unit to power a well pad. Another chose multiple Capstone units for similar well-pad applications.

Floating production orders are in decline[/caption]

Black & Veatch contract

Black & Veatch has been selected to perform EPC services for PSEG Power’s 540 MW Sewaren 7 CCPP. The dual-fuel project will deliver power to PJM’s regional transmission market in time for the summer of 2018. Construction is likely to begin in 2016.

Dual-fuel capability allows the plant operator to generate power using ultra-low sulfur distillate (ULSD) fuel oil in the event of a gas supply shortfall. With more gasfired generation being developed in the northeast, fuel reliability has been a focus of PJM planning.

NAES acquisition

NAES has acquired Olsson Industrial Electric, an electrical construction, engineering and controls contractor. Based in Springfield, Oregon, Olsson provides all phases of electrical systems engineering, installation and integration.

Sandia Labs’ Supercritical CO2 test facility[/caption]

Supercritical CO2

Sandia National Laboratories and eight other companies and research organizations will collaborate to advance a distributed power system to produce cleaner, more efficient electricity. Their work will focus on the development of a fossil-fueled energy system based on supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) Brayton cycle technology.

Organizations working with Sandia include Peregrine Turbine Technologies, PTT Distributed Energy Systems, Vacuum Process Engineering, Mid-South Engineering, CFD Research, U.S. Space & Rocket Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Government Energy Solutions and the Energy Huntsville Initiative.

Peregrine Turbine Technologies is developing a power generation turbine engine that uses SCO2 as a working fluid. It is said to be 30% to 60% more efficient than current technology.

Mexican power

Spanish electric utility Iberdrola has won a $400 million contract to build the 850 MW Noreste CCPP in Escobedo municipality, Mexico. The Mexican Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will purchase the power under a 25-year power purchase agreement.

Construction is scheduled to begin early 2016, and is expected to be completed in July 2018. MHPS will provide GTs and an ST for the facility, which will also feature Foster Wheeler boilers.

EthosEnergy president

Kevin Taylor[/caption]

EthosEnergy has appointed Kevin Taylor as President of Power Solutions with responsibility for leading the strategic direction of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) activities and expanding fastrack equipment solutions and services.

He comes to EthosEnergy from NAES where he served as Senior Vice President, Engineering & Construction.

Elliott service center

Elliott Group opened a 3,530 square meter turbomachinery service center in the Bidadi Industrial Area southwest of Bengaluru, India. The facility will repair and maintain rotating equipment. It is equipped and staffed to repair all components of centrifugal and axial compressors, steam turbines and hot gas expanders including diaphragms, rotors, impellers, blades, bearings and casings.

Myanmar CCPP

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is planning to invest $40 million in a 225 MW CCPP at Mandalay in Myanmar. It will include two sets of GTs, two sets of HRSG, one steam turbine, switchyard cooling water, demineralized water and wastewater treatment. Commercial operation is expected by 2018.

Bechtel contract

Switzerland-based Cricket Valley Energy selected Bechtel as EPC contractor for a 1 GW CCPP in Dover, New York. The plant will have three GE GTs, with an HRSG and ST generator each. Construction should start in mid-2016.

MHPS H-25

gas turbine[/caption]

Mitsubishi digest

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has received an order for an H- 25 gas turbine with a power output of 26 MW from China Machinery Engineering Corporation, the company responsible for EPC of a CCPP in Belarus by RUE Gomelenergo. It is scheduled for operation in June 2017.

MHPS has also received an order for two sets of H-25 gas turbine and generator for a chemical company in Turkmenistan. Scheduled to go on-stream in June 2018, it will serve a cogeneration system at a fertilizer plant.

The company has completed installation of the first 80 MW boiler to be supplied to the Medupi Power Station of South African utility Eskom. The boiler is one of 12 units to be installed at Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power stations. The remaining 11 boilers will be delivered to support the two power stations’ combined 9,600 MW. They are slated for completion by 2020.

Construction of a new 475 MW power plant has begun at a facility in Middleton, Ohio. Gemma Power Systems (GPS) is the EPC provider. It will feature an MHPSA M501GAC GT, a Vogt Power supplementary fired HRSG and a Toshiba ST. It is scheduled for completion in 2018.

In addition, MHPS received an order for two M701F5 GTs, supplying CHP for a CCPP being established by Huaneng Power International in China.

Siemens Trent 60[/caption]

Siemens digest

Siemens will supply ten compressor trains for the eight mtpa Magnolia LNG facility in Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana. The company will supply eight refrigeration compressors and two feed gas booster compressors for two LNG trains.

Four Mixed Refrigerant (MR) STC-SV compressors will each be driven by a Siemens SGT-750 gas turbine, while four Ammonia Refrigerant (AR) STC-SV compressors will each be driven by a Siemens SST-600 steam turbine. Additionally, two motor-driven feed gas booster compressors will be delivered. The subsequent two LNG trains necessary to achieve the full eight mtpa for Magnolia would bring the number of compressor trains at this site to twenty.

The company has been awarded a ten-plus-year service agreement for the Xiaoshan Power Plant in China for the plant’s Unit No. 5 SGT5-4000F GT.

Siemens has signed a contract for the delivery of 18 model SGT- 800 GTs to Thailand and will provide technical field assistance as well as being responsible for long-term service. Six of the turbines have a capacity of 53 MW each, while the capacity of the remaining twelve units is 50.5 MW each. They are to be installed in nine CCPPs with a total capacity of 1,100 MW. The customer is TEC Project Services.

The company is also supplying EPC contractor SNC-Lavalin Constructors with components for the Keys Energy Center in Maryland. The 735 MW plant will become operational in spring of 2018. Siemens will deliver two SGT6-5000F GTs, one SST- 5000 ST, two air cooled generators SGen-1000A, and the associated turbine I&C systems.

Siemens has signed a contract with Dolphin Energy of Abu Dhabi to extend for an additional 18 years the existing service agreement for aeroderivative GT trains operating at the Dolphin Gas Project. This includes nine Trent 60 aeroderivative GTs with nine Dresser-Rand Datum centrifugal compressors operating at a gas compression and processing plant at Ras Laffan, Qatar.

The company is supplying a plant that will have a 615 MW capacity at Acolman, Mexico. Commercial operation is scheduled for December 2017. Siemens will supply two SGT6-8000H GTs, one SST6-5000 ST, three SGen-1000A generators and SPPAT3000 controls.

Siemens has received an order to supply six GTs, four STs and 10 generators for a CCPP in Qatar with an integrated seawater desalination facility. Samsung C&T is building the complex with Hitachi Zosen. With a capacity of 2.5 GW and 136 million imperial gallons of drinking water per day, the first phase is scheduled for 2017, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2018.

Siemens will be the technology partner for Panda Power Funds’ Hummel Station, a 1,124 MW CCPP to be built in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Slated for operation in the first quarter of 2018, it will replace a retired coal-fired plant. It will supply three SGT6-5000F GTs, one SST6-5000 STs, three SGen6-1000A air cooled generators, one SGen6-2000H generator, three NEM DrumPlus HRSGs and SPPA-T3000 controls.

Mountainview facilty[/caption]

GE digest

GE has signed a multiyear services agreement with Southern California Edison (SCE) to upgrade the Mountainview Generating Facility, a 1,054 MW CCPP in Redlands, California. This will boost output by about 48 MW, increase efficiency and offer reduce maintenance downtime.

Mountainview features four 7FA.03 units, two D-11 STs and associated generators. GE will supply six Advanced Gas Path (AGP) sets, six DLN2.6+ combustors, an OpFlex AutoTune optimization software package, and four rotors.

Calon Energy has selected GE to upgrade its Sutton Bridge Power Station in Lincolnshire, UK. The 800 MW CCPP has two GE 9FA GTs and a D-11 ST, which will be upgraded with OpFlex controls, a DLN2.6+ and AGP. The project is expected to begin in mid-2016.

GE will also supply two sets of STs and generators for the Long Phu 1 coal-fired plant in Soc Trang, Vietnam. The facility will use two D850 STs for a plant that can generate 1,200 MW. And it is upgrading a fleet of four GE 9F GTs at two power plants in Bangkok. DLN2.6+ and OpFlex are being added so the units can run on a wider range of natural gas compositions.

GE has secured orders to upgrade GTs for two facilities in Japan. The first order is from Chubu Electric Power to upgrade eight GE GTs at its 2,380 MW Joetsu thermal power station. The second, from Tokyo Electric Power, is for the replacement of eight gas turbines at Yokohama thermal station. At Joetsu, FlexEfficiency upgrades include DLN2.6 combustors, an OpFlex controls package and AGP.

GE will provide four TM2500 mobile GT sets to Sulawesi, Indonesia. The trailermounted TM2500 can be installed faster than traditional power plants, is suited to current growth plans and each can produce 25 MW.

Pemex order

GE Oil & Gas signed a contract with Avanzia Group to refurbish and upgrade four CO2 compression trains including all the auxiliaries and Balance of Plant components for a fertilizer facility owned by Petróleos Mexicanos’s (Pemex). The newly restored plant will meet about 75% of domestic demand for urea (about 1 million tons per year).

GE has received an order from Mass Global Investment Company to provide GTs for a new 3 GW power plant in Bismayah, Iraq. It will supply eight 9F.03 GTs. GE will also provide two 9HA.01 GTs to Harbin Electric for the 1.1 GW Bhikki CCPP in Pakistan, expected to enter commercial operation in 2017.

GE Oil & Gas has signed a $610 million maintenance and support agreement with Corpus Christi Liquefaction, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy for the GTs and refrigerant compressors on the first two LNG trains under construction at Cheniere’s LNG export facility in Corpus Christi, Texas. Each train will have six gas turbines and will supply up to 4.5 million mtpa of LNG. Construction will start in January 2017 with LNG production commencing as early as 2018.

MTU Onsite Energy biogas CHP system[/caption]

Biogas project

Rolls-Royce has been selected by Wisconsin-based Statz Bros to provide an MTU Onsite Energy Series 4000 CHP system for its newly developed dairy facility. It will operate on biogas generated by the anaerobic digestion of cow manure. It produces 763 kW and 2.4 million BTUs of heat per hour.

Longchamps biomethane plant[/caption]

Biomethane plant

German plant manufacturer WelTec BioPower has deployed compact membrane biogas technology. In the three-stage separation procedure, methane is separated from carbon dioxide, water vapor and other components to deliver a methane yield of about 99%. With its upstream compression, the separated methane already has the needed pressure for feed-in to the natural gas grid without being compressed again.

Natural gas liquefaction

Dresser-Rand, part of Siemens Power and Gas, received an order for two LNGo natural gas liquefaction systems. The order, from Elizabethtown Gas, a subsidiary of AGL Resources in Elizabeth, NJ, incudes installation and commissioning at the Elizabethtown Gas site. The systems will be sized to produce about 13,500 gallons of liquefied natural gas per day.

Commercial LNGo plants, as shown above, are made up of four packaged skids: power module, compressor module, process module and conditioning module. About 6,000 gallons/day of liquefied natural gas can be made from 707,000 standard cubic feet of natural gas.