Tawanai

Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) recently inaugurated its new 220 MW (megawatt) Combined Cycle Power Plant located in Korangi. The plant, owned and operated by the KESC, has been completed with an investment of Rs 16 billion. It consists of four latest, state-of-the-art high-efficiency gas turbines, one steam turbine and other plant equipmentNote that Abraj Capital assumed management control of KESC in late 2008. The current deficit of electricity in the system stands at around 3,500 megawatts. The KESC has started pre-construction activities for a new 560 megawatts combined cycle power plant at Bin Qasim which would be functional in one and half year

All the big shots, Prime Minister,  Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Education Minister Mazharul Haq and others were also present on this occasion. The Prime Minister said that a mix of moderate generation capacity projects like Duber Khwar, Jinnah Low Head Mianwali, Nandipur, 3 Chashnupp, 121 Mega Watts Allai Khwar, Bhikki Power Plant and Liberty Power Tech are some of the prominent power projects in thermal, nuclear and hydro sectors.

Prime Minister said that theft of electricity and non-payment of dues are the biggest reasons of bringing this sector under crisis. “It is a vicious cycle which affects investment in the system and needs to be broken through building better coordination among all stakeholders in the city of Karachi,” he added.

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Electricity, Energy, Infrastructure, Natural Gas

Vodafone Qatar and Alcatel-Lucent announced the deployment of the first hybrid powered Base Station in Qatar, using an integration of solar and wind energy. Vodafone and other companies intend to learn from these trial sites and plans to apply these techniques all over the world.

The wind turbine at the Qatar site has been mounted at the top of the existing mast to leverage higher winds. The energy controller brings intelligent control to simultaneously draw power from both the photovoltaic panels and wind turbine, based on solar intensity and wind speed, making the most – at every second – of the two sources’ fluctuating availability. The system also carefully monitors battery charging cycles and diesel generator maintenance runs so as to maximize their lifespan. A full monitoring system enables real-time tracking of all weather and energy parameters; a key component to enabling large scale deployments.

Conservation, Energy, Environment, Green, Infrastructure, Solar alcatel, telecom, vodafone

It is estimated that the coal resources of Pakistan were more than 185 billion tonnes. The present net demand of coal in the country was about 10.1 million tonnes out of which 4.1 million tonnes were produced locally and 6 million tonnes were imported.

To increase the coal production by 20 percent the Coal Sub-Group proposed that focus must be made on the improvement of underground transportation of coal and construction of roads from coal bearing zone to the market.

Daily Times adds:

The Coal Sub-Group emphasised on greater exploitation of the indigenous energy resources, which was an important strategy in Energy Security Action Plan, which envisaged the share of coal from the 6 percent to 19 percent in 2019, the sources maintained.

The group was of the view that the provincial governments were unable to provide the requisite assistance to the private coal miners to overcome the difficulties.

The sources said that in January 2007, Energy Logistic Committee (ELC) was constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources and the ELC constituted three sup-groups on coal, gas and oil, headed by respective director generals.

In order to achieve the objectives of the ELC, the Coal Sub-Group proposed that focus must be made on the improvement of underground transportation of coal and construction of road from coal bearing zone to the market through an umbrella PC-I.

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Energy, Fuel, Infrastructure, coal

The picture shows a specially designed rig which is used to drill more than a thousand meters down and gradually turn 90° to follow the gas-rich shale deposit. The rig will drill half a dozen wells at the site in East US.

Photo credit: Technology Review

Gas, Infrastructure

Could this new technology lead the way to a new and cleaner coal? Here’s Technology Review’s article about this.

The industrial boomtown of Dongguan in southeast China’s Pearl River Delta could soon host one of the country’s most sophisticated power plants, one that uses an unconventional coal-gasification technology to make the dirtiest coal behave like clean-burning natural gas. Its developers, Atlanta-based utility Southern Company and Houston-based engineering firmKBR, announced the licensing deal with Dongguan Power and Chemical Company this month.

Dongguan Power plans to implement the gasification scheme at an existing 120-megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant, turning it into an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant that uses cheap, moisture-laden lignite coal. The retrofit should be operating in 2011. That will provide its developers with a demonstration to determine whether technology will work in larger IGCC plants and whether it is a process suitable to integrate carbon capture and storage technology, according to John Thompson, director of the Coal Transition Program for the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit environmental consulting firm based in Boston. “They want to show that this works,” says Thompson.

Southern and KBR’s gasification design can use dirty coal because, compared to other gasification reactors, it uses a relatively slow, low-temperature process. Conventional gasifiers, such as General Electric’s and Shell’s, rely on temperatures around 1,500 ºC to turn finely ground coal into a combustible mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen known as syngas. Unfortunately, such temperatures melt ash and other mineral contaminants in the coal, forming a glassy slag that eventually eats through the ceramic tiles that protect the reactors’ steel walls. Even reactors using high-quality coal have to be taken out of service for installation of new tiles at least every three years. They are thus ill-adapted for lower-quality coals that would produce several times more slag.

Clean Technology, Environment, Infrastructure, Innovation, coal

A regional Power Supply company in India said today it has started operations at the first photovoltaic solar power plant to be connected to the electric grid in India.

The 2-megawatt solar project in Jamuria, West Bengal, was built at the site of an abandoned 6-MW coal-based thermal power plant. DPSC converted its 8-acre site with the help of Green Energy Development, installing 9,000 230-watt crystalline solar modules.

Although a relatively small solar plant by global standards, the companies say the solar plant is the largest in the country. India’s government has set a goal to spend nearly $20 billion during the next 30 years to increase solar installations from almost nothing today to 20 gigawatts by 2020 (see India’s new climate plan aims to set 20 GW solar goal). Among its initiatives, The National Solar Mission is expected to offer a 10-year tax holiday and exemption from customs and excise duties on specific equipment and other project materials (see Inside cleantech India: Kal, Aaj aur Kal!).

The companies spent about Rs 34 crore ($7.1 million) to build the 2-MW solar plant, which is expected to generate 3 million units of electricity a year—enough to power 2,000 rural or 500 urban households. An equivalent-sized coal-based thermal power plant would generate 7 lakh metric tons (700,000 metric tons) of carbon dioxide emissions a day.

DPSC plans to buy the electricity for Rs 5 ($0.10) per unit to distribute to customers in the Asansol-Raniganj belt. The project, which is also set to receive government incentives of Rs 10 per unit, is expected to generate Rs 4.8 crore ($1 million) per year.4

Via CleanTech.com

Electricity, Infrastructure, Innovation, Solar

American solar developer, First Solar, inked a pact with Chinese government officials to build a 2 gigawatt photovoltaic farm to go up in the Mongolian desert.

This First Solar project represents the world’s largest photovoltaic power plant project to date, and it is part of an 11.9 gigawatt renewable-energy park planned for Ordos City in Inner Mongolia. This farm should be ready to go in 2019.

The deal could open the market in China and follows the Chinese government’s wishes to accelerate development of renewable energy. First Solar is the world’s largest photovoltaic cell manufacturer,

When completed, the Ordos solar farm would generate enough electricity to power about 3 million Chinese homes, according to First Solar.

Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar will also likely to build a factory in China to make thin-film solar panels, said Mike Ahearn, the company’s chief executive. “It represents an encouraging step forward toward the mass-scale deployment of solar power worldwide to help mitigate climate change concerns.”

Most proposed large-scale solar projects use solar thermal technology, which deploys mirrors to heat a liquid to create steam that drives an electricity-generating turbine. But as photovoltaic technology becomes more cost-competitive, utilities are turning to companies like First Solar for big solar power farms.

First Solar said the 2 gigawatt power plant would cost $5 billion to $6 billion if built in the U.S. today, but it said the cost to build such a project in China would probably be lower.

“Discussions with First Solar about building a factory in China demonstrate to investors in China that they can confidently invest in the most advanced technologies available,” said Cao Zhichen, vice mayor of Ordos Municipal Government.

First Solar’s cadmium telluride solar cells are less efficient at converting sunlight into electricity than standard crystalline silicon cells made by other companies. But the catch is First Solar can manufacture them at a significantly lower cost.

Plans for the Ordos renewable energy park call for wind farms to generate 6.9 gigawatts, photovoltaic power plants to provide 3.9 gigawatts, and solar thermal farms to supply 720 megawatts. Biomass operations, fueled by organic materials like wood chips and straw, will contribute 310 megawatts; 70 megawatts will be available from hydro storage, a load-balancing technology that uses off-peak power to pump water to a high reservoir from which it can release to turn turbines at peak demand periods.

First Solar will have to establish a supply chain to provide power inverters and other hardware needed for its part of the project as well as train Chinese contractors how to build and operate solar farms. Another hurdle is China must upgrade its transmission system to connect the solar power plant to the grid.

Buildings, Clean Technology, Energy, Infrastructure, Solar

Abu Dhabi fund International Petroleum Investment Co., or IPIC, will go ahead with plans to build a $5 billion refinery in Pakistan after overcoming differences with its joint-venture partner, Pak-Arab Refinery Co., a person familiar with the matter said.

“The issues are resolved and the project is being reactivated,” the person, who declined to be named, told Zawya Dow Jones.

IPIC, which manages energy investments in excess of $14 billion for the Abu Dhabi government, is now preparing to award the project management contract, or PMC, on the refinery, the person said.

In January, IPIC’s chief executive Khadem Al Qubaisi said plans for the refinery were delayed as the company was “facing some problems and issues in Pakistan.” He didn’t elaborate at the time. The global economic downturn was one factor contributing to the delay, the person said.

IPIC didn’t respond to questions about the project emailed by Zawya Dow Jones Tuesday.

IPIC’s board in 2008 approved building the 250,000-barrel-a-day Khalifa Coastal Refinery, or KRC, project in Baluchistan with Parco to help the country meet rising domestic demand for refined products.

IPIC will hold a 74% stake in the project, with Parco to hold the remainder. Parco is a 60:40 joint venture between Pakistan’s government and Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investment Holdings, which in turn is 75% owned by IPIC.

The award of the PMC contract will depend on a review of bidders’ revised price proposals, which should reflect today’s lower cost environment, the person said.

International consultancy firms including WorleyParsons Ltd. (WOR.AU), Shaw Group (SHAW) and Veco Engineering, submitted bids for the PMC contract last year but the award was put on hold amid the delays.

If revised prices meet IPIC’s expectations, an award may happen as early as October. Otherwise, another option would be to retender the contract to secure better prices, the person added.

IPIC also continues to work on plans to build a refinery in Morocco, the person said.

Consumers, Infrastructure, Investment

The removal of subsidy on power tariffs may prove to be politically difficult to implement for the government of the day as the people as the consumers were already allergic to the quality of services of the utility companies as well as exorbitant electricity prices impairing economics of the small and medium business especially in the face of depressive economic activity and slowdown. In this backdrop, the planned power tariff hike of 10% in October remains the second major milestone for a sustainable resolution of inter-corporate debt. It may be mentioned that the government’s latest decision to hike petroleum product prices by 7-8% in the latest monthly price review has drawn severe criticism from all corners of the country and as well as the media and opposition alike.

However while the trade and industry and general consumers were making hue and cry over recent hike in petroleum prices, the Oil Marketing Companies, particularly Pakistan State Oil (PSO), stand to benefit from strong inventory gains and firm margins.

The latest revision in prices reflects the impact of both international prices (up 10% Mom) and weakening of the Pak Rupee (3%). While the government has fixed HSD margins at Rs1.35/litre or US$2.6/bbl (40% of total volume), margins on furnace oil (deregulated) and gasoline (4% of ex-refinery prices) should increase by 2% and 10% respectively.

Via Pakistan Observer

Consumers, Electricity, Infrastructure, Oil, Petrol

The Saudi ambassador said Saudi investors consider Pakistan as a potential investment destination with particular interest in agriculture and petroleum sectors.

Speaking on the occasion, Masud said many sectors of Pakistan’s economy like energy, oil and gas, infrastructure development, minerals, agriculture etc offer plenty of investment opportunities and investors of Saudi Arabia should explore these areas for enhancing their investment and business interests in Pakistan.

He said though Pak-Saudi annual bilateral trade has crossed $4 billion, but still it is much below the potential found in two countries.

He said Saudi investment in natural resources found in Balochistan, NWFP and Sindh etc will create beneficial results for both the countries.

Chief Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry Islamabad Office Mian Akram Farid said enhanced direct interaction between businessmen of the two countries could be the best option for increasing bilateral trade and economic relations and urged that both countries should work for facilitating frequent exchange of business delegations to explore new areas of mutual cooperation.

Via Daily Times

Energy, Infrastructure, Investment