Electric Power Daily Preview

ELECTRIC POWER Announcements

Tomorrow, May 11, is the last day to preregister for ELECTRIC POWER 2012!

ELECTRIC POWER 2012 is more than a conference and trade show. Check out all of the co-located events (for more details and registration, visit the ELECTRIC POWER website):

• Our annual Golf Tournament on Monday, May 14.
• The annual Power Industry Awards Banquet, Monday evening.
• Power Plant Management Institute: organized by a network of electric power industry leaders dedicated to creating a forum and peer support network for knowledge transfer among the industry’s plant management.
• The Powder River Basin Coal Users’ Group annual meeting and essential PRB-focused sessions.
• The first session dedicated to Women in Power Generation. (If you are a woman in the industry and can’t attend, be sure to join the Women in Power Generation LinkedIn group created by POWER magazine to support and encourage the participation of women in the power generation industry.)

Follow ELECTRIC POWER on LinkedIn now and throughout the year. 

Presentation Updates

During the show, you’ll find brief reports on selected sessions and presentations in this space. It’s no substitute for attending the sessions, but we know you can’t get to them all, so we give you a taste of tracks you might have missed. To help you plan your time at ELECTRIC POWER, consult the online conference overview. You’ll have complete sessions details in your program. Pick it up at the Registration booth along with your badge. Continue Your Learning after the Show POWER magazine, the official media partner of ELECTRIC POWER, offers several free publications to qualified subscribers involved with the power generation industry. Use the Subscribe button in the top right corner of the home page to subscribe to as many as you are interested in: POWER, the leading monthly publication dedicated to "Business and Technology for the Global Generation Industry," is delivered in print, digitally, and online at www.powermag.com. COAL POWER, GAS POWER, and MANAGING POWER are bimonthly digital publications that address the specific interests and concerns of those involved in coal-fired generation, gas-fired generation, and power industry management. POWERnews, our weekly enewsletter, delivers the top stories of interest to our audience. Rather than sending links to an automatically generated list of stories published by others, we carefully select topics from the week's news; look at what others are saying about those stories; often add our own insights, interviews, and links; and deliver the news stories that you need to know about.

At The Show

See the latest power generation technology solutions by visiting the Exhibit Hall between sessions and during special show floor events. You’ll find more than 500 exhibitors in one place, at one time. Don't miss this unique opportunity to evaluate prospective suppliers. The Exhibit Hall is also a great place to network and catch up with your peers. Here’s the schedule for Monday, May 14: 7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Exhibitor Move-In 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Half Day Morning Pre-Conference Workshops 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Full Day Pre-Conference Workshops  12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Pre-Conference Lunch for Delegates of Full Day or Two Half-Day Workshops 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Half Day Afternoon Pre-Conference Workshops 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Plant Managers’ Reception (for Plant Management Personnel only) 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. PRB Coal Users’ Group Reception (for PRB Delegates only) 7:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. Power Plant Awards Banquet ($125 for non-PRB Delegates)

Industry News

Research Promises Cost Savings at IGCC Power Plants

Changes in operating conditions coupled with changes in commercially manufactured catalysts can produce both power generation increases and significant cost savings at Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants, according to new research from a project at the Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC).

Advanced power plants using IGCC technology convert coal into a synthesis gas, or "syngas," which can then be combusted to produce electricity. The syngas contains combustible hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO), along with water, nitrogen, and CO2, a greenhouse gas. To capture CO2 and prevent its release into the atmosphere, the syngas is "shifted" in a chemical process called the water-gas shift (WGS) reaction. The reaction converts CO into CO2 in the presence of a catalyst and steam and produces additional hydrogen for combustion. A large amount of steam ensures maximum conversion of CO and inhibits side reactions, but it also reduces the overall efficiency of the IGCC plant. The amount of steam is quantified by the steam-to-CO ratio of the gas fed to the WGS reactor.

Testing a variety of commercially available WGS catalysts, NCCC researchers were able to significantly reduce the steam-to-CO ratio while still achieving high CO conversion without side reactions. “A reduction in the ratio translates into increased net power output and a smaller increase in the cost of electricity associated with carbon capture. Specifically, the 1.0 reduction in steam-to-CO ratio that was achieved corresponds to a 40-megawatt increase in power generation in a 500-megawatt IGCC plant,” the DOE said. “This could result in cost savings of more than $275 million over a plant’s estimated 30-year lifespan at current IGCC power costs of about $33 per megawatt-hour.”

NCCC researchers are providing the test results to manufacturers to assist them in specifying future WGS systems for IGCC plants that incorporate carbon capture. The researchers are also planning further tests with other commercially available, newly formulated WGS catalysts. In addition, the findings are being implemented at a commercial IGCC plant now under construction in Kemper County, Miss. The plant will showcase a transport gasifier technology developed at the NCCC.

Located in Wilsonville, Ala., the NCCC is a state-of-the-art test facility dedicated to the advancement of clean coal technology. The Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, in cooperation with Southern Company Services, established the NCCC to bolster national efforts to develop cost-effective technologies to capture the CO2 produced by fossil-fueled power plants and help secure the nation’s energy future.

Source: DOE

AES to Sell Majority of China Businesses

Multinational power firm AES Corp. said it signed two agreements to sell a substantial majority of its businesses in China for $134 million in total aggregate proceeds. Subject to local customary approvals, the transactions are expected to close in the second half of 2012.

“The sale of these businesses is in line with our strategy to exit those markets where we do not have a competitive advantage,” said Andrés Gluski, AES president and CEO. “Narrowing our geographic focus and investing in our core markets better positions us for long term earnings growth.”

Since September 2011, the company has announced eight asset sale transactions totaling $890 million. Six of those transactions, totaling $756 million, have already closed. On May 4, 2012 AES agreed to sell its 25% equity interest in the 2,100-MW coal-fired Yangcheng plant and its 49% equity interest in the 248 MW China Wind joint venture to Sembcorp Utilities for a total of $86 million.

AES also disclosed in its first quarter 2012 earnings press release that it signed an agreement on May 4, 2012 to sell its 49% equity interest in Jianghe Rural Electrification Development Company Limited (JHRH) to its JV partner, China Three Gorges New Energy Corp., for $48 million. JHRH includes seven small hydroelectric plants, one wind farm and one co-generation plant with a total gross capacity of 379 MW.

Total gross capacity of the plants to be sold is 2,727 MW, or 717 MW on an ownership-adjusted basis. Once these asset sales are completed, AES’ generation footprint in China will consist of one hydro and one gas-fired plant, which together have a total gross capacity of 75 MW, or 31 MW on an ownership-adjusted basis.

Use of proceeds from asset sales will be evaluated in accordance with AES’ capital allocation policy to maximize total shareholder returns by paying down debt, investing in new businesses and repurchasing shares, AES said.

Source: AES