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.)
| 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:
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| 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:
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| 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.
“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
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