POWER August 2010 - 14

Some governments continue to foster marine energy development.
The UK recently poured £8 million into the European Marine Energy
Research Centre in Scotland, which will serve as a testing facility for
technology developers. The UK has also set up a £22 million fund to
offset large capital costs during the installation stage. And in July,
Scotland awarded £13 million to five project bidders contending for
government's Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Development and
Demonstration Support program. Awardees include one of the world's
largest wave stations being developed off the Western Isles by RWE
npower renewables and a doughnut-shaped wave energy converter
being tested in Loch Ness by AWS Ocean Energy.
POWER Digest
Sweden Reverses Ban, Approves Nuclear Reactor Replacements.
Sweden's parliament on June 18 reversed an earlier decision
and passed the center-right coalition government's landmark
proposal, made last year, that allows for the replacement of the
country's nuclear reactors at the end of their life span. The country
had voted in 1980 to phase out its 12 reactors by 2010. Two
reactors have since been closed.
The Scandinavian country's 10 current reactors account for about
half of its power production. The 174-172 vote in June will allow only
10 new reactors to be built, and only at the three nuclear power plant
sites where the country's current reactors exist. The parliament also
ruled that Sweden would not subsidize nuclear power construction
initiatives and that reactor owners would be responsible for damage
liability. The nuclear plan is part of a climate program that requires
50% of the country's power to come from renewable power by 2020.
Finland Approves Construction of Two Reactors. Finland's
parliament in late June approved construction of two new reactors
proposed separately by utilities Teollisuuden Voima Oyj and Fennovoima
Oy. The projects, which will add nearly 3,200 MW to Finland's
power profile, are expected to help eliminate the need for imports of
electricity from Russia. Finland's power consumption per capita is the
highest in the region. The nation also passed tax incentives for woodbased
fuels and wind power to increase renewable power so that the
country can comply with climate goals set by the European Union.
The country currently operates four nuclear plants.
Alstom Opens New Nuclear, Fossil Fuel Turbine Facility in
U.S. Alstom inaugurated on June 24 a new production facility for
steam turbines, gas turbines, large turbo-generators, and related
equipment in Chattanooga, Tenn., to serve the North American fossil
fuel and nuclear power generation market. The $300 million factory
is equipped with a balancing facility that allows it to manufacture
Corrections
In " Dry Injection of Trona for SO3 Control " (May 2010), NH4HSO4
is ammonium bisulfite.
In the June " Focus on O&M, " the engines shown in Figure 6
each have eight cylinders.
June's " Competition for Offshore Turbine Market Heats Up " stated
that drive or gearless turbines accounted for 14% of the world's
installed offshore capacity in 2009. The source of that figure was
Bloomberg rather than Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
In the July " Focus on O&M, " Cardinal Unit 3 is owned by
Buckeye Power.
In July's " Circulating Fluid Bed Scrubbers Bridge the Gap Between
Dry and Wet Scrubbers, " the Figure 2 and 3 schematics
were reversed in print but are correct online.
POWER regrets the errors.
14
the largest turbines in the world, Alstom's ARABELLE 1,700-MW class
nuclear steam turbine. The turbo-generator components will also be
manufactured in this facility. Alstom already operates turbine manufacturing
facilities in France, Germany, Switzerland, and China.
In May, the company announced plans to build a wind power assembly
facility in Amarillo, Texas, that is expected to help the company
meet needs for the growing North American wind power market.
NRC Authorizes National Enrichment Facility. The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 10 authorized the URENCO
USA uranium enrichment facility in Eunice, N.M., to accept operational
delivery of uranium hexafluoride feedstock and begin
commercial operations to enrich up to 5% of the isotope uranium-235.
The gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant will now
begin operation of the first cascade-a series of rotating cylinders
using centrifugal force to separate uranium isotopes. The
facility was granted an NRC construction license in June 2006. At
full capacity, it will produce sufficient enriched uranium for nuclear
fuel to supply approximately 10% of U.S. electricity needs.
Siemens Increases Share of Shanghai Electric Joint Venture.
Siemens Energy said it had increased its share of a joint venture with
Chinese company Shanghai Electric Power Generation Equipment Co.,
Ltd. (SEPG), from 33.7% to 40% in late June. SEPG provides power
generation products and solutions for coal-fired and gas-fired power
plants as well as for the conventional part of nuclear power plants.
Siemens currently maintains 24 operating companies in China, eight
of which are operated with Shanghai Electric. The two companies are
also in discussions to set up another joint venture to meet the country's
rapidly growing steam and gas turbine power plant market.
GE, Abengoa to Develop Mexico's Largest Cogeneration Facility.
Subsidiaries of Spain-based Abengoa and GE Energy Financial
Services said on June 22 they would invest $180 million to develop
the largest cogeneration power plant in Mexico. The 300-MW gas-fired
facility, expected to cost $640 million, will be located at the Nuevo
Pemex gas processing complex, owned by Pemex Gas y Petroquímica
Básica, a subsidiary of Mexican state oil company Pemex.
Located near Villahermosa, Tabasco, the plant will supply Nuevo
Pemex with power and steam under a 20-year services agreement.
Construction began in September 2009 and commercial operation is
expected in 2012. The plant is expected to directly supply 55% of
Nuevo Pemex's steam demand and all of its power demand; additional
power output will be provided to other Pemex operations throughout
Mexico over its national transmission system. The cogeneration facility
will use two GE Energy Frame 7FA gas turbines.
TVA Begins Operation of New Scrubbers at Kingston Plant.
The largest public utility in the U.S., Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA), began operating two recently completed scrubbers at its
Kingston Fossil Plant to reduce up to 95% of sulfur dioxide emissions
from all nine boilers at the plant. This gives TVA a total of 10 scrubbers
installed at five of its 11 coal-fired power plants. Construction
on the two scrubbers began in 2006. The first was completed in
December 2009 and the second was finished this past April. The two
most recent scrubbers cost approximately $475 million.
AEHI to Build and Market Hyperion's Small Nuclear Modules.
Alternate Energy Holdings on June 3 said it had signed
a memorandum of understanding with New Mexico-based Hyperion
Power Generation to license, build, and market Hyperion's
refrigerator-sized modular nuclear reactors globally. The 25-MW
Hyperion Power module reportedly has more than 150 purchase
commitments from customers such as mining and telecom companies.
The reactors are sealed at the factory and are not refueled
onsite. When the reactor has exhausted its fuel, it is returned to
the factory and a new reactor is simply installed in its place. ■
-Sonal Patel is POWER's senior writer.
www.powermag.com
POWER | August 2010
http://www.powermag.com
POWER August 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER August 2010
