POWER September 2023 - 12

GLOBAL MONITOR
ter discharge for minimizing emissions.
It adds that Godda will replace Bangladesh's
use of liquid fuel, dramatically reducing
the nation's power costs.
Uniper Exploring Rapid Decarbonization
of Gas and Coal Fleet. Uniper,
Germany's
5. A small-scale model of Doosan Enerbility's
380-MW hydrogen gas turbine. Courtesy:
Doosan
convert 28 aging coal-fired facilities to
LNG power plants and build five new
LNG plants, a combined 4.3 GW. That
would mean " an increase in LNG power
plants with an installed capacity of 43.5
GW as of 2023 to 62.9 GW by 2036, "
Doosan underscored. In addition, the
plan calls for the accelerated installment
of hydrogen-fueled power generation capabilities.
" Hydrogen-fueled power is to
be increased at a rapid pace to 6.1 TWh
by 2030 and 26.5 TWh by 2036, " the
company said.
-Sonal Patel is a senior associate editor
for POWER.
POWER Digest
Indian USC Coal Plant, First Transnational
Power Project, Begins Operation.
Indian independent power producer
Adani Power on July 12 began full
commercial operation of the coal-fired
1,600-MW Godda Ultra Super-Critical
Thermal Power Plant (USCTPP), India's
first commissioned " transnational power
project. " The two-unit Godda USCTPP,
located in Godda, Jharkhand State, will
supply 100% of its generated power to
Bangladesh. About 1,496 MW will be
sold to the Bangladesh Power Development
Board under a power purchase
agreement executed in November 2017
for a period of 25 years. The power
will be transported via a dedicated 105
kilometer-long 400-kV double-circuit
transmission system connected to the
Bangladesh grid. According to Adani, the
USCTPP was commissioned in just 42
months-in record time-after achieving
financial closure. The company noted
it obtained necessary clearances despite
" considerable logistical challenges, "
including for the transmission line,
construction of a private railway, and
construction of an extensive water pipeline
from the Ganges. Adani claims the
plant is also India's first to have 100%
flue gas desulfurization (FGD), selective
catalytic reduction (SCR), and zero-wa12
natural
gas (LNG). In 2020, coal made
up 31% of Vietnam's power profile, followed
by a 30% share from hydropower,
and natural gas's 13% share.
Japan Restarts 11th Nuclear ReacDüsseldorf-headquartered
state-owned
energy company, on Aug.
1 announced it would phase out its 6.3GW
coal-fired generation fleet by 2029
and aim for 80% of its installed generating
capacity to be zero-carbon. The company
currently owns 8.4 GW of natural
gas-fired generation (mainly in Germany
and the UK), 3.6 GW of hydropower
(in Germany and Sweden), 1.4 GW of
nuclear (all in Sweden), and 2.8 GW of
oil-fueled generation (in Germany, Sweden,
and the UK). The company's effort is
part of a larger push to become carbonneutral
by 2040, 10 years earlier than previously
planned. As part of this strategy,
Uniper intends to " gradually decarbonize
its gas business " by incorporating hydrogen
into 10% of its portfolio by 2030 and
repurposing existing gas storage facilities
for hydrogen storage. It also plans to
boost its fleet flexibility by converting its
gas plants to run on green hydrogen or
biofuels, or by capturing and storing their
carbon emissions.
Vietnam's Multi-Pronged Pursuit of
Net-Zero. Vietnam on July 26 approved
a National Energy Master Plan (NEMP),
setting down a strategy that aims to feed
economic growth slated at 7% per annum
through 2030. While the country
committed to reaching net-zero carbon
emissions by 2050 at the 26th Conference
of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in
2021, the company plans to boost its
petroleum reserves, natural gas production,
coal imports, and coal mining
and exports (with an expectation that it
should no longer import coal by 2050).
The NEMP, however, also establishes a
national renewable power goal of 15% to
20% by 2030 and up to 85% by 2050.
Notable efforts include using renewable
energy for heat production and co-generation
of thermal power, hydrogen biogas
combustion, and an expanded use of
carbon capture and storage. A separate
National Electricity Development Plan
approved by the prime minister in May
2023 notably calls for a significant expansion
of the country's electricity infrastructure,
including to more than double
its capacity from 69 GW in 2020 to 150
GW by 2030. Along with a gradual phase
out of coal power, the strategy calls for
investments in offshore wind and gasfired
power plants fueled with liquefied
www.powermag.com
tor. Kansai Electric Power Co. on July
28 restarted Takahama 1, an idled 826MW
Westinghouse reactor in Fukui
Prefecture, making it the 11th reactor to
come online since the Fukushima safety
shutdowns in 2011, and boosting Japan's
operational nuclear fleet capacity to 11.6
GW. Takahama 1, one of four reactors at
Kansai's Takahama nuclear plant, is the
oldest of Japan's nuclear fleet not slated
for decommissioning. Takahama Unit
2 is scheduled to be returned to service
in mid-September. In June 2016, the Nuclear
Regulation Authority (NRA) approved
extensions of Takahama 1 and 2's
operating lifetimes to 60 years (beyond
their 40-year operating licenses). Kansai
has also sought to extend the lifetimes of
Takahama 3 and 4, which were returned
to service in February 2016 and June
2017, respectively. So far, 17 reactors in
Japan have successfully completed NRA
reviews, and 11 reactors of these have
returned to service. Another 14 operable
reactors are still in the review process.
Vattenfall Halts Giant UK Offshore
Windfarm, Cites Challenging Market
Conditions. Swedish energy giant Vattenfall
on July 20 said it halted work on
the 1.4-GW Norfolk Boreas offshore wind
project off the UK coast, owing to " significantly
deteriorating market conditions
in the last year since the war in Ukraine,
plus the effects of rising costs and supply
chain delays. " The company won a UK
Contracts for Difference (CfD) award in
July 2022 to build the wind farm, which is
the first phase of Vattenfall's Norfolk Offshore
Wind Zone and one of the world's
largest offshore wind zones. The UK's
CfD program is the country's main lowcarbon
power generation policy mechanism,
and it provides successful CfD
bidders with a contract for a 15-year fixed
revenue stream. Vattenfall President and
CEO Anna Borg in comments affiliated
with the company's half-year report suggested
that the market for offshore wind
has grown " challenging. " While demand
for fossil-free electricity " is greater than
ever, " higher inflation and capital costs
are affecting the entire energy sector,
she noted. " But the geopolitical situation
has made offshore wind and its supply
chain particularly vulnerable. Overall, we
see cost increases up to 40%. " ■
-Sonal Patel is a senior associate editor
for POWER.
POWER | September 2023
http://www.powermag.com
POWER September 2023

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