Power Air Quality Insights No

Power Air Quality Insights
No. 162 June 19, 2014

WELCOME

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· $24 Billion Will Be Spent On NO_x Control Systems and Consumables This Year

· Answers to Your CCR and ELG Questions in “Hot Topic” Webinar Next Week

China has launched a massive program to convert coal to gas and pipe gas to cities thousands of miles away. India is likely to follow that example. Editors of Fossil and Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis and Forecast have concluded that this program will have a major effect on energy prices and the world economy.

The U.S. economic outlook has changed due to the supply of low cost shale gas. China believes coal gasification is going to provide similar benefits. Here are the anticipated costs:

Cost Segment	$/MMBtu
Coal	2.00
Capital	1.30
Operation and Maintenance	1.20
Total	4.50

This cost of $4.50 MMBtu compares to present spot prices of LNG delivered to Asia at above $16/MMBtu. The impact of large quantities of low priced fuel would greatly boost the Asian economies.

The projects in the planning stage will deliver over 100 Bcm per year, but others which are envisioned would bring the total to over 200 Bcm. This would make coal gas the largest source in China.

Gas Supply in China in 2025 Bcm/yr
Conventional Extraction	150
Shale and Other	130
Pipeline Imports	50
LNG Imports	50
Coal Gas (Syn. Gas)	200
Total	580

Asia is the largest regional coal producer. It has far less natural gas than other regions. Four of the top five coal producing countries are in Asia.

More than 50 percent of the world’s coal production of 7.8 billion tons/yr comes from just China and India. Reserves are not a problem since there is more than 1 trillion tons which can be extracted. This is a one hundred year supply.

Coal gasification for the production of pipeline gas and synthetic fuels has been commercial for many decades. Hundreds of installations are operating around the world. In the U.S., Dakota gasification has been supplying synfuels for use in Canada. Recently, it cited the connection to the Antelope valley power station to replace the less clean diesel which was used as a start-up fuel for the coal-fired boiler.

U.S. companies such as GE are suppliers of gasification technology. Some Chinese companies are now also active. In addition to technology using above ground processes, there is the potential for underground gasification. China has about 30 projects in different phases of preparation that use underground coal gasification. India plans to use underground gasification as well. This technology is less proven but, if successful, could lower the production costs considerably.

The environmental impact of this program is already coming under fire from environmentalists. But the perspective of the Asians is that there will be a considerable environmental improvement. Gas will replace coal for home and office heating and for use in industrial boilers. The result will be substantial reductions in particulate, SO₂, NO_x and other pollutants. These are pollutants that are affecting the health of Asians today.

Impacts of CO₂ emissions are viewed as long term while the pollution and economic impacts of gasification are very positive in the short term. Water has been also cited as an issue, but zero liquid discharge technology is available from GE, Aquatech and many other providers.

Operators of combustion systems and chemical plants will spend over $24 billion this year for equipment and consumables to reduce NO_x. This is the latest forecast in NO_xControl World Market published by McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)


Subject	2014
Catalyst	517
Reagent	2,146
Reagent Tons	3,555
SCR	21,649

Most of the $21.6 billion invested in SCR systems will be made in Asia. China has a huge program to retrofit existing coal-fired boilers and to include SCR in new power plants. Gas- and oil- firing will account for much of the market in the rest of the world.

The market for catalyst and reagent is more dispersed. The reason is that there is a large inventory of NO_x control systems in Europe and the U.S. The catalyst expenditure of $517 million includes significant revenues in leading countries such as the U.S., Germany, Japan and China.

Over $2 billion will be spent for reagents. Ammonia is being supplied in various forms. The cheapest and most common is anhydrous ammonia. However, safety concerns have led some purchasers to opt for aqueous ammonia or for systems which convert urea to ammonia on site. China has indicated a preference for this alternative. Over 3.5 million tons of reagent (based on the equivalent anhydrous ammonia) will be consumed for NO_x control this year.

One of the major disruptive technologies recently introduced is catalytic filtration. A ceramic filter element with embedded catalyst removes both NO_x and particulate. The footprint is relatively small compared to separate particulate and NO_x control devices. Efficiency is high and levelized costs promise to be attractive.

Texas Based Utility Well-Positioned for New EPA Carbon Standards: Coal-Free by 2016 by 2016, Largest Solar Facility Doubles Solar Portfolio

El Paso Electric Company (EPE), a Texas-based utility servicing 395,000 customers in both west Texas and southern New Mexico, is well-positioned for the new carbon standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPE will be coal-free by 2016 and, in less than one year, has doubled its utility-scale solar portfolio, making this west Texas-based utility a national leader in solar development.

El Paso Electric welcomes the completion and commercial operations of Macho Springs, the largest solar facility in New Mexico. This 50 megawatt (MW) solar facility, along with an additional solar facility that will be a largest in El Paso, Texas (10 MW and completed by the end of the year) will expand total solar generation to 6 percent of EPE’s dedicated generation resources.

EPE signed a 20-year purchase power agreement (PPA) with Macho Springs Solar, LLC, owned by Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. The facility was built and will be operated by First Solar, a leading global provider of comprehensive photovoltaic (PV) solar systems utilizing its advanced thin-film modules. Macho Springs is located on a 597-acre site in Luna County, New Mexico, between Hatch and Deming, New Mexico. The new solar facility, which is about the same size as 300 football fields, will generate enough clean energy to power more than 18,000 homes.

China Ming Yang Wind Power announced that it has entered into a heads of agreement with Marin Energi Testcenter AS (MetCentre) to erect a 6.0 MW Super Compact Drive (SCD) wind turbine generator in the Karmoy wind turbine demonstration area off the Coast of Karmoy Island in Norway. MetCentre is a Norwegian test center for marine energy offering infrastructure and services to off-shore wind power. The proposed cooperation and the pilot project are subject to certain conditions, including a detailed agreement which is expected to be entered into by both parties in late 2014.

Ming Yang's SCD wind turbine generators combine high reliability and lower weight by utilizing smaller permanent magnet power generators coupled with a smaller gearbox, housed in a water-cooled sealed nacelle with an innovative two-bladed design which can lock the blades in a horizontal position to withstand extreme off-shore weather conditions.

Kyocera, Four Other Companies Reach Basic Agreement on Development Plane for 430 MW Solar Power Project

Kyocera Corporation along with Photovolt Development Partners GmbH, Kyudenko Corporation, ORIX Corporation, and Mizuho Bank, Ltd. announced that they have reached a basic agreement to investigate the possibility of operating a 430-megawatt (MW) solar power project on the island of Ukujima (Sasebo City, Nagasaki Pref., Japan). The project would be the largest in the world to be implemented on agricultural land.

Photovolt Development Partners began planning the solar power project in April 2013 with the aim of helping to contribute to environmental protection and economic revitalization on the remote island. Approximately 150 billion yen (approx. $1.47 billion) in investment is planned for the project, with a goal of starting construction in FY2016 (April 2015 to March 2016). The project envisions using a combined land area of roughly 6.3 million square meters ― the equivalent area of 134 professional baseball stadiums ― at multiple locations, covering roughly 25 percent of the small island of Ukujima, part of the Goto Islands off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan. The project plans to utilize approximately 1,720,000 of Kyocera’s high-output multi-crystalline silicon solar modules to create a 430 MW system that would generate an estimated 500,000 MWh per year, the equivalent power annually used by roughly 138,800 typical households, offsetting roughly 252,200 tons of CO₂ each year. By constructing a 60-kilometer undersea cable between Ukujima and the island of Kyushu, all power produced from the project will be sold to the local utility company, Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., based on the national feed-in tariff program for renewable energy.

NorthWestern Energy Issues Request for proposal for Community Owned Renewable Generation in Montana

NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking up to 45 megawatts of community-owned renewable generation.

The company is required to purchase energy from qualified community renewable energy projects that meet the legal definition as a qualified renewable energy resource that has a total generating capacity under 25 megawatts with a majority ownership stake by in-state residents or entities.

While NorthWestern Energy has sufficient energy resources to generally meet customer needs and the Renewable Portfolio Standard that takes effect in 2015, it must comply with its legal requirements to enter into contracts to purchase the output from qualified community-owned projects. Communities, businesses and individuals in Montana are strongly encouraged to learn more about these projects as a way of building economic diversity that benefits both locally-owned projects and NorthWestern’s customers.

Clarke Energy Installs GE’s Jenbacher Gas Engines to Drice Largest landfill Gas Power Plant in France

Officials from French waste management and services company Véolia Propreté, energy services company Dalkia and distributed power services provider Clarke Energy celebrated the inauguration of the new Electr’od landfill gas-powered cogeneration plant in Plessis-Gassot. The 17.3-megawatt (MW) facility is the country’s most powerful landfill gas-fueled power plant and features 10 of GE Distributed Power’s ecomagination qualified Jenbacher gas engines to generate renewable electricity and heat for residents and businesses.

The new cogeneration plant—which replaces a smaller, less efficient steam turbine-boiler system—uses the landfill’s methane-rich biogas to generate enough renewable electricity to power more than 41,000 French homes (excluding heating). The electricity is sold to Électricité Réseau Distribution France (ERDF) for use by residents and businesses throughout France.

With the opening of the cogeneration project, Plessis-Gassot becomes the first town in France to have a district heating scheme fuelled by biogas. In addition to electricity, the cogeneration facility also produces 30,000 MWh/year of thermal energy, equivalent to the amount consumed by an estimated 2,850 homes. This energy is feeding a new heating and hot water network that serves homes and shared facilities in Plessis-Gassot, including the town hall, community center, church and municipal building. As a result, the electric heating bills for Plessis-Gassot residents who are connected to the grid supplied by Electr’od are expected to fall by 92 percent.

· GE’s Distributed Power and Clarke Energy collaborate on On-Site Power Plant to boost Mozambique’s Local Grid

· Supply Agreement Signed with Daewoo E&C increases Total Number of J-Series Gas Turbines supplied to Korea to Thirteen

Power plants are facing huge expenditures to meet new wastewater effluent guidelines and coal combustion residue rules which are still being finalized. The webinar next Thursday at 10 a.m. CDT is designed to help utilities understand the issues and to help them with their decisions to address these new rules. The following panelists will be offering their insights:

William (Bill) Betke, Director, Business Development, Coal Ash, GSE Environmental

Douglas J. Dahlberg, Project Associate, Civil Support Services, Sargent & Lundy LLC

Proactive discussions rather than passive listening will be the modus operandi. The panelists will lead but participants are asked to familiarize themselves with data on the dedicated CCR and Effluent website CCR and Effluent Continuous Analyses.

Another unique feature of this initiative is to use the Global Decisions Positioning System™ (GDPS) analysis technique. There are a number of decisions to be made. They can be likened to stops on a trip. The route is complex because the information learned at one stop requires back tracking to the previous stop and applying the newly learned information. McIlvaine is simulating the role of a GPS in guiding the decision maker on this complex trip. Here is the route map.

The ELG regulations will be issued first and will shape the CCR decisions, so this is a starting point. However, it may be necessary to review the ELG regulations in light of any CCR regulatory insights. If the utility is also installing FGD systems there will be a major impact on both effluent and CCR. Bottom ash and flyash handling and wastewater treatment are all part of the route.

On Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Tracking System. The cost is $300.00 for non-subscribers.

See below for information on upcoming Hot Topic Hours. We welcome your input relative to suggested additions.

DATE		SUBJECT
	June 26, 2014		CCR and Effluents Decisions
	July
	10		Direct Sorbent Injection
	17		Gas Turbine Emission Control
	24		Wet Calcium FGD
	31		Mercury Sorbent Options
	August
	7		MATS Timing and Technology Options
	14		Industrial Boiler and Cement MACT Timing and Compliance Options
	21		MEGA Symposium
	28		Demineralization and Degasification
	September
	4		Hot Gas Filtration
	11		Power Plant Pumps
	18		Power Water Monitoring
	25		Power Plant Water Treatment Chemicals

PR China	3549Mt	Russia	359Mt
USA	935Mt	South Africa	259Mt
India	595Mt	Germany	197Mt
Indonesia	443Mt	Poland	144Mt
Australia	421Mt	Kazakhstan	126Mt

· GE’s Distributed Power and Clarke Energy collaborate on On-Site Power Plant to boost Mozambique’s Local Grid

· Supply Agreement Signed with Daewoo E&C increases Total Number of J-Series Gas Turbines supplied to Korea to Thirteen