·        Industrial Boiler MACT “Hot Topic Hour” was Recorded and is Available for Viewing

·        CO₂ limits for New Plants is a Flawed Strategy

·        Headlines for the March 23, 2012 – Utility E-Alert

·        The World Market for Electrostatic Precipitator Systems, Repair Parts and Service Will Exceed $13.7 Billion This Year

·        Geothermal Energy Provides Dependable Power

Industrial Boiler MACT “Hot Topic Hour” was recorded and is available for viewing.

 At the March 22 Hot Topic Hour the following speakers helped us understand the current situation of the Industrial Boiler MACT and suggested how boiler operators might deal with the impact of the current and proposed rule.

 Connie Senior, Director of Technology Development ADA Environmental Solutions, discussed “Low Capex Solutions for Compliance with Industrial Boiler MACT.” Integration of sorbent injection with particulate control can provide control of both mercury and HCl, if care is taken to select the right sorbents and design the system correctly. Often a combination of alkaline sorbents and activated carbon injected separately may be the best answer.

  HCl

• 0-90 percent control required for coal-fired units – less reduction (if any) for biomass-fired units
• Bituminous coals have higher chlorine and require higher reductions

 Mercury

• 65-90 percent control required for coal-fired units – less reduction (if any) for biomass-fired units
• Achievable on most subbituminous and biomass units
• Limits may be challenging on units with higher sulfur coals and may require SO₃ mitigation

 Total PM

• May result in new fabric filters or hot- to cold-side ESP conversions.

 Katherine (Kate) L. Vaccaro, Associate at Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP, focused on some of the key aspects of EPA's Proposed Reconsideration of the Boiler MACT, including certain relevant compliance deadlines. She highlighted some of the principal concerns voiced by industry in response to EPA's proposal. Many of these have been addressed in the most recent revisions. However, when EPA issues the final reconsideration next month, there is likely to be further challenge from industry.

 David South, President of Technology & Market Solutions, LLC, a consulting firm, discussed some compliance activities boiler operators could be doing now. While Boiler MACT emission reduction requirements and schedule are still uncertain, the rulemaking specifies several compliance activities that are less contentious and would improve boiler operations regardless of the ultimate emission requirements. Tune-up steps include:

• Inspect burner and clean/replace any components as necessary
• Adjust the burner as necessary to optimize the flame pattern
• Inspect the air-to-fuel ratio control system to ensure it is calibrated and functioning properly
• Optimize emissions of CO consistent with manufacturer’s specifications
• Measure CO and O₂ levels in exhaust before/after tune-up
• Record type/amount of fuel used for previous 12 months
• Submit a signed statement documenting tune-up.

 Mack McGuffey, Partner at Troutman Sanders LLP Atlanta office and a specialist in regulatory compliance under the Clean Air Act, reviewed history which shows that there have been substantial changes in the proposed limits each time the proposed rule has been revised. He speculated that some more changes are likely to be reflected in the newest version. But here are some changes in the present version from the previous.

• For “new” biomass boilers:
  • PM: Went from an unachievable 0.0011 lb/MMBtu to 0.029 (stokers) / 0.0098 (BFB)

• HCl: Went from a difficult 0.0022 lb/MMBtu to 0.022 lb/MMBtu
• CO: Went from an unachievable 160 ppm (stokers) to 590 ppm / 410 ppm

 Reconstructed boilers cost over 50 percent of the cost of a comparable new source and are technically and economically feasible to meet standards.

• Mercury is more stringent except for liquid-fueled units
• CO for existing coal is more stringent (160 ppm to 41 / 28 ppm).

 Mack pointed out that existing boilers become new if “reconstructed.”

 The following Hot Topic Hours have been recorded (both audio and video) and are available for viewing. If you subscribe to Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System or Power Plant Air Quality Decision you can access these free of charge. A non subscriber pays $95.

Click here to order recordings access

CO₂ Limits for New Plants is a Flawed Strategy

 If there is a desire to reduce CO₂ emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants, then the strategy to do so by prohibiting construction of new power plants is very counter-productive. The result will be the extended life of inefficient and very old power plants.

 The logic dictates that you set a goal for CO₂ reduction from the coal-firing sector and then you give the utility industry the freedom to select the route.  It will be shown that the biggest and quickest way to reduce CO₂ is to replace old coal-fired power plants with new super critical plants which generate 30 percent less CO₂.

 A new fleet of coal-fired power plants could be built now and retired in 2045. This would not interfere with any targets for renewables beyond 2045.  The logic of setting different long-term emission standards for old power plants than for new power plants only makes sense if the time frame is a few years.  This period should be long enough to allow retirement and replacement where it makes economic sense.  A policy of favoring old power plants in perpetuity is the same problem as not replacing our aging infrastructure. We should be encouraging industry to build new power plants and make the U.S. more competitive.

Here are the Headlines for the March 23, 2012 – Utility E-Alert

  UTILITY E-ALERT

 #1067 – March 23, 2012

 Table of Contents

COAL – US

• Thousands of Air Pollution Control Upgrades Underway at Coal-fired Power Plants
• Kemper County IGCC Project to continue despite MS Supreme Court Ruling
• State PSC OKs Georgia Power Plan to shut Coal-fired Power Units at Branch
• Groups try to force EPA to act on Navajo and Four Corners Power Plants
• AEP to retire fewer Coal-fired Units than Planned

 COAL – WORLD

§  RPower urged to Re-start Work on 3,960 MW Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India

§  E.ON 1100 MW Datteln Project is continuing

• Orissa is set to get 1,755 MW of additional Power by 2013
• BHEL to build 300 MW Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India
• Zamboanga says OK to 100 MW CFB Power Plant
• Ratchaburi Electricity Generating plans Power Plant in Dawai, Myanmar
• Intra Energy signs 120 MW Coal-fired Power Station Deal in Tanzania
• ANDRITZ to supply FGD/Baghouses for Chilean Power Plants
• SE Europe moving to meet EU Requirements of 50 mg for Particulate and 400 mg/Nm³ for SO₂
• Lanco will increase Power Generation from 4,400 to more than 9,000 MW by 2015
• GMR halts Work on Shahdol Power Project because of Coal Shortages

 GAS / OIL – US

• Tampa Electric to expand Polk Station with Combined Cycle Unit
• MHI to supply Gas Turbines for 1300 MW Brunswick County
• CA Appeals Court Overturns Permit for PG&E 586 MW Oakley

 GAS / OIL – WORLD

• Tolimarjon Modernization Postponed

§  Nine Groups shortlisted for 1,000 MW Prai Combined Cycle in Malaysia

• Sumitomo and International Power to build 1,500 MW Al Zour North in Kuwait
• Uzbekistan to build 370 MW Combined Cycle Unit at Tashkent
• Marubeni Awarded Orders for Three Combined Cycle Power Plant Projects in Korea
• OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel selects Contractors for Modernization of Power Generation Facilities

 BIOMASS

• ReEnergy to convert Black River to Biomass

 NUCLEAR

• Kudankulam Work will continue
• Refurbished Bruce 2 to come Online Soon
• Work on Bellefonte Halts

 HOT TOPIC HOUR

• Hot Topic Hour March 22 Covered More Changes to the Industrial Boiler MACT
• Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.

 The World Market for Electrostatic Precipitator Systems, Repair Parts and Service Will Exceed

$13.7 Billion This Year

  The market for ESP repair and service will be just under $7 billion in 2012, whereas, the new systems market will exceed $6.7 billion. This is the conclusion in the latest update of Electrostatic Precipitators: World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.  (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

                                           2012 Precipitator Revenues ($ Millions)

                        World Region              New Systems            Repair & Service

Africa                                      174                              100

CIS                                            80                              110

East Asia                              2,886                           2,500

Eastern Europe                        145                              140

Middle East                              94                                90

NAFTA                                   790                           2,000

South & Central America       170                              150

West Asia                             1,920                              500

Western Europe                      495                           1,400

Total                                     6,754                           6,99

East Asia will be the largest market for new systems as well as for repair parts and service.  In NAFTA and Western Europe, the new system market will be small compared to repair and service.  The reason is that both regions have very large installed bases of precipitators but small markets for new coal-fired generators, steel mills and pulp/paper plants. Furthermore, new plants in both these regions are more likely to be equipped with fabric filters than electrostatic precipitators.

India is buying large numbers of precipitators for coal-fired power plants. This is creating a much larger market for new systems than for repair and service.

Chinese suppliers dominate the market for new precipitators in Asia.  Alstom is the market leader in Europe and North America.  NWL and Alstom are major suppliers of the large transformer/rectifier sets which are critical to precipitator performance.  There has been a great deal of internationalization of the market.  Korea Cottrell which was formerly a licensee of Research Cottrell has its own designs which it sells in Asia. It recently purchased Lodge Cottrell which was UK based and is selling precipitators in the Americas and Europe. Babcock & Wilcox purchased the precipitator operations of GE (BHA) and is well positioned as a North American leader in repair and service.

For more information on Electrostatic Precipitators: World Market, click on:

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#n018

Geothermal Energy Provides Dependable Power

Geothermal Power provides steady predicable power unlike some other sources of renewable energy. McIlvaine’s Renewable Energy Projects and Update tracks geothermal projects around the world.

Hawaii Electric Light Company Announces Plans to Expand Geothermal Energy on Hawaii Island

Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) will soon take steps to expand geothermal energy on the Hawaii Island with a request to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to open a docket for a Geothermal Request for Proposals (RFP) in 2012.

The same time, HELCO will undertake technical studies on the integration of additional geothermal resources on the Big Island grid. These include the need for more transmission lines if the geothermal power is all from the east side of the island and the potential for placing into standby one or more fossil fuel units when the geothermal power is operational.

HELCO will seek geothermal technologies that provide firm, fully dispatchable capability, that is, the ability for the utility to schedule and control the output power from the geothermal plant.  This will help maintain reliability and at the same time help to manage intermittent resources such as wind and solar photovoltaic power.  HELCO hopes to add up to 50 megawatts (MW) more of geothermal power if the cost is lower for customers.  The amount added must also operationally blend with other power resources, including renewable energy from other sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydro.

In June, 2011 HELCO issued a Request for Information (RFI) to determine the best way to pursue geothermal development on Hawaii Island.  HELCO sought input from stakeholders including potential geothermal developers, interested landowners and others on next steps that take into account Hawaii’s renewable energy goals and clean energy policy in keeping with the state’s unique community, cultural, historical, and environmental context.  The company received 20 responses to the request for information.

More than 30 percent of electricity on the Hawaii Island is already generated from renewable resources, including hydro, wind, distributed solar photovoltaic, concentrating solar and geothermal.  Puna Geothermal Venture, a subsidiary of Ormat Technologies, operates a 38 megawatt (MW) capacity geothermal plant in east Hawaii, including the addition of 8 MW recently approved by the Public Utilities Commission.

Toshiba to Supply Geothermal Equipment to Kenya’s Largest Geothermal Power Plant Complex

Toshiba Corporation announced that the company has been awarded a contract to supply four 70,000kW steam turbines and generators for the Republic of Kenya’s largest ever geothermal plant project, the Oikaria l and Oikaria lV geothermal power plants. The contract is Toshiba’s first for the supply of geothermal power equipment in Africa.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company Ltd. awarded a full turnkey contract for Oikaria l and lV to a consortium of Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Korea’s Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. on November 7, 2011.  Toshiba was selected by Hyundai Engineering to supply the turbines and generators for the project following a comprehensive evaluation of the company’s extensive supply experience and the equipment’s performance and reliability.

Located in the Rift Valley 100 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, the Oikaria l expension and Oikaria IV will have a combined output of 280,000kW, the largest of any power generation complex in Kenya.  They will deliver renewable energy with minimal emissions of CO₂ and raise the share of geothermal power in Kenya’s supply mix to approximately 25 percent.  The plants will make a significant contribution to overcoming Kenya’s current electricity shortage.  Oikaria l, a major extension to a current facility, is funded by a yen loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), a Japanese government agency.

Marubeni and Toshiba Win FTK Order for Indonesia’s Patuha Unit 1 Geothermal Power Plant

Marubeni Corporation and Toshiba Corporation announced that they will cooperate in the construction of the Patuha Unit l project, a 55MW geothermal power plant in West Java, Indonesia.  Geo Dipa Energi, the plant owner and operator, and Toshiba will supply the plant’s essential equipment; the steam turbine and generator and key auxiliary and management equipment.

Indonesia is recognized as having the world’s largest geothermal resources, with a potential generating capacity of 28,000MW, although the installed capacity to date is little over 1,100MW.  As economic growth drives rising demand and produces shortage in energy supply, the Indonesian government is promoting geothermal power projects to raise generating capacity and reduce reliance on petroleum.  The government’s plans include IPP projects with a capacity of 10,000MW by 2025, which the Japanese government is supporting through its yen loan program.

Patuha Unit 1 project is a full turnkey contract for a 55MW geothermal power plant in the suburbs of Bandung, the capital of West Java province and, with a population of over 7.5 million, Indonesia’s third largest city.  The plant is scheduled to start commercial operation in spring 2014 (Toshiba expects to start equipment delivery in summer 2013) with Marubeni’s and Toshiba’s best performance.  The project is financed by Indonesia’s state-owned PT. Bank Negara Indonesia (Perseo) Tbk.

U.S. Geothermal Announces Nevada PUC Approval of 19.9 MW PPA for San Emidio

U.S. Geothermal Inc., announced that the Nevada Public Utility Commission has approved a 19.9 megawatt amended and restated power purchase agreement with its wholly owned subsidiary, USG Nevada LLC, for the San Emidio Project located in Washoe County, Nevada.

The amended PPA expands the existing 3.6 megawatt agreement to provide for the purchase of electric power by the Sierra Pacific Power Company (“SPCC”) for up to 19.9 MW from two power generation units at San Emidio.  The PPA has a term of 25 years with the starting price for power of $89.75 per megawatt-hour subject to an annual escalation rate of 1 percent.  The new Phase l power plant, which is an 8.6 megawatt (net) water cooled facility, achieved mechanical completion in December and is currently undergoing commissioning.

Development of the Phase II plant has started with the initiation of production and injection well drilling at the site.  It is expected that Phase II will utilize two to three existing injection wells and other infrastructure at the site that will be shared with Phase I.  To allow for full power generation under the amended PPA, an additional 3.9 megawatts of transmission capacity has been requested from the SPCC Transmission group, which would expand output currently available under the existing 16 megawatt Small Generator Interconnection Agreement.

Ram Power Announces Synchronization of the Phase 1 Expansion at San Jacinto-Tizate

Ram Power Corp, a renewable energy company focused on the development, production and sale of electricity from geothermal energy, announced that the Phase l expansion at San Jacinto-Tizate has been successfully synchronized to the Nicaraguan national integrated electrical grid.  The company expects commercial operation of the Phase I expansion to begin in the near future.

The Phase I expansion adds 36 MW of capacity to the existing 10 MW backpressure units currently in operation at San Jacinto.  The electricity produced by the project is sold through a long-term power purchase agreement in place with Nicaraguan power distributors disnorte-Dissur, subsidiaries of the Spanish Utility Gas Natural Fenosa.

For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update please visit

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Projects_Brochure/renewable_energy_projects_brochure.htm

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Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112

rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

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