December 2014 - Power Air Quality Insights 187

The accelerated program to retrofit coal-fired boilers in China will boost the world market for replacement catalyst to over $1 billion/yr. by 2017. This is the latest forecast in NO_x Control World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

China announced plans to retrofit 400,000 MW of existing coal-fired boilers with SCR in 2012. All new plants include SCR. The retrofit program has taken place much faster than anticipated. Since catalyst replacement takes place at intervals from 3-5 years, the accelerated program impacts replacement catalyst sales in 2017. The program caused a huge peak in world SCR system orders in 2013-14 and will cause a big peak in catalyst replacement orders in 2016-17.

Catalyst life varies from installation to installation. Certain elements in the coal can adversely affect catalyst life. Plant operation is also a variable. Catalyst regeneration has become a substantial business with a significant percentage of the market served by regenerated rather than new catalyst.

The cost of catalyst is a function of the required NO_x removal. More catalyst is required to reach higher efficiency levels. The cost per unit is affected by enhanced designs to improve mercury oxidation while minimizing SO₃. So the combination results in higher quantities and higher unit costs. There has been a shortage of catalyst in China resulting in catalyst prices equal to or exceed those in other countries. This price level is expected to drop as additional capacity comes in to play.

China has a new goal for ultra-low emissions from power plants. It has been shaped by the severe smog problems in large cities. The new goal for NO_x is a limit of 50 mg/Nm³. The target for SO₃of 5 mg/Nm³ and mercury of 3 ug/Nm³ will dictate the use of expensive catalyst. This low emission rate makes China a leader in pollution control around the world. It already is purchasing more SCR systems than all the other countries combined. It will soon be purchasing more catalyst than the other countries.

A Step Forward In Ways to Sell and Purchase Power and Environmental Products

Digital improvements are opening the door for new ways to sell and buy power and environmental products. The challenge is to harness this new technology to better provide what McIlvaine calls the 4A system (4A’s.). This system delivers the 4 knowledge needs: Alerts, Answers, Analysis and Advancement.

Alerts are emailed to the specific beneficiaries. Focused websites provide a comparison of the all the decision options to facilitate the best choice. These sites provide instant answers. There is a distinction between information needed for near-term decisions and information which may prove useful in the future. Advancement or training can embrace both the near-term needs and the education for future responsibility. Live and recorded webinars play a big role in providing the 4A’s.

Focus is the distinction which makes the 4A’s unique. A purchaser of filter media for coal-fired boilers needs entirely different information than a purchaser of filter media for coal dust at transfer points. On the other hand, the supplier of filters may need both. He also needs routes to market. 4A’s provides this focus.

These are free-of-charge to any power plant. Complete programs for suppliers are also available.

A number of new systems are under construction. At this time the following sites are accessible at no charge to anyone: Continuous Analyses

For more information on subscriptions and contributions to the 4A’s contact: Bob McIlvaine at 847-784-0012 ext. 112 or email: rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com.

Rapid growth in the market for air and water monitoring in China will result in supplier revenues exceeding $5 billion by 2019. This is the latest forecast in Air and Water Monitoring: World Market published by the McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

Construction of new Chinese facilities which will potentially harm air and water is greater than the aggregates in any other region of the world. The existing air and water quality is poor. Smog is a major health problem. The per capita rain fall in China is only 25 percent of the U.S.

The Chinese government has recognized the serious nature of the problem and is moving fast to correct it. Requirements for monitoring have moved from lenient to stringent.

China is starting to mirror Los Angeles in its regulatory framework. Guangzhou and Shanxi have passed rules which are tougher than the national regulations in the EU and U.S.

The new mercury regulations are as tough as those in the U.S. This ultra-low emission program sets limits for SO₃. By contrast, no other country has SO₃ limits. The particulate matter limits are also the lowest. The U.S. offers the option of using PM as a surrogate for toxic metals. Plants who want to avoid measuring the individual metals can opt for a particulate limit close to the 5 mg/Nm3. The very low NO_xand SO₂ limits are closer to the Los Angeles requirements than any of the more lenient national regulations.

Suppliers of air and water monitoring systems will face the same complexity in China which they face in the U.S. They will need to understand the city and province requirements as well as the national requirements.

Vestas has received an order for 365 V52-850 kW turbines for the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya. The order is the largest in Vestas’ history in terms of number of wind turbines in a single project.

The order was placed by Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd. and is expected to be Africa’s largest wind power plant when complete. The wind power plant will save Kenya approximately €150 million in fuel imports every year.

The order comprises supply, installation, and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a 15-year Active Output Management (AOM 4000) service agreement. The logistically complex project is expected to be complete in 2017.

With average wind speeds in excess of 11 m/s, the Lake Turkana project will add 310 MW of clean, reliable electricity capacity to the Kenyan national grid. The project will generate more than 1,400 GWh of power per year, equivalent to approximately 15 per cent of the country’s current electricity consumption. Located approximately 1,200 km from the Kenyan port of Mombasa and requiring the building more than 420 km of transmission lines to reach the Kenyan national electricity grid, the Lake Turkana project is expected to become Africa’s largest wind farm upon completion.

JA Solar Supplies 100 MW of Modules to First Large Scale Solar Farm in Pakistan

JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd announced that it shipped 100 MW of modules to the first large-scale solar farm in Pakistan.

Occupying 500 acres of land, the solar farm is located within the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The Solar Park will serve to address the country's energy shortage and is a key project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, an under-construction development program for energy and infrastructure projects to connect China to southern Pakistan and develop a new gateway for trade. Energy demand in Pakistan has grown approximately 8 percent annually, leaving the country with an estimated deficit in energy production of 6 GW.

Punjab, the province in which the project is located, enjoys some of the highest solar irradiance in the world. With approximately 3,000 hours of sunlight each year, the region is highly suitable for PV power generation. This project is located in an arid region where temperatures reach up to 50 degrees celcius during the summer. The extremely hot and dry climate demands the highest quality modules.

Missouri’s Largest Investor Owned Utility Scale Solar Energy Center Goes into Service

For the first time in company history, solar energy is part of the energy mix being delivered to Ameren Missouri's 1.2 million electric customers. Following more than a month of successful testing, the O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center, Ameren Missouri's first solar center and the largest investor-owned utility scale solar facility in Missouri, is online.

The center features more than 19,000 solar panels covering more than 19 acres and generates nearly 6 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Ameren Missouri's grid. Groundbreaking on the facility in O'Fallon took place this past April. It created almost 70 construction jobs. The facility is one of Ameren Missouri's investments on behalf of customers for cleaner air and renewable energy.

Ameren Missouri plans to significantly expand its renewable energy generation portfolio. The company's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) calls for construction of a second solar energy center in 2016 that would be the largest in the state of Missouri. Also under the IRP, Ameren Missouri will add renewable generation using wind power, hydroelectric and landfill gas. The IRP was filed earlier this year with the Missouri Public Service Commission.

Republic Services announced the start of operations at its latest landfill gas-to-energy project. The new six megawatt project at County Line Landfill involves four engines operating at one energy generation facility. The project is capable of generating enough energy to power more than 3,200 area homes.

Landfill gas is a natural byproduct of decomposing waste. This project involves extracting gas from within the landfill, processing the extracted gas, and then distributing the processed gas to a generation facility where it is converted into energy that supplies the local electric grid.

Republic Services has implemented 73 landfill gas-to-energy projects nationwide. Together, these projects harness enough electricity to power or heat approximately 400,000 households.

Ice Energy Awarded Contracts Totaling 25.6 MW from Southern California Edison

Ice Energy announced it has been awarded 16 contracts from Southern California Edison (SCE) to provide 25.6 MW of behind-the-meter thermal energy storage using Ice Energy’s proprietary Ice Bear system.

Ice Energy was one of three providers selected in the behind-the-meter energy storage category, which was part of an energy storage procurement by SCE that was significantly larger than the minimum mandated by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC). SCE is one of the nation’s leaders in renewable energy and the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California.

The contract resulted from an open and competitive process under SCE’s Local Capacity Requirements (LCR) RFO. The goals of the LCR RFO and California’s Storage Act Mandates are to optimize grid reliability, support renewables integration to meet the 2020 portfolio standards, and support the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent of 1990 levels by 2050.

· Duke becomes Sole Owner of East Bend to replace Capacity after Miami Fort is retired

· Head of RWE warns Germany of Problems with Power Supply if Coal-fired Power is cut along with Nuclear

· EGAT plans Coal-fired Power Plants in Songkhla and Krabi Provinces, Thailand

· Another Petition filed against Footprint Power’s 647 MW Salem Harbor Project

· GE’s improved 6F.01 Technology to help meet Energy Needs in Guangxi Province, China

· Alstom to upgrade 320 MW Kwinana Combined Cycle Station in Western Australia

· Russia may build More Nuclear Power Plants in India than Previously Agreed On

· Rosatom has Finland’s Approval to build 1200 MW Hanhikivi 1 Nuclear Power Plant

· Western Europe Industrial Valve Purchases to Exceed $8.6 Billion Next Year

· “Boiler Feedwater Treatment” Thursday, December 18, 2014, at 10 a.m. CST

On Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. These Webinars are free of charge to owner/operators of the plants. They are also free to McIlvaine Subscribers of Power Plant Air Quality Decisions and Utility Tracking System. The cost for others is $300.00 per webinar.

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

DATE	SUBJECT	DESCRIPTION
December 18, 2014	Boiler Feedwater Treatment	More Information
January 8, 2015	Fabric Selection for Hot Gas Applications	More Information
January 15, 2015	Valves for Gas Turbine and Combined Cycle Plants	More Information
January 22, 2015	FGD Components Including Blowers/Compressors	More Information
January 29, 2015	MATS Compliance Choices	More Information
February 5, 2015	Gas Turbine Regulatory Drivers	More Information
February 12, 2015	Coal Gasification Air Pollution Control	More Information
February 19, 2015	Mercury Measurement and Capture	More Information
February 26, 2015	Power Plant Wastewater Treatment	More Information
March 5, 2015	Dry Scrubbing and DSI	More Information

Coal-fired Boiler Air Pollution Limits in mg/Nm3
Pollutant	Source	China	New Chinese Province	EU	U.S.
SO₂	New	100	35	200	160
	Existing	200/400	35	400	160-640
NO_x	New	100	50	200	117
	Existing	100/200	50	200	117-640
PM	New	30	5	50	20-50
	Existing	30	5	50	50-100
Mercury	New	0.03	0.003	none	0.001
	Existing	0.03	0.003	none	0.002-0.005
SO₃	All	none	5	none	none