Keep Adapting to Offset Shrinking Coal Market in the U.S.
The coal-fired power plant activity is booming in Asia and Africa but slow in
the U.S. How do companies which have relied on the U.S. coal-fired
market adjust?
1.
Pursue the coal-fired O&M market in the U.S: There are 220,000 MW of
existing U.S. coal-fired power plants which will be making disproportionately
large investments just to keep these 50 year old facilities running for the next
20 or 30 years. There are four drivers:
a.
It costs more to keep a very old power plant in operation
b.
Solid waste, wastewater effluent and air pollution regulations will continue to
impact spending
c.
Power plants are losing their experienced personnel and are receptive to
outsourcing
d.
There are innovative ways to improve operations by:
i.
Improving efficiency
1.
Extract more heat from the flue gas
2.
Automate operations
3.
Use treated municipal wastewater
4.
Burn sewage sludge
5.
Burn cheaper coals
ii.
Creating salable byproducts
1.
Steam for ethanol and other cogeneration recipients
2.
Hydrochloric acid
3.
Rare earths (one step process for making acid and then using it to leach the
valuable metals)
4.
Gasify municipal waste and receive tipping fees
2.
Pursue the booming industrial market in the U.S.: There are new chemical,
petrochemical and steel plants in planning and construction. Industrial
boilers at existing power plants still need to meet the MACT rules.
3.
Develop products for gas turbine combined cycle power plants.
4.
Pursue the oil and gas markets in the U.S.
5.
Pursue offshore markets
a.
China is more receptive to some new technologies than ever before due to the
very stringent regulations and pressures from the citizens and government due to
smog
b.
Coal gasification for the purpose of making chemicals and synthetic natural gas
requires much of the same equipment needed by coal-fired boilers
i.
Big market is China
ii.
Korea, Ukraine and India are all moving forward with coal conversion projects
There are ways for small companies without the international reach to be
successful. However, they need to have products which are superior to
those offered locally in other countries. Alternatively, they need to have
the application and process expertise to provide a better solution.
This expertise is instantly transferable around the globe. For example, a
company can concentrate just on emission problems of the bauxite industry.
The market is not large enough to warrant the investment in expertise and
technology by the large companies. However, it is sufficient to sustain a small
company. There are similar examples in many other industries which have
the following characteristics:
·
Complex and difficult solutions required
·
Market is distributed around the globe
·
Market is large enough but not so large as to attract the big international
companies
The following McIlvaine services can help companies adapt:
Industrial Air Plants and Projects
N021
World Fabric Filter and Element Market
N008
Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets
N049 Oil,
Gas, Shale and Refining Markets and Projects
Industrial Valve Revenues Will Reach $68 Billion This Year
Industrial valve sales will be $68.4 billion in 2015 according to the latest
forecasts in
N028 Industrial Valves: World Market
published by the McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)
The McIlvaine forecasts are displayed in constant 2010 dollars. The
forecast for 2015 is $58 billion with a 1.18 multiplier to account for
inflation. McIlvaine forecasts are based on end use. These are compared to
analyses displayed at the recent Industrial Valve Summit in Italy.
|
Country |
McIlvaine point-of-use revenues
in 2015
$ millions |
Confindusria Bergamo estimates
of exports $ millions |
|
China |
13,500 |
8,200 |
|
Italy |
1,200 |
7,800 |
|
USA |
11,900 |
7,500 |
|
Germany |
2,100 |
6,500 |
|
Japan |
3,200 |
2,700 |
These figures show that some of the EU countries are major exporters of valves
with Italy being the leader. China and the U.S. are large exporters but even
larger consumers. Robert McIlvaine, president of the McIlviane Company
participated in a global sourcing panel discussion along with representatives of
several of the major oil companies. The main message in the McIlvaine
presentation is that exporters can enhance their position by providing total
solutions. He used the example of Pentair which provides valve systems to
deliver compressed air in a unique manner to maximize cleaning of filter
elements.
The company has the engineering expertise to deliver complete pulse jet cleaning
solutions and takes responsibility for valve sizing and configurations. This
total solutions approach provides maximum value to the purchaser and also
increases the revenues and profits of the supplier. Several of the other
panelists and attendees expressed similar opinions relative to total solutions.
The key to success is understanding the processes. This has not been a
traditional skill of valve companies but is one which they would be well served
to pursue. For those companies who want to carve out an international
presence, the knowledge and products to uniquely make the process better are
very good ways to increase penetration throughout the world.
A major theme at the Industrial Valve Summit was the loss of knowledge as many
of the experts within the consulting companies and end users are retiring.
This makes the process knowledge even more important. McIlvaine has decision
programs to provide this process and product knowledge. One is for coal-fired
power plants and the other for gas turbine combined cycle power plants.
The conference included a number of unique and invaluable papers. They can
be purchased from the conference organizers for $325. Contact:
http://www.industrialvalvesummit.com/
For more information on the valve market, click on:
N028
Industrial Valves: World Market
For the program with process knowledge on valves for coal-fired power plants,
click on:
44I Power
Plant Air Quality Decisions
For the similar program on gas turbine combined cycle plants, click on:
Gas
Turbine and Combined Cycle Decisions
Renewable Energy Briefs
Elecnor Wins Construction Contract for 185 MW Wind Farm in Chile
Spanish firm Elecnor SA announced it has won a contract worth U.S. $81 million
(€71.6 million) for the construction of a 184.8-MW wind farm for Latin American
Power (LAP) in Chile.
Elecnor will be responsible for the balance of plant (BOP), as well as
engineering, supply and construction of transmission facilities, including 84 km
(52 miles) of 220-kV lines, the San Juan substation and the grid connection.
The San Juan wind project comprises 56 turbines of 3.3 MW each, to be installed
in the Atacama region, in the coastal area south of Freirina town.
U.S. renewables company SunEdison Inc. has recently announced the signing of a
definitive agreement to acquire LAP, including a 46-MW operating wind plant in
Chile, 73 MW of operating hydropower in Peru, 204 MW under construction in Chile
and nearly 660 MW of development-stage wind, solar and hydropower projects in
the same countries.
MPOWERED Delivers Over 2,000 Solar Lights to Victims of Nepal Earthquake
MPOWERD, Inc., the maker of Luci inflatable solar lights, announced that they
have delivered over 2,000 lights to victims of the deadly Nepal earthquake.
Following the disaster, MPOWERD, a Certified B Corp, immediately mobilized a
large-scale donation of 1,200 lights and began offering special discounted
pricing to individuals, groups and charities distributing the lights in Nepal.
Luci lights are a safe and sustainable alternative to harmful kerosene lamps
often used in energy challenged countries and communities recovering from
disaster. Luci lights are now available in over 80 countries as well as in 700
retailers in the U.S., where the company leverages high volume retail sales to
lower costs and sell affordably into developing markets.
Viaspace Conducting Engineering Plan for Giant King® Grass Biogas Power Plant in
Papua New Guinea
Viaspace Inc. announced that Viaspace has been engaged by Clean Energy Solutions
Pacific (CES) to provide engineering and design work for a 2 MW biogas power
plant fueled by Giant King Grass. CES, based in Salt Lake City, UT, is an
independent power producer focused on developing power for frontier and emerging
markets. CES has extensive experience in project development and management,
engineering and construction of power plants.
The CES project located in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is to own and operate a biogas
power plant and Giant King Grass plantation that delivers reliable, 24/7
electricity to the grid to meet the customer demand profile, under a power
purchase agreement from the government electricity company.
GE Delivers Sophisticated Electrical Conversion System for One of the World’s
First Tidal Arrays
2015 is turning out to be an exciting year for tidal energy as one of the
world’s first tidal arrays near Paimpol-Bréhat, France, will be deployed.
Delivering a new generation of renewable energy, the project will harness the
predictable power of ocean tides to generate electricity.
All eyes in the energy world are turned to the small French fishing town of
Ploubazlanec in Brittany, where development of the tidal demonstrator farm
kicked off under the leadership of Electricité de France S.A. (EDF). GE Power
Conversion has been in partnership with EDF since the very beginning and is now
on track for finalization of the electrical conversion system, due for summer
2015. GE’s Belfort team is working diligently to perform relevant tests before
installing the system both subsea and onshore.
Two OpenHydro 16-meter turbines will be connected to a common subsea converter
that will transform the current to high voltage direct current (HVDC) to provide
1MW of electricity. The power will be transmitted to the onshore station and
eventually feed into the electrical grid. GE Power Conversion is undertaking
development of the subsea converter as well as the onshore station.
The size of the equipment is astonishing – the enclosure for the subsea
converter is 9 meters in length, 5 meters in width and 4 meters in height –
although still tiny compared to the tidal turbine which measures 16 meters in
diameter, provided by OpenHydro, part of the DCNS Group.
The converter will be delivered to Brest and be installed by DCNS on the
specific foundation designed by OpenHydro, which supports both the convertor and
the 16-meter turbine.
Tesla and Gaelectric to Introduce Tesla Battery Storage to Ireland
Gaelectric and Tesla announced the purchase and planned deployment of Tesla
Energy's first battery power utility-scale project in Ireland. The two companies
are collaborating to develop a pipeline of multiple battery projects to build
new transmission system services required to facilitate the integration of
renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. The initial demonstration
project, 1-MW in size, is targeted for deployment in 2016.
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
Headlines for Utility E-Alert –May 29, 2015
UTILITY E-ALERT
#1225 – May 29, 2015
Table of Contents
COAL – US
COAL – WORLD
GAS/OIL – US
GAS/OIL – WORLD
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
HOT TOPIC HOUR
For more information on the Utility Tracking System, click on:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/databases/2-uncategorised/89-42ei
McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour Registration
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 |
|
June 18, 2015 |
SO3 Removal Options |
|
|
July 2, 2015 |
Hot Gas Filtration |
|
|
June 23, 2015 |
Mercury Removal Options |
Click here
for the
Subscriber
and Power Plant or Cement Plant
Owner/Operator
Registration Form
Click here
for the
Non-Subscribers
Registration Form
----------
You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&formId=5
Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com