COSPP Cogeneration May June 2013

Cw w w. c o s p p . c o m

On–Site Power Production®

WORLD ALLIANCE FOR DECENTRALIZED ENERGY

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SUPERCRITICAL CO2 REFINES COGENERATION n ENHANCING SCADA FOR COGENERATION n EFFICIENCY BREAKTHROUGH IN SOLAR THERMAL CELLS n REFURBISHMENT DRIVES GROWTH IN RUSSIA n AWARD-WINNING CHP IN THE UKS n MEXICAN INDUSTRY TAPS COGEN POTENTIAL n THE MAN DRIVING DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH AT MWM

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London 2012 Games leave CCHP legacy

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IMPLICATIONS OF VARYING GAS QUALITY ■ NEW COGEN FACILITY’S ROLE IN GERMANY’S ENERGIEWENDE ■ NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR DH IN CEE REGION

■ CHINA’S AMBITIOUS CHP EXPANSION PLAN ■ AN INNOVATIVE OFF-GRID RENEWABLES PROJECT IN INDIA ■ BIOCOAL: A NEW FUEL FOR COGEN?

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Time to recognize on-site renewables’ potential

1305COSPP_C1 C1 5/14/13 2:41 PM


� Customer: Petrochemical plant, Malaysia.

� Challenge: Catastrophic failure of a turbine-driven pump.

� Result: Elliott shipped a replacement turbine in three weeks to restore production.

C O M P R E S S O R S � T U R B I N E S � G L O B A L S E R V I C E

EBARA CORPORATION

www.elliott-turbo.com

They turned to Elliott

when there was no time to lose.The customer turned to Elliott because our resources are global and our response is local. Who will you turn to?

The world turns to Elliott.

For more information, enter 1 at COSPP.hotims.com

1305COSPP_C2 C2 5/14/13 2:07 PM

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Cogeneration & On–Site Power Production | May - June 2013 www.cospp.com2

Contents Volume 13 • Number 3

May-June 2013

24

12 Natural gas quality: Impact on DG The impact of natural gas quality variations on gas-f red distributed generators (DG) is an

important issue, but one that is often ignored. Gas supplying companies want to broaden

the range of gas compositions in order to ease trans-border transfer, accepting a wide

range of LNG from the market. However, sudden changes in composition can have nega-

tive consequences for distributed generation and CHP.

By Dr. Jacob Klimstra

20 Barriers to distributed renewable energy development People like the idea of distributed generation or decentralized power. They also like the

idea of utilizing renewables. So what is stopping the greater development of distributed

renewable energy, especially in our highly environmentally-conscious times? COSPP takes a

global view to f nd out what are the main barriers to its greater take up.

By Ed Ritchie

24 CEE’s district heating revival District heating traditionally played a starring role in urban heating systems in planned

economies behind the iron curtain. Now it is making a comeback. COSPP looks at the

latest developments in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE).

By Rachada Raizada

38 China’s ambitious CHP action plan The new administration in China has ambitious cogeneration plans, with a number of

new gas thermal power plants earmarked to be built in Tianjin over the period of the

current f ve-year plan. The new Energy Development Plan, released in January, outlines

a target to build 30 GW of new gas-powered plants by 2015, again many will be CHP-

based. How can foreign cogen f rms benef t from these government programmes and

get a piece of this action?

By David Green

FeaturesCwww.co spp . com



In Association With

May - June 2013

IMPLICATIONS OF VARYING GAS QUALITY � NEW COGEN FACILITY’S ROLE IN GERMANY’S ENERGIEWENDE � NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR DH IN CEE REGION

� CHINA’S AMBITIOUS CHP EXPANSION PLAN � AN INNOVATIVE OFF-GRID RENEWABLES PROJECT IN INDIA � BIOCOAL: A NEW FUEL FOR COGEN?

Time to recognize on-site renewables’ potential

The time has come to realize the full potential of renewables-based

distributed generation. See p.20. Photo: Los Angeles County

Sanitation’s Calabasas facility.

1305COSPP_2 2 5/14/13 2:13 PM



www.cospp.com

ISSN 1469–0349

Chairman: Frank T. LauingerPresident/CEO: Robert F. BiolchiniChief Financial Off cer: Mark C. WilmothGroup Publisher: Glenn EnsorChief Editor: Dr. Heather JohnstoneManaging Editor: Dr. Jacob KlimstraProduction Editor: Mukund PanditConsulting Editor: David SweetDesign: Keith HackettProduction Coordinator: Kimberlee SmithSales Managers: Natasha Cole

WADE Editorial Board:

Jessica Bridges (US Clean Heat & Power Association, USA)

Jorge A. Hernández Soulayrac(Iberomericana University, Mexico)

Jacob Klimstra(Jacob Klimstra Consultancy, Netherlands)

Fiona Riddoch (COGEN Europe, Belgium)

Advertising: Natasha Cole on +1 713 621 9720Richard Abels on +44 1992 656 608or [email protected]

Editorial/News contact: Richard Baillie, e-mail: [email protected]

Published by PennWell International Ltd, The Water Tower,Gunpowder Mill, Powdermill Lane,Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, UKTel: +44 1992 656 600Fax: +44 1992 656 700e-mail: [email protected]: www.cospp.com

Published in association with the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE)

© 2012 PennWell International Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical or otherwise including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written consent of the Publishers. While every attempt is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this magazine, neither the Publishers, Editors nor the authors accept any liability for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Publishers or Editor.

Subscriptions: Copies of the magazine are circulated free to qualif ed professionals who complete one of the printed circulation forms included in the magazine. Extra copies of these forms may be obtained from the publishers. The magazine may also be obtained on subscription; the price for one year (six issues) is US$133 in Europe, US$153 elsewhere, including air mail postage. Digital copies are available at US$60. To start a subscription call Omeda Communications at +1 847 559 7330. Cogeneration and On-Site Power Production is published six times a year by Pennwell Corp., The Water Tower, Gunpowder Mill, Powdermill Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex EN9 1BN, UK, and distributed in the USA by SPP at 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Cogeneration and On-Site Power Production, c/o P.O. Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318.

Reprints: If you would like to have a recent article reprinted for a conference or for use as marketing tool, please contact Rhonda Brown. Email: [email protected]. Tel +1 866 879 9144, extn 194 or direct line +1 219-878-6094.

Printed in the UK by Williams Press Ltd on elemental chlorine-free paper from sustainable forests.

Member, BPA Worldwide

www.cospp.com

38

12

Project Prof le

28 New cogen facility supports Germany’s energy transition

The centrepiece of Bavarian utility Stadtwerke

Rosenheim’s newly-upgraded municipal

cogeneration facility is the largest ever gas-

fuelled engine from GE Jenbacher, a 9.5

MW ‘FleXtra’ engine. The system is expected

to contribute to Germany’s controversial

Energiewende programme.

By Steve Hodgson

34 Off-grid renewable initiative in India Ladakh, a remote district of India’s northernmost state, is currently benef ting from the largest

off-grid renewable energy project in the world. The Ministry for New and Renewable Energy

has invrested in decentralized solar and hydro technologies to bring energy security to this

remote mountain region. Why Ladakh?

By Duncan McKenzie

6 Editor Letter

8 Insight

10 Comment

50 WADE pages

55 Diary

56 Advertisers’ index

Regulars

43 Biocoal: An innovation in biomass-based fuels Biocoal is said to be carbon neutral and cost eff cient, it also offers a similar power output to coal

and can be burned in existing boilers with little or no modif cation. Initial results from a year-

long technical evaluation in the UK demonstrated that biocoal produced by microwave

technology can be introduced as a co-f ring fuel into coal-f red power generation. What is its

potential as a fuel in cogeneration and on-site power applications?

By Robert Stokes

1305COSPP_3 3 5/14/13 2:13 PM


mailto:[email protected]







Varnish Theory

Photos above compare sludge / varnish of an in-service

oil to new on servo valve filters.

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

Expert Interview:

How to Vanquish VarnishJames Hannon, Product Technical Advisor, ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company

Varnish can have a significant impact on the reliability of gas turbine operations. What is varnish and how much of an issue is it in the power industry?Varnish has historically been used as a catch all term for deposits,

either in the form of sludge or varnish. Sludge is often described as

a soft, pliable, organic residue that can be easily removed by wiping,

while varnish refers to the hard, oil insoluble organic residue that is not

easily removed by wiping. According to a recent ExxonMobil Fuels &

Lubricants survey of 192 gas turbine power plants with a combined

total of 626 gas turbines, approximately 40 per cent reported current or

historical varnish issues within six years of oil service life. Both varnish

and sludge form in different ways and there are many contributing

factors to their formation.

Turbines with common hydraulic and bearing reservoirs are far

more susceptible to unit trips or no-starts related to varnish than

turbines with segregated reservoirs. Mild varnish can also build

on journal and thrust bearings with little or no impact on bearing

temperatures or shaft rotations. Unit trips or no-starts are rarely, if

ever, reported due to varnish in turbine bearings. For these reasons,

varnish prevention and detection should be emphasized on turbines

with common hydraulic and turbine oil reservoirs compared to

turbines with separate hydraulic and turbine oil reservoirs.

How does varnish occur?

There are three main mechanisms of varnish formation: thermal

degradation of oil which can take place at temperatures above

300°C; oxidation, a reaction that acts to decompose the oil; and

contamination of the oil, through either internal or external sources.

While treating the symptoms of varnish through mitigation

technologies may extend service life, the important factors for reliable

operation are starting with a clean system and using a turbine oil

designed to prevent varnish from forming. A well-balanced formulation

that utilises high-performance base stocks and advanced technology

additives is the first line of defence against the formation of sludge

and varnish.

What properties should an operator look for when selecting a gas turbine oil?Varnish formation and management are greatly impacted by the oil’s

formulation. By selecting an oil composed of highly refined base oils

and a proper balance of advanced technology additives, it is less

likely to be compromised during long-term service. In general, higher

group base stocks blended with advanced technology additives offer

the best first line against varnish. In selecting a well-balanced gas

turbine lubricant, maintenance personnel should consider the following

performance areas:

� ��

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�� latest gas turbine lubricant? ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants has recently introduced Mobil DTE™

932 GT, a scientifically engineered gas turbine oil that can help power

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Across a wide range of testing procedures, Mobil DTE 932 GT was

shown to deliver critical performance benefits such as the potential for

greatly reduced varnish formation, enhanced turbine performance and

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or +420 221 456 426, or visit www.mobilindustrial.com

1305COSPP_4 4 5/14/13 2:13 PM


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Editor’s Letter


Industry veteran takes the helm

S ince this is my f rst Editor’s Letter, I

imagine that you’d like to know about

my background and what my motives

are for taking up this exciting role of

managing editor.

Long ago, back in 1970, I had the privilege

to start as a research engineer for Gasunie

Research, part of NV Nederlandse Gasunie in

the city of Groningen.

The use of natural gas was rapidly

increasing in those days and many interesting

challenges emerged. For example, the f ames

of gas-fuelled burners appeared to be less

stable than those of oil burners and we had

to f nd solutions to avoid boiler pulsations. In

addition, early-generation gas turbines and

gas engines, as used in gas compressor

stations, suffered from vibrations and poor

reliability. Via measuring, analysing, studying

and testing these dynamic phenomena,

we tried to f nd solutions together with the

manufacturers, and that is how I became a

specialist in prime movers.

In the early 1980s, many of problems

had been solved and I feared that I would

have to look for another challenge. However,

fortunately for me at least, we had two energy

crises in the seventies, plus the Club of Rome

published its report The Limits to Growth.

Consequently, policy makers issued

legislation for reducing fuel consumption and

our laboratory was charged with assisting gas

consumers and equipment manufacturers

in f nding solutions. That is when my work on

the combined production of heat and power

started. The very f rst gas engines in CHP

applications were small, ranging in power from

15 kW to 150 kW. These engines were primarily

diesel engines converted to gas, but many

reliability problems emerged. The monopolistic

electricity companies initially refused to

connect the CHP units to the distribution grid

because they feared voltage instabilities.

However, we could showed via statistical

theory and real-life tests that having multiple

smaller generators connected to the grid

could provide a higher stability and security of

supply than a few large power plants.

CHP and on-site power production was

seen as a preferred way of using gas by my

employer. In order to improve the reliability

and eff ciency of the prime movers, the CEO

personally asked me to set up an engine

testing laboratory at Gasunie Research. Many

well-known manufacturers sent engines to our

facility and our dedicated team helped them

carry out improvements. We also assisted in

developing burners for gas turbines. All our

innovations/solutions were made known via

conference papers and magazine articles.

In 2000, Gasunie’s activities were unbundled

and the obligation to improve the processes

of customers disappeared. I found a new

position as an energy and engine specialist

with the Finnish manufacturer Wärtsilä and

had many happy years there. For them, I

travelled to almost every corner of the world,

highlighting the benef ts of local generation to

the end-user.

At the end of 2009, I set-up my own

consultancy to serve the sector, and not

long after I began to work with Pennwell on

its POWER-GEN conference portfolio In co-

operation with Wärtsilä, I also wrote a sizeable

part of the Smart Power Generation book.

And now there is this new challenge of being

managing editor of COSPP. I sincerely believe

in the benef ts of cogeneration and on-site

power production. Spreading that message

is still needed. I am counting on you, dear

readers, to help me in keeping this magazine

interesting and valuable.

Jacob Klimstra

Managing Editor

P.S. Don’t forget to visit www.cospp.com to

see regular news updates, the current issue

of the magazine in full, and an archive of

articles from previous issues. It’s the same

website address to sign-up for our fortnightly

e-newsletter too.

Dr. Jacob Klimstra

1305COSPP_6 6 5/14/13 2:15 PM



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Insight

Industrial-scale cogeneration takes off in Mexico

The well-established cogen

markets of Europe and

the US are served by the

equally well-established

trade associations, COGEN Europe

and the CHP Association (formerly

the USCHPA), which also act as

pressure groups trying to support

cogeneration/CHP industries and

to transform the markets for their

products.

A whole series of national trade

associations do similar work in the

individual countries of Europe and, in

the US, eight regionally-based Clean

Energy Application Centers lobby for

and support CHP development locally.

In addition to these organisations, the

closely-linked district heating industry

is also supported by Euroheat & Power

in Europe and the International District

Energy Association, which is based in

the US but has wider horizons.

The existence of a trade association

gives its members, the main industry

players, a unif ed voice in making the

case for the technology, and gives

governments and regulators a way

to directly address the industry. The

associations tend to do a good job

– often ‘punching above their weight’

when it comes to making sure that

cogeneration is treated according

to its merits in energy debates and

the development of legislation and

regulations.

So it’s good to see the emergence

of a new national trade association

– COGENERA Mexico, which is in the

process of being constituted. The new

organisation was introduced to the

world at last month’s COGEN Europe

conference in Brussels. It has a familiar

agenda – regulatory issues around

cogeneration in Mexico; f nancing

and f scal incentives; promotion of

the technology and development of

a market for it; fuels and sustainability

issues.

At the Brussels event, Ana Delia

Cordova, a member of the Board

of COGENERA Mexico, spoke of the

value of learning from the experience

of COGEN Europe and similar

organisations already involved in

promoting cogeneration, and of

the cogen business opportunities

opening up in Mexico.

And these opportunities may be

many. The US Commercial Service

has recently issued guidance on

opportunities resulting from expected

growth in cogeneration by the

Mexican private sector in the coming

years. It identif es the petroleum,

petrochemicals, chemicals, sugar

and paper and pulp industries as

potential growth application areas.

In addition, Mexico’s state-

owned oil company, PEMEX, and its

Comision Federal de Electricidad

(CFE) are already collaborating on

cogeneration plants at PEMEX facilities

that both cut steam costs for PEMEX

and deliver low-cost electricity to CFE.

The Commercial Service identif es

10 GW of potential cogeneration

plants for PEMEX facilities alone, and

suggests that the collaboration model

could be extended beyond these two

companies.

And, an alert published earlier

this year by the Mexico off ce

of international lawyers Baker &

McKenzie reports new incentives

for and activity in the cogen sector

in Mexico, following helpful recent

amendments to energy regulatory

instruments. It points to 63 permits

granted for new cogeneration plants

in the country, adding up to some

3 GW of new generating capacity.

Meanwhile, reports in the last few

weeks from the COSPP website (www.

cospp.com) suggest considerable

activity is already underway:

• Spain’s Iberdrola has begun work

on a new 430 MW cogeneration plant

at a PEMEX ref nery in Salamanca, a

city in Guanajuato state.

• PEMEX has brought a 300 MW

cogeneration scheme on line in the

south-eastern state of Tabasco.

• Rolls-Royce is to supply industrial

gas turbine equipment for a proposed

cogeneration scheme at a textile and

chemicals complex in Veracruz.

• Two Spanish contracting

companies, OHL and Sener, are to

build a 35 MW cogeneration scheme

for the ref ning arm of PEMEX at a

facility in the north-eastern state of

Tampaulipas.

Cogeneration in Mexico seems

to be having a growth spurt just

now, and with sizeable schemes too.

Assisted by a favourable regulatory

environment and ample reserves of

natural gas at low prices, the sector

has very considerable potential.

What’s needed now is investment

from outside the country in new

projects. And a new national trade

association focused on cogeneration

should help too.

Steve Hodgson

Contributing Editor

Steve Hodgson

1305COSPP_8 8 5/14/13 2:16 PM




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KRAL AG, 6890 Lustenau, Austria, Tel. +43 55 77 8 66 44-0, [email protected]

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Pump Modules Manufactured by KRAL.

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In-house paint shop.

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What we can offer.

We have the competence for detailed engineering and we

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We look forward to welcoming you at the POWER-GEN

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Hall A, booth A161.

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For coal-fired, diesel motor and offshore wind power plants

KRAL offers light oil and heavy fuel oil transfer and unloading

modules, lube oil, high pressure, slop oil and valve modules

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1305COSPP_9 9 5/14/13 2:16 PM




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Comment

Every 17 years there is a

phenomenon that takes

place in the northeast of the

US when swarms of cicadas

– a locust-like insect – emerges

from the ground after almost two

decades of subterranean slumber.

For around one month there is a

non-stop, high-decibel cacophony

of mating calls as these insects f y

around with one thing on their simple

pre-programmed minds. I mention

this because this 17-year cycle will

soon be upon us and will disrupt

the lives and sleep patterns of many

until the cicadas mate, lay their eggs

and die. I also mention this because

it seems that CHP and distributed

generation seem to move in and out

of favour in cycles (perhaps not as

long or as predictable as the mating

seasons of cicadas) and can cause

a great deal of disruption to the

existing utility business model.

As a result of Hurricane Sandy

and low natural gas prices it

seems like there is a high degree

of chatter about the potential for

CHP and distributed generation

throughout the US, and especially

in the northeast. Virtually every

energy conference now seems to

have some mention of distributed

generation, as if the concept just

hatched from the ground.

It seems that the utility industry is

beginning to take serious notice that

its traditional business model faces

a mounting challenge from the

distributed sector. In a recent report

prepared for the Edison Electric

Institute, Disruptive Challenges:

Financial Implications and Strategic

Responses to a Changing Retail

Electric Business, the threat of

distributed generation is thoroughly

examined from a f nancial and

strategic perspective. Much of the

report is focused on the competitive

threat from solar photovoltaics (PV)

as a result of the rapid decline

in panel costs and availability of

government programmes and

benef ts, including tax credits and

state renewable portfolio standards.

However, there is surprising candor

about the possibility of customers

‘cutting the cord’ as was done in

other industries such as telecoms.

While legacy utilities will not

be easily disrupted by distributed

technology, especially PV, there

is a growing recognition that the

true threat of disruption could

come from distributed gas-f red

generation which is not subject to

the intermittency that limits solar and

wind. The report notes:

‘Due to the variable nature of

renewable DER, there is a perception

that customers will always need

to remain on the grid. While we

would expect customers to remain

on the grid until a fully viable and

economic distributed non-variable

resource is available, one can

imagine a day when battery storage

technology or micro turbines would

allow customers to be electric grid

independent.’

Would a customer cut the cord

from the utility if viable options for

self generation were affordable

and readily available? Fuel cells,

micro-chp, microgrids all supplied

by natural gas could offer reliable

options for round the clock power.

One thing that we have seen time

and time again, is that the new breed

of consumer is not afraid to do things

differently from previous generations.

Younger consumers who are more

tech savvy and ‘untethered’ feel

little compunction about life without

a landline. We are at the point now

where multi-billion dollar companies

can be run by executives without

even a laptop computer – using

just tablets and smartphones.

Reliable and affordable electricity

will become ever more critical to

our digital society. There has been

a transformation in how that power

is provided. Still to be determined is

who will be the provider of that power.

David Sweet

Executive Director, WADE

[email protected]

David Sweet

Seventeen-year Cicadas and Disruptive Business Models

1305COSPP_10 10 5/14/13 2:17 PM



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Gas quality’s impact on DG

Natural gas is an

important fuel

for distributed

generation (DG)

and cogeneration. Running

generators on clean natural

gas can result in large

savings in fuel consumption

by locally using the heat

released during the

production of electricity. On

top of this, emissions will be

realtively low.

Distributed generation

also avoids the need for

long transmission lines, plus

transporting energy over

long distances via pipelines

with natural gas is said to

be 5–25 times cheaper than

transmitting electricity over

power lines.

Energy can also be stored in

the gas in the pipeline if it is at a

pressure exceeding the value

needed by the customers. So

natural gas, is in effect, a large

natural battery that is excellent

for the long-term back-up of

intermittent renewables, such

as wind and solar.

Traditionally, the majority

of natural gas consumers

received it through pipelines

from a single source. This meant

that the composition of the

gas remained fairly stable. This

enables the users to achieve

optimum performance and

minimum emissions from their

boilers, gas turbines or gas

engines by tuning them to

the prevailing composition of

the fuel.

However, local gas reserves

in industrialised countries are

rapidly diminishing, at the

same time as its popularity

is increasing, due to its

lower-specif c greenhouse

gas emissions and cleaner

combustion.

In response to this, natural

gas in increasingly being

shipped as liquef ed nartural

gas (LNG) from areas, such

as the Middle East, Indonesia,

Africa and Australia, to

many countries in Asia.

The US has large shale gas

resources, which might turn

North America into a net

gas exporter, while Europe

increasingly depends on

imports from Russia because

domestic f elds in the waters

Natural gas is an excellent fuel for DG and CHP, explains

Dr. Jacob Klimstra, but because of widening differences in

its composition and the introduction of regional

standards governing its quality

concerns are growing.

What’s in the pipeline?

1305COSPP_12 12 5/14/13 2:17 PM


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off the UK and the Netherlands

are rapidly depleting.

However, dependence

on a single foreign supplier

is unattractive because it

limits the possibilities for price

negotiation. In addition,

political tensions could affect

security of supply.

It is for these reasons that

the European Commission

is now promoting the full

integration of all European

gas transmission systems.Such

integration also aims to allow

greater competition between

gas suppliers, resulting in lower

prices for customers.

However, when gas

comes from multiple sources,

its composition can vary

widely and sometimes

instantaneously, and thereby

affecting the quality of the fuel.

Quality

Expressing the quality of natural

gas is more complicated than

doing the same thing for

power. Customers are happy

if electricity at 50 Hz or 60 Hz

is at a voltage close to the

rated value, has no excessive

harmonic distortion and has

a supply reliability of at least

99.99%. However, with natural

gas, the def nition of quality is

more diverse.

Gas companies generally

express the quality of their fuel

through its composition, its

Wobbe index (WI) and calorif c

value. Additional factors, such

as combustion velocity, knock

resistance, the absence of

sulphur and siloxanes, as well

as f rmness in composition,

can be important to users.

The WI is a measure of

energy f ow for a given pressure

drop over a restriction. The

majority of gas applications

use a pressure drop when

administering gas to a burner

or carburettor. For the WI, the

volumetric calorif c value H

(MJ/m3) of the gas has to be

known, as does the relative

density d = ρgas

/ρair

of the gas:

WI = Η

√ ρgas

ρair

Because the quotient of

the two densities ρ (kg.m3)

is dimensionless, the WI has

the same dimension as the

calorif c value: MJ/m3. If the

WI changes, the power output

of the gas application also

changes unless corrective

steps are taken. The same

applies for the air-to-fuel ratio

λ, because for most systems

that consume gas, the air-to-

fuel ratio varies in inverse

proportion to the WI:

λ (new) = WI(initial)/WI(new)

∙ λ (initial)

The air-to-fuel ratio

determines the temperature of

the f ame and the combustion

velocity, so the combustion

process will change with the

WI, and thereby affecting fuel

eff ciency, thermal load and

emissions.

For example, if the WI drops

from 55 MJ/m3 to 50 MJ/m3, the

initial λ value of 1.9 increases

to 2.1. If the application is

a gas engine with a venturi

carburettor to prepare the

fuel-air mixture, the engine

would most probably misf re

and stop fully.

If for the same initial λ value

of 1.9, the WI increased from

50 MJ/m3 to 55 MJ/m3, the new

value of λ would fall to almost

1.7, resulting in substantially

higher NOx emissions and,

most probably, knocking. In

addition, the power output

would increase by 10% and

potentially leading to system

overload

Standards

Less than a decade ago the US

had big plans for importing LNG

because its domestic resources

were declining and it wanted to

ensure security of supply, plus

natural gas produces lower

greenhouse gas emissions

compared to coal.

Terminals for receiving

LNG were built at major ports

along the east and west

coasts. Up to then the US had

enjoyed reasonably stable gas

compositions, but there were

fears over the consequences

of the differing compositions

of the LNG. This led the Federal

Energy Regulating Committee

(FERC) to approach the US

Natural Gas Council and other

interested parties on how to

deal with the anticipated

problems.

A new committee, NGC+,

was established, with

members from equipment

manufacturers, power plant

companies, pipeline operators,

gas distributors, feedstock

companies and LNG suppliers.

Over the course of 19

meetings, the 71 stakeholders

discussed all aspects of

combustion eff ciency,

emissions, f ame stability and

appliance performance. As a

result, a White Paper on natural

gas interchangeability and

non-combustion end use1 was

issued on 28 February 2005.

Table 1 gives the agreed

values for some gas indices,

while Figure 2 shows how

these values affect the upper

calorif c value and WI.

In the White Paper, the WI is

allowed to vary in the range

±4% around the traditional

average value of 53.16 MJ/

m3, while the upper calorif c

value can vary by ±6% around

41.17 MJ/m3. It is important to

note that the upper calorif c

value is specif ed here for

a reference temperature

of 25°C, while Table 1 uses

reference conditions for a m3

of 101.25 kPa and 273.15 K.

These reference conditions

often differ depending on the

country or the organization,

and care should be taken to

take this into account when

comparing different gas

quality standards.

In Europe, the EASEEgas

consortium, made up of

primarily members from

the gas sector, has been

working for almost a decade

on specif cations for the

transborder transfer of

natural gas.

Table 2 lists the gas quality

index values set for this.

Based a mandate from the

Table 1. Limits in gas index values in the US

Index Maximum value

WI 55.06 MJ/m3

Upper calorif c value 43.73 MJ/m3

C4+ gases 1.5 mol %

Inert components 4%

Flow over a restriction: the Wobbe Index

ˇp

Φ

P = Φ . Hi (if this is constant, no change in

energy supply

Φ = c ˇ ˇp/ ρgas

Wobbe = Hi / ˇ ρgas/ρair

Hi = lower calorific value (MJ/m3)

ρ = density (kg/m3)

Figure 1. Schematic of the Wobbe Index

1305COSPP_14 14 5/14/13 2:17 PM


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Commission, the organization

of gas transmission

operators, ENTSO-G, and the

normalisation committee, CEN,

are now turning this into a

standard.

It appears that in the

EASEEgas proposal, almost any

natural gas available in the

world can be accepted. This is

welcomed by gas traders and

shippers but has signif cnatly

negative consequences for

gas consumers.

A range in the WI between 49

MJ/m3 and 57 MJ/m3 means

that a gas-consuming device

can suddenly experience a

decrease of 14% in fuel supply.

In such a case, an initial air-to-

fuel ratio λ of 2 in a gas engine

or a gas turbine combustor

will instantaneously become λ

= 2.3, resulting in combustion

instability and misf ring. The

gas standards do not exclude

so-called plug f ow, which

means that a sudden change

in composition of the gas

supplied can always occur.

A change in the opposite

direction – in other words a

sudden jump in the WI from

49 MJ/m3 to 57 MJ/m3 – will

decrease the air-to-fuel ration

λ from 2 to 1.7, resulting in

16% more power, a higher

combustion velocity and higher

combustion temperatures.

The power output controller

of a gas engine can normally

handle a rapid change in

output caused by a change

in WI. In engines that feature

a carburettor, the throttle valve

will readjust the amount of

mixture f owing to the engine,

and in gas engines with

electronic gas admission

valves, the readjustment in

power output will be even

faster. However, the air-to-fuel

ratio of carburettor-based

engines takes longer to control

because of the adjustment in

the carburettor setting.

Knock resistance

In gas engines, a gas with

a higher volumetric calorif c

value will generally have a

lower knock resistance – the

knock resistance of gaseous

fuels is expressed by the

methane number (MN).

The MN method was

initially developed at the

laboratories of AVL in Graz,

Austria, with a consortium of

German and Austrian engine

manufacturers in the early

1970s. In that programme,

no hydrocarbons higher

than butane were taken into

account. Subsequently, the

initial method was improved to

f t the actual performance of

modern engines. The effects of

higher hydrocarbons, such as

pentane, hexane and heptane

on the methane number are

now included.

Gas engines in stationary

applications for cogeneration

and on-site power production

demonstrate optimum

performance with a MN of 80

or higher. This also applies to

natural-gas-fuelled trucks and

ships. Fuel eff ciency, power

output and load-step-response

capability are negatively

affected by low MNs.

Some gases within the

EASEEgas range, such as LNG

from Libya, have a MN as low

as 63. Figure 4 shows MNs for

a selection of natural gases

that lie in the EASEEgas range.

Gases with an MN of less

than 60 might even occur if

the specif cations contain

no lower limit for the MN. The

specif cations for gas in the

US guarantee that the MN is

always above 73.

Gas treatment

Shale gas in the US3 varies

widely in composition from site

to site. To comply with the NGC+

limits, the concentration of

higher hydrocarbons is reduced

by condensing them out (Figure

5) as natural gas liquids (NGLs).

These NGLs help to make shale

gas production prof table.

According to Valerie Wood,

president of EnergySolutions3:

‘NGLs are priced in accordance

with crude oil prices. The

production of high-value NGLs

helps to lower natural gas break-

even prices.’

However, gas transmission

operators in Europe refuse

to see removal of higher

hydrocarbons at LNG terminals

as a solution for obtaining

narrower gas specif cations.

Their excuse is that European

and national legislation

prohibits gas transmission

companies from selling NGLs

to ref neries. Such an aberration

can easily be rectif ed.

Also, rich gases might occur

only occasionally, resulting

in a low utilisation factor

for a treatment installation.

However, that is no excuse.

In electricity supply, peaking

plants necessary to keep the

system stable also have a

limited number of operating

hours per year. Keeping the WI

in a narrow range, even with a

large number of gas sources,

is not a technical problem.

Gasunie in the Netherlands

has maintained the WI of

the L-gas and H-gas within a

range of ±2%.

Billing

An important negative aspect

of a wide range of gas

compositions is the variability

in volumetric calorif c value.

As mentioned earlier, the

EASEEgas specif cations

allow an upper calorif c value

of between 36 MJ/m3 and

48 MJ/m3. However,

commercial and domestic

gas consumers use a gas

meter that is based on volume

f ow without a correction for

calorif c value.

Gas distribution companies

have a policy of correcting

gas bills for the average

calorif c value over a certain

time span. However, under

the proposed regulations, the

gas composition can change Figure 3. The range in upper calorif c value and WI proposed by EASEEgas compared with the much narrower range of the NGC+

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

up

pe

r c

alo

rifi

c v

alu

e (

MJ

/m3

)

Wobbe Index (MJ/m3)

Brown = EU EASEEgas Red = USA NGC+

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Up

pe

r c

alo

rifi

c v

alu

e (

MJ

/m3

)

Wobbe Index (MJ/m3)

USA NGC+ limits

Figure 2.The range in upper calorif c value and WI, as per the USA NGC+

Table 2. Gas index specif cations as per EASEEgas

Quality Index Unit Min. Max.

WI MJ/m3 48.96 56.92

Relative density – 0.555 0.700

1305COSPP_16 16 5/14/13 2:17 PM



1305COSPP_17 17 5/14/13 2:17 PM



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instantaneously and frequently.

Proof of this has already been

seen at a cogeneration

installation at a point at where

three gas streams met.

An owner of a local

generating set, such as a

cogeneration plant for a

greenhouse, might use the

installation to sell electricity to

the grid during times of peak

demand. With today’s gas

prices, the prof tability of such

plants is only marginal. If the

calorif c value at a given time

is only 36 MJ/m3 and the gas

company charges the CHP

plant for a calorif c value of

40 MJ/m3, it appears that the

electrical eff ciency of the CHP

plant has dropped from 45%

to 40.5%.

Instantaneous monitoring

of plant performance based

on the quotient of electricity

production and gas f ow

will be f awed under such

circumstances.

Optimum adjustment for

minimum NOx emissions is

also not possible with a wide

range in WI.

Widespread concern

It is not only the cogeneration

and on-site power sector that

is worried about the proposed

wide range in gas quality.

BDH, the German association

of energy and environmental

industries, and Figawa, the

country’s association of gas

and water companies, have

voiced their concerns in a

letter to stakeholders.

Most existing gas appli-

ances are not able to cope

with a wide range in gas

composition. In the UK, the

allowed WI is restricted to

between 47.2 MJ/m3 and 51.2

MJ/m3, which is about the

same range as that of the USA’

NGC+. Research has shown

that expanding this range is

extremely costly because the

required scale of investment is

factors higher than any prof ts

that come from acquiring

cheaper gas.

A paper from Jackson, Finn

and Tomlinson4 propose an

effective method for extracting

higher hydrocarbons from

LNG. Ballasting rich gases

with nitrogen is ofter proposed

to reduce the WI and the

calorif c value. This, however,

is of no use for gas engines

because nitrogen in the fuel

gas does not improve the

knock resistance in modern,

high-performance, lean-burn

engines.

Arguments by the gas

sector that engines and

turbines are just a small

segment in the gas market

does not bear any relationship

to the reality and the future.

Better insulated homes

and solar heat collectors will

drastically reduce the use of

gas for heating purposes. In

contrast, gas use in engines with

the ability to rapidly respond to

the intermittency of renewable

energy from wind and sun will

substantially increase. Next to

that, gas-fuelled cogeneration

is still a favoured way of saving

fuel and reducing greenhouse

emissions.

Unfortunately, the gas

industry is also now trying to

convince countries outside

Europe to adopt the gas quality

range as proposed for that


Figure 4.The MN range of a series of gases that f t the initial EASEEgas specif cations

y = -4.9945x + 289.33 R² = 0.79496

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

Me

tha

ne

Nu

mb

er

Upper calorific value MJ/m3 (25 C, 273.15 K)

MN

Linear (MN)

1305COSPP_18 18 5/14/13 2:17 PM


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www.cospp.com Cogeneration & On–Site Power Production | May - June 2013 19


region. Hopefully, democratic

processes will prohibit the

interests of consumers from

being ignored.

In 1986, a major gas quality

conference5 was held in the

Netherlands in which experts

from gas companies from all

over the world participated.

The main message was clear:

gas quality should be user-led,

not supplier-led, and care has

to be taken for it not to become

politician-led.

In a nutshell

The proposed wide range in

transboundary gas composition

by the gas industry in Europe

has negative consequences for

fuel eff ciency, power capacity

and emissions of gas-fuelled

equipment. And the aspirations

of European policy makers on

security of supply and open

markets for natural gas will

ultimately result in higher costs

for most gas users.

The economic benef ts for

Europe of accepting all gas

available on the world market

regardless of its quality may

well be lower than the extra

costs incurred by adapting

gas consuming equipment for

eff ciency loss and for emission

increases.

Solutions for reducing the

large range in gas quality

available on the market are

standard, proven and globally

widespread.

In Europe, gas companies

have so far dominated all

policy making on gas quality

without taking into account

the expertise of equipment

manufacturers and users of

gas-fuelled equipment. The

US, in contrast, has followed a

more democratic path.

Finally, a wide range in

calorif c value will further

deteriorate and obscure the

way gas energy deliveries are

measured with gas meters.

And legislation in Europe

should allow gas transmission

companies to sell NGLs.

References

1. Natural Gas Council, White

Paper on Natural Gas

Interchangeability and

Non-Combustion End Use,

28 February 2005.

2. Leiker M, Cartelliery W,

Christoph K, Pfeifer U &

Rankl M, ‘Evaluation of the

Anti-knocking Property of

gaseous Fuels by means of

the Methane Number and

its Practical Application to

Gas Engines’, ASME paper

72-DGP-4, April 1972.

3. Darin L George &

Edgar B Bowles, ‘Shale

Gas Measurement and

Associated Issues’, Pipeline

& Gas Journal, pp38–41,

July 2011.

4. www.natural-gasliquids.

com/editorimages/

downloads/UK%20Gas%20

Paper%2013-01%20(f nal).

pdf

5. G J van Rossum, editor,

‘Gas quality’, Proceedings

of the Congress of Gas

Quality, Groningen, the

Netherlands, 22–25 April

1986, ISBN 0-444-42628-0.

This article is available

on-line. Please visit

www.cospp.com

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http://www.natural-gasliquids.com/editorimages/downloads/UK%20Gas%20Paper%2013-01%20(final).pdf






Renewable distributed energy

The on-site power

industry continues

to grow on the world

stage of energy

production, but that growth

would better serve the need

for sustainable power if

renewable energy was the

dominant resource.

With so many benef ts, it is

a paradox that it should have

a history of so many barriers.

Moreover, with natural gas from

shale f elds in North America

f ooding the market with

historically low gas pricing, we

have a new actor that could

rewrite renewable energy’s role.

But it is far from the f nal curtain,

and as sustainability policies

grow, so do the opportunities for

clean, on-site power.

Before we examine the

opportunities and challenges

ahead for renewables, let us

turn to an expert organization

for perspective on the impact

of North America’s natural gas

production. According to the

2012 World Energy Outlook

(WEO), by the International

Energy Agency (IEA), North

America is at the forefront of a

sweeping transformation in oil

and gas production that will

affect all regions of the world.

The WEO f nds that the

extraordinary growth in oil and

natural gas output in the US will

mean a sea-change in global

energy f ows, and predicts that

America will become a net

exporter of natural gas by 2020

and be almost self-suff cient in

energy, in net terms, by 2035.

Even under the shadow of

cheap gas, the IEA predicts that

renewables could become the

world’s second-largest source

of power generation by 2015 –

if subsidies can meet a goal of

US$4.8 trillion from now to 2035.

According to the IEA

research, subsidies in 2011

amounted to $88 billion.

In many other countries,

subsidies and the policies that

they ref ect have proven to be

successful for the renewable

energy industry, and Germany

and Denmark are often cited

as prime examples.

But renewables on-site or in

distributed energy applications

are lagging behind the huge

multi-megawatt projects

dominated by wind and solar

that rely on transmission lines

and utility grids.

Given that distributed energy

resolves issues of transmission

ineff ciencies and renewables

People like the idea of decentralized power. They also like the idea of using renewables. So what is stopping

the greater development of distributed renewable energy? Ed Ritchie f nds out that may be changing.

On-site renewablesa history of barriers, a future of opportunities

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solve sustainability issues, the

industry should be in a much

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obvious in the birthplace of the

photovoltaic (PV) panel, the US.

But that could change.

Although renewable

distributed energy is far from

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the US, there are still plenty of

companies making money

from it. Utility-scale wind farms

can be very prof table, but not

on-site wind installations, where

projects do not compare with

the levels of on-site PV.

Biogas in agricultural and

municipal installations is viewed

by many as a mature market in

Europe, but is still struggling in

North America. However, cheap

natural gas prices are causing

developers to reassess the

viability of biogas projects.

Solar energy

So that leads to solar PV and

another paradox. Although it is

an industry plagued by barriers

in the US, according to the Solar

Energy Industry Association

(SEIA) at its Solar Energy Focus

conference in Washington DC,

2012 was a historic year for the

US solar industry. There were 3313

MW of PV capacity installed,

earning a growth rate of 76%

over 2011’s record deployment

totals. For 2013, SEIA forecasts

more than 4200 MW of PV

and 940 MW of concentrating

solar power.

A project at the distribution

centre of Freeze, a T-shirt

manufacturer in Dayton, New

Jersey, will be contributing

1.82 MW of those 4200 MW. Solis

Partners, of Manasquan, New

Jersey, designed, engineered

and constructed the system

on the roof of Freeze’s

29,729 m2 (320,000 ft2) facility,

and it supplies about 80% of the

company’s annual electricity

needs.

According to Jamie Hahn,

co-founder and managing

director of Solis Partners,

for a successful distributed

renewables project such

as Freeze’s, it is all about

overcoming barriers and

delivering the customer a

ready-made ‘turnkey’ package,

to avoid the complications

of f nancing, permitting and

operations.

‘Business owners have their

core businesses to take care of

so they don’t want to manage

a power plant on their roof

or property,’ says Hahn. ‘To

start, this project could not

have been done without a

power purchase agreement

because the tax equity needed

to monetize 52% of the incentive

structure makes it diff cult for

many businesses.

‘So this power purchase

agreement has no cost and

the owners don’t have to build,

maintain or operate the system.

Instead they get reduced

electricity costs.’

Net metering needed

In March 2013, the state of New

Jersey reached 1 GW of installed

solar capacity, putting it in an

exclusive club of just two other

states: California and Arizona.

‘The incentives are critical, and

a perfect example is Germany,’

says Hahn. ‘They have over 50%

of the world’s solar, yet their sun

resources are equivalent to

what we see north of Seattle,

Washington [which averages

226 cloudy days per year].’

Germany’s PV installations

exceed 7634 MW.

The Freeze project sells power

to the local utility through a

net metering programme, and

Hahn notes that spinning the

meter backwards is critical for

distributed renewables.

The elimination of net

metering benef ts has become

an issue in California, where an


rs

1305COSPP_21 21 5/14/13 2:18 PM

http://www.selinc.com/generators





organization of solar companies

formed CAUSE (Californians

Against Utilities Stopping Solar

Energy) in response to efforts

by the state’s investor-owned

utilities to end net metering.

At present, 43 states and

Washington D.C. have net

metering policies, but the

electric utility industry in the US

has long been a major barrier

to net metering. ‘The electrical

grid cannot tolerate large

and sudden power swings or

f uctuations,’ says Hahn. ‘And as

solar and wind approach 20%

of the amount of power in any

given grid, the need for energy

storage systems becomes

critical to smooth out the peaks

and valleys of renewable power.’

The utility industry has a

history of publicising solar and

wind intermittency as a barrier

to renewable technology, but

there are dissenting voices.

In 2007, Citizens for

Pennsylvania’s Future spoke to

Karl Pf rrmann, interim president

and CEO of PJM Interconnection,

the world’s largest grid

operator, on the subject of

wind intermittency. Pf rrmann

noted that wind did not pose

signif cant costs as a result of

its variable nature because the

transmission system can readily

accommodate changes in

power f ows. As to the impact

on spinning reserves (standby

generators) to mitigate

intermittency, Pf rrmann said

that there were minimal effects

on eff ciency, with modest costs

deducted from payments to

wind generators.

Conf rmation of Pf rrmanns’s

observations were recently

published by the US National

Renewable Energy Laboratory

in a two-phase project, The

Western Wind and Solar

Integration Study – one of the

largest regional wind and solar

integration studies ever carried

out. Phase 1 analysed the

impacts of high penetrations

of wind and solar power. It

found no technical barriers

for high penetrations of wind

and solar power (up to 35%), if

increased balancing authority

co-ordination and sub hourly

scheduling were adopted.’

Phase 2 examined new

data to address concerns

expressed by utility companies

about damage to fossil-fuelled

generators during cycling, due

to heat and emissions while

handling intermittency from

renewables.

Researchers and industry

partners analysed data from

cost studies on 400 fossil-

fuelled plants, and found that

‘the impacts of wind-induced

cycling are minimal’, and

capped wear-and-tear costs

at 2% of the value of wind, and

emissions impacts at ±3%. So

there is strong evidence of weak

consequences.

Old grid infrastructure

However, according to Ken

Skylar, manager of Renewable

Services at PJM, there is another

barrier to distributed renewables

relating to the design and

age of the infrastructure of the

grid. ‘Upgrades are needed

to the distribution system

because it was not designed to

accommodate large amounts

of variable frequency resources

on these individual feeders,’

Ultimately those upgrades

will occur as utilities adopt

Smart Grid technology, as this

technology offers a good return

on investment to utilities, and

access to government funding

programmes.

For example, a recent study

by the US Department of Energy,

entitled Economic Impact of

Recovery Act Investment in the

Smart Grid, found that Smart

Grid projects funded through

the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

resulted in roughly a $7 billion

total economic output, 50,000

jobs and a return of $1 billion in

government tax revenue.

The state of Florida recently

completed its Smart Grid with

the help of $200 million in ARRA

funding. Florida Power & Light

reports that in its f rst week,

the system’s 4.5 million smart

meters and 10,000 grid sensors

identif ed 400 malfunctioning

transformers, as well as many

other problems. Smart Grid

technology also helps utilities

take advantage of demand

response programmes, and

could enable distributed

renewables to participate.

Demand response

Reducing a location’s electrical

load in response to pricing

signals from grid operators –

known as demand response

– is now a billion-dollar industry.

One of the world’s leading

curtailment services providers,

EnerNOC, connects more than

100 utilities and grid operators

worldwide to commercial,

institutional and industrial

customers that participate in

demand-response programmes.

The potential energy

reductions from EnerNOC’s

$10 million contract with the

Massachusetts Department of

Energy Resources will reduce

electricity consumption in

480 state buildings.

According to Greg Dixon,

senior vice president of

marketing at EnerNOC,

programmes on demand

response are growing, but

distributed energy has not been

a key player.

‘New York and New England

are hotspots, but few developers

and owners of CHP systems

are aware of this,’ says Dixon.

If a business is in a demand

response programme, it would

be possible to design a PV

system for its needs.

In the demand response

market, savings from local

utilities and payments from

grid operators such as PJM

are substantial. At DONSCO

Inc, a foundry in Wrightsville,

Pennsylvania, savings from utility

charges amount to $64,200 per

year. The savings through the

PJM’s interruptible programme

also equal an annual $30,000,

and $66,000 per year comes

from a synchronous reserves

programme.

Energy storage systems are

equally capable of handling

utility demand-response

requirements, and mitigating

renewable intermittency issues.

For instance, In Kaua’i,

Hawaii, the utility uses a

1.5 MW battery from Xtreme

Power, Austin, Texas, to act as

a source of spinning reserves,

while providing frequency and

voltage ancillary services for a

3 MW PV system. PJM also has

a Smart Grid demonstration

project using batteries at

residential homes with PV and

wind resources.

Recent events in Germany

could boost the progress of

battery technology and pricing.

On 1 May, the country launched

a support programme for

A battery storage system, supporting small wind at the Santa Rita prison in California Credit: Chevron Energy Solutions

1305COSPP_22 22 5/14/13 2:18 PM




PV battery storage, with

€25 million for the f rst year,

then another €25 million for the

second year. Better batteries

and high-performance PV

systems could help avoid a

technical barrier to distributed

renewables that is happening

now, and a f nancial barrier that

is coming in 2017.

Xtreme Power and many other

manufacturers have utility-scale

energy storage systems. And with

numerous technologies such

as compressed air, pumped

storage and a range of battery

types, competition is f erce.

The future of wind power is

in jeopardy in the US due to the

threat of losing the Production

Tax Credit (PTC), an incentive

that provides a 2.2 cent per

kWh benef t for wind, during

the f rst 10 years of operations.

On 2 anuary, 2013, a shutdown

was avoided with a temporary

one-year extension of the PTC

as part of the f scal cliff bill.

The immediate future in the

US, however, looks better for the

PV industry. Rather than a PTC,

the US tax code allows for an

investment tax credit (ITC) of

30%. But the PV industry cannot

rely on such incentives for ever.

‘January 2017 is when the 30%

federal investment tax credit

incentive reduces signif cantly

to 10%,’ explains Hahn.

Subsidies and incentives

for renewables are also losing

ground in Europe, with Germany,

Spain, Italy Switzerland and

the UK also making cuts. But

according to Maria van der

Hoeven of the IEA, it’s a sign

that renewable energy is

coming of age and needs less

public support. But she notes

that worldwide incentives for

renewables amounted to $66

billion in 2010, in contrast to fossil

fuel subsidies of $409 billion.

According to the Institute

for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)

in Washington D.C., incentives

in the US have resulted in

commercial solar achieving

5.5 GW of generation,

operating at grid parity in

2012. But grid parity has been

limited to states with strong

sun and high utility rates, such

as Hawaii.

However, ILSR predicts that

in Southern California and

New York, parity is just around

the corner, and unsubsidised

rooftop commercial output

could rise nationally to

122 GW by 2022. However,

policy makers need to address

signif cant non-cost barriers,

including, archaic utility rules,

net metering caps and so on.

One possibility to overcome

awkward f nancing would be to

tap into the strategies of investor-

owned utilities. Hahn says: ‘We’re

waiting on some modif cations

to the tax code. They would

allow limited partnership

structures found in fossil fuel

plant f nancing.’ Barriers such

as funding, poor infrastructure,

and utility opposition, however,

do not trouble multinational

corporations. Walmart has

announced a programme to

power 100% of its operations

with renewable energy – a

six-fold increase in renewables

projects, which is expected

to save more than $1 billion

annually on energy.

Companies that sell to

Walmart are required to show

their sustainability efforts. And

as Walmart has demonstrated,

using distributed renewable

energy is obvious choice for the

cleanest, most eff cient source

of power.

Ed Ritchie is a US-based

freelance journalist, who

writes on the decentralized

energy sector.



www.cospp.com

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24 Cogeneration & On–Site Power Production | May - June 2013 www.cospp.com

District heating resurgence in the CEE

District heating

(DH) is a leftover

of the centralized

economic plan-

ning, guided by the objective

of providing universal access

to housing and utilities,

that traditionally played

the starring role in urban

heating systems in the

planned economies behind

the Iron Curtain. The f rst

Soviet electrif cation plan

of 1920, and successive

f ve-year plans, emphasized

cogeneration and waste-

heat recycling from turbine

steam for district heating

of urban residential areas

and industrial facilities. Fuel

savings at electric power

stations, the major producer

of waste heat, were an

important performance

indicator for the Soviet Ministry

of Power and Electrif cation.

With a domestic oil

economy devastated by civil

conf ict, many of Russia’s

f rst power plants used peat,

for lack of alternatives. But

growing urbanisation and the

development of the oil and

Long after the Iron Curtain was lifted, Europe’s ex-Soviet nations remain reliant on

combined heat and power (CHP) plants feeding district heating schemes for

which renewables could make an attractive fuel source, writes Rachada Raizada.

Warmingfor new Europe

1305COSPP_24 24 5/14/13 2:19 PM




citizens served by DH totalled

64% in Latvia, 60% in Lithuania,

53% in Estonia, 50% in Poland,

41% in Slovakia, 38% in

the Czech Republic, 23% in

Romania, 17% in Slovenia

and 10% in Croatia.

The share of recycled

heat in these systems ranges

from a high of 92% for

Romania to a low of

38% in Slovakia and Estonia.

Recycled heat is def ned

as: CHP, including from

combustible renewables;

waste-to-energy plants;

industrial processes

independent of the fuel

used for the primary process;

and two thirds of the energy

delivered by heat pumps.

Cogeneration is less

common in Estonia since

most of its electricity came

from oil shale plants in one

region. Meanwhile, mother

Russia’s DH system boasts a

trench length for the pipeline

system of some 173,000 km.

Direct use of renewables

– in heat-only boilers and

non-CHP installations –

ranges from a high of around

14% in Estonia, Latvia and

Lithuania to 2% or less in

the Czech Republic, Poland,

Romania and Slovenia.

In the EU-27 countries, the

share of recycled heat in DH

increased from 70% in 1990

to 80% in 2006, with most

from the ‘others’ category.

The share derived directly

from renewables increased

negligibly. In Germany, which

along with Poland is the

biggest DH market within

the EU, the share of recycled

heat is 89.5% (mainly from

coal, oil and natural gas,

with 10% from combustible

renewables and waste).

From E&P’s viewpoint, a

modern DH system should be

based on capturing waste

heat, and phasing out direct

use of fossil fuels for heating.

Johannes Jungbauer of

the European Affairs Off ce

of E&P, says fuel source is

not an accurate indicator

of eff ciency. Cogen greatly

increases primary fuels’

eff ciency compared

with condensing power

production and heat-only

boilers.

Europe pushes for

energy eff ciency

With the EU seen as trailing in

its goal of reducing primary

energy consumption by 20%

by 2020, and heat losses from

the EU-wide energy system

estimated at as high as 50%,

energy eff ciency is now at

the heart of EU policy. In July

2012, the EU Parliament’s

Energy Committee

unanimously voted in a new

Energy Eff ciency Directive

(EED), repealing Directives

2004/8/EC and 2006/32/

EC, and enshrining the

20% eff ciency target in law

by stipulating mandatory

measures, such as renovating

public buildings and energy-

saving schemes for utilities.

Member States must

complete a ‘comprehensive

assessment’ by December

2015 of the potential of high-

eff ciency cogeneration and

eff cient district heating/

cooling, set their own

targets and present national

eff ciency action plans in

2014, 2017 and 2020.

DH offers several benef ts

over decentralised heating

in areas of high heat-load

density. But the eff ciency

and environmental benef ts

depend on the fuel source,

technical characteristics of

the heat distribution system

and boiler plants, in addition

to the institutional market

structure. DH enables fuel

switching, and can run on

a variety of fuels, such as

coal, oil, natural gas, peat,

biomass, geothermal and

municipal or industrial waste.

gas industry after World War

II led to the dominance of

fossil fuels for DH across the

communist bloc.

With the transition to market

economies after the collapse

of the Soviet system, these

same countries – some of

which have since joined the

European Union (EU) – must

grapple with the task of

modernising these networks

without neglecting ambitious

environmental targets amid

diff cult economic times and

rising energy prices.

Euroheat & Power (E&P),

a major European industry

association for the CHP and

district heating and cooling

sectors, estimates in its 2011

survey that in 2009 the share of

Credit: Fortum

1305COSPP_25 25 5/14/13 2:19 PM


26


Cogeneration & On–Site Power Production | May - June 2013 www.cospp.com

E&P emphasizes heating’s

contribution – and particularly

the recuperation of waste

heat – to achieving energy

eff ciency targets. Of the EU’s

f nal energy demand, 40% is

for heating (space, water and

low-temperature industrial

processes), and met largely

through imported fuels or

low-eff ciency electricity. If

progress in achieving the 2020

targets is found insuff cient in

a 2014 review, national energy

eff ciency targets will be

proposed.

‘Of course we appreciate it,’

says E&P’s Jungbauer. ‘But we

were hoping for more. Article

10, which includes an energy-

eff ciency obligation scheme,

has been watered down, and

could have been stronger.’

Results will depend on how

Member States choose to

implement the directive: ‘The

EED raises awareness but there

are a lot of ‘shalls’ and ‘shoulds’

in the text,’ he says.

Poland aims for

cleaner power

For the EU’s largest coal

producer – Poland – where

domestic hard coal accounts

for around 74% of energy

production, meeting the

EU’s 2020 goal of reducing

CO2 emissions by 20% will be

particularly challenging, and

further complicated by the EU’s

Industrial Emissions Directive,

which necessitates investment

to reduce particulates and

SOx/NOx emissions. In 2013,

the ‘white certif cates’ scheme

for emissions trading was

introduced to ensure that

energy companies meet their

energy-eff ciency obligations.

Allocations for CO2 emissions

are currently obtained free

of charge, but from 2013 the

number of allowances will be

gradually decreased to zero in

2027, and the shortfall will have

to be purchased through the

Polish Power Exchange.

Currently, renewable energy

sources (RES) account for less

than 10% of national energy

production, although Poland’s

share of the 2020 EU target is

15% energy from RES. Since

2005, Polish support for RES

has consisted of a rainbow of

tradeable renewable energy

certif cates in shades of green,

yellow, red, violet and brown.

These are issued to producers

of renewable energy, providing

them with a secondary

revenue stream. Poland’s use

of renewables in DH (CHP or

not) in 2009 was around 7%,

most of which was derived

from combustible renewables.

DH is an important industrial

sector in Poland. The Chamber

of Commerce Polish District

Heating estimates that

around 500 companies

operated in this sector,

earning an income of about

€4.1 billion (US$5.3 billion) in

2010. With an urban share

of 60%, national DH capacity

is 59,260 MW, served by a

trench length of 19,400 km of

pipeline systems.

The chamber, spurred on

by the Polish Energy Policy

to 2030, has recognised the

potential of cogeneration,

and along with the Polish CHP

Association, has presented

to the Ministry of Economy a

programme for developing

cogeneration from its present

63% level.

National energy

policies must

embrace DH

more closely to

achieve energy

eff ciency targets

The average prof tability of

heating companies is far lower

than the industrial average,

which means that the sector

also faces serious competitive

challenges. This has caused

the sector to contract, and

from 2005–09 DH capacity

fell from 65,189 MWth to

59,970 MWth, while district

heat sales dropped from

295 PJ to 239 PJ.

Renewables projects

get underway

The RES considered most

feasible for district heating

are biomass, geothermal and

solar, with biomass considered

to be the most viable.

Fortum, a Finnish energy

company, has CHP assets in

operation in Russia, Poland,

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,

with a total heat production

capacity of 14,107 MW in

Russia and a combined

2432 MW in the latter

four countries. In 2011, it

announced the inauguration

of a new biomass CHP plant

in Parnu, Estonia, with a

multifuel circulating f uidised

bed (CFB) boiler, offering 100%

fuel f exibility with peat, wood

and industrial waste. It also

invested in a new biofuel CHP

plant in Jelgava, Latvia, the

f rst of its scale in the country.

Its Czestochowa CHP plant in

Poland uses hard coal and

co-f res up to 25% biomass in a

186 MWth CFB boiler.

Dalkia has announced two

biomass cogeneration projects

in Poland, its largest biomass

operation to date. Around

700,000 tonnes of biomass

will replace coal, and supply

electricity to the national grid

and heating to the 700,000

inhabitants of Lodz and Poznan,

served by DH. The project will

require a €70 million investment.

Solar and geothermal

energy as fuel sources are

naturally limited by their

availability. Demonstration

solar DH plants (large-scale

solar thermal technology

generating heat from large

collector f elds) operate at

competitive costs in countries

such as Sweden, Denmark,

Germany and Austria, but are

new to Eastern Europe.

A consortium of Slovenian

and Austrian companies

completed the f rst large-scale

solar thermal plant in Slovenia

in March 2012. Solar collectors

with an area of 842.3 m2, or 590

kW, feed into a 93 m3 storage

tank, which in turn feeds into the

Vransko DH grid, supplying heat

to around 2500 inhabitants.

Iceland, where 99% of the

population is currently served

by DH, is in the enviable

position of being able to use

its geothermal resources to

generate 77% of its district

heating.

Geothermal district heating

dates back to Roman times,

and now has potential in

Poland and Hungary – the

latter being considered a

Vronska in Slovenia hosts the country’s f rst solar thermal DH system Credit:EVN

1305COSPP_26 26 5/14/13 2:19 PM




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‘hot’ market by the European

Geothermal Energy Council.

Hungary currently has

around 16 geothermal DH

projects in operation, with

over 500 MWth of installed

capacity, and this number will

double by 2014. PannErgy, a

Hungarian energy company,

focuses on the use of

geothermal resources for DH

energy in the Carpathian

basin. With technology

and know-how supplied by

Iceland’s Mannvit, and with

the help of partnerships with

municipalities, a 3.2 MWth

plant (replacing a natural gas

boiler) is already in operation

in Szentlorinc, and another will

open soon near Miskolc.

The potential of municipal

and industrial waste as a DH fuel

is signif cant and under-used.

Polish waste- management

legislation adopted in 2011,

which requires the reduction of

land f lling from the present 90%

level, opens an opportunity

for investments in waste-to-

energy plants. The EU has also

announced its intention to

‘phase-out biodegradable

waste going to landf ll in

2020–25’.

Currently the Czech Repub-

lic, Slovakia, Poland and

Hungary only host a handful

of installations for generating

heat or power from municipal

waste. Fortum has announced

a new waste-to-energy

CHP plant and distribution

company in Lithuania, in a

joint venture with the city

of Klaipeda. Commercial

operation is planned for early

2014, when 270,000 tonnes of

municipal and industrial waste

will be expected to produce

around 150 GWh of electricity

and 400 GWh of heat annually.

Renewables DH outlook

While RES are associated with

localised energy production,

DH systems work on a central-

ising economies-of-scale prin-

ciple. The EU Energy Roadmap

2050 emphasizes that decen-

tralized and centralized

systems must interact: ‘In the

new energy system, a new

conf guration of decentralized

and centralized large-scale

systems needs to emerge, and

will depend on each other,

for example, if local resources

are not suff cient or varying

in time.’

CHP DH systems can even

be used to balance f uctuating

electricity production from

intermittent renewables, such

as wind or solar. For example,

on excessively windy days

overcapacity can be shifted

from feeding the grid to using

heat pumps to heat water.

Torshavn, in the Faroe Islands,

is setting up a 10 MW boiler

to link its DH system to the

grid. In Germany a research

project co-ordinated by the

Steinbeis Research Institute

for Solar and Sustainable

Thermal Energy Systems is

also examining solutions for

decentralized feed-in to solar

DH systems.

DH’s fuel f exibility, along

with extensive inherited

networks offer great potential

for Central & Eastern Europe’s

(CEE) energy future. But due

to its synergy aspects, DH has

never f tted neatly into energy

statistics or policy. However,

national energy policies must

embrace DH more closely

to achieve EU energy policy

targets in energy eff ciency, or

in the use of renewables and

CHP.

Rachana Raizada is a


writes on the energy sector.



www.cospp.com


1305COSPP_27 27 5/14/13 2:19 PM


http://www.welland-tuxhorn.de





Project prof le: Cogen supporting Germany’s engery transition

The largest gas engine

yet developed by

GE Jenbacher, the

9.5 MW J920 FleXtra,

has taken its place in

the upgraded municipal

cogeneration facility that

feeds the district heating

system in the city of

Rosenheim, Germany.

The new engine generator

sits beside four existing

Jenbacher engines – three

3.35 MW J620 engines

and a 4.4 MW two-stage

turbocharged J624 unit –

plus an existing waste

incineration plant.

Stadtwerke Rosenheim’s

integrated cogen facility now

has an electricity generating

capacity of 36 MW and a

heat generation capacity of

44 MW. It meets about 40% of

the electricity needs and 20%

of the heating requirements

of the city – which has more

than 61,000 inhabitants, and

lies 450 metres above sea level

in the upper-Bavarian Alpine

foothills.

This impressive installation

will help meet Germany’s goal

to increase power from CHP

from today’s 15% to 25% of

the country’s power supply by

2020, as part of its larger energy

transition (Energiewende)

strategy. Germany is already

the largest single market for

CHP in Europe, accounting for

more than 20% of the electricity

from cogeneration across the

EU-27, but it will need many

more new CHP plants to meet

the 25% target that was set last

year in a new CHP law.

Speaking at the start-up

of the expansion of the

Stadtwerke Rosenheim plant,

the Bavarian minister of state

for Environment and Health, Dr.

Marcel Huber, stressed the role

of local government bodies:

‘The energy transition plan,

Energiewende, can be achieved

only if there is a cooperative

effort, including contributions by

municipal providers’.

’Investments in innovative,

modern power plants create

an important foundation for

the successful execution of

our energy transition plan,’

he added

As part of Energiewende,

Germany plans to close all

nuclear power plants by 2022.

To replace the massive amount

of low-carbon baseload

electricity from the nuclear

power plants, the transition

plan calls for increasing use

of natural gas and renewable

energy, and greater use of

energy eff ciency technologies.

GE is also keen for Rosenheim

to act as a demonstration of

the role of distributed energy,

to promote energy security

across Europe.

Technology, both

f exible, and eff cient

The Rosenheim project’s

centrepiece is GE’s largest and

newest Jenbacher gas engine,

the 9.5 MW J920 FleXtra, which

GE calls a f exible power

solution. It combines innovation

with power and eff ciency to

help customers address their

local energy security priorities,

while achieving improved

environmental performance.

GE expects to make the

engine available in 60 Hz

regions of the world in 2014.

The CHP system provides

electricity and thermal power

A Bavarian utility has installed a cogeneration system based on gas-fuelled engines from

GE Jenbacher to supply energy to its district heating scheme. The system is expected to contribute

to Germany’s Energiewende programme, and similar schemes could be important to Europe’s

energy security. Steve Hodgson looks over the data.

Engine-based CHPcontributes to Germany’s power transition

Project Prof le:

The J920 largest gas engine, the J920 FleXtra Credit: GE

1305COSPP_28 28 5/14/13 2:21 PM


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(hot water) for local residents

and industrial customers. It

has a lower-carbon footprint

than conventional power

plants and boilers, and will

assist Germany’s effort to

reduce greenhouse gas

emissions by 40% by 2020.

The engine’s fast start-up

aids Stadtwerke Rosenheim’s

operational f exibility, to

overcome the challenges

of intermittency caused by

adding wind and solar energy

supplies to the electricity grid.

The integrated

cogen facility has

a power capacity

of 36 MW and a

heat capacity of

44 MW

The J920 FleXtra has the

highest electrical eff ciency

in the 10 MW class of gas

engines, of 48.7%, and about

90% eff ciency in cogeneration

mode, depending on heat

utilization, says GE. Its two-stage

turbocharging design will also

help Stadtwerke Rosenheim

to meet Germany’s goal to

improve its energy productivity

– related to prime energy

usage – by 2.1% annually.

‘Our f exible J920

technology offers both high

eff ciency and reliability levels,

which makes it the ideal large

gas engine distributed power

solution for industrial and grid

stabilisation applications, while

also minimising the customer’s

carbon footprint,’ said Karl

Wetzlmayer, general manager

of Gas Engines for Power

Generation, GE Power & Water.

GE applied more than 50

years of power generation

experience to the development

of its newest Jenbacher

engine, and more than half a

million engineering hours were

devoted to its design, analysis,

testing and verif cation.

The arrival of the new

engine at Rosenheim was

important for all involved: ‘GE

and Stadtwerke Rosenheim

have shared almost a decade

of gas engine innovation

and cooperation, making the

utility an ideal associate to

showcase the J920 FleXtra,’

Wetzlmayer added.

J920 FleXtra engineOperating a J920 FleXtra at

48.7% electrical eff ciency

provides the capacity to

produce more than 76 GWh of

electricity per year, says GE. It

also avoids the consumption

of more than 6.4 million kWh

of natural gas per year (at a

gas price of €0.034 (US$0.044)

per kWh.), and the emission

of approximately 1500 tonnes

of CO2 per year – which is

equivalent to the annual

emissions of about 800 cars on

European roads.

In cogeneration mode,

the J920 FleXtra offers an

overall eff ciency of up to

90%, compared with the

separate production of heat

and electricity by a natural

gas-f red boiler and delivery of

electricity on the EU grid. Key

performance data are shown

in Table 1.

The gas engine prime mover for on-site generationThe two main types of prime mover used for

cogeneration schemes are gas turbines and gas

engines, although fuel cells have also entered

the picture in recent years. However, one major

difference between cogeneration and other

energy plants, dictated by their production of

heat as well as power, is that most cogeneration

schemes are custom-designed, even at quite

small plant sizes. So it is not easy to generalise

about plant design – they are all slightly different.

Nevertheless, generalising a little, gas turbines

are highly suitable for larger-scale plants – the

type that serve industrial sites. They also provide

more exhaust heat, which is useful where a large

amount of industrial process heat is required. For

smaller cogeneration plants, more often used

to serve buildings, the reciprocating engine is

the prime mover of choice. This is because of

its greater f exibility in terms of starts-ups and

cycling, and because it is more thermally eff cient.

Gas, diesel and dual fuel reciprocating engines

can all be used in cogeneration plant, but gas

engines are usually preferred because they have

considerably lower exhaust emissions and work

well with CHP applications, utilizing the fuel highly

eff ciently. Gas engines also produce very little in

the way of particulates.

Reciprocating engines are highly successful in

small-to-medium-sized CHP installations, where

the prime movers might typically be, say, 3-10 MW

machines. More power is obtainable using several

engines, and an array of engines also adds

operational f exibility and valuable redundancy.

Reciprocating engines tend generally not to be

designed expressly for cogeneration application,

which requires lots of heat in the exhaust.

Therefore, a chosen engine (gas, diesel or dual

fuel), will be optimized for the application. This is

comparatively easy to achieve by programming

control parameters or through fuel/air system

changes, so that a little thermal eff ciency is

sacrif ced to obtain more exhaust heat.

The lean-burn gas reciprocating engine is

ideal for making best use of natural gas. Such

engines have been increasingly seen in Europe

and elsewhere as being ideal for distributed

power generation, which requires clean, reliable

power for long – sometimes intermittent – periods

of operation, at lowest cost. Other applications

include standby power for critical loads and

cogeneration systems.

Table 1. Key performance data

Performance data J920 FleXtra (50Hz/1000 rpm)

J920 FleXtra (60Hz/900 rpm)

Electrical output 9500 kW 8550 kW

Electrical eff ciency 48.7% 48.7%

Heat rate 7392 kJ/kWh 7392 kJ/kWh

Thermal output 8100 kW 7300 kW

Total eff ciency 90% 90%

1305COSPP_30 30 5/14/13 2:22 PM


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GE takes gas engine CHP to Nigerian drug facility

In the past few weeks, GE has announced two more CHP plants based on a series of gas engines – to serve a rather different application: a pharmaceutical factory in Nigeria.

The company is to supply

three of its 4 MW Jenbacher

J624 gas engines and one of its

2 MW J612 units to power a new

factory that will produce billions

of syringes and intravenous drug

products needed each year to

f ght malaria across the African

continent.

Clarke Energy, GE’s distributor

of Jenbacher gas engines in

Nigeria, will install the 14 MW

cogeneration plant at the factory

on behalf of Nigeria-based

Integrated Medical Industries

Ltd (IMIL), and it is due to go into

production in 2014.

Reliable power supplies are

essential for smooth operation

of the factory, since power

interruptions can damage

batches of syringes. Demand for

electricity in Nigeria is high, and

the national grid has a challenge

ahead in trying to meeting this

demand. The on-site cogeneration

facility, however, will rely on

the country’s own growing gas

distribution network to ensure it

has a reliable fuel supply.

IMIL also selected the

Jenbacher gas engines to take

advantage of natural gas prices,

which are lower than those of

diesel fuel, and the additional

capital expenditure is expected

to be paid off in 12 to 18 months,

according to GE. The power

plant will be installed within

the manufacturing facility, and

will operate in island mode, to

provide reliable on-site electrical

power and heat.

The Jenbacher J624 units will

offer an electrical eff ciency of

43.1%. In addition, the engines’

exhaust will be passed into a

steam generator to produce

steam in a boiler.

GE is scheduled to deliver

the J624 and J612 units in the

third quarter of this year. Clarke

Energy is serving as the single

point of contact from initial

sale, project management,

engineering, installation through

to commissioning, and long-term

maintenance of the power plant.

The J624 Jenbacher engine – three such engines will help to power a

pharmaceuticals factory in Nigeria

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GE explains that the J920

FleXtra gas engine is designed

for a variety of multiple-engine

power plant solutions – which

range from remote on-site

power supply to cogeneration

or CHP.

In the latter case, use is

made of jacket water heat

and heat from oil and mixture

coolers, combined with

heat from the gas engine

exhaust. The best total

eff ciency is achieved when

the heating water circle has

a return water temperature

of 70°C and a hot water

temperature of 90°C.

The J920 FleXtra’s two-stage

turbocharging technology

enables a total eff ciency for

providing power and heat

up to 90% – which, according

to the company, is more

than 3% better than that of a

single-stage turbocharging

gas engine. And since about

80% of the operating costs for

gas-f red power plants go on

fuel, this eff ciency advantage

represents a signif cant saving.

Germany is leading the

way in Europe towards

transforming its energy system

– not only in replacing nuclear

power with renewables, but

also in incorporating more

inherently eff cient generating

technologies, and introducing

more small-to-medium-scale

distributed generation.

CHP is a key technology

here – it always has been

– but it is looking likely

that Germany’s Energiewende

will be effective in ramping-

up the development of CHP

in that country, and will

demonstrate a way forward

for others as well.

Steve Hodgson is COSPP’s

contributing editor.


on line. Please visit

www.cospp.com

Two views of the J920 FleXtra gas engine installed at Stadtwerke Rosenheim Credit: GE

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Project Prof le: On-site renewables project in India improves lives

Ladakh, a remote

district set in India’s

northern-most state, is

enjoying the benef ts

from the largest off-grid

renewable energy project in

the world.

The Ministry for New and

Renewable Energy (MNRE)

is spending a jaw-dropping

INR473 billion (US$88.8 million)

on decentralized solar and

hydro technologies to bring

energy security to this remote

mountain region. The obvious

question is: Why Ladakh?

‘Because we Ladakhis are

closer to God,” smiles Jigmet

Takpa, project director of

the Ladakh Renewable

Energy Development Agency

(LREDA). “Our sunshine is

high quality. We have an

average of 320 sunny days

every year and the mountain

air is thin and cold, making

the operation of photovoltaic

systems highly eff cient. Ladakh

is a solar paradise.’

Ladakh, known as the

Land of High Passes, is a high-

altitude cold desert region in

Jammu and Kashmir state,

neighbouring China to the

east and Pakistan to the north.

It is a focus of the 3.5 year

Ladakh Renewable Energy

Initiative (LREI), a 28.3 MW

energy revolution, now in its

f nal year.

Ladakh is taking a f agship

role in national renewable

energy policy. Although

only small, with a sparse

population, its rugged

geography means that many

dispersed communities are

beyond the viable reach

of the regional grid system.

Stand-alone renewables are

the obvious solution. ‘The

harsh environment makes

it the perfect test case for

the technology itself, and

for future policy: to prove to

the government and the

public that renewables have

a valid role to play,’ says

Dr. Parvind Saxena, director of

MNRE in Delhi.

Electrifying rural areas is a

prime government concern,

and Prime Minister Manoman

Singh has given his personal

The world’s largest off-grid renewable energy initiative in Ladakh consists of 28.3 MW of solar PV, small hydro

and solar thermal in North India’s Jammu and Kashmir province. Duncan McKenzie f nds out how this remote

place came to be the focus of this initiative.

Reaching the summitfor off-grid renewable

Project Prof le:

Leh, in Ladakh, India, is benef tting from a major government-backed renewable energy initiative Credit: D. McKenzie/LREDA

1305COSPP_34 34 5/14/13 2:29 PM


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ter

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at

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oti

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om

1305COSPP_35 35 5/14/13 2:29 PM


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Project Prof le: On-site renewables project in India improves lives

commitment to electrifying

every Indian household by

2017. The 2005 programme,

Rajiv Gandhi Grameen

Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY),

has pursued grid electrif cation

of villages, and the 2009

Remote Village Electrif cation

Programme makes off-grid

provision.

Displacing diesel

However, 400 million Indians still

lack access to modern forms

of energy, and 20,000 villages

are too remote, realistically,

ever to be grid-connected.

Beyond the social expecta-

tions, there is also a f nancial

incentive to this initiative. ‘We

noted that, bar a couple of

small hydro projects, almost

the entire region, including

the Border Defence Force,

was using diesel generation

for electricity and kerosene

for space heating, and due

to Ladakh’s remote location,

fuel is imported by road at a

very high cost. Harsh winters

close those roads for at least

f ve months of the year, exac-

erbating energy vulnerability

and deprivation, says Saxena.

Prior to the LREI, Ladakh

generated a total of 25 MW

electricity. Of some 240 villages,

187 received electrif cation

by microgrid for a few hours

each day, 75% by diesel and

the remainder by small hydro.

A few remote communities

entirely lacked electricity.

‘The high cost of diesel

generation in Ladakh –

currently INR25–28/kWh –

makes renewable energy very

competitive,’ says Takpa.

‘Off-grid solar PV-generated

electricity worked out over

a 20 years’ system-life in

Ladakh currently comes to

INR16–18/kWh And the cost

of solar keeps falling due to

technological development

and scalability.’

The November 2012 report

by the International Renewable

Energy Agency (IRENA)

conf rmed renewable energy

as the default option for off-grid

electricity provision, with solar

PV now a cheaper option than

diesel in many locations.

LREI’s use of dispersed

hydro and solar PV have

rapidly replaced diesel to a

large extent and avoided

unnecessary extension of long,

expensive grid lines. According

to LREDA f gures, the total

expected saving of diesel in

Ladakh from hydro and PV

generation is 35 million litres

per year – or approximately

INR1.6 billion annually – a

substantial saving for the

government.

Ankur Agarwal, the CEO

of Advanced Renewable

Energy Technologies, says:

‘The increasing cost of diesel

will be a key demand driver

for solar PV installations in

India,’ a country that has an

estimated 60 GW of diesel

power capacity. Recent cuts in

government subsidy for diesel

will encourage this trend.

Initiative’s background

At LREDA’s off ces in Leh, Takpa

is consulting with senior project

engineer, Reuben Gergan, a

Cornell-educated Ladakhi.

The dynamic team has

strong links with India’s main

tech providers, collaborating

on R&D and international

scientif c exchanges. LREDA is

a state nodal agency of MNRE,

born in 2000 from the Ladakh

Autonomous Hill Development

Council. Takpa joined in 2001

and oversaw the Remote

Villages Electrif cation Project,

the f rst of its kind in India. It

supplied solar home lighting

Conditions in the mountains make the operation of solar PV systems extremely eff cient Credit: D. McKenzie/LREDA

1305COSPP_36 36 5/14/13 2:29 PM



Project Prof le:

systems to 200 hamlets in the

region, and its success led to

the setting up of a nationwide

programme.

LREDA’s 2005 Ladakh Vision

2025 document highlighted

the massive untapped solar,

geothermal, hydro and wind

energy potential of the region,

from which Takpa successfully

proposed the LREI as a catalyst

for development.

Takpa’s engineering and

conservation background,

and his role as conservator of

forests, make Ladakh’s fragile

ecosystem his concern. Growing

tourism and a cash economy

have affected local ecology

and living practice. He promotes

rural livelihoods, ecotourism and

ecosystem management, and

the LREI complements these

needs through renewable energy

and conservation techniques for

housing and agriculture.

Funding/Investment

Central government funding

came from MNRE’s f nancing

arm, the Indian Renewable

Energy Development Agency

(IREDA), a non-banking f nance

agency that funds mainly rural

projects. Over half of IREDA’s

sanctions are for the wind

energy sector, with the rest

for small hydro, biomass and

solar projects.

As an Autonomous Border

Region, Ladakh receives Special

Area Status (strategic, remote,

underdeveloped) and the

highest funding – hydro and

solar PV hardware are 100%

funded.

Electricity is then charged

from users. According to Gireesh

Pradhan, secretary for MNRE:

‘Upfront costs of renewable

energy access systems is

the key barrier, and therefore

complementing subsidies

with funds is a practical way

to solve the f rst-cost capital

f nancing problem. Subsidies

for energy access projects

are generally justif ed as a

response to inequality and

social expectations in energy

provision.’

Ladakh nonetheless suffers

barriers to large investment. The

lack of initial grid connectivity,

the region’s remoteness and

the small population’s limited

growth potential discourage

large-scale solar projects. The

small capacity of projects has

so far restricted developers

from benef ting from Renewable

Energy Certif cates, although a

revision for hydro is proposed.

LREDA has encouraged

incentivisation, including

removal of entry tax on solar

products and provision of

district-level simple clearances.

The LREI undoubtedly

sets new standards for rural

electrif cation, development

and energy conservation. Its

broad initiative takes holistic

approach and amounts

to a f agship for distributed

renewables at a timely

m,oment in India’s energy story.

Further remote regions seem

likely to follow, with the MNRE

currently funding a second

off-graid Special area Project in

Arunachal Pradesh, a remote

north-eastern state, well suited

to small hydropower.

Duncan McKenzie is a


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China’s CHP expansion programme

With the once-

i n - a - d e c a d e

handover of

power within

China’s Communist Party

government complete, the

country’s new administration

is beginning to f nd its

feet. It is a process that

has profound implications

for the cogeneration/CHP

sector in the world’s most

populous nation.

At the heart of the

opportunities related to

cogeneration is a government

plan entitled Guiding Opinions

of the Deployment of Gas-Fired

Distributed Energy. The

document, jointly released by

the National Development and

Reform Commission (NDRC),

National Energy Administration

and Ministry of Finance, sets

goals to develop 5 GW of

gas-f red combined cooling,

heating and power (CCHP) by

2015, and a total 50 GW by 2020.

While this document was

released in 2011, it is only very

recently that these notional

goals have begun to manifest

themselves as tangible

projects for which companies

have been invited to bid.

Importantly, these cogen

targets are under pinned by

detailed energy policies in

China’s 12th Five-Year Plan for

Energy Development, which

notionally runs from 2011 to

2015, but essentially is a three-

year programme. It includes a

number of overarching policy

targets with an indirect bearing

on the market for cogeneration,

and was unveiled in January

by China’s State Council.

At its heart this plan is a

blueprint for greater energy

security and reduced energy

China’s new administration has ambitious cogeneration plans, with a target of 30 GW

of new gas-powered plants, many of which will be CHP-based, by 2015. David Green

scrutinizes the plans and highlights the opportunities for foreign manufacturers.

Cogenerationtaking centre-stage in China

Shanghai is the city thought to offer the best opportunities for overseas equipment makers to bid for industrial-scale cogen projects

Shanghai is the city thought to offer the best opportunities for overseas equipment makers to bid for industrial-scale cogen projects

1305COSPP_38 38 5/14/13 2:31 PM


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intensity, just the kind of

priorities that favour cogen.

The latter aim is perhaps best

encapsulated by a stated

goal of reducing energy

consumption per unit of GDP

by 16%, and CO2 emissions per

unit of GDP by 17%.

More specif cally, there are

a number of important targets

related to the role of natural

gas in the energy mix, primarily

doubling its share of the total

by 30 GW to 8%, but also that

of raising proven conventional

gas reserves by 3.5 trillion m3

and building 44,000 km of

natural gas pipelines, as well

as the production of 6.5 billion

m3 of shale-sourced gas per

year by 2015, increasing to

80 billion m3 by 2020.

These targets dovetail neatly

with the explicit cogeneration

goals made by the NDRC,

National Energy Administration

and f nance ministry.

China has also tied these

two policy goals in a policy

paper released last June (2012)

entitled the 12th Five Year Plan

for the Development of City

Gas, which notes that every

10,000 m3 of natural gas

consumed in China saves

annually the consumption of

12.7 tonnes of coal equivalent

and 33 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

And while restrictions on

gas supply and the high price

of imported gas (relative to

coal) have presented a major

barrier to the accelerated

construction of even mid-scale

gas-f red power plants, China

has already made signif cant

moves to diversify its access

to the fuel via the signing of

agreements to import liquef ed

natural gas from neighbours

overseas and pipe in supplies

from Central Asia, Myanmar

and, most recently, Russia.

In March, Moscow and

Beijing signed an historic deal

for Russia to pipe 38 billion m3

of natural gas to China each

year starting in 2018, with an

option for this to increase to as

much as 60 billion m3 annually.

In 2011, China consumed

about 130 m3, which gives an

indication of the importance

of the agreement in terms of

securing future supplies.

Foreign maunfacturers

set to benef t

These aims and agreements

are important because it is the

gas-f red arena that offers the

most enticing and realisable

cogeneration opportunities,

particularly for foreign

equipment suppliers.

And with the new

administration in place, all

these energy policies are

starting to translate into action.

‘From late last year China

began opening the door to

cogen. Several projects have

been issued tenders but they

did not f t our portfolio, but

it’s a nice change to have

people come knocking on

the door asking for bids,’ says

Luca Febbraio, north east Asia

regional director and vice

president for Power Plants at

Wärtsilä China.

The Finnish company, which

specialises in 30 MW to 100 MW

trigeneration projects, has its

eye on a couple of proposals

but the relevant feasibility and

cost-benef t studies have yet

to be granted approval by

the local authorities, in part a

consequence of the lack of a

clear policy framework for how

this kind of industrial-scale

cogeneration project should

work.

‘There’s a plan from the

Shanghai government to give

an allowance per kWh of CHP.

But it takes a clear price and

a sustained policy framework

for an investor to put his

hand in his pocket,” says Tim

Scott, commercial marketing

manager for Caterpillar’s

Electric Power division.

However, that landscape is

now starting to change.

The Shanghai government

has released a draft plan seen

by Cogeneration & On-site

Power Production that stipulates

gas-f red CHP projects will be

offered a subsidy of CNY1000

(US$162) per kWh of installed

CHP capacity, and have priority

when it comes to supplying

power to the national grid. hat

incentive rises to an additional

CNY2000 if after two years

the project can prove it has

been operating at more than

70% eff ciency.

Moreover, such CHP projects

will also benef t from receiving

a preferential price for the gas

they use, although the details

of how this might work have

yet to be determined by the

Shanghai authority.

In March, the State Grid

Corporation of China, the

country’s largest state-owned

utility, provided a further

indication of the momentum in

this area by saying that it would

permit easier access to the

power grid for small distributed

energy resource (DER) power

projects of no more than 6

MW that are fuelled by natural

gas, wind and solar energy,

and which could also be

cogeneration plants.

At present, experts estimate

there is no more than several

hundred MW of installed

gas-f red cogen capacity that

f ts the type of DER project

called for by the government’s

plan, indicating the scale of

potential opportunity in the

f eld as the market begins to

open up.

Opening up of market

At the time of going to press

that is exactly what was

happening in Shanghai,

where foreign and local

players were in the process

of bidding for a project at

the Shanghai Disneyland site,

the details of which are not

available to the public as they

are commercially sensitive.

Elsewhere in the city, the

Caterpillar-owned MWM brand

recently secured orders for

two sets of its super-eff cient

TCG 2032 V16 natural gas

engines for running a CCHP

plant at the Shanghai Expo

Convention Centre.

In Beijing, GE announced

in January that it had won

the contract to supply

China National Petroleum

Corporation with f ve

Jenbacher cogen systems to

power a 16.7 MW on-site CCHP

plant for a new data centre in

the city, the largest gas-engine

CCHP project in the country.

The project is something of a

coup for GE, as it will likely be

used as a model for similar

facilities going forward.

The US company is

particularly well placed to

benef t from the development

of the gas-f red cogeneration

sector, after it signed an

agreement to create a

$100 million joint venture

developing aeroderivative gas

turbines, core devices used

in distributed energy systems,

with the China Huadian

Group. This in turn helped the

US f rm secure a contract from

Huadian to supply a 100–120

MW cogeneration system for

an industrial park in Fujian.

Slow on policy front

But such examples of concrete

projects are still few and far

between due to the slow

progress on the policy front.

In Beijing, there is another set

of draft guidelines circulating,

but according to Wärtsilä’s

Febbraio it is very light on detail,

though there is apparently

mention of dropping a current

10% tax levied on imported

power equipment.

‘Every municipality is

looking at a different policy.

That’s why so far there is no

private investment – people

are waiting for these drafts to

be f nalised, but it’s not fast

1305COSPP_40 40 5/14/13 2:31 PM




enough,’ explains Febbraio.

‘There is momentum but I

doubt this is going to result in

50 GW by 2020.’

Even so, Japan’s Mitsubishi

Heavy Industries (MHI) just

last month moved to take

advantage of any openings

by signing an agreement

to license its KU gas engine

technologies to ZGPT Diesel

Heavy Industry, a Chinese

manufacturer of stationary and

marine engines. MHI has said

that the licensing agreement

envisages the manufacturing

and marketing of its 14KU30GSI

4450 kW-class gas engine,

which is widely used for DER

projects in Japan, but would

probably be expanded to

include other models and

would also probably be used

in cogeneration projects.

China favours the use

of domestically-produced

equipment over imports.

Against this background, MHI’s

agreement with ZGPT gives the

Japanese company greater

scope to sell its products in the

Chinese market.

Interest in large-scale

cogen/CHP

Febbraio also suggests that

because it is imperative, at

least in terms of saving face, for

the government to meet the

stipulated 50 GW target, there

is a very strong possibility that

incentives may be widened to

apply not just to small-scale

DER projects, but also larger

gas-f red cogeneration plants,

as this will have the effect of

ratcheting up relevant installed

capacity f gures.

‘All the current DER projects

are off cially pilots, so the

government can assess the

economics,’ Febbraio says.

‘Yet the assessment process is

bound to take at least two years,

leaving precious little time for

the government to meet its 50

GW installed capacity target

via DER alone.’ This potentially

opens the policy incentives to

larger gas-f red cogeneration

plants, and with it a broader

spectrum of equipment and

suppliers, he explains.

Irrespective of how this pans

out, and it is impossible to

say with so much still on the

drawing board and each local

government rolling out its own

polices, there has already been

a substantial amount of recent

project approval activity for

larger gas-f red cogeneration

plants on the scale of several

hundred to >1000 MW.

‘There is a phenomenal

amount of new gas-f red

combined-cycle capacity

coming on line, beyond

what you would expect to be

supported by the economics,”

says Gavin Thompson head

of Wood Mackenzie’s China

Gas and Power research team

in Beijing.

Almost all of this is in coastal

provinces and is a response

to rising peak demand, which

power suppliers are f nding it

diff cult to meet when relying

on electricity transmitted from

interior provinces and seasonal

hydroelectric power. The CCGT

plants are a lot more f exible

and allow the power suppliers

greater leeway to regulate their

power supply, Thompson said.

‘So there are a number of

non-pure economic factors

driving this, as well as subsidies.

These come in the form of

preferential pricing when

selling to the grid, though the

way this works varies from

province to province.’

Major foreign equipment

suppliers must leverage

their off cial and unoff cial

agreements with Chinese

counterparts to get a look in on

these projects, which represent

a substantial policy shift that

has drawn the attention of a

wide selection of companies.

‘The reality was that China

used to be a very small market,

as there were restrictions on gas

availability,’ says Pascal Radue,

Alstom’s Singapore-based area

vice president for Gas. “But with

the increased environmental

concerns the mindset changed

and suddenly there was an

opening of the market – it

opened at the same time as we

started to be more aware of it.’

Since the start of the FY

2012–13, Alstom has sold

f ve of its E-class gas turbines

worth about €100 million

($130 million) into China, all via

a project-specif c relationship

with Harbin Turbine, which in turn

is a supplier to leading power

utility Huaneng Power.

Alstom is keen to formalise

the arrangement, which it

deems essential to doing

further business in China. This

will bring the company into line

with the other major suppliers

of gas-f red equipment, all

of which have signed similar

agreements. Aside from

the aforementioned tie-up

between GE and Huadian,

other examples include MHI

and Dongfang Electric, as well

as Germany’s Siemens with the

Shanghai Electric Group.

Access to projects led by

Huaneng would be a boon

for any overseas gas turbine

supplier, as in a little over a year

the company has signed off on

three cogeneration plants, the

largest of which is a massive

1500 MW facility in Chongqing,

and aims to raise this to f ve

projects in the near future.

‘There’s no specif c plan yet,

but gas-f red cogeneration

is encouraged by the

government,’ says a Huaneng

spokesman surnamed Zhou. The

company has already worked

out cooperation agreements

with gas suppliers, and is

positioning itself to move away

from coal and towards gas.

However, the scenario remains a

nightmare for potential investors,

as there is again something of a

policy vacuum at the center of

the projects.

‘The tariff level [of the

generated electricity] has

not been determined,’ says

Zhou. ‘Each project will have

a different tariff based on the

local price of gas and the

prof tability of the plant.’

While this presents obvious

problems, power companies

appear content to push on,

safe in the knowledge that

the government will construct

policy around their projects

in a way that makes them

economically viable.

As a case in point, GE, which

is the largest supplier of heavy-

duty gas turbines to China

with an installed capacity of

15,000 MW, in September last

year was commissioned to

supply three of its 9FB gas

turbines for the Datang Gaojing

combined-cycle cogen power Alstom has sold f ve of its E-class gas turbines into China since the start of FY 2012–13 for a combined contract value of about €100 million Credit: Alstom

1305COSPP_41 41 5/14/13 2:31 PM




plant under construction in

Beijing. The plant, which is

scheduled to start commercial

operation in stages beginning

October 2013, will generate

more than 1.3 GW of electricity

and operate in tandem with a

district heating solution provided

by Harbin Electric Corp.

At its heart, is

a blueprint for

greater energy

security and

reduced energy

intensity, just the

kind of priorities

that favour

cogen

The conf dence to proceed

with such projects without the

necessary f nancial details is in

part borne of a f rmly held belief

that the government is serious

about its stated commitments

to improving the environment,

and air quality in particular. ‘I

was surprised because for the

f rst time meetings started with

off cials citing environmental

concerns – I don’t know if it’s

their own drive or they expect

policy support to come from

that direction, but it was a

signif cant change,’ notes

Alstom’s Radue.

While the increase in

gas-f red cogeneration

plant approvals is primarily

a consequence of the

government’s desire to shift

away from dependence on

heavily polluting coal and

hence improve air quality in

major cities such as Beijing

and Shanghai, there is

also another factor at play,

suggests Yang Fuqiang, senior

adviser on Climate, Energy and

Environment at the US-based

Natural Resources Defense

Council’s China Programme.

‘During the recent

economic slowdown and

consequent weaker demand

for power, utilities believed

that cogeneration projects

would be protected and have

f rst access to power sales on

the grid,’ Yang says. Under

a long-standing policy to

encourage CHP development,

cogeneration projects are

guaranteed a smoother

approval process but also

priority to sell their power to

the grid, prompting utilities to

back such projects to ensure

they can sell their power even

during lulls in economic and

industrial activity.

Yang also provides a

useful perspective on how

the cogeneration landscape

will probably develop going

forward. ‘At the moment about

95% of installed cogeneration

capacity in China is thermal

coal. The gas projects have

been slow to catch up for

the simple reason that there

have been restrictions on gas

supply,’ he says. ‘But in the

major cities that are suffering

from air pollution there is now

a shift to gas for environmental

reasons. It is also a lot easier to

regulate the use of gas-f red

cogeneration facilities to

match demand for both heat

and power, making these

systems more attractive.’

Asked about the outlook

for coal, Yang suggests new

capacity is no longer approved

near major cities, but that it

would remain cost effective to

develop coal cogeneration

projects in China’s regional

mid- to lower-tier cities. Under

an ongoing government drive

to phase out smaller, less

eff cient coal plants, only those

coal CHP plants in the range

of 200 MW to 300 MW or larger

now receive the necessary

local government approvals,

wherever they may be.

China aims to have 30% of

its coal-f red power capacity

operating as cogeneration by

2015, against Yang’s estimate

of about 27% currently, allowing

scope for the approval of such

projects in smaller cities to

make up the gap. However,

Yang is quick to point out that

the big f ve Chinese power

companies (Huaneng, Datang,

Guodian, Huadian and the

China Power Investment

Corporation) dominate

this area, and that they are

experiencing a number of

operational diff culties that

have yet to be resolved.

‘There are problems in terms

of distributing the heat from

these projects: Who will pay

for the pipe networks? Who is

responsible for maintenance

and quality of heat supply,

and who is responsible for

collecting the payments for the

heating?’ he asks, adding that

a major benef t of the smaller

gas-f red DER projects is that

having only one consumer

eases the logistics of pricing

and payment.

In Yang’s view, it is

Shanghai and the southern

manufacturing hub of

Guangdong province that will

offer the largest opportunities

in terms of small-scale DER. ‘The

[local] governments there are

much more open to foreign

involvement in such projects,’

he says. ‘On the other hand, it is

harder to secure the gas supply

than in Beijing, where political

factors often restrict foreign

competition from entering the

market.’ Yang also highlighted

that the warmer climate in

China’s south will probably

ensure that the majority of

projects there will require

trigeneration, or CCHP, systems.

Meanwhile, although

secondary in importance

to the other major policy

drives, another signif cant

plan found its way into the

public domain just last month,

when the Ministry of Industry

and Information Technology

released its own Five-Year Plan

for Industrial Energy Saving.

While it is again light on

crucial detail on how sticking

points like grid and heating

connection issues might be

overcome and paid for, the

plan shines a light on the next

step for the promotion of CHP

in China. The plan calls for the

development of cogeneration

in the iron and steel, nonferrous

metals, chemicals, light

industry and others.

It also references the

development of urban

infrastructure to support the

production and distribution

of the generated heat and

electricity, and promotes the

use of back-pressure and

exhaust-condensing steam

turbines, micro turbines, screw

expansion generators and

other equipment.

Given the lack of policy

progress in the more highly

favoured area of gas-f red

cogen, it is tempting to

label such calls as specious.

However, as World Resources

Institute senior associate Sarah

Forbes suggests, China has a

strong precedent in integrating

waste products produced from

industrial process in coal-to-

chemical plants, where it is a

world leader, suggesting that

doing similar with industrial

cogeneration may not be

such a remote possibility.

‘There’s more coal-to-

chemical going on in China

than anywhere else in the

world, and it is all incredibly

integrated. The growth in the

energy sector here presents an

opportunity to truly integrate

energy across the board.’

David Green is a

China-based freelance

journalist, who writes on

energy matters.



www.cospp.com

1305COSPP_42 42 5/14/13 2:31 PM




Innovation in biomass-based fuels

A slow revolution

in the use of

biomass for f ring

or co-f ring power

generation is picking up

pace this year as a number

of competing technologies

for the production of

‘biocoal’ move more

convincingly towards full

commercialisation.

Biocoal produced through

torrefaction – in which dry

biomass such as wood, paper,

food waste and even sewage

waste is slow-heated anoxically

(to avoid combustion) at

200oC to 300oC to reduce

moisture and drive off

low-energy volatile chemicals

– offers slightly degraded

fuel with lower emissions and

carbon footprints (it is carbon

neutral) than traditional

biomass, and certainly lower

than coal.

According to the European

Commission’s Strategic Energy

Technologies Information

Systems (SETIS), natural gas is

the dominant fuel (about 40%)

for European cogeneration,

while solid fossil fuels account

for 35%, and renewable fuels –

chief y biomass but also waste

– are increasing in importance,

and now account for 12% of

the market.

Biomass and coal are mainly,

although not necessarily,

restricted to steam turbine

cogeneration units, according

to SETIS. Whether these are

non-condensing or extraction

steam turbines, they are based

Biocoal is carbon neutral and cost eff cient, it offers a similar power output to

coal, and can be burned in existing boilers with little or no modif cation.

Robert Stokes explores its potential as a cogneration fuel.

New Solid Fuelcould offer an effective carbon

neutral option for the future

Under construction: An artist’s impression of Thermogen’s future biocoal plant Credit: Thermogen Industries

1305COSPP_43 43 5/14/13 2:31 PM




ARE STRAY ELECTRICAL

CURRENTS DESTROYING

YOUR MACHINERY?


around boilers that can be

f red by coal, wood, solid waste,

gas or nuclear energy. Some

use co-f ring (such as coal and

biomass), while others run only

on biomass.

So how does biocoal play

into the cogeneration and

on-site power production story?

Figuring it out requires a little

patience, as the torrefaction

tale is currently being told

from the perspective of what

it could do for large coal-f red

power plants.

Investors in torrefaction are

dazzled by the prospect of shiny

‘black pellets’ of biocoal that

will sell globally in high volume

as a commodity that attracts

speculative investment from

the markets, hedge funds and

others. Most business plans for

commercial-scale torrefaction

plants hinge on selling black

pellets to large power stations

with a view to extending their

operational life – by using

biocoal for co-fuelling to

reduce the carbon footprint

and emissions to below the

statutory thresholds, and

prevent closure of the plants.

Using biocoal in co-f ring

reduces CO2, NOx and

SOx emmissions, as well as

carbon payments due under

emissions trading schemes or

similar low-carbon policies.

Biocoal can comprise up to

40% of the energy source for

co-f ring stations, with little or

no modif cation of the burners

needed. This is double the 20%

ceiling that limits the use of

‘white pellets’, a wood biomass

that, unlike biocoal, is not

completely dried; indeed, 5%

to 10% is the normal range for

white pellets where the power

plant has not been f tted to

store, handle and mill them.

Some large power plants

are already using biomass. The

German utility RWE’s Tilbury B

station in the UK runs entirely

on white pellets from

renewable sources

of wood. The Swedish

utility Vattenfall’s

Danish plants run

partly on biomass.

Biocoal is likely to f nd

a similar role.

Easy handling/

storage

While prolonging the

existence of large, coal-

f red power stations

may jar with apostles

of cogeneration

and on-site power

production, there is no

reason why biocoal

cannot offer similar

benef ts to these forms of

generation, its supporters say.

‘Biocoal is a new

commodity that is a lot easier

to handle and store, has

higher energy density than

traditional biomass, is low

CO2 and low sulphur,’ says

Michael Wild, principal partner

at the Vienna-based project

managers and consultants

Wild & Partner.

The f rm lists several

good reasons for torrefying

biomass: it broadens the

feedstock base available:

it signif cantly reduces

transport and handling costs,

and it shows practically

zero biodegradation when

stored – this is because it is

hydrophobic (water repellent),

so does not need the 24/7

temperature control and

watertight storage that white

pellets require. Torrefying also

reduces the investment that

co-f ring with biomass needs,

as it can often simply be mixed

with coal and left with it in the

open air.

In addition, it reduces

the derating of generators

that goes with non-standard

operating conditions; it

can be adapted for clients’

requirements; it burns better

and more cleanly than

traditional biomass; it has a

large variety of applications,

and it can help develop the

biomass market towards

commoditisation.

‘While biomass tends to be

wet and in the wrong place,

biocoal can go anywhere,”

adds Wild. “It maximises the

ability to concentrate valuable

biomass resources into higher-

energy black pellets, then

move them wherever they

are needed for cogeneration

and on-site power production,

large-scale power generation,

as a feedstock for chemicals

or gasif cation – or even in

domestic stoves that currently

burn wood pellets.’

The higher-energy density

of biocoal compared with

traditional biomass means it

can generate the same power

output from less throughput,

so plant size can be more

compact.

‘You can also achieve

higher temperatures,’ Wild

conf rmed to Cogeneration &

On-Site Power Production. ‘So

you can get into high-eff ciency

steam cycles. And if you were

thinking about putting biocoal

into a gasif cation unit, the gas

f re could be physically smaller

and the energy eff ciency

would be better than with

IBTC chairman Michael Wild predicts big things for torref es biomass Credit: Wild & Partner

1305COSPP_44 44 5/14/13 2:31 PM




http://www.sohreturbo.com



traditional biomass, where a

lot of the energy would be

going into drying woodchip.

With biocoal, you get more

hydrogen, which could be

used for transport, and you

could create the syngas you

get back into liquid fuels.’

Biocoal’s history

Research and development

of biocoal stretches back

beyond a decade. ‘But it is

no longer a myth,’ says Wild,

whose own company is part of

the Austrian ACB consortium,

that also includes technology

company Andritz AG and

the Austria-based biomass-

combustion technology

supplier Polytechnik Luft- und

Feuerungstechnik GmbH.

And experience is growing

in making and using this

fuel. The best known biocoal

production installations

in continuous operation

include: New Biomass Energy,

(Mississippi, USA), which in

January made its third bulk

shipment (3,600 tonnes) of

black pellets in a year, for

co-f ring tests by a major, but

unidentif ed, European utility;

and Andritz ACB (Austria)

whose pilot pellet production

plant in Frohnleiten started up

last autumn.

Other torrefaction plants

of note include Andritz/ECN

(Denmark); Stramproy Green

(Steenwijk, the Netherlands);

Topell Energy (The Hague, the

Netherlands), which has a

commercial-scale torrefaction

plant at Duiven and will sell and

license its torrefaction to other

plants worldwide; and Torr

Coal (Sittard, the Netherlands),

which has a production plant

in Dilsen-Stokkem, Belgium.

Microwave technology

All biocoals are not equal

though. Diverse technologies

in demonstration projects to

date have centred mainly on

various forms of turbo-drying

of materials, including wood

chips and forestry waste, and

municipal waste.

However, an innovative

way to produce high-quality

torref ed biomass, which uses

microwave heating, is now

progressing towards commer-

cialisation after encouraging

trials with a prototype in the UK.

The Targeted Intelligent

Energy System (TIES) system

developed by Rotawave – a

subsidiary of the Aberdeen-

based Energy Environmental

Group, which owns the

intellectual property for

TIES – allows extraction of

water, petroleum products

and organic oils at very low

cost from resources including

biomass, oil drill cuttings

and ref nery, and food waste

TIES involves the combined

use of microwave and a

unique ceramic phase-

separation drum in a process

that maximises heat and

mass transfer. According to

Rotawave, this reduces plant

size, material hold-ups and

operating costs. The solid

end-products vary from inert

minerals to high-calorif c-

value chars that can be

pelletised.

TIES, which Rotawave

licenses out, is currently used

to activate carbon

regeneration, for sterilisation

and rendering of food wastes,

pyrolysis, soil decontamination,

extraction of oils from

biomass and conversion

into renewable fuels.

‘Working with wood is quite

diff cult,’ Rotawave’s technical

director Garth Way told

Cogeneration and On-Site

Power Production. ‘It is a good

insulator, and usually comes

in a range of moistures and in

different particle sizes.

‘The technical magic

we’ve brought to it is that

while only 10% of the

energy needed to convert

the wood to biocoal is actually

microwave, that little amount

gives you the conf dence

that it is cooked right through

– or, to use a chef’s analogy,

is it cooked in the middle?’

The company says tests

have shown that Rotawave

TIES biocoal pellets have a

moisture content of less than

5% by weight as received.

‘Fully cooked’ wood that

is drier than white pellets,

and in which carbonisation

is limited, produces

more batch consistency,

making pelletisation easier

and more stable.

‘Other biocoal technologies

have really struggled with

consistency,” says Way. ‘We’ve

been technically assessed by

Black & Veatch, by Leeds and

other universities, and have

had independent assessors in

to check our numbers.’

Those numbers were aired

in a conference presentation

in London in April, when

Way compared coal, green

wood chips, wood pellets

(white pellets) and Rotawave

TIES biocoal pellets across

a range of parameters. The

numbers were:

Gross calorif c value, as

received (MJ/kg): coal: 25;

biocoal pellets: 24; white

pellets: 18; and wood chips: 10.

Bulk density (kg/m3):

biocoal pellets: 750; coal: 700;

white pellets: 650; and wood

chips: 285.

Energy density (GJm3):

biocoal pellets: 18; coal: 17.5;

white pellets: and 11.05; wood

chips: 2.85.

To compare the volume

of each fuel required for a

specif ed amount of energy,

energy densities expressed as

m3 per 36 GJ: wood chips: 12.6;

white pellets: 3.3; coal: 2.1;

and biocoal pellets: 2. MWh

per tonne: coal: 6.94; biocoal

pellets: 6.67; white pellets: 4.72;

and wood chips: 2.78.

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Thus, the conclusion is, a

container of Rotawave TIES

biocoal will be almost as

heavy as the same volume

of coal but it packs more

energy for the same volume of

material and is not far behind

coal in the power that can

be generated from a tonne.

Rotawave TIES biocoal beats

white pellets out of sight on

energy density.

No need for boiler

modif cation

But what does it behave like

in an unmodif ed boiler – will

it foul the system or produce

unwanted slag?

Rotawave announced in

April that year-long technical

trials part-funded by the UK

government’s Technology

Strategy Board, with the

UK utility giant SSE and the

University of Leeds, revealed

that TIES gives a quicker, more

eff cient, lower carbon, lower

capital cost option than direct

biomass for co-f ring coal-f red

power plants.

The company concluded

that biocoal produced in this

way could be introduced into

coal-f red generation as a way

to reduce carbon emissions

with minimal or no need for

capital-intensive refurbishment

to adapt plant to the new fuel.

Way says there are no

reasons why biocoal made

like this could not also be

used for cogeneration and

on-site power production

across a range of systems

and generating capacities.

He expresses an interest in

cooperating with the industry.

‘If anyone is interested in

exploring this, then come and

talk to us,’ he says. ‘In general,

biocoal is an alternative to

white pellets biomass. If you

are generating power, you

know that carbon costs are

going to hit you. If you want to

get benef ts from government

incentives and regulations in

many countries, you will be

asking what is the best way of

getting a carbon neutral fuel

into existing infrastructure.’

The European Union (EU)

incentivises the use of biomass

that comes from a renewable

bio-source – a provision that

rules out waste. So would or

should biocoal be considered

as a renewable source?

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ Way

responds. ‘We’ve done a lot

of work looking at the carbon

footprint of our supply chain.’

One charge levelled at

using microwave technology

to make biocoal is that it must

surely involve heavy electricity

consumption. “This suggestion

is a red herring,” counters Way.

‘The electricity cost in one

TIES biocoal project moving

towards commercialisation

is only about 2% of the sales

price of the product per tonne.

So it is not a massive factor.’

What would it cost to convert

existing plant? Rotawave has

not worked through examples

for typical cogeneration and

on-site power production, but

calculations for large

power stations are

worth rehearsing to

reinforce some of the

fundamentals involved.

The UK’s Department

of Energy and Climate

Change estimates the

cost of converting a

coal-f red power station

to traditional biomass,

(rather than biocoal),

to be around US$700

per kW of generation

capacity. For a typical

500 MW plant, that works

out at an eye-watering

$350 million.

But it starts to get

interesting when

these costs are broken down.

Materials storage and handling

– which are both easier and

far cheaper with biocoal –

accounts for around 69% to

89% of cost, while combustion

and emission control cover the

rest – some 11% to 31%; the

range under each heading

ref ects differences for various

facets of the project – project

management, engineering,

procurement, construction

and commissioning.

‘Using this example, our

proposition is that you would

save £180 million ($280 million)

of the £225 cost by using

biocoal instead of traditional

biomass,’ says Way.

‘We can go even further. In

the tests we’ve done, we did

not modify the plant and we

co-f red at about 20% biocoal.

The plant was happy: f ame

stability was OK, the milling

amps were OK (there would

be no extra wear on milling

machinery that grinds the

pellets), and the reject rate

on the milling was OK. There

were no signs of incomplete

combustion of biocoal, which

was a good indicator, though

the test was obviously not for

thousands of hours.’

Way concedes that this

applies to all well-made

torref ed material within the

right specif cation, although

Rotawave claims signif cant

benef ts for biocoal produced

by TIES. The door is open to

the cogeneration industry to

discuss how the technology

might be tailored to its needs.

One high-prof le convert

to TIES biocoal is Cate Street

Capital (Portland, New

Hampshire), a US-based

cleantech venture capital f rm.

In 2011, it agreed a deal valued

at more than $20 million for its

portfolio company Thermogen

Industries to secure exclusive

rights to use the Rotawave

technology to make torref ed

wood for sale in North America.

Thermogen had evaluated

several different torrefaction

technologies, including

those using indirect heating

and drying. “None of the

processes were able to

produce consistently torref ed

material, capable of being

successfully pelletised at

commercial scale – with

the exception of Rotawave’s

TIES,” Thermogen CEO and

president Richard M Cyr

told Cogeneration & On-Site

Power Production.

‘This game-changing

technology could revolutionise

the use of torref ed wood on

Rotawave’s Garth Way invites discussion with cogeneration Credit: Rotawave

Microwave is the key to Rotawave’s torrefaction process Credit: Rotawave

1305COSPP_46 46 5/14/13 2:31 PM


ADVANCING ASIA’S ENERGY FUTURE

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE POWER -GEN Asia, co-located with Renewable Energy World Asia, is the region’s leading

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transmission and distribution industries.

Attracting 7,000 delegates and attendees from over 60 countries from South East Asia

and around the world, nowhere else gives you the opportunity to reach and meet senior

executives and industry professionals in one place at the same time, providing key

networking and business opportunities.

The POWER-GEN Asia and Renewable Energy World Asia conference programmes have

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today and are regularly contributed to with keynote speeches from Government Ministers

and Governors of the region’s utility companies.

Leading Industry Exhibition

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EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT – REGISTER TODAY!

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2 – 4 October 2013

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OFFICIAL SUPPORTERS:

1305COSPP_47 47 5/14/13 2:31 PM

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http://www.renewableenergyworld-asia.com



a worldwide scale. It is smart

technology that creates a new

energy commodity in mass

quantities that is eff cient,

environmentally sensitive and

renewable,’ Cyr adds.

Thermogen’s main

production facility is now being

built at Millinocket, Maine, and

Cyr says the company expects

to complete construction and

begin production of its Aurora

Black torref ed wood pellets in

mid-2014. At full capacity, it is

designed to 454,000 tonnes of

Aurora Black annually.

In February, Thermogen

also signed a letter of intent to

build a torref ed wood pellet

manufacturing facility on

land adjacent to a terminal

at Eastport, Maine. This will

be capable of producing

181,000–272,000 tonnes of

torref ed wood pellets annually,

and Thermogen aims to

start construction as early as

possible in 2014.

Thermogen says its mission

is to help preserve and extend

the life of existing energy

infrastructure by making it

possible for coal-f red power

plants and large institutions

that burn coal to use more

biomass eff ciently as they

strive to meet emerging

environmental regulations and

energy policies.

‘Aurora Black can

supplement the use of coal in

existing facilities or replace it

altogether,’ says Cyr. “In either

scenario, Aurora Black helps

coal burners reduce harmful

emissions, meet newer, more

stringent clean air standards,

and cost-effectively meet

renewable energy goals.’

The production facilities

in Millinocket and Eastport

are strategically located to

transport product eff ciently

and ship it overseas, or to

transport it by rail and truck to

domestic markets.

According to a 2007

study led by the University of

Aberdeen, and a 2012 report

by the London-based market

analysts and consultants

Hawkins Wright, the global

market opportunity for torref ed

wood is estimated to be many

tens of millions of tonnes per

year by the year 2020.

The study by Hawkins

Wright into the supply chain

economics of torref ed

biomass stresses that its main

advantage is in the way that

its higher energy density

reduces sensitivity to the cost

of transport.

The study found that

each shipment of torref ed

fuel carries about 40% more

energy by volume than

conventional white pellet, and

well over three times that of

wood chip. ‘Importantly, this

means that torref ed fuel can

compete with white pellet

when shipped in smaller

vessels, creating f exibility for

suppliers and traders,’ say

the consultants.

Industry cooperation

‘The studies have identif ed

a clear market for torref ed

wood as a new form of clean,

sustainable and energy-dense

fuel,’ says Thermogen’s Cyr.

As suppliers gear up

to exploit this, Way says:

‘I don’t think there is too much

competition between torref ed

biomass people. In fact,

we need to be hitting the

market with millions of tonnes

pretty rapidly.’

Rotawave is a member

of the International Biomass

Torrefaction Council (IBTC),

formed in December 2012

under the aegis of Aembio,

the Brussels-based European

Biomass Association. IBTC is

signif cant as it provides a

‘shop front’ trade body to

promote the technology for

the f rst time.

‘We’ve all been discussing

what we can share to help

each other commercially and

to shape public perception,”

Way says. One issue exercising

the industry is whether it can

develop an international

standard for black pellets

so that customers can be

certain about the quality

and characteristics of what

they are buying, whatever

the source. “There’s a massive

opportunity for this material to

become a new form of energy

transfer in a solid form,’ says

Wild, who chairs the IBTC.

Secure and reliable supplies

of biocoal at competitive

prices are just what a range

of industries including

cogeneration and on-site

power have been waiting for.

On costs, Rotawave’s Way

says: ‘I would suggest that if

you converted to 100% biocoal

in 2013 in the UK, it would

be cheaper than coal, and

our modelling suggests that

between now and 2030 the line

on the graph showing price

versus time will remain below

£70 per MWh for 100% biocoal

f ring, while the equivalent

cost for 100% coal, with

carbon costs and renewables

subsidies included where they

apply to these fuels, would be

above £170 per MWh.’

While such f gures are based

around a model of large power

plants, Rotawave is convinced

that cogeneration and on-site

power production would

benef t signif cantly too.

Projections will vary by

location, depending on local

taxes and subsidies. However,

the biocoal industry is clearly

conf dent of its long-term future

as it believes that f nancial

penalties on coal, combined

with the commoditisation and

incentivisation of renewables,

will continue to widen the

generating cost advantages

of torref ed biomass.

Robert Stokes is a freelance

journalist, who writes on the

energy sector.



www.cospp.com

Thermogen’s Richard Cyr (left) foresees a positive future for biocoal sales in the US and abroad Credit: Thermogen Industries

1305COSPP_48 48 5/14/13 2:31 PM



17-19 March 2014

Cape Town International Convention Centre

Cape Town, South Africa

INVITATION TO EXHIBIT

The inaugural DistribuTECH Africa is a must attend event for

any company involved in the power and water transmission and

distribution industry..

With Africa’s electricity consumption expected to grow at a

rate of 3.4% per year until 2020, DistribuTECH 2013 is

expected to play an important role in the expanding market

and lead the way in the advancement of the transmission and

distribution industry.

This annual forum not only provides the ideal opportunity

to address technological challenges, but also launch new

products and showcase your company amongst an audience

of key decisions makers from leading international operators,

manufacturers and suppliers.

BOOK YOUR BOOTH TODAY

For booth and sponsorship enquiries, please contact:

Leon Stone

Exhibit Sales Manager - Rest of the World

T: +44 (0) 1992 656 671

F: +44 (0)1992 656 700

E:[email protected]

Andrew Evans

Exhibition Sales - Africa

T: +27 (21) 913 5255

F: +27 (0) 86 770 7447

E: [email protected]

WWW.DISTRIBUTECHAFRICA.COM

EQUIPPING UTILITIES FOR THE FUTURE

NEW PENNWELL EVENT COMING TO AFRICA

Co-located with

Owned &

Produced by: Presented by:Host Utility Sponsor:

Supporting

Organization:

1305COSPP_49 49 5/14/13 2:31 PM


http://WWW.DISTRIBUTECHAFRICA.COM




The World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE) was established in 1997 as a non-prof t

research and promotion organization whose mission is to accelerate the worldwide development

of high eff ciency cogeneration (CHP) and decentralized renewable energy systems that deliver

substantial economic and environmental benef ts.

Executive Director: David Sweet

1513 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Tel: +1 202 667 5600 • Fax: +1 202 315 3719 • web: www.localpower.org

SPECIAL REPORT FROM WADE CANADA ON SUSTAINABILITY: University of Calgary’s Energy Performance Initiative

April 30, 2013 By Evvi Rollins, freelance writer for WADE Canada

WADE CANADA SPOKE WITH JOANNE PERDUE, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER AT

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Calgary, Canada: With the recent

announcement that the University of

Calgary’s Energy Environment and

Experiential Learning building has received

Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED) Platinum certif cation, the

University is now home to two of only four

Platinum projects on Canadian post-

secondary education campuses. Add

to this an LEED Gold project and four

additional projects now in for certif cation,

the University is emerging as one of

Canada’s leaders in green buildings

in post secondary education. A key

contributor to this success is mandatory

energy performance requirements

for new buildings. Behind this success

though, is a much larger plan to lead in

slashing institutional operating costs and

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Since the 2008 signing of the University

and College President’s Climate Change

Statement of Action for Canada

(UCPCCSAC), the University of Calgary,

along with about 28 other universities and

colleges across Canada, has developed

and implemented a plan to drive down

institutional greenhouse gas emissions

and sharpened their focus on research

initiatives to address the climate change

challenge. A similar declaration in the

United States has nearly 700 university

and college president signatories.

In 2010, after input from students, faculty,

and technical staff, the University released

a Climate Action Plan. This established

institutional goals and strategies for how

the University will reduce institutional

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Ambitious targets were set: GHG emission

reductions of 45% by 2015, and 80% by

2050. Strategies touch most aspects of

institutional operations from business

travel and waste management to energy

supply and community engagement.

The University’s Energy Performance

Initiative (EPI) addresses GHG emissions

in the built environment – the largest

contributor to institutional emissions.

Following are six key strategies within the

EPI program:

Rethinking energy supply: As the ageing

central heating and cooling plant was

nearing capacity, the University needed

to upgrade and expand capacity.

This provided the opportunity to rethink

energy supply given that procurement

of electricity from the largely coal f red

provincial grid was resulting in very

high institutional emissions. Last year,

installation of a 13 MW cogeneration

system (combined heat and power)

was completed in a retrof t of the central

heating and cooling plant. The university

now produces 100% of the base-load

of electricity on campus, displacing a

signif cant portion of electricity historically

purchased from the provincial grid. Waste

heat is captured and used for space

heating and domestic water on main

campus. The completed project has led to

an 80,000 metric tonnes annual emissions

reduction. With a f ve-year payback on the

incremental cost of co-generation, this

also represents a very good economic

and business strategy for the university.

Controlling emissions growth from new

buildings. Since every time a new building

is added, overall emission reductions

become more of a challenge. To control

growth a change in design standards

was implemented to establish mandatory

energy performance requirements for all

new buildings and major retrof ts.

Retrof tting of existing buildings. Three

phases of existing building retrof ts are now

complete, totalling more than 35,000 tonnes

of emissions reductions. A master plan for

the 4th phase is f nished, and a 5th phase

is in the wings for the Foothills Medical

Campus. Collectively, Phases 4 and 5

have the emissions reduction potential to

go the extra distance to the 2020 target of a

60% reduction.

Existing building recommissioning. Just

as a car needs tuning up over time, the

university is committed to bringing buildings

back to their optimal performance as they

deteriorate over time. Following completion

of a recommissioning pilot project this

summer, an ongoing programme and

continuous improvement process will be

rolled out across campus.

Demand reduction and occupant

engagement. Despite greater energy

eff ciency in the overall buildings, the

University of Calgary’s Energy Environment and Experiential Learning building Credit: Tom Arban Architectural Photography

1305COSPP_50 50 5/14/13 2:32 PM


http://www.localpower.org






WADE PARTICIPATES IN IHS CERAWEEK 2013

Houston, USA: The annual

global meeting of the

prestigious IHS CERAWeek

2013 was held in Houston on

March 4-8, 2013. WADE was

represented by David Sweet,

Executive Director at the event.

The theme for 2013 is

Drivers of Change: Geopolitics,

Economics and the Energy

Future. The energy industry

is undergoing a profound

transformation driven by new

technologies, shifts in global

demand, regulatory uncertain-

ties and the new realities and

cost structure of supply.

At the same time, continuing

and growing economic

uncertainty, particularly in

Europe and emerging Asia

– along with geopolitical

tensions in the Middle East,

Asia, Africa and Latin America

– all pose new risks and

challenges as companies

invest to meet future energy

needs.

IHS CERAWeek 2013 offered

new insights into the energy

future and on the strategic

and investment responses by

producers, consumers and

policy-makers.

IHS CERAWeek is the

leading gathering of senior

energy decision-makers from

around the world, which

provided presentations from

over 300 speakers, including

senior industry executives,

government off cials and

thought leaders, discuss in the

changing energy playing f eld.

For more information on

all the issues covered at this

IHS CERAWeek, as well as

on who spoke, please visit

http://ceraweek.com/2013/

Attendees at a networking session at the IHS CERAWeek 2013

density of energy use inside buildings is

rising. To address this demand reduction

and engage users of the buildings

is key. A few initiatives in support of

this include:

• A desktop computer power-down pilot

program was successfully completed

and will be rolled out across campus.

This complements energy-eff ciency

standards for all desktop computing

equipment.

• An exterior lighting upgrade program is

underway to retrof t all exterior lighting

to LED.

• An assessment of the 1,000 or so

research-related refrigeration units has

been completed. A sterling engine

-80C freezer pilot is underway.

• A peer-to-peer engagement project

called “Sustainability On” will involve the

campus community in energy eff ciency

and sustainability. Using the principles

of community-based social marketing,

the sustainability off ce has trained

70 coordinators across departments

and residences who then train their

peers to take action on sustainability.

There are building-to-building

competitions, which have made

reductions of up to 24% in energy use

over a three-week period.

Staff capacity building. Driving

emissions down and keeping them

down requires a diverse, engaged

and knowledgeable internal team. To

support this, the university has invested

in training and education programmes

aimed at both building operations

staff and technical engineering staff.

Additionally, a new energy-management

system provides operating staff with

the capacity to analyse energy-use

data to observe trends or changes

in energy-use patterns. Opportunities

for greater eff ciency or corrective action

can be identif ed and promptly acted

upon to help save energy and costs.

Energy Performance Initiative Results

to Date:

• Approximately $7.4 million in annual

cost avoidance

• An equivalent of a 35% reduction in

Main Campus GHG emissions –

positioning the University at the forefront

of progress on Canadian campuses,

and putting them well on the way to

achieving the 2015 target of a 45%

reduction.

• Enhanced staff engagement and pride

from working on innovative projects that

make a tangible difference in reducing

operating costs and GHG emissions.

For further information regarding the

University of Calgary’s energy initiatives and

the ‘Sustainability On’ program, please visit

http://www.ucalgary.ca/sustainability/.

WADE AT COGEN

EUROPE

Brussels, Belgium: In April, the international

cogeneration industry gathered in

Brussels, Belgium for COGEN Europe’s

20th annual conference. According to

the results of a “snapshot survey”

presented at the conference, the

economic crisis has softened demand for

cogeneration in Europe. Despite the tepid

near-term outlook, there are several bright

spots in Europe’s cogeneration market.

For example, in Germany, the Energy

Transition programme (“Energiewende”)

has increased payments for electricity

generated by cogeneration plants,

and reaff rmed cogeneration’s priority

access to the grid. Meanwhile, the

ene.f eld project marks a major milestone

for fuel cell micro-CHP technologies

in Europe. The project will install up to

1000 residential fuel cell units in 12

countries over the next f ve years. William

Pentland, the Director of Energy Markets

and Regulation, participated in a Panel

Debate on views of cogeneration

outside the EU, which also included

representatives from Japan, Mexico and

Australia. Pentland emphasized that

the shale gas revolution is likely to have

signif cant long-term impacts on the

cogeneration industry in the United States.

1305COSPP_51 51 5/14/13 2:32 PM

http://www.ucalgary.ca/sustainability/

http://ceraweek.com/2013/








WILLIAM PENTLAND JOINS WADE AS DIRECTOR

FOR MARKETS & REGULATIONS

WADE welcomes William Pentland onboard as Director of Markets & Regulations.

William Pentland is the Chair of the Northeast

Clean Heat and Power Initiative, and a member

of the Advisory Board for the Maryland Clean

Energy Center. Previously, Mr Pentland served

as the Senior Director of Market Development

at ClearEdge Power, Inc, a micro-CHP fuel cell

manufacturer.

Prior to joining ClearEdge, Mr. Pentland

focused on the full spectrum of barriers and

misconceptions about distributed generation

and energy-eff ciency technologies as

the Senior Energy Systems Analyst at the

Pace Energy and Climate Center in White

Plains, New York.

He has written about about energy

and environmental issues for Forbes, The

Nation, Mother Jones and several other

publications. Mr. Pentland previously practiced

law in New York City at the law f rms Paul, Weiss,

Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Jenner &

Block, LLP. He is a graduate of Stanford Law

School and Occidental College.

Mr. Pentland can be reached at

[email protected].

William Pentland, Director of Markets & Regulations, WADE

WADE THAI PRESENTS AT CLEAN POWER ASIA 2013

Bangkok, Thailand: The World

Alliance for Thai Decentralized

Energy Association (WADE

THAI), the Thai chapter of World

Alliance for Decentralized

Energy (WADE) played a

key role in Clean Power Asia

2013 held on 29-30 April 2013

at Bangkok Convention Centre

at Central World.

The 3rd annual Clean

Power Asia provided a superior

platform for public and private

power generating utilities/

IPPs, government bodies

and policy makers, legal

and f nancial advisors, and

technology solution and

service providers interested in

renewable energy initiatives,

projects and technologies.

As one of the main

supporting organizations,

WADE THAI endorsed the

event to its network of

more than 500 relevant

stakeholders in the energy

and environment sector in

Asia. Dr. Ludovic Lacrosse,

one of WADE THAI Directors

presented at the event on

“Decentralized Energy: A Local

Solution for Global Problems”,

and chaired conference

sessions on “Risk Identif cation

and Mitigation”, “Integrating

Renewable Energy into

the Grid” and “Carbon

Emission Trading”.

The event was also

endorsed by Thailand’s

EGAT, MEA and PEA, as well

as the Ministry of Energy’s

Department of Alternative

Energy Development and

Eff ciency.Delegates in an interactive session at the Clean Power Asia conference

WADE CHAIRS AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON

MICROGENERATION AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

Naples, Italy: In April,

researchers, manufacturers

and policy experts convened

in Naples for the third annual

International Conference on

Microgeneration and Related

Technologies.

The multi-disciplinary

proceedings focused on

barriers and opportunities to

deployment of high-eff ciency

distributed energy systems

and diffusion of low-carbon

microgeneration technologies

for residential and small

commercial applications.

Many of the papers presented

at the conference, which will

appear in a special issue

of the journal Applied Thermal

Engineering, addressed

building-integration strategies

and grid interconnection

policies affecting deployment

of microgeneration

technologies. William Pentland,

the Director of Energy Markets

and Regulation at the World

Alliance for Decentralized

Energy, chaired the Industry

Day Program held on

the second day of the

conference. Pentland and

several of the other industry

representatives emphasized

the need for robust policies

and programmes to support

the commercialisation of

microgeneration technologies.

In particular, streamlining the

grid interconnection process

was identif ed as a critical

priority for policymakers in Italy

and several other EU countries.

1305COSPP_52 52 5/14/13 2:32 PM



Conference & Exhibition

4 - 6 March 2014 | Expocentre, Moscow, Russia Federation

Co-located with:www.russia-power.org

For any other queries relating to the conference, please contact:

Emily PryorConference ManagerT: +44 1992 656 614F: +44 1992 656 700E: [email protected]

For information on exhibiting and sponsorship at Russia Power, please visit www.russia-power.org or contact:

International:

Gilbert Weir Jnr

Sales ManagerT: +44 (0)1992 656 617F: +44 (0)1992 656 700E: [email protected]

Russia and CIS:

Natalia Gaisenok

Sales Manager T: +7 495 249 49 15F: +7 495 249 49 15E: [email protected]

Svetlana Strukova

Sales ManagerT: +7 495 249 49 15F: +7 495 249 49 15E: [email protected]

Russia Power, now in its 12th year, is the key conference and exhibition to explore

business opportunities and meet new partners and the industry’s most infuential

decision makers in the Russian and international power sector.

Over three days, Russia Power will feature a thought-provoking two-track conference

programme combined with a world class exhibition foor featuring the preeminent

organizations from the global power sector.

With support and recognition by the Russian Ministry of Energy and the Council of

Power Producers, the two-day 2013 event featured 105 exhibitors and attracted

5,500 attendees from 64 countries.

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT FOR RUSSIA POWER

Deadline for submissions – Friday 2 August 2013

The Advisory board of Russia Power is now accepting abstracts for its 2014 conference.

Why not apply your know-how of business strategies and technological advances by

submitting an abstract for Russia Power 2014 and impart your knowledge alongside

the leading decision-makers in the Russian power industry.

For information on Themes and Topics and how to submit your abstract,

please visit the Russia Power event site www.russia-power.org and select the

Conference tab.

System Operator of Russia

Owned and Produced by: Presented by:In Partnership with: Supported by:

Promoting Modernization

Effciency and Innovation

The 12th Russia Power conference and exhibition

returns to the Expocentre, Moscow on 4 - 6 March 2014.SAVE THE DATE

1305COSPP_53 53 5/14/13 2:32 PM

http://www.russia-power.org







Conference & Exhibition

17–19 March 2014Cape Town International Convention CentreCape Town, Republic of South Africa

www.powergenafrica.com www.distributechafrica.com

Owned and Produced by: Presented by:

POWER-GEN Africa combines with DistribuTECH Africa for the frst time to provide an extensive coverage of the power needs, resources, and issues facing the electricity and water generation, transmission and distribution industries across sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa’s energy requirements continue to expand with the rapid growth and development throughout the continent, driving the need for more widespread and reliable electricity.

Together POWER-GEN Africa and DistribuTECH Africa will bring together world leading power and water equipment suppliers, operators and developers from government utilities, commercial, manufacturing and consulting sectors as well as offcials and ministers tasked with energy policy in this dynamic region of the world.

The three day event will feature multi-track conference sessions and an extensive combined exhibition featuring the leading suppliers from both the International and African power sectors, demonstrating their latest technologies.

EQUIPPING AFRICA’S

ENERGY FUTURE

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU

IN CAPE TOWN IN 2014

Leon StoneExhibition SalesRest of the WorldPhone: +44 (0) 1992 656 671Email: [email protected]

Andrew EvansExhibition SalesAfricaPhone: +27 (21) 913 5255Email: [email protected]

Tom Marler Exhibition Sales Renewables & Hydropower Phone: +44 (0)1992 656 608 Fax: +44 (0)1992 656 700 Email: [email protected]

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE

Co-located with:

Utility Sponsors: Supported by:

1305COSPP_54 54 5/14/13 2:34 PM

http://www.powergenafrica.com

http://www.distributechafrica.com





Send details of your event to Cogeneration and On-Site Power Production:

e-mail: [email protected]

Diary of events

Diary

IDEA’s 104th Annual

Conference & Trade Show

Miami, FL, US

2–5 June 2013

International District Energy

Association, 24 Lyman Street, Suite

230 Westborough, MA 01581, US

Tel: +1 508 366 9339

Fax: +1 508 366 0019


web: www.districtenergy.org

ASME Turbo Expo

San Antonio, TX, US

3–7 June 2013

IGTI, 6525 The Corners, Parkway

Suite 115, Norcross, GA 30092, US

Tel: +1 404 847 0072

Fax: +1 404 847 0151


web: www.asme.org

21st European Biomass

Conference and Exhibition

Copenhagen, Denmark

3–7 June 2013

EU BC&E, Via Giacomini, 28, 50132

Firenze, Italy

Tel: +39 055 5002280 ext. 221

e-mail: biomass.conference@

etaf orence.it

web: www.conference-biomass.

com

POWER-GEN Europe

Vienna, Austria

4–6 June 2013

Crispin Coulson, PennWell

International, The Water Tower,

Gun Power Mills, Powdermill Lane,

Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 646

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.powergeneurope.com

Renewable Energy World

Europe

Vienna, Austria

4–6 June 2013

Lee Catania, PennWell



Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 647

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.renewableenergyworld-

europe.com

4th AEBIOM Bioenergy

Conference

Brussels, Belgium

17–19 June 2013

Anamaria Olaru, Event Manager,

European Biomass Association,

Renewable Energy House, Rue

d’Arlon 63, 1040 B Belgium

Tel: +32 24 00 10 29


web: www.aebiom.org

SR Heat & Bioenergy Seminar

Perth, Scotland, UK

18 June 2013

Pamela Barne, admin off cer

6th Floor, Tara House, 46 Bath Street,

Glasgow, G2 1HG, UK

Tel: +44 141 353 4980

E. pbarnes@scottishrenewable.

com

web: www.scottishrenewables.com

Sustainability Wekk 2013

Brussels, Belgium

24–28 June 2013

EUSEW

Tel: +32 23403068


EUSEW Seminar: A Heat

Action for 2030 and beyond

27 June 2013

Brussels, Belgium

Stefan Craenen, COGEN Europe

Avenue des Arts 3-4-5, 1210 Brussels,

Belgium

Tel: +32 2 772 82 90

Fax:+32 2 772 50 44

e-mail: stefan.craenen@

cogeneurope.eu

web:www.cogeneurope.eu

UK AD & Biogas 2013

Birmingham, UK

3–4 July 2013

Anaerobic Digestion & Biogas

Association

Tel: +4420 3176 0503


web:www.adbiogas.co.uk

RWM in partnership with

CIWM

Birmingham, UK

10–12 September 2013

Tel: +44 203 033 2159

Fax: +44 20 7728 4200

i2i Events Limited, Top Right Group

Limited, The Prow, 1 Wilder Walk,

London W1B 5AP, UK

e-mail: robin.hayes@

i2ieventsgroup.com

web: www.rwmexhibition.com

POWER-GEN Brasil

Sao Paulo, Brazil

24–16 September 2013

Wendy Lassau, PennWell

Corporation, 1421 South Sheridan

Rd, Tulsa, OK 74112, US

Tel: +1 918 832 9391


web: www.powergenbrasil.com

POWER-GEN Asia

Bangkok, Thailand

2–4 October 2013




Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 647

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.powergenasia.com

Renewable Energy World

Asia

Bangkok, Thailand

2–4 October 2013

Crispin Coulson, PennWell



Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 646

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.powergenasia.com

2nd International DHC+,

Research Conference

Brussels, Belgium

5–6 November 2013

Ingo Wagner, DHC+ Technology

Platform

web: www.cvent.com

POWER-GEN International

Orlando, FL, US

12–14 November 2013

Stephanie Moore, PennWell

Corporation, 1421 South Sheridan

Rd, Tulsa, OK 74112, US

Tel: +1 918 832 9382


web: www.power-gen.com

1305COSPP_55 55 5/14/13 2:34 PM



http://www.districtenergy.org


http://www.asme.org



http://www.conference-biomass.com


http://www.powergeneurope.com


http://www.renewableenergyworld-europe.com

http://www.renewableenergyworld-europe.com


http://www.aebiom.org

http://www.scottishrenewables.com


http://www.cogeneurope.eu


http://www.adbiogas.co.uk


http://www.rwmexhibition.com


http://www.powergenbrasil.com





http://www.cvent.com


http://www.power-gen.com


http://www.conference-biomass.com









Diary



Diary

CHPA Conference and

Awards Dinner 2013

London, UK

27 November 2013

UK CHPA, 6th Floor, 10 Dean Farrar

Street, London, SW1H 0DX, UK

Tel: +44 20 3031 8740

E-mail: [email protected]

web: www.chpa.co.uk

201427th Annual Campus Energy

Conference & Distribution

Workshop

Atlanta, GA, US

17-21 February 2014




Tel: +1 508 366 9339

Fax: +1 508 366 0019



Russia Power

Moscow, Russian Federation

4–6 March 2014

Crispin Coulson, PennWell Interna-

tional, The Water Tower, Gun Power

Mills, Powdermill Lane, Waltham

Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 646

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.powergeneurope.com

The Solar Show

Johannesberg, South Africa

10–11 March 2014

Terrapinn Ltd, First Floor, Modular

Place, Turnberry Off ce Park, 48

Grosvenor Road, Bryanston 2021,

South Africa

Tel: +27 11 516 4015 | Fax: +27 11

463 6000 | enquiry.e-mail: za@

terrapinn.com

web: www.terrapinn.com

POWER-GEN Africa

Cape Town, South Africa

17–19 March 2014




Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 647

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.powergenafrica.com

Power & Electricity World

Asia

Singapore

22–25 April 2014

Terrapinn Pte Ltd, 1 Harbourfront

Place, #18-01/06 Harbourfront

Tower 1, Singapore, 098633,

Tel: +65 6222 8550

Fax: +65 6226 3264


web: www.terrapinn.com

POWER-GEN India &

Central Asia

New Delhi, India

5–7 May 2014

Sue McDermott, PennWell



Waltham Abbey,

Essex EN9 1BN, UK

Tel: +44 1992 656 6326

Fax: +44 1992 656 700


web: www.power-genindia.com

IDEA’s 105th Annual

Conference & Trade Show

Miami, FL, US

8–11 June 2013




Tel: +1 508 366 9339

Fax: +1 508 366 0019



APROVIS ENERGY SYSTEMS GMBH 32

CAMFIL FARR GROUP 33

CATERPILLAR INC. 13

DISTRIBUTECH AFRICA 2014 CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 49

DRESSER RAND 19

ELLIOTT GROUP IFC

EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT SRL 15

EXXON MOBIL LUBRICANTS AND SPECIALITIES 4-5

HILLIARD CORPORATION 17

HITACHI POWER EUROPE 11

KRAL AG 9

MAN DIESEL SE 1

MAXIMUM TURBINE SUPPORT 35

MTU MAINTENANCE GMBH 29

OPRA TURBINE B.V. 7

POWER-GEN AFRICA 2014 CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 54

POWER-GEN ASIA 2013 CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 47

PRECISION ICE BLAST 39

PROTO MANUFACTURING LTD 18

REGELTECHNIK KORNWESTHEIM GMBH OBC

SEL 21

SIPOS AKTORIK 37

SOHRE TURBOMACHINERY INC 44

TEDOM 45

UNIVERSAL ACOUSTIC & EMMISSION TECHNOLOGIES 23

WELLAND & TUXHORN 27

WOOD GROUP GTS IBC

YOUNG & FRANKLIN 31

Advertisers’ indexCOSPP Webcard

1305COSPP_56 56 5/14/13 2:34 PM



http://www.chpa.co.uk




http://www.powergeneurope.com


http://www.terrapinn.com


http://www.powergenafrica.com


http://www.terrapinn.com


http://www.power-genindia.com






1305COSPP_C3 C3 5/14/13 2:07 PM



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COSPP Cogeneration May June 2013

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