Wärtsilä signed contracts to supply the equipment for an extension to the Rasa Enerji power plant in Van, in the east of Turkey, and for the Naksan power plant project in Gaziantep, located close to the Syrian border in the southeast of Turkey. A third installation is for the Marmara Pamuklu power station in Corlu, close to Tekirdag, which is located in the northwest of Turkey. Most recently, Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply equipment for the H.G. Enerji power plant project in Gediz, in the province of Kütahya in the Aegean region of the country.

The Rasa Enerji extension order consists of three Wärtsilä 20V34SG gas-powered engines, as well as the compressed air, charge air and exhaust systems for the plant. This additional 25 MW will bring the total power plant output to 106 MW, to be fed to the national grid. The power plant is located at an altitude of approximately 1700 metres and, because of the altitude factor, a key prerequisite was that the engines should be capable of achieving maximum capacity with no de-rating. The Wärtsilä engines are fully able to meet this performance requirement.

The Naksan power plant project is being developed by Naksan Plastik San Ve Tic A/S, who will use the electricity and heat generated by the plant for its own packaging manufacturing processes. Any surplus electricity will be sold to the national grid. The contract calls for Wärtsilä to supply the engineering and equipment, consisting of two Wärtsilä 20V34SG engines running on gas, as well as the compressed air system, radiators and charge air filters. The combined out put will be approximately 18 MW.

The third Wärtsilä contract is for three Wärtsilä 20V34SG engines to be installed in an extension to the Marmara Pamuklu power station in Corlu, Turkey. The engines will be run on natural gas and will have a combined output of 25 MW. The contract has been awarded by Marmara Pamuklu Mensucat San ve Tic A/S, a textile and paper producer who will use heat from the power plant for its paper and combined cycle processing. The electricity generated will be sold to the national grid. Wärtsilä has previously supplied the generating equipment for the company’s original power plant, and this latest extension will now bring the total output of the plant to 78 MWe including 6 MWe from a steam turbine.

The latest project contract has been placed by H.G.Enerji Elektrik Üretimi Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS, a company specialising in textiles. The order consists of six Wärtsilä 20V34SG engines running on gas and producing a total output of 50 MW, plus all ancillary equipment with the exception of the boiler. The electricity generated will be sold to the national grid.

“Wärtsilä’s strength in the Turkish market is a clear indication of our good reputation in the country, our efficient service support operations, and of course, the quality of the Wärtsilä generating equipment. We are especially delighted to be delivering equipment to Gaziantep. It is one of the largest industrial parks in Turkey, and this will be an excellent reference installation for our equipment,” says Christer Strandvall, Regional Director for Western Europe, Wärtsilä Power Plants.

Editorial,
Frontier India Strategic and Defence

In the first phase of its Clean Energy operations in India, Clenergen is in the process of setting up a 16MW power project in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu and 64MW power plant in Karnataka.

Both these projects are based on the pyrolisis gasification technology and will operate on feedstocks harvested from plantations set up by Clenergen for cultivation of it’s own scientifically researched and developed species of grass and trees.

Clenergen Corporation India Private Limited, headquartered in Chennai Tamilnadu, India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Clenergen Corporation is a commercial vehicle created after a significant research and development program to (1) produce high-density, short-rotation biomass crops on a commercial scale at a cost of production equivalent to or less than the price of coal (measured in energy terms – MMBtu) using a proprietary integrated farming model, and (2) to produce power, steam, hydrogen, chemicals and other important products through advanced gasification and steam technologies.

Feedstocks:

Clenergen have contractually secured access to the feedstock required for cultivation. One is a species of Grass named `Beema Bamboo’ which has been developed and test planted for Clenergen by its partner Growmore Biotech Limited, Hosur, Tamilnadu. The results which have been validated, indicate a yield of over 60 MT per acre after 4 years of cultivation on a planting density of 1000 plants per acre and a system of irrigation to provide the water.

The harvestable yield is available from the second year of its plantation (averaging 20 tones) and the greatest benefit this species can provide is its ability to sprout an average of 10 shoots every year from the third year of its plantation yielding a biomass of over 60 MT per acre annually. The life of this species of bamboo can be well considered as perennial with a life span of over 50 years.

The other is a species of trees native to China and parts of Asia called `Paulownia’. One of the Directors of Clenergen has specialized in plantations of this species of tree since 1991. Extensive research has been done on this species of trees and validated records indicate that this tree can potentially yield a biomass equivalent of over 40 MT every year. The Tree can be coppiced at least 8 times which means that for 9 years no re-plantation is required and the tree would re-grow back from its stump with multiple shoots being generated from its first coppicing.

Clenergen have tested the biomass of these species for its thermal characteristics and gasification efficiency and both have proven to be highly graded biomass materials with calorific values of between 4000 and 4500 Kcal/Kg.

Polyploidisation:

In addition to the yields of biomass available from traditional cultivation when applying plant science to the mother stock of Paulownia through a process named polyploidisation, there is a rapid increase in the rate of growth of the trees that results is an increased yield of biomass per acre after 12 months from its application.

Clenergen’s application of polyploidy technology to selected strains of tree species is achieved through a selective breeding process where plant stock is genetically pre-screened for specific polyploidy chromosomes. Quite simply, the tree (itself a solar system through the process of photosynthesis) grows leaves (solar panels) which are 50% larger than a standard variety of the same tree species, thereby enabling it to more efficiently collect solar energy and CO2 and, accordingly, grow more rapidly.

This optimization results in a 30-40% increase in the normal growth rate of the tree. Further, no genetic engineering is utilized, as polyploidy is a naturally occurring evolutionary event. Importantly, the resulting enhanced photosynthetic process enables the trees to consume larger quantities of carbon creating a carbon “sink” as they grow faster and more efficiently produce and release oxygen into the atmosphere.

Polyploidisation is a scientific process first discovered in the 1970′s which is well established in the agri-food business. Once applied to the Paulownia mother stock, a new species is created of which Clenergen has named “Marjestica and retains all the Intellectual Property and Plant Breeding Rights to this new species of Paulownia.

Agreements for Polyploidasation:

Clenergen and Growmore Biotech have signed an MOA for the supplies of micro propagated saplings of its elite strain of Beema bamboo for mass cultivation in Tamilnadu and Karnataka.

Clenergen has also entered into a License and Research and Development Agreement with Arbour Technologies Limited in view of supplying polyploidy mother stock of Paulownia for field trials on 3 parcels of land in Tamilnadu, India. Arbour laboratories are a leading organization in the field of polyplpoidisation and their work has been verified by the Queensland and Brisbane Universities to quantify the increased growth of its Paulownia as a result of applying the polyploidy process.

Gasification Technology:

The electricity is generated from the use of proven gasification technology which disintegrates the biomass and releases syngas which provides the source of power for gas turbine generators or can be burned to erase all tar and release steam as a source of power for steam turbine generators, depending upon the technology chosen. It’s high levels of efficiency and energy conversion creates a consistent source of electricity production without generating any carbon emissions from the process. As a result, the fossil fuel displacement value of the energy produced generates a carbon emission credit (CER’s), which the value of such can be applied towards offsetting the cost of production.

Clenergen takes a unique position of approaching the issue from an agronomy and plantation management perspective rather than from one of engineering. Clenergen has achieved a vital component in the future of renewable power generation, the ability to deliver a standard, uniform virgin biomass on a commercial scale at regular intervals over a long period of time.”

16MW Power Project:

The land for the 16MW power project has been acquired on long lease. Of the 4000 acres of plantation lands required for the cultivation of the feedstocks, 800 acres has already been acquired on long lease in Tirunelveli District while a further 1200 acres is in advanced stages of land survey and will be concluded by the end of October 2009. Arrangements are being made for the acquisition of the balance 2000 acres in Tirunelveli District.

In the interim period until the plantations are completed on the lands taken on lease and the harvests of the feedstcoks come in, Clenergen has entered into long term supply contracts for wood biomass. The supply of power from this plant and also the plant proposed to be set up in Karnataka has been contracted to PTC India Limited under a 15 year PPA.

The total project cost is US$ 236.47 million (Rs.1135.05 Crores) out of which US$ 82.76 million equivalent to Rs. 397.27 Crores is required as equity for the project. Clenergen, after providing for contributions from the parent company and private placement of shares, is proposing to raise $ 65 million equivalent to Rs. 312 crores through a floatation on the Indian Markets . The long term debt component is US$ 153.70 million (Rs.737.78 Crores approx) and Ernst and Young Pvt Ltd have been mandated to raise the debt for the projects.

Reporting on the results of airlift-assisted flow-testing of well MC-8, GeothermEx projected that a new deviated well starting from a lower wellhead elevation into the same permeable zone and at a much shorter vertical depth than well MC-8 would flow at the equivalent of more than 6 megawatts (MW) of electrical energy. Well MC-8 itself was unable to sustain self-flow following air lifting due to physical constraints imposed by the deep water table.

To access the zone of permeability, GeothermEx has designed a deviated well starting from the valley floor with a projected true vertical depth of 1,660 meters and a total wellbore length of less than 2,000 meters. Wellbore simulation indicates that this well could flow at the equivalent of 6.4 MW of electrical output at a wellhead pressure of 140 psig. If the reservoir fluid encountered by this new well is at a greater temperature than the temperature measured in MC-8, or should the well be drilled deeper than the targeted 1,660 meters, the megawatt capacity of the well could increase accordingly.

“The recent flow testing has corroborated our earlier projection of high temperature, reasonable permeability and a deep water table at South Meager,” said Dr. Subir Sanyal, President of GeothermEx. “While a deep water table has limited the well’s productivity, commercial productivity can still be achieved in a well drilled from the valley floor and targeted to the permeable zones in wells MC-8 and MC-6.”

Several excellent and easily-accessible locations for new drill pads are available on the valley floor with ready access to the permeable zones in MC-8 and MC-6. The Company intends to commence the permitting process for the future wells once the snow has cleared sufficiently to allow surveying of the sites.

“Our understanding of the geothermal reservoir characteristics at South Meager has increased substantially,” said Kenneth Macleod, President and CEO of Western GeoPower. “We can now focus on securing the funding and permitting necessary to complete the drilling program and prepare a feasibility report on the project.”

In 2004 and 2005, wells MC-6, MC-7 and MC-8 were drilled on a single pad approximately 700 vertical meters above Meager Creek on the shoulder of Pylon Peak. The pad was located closer to the projected upflow zone of the geothermal reservoir in comparison with earlier pads located on the valley floor. Subsequent testing confirmed that two of the wells, MC-6 and MC-8 encountered significant permeability and all three wells showed higher temperatures at shallower depth than previous wells. However, the presence of the geothermal water table at over 500 meters below the pad has inhibited the ability of the recent wells to self flow. The wells are being maintained for additional testing purposes and future enhancements are being considered, such as deepening and/or sidetracking, once additional permeable targets are identified by future drilling activities. Further drilling is required to define the full commercial power production potential for South Meager.

Western GeoPower continues to liaise with provincial government agencies and key community and First Nations stakeholders in preparation for submission of an Application for Certification of the South Meager project under the BC Environmental Assessment Act. The Company also is actively engaged in soliciting federal funding for project development and working directly with the British Columbia government on the updating of provincial geothermal legislation and regulations.

The UOP Selexol™ process technology was selected to remove sulfur and carbon dioxide from syngas in order to meet aggressive environmental targets for Powerfuel’s Hatfield Colliery clean coal power station to be built in Stainforth, South Yorkshire.

The Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant, built adjacent to the Hatfield coal mining operation, is scheduled to start operation in 2013 and use syngas from coal to generate 900 megawatts of power. Powerfuel’s new facility will be the first clean-power coal station in Europe and is designed for up to 90 percent overall carbon capture.

“Supplying cleaner coal power is imperative with rising energy demand and growing concerns over energy independence and carbon emissions. Our goal is to offer an energy solution for Europe with near-zero emissions,” said Grant Budge, Powerfuel director. “UOP’s technology is an important part of achieving this goal.”

UOP’s Selexol process uses a physical solvent to remove acid gas from streams of syngas or natural gas. In the new Hatfield plant, the Selexol unit will remove virtually all sulfur species and contain them for further treatment in a sulfur removal unit. The unit will also remove 97 percent of the carbon dioxide contained in the syngas, a key contribution to overall carbon capture of the facility.

More than 55 Selexol process units have been designed and put into commercial service since the technology was first introduced. The Selexol process continues to be used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from natural gas to synthetic gas, and has been the dominant acid-gas removal system selection in gasification project awards within the past ten years.

Powerfuel Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Powerfuel plc., is an independent power provider for the United Kingdom.

Ormat won 15 of the 16 tracts offered for lease on Mount Spurr, a snowcapped 11,070-foot (3,374 meters) volcano, 75 miles (120 km) west of Anchorage. Mount Spurr is in an active volcanic region. This increases the likelihood of finding a large geothermal field, compared to the more mature geological structures of Nevada and California.

Commenting on the Company’s recent news, Lucien Bronicki, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, stated, “Alaska is a new frontier in the geothermal arena with many technological and logistical challenges. Our global experience, particularly in Hawaii, and the support of the local Government along with the collaboration of other local stakeholders, will turn this challenge into an opportunity.”

Mr. Bronicki continued, “Alaska has a special significance to Ormat that dates as far back as 1975 when we supplied 100 remote gate valve power systems used for protection of the environment along the TransAlaska pipeline which have been operating continuously for more than 30 years. Even the first geothermal unit developed by Ormat was for the University of Fairbanks for 130 deg Fahrenheit water at the Manley Hot Spring. We have been a friend to Alaska for many years now and we are up to the challenge of creating the State’s first large-scale geothermal power plant.”