Anglo American has reported its export metallurgical and thermal coal production for 2Q16 (the second quarter ended 30 June 2016).
Export metallurgical coal production increased by 4% to 5.5 million t due to first longwall production at Grosvenor in May and a longwall move at Grasstree in the previous year, partially offset by ramp-up at Moranbah after the completion of the longwall move in the prior quarter. Export thermal coal production decreased by 6% to 8.1 million t due to ramping down production at Drayton where mining activities will cease in late 2016 and planned production cuts at Cerrejón, partly offset by higher production at most South African Export operations.
At Anglo’s Australian operations, export metallurgical coal production increased by 4% to 5.5 million tdue to first longwall production at Grosvenor in May and a longwall move at Grasstree in the previous year. These increases offset lower production at Moranbah, which was ramping-up after the completion of the longwall move in 1Q16.
Australian export thermal coal production decreased by 17% to 1.1 million t as Drayton moves towards ceasing mining operations in late 2016, following the NSW Planning Assessment Commission recommendation not to approve the Drayton South project.
South African export thermal coal production increased by 8% to 4.7 million t. Anglo reported that production increased across nearly all operations due to productivity improvements.
Eskom related production was broadly unchanged. Domestic non-Eskom production increased by 15% to 1.8 million t mainly due to Zibulo and Landau export production re-directed to the domestic market generating a higher margin.
In Colombia, Cerrejón’s attributable production decreased by 21% to 2.3 million t due to heavy rainfall in May and June, and ongoing planned production cuts to take out the highest cost capacity in response to market conditions.
The company’s full year production guidance for export metallurgical coal remains unchanged at 21 – 22 million t. This is subject to the completion of any asset disposals. Full year production guidance for export thermal coal from South Africa and Colombia remains unchanged at 28 – 30 million t.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Southern Company has made executive leadership changes involving several of its subsidiaries, effective 30 July 2016.
John G. Trawick has been appointed as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for subsidiary Southern Power. Trawick was formerly Senior Vice President of commercial operations and planning for Southern Company Services. In his new role, Trawick will lead the operations of Southern Power’s expanding electric generation fleet, as well as project development and construction, and asset optimisation.
John L. Pemberton has been named Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and general counsel for Southern Power. Pemberton was previously Senior Vice President and Senior Production Officer for subsidiary Georgia Power. In his new position, Pemberton will work closely with the Southern Company system legal organisation. His additional responsibilities will include contract compliance, environmental compliance, communications, real estate and coordinating with system federal policy efforts.
“As Southern Company creates the future of energy, we are drawing from the system’s exceptional leadership bench strength to support Southern Power’s rapid growth,” commented Southern Power President and CEO Joseph A. ‘Buzz’ Miller. “John Trawick and John Pemberton will deliver immediate value as members of Southern Power’s executive team.”
Theodore J. McCullough will assume Pemberton’s Senior Production Officer responsibilities for Georgia Power’s 17 500 MW of natural gas, coal and hydro generation. McCullough is the current Senior Vice President and Chief Production Officer for Southern Company Services. McCullough takes on this role in addition to his current duties, which include overseeing the operation of the Southern Company system’s fossil, hydro and renewable generation assets.
“Over the years, John Pemberton’s leadership has steadily guided Georgia Power’s fleet through significant changes in our generation mix,” said Paul Bowers, Chairman, President and CEO of Georgia Power. “Ted’s operations expertise and broad understanding of our business ensures Georgia Power’s generation fleet will continue to evolve, including more renewable projects, working with our partners across the system to provide our customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy today and into the future.”
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Flexco recently unveiled a new, portable tool to hand-skive baler belts that skives a belt end in under 30 sec. The new Baler Belt Skiver from Flexco is a safe and effective tool for easy skiving of baler belts either on site or in the belt shop.
“The new Baler Belt Skiver is perfect for quick, on-site fixes,” said Katie Hay, Product Manager at Flexco. “Simply square your belt, slip it into the skiver and skive your belt in less than 30 sec., using a cordless drill.”
The new Baler Belt Skiver weighs less than 2 lb and features a lightweight, aluminium body that can be operated with either an electric drill or ratchet. The skiver can be used on new or worn belts up to 7.5 in. in width, with an adjustable skive depth from .200 in. to .250 in. using shims.
“The tool includes a convenient storage location so the shims are available when you need them,” Hay added.
The closed cover not only clamps the belt tightly to allow for a uniform skive, but it also completely encloses the blade during the skiving process, eliminating the chance of injury while skiving.
It can be used with the Alligator® Rivet Fastening System and is also available with an optional bench mounting kit for belt shops applications.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Stephen Roy has been appointed President, Sales Region Americas at Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE).
His previous experience included roles such as senior management positions in Volvo Financial Services and the Volvo Group’s North American commercial truck operations.
In his new role, which he assumes on 1 September 2016, Roy will be responsible for meeting the diverse needs of customers in North America and Latin America, strengthening Volvo CE’s market position in the region and boosting profitability.
Roy has held a variety of senior management positions in the Volvo Group’s North American commercial truck operations, including President of Mack Trucks, where he helped drive profitability and increase market share in core segments. He has also – while Senior Vice President of Aftermarket and Soft Products – been in charge of field services and led the development of technology and processes that optimise customer uptime. Roy joined the Volvo Group as Vice President of Business Development at Volvo Financial Services in 1996, following sales positions at Cargill Leasing Corp. and Navistar.
In his new role, Roy will report to Tomas Kuta, Global Senior Vice President, Sales, and be based at the company’s sales and production facility in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, US.
Kuta commented: “With his background in sales, customer support and equipment financing Stephen brings with him an almost unique understanding of the challenges our customers face in the Americas. I have every confidence that he will continue the good work of his predecessor Goran Lindgren, whom I thank for his tremendous efforts, in growing our market share through meeting the needs of our customers.”
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
SUEK has produced 53.3 million t of coal during the January to June 2016 period, representing a 15% increase over the corresponding period of 2015.
Sales volumes for 1H16 increased 6% year-on-year and amounted to 52.6 million t of coal.
Domestic coal sales volumes grew 9% year-on-year to 28.4 million t as reduced water levels in reservoirs affected hydroelectricity generation and led to stronger demand for coal. Sales volumes to electric power plants consisted of 23.5 million t.
International sales volumes rose 6% year-on-year and amounted to 24.2 million t of coal. China, South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Turkey, and Morocco were the main international markets for SUEK in the reporting period.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
A federal rule to protect the nation’s miners from exposure to dangerous levels of coal mine dust is having a significantly positive impact in Phase II, a recent sampling by the US Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration shows.
In a news release, MSHA announced that approximately 99% of the respirable coal mine dust samples collected from 1 April 2016, through 30 June 2016 were in compliance with the agency’s coal mine dust standards. In 2014, the department published a final rule that closed many loopholes in the dust-sampling programme that had left miners exposed to the unhealthy dust. The landmark rule also included requirements for more frequent sampling of the mine air and use of a new sampling device and other reforms.
For the recent sampling, the agency analysed more than 20 000 underground coal mine operator samples using the new Continuous Personal Dust Monitor that provides miners with dust results in real time during the working shift. About 99% were in compliance. These results correspond to the respirable dust samples collected from 1 August 2014 through to January 2016, during Phase I, when 87 000 dust samples were collected from surface and underground coal mines by MSHA and coal mine operators. Nearly 99% of those samples met the dust concentration limit.
“These positive results are due to the extraordinary efforts of MSHA and industry working to clean up the air that miners breathe and successfully implement the critical respirable dust rule to protect miners from a disease that has claimed tens of thousands of lives,” commented Joseph A. Main, Aassistant Secretary of Labor for mine safety and health. “The nation’s coal miners are better protected from debilitating and deadly black lung disease than ever before, but we still have much more work to do to prevent black lung so that miners can spend a career as a miner and not fear the disease.”
Phase III of the rule begins 1 August 2016, and will lower the current respirable dust level of 2.0 mg/m3 to 1.5 mg/m3 of air. MSHA’s analysis of the sampling results from Phase I found that more than 97% of the samples collected would have met compliance at the lower level. The results from Phase II show that more than 98% would have been in compliance at the lower level.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Matt Mead, the governor of Wyoming, , fiercely opposes ’s regulations, which could shutter hundreds of coal plants and deeply wound his state, one of 27 that are suing to block the plan.
Nevertheless, Mr. Mead, a Republican, has ordered his top environmental officials to prepare to comply with the president’s effort, known as the Clean Power Plan — to prepare for a future in which Mr. Obama’s climate change rules prevail and the country’s coal market is nearly frozen. Wyoming is one of at least 20 states that are moving forward with efforts to comply with the rules or to analyze alternative plans. Several of these states are also suing to stop the rules, according to experts who track state climate change policy.
“Obviously we’re suing and going to fight,” Mr. Mead, a former United States attorney for Wyoming, said in an interview in his office here. “But from my court experience, I know you have to prepare not to win.”
Mr. Obama’s is in legal limbo. the to halt the plan until after the states’ lawsuit is resolved. The case will go before a federal court in September, but it is widely expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court and may not be decided until 2018.
Republicans in Congress and their party’s presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, have vowed to scrap the climate change rules. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has urged governors to refuse to comply, and Republican governors in some states, including Indiana, New Jersey and Wisconsin, have issued “pencils down” orders to state regulators to stop work on the Clean Power Plan.
But in other states, governors, including some Republicans, and many environmental officials say that because the plan is so sweeping and ambitious, it would be imprudent to ignore it. The climate plan would force states to fundamentally transform their electricity systems, shutting down hundreds of power plants that run on fossil fuels and building new ones powered by the wind, the sun and other low-carbon sources, along with creating a need for hundreds of miles of new transmission lines.
Governors like Mr. Mead and state-level environment officials are making a political calculation: and appoints a new Supreme Court justice, Mr. Obama’s climate plan will probably survive.
In some cases, the governors moving forward with drafting state-level climate change plans are Democrats in places that have some form of climate policy in place, like and .
But in some Republican-led states, even those with “pencils down” orders, regulators are sketching out how they might eventually comply.
, and he’s not likely to look favorably on someone who’s crossways,” Michael McKenna, a Republican energy lobbyist, said of the wariness of politicians in the party.
“But if you’re a state environmental official and you think there’s a chance that Hillary Clinton is going to be president, you’d be unwise not to think about this,” he continued. “I feel bad for these state environmental guys. The ‘pencils down’ order puts them in a lousy spot, where some of what they’re doing has to be surreptitious.”
In South Carolina, after the Supreme Court halted the Clean Power Plan, C. Dukes Scott, the top regulator for Gov. Nikki R. Haley, a Republican, issued an order to stop all work on the plan — or even talk about it.
“I’m trying not to expend any resources on the Clean Power Plan, and I’m expending resources just talking to you,” Mr. Scott said in an interview.
But South Carolina regulators are moving forward with meetings on a new state energy plan — which, Mr. Scott conceded, will probably include discussion of how to reduce emissions from electric power plants. It will just not be called the Clean Power Plan.
“We’re still working on clean air, just not pursuant to the Clean Power Plan,” Mr. Scott said. He added that if the Clean Power Plan was upheld by the courts, South Carolina’s work on an energy plan that includes lower emissions from power plants could be repurposed in its work to comply with the climate plan.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a finalist in Mr. Trump’s vice-presidential search, issued an executive stop-work order on the plan, and environmental regulators in the state said they had frozen all work on the climate change rules.
“New Jersey is strongly opposed to the Clean Power Plan, and we are not developing any compliance plan, nor do we intend to,” said J. Gregory Reinert, a spokesman for the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
But officials at PJM Interconnection, which manages electric power lines that run among 13 states, including New Jersey, said that a board made up of officials in all its member states, including New Jersey, had asked PJM to perform analyses of how they might comply with the climate plan, because it could create major changes in how electricity is produced and moved across state lines.
“If the rules move forward, that could change the entire way the electric transmission system works,” said Ray Dotter, a spokesman for PJM. “States want to be informed about this. If they’re not, it could cost them a fortune.”
In Virginia, supporters of Mr. Obama’s climate change agenda are trying to advance it with the “by another name” approach. Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, backs the president’s climate change agenda, but in May, the Republican-majority Legislature passed a bill blocking the use of public funding for work related to complying with or even analyzing the Clean Power Plan.
So Mr. McAuliffe issued an executive order directing his secretary of natural resources to convene a working group that would put together a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions in the state, using existing laws or regulations.
“I decided I wasn’t going to wait around for the court,” Mr. McAuliffe said. “I figured I had a way to get creative and do it my own way.”
“We will move forward with our own Virginia plan,” he added. “It won’t be called the Clean Power Plan, but the goals are similar.”
Because environmental officials in many states are preparing their climate change plans behind closed doors, ascertaining the exact number of states that are moving forward is difficult.
Environmental officials from 14 states, most of which are not taking part in the lawsuit, have sent a letter to the E.P.A. requesting technical help as they prepare for the plan. An analysis by Energy and Environment News, an industry publication, , including Republican strongholds like Arizona and Idaho, are moving forward with plans, and that an additional eight states are assessing climate plans but are not yet taking steps to carry them out.
“Other than for political reasons, it doesn’t make sense for states to stand down on their preparations,” said William Becker, the executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. “Very few states are just putting down their pencils and waiting.”
Mr. Becker said his association had held informational meetings and conference calls about the plan, including a recent call in which he estimated that officials from 50 state and local governments participated. He declined to identify the officials who had taken part.
“It’s difficult for me to out someone on this,” Mr. Becker said. “I don’t want someone to think they participated in a meeting and now they’re being ratted out.”
As reported in the Sandvik income statement as discontinued operations, the company has signed an agreement to divest its Mining Systems operations to the private equity company CoBe Capital.
Sandvik will maintain ownership of ongoing projects that are close to finalisation.
The closing of the transaction is expected during 4Q16, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.
The transaction entails a capital loss of -800 million SEK impacting the result of Sandvik’s discontinued operations for 3Q16. The capital loss includes a negative cash flow impact of -600 million SEK, primarily in conjunction with the closing of the deal.
“Divesting the Mining Systems is an important step in consolidating Sandvik to its core operations, which for Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology is high technology mining equipment and aftermarket offerings”, commented Björn Rosengren, President and CEO of Sandvik.
Mining Systems is a supplier of design and engineering of material handling systems for the mining industry. In 2015 the Mining Systems operations, with 1100 employees, had annual sales of 5 billion SEK representing 6% of Sandvik Group revenues, and an operating loss was reported at a low single digit margin level.
The intention to divest Mining Systems was first communicated through a press release 1 October 2015.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Rio Tinto has released its coal production results for 2Q16. The mining giant’s metallurgical coal production for the first half was 8% lower than the first half of last year and its second quarter production was 14% lower than the same quarter of 2015. The company indicated that this was primarily due to the timing of the longwall changeover at Kestrel.
According to Rio, semi-soft coking coal production reflects the Coal & Allied restructure in early 20161 and mine production sequencing at Hunter Valley Operations and Mount Thorley Warkworth, resulting in 8% higher production for the first half of 2016 than the first half of 2015. 2Q16 production was 13% lower than 2Q15, reflecting mine sequencing at the Hunter Valley Operations favouring thermal coal production in the period.
Thermal coal production for the first half was broadly in line with the same period last year, while second quarter volumes were 6% higher than 2Q15 (23% higher adjusted for the Bengalla divestment). This was reported to be a result of minimal wet weather, current mine sequencing and increased thermal coal tonnage from Hail Creek.
Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques states: “Rio Tinto has delivered another robust quarter of operational performance. We continue to focus on value and maximising cash flow from our assets, through both commercial and operational excellence while maintaining capital discipline. This will ensure that Rio Tinto is well-positioned to generate compelling and consistent returns for our shareholders.”
On 21 June 2016, Rio Tinto announced changes to its organisational structure. The mining group continues to be organised into four product groups: Aluminium, Copper & Diamonds, Energy & Minerals (including Iron Ore Company of Canada) and Iron Ore, complemented by a newly-shaped Growth & Innovation group, which will focus on future assets and technical support.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
For the first six months of 2016, the Port of Antwerp has announced it has handled a freight volume of 108 317 922 t – 3.6% more than in the same period last year.
The amount of dry bulk handled during the first six months totalled 6 051 326 t – a drop of 14.7% compared with the same period in 2015. According to the port, the declining demand for coal continued during the past quarter, which over the full six months produced a negative result for this freight category, down by 55% to 372 714 t. The lower volume of ore (down 18.9% to 996 034 t) further pushed the six-monthly result for dry bulk into negative figures.
However, both container and liquid bulk saw increases for the first six months of 2016. The container volume in TEU expanded by 4.4%, while liquid bulk grew even more, by 8.4%.
The first half year also saw significantly more ultra-large container carriers calling at Antwerp. Whereas the total after the first six months of 2015 stood at 146, this year the equivalent figure was 242, up by an impressive 66%. The growth in the category of 13 000 TEU or more was even more spectacular, at 78%.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
GE’s Power Services business has announced it will modernise one of three turbine generator sets at Veolia Energia Poznan ZEC SA, a 275 MW district-heating plant. GE gained global capabilities to service non-GE supplied steam turbine equipment through its acquisition of Alstom Power’s thermal services business in November 2015.
“We are pleased to select GE to help us increase the efficiency and output of our steam turbines,” said Jan Pic, member of the board and Operational Director of Veolia Energia Poznan ZEC. “This project will help the station operate more efficiently, as we want to strengthen our position in a very competitive environment.”
The Veolia Energia Poznan station includes one 65 MW Zamech unit and two 105 MW Zamech units. GE plans to increase Unit 3’s output by up to 6 MW and improve turbine efficiency by up to 6%. Additionally, to improve the turbine’s operational flexibility the operator will be able to disconnect the low-pressure part of the steam turbine while it is in full district-heating mode.
“When GE acquired Alstom Power’s technology portfolio in 2015, it absorbed the ability to service generation equipment from other manufacturers, including the Zamech turbines installed at the Veolia Energia Poznan station,” said Pascal Schweitzer, general manager of GE’s Power Services business in Europe. ”Our coal business is well-positioned to respond to future energy needs. We have one of the highest-efficiency, lowest-emissions technologies—coupled with our digital solutions—and we are excited to help position Veolia to remain competitive and ‘win’ with its existing fleet.”
The steam turbine modernisation outage at the Veolia Energia Poznan station is expected to start in May 2017.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
US weekly coal production totalled approximately 12.9 million short t, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly production estimate for the week ended 9 July 2016.
This production estimate is 8.4% lower than last week’s estimate and 22.9% lower than the production estimate in the comparable week in 2015.
East of the Mississippi River, coal production came in at 4.7 million short t. West of the Mississippi River, coal production reached 8.2 million short t.
Overall, US year-to-date coal production is calculated to be at 343.7 million short t, 27.1% lower than the comparable year-to-date coal production in 2015.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Callide C Power Station will continue to operate as normal despite IG Power (Callide) Ltd being placed into receivership on 14 June 2016.
IG Power Ltd owns a 50% share of the 810 MW, coal-fired Callide C Power Station in a joint venture with CS Energy.
Acting CS Energy Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Varvari, said this development had no impact on the operations or the workforce at Callide Power Station.
“For CS Energy, it has been, and continues to be, business as usual at Callide C Power Station,” Mr Varvari said. “We are continuing to generate electricity and supply the National Electricity Market with power, and there has not been, and we expect going forward there will not be, any impact for our workers at the power station. As is normal in these types of situations, CS Energy continues to meet with the receivers to discuss relevant business requirements. We will continue to work with them to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcome for the ongoing operation of the Callide C Power Station,” he said.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has successfully commissioned another 250 MW unit based on eco-friendly circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) technology, using low-quality coal (lignite) as the primary fuel.
The 250 MW lignite-based thermal unit has been commissioned at Bhavnagar Energy Co. Ltd’s (BECL) 2 x 250 MW thermal power project, located at Padva village in Bhavnagar District of Gujarat.
BHEL’s scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of boilers, steam turbines and generators along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, state-of-the-art controls & instrumentation (C&I) and electrostatic precipitators (ESPs).
The project is equipped with CFBC technology that enables use of low-quality lignite as fuel.The second unit of this project is also in an advanced stage of completion.
This is the third 250 MW unit based on CFBC technology, commissioned by BHEL, with two other units having been commissioned earlier by BHEL in Tamil Nadu.
Additionally, BHEL has earlier executed the 4 x 125 MW Surat lignite power project at Nani Naroli in district Surat, Gujarat, which also involved CFBC technology.
CFBC boilers are highly fuel flexible and can burn a wide variety of fuels, including lignite, efficiently. They are also highly environmentally friendly with very low pollutant emissions.
Lignite reserves in India have been estimated at around 40.9 billion t. Presently, only a small percentage of the total reserves of lignite have been exploited. CFBC boilers provide an opportunity to use these huge lignite reserves.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) has announced the acquisition of 1Energy Systems. 1Energy Systems possess cutting-edge software technology for energy storage systems (ESS) that integrate distributed energy resources automatically into the electric power system.
The acquisition furthers Doosan’s expansion into ESS solutions for operating increasingly digital, distributed electric grids.
“Wind, solar power, and energy storage are changing how the grid operates,” said David Kaplan, 1Energy CEO who will become COO of Doosan GridTech. “Intermittent and distributed sources of both energy demand and generation require a dynamic, digital grid, where power flows both ways – to and from the end customer. 1Energy was founded to solve these problems, and becoming part of Doosan helps us further our mission.”
Doosan GridTech provides advanced software controls that control complex operations of electrical grids, as well as rapidly emerging microgrids. The software helps unlock the opportunities of battery storage, enabling utilities to manage distributed resources and capture new value streams across the grid.
“Doosan’s global customers are confronting two critical, long-term trends: Increased electrification of the world’s energy systems driven by public policies to reduce carbon emissions, and the declining costs of renewable technology,” said Ji Taik Chung, DHIC vice chairman and COO. “1Energy’s technologies directly address these trends and perfectly complement Doosan’s existing power generation solutions.”
Today, 1Energy has approximately 30 MW of energy storage projects using its platform.
“Doosan chose 1Energy for its advanced technology platform, deep understanding of the challenges faced by power system operators and their substantial customer traction. We view 1Energy as a critical component of enabling the grid of the future, one that is in alignment with Doosan’s global growth trajectory,” said Daejin Choi, the new CEO of Doosan GridTech.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
Fluor Corp. has been awarded a five year maintenance alliance contract with a Southern Company subsidiary for its North Georgia and Alabama Coastal power generation facilities in the US. These six fossil-fuel power plants generate approximately 10 000 MW across the southeast.
Fluor’s contract scope will include maintenance, modification and asset integrity services. The company booked the undisclosed contract value in the second quarter.
“This new contract will allow Fluor to provide Southern Company with an integrated solutions approach, including Stork and its comprehensive suite of specialty services,” said Jim Breland, Vice President of Fluor’s Power Services business. “We look forward to delivering safe and exceptional performance for these projects.”
Fluor is currently managing the construction workforce at Southern Company’s largest utility, Georgia Power, which is constructing two new nuclear power units at Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 near Waynesboro, Ga., as a subcontractor to Westinghouse. In 2012, Fluor completed the construction of two combined cycle units for Georgia Power outside of Atlanta as well as the construction of fluegas desulfurisation and selective catalytic reduction modifications for two coal-fired units north of Macon, Georgia.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Southern Co. has announced that its subsidiary, Mississippi Power, has started producing syngas using lignite at the Kemper County energy facility.
The successful production of syngas demonstrates the viability of the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG™) technology.
“This is a major achievement for the Kemper project, and I am very proud of everyone who has worked safely and tirelessly to overcome challenges and reach this important point,” said Mississippi Power President and CEO, Anthony Wilson. “Producing syngas from Mississippi’s own abundant natural resource – lignite – should be encouraging to our customers, communities and energy companies around the world. This proves that Kemper’s technology can provide a way forward for coal and puts us a step closer to full plant operation.”
An integral aspect of the plant’s operations, syngas is created when locally mined lignite is heated at high temperatures in the plant’s gasifiers, converting the coal to gas. To produce electricity, the plant is designed to use syngas similarly to natural gas to power a turbine.
The TRIG coal gasification technology deployed at the plant was jointly developed by Southern Co., KBR and the US Department of Energy over the past two decades at the Power Systems Development Facility, an Alabama-based research facility operated by Southern Co.
Great River Energy intends to retire the Stanton Station coal-fired power plant by May 2017. Stanton Station is located near Stanton in Mercer County, North Dakota, US.
Stanton Station began generating power in 1966 and has a generating capacity of 189 MW.
According to the company this decision has been taken due to the plant being no longer economic to operate with current low prices in the regional energy market.
“Stanton Station has provided dependable electricity to Great River Energy’s member cooperatives for 50 years,” said David Saggau, Great River Energy president and CEO. “The plant’s long and successful record was possible thanks to a talented staff and supportive community.”
“After careful consideration of several alternatives, it became clear that retiring the plant was in the best interest of our member cooperatives,” Saggau added.
Recently, Stanton Station has been generating electricity on a limited basis due to economic conditions. During that time, it has often been more affordable to operate other plants or purchase power from the regional market.
“We are making every effort to minimise impacts on our employees and the community through this transition,” Saggau said. “We are providing Stanton Station employees with a number of support resources and services whether or not they continue working for Great River Energy at another location.”Great River Energy is continuing to operate the Coal Creek Station power plant, which is located northeast of Stanton, and the Spiritwood Station plant near Jamestown.
“We remain a committed partner in North Dakota’s energy industry,” Saggau concluded.
The company has indicated that it is developing plans to decommission Stanton Station in a responsible manner that will safeguard the local environment and assure the safety and security of the local community.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Trailing a service or a product sample is the most important factor for African miners when choosing any new supplier, finds a new survey by Timetric’s Mining Intelligence Center (MIC).
In Timetric’s latest survey of over 100 managers, respondents were asked to choose from seven factors that influence a decision when choosing a new supplier. The factors respondents were asked to evaluate included ‘supplier having a trusted brand in the market’ to ‘supplier being based locally’.
The survey results have found that ‘a sample of the product or service to trial’ is the dominant factor for the African miners. This is followed by ‘an on-site demonstration of the product or service’ and ‘a supplier having a trusted brand in the market’ in third place. The results show how important it is for African miners to see products operating in the field, through demonstrations or product trials, over sourcing from a trusted brand.
Senior Mining Analyst, Nez Guevara, said: “Similar geological features can exist across many different mine sites and a particular commodity can be produced at multiple locations, but this does not mean a piece of equipment with a set configuration can be as effective in each scenario. The results here show having the ability to see and experience how certain products and equipment operate under specific conditions is an invaluable tool for miners.”
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
Members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) have ratified new collective-bargaining agreements with Contura Energy and Alpha Natural Resources, according to a union press release. The new deal covers around 900 workers at mine operations in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Emerging from Alpha’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Contura Energy is a new company formed by Alpha’s first-lien lenders that now owns the bulk of Alpha’s core assets.
The new deal was approved by 89% of those voting at the Cumberland and Emerald operations in Pennsylvania, the Power Mountain preparation plants in West Virginia and the McClure preparation plant in Virginia – all assets now held by Contura.
The deal was approved by 98% of those voting at Alpha Natural Resources preparation plants in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky.
“Contura Energy and Alpha had orders from the bankruptcy judge that eliminated the previous contract and stripped away any obligations for these companies to continue paying for pensions and retiree health care,” UMWA International President Cecil E. Roberts said.
“We were essentially starting from zero in negotiating these agreements. Because of the solidarity our members at these operations, we were able to preserve virtually every article of the previous agreement other than defined benefit pensions and retiree health care.”
As a result, neither Alpha Natural Resources nor Contura Energy will pay into the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan going forward, instead contributing a lump-sum payments of US$28.5 million to a voluntary employee benefit association that UMWA will manage until that funding runs out.”
“The loss of pension payments and company-paid retiree health care only adds to the critical need to pass pending legislation in Congress to ensure the retirees who mined the coal to energise our nation will get the retirement security America promised to them,” Roberts concluded.
“The funding in the VEBA will not last long. Time is quickly running out for these and thousands of other retirees who depend on these benefits.”
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
TerraCom has hit back at environmentalist calls for the Queensland government to block its acquisition of the Blair Athol coal mine from Rio Tinto.
The Lock the Gate Alliance, an anti-coal campaign group, recently said it had written to Queensland state ministers asking them to prevent the AUS$1 sale, arguing that TerraCom “is in a distressed state financially due to its huge debt.”
“In addition, TerraCom has no demonstrated experience or capacity to rehabilitate large-scale open cut coal mines, such as Blair Athol, which is a complex, very high-risk site,” said Lock the gate’s Mine Rehabilitation Reform Campaign Coordinator, Rick Humphries.
In response, TerraCom said that it has “the financial capability to operate the mine and deliver its many expected benefits to the community and to government. The company has the strong backing from its financiers to enable the Blair Athol mine to successfully re-open.”
It also added that its “historic losses” were typical for an exploration and mining company going through a development phase.
On mine rehabilitation, the company defended the AUS$80 million financial assurance that it will provide to the state to cover rehabilitation commitments, accusing those questioning the adequacy of that amount as being “unqualified and ill-informed.
“TerraCom will meet all of its obligations in relation to the conditions of operation for the mine as part of the state government approval process,” said TerraCom. “The company will pro-actively work with the government and stakeholders on agreeing the final land use and closure plan for the Blair Athol mine site as soon as possible.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
The dredging of the access channel to the Port of Maputo to accommodate vessels with a sailing draft of up to 14.2 m on the tide, has commenced. The milestone of one million m3 of dredged material has already been achieved. The first of three dredgers mobilized by Jan de Nul Dredging Middle East FZE arrived in the Port on the 20 May.
During the 10 months period of the dredging works, it is estimated that a volume of 12 million m3 will be dredged from the channel. On completion, the dredging project will enable access for ships of up to 80 000 t.
Several dredgers and supporting equipment have been used for this operation, including, De Lapérouse, a trailing suction hopper dredger. Other equipment mobilised by Jan de Nul include split hoppers, a surveying boat, a crew boat and a multitasking boat.
Paulo Mata, Executive Projects, said: “There is a permanent coordination between the dredger and the dredging team involved on the one hand and the port operations on the other hand, in order to ensure the accessibility of the channel. Maritime operations have, of course, priority and the dredging will cause no disturbance to regular port operations”.
Dredging the channel is one of a range of projects embarked upon by MPDC and various terminal operators within the Port of Maputo recently, including the expansion of the ferrochrome terminal, new grain terminal, the expansion of the container terminal and rehabilitation of berths 3, 4 and 5.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
The release of the final report into the re-emergence of coal worker pneumoconiosis confirms that a health screening system thought to protect underground coal workers has failed.
The Queensland Government’s Mines Minister, Dr Anthony Lynham, released the government’s response and plan following the review of the Coal Mine Workers’ Health Scheme, which was headed by Monash University’s Professor Malcolm Sim.
Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Michael Roche said the final report was very sobering reading.
“Industry, unions, government and of course coal workers were shocked last year with the discovery of multiple cases of pneumoconiosis after almost three decades,” Mr Roche said. “Industry is appalled at the apparent failure across the spectrum of screening, from lung function tests, chest x-rays through to questions over the qualifications and expertise of those carrying out the testing and screening.”
To date, 11 Queensland miners have been diagnosed with pneumoconiosis.
“This is why we have to act quickly upon the recommendations in this report, and is the reason why eight underground coal mining companies have written a joint letter of support to Dr Lynham, backing a new protocol for health screening of coal workers,” Mr Roche said.
“QRC members are sprinting out of the blocks to help to do their part to action the recommendations that are within their powers. Sadly, those companies thought they were doing the right thing for their workers’ health by having them regularly screened – tragically it was that very process that has been found to have repeatedly failed. Prevention, through stricter mechanisms to protect workers from dust, and early detection via an overhaul of existing health screening practices and expertise are the beginning. Industry is committed to working together to ensure dust levels remain under the appropriate limit.”
The Minister is to be congratulated for initiating a well-considered, comprehensive review using a broad range of experts and overseen by a tri-partite reference group from the spectrum of stakeholders and experts, Mr Roche said.
“This report is a huge wake-up call and will result in essential changes to health screening, dust control and dust monitoring to ensure every one of the thousands of underground coal workers are protected into the future,” Mr Roche said.
“QRC and its members will work with the Queensland government and medical experts to ensure that the Coal Mine Workers’ Health Scheme is upgraded to a standard that will once again provide reassurance to workers. It is vital that all parties work together to achieve the best outcomes for Queensland coal workers.”
Industry is determined to collaborate to share learnings on successful practices for dust management and have committed to hold a dust management workshop in the third quarter of 2016, Mr Roche said.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
Kamarajar Port, one of India’s twelve major ports, has signed an agreement with Sical Iron Ore Terminals Ltd (SIOTL) to convert its iron ore terminal at the port to handle coal.
The decision follows a ban on iron ore exports by the state government of Karnataka. The original iron ore port had been developed by SIOTL after being awarded the contract in 2006.
The terminal would have been developed in two 6 million tpy capacity phases – but only the first phase was completed before the iron ore export ban was put in place.
The terminal will now be converted to handle coal. The contract has been awarded on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis. Conversion work will begin in October and take 12 months to complete.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
The Queensland Department for Natural Resources and Mines has announced new measure to improve coal workers’ health and tackle the outbreak of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (black lung) in the state.
The Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Dr Anthony Lynham, announced a three pronged attached aims at preventing new cases of black lung, identifying existing cases early and providing compensation scheme for those effected.
“The measures that employers, unions, government and doctors have now developed together, with Monash University and international expertise, will deliver the best-practice prevention, monitoring and screening system that our miners deserve,” said Dry Lynham.
Key action areas include tightening dust management and publishing dust levels regularly to prevent further cases of black lung development.
Current coal workers are also being offered new checks on current x-rays or new x-rays if the x-ray is more than two-years old. X-rays are being checked by an Australian radiologist and US-based accredited x-ray readers until local radiologists undergo further training to the international standard.
There will also be increased training for general practitioners who conduct coal workers’ health checks and an increased focus on lung function tests.
“A miner with the first stagers of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis may have no symptoms but should not continue to work in a dusty environment, so the disease doesn’t progress,” said Dr Lynham. “Early detection through an effective screening programme is critical to protecting the current workforce.”
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Atrum Coal and BC Anthracite have agreed to work together to explore infrastructure development in the Groundhog region after the two companies settled ongoing litigation in the Western Australia Supreme Court and Federal Could of Australia.
“We are pleased to announce that all litigation with the former founders and BC Anthracite has ceased and we can now focus our attention on developing the Groundhog region,” said Bob Bell, Executive Chairman of Atrum.
“The companies have agreed to work together to explore infrastructure options in the region with the view to develop access to tidewater for the BC Anthracite and Atrum properties in Groundhog.”
As part of the settlement, BC Anthracite, which was founded by Russell Moran and Gino D’Anna, who also co-founded and remain shareholders in Atrum Coal, agreed to grant Atrum five tenements from its properties. These will now be amalgamated with Atrum’s Groundhog project.
Moran and D’Anno also agreed to support Atrum in creating a stable register, including certain restrictions on the sale of some Atrum shares for a period of six weeks from the date of settlement.
BC Anthracite also offered a 1.5% ex-mine gate royalty over 25 of its tenements to Atrum and a 0.5% ex-mine gate royalty over six of its tenements.
“The Groundhog coalfield represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Moran, now Executive Chairman of BC Anthracite. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Atrum on how best to work together to maximise value and opportunities for all stakeholders.”
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
LEIZHOU, China — Mo Ping for years made his living by tending the mango and jujube trees that he grew on less than an acre on this tip of land in the far south of China.
Then last year Mr. Mo and others in his village near the city of Leizhou received what they considered a lowball offer to sell their land to make way for a $1.5 billion coal-fired power plant. Most rejected it, but the local government sent in bulldozers anyway.
“There were several hundred police on the scene, and they wouldn’t allow us to get anywhere near the farm,” said Mr. Mo, a 51-year-old with dirt caked under his close-trimmed fingernails. “My heart ached and I cried because I was really upset.”
The coal plant is part of a huge and expensive government push to reinvigorate the Chinese economy. Officials have fast-tracked the plant in recent months along with scores of bridges, railways, factories and other construction projects to counter an economic slowdown. China on Friday reported that its economy grew 6.7 percent in the quarter ended in June compared with a year ago, a level that matches the slowest pace since the global financial crisis.
Such revival efforts have worked before. Seven years ago, in the aftermath of the financial crisis, China unleashed a lending-and-spending binge that spared the country the painful recessions that struck the United States and Europe.
But times have changed, economists say. With China’s debt levels mounting and its industries plagued with unneeded factories, China’s traditional tactics don’t pack the same punch.
Instead of new growth, “we’re going to continue to see a rise in debt levels, and credit not really having the impact that it could to support the economy,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.
Late last year, as China’s economy slowed, officials to stir up more economic activity. At the same time, the country unleashed a lending spree through its state-controlled banks. Credit in China is now growing four times as fast as the broader economy, estimates George Magnus, an associate at the China Center at Oxford University and a senior adviser at UBS, the Swiss bank.
But thanks in part to the post-crisis stimulus effort, China’s corporate debt now amounts to 160 percent of its economic output and is growing fast, according to a . With so much debt on their books, Chinese companies are less able to spend on new projects, even with generous government aid, because they face large outlays for interest costs.
After the financial crisis, as now, a lot of the government money went into areas where China already has too many idle or underused factories, like steel, manufacturing and coal-fired power plants. “Credit creation is driving a rising misallocation of resources,” Mr. Magnus said.
The Leizhou plant is one of scores of new coal-fired plants being built across China, representing about 200 gigawatts of generating capacity, according to estimates from Greenpeace, or about twice the total capacity of Britain.
Coal-fired power plants, in particular, look increasingly unnecessary. Last year, China’s coal plants — which generally aim to operate an average of about 5,500 hours per year — operated at an average of about 4,300 hours, according to Alvin Cheng and Jenny Huang, energy analysts at Fitch Ratings. Fitch expects average use to fall to fewer than 3,600 hours by next year.
Beijing, worried about waste and the country’s pernicious pollution problems, that would halt approvals for new coal-fired plants in many areas of the country. But that ban would not apply to projects already under construction, like the plant in Leizhou.
“There’s so much overcapacity, there is no point in building a plant like this,” Lin Boqiang, an energy expert at Xiamen University, said in a telephone interview. “This would be a waste of investment,” he added. “It’s as simple as this.”
Built by an arm of the state-run company China Datang Corporation, the Leizhou plant will be able to produce up to 2 gigawatts of power — more than the total coal-fired power generation capacity installed in the state of New York.
Datang had been trying to build the plant for a decade but started construction in earnest only in December, after receiving final approval around the time that many other infrastructure projects around China were getting the green light or expedited. Officials said antipollution equipment will make it a “near zero emission” plant that will be “internationally advanced.”
It will also, they say, help the local economy. The plant will “kick off a big industry era locally,” said Liu Xiaohua, a local Communist Party secretary, in December. (Mr. Liu has since committed suicide, according to Chinese state media. There is no evidence that his suicide was connected to the plant or his work in Zhanjiang, which includes Leizhou in its jurisdiction.)
Local officials and Datang executives did not respond to requests for comment.
Leizhou is one of the poorer places in Guangdong Province, according to official data. Industry is scant here, although the province includes one of China’s main manufacturing hubs. In Leizhou’s main urban area, giant billboards tower over street intersections warning against the dangers of taking drugs — locals say methamphetamine and ketamine are most common.
Mr. Mo is one of hundreds of villagers who say their livelihoods and the local environment are at risk. For generations, people in villages here along the coast of the Gulf of Tonkin have lived off the land and the sea, farming, fishing and processing sea salt. The ample summer rains and subtropical climate lend themselves to growing fruit.
Some residents are skeptical that the plant will bring jobs for locals, saying that most likely it will import workers from other areas.
“The project brings us no benefits, and we have no compensation,” said Zhou Shu, 35, a fisherman who was playing cards with friends in the shade of a tree near a village store on a recent afternoon.
They worry instead that related construction along the coastline could destroy their livelihoods. “We live by the sea, so we depend on it to make a living,” he said.
The big worry for many is pollution. “We don’t have a lot of land to farm in our village,” said Liang Zhuang, a fisherman from Gangcai whose family has been making a living from the sea here for generations. “So if there’s pollution in the sea, we will lose the main safeguard of our livelihood.”
The land seizures began two years ago after a number of farmers declined buyout offers. The money local officials offered to Mr. Mo, the onetime mango and jujube farmer, who made about $1,500 a year selling the fruit he grew, was less than half what Chinese law requires for official land purchases.
On a recent steamy afternoon, with a rooster crowing in his backyard, Mr. Mo showed a petition against the land seizures that was signed by around 400 villagers, who included their thumbprints in red ink on the reams of sweat-stained paper. Mr. Mo figures that maybe only a third of villagers who lost their land had agreed to the compensation offer.
Others protested. When Mr. Mo’s wife joined thousands of other villagers in a protest last year against the plant, she was beaten by the police with electric batons, he said. His wife pointed to her back to show where the batons fell.
Mr. Mo said that he plans to travel to Beijing, some 1,500 miles away, to petition national authorities if he cannot get satisfactory compensation. Other than that, he said, he has few options.
“Sometimes it’s pointless for us to fight government attempts to take our land,” Mr. Mo said. “They will put us in jail. We’re afraid.”
Drummond Co. Inc. has announced the passing of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Garry Neil Drummond on 13 July 2016 in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Drummond was 78 years old.
Mr. Drummond was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Drummond Co. for over 50 years.
“Drummond Co. has lost an exemplary leader and our industry a great visionary. Without his foresight and dedication, our company would not have grown to be one of the world’s premiere producers of energy that is it today,” said Mike Tracy, President – Mining of Drummond Co. Inc.
Drummond Co. includes large coal mines in Alabama and Colombia, South America; a worldwide coal sales organisation; ABC Coke, the largest merchant foundry coke producer in the United States; and a real estate division with major community developments in Lakeland, Florida; Palm Springs, California and Birmingham, Alabama.
Mr. Drummond is survived by his wife Peggy Drummond, four children, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, one brother and a host of nephews and nieces. He is preceded in death by one son, three brothers, and two sisters.
Mr. Drummond was a founder of the American Coal Foundation and in 1978 served as the first Chairman of the Mining and Reclamation Council of America, which later merged with the National Coal Association.
Edited from press release by Angharad Lock
Sandvik has prepared a video link of Sandvik’s demonstrations at the 2016 Hillhead exhibition in Buxton, UK.
[embedded content]
Matrix Design Group LLC, a subsidiary of Alliance Resource Partners, has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 management system certification by Intertek Group PLC.
ISO 9001:2015 certification is the world’s most widely recognised standard for quality management systems (QMS). The standard helps organisations consistently meet the needs of customers and other key stakeholders in both the delivery and continuous improvement of products and services.
The 2015 edition, ISO 9001:2015, features important changes that bring ISO 9001 into the 21st century, focusing on performance and combining the process approach with risk-based thinking.
“As a leading provider of safety and technology systems to the mining market, Matrix is proud to have achieved ISO 9001:2015 Certification,” said David Clardy, Matrix President. “This certification reflects our commitment to continuously improve the quality, durability and reliability of our systems for our customers, while helping provide them with lower cost of ownership and lower cost per ton, all of which is vitally important to our clients during these challenging market conditions.”
Matrix designs, develops and markets safety and productivity technology for use in the underground mining industry. Its systems include proximity detection, communications, tracking, mine atmospheric monitoring, lighting and cameras.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
BEIJING — The Chinese government is trying to slow down the approval of new coal-fired power plants because of overcapacity, but projects already in the pipeline, as well as loopholes in policy, mean is on track to add an average of one new coal-fired plant a week until 2020, according to by East Asia.
The construction boom would result in about 400 gigawatts of excess capacity and would waste more than one trillion renminbi, or $150 billion, on building unneeded plants, the report said.
China now has 910 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity and is expected to retire 70 gigawatts of that. The new construction means the country would increase capacity at a time when additional coal-fired power is not needed, Greenpeace said.
As part of its broad policy, China — the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases — that it would try to make 20 percent of its energy renewable by 2030. But given the planned growth in coal power capacity, some environmentalists question that goal.
Document | Report on China’s Coal Power Projects Even though China has promised to reduce its dependency on coal power, there are 210 new coal-fired power plant projects approved for construction.
“China’s worsening coal overcapacity crisis is acting as a dead weight on the country’s ongoing energy transition,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, who wrote the report with Shen Xinyi.
Representatives of China’s hydropower and wind power industries have complained of the glut of coal power plants. The addition of a large number of such plants would make it harder for companies specializing in non-fossil-fuel energy to be profitable because coal-fired plants can more easily secure contracts with the major state-owned electrical grid companies.
Mr. Myllyvirta and other Greenpeace researchers have been trying to calculate the amount of overcapacity of coal-fired power plants in China. Greenpeace East Asia on the topic in November, noting that 155 projects had received a permit in 2015, equal to 40 percent of operational coal power plants in the United States.
In March, Greenpeace revised that number upward, saying 210 new or proposed plants, with a total capacity of 165 gigawatts, had received environmental permits last year. Greenpeace tracked China’s proposed capacity by examining provincial websites for permit approvals.
There are already too many coal-fired power plants in China, as shown by a steady decline in the plants’ average operating hours since 2013, according to official statistics. China also in 2015 compared with 2014, and coal-producing companies across China have complained of a in the industry.
The boom in approval of coal-fired power plants began in early 2015, after the central government said provincial governments could approve projects.
But the central government has tried to rein in the approvals, and it announced a to limit capacity and retire some plants. Under that policy, about 110 gigawatts of proposed capacity would be suspended and 70 gigawatts would be retired by 2020, according to the Greenpeace report on Wednesday.
But plants that would add 200 gigawatts are already under construction, and projects adding 165 gigawatts could get permits despite the new limits, Greenpeace said.
Mr. Myllyvirta said that he and his colleagues estimated there would be 600 new coal-fired units, or boilers, at 290 plant sites.
Greenpeace said that northern and northwestern provinces and regions that are designated new “coal bases” have been trying to approve or build plants as quickly as possible. These include the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi and the region of Inner Mongolia, all of which have large coal reserves and whose economies depend on coal.
The industrial burning of coal is the biggest source of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. It is also the main contributor to the air pollution in many Chinese cities.
Solar generation overtook coal generation for the first time in the UK’s energy mix in May, according to the latest electricity market report from EnAppSys.
According to the energy consultant, Solar produced 1.38 TWh of electricity in May, over 50% more than the o.89 TWh derived from coal.
During 2Q16 as a whole, levels of coal generation fell by 70% compared to the previous quarter and 76% compared to the same period last year.
“Coal has gone from being the frontrunner in the industry, with the majority share of total generation, to this quarter’s fall to below the levels of electricity imports from other countries,” said Phil Hewitt, Director of EnAppSys.
“With planned expansions in renewables, battery storage, import capacity and nuclear generation still intended, it is clear that the era of large thermal generation is slowly coming to an end, with less room for large coal and gas plants in the market.”
Current UK solar capacity stands at around 11 – 12 GW, according to EnAppSys, and this is likely to remain steady over the next few years.
Edited Jonathan Rowland.
In 2008, a dyke at a coal ash impoundment area at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant ruptured, spilling millions of cubic meters of coal ash slurry into surrounding rivers in the largest release of coal ash slurry in US history.
Following the Kingston ash spill, the Environmental Protection Agency passed regulations – generally known as the CCR Rule – tightening the technical requirements for coal ash disposal sites. To ensure that TVA met these standards – and to make sure nothing like Kingston could happen again – TVA has been pioneering new methods to store and monitor coal ash.
There is a low thrum happening at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant, near Harriman, Tennessee. It’s not perceptible to the human ear, and it isn’t a problem: it’s a solution. This “good vibration” stems from TVA pioneering an industry-leading technology to more safely store dry coal ash.
“I’m building a mountain of ash—one layer at a time,” said Jason Hill, TVA Environmental Scientist and Program Manager for Risk and Quality Assurance at the Kingston Fossil Plant intelligent compaction project. “Over the next 40 years we will stack ash layer on top of layer until the rock-hard mound looks like a step pyramid.”
Coal ash is the byproduct of burning coal for electricity. TVA recycles more than 25% of its coal ash, which goes into common building materials like concrete, roof shingles and wallboard. Ash that cannot be recycled must be stored. That is where Hill’s team of engineers gets involved.
For decades the utility industry stored coal ash in ponds – but later discovered that they risked structural instability and surface and groundwater contamination if not properly managed. The advent of dry ash containment dramatically reduces these environmental and safety risks. Today, TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant is the model for ash storage because the technology TVA is using increases coal ash storage safety and efficiency.
“Think of dry ash storage as a parking lot,” said Hill. “We wet the ash and mix it to the consistency of cookie dough. Then we lay ash down like pavement and compact it to a density of 95% or greater.”
As ash is laid down, heavy rolling machines drive over it to compact it, much like you would see on a road paving project. The compacting machine is equipped with a vibrating drum and sensors that send data directly to the operator and TVA engineers in real-time.
Compaction is mapped in real time. Engineers analyse the date to ensure that compaction meets specifications.
Hill notes that the array of sensors outfitted to the compacting machine is the game changer. “We see what the driver is doing in real-time,” said Hill. “If an area needs more compaction, I can immediately send the driver back over the area. It’s state-of-the-art.”
Traditionally Hill and other TVA engineers would have to be at the site to observe and test the material. Now Hill can monitor the ash and the compaction rates from his office in Chattanooga, Tennessee – over 100 miles away from TVA’s Kingston facility.
“From my desk I can monitor every TVA ash site with confidence and apply best practices to each location,” said Hill. “No other company in the utility industry is doing this with this level of detail.” While compaction technology is used in road construction, TVA is the first utility in the US to apply it to coal ash.
According to TVA, the new compaction technology will cost around one million dollars to outfit each facility and far exceeds state and federal monitoring standards. But the rewards in safety and long-term cost savings far outweigh the startup costs. “The tighter we pack it, the more we can safely store, which saves ratepayers money,” added Hill.
It will take 40 years to complete the Kingston ash stack. During that time, TVA will create a 3D compaction map of each layer that engineers can analyse for years to come. “The 3-D technology far exceeds state and federal monitoring standards because we can monitor 100 percent of the ash stack for the life of the project,” Hill said.
Now that the technology has been proven at Kingston, it is being applied at other TVA storage sites across the Valley. Bull Run Fossil Plant, located near Knoxville, Tennessee, is already using the equipment – and more will follow. The company has committed to close all of its wet ash impoundments over the next four to six years in favour of dry ash storage.
Not only is TVA pioneering a new method of storing coal ash, it is leading the way in monitoring its coal ash storage facilities. The company has more than 7000 sensors monitoring its coal ash. These are networked into Advanced Technology for Impoundment Monitoring (ATIM), a US$2 million facility in the basement of the company’s headquarters in Chattanooga.
TVA’s Advanced Technology for Impoundment Monitoring centre is the nerve centre of the company’s coal ash storage monitoring programme.
TVA’s ATIM center is the only facility of its kind in the utility industry in the US The centre’s massive LED wall can display Geographic Information System (GIS) maps, weather, earthquakes, sensor data and even live video.
“Think of the ATIM center as TVA’s ‘coal ash mission control,’” explained Nicholas McClung, professional engineer and TVA Manager for Risk and Quality Assurance. “With a few clicks we can pull up sensor data and see real-time data or watch what’s happening at our impoundments via live video. What’s most important is that we can share information with everyone who is working the problem.”
“My team receives texts and emails if there is any irregularity,” continued McClung. “If it is serious, we can immediately activate the ATIM centre.” To date TVA’s ATIM centre has never been activated in response to a real event. When the day comes for the ATIM to truly come to life, TVA’s team is prepared and will receive the highest level of support.
“Having the ATIM process in place demonstrates how serious TVA is about safe coal ash storage,” says McClung. “The ATIM center will provide our executives a single, complete source of information. We can quickly get the support we need to ensure public and environmental safety.
The ATIM centre and new compaction method of storing coal ash, along with its commitment to ending wet coal ash impoundments, are positioning TVA ahead of the game when it comes to coal ash management, said McClung: “All of these safety efforts have made TVA the industry leader in the safe, responsible coal ash storage.”
And maybe, as a result, the ghost of the Kingston ash spill may finally be being laid to rest.
Edited by Jonathan Rowland.
Yatagan Termik Enerji Üretim A.S., a subsidiary of BEREKET Enerji, has contracted GE’s Power Services business to retrofit three steam turbine-generators at the Yatagan coal-fired power plant in the Mugla Province, Turkey.
The project was announced during POWER-GEN Europe 2016, the European power generation industry’s annual conference that is being held in Milan.
Previously a state-owned, lignite coal-fired facility, the Yatagan power plant was privatised in 2014 when the BEREKET Enerji’s parent company BEREKET Group acquired the site. After acquiring the plant, BEREKET Enerji launched a modernisation initiative to increase the plant’s operating life and the availability of the generating units.
“There is a growing modernisation trend in Turkey’s power sector to retrofit older generating units as the facilities are being privatised, such as at our Yatagan power station,” said Ali Yagli, co-owner and co-founder of BEREKET Group. “With Turkey’s energy demands continuing to grow, we are pleased to work with GE to implement our targeted retrofits of the station’s steam turbine-generator units to increase their output and long-term reliability while also extending their maintenance intervals.”
The project represents GE’s first full steam turbine-generator retrofit project in Turkey. The modernisation is expected to help increase the plant’s output to about 228 MW, up from the current degraded 180 MW output level. This output increase represents enough power to help meet the energy needs of 125 000 average homes in Turkey.
For the turnkey project, GE will replace three Zamech steam turbines with full shaft line reaction type steam turbine retrofits (including high-pressure full, intermediate-pressure full and low-pressure inner retrofit). The original Zamech units were supplied by the legacy Alstom Power business, which GE acquired in November 2015.
The company also will replace three Dolmel H2-cooled generators featuring Russian company Electrosila (Power Machines) technology with three GE air-cooled generators. Moreover, GE is supplying three new excitation systems to replace an obsolete static excitation system. Finally, the company is responsible for the installation and commissioning of the equipment and training for employees.
“Our services agreement with BEREKET Enerji for the Yatagan power plant demonstrates GE’s decades-long commitment to Turkey’s energy industry, including supporting its long-term goals to boost the efficiency and environmental performance of its power plants,” said Pascal Schweitzer, General Manager—Europe for GE’s Power Services business. “We are proud of this first-of-a-kind project in Turkey for GE, which also will help GE demonstrate its expanded capabilities to service generation equipment from other suppliers following the Alstom acquisition and also provide our customers with the highest level of efficiency with all kinds of fuel sources.”
BEREKET Enerji’s goals for the project include increasing the station’s availability to about 8000 operating hours per year; extending the facility’s operating life by an additional 15 years; and increasing the plant’s nominal output to about 228 MW. The equipment also needs to be delivered and installed at the site within a planned 105-day outage period.
GE is scheduled to deliver the three steam turbine-generator sets from its production facilities in Poland and Switzerland in multiple phases between March 2017 and March 2018. The first unit of the plant, which is connected to Turkey’s national grid, is expected to start commercial operation with the full power upgrade by June 2017.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
Michael Höllermann and Johan P. Cnossen are set to join the management board of thyssenkrupp’s Industrial Solutions business area, effective 1 August 2016.
Michael Höllermann, CEO of the Regional Headquarters South America since 2012, will be the new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).
Johan P. Cnossen, who joined Industrial Solutions on 1 May as head of the transformation office for the implementation of ‘planets’, will hold the new position of Chief Operating Officer. With the ‘planets’ program, Industrial Solutions is in a process of reorganisation. The aim is to secure growth, enhance performance, focus more strongly on customers, markets and high-margin service business, and drive culture change within the business area.
According to the company, a central element of this is the further development of the organisational structure towards a modern management structure focused on customers and business fields and integrating the Marine Systems and System Engineering units more closely.
With the appointments, Jens Michael Wegmann, CEO of the Industrial Solutions business area since 15 October 2015, has now filled all board positions: “By appointing Michael Höllermann and Johan P. Cnossen we have gained two very experienced managers to drive forward the reorganisation of Industrial Solutions in a difficult market environment and focus our organisation even more firmly on the needs of customers.”
The new CFO, already in place since 1 June is Stefan Gesing. Also on the board is Dr Hans Christoph Atzpodien, who concentrates on the management of Marine Systems.
Edited from press release by Harleigh Hobbs
