POWER April 2015 - 16

than 7 GW of capacity, expected to come online between late
2013 and early 2015.
Eskom Puts First Unit of 4.8-GW Coal Plant at Medupi
Online. On March 2, the first 794-MW unit (Unit 6) of Eskom's
massive 4.8-GW Medupi power station, under construction in
South Africa's Limpopo Province, was synchronized to the national
grid. The six-unit coal-fired Medupi plant is the fourth drycooled
baseload station built in 20 years by Eskom, after Kendal,
Majuba, and Matimba power stations. " Medupi " is a Sepedi word
meaning " rain that soaks parched lands, giving economic relief. "
The new unit's synchronization is much awaited in a nation
whose power system is critically constrained. Eskom, the utility
that generates about 95% of the electricity used in South Africa
and about 45% of the power used in all of Africa, has been forced
to impose planned, controlled, and rotational load shedding to
protect the power system from a total countrywide blackout.
Endesa Chile Shelves Controversial 740-MW CoalFired
Project. Endesa Chile's $1.4 billion Punta Alcalde
coal-fired power plant is likely dead after the company on
Jan. 28 decided to halt the 740-MW project, citing " uncertainty
regarding its profitability. " The project proposed for
the country's energy-hungry copper mining region has faced
legal battles and fierce opposition from local communities.
Endesa has suffered massive losses after its controversial $9
billion HidroAysen project, a joint venture with Colbun, had
its permit canceled in June 2014 by a ministerial committee
after strong opposition from environmentalists.
India's NTPC to Add 10 GW of New Solar. India's stateowned
power generation company NTPC on Feb. 16 committed
to add 10 GW of new solar projects. The company has already
515-224-2301  www.checkall.com  sales@checkall.com
Manufactured In West Des Moines, Iowa, USA
floated a notice inviting tenders for four solar projects of 250
MW in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telengana, and Rajasthan,
and one 500-MW solar project in Andhra Pradesh. Projects
could be awarded as early as this year. NTPC has already commissioned
eight megawatt-scale solar projects in different parts of
the country totaling 110 MW, including the 50-MW Rajgarh solar
project in Madhya Pradesh.
On Feb. 12, India's largest independent power producer, Adani
Power, signed an agreement with the government of Rajasthan for
the development of a 10-GW solar power park in the state over the
next 10 years. That $6.5 billion project will be developed in phases.
The first 5-GW phase is expected to be completed by 2020.
Saudi Arabia to Scrap Renewable Initiative, Forges on
with Nuclear Plans. Following the death of King Abdullah, Saudi
Arabia in early February decided to scrap the King Abdullah
Center for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) as part
of a government shuffle. The entity was created in 2010 to put
up to 54 GW of renewable capacities online by 2032. While the
future of some renewable projects is uncertain, the country's ambitions
to build 17 GW of nuclear power by 2032 are still strong.
In early March, it signed a memorandum of understanding with
South Korea to cooperate on the development of nuclear energy.
The agreement calls on South Korean firms to help build at least
two small- to medium-sized nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia.
Egypt to Take on Privatizing Electricity, Russian Reactors.
Finding the right
check valve can be
puzzling. However,
Check-All®
has your
solution.
Our team of experts can
help you select a
spring-loaded check
valve assembled to your
exact needs, ensuring
absolute precision and
reliability.
After all, at Check-All®
the only
,
check valves are all we
bm¯ 6f_rłq uf_r k_icq
Check-All®
choice.
Get Me A Check-All! It's the perfect fit!
CIRCLE 10 ON READER SERVICE CARD
16
Egypt will look to Russia to build its new nuclear plant. Rusatom
Overseas and the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority signed
a memorandum of understanding on the proposed project and a
desalination facility in early February. The government of Egypt
this February, meanwhile, approved a law to limit the role of the
state in the electricity sector and separate the power generation,
transmission, and distribution businesses to ensure competitiveness
in the private sector. The move follows the government's edict
to slash electricity subsidies in July 2014 to ultimately reduce the
country's budget deficit. Egypt has been suffering a critical power
crisis since the uprising in 2011, owing to high consumption and
natural gas shortages. In 2014, the country saw unprecedented
power shortages, with some regions facing about six cuts a day for
up to two hours at a time. Egypt's current capacity stands at about
23 GW. The government is expected to soon finalize a 10-year plan
that will allow the nation to generate an additional 70 GW of electricity,
including 8 GW from coal and 8 GW from renewables.
Consortium Wins Bid to Build 1.2-GW Coal Plant in Vietnam.
A consortium of Power Machines and Petrovietnam Technical Services
Corp. in February won a construction contract for the 1.2-GW
Long Phu I power plant to be built in Long Duc, Vietnam. The coalfired
plant owned by Vietnam national oil company Petrovietnam will
consist of two 600-MW units and may begin operations by 2019.
B&W Wins Contracts for Welsh Biomass Facility. The
Babcock & Wilcox Co.'s (B&W's) Denmark-based subsidiary Babcock
& Wilcox Vølund A/S on Jan. 28 won contracts from Margam
Green Energy Ltd. for more than $200 million to engineer,
procure, and operate a state-of-the-art biomass power plant in
Margam, Wales. B&W Vølund's consortium partner, Interserve
Construction Ltd., will build the plant. The 40-MW project will
be designed to burn 335,000 tons of wood waste biomass annually,
but it will also be capable of using municipal waste as a
fuel source in the future. The plant will feature environmental
controls designed by B&W Vølund and its Götaverken Miljö AB
subsidiary, including a dry flue gas desulfurization system, fabric
filter baghouse, continuous emissions monitoring equipment,
and an advanced DynaGrate dynamic fuel combustion system. ■
-Sonal Patel, associate editor
www.powermag.com
POWER | April 2015
Get Me A Check-All!
S I N C E
1 9 5 8
http://www.checkall.com http://www.powermag.com
POWER April 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER April 2015
