POWER June 2011 - 14

74% efficiency in converting the potential energy in the battery
to electrical current, but Cui thinks with simple modifications,
the battery could be 85% efficient.
Other researchers have used the salinity contrast between
freshwater and seawater to produce electricity, but those processes
typically require ions to move through a membrane to
generate current. Cui said those membranes tend to be fragile,
which is a drawback. Those methods also typically make use of
only one type of ion, while his battery uses both the sodium and
chlorine ions to generate power.
Cui admitted that one significant theoretical limiting factor
is the amount of freshwater available. However, the researchers
claim that their batteries could supply 2 TWh of power annually
if all the world's rivers were put to use. According to the team's
calculations, a power plant operating with 50 cubic meters of
freshwater per second could have a capacity of up to 100 MW.
The battery would be best suited for the Amazon River, which
drains a large part of South America, but other continents, such
as Africa and North America could also benefit. Cui even suggested
that treated sewage water might work. " If we can use
sewage water, this will sell really well, " he said.
POWER Digest
Italian Firm Wins Contract to Build Massive African Hydropower
Plant. Italian construction firm Salini Costruttori said
on March 31 it has signed a €3.35 billion contract with Ethiopia
state-owned Ethiopia Electric Power Corp. to build a 5,250-MW
hydropower plant on the Blue Nile, a tributary of the Nile River.
The project, slated to be completed by September 2014, will be
the biggest hydropower plant in Africa and will produce power
at a cost of 5 eurocents/kWh, Salini Costruttori said. The project
site is located 700 kilometers (km) northwest of Addis Ababa in
the Benishangul-Gumaz region. The works will consist of a rollercompacted
concrete main dam with two powerhouses located on
the right and left bank of the river, which will contain 15 Francis
turbine units. The project will include a concrete-lined gated spillway
and a 5-km-long, 50-m-high saddle dam on the left bank.
Alstom Begins Construction of Second 400-MW Singapore
Gas Unit. Alstom, which in October 2010 signed a contract to
build two 400-MW gas-fired combined-cycle units for KMC, a division
of Singapore-based Keppel Corp. Ltd., on April 26 began
work on the second €300 million unit. The engineering, procurement,
and construction contract includes long-term service agreements,
and Alstom will provide the entire plant and all associated
equipment, including two GT26 gas turbines, two steam turbines,
two heat-recovery steam generators, and the ALSPA Series 6 integrated
control system. When completed, the new plant is expected
to increase KMC's production capacity to 1,300 MW. The company
currently supplies about 10% of Singapore's power.
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sortium members Rainpower of Norway and Jeumont of France
on April 20 said they had won a power generation order to provide
engineering and power equipment to Peru's Empresa de Generacion
Electrica Cheves S.A., a subsidiary of Norwegian energy
firm SN Power, for the 168-MW Cheves greenfield hydropower
plant. Located in the provinces of Oyon and Huaura, the Cheves
project, when completed in November 2013, is expected to alleviate
voltage fluctuations and power cuts that are common to the
area. ABB and its partners will provide a " water to wire " solution,
which includes the ABB-supplied complete electrical balanceof-plant
systems, including gas-insulated substation, generator
breakers, medium-voltage and low-voltage switchgear, step-up
transformers, plant controls, protection system, and other electrical
auxiliaries. Rainpower will supply the turbine and Juemont,
the generator. The consortium's scope includes the installation
and commissioning of equipment.
AREVA Solar to Install Fresnel Reflectors at Australian
Coal Plant. AREVA Solar on April 13 announced it had been
awarded an A$104.7 million (US$112.5 million) contract to install
a 44-MW solar thermal augmentation project at a 750-MW
coal-fired power station in Queensland, Australia. The project,
which AREVA Solar is calling " the world's largest solar/coal-fired
power augmentation project, " will involve installation of compact
linear Fresnel reflector technology at CS Energy's Kogan
Creek Power Station. The company also plans to build and operate
a manufacturing facility to support the Australian-pioneered
technology and Kogan Creek project. The solar steam generators
and accompanying system will occupy about 30 hectares of land
within the site. Construction will start this year, and commercial
operation is planned for 2013.
RWE, TURCAS Begin Building 775-MW Gas Plant in Turkey.
German firm RWE and Turkey's TURCAS on April 13 broke
ground for a new 775-MW gas-fired combined-cycle power plant
in Kaklik, a district of the town Denizli in western Turkey. The
€500 million project being built by RWE & TURCAS Güney Elektrik
Üretim, a joint venture, is expected to be complete by the
end of 2012. The International Energy Agency forecasts that Turkey's
energy consumption will double in the next 10 years. RWE
officials said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the project
served as a strategic step into the growing Turkish market. ■
-Sonal Patel is POWER's senior writer.
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POWER June 2011

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