Qatar has formally dedicated the Ras Qartas Energy Plant, the biggest gas fired power plant in the country and the region.
GE has announced what it is calling a “first-of-its-kind power plant” engineered to deliver an unprecedented combination of flexibility and efficiency. The ‘FlexEfficiency 50’ combined cycle power plant is rated at 510 MW and is said to offer fuel efficiency greater than 61 per cent.
On May 25, the Swiss Government decided that it would phase out nuclear power, and seek alternative energy sources.
India currently has 80 000 MW of thermal generation under construction, with commissioning scheduled for 2017, according to government sources. But there have been warnings that coal linkages for half of the plants have yet to be obtained.
Electricity authorities in the Middle East face oil deficits, budget cuts, decreases in natural resources and political disputes, leading them to consider cutting domestic power supplies as a way of power rationing, according to Roy Hodges, Vice President of the consultants Technology Partners.
Iraq has signed a new five-year deal to import natural gas from Iran to ease its electricity woes, an official has said. The agreement deepens Iraqi economic ties with Tehran as US troops prepare to leave at the end of this year.
Global demand for natural gas is expected to balloon in the next two decades according to a recent forecast from ExxonMobil. Rob Gardner, manager of the economics and energy division at the ExxonMobil corporate strategic planning department, predicts gas will become a key area of investment as fuel demand for power generation surges.
UK MPs have criticised the government’s current power market reforms and cast doubt on their ability to deliver enough investment for improved energy infrastructure, in a climate change committee report.
Zhejiang province in eastern China will impose punitive power prices on big power consumers from June 1 if their energy use exceeds stipulated standards, in an effort to curb demand amid rising capacity shortfalls.