Many gas turbines are used to support national power grids, generating electricity especially at times of peak demand. As such, their continued reliability offers that reassurance that when we flick the switch, the lights will come on.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

Components in an industrial gas turbine are subjected to high temperatures that can cause oxidation, corrosion, and even fatigue within their microstructure. These degradation mechanisms can be a limiting factor in not only the operating interval of the gas turbine, but also the overall life of the component. Specialized coatings have been developed to protect these components and extend their operational life as well as improve the overall performance of the gas turbine.

The process of replacing these protection systems requires expert knowledge and state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that the new coating performs equal to, if not better than, the original. An attention to detail down to microscopic levels is required in a continuous and rigorous quality control strategy.

However, finding the most appropriate coatings supplier requires the turbine operator to have a certain amount of knowledge about the process. By asking a of insightful questions, it is possible to determine what level of expertise and quality controls are at the disposal of the potential vendor.

Methodology

Industrial gas turbine coatings require an array of application methods that involve specific processes and equipment. High velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF), plasma, arc wire, combustion, air spray and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are all used in the refurbishment of gas turbine components.

Different coatings have slightly varied bonding properties with different substrates, so it is essential to understand the conditions required to achieve a perfect bond. A coatings bond is one of the most critical aspects of its success in service. As such, it should be in focus during all processes associated with coating.

Furthermore, the remaining range of properties of the finished coating must be sufficient for the application ” the hardness value is an indicator of the proper application of wear coatings while the surface roughness will have a major impact on flow efficiency. By inspecting the microstructure and mechanical properties of the coating it is possible to verify that it was applied to required specifications and that it will provide all of the expected benefits in operation.

In every refurbishment project, establishing the process foundation is essential to the long-term success and durability of the coating. This involves detailing the equipment and parameters as well as the properties required for the coating, such as its tensile strength, microstructure characteristics, hardness and surface roughness values.

Together with a revision-controlled shop process scope, this information forms the basis of a high-quality application.

Qualifying and freezing all influencing parameters of the process for each layer and each component helps ensure the quality and consistency that is provided by the vendor.

Preparation

In many cases, coatings are applied as one of the final stages of a larger repair project.

It is therefore important to first make sure all prerequisite steps have been taken to ensure the substrate is properly prepared for application. The criticality of preparation for coating is magnified when the repair and coating suppliers are not integrated.

Without a mutual understanding of the importance of surface preparation, repair projects can be protracted and offer less than optimum results.

A sound substrate is essential for optimum performance of the protection systems. Therefore, the component repair process is critical to the quality of the coating. Once the coating is applied, minimal process can be done without removing or damaging the coating.

Most of the superalloys that are used in gas turbine components develop oxidation and corrosion while in operation. It is essential that any of these contaminants are removed completely, including remnants of the previous coating. The presence of any intermediate layer between the substrate and the new coating will likely cause issues with the bond between the two.

However, care should be taken when grit blasting or blending, to minimize any removal of the original substrate. To identify any remaining areas of oxidation or residual coating, components are heat tinted. If contaminants remain, the process repeats until suitable results are achieved.

Once any intermediate layers are removed, further processes may be required. In some cases, the component’s microstructure needs to be prepared in terms of any applicable heat treatments.

These processes should be performed prior to application to ensure the coating is not subjected to anything outside of its previously qualified specifications.

Similarly, the component may need to be dimensionally altered prior to coating. The thickness of the newly overlaid coating will affect the final dimensions of the component, so in many situations it will be necessary to remove some base material or adjust geometric profiles to accept the additional thickness.

Final pre-coat quality control checks should be completed, including dimensions, flow checks and inspections for defects, using penetrant if necessary. Coatings will only bond properly if there are no gaps or cracks in the substrate; any such flaws will cause rapid deterioration of a new coating.

Application process

Having removed any debris, determined the part is crack free, dimensionally ready to accept the coating and all other repairs completed, the component is nearly ready for the coating application. Up to this point, the part would likely have come into contact with various contaminants, such as oil, machining fluid and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) penetrant fluid. These contaminants are removed via chemical or thermal means in the “degrease” process.

From this point, extreme care is taken to ensure contaminants are not re-introduced to the substrate that would jeopardize the bonding of the coating.

The next step is to prepare the surface to accept the new protection system using grit profiling. This process roughens the target surface of the component, creating an “anchor-tooth pattern” for the coating to mechanically bond to. This profile is attributed to the type and size of blast material used in this process, which will depend on both the substrate and the coating to be applied.

However, in all cases care should be taken to use virgin grit as opposed to re-used grit to prevent contamination, which can result in a poor-quality bond or even diffusion of contaminants into the base material.

At this point the equipment involved starts to become more complicated and for good reason. The application of both base and top coats requires considerable accuracy and precision to ensure the right amount of coating is applied to the correct areas and with the specified characteristics.

Industrial robot arms, controlled by positioning software, work in conjunction with custom holding fixtures to give a consistent application.

Robotic application can, if done properly, provide a leap forward in quality control and consistency when compared to manual processes. It is important to have a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of coating application prior to program development. Without these fundamentals, robotic programming may result in a false sense of quality.

Once applied, the base coat in some cases requires heat treatment ” the temperature, duration and type of furnace will depend on the coating and the substrate material. Once again, accuracy in all aspects of this process is crucial in achieving a successful outcome.

Following any heat treatment process, it is essential that a NDE is completed to ensure that no voids opened during the heat treatment process. This will typically be a penetrant inspection using red dye or even fluorescent dye to detect even the slightest defect.

Final dimensions

When applicable, a top coat, typically a thermal barrier coating (TBC), is applied in a similar quality-controlled manner as the bond coat. After this application is complete, it is important to carefully remove any overspray and polish the coating so that it meets the specified surface roughness.
The final quality inspection should identify any areas that may need minor repairs and confirm that all the required specifications have been met.

Following the coating inspection, test fitting or dimensional checks should be performed to ensure that the coating has not pushed the dimensions of the component out of specification. If a third party is being used, they should be involved with this process.

For components with cooling channels, any change in flow rate can lead to decreased turbine efficiency, overheating of components, and even failure.

Therefore, it is critical that flow checks are performed once more to ensure coating, grit or any other foreign matter has not caused the component’s cooling air to flow below its specified rate. During these post-coating processes and any further handling of coated components, it is important to ensure that the coating remains protected and in pristine condition until the component is reinstalled. This is particularly important for brittle TBCs.

The performance of an industrial gas turbine is dependent on specialized protection systems, such as TBCs, without which the base materials would quickly overheat and fail; efficiency is maintained by abradable coatings between the blade tip and shroud; hard face coatings reduce wear mechanisms on the substrate; anti-corrosion protection improves durability and prolongs the service life of the machine.

In each case, a specialized coating enhances the performance of a component, but each one is different and the processes to apply them vary as well. Only through years of experience and expertise in the metallurgical properties, the application technology and quality control procedures, can a reliable and durable protective system be realized.

The post Specialist coatings for gas turbines appeared first on Power Engineering International.

For example, transformer fluid leaks or internal insulation breakdowns cause overheating that leads to failure but many utilities don’t have automated thermal detection systems that reveal these problems.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

Whatever the cause, a critical substation failure may cascade into a series of failures and impact massively on banking facilities, security systems, manufacturing plants, food refrigeration, communication networks and traffic control systems.

Of course, the electric utility also stands to lose huge amounts of revenue and incur high costs in getting its systems up and running again.

Although electric utilities have, for many years, used hand-held thermal imaging cameras to monitor substation equipment, the adoption of permanently-installed systems are relatively new but certainly on the increase. These provide continuous early warning of impending equipment failures.

These systems employ advanced sensing and measurement technology control methods and digital communications.

They anticipate, detect and respond rapidly to problems, thereby reducing maintenance costs, the chance of failure, a blackout and lost productivity.

An example: one large utility discovered a hot bushing rod in a substation transformer and repaired it at a cost of only $14,000. A similar problem that occurred before the company instituted its thermal imaging programme resulted in a catastrophic failure that cost more than $2.5 million.

Typical substation components whose thermal signatures are precursors to failure include power transformers (oil levels and pump operation); load tap changers (oil levels, other internal problems); insulator bushings (oil levels and bad connections); stand-off insulators (moisture, contamination, degradation); lightning arrestors (degradation of metal oxide disks); circuit breakers (oil or SF6 leakage); mechanical disconnects (bad connections and contamination); control cabinets (wear and tear on fans, pumps and other components) and batteries.

What is thermal imaging?

The principle of thermal imaging is ‘many components heat up before they fail’. Secondly, all objects emit thermal radiation in the infrared spectrum that is not seen by the human eye.

Thermal imaging cameras convert that radiation into crisp images from which temperatures can be read. This noncontact temperature data can be displayed on a monitor in real time and sent to a digital storage device for analysis.

The cameras do not require light to produce images and can see hot spots well before excessive heat or loss of insulation leads to failure. They can be mounted in all-weather housings and placed on pan/tilt drive mechanisms to survey large areas of a substation.

Differences in the heat signatures of electrical components and their surrounding background are recognised and compared with temperatures of similar components in close proximity.

Built-in logic, memory and data communications allow the cameras to evaluate the temperatures in the images with user-defined settings and send that data to a central monitoring station for trend analysis, alarm triggering and the generation of reports. The devices can even notify managers in remote locations of abnormal conditions by sending an email.

In co-operation with automation system suppliers, a quality camera manufacturer can create customized thermal imaging and non-contact temperature measurement systems for substations.

They can automatically perform site patrols and monitor equipment temperatures without human supervision.

The video images and their temperature data are carried over Ethernet, wireless or fibre-optic cables to an appropriate interface that communicates this data to the central monitoring location.

About the author

Andrew Baker is a director at industrial technology company FLIR Systems.

The post Predicting substation failures with thermal imaging appeared first on Power Engineering International.

Decarbonisation and technological advances are transforming our electricity system, driving growth in distributed energy sources and making demand-side response a more accessible and flexible energy resource.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International issue 2-2020 and appeared in the PEI ” Supplement. Read the full digimag here or subscribe to receive a print copy here.

As we move towards a net-zero energy system, we are seeing two broad trends asserting themselves in the electricity sector. Firstly, the demand for flexibility is on the rise as renewables are contributing more and more to the energy mix.

Secondly, more of this flexibility will be located at lower voltage levels as the flexible, “on-demand” resource is provided by distributed generation and storage, electric vehicles and smart heat solutions. In a recent study for the Energy Systems Catapult in the UK, AFRY analysed how to efficiently and effectively manage this changing system in order to minimise operational costs.

As electricity systems evolve, we find that there is potential for electricity costs to rise for consumers. This is a result of a divergence in the timing of local and national electricity demand peaks, which leads to an increased risk of an inefficient system.

In this system, there will be more competition between the transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs and DSOs) for flexibility services which may only be operational for short time periods; for example, as batteries take time to recharge.

Without effective coordination between TSOs and DSOs, this divergence may increase overall network and generation investment requirements, generation costs and system balancing costs, ultimately increasing costs for consumers.

AFRY contrasted the effect of prioritising the use of distributed flexibility resource to meet national peaks, local peaks and having a fully integrated system.

Our outcomes showed that frameworks which enable a more coordinated use of resources could reduce system costs by up to à‚£7bn by 2050.

When considering how best to manage new grid systems, we also found that the largest savings arise in frameworks where distributed flexibility sources are used primarily to address local network issues.

This enables DSOs to avoid a greater level of costly network replacement and reinforcement as there are limited close alternative flexibility options at the distribution level.

Managing the transition

It’s clear that there are substantial potential savings to be had; it’s just a question of how to get there. Any new arrangements should transparently reveal and respond to the true value (and cost) of using flexibility on the transmission and distribution systems.

As we transition to a more decentralised energy system and active DSO model, this means fundamental changes in the roles and responsibilities of transmission and distribution system operators; and the frequency and extent of information and data exchange between system operators and users to keep system costs down.

Such changes can be introduced gradually reflecting the evolution in the TSO-DSO relationship over time.

In the short term, the transition should focus on establishing a framework where the TSO can coordinate more effectively between the needs of local DSOs and the national system, improving information flows from DSOs on the local effects of national actions. Then, in the longer-term, more extensive changes ” such as the emergence of local or regional flexibility markets ” may emerge naturally as greater transparency and understanding of the value and accessibility of flexibility emerges.

Within this framework, it remains important to encourage more flexible resource use. Regulatory incentives should continue to encourage DSOs to consider innovative non-asset solutions to network issues. Harnessing the opportunities from the electrification of heat and transport will be an important part of this innovation.

For example, smart charging for electric vehicles could help to manage increases in demand and will help to balance the grid.

All in all, managed and considered shifts towards a more coordinated transmission and distribution electricity systems will ensure that we shield consumers from expensive, and inefficient, systems.

By moving towards new models of interaction, there is an opportunity for significant savings, but we recommend a careful and phased shift in the roles and responsibilities of DSOs and TSOs.

About the author

Gareth Davies is a Director at AFRY Management Consulting, advising on energy policy, regulation and market design across Europe.

David Cox is a Senior Consultant at AFRY Management Consulting, focusing on electricity network regulation and policy.

The post The potential value of DSOs appeared first on Power Engineering International.

For decades, the basic formula for the world’s energy infrastructure has stayed the same. We have relied on centralised, gigawatt-sized fossil power plants and a grid where energy flows in one direction only, from generation to demand. Where that wasn’t possible, there was often no access to power at all.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International issue 2-2020 and appeared in the PEI ” Supplement. Read the full digimag here or subscribe to receive a print copy here.

This has changed significantly. Driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions and powered by a constant decline in prices for renewables, the architecture of power systems around the world is radically changing.

One of the key trends of this development is decentralisation. But what decentralisation means ” and what challenges it brings ” varies from region to region.

In regions with existing reliable grids, such as Central Europe or North America, we are gradually parting ways with large fossil or nuclear baseload plants and welcoming renewables in kilowatt to megawatt size.

This is mainly because technology has become so much cheaper over the past few years. For example, since 2010, prices per kW for PV have dropped by 85 per cent and for wind by 49 percent, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

However, wind and solar power generation are intermittent, so variations in generation and demand need to be continuously balanced. This, in turn, means that relatively new technology like energy storage moves from the periphery of the energy market to be a central player. Together with the right software, storage can provide what the decentralised system of the future needs most: flexibility.

The importance of flexible solutions was showcased at Hywind, the world’s first floating wind farm. To bring this first-ofa-kind-project to life, Aggreko’s temporary power solutions were needed during the construction phase. Today, five 6MW wind turbines located 25km offshore in the North Sea provide power to 20,000 households.

Once the wind turbines were generating power, the owners of the wind farm also wanted to make the most of its generating capacity. To achieve this, Aggreko installed a battery storage system that can harness the power output and either send it back to the grid or use it when intermittency strikes.

Another example is a project in Belgium, where Aggreko has been supporting efforts to minimise the chances of a blackout. In 2019, due to a combination of an increase in renewable energy assets in use and the unreliability of conventional assets which were being decommissioned.

This could have caused a national problem in peak winter months, potentially causing €120m damage to the Belgian economy.  In response our team has installed over 100 gas generators to deliver reliable, decentralised power to Belgium’s population of 11 million people. By taking pressure off the central grid, we were able to make sure that power was not disrupted during the winter peak, and that daily life continued as usual. 

Both projects demonstrate that flexible and sometimes temporary power solutions are vital for bridging the gap as we shift to decentralised energy systems. In some cases, we will need sources of additional peak power added to a PV or wind park, for example when there is high demand for energy-intensive air conditioning on hot summer days.

Connecting remote communities

In areas with weak or no grid connection, decentralisation takes on a different, but no less important, role. The UN predicts that the global population will increase to 9.8 billion people by 2050, so the challenge of providing universal access to power is only set to increase. Connecting remote communities via a national power grid is not only prohibitively expensive most of the time, but is no longer necessary in the age of decentralisation.

There are a wide range of advantages to locating new and small-scale generation assets in a decentralised manner in high-demand locations. It allows us to bring power to an often-overlooked group of people, provide businesses with a stable energy source, and helping people who can’t take advantage of a distributed model of power supply.

In the Brazilian state of Amazonas, we have been able to bring 137 MW of power to 26 remote locations by using a flexible, modular approach. In an extremely remote community, where the land is covered by thick canopies of rainforest and divided by large river networks, thousands of people were connected to the reliable sources of power they needed to thrive.

This was made possible by a decentralised model that was supported by a flexible, modular generation system. The long-term contract is also flexible, allowing us to integrate energy storage and gas power to the energy mix and keep carbon emissions on a downward curve for the duration of the project.

Building the system of the future

Decentralised energy solutions provide a range of benefits, including greater resilience, more control over energy generation and consumption. increased efficiency and flexibility, and a path toward decarbonisation.

There are still obstacles to overcome though.

For example, nearly half of the 200 energy decision-makers in the UK who we surveyed this year, cited high investment costs as a reason why they had not adopted decentralised energy technologies. Uncertainty around new technologies that are not proven at scale is another potential barrier.

So how do we make the most of the trend towards decentralisation?

In the power system of the future there will always be a need for flexible, modular solutions that can be deployed quickly, solve temporary problems and even create the opportunity to test new technologies, without the risk of stranded assets. These are trailblazers for the energy system of the future, and we should embrace them if we want to reap the benefits of decentralisation.

About the author

Dan Ibbetson is managing director of global products at Aggreko.

The post Blazing a trail to a decentralised future appeared first on Power Engineering International.

Renewable energy sources continue to achieve grid parity as a result of decelerating technology costs and the introduction of innovative long-term price-based instruments.

This article was originally published in Smart Energy International issue 2-2020 and appeared in the PEI ” Supplement. Read the full digimag here or subscribe to receive a print copy here.

However, the resilience of these solutions continues to be a focus as instances of outages and equipment fails in off-grid locations ” along with random surges in power demand ” can cost millions of dollars per day in lost revenue to asset owners.

Additionally, inverter failures, cable damage, installation errors, and dirty modules can lead to serious undetected generation losses. It is crucial to detect deviations in yield (even before they occur in time) to prevent both generation and financial losses.

As renewable energy investments grow rapidly across on-grid and off-grid locations, investments in the monitoring and control of these assets have gained momentum globally.

Monitoring and control systems use sophisticated data analysis across their sensors and software controls to detect any operational issues with solar PV modules and wind turbines. They can have a significant effect on optimizing the overall levelized cost of energy over the operational life of these assets.

Monitoring and control systems of renewable energy refers to more than just the software technology that monitors and controls generation of energy from these assets. It ensures that the service providers have a holistic approach to strategically manage the performance optimization of these assets.

Remote installation of renewable energy technologies has significant operation and maintenance challenges.

As a result, integrated monitoring and control systems solutions can have an economic advantage where it is logistically difficult to control and access these assets. Due to the logistics involved in operating and maintaining remote installations, integrated M&C solutions can provide an economic advantage on the total life cycle costs of the assets both across on-grid and off-grid sectors.

Non-performance of solar modules or wind turbines that rely on intermittent renewable sources of energy have costs and risks. Financial investors are keen to evaluate these assets based on a cost-benefit analysis of the risks involved.

Monitoring and control systems (M&C) solutions provide opportunities to optimize asset performance to meet a high-efficiency rating by reducing downtime. The M&C market offers a strong value proposition to OEMs and industry stakeholders and is driven by various factors.

These market drivers that effect the adoption of M&C solutions are:

ࢀ¢ Renewable assets that are nearing the end of their warranty agreements create an attractive retrofit market opportunity for M&C systems;

ࢀ¢ Achieving cost reductions while improving efficiency is one of the key strategic priorities for all asset operators;

ࢀ¢ Supply chain bottlenecks and inventory mismanagement could pose a threat to the turnaround time of the renewables equipment and considerably increase downtime;

ࢀ¢ Downtime and outages in off-grid locations can be extremely expensive;

ࢀ¢ Long-term service agreements can secure recurring revenue opportunities for OEMs and independent solutions providers.

Navigant Research recently published its Renewable Energy Monitoring and Control Market report, which analyzes the global market for the monitoring and control of solar PV and wind power assets. It analyzes market issues, including drivers and challenges, related to distributed and utility scale solar PV and wind power.

Global market forecasts are broken out by region and segments and extend through 2028. According to Navigant Research, the global revenue for renewable energy M&C is expected to increase from $4.47 billion in 2019 to $12.8 billion in 2028. Solar PV M&C systems are expected to make up approximately $9.2 billion, or 72 percent, of total revenue in 2028.

And the Asia Pacific will likely contribute $7.9 billion, or 61 percent of the total market revenue by 2028. The retrofit market is attractive for asset owners and independent service providers that provide a host of services and solutions. Software, protocols, communication system, support, surveillance, training, reports, and licence fees could all benefit from the rising adoption of M&C solutions.

Digital innovation that integrates forward-thinking technologies ” such as data analytics, robotics, and machine learning ” have made M&C solutions intelligent. Unlocking the power that data analytics can bring to asset monitoring will transform the renewable energy sector’s ability to drive up efficiency, lower emissions, and bring more flexibility and resilience to power generation.

As M&C solutions evolve and begin integrating enhanced digital features across smart connected assets, generators and operators are in a better position to optimize asset performance, guarantee efficiency gains, and maximize benefits across the operating life of these assets.

The increasing adoption of intermittent and variable renewable resources has created an important role for M&C technology solutions to integrate and optimize performance across these generating sources. However, there are some practical barriers that restrain the uptake of M&C technologies across market players:

ࢀ¢ ROI is a significant barrier as some of the benefits of deploying M&C platforms are recuperated over a longer duration over the operational life of these assets. They are difficult to measure and justify at the time of new asset investment.

ࢀ¢ Newer M&C solutions tend to be more advanced and integrate intelligent data analytics capabilities. These solutions require high upfront costs.

Since these are new innovative technologies there is a dearth of skilled resources for installing and maintaining these solutions.

ࢀ¢ Data sharing continues to be a significant challenge in this renewable energy sector. OEMs and asset

operators have differing views on data ownership and usage.

ࢀ¢ The M&C systems market is still in its early stages of development and requires continuous improvement and upgrades to the solutions, increasing further investment in CAPEX costs.

According to Navigant Research, global cumulative installations of utility-scale solar and wind energy are expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.8 per cent per year until 2030. This will also affect the acceleration of technologies that maintain, manage, and control these assets over their lifetimes. Industry participants and asset owners are keen to streamline their value chains and reduce operational costs while optimising asset performance.

The M&C market can unlock attractive growth opportunities by offering increased value per installation to the asset operators. As solutions providers offer more integrated offerings across advanced software platforms, in the future, asset operators can drive decisionbased reporting capabilities and insights across their assets.

Cross-platform capabilities across hybrid solutions that include multiple technologies such as solar, wind, and storage offer an attractive value proposition for M&C solutions providers.

Integrating monitoring and operational insights across asset clusters can help large asset operators extend M&C solution benefits across their portfolios.

About the author

Pritil Gunjan is a senior research analyst with Navigant Research, contributing to the generation service.

The post Why monitoring and control systems could transform renewables appeared first on Power Engineering International.

Humanity is addicted to carbon to satisfy our appetite for energy. But it’s catching up with us. Fast.

The Paris Agreement has committed the world to limit the warming of the planet to a targeted 1.5à‚°C. Its intent is to reduce climate-related risks to health, livelihoods, food security, water supply and economic growth.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), our response requires rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban infrastructure and industrial systems.

These transitions must be unprecedented in terms of scale and imply deep emissions reductions in all sectors, a wide portfolio of mitigation options and a significant upscaling of investments in those options.

Tallying approximately 80% of global emissions, the world is looking to heavy industry – the energy, chemicals and resources sectors – for a response.

Today, cheap and reliable fossil fuels power our industries and fuel our transport. This won’t change overnight, but we must position for a future where emissions are considerably lower than they are today. To do this, we need to change the way we’ve done things for centuries.

Electrification, renewable energy and energy storage will get us part of the way through the energy transition. However, even with such a rapid deployment of solar and wind, electrification can’t do everything. In fact, it will likely only meet about half of our expected final energy usage.

We need something else to fill that gap.

Enter low-carbon hydrogen

Today’s hydrogen is almost exclusively produced through fossil fuel processes releasing carbon straight into the atmosphere. However, our future lies in green hydrogen; an inexhaustible energy carrier that can be produced using renewable electricity and an electrolyser which splits water into oxygen and hydrogen. The best bit? There are no emissions from this process.

Once produced through electrolysis, the hydrogen can be stored, transported and processed for a growing range of applications. Green hydrogen is clean, green and everywhere. It’s a perfectly green cycle; you can make it everywhere and you can use it everywhere.

Hydrogen for power ‘needs nearly $800bn investment’
Interview: Europe’s love affair with hydrogen

Hydrogen is nothing new. It’s currently involved in many commercial applications such as for ammonia production, in refineries and as a feedstock for chemicals.

However, the greatest potential of green hydrogen is for industries such as steel, aviation and long-haul sea and road transport where there is no obvious alternative to decarbonize. The processes of these industries will have to be tackled for companies to maintain their social license, and low-carbon hydrogen is one way to transform them.

The big advantage of hydrogen is that it burns clean, leaving only water vapor behind. For industrials that require high-temperature heat, such as foundries and glass and steelmakers, this could be a gamechanger in replacing fossil fuels.

Green hydrogen can also be a tool to deal with variability in electricity systems. When excess solar and wind power floods into the grid, it can be converted into hydrogen which can be used elsewhere or even to produce electricity.

There are also opportunities to use hydrogen to fuel both heavy transport like trucks, rail and even aircraft.

The hurdles you’ve heard about

The biggest challenge today is system cost. But everybody is predicting that the cost curve will come down, just as it has with solar and wind power. Though, to get the price point right, you have to reach economies of scale. Then it’s just a matter of when, and industry is primed to take the next step.

We’re already seeing new pathways emerge in some of the projects we’re working on, including installing 36 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity on an artificial island off the Netherlands and injecting hydrogen into high pressure natural gas pipelines in Canada.

There are also concerns about conversion efficiency and the losses in the conversion steps required to produce green hydrogen from electricity. However, in a system that is going to be increasingly reliant on abundant, low cost renewable energy, the efficiency is not the main worry. It’s going to become less of an issue as more renewable energy is generated.

People often see low-carbon hydrogen in competition with green electricity even getting into debates about whether we need both. However, even with an increase in renewables, we will still only meet about half of the necessary decarbonization requirement. Green hydrogen can pick up the shortfall. The two go hand in hand.

We have a head-start

Once low-carbon hydrogen is produced and stored, it needs to be transported. Fortunately, transportation routes don’t always have to be built from scratch; existing infrastructure can fast-track hydrogen’s role in the energy transition.

One of the main drivers, especially in places with well-developed natural gas networks such as Europe, is the potential of hydrogen piggybacking on gas infrastructure that already exists.

This becomes even more compelling considering the struggle to build new fixtures to accommodate the energy transition. Europe as an example, will have massive amounts of new offshore wind in the northern parts of Europe and additional solar in the southern parts. However, it doesn’t have the infrastructure to take that to the load centers.

By turning that electricity into gaseous hydrogen, we can use the existing gas grid to transport it. There are thousands of kilometers of gas pipelines that are already available.

This is a massive opportunity that will significantly reduce costs in the hydrogen industry. And we can also ease the burden on the need for additional overhead power lines, which face lengthy permitting procedures.

The appetite is growing

Commercial applications of hydrogen are nothing new but carbon-intensive heavy industrials like oil refineries and petrochemical plants are now taking leading roles in low-carbon hydrogen projects across the world.

In particular, we’ve seen owners of gas pipelines looking for a decarbonized component of their business, oil refineries looking to go green, ammonia and fertilizer manufacturers wanting to reduce their reliance on gas suppliers as well as businesses looking for ways to use excess renewable electricity.

However, these applications are just scratching the surface. There are virtually unlimited ways the world can use it.

From PowerPoints to power plants

What needs to happen for low-carbon hydrogen to fulfill its potential in the future energy mix?

What has been missing from the sector is leadership in scaling up. Hydrogen is the glue that can hold this future low-carbon construct together but to get the price point right, you need to build at scale. The industry needs to start building plants to grow its confidence and expertise.

We’ve seen this through our involvement in a new green hydrogen to ammonia facility being planned for an existing ammonium nitrate facility for Queensland Nitrates in Australia. Through a hybrid of wind and solar plant, some tricky ways of operating the plant to match that supply, and support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to help kick-start the industry, we’re expecting this project to reach commercial returns.

It’s a complex industry with many intricacies and like anything new, there are some challenges. But the rewards are so vast that we have no choice.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Frank Wouters is Global Lead for Low-Carbon Hydrogen at Worley.
Dr Paul Ebert is Vice-President of New Energy and Networks at Worley.

Hydrogen Europe will be playing a major role in this year’s Enlit Europe in Milan in October.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

The post Why it’s hydrogen’s time to take off appeared first on Power Engineering International.

As more clean energy generation comes onto the grid ” particularly wind and solar ” this issue remains a priority. However, what is discussed less is the everyday resilience of these technologies.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

New generation solutions bring new engineering maintenance challenges, and operators have found that outages, equipment failures and surges in demand can cost millions a day in lost revenue.

In off-grid locations this can be even more problematic, because it makes the difference between the lights literally being on or off.

The good news is that advances in data analytics are helping to curb these problems and can significantly optimize the overall levelized cost of energy over the operational life of wind and solar assets.

In our cover story, Pritil Gunjan of Navigant Research highlights the increasingly vital role that monitoring and control systems are playing in the renewables space.

She states that the global revenue for renewables monitoring and control is expected to rise from $4.47bn last year to $12.8bn in 2028 and also examines how companies in the sector can unlock further growth opportunities.

How new technologies are reducing the risk of expensive operational losses is also the angle of our look at thermal imaging in the power sector. It focuses on how thermal imaging systems employ advanced sensing and measurement control methods plus digital communications to anticipate, detect and respond rapidly to problems.

Finally, one of the hottest topics in the energy sector right now is hydrogen. In their article, Frank Wouters and Paul Ebert explore the within-reach possibilities of the ‘green gas’ and also spotlight some of the hurdles that are yet to be overcome.

Kelvin Ross

Editor, Power Engineering

The post Ed’s Note: Spotlight on new tech appeared first on Power Engineering International.

As more organisations turn their attention to clean energy alternatives and reliable off-grid electricity ” in the midst of power irregularity ” there has been a notable upturn in onsite power generation adoption.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

A recent survey found that 81 per cent of companies already generating energy onsite have plans or aspirations in place to increase self-generation capacity over the next five years, in a move to become a “power plant of the future”.

It is perhaps little surprise, given its well-defined benefits, that onsite generation continues to prove popular across a broad range of sectors.

The wider benefits of CHP plants are indisputable. However, by virtue of their proximity to nearby sensitive properties and users of the plant, they have the potential to produce excessive and potentially harmful noise output.

Addressing those challenges, therefore, becomes a balancing act to optimise power generation performance, while at the same time limiting the acoustical footprint of equipment.

Traditionally, the focus of onsite generation installations has centred on critical areas of improvement for end-users such as energy efficiency and emissions control. Industry professionals also have a crucial responsibility to consider any potential noise emissions from new developments, starting at the initial planning stage to help comply with noise regulations and protect those in the vicinity of their systems.

Advanced noise control solutions

Large scale CHP systems use a main driver such as a gas engine to operate, emitting noise which far exceeds levels permitted under regulations, such as the UK’s Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005.

A-weighted decibels, or dB(A), are an expression of the relative loudness of sounds in air as perceived by the human ear. In the A-weighted system, the decibel values of sounds at low frequencies are reduced, compared with unweighted decibels, in which no correction is made for audio frequency.

The continuous noise levels from engines within CHP systems can reach levels of 110dB(A), which significantly surpasses the upper exposure action value of 85dB(A) for an eight hour working day, as outlined in the regulations.

In instances where machinery is housed in a reverberant area with reflective surfaces, noise levels can be further exacerbated and have the potential to reach 120dB(A), limiting workers to far less than a minute of exposure in any eighthour period unless suitable noise protection measures are employed.

Therefore, it is usual practice for such systems to be paid special attention to reduce noise to operatives undertaking general maintenance activities in nearby plant areas.

For organisations across a myriad of industries, there is a positive outlook. Just as onsite generation has advanced, so too have the noise control technologies developed to mitigate excessive noise.

With noise control standards in place for the UK and Europe, CHP system operators and installers need to deploy the latest innovative noise control solutions, to comply with varying regulations and reduce the risks to exposure.

The use of acoustically tested panel systems will help to ensure correct design and selection of noise control measures, and thus alleviate concerns with regards to noise.

Given that no two plant installations are completely identical, careful consideration needs to be given to each system’s function, location and permitted noise levels, in order to determine the most effective noise control solution for the specific application.

The bottom line is that, for mission-critical environments in particular, there is no off-the-shelf solution when it comes to specifying noise mitigation products for CHP systems.

The first consideration is that most cogeneration systems installed in critical environments are located inside, or within close vicinity of, a building and this substantially increases operators’ and visitors’ exposure to the risk of breakout noise. In addition to noise at work considerations, critical facilities are having more stringent noise emission limits imposed on them and local authorities are increasingly meticulous about policing them. Environmental noise emissions for ventilation and exhaust systems on CHP systems need to be contemplated from the project planning stage.

Noise mitigation for onsite power

The greatest level of noise reduction for the main noise generating equipment can be achieved by deploying full acoustic enclosures, or installing CHP systems into acoustically insulated containers.
With a correctly designed and acoustically tested panel system, such systems will ensure breakout noise falls below levels set within the regulations and project requirements.

As well as breakout from the main engine cell, there are other factors which require consideration, such as noise passing through the associated ventilation system, breakout from pipework and engine silencers, as well as noise emissions from associated cooling plant and radiators.

Noise from all paths and potential sources needs to be considered at the initial design stage, to ensure compliance with specifications and regulations.

The prime mover (engine), for instance, will require a silencer for its gas exhaust which is capable of withstanding its gas flow rate, its temperature and pressure. Additionally, noise is created when the CHP system’s ventilation air is ducted into and out of an associated enclosure. This means both the supply and return ducts will require noise attenuation.

To facilitate regular access and maintenance, a correctly designed enclosure can also be constructed with incorporated lifting beams, maintenance access doors and removable walls.

Acoustic sealing around access points and penetrations is essential, as a single weak point can compromise the entire installation.

When power generation plants are externally sited, high performance composite acoustic panelling to form enclosures or housings enables systems to be used in the vicinity of residential buildings, 24 hours a day, making them ideal for organisations such as hospitals and large scale manufacturing facilities alike.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Lomax is a director at Wakefield Acoustics.

The post Wall of sound: Managing noise in CHP plants appeared first on Power Engineering International.

In 2019, Greta Thunberg was a relative unknown when she spoke at Davos. A year later, she has global recognition and has become a figurehead for those sounding the alarm about the global climate crisis.

Thisà‚ articleà‚ wasà‚ originallyà‚ publishedà‚ in Power Engineering International Issue 2 -2020, a supplement in à‚ Smart Energy International.
Read theà‚ fullà‚ digimag hereà‚ orà‚ subscribe to receive a print copy here.

But this year she was just one of many voices trying to galvanise action to save our planet, and together these voices very much meant that Davos 2020 felt like a climate change conference. If you looked closely enough, you’d have seen a significant geopolitical sea change. Europe is poised to seize the opportunity to become the global leader on climate change, as it partners with the global tech community to address the greatest challenge of our time.

Follow the leader

The intention was clear even before the conference began, with the European Commission announcing its Just Transition Fund (JTF) which aims to raise and organise capital worth €100 billion. The money will target carbon-intensive regions and industries across Europe, helping them to migrate towards greener industries while retaining economic prosperity. The European Union’s goal will be to unleash a wave of innovation similar to that created by DARPA and other US Government agencies in the post-war period.

More broadly, the feeling from a number of sessions is that the EU is looking to use its leverage as a ‘regulatory superpower’ to affect global change. Although the EU itself is only responsible for 9% of global emissions, several speakers argued that because of the EU’s economic might, any new Europe-wide legislation would likely cause others to follow suit. The introduction of GDPR indeed suggests that, if the EU brings in more stringent requirements for nations and businesses, other countries could move to maintain regulatory alignment rather than force companies to navigate multiple frameworks across borders.

There was also talk about how energy firms are already looking to pre-empt new regulatory measures, with discussions focusing on initiatives such as Occidental’s ‘carbon negative oil’ (by injecting more CO2 in the Permian Basin than the oil will generate) and their investment in the carbon-negative biotech firm, Cemvita Factory. Cemvita aims to remove a gigaton of carbon from the atmosphere over the next decade. And, while challenges remain about how to scale such technology, it offers a snapshot of the type of green investments energy companies are already making, as well as the type of innovation the EU is looking to encourage with the JTF.

Looking for America

The primary reason that the EU is looking to take on the role of global climate leader is that the US federal government has abdicated its position and has instead chosen to direct its focus on strengthening its economy at all costs. While several US states and municipalities remain committed to meeting their obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, there is a substantial void at the federal level.

However, that isn’t to say that the US doesn’t retain a vital role in the fight against climate change. Despite the European Commission’s JTF announcement, the US private sector is still the best option for green tech investment. In 2019, US funding for green tech was ten times that of the biggest European nation, and we should expect to see American VCs play a critical role in helping grow and scale companies with vital green innovations.

The mood in Davos was focused on a single topic like never before, with the pressure to act on carbon emissions higher than ever before.

This will result in action from all corners of our economy; but in the energy sector, those slowest to act will be found out all the quicker ” making proactivity something of an asset all of its own.

About Thomas Leurent

Thomas Leurent is the CEO and co-founder of Predictive Digital Twin pioneer, Akselos. He’s based in the company’s global headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland. An MIT alumnus, Thomas has spent the past seven years building Akselos into the digital transformation disruptor that it is today. The company has operations in Europe, the US, and Southeast Asia. Akselos’ most recent funding round involved Shell Ventures and Innogy Ventures.

The post Davos 2020 – Focus on climate crisis at Swiss summit appeared first on Power Engineering International.

For some time the energy industry has focused on the challenge of how to manage the intermittency of renewables.

As more clean energy generation comes onto the grid ” particularly wind and solar ” this issue remains a priority. However, what is discussed less is the everyday resilience of these technologies.

New generation solutions bring new engineering maintenance challenges, and operators have found that outages, equipment failures and surges in demand can cost millions a day in lost revenue.

In off-grid locations this can be even more problematic, because it makes the difference between the lights literally being on or off.

The good news is that advances in data analytics are helping to curb these problems and can significantly optimize the overall levelized cost of energy over the operational life of wind and solar assets.

In our cover story, Pritil Gunjan of Navigant Research highlights the increasingly vital role that monitoring and control systems are playing in the renewables space.

She states that the global revenue for renewables monitoring and control is expected to rise from $4.47bn last year to $12.8bn in 2028 and also examines how companies in the sector can unlock further growth opportunities.

How new technologies are reducing the risk of expensive operational losses is also the angle of our look at thermal imaging in the power sector. It focuses on how thermal imaging systems employ advanced sensing and measurement control methods plus digital communications to anticipate, detect and respond rapidly to problems.

Finally, one of the hottest topics in the energy sector right now is hydrogen. In their article, Frank Wouters and Paul Ebert explore the within-reach possibilities of the ‘green gas’ and also spotlight some of the hurdles that are yet to be overcome.

Kelvin Ross Editor,
Power Engineering International

The post Power Engineering International Issue 2 2020 appeared first on Power Engineering International.