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Fifty shades of green

How many shades of green can you name? Probably quite a few – and you wouldn’t even be close to the final number that exist in the natural world, never mind those that are man-made.

There are shades of green in the energy world too, because decarbonisation is less a destination and more a journey: how far down the road on that journey you are will signify your green credentials.

In this issue of PEi, against the backdrop of the Green Deal and a so-called (and much-hoped-for) Green Recovery, we look at various forms of power generation on the ‘green’ spectrum. Our experts discuss the energy transition path for gas engines; the latest developments in marine energy; ambitious plans for a hydrogen ‘corridor’; and a new frontier for offshore wind.

We also dissect how a gradual abandonment of coal should be carried out in two regions of the world that are still heavily dependent on the ‘black stuff’: Poland and Asia.

And we discover what oil and gas majors need to do to move with the clean energy tides.

All of these technologies are a different shade of green – you can decide what’s emerald, mint, lime, etc. However, all are on the decarbonisation colour palette that will gradually paint the picture of a net-zero landscape.

Hope you enjoy the articles.

Kelvin Ross
Editor, Power Engineering International

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The human touch of digitalisation

Digitalisation has changed the face of power generation engineering – and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Science fiction has become engineering for many now widely adopted practices and the next decade will offer more game-changing breakthroughs. And all of this requires energy companies to adapt and evolve with these changes, reskilling existing workforces and developing training modules for the next generation.

Of course, there are aspects of engineering that are instinctive and based on human senses: an engineer can know something is right or wrong with a piece of machinery simply by the hum of its engine. How do you build a piece of artificial intelligence that could do the same?

That’s one of the big questions facing the people developing energy’s digital highway – people like Laura Anderson of Siemens Energy. Which is why I sat down with her to explore the past, present and future of the power sector’s digital transformation.

She highlights how automation came to the fore during the pandemic and how AI and blockchain are offering innovative solutions to pressing climate issues.

Elsewhere in this issue, Dr Jacob Klimstra gets behind the hype to examine what is realistically the optimum use of hydrogen in conjunction with renewables.

We also explore the untapped potential of geothermal energy that is, literally, beneath our feet; and we discover what it would take to build a subsea link that would transport Australia’s considerable renewable energy electricity resources to Singapore. And we spotlight an affordable housing project in the US that is proving to be a blueprint for success for microgrid deployment.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Kelvin Ross
Editor, Power Engineering International

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Let’s talk about gas

If the future of energy is decarbonised and largely electrified, where does that leave gas?

Isolated and yesterday’s fuel source? Or the bridging fuel that enables a green future?

The answer is the latter, of course, and it’s a reality that the energy sector has come to accept and adopt in recent years as it takes a holistic, collaborative approach to achieving climate goals.

This issue of PEi examines various aspects of the gas sector. We look at renewable natural gas: what it means, how we get it and what we do with it. Its potential is significant, particularly for sectors such as industrial and manufacturing which are a major contributor to carbon emissions. Yet there are barriers concerning both innovation and investment. We highlight how these can be overcome.

The buzz around hydrogen has created a lifeline for the power generation assets of gas turbine and engine manufacturers. How are they responding? We check out some of the prime movers in this space, including those that are future-proofing themselves via acquisitions of fuel cell companies.

Yet let’s not forget that gas turbine plants remain the backbone of today’s energy sector in countries around the world, and their operators are still striving for even the smallest percentage efficiency increase. So in this issue we also examine the ever-important issue that filtration plays in delivering optimal performance.

Elsewhere, we take a deep dive into an innovative technology that presents the possibility of repurposing coal-fired plants for energy storage; delve into some of the projects that are bringing solar power to emerging markets; and profile a company delivering electricity ship-to-shore by utilising floating power plant vessels.

I, and the rest of the PEi editorial team, hope you enjoy this issue.

Kelvin Ross
Editor, Power Engineering International

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The technologies causing a buzz in 2021

What’s the next big thing in energy? Tricky question, isn’t it? Too many variables. So let’s narrow the scope.

What are the energy technologies that will see significant progress this year and into 2022? Those that have a body of research and development behind them already and are either in commercial operation or on the cusp of it.

Have a think and do please let us know your thoughts and, in particular, projects of interest. Meanwhile, the PEi team has already thought about it and in this issue we profile some of our choices.

Hydrogen is of course one of them and we hear from JEDI: no, not the ones with light sabres, but instead the European group striving to be “leaders in the fields of science and disruptive technologies”.

“Speed and boldness is of the essence to put us back in the driving seat when designing the future ” we want to be ahead of the curve,” says Andre Loesekrug-Pietri, Chairman of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative (JEDI). Find out in our interview how he plans to do it.

Many of you will know what perovskite is: some of you won’t. Either way, turn to our article by research scientist Laura Schelhas, who explains why perovskite is causing a buzz in solar and tells us why that ‘buzzing’ is going to get louder this year.

And while we’re talking solar, elsewhere in the magazine we take you on a virtual tour of Germany’s research centre for aeronautics and space, which is using concentrating solar power and molten salt storage to deliver fascinating results.

These articles offer a glimpse of just some of the energy innovations taking place across the sector and we will bring you more in each issue. Indeed, our previous issue covered nuclear fusion, hydrogen-fuelled gas turbines and floating wind power, so if you missed it, they are invaluable industry insights you’ll want to catch up with.

For now, I hope you enjoy this issue of PEi. And do please get in touch with those projects you believe should feature in future issues.

Kelvin Ross
Editor, Power Engineering International

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How conventional power is breaking conventions

The energy transition is advancing at a different pace across the world, yet there is no doubt that Europe is at the forefront.

And evolving too is the conversations that frame the transition, particularly those that centre around the role of the so-called ‘conventional’ power sources such as gas and nuclear.

The role of gas in the energy transition is now, quite rightly, regarded to be as essential as developments in wind, solar and storage.

And few possibilities are as exciting as the prospect of running an industrial gas turbine on hydrogen: the phrase ‘game-changer’ is used pretty cheaply across the sector these days yet this really is a development that could radically reduce emissions not just in the power sector but also in the commercial and industrial space.

In this issue, we have an exclusive insight into the Zero Emission Hydrogen Turbine Centre in Sweden, which is operated by Siemens Energy.

“We hope to set a positive and practical example for the energy industry globally,” says Siemens Sustainability Officer Aasa Lyckstroem. “Our system is just one example that can be used as a validation point. It will deliver real operational data that can be used by energy system modellers.”

Equally exciting are nuclear developments into advanced modular reactors and we spotlight a government-backed drive in the UK to take research projects to the next level. But the usually unspoken conversation in energy transition talks involve the C-word: coal.

However, there are positive signs that the European Commission is determined to wean countries like Poland and the Czech Republic off coal in a measured way that protects communities that depend on the ‘black stuff’ for their livelihoods (not to mention their energy) while at the same time reskilling as much of the workforce as possible.

Because the energy transition is enabled by innovation but delivered by people ” and we need to keep as many of these people on board as possible.

Until next time,

Kelvin Ross

Editor, Power Engineering International

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Hydrogen – the great green hope

I doubt there’s a hotter topic in the energy sector at the moment than hydrogen. And it’s a technology whose potential is acknowledged and being explored globally ” as evidenced by our coverage in this issue.

Our cover story highlights the role that it could play in the AsiaPacific, where countries across the region are pouring resources into developing next-generation technologies ” Australia alone has launched a $300 million Advancing Hydrogen Fund.

And our Europe-focused article examines how the European Commission (EC) has put hydrogen at the heart of its drive to reach net zero by 2050.

The EC believes that investment in hydrogen will foster sustainable growth and jobs, which will be critical in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

It suggests that cumulative investments in renewable hydrogen in Europe could hit €470 billion by 2050, and adds that “the emergence of a hydrogen value chain serving a multitude of industrial sectors and other end uses could employ up to one million people, directly or indirectly”.

EC executive vice-president for the Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said his new hydrogen policy was “ambitious, necessary and put us firmly on a path towards climate neutrality”.

This increasing focus on hydrogen is most welcome because it acknowledges the crucial role of gas in the global energy transition. Gas is now rightly seen as the enabler of a ‘green’ future, and there are few more exciting gas developments than those happening right now in hydrogen.

For years we have labelled gas a ‘conventional’ source of power: developments in hydrogen are proving that gas is currently the most convention-busting of all generation sources.

Until next time,

Kelvin Ross

Editor, Power Engineering International

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Nuclear’s place in the sun

Of all the energy transition conferences I’ve attended in recent years, many ” if not most ” have a common denominator: they never mention nuclear.

And I include in this events that have taken place in France, where undoubtedly the lights were being kept on by a reactor not very far away.

Quite why nuclear finds itself the ‘forgotten man’ of the energy transition is not clear. It may be because that, once built, the technology does not particularly need any of the whizzy upgrades that digitalisation has enabled.

Nor can it offer ‘flexibility’ in the way of gas and renewable plants that it takes and that can’t be radically adjusted.

Yet it is zero-emission energy: indeed, it was nuclear ‘clean’ credentials that led to Hinkley Point C reactor being given the green light in the UK and work is now well underway.

The tendency to overlook the role of nuclear in the energy transition is slowly starting to change as the debate becomes more holistic ” we’re moving away from the old ‘renewables good/everything else bad’ rallying call to a more nuanced discussion where conventional types of power generation are seen as enablers and a bridge to a 100 per cent renewable future.

And what is already beginning to boost nuclear’s image is fusion. What was once science fiction is now science fact: several groundbreaking projects are underway around the world.

In this issue we profile some of these projects and speak to some of the key players. We outline the opportunities fusion presents and examine the still considerable challenges that it faces.

What is certain is that fusion is coming. There was once the adage that fusion was ” and always would be ” 30 years away. That is no longer the case and it may herald a new place in the sun for nuclear.

Kelvin Ross
Editor, Power Engineering International

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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

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Data is the new water. It’s everywhere, floods of the stuff: but it is only any good if you know which information has value and which is just a puddle of data. Then you need to collect it, filter it and ‘bottle’ it. And then can it be used to slake our thirst for innovation.

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From this edition, we will be featuring print elements of Power Engineering International inside the Smart Energy International magazine. The synergies between the two publications are obvious and will bring a wider scope of interesting content to our key utility audiences, while continuing to remain true to our focus areas.

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