Power generation plants of all types want to use digitalization and Industry 4.0 technologies to modernize and further automate their operations.

To succeed, they need wireless networks and devices that meet the connectivity demands of Industry 4.0 applications, handle growing data volumes, and enrich worker communications. And these networks need to provide reliable coverage in areas of high interference.

Nokia 4G/LTE and 5G private wireless networks provide pervasive, reliable, low‑latency connectivity that enables power generation plants to make a successful transformation.

Find out how these solutions enable Industry 4.0 technologies that optimize plant operations, enhance worker safety and efficiency, and improve overall plant security.

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Consequently, operators must now make proactive pump improvements to meet these challenges. Unless these changes are carefully considered and implemented, there will be an inevitable reduction in performance and reliability. For these pumps to be running at anything less than optimum efficiency can affect the whole business model.

With decades of experience in pump design and manufacturing, Sulzer has developed industry-leading technologies to deliver these improvements in the most optimal manner. By harnessing AI data analytics to predict imminent pump failures and turnkey retrofits to bring legacy pumps up to new efficiency standards – operators can benefit from cost-effective solutions to power generation pump challenges.

By collecting performance data to inform pump retrofits, operators can ensure that equipment functions at its best efficiency point (BEP) even when duty requirements change. Furthermore, efficiency and uptime can be increased while emissions are reduced.

Very few providers have the knowledge and expertise to provide turnkey pump improvements from a single source. Sulzer offers streamlined parts manufacturing for retrofits as well as an advanced data analytics platform. Combined, the company delivers expert advice and pump services to power plants around the world.

Visit the Sulzer website here.

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Industrial Analytics

By leveraging advanced analytics and AI, the Genix APM Suite can estimate the remaining useful life of assets, providing a maintenance plan that can reduce asset downtime by up to 50% and increase asset life by up to 40%.

This is particularly important for customers in asset-intensive industries—energy, manufacturing, marine, process or utility. Because Genix APM is modular, it can be scaled up as the number of assets or production units rise.

Read this whitepaper to learn how ABB’s new Genix Asset Performance Management Suite solves many asset-specific, function-limited aspects of previous-generation asset management technology.

Visit the ABB website here

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The human senses of sound and touch were the first mechanisms used to detect machinery problems. Electronic sensors have since offered the ability to feel and listen to machinery with more precision, at more locations and over more time than was ever before possible. Interpretation of the electronic signals delivered by these sensors has provided the maintenance engineer with the diagnostic information necessary to pinpoint bearing faults, thus enabling a more efficient and predictable maintenance effort.

However, skilled and trained personnel have been required to effectively interpret this diagnostic information. As electronic sensors have become more sophisticated, so too have the diagnostic techniques, leading to the ability of earlier detection of failures with less required skill.

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BNEF’s analysis shows that companies, governments and households invested $303.5 billion in new renewable energy capacity in 2020, up 2% on the year, helped by the biggest-ever build-out of solar projects and a $50 billion surge for offshore wind.

Up to $139 billion was spent on electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure, up 28% and a new record. Other areas of energy transition investment also showed strength. Domestic installation of energy-efficient heat pumps came to $50.8 billion, up 12%, while investment in stationary energy storage technologies such as batteries was $3.6 billion, level with 2019 despite falling unit prices.

Global investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) tripled to $3 billion, and that in hydrogen was $1.5 billion, down 20% but the second-highest annual number to date.

Albert Cheung, head of analysis at BNEF, said: “Our figures show that the world has reached half a trillion dollars a year in its investment to decarbonize the energy system. Clean power generation and electric transport are seeing heavy inflows, but need to see further increases in spending as costs fall. Technologies such as electric heat, CCS and hydrogen are only attracting a fraction of the investment they will need in the 2020s to help bring emissions under control. We need to be talking about trillions per year if we are to meet climate goals.”

A geographical split of BNEF’s energy transition investment data shows that Europe accounted for the biggest slice of global investment, at $166.2 billion (up 67%), with China at $134.8 billion (down 12%) and the US at $85.3 billion (down 11%). Europe’s impressive performance was driven by a record year for electric vehicle sales, and the best year in renewable energy investment since 2012.

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Jon Moore, chief executive of BNEF, adds: “The coronavirus pandemic has held back progress on some projects, but overall investment in wind and solar has been robust and electric vehicle sales jumped more than expected. Policy ambition is clearly rising as more countries and businesses commit to net-zero targets, and green stimulus programs are starting to make their presence felt. Some 54% of 2016 emissions are now under some form of net-zero commitment, up from 34% at the start of last year. This should drive increasing investment in the coming years.”

Figure 1: Global energy transition investment, 2004-2020

Renewable energy investment

Global investment in renewable energy capacity moved up 2% to $303.5 billion in 2020. This was the second-highest annual figure ever (after 2017’s $313.3 billion), and the seventh consecutive total of more than $250 billion. Falling capital costs enabled record volumes of both solar (132GW) and wind (73GW) to be installed on the basis of the modest increase in dollar investment.

Highlights of the renewables investment total included a leap of 56% in financings of offshore wind projects to $50 billion, including the largest deal ever in that sub-sector ” $8.3 billion for the 2.5GW Dogger Bank project in the UK North Sea. The year also saw the largest single solar park ever funded, the 2GW Al Dhafrah in the United Arab Emirates, at a cost of $1.1 billion.

Overall, solar capacity investment was up 12% at $148.6 billion, and wind (onshore and offshore) down 6% at $142.7 billion. Biomass and waste-to-energy financings were down 3% at $10 billion.

In terms of regions, renewable energy capacity investment in Europe, at $81.8 billion, up 52%, was its highest since 2012 and almost caught up with China, at $83.6 billion, down 12%. The US fell 20% to $49.3 billion, as wind investment almost halved, and India slipped 36% to $6.2 billion.

Renewables capacity investment rose 10% in Japan to $19.3 billion, 177% in the UK to $16.2 billion and 221% in the Netherlands to $14.3 billion. Spain was up 16% at $10 billion, Brazil up 23% at $8.7 billion, Vietnam 89% higher at $7.4 billion, France 38% up at $7.3 billion, and Germany 14% up at $7.1 billion, as countries accelerated their decarbonisation efforts. Other markets seeing $3 billion-plus totals included Taiwan, Australia, South Korea, Poland, Chile, Turkey and Sweden.

Public markets and VC/PE

In 2020, public markets and venture capital and private equity players in renewable energy and the closely related area of energy storage raised a runaway record figure of $20 billion ,up 249% on the previous year.

The biggest deals included $2.8 billion raised by Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, $846 million from US fuel cell company Plug Power, and $777 million from Chinese PV manufacturer JA Solar Technology.

Venture capital and private equity investment in renewables and storage increased 51% to $5.9 billion last year. Both this, and investment via the public markets, took place against the backdrop of buoyant share prices: the WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index, or NEX, which tracks about 100 clean energy stocks worldwide, rose 142% in 2020 to record levels. This positive investor mood helped electric vehicle companies raised some $28 billion from stock market investors in 2020, up from just $1.6 billion in 2019, according to BNEF estimates. Last year’s total was seven times the previous record, in 2016.

The report is available for download.

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This is according to the latest white paper release by GE, entitled Accelerated Growth of Renewables and Gas Power Can Rapidly Change the Trajectory on Climate Change.

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GE states that the power industry has a responsibility, and the technical capability to take significant steps to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help address climate change at scale.

The solution for the power sector is not an either/or proposition between renewables and natural gas, but rather a multi-pronged approach to decarbonisation with renewables and natural gas power at its core.

The paper emphasises the following:

• Addressing climate change must be an urgent global priority, requiring global action
• Additional renewable energy with natural gas, which has the benefits of flexibility and dependable capacity, is the most effective near-term solution to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector
• Even with rapid growth, renewable energy production is not occurring at a fast-enough pace or scale to deliver the CO2 reductions needed to fight climate change
• Gas power is an affordable, efficient and dispatchable means to complement renewables, with less than 50% of the CO2 emissions compared to coal
• To impact the trajectory of climate change globally, we need accelerated, strategic deployment of renewables and gas power.

Viewed separately, renewables and gas generation technologies each have merits and challenges as a means to address climate change and optimum solutions will differ regionally.

Such solutions will depend upon factors such as fuel availability and security, land use constraints, renewable resource availability, and the emphasis a particular region is placing on climate change.

Together, their complementary nature offers tremendous potential to address climate change with the speed and scale the world requires.

Download the white paper to learn more about the technologies, policy landscapes, opportunities and pitfalls.

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The White Paper outlines policies to shift away from fossil fuels, boost competition in the energy retail market and provide at least à‚£6.7 billion ($9 billion) in support to the fuel poor and most vulnerable over the next six years.

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Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said the White Paper “establishes a decisive and permanent shift away from our dependence on fossil fuels, towards cleaner energy sources that will put our country at the forefront of the global green industrial revolution”.

He added: “At every step of the way, we will place affordability and fairness at the heart of our reforms – unleashing a wave of competition so consumers get the best deals possible on their bills, while protecting the vulnerable and fuel poor with additional financial support”.

Alongside the Energy White Paper, the government has also confirmed that it is to enter negotiations with French energy giant EDF to begin the process of building Sizewell C nuclear power plant in the east of England.

Core parts of the Energy White Paper include:

• Supporting up to 220,000 jobs in the next 10 years
• Transforming the UK’s energy system from one that was historically based on fossil fuels to one that is fit for a net zero economy
• Keeping bills affordable for consumers by making the energy retail market truly competitive
• Generating emission-free electricity by 2050 with a trajectory that will see the UK overwhelmingly decarbonised in the 2030s
• Establishing a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) from 1 January 2021 to replace the current EU ETS at the end of the Transition Period
• Continuing to explore a range of financing options for new nuclear with developers including the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) funding model
• Delivering ambitious electricity commitments through our world-beating commitment to deliver 40GW of offshore wind by 2030
• Investing à‚£1 billion in state-of-the-art carbon capture storage in four industrial clusters by 2030
• Kick-starting the hydrogen economy by working with industry to aim for 5GW of production by 2030
• Investing à‚£1.3 billion to accelerate the rollout of charge points for electric vehicles in homes, streets and on motorways as well as up to à‚£1 billion to support the electrification of cars
• Supporting the lowest paid with their bills through a à‚£6.7 billion package of measures that could save families in old inefficient homes up to à‚£400
• Moving away from fossil fuel boilers, helping to make people’s homes warmer, whilst keeping bills low
• Supporting North Sea oil and gas transition for the people and communities most affected by the move away from oil and gas production

Kick-starting the process will be a series of consultations in spring 2021 to create the framework to introduce opt-in switching, consider reforms to the current roll-over tariff arrangements, and a call for evidence to begin a strategic dialogue between government, consumers and industry on affordability and fairness.

The UK ETS will promote cost-effective decarbonisation, allowing businesses to cut carbon where it is cheapest to do so. It will be the world’s first net zero carbon cap and trade market, and a crucial step towards achieving the UK’s target for net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The scheme is more ambitious than the EU system it replaces – from day one the cap on emissions allowed within the system will be reduced by 5%, and we will consult in due course on how to align with net zero. This gives industry the certainty it needs to invest in low carbon technologies.

Industry reaction

Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive at Energy UK, said the White Paper “reveals the scale and opportunity of the energy transition”.

“The energy industry will do our bit to innovate, supporting our customers so that they benefit from the net zero transition and investing in the green infrastructure we need ” but clear policies from government help us do that. This is what the White Paper ” and other publications over the next year ” should provide”.

Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Business stands ready to deliver the investment and innovation needed to turn ambition into reality, and the proposals outlined in the Energy White Paper will give business further confidence to deliver new infrastructure, including electric vehicle charging, renewable power generation and low-carbon upgrades to people’s homes”.

Hugh McNeal, chief executive at Renewable UK, said: “Today’s white paper provides greater clarity to the companies investing across the UK to deliver our net zero emissions target. Wind and renewable energy will be at the centre of our future energy system, providing the clean electricity and green hydrogen we need to decarbonise our economy…”

Kyle Martin, head of market insight at LCP said, says: “The Energy White Paper sets out policies for addressing some of the biggest challenges standing in the way of achieving net zero.

“The proposals for the power sector will allow big infrastructure projects such as new nuclear, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), hydrogen production facilities, and renewable generation to be developed and, most importantly, to attract private finance.

“LCP has estimated that to meet net zero by 2050 a total of à‚£350 billion of investment will be required across power generation capacity alone. As such, it is crucial that the market framework delivers this investment at lowest cost.

“This investment in power assets needs to be done in conjunction with building out network capacity to transport energy around the country to where it is needed. Since January 1, 2020, Great Britain has turned down enough wind power to have powered over 800,000 homes for the whole year. Achieving Net Zero will mean ensuring we can use and store the renewable power we generate, and this will require co-ordination between Ofgem and BEIS to deliver whole system solutions.”

Mark Bartholomew, energy partner at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, said: “The white paper champions a bold vision for the UK’s energy sector, not least the need to deliver affordability for consumers. There may be some scope for measures such as competitive tendering for on-shore network development ” and greater competition in the energy retail sector ” to help meet this goal.

“However, with policies around new nuclear development and decarbonised heat and transport carrying hefty price tags, it remains to be seen just how ‘affordable’ prices will stay once costs start mounting up.”

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That’s the standout statistic from a new report from Firetrace International, a provider of fire suppression systems for the wind industry.

In “The Complete Guide to Wind Turbine Fire Protection“, Firetrace explores the cost and benefit of managing this risk – providing wind turbine owners, operators, and their insurers with an assessment of the likelihood of fires, average cost of a fire loss, and the cost of protection using one or more fire suppression systems.

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Wind power
Renewables

According to a leading provider of insurance services for renewable energy projects, over a 7-year period, the average loss per fire incident is $4.5 million – a figure set to increase with the expansion of larger, more advanced turbines.

Most turbine fires originate in the nacelle, making it difficult to fight due to the significant health and safety risk of sending a team up to extinguish the fire.

If not immediately suppressed, fires that begin in the nacelle lead to the total destruction of the turbine and can potentially spread into the surrounding environment ” incurring not only financial losses, but reputational damage to the owner or operator, and the industry as a whole.

In order to reduce the severity of nacelle fires, automated fire suppression systems must be installed at the main points of ignition – converter and capacitor cabinets, the nacelle brake, and the transformer.

A system designed with flexible Detection Tubing is more effective in these fire suppression systems. Once a fire breaks out, this tubing ruptures and a suppression agent is released automatically through the tubing or via diffuser nozzles nearest to the point where the most heat is detected, extinguishing the fire precisely where it starts and before it can take hold.

Even after accounting for the likelihood of a fire, once a turbine’s capacity exceeds 3MW, the cost of fire suppression to protect all three risk areas is outweighed by the cost of replacing that turbine. Installation of fire suppression systems at all three ignition sources typically costs less than $30,000 ” less than 1% of the average installation cost of a 3MW onshore wind turbine and less than 0.6% of the average cost of a fire loss.

The Firetrace guide includes practical advice and recommendations for investment into fire suppression systems based on turbine size and cost.

Angela Krcmar, Senior Business Development Manager, Firetrace said: “The unintended consequences of a fire incident in a wind turbine can have far reaching operational, safety and health risks. While preventative technology such as arc flash detection and condition monitoring systems can reduce the risk of a fire, only suppression systems can put a fire out once it has started.

“If owners, operators, and insurers want to guarantee a fire is limited to the nacelle, rather than spreading down the tower, to other turbines, and potentially into the surrounding environment, investing in a suppression system is critical. Suppression systems can be installed during manufacture, or retroactively fitted to turbines at low cost ” giving owners and insurers peace of mind that their turbine can continue to operate safely.”

Further information is available in the full whitepaper.

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The COVID-19 crisis has forced everyone to become heavily reliant on the internet and its digital economy.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) advises businesses to consider cyberattack from a business perspective, looking at the cyber element of operational risks to their business as they become increasingly dependent on the internet and digital channels.

In the report Cyber Resilience in the Electricity Ecosystem: Boards and Cybersecurity Officers, WEF presents advice for cyber-aware electricity industry companies’ boards of directors to begin taking action immediately on this important and growing business risk.

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The report identified seven implementation categories that require pressing action at the highest strategic level:

1. Oversight of enterprise cyber risk and resilience
2. Organisational governance
3. Risk management
4. Systemic cyber resilience
5. Resilience plans
6. Review of organisation and board performance
7. Community collaboration and interdependence

WEF cautions leaders to note that these implementation categories are not listed in order of importance; rather, they each support cyberattack within electricity companies.

Managing cyberattacks

The report addresses two distinct audiences (board directors and corporate officers accountable for cyberattack) and offers a method for finding a common language to encourage collaboration.

Furthermore, it presents three areas for consideration:

The journey to cyber resilience ” the bridge between board directors and corporate officers accountable for cyberattack focuses on translating and communicating cyber risks, incorporating them in the enterprise risk register and aligning those risks with business strategic objectives ” while maintaining operational resilience as the end goal. First, this report frames the journey towards a company’s cyber resilience. The seven categories mentioned defining the ability of a company to move from a reactive to a proactive data breach posture.

Recommendations for the directors of the board ” only the board of directors can instil the cultural shifts and motivate the organizational shifts that must take place to ensure data breach. The section on actions for the board offers clear and achievable steps that directors should take immediately in order to improve cyberattack of their company. This section also recognises the important role that the board plays in embedding cyber resilience in the broader industry’s ecosystem.

Recommendations for corporate officers accountable for cyberattacks ” the report provides corporate officers (and other senior cybersecurity executives) accountable for cyber resilience with the tools to communicate the most relevant and salient information in an effective way to support and guide the board of directors to make better risk-informed decisions related to data breach. It also highlights opportunities for the strategic-technical collaboration necessary to managing cyberattacks.

Read the full report Cyber Resilience in the Electricity Ecosystem: Boards and Cybersecurity Officers.

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The whitepaper is entitled Pathways towards 100% carbon reduction for electric utility power systems helps utilities to explore the costs associated with transitioning to carbon-free and carbon-neutral grid operations.

Carbon-free refers to zero thermal energy in final year or beyond and carbon-neutral means the combustion of renewable fuels only in final year and beyond.

According to the study, utilities can achieve 80% carbon reduction based purely on economics, with no subsidies, mandates or renewable requirements.

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Utilities can achieve high renewable penetrations and dramatic carbon emissions reductions independent of policy, driven mainly by the falling price curves of wind, solar and battery storage.

However, they will need to make use of gas to meet energy demand in the event renewables are scarce and battery energy storage cannot cope with the demand.

The cost of moving from 80% carbon reduction to 100% carbon-free requires a 37% cost premium. The increase in cost is in large part due to massive investments in renewable energy and traditional energy storage systems.

Carbon-free with renewables is the most expensive path to reduce carbon emissions within grid networks as it results in ratepayer costs doubling that of a carbon-neutral system, according to the whitepaper.

By leveraging a carbon-neutral model with power-to-gas technologies, US utilities have the ability to;

• Meet net-zero carbon emission goals suggested by the IPCC
• Maintain reliability and energy security
• Install flexible thermal capacity to support renewables, free from stranded asset concerns
• Minimise costs to ratepayers

Pathways to 100% require additional flexible gas capacity.

“An alternative pathway is to define “100%” in alignment with IPCC requirements of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which is the same as carbon-neutral. From a climate change perspective, the goal is not to eliminate all forms of CO2, but rather to assure no net increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration. Power-to-Gas uses carbon-free energy to produce renewable methane, CH4,” according to the whitepaper.

Get further detail in the whitepaper.

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