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The Hungarian government will have to fulfil two conditions before the European Commission (EC) can give the go-ahead to the Paks nuclear power plant (NPP) expansion project, according to reports in the Hungarian media.The project involves the construction of two new units with capacity of 1,200MW as part of the expansion of the existing Paks plant — which comprises four 500MWe units.The first condition, according to the online business daily Portfolio, is for all issues related to the supervision of the power plant to be ‘clearly separated’ from existing policymaking in the energy sector and the overall system of supervision for powers stations in Hungary. The second condition states that the electricity produced should be sold on a power exchange along market principles, instead of being directly sold to the country’s national grid. This follows the launch of an infringement procedure against Hungary by the EC in November 2015, concerning the project and the award of the construction contract to Russia, and doubts about the country’s financing plans in January 2016.The €12.5bn project will be financed by a €10bn loan from Russia — to be repaid over 21 years. Construction work is expected to commence in 2018 and 2019, with commissioning expected in 2025 and 2026.* This is a version of an article originally published in Nuclear Engineering International
A consortium comprising German company Nukem Technologies and four Bulgarian companies has been awarded a €72M ($80M) contract to build a radioactive waste repository for Kozloduy nuclear power plant in Bulgaria.The repository — to be located in the 3km “surveillance zone” of the Kpzloduy plant — will have a capacity of 138,000cb m. The first stage of the project will include the development of licensing documents for the facility’s commissioning in accordance with national nuclear legislation.The facility, expected to be operational in 2021, will be filled with radioactive waste over the next 60 years.According to the Bulgaria’s energy minister Nikolay Nikolov, the project will help the process of decommissioning the shutdown units of the nuclear power plant — units 1-4 were closed as a condition of the country’s entry in the European Union. Units 5 and 6 continued in operation and are now being upgraded. * This is a version of an article originally published in Nuclear Engineering International.
Andritz Hydro has secured a €140M order from Spanish utility Iberdrola Generación for a new pumped storage hydropower plant in Gouvães, Portugal.Under the contract, the company will design, manufacture, supply and provide installation supervision for the complete electro- and hydro-mechanical equipment, including reversible pump turbines, motor generators and electrical power systems.It will also involve the design, manufacture, supply and complete installation of a penstock with a weight of 12,000t, a diameter of 5,400mm, and length of 2.5km.The hydropower plant — located on the Támega River in northern Portugal, close to the city of Porto — will have four pump turbines, each with a capacity of 220MW. It will consist of three power stations with a total power production of about 1,200MW.
UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has approved a senior debt of £80M for the construction of a new energy from waste combined heat and power (CHP) facility near Sittingbourne in Kent, UK.The £340M facility is expected to generate up to 154GWh of renewable energy annually — enough to power 37,500 homes.The 43MW plant is also expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 163,000t annually and eliminate around 0.5M t of waste going to landfill.Upon completion, it will supply renewable electricity to the grid and renewable heat to DS Smith’s Kemsley Paper Mill.GIB CEO Shaun Kingsbury said: “This plant will put renewable energy to work for one of Kent’s major employers while helping the UK meet its climate change and waste management goals.“Combined heat and power is a prominent feature of the low-carbon energy infrastructure in mainland Europe and Scandinavia and is one of the key technologies that can help British industry become more efficient, competitive and cleaner.”The project developer Wheelabrator Technologies has received over £300M of debt so far from a lending club that includes GIB alongside Barclays, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Natixis and Investec.The facility will create about 500 construction jobs and around 40 full-time operational jobs upon completion. The plant is anticipated to be operational in 2019.
SapuraKencana TL Offshore has won a MYR510M ($125M) contract for the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) offshore Dardanelles Strait in the Sea of Marmara.The company, a subsidiary of Malaysia's SapuraKencana Petroleum, will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of offshore pipelines and fibre optic cables for TANAP. SapuraKencana’s president and group CEO Shahril Shamsuddin said: “This contract win demonstrates that our transformation and strategies are continuing to enhance our competitiveness globally.“Our cost reduction efforts and increased operational effectiveness have driven this enhanced competitiveness that has helped us to secure our latest wins in Mexico and TANAP, both totalling just under RM1bn. These wins will contribute positively to the group’s performance.”The project is set to start in the third quarter of 2016 and will be completed in the third quarter of 2018.TANAP is a natural gas pipeline project that connects the continents of Europe and Asia, to supply natural gas from the Southern Gas Corridor project in Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Europe.
Dutch dredging contractor Royal Boskalis Westminster has secured the Offshore Balance of Plant contract from Vattenfall for the construction of Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm project.The wind farm, known as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, is located about 3km off the coast of Aberdeen and will feature 11 wind turbines with a capacity of 92.4MW.Under the €100M contract, Boskalis will be responsible for all offshore elements of the wind farm, with the exception of the wind turbine supply.The scope of the contract will include the design, procurement, fabrication, supply, transportation and installation of eleven suction bucket jacket foundations and scour protection.It will also include the procurement, supply, transportation and installation of 66kV inter array and export cables by Boskalis subsidiary VBMS, and the provision of the wind turbine transportation and installation vessel.The foundations and cables will be transported and installed with own assets including a fallpipe vessel, transport barges, a large floating sheerleg crane and a cable laying vessel, while the wind turbines will be installed by the company’s installation vessel.The offshore project work is set to begin in September 2017, with the project completion expected in the second quarter of 2018.
Swedish power utility Vattenfall is set to construct a SEK3bn ($349M) combined wind farm and technology development centre off the Scottish coast. To be called ‘European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre’ (EOWDC), the wind farm will feature 11 turbines and have a capacity of 92.4MW. In addition, the company will build a centre for testing and developing new technologies for offshore wind power. Vattenfall’s president and CEO Magnus Hall said: “We aim to double our wind power capacity from 2 to 4GW by 2020 and are focusing on reducing and streamlining our offshore wind power costs. “Our investment in the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off Aberdeen is an important part of this process.” Onshore construction will start in late 2016 and offshore construction work is anticipated to commence in late 2017 with power generation expected in early 2018.
Construction has started on Scotland’s biggest waste water tunnel, using a tunnel boring machine named Daisy.The Shieldhall Tunnel will be constructed for Scottish Water by the Glasgow Tunnel Partnership, run by a commercial joint venture between Costain and Vinci Construction Grands Projets called CVJV.The £100M tunnel measures 5km in length and forms a key part of Scottish Water’s £250M five-year programme of work to enhance river water quality and the natural environment.The 1,000t TBM being used for the projects measures 180m in length and will commence construction on the tunnel between Craigton and Queen’s Park. The machine was named Daisy the Driller by Lewis Bennett of Craigton Primary School, through a competition run by Scottish Water. The TBM is expected to complete its journey and emerge at Queen’s Park after nearly 13 months, when the new tunnel will be connected to the existing network.The cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform Roseanna Cunningham has launched the tunnel boring machine (TBM) for the project.Scottish Water CEO Douglas Millican said: “The Shieldhall Tunnel is the biggest of many projects which are progressing deep beneath the Greater Glasgow area’s streets largely out of sight of most people who live, work and travel here.“Much of the existing waste water infrastructure was built in Victorian times and the modernisation of the system and construction of new underground assets such as the Shieldhall Tunnel will enable Greater Glasgow to realise its above-ground aspirations.”The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2017.
DONG Energy has been awarded the concession to build the Netherlands’ offshore wind farms Borssele 1 and 2 from Netherlands’ Minister of Economic Affairs.The wind farms will have a capacity of two times 350MW and will cover the annual power consumption of 1M Dutch households.The project will be located 22km from the coast of Zeeland province, with a water depth of 14-38m, and covering an area of 128.3sq km. DONG Energy’s wind power head and executive vice president Samuel Leupold said: “Winning this tender in a highly competitive field of bidders is another proof of our market-leading position and our business model which builds on continued innovation, industrialisation and scale. “With Borssele 1 and 2, we’re crossing the levelized cost of electricity mark of EUR 100 per MWh for the first time and are reaching a critical industry milestone more than three years ahead of time. This demonstrates the great potential of offshore wind.”The company will build the wind farms within four years with a flexibility of one year.
POSCO E&C has completed construction on a waste-to-power plant in Krakow, Poland.The plant, delivered for Krakow Communal Holding, was constructed in three and a half years.The $250M facility — the largest daily waste incinerating facility in Poland — is capable of processing 220,000t of household waste annually in an eco-friendly way.
Scottish energy company SSE has made a final decision to proceed with the construction of the £360M Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2) project in West Yorkshire.The project, which was awarded planning consent in October 2015, will be constructed adjacent to the recently completed FM1 project on land at Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station in Knottingley, West Yorkshire. Upon completion, the plant will be able to generate about 70MW of electricity — enough to power around 170,000 homes. Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) served as the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on the FM1 plant and has been selected for the Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2) project.SSE’s head of construction Charlie Cryans said: “SSE’s decision to take the FM2 project through to construction is positive for our businesses, but also represents a £360M investment, which will provide a range of benefits for the local area which we have a long association with.“We will be holding a Meet the Buyer event in the coming weeks which will provide local businesses and suppliers with the opportunity to meet the main contractor for the project, and pitch their products and services.”Construction work is expected to start later this year. The project will create more than 500 construction jobs during its three-year period.
Momentum joint venture has been selected as the construction management-as-agent contractor for the ITER’s project to build the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in France.The JV is led by Amec Foster Wheeler in partnership with Assystem and KEPCO Engineering and Construction Company.Under the €174M contract, Momentum will manage and coordinate the assembly and installation of more than 1M components for the ITER reactor.The scope of the work includes contract management, configuration management, project management, construction preparation, site coordination, works supervision, and activities leading up to mechanical completion.Amec Foster Wheeler’s president of clean energy business Clive White said: “The Momentum team is proud and delighted to be chosen for such a pivotal role on one of the world’s most important energy projects.“The Momentum partners will bring complementary skills to bear and embed a can-do project culture focused on safety, quality and maintaining schedule and costs.“Amec Foster Wheeler has played an important part in the ITER project for over 20 years and this important contract underlines our key role in developing future nuclear technologies while continuing to support the existing fission power industry.”The contract will run for 10 years and has an option to extend for three years.
A2Sea has signed a contract for the installation of Horns Reef 3, which is an extension to the current Horns Reef 1 and 2 offshore wind farms in Denmark.The project owner is Vattenfall and the total capacity of the wind farm is 400MW. A2Sea’s purpose-built offshore installation vessel Sea Installer will be deployed to install the 49 MHI Vestas 8MW turbines. Load out port will be Esbjerg.“I am confident that our team of experienced employees both onshore and offshore will deliver on time, on budget and most importantly in a safe manner,” says Jens Frederik Hansen, CEO at A2SEA.When fully commissioned, the 400MW offshore wind farm will provide green energy for over 400,000 homes in Denmark.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a €125M loan to the National Power Company of Iceland Landsvirkjun to build a new geothermal power plant at Theistareykir, Iceland.The funding will be used to support the design, construction and operation of a new 90MWe geothermal power station and its geothermal wells.The project will be located near Húsavik, in the northeast of the country, where nine wells with more than 50MWe capacity have already been drilled and tested.EIB’s vice president Cristian Popa said: “Iceland is in a very special position when it comes to renewable energy and it’s great to see how Landsvirkjun is making the most of it.“The EIB is glad that it can support this important energy project, which also highlights how the bank supports the energy sector around Europe.“The Icelandic expertise in this area is state of the art and serves as a blue print for geothermal projects around the globe."
EDF Energy Renewables has announced the start of construction work on a new offshore wind farm off the coast of Blyth in Northumberland, UK. The Blyth Offshore wind project will be wholly owned by EDF Energies Nouvelles and will be constructed by a UK joint venture between EDF Energies Nouvelles and EDF Energy. The project, with a maximum total generating capacity of about 100MW, will generate enough electricity to power 33,000 homes in the region. The power produced from the wind farm will be supplied to an electricity substation at Blyth, which will be constructed by Balfour Beatty, for transmission to the National Grid. Offshore work will start in 2017 with the installation of five 41.5MW turbines and will be completed in the same year. The project will create about 200 jobs during peak construction.The project will use the latest generation of offshore wind turbines, to be manufactured and installed by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, and will be the first project to use 66kV cable technology, which will be installed by VMBS — specialist in subsea power cable installation. The wind farm will use a new type of foundations developed by BAM for offshore wind turbines, representing the first time the technology will have been used.EDF Energy Renewables CEO Matthieu Hue said: “As a company, we already have a strong presence in the North East, in low carbon electricity generation and serving customers including our first offshore wind farm at Teesside so we’re pleased to be able to add another project to our portfolio in the region.“We are delighted that the gravity based foundations will be made in Newcastle. The Port of Blyth will be used for operations and maintenance and the blades for the turbines will be made on the Isle of Wight."
Swedish energy firm Vattenfall is set to commence construction on the €1bn offshore wind farm Horns Rev 3 off the west coast of Denmark.In February 2015, Vattenfall won the bid to build the wind farm, which will generate enough electricity to power 400,000 Danish homes. Vattenfall’s president and CEO Magnus Hall said: "Horns Rev 3 is an important part of Vattenfall’s ambitions in the field of wind and particularly on our focus on offshore wind farms."Horns Rev 3 also gives a clear signal to the world around us that Vattenfall’s strategy is to make new investments in renewable electricity generation and to grow in wind. "Vattenfall supports the transition to a totally renewable energy system and takes up the challenge, in spite of current low electricity prices and excess capacity."The wind farm will be commissioned in 2018.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has offered a £525M loan for the construction of the £2.7bn Beatrice wind farm off the coast of Scotland, UK.The EIB loan, partly guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, will have tenure of 19 years.To be constructed 14km off the Caithness coast, the 86-turbine wind farm will produce up to 588MW of electricity, enough to meet the energy needs of over 475,000 homes.The wind farm will use Siemens 7MW wind turbines with 154m diameter rotor blades. EIB’s vice president Jonathan Taylor said: “We are pleased to provide £525M to support construction of the Beatrice wind farm that will strengthen renewable energy generation in Scotland. This also represents the first Scottish scheme to be backed by the new European Fund for Strategic Investments.“EIB backing for energy investment across the UK demonstrates our firm commitment to supporting ambitious energy projects that create jobs and benefit local companies.”
Skanska, in joint venture with Porr and A.Hak, has secured a contract from the National Grid for the Humber Tunnel project in Northern England, UK.Under the £150M contract, the joint venture will design and construct a 5km tunnel below the river Humber, inserting a single string of 42” steel pipe and connecting it to the above ground installations (AGIs) at Paull and Goxhill. The pipeline will connect to the existing National Grid AGI sites at Paull and Goxhill and will be able to transport natural gas at a pressure of 70barg.National Grid’s senior project manager Phil Croft said: “This pipeline will be the longest gas pipeline in a tunnel, inserted in a single string in the world. To do this we need partners with experience and a proven track record.“Skanska, PORR and A.Hak were able to demonstrate their expertise and knowledge throughout the tender process, giving us the confidence that this was the right company to build this tunnel and pipeline in such an environmentally sensitive and commercially busy river.”The planning approval from the Planning Inspectorate for the three-year project is due in September 2016.
Subsea 7 and Seaway Heavy Lifting have secured an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the Beatrice wind farm turbine foundations and array cables in Scotland.The scope of the $1.3bn contract,awarded by Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited, will also involve the transport and installation of transmission modules for the offshore wind farm.The project’s management and engineering has already commenced at Subsea 7’s office in Aberdeen, Scotland and at Seaway Heavy Lifting’s offices in Glasgow, Scotland, and Zoetermeer, the Netherlands.Offshore installation activities will take place in 2017 and 2018 using seaway Heavy Lifting’s heavy-lift vessels, Stanislav Yudin and Oleg Strashnov.Subsea 7 CEO Jean Cahuzac said: “This offshore wind farm project is our largest North Sea award to date. Subsea 7 and Seaway Heavy Lifting have a strong reputation in their respective areas of expertise.“This contract recognises both companies’ capability to execute contracts safely, on time and within cost targets and is another major step forward in establishing Seaway Heavy Lifting as a leading EPCI contractor in the offshore renewables market.”When fully operational in 2019, the wind farm will produce 588MW of power.
NCC and Kungälv Municipality have entered into a partnership for the construction of a $36bn waterworks in Kungälv, Sweden.The project is set to provide drinking water to the municipalities of Kungälv, Tjörn, Ale and Stenungssund.The waterworks will have as its water source the Göta älv river and will be able to supply 1,080cb m of water per hour when completed.Maria Sondell, project manager at Kungälv Municipality, said: “Kungälv and the surrounding municipalities need to secure their supply of drinking water and we will build, together with NCC, a state-of-the-art facility equipped with the latest water purification technology.”NCC Infrastructure business area manager, Svante Hagman said: “Working on this type of sustainable community solution is incredibly motivating. “We have been working with Kungälv Municipality on project engineering and dimensioning of the new waterworks since the autumn. “We are moving into the next phase of the partnering arrangement that involves detail engineering so that we can start construction soon. This is scheduled to begin no later than May.”
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