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Babcock & Wilcox to Cut 30% of Renewable Workforce on Profitability Woes

November 10, 2017

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. (B&W), which is already in the midst of a restructuring plan and ongoing cost controls, will slash 30% of its renewable energy workforce and implement cost-saving measures across the company to combat falling revenues.

The global energy and environmental technology and services provider said as it announced its 2017 third quarter results that revenues stood at $ 408.7 million, falling 0.5% ($ 2.3 million) compared to the third quarter of 2016.

However, the company’s chairman and CEO E. James Ferland also announced cost-cutting measures, saying it is “prudent” that the company maximizes its financial optionality as it moves closer to the completion of the construction of new renewables projects in the UK, which is expected by mid-2018.

“We are driving cost-savings actions within our business segments and in overhead-related functions, with a target of approximately $ 45 million in annual savings, as we work to improve our global cost structure,” continued Ferland.

The announcement is dismal for the company, which embarked on restructuring in June 2016 after projections showed that coal utilization will decline faster than previously forecast.…

Death Toll at 34 in India Plant Explosion; Officials Point to High Pressure in Boiler

November 6, 2017

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Officials in India on November 5 said the death toll has risen to 34 after an explosion and fire November 1 at NTPC’s Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. NTPC, the nation’s largest power utility, said flue gases and steam were released in the blast, which occurred in a 500-MW coal-fired unit that was commissioned in March and had been operating on a trial basis at the plant since September.

NTPC officials investigating the incident said November 3 that pressure inside the unit shot up to 70 times its normal level in just a few minutes before the explosion, and an emergency shut-off mechanism that should have disabled the unit apparently failed to work. A fireball exploded in the unit and pressurized steam gushed out onto dozens of workers, who were either killed or severely burned.

Local hospital officials on November 5 said several workers severely burned in the incident remain hospitalized.

Federal Power Secretary A.K. Bhalla told local media that along with NTPC executives, officials from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.…

Death Toll at 32 in India Plant Explosion; Officials Point to High Pressure in Boiler

November 4, 2017

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NTPC, India’s largest power utility, on November 3 said the death toll has risen to 32 after an explosion and fire November 1 at its Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh state. NTPC said flue gases and steam were released in the blast, which occurred in a 500-MW coal-fired unit that was commissioned in March and had been operating on a trial basis at the plant since September.

NTPC officials investigating the incident said pressure inside the unit shot up 70 times its normal level in just a few minutes before the explosion, and an emergency shut-off mechanism that should have disabled the unit apparently failed to work. A fireball exploded in the unit and pressurized steam gushed out onto dozens of workers, who were either killed or severely burned.

NTPC in a statement November 3 said about 80 workers from the plant are still hospitalized. Federal Power Secretary A.K. Bhalla told local media that along with NTPC executives, officials from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.…

Death Toll Expected to Rise After Explosion at India Thermal Plant

November 2, 2017

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An explosion at a coal-fired power plant in India has killed as many as 18 people and injured about 100, according to news reports. The blast, which occurred November 1 at the Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Station, was apparently caused when a boiler pipe burst in a 500-MW generating unit that came online in March of this year.

Police confirmed the total number of dead and said they expect the death toll and number of injured may rise because other people were trapped in the plant, which has been shut down. The plant employs 870 workers.

NTPC, the plant’s operator and India’s largest power utility, said in a statement: “There was sudden abnormal sound at 20 mt. elevation and there was an opening … from which hot flue gases and steam escaped affecting the people working around the area.” The NTPC statement also said “an unfortunate accident in the boiler of 500MW under trial unit of NTPC – Unchahar occurred this afternoon.…

Michigan Backs Gas Plants for Upper Peninsula

October 31, 2017

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Michigan regulators on October 25 gave their support to Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp.’s (UMERC) plan for two new natural gas-fired plants in the state’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.). The plants approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC) would be built in Baraga and Negaunee townships.

The plants are designed to produce a combined 183 MW of generation. Construction could begin by year-end, and the current schedule calls for both plants to begin operating in 2019. Electricity from the two facilities would partly replace generation from We Energies’ 359-MW Presque Isle Power Plant on Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan, where the last five coal-fired units are scheduled to close in 2020.

The first of the five remaining units (Units 5 through 9) at Presque Isle begin operating in 1974; the last of those five came online in 1979. Units 1 and 2 at Presque Isle were retired in 2007, and Units 3 and 4 were closed in 2009.

The new gas-fired plants have a combined price tag of $ 277 million.…

IEA Says Southeast Asia Will Keep Coal Demand High

October 29, 2017

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The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the need for cheap electricity in Southeast Asia will drive global demand for coal for power generation through 2040, even as many countries continue to retire coal-fired plants and cancel projects for new coal facilities.

IEA, which is set to release its World Energy Outlook 2017 on November 14, this week said India and Southeast Asia will account for the majority of the use of coal in the coming years, as those areas’ economies continue to grow and demand for electricity rises.

“Coal maintains a strong foothold in [Southeast Asia’s] projected consumption, not only because it is markedly cheaper than natural gas, but also because coal projects are in many cases easier to pursue as they do not require the capital-intensive infrastructure associated with gas,” the IEA said in a report in advance of the release of the November outlook.

The agency said about 100 GW of new coal-fired power generation capacity is expected to come online in Southeast Asia by 2040, increasing the region’s installed capacity to about 160 GW.…