METKA EGN to complete 75MW by ROC deadline
METKA EGN has announced EPC contract wins for 75MW of new UK projects, the largest being a 20MW storage project, as the company restates its commitment to the UK market.
The contractor is working on six solar PV projects for Lightsource and Canadian Solar which are scheduled to be completed in time for the 31 March 1.2 ROC deadline.
Speaking to Solar Power Portal about the company’s ongoing work in the UK, METKA EGN director Lefteris Pliakos explained that the projects represented a continuation of the company’s loyalty to the UK.
“It is the third year that we are based in the UK and every year we are delivering a significant number of projects. We are dedicated to the UK market. We are not here to go, we are here to stay - and chase any opportunities that can come up in [upcoming] years,” he said.
As well as the solar PV developments, an energy storage project will be completed for Hazel Capital, which will see 40 LG Chem batteries installed alongside gas/diesel generation assets in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The project, named Noriker Power Staunch, won a two year firm frequency response (FFR) contract with National Grid, which is expected to deliver c. £2.6 million in revenues for each of the two years contracted.
The FFR contract is estimated to represent about 70% of total revenues in each of the first two years of the project’s life.
In the December 2015 T-4 auction it also won a 15-year capacity market contract, which will begin in 2019. The contract price is £18,000/MW per year at 2014/15 prices and is therefore subject to be inflated by RPI for the intervening period.
Further revenues will be accrued from Triad payments, where the installation will be used to avoid peak transmission network use charges, and electricity sales generated effectively as a by-product of creating the revenues from FFR and Triads.
This energy storage project follows the successful completion of a larger development in Puerto Rico, where METKA EGN delivered a 57.65MWp solar farm alongside 20MW storage capacity. According to Pliakos, building on this experience will be a key focus for the company’s activity in the UK post-subsidy, as well as chasing opportunities for private power purchase agreements.
“Generally our strategy is to look for projects even after 31 March. We are looking into two directions [private PPA and storage], it doesn't seem to fully work immediately after 31 March but we are confident enough that projects like this will come up in the next year,” he said.
Pöyry Awarded Site Supervision Services Assignment For The Connection Of Innsbruck Railway Station Into The Brenner Base Tunnel
ÖBB Infrastruktur AG has awarded Pöyry an assignment for site supervision services for the connection of Innsbruck Railway Station into the Brenner Base Tunnel.
The Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) is a straight, flat railway tunnel between Austria and Italy. It runs from Innsbruck to Fortezza (55 km). This tunnel is the key infrastructure of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) corridor connecting Scandinavia with the Mediterranean region.
The tunnel will be operated in left hand traffic mode in the future (the mode used in Italy). The change from left hand to right hand traffic in Austria requires complex construction works to connect the railway station at Innsbruck with the tunnel system. Pöyry site supervision services are due to start in January 2017 and scheduled for completion after 2.5 years.
"This project further strengthens Pöyry's position in Austria as one of the leading engineering companies delivering high quality site supervision services", says Thomas Kriesch, Pöyry's President of Regional Operations in Austria.
The value of the order is not disclosed. The order will be recognised in the Regional Operations order stock in Q1/2017.
Engie closes $1.2 billion deal for Fadhili power plant in Saudi Arabia
French utility firm Engie has said that it has been awarded the contract and achieved financial closing to build a power station at Fadhili in eastern Saudi Arabia.
The greenfield Fadhili independent power project (IPP) is a combined cycled gas power plant with a capacity of 1,507 MW and it will feed oil giant Saudi Aramco’s new gas plant in Jubail Industrial City. It will also supply electricity to 1.1 million households in the country.
Engie expects that the cogeneration plant will be completed by the end of 2019 and when operational, it will also produce 1,447 tons per hour of steam and 768.8 tons per hour of feed water.
Total investment for the project will be $1.2 billion.
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) will be the off-taker for electricity and Saudi Aramco for the steam and feed water under 20-year purchase agreements, a statement from Engie on Monday said.
The French company will have a 40 per cent equity ownership in the project while SEC and Saudi Aramco Power Holding Company (SAPHCO) will hold 30 per cent each, it said.
At the time of bidding in 2015, Saudi utility firm had said that it will hold 50 per cent of the project and Saudi Aramco will take 10 per cent, while the bid winner would have 40 per cent.
South Korean Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction won the contract for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) while Siemens will supply the gas turbines.
Scope of work will also include the construction of a 380 kV substation to be transferred to SEC in 2018 for ownership, operation and maintenance, the statement said.
Isabelle Kocher, CEO of Engie said the company has earned a reputation of being a reliable developer and operator of electricity and water facilities in the kingdom over the last years and the award of Fadhili project reaffirms its leading position as independent power producer in the Middle East.
“The Fadhili project is in line with our strategy that aims at concentrating on low CO2 activities via renewable energies and gas for power generation,” she added.
Engie has a portfolio of 30 GW power and more than 1,200 million gallons per day (MIGD) of desalination water production in operation (4.5 millions of cubic meters) in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Together with the Fadhili project, the company currently has four plants in Saudi Arabia.
Skoda Praha to sign TPP Pljevlja financing deal soon
Czech company Skoda Praha expects to sign an agreement on the financing of the construction of a second unit of Montenegro's Pljevlja thermal power plant by the end of February, the Montenegrin economy ministry said on Thursday.
Skoda Praha is in the final stage of talks with potential creditors for the financing of the project, the economy ministry said in a statement.
Under the Early Works Agreement (EWA) and the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract, both signed in September, Skoda Praha should deliver a decision for the construction and the financing of the project by the end of February and the company expects the deadline to be met, the Montenegrin economy ministry said.
In September, Skoda Praha said it was in talks for syndicate financing by several banks led by Czech Export Bank, with insurance provided by Czech Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP) and Slovak export-import bank Eximbanka SR. Back then, Skoda Praha explained that the possible supplier of the boiler of the unit is Slovak comany Slovenske Energeticke Strojarne.
In case Skoda Praha does not manage to ensure the necessary financing, Montenegrin state-run power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) could fund the project with own resources and loans, the energy ministry said in the statement.
EPCG said in September it signed a 324.5 million euro ($346.3 million) contract with Skoda Praha for the construction of a 254 MW unit of Pljevlja thermal power plant after two years of negotiations.
The Montenegrin government is the majority owner of EPCG with a 57% stake and Italian utility A2A owns 41.75%.