News | Headlines First STEP – major landmark reached USA Supercritical CO2


An industry “first” has been achieved with initial hot-fire closed loop operation of the 10 MWe Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo test facility in San Antonio, Texas, which fired the 93 MW heater and ran the turbine up to 18 000 rpm for the first time.


The STEP Demo project, led by GTI Energy in collaboration with Southwest Research Institute, GE Vernova, the US Dept of Energy/ National Energy Technology Laboratory, and several industry partners, was designed to demonstrate and validate the supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2


) Brayton power cycle. This is a significant milestone in advancing sCO2


technology because it is the first time this type of plant has been operated at this scale anywhere in the world.


Its protagonists believe that the supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power cycle can revolutionise power generation, maximising efficiency and ensuring cleaner, flexible, and reliable power. It can operate using a wide range of low- and zero-emission heat sources – including turbine exhaust, concentrated solar, biomass firing, geothermal, and nuclear sources – and can support grid stability and resiliency with quick response to changes in power demand.


System commissioning tests for the initial 5 MWe Simple Cycle configuration will continue


to progress towards full power over the next couple of months by increasing operating temperatures and ramping up turbine speed to 27 000 rpm.


“I am excited that our team is now starting to demonstrate supercritical CO2


technology that


can have a positive impact on the planet by making clean energy more affordable and efficient, and decarbonising more challenging industrial applications through waste heat recovery,” said Bill Follett, STEP Demo programme director at GTI Energy. Organisations interested in learning more about sCO2


technology are invited to join the


STEP Demo pilot project. See also MPS, November/December 2023, pp 14-18


First H2


-ready power plant in Queensland


GE Vernova’s Gas Power business has secured an order from Queensland government-owned CS Energy for 12 LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbines for a new power station in the Western Downs Region near Brisbane. The Brigalow Peaking Plant, Queensland’s first hydrogen-ready power station, is intended to provide up to 400 MW of fast-ramping energy, to enhance grid stability in alignment with the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, which outlines the state’s energy system transformation efforts.


EC compensation for early phase-out of coal Europe Coal firing


Having approved in February 2023 a law that effectively banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the European Union from 2035, aiming to speed up the switch to electric vehicles, the EU is taking on the closure of coal–fired power plants.


On 12 December the Commission approved a €2.6 billion German support measure in favour of RWE’s early closure of lignite-fired power plants in Germany. Compensation of €2.6 billion will be paid out in instalments by 2030. RWE had already shut down five power plant units and briquette production from 2020. According to the German coal phase-out law, the use of coal for the production of electricity must phase-out by 2038. Germany decided to enter into agreements with the main producers of lignite-fired electricity, RWE and Lausitz Energie Kraftwerke AG (LEAG), to encourage the early closure of lignite-fired power plants. In 2021, it notified the Commission of its plan to compensate these operators with €4.35 billion: €2.6 billion were earmarked for the RWE lignite installations located in the Rheinland and €1.75 billion for the LEAG installations in the Lausitz. In March 2021, the Commission opened an


in-depth investigation to assess whether Germany’s plans amounted to State aid. In December 2022, Germany notified the Commission of an amendment to its agreement with RWE, including a revised method of calculating of RWE’s forgone profits to demonstrate that the €2.6 billion compensation was justified and proportionate. In March 2023, the Commission extended the scope of its ongoing in-depth inquiry to cover the new elements notified by Germany. The Commission concluded that the measure in favour of RWE did constitute State aid, as it grants an advantage to the power plant operator, but it also decided that the aid is necessary for RWE to phase out its lignite-fired power plants, which are currently profitable, and that RWE needed to be incentivised and compensated. The Commission therefore decided that state aid was appropriate. and proportionate, as it is limited to the minimum necessary. Finally the Commission concluded that the contribution to EU environmental and climate goals outweighs any potential distortion of competition. On this basis, the Commission approved the German measure under EU State Aid rules.


6 | January/February 2024 | www.modernpowersystems.com


UK to invest in HALEU nuke fuel UK Nuclear power


The UK will become the first country in Europe to launch a high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) nuclear fuel programme, strengthening supply for new nuclear projects. The aim is drive Russian suppliers further out of global energy markets. Most advanced reactors require this fuel, which is currently only commercially produced in Russia. The £300 million investment is part of plans to help deliver up to 24 GW nuclear power – a quarter of the UK’s electricity needs – by 2050. The government funding will support domestic production of HALEU, the specialist fuel required to power the next generation of nuclear reactors. The launch of the HALEU programme will enable the UK to supply the world with this particular nuclear fuel. An additional £10 million will also be provided to develop the skills and sites to produce other advanced nuclear fuels in the UK, helping to secure long term domestic nuclear fuel supply and support international allies.


The UK is already a specialist in the production of nuclear fuels, with domestic capability in uranium enrichment and in fuel fabrication in the North-West of England.


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