Headlines | News EPA proposes tighter NOx limits
USA Emissions abatement On 22 November the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposal that would mean tighter nitrogen oxides standards for new gas-fired power plants. But the outlook for these standards – last updated in 2006 – is unclear, under the incoming Trump administration. The EPA proposes to keep its existing standards for sulphur dioxide, which it believes is already ‘well controlled.’ The proposal would ensure that new turbines built at power plants or industrial facilities – especially large ones that could operate for decades – would be among the most efficient and lowest-emitting turbines ever built, says the EPA.
The last new source performance standards from the EPA for stationary combustion turbines were issued in 2006. The agency’s
latest proposal is driven by a consent decree resulting from a 2022 suit brought by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club. This required the EPA to propose updating the NOx standards for new power plants this month, and to take final action by November 2025.
The Sierra Club urged the incoming Trump administration to adopt the proposed standard. ‘Sierra Club will vigorously oppose any attempt to weaken these safeguards, and will consider all options – including litigation – if the final standards do not adequately protect the health and wellbeing of our families and communities,” the environmental group said on 22 November. The agency said its proposed revision is based on the use of combustion controls and selective catalytic reduction, a widely used add-on control technology that limits NOx
emissions. Smaller facilities and those that operate less often would face a less restrictive standard applying to units that operate at a 20% or lower capacity factor and to combustion turbines under 25 MW that operate at capacity factors below 40%. EPA estimates that its proposal would cut NOx emissions by 198 tons in 2027 and 2659 tons in 2032, providing net benefits of up to $340 million, and estimates the rule will cost $166 million to implement from 2025 through to 2032.
President-elect Donald Trump selected Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York to run the EPA and carry out his promise to roll back EPA rules. Zeldin, who was in the House of Representatives until last year as a member for a New York district, said he was ‘looking forward to cutting red tape as the EPA administrator.’
‘Mega heat pump’ delivers first heat Denmark Heat pump technology
MAN Energy Solutions has successfully commissioned the first unit of its industrial-scale heat pump in Esbjerg, Denmark, marking the delivery of its first heat. Operated by multi-utility company DIN Forsyning, the new plant will supply approximately 280 000 MWh of climate-neutral heat annually to the district heating networks of Esbjerg and the neighbouring town Varde. It will reduce CO2
emissions by 120 000 tons per year.
Located at the Port of Esbjerg, the plant harnesses renewable energy from nearby wind farms and seawater as a heat source.
The facility is part of the transition to replace the city’s coal-fired power plant, which has ceased operations, and forms a critical part of Esbjerg’s ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. With a total heating capacity of 70 MW, the CO2
-based heat
pump system is the largest of its kind ever brought into operation globally. It operates in tandem with a new 60 MW wood chip boiler that uses sustainable wood chips and a 40 MW electric boiler plant, which serves as a peak and backup load facility. A key feature of MAN’s solution is its use of CO2
as a refrigerant
for the entire system-cycle. The solution also enables fast power- balancing of the electrical grid and thus supports the integration of intermittent power generation like solar and wind. The system can be switched on and off many times a day and is capable of reacting very quickly to switching. The basic principle of heat pump technology is to use electrical energy to elevate low-temperature thermal energy to a higher, more useful level. For every MWh of electrical energy invested, approximately three MWh of usable thermal energy can be generated.. At the centre of the plant are two oil-free, hermetically sealed HOFIM motor-compressor units developed and manufactured by MAN Energy Solutions. The machines will be connected for remote monitoring, data-analytics and diagnostics of the compressor technology and the auxiliary systems.
USA’s first wave energy project permitted USA Wave energy
Eco Wave Power Global AB has received the final Nationwide Permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers for what it believes is a ground-breaking wave energy project at AltaSea’s premises at the Port of Los Angeles. The project is now set to become the first onshore wave energy installation in the USA. The permit authorises Eco Wave Power to install eight wave energy floating platforms on the piles of an existing concrete wharf structure on the east side of Los Angeles Municipal Pier One.
The system will include an energy conversion unit, consisting of two 20-foot shipping containers, which will be placed on the wharf deck and connected to the floating platforms. With the conversion unit already shipped and located on site, Eco Wave Power plans to complete installation by the end of Q1 2025. This development marks the completion of two key milestones under Eco Wave Power’s agreement with Shell International announced in April, to collaborate in the development of a wave energy pilot. Now the parties will enter
the execution phase of the project. Eco Wave Power and EDF Renewables IL, in collaboration with the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality and the municipal company Atarim, are to inaugurate Israel’s first wave energy pilot on 5 December at Jaffa Port. It will be supplying its output to the national grid. The company has received support from the European Union Regional Development Fund, Innovate UK, and the Horizon 2020 programme. It is currently preparing to install projects in Taiwan and Portugal.
www.modernpowersystems.com | November/December 2024 | 5
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