Energy

Bord Gais Energy is to invest €2 million in OpenHydro, an Irish tidal renewable energy firm, in a joint venture to develop a large-scale tidal farm off the coast of Ireland.

Bord Gais, a gas supply company, will start with an investment of €1 million and provide another €1 million on achievement of certain development milestones.

Siemens Energy has received an order for an instrumentation & controls (I&C) system and two steam turbine-generators for the Ivanpah solar thermal power plant in the Mojave desert in California, extending an initial order made two years ago.

BrightSource Energy Inc., a developer of utility-scale solar thermal power plants headquartered in Oakland, California, has now ordered Siemens’ SPPA-T3000 for all three units of the Ivanpah project with a combined installed capacity of approximately 400 megawatts (MW).

The operator of Scotland’s Grangemouth oil refinery has struck a deal with PetroChina, China's largest oil and gas producer, to safeguard the future of the facility.

The joint venture between Grangemouth operator Ineos and PetroChina will see the two companies working together and sharing skills, though the specific details have yet to be drawn up.

Around 1,400 workers are employed at Grangemouth, with an estimated 7,000 jobs at other firms, particularly in central Scotland, being dependent on the plant.

Royal Dutch Shell is to begin drilling an exploration well off the New Zealand coast that could extend the life of the Maui gas field.

Drilling ship the Noble Discoverer will drill the Ruru well for Shell Todd Oil Services Ltd. Shell Todd is 50 per cent owned by Todd Energy Ltd. and 50 per cent owned by The Hague-based Shell.

The Ruru well lies approximately 40 kilometres off the Taranki coast on New Zealand’s North Island and is adjacent to the Maui gas field. Maui, which covers an area of 157 square kilometres, began production 30 years ago.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. today announced two contract awards, one in Idaho, United States, and one in Newfoundland, Canada.

The former is a contract from Bechtel Marine Propulsion Corporation to provide engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) services in support of the Expended Core Facility Recapitalization Project.

The total construction project cost is estimated to range from $300 to $500 million.

Iraq has given the go-ahead for Royal Dutch Shell to build a dock in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, to help move heavy equipment to the Majnoon oilfield.

Shell is to fund construction of the 25-metre quay, which will be used to move materials from the sea port at Umm Qasr near Basra to the Majnoon oilfield it is developing—a transportation method that is faster, safer and easier than moving materials by truck.

Renewable energy firm RES has received approval from the Scottish government for its 99 megawatt wind farm, located approximately 20 miles south of Inverness at Dunmaglass.

The wind farm will comprise 33 turbines, each with a maximum height of 120 metres to the tip of the blade, and is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the average annual demand of around 46,000 Scottish households.

The Scottish government said the construction phase of the development would create work for about 55 people.

MidAmerican Energy has placed an order with Siemens Energy, Inc. for 258 of its 2.3-megawatt turbines, to be erected in Iowa during 2011.

MidAmerican Energy has also entered into an asset purchase agreement with RPM Access under which it will acquire the Laurel Wind Project from RPM, where approximately 52 of the Siemens turbines are planned to be located.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has approved the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, the ninth large-scale solar facility given the green light as part of an initiative to encourage rapid and responsible development of renewable energy on US public lands.

The concentrated solar power plant will produce 110 megawatts, enough to provide electricity for up to 75,000 Nevada households, and generate about 450-500 new jobs during construction and up to 50 permanent operations and maintenance jobs. 

The African Development Bank has approved $232 million in loans and grants to Ethiopia to fund the expansion of the country's electricity grid.

Earlier this year, Addis Ababa launched a five-year economic development plan encompassing a massive expansion of the country’s infrastructure. The plan looks to boost Ethiopia’s power production from 2,000 MW to 10,000 MW; and it also includes the construction of 2,395 kilometres of railway lines.

Ethiopia wants to expand electricity coverage to 75 per cent of the population from 41 per cent currently.