EM - April/May 2014 - (Page 13)

13 April/May 2014 * www.esb.ie/em Generation & Wholesale Markets London goes green for St Patrick's Day Focus on Asset Assurance & Engineering 8 ESB's history of power plants has evolved from hydro turbines in the 20s to hightech specifications today. The Houses of Parliament (Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament.) 8 Highlighting EBS's growing presence in London. EVERY YEAR, our London office hosts a St. Patrick's Day lunch at the House of Commons, where we bring together a group of parliamentarians and government officials with an interest in energy issues generally or who have a connection with one of ESB's British sites (existing or under development). This year, on March 12th, Kate Green (constituency MP for Carrington) hosted the lunch and Paddy Hayes, Executive Director of G&WM, and the Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall made short speeches to kick off proceedings. Tahir Majid, our UK Public Affairs Manager, noted that whilst this was an informal event, "... it provided an excellent opportunity to continue to raise the St Patrick's Day lunch at the House of Commons, London. profile of ESB as a credible player in the market and to continue to build relationships with opinion makers in the energy sector". As the UK & Ireland Market emerges, we will continue to have a growing presence in London, supporting ESB's portfolio ambitions. n Invitation to the London event for St Patrick's Day. Background on our London Office We originally opened the ESB office in London in 2007 as a business development and project origination office, to identify and develop a pipeline of generation investment options. Over the years, the team has grown as the role and activities have expanded. We now have eight people on site and their main activities include: * Strategic market and regulatory analysis to understand the investment climate for our new projects and existing portfolio, working with industry bodies and regulatory au- The Big Six: fast facts AS WE CONTINUE to grow our presence in Britain, you may have heard people talking about the 'Big Six' as a collective name for the competition. That name came about to cover the largest energy companies in the UK because they own two thirds of the generation and supply 85% of Britain's electricity. Here are a few key facts and stats that you may or may not know about them individually... thorities to promote and encourage a suitable investment climate; * Developing advocacy positions and channels for positive engagement with key decision makers, executing a public affairs programme to raise awareness of ESB and our intent in the marketplace; * Business development to find and develop future executable investment options: o Supporting the Carrington investment (see John O'Connor's article for the latest developments on page 16) in line with the target of commercial operations by 2016 and supporting the Knottingley project (the next CCGT project) so that it progresses through to an executable investment option. This includes regulatory, planning, policy and public affairs support together with assistance with the system operator; * Providing operational regulation support for our existing GB generation portfolio to ensure continuing compliance with regulation; * Providing support as required to ESB Group businesses as a UK representative office of ESB. MWh of installed capacity EDF Energy Annual TWh generated 13,287 84 ASSET ASSURANCE & Engineering, within the Asset Performance Group in ESB Generation, is the centre for engineering and technical expertise for the power generation portfolio of Generation & Wholesale Markets. Areas of expertise include Boilers, Chemistry, C&I (Control & Instrumentation), Electrical Plant, Engineering & Technical Risk, Environment & Sustainability, Materials Assessment, Thermal Performance and Turbines. ESB's portfolio of generating plants extends over various technologies and ages, from hydro turbines constructed between the 1920's and 1970's, through to conventional fossil-fuel generating stations burning coal and gas built in the 1980's, peatburning plant using fluidised bed combustion technology built in the 2000's and gas turbine plant, in both combined and open cycle formation, built over the last thirty years and including the latest technologies. The engineering issues which arise in such a broad ranging portfolio are complex and require considerable attention and expertise to manage. Over the next number of EM editions we plan to focus on some of the issues the Asset Assurance and Engineering Team are currently involved with. These include repairs to the Moneypoint turbines following the discovery of steam turbine blade damage, developing solutions in Aghada with the CCGT plant manufacturer to resolve high temperature operation problems, and the significant repairs to the hydro turbines during the ongoing major refurbishment programme. Also there's significant work being carried out with the Strategy & Regulation team on the application of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), which will apply boiler emissions limits from 2016 onwards, and also on EirGrid's proposals to apply more challenging requirements on the operation of plant, known as Rate of Change of Frequency (RoCoF) in the context of increasing wind penetration on the grid. n The highly skilled team in Asset Assurance & Engineering draws on many years of experience in all aspects of power plants, and works closely with the generating stations and the ESBI Generation Engineering team, to determine how the assets are best managed (through each generating unit's Life Time Asset Plan (LTAPs) and in solving engineering problems to ensure that the performance, reliability and safe operation of the generating plant is maintained at a high level. Environmental management of the portfolio and dealing with complex EU Directives and Irish legislation, as well as driving improved efficiency in electricity generation and sustainable operations is also part of the area's remit. Key facts Home Country of owner Largest GB generator Owns 80% of the GB nuclear fleet and is trying to build another nuclear plant France Scottish Power 6,040 18 Owned by Spanish energy company Iberdrola Large interest in on- and off- shore wind. Spain E.ON UK 8,572 27 Holds 30% stake in worlds largest offshore wind farm - the London Array Parent company targeting €20bn disposal programme Germany Hold the most modern thermal generation fleet of the Big 6 Parent company recently reported its first loss in 60 years Germany Great Britain RWE npower 12,054 42 SSE 11,017 40 Highest installed capacity of renewables of the Big 6 As owner of Airtricity, it operates on both sides of the Irish Sea Centrica 5,622 22 Involved in every part of the gas supply chain, from production to suppy. And it uses its gas to generate electriicty. Owns 20% of the UK's nuclear generation Recent purchases of Bord Gais Energy Great Britain http://www.esb.ie/em

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of EM - April/May 2014

EM - April/May 2014
Contents
News
Innovation
Generation & Wholesale Markets
BSC & Electric Ireland
ESB Networks Ltd
Health & Habitat

EM - April/May 2014