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London, Nov 07, 2006 -- M2 PRESSWIRE
While the majority of new electricity generating stations build remains Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) plant- due to its low capital cost and high efficiency- environmental concerns and subsequently government policy are having an increasing influence on generating technology development, according to a new report* from independent market analyst Datamonitor (DTM.L). "The majority of the technical research at present is focussed on the environmental considerations of power generation; both in terms of cleaning up traditional thermal power plants as well as improving new forms of generating technology such as renewables," says Datamonitor energy and utilities analyst Matthew Cowie. There are two fundamental reasons why CCGT plants are the most popular choice for new plant build; their low capital costs and high fuel efficiency. In comparison with coal power plants, CCGT plants are physically smaller, have less complicated fuel handling requirements and are faster to build, which are all factors that contribute to lower the up-front capital costs. Once built, the combination of both gas and steam turbines allows efficiencies approaching 60% to be achieved by a modern plant, Cowie says. "This far surpasses what even modern coal powered plants- which can typically only reach around 45% fuel efficiency- are capable of." Investments in renewables are concentrated within wind farms at present Wind energy is now a mature generation technology as the industry has largely consolidated around horizontal axis, three-bladed turbines for both on and off-shore applications. Off shore wind farms benefit from higher average wind speeds and the absence of geographic features that would otherwise block or lessen the wind speed ultimately experienced by the turbine. With power output proportional to wind speed, the average annual wind speed is a critical metric for site selection, Cowie says. "A typical off-shore wind turbine is much larger and more expensive than its on-shore equivalent, as a result of the challenge of installation and interconnection at sea." "In many countries wind farms are financially attractive, at least in part as a result of government support. However, many still struggle for suitable sites as a result of resistance from local communities that both resent their intrusion into the natural environment and retain significant control over local planning consent procedures." With growing international resistance to new large hydro developments on account of their ecological harm and impact upon local populations, other renewable technology is looked to for the future. However, these technologies, be it solar, tidal energy or wave power, are challenged by their lower energy concentrations. DG promises benefits if hurdles can be overcome. One incentive for people to install solar or wind generation technology in their own homes or businesses is the potential to actually make money via distributed generation (DG), or selling excess electricity back to the network. However, there are many commercial and technical barriers that need to be overcome or at least mitigated if complete DG networks are to be built. Technically, distribution systems that have been designed for power flow in one direction only must be made capable of bi-directional current for consumers to become producers, if they are indeed able to generate more power than they need themselves, Cowie says. "The grid network itself will also need to balance itself in new ways as historically only the large centralised power plants needed to be controlled, whereas DG would require a co-ordinated approach from all of the discrete power generating nodes." However, it is the commercial side of the network that is likely to be more complicated, as instead of a central utility or station distributing power throughout a network to individually metered load points, it would be possible to trade power with any number of different participants. It would also become less clear what network charges are most appropriate as there is the potential for significant fractions of the power network to become stranded, or at least less utilised than they would have been in a centralised system. The existence of localised power production also provides significant opportunity for the growth of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) applications, where the waste heat from a generator is then used for space, water or industrial process heating on-site. The recovered waste heat can then displace the consumption that would otherwise have required its own fuel source and the overall energy requirements of the facility can be reduced, Cowie says. "This would not be possible when a large central power plant was used to generate the power however, as it is prohibitively expensive and inefficient to pipe hot water or steam over the same distances as power." The nuclear question While nuclear power stations had fallen from favour in many of the largest economies in the world, such as the USA, the UK, and Germany, there are increasing signs that they are set to be welcomed back into the fold. Nuclear power stations are garnering increasing levels of support from governments and the public as a result of their reduction of national dependence upon imported fossil fuels and the relatively small quantity of greenhouse gases that they emit while operating, Cowie says. "Third generation reactor technologies, such as pebble bed reactors are likely to feature more prominently because of their passive safety features." It should be noted however, that significant government investment will be required for a new generation of nuclear build, he says. "Financial planning of any real certainty is difficult because along with the huge upfront costs of getting a nuclear power plant up and running, there is no guarantee of what price will be paid for the electricity once it actually starts being generated." Notes for editors *Utilities Market Drivers: Technology Datamonitor's (DTM.L) report Utilities Market Drivers: Technology is the first in a series of five reports which examine the key drivers of utilities markets. Datamonitor classify the key utility market drivers as: Market Fundamentals, Policy & Regulation, Corporate Strategy, Retail Competition, and Technology. Mr. Matthew Cowie, Datamonitor energy and utilities analyst and report author, is available for comment. To arrange an interview or for further details regarding the report contact Matthew Dick in the Datamonitor Press Office on + 44 20 7675 7824, or email mdick@datamonitor.com We would be grateful for a copy of any article which makes reference to the information contained in the above release. Datamonitor plc (DTM.L) is a premium business information company specializing in industry analysis. We help our clients, 5000 of the world's leading companies, to address complex strategic issues. Through our proprietary databases and wealth of expertise, we provide clients with unbiased expert analysis and in-depth forecasts for six industry sectors: Automotive, Consumer Markets, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Technology. Datamonitor maintains its headquarters in London and has regional offices in New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Shanghaiand Hong Kong. See www.datamonitor.com for further details. 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