Pacific green

PacifiCorp subsidiary Pacific Power has launched “Blue Sky” for renewable energy. Each Blue Sky credit accounts for 100 kWh of energy that has been derived from renewable sources. Pacific Power has pledged to develop a further 50 MWe of new wind-generation in its service area over five years.

Egyptian BOOT

The New and Renewable Energy Authority of Egypt has issued a tender for an integrated solar combined cycle power station on a BOOT basis. The facility, located south of Cairo, will supply 30 MWe from solar and up to a further 120 MWe from the gas-turbine.

Morocco Move

A unit of Royal/Dutch Shell has bought a stake in Moroccan solar energy firm Noor Web. Details of the purchase were not disclosed, although Noor Web has won a contract to supply and install solar generators to some 7000 homes in the Taroudant region.

Swedish nukes

Vattenfall, the Swedish state power company, has cancelled a $15 million facelift to control and instrumentation equipment at its Ringhals nuclear power plant, saying the work was no longer viable due to tumbling power prices Cancellation of the work, to have been carried out by ABB, would not affect the safe running of the site, the company said.

Fuel cells

Fuel processing business Epyx, part of US-firm Arthur D. Little, has announced a merger with the Italian firm De Nora Fuel Cells to create a new entity, Nuvera Fuel Cells. The Epyx technology allows fuels, such as petroleum, to be converted to hydrogen for power generation in fuel cells. Arthur D. Little simultaneously sold a minority stake in the new 50-50 joint venture to Amerada Hess Corp., a leading provider of fuels across the US east coast. Prototype systems are expected to be developed by 2001.

Chernobyl

AID UK foreign secretary, Robin Cook, has pledged to provide £10.5 million ($17.3 million) to aid in strengthening the sarcophagus covering the remains of reactor four at Chernobyl, Ukraine. Cook said the support followed a pledge by Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma, to shut down the site this year.

Finance closed

Cogentrix Energy of the US and CDC Capital Partners of the UK have closed the financing of the 300 MWe San Pedro de Macoris power project being developed in the Dominican Republic. It will be the single largest power plant in the Republic.

Korean nukes

General Electric has sought a guarantee from the US government that it will settle liability claims in the event of a disaster at nuclear power plants it is building in North Korea. GE won a contract to supply steam turbines and other equipment, worth around $30 million. The projects are being financed mostly by South Korea and it would be responsible for liabilities in such an event.

Saudi cogen

Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, has announced plans to develop eight new co-generation projects at refineries and gas-processing plants over the next four years. The move has been prompted by anticipated power shortages in the eastern province and will involve an investment of more than $1 billion. With a 1200 MWe combined capacity, Aramco intends to develop two facilities per year, beginning late 2000.

GE / Woodward

GE Power Systems is to buy the turbine control retrofit business of Woodward Governor Co. Global Services, based in Colorado, US. As part of the deal, Woodward will supply controls to GE Power Systems for use in the industrial retrofit business. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.