NatGas Operations News
NOVA/TransCanada Alberta System information as of 5:30 A.M.: Linepack = 14778 which is 48 mmcf ABOVE the Linepack Target of 14731 mmcf. The ROC for the past 24 hours is +183 mmcf. The Eastern Borders (Empress and McNeil) collectively is showing a change in flow from yesterday by -64 mmcf flowing at 4531 mmcf. ABC shows a change by +156 mmcf flowing at 2189 mmcf. The Storage facilities collective rates are currently showing a net WITHDRAWAL = -206 mmcf/d (“Negative”…reflects a WITHDRAWAL from storage onto the system) which is a 126 mmcf NET INCREASE in the flow rate from yesterday’s gas day rate.
Power News
Sundance#1 came back online at 22:18 and Genesee#2 came back online at 02:45 this morning…The Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments have agreed to more than double the capacity of the power grid that connects the two provinces. Saskatchewan Energy Minister Bill Boyd said a preliminary deal has been signed that will eventually see new transmission lines and other infrastructure built, so that power can flow either way — depending on demand. The aim is to add 150 megawatts — enough electricity to power 150,000 homes — to the grid’s current capacity of 105 megawatts. Saskatchewan needs to strengthen its energy supply because of the province’s growing population and economy…Ontario is becoming a magnet for global heavy hitters in the green energy sector, drawn by alluring subsidies at a time when incentives are being scaled back elsewhere. Already this year, two prominent players — South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp. and Bosch Solar Energy AG — have said they will set up shop, and more are expected to follow. Provincial government support is attractive, but so is the prospect of manufacturing on the doorstep of the United States, one of the fastest growing markets for producers of power from the sun, wind and biomass. To encourage companies to sink roots in Ontario and create jobs, the province’s green energy rules require that a certain percentage of developers’ project costs come from locally sourced goods and labour…Solar developer FirstSolar of Tempe announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to sell power from an industrial-scale solar project planned for east of the Coachella Valley to Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Power News
Wabamun#4 came back online at 16:57…Bio-energy, run-of-river, wind, geothermal, tidal, wave and solar energy could all be developed to help the environment and to work towards wiping out B.C.’s debt in 15 years or less, said the B.C. Citizens for Green Energy’s 76-page report. The organization pointed to Quebec and Manitoba, which generate substantial revenue by exporting renewable energy to other provinces and states. At the same time, those energy exports help reduce dependence on coal-fired and gas-fired electricity…The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) reports that 40 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) contracts were in commercial operation by the end of 2009. This represents about 46 MW of installed DC capacity in the industry’s standard notation. The early fall 2009 addition of the 9.1 MW First Light project 50 kilometers northwest of Kingston put Ontario on the map of solar PV in North America. The SunEdison-SkyPower joint venture was soon followed by Giant French utility EDF’s first big solar PV project in Ontario toward the end of 2009. EDF’s 23.4 MW Arnprior project within the city limits of Ottawa…On Sunday Feb. 28th, it broke a wind power electricity generation record with 6,242 megawatts on the ERCOT grid, and that record was broken again 5 days later on Friday March 5th with a 6,272 megawatts peak, and this is just for ERCOT, it doesn’t include wind turbines on the “Panhandle” part of the state because they are connected to a different grid – so the real total for the state would be even higher. as has by far the most wind power capacity in the US. According to recent numbers by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the lone star state has a wind energy generation capacity of 9,410 megawatts, followed by Iowa with 3,870 megawatts and California with 2,794 megawatts.
NatGas Operations News
CRITICAL NOTICE: NPS 20 Peace River Mainline Investigation Update – NPS 20 Peace River Mainline Update – The continuing pressure test on the NPS 20 Peace River Mainline (PRML) will be completed a few days ahead of schedule. Effective March 11, 2010 at 08:00 MST, the current FT-R restriction at the following stations will be lifted.: Muskeg Creek (2236), Rainbow Lake South (2201), Hay River South (2278), Hay River (2126), Assumption (2708), Assumption 2 (2734), Lennard Creek (2249), Basset Lake (2761), Basset Lake South (2085), Basset Lake West (2066) and Zama Lake (2060). With the pressure testing on the downstream section still on-going, the 60% of FSCD restriction is still in effect. NOVA/TransCanada Alberta System information as of 5:30 A.M.: Linepack = 14638 which is 93 mmcf BELOW the Linepack Target of 14731 mmcf. The ROC for the past 24 hours is +176 mmcf. The Eastern Borders (Empress and McNeil) collectively is showing a change in flow from yesterday by +24 mmcf flowing at 4795 mmcf. ABC shows a change by +17 mmcf flowing at 2033 mmcf. The Storage facilities collective rates are currently showing a net WITHDRAWAL = -80 mmcf/d (“Negative”…reflects a WITHDRAWAL from storage onto the system) which is a 666 mmcf NET CHANGE in the flow rate from yesterday’s gas day rate.
News
Sheerness#2 went offline at 04:40 Sunday; Sheerness#1 went offline at 07:10 Suunday but back online at 12:22; Sundance#1 went offline at 20:50 Sunday and Wabamun#4 went offline at 02:04 this morning…FPL Group, through its NextEra Energy Resources renewable energy arm, is quietly building up a portfolio of wind farms across the country, and has major expansion plans, particularly in Ontario, where it is drawn by a “feed-in tariff” policy guaranteeing prices and long-term contracts for green power. NextEra is already the biggest wind energy producer in the United States, and the second-largest in the world. It has a huge portfolio of more than 60 wind farms that generate 7,500 megawatts of power – about one-fifth of U.S. total wind production. That’s more than double the total wind capacity from all turbines in Canada…Wind energy is an engineer’s nightmare. To begin with, the energy density of flowing air is miserably low. Therefore, you need a massive contraption to catch one megawatt at best, and a thousand of these to equal a single gas-or coal-fired power plant. If you design them for a wind speed of 34 miles per hour, they are useless at wind speeds below 22 mph and extremely dangerous at 44 mph, unless feathered in time. Since the power generated by modern wind turbines is so unpredictable, conventional power plants have to serve as back-ups. These run at less than half power most of the time. That is terribly uneconomical — only at full power do they have good thermal efficiency and minimal CO2 emissions per kWh delivered. Henk Tennekes is an aeronautical engineer and the former research director of KNMI, the Dutch National Weather Service.
NatGas Weekend Operations and Intra-Alberta Pricing News:
NOVA/TransCanada Alberta System Linepack: for Friday =14719, Saturday = 14626 and Sunday = 14518 which is 213 mmcf BELOW the Linepack Target of 14731. The ROC for the past 24 hours was = -58 mmcf. The Eastern Borders (Empress and McNeil) collectively for the term flowed as follows…… Friday = 4805, Saturday = 4802 and Sunday = 4771 mmcf. ABC flow for the term ….. Friday = 1995, Saturday = 1770 and Sunday = 2016 mmcf. Storage flow for the term starting with Friday shows a net INJECTION = 764, Saturday net INJECTION = 737 and Sunday net INJECTION = 586 mmcf (“Negative”… reflects a WITHDRAWAL from storage onto the system) which is a 151 mmcf NET DECREASE in the flow rate from yesterday’s gas day. Alberta NIT SPOT Prices for: Friday = $4.13, Saturday = $4.215 and Sunday = $4.25 which is a INCREASE of $0. 12 from the last business trading day (Friday) Spot Settlement Price.
Power News
In his budget speech Thursday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was literally silent on the issue – climate change was not mentioned, though the government has in the past described it as one of the major challenges of the age. Rather than provide new spending for programs to reduce Canada’s greenhouse-gas emissions, the government is standing pat as it prepares to regulate emission reductions in transportation, electricity and industrial sectors… Canada’s wind energy sector is among the groups losing out in the latest federal budget which will maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in
subsidies for fossil fuel industry companies from Western Canada. The government has announced more than $100 million over four years in new spending to promote renewable energy in the forestry sector but Thursday’s federal budget was silent on its recent international climate change commitments toward developing countries…. Egypt is set to secure a $100 million loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, funding a 1300 MW power plant, as Egypt pushes to boost energy output. Egypt, the most populous Arab country, has capacity of about 25,000 MW and around 99.1%of its population has access to electricity… Mindanao’s power capacity is expected to get maximum shoring up with the 2,000-megawatt mine-mouth facility being proposed by San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC) to be undertaken in phases. At $1 million per megawatt estimated investment, SMEC will have capital infusion of up to $2 billion for the greenfield capacity, but it was not specified when is the exact timeframe to complete the entire proposed capacity.
NatGas Operations News
NOVA/TransCanada Alberta System information as of 5:30 A.M.: Linepack = 15124 which is 393 mmcf ABOVE the Linepack Target of 14731 mmcf. The ROC for the past 24 hours is +434 mmcf. The Eastern Borders (Empress and McNeil) collectively is showing a change in flow from yesterday by -193 mmcf flowing at 4984 mmcf. ABC shows a change by -66 mmcf flowing at 1993 mmcf. The Storage facilities collective rates are currently showing a net WITHDRAWAL = -247 mmcf/d (“Negative”…reflects a WITHDRAWAL from storage onto the system) which is a 236 mmcf NET INCREASE in the flow rate from yesterday’s gas day rate.
NatGas Operations News
CRITICAL NOTICE: NPS 20 Peace River Mainline Investigation Update – Due to favorable conditions the investigation & repair of the defect on the NPS 20 Peace River Mainline has been completed ahead of schedule. Effective March 2, 2010 at 18:00 MST, the following stations that had been nilled were returned to service: Muskeg Creek (2236), Rainbow Lake South (2201), Hay River South (2278), Hay River (2126), Assumption (2708), Assumption 2 (2734), Lennard Creek (2249), Basset Lake (2761), Basset Lake South (2085), Basset Lake West (2066) and Zama Lake (2060). With the pressure testing on the downstream section still on-going, the 60% of FSCD restriction is still in effect. NOVA/TransCanada Alberta System information as of 5:30 A.M.: Linepack = 14706 which is 25 mmcf BELOW the Linepack Target of 14731 mmcf. The ROC for the past 24 hours is -173 mmcf. The Eastern Borders (Empress and McNeil) collectively is showing a change in flow from yesterday by -24 mmcf flowing at 5177 mmcf. ABC shows a change by +31 mmcf flowing at 2059 mmcf. The Storage facilities collective rates are currently showing a net WITHDRAWAL = -11 mmcf/d (“Negative”…reflects a WITHDRAWAL from storage onto the system) which is a 277 mmcf NET DECREASE in the flow rate from yesterday’s gas day rate.
Power News
A Toronto company – financed by U.S. investment firm Blackstone – hopes to build a 2,000 MW power line between Montreal’s south shore and New York City for US$3.8-billion. The 570-kilometre line proposed by Transmission Developers would largely be buried under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River in order to minimize environmental impacts. Several projects using overhead power lines in the Northeast United States have failed in recent years under the weight of opposition from residents… Residents and politicians alike gathered at Queen’s Park on Tuesday to protest an Oakville power plant. The 975-megawatt gas plant would be located in the Clarkson Air Shed, which, they argue, is already over-polluted. Nearly 1000 demonstrators gathered at the rally, one of the largest in recent memory at Queen’s Park, organized by Citizens for Clean Air (C4CA). They also allege that the TransCanada-operated plant would be too close to existing homes and schools, arguing that it will pose health and safety risks in an area where a provincial report has deemed the air quality to be poorer than average… Satcon Technology Corporation , a leading provider of utility scale power solutions for the renewable energy market, today announced that it has been selected to ship 38 megawatts of its PowerGate(R) Plus 500 kW solar PV inverter solutions to GCL Solar Limited, one of China’s largest utility solar power plant developers. The 38 megawatts will be installed across three separate solar power plants and are in addition to the previously announced 23 megawatts supplied for China’s largest ground-mounted and largest rooftop projects of 2009.