POWER-GEN Europe 2012 to focus on the integration of the power sector in Cologne

Happy New Year from PennWell! This can only mean one thing – a new country, a new venue and a new theme for POWER-GEN Europe.

This year’s conference and exhibition will be taking place from 12-14 June at the KölnMesse, Cologne. As the leading event for the international power industry, the overriding theme will be ‘Integrating the power sector’, and nowhere is this issue more compelling than in Germany, following the country’s decision to phase out all nuclear power by 2022.

Europe’s future electricity supply is facing a major integration challenge – a convergence between existing conventional power and the fast-growing renewable generation sector. Flexible solutions are increasingly being brought to the market, raising the question of how to service this evolving energy sector.  POWER-GEN Europe will bring together leading figures in the industry to address this compelling issue.

Plans for the conference tracks, exhibitors and speakers are also in full swing. Dr. Michael Suess, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Energy Sector and Member of the Managing Board Siemens AG has already been confirmed as a speaker for the opening keynote session. The full conference programme will also include sessions on flexible generation, electricity storage, smart grids and infrastructure management.

Last year, the exhibition attracted 15,000 attendees and the conference featured 70 sessions, with 250 speakers presenting over the three days. We can’t wait to build on this success in Cologne!

For more information about the show, please visit www.powergeneurope.com.

POWER- GEN Europe Conference programme details

As in previous years, POWER-GEN Europe 2012 will also feature a conference running alongside the exhibition floor, with in-depth sessions covering a range of topics related to the European power sector. There will be several topics ‘tracks’, with each one including several sessions around a common theme. The latest track will look at the issue of integration, and was decided at the Advisory Board earlier in November. The session programme for this will be announced in the first quarter of next year, and you can expect to see sessions presented on flexible generation, electricity storage, smart grids and infrastructure management and grid development

Alongside this new track with be six parallel tracks covering strategy and business issues facing power producers and carbon reduction technologies, including several session focusing on the technology options for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and its cost implications. Optimisation and flexibility are two of the main themes that will be covered in the gas fired generation track and biomass will be a central topic in the track dealing with other combustion technologies.

The remaining tracks will present a full programme of presentations in the areas of power plant control and automation as well as operations and maintenance. Delegates can expect to hear from all the major equipment supplies as well as a host of specialist engineering supply and service experts.

For those wanting to learn more about renewable technologies there will be sessions devoted to specific technologies as well as the finance and investment issues. A special session looking at how the municipal power companies are approaching renewables in Germany will be one of the highlights. The nuclear programme will include an examination of the results and implications of the European stress tests on nuclear plants, the opportunities for integration, and the issue of decommissioning – an increasingly relevant subject for Germany.

Delegates to all three conferences can attend any sessions including those covering renewable energy and the sessions devoted to nuclear power.

With POWER-GEN Europe having served the information and networking needs of the power sector for 20 years and now co-located with Renewable Energy World Europe, this combined conference and exhibition is perfectly placed to provide a platform for market integration of these complementary sectors. To register your attendance to the show, please visit our website.

 

POWER-GEN Europe Advisory Board 2012 – what was discussed?

Energy experts now agree that Europe’s future electricity supply will require an increasing convergence between the existing fossil fuel sources and the fast-growing renewable generation sector. Nowhere is this fusing of interests required more than in Germany, in the light of the government’s decision to phase out all nuclear power by 2022. The case for integration is now compelling and this issue will be the overriding theme of the POWER-GEN Europe 2012 conference, scheduled for 12-14 June at the KölnMesse.

Earlier in November, the POWER-GEN Europe 2012 Advisory Board, made up of around 70 experienced power industry figures, met in Munich to discuss current issues affecting the European power industry and plan the 2012 conference. As well as identifying leading industry speakers to be invited to POWER-GEN Europe 2012, the Advisory Board had over 320 technical abstracts to choose from in formulating sessions of interest to delegates. A further 180 proposals were submitted to the committees planning the Renewable Energy World Europe and Nuclear Power Europe conferences and all three groups worked closely together in order produce a co-ordinated and comprehensive programme coving the entire spectrum of power generation.

The debate among many Advisory Board members was how Germany will fare without a new generation of nuclear power plants and the phasing out of the existing fleet, coupled with growing opposition to coal-fired generation. Whatever your position on this issue, it is clear that Germany’s power sector will experience a period of change and that traditional power sources will need to be integrated with renewable sources such as wind and solar to create a smart energy solution. The decision on nuclear power may be the catalyst needed to jump-start this revolution.

These issues will be discussed in depth during the sessions and conferences running at POWER-GEN Europe and Renewable Energy Europe this year. For more information on the show, please visit the website and visit the LinkedIn page for the show.

Will you be presenting at POWER-GEN Europe or Renewable Energy World Europe in 2012?

Once again we are inviting professionals from across the power and energy industry to submit papers for POWER-GEN Europe and its co-located conference Renewable Energy World Europe, which will be taking place in Cologne, Germany in 2012.

The conference programme for next year’s combined event will focus on the integration challenges posed by the increasing volumes of renewable energy and distributed generation into a European power portfolio currently dominated by fossil fuels.

We are looking for papers that explore the necessary policies, and the business, strategic and technical hurdles that need to be overcome.  For more information on the topics that will be covered please visit:

• POWER-GEN Europe Topics
• Renewable Energy Europe Topics

Those interested in presenting at next year’s conference are invited to submit a summary written in English and of between 100 and 300 words via our websites. Last year, more than 500 submissions were made and competition is expected to be just as fierce this year. All submissions will undergo a rigorous selection process overseen by our independent  Advisory Board of 90 experienced professionals. The Board represents a wide cross section of the industry and includes individuals from leading European utility companies, equipment suppliers, manufacturers, service providers, associations and consultancies.

Successful papers will be included in the official online conference proceedings and considered for our coveted ‘Best Paper Award’, the winner of which will be announced at a ceremony at the end of the conference.  Invited speakers will be able to share their insight and knowledge with colleagues from across the power industry, enjoy networking opportunities with hundreds of top industry professionals and have complimentary access to the entire conference.

The deadline for submissions is October 7^th 2011, so if you want to share your experiences and demonstrate your expertise, as well as having the chance to win the Best Paper Award, submit your paper online now:

• POWER-GEN Europe abstract submission form
• Renewable Energy World Europe abstract submission form

Arrivederci Milan, Willkommen Cologne: POWER-GEN Europe 2011

Last week’s nineteenth POWER-GEN Europe Conference and Exhibition and its co-located events, Nuclear Power Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe, attracted a record number 14,917 attendees across the three events over three days.. 

Highlights included opening keynote speeches from Gianfilippo Mancini, director of Enel’s Generation and Energy Management Division & Energy Management Division, Paul Browning president and CEO of GE Energy’s Thermal Products and Giuseppe Zampini CEO of Anslado Energia.  All three speakers provided a clear picture that the European power sector is changing and it is changing fast.

An excellent plenary panel debate hosted by leading international journalist and broadcaster Stephen Sackur, exploring whether the power industry can deliver on European policy targets, was another highpoint. For the first time, the debate was streamed live on the internet allowing a global audience to participate, with questions coming from as far afield as Singapore, South Africa and Australia.

The ever-growing popularity of the show is demonstrative of the industry’s eagerness to discover the latest developments in business, technology and policy at a moment of such rapid change for power generation. It was a pleasure to welcome professionals from every sector of the power sector to be a part of their discussions on the challenges that they face every day and, crucially, how they can work together to overcome them. It is POWER-GEN Europe’s privilege to play host to these discussions and to provide an arena for every sector of the power industry to come together.

We bid Milan a fond “Arrivederci” and thank our exhibitors, visitors, delegates and speakers for their continued support of our events. For 2012 we are proud to say“Willkommen in Köln” when POWER-GEN Europe and its co-located events stage at the KoelnMesse, Cologne, Germany on 12 – 14 June 2012.

POWER-GEN Europe Day 3

Watch the show daily for the third and final day of POWER-GEN Europe 2011 in Milan. Featuring news from Bertsch Energy, Capstone Turbine, Stork and many more as well as reflections on the past 3 days from David Wagman, Chief Editor of Power Engineer Magazine, and Conference Director, Nigel Blackaby.

REWE highlights untapped marine power

Seas represent a vast unexploited potential for generation argues Dr George A Aggidis of Lancaster University in the UK, speaking at the Renewable Energy World Europe conference.

Oceans cover more than two thirds of our planet and represent a massive resource, said Dr Aggidis. The worldwide annual tidal energy potential is about 500–1000 TWh while worldwide wave energy resources have been estimated by the World Energy Council to be 2 TW, equivalent to an annual available resource of 17 500 TWh.

If a small fraction of this could be economically harnessed and integrated with other renewable sources such as hydropower, wind, solar and more conventional generation methods, it would contribute a significant percentage of the world’s energy requirements, vastly lowering emissions.  Exploiting these resources, in conjunction with energy saving schemes, would avert the need for more power stations, in his view.

Tidal and wave marine renewable energy has an essential role to play in response to increasing energy needs and CO₂ reduction, said Dr Aggidis. He describes them as safe, inexhaustible and mostly predictable, offering security of supply, innovation and economic development.

The UK is at the forefront of the ocean renewable energy industry, through its research and development programmes, test facilities, and offshore experience from oil and gas extraction.

Italy eases off its backing for renewables

After racing ahead in recent years,Italy’s renewables sector must now adjust to the slow lane. A gradual phase-out of state support lies ahead asItaly’s consumers face a hefty bill for years of generous incentives.

Both solar PV and wind have flourished inItalyin recent years. Italy’s installed wind capacity is now estimated at 5.8 GW, Europe’s third-highest national total, and installations of solar PV’s soared from 60 MW in 2007 to as much as 6 GW in 2010.

But the cost to the consumer has been equally attention-grabbing. In a recent briefing to investors, Barclays Capital PV analyst Vishal Shah wrote thatItalyis increasingly likely to have to pay for 6 GW worth of subsidies at the 2010 FiT rate. This would mean the subsidy would costItaly€44 billion over the next 20 years. By comparison,Germany’s subsidy burden is €25 billion, whileSpain’s stands at €17 billion, he said.

Against this backdrop Italy’s government on 5 May 2011 delivered a fourth Conto Energia that initiates a progressive slide in solar feed-in tariffs (FiTs) from 1 June 2011 and sets a 5 per cent bonus on tariffs for systems that mainly consist of EU-made components. From June 2011 to the end of 2012, a new funding cap of €580 million will apply for large systems, providing enough for 2.69 GW in installed capacity at current pricing.

Despite its recent growth in solar and windItalyexpects to miss its 2020 target, set in 2009, of 17 per cent of total energy consumption from renewables. A national renewable energy action plan (NREAP) for 2020 submitted to the European Commission at the end of 2010 anticipates reaching 16.2 per cent. Italy plans to meet the shortfall by co-operating with neighbouring countries.

In its NREAP, Italy will focus heavily on the heating and cooling sector.

Final day of POWER-GEN Europe – Conference picks

Today is the final day of POWER-GEN Europe and one session not to be missed is Track 1 – Session 7: Power Industry: Outreach & Engagement, which will look at how the power industry is perceived by the public and what it can do to improve its image.

If fossil fuels are to remain in the long-term power generation mix, then a key issue to be addressed is the fuel resources’ sizable carbon footprint. That issue will be the subject of discussion in track 2: Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Fossil Power Generation.

Gas plant operation and optimization is the focus of Track 3: Gas Fired Power Technology and its Session 6. Bhupinder Dayal, LM 6000 Package Programs Manager, with GE Aero Energy in the USA, offers the paper “Inlet Air Conditioning Solution for Gas Turbines.”

And for those delegates with a keen interest in Plant Diagnostics, session 7 offers “Advanced Ultrasonic Application for the Inspection of Turbine Components,” by Michael Opheys, R&D Engineer, Energy Sector, Siemens AG, Germany.

Panel Debates Future of European Energy Supply

Today the POWER-GEN Europe Conference and Exhibition, co-located with Nuclear Power Europe and Renewable Energy World Europe hosted a joint plenary panel discussion on whether Europe’s current energy policy can deliver the legally binding targets it faces. Moderated by international journalist and broadcaster Steven Sackur, the much anticipated debate featured five leading members of the power and energy industry.  The panel examined the range of strategic and technical solutions open to the European power industry in order to comply with the European Union’s energy policy. 

As well as assessing the ability of the European power industry to meet EU targets on energy consumption and climate change, the expert panel analysed a number of major European energy issues relating to gas and nuclear power, grid infrastructure, and the prospects for carbon capture and storage. Key issues discussed included; security of supply, the impact of renewable on energy prices, the consequences of the recent Fukushima power plant disaster and the reliance on fossil fuels for future energy supply.

The debate was also broadcast across the show’s websites with a twitter feed providing another route for the power industry to keep in touch. Sackur led the debate with some searching questions, and took questions from the auditorium, as well as working in questions from the online viewers as far afield as South Africa, Singapore, Russia and Australia.

You can register to view the webinar online at http://www.powergeneurope.com/index.html