GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL BRIEFS

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)

POWER

Romania to Dramatically Increase Wind Power Capacity

At the end of 2009, Romania had only 14 megawatts (MW) of wind power installed. Looking at the country's current wind project pipeline, installed capacity could now reach 3,000 MW by 2013, according to the Romanian Wind Energy Association. The European Wind Energy Association (Brussels, Belgium) estimates that 3,500 MW of wind power could be installed in the country by 2020. Iberdrola Renovables (Valencia, Spain) has won a license to connect 1,500 MW of wind power to the national grid, which will enable the company to start building 50 windfarm projects in Dobrogea, in southeastern Romania, between 2011 and 2017. If the 2013 target is met, wind will be servicing 7.5% of the country's electricity demand.

Russia Seeks Investors for Multibillion-dollar Innovation Hub

Russia is building its own Silicon Valley: the Skolkovo innovation hub, which will be 20 kilometers from Moscow. An initial $2 billion Russian investment will back projects in nuclear power, energy saving, space, medicine, information technology and software. Italian power major Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Roe) is the latest international company to show an interest in joining the project and is studying the plans, profit rates and statistics for the project. It is expected that participants will be eligible for a 10-year tax break, a radically simplified accounting system, and streamlined entry and work-permit procedures for foreign workers. The promoters of the project are looking for companies such as Cisco, Boeing, Nokia and Philips to invest billions of dollars to participate in the project.

Shaw Group, Toshiba, Exelon Pursue Nuclear Construction in Saudi Arabia

The race by the heavy hitters in the nuclear power industry to present potential clients with compelling combinations of technology and expertise continues to spawn industry alliances. The Shaw Group (NYSE:SHAW) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), Toshiba Corporation (TYO:6502) (Tokyo, Japan) and Exelon Nuclear Partners, a division of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC) (Chicago, Illinois) are targeting the Saudi Arabian market with packages to design, engineer, construct and operate plants. The group will have the ability to offer Toshiba's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor or the Westinghouse AP1000. Toshiba and Shaw will offer design, engineering, procurement and construction, and Exelon will provide operations and related services. The trio of companies is already involved in four nuclear builds in China and six in the U.S. Shaw is currently performing an operational study on power plants in Saudi Arabia. Any forward move toward nuclear projects will require regulatory approval from the Saudi and U.S. governments.

GAS TRANSMISSION

The Ukraine's Fuel and Energy Ministry will need $6.5 billion to back investment in modernization projects for the country's gas-transmission system, including the reconstruction of gas pipelines, reconstruction and re-equipping compressors, the construction of gas-distribution and gas-measuring stations, and re-equipping underground gas-storage facilities. Investments to be made between 2010 and 2018 include $2.4 billion for the reconstruction of the Soyuz pipeline, $1.3 billion into reconstruction on the Urengoy Pomary Uzhgorod pipeline and $1.5 billion for the Yelets Kremenchuk Kriviy pipeline.

CHEMICAL PROCESSING

Efficient production of polyolefins based on methanol from alternative feedstocks such as coal, natural gas or biomass has been demonstrated by a unit at Total SA's (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France) petrochemicals complex in Feluy, Belgium, using UOP's (Des Plaines, Illinois) Hydro MTO methanol-to-olefins technology to convert methanol to ethylene and propylene. UOP says that the technology gives petrochemical producers new, viable alternatives to the use of petroleum, The demonstration plant integrates MTO process technology with the Total Petrochemicals/UOP Olefin Cracking Process and is the world's first application of the combined technologies to provide the highest yields available for producing light olefins from methanol. UOP is a Honeywell (NYSE:HON) (Morristown, New Jersey) subsidiary.

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