Echoing President Obama’s State of the Union call for additional clean energy development, the US DOI and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has taken a major step towards commercial-scale offshore wind energy leasing by streamlining the development of offshore wind power in the Mid-Atlantic and announcing a finding that issuing wind energy leases in designated Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) will have no significant environmental or socioeconomic impacts.

This finding allows the US DOI to move forward with the process for wind energy lease sales off Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware, bringing commercial-scale offshore wind energy one step closer. A similar announcement is expected for Massachusetts.  Leases for offshore wind development off the East Coast could be issued by the end of 2012.

“Offshore wind holds incredible potential for our country, and we’re moving full-steam ahead to accelerate the siting, leasing and construction of new projects,” says DOI Secretary Ken Salazar.

“This is a critical step in the establishment of the US offshore wind industry, which will create thousands of high skilled jobs and allow for billions of dollars in investment,” added Jim Lanard, President of the Offshore Wind Development Coalition, a keynote speaker at Offshore Wind Power USA 2012.

Green Power Conferences’ 3rd annual Offshore Wind Power USA (www.offshorewindpowercongress.com), the premier conference for professionals in the US offshore wind industry being held February 22-24 at the Haynes Convention Center in Boston, will give a full view of the industry.

Highlights include keynotes addresses from Deputy Secretary of the US Department of the Interior David J Hayes and Richard K Sullivan, Secretary of Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, a full day focused on cost-effective strategies for developers, and a sold-out exhibition hall.  40+ senior level speakers, over 20 finance, utility and developer presentations, including a unique ‘Offshore Wind Developers Presidential Panel’, presentations will also be made by senior-level executives and directors from companies such as LIPA, Dong Energy, Mainstream Renewable Power, Statoil, RES Offshore, and Elia. The complete agenda can be found at: http://www.offshorewindpowercongress.com.

“The belief among many in the industry that North America is closing in a new era of offshore construction and renewable energy production,” said Nadim Chaudhry, CEO of Green Power Conferences. “This year’s larger programme certainly reflects the growing interest.”

WETEX 2012 is an important regional resourcing platform for national and international companies to access wide range of latest technology and management solutions in the water, energy and environment sectors. This event also provides an avenue for industry leaders to keep abreast of the latest developments in the Gulf region in these fields as well to network and tie up with strategic partners to pursue innovative solutions. WETEX 2012 incorporates SmarTech, which provides a B2B and B2C marketing opportunity to promote energy-efficient home appliances and related green building products and FOSSIL FUEL @ WETEX 2012, to be launched in 2012, as WETEX’s first international exhibition for energy industry professionals.

Contact:
Abdul Syed Abdul Hameed
Tel: +971 4 3072460
Fax: +971 4 3244599/3248111
E-mail: abdul.hameed@dewa.gov.ae
URL: www.wetex.a

March 5 – 8, 2012, Abu Dhabi

For the past five years MEED has hosted one of the region’s most influential gatherings of clients, project owners, contractors, developers and consultants. The Arabian Power & Water Summit (APWS) provides participants with insights on upcoming regional power and water projects, plus updates on recent financing structures and technology developments.  Major highlights for 2012 edition, to be held at Park Hyatt on Saadiyat Island, include project information on Oman’s $6.7 billion power generation
schemes, Iraq’s $27 billion power programme, water and power projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, covering financing, policy and regulation and how these impact new prospects, and ‘For and against’ debates about the successes of independent projects, the role of developers, international investors and Asian contractors.

Contact: Sana Ahmed

Tel: +971 – 4 – 390 0699

Mobile: +971- 50 – 466 4990

URL: www.arabianpowerandwater.com

Email: events@meed.com

Leviton, a leading global manufacturer of electrical devices, has announced the expansion of the company’s Middle East and Africa (MEA) division.  As a direct response to the growing business demands in the region, Leviton has doubled its sales force in both the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and South Africa regions.

Since the January 2009 establishment of the MEA regional headquarters in Dubai, Leviton has experienced unprecedented growth in its main two regional business units – Network Solutions and Lighting & Energy Solutions.

“The expansion in the midst of an otherwise challenging business climate, as witnessed in most regions of the world economy, is a testimonial to Leviton’s commitment to meeting the continuing demand for high quality product innovations and superior service that customers are accustomed to in this region,” said Ramzi Nassif, Managing Director of Leviton Middle East.

In line with increasing business opportunities and an expanding product portfolio, Leviton has strategically added key sales and technical personnel in major markets of the UAE, Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Johannesburg in South Africa. In the coming months, the company will also hire sales staff for Qatar.

“We are very pleased with the addition of six new vital members to our regional team,” said Nassif. “We are confident that their expertise will help Leviton not only enhance our client services among existing and potential customers in the region, but also help us further position our brand strategy in the networking and lighting controls industries.”

The first project involves the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of two 132kV cable circuits of 1.6 kilometres each between the CARX 400/132kV substation and Nad Al Hammar 132kV substation. A major portion of the works of this project, expected to be completed over the next 13 months, will be under the Overhead Line corridor near the CARX substation. The power cables and accessories for the project are being procured from South Korean companies LS Cable and Taihan.

The second project involves replacing old oil-filled cables with XLPE cables between the GIS of different substations, between GIS and Generator Transformers totalling 15 circuits, including necessary testing and commissioning activities. Most of the circuits are inside the ‘D’ Power station complex in the Jebel Ali area.

Apart from DEWA, EEE will be co-ordinating with various manufacturers of GIS and Transformers including Siemens, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Ganz, Ellin Hollec, Hyosung, ABB and ACEC to carry out the necessary modification works under this project.  The project is scheduled to be completed in the next 14 months, based on shutdown sequence planned by DEWA.

Emirates Electrical Engineering specialises in designing and constructing turnkey electrical power projects such as high voltage substations, distribution and transmission lines, commercial installations and cable networks. Its history dates back to 1977, when it completed the design, supply and installation of High Voltage Overhead Lines for the UAE’s central and northern regions.

“We will ask them to make some kind of adjustment for the reactors due to the Fukushima accident,” said Dr Abdulhalim Wreikat, a commissioner at the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission was reported to have said.

As MEGAWHAT earlier reported, the plant will be built in Majdal, nearly 60 km north of the Kingdom’s capital, Amman.

The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled Toukan,  was reported to say that eight shortlisted international firms will submit bids in July for the planned Fujeij project,  a 90MW wind farm slated for the southern region.

The potential bidders include GDF Suez, South Korean Daewoo International and UAE-based AES, among others, the newspaper reported.

The project, which will become the largest renewable energy project in the Kingdom, has reportedly faced minor delays since its initial tendering in 2010.

The country’s second planned wind project, a 40MW plant in Kamsheh, near Jerash, has faced a two-year delay due to a disagreement with the selected firm over electricity tariff pricing, Jordan Times said.

According to the daily, renewable energy currently accounts for less than one per cent of the energy mix in Jordan, which relies on energy imports for 96% of its needs.

Sabiya, Kuwait’s largest power plant, recently activated six GE gas turbines that are producing nearly 1,400MW of power to help support the country’s robust business and residential growth. The six 9FA gas turbines are adding about 10% of capacity to Kuwait’s grid and helping the country meet its peak demand for electricity during the hot summer months.

The increased power adds capacity to the country’s power generation to help fuel Kuwait’s growth. Kuwait’s power demand is growing at approximately 7-10% per year, and at this rate, the country estimates it will reach national peak load demand of 25,000MW by year 2025.

Owned by the government of Kuwait, the Sabiya facility is the largest power plant in Kuwait and among the largest in the region. When the plant enters combined-cycle operation in 2012, the total plant output will be more than 2,000MW. A combined cycle plant dramatically boosts efficiency because waste heat is recovered from the exhaust of the gas turbine, converted to steam and then fed to a steam turbine to provide additional energy output.

“The Sabiya project is a reflection of the Ministry’s commitment to provide reliable electricity for the people of Kuwait,” said Joseph Anis, GE Energy’s President for the Middle East. “Working closely with the Ministry of Electricity and Water and EPC contractor Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), we have been successful in meeting a very tight project schedule to make additional power available this summer.”

The six 9FA gas turbines utilises GE’s DLN2.6 emissions reducing technology that lowers annual CO2 and NOx emissions by significant margins, the company claims.

The announcement is part of a US$ 2.65 billion turnkey contract the Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water signed in 2009 with GE and Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Sabiya power plant. GE also will operate and maintain the plant for seven years from the date that the plant enters full combined-cycle commercial operation.