utilities middle east - july 2010

Middle East

ESSENTIAL INSIGHTS FOR MIDDLE EAST WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY PROFESSIONALS July 2010 • Vol 4. Issue 7

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Switchgear is adapting to a new grid

WIRELESS WONDERLANDWONDERLAWireless technology is coming to the Middle East

HTS FOR MIDDLE EAST WATER, GAS AND ELECTRICITY PROFEFEFEFEFEFEFEEFFEFEFEEEEEEEEFFFEEFEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIOIOIOIIOIOIOOOOIOIOOOOOOOOOIOIOOOOOOOOONANNNNNN LS July 2010 • Vol 4. Issue 7

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An ITP Business PublicationAn ITP Business Publication

COOL & CALCULATING: MAKING DISTRICT COOLING TARIFFS WORK Palm District Cooling wants to move to a new tariff structure

MASDARMOVES FORWARD

Renewed impetus for Abu Dhabi’s renewables drive

GEARING UP

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With Shuaibah III, Saudi Arabia wisely uses its resources to power some of the country’s largest cities.

On the Red Sea, the Shuaibah III Power Plant produces the power for populous cities such as Jeddah and Makkah as well as the power to turn seawater into fresh water. With steam turbines that make best use of resources and a highly effective desulfurization stage that keeps emissions to an absolute minimum. Today’s toughest questions require wise leadership – supported by a company with answers and a 150-year history in the Middle East.

Can cities thirsty for energyfind it in the desert?

CONTENTS

www.utilities-me.com July 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 1

2 COMMENTGovernments need to scale back subsidies to avoid power outages.

4 REGIONAL UPDATEA round-up of some of the biggest headlines in the region.

10 WEBPAGE A look at the web content of utilities-me.com.

11 NEWS ANALYSIS IThe French are not giving up on UAE nuclear business.

13 NEWS ANALYSIS IIDistrict cooling needs to rethink its tariff structure.

16 MASDAR REVITALISEDShams I shows that Abu Dhabi has not given up on green.

23 WIRELESS WORLDWireless technology is about to come to a utility near you.

28 SWITCHING GEARSSwitchgear is adapting to a changing grid.

33 INTERCONNECTIONABB talk about the crucial Phase I of the GCC Interconnection Grid.

36 PEOPLE METER Jose de la Fuente from Telvent talks about SCADA.

39 PROJECTSA listing of the latest projects in the region

42 TENDERSUME lists the business opportunities that are to be had.

47 QATAR SNAPSHOTWhats going on in the Qatar Power and Water sector?

July 2010Issue 7

232816

Wireless technology is gaining traction in the Middle East

36

Shams I is the world’s largest solar plant of its kind.

Jose de la Fuente, Telvent, talks SCADA 47Qatar is invest-

ing heavily in power and water.

Switchgear is adapting to a new set of requirements.

COMMENT

2 Utilities Middle East ● July 2010 www.utilities-me.com

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R eported power outages in Saudi Arabia, Sharjah, and talk of reducing working hours to conserve energy in Kuwait: the

summer is well and truly on its way. Peak loads are bearing down once again on a power infra-structure overburdened by the rapid increase in demand.

Ministries and utility providers are not blind to the fact that scorching temperatures are skew-ing the supply-demand balance, and govern-ments have been busy investing their petrodol-lars in upgrading their countries’ power gener-ation capacity. A quick perusal of the news pages (or a click through the utilities-me.com news sec-tion) reveal a picture of consistent and unrelent-ing investment in plants, substations and grids all over the GCC. This month’s features section concerns itself with Masdar’s record solar power plant, the GCC interconnection grid and switch-gear, amongst other things.

All well and good, yet still the summer heat looms large over the region. And while the efforts of the likes of Adwea and the SEC are commend-able, it surely will not have escaped their attention that they are catering for a population that pays little heed to saving energy or conserving water. And why should they, as both water and electricity are highly subsidised, and few efforts are made to educate them on the merits of restraint?

Subsidies are based on delicate socio-economic considerations. In a big country such as Saudi Arabia, they serve to support great swathes of the population that have otherwise not seen the bene-fi ts of the kingdoms vast oil wealth. In smaller enti-ties such as Kuwait, the government can afford to be generous and bestow on its citizens a cradle to grave benefi ts system.

Considering the diffi culties utilities have in delivering the goods, power and water make for poor political instruments. It is time governments realised this, and pushed through meaningful reform. Saudi Arabia has taken a step in the right direction, with higher electricity tariffs in effect since July 1. But these increases exclude house-holds, which account for 53 percent of power con-sumption in the desert kingdom.

It is debatable whether governments really have a choice anyway. Power plants take years to build. Power outages are here, now. Quick fi x solutions are not usually known for their lasting impact. In this case, slapping a price tag on unrea-sonable consumption might just keep the air con-ditioning units working over the summer, and make real headway in leading the GCC down the road of sustainability.

Florian Neuhof, Editor Email: fl [email protected]

The heat is onSubsidies must go to if a summer of discontent is to be avoided

Middle East

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The dark side of the sun? The Gulf region is already facing record temperatures.

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REGIONAL UPDATE

4 Utilities Middle East ● July 2010 www.arabianbusiness.com

KSA might enrich uranium Saudi Arabia would aim for comprehensive nuclear programme, says consultant

The Kingdom could be building uranium enrichment plants, such as this one in Brazil, in future.

Saudi Arabia could mine and enrich uranium to fuel power plants if it embarks on a civilian nuclear energy programme, a consultant preparing a draft nuclear strategy for the king-dom told Reuters.

The KSA would want to play a role in as many of the stages of generat-ing nuclear power as possible even-tually, said David Cox, president for energy at the UK branch of Finnish management consultancy Poyry.

“Enrichment could happen there and the same with mining ura-nium...,” said Cox. “But outsourcing will happen initially.”

Earlier in the month, Saudi’s King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy appointed the consultants to help prepare a draft of the national vision and high level strategy in the area of nuclear and renewable energy.

Poyry will evaluate the eco-nomic and technical feasibility of its involvement in all stages of the nuclear power generation cycle, Cox said, adding that the study would be ready within “a couple of months.”

Power cuts hits KSA amid rising temperaturesSEC signs sub-station contract

Power cuts were experienced in various regions across Saudi Arabia as demand for electricity increased in response to a severe rise in temperatures.

“The power cuts have been mainly due to climatic conditions and the unusual rise in tempera-tures,” Abdul Salam Al-Yamani, vice chairman of the Saudi Elec-tricity Company (SEC) told the Saudi Gazette newpaper.

Repeated power cuts over the last few days have increased fears of a repetition of last summer, when continual power failures

Saudi fi rm Al Osais Inabensa Co. has won a multimillion dollar contract to build a substation in Riyadh. The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has signed a contract with the local company to construct the US$77 million electric substation, reported the Asharq Al Awsat daily.

The project, which is expected to be completed in 27 months, will improve transmission and distribu-tion capacities in the south east of Riyadh and support electrical loads in the second industrial city, said Ali Al Barak, SEC chief executive.

Saudi Arabia’s neighbour the United Arab Emirates became the fi rst country in the Gulf Arab region to embark upon a nuclear

were provoked by record-high temperatures.

As temperatures hit 50 degrees Celsius, Buraidah and other towns were left without power for over an hour , the paper reported.

A regional SEC offi cial said that power demand had reached “historic highs” last week. Last summer, a SEC offi cial in Qassim noted that a signifi cant rise in demand from the previous year was due to the 13 percent “habit-ual” annual growth in the region.

In Makkah, SEC supervisor Wa’il Hassanain told the paper

that they are geared to tackle the expected rise in temperatures, “particularly in Ramadan”.

“Demand is projected to increase by 40 percent on last year around the beginning of August,” the supervisor said.

“We have laid out a plan to iden-tify early the lines that may be sub-ject to extra pressure. The main cause of failures is demand over-load,” he continued.

Households account for 53 per-cent of power consumption in the desert kingdom and much of it is used for air-conditioning.

power generation programme last year. Any programme the kingdom embarks upon would take as much as 20 years to complete, according

to Poyry, and would be comparable in size to the UAE’s US$40 billion programme.

In spite of its abundant oil reserves, the kingdom is struggling to keep up with the rapidly increas-ing energy demand. Saudi Arabia saw power demand grow by more than eight percent last year. Total demand is expected to grow to more than 60,000MW by 2020 from a cur-rent capacity of around 40,000MW.

Without reducing the rate of energy consumption growth, the Kingdom could see oil available for export drop some three million bar-rels per day (bpd) to less than seven million bpd in 2028, Khalid al Falih, the chief executive of state oil fi rm Saudi Aramco, said earlier this year.

The KSA and the United States signed a nuclear cooperation deal in 2008. France said in 2009 it was close to fi nalising a civilian nuclear agree-ment. The kingdom has also talked to Russia about nuclear cooperation. Saudi Arabia has potential for a large number of uranium deposits, recent research suggests.

REGIONAL UPDATE

www.arabianbusiness.com July 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 5

Heading for the door? Kuwait government workers are keen to help save electricity by going home early.

Work less, sweat lessKuwaiti MPs call for shorter working hours after power scareKuwaiti members of parliament approved a recommendation to shorten summer working hours to save electricity, as the emirate grappled with record heat and a major power crisis.

The non-binding recommenda-tion followed an emergency par-liamentary session to discuss the crisis, and called for working hours of government employees to be changed from the present 7:30 until 14:30 to 7:00 until noon, the AFP newswire reports.

The recommendation comes as soaring temperatures almost led to power cuts in the oil-rich OPEC member state. Temperatures rose to 52 degrees Celsius, the highest in more than 30 years.

Parliament also called in a senior government minister to provide explanations. Bader Al-Shreiaan, minister of electricity and water, told MPs the govern-ment would be tackling the prob-lem by putting in short-term mea-sures to reduce power load during the summer, and would be looking to improve long-term power pro-duction, reports KUNA News.

Al-Shreiann said the ministry had installed equipment to raise the effi ciency of the power sta-tions that bore the brunt of the increases in demand.

The maintenance of power lines was also being increased in an effort to reduce the effect of weather changes and humidity on conductivity, the minister added.

Government offi cials said the power crisis was due to mistakes accumulated since 1988, when Kuwait built its last power plant despite an eight percent annual rise in electricity demand.

The emirate is now working to put things right. In September 2009, Kuwait signed a US$2.7 bil-

ABB WINS US$90 MILLION SEC CONTRACTThe Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has awarded ABB a contract to set up an substation in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia, an ABB spokesperson has confi rmed.The deal is worth around US$90 million, reported the Jeddah-based Okaz daily reports on Saturday, citing Ali Al Barrak, SEC chief executive.The substation will be set up within 27 months after the contract’s signing in the King Abdullah Financial District in the north of Riyadh.EGYPT’S FIRST SOLAR PLANT TO BE OPERATIONAL BEFORE END OF 2010Egypt’s fi rst solar plant will become operational by the end of the year, electricity and energy minister Hassan Younes said in a report published on Monday on his ministry’s website.The plant will be one of only four solar plants in the world with a 140MW capacity, says the report. Egypt wants to produce 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by the end of 2020.IRAQ BUYS SOLAR DESALINATION UNITSIraqi Minister of Municipalities and Public Works Riad Ghareeb said on Saturday that US$41 million had been allocated to import 350 solar-powered water desalination units in an effort to provide rural areas with drinking water, reports the Aswat Aliraq news agency.He added that it will take two years for all the desalination units to reach a total of 350 villages. The units will be supplied by a US company.

HIGHLIGHTS

lion deal with US and Korean fi rms to build a 2,000MW power plant that is due to come online next summer and will be fully opera-tional by mid-2012.

Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah said at the time that Kuwait aims to double power capacity to more than 20,000MW within the next fi ve years.

Last month, Kuwait’s parliament passed a law to set up sharehold-ing companies to build new power and water desalination plants in the fi rst privatisation of the sector.

The wealthy Gulf emirate, which operates a cradle-to-grave welfare policy for Kuwaiti nationals, sells power at highly subsidised rates to its 1.1 million citizens and 2.35 mil-lion foreign residents.

REGIONAL UPDATE

www.arabianbusiness.com July 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 7

SEC hikes electricity tariffs9.6 percent increase for non-household users to cope with rising demandThe Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) will charge government, industrial and commercial users higher rates for electricity from the beginning of July. The price hike comes in response to a sustained increase in demand, requiring infra-structure investments of close to US$80bn, reports Reuters.

The move will raise by 9.6 per-cent the average price of electricity sold to non-household users. But the retail price would still be 3.5 per-cent below actual production costs, Abdullah al-Shehry, governor of the Electricity and Co-generation Regu-latory Authority, told reporters.

“Based on current global fuel prices, the production cost of elec-tricity is 0.372 riyals per killowatt per hour (kwh), while these new increases will raise the average tariff for all users to 0.137 riyals up from 0.125 riyals previously,” Shehri said.

According to Water and Electric-ity Minister Abdullah al-Husayen, the annual growth in power demand means the government needs to add 3,000MW to the power generation capacity each year, which currently stands at 40,900MW.

“This huge by all standards. Over the 2009-2018 period, the growth in power demand will require 300 bil-lion riyals in investments,” Husayen was quoted as saying.

The SEC is forgoing a large amount of revenue by not includ-

Saudi Electricity Company signed a contract with GDF Suez and two other fi rms to build a 1,730MW power plant, the state-owned power provider has revealed.

The power utility holds a 50 per-cent stake in the Darmaa Power

Co, which will operate Riyadh 11 independent power plant, while GDF Suez, Sojitz and local Jomaih Holding Group together hold the remaining half, the SEC said a the statment to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the Tawadul.

The project will cost US$2.1 bil-lion and is set to be operational in two years, the SEC revealed.

The built operate, own and trans-fer contract was signed on June 15. Riyadh-based Saudi Electric-ity Company has also signed a con-

ing households in the rate hike. Pri-vate consumption accounts for 53 percent of energy use in the King-dom. Much of this power is used up by air-conditioning units, which will go into overdrive during the hot summer months.

Analysts believe that the SEC is missing a tick in forgoing an

increase in prices for households, and see the introduction of new tar-iffs as an alternative. “The country has been focusing on constantly increasing its generation capac-ity, while the consumption too kept increasing, refl ecting an underly-ing trend of wasteful consumption in the country where power is

still highly subsidized compared to a large part of the world,” says Abhay Bhargava, industry man-ager at Frost&Sullivan. “It would be advisable for them to con-sider including households into a variable slab tarif f at the least, if a unanimous hike has been dis-carded after consideration”

tract with the consortium commit-ting it to the purchase of the IPP’s electricity for a period of 20 years.

The partnership is among six planned IPP power plant projects in the kingdom aimed at adding 11,000 megawatts of capacity.

The SEC has incraesed power tariffs, but has shied away from charging households more.

SEC signs off US$2.1 billion power project

REGIONAL UPDATE

www.arabianbusiness.com8 Utilities Middle East ● July 2010

inspection as well as coordination with all suppliers for substation equip-ment,” said, Jalal Bageri, ABB’s Saudi Arabia country services manager.

Substations covered under the agreement include Al Fadhili, Ghunan, Salwa and Ras Al Qurayha in Saudi Arabia, Al Jasra in Bahrain, Al Zour in Kuwait and Doha South in Qatar.

ing Barka 2 and Sohar IWPPs, both northwest of the capital Muscat.

The plants are to be fully opera-tional by the second quarter of 2013, according to the OPWP website.

Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group is already present in the Omani power sector through involvement in the Barka 2 and Sohar power and desal-ination plants and the Al Rusail gas-fi red power plant. Together these plants have an installed capacity of 1,921MW and total water produc-tion of 268,000 m3/day.

ABB wins US$8.3m GCC Grid service contract

Hitachi seeking nuclear busi-ness in MideastJapanese technology giant Hitachi is looking to build 13 nuclear power plants in the Middle East, India and Southeast Asia, the company has said.

Masayuki Fukutomi, a spokes-person from the Hitachi Middle East branch said that the Japa-nese firm, which was the third largest technological company by revenue in 2009, is planning to build 150 nuclear power plants across the world by 2030.

The head office in Tokyo con-firmed in a statement that 13 of these were likely to be located in India, Southeast Asia and Middle East, but did not give any further breakdown by country.

Earlier this week, it was reported by the Nikkei news website in Tokyo that Hitachi’s nuclear power operations made 210 billion yen ($2.3bn) in 2009.

Hitachi’s executive officer Koji Tanaka also confirmed that the firm is planning to partner with US firm General Electric to launch joint operations in Asia and the Middle East.

A consortium comprising Gen-eral Electric and Hitachi was one of the bids that failed to win the UAE’s recent $40bn nuclear power contract.

The deal, the largest energy contract in the Middle East, was eventually won by South Korean state-owned utility firm, Korea Electric Power (KEPCO).

Agreement to cover substations in four countries over a two-year period.

ABB has signed a service contract with the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) to provide maintenance for equip-ment and systems at the Gulf Inter-connection Grid’s newly constructed substations.

The two-year contract between

ABB and the GCCIA, which is worth $8.3 million, will aim to optimize the grid’s reliability through regu-lar maintenance and provide techni-cal and emergency assistance when required.

“We will provide round-the-clock support to the Interconnection Grid, including frequent substation visits for preventive maintenance and

Contracts for two IPPs in Oman awardedPlants to be operational in second quarter of 2013

Oman is adding to its power generating capacity by awarding the IPP contracts.

The Oman Power and Water Pro-curement Company (OPWP) has awarded the construction and oper-ation contracts for the country’s next two independent power proj-ects (IPPs), Barka 3 and Sohar 2.

The contracts have been awarded to a Consortium consisting of the Kahrabel GDF SUEZ Group, the Bahwan Engineering Group, the Public Authority for Social Insur-ance, the Shikoku Electric Com-pany and the Sojitz Corporation. EPC contractors for the project are

Germany’s Siemens AG and South Korea’s GS Engineering, Kahra-bel GDF SUEZ has disclosed in a press release. The combined invest-ment for both projects will total at around 1,700 MUSD.

Barka 3 and Sohar 2 are green-fi eld natural gas-fi red power proj-ects with capacity of 744 MW each. The electricity produced by each project will be sold under a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement to the OPWP. Barka 3 and Sohar 2 will be adjacent to Kahrabel’s exist-

13Nuclear power plants in the Middle East, India

and Southeast Asia

REGIONAL UPDATE


EDITORS PICK

Talking business: Wolfgang Braun, Siemens

Wolfgang Braun, gen-eral manager at Siemens Energy T&D, talks to UME about business in the region and elebo-rates on developments in the switchgear sector.

ONLINE ANALYSIS

Most popular headlines1. KSA may turn to uranium enrichment2. Power cuts hit Saudi Arabia3. Egypt’s fi rst solar plant to be online in 2010 4. Mott MacDonald awarded ADDC contract5. ABB wins US$90 million SEC contract6. ABB wins US$108m substation contract7. Iraq buys solar desalination units8. The upside of a downturn9. Work less, sweat less10. Nuclear ambitions

ONLINE ONLY

Membrane technology on the rise, report fi nds.

SPOT POLL

Is more investment needed in a central GCC power grid?

Yes, we must link up to share power supply.

It’s too late - we’re all heading for blackout!

Hmm, not sure, some countries could take advantage of this and suck up too much power.

It’s up to each country to sort their energy issues out.

51%

33%

8%

8%

Alstom takes over Areva’s Middle Eastern transmission business

Hitachi wants nuclear business in the Middle East

Already the dominant method for desalination, memebrane reverse osmosis technology is expanding into new markets, say Lux Research.

The Japanese technology giant is looking to built 13 nuclear power plants in the Middle East, India, and South East Asia.

Alstom and Schneider Electric take over Areva’s T&D business, in a move that sees most of the Middle East operations fall to Alstom.

NEWS ANALYSIS


Last month, a trade mission organised by Ubifrance, the agency promoting the interests of French small and medium enter-prise (SME) abroad, and the Emir-ates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) was held in Abu Dhabi. The aim of the two-day event was to bring the French companies into contract with the key deci-sion makers in nuclear fi eld in the emirates, and with the consortium building the GCC’s fi rst nuclear power plants in the UAE.

The consortium around South

ager for infrastructure, transport and industry at Ubifrance. “The project is just starting, right now the members of the consortium are listing their potential suppli-ers. Its defi nitely the right time to get them connected with the ser-vice providers, and as you know, France is a very skilled actor in this fi eld.”

The scale of the project means that the consortium, which apart from Kepco also includes Doosan Heavy Industries and US company Westinghouse, is unable to source exclusively from South Korea, notes Keraval.

The trade mission is a shrewd

move, as few counties are as well placed to gain ancillary busi-ness from the project. France pro-duces 78 percent of its electric-ity from 58 nuclear reactors, and is busy exporting nuclear gener-ated power to its neighbours. Such enthusiasm for nuclear power has spawned not just giants of its trade such as Areva or EDF, but a pleth-ora of small and medium sized companies that service the indus-try. Keraval estimates that there are around one hundred compa-nies that can be regarded as tier one SME’s with plenty of smaller companies able to deliver smaller services or components.

Korea’s Kepco had shocked the French nuclear energy industry by winning the contract to built four nuclear reactors in the UAE for a total of US$20 billion. The French had been confi dent that their bid, based on the new Euro-pean Pressurised Reactor (ERP), would come up top. But the con-sortium based around Areva, EDF and GDF Suez paid little heed to the the demands and require-ments of the UAE decision-mak-ers, who effectively looked to out-source the whole project, accord-ing to Holger Rogner, section had at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Kepco, whose winning bid was both cheaper and more compre-hensive, are now preparing for the reactors to come online by 2020. A good time for the French SME, and some of the heavyweights, to come back into the picture, believes Romain Keraval, man-

Annual production of nuclear power in France

450 billion KWH

THIRD GENERATION Construction of the first third-generation European Pressu-rized Reactor (EPR) known as Flamanville-3, began April 2007 in Flamanville, Normandy. Targeted completion date is for the 1,700MW plant is 2012.

French return to pick up piecesThe French nuclear industry, rocked by loosing out on the GCC’s first nuclear project, is not about to give up lightly.

Flamanville-3, the fi rst EPR rector under construction, is a showpiece of French nuclear prowess.

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NEWS ANALYSIS


District cooling compa-nies have not been left unscathed by the reces-sion, as banks were

unwilling to dispense credit, and the district cooling business was affected by the slowdown in con-struction activity. This has left the industry searching for new ways of gathering the necessary funds for the construction of their plants.

Palm District Cooling have come up with what they see as a viable alternative to the existing model,

says Shafi q Khoori, managing direc-tor at the company. Up to now, dis-trict cooling companies have cov-ered the costs of constructing plants and piping through an annual capac-ity charge, by which the capital investment is recovered over the life time of a plant by charging end users a set amount every year.

Palm, who have supplied dis-trict cooling to the Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dis-covery Gardens developments in Dubai, are now looking to recoup construction costs with an upfront charge paid by the developer of res-idential complexes. “We’ve devel-oped a new tariff model to move away from the annual capacity charge,” says Khoori. “This model mirrors how an investment in a con-ventional system looks like. For example: if you are building a typi-cal building here in Dubai, you buy your own chillers, so there is a cost outlay. We said, instead of people paying this money towards their

own chillers, we collect these moneys, and we build a

central cooling plant and a network, and

serve them with district cooling. There is no ongoing capital recov-ery. Its upfront, and it costs a simi-lar amount to what it costs to have a chiller.”

The company is hoping to imple-ment the new model at one of the projects they are currently involved in. “We are trying to implement it here at Jumeirah Village South for the fi rst time,” reveals Khoori.

Residents would only be charged for the consumption on a meter basis under the new model, says Khoori. He admits that his company will have work on its hands to convince stake-holders of the model, starting with the developers. "We have to fi nd out the concerns of all stakehold-ers, because its a new model, and we have to address all the doubts and questions. So we are trying to show developers that the cost is very nomi-nal and will not make their properties unmarketable.”

Convincing the sceptics might be

Tariff troublesPalm District Cooling are planning to adopt a new model for financing their district cooling plants, hoping to replace an incremental reimburse-ment with an upfront charge. But will this model be accepted, and is it the best way to encourage end users to reduce their energy consumption?

an uphill task. “This proposal essen-tially solves a problem by replacing it with a bigger one,” says Hans Alt-mann, regional manager at Techem, who produce radio metering devices and advise on power consump-tion issues. He believes that devel-opers faced with an upfront capi-tal investment on district cooling would simply pass that cost down to prospective buyers of their prop-erties. The additional cost would not be negligible, as Khoori argues, and would place developers at a distinct disadvantage when trying to sell their residential units.

“A district cooling provider fol-lowing such a model would improve his cash fl ow, but makes the proper-ties in questions less attractive,” Alt-mann says.

Furthermore, the new proposal could lead to property owners eschewing the district cooling option, avoiding huge upfront costs by turning to conventional split unit

charge paid by the developeidential complexes. “We’veoped a new tariff model toaway from the annual ccharge,” says Khoori. “Thismirrors how an investment iventional system looks likexample: if you are buildingcal building here in Dubai, yyour own chillers, so there ioutlay. We said, instead of paying this money toward

own chillers, we collecmoneys, and we

central coolingand a netwo

“We have to fi nd out the concerns of all stakeholders, because it is a new

model, and we have to address all the doubts and questions.”

Shafi q Khoori, Palm District Cooling

Shafi q Khoori, managing director

at Palm District Cooling

NEWS ANALYSIS


“District cooling could become the big-gest consumer of energy in the Emirates

within a short period of time.”Hans Altmann, Techem

air conditioning, which comes at a much lower capital expenditure. “End users would in that case not be too concerned whether that is an environmentally friendly option or not,” adds Altmann.

INCENTIVISING SAVINGSLike it or not, the cost of building a district cooling or a central cooling plant will have to be borne by some-one. The challenge is to come up with a pricing structure that incen-tivises reduced consumption while also covering the costs.

Fixed capacity charges currently represent a big part of the end user’s cooling bill, says Altmann. Only a

percent of the bill. And I personally wouldn’t want to sweat to save 20 dir-hams or so.”

Yet reducing energy consump-tion has become imperative in the GCC, due to the massively expand-ing demand for power and a nascent environmental awareness. For-tunately, models that encourage

energy savings already exist in Europe’s district heating sector, and can be adapted to the region’s district cooling indus-

try. European countries, where

district heating has

been in use for decades, have long since adopted a pricing mechanism in which households not only pay for water and energy costs in proportion to their usage, but also pay their part of the fi xed costs in relation to their usage. Under such a system, con-sumers who are keen to reduce their utility bills will end up with real sav-ings, says Altmann.

“Unlike here, in countries such as Germany and France it has been enshrined in law that fi xed costs have to be part of the cost equation for households,” he says. “You have to make saving attractive to people.” According to Altmann, there are currently discussions about such a law in Dubai, but it is hard to predict when it will come into force.

It is debateable whether enticing end users is high on the list of dis-trict cooling providers. It is equally debateable whether decisions such

as these should be down to them. Altmann is adamant that the indus-try needs to be regulated prop-erly, and he makes a strong case: “District cooling could become the biggest consumer of energy in the Emirates within a short period of time.”

energy savingsalready exist inEurope’s district heating sector,and can beadapted to theregion’s district cooling indus-

try. Europeancountries, where

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small proportion of what a consumer ends up paying actually corresponds to the consumption of indi-vidual apartments. Con-sequently, efforts to lower consumption will only be rewarded by a negligible reduction of the overall bill. “If I want to save on my cool-ing bills, I can only do so on ten or 20

Hans Altmann, regional manager,

Middle East and North Africa, at Techem

Palm District Cooling keep the Palm Jumeirah cool.

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MASDAR


As doubts started to surface about Abu Dhabi’s commitment to its renewables drive, a record-breaking solar project and the region’s fi rst feed-in tariff policy are a bold reaffi rmation of the Emirate’s ambitions.

Masdar moves forward

July 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 17

MASDAR

www.utilities-me.com

Shams I has renewed optimism about Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s fl agship green project.

MASDAR


“Shams I [will not only be] opening the door for renewable energy projects in the

UAE, but also for technology transfer.”Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar CEO

On June 9, Masdar, the state-owned organisa-tion promoting renew-ables and cleantech,

announced that it had awarded the contract for the construction and running of the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant. Coming in the wake of job cuts at Masdar City and speculation about the future of the carbon neutral city being constructed in Abu Dhabi, this was good news indeed.

The 100MW Shams I indepen-dent power plant (IPP) comes at a cost US$600 million, and will be operational by the third quarter of 2012. The plant will be majority-owned by Masdar, who will hold a 60 percent stake in the project, with Abengoa and Total holding a 20 percent stake each. The plant will consist of 768 parabolic trough collectors, to be supplied by Aben-goa, stretching over an area of 2.5

square kilometres. It will displace approximately 175,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to plant-ing 1.5 million trees or remov-ing 15,000 cars from Abu Dhabi’s roads, Masdar proudly points out. Shams I will be located 120 kilome-tres from Abu Dhabi in Madinat Zayed, an area set aside for future solar projects. Construction is to begin within three months of the announcement.

CONFIDENCE BOOSTERMasdar is the cornerstone of Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy drive. Delays to both Masdar City and Shams I due to the global fi nan-cial downturn and illiquid credit markets, as well as reports about the organisation slashing about twenty percent of Masdar City’s workforce, led some to believe that the renewables fl agship was run-ning out of steam. At the Shams I

Are you satisfi ed you have fi nally been awarded the contract for Shams I?Like in any international bid-ding process, these things take time and are diffi cult, and ob-viously we took our time, but we are very happy, and we feel very good about it. Masdar made their decision on who they felt is best qualifi ed and who offered the most com-petitive price.

Are you looking at other projects in the region?At this point in time our key project in the region is Shams I and I think its large enough

and important enough and a breakthrough in the region. We hope other countries will follow, that these countries will see that solar can be a very important resource for the region. But from our point of view our focus is going to be on Shams I.

Is Shams I a benchmark project?Its going to be a milestone in the region, because of the size, because of the fact that Mas-dar and the Abu Dhabi gov-ernment are supporting it, and we hope it will be an example for others.

SANTIAGO SEAGE, CEO AND CHAIRMAN AT ABENGOA, COMMENTS ON THE PROJECT.

An Abengoa parabolic solar trough of the kind that will be used at Shams I.

press conference, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Masdar’s CEO, was keen to dispel such doubts.

“Shams I is one of the many proj-ects we are hoping to develop in the coming years to meet this target,” said Al Jaber, who then went on to outline the benefi ts of this benchmark energy proj-ect. “Shams I will allow Masdar to transfer to Abu Dhabi the know-how and expertise we have gained from our involvement in devel-oping world-class renewable energy projects abroad, thus not

only opening the door for renew-able energy projects in the UAE but also for technology transfer. [...] Shams I will help us lower the costs of future projects.”

GREEN TARIFFOne of the most signifi cant aspects of Shams I is the introduction of a ‘green tariff’, by which the govern-ment compensates ADWEC, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company, for the shortfall in rev-enue stemming from subsidised electricity rates and high produc-

MASDAR


Masdar City, carbon neutral project located about 17 kilo-metres from downtown Abu Dhabi, hopes to become a free zone brimming with com-panies, researchers, and aca-demics from across the globe, an international hub for companies and organisations focused on renewable energy and clean technologies. The city will host the Masdar Institute of Science and Tech-nology, which is collaborat-ing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop advanced energy solutions, sustainable tech-nologies and policy. Construc-tion began in 2008, and the fi rst buildings are scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2010.

Faced with delays resulting from the economic and fi nan-cial turmoil of the recession, the project has been placed under review. Speaking at the launch of the Shams I proj-ects, Masdar CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber fended off suggestions that a revised master plan will abandon the original size and ambitions of the project. “Masdar City is an important component of Masdar. While the review is very much re-

quired, the vision remains the same, and we won’t scale back or scale down. But we are much smarter than when we started. There have been lessons learned and we want to capitalise on them.” Asked specifi cally whether the de-velopment will remain carbon neutral, he repeated that “the vision remains the same.”

Talking to Bloomberg at a conference at the end of June, Richard Reynolds, Mas-dar’s head of supply-chain management, said that the revised master plan would be announced in the following two to three weeks. One of the issues being considered in the review is “how to make Masdar economically viable,” Reynolds told the newswire.

The commencement of the Shams I is likely to give the project some added momen-tum. “Masdar City has to be looked at as the launch vehicle for clean tech compa-nies wanting to establish a presence in the region,” says Abhay Bhargava, industry manager at Frost & Sullivan. “I think Masdar City should get a boost by Masdar itself being active in such a large renew-ables project in the region.”

MASDAR CITY – THE VISION REMAINS THE SAME

tion cost. This is the fi rst govern-ment initiative to promote the use of renewable energy through sub-sidies, and is similar to the feed-in tariffs applied in countries around the world.

Feed-in tariffs usually imply that electricity companies pay providers of renewable energy a higher rate for their energy, the cost of which is then passed down to the end user. In the Middle East, where electricity is generally sold below production costs, such a model was not to be expected. “The government has to subsidise,” says Abhay Bhargava, industry manager at Frost and Sul-livan, a business consultancy. “The electricity companies in the region have to get gas at a subsidised rate if they want to sell electricity at the prices that they do. Its just a contin-uation of the power generation poli-cies in the region of subsidising the power generator.”

The adoption of the tariffs is important to attract private inves-

“It doesn’t make sense to put in 100MW of renewable power, and then, because

consumption is increasing at a breakneck pace, go ahead and put in another 200-

300 MW of conventional power”Abhay Bhargava, industry manager, Frost & Sullivan

The involvement of Total in renewable energy projects in the region is more proof of the company’s changed strategy. “Total has recently increased its involvement in solar tech-nologies, making it one of its favoured future energy bets, as well as working with Masdar as a way of enhancing its relations with Abu Dhabi, where it has signifi cant oil

and gas interests,” writes Sam Ciszuk, analyst at IHS Global Insight, in a research note. “Its good to see Total in the picture, participating in a re-newables project in the region, especially if you look at BP who have been withdrawing from renewable energy over the last year of so, both in re-gion and globally,” adds Frost & Sullivan’s Abhay Bhargava.

TOTAL INVOLVEMENT

Masdar City is still under construction, the fi rst buildings are scheduled to open in Q3 2010.

tors to future renewable energy projects in Abu Dhabi, says Bhar-gava , who believes that the emirate is setting an example that its neigh-bours are likely to follow. “Abu Dhabi is giving an indicator that it can be done by other countries in the region.”

Key decision makers in Abu Dhabi expect the production costs of renewable energy to come down, perhaps even to the extent that a green tariff will become redundant. “The cost per unit will come down – and might reach a point where we won’t need a green pricing mech-anism,” said Nick Carter, director general of the Abu Dhabi Regula-tion & Supervision Bureau, at the press conference. Carter refused to reveal the fi nancial details of the tariff, but said the model will be applied to other renewable projects.

ON TARGET?Demand for energy in the Emir-ate is estimated to stand at a whop-

MASDAR


“The cost per unit will come down - and might reach a stage where we won’t need a green pricing mechanism. ”

Nick Carter, director general, Abu Dhabi Regulation & Supervision Bureau

The 100MW Shams I IPP will be the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world.

ping 20GW by 2020, says Hilal Al Zaabi, project manager for Shams I. Carter points out that power demand increased by 11 percent in 2009. Including exports to the rest of the UAE, demand for power orig-inating from Abu Dhabi’s power plants increased by 16 percent. Such fi gures drive home the need for further development of renew-able sources of energy, should the seven percent target be met. Some

observers, however, point out that adjustments on the generation side will not be suffi cient. Efforts will need to be made curb consump-tion, too. “It doesn’t make sense to put in 100MW of renewable power,

and then, because consumption is increasing at a breakneck pace, go ahead and put in another 200-300MW of conventional power. That just skews the equation again,” says Bhargava.

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WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

Wireless technology is breaking into the region’s utilities sector.

Not down to the wire

about new technologies,” he says. “That’s why we tend to do a lot of showing people how it actu-ally works, how easy it is. We find that once people start using wire-less, they just keep on adding and adding.”

Baird experience is shared by his competitors. “Middle East-ern customers have a tendency to wait and watch,” says Feroz Qureshi, technical sales consul-tant at Honeywell. “Not only in wireless, this is true for all tech-nology innovations, it’s a gen-eral tendency in region. They are waiting for others to install first, so that it has been proven, then they will go and try it out.”

The Middle East is a relative late-comer to wireless technology, which was first put to use in the US. Europe and Asia quickly fol-lowed. And now, wireless technol-ogy is starting to make inroads into the region’s utilities sector. “The response in Middle East has been fantastic,” says Alan Baird, director of Plantweb & Wireless Marketing at Emerson.

Emerson launched its wireless business in the Middle East in 2008. Despite the good reception, Baird admits that he also encoun-tered a certain caution amongst end users. “The Middle East and Africa is quite unique whereby they want to be very careful


WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY


However, Honeywell also tes-tify to substantial interest in their wireless products. “We are seeing a huge interest in the Middle East, and are running pilots in several countries. I have no doubt that there will be some bigger projects coming to us soon,” says Diederik Mols, EMEA business manager for industrial wireless solutions at Honeywell.

One key reason why the tech-nology took a little longer to hit the market in the region is the need for certification needed for

wireless products. That process can take several months and even up to one year, says Mols. “A lot of things have to do with approv-als,” agrees Baird. “The local telecommunication regulatory authorities in every country in the Middle East have to give approvals because its a wireless technology.”

Others feel that the aware-ness levels in the Middle East for what wireless solutions can do for a utility provider are not yet adequate. “The root of the prob-lem lies in the awareness levels

about the existence of such intel-ligence solutions. Every organi-sation today is confronted with its own unique set of problems and this is why solutions need to be devised based on a customized approach,” says Mike Meranda, CEO of Tagstone.

Despite the belated start, wire-less technology has started to gain traction in the region. “We have done everything from irri-gation plants, desalination and power plants, to oil and gas. There isn’t a country in the Middle East

that hasn’t got a wireless applica-tion in it,” states Baird.

Are wireless applications more prominent in water or power? “Our wireless solutions get used mainly on the water side, because when we look at the power plant itself we do a lot on the water side, like measuring the conductivity and the PH. We are now doing a lot of temperature measuring in boilers as well.”

Apart from its use in plants and water networks, wireless technol-ogy is also becoming more widely

An Emerson view of how wireless technology could be applied in a power plant.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY


“There isn’t a country in the Middle East that hasn’t got a wireless application in it”

Alan Baird, director, Emerson

“We try to get the end user to be more predictive. If you can pre-dict what is going to happen, than the shut downs and anything else are reduced.”

While the transmitters used to monitor plants are often wired, wireless technology will stand to profit from this trend. “We can take a wireless transmitter, and get immediate access to measure-ment points we never had before. So wireless technology gives us more measurement points,” explains Baird.

The cost effectiveness of join-ing up remote part of a plant or water network to the control centre through wireless net-works leads to optimism amongst purveyors of the technology.

“If you have the network, you can plug in applications at your convenience that other-wise would be cost-prohibitive to wire,” says Mols. “For example, if you have a remote pump station for seawater pumps and you want to monitor their health, it is usu-

used for meter reading and bill-ing purposes in residences. One of the companies involved in sup-plying radio technology products to this end is Techem. MENA regional manager Hans Altmann sees a growing market for his products in the Middle East. “The UAE especially is known for the usage of latest technology and we already have heavy users of wire-less technology in many indus-tries there,” he says, adding. “Wireless applications will be used for all kinds of purposes in the future – why should this not all be the case with the measure-ment of consumption?”

PROCESS MONITORING Wireless business is boosted by a move towards process monitor-ing in power plants, says Baird, and a trend towards what he refers to as ‘preventative main-tenance’. “Emerson moved from being a preventative maintenance company to a predictive main-tenance company,” he explains.

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY


ally cost-prohibitive to monitor the vibration levels of that pump in real time and invest in a couple of kilometers of cable before you can do that. But with wireless technology you can plug into the network and get that data to your control room.”

This means that important data used for monitoring the condition of equipment reach the nerve centre of a utilities operation in real time. Even if there is no wire-less transmitter attached to the equipment, maintenance crews are often able to relay information back to the control centre faster, while increasing the safety of the crew. “You can see if there is pres-sure on a certain pipe, or you can see the process data at the posi-tion where he is in the field. Main-tenance staff can also enter data into the system in real time, so it works both ways,” says Mols.

Meranda also believes that the management of maintenance staff can be improved through wireless applications. “Utilities companies are heavily reliant on remote technicians to complete repair jobs, monitor usage and meet customer need for longer than most other field service industries have existed. Manag-ing remote employees is always a challenge for supervisors respon-sible,” he says.

But operational expenditure can also be reduced by keeping maintenance crews out of the field in the first place. “Pumps, turbines, motors, they all use vibration transmitters, these eliminate need for monthly main-tenance. To put infrastructure in for such non-critical equipment doesn’t make sense,” says Baird. Rather than sending out people with hand held devices, says Baird, wireless networks to the job for them, with transmitters sending the information back to the control centre. “So you save on infrastructure, but more on the operational expenses.”

go outside and fi nd out if there is a problem,” asks Baird.

Wireless devices rely on the erection of a so-called wireless mesh network (WMN). First developed by the military, these networks are robust, as they spread communication between several nodes, or connection points. The stability of the net-work, and its ability to cope with the tough conditions in the Middle East, thus is not some-thing that concerns the wireless

designed for ultra long life. We are talking about eight years and up, even in this hot region.”

Utility projects in the Middle East, and the GCC in particular, often take on massive propor-tions. Yet this does not perturb wireless providers such as Hon-eywell, with Mols stressing that wireless networks are not only robust, but also scalable. “You’re not limited to 200 applications but you can really talk about thou-sands of applications per net-work, and we can run networks over each other – that is also a key point for investment protection.”

INVESTMENT PROTECTIONFor utilities considering whether to adopt wireless, investment pro-tection is of course an important issue. In this context, it helps that the industry has adopted an offi -cial standard, the ISA 100.11a. The standard was adopted in 2009, after representatives from vendors, end users and technol-ogy institutes had developed it for over three years.

The standard was crucial for wireless to get out of the blocks, says Mols. “Once the standard was offi cial, that was a starting point and peace of mind for end user.” A common standard pro-tects the investment made by the end user because the technol-ogy is not proprietary, and the client is not locked into one sup-plier. “When you invest millions of dollars, you want to make sure that you get support in 10 to 20 years from now, and that you are not locked in with one supplier.”

companies. They do, however, have some

convincing to do when speaking to potential clients. “We get asked: ‘What about sandstorms? Can the wireless deal with the high tem-peratures?’” says Mols. “The answer is: yes. Although there is some deterioration in the signal, it will just continue perfectly.”

Mols is also keen to allay con-cerns about the battery life of wireless devices. “The batter-ies in Honeywell applications are

Diederik Mols, EMEA business manager, Honeywell.

“When you invest millions of dollars, you want to make sure that you get support in

10 to 20 years from now.”

And in the regions climate, spending less time in remote areas of a plant or a water net-work will come as a relief to main-tenance staff. “If I’m running a power plant in the Middle East, and I have to check on things in 43 degree heat, isn’t it easier to sit at my desk rather than you having to

A wireless signal has no way through obstacles.It will just bounce around.

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��

SWITCHGEAR


Switchgear suppliers are upbeat about business past and present, and are looking to adjust their products to meet the demands of a smarter grid.

Gearing up

M anufacturers of switchgear, an important compo-nent of substations,

have been richly rewarded by the GCC’s drive to expand their trans-mission and distribution (T&D) capacities within their boundaries and across the region.

The most ambitious expression of this drive is the GCC Intercon-nection Grid, which will fully link up the GCC member states by 2011. (see next article) Built to tackle the power outages that cause a sweat in several of the members states in the summer months, and with the pros-pect of an energy trading market in mind, the grid has been a good source of business.

“We’re seeing double digit increases in spending across the

region,” says Mohammed Masri, division manager of power products, Middle East & Africa, at ABB. “What is most interesting is the coopera-tion that we’re seeing across coun-tries, such as with the GCC Inter-connection Grid. This collabora-tive effort will provide results much more quickly to business and res-idents who are still suffering from power cuts in the summer.” ABB supplied six substations for phase I of the interconnection grid that linked up Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bah-rain, Kuwait and the UAE,

Areva T&D, recently acquired by Alstom and Schneider Electric, have also been active with this proj-ect, supplying the Middle East’s fi rst high voltage direct current (HVDC) substation, as well as an integrated grid automation solution in Saudi

IMA

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SWITCHGEAR

www.utilities-me.com

Gas-insulated switchgear is favoured in the region due to its ability to withstand extreme temperatures and adverse conditions.

The switchgear market in the Middle East is not confi ned to big international companies. Local providers have also been active in getting their share of business. The Bin Ghalib Group has been supplying low voltage switchgear to power plants and substations in the region for some time. Fazal Ali Khan, sales manager at Bin Ghalib, believes that the market has become more competitive. “Competition has grown, as end users are compromising on quality,” he claims.

Apart from those concerns, Bin Ghalib is faced with a con-tinued dearth of local staff. “There is a shortage of qualifi ed mid-ranking staff. This is unlikely to change soon, and we rely on imported talent from countries such as India and the Philippines.” Another way the company is overcoming the skills gap is by conducting in-house training, says Khan.

LOCAL PLAYERS

Arabia. “We are defi nitely looking at the NME region in general and GCC particularly as a growing market for our company,” says Walter Dussaucy, communications direc-tor at Alstom T&D, who took over the transmission-oriented Middle Eastern Areva T&D business.

With all countries investing heav-ily, it us merely due to its size that Saudi Arabia outstrips its neigh-bours in terms in terms of the scale of its T&D infrastructure build up. The Kingdom has pledged to invest a staggering US$80 billion into its electricity sector over the next decade.

RECESSION PROOFTo the relief of switchgear suppli-ers, the gallop towards a compre-hensive power infrastructure has hardly been slowed by the reces-sion. “We’ve noticed that govern-ments in the region have a long term view when it comes to investing in the energy sector. They’re look-ing twenty or thirty years down the line,” says Masri.

Dussaucy notes that while the recession has not dented business, there has been a shift in the nature of the projects involving switchgear. “The business outlook, the basics and our assessments show that the market is the same versus the same period before the downturn. We have observed a decline in very huge projects being compensated by an increase of recurrent business.”

Utilities companies did bene-fi t from the increased competition among switchgear providers that resulted from the crisis, as these sought to win business by cutting prices. “We have observed more aggressive competition leading to a clear decrease in prices,” says Dussaucy.

ADDITIONAL DEMANDSWhile the region’s power industry seems pretty oblivious to the global recession, key trends in the T&D sector have not passed it by unno-

sources which are unpredictable,” says Masri.

“The growing importance of smart grid objectives have put a strong emphasis on the control of losses, enhanced effi ciency, while there is an unprecedented consid-eration of the ecological footprint of our solutions. These are evalu-ated through a thorough life cycle

assessment (LCA), which analyses the overall environmental impact of our products from cradle to grave,” says Dussaucy.

Gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) is one aspect where LCAs can be used to minimise the carbon footprint. While GIS is a favoured product in the region due to its robustness, its the use of SF6 gas also raises envi-

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Walter Dussaucy, Alstom

“Surprisingly, switchgear technology has not reached its operational limits and there is

still room for technological breakthroughs.”Walter Dussaucy, Alstom

ticed. Smart grids, which enable a real-time monitoring of the energy fl ow, accurate reading of demand levels and the coming online of renewable sources, are coming to the Middle East. These devel-opments are placing additional demands on switchgear equipment.

“The smart grid will be self-mon-itoring, minimizing the environ-mental footprint and provide real-time information to help mange dis-tribution and power generation. All equipments and solutions needs to take the above facts into consid-eration when it comes to research and development, particularly the need to phase in renewable energy

SWITCHGEAR


ronmental concerns. LCA provide a wealth of indicators and a start-ing point for the development of GIS able to operate with the lowest pos-sible output levels of SF6 gas, manu-facturers say.

Another example of how renew-ables are changing switchgear tech-nology is ABB’s SafeWind switch-gear. SafeWind is the slimmest medium-voltage switchgear on the market and small enough to fi t through the narrow doorway of the turbine tower, says Masri. “We’ve had to design such solutions to meet the physical requirements of today’s renewables,” he adds.

Siemens is another company looking to bring smaller designs to the market. “The trend goes towards denser switchgears with even higher ratings and minimized life cycle costs,” says Wolfgang Braun, general manager at Siemens Energy T&D. “Especially in grow-ing cities, space means money. So we put a lot of effort into the devel-opment of space saving designs that offer both a compact footprint for the substation and cost reductions,.”

tions,” explains Masri. “By doing so, we have enabled communication between the protection and control IEDs of distribution switchgear with the substation control room. Until just a short time ago, this could only be achieved by adding various dif-ferent specifi c components to the normal protection relays.”

Every company is working to push the boundaries. “Surpris-ingly, switchgear technology has not reached its operational limits and there is still room for technolog-ical breakthroughs. We are continu-ously investing R&D efforts to min-imize the circuit breaker energy to break higher and higher currents for example,” says Dussaucy.

As new technologies and con-cepts start shaping the T&D indus-try, switchgear providers work out ways to adapt the equipment. “The introduction of power electronics contributed to the revision of the concept of a switchgear, and to open new paths of application.”

HIGH VOLTAGE As consequence of longer distances electricity has to travel though the GCC interconnection grid, and higher load demands stemming from increased consumption, new grids tend to be built to accommo-date higher voltage levels. Utilities benefi t from increasing the trans-mission voltage as it is more cost effective, because infrastructure investments are reduced propor-

tionately to the amount of power transmitted. Higher voltages are thus another factor that companies providing switchgear to utilities in the GCC have to take into account, says Dussaucy: “Load demand growth, together with the expan-sion of grids to meet the national development plan of many coun-tries result in higher performance requirements of the switchgear that providers must develop.”

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHTThe Middle Eastern market has so far provided companies with plenty of business opportunities, and more than a few challenges. But what are the projections and plans for the future? Dussaucy believes that Alstom’s newest acquisition will continue strongly under the new banner by expanding into new markets. “The Middle East last year generated approximately 10 percent of the overall business for Areva T&D. We are planning to re-enhance our presence in sev-eral countries among which Iraq remains key for the future.” Masri is similarly ubbeat. “We’re enjoy-ing the work, even though many companies are facing challenges in terms of manpower due to the increased workload. We believe that for the next ten to fi fteen years the energy sector will continually increase investments in power gen-eration, and network expansion and upgrading,” he says.

SWITCHGEAR MONITORINGUtility providers are also looking to have monitoring systems built into the existing power network to simplify maintenance and trouble shooting. Demand for such sophis-ticated management of networks places additional requirements on switchgear equipment.

The R&D departments of switch-gear providers have not been idle. “We’ve built protection and con-trol intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) into our switchgear solu-

Mohammed Masri, sub regions division manager of power products at ABB

Circuit breakers in the Al Fadhili substation in Saudi Arabia.

IMA

GE B

Y AB

B

Grid expansion is good for business.

IMA

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“We’ve noticed that governments in the region have a long term view when it

comes to investing in the energy sector.”Mohammed Masri, ABB

GCC GRID


T he Gulf Interconnec-tion Grid is one of the most important trans-national infrastruc-

ture projects to have been under-taken in the Middle East for some time. Once completed, the grid will help prevent power outages, pave the way for a regional energy market and even open up the pros-pect of linking up with North Africa and Europe.

Phase I of the new grid went online in 2009. Saudi Arabia, Qatar,

Bahrain and Kuwait are now linked up. The UAE and Oman will be fully connected to the rest by 2011.The project is being developed under the auspices of the Gulf Cooper-ation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA).

One of the largest contracts in this mega-project was awarded to ABB. The company was charged with delivering six transmission substations equipped with gas-in-sulated switchgear (GIS) – three in Saudi Arabia and one each

Desert challenge The GCC Interconnection grid is the most significant transmission and distribution projects the region has ever witnessed. Thomas Hellenas, project manager at ABB, recalls the challenges his compa-ny had to overcome while contracted for project's crucial Phase I.

saving of resources through their space effi ciency and low mainte-nance needs, according to ABB.

“Towards the end of the 1960s, they became a common technol-ogy in harsh environments such as the Middle East, with the desert and the heat,” says Hellenas. “Sandstorms combined with salt is very diffi cult for conventional substations, therefore indoor ones were developed.”

To stabilise the voltage of the 400 kV cable between Saudi Arabia

in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar - enabling power to be delivered reliably and safely at 400kV to the power systems of all four countries.

Enclosed GIS substations are among the most suitable solutions for the harsh desert climate of the Arabian Peninsula, says ABB. GIS is compact and robust, as the full metal encapsulation and indoor installation protects it from atmo-spheric infl uence and enables it to better withstand adverse con-ditions. GIS also contribute to the

GCC GRID


and the island of Bahrain, ABB also provided 17 shunt reactors. Two of these reactors are rated at 300 MVAr and are among the most powerful three-phase reactors ever made. The company also supplied three power transformers, each rated at 650 MVA as well as all nec-essary auxiliary equipment, surge arrestors and 220 kV high voltage cables. As part of the turnkey proj-ect, ABB was also responsible for the comprehensive design, man-ufacturing, installation, commis-sioning and civil works.

Hellenas feels that the comp-many was well equipped for the task. ABB can draw on extensive experience in the fi eld of gas insu-lated switchgear and shunt reac-tors, having so far installed more than 10,000 high-voltage bays and Thomas Hellenas, ABB

The 400kV Al Zour gas-insulated substation in Kuwait.

over 1,000 reactors worldwide.One of the challenges the com-

pany was confronted with was a lack of construction materials in the region due to the prevailing construction boom. “As we were contracted for a turnkey job, we were responsible for every step from base design to handing over the stations,” says Hellenas. “At the time, there was an extreme

boom in the construction indus-try, and thus a lack of steel and concrete in most of the countries, especially in Qatar and Bahrain. So instead of buying these materials locally as we usually do, we had to ship and import them, mainly from Saudi Arabia. To import materials without special custom duties, we needed special permits, which we acquired with the help of the util-

ities in each country.” In Qatar, there was also a shortage of suit-able civil contractors. A consor-tium was formed with civil contrac-tors in Bahrain and Qatar to over-come this challenge.

“At the time, there was an exteme boom in the construction industry, and thus a lack of steel and concrete in most of the

countries, especially in Qatar.”

GCC GRID


Upon completion in 2011, this mega-sized pooling of electricity resources will inter-connect the power grids of the six Gulf states – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – and enable them to use their electricity resources more effectively. Due to the grid expansion on the 400

kV level in the Gulf region, a sustainable reduction of transmission losses can be achieved. The development of the grid on this high voltage level also enables the balanc-ing of power supply between the major Gulf countries since power can be exchanged, al-lowing national power gen-eration resources to be used

more effi ciently. The sharing of spinning reserves leads to the increased stability of the power system and helps miti-gate interruptions and black-outs, its planners hope.The interconnection will also enable the six states to estab-lish an energy trading market and facilitate the cooperation between them.

THE GCC INTERCONNECTION GRID EXPLAINED

A 300MVAr shunt reactor installed for the Al Jasra substation in Bahrain during factory testing.

Another challenge was posed by the site and the road condi-tions. Unstable ground in Kuwait where the seawater was only half a meter below the surface required the entire site to be drained with pumps before any construction work could be started. In addi-tion, several roads had to be wid-ened and reinforced to permit the transportation of large transform-ers and reactors, each weighing several hundred tons. The truck transport of such bulky equip-ment is usually escorted and done during the night to mini-mize impact on normal traffic. Road barriers and ramps also had to be modified and constructed at times to facilitate transportation.

One of the biggest obstacles had to be overcome even before construction began, as GCC countries worked with varying electricity specifications. “What was unique about this project was that we were tasked with imple-menting one and the same spec-ification for all the four countries we were installing substations in. We followed the GCCIA specifica-tions, which was the same for all four countries, but which were slightly different from the spec-ifications of the utilities in each of these countries. For example the electricity frequency in Saudi is 60Hz, whilst in the rest of the region it is 50Hz.”

INSIDER Q&A


: Is the GCC an important market for Telvent’s SCADA business?Yes, and in the Middle East things happen very fast. Despite the downturn, the market is moving very fast, and the scale of projects here are very nice. You don’t find projects of this size in Europe or even in the US.

: How are new technolo-gies received by utilities in the region? Very well, very well, there is a lot of tradition to be open to new technology, and for new contrac-tors to come into the picture. It is very easy to arrange meeting to broadcast our solutions, Utilities here are keen on having new play-ers in the SCADA picture.

: How do you aim to grow your regional business?There are three important factors when we think about growth.One is to gain business from existing clients, we need our cli-ents to keep on placing orders. A good example here is Kahramaa. [The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, respon-sible for the regulation of the water industry] After delivering

f

Jose de la Fuente, GCC area manager for Telvent Environment, talks about SCADA systems and developing business in the region.

PEOPLE METERSelling SCADA

“Scada has always had broad capabili-ties, but the market now demands us to

be more focused on sustainability.”

Water loss is a major concern for utilities worldwide. A 2006 report published by the World Bank declared that the total cost of non-revenue water for water utilities worldwide can be conservatively estimated at around US$14 billion per year.Water losses can be classifi ed as real (physical losses) or ap-parent (economic or commer-cial). Real water losses refl ect water lost from the network and not used; these losses result from leaks in the distri-bution system, overfl ows from reservoirs, washouts, etc. Apparent water losses refl ect water that is actually con-sumed by users but is unme-tered, or not correctly metered, and consequently remains unaccounted for.

It is commonly accepted that a sustainable strategy to control real water loss must embrace Active Leakage Control (ALC), says Telvent in a study. ALC can be defi ned as the policy of proactively searching for hidden leaks. In its most basic form, ALC consists of pe-riodically “sweeping” the wa-ter network using one or more techniques to identify the pres-ence of leaks in water mains. A more comprehensive ap-proach to ALC is to make net-work fl ow measurements on a regular basis to identify new leaks as soon as possible. The sooner a leak is detected, the sooner fi eld survey activity can begin to locate and repair the leak. Detecting leaks quickly after they form requires real-

time or near-real-time analysis of hydraulic parameters (fl ow, pressure, and level) throughout the water distribution system. SCADA systems are an ideal platform for performing the advanced analysis that prompt-ly identifi es leakage presence, says Telvent. Nevertheless, many water utilities still do not exploit their SCADA system to its full capability in controlling leakage, often limiting the SCADA to collecting periodic fl ow data to calculate water balances and estimate water loss. In contrast, the oil indus-try makes extensive and effec-tive use of software tools that, installed on top of the SCADA system, proactively execute leak detection. Source: Telvent

UNUSED POTENTIAL – PREVENTING WATER LOSS WITH SCADA SYSTEMS

the SCADA system for their new National Water Control Center in Doha, they also placed a second contract for leak detection sys-tems with us.

The second pillar is to broad-cast our solutions and expertise to the end user and to their tech-

INSIDER Q&A


“Due to the growth rhythm in the GCC, there are water projects coming up

with a considerable volume. ”

nical bodies. That’s why we are visiting them, hold workshops, and are doing web seminars.

Third pillar is to address right local partner, to establish long term reliable alliances with small local companies. Need to rely on local expertise of companies here for project execution. Take the National Water Control Center in Doha. We built that in partner-ship with the Nass Group, one of the leaders in Bahrain for civil work and construction. They’ve done the building and installation works, we brought in the SCADA, the instrumentation, the project management capabilities. Nass is the kind of company we like, because they know a lot about construction, and we’re not a con-struction company.

: How important is sus-tainability for your clients?

the capital investment is much higher than with traditional water projects, but we are looking at a very reasonable size of projects in the water sector.

: Has the role of SCADA systems in the utilities sector evolved?In former times the challenge was to obtain the data from the field in real time, nowadays the approach is how to manage that data, how to manage the huge information stream, and to spread it all over the departments of the utility. SCADA was very much related to maintenance, but it is not any-more. To market our product, we need to communicate with main-tenance, of course, but also with the planning department, and with the corporate department, to set up key performance indi-cators, for them to set up a strat-egy for growth. So the challenge now is how to manage the infor-mation. In the GCC, very often we see that what is required is sup-port modeling integrated fully in the SCADA.

: Can you elaborate on the importance of security for SCADA systems?Cyber security is an important aspect these days. We have sev-eral initiatives to keep security levels up to date. One of these is the National SCADA Test Bed ini-tiative by the US Department of Energy. Our OaSyS system has never been breached, but there’s always the threat. Think about the critical importance of the infrastructure we control, in the hydrocarbon sector in the US, for example, what if there was an attack on the reservoirs? We also manage a vast proportion of smart grid in the US. Even if an attack is not real, and just a cyber base simulation that will collapse the network, that still means that the supply is cut.

Telvent's Jose de la Fuente sees a strong demand for sustainable solutions from his clients in the region.

Sustainability is very much linked to SCADA. You can, for instance, associate carbon foot-print with leakages. Every cubic meter has a carbon footprint, generated from producing it from wells or desalination plants, and by distributing it. By preventing or finding leakages we are reduc-ing the carbon footprint.

SCADA has always had broad capabilities, but market now demands us to be more focused on sustainability. Sustainability is one of key elements on designing

the networks here in the GCC, as the trend now is to be less depen-dent on the carbon industry.

: What is bigger business for Telvent in the Middle East, water or power?Traditionally, power projects have more volume in the Middle East, but due to the growth rhythm that we are facing in the GCC countries, there are water projects coming up with a con-siderable volume. Power will still have more volume because

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PROJECTS

UTILITIES PROJECT TRACKERInformation is supplied by Ventures Middle East. Tel: +971 2 622 2455. URL: www.ventures-uk.com

9023/9001 Underground Cables

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Al Fanar Contracting 46 project under

constructionPower Transmis-sion

380kV Transmission Line - North of Riyadh

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)

KEC International / Al Sharif Group for Con-tracting & Development Trading

64 project under construction

Power Transmis-sion

Desalination Plant & Drinking Water Infrastructure

Emaar Economic City,Saudi

Huta-Hegerfeld & Huta-Marine Limited Company

53 project under construction Desalination Plant

Desalination Plant in Jeddah - Phase 3

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)

Kuljian Engineering Corporation

Doosan Heavy Indus-tries & Const. Company / Saudi Berkefeld Filter (Witco)


115kV Underground Cables in Madina 2nd Industrial City

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Siemens 35 project under


Salwa IPP Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Not Appointed 290 project in concept

stage Power Plant

10J Substation & 101 Satel-lite Substation in Yanbu

Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) Siemens 150 project under

construction Substation

Princess Noura Bin Abdulrah-man University - High Volt-age Substation

Ministry of Higher Educa-tion / Ministry of Finance

ABB Contracting Co. / Al Fanar Contracting 167 project under


Yanbu IWPP

The Power & Water Utili-ties Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafi q)/Saline Water Conversion Corpo-ration (SWCC)

Mohammed A.Turki Mott MacDonald

Not Appointed 4000 project under design

Power and Desali-nation Plant

Qsai Dam at Jizan Ministry of Water and Electricity,Saudi Arabia

Zuhair Fayez & Partners

Bin Jarallah Establish-ment for Trading & General Contracting (Bin Jarallah Group)

40 project under construction Dam

380/110/13.8-kV Substation Expansion in Al Aziziyah Area

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Siemens, Saudi 20 project under


Power Plant Expansion - Duba


Najm Al Jazirah for Trading Contracting & Agriculture Co.

120 project under construction Power Plant

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) - Power Grid Package

Emaar Middle East Properties Siemens 400 project under


Power and Water Plant in Ras Al Zour

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) / Rio Tinto Alcan

Not Appointed 2500 EPC Bid Power & Desali-nation Plant

New Dam in Abha Ministry of Water and Electricity

Zuhair Fayez & Partners

Bin Jarallah Establish-ment for Trading & General Contracting (Bin Jarallah Group)

16 project under construction Dam

Substations 9024 and 8183/8184

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) ABB Contracting Co. 120 project under


Interim Power Plant at YanbuThe Power & Water Utili-ties Company for Jubail & Yanbu (Marafi q)

Not Appointed 300 EPC Bid Power Plant

Project Title Client Consultant Main Contractor

Value / Value Range (US$. Mn) Project Status Project Type

SAUDI


PROJECTS

Rabigh IPP - 380-KV Substa-tion

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC); ACWA Power International; Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco);

ABB Contracting Co., Saudi Arabia 48 project under


Uqair Power Plant Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) Not Appointed 1500 project in concept

stage Power Plant

380kV Substation at Al Dhahiyah - Stage2


Al Toukhi Company for Industry & Trading 70 project under


PP11 Power Plant in Riyadh Saudi Electricity Company (SEC)

Hyundai Heavy Indus-tries (HHI) 2133 project under

construction Power Plant

Karan Gas Field Exploration - Utilities and Co-generation Package

Saudi Aramco Foster Wheeler, Saudi Arabia Petrofac, Saudi 500 project under

constructionCo-generation Plant

Qurayyah - 2 Simple Cycle Power Plant


Arabian Bemco Con-tracting, Saudi Arabia; Doosan Heavy Indus-tries & Const. Company, Saudi Arabia;


UAE

Hassyan Complex - Station P - Phase 1 (P1)

Dubai Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (DEWA)

Mott MacDon-ald, Dubai Not Appointed 3000 EPC Bid Power and Desali-

nation Plant

Shuweihat 3 Independent Power Project (IPP)

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA)

Not Appointed 2000 project in concept stage Power Plant

Fujairah 2 (F2) IWPPADWEA/ Marubeni Corporation/ International Power

Fichtner Alstom Power / Sidem 3,000 project under construction

Power and Desali-nation Plant

Water Treatment Plant - Das Island

Abu Dhabi Marine Operat-ing Company (Adma-Opco)

Metito Abu Dhabi LLC 21 project under construction Water Treatment

Desalination Plant near Hamriyah Free Zone

Sharjah Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (SEWA)

Aqua Engineering, Techton Engineering & Construction


General Utility Plant Expan-sion at Ruwais

Abu Dhabi Oil Refi nery Company (Takreer) Not Appointed 500 EPC Bid Power Plant

Upgrade of Irrigation Net-works and Pumping Stations

Department of Munici-palities & Agriculture-Abu Dhabi

Not Appointed 10 EPC Bid Pumping Station

Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority / Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation

Korean Electric Power Company / Hyundai En-gineering & Construc-tion Company/Samsung C & T Corporation/ Doo-san Heavy Industries


Installation of 11kV Cables in Dubai

Dubai Electricity and Wa-ter Authority (DEWA) Econ Contracting LLC 25 project under


Two Desalination Plants in Ajman

Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA)

Tecton Engineering & Construction / Aqua Engineering;


KUWAIT

11kV Overhead Transmission Line for Subiya Road

Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW), Kuwait

National Contracting Company (NCC), Kuwait 11 project under


New Substations in Kuwait Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW), Kuwait Not Appointed 30 EPC Bid Substation

Water Storage Tanks in West Funaitees

Ministry of Electricity & Water (MEW), Kuwait Not Appointed 500 EPC Bid Water Distribu-

tion

Shuwaikh Desalination Plant Ministry of Energy (Elec-tricity & Water)

Doosan Heavy Indus-tries & Construction Kuwait



HOW TO BE GREEN AND PROFITABLE

The Building Sustainability into the Middle East conference is the ideal platform for you to learn, discuss and network with the leading companies and individuals

driving the region’s sustainability initiatives.

For contractors, developers, sustainability consultants and engineers, this conference is an opportunity to be part of the solution and make a difference –

from the construction phase to the behaviour of tenants in buildings.

To sponsor the 3rd Building Sustainability into the Middle East Conference contactAndrew Parkes, tel: +971 4 210 8570, email: [email protected]

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TENDERS


UME provides free access to the latest publicly available tender listings from across the GCC countries. The tenders included are aggregated from a wide variety of public and private sector sources from across the region. When possible, tenders include the issuer, name and category of the tender, opening and closing dates, narratives, fees, bonds and contracts.

CONSTRUCTION OF AL GHAFAT RESERVOIRS PHASES 1 & 2 IN DUBAIIssuer: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)Tender no: CNW/0129/2010Title: Construction of Al Ghafat Reservoirs Phases 1 & 2 in DubaiDescription: The scope of work includes construction of Al Ghafat Reservoirs Phases 1 & 2 in Dubai.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 2000.00 AED Closes: Jul 1, 2010Contact: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, PO Box 564, Dubai, UAE.

GLYCOL CHILLER SYSTEM FOR CO2 LIQUEFACTION PLANT AT JUBAIL POWER & DESALINATION PLANTIssuer: Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)Tender no: JB/P/E/423Title: Glycol Chiller System for CO2 Liquefaction Plant at Jubail Power & Desalination PlantDescription: The scope of work includes supply of glycol chiller system for CO2 Liquefaction Plant at Jubail Power & Desalination Plant.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 3, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

COMPLETE OVERHAULING, TESTING FOR LIFE EXTENSION OF TURBINE NO. 13 IN JEDDAH PLANT PH. 4Issuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: JD/RM/415Title: Complete Overhauling, Testing for Life Extension of Turbine No. 13 in Jeddah plant Ph. 4Description: The scope of work includes overhauling and testing for life extension of Turbine No.13 in Jeddah Plant Ph. 4.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 4, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PS16

Tender activityVisit constructionweekonline.com for the latest tender information

To add a tender to our listing, email details to lutfi [email protected]

Issuer: Public Works AuthorityTender no: PWA/ITC/016/2006-2007/R1Title: Consultancy Services for Development of PS16Description: The scope of work includes providing consultancy services for development of PS16 in Doha.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 750.00 QAR Closes: Jul 4, 2010Contact: www.ashghal.gov.qa

UPGRADING JAHLOOT GRID STATION IN OMANIssuer: Oman Electricity Transmission CompanyTender no: 146/2010Title: Upgrading Jahloot Grid Station in OmanDescription: The scope of work includes upgrading Jahloot Grid Station to 220-kV and 220-kV transmission line in Oman.Bond: N/ATender fee: 1500.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

ADDING NEW P.O. UNIT AT MASIRAH WATER DESALINATION PLANTIssuer: Rural Areas Eletricity Compant S.A.O.CTender no: 143/2010Title: Adding New P.O. Unit at Masirah Water Desalination PlantDescription: The scope of work includes engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for upgrading water supply by adding new P.O unit (1x1000 m3 /day) at Masirah Water Desalination Plant.Bond: N/ATender fee: 350.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT & CONSTRUCTION OF 2X10 MVA IN WILLAYAT MASIRAHIssuer: Rural Areas Eletricity Compant S.A.O.CTender no: 142/2010Title: Engineering, Procurement & Construction of 2x10 MVA in Willayat MasirahDescription: The scope of work includes

engineering, procurement & construction of 2x10 MVA, 33/11-kV indoor substation at Willayat Masirah in Al Wusta region.Bond: N/ATender fee: 400.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT & CONSTRUCTION OF 2X10 MVA IN WILLAYAT HAIMAIssuer: Rural Areas Eletricity Compant S.A.O.CTender no: 141/2010Title: Engineering, Procurement & Construction of 2x10 MVA in Willayat HaimaDescription: The scope of work includes engineering, procurement & construction of 2x10 MVA, 33/11-kV indoor substation at Willayat Haima in Al Wusta region.Bond: N/ATender fee: 398.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE OF MASIRAH ISLAND POWER AND DESALINATION PLANTIssuer: Rural Areas Electricity Company S.A.O.CTender no:149/2010Title: Operation & Maintenance of Masirah Island Power and Desalination PlantDescription: The scope of work includes operation & maintenance of Masirah Island Power and Desalination Plant.Bond: N/ATender fee: 800.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT & SUPERVISION OF THE SEAWATER INTAKE PUMPING STATIONIssuer: Majis Industrial Services S.A.O.CTender no: 169/2010Title: Consultancy Services for Project Management & Supervision of the Seawater Intake Pumping StationDescription: The scope of work includes providing

TENDERS


consultancy services for project management & supervision of the seawater intake pumping station no.2 (SWIPS 2) in the SIPC area, Sohar.Bond: N/ATender fee: 137.00 OMR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

REFURBISHMENT OF FIVE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS FOR TURBINES OF JEDDAH PLANTS PHASE - 4Issuer: Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)Tender no: JD/RM/421Title: Refurbishment of Five Centrifugal Pumps for Turbines of Jeddah Plants Phase - 4Description: The scope of work includes refurbishment of five centrifugal pumps for turbines of Jeddah Plants Phase - 4.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 5, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

REHABILITATION OF 13 PUMPS IN JEDDAH SUBSTATION - PHASE 4 Issuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: JD/R/M/197Title: Rehabilitation of 13 Pumps in Jeddah Substation - Phase 4Description: The scope of work includes rehabilitation of 13 pumps in Jeddah Substation - Phase 4.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 6, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

BEAUTIFICATION WORKS FOR SUBIYA IWPPIssuer: Central Tenders CommitteeTender no: MEW/116/2009/2010Title: Beautification Works for Subiya IWPPDescription: The scope of work includes beautification works for Subiya IWPP.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 40.00 KWD Closes: Jul 6, 2010Contact: Central Tenders Committee - Ministry of Electricity & Water

COMPLETE OVERHAULING OF MAIN PUMPS OF YANBU STATIONSIssuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: YM/R/PM/138Title: Complete Overhauling of Main Pumps of Yanbu StationsDescription: The scope of work includes the complete overhaul of the main pumps of the Yanbu Pumping Stations. The contract also includes the replacement of main worn-out spares at Phase 2 of the Medina - Yanbu Main Pumping Stations PS1 & PS2.

AL-ZOUR DESALINATION PLANT - PHASE 2Issuer: Central Tenders CommitteeTender no: Title: Al-Zour Desalination Plant - Phase 2Description: Al-Zour desalination plant, Phase 2.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: Closes: Jul 11, 2010Contact: Kuwait’s Ministry for Electricity and Water has issued a tender for the construction of the Al Zour desalination plant, Phase 2. The scope of work includes design, construction of the plant. The tender fee is 3000.00 KWD, and the tender number is MEW/39/2008/2009. Interested parties should contact the Central Tenders Committee of Ministry of Electricity and Water by July 11, 2010.

KEY CONTRACT

Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 10, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

OVERHAULING OF 19 MEDIUM VOLTAGE MOTORS OF YANBU PLANTIssuer: Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC)Tender no: YM/R/PE/137Title: Overhauling of 19 Medium Voltage Motors of Yanbu PlantDescription: The scope of work includes overhauling of 19 medium voltage motors of Yanbu Plant.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 11, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE OF POWER & DESALINATION PLANTS IN MUSANDAM GOVERNORATE - GROUP AIssuer: Rural Areas Electricity Company S.A.O.CTender no: 153/2010Title: Operation & Maintenance of Power & Desalination Plants in Musandam Governorate - Group ADescription: The scope of work includes operation & maintenance of power & desalination plants in

Musandam Governorate - Group A.Bond: N/ATender fee: 1500.00 OMR Closes: Jul 12, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

REHABILITATION OF AL KHOBAR PLANT PHASE - 2Issuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: KH/R/M/302Title: Rehabilitation of Al Khobar Plant Phase - 2Description: The scope of work includes rehabilitation of Al Khobar plant phase ? 2. The contract includes replacement of the asbestos cement pipes and upgrading of pumping equipments and auxiliaries.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 13, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

COMPLETE REHABILITATION OF TAPROGGE BALL CLEANING SYSTEMS IN YANBU - MADINA PLANTSIssuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: YM/R/M/126Title: Complete Rehabilitation of Taprogge Ball Cleaning Systems in Yanbu - Madina Plants

TENDERS

July 2010 ● Utilities Middle East 45www.utilities-me.com

CONSTRUCTION OF YANBU POWER AND DESALINATION PLANT - PHASE 3The Saline Water Conversion Corporation have issued a tender for the construction of the Phase 3 of the Yanbu Power and Desalination Plant in Saudi Arabia. The deadline for the submission of the bid is Sep-tember 22, 2010. The tender fee is 200000.00 SAR. Contacts details can be found at www.swcc.gov.sa.

KEY CONTRACT

Description: The scope of work includes providing complete rehabilitation of Taprogge Ball Cleaning Systems in Yanbu - Madina Plants.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 13, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

EPC OF JIC COOLING PLANTIssuer: Royal Commission for Jubail & YanbuTender no: 098-C58Title: EPC of JIC Cooling PlantDescription: The scope of work includes all design, engineering, project management, procurement, supervision, commissioning, documentation, technical and professional services, as well as operating & maintenance manuals and training for the complete delivery of a centralised cooling plant to serve the Jubail Industrial City.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 14000.00 SAR Closes: Jul 14, 2010Contact: Royal Commission in Jubail Tel. No.: 009663-3414127/4163 Supply Management Department Fax No.: 009663-3412201 P. O. Box 10001 Jubail Industrial City 31961

REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT IN YANBU - PHASE 1Issuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: YM/R/M/148Title: Rehabilitation and Reconstruction of Water Treatment Plant in Yanbu - Phase 1Description: The scope of work includes rehabilitation and reconstruction of water treatment plant in Yanbu - Phase 1.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SAR Closes: Jul 17, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

MAJOR OVERHAULING & RESIDUAL LIFE ASSESSMENT OF STEAM TURBINE & GENERATOR IN AL SHUQIQ PLANTSIssuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: SQ/M/M/518Title: Major Overhauling & Residual Life Assessment of Steam Turbine & Generator in Al Shuqiq PlantsDescription: The scope of work includes major overhauling & residual life assessment of steam turbine & generator in Al Shuqiq Plants.Bond: N/ATender fee: 500.00 SARCloses: Jul 17, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL FOR SUPERVISION CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR A NEW INDEPENDENT WATER AND POWER

PROJECT (IWPP) IN SALALAHIssuer: Oman Power &Water Procurement CompanyTender no: 172/2010Title: Invitation to Submit a Proposal for Supervision Consultancy Services for a New Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) in SalalahDescription: The scope of work includes submitting a proposal for supervision consultancy services for a new independent water and power project (IWPP) in Salalah.Bond: N/ATender fee: 100.00 OMR Closes: Jul 19, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

UPGRADING OF KHUWAIR SOUTH SUBSTATION Issuer: Muscat Electricity Distribution Co. (SAOC)Tender no: 171/2010Title: Upgrading of Khuwair South SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes upgrading of Al Khuwair South 2, 33/11kV primary substation from 2x20 MVA to 3x20 MVA.Bond: N/ATender fee: 850.00 OMR Closes: Jul 19, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

EPC FOR UPGRADING WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM AT KUMZAR WATER DESALINATION PLANTIssuer: Rural Areas Eletricity Company S.A.O.CTender no: 170/2010Title: EPC for Upgrading Water Supply System at Kumzar Water Desalination PlantDescription: The scope of work includes

engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for upgrading water supply system at Kumzar Water Desalination Plant.Bond: N/ATender fee: 200.00 OMR Closes: Jul 19, 2010Contact: www.tenderboard.gov.om

REFURBISHMENT OF SEVERAL PUMPING STATIONS - PHASE 8Issuer: Public Works AuthorityTender no: PWA/GTC/006/10-11Title: Refurbishment of Several Pumping Stations - Phase 8Description: The scope of work includes refurbishment of several pumping stations - phase 8.Bond: ApplicableTender fee: 4000.00 QAR Closes: Jul 27, 2010Contact: Fax: 009744950777, Contract Department, Public Works Authority

CONSTRUCTION OF 380-KV RAS AL-ZOUR SUBSTATIONIssuer: Saline Water Conversion CorporationTender no: N/ATitle: Construction of 380-kV Ras Al-Zour SubstationDescription: The scope of work includes design, supply and construction of 380-kV Ras Al-Zour Substation.Bond: N/ATender fee: 50000.00 SAR Closes: Aug 21, 2010Contact: www.swcc.gov.sa

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QATAR SNAPSHOT


Qatari AmbitionLike its GCC neighbours, Qatar is feeling the effects of increasing urbanisation and industrialisation. Rising de-

mand for power and water is leading to huge investments into the utilities sector, and an increasingly diverse energy supply.

ALTERNATIVE THINKING Qatar is looking to diversify its

energy supply, and is exploring nuclear and solar power options.

In November 2008, Qatar announced plans to launch a pre-liminary study into the viability of developing a nuclear power plant in the country. The study will look for an appropriate site and assess potential to link the plant to the grid. Both Russia and France are looking to capitalise on Qatar’s nuclear ambitions. Then, in January this year, Qatar announced that it was seeking

S ubject to the scorching desert heat, Qatar is racing to keep up with the demands for power

and water of its citizens. This is no easy task. In 2009, consumption of electricity increased by 14 per-cent, while water use went up by eight percent. Qatar has turned to public-private enterprise to deal with this challenge. Independent Power and Water Plants (IWPPs) have been key in coping with the dual demand for electricity and water. The fi rst IWPP, Ras Laffan A, started operations in 2004. Ras Laffan C, now known as Ras Girtas, is destined to be the largest IWPP in Qatar, is due to become operational in April 2011.

Media reports in January sug-gested that Qatar would also award a contract for a 2,000MW power plant during 2010. The plant is esti-mated to cost between US$2.5bn and $3bn and would be operational by 2012-2013, if awarded by the end of the year.

to construct a major new solar power plant. Reports suggest that nearly 25 local and international companies are in discussions for the launch of the plant, which will require an investment of $1bn. In addition, the Qatar Foundation announced a joint venture with

mand for power an

The Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) was es-tablished in 1990 as the government’s main vehicle for in-vestment in the sector. The state holds a 43 percent stake in the company, with the rest owned by private investors. The company is involved in virtually all large power and water projects in the country, so it is the main partner for foreign and domestic private investors. In July 2009, the company an-nounced an 18 percent rise in fi rst-half net profi t to US$114 million, boosted by interest income from joint ventures. The company said sales rose 20 percent, but did not provide a fi gure. QEWC hopes to use the experience gained in Qatar to turn into a regional player.

The Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kah-ramaa) was established in 2000 as an independent corpora-tion operating on a commercial basis. Kahramaa is respon-sible for the regulation of the water industry, and for setting water tariffs, which have been heavily subsidised for decades. Kahramaa also owns projects and develops strategy for the water sector. In power sector, the corporation’s focus is on transmission and distribution.

QEWC AND KAHRAMAA

German company SolarWorld, to produce polysilicon, the main ingredient in solar panels, at a $500 million plant in northern Qatar.

The Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has commissioned France’s Sogreah to carry out a feasibility study for

Both Russia and France are already lining up to cooperate with Qatar on possible nuclear ventures. In January 2008, France’s EDF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Qatar for discussions of cooperation in nuclear power production. In October 2008, Russia and Qatar discussed the possibility of working together to develop nuclear power including initiating a draft agreement. Limited progress has been reported on Qatar’s nuclear plans over the past year.

NUCLEAR NOTIONS

Power generating capacity in 2011.

9GW

increase in water consumption in 2009.

8 percent

QATAR SNAPSHOT


what would be Qatar’s fi rst solar-powered desalination plants. The company has been asked to look at establishing several plants. Kah-ramaa has suggested using para-bolic trough solar technology and multi-effect distillation, though Sogreah will make its own rec-ommendation on which technol-ogy to use and where to situate the plants.

THE WASTEWATER SECTORAshghal, the public works author-ity, is currently mulling the out-sourcing of the running and main-tenance of parts of the wastewater sector. The contract for a three-year feasibility study for such a move is expected to be awarded later in the fi rst half of the year.

Qatar’s first major sewage treat-ment plant, built in the 1960s, was Doha South, then a 12,000m3/d facility. It has been expanded over the years to its present capacity of around 106,000 cubic meters per day. It is maintained and operated by Veolia, which was awarded the contract in April 2009. Ashghal is now looking to add another

This article is based on information compiled in the Qatar Infrastructure Report Q2 2010, and the Qatar Water Report Q2, 2010 published by Business Monitor International (BMI). For more information, go to www.businessmonitor.com

The fi rst Independent Power and Water Project (IWPP) in Qa-tar, Ras Laffan A, was built by the Ras Laffan Power Company, a joint venture between the AES Corporation, who hold 55 percent, QEWC (25 percent), Qatar Petroleum (10 percent) and the Gulf Investment Corporation of Kuwait (10 percent). Completed in 2004, Ras Laffan A generates 750MW and pro-duces 151 million litres of desalinated water per day. Ras Laffan B started production in 2008. The plant was con-structed by Q-Power, a consortium comprising the Qatar Elec-tricity and Water Corporation, holding 55 percent, the UK’s International Power (40 percent), and Japan’s Chubu Electric Power (5 percent). At a cost of US$900 million, it generates 1,025MW and produces 60 million gallons of water.Completing the power hat-trick will be Ras Laffan C. Re-named Ras Girtas, the plant will be Qatar’s, and the GCC’s, largest IWPP, with a generating capacity of 2,730MW and 286,000 cubic meters of desalinated water. The Qatari-incor-porated Ras Girtas Power Company (RGPC) will own, operate and manage the project. In March 2008, GDF Suez and Mitsui were awarded the contract to built the IWPP. The consortium will hold a 40 percent stake, with Qatar Petroleum and the Qatar Electricity and Water Corporation splitting the remaining 60 percent. Construction started in May 2009, and the plant is expected to be operational in April 2011 at a cost of $3.7 billion. Hyundai Engineering and Construction, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and ABB have all received contract relating to the project.

Desalinated water produced per year, in million cubic meters

2008 – 207 e2009 – 222 f2010 – 254 f2011 – 279 f2012 – 297 f2013 – 307 f

e = estimatedf = forecast

RAS LAFFAN A TO THE C

ON THE RISE

Increase in power consumption in 2009.

14 percent

80,000 cubic meters per day of treatment capacity.

One of the latest facilities is the Doha North sewage treatment plant, commissioned by Ashghal. Due to become operational in 2011, it will have the biggest capac-ity of any of Qatar’s sewage plant at 40,000 million cubic meters per day, and is a major plank in Ash-ghal’s strategy to keep pace with growing demand.

Desalination capacity in Qatar is set to rise.

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