1) New Directive on greenhouse gas allowance trading published
2) Summary VGB Conference "Power Plants in Competition"
The amended Directive on greenhouse gas allowance trading was published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ L140/63 ff.). As from 2013 there will be only an EU-wide emissions budget for power industry and industry which has to be reduced by at least 20 percent from 1990 until 2020. While industry plants obtain a decreasing share of their allowances for free (80 percent in 2013, 30 percent in 2020), power generation has to pay for 100 percent of their allowances.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:140:0063:0087:EN:PDF
The conference "Power Plants in Competition" took place in Prague on April 28-29, 2009 for the fourth time. Central focus of the successful conference was the fact that the world-wide financial crisis has taken in the general economy. What will be the impact on our industry sector? Are climate protection and affordable costs for energy still compatible goals? Are we setting the right priorities for the technology development respectively the choice of the primary resources? The VGB conference has given beneficial information and suggestions. 36 exhibitors and more than 300 participants from 18 countries had the opportunity for talks and discussions.
The Conference Proceeding can be ordered online:
http://www.vgb.org/shop/product_info.php/products_id/557
In May 2009 a VGB Workshop "Material and Quality Assurance" was presented in Copenhagen/Denmark by VGB PowerTech e.V., DONG Energy, Vattenfall A/S und TU of Denmark.
Topics of this Workshop were:
- Martensitic 9-12 percent Cr-steels
- Austenitic Steels
- Material Specifications (e.g. VGB-Guideline R109) and Quality Assurance
- Materials of Power Plants for 620 degree Celsius
- Materials up to 700 degree Celsius Power Plants with Ni Alloys /In-Plant Tests
More than 50 participants from 12 nations took part in this event.
http://www.vgb.org/en/event_mqa.html
The VGB Job Market is offering prospective persons the possibility to develop their career in the range of power and heat generation. You can find current vacancies on our homepage.
http://www.vgb.org/en/jobmarket.html
Main topics of the June issue are: Effect of Increasing Wind Power Production on the Power Plant Operation in Germany; From Blackout towards a "Smart Grid" - Prospects of Power System Developments; Integration in Power Control Systems as a Key for Higher Transparency and Security; Cooling Water and Heat Exchanger Materials - Aspect to be Considered in the Revised Version of the VGB Cooling Water Guideline.
Abstracts of all articles are available here:
http://www.vgb.org/en/current_issue.html