[Japan] J-Power USA Development has ordered two M501 J-series air-cooled power turbines for the Jackson Generation Project in Illinois

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced on July 1, 2019, that J-Power USA Development (J-Power), an international power generating company[1], has ordered two of Mitsubishi’s M501 J-series air-cooled (M501JAC) power turbines. The turbines will be used at the 1,298 MW Jackson Generation Project, a Gas Turbine Combined Cycle Power Plant (GTCC) that will be built in Elwood, Illinois. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations in April 2022. The electricity generated by the facility will be supplied through PJM, an energy market in the eastern U.S.

The Jackson Generation Project is the world’s first project to introduce a JAC-type gas turbine with air cooling for the combustor. The gas turbine will be operated at a turbine inlet temperature of 1,600°C, aiming to improve the plant’s efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project’s power generation can reach 64% efficiency, and it is anticipated to be 99.5% reliable. The project will also adopt Mitsubishi’s MHPS-TOMONI digital solutions platform to optimize power plant operations.[2]

[1] https://jpowerusa.com/about_japan/

[2] https://www.mhps.com/jp/news/20190708.html?_ga=2.69733648.1828284031.1563074247-236393945.1554096284

[Japan] Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Established a New Company in the Philippines to Expand its Business Opportunities

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) announced on June 24, 2019, that it had established “MHPS (Philippines) Plant Services Corporation (MHPS-PSC)” in the Philippines. Since MHPS already had a local boiler manufacturing factory in the Philippines, the launch of the MHPS-PSC aims to expand the company’s local business opportunities by providing services for thermal power plants.

MHPS has a lot of past experience with receiving orders and supplying equipment for thermal and geothermal generation facilities in the Philippines. There has been increasing local demand for the modernization of power plants and the associated efficiency improvements, due to the increased electricity demand as a result of economic growth. Accordingly, the MHPS established the MHPS-PSC in order to secure future opportunities to expand its business operations.

MHPS-PSC’s local parent company, MHPS-PLH, set up a head office and a boiler factory in Batangas City in southern Luzon, and the new head office of MHPS-PSC was established at a MHPS-PLH’s property. The MHPS-PSC began operating with about 50 employees, exploring business opportunities throughout the entire nation. Meanwhile, MHPS-PLH will assist MHPS-PSC by providing manufacturing and maintenance services from its own boiler factory. The two companies will work together on increasing their market share in Southeast Asia, taking fully advantages of synergistic effects.

[Japan] TEPCO and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Jointly Launched a Remote Monitoring Service to Improve the Operational Efficiency of Thermal Power Plants

On July 13, 2018, Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) subsidiary, Tokyo Fuel & Power and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) jointly announced that they had begun to offer a remote monitoring service to improve the operational efficiency of thermal power plants. The service includes the early detection of abnormal conditions, remote monitoring, cause analysis, and countermeasures, by using an IoT platform integrated with data. Their initial customer for the service is the Pagbilao Power Plant in the Philippines, a coal-fired power plant operated by TeaM Energy Corporation. The service will enable the Pagbilao power station to improve its operational efficiency and reduce its future operation and maintenance (O&M) costs. The remote monitoring service is one of the O&M solutions and services that both companies would like to pursue in the region.

TEPCO and the MHPS are aiming to establish a joint business that will aggressively provide O&M solutions and services for coal-fired power plants in the Southeast Asia region, where each firm can utilize its own operational infrastructure and existing resources. In September 2016, both companies signed a business alliance agreement to improve the operational efficiency of domestic and overseas thermal power plants. Since then, they have been working together to jointly develop O&M solutions and services for thermal power generation. In April 2017, the two companies began to demonstrate a service for thermal power plants that applied a jointly developed abnormality prediction model. The model integrates TEPCO’s knowledge of O&M solutions with MHPS’ capabilities in design, construction and after-sales services.