The News Review:
- Nigeria: 75 Questions for Senator Liyel Imoke
- Nigeria: Power Probe – Contractor Faults FG
- NYC considers toll for Manhattan roads
- Indian firm to build giant fertilizer plant
- Daily Times – Site Edition
- Biofuel booster has a point
Nigeria: 75 Questions for Senator Liyel Imoke
AllAfrica.com – Mar 24, 2008
6 billion!!Relevant LinksWest AfricaEconomy Business and FinanceCrime and CorruptionEnergyLegal and Judicial AffairsNigeriaiii. NIPP Generation Balance of Plant (Le. 93 billion (equivalent to USD179 million) as against international average cost of USD600000… Was the reference project a success in your opinion at the time the idea was borrowed?32. Has the subject reference project been successfully completed to date even to the limited scope of its initial conception by the Rivers State Government?34. Could the objective of attaining available generating capacity of 10000MW by December 2007 have been met if Government had limited its remit to enabling or incubating transitional electric market framework-structures such as:i. A strategic aggregator (or power pool to provide market assurance to private sector investors in generation plants as well as provide market mechanism) ii.
Nigeria: Power Probe – Contractor Faults FG
AllAfrica.com – Mar 24, 2008
Rockson Engineering said weekend that the four ongoing contracts being handled by it were still within the contractual time-frame. GA_googleFillSlot( “AllAfrica_Story_Inset” );Managing Director of the company Sir Arumeni-Johnson told reporters that of the amount expended by his company so far records showed that government was owing it N12 billion. "We even advanced government money to pay compensation to land owners at Alaoji and we have not been refunded" he said adding that payments by government for the power projects were based on achievement of specific milestones. He said the projects were being slowed down by administrative bottlenecks caused by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria the Ministry of Energy (Power) Niger Delta Power Holding Company the Central Bank and the Ministry of Transportation… Sir Arumeni-Johnson also said although government made 16 per cent of the moku Power station valued at $161 million available based on work done this was in breach of the contract because the contractual terms stipulated a 25 per cent payment. He said the company had not drawn on the money advanced. The gas and steam turbines for the Alaoji power station are similarly stacked at nne Ports due to government failing. Government is expected to upgrade the Imo River bridge before the equipment weighing over 260 tones can be transported to site and installed. Sir Arumeni-Johnson said demurrage was accumulating on imported equipment lying at nne Ports and that at the last count it was in excess of 600000 Euros. Also speaking Senator Aniete kon Chairman of the company said warranty on the equipment supplied by General Electric (GE) would run out in a few weeks and that the equipment had been lying at the ports since the last quarter of 2007.
NYC considers toll for Manhattan roads
USA Today – Mar 24, 2008
will honor slain Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato 29 who was fatally shot Jan. •Chi Mak 67 a former engineer convicted of conspiring to export U. defense technology to China faces sentencing in Santa Ana Calif. •Truck driver Vincente Zepeda faces sentencing in Woodstock Ill. for reckless homicide after crashing into a tour bus in 2003 killing eight women… plant explosion forces evacuations An explosion at a meat-packing plant in Booneville Ark. caused an ammonia gas leak that forced 180 people from their homes emergency officials said. There were no injuries at the Cargill Meat Solutions plant in the town of 4000 said Gina Kinney a dispatcher with the Logan County Sheriff’s Department. The fire involved an estimated 88000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia plus the plant had 100000 of non-flammable carbon dioxide which is used in refrigeration systems she said. Mark Klein a spokesman for the Minneapolis-based company said the plant was closed Sunday but about 20 contractors and a few other employees were at the site at the time of the fire. Klein said the plant which produces frozen ground beef patties and steaks employs about 800 people. Decision on Detroit mayor due today Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy is scheduled to reveal today the results of her investigation into whether Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former top aide committed perjury or other crimes.
Indian firm to build giant fertilizer plant
IPP Media – Guardian – Mar 24, 2008
“It would bring investments of about USD 505 million and generate direct employment for up to 275 people for operating the facilities“ he said. Mehta also added that the local availability of urea would improve agriculture yields bringing in more revenue into the hands of farmers. He further said foreign exchange of about USD 140 million would be generated every year through export of surplus urea and ammonia to neighbouring countries which are all dependent on imports as there is no plant for manufacture of fertilizers in the region. Giving vote of thanks on behalf of the Vice President the Minister for Industry Trade and Marketing Dr. Mary Nagu said the government welcomed the project since the fertilizer plant would provide a strong foundation for the growth of agriculture in Tanzania. Nagu said the challenge ahead was imparting knowledge to the people on the importance of using fertilizers which was still very little among the peasants… Shein and his delegation toured the Deepak Fertilizer Industry at Taluja area in Mumbai. Yesterday the VP was expected to have a tour of Mahindra and Mahindra Tractors Ltd and in the evening he would meet members of the Indian Merchant Chamber and Engineering Export Promotion Council here.
Daily Times – Site Edition
Daily Times – Mar 24, 2008
The plants may support hopes the technology can overcome hurdles the most significant of which is poor cost-effectiveness of the membranes used in the process. In Norway power group Statkraft which says it is Europe’s top producer of hydro and wind energy alongside Electricite de France is building a test plant costing $20 million. The plant at Tofte on the slo fjord will have output of up to about 5 kilowatts enough to run household appliances such as washing machines or heaters or a few dozen lightbulbs. The Dutch Centre for Sustainable Water Technology (Wetsus) will also in three to four months start a pilot “blue power” test at IJsselmeer in the Netherlands from where water flows into the sea. Lightbulbs to power plants: The Norwegian and Dutch plants use different systems but both depend on membranes placed between the salt and fresh water which are currently prohibitively expensive and highly energy-intensive to produce. “The Achilles’ heel for this process is that there is no commercial membrane” said Menachim Elimelech a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale University in the United States. The membranes are similar to but thinner than those used at many desalination plants when sea water is pressed against membranes that allow only fresh water through in a process known as reverse osmosis… The Dutch Centre for Sustainable Water Technology (Wetsus) will also in three to four months start a pilot “blue power” test at IJsselmeer in the Netherlands from where water flows into the sea. Lightbulbs to power plants: The Norwegian and Dutch plants use different systems but both depend on membranes placed between the salt and fresh water which are currently prohibitively expensive and highly energy-intensive to produce. “The Achilles’ heel for this process is that there is no commercial membrane” said Menachim Elimelech a professor of chemical and environmental engineering at Yale University in the United States. The membranes are similar to but thinner than those used at many desalination plants when sea water is pressed against membranes that allow only fresh water through in a process known as reverse osmosis. Makers of membranes such as General Electric Dow Chemical Hydranautics or Japan’s Toray Industries focus most on membrane technology for desalination a market growing by about 15 percent a year worldwide. Ellen Mellody of GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technology said the company has ‘an aspirational goal’ of producing fresh water from salt through membranes at a cost of 10 cents per cubic metre down from 70 cents to a dollar. Asked about prospects for a separate market for power-generating membranes she saw one “potentially but not for about 5-10 years”.
Biofuel booster has a point
Toronto Star – Mar 24, 2008
which has a "gasification" process that turns biomass and other organic materials into a synthetic gas that is later converted into ethanol. No enzymes required. The two companies plan to design build and operate commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants as part of a joint venture. The first plant location has already been selected ? though the companies aren’t disclosing where ? and a second plant is in development. "We’ve had a pilot plant since 2003 that has operated more than 3000 hours with feedstock as diverse as municipal solid waste spent plastics power poles dried sludge and forest biomass" says Vincent Chornet chief executive officer of Enerkem. The company is currently building an industrial-sized facility in Westbury Quebec that will process old wooden power poles from Hydro-Quebec. Dottori said the plants Greenfield and Enerkem want to build will be 10 to 15 times larger and located in urban centres.