Turkey opens TANAP pipeline that will bring Azeri gas to Europe

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline, which will transport 6 billion cubic meters of Azeri gas from the Caspian region through Georgia to Turkey, and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe per year, started operations yesterday after the inauguration ceremony in Eskişehir with President Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart in attendance.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have inaugurated the TANAP pipeline that will bring gas to Europe while bypassing Russia. The project has won political support from both the United States and European Union.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijan President İlham Aliyev, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mustafa Akıncı were present at the event along with energy ministers and the project's partner representatives.

The presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan have inaugurated a major pipeline that will eventually transport Azerbaijan natural gas to Europe.

The $8.5-billion (€7.2 billion) Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is part of the Southern Gas Corridor, aimed at turning Turkey into an energy hub and diversifying EU natural gas supplies away from Russia.

"Our country is now one step closer to its vision to become a hub of regional energy lines thanks to TANAP," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in the central city of Eskisehir on Tuesday, dubbing the project "the Silk Road of energy."

"TANAP is the symbol for multilateral partnerships," Erdoğan said and added that it is the most concrete indicator of the approach to energy not as a source of conflict but as a basis for cooperation.

From Turkey to Italy

The 1,850 kilometer (1,150 miles) TANAP pipeline connects to the South Caucasus Pipeline, which pumps gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 field in the Caspian through Georgia to Turkey.

Another section of the pipeline project, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is slated to bring gas from Turkey through Greece and Albania to Italy by 2020.

The 3,500-kilometer Southern Gas Corridor will deliver 6 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Turkey and 10 billion cubic meters to Europe.

Alper Ucok, the Turkish Industry and Business Association representative to Germany, said TANAP shows how Turkey is a key partner in the EU's energy security.

TANAP has the political support of the EU and United States.

'Strategically important' for EU

European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, who is in charge of the Energy Union, praised the inauguration of TANAP as a key milestone in improving energy security.

"By helping diversify our energy suppliers and routes, the Southern Gas Corridor is strategically important for the EU's energy security, including in the most vulnerable parts, such as Southeast Europe and southern Italy," he said.

Turkish, Chinese firms to establish high-tech boron carbide facility

State-run mining firm Eti Maden and China's Dalian Jinma, a world leader in boron technology, signed yesterday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a high-tech boron carbide production facility in western Turkey's Balıkesir.
The signing ceremony was attended by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak.
Speaking at the program in Istanbul, Minister Albayrak focused on the benefits of boron carbide. "Boron carbide is worth 2,000 times more than regular boron. A ton of boron is worth $200, but once it is processed into a high-tech product, the value increases to nearly $400,000," he said.
Albayrak stressed that the agreement to establish the facility marks a historic moment in the promotion of boron. He added that technology transfer was also part of the agreement.
He said that the energy ministry places high importance on localizing technology in all its projects since technology can add immense added value and increase revenues.
The minister said boron carbide can become an important export item for Turkey. "It is widely used in the defense industry thanks to its low density and high heat resistance.
"The local production of boron carbide, which is widely used in tactical vehicles, helicopters, aircraft, light armored vehicles and bulletproof vests, will be an important step for Turkey's defense industry," Albayrak said.
He added that the new process will continue with projects on ferro boron and boron nitrile, where boron is converted into high-tech products. "Ferro boron will provide magnetic material production for high quality and high durability steel," he said.
"Boron nitride could also be used in very important areas like atom reactors, aircraft and rocket engines due to its high-temperature resistance and high electrical insulation properties.
"Boron nitride costs $50,000 per ton today. We will achieve this technology with the process that we started today, reaching the capacity to obtain strategic products with much higher added value than boron nitride," Albayrak continued.
According to the energy minister, Turkey holds 73 percent of world's boron reserves and will increase that to 80 percent by developing its reserves.
Recalling that Eti Maden was the world leader in boron production, Albayrak said that Eti Maden sold 2.2 million tons of boron in 2017 - 57 percent of the global market. "Whatever we have done for 16 years, we have always done for our nation, by believing in our youth. This is how we are going to embrace boron, which has been on our national agenda for years."
Following the ceremony, the MoU was signed by Eti Maden General Manager and Chairman Serkan Keleşer and Dalian Jinma Top Executive Wang Yanhe.
Source: Daily Sabah

Turkey’s GDP increased by 7.4% in the first quarter of 2018

The Turkish economy grew at faster pace than expected in the first quarter, mainly on the back of domestic demand and imports.

Gross domestic product expanded by an annualized 7.4% in the January-to-March period, Turkish Statistical Institute announced on Monday.

Gross domestic product with production method was increased by 21.9% and reached 792 billion 691 million TRY at current prices.

When the activities which constitute gross domestic product were analyzed; the total value added increased by; 4.6% in the agricultural sector, 8.8% in the industry sector, 6.9% in the construction sector, 10% in the services sector (wholesale and retail trade, transport, storage, accommodation and food service activities) compared with the same quarter of the previous year in the chained linked volume index

Final consumption expenditure of resident households and final consumption of NPISH increased by 11%, while Exports of goods and services increased by 0.5%, imports of goods and services increased by 15.6% in the first quarter of 2018 compared with the same quarter of the previous year.

Calendar adjusted gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 7.2% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Seasonally and calendar adjusted gross domestic product increased by 2% compared with the previous quarter.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the following comments on the subject: "We are the first among OECD countries and the second in the G20 countries," Mr. Erdogan said on his official Twitter account after the figures were published. "We continue to be one of the fastest-growing countries in the world."

Turkey's government forecasts economic growth of 5.5% between 2018 and 2020, according to its medium-term program.

ENERGY NEWS - WORLD
Successful EU Sustainable Energy Week focused on clean energy transition

With over 60 sessions and 2,500 participants, the annual EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) came to an end on 8 June. This year the different sessions focused on how the EU can lead the clean energy transition in the 21st century. EUSEW came at a crucial political moment towards the end of negotiations for the Clean Energy Package for all Europeans.

EUSEW opened on Tuesday, 5 June with innovative examples of technology and projects leading the way and celebrated the 5 award winners at the EU Sustainable Energy Awards Ceremony hosted by the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.

12 projects across 4 categories (Consumers, Public Sector, Young Energy Leaders and Businesses) made it onto the Awards shortlist this year. The Citizens’ Award was also presented to one of the 12 nominees, voted for by the public in the weeks leading up to EUSEW 2018.

The business award and the Citizen’s Award was given to WiseGrid, a Spanish project which aims at increasing the smartness, stability and security of an open, consumer-centric European energy grid

The public sector award went to Italian PEACE Alps, a project that supports Alpine authorities in making the transition to a low-carbon alpine area

The consumers award went to Bio.Energy.Parc from Saerbeck, a German town in which the inhabitants decided to become self-sufficient in renewable energy by 2030

The young energy leaders award went to Czech Sustainable Houses, an annual architectural competition inspiring young architects to lead the way in energy transition with their innovative, energy-saving designs

Participants -public authorities, private companies, NGOs, consumers- were able to exchange best practices and listen to high-level speakers, throughout the week’s activities, which included a policy conference, a networking village, and a motivational debate with Ambassadors on becoming an advocate for accelerating the clean energy transition.

The Energy Lab - new this year - proved to be very successful with 9 projects pitching in front of an expert panel of judges.

While the high-level event is now over, EUSEW continues with Energy Days throughout Europe.

With the hope that EU Sustainable Energy Week 2018 has left the participants with food for thought, our colleagues are already busy preparing next year’s event.

Source: EC

Tesla Opens 10,000th Supercharger

Tesla announced that with the official ribbon cutting of its new location in Belleville, Canada, it has opened its 10,000th Supercharging station.

The news reveals that Tesla has added nearly 3,000 new Supercharging stalls since its Q3 2017 earnings call, when Elon shared that the company had more than 7,000 Supercharging stalls around the world.

That translates to Tesla adding more than 14 Supercharging stalls per day for the last 7 months. The Superchargers are going up at various locations all around the world.

That’s a breakneck pace that speaks to Tesla’s relentless desire to continue to expand its charging network in parallel to the increases in vehicle sales that are coming as Model 3 production continues to ramp up.

Tesla continues to have the largest and most robustly deployed DC fast charging networks in the world, with the massive caveat being that it can only be used by Tesla vehicles. Tesla has repeatedly offered to let other manufacturers get onboard the Supercharging train — as long as they pay their fair share of charging and make cars that are compatible with current chargers — but none have taken Tesla up on the offer to date as far as we know.

If I had my druthers, I’d push for Tesla to make the Supercharging network available to any EV driver, with a special Tesla-supplied adapter — for a fee, of course.

The news comes in conjunction with a revamping of the Tesla Supercharger locations page — go to tesla.com/findus for a close look. The revamped page uses much smaller dots to identify Tesla’s Supercharging stations (now red dots) and destination charging stations (now grey dots). It was getting a bit cluttered on the map, and the new format makes it look much more like the planet has picked up some sort of a skin rash.

It’s an understandable change since the network continues to grow and increase in density.

Source: Cleantechnia

Energy Efficiency Adds Value to Home Prices

People are willing to pay a premium for energy-efficient homes, according to new research.

Georgia Warren-Myers, a property lecturer at the University of Melbourne and Franz Fuerst of the University of Cambridge analyzed tens of thousands of property transactions over five years, from 2011-2016, in Australia’s Capital Territory, where mandatory disclosure has been in place since the late 1990s.

“The data shows people are valuing energy efficiency and making decisions based on the energy efficiency portrayed in these ratings…”

Their research found Energy Efficiency Ratings carry weight with buyers and renters, providing a clear market signal for builders and owners to install more energy efficient systems, potentially reducing carbon emissions associated with housing.

“The data shows people are valuing energy efficiency and making decisions based on the energy efficiency portrayed in these ratings,” says Warren-Myers. “It has become one of the factors that people consider when they’re looking. They see the number of bedrooms, the number of bathrooms, carparks, and they see the energy star rating.”

The ACT is the only Australian State or Territory to introduce mandatory rating disclosure for all dwellings, while nationally only new dwellings need a rating—a minimum six-star rating out of a possible 10.

Generally, the researchers found sale price premiums associated with different star ratings. Compared with three-star properties, properties rated five and six attracted premiums of 2 and 2.4 percent respectively. But properties that went further on energy efficiency to gain a seven-star rating attracted heftier premiums of up to 9.4 percent.

“Home owners know that new homes meet a minimum six-star level, and they want to be better than the standard,” says Warren-Myers. “They’re going to that seven-star mark to differentiate themselves from that baseline.”

In the rental market, five and six-star properties rented at a 3.5 and 3.6 percent premium respectively compared to three-star properties. However, the gains flattened at seven and eight stars with premiums of 2.6 percent and 3.5 percent respectively. Yet when the non-disclosure is taken into account, these premiums rise substantially.

Warren-Myers argues that a mandatory disclosure program Australia-wide would drive broader energy efficiency in existing properties, particularly in the rental market where landlords lack incentives.

“By providing a mandatory disclosure program Australia-wide, decision-making by owners, occupiers, and landlords will drive more energy efficient dwellings, potentially reducing carbon emissions associated with housing,” says Warren-Myers.

“For tenants, who have limited capacity to make changes to a property, not knowing the energy rating means they can effectively be penalized, from the perspective of household bills. They may also end up still paying a standard rental price for a property that doesn’t actually perform. However, our research demonstrates there is potential that the initial outlay to increase the energy efficiency could be offset through the additional premiums in rental income and resale value.”

Source: Oil Price

Digital transformation spending to reach $1.1 trillion in 2018

Worldwide spending on digital transformation of business practices, products and organizations will increase by 16.8% by the end of 2018 from 2017 levels, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

The IoT market intelligence firm forecasts spending on technologies and services enabling digital transformation, to increase from $958 billion in 2017 to $1.1 trillion in 2018.

Sectors the firm predicts will receive the most funding includes digital supply chain and logistics automation, smart asset management, predictive grid and manufacturing operations.

Programs expected to record the most spending growth over the next five years are the connected automated vehicles segment and construction operations.

However, the innovation acceleration, omni-channel commerce and omni-experience engagement are expected to receive significant funding this year.

From a technology perspective, the largest categories of spending will be applications, connectivity services, and IT services as companies build out their digital platforms to compete in the digital economy.

Craig Simpson, research manager at IDC's Customer Insights and Analysis Group, said: "Some of the strategic priority areas with lower levels of spending this year include building cognitive capabilities, data-driven services and benefits, operationalizing data and information, and digital trust and stewardship.

"This suggests that many organizations are still in the early stages of their DX journey, internally focused on improving existing processes and efficiency. As they move into the later stages of development, we expect to see these priorities and spending, shift toward the use of digital information to further improve operations and to create new products and services."

To achieve its DX strategic priorities, IDC recommends businesses develop programs that represent a long-term plan of action toward these goals.

IDC's Worldwide Semiannual Digital Transformation Spending Guide analyses 130 DX use cases across 19 industries in eight geographic regions.

Source: Metering

ARTICLE OF THE WEEK

Status of Power System Transformation 2018

Across the world, change is accelerating in power systems driven by the advent of low-cost, abundant wind and solar energy, the rise of distributed energy resources and increasing digitalization. These factors are leading to a structural shift in the way power systems are best planned and operated. In particular, they call for increased flexibility of power systems. Power system flexibility encompasses all relevant characteristics of a power system that facilitates the reliable and cost-effective management of variability and uncertainty in both supply and demand. A lack of system flexibility can reduce the resilience of power systems, or lead to the loss of substantial amounts of clean electricity through curtailment of VRE.

Power plants play a critical role in enhancing system flexibility. Based on a wealth of real-life case studies and data, this report provides a comprehensive overview of how power plants can contribute to making power systems more flexible, while enhancing electricity security. It summarises the findings of the Advanced Power Plant Flexibility (APPF) campaign of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). The solutions presented in this study have been collected in close collaboration with industry stakeholders, including manufacturers, expert consultancies, system operators and plant operators.

Please click here to read the full report.