Powership
Apowership(orpower ship) is a special purposeship,on which apower plantis installed to serve as apower generationresource.
Converted from existing ships, powerships are self-propelled, ready to go infrastructure fordeveloping countriesthat plug into national grids where required.[1]Unmotorised powerships, known aspower barges,are power plants installed on a deckbarge.These are sometimes called "floating power plants" or "barge mounted power plants". They were initially developed duringWorld War IIbyGeneral Electricfor theWar Production Boardas a transportable large-scale power generation resource.
Powerships or power barges can be equipped with single or multiplegas turbines,reciprocatingdiesel and gas engines,boilersornuclear reactorsfor electricity generation.Bureau Veritas,an internationalcertificationagency with experience in overseeing both shipbuilding and power plant development, classifies such floating power plants as "special service power plants".[1]
History
[edit]One of the earliest use of a ship as a power plant was theUSSLe xing ton.During a 30-day power shortage in the winter of 1929 and 1930, theturbo-electricengines of the aircraft carrier providedTacomawith electricity.[2]
TheSSJaconawas one of the first permanent powerships. It was converted in 1931 by theNewport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Companyof Virginia for the New England Public Service Company of Augusta, Maine. The idea came to the president of the Augusta firm, when one winter a severe winter storm took out a lot of the New England major power transmission lines. The role of theJaconawould be to dock as near as possible to the affected area and hook into the local power grid, restoring power. During the summer months the Jacona would hook into vacation area power grids where power needs are extremely low during off season and extremely high during the summer vacation season. The Jacona was fitted with steam boilers which drove two generators which could produce 10 MW each.[3]
At one time the US Navy used its submarines when disaster hit a local community that brought down the commercial power grid, which led to the idea of powerships for the US Navy, and an early US Navy powership was theUSSSaranac,a former US Navy naval ship.Saranacwas a 1942 builtfleet oilerbefore her conversion into a powership following theSecond World Warto serve in the US Navy and Army. In 1957, she was sold to Hugo Neu Corporation of New York City and was used then as a power facility abroad by the International Steel and Metal Corporation. In 1959, she was renamedSomerset.[4]
The first floating nuclear reactor ship was theMH-1A,used in the Panama canal zone from 1968 to 1975.[citation needed]This ship (named Sturgis) was decommissioned and scrapped over the period of 2015 to 2019.[5]
During the 1990s, power barges became a popular way of providing energy to developing nations, with companies building power barges including equipment suppliers likeGeneral Electric,Westinghouse,Wärtsilä,andMAN;and by developers such asSmith Cogeneration,AES,GMR Vasavi,which operate floating power plants for customers located inNew York City(United States),Khulna(Bangladesh), theDominican Republic,Brazil, Ecuador, Angola, Nigeria, Thailand, Effassu (Ghana), as well as in thePhilippines,Jamaica,KenyaandMalaysia.Engineering, procurement and construction companies suchPower Barge Corporation,Waller Marine Inc,Hyundai,IHI CorporationandMitsuioffer gas turbine power barge construction programs, and Karadeniz Energy, MAN and Wärtsilä offer medium speed engine power barges.
In April 2011,Waller Marinefinalized installation in Venezuela of two large floating power generation barges into a prepared basin at Tacoa. The two 171 MW barges, each supporting a GE 7FA dual fuel industrial gas turbine, are connected to the grid and soon supply much needed power to Caracas. Power Barge Corporation recently delivered a 96 MW gas turbine power barge to Angola, a 72 MW Wartsila power barge to Panama and a 105 MW gas turbine power barge to Venezuela.
Starting in 2007 and finally finishing in 2018 the Russian Federation constructed the nuclear power bargeAkademik Lomonosov,which was used to replace the agingBilibino Nuclear Power Plantin the NortheasternChukotkaregion. In late May 2020, it began operating in the Arctic port city ofPevek,supplying power to the nearby gold mines and settlements. In 2018, two Chinese companies announced that they would build a fleet of nuclear power barges for theSouth China Sea islands[6]but the project was suspended in May 2023.[7]
Economics
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2017) |
Powerships (as opposed to power barges) are generally based on existing ships repurposed to produce electricity. Powerships utilizing new purpose built ships would not be competitive to a purpose built power barge due to the higher cost of construction. The crew quarters and propulsion systems are under-utilized during the power plant operational period which can be up to the life of the power plant. Some recently built powerships are existing large bulk carriers, which are fitted with used reciprocating engines and new state-of-the-art, large-boredual-fuel diesel enginesthat run on heavy fuel or natural gas to generate electricity,[8]transformersandelectric switchboards.The only other powerships were based on US Naval vessels.[citation needed]
Use
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(May 2023) |
Power barges and powerships offer a number of advantages over other forms of power plant. Due to their mobility, powerships can be connected to local power grids to temporarily cover demands whenever on site power plants are insufficient or the building of new power plants will take time,[9]while dual-fuel engines on board can be powered by either liquid fuels or gas. The power barge and powership are able to use any infrastructure available at the site on which she is required.[9][8]
Powerships and power barges are generally considered a solution to bridge the gap for a certain time until a local power plant is built or the high demand in electricity supply is over.[9]
Today there are over 75 power barges deployed and operating around the world. The utilization rate of power barges is around 95% with only one or two power barges available in the global market at any one time.
Karadeniz Powership Co. Ltd., trading asKarpowership,a subsidiary ofKaradeniz EnergyGroup based inTurkey,developed and carries out a project named "Power of Friendship" that aims to provide a total of 2,010MWof electricity to more than ten shortage-stricken countries in theMiddle East,northern Africaandsouth Asiawith ten different ships by the end of 2010.[10][11]The first powership of the project, which can supply 144 MW power, went into service at the beginning of 2010 off the shore nearBasrain south-easternIraq,[12]and the second powership is on its way to the same place.[13][when?]
See also
[edit]- MH-1A,a floating power station constructed as part of theArmy Nuclear Power Program
- Floating nuclear power plant
- Floating wind turbine
References
[edit]- ^ab"Bureau Veritas classes powerships".Malta Maritime Directory. 29 June 2010.Retrieved22 August2010.
- ^In late 1929, Tacoma had no electricity; the USS Le xing ton brought the powerArchivedJune 30, 2013, atarchive.today
- ^"A Floating Power Plant", February 1931, Popular Mechanicsdetailed article page 217 and 218
- ^"T2 Tankers-Q-R-S".Mariners-The Website Of The Mariners Mailing List.Retrieved4 December2019.
- ^"Floating Nuclear Plant Sturgis Dismantled".The Maritime Executive.16 March 2019.Retrieved17 March2019.
- ^Diplomat, Viet Phuong Nguyen, The."China's Risky Plan for Floating Nuclear Power Plants In The South China Sea".The Diplomat.Retrieved2018-10-15.
{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^"Nord Stream blast, regional tensions halt China's floating nuclear reactor plans".South China Morning Post.2023-05-31.Retrieved2023-06-09.
- ^ab"Power Plants"(PDF).MAN Diesel & Turbo.Retrieved2018-08-17.
- ^abc"MAN dual fuel diesel engines for power ship".The Daily Engineer. 11 March 2010.Retrieved22 August2010.
- ^"Turkey launches 'powership' on Istanbul's Black Sea".energynews24.14 April 2010.Retrieved22 August2010.
- ^Patel, Sonal (1 February 2010)."Of Floating Power Barges and Ships".Retrieved22 August2010.
- ^Sgt. Francis Horton, 367th MPAD, USD-S PAO (11 August 2010)."Power on the water".army.mil The Official Homepage of the United States Army.Retrieved22 August2010.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^"Dünyanın en büyük 'Enerji Gemisi' Irak'a doğru yola çıktı".Referans(in Turkish). 2010-08-13.Retrieved2018-08-17.
External links
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