As a consequence of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, POWERGEN International and DISTRIBUTECH International, will be postponed to March 30-April 1, 2021. In light of both governmental direction and general public health advisories delivering POWERGEN International and DISTRIBUTECH International will not be possible at this time with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government issued guidelines for large gatherings.
“This has been a difficult decision but the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, speakers, employees and the wider public is of paramount importance to us. We must comply with the strict public health guidelines and directives. Unfortunately, the implementation of these government regulations make it impractical to run a large scale event. We have also reached out to our power generation and transmission & distribution communities and listened to their input around uncertainty and concerns for gathering this coming winter. We are confident that postponing POWERGEN International and DISRTIBUTECH International to spring 2021 will ensure a successful and safe delivery of the events,” said Desiree Hanson, Executive Vice President, Clarion Events.
The postponed events will open further opportunity for helping energy professionals navigate through the complex energy transition by conveniently co-locating POWERGEN International, the world’s largest power generation event, with DISTRIBUTECH International, the leading annual transmission & distribution event. The co-location will result in bringing the energy industry together for these two powerhouse events happening next to each other, under one roof. While these events will remain separate, holding them alongside each other will allow attendees to conveniently access both exhibition halls and educational offerings. In addition, it will provide further opportunities to connect these two audiences for networking, bringing them together to shape the future of energy and experience the energy movement.
As previously announced POWERGEN International 2021 will also be home to the newly created Leadership Summit. The two-and-a-half-day executive level summit will address the challenges facing the power generation and transmission & distribution sectors. Speakers and panelists will represent utilities, EPCs, OEMs, regulators, investors and more. They will discuss the industry’s ambitious journey to 2050, in which historically central station-based generation represents a smaller percentage of capacity, as it’s joined by renewable energy and other forms of distributed generation, including energy storage. Experts across the ecosystem, seeking solutions to prominent challenges in pursuit of a balanced and sustainable energy mix, will have the opportunity to contribute their thoughts in high-level debates with domestic and international peers.
Between now and March, POWERGEN International and DISTRIBUTECH International, in partnership with their media partners Power Engineering and POWERGRID International, will launch two new platforms to provide timely and informative content year-round, the POWERGEN+ Series and DISTRIBUTECH+ Series. These live Series will bring together the energy community through virtual experiences for those looking for perspective and discussion on current and future issues affecting the generation and transmission & distribution markets. “While we believe in the power of face-to-face events and what they deliver; our focus is on what our customers need now, as well as in the future, and how we can deliver experiences to best meet those needs. Our team is talking with our customers and working on a variety of opportunities that will meet the needs of power industry professionals engaged in each of the energy markets we serve. These opportunities include virtual experiences, timely content and educational sessions, peer-to-peer networking, vendor product and service demonstrations and matchmaking assistance between decision-makers and sellers,” said Hanson. Additional information on the POWERGEN+ Series can be found here. Additional information on the DISTRIBUTECH+ Series can be found at here.
“Given the uncertainties we all face due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this move, and the alignment of POWERGEN with DISTRIBUTECH, makes great sense,” said Lisa Johnson, CEO of Seminole Electric Cooperative, based in Tampa, Florida. “I look forward to the broad and robust participation these events are known for across our industry, as well as our discussion centered on ‘Destination 2050’.”
“POWERGEN has been and continues to be an important event for power producers,” said Thomas Reed, project director of the Seminole combined-cycle facility for Seminole Electric Cooperative and a member of the POWERGEN International advisory committee. “I support the decision to move POWERGEN to the spring to give ourselves the time we need to properly address the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping our employees safe and healthy is critical to our operations and we appreciate that POWERGEN recognized this and has adjusted the dates accordingly.”
“POWERGEN will always be a premier event for the power industry and must be sensitive to the COVID-19 concerns of attendees, speakers and vendors,” said Duke Energy senior engineering technologist and POWERGEN advisory member, Jeffrey Sullivan. “POWERGEN is setting a standard to act responsibly in ensuring the health and safety of the power industry family. The move to spring really helps the industry overcome the conflicts of traveling and participating with still many unknowns and uncertainties through the end of 2020.”
“AES supports the decision to move POWERGEN to the spring,” said Ron Rodrique, Alamitos Energy Center site manager for AES Corp. and also a member of the POWERGEN International advisory board. “This will allow us to continue our steps toward the phased re-entry approach within our businesses and will hopefully allow for better safety measures while traveling and not exposing our people to the current concerns related to COVID-19.”
The POWERGEN International and DISTRIBUTECH International teams will continue to be in touch with all exhibitors, sponsors and attendees to answer any questions. There will be further communication to these groups over the coming days and weeks to facilitate a smooth transition and prepare for the co-location of POWERGEN International and DISTRIBUTECH International.
Siemens Energy was selected to provide centrifugal compressor systems for Saudi Aramco’s Hawiyah Unayzah Gas Reservoir Storage (HUGRS) project. The plant includes a gas injection facility with a capacity of 1,500 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) (42,475,270 cubic meters per day, or m3/d) and a withdrawal facility capable of processing up to 2,000 MMSCFD (56,633,693 m3/d) of gas.
Siemens Energy received the order from Samsung Engineering, who was awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the entire project earlier this year.
The project, located 162 miles (260 kilometers) east of Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, includes a plant that will take surplus pipelines gas in the winter months and inject it into an existing depleted field. From here, it can be withdrawn when needed to meet high summer demand.
Siemens Energy will supply the required 20 compression trains. Ten trains will be built for the injection portion of the plant, and another 10 trains will be used for the withdrawal portion of the plant.
“We have a track record of fastest delivery times and a dedicated local workforce to produce these units in our Dammam facility in line with our commitment to Aramco’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add program,” said Arja Talakar, Senior Vice President, Industrial Applications Products for Siemens Energy.
This order builds on Siemens’ recent successful supply of compressor trains for other Saudi Aramco projects, including the new Fadhill gas plant and the Hawiyah gas expansion project.
“Siemens Energy is honored to receive this order, which we believe is due to our proven ability to deliver better compressor performance and flawless execution, which ultimately results in lower life cycle costs,” added Patrice Laporte, Head of North America Industrial Applications Products.
For further information on Siemens Gas and Power, please see www.siemens.com/energy
The Gas Compressor Association will be hosting an educational webinar series from July to October. The series will feature seven different hour long sessions that detail different areas of knowledge based around compressors and the oil & gas industry. The webinars will be live every few weeks and will run through zoom calls with a different presenter for each session. The webinars will also be on-demand for those that missed a date or would like to re-watch. A certificate will be given upon completion of the series. The schedule is as follows:
1. July 22nd, 9:30am — Cummins Presents: COVID-19 Safe Work Playbook: Adapting and Growing Through COVID-19
2. August 5th, 9:30am — J-W Power Company Presents: Common Causes of Injury in Gas Compression: Slips/Trips/Falls
3. August 19th, 9:30am — Harvard Corporation Presents: How Ultra Clean Fluids Can Give High Cost Reductions – How Best Practices Need To Be Managed
4. September 2nd, 9:30am — Alliantgroup Presents: Tax Breaks for GCA Members
5. September 16th, 9:30am — The Empowerment Alliance Presents: Fueling America’s Energy Independence
6. September 30th, 9:30am — PENDING CONFIRMATION – WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON!
7. October 14th, 9:30am — FW Murphy Production Controls Presents: M-LINKTM Modem Capabilities
For more information, click here.
