wiredinUSA February 2015

INDEX

Boosting Asian service

Following a recent tour of the southern Kuwait Al-Zoar power plant, Abdul-Aziz Al-Ibrahim the minister of public works, electricity and water, indicated that expansion plans at the plant will add at least 500MW to the national grid. The minister added that similar plans are in hand for the Al-Sabbiya power plant, adding 500MW to the grid before the start of the summer. Current expansion at the northern Al-Zoar power plant, almost 70 percent completed, will provide 230MW to the national grid and the estimation is that the plant will be operational by July. The minister stressed, however, that conservation of power should continue to be a priority, “for the benefit of the general good.” Regarding the use of solar energy to produce electric power, the ministry of electricity and water’s undersecretary, Iyad Al-Falah, said in a statement that since the success of the experiment with setting up solar panels on the roofs of some government buildings, the ministry he works for is studying the feasibility of installing solar panels on its water reservoirs in 20 locations around the country. It is estimated that these panels will produce about 300MW of electric power. Conservation urged, despite power increases

Trade between neighbors

China’s copper outlook

Iran is said to have reached an agreement with Iraq for exporting high voltage cables worth $40 million. Managing director of Abhar Cable & Wire Co,AlirezaKolahi, said inapressconference that Iran has played an active role in the development of Iraq’s electricity industry in recent years. Kolahi added that Iran also installed the 132kV power transmission line in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Several countries, includingMalaysia, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, UAE and Saudi Arabia were bidding to reach an agreement with Iraq for the export of high voltage cables. Iraq has less than two hours of electricity each day, Kolahi said, adding that the Iraqi electricity industry has the potential to be worth $400 million by 2030.

Record investment in China’s state power grid during 2015 is expected to boost copper consumption in the power sector by around nine percent. The forecast, made by state-backed research firm Antaike, followed a state media report that the power grid plans to invest $67.6 billion during the year, an increase of 24 percent on 2014. The power sector accounted for nearly half of an estimated 8.7 million tonnes of refined copper consumption last year. “It definitely matters for your outlook on (copper) demand growth, given they are the largest consumer,” said trade analyst Ivan Szpakowski. Grid investment this year should push copper consumption in the power sector up 8.7 percent to 4.62 million tonnes, picking up from 7.6 percent growth in 2014, said Yang Changhua, a senior analyst at Antaike. The investment should also lift demand for aluminum, used in overhead power cables, and zinc, used to galvanize power pylons, he added. Reflecting the demand, premiums for bonded copper in Shanghai rose to about $70-$90 a tonne over the LME cash prices, from $55-$75 at the beginning of the year.

Telstra is to offer 100Gbps speeds across a number of its ultra-long haul submarine cables covering Asia and the Pacific as it seeks to increase its presence in the Asian market. “Telstra’s 100G wavelength service was designed to scale smartly and would also help deliver the connectivity and capacity needed to support market demand for larger bandwidth applications, including highdefinition video services andemerging ultra high definition television,” said Darrin Webb, COO of Telstra global enterprise and services. The cables being upgraded to 100Gbps are the Asia America Gateway direct fiber pair, which connects the mainland USA with Hawaii; the 9,000km Reach North Asia Loop, which covers Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea; the 9,124kmTelstra Endeavour, linking Sydney and Hawaii; the 12,700km Australia-Japan cable; and UNITY, a 9,6000km route between Japan and the United States. It is hoped that the upgrade will help Telstra to compete with more established rivals and become the first choice for Australian, European and US businesses wanting to connect with Asia.

ASIA / AFRICA NEWS

wiredInUSA - February 2015

wiredInUSA - February 2015

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