THE ENERGY INDUSTRY T I M E S
September 2017 • Volume 10 • No 7 • Published monthly • ISSN 1757-7365 www.teitimes.com
Circulating
opportunities
Staying on top
Sumitomo Heavy Industry’s purchase
of Amec Foster Wheeler’s circulating
fluidised bed business presents
interesting opportunities. Page 13
Gazprom Energy has big plans
to further its customer-centric
approach and boost its presence
in other territories. Page 14
News In Brief
China expands nuclear
ambitions
China is becoming a major player
on the global stage after expanding
its civil uranium supply chain to
meet demand from domestic and
worldwide projects.
Page 2
Mexico reforms attract
renewables financing
Renewable energy developer
Zuma Energia says that its ability
to secure finance for Mexico’s
largest wind farm demonstrates that
the country’s energy reforms are
working.
Page 4
Industry urges renewable
energy decision
Company executives have urged
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull to decide on a clean
energy target in order to drive
investment and boost supply of
electricity from renewable energy
sources.
Page 6
Flexibility contracts will help
distribution network, says
UKPN
The UK’s distribution network
operators are planning a major
transition that will enable them
to take on new, active roles in
managing smart, flexible grids.
Page 7
Plans revived to export
renewable energy to Europe
Plans to tap North Africa’s vast
renewable energy resources for
export to European markets have
once again been revived.
Page 8
Technology: Keeping the
lights on
Many utilities are now turning to
alternative technologies, such as
fuel cells, to mitigate the challenges
of power outages.
Page 15
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Final Word
Half-baked bread doesn’t
quite hit the spot,
says Junior Isles.
Page 16
Critics
question
UK energy
cost review
Clark: the review will
consider how the UK
can take advantage of
changes to the power
system
Critics have called into question the thoroughness of a recently launched independent review
aimed at curbing the rising cost of energy in the UK. Junior Isles
An independent review launched by
the UK government aimed at reducing
energy prices has come under fire from
critics.
The criticism follows the selection
of Oxford University academic Professor
Dieter Helm as the leader of the
panel and news that his team will have
only 30 days to complete the review.
Electricity bills for UK industrial users
are the third highest among 15
European countries and rising household
bills have seen Britain slip from
being the second cheapest to seventh,
according to the government.
Professor Helm, an economist specialising
in utilities, infrastructure,
regulation and the environment, commented:
“My review will be independent
and sort out the facts from the
myths about the cost of energy, and
make recommendations about how to
more effectively achieve the overall
objectives.”
The ambitious review builds on the
commitment made in the Industrial
Strategy Green Paper and will consider
the whole electricity supply
chain – generation, transmission, distribution
and supply. It will look for
opportunities to reduce costs in each
element and consider the implications
of the changing demand for
electricity, including the role of innovative
technologies such as electric
vehicles, storage, robotics and artificial
intelligence.
Business and Energy Secretary
Greg Clark said: “All homes and
businesses rely on an affordable and
secure energy supply and the government
is upgrading our energy system
to make it fit for the future. We want
to ensure we continue to find the opportunities
to keep energy costs as
low as possible, while meeting our
climate change targets, as part of the
Industrial Strategy.
“The review will consider how we
can take advantage of changes to our
power system and new technologies
to ensure clean, secure and affordable
supplies over the coming decades.
Professor Helm will bring invaluable
expertise to the review, and
Continued on Page 2
Utilities recognising need for comprehensive
cyber security strategies
A new report from Navigant Research
reveals that a growing number of
utilities are realising the need for comprehensive
cyber security strategies
that move beyond one-off, point-topoint
solutions and toward more integrated,
harmonious methods.
As electric power systems around the
world increasingly embrace decentralisation,
automation, and digitalisation,
their efforts are also expanding
the surface area for cyber attacks.
This, says the report, has led to an
exponential growth in the number of
attacks and threat actors. As a result,
the market for cyber security solutions
is expected to show healthy
growth as the related markets for automation,
communications, and smart
devices continue to mature.
The report, ‘Cyber security for the
Digital Utility’, analyses the global
market for smart grid cyber security
solutions, with a focus on five application
areas: transmission upgrades,
substation automation, distribution
automation, smart metering, and
smart grid IT & analytics.
According to the Navigant report,
global smart grid cyber security
spending is expected to grow from
$1.8 billion in 2017 to nearly $3.2 billion
in 2026.
Research published in Positive Technologies’
Q2 2017 ‘Cybersecurity
Threatscape’ report, showed that the
United States and Russia remain the
most frequent victims of cyber attacks,
but over a quarter (28 per cent) of attacks
in Q2 2017 affected dozens of
countries and hundreds – sometimes
even thousands – of companies.
According to Positive Technologies’
statistics, 67 per cent of attacks were
performed for direct financial gain.
Over half of attacks were non-targeted
and primarily relied on malware to
spread.
The epidemic of WannaCry ransomware
showed that even vigilant
users, who do not open suspicious
messages or links, can still fall victim.
Intel data indicates that over 530
000 computers were infected. The
Bitcoin wallets of the WannaCry developers
received over 50 BTC
(equivalent to $128 000) of payoffs
from victims, although damage to
companies exceeded $1 billion.
Another massive malware campaign,
conducted in late June, involved
NotPetya This epidemic was
unique in that the perpetrators did not
seek financial gain; they did not attempt
to send out the disk recovery
key in response to ransom payments.
Instead, the malware was intended to
knock systems offline, cause digital
sabotage, and delete files. Over 40
victims paid ransoms totalling the
equivalent of $10 000.
At the end of July researchers attending
the Black Hat cyber security
conference in Las Vegas showed how
to hijack robots so that they stop
working or alter products or injure
humans, and how to halt energy production
by wind farms.
Jason Staggs, a researcher, discovered
serious flaws at wind farms. Controllers
did not encrypt all their messages,
sometimes used default
passwords and did not separate the
networks, so that if a hacker took over
one turbine, he or she could “rule
them all”.
Staggs estimates that disabling a
wind farm for just one day could cost
the energy provider up to $700 000.
“If the electric utility decides not to
comply… the attacker is able to cause
damage to the turbines.”
THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES is published by Man in Black Media • www.mibmedia.com • Editor-in-Chief: Junior Isles • For all enquiries email: enquiries@teitimes.com