Fuji Electric with new binary cycle plant and 50% global market share goal
Alexander Richter
8 Aug 2009
Fuji Electric Systems Co., Ltd. has set out a target to hold over 50% of the global market share for geothermal power generation facilities by fiscal 2011. At the same time the company is launching a 2-MW-scale "binary cycle power plant" that could mean some serious competition in the binary-cycle market.
Reported from Japan, “Fuji Electric Systems Co., Ltd. has set out a target to hold over 50% of the global market share for geothermal power generation facilities by fiscal 2011. The total rated output of the facilities for which the company received orders in the past ten years is about 700 MW, which accounts for over 40% of the global market. The company aims to fulfill its target by adding an annual average of 200 MW in future years.
Fuji Electric Systems has received orders for a total of 12 units (673.99 MW) in the past 10 years, with two of the units currently in production. In order for the company to meet its target, it must secure orders for at least four units a year. The largest market is Indonesia, which is believed to have geothermal power development potential of 20 GW. The company expects a boom in the construction of geothermal plants in Indonesia stimulated by an infusion of government funds. Other large markets after Indonesia are New Zealand and the United States. Fuji Electric Systems is also hopeful of winning orders in the Philippines, where geothermal power plants are specially made exempt from corporate taxes for seven years, and in Iceland, which has increased its capacity of low-power-cost geothermal generation to 700 MW with a view to attracting aluminum refining plants. The company will also seek to expand to South and Central America as well as Kenya and other African countries.
At the same time, Fuji Electric Systems will work to stimulate demand in Japan. Within the current fiscal year, the company plans to launch onto the market a 2-MW-scale “binary cycle power plant” that can be used for geothermal fluids having a temperature below 130-140 degrees Celsius, and step up the company’s efforts to make better proposals. The company’s director and general manager Naoto Yoneyama said, “We have also gained experience in handling ancillary facilities. We are looking to secure more orders by marketing our turnkey construction as a key selling point”.
Source: The Denki Shimbun
