Dr. Peter Schoof, the new German ambassador to Indonesia, visited the construction site of the landfill in Sidoarjo, Java, at the end of April and was accompanied by the head of the Indonesian KfW office, Angela Tormin. The ‘Emission Reduction In Cities’ project is financed by KfW and currently comprises three different construction sites, two of which are in East Java and one in Sumatra.

Our participation in the E-world trade fair was a great success. We held many interesting discussions on topics such as hybrid power plants as a building block of the energy transition, battery storage for increasing flexibility in the power grid, e-mobility and grid expansion in Germany. Marzipan artist Clemens Brinkmann was a big hit with visitors at our booth. We are already looking forward to next year’s E-world.

Over the next five years, Fichtner will assist transmission system operator TenneT TSO by providing services during the permitting, preparation, execution and site supervision phases of its onshore grid expansion projects. We have been supporting TenneT in onshore and offshore projects for a number of years now.

With its third CSP power plant now connected to the grid, the “Ouarzazate” thermal solar power plant complex has attained its designated total power capacity of 510 MW. On 15 August 2018, the steam turbine generator set of Noor 3 Solar Tower Power Plant began feeding into the Moroccan power grid. Fichtner served as Independent Engineer for all three of the CSP plants.

Successful bid opening in Saudi Arabia’s first wind tender. The wind power tariffs offered by the four bidders range from 2.13 to 3.39 US cents/kWh, clearly demonstrating the competitiveness of wind energy in the region. In the coming weeks, Fichtner will be helping the ministry responsible to evaluate the bids.

With 25 qualified bidders, the bidding process for a trailblazing 30 MW / 60 MWh electrical energy storage project in Jordan began on 6 July 2018. It will be the largest of its kind in the Middle East and will have a revolutionary contract concept. Fichtner is supporting the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources with the bidding process and subsequent selection of the preferred bidder.

On the initiative of EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network, representatives of energy authorities from the Gulf region visited Germany to exchange experiences gained with clean energy technologies and applications. Fichtner organized the one-week tour of Germany including six site visits.

With the start-up of Quweira 103 MW Photovoltaic Power Plant in the south of the country, the Jordanian government took a further step in implementing its ambitious renewable energies development plan. Acting as Owner’s Engineer, Fichtner provided assistance to the project.

ACWA Power has won a 300 MW photovoltaics tender with a record tariff of the equivalent of 2.34 US cents/kWh. Fichtner is assisting the ministry responsible in implementing the country’s first PV and wind IPP projects.

Bosnia-Herzegovina’s first wind farm was officially inaugurated on 14 March 2018. Fichtner assisted JP Elektroprivreda HZHB, a state-owned power utility company, with the planning, construction and grid connection of this 50.6 MW wind farm consisting of 22 Siemens turbines.

TenneT has awarded Fichtner, together with two other companies, with contracts for the maintenance of onshore and offshore converter station components and AC power transmission systems in the North Sea.

For the first time, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) tested the new main engine of the future European launcher Ariane 6. Fichtner supports DLR with the necessary modifications to its test stand P5.

Fichtner opens a branch office in Mexico City in early 2018. This is our 5th branch office in Latin America.

Energy transition: Together with more than 60 partners, we are working on the C/sells demonstration project to test the system of the future which consists of autonomous cells.

Challenging management of offshore wind power projects – an interview with our wind energy expert, Markus Schüller.

The third and final unit of the 1200 MW Lai Chau Hydropower Plant in Vietnam went into operation six months ahead of schedule.