Coal-heavy Australian aluminium vs renewables-led New Zealand: How Oceania is balancing decarbonisation
Oceania’s primary aluminium industry is facing a fragmented energy transition. While Australia, the leading aluminium producer of the continent, has abundant renewable resources and a well-established aluminium value chain, its smelters remain significantly more dependent on fossil-fuel-based...
Can the US afford to cut Canada off? 75% aluminium and $100b energy tell the story
The US aluminium industry’s dependence on Canada extends far beyond primary aluminium imports. While Canada supplies around 75 per cent of US imported primary aluminium, covering roughly 60 per cent of the country’s annual aluminium usage, it is also a major supplier of crude oil, natural gas and...
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Aughinish Alumina Refinery ready to fully switch to gas
UC RUSAL, a leading global aluminium producer, announces the completion of the work to allow the Aughinish alumina refinery, Europe’s largest alumina producer, switch from heavy fuel oil to gas as its main energy source. This will reduce the sites overall environmental footprint, coupled with cash...
Aluminium systems add life, function to UK care facility
Technal-brand aluminium curtain walling and casement window systems have helped the Beacon Centre for Health in Swansea achieve a BREEAM “excellent” rating and a high level of energy efficiency. The building is designed around a central four-story atrium which has large spans of Technal’s GEODE-MX...
Missouri regulators indicate opposition to Noranda Aluminum request for reduced electric rate
A day after regulators said they opposed a request by Ameren Missouri's biggest customer for a rate reduction of about $50 million a year, a panel that advocates for retail ratepayers proposed a deal that would give the company just over half of what it was seeking. The Missouri Public Service...
GE puts Worsley Alumina power plant on market
General Electric is believed to be fielding approaches from major infrastructure investors interested in buying its $1.2 billion Worsley Alumina power plant, following plans by the conglomerate to float the West Australian asset on the Australian Securities Exchange. The interest from groups —...
Rusal exploring ethane for Alpart plant
UC RUSAL is considering the use of ethane to fire its 1.7- million tonne alumina refinery in Jamaica's southwestern parish of St Elizabeth. The plant has been closed for five years, largely because of low market price for its product and high production costs, which is primarily because of the...
Nalco exploring coal block in 'friendly' African nations
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) today said it plans to acquire a coal mine in an African country, which shares a friendly bilateral relation with India. “We will like to have a coal mine in an African nation provided it has a better relationship with India,” said Ansuman Das,...
GE looks to offer power plant IPO
A $1.2 billion power plant in Western Australia linked to one of the world’s largest alumina refineries owned by BHP Billiton is being positioned for an initial public offering. General Electric’s Worsley multi-fuel cogeneration plant near Collie, 189km southeast of Perth, was built to meet the...
Russia's Rusal seen unlikely to start BEMO aluminium project in 2014
Russia's Rusal, the world's largest aluminium producer, is unlikely to start production at its Siberian Boguchansk aluminium project in 2014, the Energy Ministry said on Tuesday. Rusal, led by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, has already delayed the launch of the 588,000 tonne-per-year Boguchansk...
First Aluminium set to acquire $2m machinery to boost production
First Aluminium plc is set to acquire $2 million machinery to improve production of aluminium products and packaging tubes for the health and cosmetics industry. “We are bringing in new machines that will cost us $2 million. Currently, if you include the cheap Chinese products, then we have about...
New boards for TOR,VALCO inaugurated
The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has tasked the board of directors of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO), to work hard to address the challenges confronting their respective organisations and the sector as a whole. He said although...
Pressure on profitability of aluminium producers to continue
The power and automobile segments are expected to propel a slight recovery in domestic aluminium demand in 2014-15 after it shrank in 2013-14 on the back of stifled demand from these key end-user sectors, but profitability of domestic players will remain under pressure due to high input costs....
Deeside recycling plant unveils new equipment, offers new products, cuts energy consumption
This week, customers were invited to tour the Deeside plant and see its latest investments. Through installing a new sawing and continuous homogenizing line, the Deeside recycling plant now can offer seven-meter-long extrusion ingots, the standard length of such products in Europe. With the ability...
Hydro signs new long-term power contract for Norwegian aluminium portfolio
Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA has signed a long-term power contract with Axpo Trading AG, a Switzerland-based energy company with captive power production and international trading activity, for annual supply of 0.5 terawatt hours (TWh) over 10 years from 2021. Hydro recently signed...
Missouri considers electric rate cut for Noranda Aluminum
A dispute between Missouri's largest power company and its largest electric consumer is being heard by state regulators. An administrative judge for the Missouri Public Service Commission is to hear testimony Monday on a request by Noranda Aluminum to reduce the electric rates it's charged by...
Inalum begins $1.9 billion expansion with new power plant
State-owned aluminium maker PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will spend around US$750 million on a steam-fueled power plant, which would double its production capacity, starting from mid-next year in anticipation of higher energy demand. Inalum president director Winardi Sunoto said Friday...
Norsk Hydro: Enova supports Hydro's technology pilot at Karmøy
Enova, a public enterprise which supports new energy and climate-related technology development, has decided to contribute NOK 1.5 billion toward Hydro's full scale next-generation electrolysis pilot project at Karmøy, on the west coast of Norway. This contribution is subject to approval by the...
Ameren, Noranda Aluminum and taxpayers square off on electricity rates
Tuesday night the Public Service Commission is hearing public input on two cases Noranda, a Tennessee based Aluminum Company filed against Ameren Missouri in February. One is an allegation of over-charging which according to Ameren Missouri, is without merit. The second is a rate shift request by...
Volta Aluminum urged to reduce consumption during World Cup matches
Ghana will boost power production during its World Cup matches and asked the nation’s largest aluminum smelter to reduce consumption to make sure that scheduled blackouts don’t interfere with Black Stars’ games. Neighbor Ivory Coast has agreed to supply 50 megawatts to Ghana during its games, which...
