Classification society DNV GL has awarded Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) an approval in principle for its LNG floating power plant (LFPP) concept.
DNV GL said on Tuesday that the LFPP was a decentralized energy generation solution that enables locations to tap into natural gas as part of their power mix.
The LFPP concept has been developed based on KHI’s experience with onshore LNG receiving terminals and LNG containment systems. After carrying out both a hazard identification study and a review of the design according to its rules, DNV GL was able to issue an approval in principle for the concept.
The concept is designed for installation in areas where energy demand is rapidly increasing, but onshore infrastructure is not feasible or commercially viable.
Instead, LNG would be offloaded from a carrier, stored onboard in two cylindrical tanks, and then regasified for power generation and exported to the onshore grid.
Regasification takes place in the fuel gas supply space facility located on the deck with the gas then fed into the gas engine power generation system comprised of four gas fueled KHI engines.
Johan Petter Tutturen , DNV GL business director for gas carriers, said: “ We are pleased to be involved in this project with KHI, continuing a long tradition of cooperation on LNG projects that stretches back nearly 40 years. […] this innovative technology could be used to provide supply on a long or short-term basis, adding flexibility to the energy mix wherever it is deployed. “