News Clipping Archive - Page 1145 of 1235

Bioenergy

MAHB, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo to help promote palm oil

22 January 2019

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Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), Malaysia Airlines Bhd, AirAsia Group Bhd and Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd are supportive of national campaign to promote Malaysian palm oil to air travellers.

In a statement today, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said the airport operator and three airlines had pledged their support for “Love MY Palm Oil” campaign.

Facts and figures of oil palm planting and palm oil nutrition will be prominently broadcast to air travellers via digital info screens in the airports, in-flight magazines and entertainment systems, and art and product displays.

Last week, MAHB group chief executive officer Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin expressed confidence of handling about 100 million passengers across all 39 airports in Malaysia.

“I am glad that MAHB and the airlines have displayed their patriotism by supporting this national campaign to uphold the truth about palm oil nutrition and our oil palm planters practising good agricultural methods,” Kok said.

In a photocall, she posed with representatives of MAHB and AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail and Malindo chief executive officer Chandran Rama Murthy.

“MAHB and the three airlines’ support to this campaign will also help us rectify biased perceptions by critics of the palm oil industry.

“I hope many more industry players will come forward and join us to uphold the truth about our nation’s pride that has been the source of livelihood and jobs for more than three million people in Malaysia,” said Kok.

The campaign will be carried out throughout 2019 to address prejudices and instil greater appreciation for Malaysian palm oil.

The ‘Love MY Palm Oil’ messages will illustrate the socio-economic multiplier effects, health benefits and industrial applications of palm oil.

“Events and activities are being catered to different stakeholders including industry members, professionals, students, academia and the general public,” she added.

Energy Economy

New multi-stakeholder initiative seeks to make finance sector ally of sustainability

22 January 2019

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Vietnam

HCM CITY — The Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative was launched in Singapore on Monday to help shift Asia’s financial flows towards sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes.

With WWF as its secretariat, the multi-stakeholder platform will bring together the finance industry, academia, and science-based organisations, to support Singapore-based financial institutions in deepening their sustainable finance expertise.

It will provide Southeast Asian financial institutions with the right tools and knowledge to better manage sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities as well as receive updates on upcoming research, tools and activities.

Sustainable finance has been at the top of the agenda for Việt Nam since the finance sector is critical to driving sustainable business practices in major sectors such as rice, seafood and energy.

In an effort to establish a green economy, the State Bank of Việt Nam issued Directive Number 3 in 2015 for promoting green credit growth and environment and social risk management in lending.

WWF Việt Nam has been working closely with local partners, including the Việt Nam Banking Association, to help local banks incorporate environmental and social safeguards in their financing activities and make adequate disclosure of their progress.

“Việt Nam has made significant progress in implementing sustainable finance principles, yet there remains huge potential for the finance sector to drive sustainable development to achieve positive environment, social and economic outcomes,” Văn Ngọc Thịnh, country director, WWF-Việt Nam, said.

“ASFI is an important initiative which provides a good platform to support financial institutions in Việt Nam in achieving the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.”

The financial sector is crucial in creating sustainable economic growth through its ability to influence companies to adopt best practices and to direct financial flows towards sustainable development outcomes.

Financial institutions have significant potential to shape resilient economies. In addition, ASFI can foster peer-to-peer sharing with other national sustainable finance initiatives in the region.

Sustainable finance is a critical lever in addressing the increasing vulnerability of the region to climate change, the degradation of land and ocean eco-systems, labour and water risk.

The shift to sustainable economies represents around US$5 trillion worth of investment opportunities between now and 2030 in Asia alone.

To support the finance sector in navigating these risks and opportunities, ASFI will seek to speed up the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into financial decision-making, ensuring that this leads to measurable and meaningful outcomes aligned with the Paris Agreement and the SDGs.

Việt Nam is a signatory to both the Paris Agreement and the SDGs, and is one of the countries most severely affected by climate change. — VNS

Energy Economy

Financial institutions key in directing funds towards green development: Masagos Zulkifli

22 January 2019

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Singapore

SINGAPORE: Financial institutions play an important role in directing capital flows towards sustainable development, Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli said on Tuesday (22 Jan).

Speaking at a forum organised by Eco-Business and the United Nations Environment Programme, Mr Masagos added that the success of economies and businesses will depend on how well they manage the transition to a low carbon economy.

READ: Companies going green: Sustainability strategies that also make good business sense

READ: Commentary: The private sector must be new champions of sustainable development

He added that he was encouraged to see growing numbers of investors who want to “do well” and “do good”.

To date, more than S$2 billion of green bonds have been issued in Singapore by both local and foreign issuers.

One of them is Singapore-based Sindicatum Renewable Energy, which has issued a second tranche of green bonds to support renewable projects in the Philippines.

The market is set to grow, with an estimated US$200 billion of green investment needed annually from 2016 to 2030 in this region alone, according to Green Finance Opportunities in ASEAN, a report by DBS Bank and the UN Environment.

Mr Masagos also urged financial institutions to keep contributing to the development of new environmental, social and governance-related products “that the global economy will need, as it moves towards greater sustainability”.

Chief of UN Environment’s resources and markets branch, Mr Steven Stone, said that “sustainable financing is at the heart of the sustainable development agenda”.

In Singapore, the “financial sector policymakers, regulators and market participants are taking steps toward building a more sustainable financial system”, he added.

Ms Esther An, chief sustainability officer at City Developments Limited said that with the global shift to a low carbon and resilient economy, “sustainable financing vehicles, be it bonds or loans, will have tremendous growth potential”.

A survey by Standard Chartered Private Bank found that 64 per cent of investors in Singapore were highly motivated to do good while earning a profit.

Energy Economy ,
Renewables

Three Singapore firms to invest $100m in Southeast Asian renewables projects

22 January 2019

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Singapore

Projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar are already in the pipeline for financing.

Singapore-based firms WEnergy Global, ICMG Partners, and Greenway Grid Global (GGG), an investment company with TEPCO Power Grid Inc (TEPCO-PG) as one of the major shareholders, have formed an investment entity of $60m.

According to an announcement, this entity will finance and operate renewable energy projects in Southeast Asia, of which $20m has been made available for short term deployment. This newly formed Singapore company, CleanGrid Partners, aims to build and manage a portfolio of electrification projects valued at about $100m within three to four years.

Shinichi Imai, TEPCO PowerGrid managing director of International Business Development Unit and Greenway Grid global chairman, said, “Collectively, the group aims to contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets set in the Paris Agreement for Climate Change through innovation.”

WEnergy Global has already set the stage by being an initiator for a microgrid project in Palawan in the Philippines, to be part of this electrification plan.

Several other projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar are already in the pipeline. CleanGrid Partners is aiming at enabling a rapid replication of the Palawan project in several other places in Southeast Asia to meet the demand for off-grid and decentralised electrification. In Singapore, the partners aim at engagements in smart microgrids at industrial estate level.

ICMG Partners is a global management consulting firm with operations in Singapore whilst WEnergy Global is a Singapore engineering and investment company focused on renewable energy microgrids in Southeast Asia.

Oil & Gas

Indonesian Pertamina’s Feb planned imports at 9-10 mil barrels; lower from Jan: sources

22 January 2019

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Indonesia

Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina is expected to import around 9 million-10 million barrels of gasoline in February 2019, down from the estimated 10 million-11 million barrels in January, market sources said.

Although higher from February 2018, Pertamina’s lower import volumes in February, compared with January, will likely exert downward pressure on the Asian gasoline market. Despite a slight rebound at the start of the year, the market has remained weak due to high inventories in Singapore and Fujairah in January.

Gasoline stocks in the US in particular, had reached a two-year high of 255.57 million barrels in the week ending January 11, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

Stocks of light distillate in Singapore also hit a record high of 16.1 million barrels in the week ending January 2, while in the Middle East, Fujairah’s commercial stockpiles of light distillate as of January 14 came in at 10.318 million barrels, the third highest level recorded since S&P Global Platts began publishing Fujairah stock data in 2017.

Notably, some participants had already anticipated import volumes from the region’s largest buyer of gasoline to taper in February.

“Even though Indonesia’s demand in February will likely be lower, it is normal as February is generally a shorter trading month. It has been made even shorter this year with the celebration of the Lunar New Year,” one Singapore-based market observer said.

Indonesia imported 6.8 million barrels of gasoline in February 2018, around one-third lower than the 10.5 million barrels the company had imported in January 2018, according to data from Statistics Indonesia.

Market watchers also noted that Pertamina’s appetite in the spot market for February had shifted towards gasoline of lower octane grades, although they were unable to provide a breakdown of volumes by octane grades for February.

“If Pertamina is to issue another spot tender for the second half of February, it will likely be for 88 RON gasoline. Their requirement for higher RON grades such as 92 RON and 98 RON gasoline seem to have already been filled by their term tenders,” another source added.

In that regard, Pertamina issued two tenders on the spot market for 88 RON gasoline for loading over late-January and February, based on open tenders seen by Platts.

In one, Pertamina sought a total of 480,000 barrels of 88 RON gasoline in three cargoes of various sizes for loading over early-February. The tender was heard to have been awarded at a discount of around $1.50/b to the Mean of Platts Singapore 92 RON gasoline assessments on an FOB basis.

In the other tender, the oil and gas company sought a total of 200,000 barrels of 88 RON gasoline in two parcels of 100,000 barrels each for loading from Singapore/Malaysia or delivery to Indonesia over late-January to early-February. The tender closed on January 2, with validity until January 4. Results of the tender could not be confirmed.

Pertamina has not been seen on the spot market seeking gasoline of higher octane grades for February.

Electricity/Power Grid

New bill aims to address lack of EV infrastructure in PHL

22 January 2019

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Philippines

While most countries have improved their electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure exponentially over the past few years, the same cannot be said locally. Given that there have been improvements, the EV infrastructure here is still limited. For example, there are only a handful of charging stations located all over the country and are a good distance from each other. However, that could all soon change and local EV infrastructure could soon get a much needed boost with the filing of a new Senate Bill.

Senator Sherwin ‘Win’ Gatchalian recently filed Senate Bill No. 2137 directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop an ‘electric vehicle roadmap’ which would promote the use of electric vehicles and ‘further accelerate the electrification of transportation’. Should the bill be passed, Gatchalian says that it will help address the challenges of owning an electric vehicle in the country.

In the bill, it states that both public and private buildings and establishments will be required to have dedicated parking slots with charging stations for EVs. It further states that no permits will be issued for the construction or renovation of a establishment unless the owner shows proof that there are dedicated parking spaces for EVs along with charging stations.

Fuel stations will also be mandated to have a designated space for charging stations. According to the bill, fuel stations will not be issued a certificate of compliance by the DOE unless the owner shows proof that there is space for the construction of charging stations within the establishment.

“Notwithstanding the contribution of electric vehicles to energy security, sustainability and savings, barriers still remain for the development of the industry, specifically the high upfront costs of owning an electric vehicle and the limited charging infrastructure. Thus, it is crucial that a policy and regulatory framework is in place to usher in the uptake of electric vehicles in the country,” said Gatchalian.

Aside from infrastructure improvement, Gatchalian also called for the granting of incentives for owners of electric vehicles. These incentives include exemption from number coding, prioritization in registration and renewal, and exemption from payment of motor vehicle user’s charge. The bill also aims to grant street parking fee exemption for EV users. Manufacturers and importers of EVs will also benefit from fiscal incentives.

The bill also encourages public utility vehicle operators who will utilize a fully electrified fleet with prioritization of franchise issuance, renewal and other services.

The merits of this rather ambitious bill which aims for cleaner air with use of zero emission electric vehicles is truly admirable, the additional burden it aims to put on business owners will be a tough hurdle to tackle. Electricity cost in the Philippines is also the 2nd highest in Asia, and the highest in the ASEAN region. Although it would be worth noting that our neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand do get government subsidies to lower power costs.

While the bill considers fluctuating fuel costs as the main concern, it does not weigh in the significant price difference between a conventional combustion engine powered vehicle and hybrids or electric vehicles. While some premium models have indeed become more competitively priced, they are not financially accessible for the larger part of the market.

It also fails to consider the end-of-life of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles where batteries have to go through possible recycling for use in power generation or proper disposal of unusable batteries. It has to include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which will recommend the proper procedure for this.

Nonetheless, it is a step towards a progressive path, and we hope they iron out the kinks properly and craft a sustainable electric vehicle program that will greatly benefit all

Electricity/Power Grid

LOOK: PNR to run first Philippine-made train

22 January 2019

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Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Soon, a Filipino-made train will hit the railway tracks, a first in Philippine transportation history.

Developed by the Metals Industry Research and Development Center of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the train will soon be operational under the Philippine National Railways (PNR).

What makes it different? In a phone interview with Engineer Pablo Acuin, the project leader, he said that the train is a hybrid electric version, powered by batteries and a generator.

It is the first electric-powered train to run along the PNR tracks, as the current trains are powered by diesel. This makes it more environment-friendly, Acuin said.

Acuin added that the hybrid electric train no longer requires catenary or overhead lines, because the batteries and the generator already provide power for the train to run.

“Unlike the [Metro Rail Transit Line 3] or the [Light Rail Transit], we don’t have catenary lines because we have a generator inside. Running the train will not require additional infrastructure,” Acuin told Rappler in a mix of English and Filipino.

For electricity-powered trains, catenary lines are the overhead electric lines similar to those of the MRT or the LRT. It transmits electricity to power the motors of the train.

Similar to the PNR’s current trains, the hybrid train has a total length of 60 meters that would fit the platforms.

It has 5 coaches that are 12 meters in length, with a maximum capacity of 880 passengers. One coach will be carrying the generator, while the other 4 will carry the passengers.

Meanwhile, the PNR’s current trains have 3 coaches, each measuring 20 meters in length.

Cheaper

Acuin said that unlike the other railway systems in Metro Manila, maintaining the hybrid electric train is cheaper as it is Filipino-made.

The MRT3 railway system, for example, was originally built by Japan’s Sumitomo, and thus would require the technical expertise of the builder. Sumitomo came back as the maintenance provider, after the governments of the Philippines and Japan signed an P18-billion loan deal for the MRT3 rehabilitation in late 2018.

The hybrid electric train, Acuin said, only cost P120 million when it was first bidded out in 2013. Developing and manufacturing the train took place from 2014 to 2015 with the help of 10 Filipino engineers who were part of the core team.

“It is locally made by Filipino engineers, so the capability to maintain and operate it is already with us. If we make more of these, it would produce more jobs,” Acuin added.

The DOST is only waiting for the results of the reliability, availability, maintainability, and safety (RAMS) test before the hybrid electric train is allowed to travel the PNR’s Tutuban to Alabang route.

They are targeting the start of its operations anytime between March and June, depending on the results of the test.

Meanwhile, PNR General Manager Jun Magno told Rappler that they will be running the train once it is turned over to them by the DOST.

“It will be [operational] once it’s turned over to us.… It should be anytime soon. We just have to resolve the transfer, etc,” said Magno.

Promoting Filipino ingenuity

Acuin said they are hoping there will be more Filipino-made trains in the future.

The government is creating a Philippine Railway Institute, which will serve as a training center for staff of all public railways. Acuin hopes the DOST and the Department of Transportation can work together to pass on the technology there.

“We are promoting our own technology because the benefits that the Philippines will reap is huge if we develop and produce more of these trains,” he said.

Currently, there are only 11 train sets servicing around 50,000 to 70,000 PNR passengers a day. In 2018, the PNR bought 7 new train sets from Indonesia, all set to be delivered by the end of the year.

The PNR is also expecting to receive 5 rehabilitated trains this year, which originated from South Korea in 2009.

The Duterte administration is also expanding the PNR system by linking the 38-kilometer PNR Clark 1 from Tutuban, Manila to Malolos, Bulacan; the 58-kilometer PNR Clark 2 from Malolos, Bulacan to Clark International Airport, Pampanga; and the 56-kilometer PNR Calamba running from Solis Street in Tondo, Manila to Calamba, Laguna. – Rappler.com

Energy Efficiency

House panel approves ‘Murang Kuryente Act’

22 January 2019

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Philippines

After an hour-long discussion, the House Committee on Energy unanimously passed on Tuesday a substitute bill, which seeks to allocate the net national government share from the Malampaya natural gas project to pay the stranded debts and the stranded contract costs of the National Power Corporation (Napocor), and other exploration projects to develop energy resources and lower electricity rates.

The Joint Session of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao commences in the Plenary of the Batasang Pambansa on December 13, 2017. (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)

(MANILA BULLETIN)

The House panel, chaired by Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco approved the proposed “Murang Kuryente Act”, principally authored by Velasco, 1-CARE partylist Rep. Carlos Roman Uybarreta, Magdalo partylist Rep. Gary Alejano and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte.

It was COOP NATCCO partylist Rep. Anthony Bravo who moved for the approval of the bill.

Velasco, who chaired the technical working group (TWG) in scrutinizing and consolidating the three measures, said they agreed the use of P123 billion to pay the maturing debt obligations of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) and maintain the Malampaya Fund as a “special fund” to finance energy development and exploitation programs and projects of the government.

Citing their second TWG meeting on November 20, 2018, he said the Department of Energy (DOE) reported that the total balance of the Malampaya fund was P221 billion as of September 2018, up from P214 billion in June 2018.

“The amount available to pay the stranded debts and stranded contract costs of the Napocor is P123 billion,” Velasco noted.

He disclosed that during the TWG meeting, PSALM reported that the Malampaya fund was not enough to cover its existing debt obligations. “For the year 2019, PSALM has to pay P90 billion, interest not included, and the cost of borrowings added to that amount,” he said.

The Napocor, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Meralco and Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. interposed no objection to the use of the Malampaya Fund to reduce the cost of electricity rates, according to Velasco.

Special trust fund

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) expressed reservations on the proposal to make the Malampaya Fund a special trust fund. They maintained that the fund should be classified as a general fund.

The Velasco panel adopted the suggestion made by the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company -Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) that the Malampaya Fund be used for exploration projects.

“Whatever the result of that exploration will eventually redound to the benefit of the entire country. Yun naman ang matagal nating sinasabi na we should prepare for the eventual drying up of Malampaya. We should have started exploration,” Uybarreta said.

Under the unnumbered substitute bill, a portion from all the proceeds of the net national government share from the Malampaya Fund amounting to P123 billion shall be allocated solely for the payment of the NPC stranded contract costs and stranded debts transferred to and assumed by PSALM.

Under the measure, the P123 billion of the P204 billion Malampaya Fund may be used as payment of PSALM to NPC’s stranded debts and stranded contract costs, provided that the PSALM shall utilize P123 billion up to 2023 to settle its obligations.

The net national government share from the Malampaya Fund shall be remitted to a special trust fund to be administered by the PSALM, the bill provided.
The measure tasks the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to provide a timely release of the amounts allocated and appropriated to the PSALM in accordance with its debt and independent power producer payment schedule.

When the stranded debts, stranded contract costs and anticipated shortfalls in the course of the payment of such facilities are fully paid before the termination of the corporate life of the PSALM, the net national government share shall accrue back to the special fund to finance energy resource exploration and development programs pursuant to Presidential Decree 910, according to the bill.

The PSALM is mandated to submit to the Department of Energy (DOE) annual actual and projected cash flow of the stranded debts, stranded contract costs and anticipated shortfalls as well as its schedule of debt payment and independent power producer contract payment to the DOE, ERC, DOF, DBM, and the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC).

The submission of the annual projected cash flow shall be on or before June 30 of the preceding year and that of the annual actual cash flow shall be on or before June 30 of the succeeding year.

The bill mandates the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Finance (DOF), DBM and the PSALM to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the proper disposition of the funds and the effective implementation of the proposed Act.

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READ: Companies going green: Sustainability strategies that also make good business sense

READ: Commentary: The private sector must be new champions of sustainable development

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