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  • Others

BMW To Start Manufacturing Electric Car Batteries In Thailand In 2019

6 December 2018

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  • Thailand

BMW will assemble battery packs in Thailand, too.

In the case of BMW Group, the primary battery pack production site is in Dingolfing, Germany, but step-by-step the company is launching also other smaller sites around the world to localize battery assembly.

There is already a BMW battery facility in Spartanburg, U.S. as well as in Shenyang, China (operated by the BMW-Brilliance Automotive joint venture).

Now, the fourth place scheduled for battery production turns out to be Thailand, where also Daimler wants to produce battery packs.

BMW intends to produce battery packs in Thailand in collaboration with the Dräxlmaier Group. The packs will be used in iPerformance plug-in hybrids like the 5-series, 7-series and X5 produced in Rayong.

The workforce has been in training at the Dingolfing plant since September and production should begin in 2019.

Mr. Christian Wiedmann, President, BMW Group Thailand said:

“We are very excited to be taking another big step forward in our electro-mobility strategy. The start of local battery production will enable us to better respond to growing demands for electrified vehicles across ASEAN markets. Furthermore, this new capability adds to the strengths of Plant Rayong, which has already been serving as an automotive production hub in the region. With four BMW plug-in hybrid models already rolling out from our assembly lines at Plant Rayong, local battery production will certainly complement our production of plug in-hybrids,”.

  • Energy Economy

Germany set to launch first loan to Cambodia

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Cambodia

The German Embassy on Thursday announced its first loan to the Kingdom of Cambodia of €30 million ($34.06 million), which will be used to upgrade its rural energy grid.

The embassy said in a statement after a meeting with Electricite du Cambodge (EDC – Electricity Authority of Cambodia) that by investing in rural energy efficiency, the EDC can reduce power losses significantly, improve access in remote areas and increase the reliability of power supply.

The improved access to power grids in rural Cambodia also contributes to Cambodia’s ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the statement said.

“Reliable and climate-friendly energy access is the engine for the Kingdom’s future development and will boost investment in the country,” said German Ambassador Ingo Karsten.

“It increases energy efficiency, access in remote areas and allows for lower tariffs. Stronger grids are the basis for future investments in solar energy, which has a huge potential in Cambodia.”

The new project marks the first step in development cooperation between Cambodia and Germany and reflects the Kingdom’s advance towards becoming a lower-middle income country.

This loan is funded by the German Ministry for International Development’s Climate Technology Initiative and will be implemented by Germany’s KfW’s development bank.

EDC managing director Keo Rattanak said after the meeting that the loan will benefit people in rural Cambodia.

“This loan will cover a lot of people, especially the poor who need an affordable electricity service,” Rattanak said.

He said it will help boost clean energy, which is good for climate change, local households’ finances, education and health.

“We expect this project to help reduce the use of diesel generators, which pollute more.”

Centre for Policy Studies director Chan Sophal welcomed Germany’s loan, noting that developing electricity in rural areas is vital to developing the economy of rural families and enterprises as well as promoting the growth of the country’s economy.

“This is really great news. Electricity has been scarce, erratic and expensive. It is one of the necessities for the advancement of households and modernisation of rural enterprises.

However, the loan’s signing date is not set and the loan duration and interest will first be negotiated between KfW and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, according to a German Embassy spokesperson.

  • Renewables

Renewable energy faces policy and mechanism barriers

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Vietnam
VEPG Technical Working Groups sharing their recommendations to impvove Vietnam’s renewable energy policy

This was announced by Bruno Angelet, head of the delegation of the European Union to Vietnam at the second high-level meeting of Vietnam Energy Partnership Group (VEPG) with the theme “Joining hands for a sustainable energy future in Vietnam.”

Notably, the meeting discussed the policy recommendations of the VEPG Technical Working Groups, which aim to promote the development of Vietnam’s energy sector in five priority areas including renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy sector reform, energy access, and energy data and statistics. Each Technical Working Group presented and discussed a number of specific policy recommendations, drawn from studies and dialogues among members of the groups during the past year.

Notably, the first technical working group reviewed the current incentive regime for wind and solar energy. At the prime minister’s Decision No.39/2018/QD-TTg on mechanism for provision of assistance in development of wind power projects in Vietnam, the FiT for wind power will be raised to 8.5 cent (onshore) and 9.8 cent (offshore) per kW/h, respectively, for projects implemented before November 1, 2021.

The VEPG was established in June 2017 through an agreement between the government of Vietnam and development partners with the purpose of strengthening mutual partnerships and better aligning and co-ordinating external support to the energy sector in Vietnam.

VEPG’s members mostly agreed that the main reason behind the lack of investment is the fact that the standard power purchase agreement (PPA) does not correspond to international standards by putting major financial risks on RE projects, pointing out several issues that should be revised.

In addition, the existing net metering scheme (Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg and the related circular) has not yet initiated relevant investment mainly due to a lack of implementation and unsolved taxation questions.

Furthermore, the technical working group mentioned challenges to energy efficiency improvements, saying that there is no national energy efficiency programme in place since 2016. It also noted the lack of mechanisms, tools, and policies to enforce compliance with the legal requirements as well as to encourage investment in energy efficiency technology and innovation. The monitoring and inspection of energy efficiency compliance lacks co-ordination among governmental agencies and local departments.

The third technical working group focused on energy sector reform, the main content of which is the development of the Vietnam Wholesale Electricity Market (VWEM). Especially, for the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism to be rolled out, it may be necessary to start with existing laws and gradually improve the legal framework based on outcomes from the pilot mechanism.

Besides, the Technical Working Groups mentioned challenges related to administrative procedures governing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements and pointed out shortcomings that need to be addressed with concrete action, including the fragmented legal framework and lack of an integrated strategy for energy statistics as well as the lack of a comprehensive data quality assurance framework.

“The EU confirms to support Vietnam to transfer to using clean energy with a suitable selling price. During the past year, the VEPG issued proposals and recommendations in order to support the government to build a complete framework of mechanisms to develop the renewable energy sector. We hope that these proposals will be added to the government’s strategic policy and then be implemented,” said Bruno Angelet.

Vietnam received nearly 40 policy recommendations which are the results of the work of VEPG’s five Technical Working Groups. These policy recommendations are valuable and truly relevant to the policy development of the Vietnamese energy sector.

The VEPG was established in June 2017 through an agreement between the Vietnamese government and development partners with the purpose of strengthening mutual partnerships and better aligning and co-ordinating external support to the energy sector in Vietnam.

  • Renewables

Chinese adding 257MW shine in Vietnam

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Vietnam
JA Solar supplying solar modules to Shanxi Electric PV project in Phu Yen

JA Solar Holdings is to supply solar modules to Shanxi Electric Power Engineering totalling 257MW for a photovoltaic project in Phu Yen, Vietnam.

Shanxi Electric Power Engineering president Jiping Chen said: “JA Solar takes a leading position in the R&D and production of high-performance PV products.

“We are confident that JA’s high-efficiency modules and well-established global sales network will enable project success.

“In addition, we look forward to the opportunity to further strengthen our partnership with JA Solar and cooperate on future projects.”

JA Solar president and chief executive Baofang Jin said: “The cooperation between the two companies demonstrates SEPEC’s recognition of JA’s products and services.

“We look forward to cooperating on more projects in the future, further developing the solar market within the ‘belt and road’ countries, and delivering benefits to more people from solar energy development.”

  • Coal , 
  • Electricity/Power Grid

Vietnam to face power shortage by 2020

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Vietnam

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Vietnam could face power shortages in the early 2020s, heard a workshop in Hanoi on November 29.

Tran Viet Anh, head of Strategic Division under the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) told the workshop entitled ‘Developing Sustainable Energy and Protecting Environment in Vietnam’ that the shortages are likely to happen from 2020 to 2025.

To meet surging demand for power, the country needs 60,000MW of electricity by 2020; 96,500MW of electricity by 2025 and 129,500MW of electricity by 2030. This means total installed capacity would have to increase by 6,000-7,000MW of electricity per year.

Anh said the total installed capacity of the electricity sector is currently 47,750MW. Thus, he said, raising the capacity to 129,500MW in just 12 years was a big challenge given the slow progress of many power plants.

He said only seven coal-fired power plants with total capacity of 7,860MW were currently under construction. More than 18,000 of 26,000MW of coal thermal power projects are expected to be operational in the next five years, however, construction has not yet started.

Regarding oil and gas, Vu Truong Son, Director General of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), said Vietnam would need 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2020. Therefore, besides exploiting existing oilfields, it was necessary to consider building infrastructure for importing LNG.

A representative from the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) said it was able to supply only between 42-45 million tonnes of coal per year while the domestic coal demand rose suddenly over the past eight years (from 20 million tonnes in 2009 to 40 million tonnes in 2017). Most of them were for electricity production.

To meet the need for more coal, the corporation has sought to imports.

The amount of coal imported climbed rapidly to more than 14.67 million tonnes last year from three million tonnes in 2014.

It was estimated the amount of coal needed for production of electricity would reach 60 million tonnes by 2020 and 86 million tonnes by 2025. So far this year, the amount of coal providing for thermal plants was 26.9 million tonnes. That figure would rise to 31.9 million in 2019.

The corporation has been suffering difficulties in coal exploitation due to outdated technology and a shortage of funds for infrastructure development, the representative said.

The increase in tax for coal including environment fee and fee for licensing also posed a challenge, he said.

Speaking at the workshop, Tran Viet Ngai, Chairman of the Vietnam Energy Association, said it was necessary to review electricity producing projects to ensure energy security. Obstacles to those projects should be resolved to speed up their progress.

He proposed that a detail strategy be set forth to deal with coal shortage, ensuring that thermal power plants have enough material for normal operation.

Ngai also suggested that special treatment such as loan guarantee be offered to investors so that power projects could be soon built and operated. These projects could not bring high profit so it was difficult to attract foreign investment, he said. — VNS/VNA

  • Bioenergy

Indonesia allocates 6.19 mln KL unblended biodiesel for 2019

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Indonesia

JAKARTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) –

* Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry has allocated 6.19 million kilolitre (KL) of unblended biodiesel for B20 programme in 2019, Renewable Energy Director General Rida Mulyana said on Friday.

* The ministry has allocated the biodiesel to 18 fuel distribution companies to be blended and sold to users, the bulk of which allocated to state energy company PT Pertamina.

* Nineteen biodiesel producers will supply the biodiesel, including PT Musim Mas, PT SMART Tbk and units of Wilmar International Ltd.

* The allocation next year is much higher than 2018 allocation due to mandatory B20 program launched in September.

* The government allocated 1.95 million KL of biodiesel in May-December period, and 1.41 million KL in November 2017-April 2018 period. (Reporting by Wilda Asmarini Writing by Fransiska Nangoy. Editing by Jane Merriman).

  • Renewables

Indonesia introduces net metering

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Indonesia

With a new decree, the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has enabled the owners of residential, commercial and industrial rooftop PV systems to sell excess power to the grid. The government hopes the new provisions will result in around 1 GW of deployed PV capacity over the next three years. Doubts, however, have been raised about the attractiveness of the scheme.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has issued Ministerial Decree n. 49/2018 which ensures residential, commercial and industrial PV installations are entitled to sell excess power to the grid under a net metering scheme.

The government says the new provisions will drive the installation of around 1 GW of PV systems in the country over the next three years, and savings of up to 30% on energy bills for PV system owners. The government said the new rules are intended to favor PV installation with a high self-consumption rate, and only a minimum amount of the electricity generated will be sold to utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

However the director of Indonesia’s Institute for Essential Services Reform, Fabby Tumiwa, told the Kontan newspaper the new rules are not attractive enough to increase volumes, as the tariff at which excess power will be sold is too low, and amounts to an investment return of only 11 to 12 years. Mr. Tumiwa told the newspaper, savings of up to 30% would amount to an investment return of seven years or less.

Indonesia is also supporting large-scale PV, through a law issued in April 2017. A number of large solar projects have been announced over the past two years, in a country that had only 80 MW of installed capacity by the end of 2016, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The government of Indonesia – and the Asian Development Bank – are implementing a micro and mini-grid program for the island nation’s less electrified areas.

Indonesia wants to increase its share of renewable energies from around 14% currently, to 23% by 2025. That goal will require 14.9 GW of additional renewable energy capacity. The country has an installed power generation capacity of around 62 GW, of which only 8.5 GW comes from renewable energy sources.

 

  • Others

Construction on $4 billion Indonesia EV battery project begins Jan 2019: minister

6 December 2018

 – 

  • Indonesia

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Developers will begin building a lithium battery project in Morowali, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, on Jan. 11, Coordinating Maritime Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Friday.

The $4 billion project involves investors from South Korea, Japan and China, Pandjaitan told reporters, without naming the companies involved or providing further details on the project.

“Looking at its resources, Indonesia will become the main player in lithium batteries,” Pandjaitan told reporters, referring to forecasts for surging demand for batteries for electric vehicles.

Major nickel producers have already been eyeing Indonesia’s large nickel laterite ore reserves – prized for nickel pig iron used in stainless steel production – for use in battery materials.

But nickel is also a vital ingredient for the lithium-ion batteries used to power electric vehicles, where demand is set to accelerate over coming years.

Indonesia, with reserves of both nickel and cobalt used in lithium battery cathodes, is well positioned to meet that demand amid advancements in electric vehicle technology, the minister said.

“We will control the world market,” Pandjaitain added. “We are lucky – we are starting in the third generation of lithium batteries, so it’s cheaper.”

Analysts, however, have cast doubts on how quickly such plans can be carried out, as some of the required nickel smelter technology is complicated.

The Morowali site where the proposed battery plant would be located currently has 20 nickel ore processing facilities that feed 1.5 million tonnes of nickel pig iron a year into a 3-million tonne-per-year stainless steel mill.

Chinese battery firm GEM Co Ltd said in late September that it was teaming up with four companies to invest a total of $700 million in a project to produce battery-grade nickel chemicals in Morowali.

That project would be undertaken alongside units of top Chinese lithium battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) and Chinese stainless steel-maker Tsingshan Holding Group.

Tsingshan, already Indonesia’s biggest nickel producer, is also leading a group seeking investors for a nickel sulphate plant in a $10 billion industrial park linked to its Weda Bay concession on the island of Halmahera, the group said in August.

The latest surprise entrant in the rush to grab a slice of the sector has been Pertamina, Indonesia’s state energy company, which may team up with state miner Aneka Tambang to make batteries.

“We hope at least by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021 we can produce batteries commercially ourselves,” Herutama Trikoranto, Pertamina’s senior vice president for research and technology said on Thursday.

The company has already completed a pilot project that needed to be scaled up, he said.

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