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  • Energy Economy

AboitizPower secures $300-million loan for AC Energy thermal platform

11 April 2019

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  • Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. has inked a $300-million facility agreement with four foreign banks to partially finance its acquisition in AC Energy Inc.’s thermal platform.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AboitizPower said it signed a facility agreement with DBS Bank Ltd., Mizuho Bank Ltd., MUFG Bank Ltd., and Standard Chartered Bank to obtain a $300 million acquisition loan.

“The proceeds of the loan will be used to partially finance the acquisition by AboitizPower of a 49 percent voting stake and 60 percent economic stake in AA Thermal Inc.,” the power firm said.

Last February, AboitizPower secured the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) for the acquisition of the 49 percent voting stake and 60 percent economic stake in AA Thermal from AC Energy’s  affiliate Arlington Mariveles Netherlands Holding B.V.

The assets included in the deal are GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co., the owner and operator of an operating 2×316-megawatt (MW) coal plant in Mariveles, Bataan, and in GNPowerDinginin Ltd. Co., the developer and owner of a 2×668 MW supercritical coal plant project in Dinginin, Bataan currently under construction.

AboitizPower, through its Subsidiary TPI, already holds direct partnership interests. The acquisition—at $579.2 million—effectively raises its stake in the two GNPower plants.

The Aboitiz power firm will increase its beneficial ownership in the Mariveles Project from 66.1 percent to 78.325 percent, and in the Dinginin Project from 40 percent to 70 percent.

Meanwhile, AC Energy will have approximately 28 percent in both GNPower plants, broken down into eight percent in the Mariveles plant and roughly 20 percent in the Dinginin plant.

Earlier, AboitizPower COO Emmanuel Rubio said the company’s investment in AA Thermal would help it get closer to its 4,000-MW net attributable target capacity by 2020.

“AboitizPower is committed to addressing the country’s energy trilemma of adequate supply, cost of power, and protection of the environment. This is part of our strategy to reach our 4,000-MW net attributable capacity by 2020 through our balanced mix strategy,” he said.

  • Electricity/Power Grid

DOE exec dispels fears of looming power crisis

11 April 2019

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  • Philippines

MANILA — The Philippines is not expected to undergo a power crisis anytime soon because the potential causes of problems, as well as their remedies, have already been identified.

This was stressed by Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella in a briefing Thursday.

“Whatever crisis the Philippines might be hit with, we are prepared, we are resilient,” he said, noting that they have identified strategies for possible problems on distribution, demand and supply.

The Luzon grid has been experiencing a drop in power reserves for several days now but Fuentebella maintained that the power outlook, based on data, is still adequate.

He attributed the thinning supply of electricity to unplanned outages and de-rated capacity of some power plants.

He said only 827 megawatt (MW) was expected to be removed from the system as some power plants have been scheduled to undergo maintenance, thus, these cannot generate normal capacity.

As it happened, however, the system actually lost 1,452MW after four power plants went into unplanned outages.

He identified these as the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) Unit 1, which is not operating since March 20 due to boiler tube leak and is scheduled to go online by April 13; the Pagbilao Unit 3 that experienced boiler sagging and went offline last April 2 but is scheduled to resume operations on April 16; South Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC) Unit 2, which was out since April 7 because of vibration in primary air fan and is scheduled to go back online on April 21; and the Sual Unit 1, which experienced piping leak at its boiling circulating pump last April 9 and will resume operations on April 17.

On the other hand, Calaca 2 registered a de-rated capacity of only 200 MW instead of its installed capacity of 300MW.

Fuentebella said show cause orders have been issued to the officials of these power plants to give them due process but stressed that once proven that they erred, necessary penalties will be slapped.

He said DOE personnel have also been sent out to validate the reports from these power plants.

Meanwhile, Fuentebella, said there are untapped capacities that are expected to boost supply this month.

He said the 70MW Millennium Energy Inc. (MEI) and 161MW Therma Mobile, Inc. (TMO) are finalizing their power supply agreements (PSAs) with the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO). These power plants are expected to start operations by April 26.

He said the 150MW Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) is also finalizing documents and is now preparing for commercial operations while the Masinloc Power Partners, Co. Ltd. (MPPCL) is expected to start operations by June this year. (PNA)

  • Others

Dow and Petronas collaborate on emissions-reduction project at Petronas’ ethylene oxide plant

11 April 2019

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  • Malaysia

Dow (Midland, Mich.; www.dow.com) signed an agreement with Petronas Chemicals Glycols, a subsidiary of the petrochemical arm of Petronas and Malaysia’s leading chemicals producer, Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad (www.petronaschemicals.com.my), to collaborate on a carbon project at Petronas world-scale ethylene oxide (“EO”) production facility in support of the Dow- International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Official Carbon Partnership. Together, Dow and Petronas Chemicals Glycols are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the operations of Petronas Chemicals Glycols EO plant. EO is one of the world’s most important chemical raw materials, essential in consumer product manufacturing, including textiles, detergents, insulation and more.

Petronas Chemicals Glycols reduced its operating costs at its Kertih, Terengganu, Malaysia, EO plant when it deployed Dow’s proprietary EO catalyst. The more effective catalyst technology increased selectivity to EO and process reliability while reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption. As part of the carbon project, Dow and Petronas Chemicals Glycols will be working together to quantify and obtain third-party verification of the climate benefits following the methodology of the Dow Climate Solutions Framework. This will help enable a positive climate legacy and balance the operational carbon footprint of the IOC.

“The goal of the Dow-IOC partnership is to advance the adoption of better technologies and processes and demonstrate resource efficiency and more sustainable practices across different industries and markets,” said Dr. Nicoletta Piccolrovazzi, global technology & sustainability director, Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions. “This first collaboration is a significant milestone for our program within the industrial market and we celebrate PETRONAS Chemicals Glycols as a trailblazer. We hope this inspires other plants to do the same and work with Dow to advance the economic and environmental efficiency of their production processes. We look forward to seeing the many benefits that will stem from this partnership.”

Elaborating on this agreement, Petronas Chemicals Group Berhad’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Sazali Hamzah said, “Our participation in this carbon project is in line with our commitment towards improvement in operational efficiency while reducing environmental footprint. We have seen enhanced results from the change in catalyst, not only in operational excellence due to the higher catalyst selectivity resulting in higher production, but also in cost savings from reduced energy consumption. We are determined to continuously minimise our impact to the environment by adopting best practices for energy consumption through leveraging on leading edge technology.”

Petronas Chemicals Glycols’ facility in Malaysia is Dow’s first customer to use the METEORTM EO-RETRO 2000 Catalyst (MR2000 Catalyst). The catalyst is part of Dow’s high-selectivity family of EO catalysts which improves the performance of the EO production process while reducing energy consumption. The MR2000 Catalyst, which is being successfully used in both Dow licensed and non-Dow licensed EO process plants, has a higher selectivity to EO converting more of the raw material ethylene into the desired EO product and therefore reducing the formation of the undesirable byproduct CO2. In a typical world-scale EO plant, it is estimated that the MR2000 Catalyst enables emission reductions comparable to taking more than 10,000 cars off the road annually.

Faye J. Miller, product director for licensing & catalyst, Dow Industrial Solutions, said, “Energy intensive industrial processes that create direct carbon emissions offer excellent opportunities for transformative technologies to make an impact on a plant’s sustainability profile. Dow’s METEORTM RETRO family of EO catalysts enables plants using any EO process technology to realize operating cost reductions while delivering an increase in plant performance, showing that advantaged catalysts can help plants to improve both business and environmental performance.”

This carbon project agreement between Dow and PETRONAS Chemicals Glycols is among the first of many similar joint efforts that will result from the Collaborative Blueprint for unlocking carbon reductions announced last year by Dow. The Blueprint underpins the Dow-IOC Official Carbon Partnership, initiated in 2017 to encourage organizations outside the Olympic movement to collaborate on projects that lead to verified climate benefits while catalyzing change across value chains.

  • Others

New national car brand a boost for automotive industry — Mahathir

11 April 2019

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  • Malaysia

SERDANG (April 11): Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today Malaysia’s desire to create a new national car brand is significant and will intensify the development of the automotive industry in the country.

“This project is expected to create new technology clusters and new expert manpower especially in learning the latest automotive engineering technology,” he said at the launch of the Malaysia Autoshow 2019, here.

Dr Mahathir said the planning for the development of the automotive industry is based on the approach of familiarising Malaysia with sophisticated future technologies, thereby making Malaysia a systematic and sustainable industrial nation.

“The approach is based on high technology, which focuses on strategic investment in the development of local supply chains and innovative new business opportunities,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the automotive sector can also generate spinoffs for the entire Malaysian economy for it to be aligned with global developments.

He said there were 27 vehicle brand manufacturers covering national and international brands in Malaysia.

In addition, he said there were more than 700 vendors, 53,000 distributors, sellers and service centers, as well as over 700,000 individuals working in the automotive and mobility sectors.

Citing statistics from the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), Dr Mahathir said 598,714 vehicle units were sold last year.

“This is a 3.8 percent increase from the previous year, of which, 62 percent are energy-efficient vehicles.

“In terms of exports, Malaysia has exported RM2 billion worth of vehicles, and the export of local automotive components has reached RM12 billion,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said the use of robotic applications and the Internet of Things (IoT) in the automotive sector would also have a spillover effect, promoting economic and technological growth in other sectors such as agriculture, health and defense.

He said the launch of the National Policy on Industry 4.0 in October last year, was part of the Government’s efforts to keep Malaysia’s industrial development in line with global standards.

“The policy outlines the industry’s transformation to become more intelligent and sustainable that will be driven by people, processes and technologies,” he said.

“The policy, he added, had provided a framework in Malaysia’s digital transformation for the manufacturing and services sectors, and hence, industrial players needed to take the opportunity to take their businesses higher up the value chain.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was also conducting a review of the National Automotive Policy.

He said the new policy to be introduced would cover the entire automotive ecosystem, supported by new technology elements such as Next Generation Vehicle (NXGV), Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) and the Industrial Revolution 4.0 including Artificial Intelligence (AI), he said.

“The National Automotive Policy which will be introduced as a holistic policy that covers the development of a comprehensive automotive industry such as the construction of supply chains, human capital, aftermarket, and others,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia Autoshow 2018 which is organised by Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) is expected to attract nearly 350,000 visitors from within and outside Malaysia.

He said a total of 32 OEM car manufacturers and 170 exhibitors from seven countries have taken part in Malaysia’s largest vehicle exhibition.

At the event, Dr Mahathir also launched the new limited edition Perodua Bezza, as well as the 2019 versions of Proton Iriz and Persona.

  • Electricity/Power Grid

Cambodia electricity shortage cripples small businesses

11 April 2019

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  • Cambodia

Large parts of Cambodia have had to endure hours of daily power outages after the country’s main provider said it was unable to meet demand due to dry weather. Small businesses are suffering the most.

It’s hot and humid in KT Beauty, a salon owned by Morn Sokunthea. The red-and-black chairs are empty. The fans don’t work and neither do the lights. Thirty eight-year-old Sokunthea hasn’t seen a single customer today, and she doesn’t expect that to change soon.

Read more: EU to hit Cambodia with trade sanctions over rights abuses

“Without electricity I can’t even blow-dry hair after washing it,” she says. “Doing make-up doesn’t work either because with this heat, and without a fan, my customers will get sweaty and the make-up will slide off.”

Sokunthea is one of the many small business owners in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, who have experienced the impact of an ongoing electricity crisis. For nearly a month, Cambodia’s electricity supplier, Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC), has stopped supplying power to large parts of the country, saying it was unable to meet the high demand.

Read more: How Cambodia is turning its youth into entrepreneurs

For many people in the capital, this means that they sometimes have to go without power for up to five hours every day.

The government has blamed El Nino, a weather phenomenon that brings hot and dry weather to parts of Southeast Asia. As a result, Cambodia’s hydroelectric power stations have not been able to generate enough electricity. The blackouts may continue until the end of May, when the start of the rainy season is expected.

Growing demand, diminishing supply

Sokunthea at her salon in a Phnom Penh suburb

Sokunthea at her salon in a Phnom Penh suburb

Sitting in her beauty salon, Sokunthea tries to stay patient, but the blackouts are frustrating her.

“Sometimes they cut the electricity in the afternoon, other times in the morning,” she tells DW. “Most of my customers come in the afternoon. But if there’s a blackout, there won’t be any customers and I won’t make any money.”

Cambodia’s electricity consumption has increased significantly over the past decades. In 2005, the per capita consumption of electricity was 66 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which went up to 400 kWh in 2015. In 2016, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecast that by 2020, annual power usage would grow by 9.4%.

Read more: The Cambodian tightrope between growth and conservation

At the same time, more and more Cambodians are being connected to the electricity grid. Last year, almost 90% of the country’s population had access to at least four hours of electricity per day. And every month, new apartment buildings, stores and hotels are being built, and all of them need electricity.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government has said it will buy more electricity from Thailand and Laos. Officials also made a deal with Turkey to bring in a 200-megawatt power ship, but the agreement was cancelled after it became clear that the vessel would take too long to reach Cambodia, the Khmer Times reported.

Widespread economic impact 

The economic impact of regular power cuts could be huge. Small business owners like Sokunthea are seeing their incomes decrease. Large businesses, such as the hundreds of garment factories in and around Phnom Penh, may have the means to buy expensive generators, but using them will increase their expenses.

San Chey, the Cambodia director of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability, an organization that aims to improve local governance, told DW that the blackouts will seriously affect small businesses. “Customers will leave a cafe, or not even go there, when the electricity is cut,” said Chey.

The electricity shortage has also renewed the debate on hydroelectric power, currently the source of more than 42% of Cambodia’s electricity. The government wants to build more hydroelectric dams, but these are highly controversial. Environmental experts say the dams damage Cambodia’s ecosystem.

Read more: Laos disaster reveals the ugly side of hydropower in Southeast Asia

Chey believes hydropower isn’t the solution, but if no action is taken, the electricity shortages will continue.

“Solar power would be much more helpful. We want the government to invest in this rather than creating a new hydropower dam that may affect the environment and lead to more deforestation.”

Moung San hand-washing her clothes at her laundry service

Moung San washing clothes by hand at her laundry service

Meanwhile, Sokunthea’s neighbor, Moung San, is washing clothes by hand. She owns a laundry shop with four washing machines, but without power, the machines sit still.

“I’m so exhausted,” she says with a sigh. “It takes me a lot more time to get my work done nowadays. Normally I finish around in the evening. Now, I’m often not finished before midnight.”

Like Moung, Sokunthea is frustrated. She has been running her beauty salon for the last 10 years, and in all that time, the blackouts have never been this bad. But she admits that she doesn’t have many options.

“If there’s no power, the only thing that I can do is wait until it comes back.”

  • Electricity/Power Grid , 
  • Energy Efficiency

DOE banks on efficient energy use to address power demand upticks

10 April 2019

 – 

  • Philippines

MANILA — The Department of Energy (DOE) called for conservation and efficient use of electricity so the thinning power supply can keep up with the high demand.

This call was issued after the Luzon grid was placed on red alert for several hours on Wednesday morning after some power plants went on unplanned outages and reduced capacity.

In a statement issued noontime, the Energy Department said power interruptions may occur between 1:01 p.m. to 4 p.m. “if the actual demand is not able to save around 130.4 MW (megawatt) through energy efficiency and conservation measures.”

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), in an earlier report, said the red alert notice was on several instances, specifically on 10:01-11 a.m. and 1:01- 4 p.m.

The less urgent yellow alert was also raised during the 9:01-10 a.m., 11:01 a.m. to 1 p.m., 4:01-5 p.m. and 6:01-9 p.m. intervals.

Citing reports from NGCP and the power plants, DOE said supply was reduced by total of 1,352 MW after four power plants went on forced outages.

These are the Unit 1 of the 1,200-MW Sual Power Station in Sual, Pangasinan, which is not operational from April 9-14, 2019 due to piping leak on the boiler circulating pump; the Unit 2 of the South Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC), operations of which was stopped last April 7 due to vibration in primary air fan. The SLPGC U2 is expected to go back online on April 21, 2019.

Also, operations of the Unit 3 of the Pagbilao Power Plant in Quezon Province were put on hold last April 2 and this will last until April 16 due to boiler slagging while Unit 1 of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) is not operating since March 20 and will last until April 13 due to boiler tube leak.

Meanwhile, Unit 1 of the Malaya Power Plant in Rizal is on de-rated situation from its original capacity of 300 MW to just 150MW because of isolation of high-pressure heater. Unit 2 of the Calaca Power Plant in Batangas was also de-rated from 300MW to 200MW because only half of its condenser is operating.

DOE said it is in close coordination with industry players to monitor demand upticks as well as to stay ahead of operational issues that may occur in power plants.

“The DOE, through its Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) reiterates the importance of its ‘Save, Save, Save’ energy efficiency campaign, not only to incur more savings, but also to ensure uninterrupted electricity services this summer season,” it added. (PNA)

  • Renewables

Talesun Thailand Expands Dual Glass Bifacial Module Production at Rayong Plant

10 April 2019

 – 

  • Thailand

With 5 years’ continuous development of solar technology in Thailand, Talesun, one of the top ten manufacturers of the world in both PV cell and module, now is the largest local manufacturer of solar cell and PV module in Thailand. In 2018, Talesun ranked in Tier 1 supplier by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), with total capacity of more than 5GW per year in factories of Thailand and China.

Talesun’s factory in Rayong has produced and exported more than 2800MW solar cell products to Europe and America, and supplied more than 120MW solar cell products with high quality and standard to Thailand and ASEAN markets, received good feedbacks and appreciations from those users here.

In 2019, Talesun in Rayong is starting to build new production lines of multiple products including dual glass and bifacial module, half-cut cell module, mono solar cells with PERC technology, multi solar cells with PERC technology, high efficiency mono PV module with half-cell technology, high efficiency multi module with half-cut cell technology. New equipment is installed already for producing new products and all the new products should certify international standards including the US standards, Europe standard and Thailand standard (TIS). New production line targets to capacity more than 100MW per year and keeps the capacity increasing to serve the growing markets. Talesun is confident in high efficiency PV products and the future of the market.

The production and sales of news products will start in Q2 of 2019. Presently lots of orders from oversea customers have been confirmed, and some others are in process of confirming.

Meanwhile, Talesun targets to provide dual glass / bifacial module to Thailand market, especially those markets require installing the dual glass bifacial module in floating system. A new kind of project by Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) will aim this kind of floating system and be target of Talesun. The company’s new technology conforms to objective of the project according to the policies of the Thai government and EGAT. Talesun will keep on attending bid of this kind of project in this May and, the company expressed the good will to involve into Thailand’s development of renewable energy projects.

Besides, Talesun takes positive participation to improve people’s life quality of Thailand in remote regions where lacking of electricity power. Solar power systems were provided to communities through the Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, to realize better life to more Thailand people. The company committed to continuously provide Thailand society with more and more renewable energy.

  • Bioenergy

Most trucks tipped to be B20-compliant

10 April 2019

 – 

  • Thailand

Energy policymakers announced yesterday that biodiesel B20 will be compatible with nearly all general trucks on the road in Thailand.

Nantika Thangsuphanich, director-general of the Energy Business Department, said the majority of trucks on the road will be compatible with B20.

Owners of Isuzu trucks should contact the Isuzu consultation centre to check and change lube oil and car filters when switching to B20.

A guarantee letter from truck assemblers was sent to the department on Tuesday, paving the way for B20 to become available at 156 fuelling stations nationwide.

Toyota announced that it’s ready to comply with B20 fuel and that the company supports the government’s initiative to tackle air pollution.

The Hilux and Fortuner models are compatible with the biofuel, Toyota said, and the price of the Hilux Revo will decline as a result of adopting the cheaper fuel.

The department will further talk with ME makers to cap wax and monoglyceride content at 0.4% to avoid exceeding 200 parts per million, in line with the concerns of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

B20 is expected to be popular with truckers because it costs five baht less per litre than B7. B20 is a blend of 80% diesel and 20% ME content from crude palm oil. The current formulation is 7% crude palm oil (CPO) for biodiesel B7.

The next step for policymakers is to mandate B10 instead of B7.

The move aims to absorb the huge surplus of CPO, which currently is used in amounts of 1 million tonnes a year for cooking oil and 1.4 million tonnes a year in B7 fuel.

The Thailand Oil Palm Board estimates that this year’s crop will rise to 3 million tonnes from last year’s 2.5 million and 2017’s 2 million.

Ms Nantika said B20 is expected to absorb 2 million tonnes of CPO, effectively reducing the surplus to zero.

Before B20 is made mandatory, policymakers will discuss the plan with diesel engine makers, car assemblers, ME makers and oil traders to decide on the date to implement the rule.

Meanwhile, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand has teamed up with the CPO depot of the local oil stockyard in Surat Thani to make faster deliveries of CPO to Egat.

CPO was designed to be the fuel for gas-fired power plants in Egat’s Bang Pakong power plant, but delivery may take 2-3 months; therefore the oil stock will be used in palm oil crushers.

Egat purchased 160,000 tonnes of CPO from the power plant, but only 60,000 tonnes has been delivered so far.

Last year, the Thai Biodiesel Producer Association called on energy policymakers to accelerate the transition to B10.

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