News Clipping

Browse the latest AEDS news in this page
Showing 9537 to 9544 of 9804
  • Renewables
16 November 2018

 – 

  • Singapore

Rising energy consumption and cost pressures continue to hinder the region’s sustainability efforts, the report said.

Singapore is setting an example across ASEAN as it takes the lead in embracing green energy following its moves to transform itself into a trading hub for LNGs, according to Capgemini’s 2018 World Energy Markets Observatory report.

Singapore is already being developed as a gas hub as the country has made important moves towards liberalising its gas market, providing the basis for more competitive price setting and greater transparency, Capgemini said.

Capgemini also highlighted how Singapore has been at the forefront to decrease energy consumption by moving to renewable sources of energy, allowing households and small businesses to choose their electricity provider, and opening up a vibrant market with competitive tariffs for residential electricity through the Open Electricity Market launched in April 2018 at Jurong district.

“A total of 108,000 residential accounts and 9,500 business accounts were able to exercise this choice of electricity provider,” Capgemini revealed. “The Open Electricity Market will be extended to the rest of Singapore from Q4 2018, allowing the remaining 1.3m accounts (mainly households) to choose their electricity provider and tariff plan.

The report noted how in October 2017, Singapore installed its first long-span wind turbine at Semakau Landfill which produces enough energy to power 45 four-room HDB units a year. The country also launched a blockchain marketplace platform that promotes renewable energy certificates (REC) trade.

Whilst ASEAN recently announced meeting its energy efficiency goals ahead of its 2020 target, energy demand in SEA has increased by more than 150% over the last 25 years.

“As Southeast Asia marches towards a digital future, there will be added pressures on utilities providers to modernise their systems,” Capgemini South East Asia & Hong Kong managing director Gaurav Modi said.

According to the report, whilst renewables have become a major focus for Southeast Asia, rising energy consumption and cost pressures hinder the region’s sustainability efforts.

“In 2017, SEA’s six major countries (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam) accounted for 3.7% of total emissions, contributing to the rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” Capgemini noted. “According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the modest renewable energy investment figures for the populous Southeast Asian economies with fast-growing electricity demand resulted mainly from policy uncertainty.”

By country, the report demonstrated how Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam have each invested $965m (US$700m) into renewable energy, followed by Singapore and Taiwan with $827m (US$600m) each. Trailing behind was Philippines with a $413m ($300m) renewable energy investment.

Renewable energy sources are expected to account for the largest share of installed capacity at 40% in 2040, but coal is still likely to take the most prominent role in the generation mix, the report said.

Meanwhile, the natural gas demand in Southeast Asia is expected to increase at a rate of 2% per year over the period of 2016 to 2040, and the report highlighted how countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines are looking into LNG imports for the first time in 2019.

“Southeast Asia has the potential to leapfrog fossil fuel-based energy generation methods, but only if the renewable energy sector can attract investors,” Capgemini said.

Capgemini’s World Energy Markets Observatory report monitors the main indicators of the electricity and gas markets in Europe, North America, Australia and Southeast Asia and reports on the the developments and transformations within these sectors.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
  • Renewables
16 November 2018

 – 

  • Philippines

Global automotive parts company Continental Temic Electronics Philippines signed an agreement with geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp. for the supply of clean and reliable power for its facilities in Calamba, Laguna. Under the agreement, EDC will supply Continental Temic with 2.7 megawatts of geothermal power from EDC’s BacMan geothermal project starting Dec. 26, 2018 over a two-year period. “We chose EDC for its 100-percent renewable energy and for its sustainability programs, which are aligned with our company values,” said Continental Temic general manager Glenn Everett.

Continental Temic develops and manufactures components, modules and systems for the automotive industry. Its corporate strategy is focused on climate protection and energy efficiency.  “We firmly believe that Filipinos should have more clean energy options. We are encouraged that clean and sustainable energy is gaining traction in the Philippines,” EDC president Richard Tantoco said earlier.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
16 November 2018

 – 

  • Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry is targeting to grow renewable energy’s (RE) proportion of generation mix from the current two per cent to 20% by 2025-2030.

This bodes well with the electricity supply industry (ESI), now grappling with the escalating global coal price. Eventually, this new target might allow for more stable tariffs in the future, analysts said.

Fifty-three per cent of Malaysia’s electricity comes from coal, 42% from natural gas and the remainder from hydro and RE.

Coal price is currently hovering above US$100 (RM418) per tonne, up by more than 100% after reaching a 10 year-low in 2016 when it fell below US$50 (RM209) per tonne.

The price increase since last July has thrown a spanner in the ESI’s generation costs as coal is 100% imported.

Over 60% of the coal is purchased from Indonesia, and the rest from Australia, South Africa and Russia.

“Coal demand in the next two years is expected to remain stable at around current levels,” said Hans van Cleef, Senior Energy Economist at ABN Amro.

“Although headlines in the newspapers may suggest that coal demand will peak soon, in reality, demand will remain solid in the coming years,” he added.

To prepare for such scenario, the industry has taken steps to achieve greater efficiency in power generation through coal power plants.

All new coal-fired power plants now use ultra-supercritical (USC) technology that burns less coal for more power, while complying with emission standards.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) 1,000MW Manjung 4 power plant, which commenced operations in 2015, is Southeast Asia’s first USC coal fired power plant capable of producing enough electricity for two million homes with a three per cent reduction in coal consumption.

Going forward, the government has put in place a few mechanisms to boost RE’s contribution in power generation, including Net Energy Metering, Large Scale Solar (LSS), Green Sukuk Financing Scheme and Feed-in Tariff mechanisms.

As the national utility corporation, TNB is committed to support the government’s RE agenda and aspires to be the Asean leader in RE as demand for green energy grows.

The company has embarked on the country’s largest LSS park with the 50MW project in Kuala Langat, Selangor, as well a few joint ventures in biomass and biogas power stations.

TNB’s most recent venture is through its RE subsidiary, where the company plans to offer financing self-generation packages for solar photovoltaic panels for residential customers by year-end.

These packages have already been offered to commercial and industrials customers.

The government’s immediate near-term focus is to explore large-scale renewable projects that are viable under similar levelised tariffs as fossil fuel-based plants.

This is important to keep prices low in ensuring affordability of electricity tariff.

Through the strong drive by MESTECC and with great support by TNB and the industry, the country is well underway in fulfilling its pledge to the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030. — Bernama

  • Electricity/Power Grid
  • Energy Efficiency
15 November 2018

 – 

  • Singapore

SINGAPORE: As electricity retailers in the Open Electricity Market (OEM) dangle discounted tariffs at cost-savvy consumers, experts are divided over whether this could lead to higher consumption.

Some said this could lead to a “rebound effect”, which refers to consumers using more electricity because it is cheaper. Others said the OEM would make users more aware of their consumption habits, leading to a decrease in consumption.

On Nov 1, the OEM was expanded to households with postal codes beginning with 58 to 78, such as those in Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok and Yishun. This means they can switch to a different retailer that offers a cheaper electricity plan.

After the market was first opened on Apr 1 to households in Jurong, the Energy Market Authority said that roughly a third of consumers there have chosen to switch retailers, enjoying savings of about 20 per cent.

With the market opening to all households in Singapore by May next year, energy experts have warned of a potential rise in electricity consumption.

Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar, executive director of Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Energy Research Institute, acknowledged the “possibility of a rebound effect”.

“The risk is that with cheaper electricity, people may tend to use more,” said Ms Melissa Low, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Energy Studies Institute.

For example, she said studies have found that those who use energy-efficient appliances actually end up consuming more electricity. A 2011 report by American think-tank Breakthrough Institute estimated that 10 to 30 per cent of energy savings from efficient cars and homes are lost.

However, Ms Low said it’s hard to tell for sure if the rebound effect will happen in Singapore, especially as retailers might tweak their prices as the OEM expands and consumption habits vary across estates.

“Studies need to be done on the Jurong residents who switched to get a better sense,” she added.

MORE AWARENESS ON USAGE

The National Environment Agency said in May that households are consuming 17 per cent more electricity than a decade ago. Last year, households used about 7,295 GWh of electricity, equivalent to each of them spending an average of about S$1,000 a year on electricity bills.

When asked how the Government might ensure electricity usage does not increase with lower prices, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said it’s also about helping households be more aware of their consumption patterns.

“The Open Electricity Market is just the first part of our restructuring of the energy markets,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week on Oct 30. “The other thing that we are doing is progressively implementing the smart meters.”

When switching retailers, consumers can choose to install an advanced meter that measures electricity consumption at half-hour intervals, as opposed to current cumulative meters which are manually read once every two months.

The new meters are expected to give more accurate readings and help households better manage electricity consumption.

“Once we have the combination of the advanced meters and the Open Electricity Market, it will allow consumers to have more choices to be better able to match their demand and supply and save money,” Mr Chan added.

Mr Gilles Pascual, ASEAN power and utilities transaction leader at Ernst and Young, said the open market will make consumers more aware of electricity prices, leading to a “slight decrease” in consumption.

“Once people are empowered, they know they can influence their bill,” he added. “With a few easy adjustments to their consumption behavior, they can further reduce their bill.”

Mr Sharad Somani, KPMG Singapore’s Asia-Pacific head for power and utilities, said he does not foresee “significant changes in consumption in the near term”.

“Currently, a lot of electricity is used to power essential products like household appliances and consumption from these items is therefore unlikely to change,” he explained.

Mr Somani said consumers will also become more informed on how much electricity they use as retailers offer choices like peak and off-peak plans that are more energy-efficient.

“Retailers may look to offer packages that tap into new technologies such as smart meters and the Internet of Things to offer consumers plans that reduce their electricity bill,” he added.

NTU’s Prof Mhaisalkar said he hopes such measures by retailers “nudge the consumers in making the right choices and contributing overall towards energy conservation and saving”.

RETAILERS CHIP IN

For Senoko Energy, one of 13 alternative retailers on the market, “the idea is not to say here’s a lower price but use more, but here’s a lower price but I want you to be more sustainable”.

“Retailers are doing a very good job at educating customers on energy efficiency,” said its senior vice president of SME and consumer sales Stefano Boscaglia. “I know throughout social media we do a lot of work to say here’s some energy-saving tips.”

Mr Boscaglia said he has not seen Jurong households that have recently switched to Senoko’s plans use more electricity.

“It’s probably too early tell because Jurong is a small portion of the market and the data we’re getting is still very young,” he said. “That will play out over time as the market opens up to the various zones.”

Nevertheless, Mr Boscaglia said he does not expect consumption to increase as consumers have shown to be “quite savvy”. “I think customers want that anyway because they’re looking at being more energy-efficient in how they go about their consumption,” he added.

NUS’ Ms Low said households might still choose to maintain their consumption despite the lower prices. “To some people, the money that they save can be used to buy groceries,” she added

  • Bioenergy
15 November 2018

 – 

  • Indonesia
  • Malaysia
Malaysia’s Primary Industries Ministry secretary general Malaysia’s Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution and Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Musdhalifah Machmud announced both countries sidestepping EU’s palm oil trade curb.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia are not participating in the EU’s Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) Workshop related to biofuels in Brussels, Belgium.

In a statement on Thursday, the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) explained that it was because of the likelihood of the EU using the ILUC’s land use criteria to justify phasing out or restricting palm oil in the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive II (REDII) mandate.

“As oil palm producing countries, Malaysian and Indonesia will address various challenges emerging from the EU’s REDII,” CPOPC said, adding that both countries were concerned that the proposed ILUC concept would likely discriminate against palm oil in the EU market.

“Both Indonesian and Malaysian governments have agreed not to participate in the EU’s ILUC workshop,” it added.

The CPOPC is an intergovernmental grouping set up by the world’s two largest palm oil producers and exporters, Indonesia and Malaysia.

CPOPC announced the need to consolidate and increase biodiesel mandatory programmes in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as to encourage the use of palm biodiesel in consumer countries such as China.

On the same note, the CPOPC also announced Colombia, Latin America’s largest palm oil producer and the world’s fourth, as its new member.

Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok said Colombia’s reputation would help strengthen the council and provide a strategic partnership in promoting the interests of palm oil producing countries.

“The formal involvement of more palm oil producers in CPOPC is crucial in strengthening Malaysia and Indonesia’s efforts to counter EU’s negative campaign against palm oil,” she told a press conference after attending the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the CPOPC here on Thursday.

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution and Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Musdhalifah Machmud were also present at the meeting.

Darmin said Indonesia and Malaysia expressed dissapointment over the significant anti-palm oil campaign triggered through various non-governmental organisations and even regularly supported by legislative processes in some importing countries that discriminated palm oil.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
15 November 2018

 – 

  • Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Malaysia leapt nine places to 15th spot from 24th previously among 190 economies worldwide in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2019 Report” last week, a resounding testimony of the ongoing reforms in the country.

Malaysia’s reforms in the past year covering six areas, including securing electricity, resulted in the dramatic jump for the overall business score.

In the area of getting electricity, the report said Malaysia was now ranked fourth globally, with the cost for businesses to obtain electricity connection in the country being only 26% of income per capita versus an average of 625% in East Asia and the Pacific.

That achievement spoke volumes of Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) ongoing transformation efforts, as it strives to enhance its services to customers and the nation as encapsulated by its “Better. Brighter ” slogan.

The slogan, in line with the byword that “customers always come first”, has seen TNB taking an evolutionary step towards adopting a value-centric approach to provide superior service as it keeps pace with the rapid innovative changes in the energy industry.

Under a strategic plan currently underway until 2025 aimed at constantly keeping customers satisfied, TNB will continuously innovate and tap on technology to shape its future.

The strategic plan aims to enhance TNB’s business strategy and practices towards having sustainable development across the value chain — from generation to transmission and distribution (grid), as well as customer service.

“As the industry landscape shifts, we must adapt a value-centric approach to meeting the needs of our customers, including those beyond electricity consumption such as in energy-savings solutions,” said TNB President/Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Seri Ir. Azman Mohd in his statement to shareholders for its integrated annual report ended Dec 31, 2017.

The national power utility has so far embraced technology in multiple forms to provide exceptional care to customers and ensure they get the best and most convenient service possible.

For instance, in terms of payment channels, TNB has extended its services beyond counters (at its own Kedai Tenaga outlets, Pos Malaysia and convenience stores such as 7-Eleven) by having facilities like e-pay, direct debit, Internet banking, payment kiosks and JomPAY.

In addition, TNB now has a portal known as myTNB self-service portal and myTNB app to provide greater transparency and accessibility.

The self-service portal and smartphone app also allow TNB’s 8.8 million customers in Peninsular Malaysia the convenience of checking or paying monthly bills, applying for electricity supply or closing an account – all at their fingertips.

Essentially, all the services that customers normally undertake at Kedai Tenaga can be effected through the portal and app.

To further enhance its superior quality service, TNB is also upgrading its grid network, which currently spans approximately 22,000 km across the peninsula.

TNB will embark on a “grid of the future” project where its grid network will eventually be transformed into one of the smartest, most automated and digitally-enabled grids in the world.

The National Grid upgrade includes a new “super highway” that will help TNB meet current and future electricity needs, especially in high load areas such as Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. The project will allow TNB to tap power from upcoming power plants in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia into the National Grid.

Concurrently, TNB is installing smart meters as part of its overall strategy to build an advanced metering infrastructure covering 340,000 residential customers in Melaka, with plans for an additional 1.2 million customers in the Klang Valley before expanding it further throughout the peninsula.

“Eventually, the transformation of our grid will bring about a new customer experience and offerings in which innovations are embedded into our grid,” said Azman.

As TNB accelerates its drive towards an enhanced value-centric approach, the national power utility will also offer improved customer experience by embarking on clean power generation and packaging smart home technology, energy savings and energy efficiency solutions.

To maintain its passion for continued customer satisfaction, TNB has also taken steps to upgrade its contact centres and enhance workforce capabilities in digital and data science to keep up with increasingly complex needs of its customers.

Interestingly, the government has requested TNB to consider offering its own fibre optic network to telecommunication service providers (telcos), to promote competition and choice for the voice and data service providers.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo had said that TNB had a ready fibre infrastructure which can be utilised by telcos, and will result in a faster and cheaper fiberisation deployment throughout the country.

TNB has initiated a pilot project in Jasin to assess the technical, safety and commercial viability of using TNB’s electrical infrastructure for this initiative.

TNB chairman Tan Sri Leo Moggie had said that the telecommunications system has always been an integral part of the utility industry as TNB’s telecommunication network uses fibre optics technology as part of the electricity grid operation’s design and requirements to ensure high reliability of electricity supply nationwide.

All said, the various initiatives being undertaken by TNB for the benefit of customers reflects its steadfast vision that there is always space for improvement no matter how long you have been in the business. — Bernama

  • Oil & Gas
  • Renewables
15 November 2018

 – 

  • Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: There may be no chance for Malaysian oil & gas (O&G) firms to rest on their laurels given the anticipated demand preference policy activism towards green energy and renewables, which will eventually result in lower fossil fuel consumption.

“There is a lot of debate about how to fuel the future moving forward,” said Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) senior fellow Professor Renato Lima de Oliveira.

“However, renewables have shown impressive gains in competitiveness in recent years, and in some cases, the cheapest sources for electricity generation.

“Concurrently, innovations are happening worldwide to facilitate the energy evolution. As it is, there may be some complacency in Malaysia’s energy industry,” he said.

Using patents — an imperfect but widely used metric for innovation output — De Oliveira pointed out that Malaysia is behind countries like Singapore, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil in cumulative patent applications for renewables between 2000 and 2015.

Similarly, De Oliveira also pointed out that Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has few upstream patents compared with other national oil companies in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Norway, among others.

“We were doing fine with our level of efficiency … Petronas, for example, is a national oil company that is highly efficient and highly credible. Innovations came later — so perhaps this [innovation] agenda should be emphasised more and faster,” he told a forum in conjunction with the release of the research paper titled Powering the future: Malaysia’s energy policy challenges by IDEAS.

To incentivise innovations, De Oliveira pointed to Brazil, where up to 1% of gross value of oil production from highly-productive fields has to be spent on local research and development investments, with compulsory tie-ups with local companies.

“The domestic O&G sector could play a much stronger role in promoting innovations, given its magnitude in the share of the economy and the technical challenges that it faces,” he added.

De Oliveira also stressed the critical need for O&G firms to diversify as the energy evolution gains traction.

He said the supply of O&G could become “abundant” given the expected growing demand for green energy.

“There is no peak oil in sight, but perhaps there will be peak consumption — where there is more O&G available but the consumers may not want to consume them in light of better (more environmental-friendly) alternatives such as renewables,” said De Oliveira.

He noted there is additional supply from unconventional O&G resources globally in countries such as the US, Canada and Brazil.

In 2017, the unconventional tight oil and shale gas production in the US added 12.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (MMBOE/d), according to data from US Energy Information Administration.

On the converse, the combination of policy activism, such as to reduce carbon footprint, and consumer preferences — such as towards use of electric vehicles — are forces that energy firms based on fossil fuel “will have to reckon with”, De Oliveira said.

“A shift in policy and consumer preference could add to O&G companies’ cost of doing business,” he added.

The global supply in renewable energy has grew significantly to 1,286.65 terawatt hour in 2016 from 32,294 gigawatt hour in 2000. But as context, the renewable energy generated worldwide in 2016 is equal to only 2.1 MMBoe/d, or about 2.2% of global oil consumption.

  • Oil & Gas
15 November 2018

 – 

  • Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR 09 NOVEMBER 2018. Sapura Energy President and Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin (left) with Deputy CEO and executive board member of OMV AG, Johann Pleininger. [NSTP/SUPIAN AHMAD]
KUALA LUMPUR: Sapura Energy Bhd is upbeat about returning to the black in the financial year ending January 31, 2020 fuelled by increasing orderbook, reduction in annual interest debt and higher oil and gas (O&G) production.

Its president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin said the company could secure more contracts in the Middle East, India, South and Central America as well as Africa in the next few weeks.

Sapura Energy’s orderbook currently stands at RM16 billion that will give earnings visibility for the next three years.

“We are in a period of growth with right strategies to build our orderbook. We also need working capital to execute huge orderbook,” Shahril told reporters after the signing ceremony between Sapura Energy and OMV Aktiengesellschaft (OMV AG) here today.

Shahril said it was vital for an O&G company to have a proven track record (experience and expertise), while generating earnings and enhancing its capability to mitigate risk that is prevalent in the industry.

Sapura Energy is expected to close a joint-venture (JV) deal with the Austrian integrated O&G company OMV AG by January 31 next year. The latter is buying a 50 per cent stake in Sapura Energy’s subsidiary, Sapura Upstream Sdn Bhd for US$975 million.

The initial proceeds include US$540 million for 50 per cent shares subscription in Sapura Upstream from OMV AG and US$350 million for the inter-company debt repayment.

These are immediate proceeds, expected to be raised when the deal is close on January 31 next year.

Additionally, the parties agreed to receive up to US$85 million based on occurrences mainly linked to the resource volume in Block 30 (exploration asset) in Mexico.

Of the total proceeds, Shahril said RM720 million will be used for Sapura Energy’s debt repayment and RM160 million for its future working capital.

He said the JV would also partially contribute to the company’s profitability.

Once the deal is completed, Sapura OMV Upstream will be established as the JV company that will be held 50:50 between Sapura Energy and OMV AG.

“We believe this partnership will create sustainable growth for the business, realising synergy from both sides to achieve our vision of creating the largest regional independent O&G company,” he said.

With this JV, Shahril said Sapura Energy was expected to substantially reduce its debt to around 0.6 times from the current 1.6 times from RM17 billion to RM10 billion, after including proceeds of the RM4 billion rights issue and US$720 million.

“We can have a cost-saving of over RM300 million in interest debt annually,” he said.

OMV board member upstream and deputy chairman Johann Pleininger said the acquisition would add attractive reserve volumes to the company’s portfolio and significant near-term increase in production.

“Asia Pacific is an attractive growing market. Malaysia will represent OMV’s platform for further regional growth,” he added.

Pleininger said OMV AG would capitalise on the growing market in the region, citing that O&G demand was expected to increase by 20 per cent until 2030 in Malaysia.

“Sapura Energy is our partner of choice, compared to other independent O&G companies in the region.

“We found that Sapura Energy has the best visibility of cash flow and quality of asset,” he said.

The partnership would also allow OMV AG to support its upstream strategy towards establishing Australiasia as a new core region.

The JV managerial control will be given to Sapura Energy for the chairman and chief executive officer positions, while chief financial officer will be under OMV.

Shahril said Sapura Energy’s O&G production is likely to be tripled (30,000 per barrel) in the next three years from the current of 10,000 barrel of oil equivalent.

The JV also allows Sapura Energy to develop its human capital and technological capability in O&G sector.

User Dashboard

Back To ACE