News Clipping Archive - Page 1222 of 1320

Renewables

5 February 2019

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Cambodia

Along with most Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia’s electricity consumption over the past decade has skyrocketed. In a report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), electricity consumption in Cambodia has been growing rapidly, averaging 20 percent growth per annum since 2010. This rate continues to accelerate as average incomes in the nation rise on the whole.

Despite the growing consumption of electricity, Cambodia is one of the few countries in the region that has low access to electricity. In fact, Cambodia has one of the lowest electrification rates at just 60 percent nationwide. Only 62 percent of villages and 53 percent of households have access to grid quality electricity in the country.

The promise of hydropower

Enter hydropower. With the Mekong River flowing through the country, it is no coincidence that hydropower is Cambodia’s main source of energy accounting for more than 40 percent of total electricity generation. That figure could go higher in the near future as there is still plenty of untapped hydro potential, especially in the lower Mekong area.

Noticing this potential, Cambodia has encouraged the construction of dam projects along the Mekong in order to fulfil its target of achieving 100 percent electricity access by 2020.

Just recently, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen launched the country’s newest hydropower scheme. The 400-megawatt Lower Sesan 2 is said to have cost US$780 million to build and was backed by Chinese funding.

This project is not the only one backed by Chinese money in Cambodia. As part of China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a number of Chinese companies have received approval from the Cambodian government to build hydropower dams across the Mekong. In 2016, Cambodia saw the construction of six hydropower dams. All these projects were built and financed entirely by Chinese companies.
Source: Various sources

Potential risks

Cambodia’s reliance on hydropower for its energy needs could have a detrimental effect on the country.

Last year, hydropower projects in the region came under heavy scrutiny following a dam collapse in Lao which killed more than 30 people. Many observers are beginning to question the safety standards of dams being constructed in the region.

There are also various other reasons behind the Lao dam collapse. Some blame the shoddy design or construction, while there are some who pin it on climate change and the resulting heavy downpours. With the Cambodian government looking to construct many dams quickly, safety is a legitimate concern.

There is also a growing concern that the construction of these dams could have an adverse impact on the Mekong river. Construction of dams along the Mekong raises immediate risks for fisheries, farming, and food security in Cambodia as multiple upstream hydropower dams disrupt flood cycles, nutrient flows, and sediment transport.

Due to such concerns, the aforementioned Lower Sesan 2 dam has raised the ire of various activists and environmentalists. Environmentalists warn that around 5,000 people, mostly from vulnerable indigenous groups could be displaced by the project. International Rivers, a non-profit, non-governmental, environmental and human rights organisation has said that the dam will have a “costly catastrophic impact on the Mekong River’s fisheries and biodiversity”.

The Cambodian government is aware of the potential problems associated with hydropower. According to Nao Thuok, a Secretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the government is currently operating on projections of a 16 to 30 percent drop in fish biomass. This loss in aquatic life would not just affect the natural life of the area, but also that of surrounding communities. The people who live around areas slated for these proposed hydropower projects could potentially lose their livelihoods and also have their homes affected.

In June 2018, a leaked environmental impact assessment report revealed that the proposed Chinese-backed Sambor Hydropower Dam could “literally kill” the Mekong River.

The Sambor Hydropower Dam was singled out in the report as the “worst possible place” to build a dam. The construction of the dam could kill off most aquatic life surrounding it – most notably the Irrawaddy dolphins.

Increasing access to electricity is a necessary move by the government but it cannot come at the expense of the environment. If the Cambodian government decides to go ahead with its hydropower projects, then proper planning must be put in place. Moves to mitigate the potential damage to the Mekong must also be carried out as well.

Renewables

PCC backs solar franchise but wants competition rules in place

5 February 2019

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Philippines

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said it supports attempts by a solar energy company to seek a legislative franchise to operate all over the country, but only after a regulatory framework is in place to guard against anti-competitive practices.

“In brief, the PCC is of the position that there is a need to establish a regulatory framework for the generation, transmission, distribution of electricity through distributable power technologies and minigrid systems that will ensure competitive neutrality and fair competition in the market,” it said in a position paper submitted to the Senate, which is hearing the bill on the franchise.

“PCC believes that such regulatory framework is a prerequisite to the grant of a franchise such as the one sought by Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. to avoid potential competition concerns,” it said in its paper.

In an interview, Commissioner Johannes Benjamin R. Bernabe said the PCC raised several points on the franchise application.

“First point, we are supportive of the disruptive innovation in technology that is being pushed by Solar Para Sa Bayan,” he said.

“Second point is, because we know that there are many legal issues and even Constitutional issues being raised, we want to make sure that his initiative will not be blocked by other stakeholders,” he added.

House Bill 8179 seeks to grant Solar Para Sa Bayan a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power technologies and minigrid systems throughout the Philippines to improve access to sustainable energy. It is for consideration of the Senate on public services and energy committees.

The bill has raised opposition from some sectors in part because the company’s owner, Leandro L. Leviste, is the son of a sitting legislator, Senator Loren B. Legarda.

If passed in its current form, the franchise grants Mr. Leviste authority to put up solar farms and distribute their power output in areas with current franchises held by electric cooperatives.

Electric cooperatives, solar energy system developers, and even big power distribution utilities had opposed the bill, citing among others, unfair competition.

“That’s why we are trying to push for a framework, a legal framework, which will ensure that it will not be questioned in court in the future, and that’s why we’re trying to help the franchise applicant to realize these issues and be able to have an open mind to addressing these issues in the franchise bill,” Mr. Bernabe said.

“For instance, with regard to a lack of sufficient definition and standards on what constitute unserved and underserved areas, that’s one, with regard to the need for clearly identifying what is the scope of activities that they will offer, and third, we want to see some certain competition disciplines embedded,” he added.

He said: “If it is going to be a franchise holder for an area where there is no other entity and then another entity wants to come in the future, that’s such second entity will have the ability to access whatever is generated from the output of Solar Para Sa Bayan.” — Victor V. Saulon

Electricity/Power Grid

EVNNPT to launch 33 power transmission projects

4 February 2019

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Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – The National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) said it plans to launch 33 power transmission projects and put into operation 47 projects, with a total capital of 19.5 trillion VND in 2019.

The 33 projects to be launched include three 500-kV power transmission project and 30 220-kV power transmission projects, while the 47 projects to be completed comprise 14 500-kV power projects, 30 220-kV power projects and three 110-kV power projects.

EVNNPT, a subsidiary of the state-owned Vietnam Electricity (EVN) group, transmitted 184.5 billion kWh of electricity in 2018, up 11.03 percent from the previous year.

It has set the target of 203.2 billion kWh of electricity transmitted in 2019, up 10.15 percent from 2018.–VNA

Energy Cooperation ,
Renewables

Business groups laud Renewable Energy Day declaration

4 February 2019

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Philippines

DUMAGUETE CITY — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI) on Monday lauded Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo’s move declaring every March 5, starting this year, as Renewable Energy Day.

Dumaguete-based PCCI regional governor for Central Visayas Edward Du described the executive order (E0) as “consistent with the business community’s advocacy on making Negros Island the renewable energy capital of the country”.

“More than ever, the EO is consistent with the business community’s advocacy on mitigating the impact of climate change and global warming on Negros Oriental’s agri-based economy,” said Du, former NOCCI president.

Meanwhile, Energy Development Corporation (EDC) also promised to continue its support in promoting renewable energy.

“We will continue to partner with him (Degamo) in promoting his advocacy, which is in line with ours,” EDC Community Partnerships, External Relations and Watershed Management Division head Norreen Bautista said.

Bautista said the EDC, aleader in geothermal energy, operates the Palinpinon I and II geothermal power plants in Valencia, Negros Oriental, producing more than 220MW of clean, renewable energy.

Degamo recently formalized the declaration of March 5 as RE Day through Executive Order No. 22-18, saying that this will “seal the provincial government’s efforts to protect the environment”.

In March last year, Degamo signed EO No. 9 banning the entry of coal-fired power plants in the province and declaring Negros Oriental as an environment-friendly and clean energy province.

“I think what’s even more important is that this new EO now puts Negros Oriental in the map as among the first areas to declare itself 100 percent RE and will hopefully be a model to other LGUs (local government units) as our way of supporting green energy and avert the effects of climate change,” Bautista said.

The first Renewable Energy Day on March 5 will be a culmination of a week-long celebration on spreading awareness on renewable energy and engaging the youth in pro-environment initiatives. (PNA)

Electricity/Power Grid

Gov’t urged to speed up electrification efforts in rural areas

3 February 2019

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Philippines

KATIPUNAN, Zamboanga del Norte – Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is calling for more efforts to electrify rural areas, noting that many households in different provinces around the country are still without electric power.

Administrator Edgardo Masongsong of the National Electrification Administration (NEA) must take a deep thought about his agency’s rural electrification efforts, he said during a visit here Saturday.

He lamented that their target has not been achieved and 2.7 million households are still without electricity in spite of the billions of funds already poured into NEA.

Gatchalian noted that from 2016 until last year, the government has allocated PHP5.45 billion for “sitio” electrification, PHP3.93 billion for the supply of electricity in missionary areas, and PHP73 billion has been remitted from the universal charge for missionary electrification collection as of December 2017.

But despite all the efforts, Gatchalian, who heads the Senate Committee on Energy, said that about 16 percent of the total number of households in the country is still not energized, and majority of these are from Mindanao while Luzon and Visayas share the remaining number.

NEA’s strategy towards total electrification include “grid extension” by the electric cooperatives, which is being carried out by NEA; second is by missionary electrification in off grid places, which is being implemented by the National Power Corporation. Third is through qualified third parties, like local government units.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian assured Mindanaoans that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) plan to link Mindanao grid to Visayas grid through submarine cable will not result in drastic increase in electricity rates in Mindanao, which has been enjoying lower electricity rates.

“The link just gives flexibility to the power supply in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids,” Gatchalian told the Philippine News Agency.

“Electricity rate has nothing to do with the proposed link. And it is important that we can easily transfer surplus electricity to where it is needed,” he said.

There is fear that three years from now, Visayas will suffer energy crisis, and NGCP is fast tracking the linking of Visayas and Mindanao grids to utilize Mindanao’s surplus electricity supply to Visayas. (PNA)

Renewables

Powering up SOLAR ENERGY ambitions | #AsiaNewsNetwork

3 February 2019

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Thailand

BCPG and Power Ledger will collaborate with Chiang Mai University to launch a private energy solar rooftop power plant in the second half of this year.

The project represents an advance in using digital technologies to lessen the university’s energy footprint, while pointing to the potential for profit-making during the transition to renewable energy in response to the Paris accord on climate change.

There is great potential for renewable energy generation in the residential, industrial and university sectors, while also advancing the nation’s digital future, says Bundit Sapianchai, BCPG president and chief executive officer. BCPG has been at work with Power Ledger since August 2018 to provide the private grid at the university.

BCPG and Power Ledger are partnering with Chiang Mai University to build a 12-megawatt private rooftop power plant and associated grid to feed university buildings. It will include blockchain technology, peer-to-peer energy trading, and energy as a service. The partners are also talking with PEA. The whole system will be completed in the next six to eight months.

“It is a private energy grid feeding over 100 buildings inside Chiang Mai University, and in the next stage it is expected to export energy to the commercial businesses around the university in Chiang Mai Town,” said Bundit.

In addition to residential and university projects, Bundit said the industrial sector also offers much potential for solar projects. The company is in discussions with potential partners, and though details cannot yet be disclosed, an announcement is likely in the second half of this year.

Power Ledger partnered with BCPG for two reasons, says Jemma Green, chairwoman and co-founder of Power Ledger, a technology company that uses blockchain and AI to enable the transition to low cost, low carbon and resilient distributed energy markets.

There was the opportunity to take on its first collaboration project and develop a partnership perspective as it worked on the T77 peer-to-peer energy trading project in Bangkok, which was co-developed by BCPG, Sansiri and Power Ledger.

“We are doing similar things in other markets – for example in the US. We have technology and we can partner with organisations to understand the local market from an energy perspective. This is the strategy to scale the commercialisation of our technologies,” said Green.

In addition to Thailand, BCPG is active in Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos as it provides coverage to those markets. The current project is not really focused on Thailand and offers a big opportunity to partner across the Asia market, she says.

The Power Ledger technology can aid in three related areas – energy trading, energy assets and the carbon market. In term of energy trading, it has signature products in two categories – trading across the grid and trading behind the meter. The T77 project involves trading across the grid while the project in Chiang Mai is behind-the-meter energy trading.

The concept of the virtual power plant concept is very exciting, says Green. Traditionally, solar-based energy trading takes place during the hours of sunshine, but by using battery storage a virtual power plant can trade 24 hours a day. And it can go beyond energy or electricity to also sell accessory services such as frequency or capacity.

Also, there is energy asset financing, or “asset germination”, a product the company will launch this year. It uses blockchain to fragmentise the energy asset and create liquidity around this asset. This would allow people to invest in commercial-scale energy assets. It is peer-to-peer energy asset trading.

“We are ‘tokening’ the asset that can be traded and exchanged. An asset does not need to be under the listed companies, it can be under unlisted companies,” said Green.

The token will be a security token, a financial product, she said. It is a utility token. It is tokenising the real assets.

The final stage of procuring assets for launching this product is implementing a commercial-scale solar system and the energy-connected battery.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), investments in renewable energy needs to be up-scaled to six times the current level if the world community is to reach its climate goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.

Need to speed up solar inroads

Thailand so is generating only 3,000 megawatts of solar energy, but it is growing at the relatively fast rate of 500 megawatts per year. The asset germination product aims to help speed up and make easier the required investment in solar.

Bundit said yearly 500 megawatt boost to roof-top energy production offers a significant opportunity across business areas included generation, the grid as a service and the data business.

“BCPG sees a lot of opportunities and a new business model in the new areas of the energy economy,” Bundit said. “Right now we offer peer-to-peer energy trading, but we will next look at the carbon market and asset germination, as well as demand response, energy as a service and so on. We are creating the future.”

Green said the final area in the carbon market is around issuing carbon credits, which would facilitate exchange-based trading in the carbon market.

It’s a big market, with significant opportunity for scale, she said, as Thailand and the world moves into transitioning to a low-cost and low-carbon economy.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Startup_and_IT/30363424

Electricity/Power Grid

7 regions, states to get electricity access in Myanmar

2 February 2019

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Myanmar

YANGON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) — A total of seven regions and states will soon get electricity access under the National Electrification Plan (NEP), the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Saturday.

As part of the NEP, the Electricity Supply Enterprise (ESE) under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy and 12 tender-winning companies signed agreements for the electrification project implementation in those regions and states.

The electrification project will cover the country’s Rakhine, Chin and Shan states, Sagaing, Magway and Bago regions and Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, providing electricity to a total of 193,013 households.

Meanwhile, the grid extension projects are being implemented by the ministry, with the help of the World Bank.

Construction work on the first phase of the NEP will start in March, aiming to provide electricity to 626,757 households in 5,080 villages located within 3.2 km of the national grid.

The project will complete in 2021.

The country expects to reach its target of 55 percent of electrification rate in 2021.

Electricity/Power Grid ,
Others

The future of Southeast Asian cars is electric

2 February 2019

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ASEAN

The first image that usually springs to mind when someone mentions any Southeast Asian capital is that of congested roads filled with honking cars and motorcycles. Congested roads have become synonymous with Southeast Asia, and that is not going to change anytime soon.

According to the latest data, vehicle sales in Southeast Asia is set to outpace all other regions in the world. In 2017, aggregate new car sales in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines rose five percent to nearly 3.4 million units. Aside from that, it is estimated that vehicle ownership across the region will grow by more than 40 percent by 2040.

The region has a particularly high car ownership rate compared to other parts of the world. It is not uncommon to have more than one car per household in countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. In Vietnam, motorcycles are the vehicle of choice. The Vietnam Investment Review highlighted last year that Hanoi has an average growth rate of 10 percent and it is projected that by 2025, Hanoi alone will have 11 million motorcycles on its streets.

As vehicle sales are expected to rise across the region, concerns over the environment have been raised. Since most vehicles in the region run on gasoline or diesel, they contribute significantly to the worsening air pollution in Southeast Asian cities. For example, increasing car ownership in Jakarta has worsened air quality there. Despite phasing out leaded gasoline 10 years ago, Jakarta’s air quality hasn’t improved by much. A study by the Faculty of Public Health University of Indonesia found that 58 percent of all illnesses among people living in the city were related to air pollution. With demand for automobiles increasing, this could get worse.

Electric vehicles (EVs) could however change all that. EVs, including hybrid electric cars can drastically reduce carbon emissions released into the environment. Compared to conventional cars that release unhealthy amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxides and nitrogen oxides into the environment, battery-electric cars effectively produce zero-emissions from their tailpipes.

Source: Various

In a study commissioned by Nissan and carried out by research firm Frost & Sullivan, it was revealed that a third of Southeast Asian consumers are open to buying an electric car. Titled “Future of Electric Vehicles in Southeast Asia”, the study found that consumers in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia as the most enthusiastic about the future of EVs.

Awareness over the environment and the rising middle class in the region has already boosted EV sales in some countries. In Malaysia, Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV) – which includes EVs – penetration surpassed its 2018 target, reaching 62 percent. For 2019, the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) has set an ambitious target of 70 percent penetration for EEVs in the country. Following these trends, it is also expected that Malaysia’s third national car – currently under development – will be an electric car.

In Vietnam, Vinfast, the country’s first national automotive manufacturer jumped onto the bandwagon last year with a line of electric scooters. The company is expected to also manufacture electric cars.

The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) set a target in 2014 to have one million electric vehicles on Philippine roads by 2020. The association is also working with the government to develop an Electric Vehicle Roadmap.

The Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has also collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to introduce electric tricycles (e-trikes) powered by lithium-ion battery technology. The initiative aims to reduce the transportation sector’s annual petroleum consumption by 2.8 percent and cut carbon dioxide emissions estimated at 259,008 tons annually by shifting to 100,000 e-trikes.

Singapore has long flirted with the idea of electric buses. In October last year, the island state’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) awarded tenders to three firms for 60 electric buses, in a move to make its public transportation more environmentally friendly. It may not be too long until all its buses go completely electric.

With such rapid development and policy focus on electric mobility, EVs could well be the future of transportation in the region. As investments and demand in this area grow, coupled with comprehensive government policies in place, maybe we will see traffic jams lined with EVs instead of gas guzzling cars.

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