News Clipping Archive - Page 1239 of 1320

Renewables

DoubleDragon’s CityMall signs agreement to support WWF-Philippines

14 January 2019

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Philippines

MANILA – DoubleDragon Properties Corp on Monday said its subsidiary CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. signed an agreement to support the renewable energy efforts of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.

The Memorandum of Agreement will boost projects that promote and demonstrate renewable energy use, low carbon development in cities, and sustainable consumption and production under the Climate Change and Energy Program of WWF-Philippines, DoubleDragon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

WWF-Philippines’ initiatives will have exposure in all 100 CityMalls nationwide, the statement said.

“DoubleDragon’s CityMalls are designed and built with above par quality that integrates green technology in line with our efforts of promoting sustainable development. The CityMalls the company builds, are designed to endure the test of time and remain relevant for generations to come,” said DoubleDragon chairman Edgar “Injap” Sia II.

The real estate company is committed in its long-term investment in green technology, chief investment officer Hannah Yulo said.

CityMall is envisioned to become one of the largest independent community mall chains in the country and will be mostly located in the Visayas and Mindanao, the company said.

Energy Economy

Private capital key to Vietnam’s energy development: WB report

14 January 2019

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Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – New financial sources, particularly from the private sector, will help Vietnam further develop its energy industry, according to a new World Bank report on maximising finance for Vietnam’s energy development.

Titled “Maximising Finance for Development in Vietnam’s energy sector”, the report said the changing macroeconomic and sectoral context in Vietnam requires a new approach to financing electricity and gas investments. It presented an action plan on how to unlock new sources of finance, especially from the private sector, based on a comprehensive analysis of investment needs as well as constraints in the regulatory environment including the capital and forex markets.

Between now and 2030, Vietnam’s electricity sector requires new investments of about 10 billion USD annually, higher than the average of 8 billion USD for the 2011–15 period. Meanwhile, the development of the gas sector is estimated to require about 20 billion USD between 2015 and 2035.

While Vietnam Electricity (EVN) and PetroVietnam (PVN) will continue to play an important role in developing new infrastructure, the vast majority of new gas and electricity investments will need to come from private players. Moving into this direction is in line with the Government’s strategy and objectives of financing the energy sector in the future, said the report.

Given the limited fiscal space and the reduction of concessional financing available going forward, it will be important for Vietnam to step up mobilising alternative capital resources for the electricity and gas sectors, said Ousmane Dione, the World Bank Country Director for Vietnam.

He recommended that the Government should address comprehensively the constraints currently impeding the flows of domestic and cross border private capital into two of the most strategic segments of the Vietnamese economy.

Granz Gerner, the World Bank’s Lead Energy Economist and the study’s lead author, said private investors are interested in Vietnam’s growing energy sector, particularly the development of renewable energy and liquefied natural gas.

What investors need is a transparent and stable regulatory environment which incorporates a proper risk-sharing mechanism among all parties, he added.

To remove constraints and maximise financing available for electricity and gas investments in Vietnam, the report proposed a well-coordinated policy effort around three pillars: developing a major PPP/IPP programme for new power generation, enhancing the financial standing and credit worthiness of EVN and PVN to enable them to access commercial finance without government support, and increasing the availability of local currency financing which is critical for both project finance and corporate project finance. – VNA

Coal

TNB introduces blended coal at Lumut plant

13 January 2019

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Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 13): Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is introducing blended coal at its coal-fired power plant in Lumut, Perak, as part of a continuous effort to ensure a sustainable coal supply for electricity generation.

The introduction of blended coal for the Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station, which produces 20% of Peninsular Malaysia’s energy generation, will help secure coal supply for the power plant going forward, the national utility company said in a statement today.

It is also in line with the growing trend among utilities to use blended coal to match power demand with the availability of coal supply, TNB said.

The Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station, which has a generation capacity of 4,100 megawatts, consumes 15 million tonnes of sub-bituminous coal per year.

The power station took delivery of its first blended coal shipment on Dec 31, 2018, at the neighbouring Lekir Bulk Terminal, which is owned by TNB’s wholly-owned subsidiary Integrax Bhd.

The coal is imported from Indonesia by another wholly-owned subsidiary, TNB Fuel Services Sdn Bhd, which supplies fuel and coal for the country’s power plants.

TNB Janamanjung Sdn Bhd, the operator of the Sultan Azlan Shah Power Station, will conduct a trial burn exercise and lab analysis to ensure blended coal meet the emission standard and combustion compatibility of the power plant prior to the plant’s usage of the coal.

Energy Economy

MIC gives green-light to nine investments

13 January 2019

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Myanmar

Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) granted the permits to nine new investments including CMP factories and LPG businesses at its meeting on January 11.

The nine new foreign investments are: meat packaging, rice and rice mill products, animal feed production, baby chicks production, CMP garment industries, power production, LPG industry, warehouse and logistics services and vehicle repairing training. The new investments can create 2,227 jobs for locals.

From 1988-1989 to 2018-2019 fiscal year, the total foreign investments reached around USD 78 billion with China topping the list of FDI with USD 20.249 billion, followed by Singapore with USD 19.752 billion.

Oil and gas sector led the list of FDI with 29 per cent and the energy sector, with 27 per cent.

Livestock and fishery, farming and construction sectors saw the least FDI inflows, accounting for less than one per cent.

From October 1 to November, 2018-2019 FY, the country saw an inflow of nearly USD 466 million foreign investments, according to Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA).

From October 1 to November, the transportation sector stood first on the list of FDI with USD 171.790 million, the other sector, second, with USD 149.291 million and the production sector, third with more than USD 100 million.

Electricity/Power Grid ,
Energy Cooperation

Philippine Company to Breathe New Life Into ECG

13 January 2019

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Philippines

The new Philippine company set to appropriate ECG (Electricity Company of Ghana) is bringing approximately $580 million into their operations.

Meralco Consortium, a power corporation from the Philippines, will adopt all assets and operations associated with ECG under the name Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited.

The takeover happens on February 1, 2019. This event is expected to increase the funds of the power distribution company to expand operations and build a new post in Pokuase.

Meralco Consortium won the bid to take over the operations of ECG and is now the primary stakeholder in PDS Ghana Limited.

Martin Eson-Benjamin (Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority) was optimistic that the funds would improve ECG’s fortunes and help stabilize the country’s power distribution.

“We have gone through many processes and now I can tell you that everything is almost completed for the new company to take over.

“The takeover will bring efficiency and we will all see the improvement in the new company, he said, adding that the company would also work to remove leakages and financial losses in the system.

Meanwhile, some workers expressed their fear of losing their jobs.

The redundancy that followed after the takeover of Ghana Telecom by Vodafone in 2008 is still fresh in their mind and this gives a cause for concern.

They were skeptical about President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s pronouncement that no worker of the ECG would lose his or her job as a result of the takeover.

Bioenergy

PNOC, Baguio City tie up to convert waste into energy

13 January 2019

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Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — PNOC Renewables Corp. (PNOC-RC), the renewable energy arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), has partnered with the local government of Baguio to explore waste-to-energy development.

PNOC-RC and the local government unit of Baguio recently signed a memorandum of understanding to support waste-to-energy development and sustainable solid waste management of the city.

John Arenas, president of PNOC-RC, said the state-run firm recognizes the potential of waste-to-energy (WTE) as one of the solutions to the solid waste problem but has faced limitations for development.

“There has been existing WTE technologies abroad but needs commercial installation in the Philippines because civil society organizations pose strong opposition to its development,” he said.

“Through this project, the government will make sure that it will consider the welfare of the society and the environment. This could also generate renewable energy from local source, therefore, security and sustainability of energy supply can be assured,” Arenas said.

Baguio City faces a solid waste crisis and is running out of disposal facility due to its rugged and mountainous location, increasing population and tourists, and safe access of the potential areas.

Current residual waste of the city must be transported to lowland provinces with existing treatment facility which put additional burden on hauling cost.

The accumulation of city solid waste along streets and inappropriate location defaces the good image of Baguio City- dubbed as the summer capital of the Philippines.

If the project is completed, this can be replicated by other local government units (LGUs), Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan said.

“We welcome this opportunity to partner with a government entity to address one of our basic concerns not only in the city of Baguio but La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay as well. Hopefully, this project can be realized soon, so that the other LGUs can use this as a model and replicate the same in their respective areas,” he added.

Renewables

Ministry considers putting solar-power projects up for auction

13 January 2019

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Vietnam

The ministry recently asked for the government’s permission to approve another 17 solar power projects. Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong said MOIT is considering auctioning solar power projects to choose the best and most capable investors.

The policy would settle existing problems as it would reflect the market price at the time the projects are under construction. Meanwhile, Vietnam will have enough time to develop transmission lines.

FIT (feed in tariff), or the electricity price applied for solar power projects, will be valid for the entire life cycle of projects, or 20 years.

Thuan Binh Wind Power JSC, established in 2009, is planning to develop renewable energy projects in the Central Highlands and Ninh Thuan province. Its projects are expected to have capacity of 1,000 MW, one third of which will be wind power and the remaining solar.

However, Bui Van Thinh, CEO of Thuan Binh, complained that investors are meeting difficulties because the electricity price is unpredictable.

The current price at which Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) buys from solar power plants will last until June 30, 2019. “So we have to delay the implementation of our projects until the government sets the new price level after that day,” Binh said.

Another big concern for solar power project developers is the limited absorption of the national grid. The electricity transmission line in Phu Lac now can absorb 100 MW of electricity only, while the registered projects have total capacity of 400-500 MW.

“It is foreseeable that the transmission line will be overloaded if EVN and the government don’t plan to upgrade the transmission system,” he said. “If so, renewable energy projects won’t be able to connect the national grid.”

The government, in an effort to encourage the generation of ‘clean electricity’, has created attractive policies that call for private investment in the field.

These include Decision 11, which says that solar power investors can sell electricity at VND2,086 per kwh, or 9.35 cent.

This decision led to a boom in solar power projects, which could put pressure on transmission lines.

According to MOIT, by the end of August 2018, 121 solar power projects had been added to the national power development program with total electricity capacity of 6,100 MW.

In related news, the government has requested MOIT to clarify the risks in developing solar power projects after some experts expressed concern about the “hot development” of solar power.

Oil & Gas

PTTEP wins Abu Dhabi deal

12 January 2019

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Thailand

DUBAI: PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) of Thailand and Eni of Italy have secured rights to explore for oil and natural gas in Abu Dhabi, committing to invest at least US$230 million to assess the offshore fields.

The concession will be operated by Eni and fully owned by the Italian and Thai companies. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) will have the option of retaining 60% of the fields once they reach the production phase.

“We are engaging with partners who actually put skin in the game,” Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of government-owned Adnoc, said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Adnoc in April last year announced its first competitive tender for partners to explore for and develop oil and gas, offering four blocks onshore and two offshore. The Eni-PTTEP concession was the first to be awarded from that package.

Eni has made offshore discoveries from the Americas to Africa and the Mediterranean. The Rome-based company has been active in the Persian Gulf to build on its successful discoveries. It won rights to develop crude and gas deposits in Abu Dhabi last year, and it wants to partner in Qatar’s liquefied natural gas projects.

Abu Dhabi holds about 6% of global crude reserves and pumps most of the UAE’s oil. Adnoc, which has worked with international companies for more than four decades, received 39 bids for new exploration projects, Al Jaber said. Adnoc aims to boost oil production capacity to 5 million barrels a day by 2030 from more than 3 million now.

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