Singapore’s vulnerability to rising sea levels has been on the national agenda, but in Parliament yesterday, the nation’s role in contributing to planet-warming emissions was also highlighted.
Singapore generated 52.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2017, said Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry. This works out to about 0.11 per cent of global emissions.
Of this, industries contribute about 60 per cent, Dr Koh said in response to a question by Nominated MP Anthea Ong.
Ms Ong had wanted to know how much industries – in particular, the refining and petrochemicals sector – were contributing to climate change, and what the Government was doing to urge them to take responsibility for their contributions to the climate crisis.
About three-quarters of industries’ emissions are from the refining and petrochemicals sector, Dr Koh said.
A report that Singapore submitted in December last year to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change noted that while Singapore does not produce any oil or gas, the Republic is a major oil refining and petrochemical centre that serves the global market.
Dr Koh said that in 2017, 190 Mtoe (millions tonnes of oil equivalent) of fossil fuels were imported into Singapore. About 55 Mtoe were refined into higher-value chemicals and fuels and mostly exported for use in other countries. The rest is largely for power generation and transportation, Dr Koh said.
About 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated using natural gas. While it is considered cleaner than coal and oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel nonetheless.
Dr Koh said the Government is encouraging companies to adopt energy-efficient technologies.
The Government had this year implemented an enhanced set of schemes for industries to be more energy efficient, he said.
From January, funding support for the adoption of energy-efficient technologies under the Economic Development Board’s Resource Efficiency Grant for Energy and the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Energy Efficiency Fund has been increased from the previous cap of 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the qualifying costs.
Dr Koh also said that from 2021, companies regulated under the Energy Conservation Act must establish energy management systems and regularly assess energy efficiency opportunities. NEA is also planning to launch a new grant to help companies digitalise their energy management systems, he said.
Under the Paris Agreement, Singapore pledged to become greener economically and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to achieve each dollar of gross domestic product by 36 per cent from 2005 levels, come 2030. It also pledged to stop any further increases to its greenhouse gas emissions by the same timeline.
Ms Ong had asked how Singapore’s emissions would grow with an expansion of refinery facilities here.
Dr Koh said he was unable to disclose the expansion plans of individual refineries as this was “commercially sensitive” information. But he said that when companies expand or new ones invest in Singapore, the Government works with them to ensure a high standard of efficiency. He also said the Government was urging other sectors, not just the refining and petrochemicals sector, to be energy efficient.
He added: “Beyond industries, all of us have a responsibility to mitigate climate change. Saving electricity, using public transport and reducing waste are good ways to cut carbon emissions. As a country, we will do our part to help address global climate challenges.”
Everything is going “smart” these days. From mobile phones to household devices like refrigerators and air-conditioners, the Internet of Things is taking over our lives. Next up: Electricity meters.
By 2026, a majority of Malaysian households will feature a smart meter. Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) says its aim is to fit 9.1 million homes across the country with the device by then. At a recent media briefing, the electricity provider stated that close to 300,000 smart meters were installed in Melaka between 2016 and 2018 under Phase 1 of its plan.
“For 2019 until 2020, we are targeting to install the meter for 1.2 million TNB consumers around the Klang Valley,” stated Energy Commission Industry Operations director Roslee Esman.
The smart meter is a device that records your power usage and communicates this automatically to TNB via radio-frequency waves for monitoring and billing. Through direct monitoring, the meter is able to read your usage, which means it can provide a more accurate reading for yours bills and energy efficiency.
By using the app myTNB or going online at mytnb.com.my, you can track – in real time – how much energy is being used daily and the current cost. Detailed usage and billing information will also be available, and high bill alerts can be set, whereby you get a message when your power bill hits a fixed amount.
TNB is currently setting up the infrastructure needed around the Klang Valley. Radio frequency monopoles are required to create a network system before the smart meter can be installed. There’s also the need to educate consumers on the myths surrounding the use of smart meters.
One misconception is that the device poses a health risk. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Wireless Communications Centre lecturer Chua Tien Han, who was present at the briefing, said that smart meters are no more harmful than mobile phones.
“People are afraid of things they cannot see. Misunderstanding is based on hearsay. People need to understand to fear less,” he stated. Chua added that the use of radio-frequency waves and subsequent radiation exposure is so minute, it can be deemed negligible.
The safest level of radio frequency emissions for humans to be exposed to is 1,000 µW/cm² (microWatts per square centimetre). At 10ft away, the smart meter only emits 0.1 µW/cm² whereas a microwave oven at two inches from the door emits 1,000 µW/cm².
According to TNB, all smart meters will be tested and certified by Sirim. They will comply with safety regulations set and regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Other benefits of the meter include the speed and ease with which households can transfer ownership of TNB accounts. Also, TNB will be immediately notified if the electricity goes out.
Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry deputy secretary-general Noor Afifah Abdul Razak pointed out that the US, UK, Singapore and Japan have already installed smart meters.
“When the infrastructure is ready, it should be easy to fit homes with the smart meter,” she said. “We just need to correct the negative perception that the public has regarding its use.”
The installation of the meter is free. Carried out by TNB-appointed technicians, it is estimated to take between 30 to 60 minutes, and home owners will be contacted a few days beforehand to confirm their availability.
Read more at https://www.star2.com/living/2019/10/08/electricity-smart-reader-fixture-malaysian-homes-2026/#MpotDr2rMUdwBWmv.99
SINGAPORE – Electricity produced by distributed energy resources such as solar installations and energy storage systems in Singapore may soon be coordinated to function like a single power station.
This would be made possible by the development of a virtual power plant (VPP) which brings about greater flexibility and scalability to the power grid, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) said in a joint statement on Tuesday (Oct 8).
It would also allow for more clean and distributed energy resources like solar to be integrated into Singapore’s energy mix.
The EMA and Sembcorp have jointly awarded a grant to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to develop Singapore’s first VPP, which is targeted for completion by 2022.
The project will be headed by Dr Koh Liang Mong of the Energy Research Institute @ NTU.
The grant, which was awarded on Monday, is part of a $10 million partnership between the EMA and Sembcorp which was renewed last year to develop new capabilities in Singapore’s energy sector. The size of the grant was not disclosed.
Energy fluctuations due to intermittent solar power could be automatically balanced out by the VPP, the EMA and Sembcorp said.
The system would also be equipped with demand forecasting and optimisation algorithms that take into account Singapore’s power grid and market conditions.
The two organisations added that the VPP could also enhance the resilience of Singapore’s power grid, as the distributed layout of the system would enable faults to be quickly isolated, limiting loss of power to users.
IMAGE: ENERGY MARKET AUTHORITY, SEMBCORP
EMA chief executive Ngiam Shih Chun said: “The energy landscape is changing and we need solutions that support our economic growth while safeguarding our environment at the same time.”
Solutions like the VPP will help Singapore integrate cleaner energy sources into our system, he noted.
Mr Matthew Friedman, chief digital officer at Sembcorp, said in a statement: “A virtual power plant will benefit Singapore through aggregation of renewable and energy storage resources to more efficiently meet the energy and sustainability needs of the nation.”
The Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation (YESC) has allowed private metered electricity boxes for civil servants in particular shared households.
Yangon Region minister for Electricity, Industry and Transportation Daw Nilar Kyaw said residents can apply for a household meter with the respective township electricity manager.
“When electricity charges were raised in placeswhere residents use ashared meter box, charges cost more than the consumed unit. As such it was difficult for those residents in civil servant housing and also forthose inindustrial zones to pay the higher prices. For that reason, YESC has allowed residents to have private meter boxes installed,” she said.
In a meeting of the Yangon Region Hluttaw held on September 30, U Yan Aung, a regional parliamentary member from Constituency 2 of Mingalar Taung Nyunt, explained the reason.
“The new power tariffs put an extra burden on civil servants, as they have to all pay the same amount for the consumption despite individual usage being different,” he said.
After electricity prices were raised charges for shared meters in civil servant houses increased to K125 per unit.
After changing to household meters, civil services personnel will only need to pay K25 per unit for the household unit, which will lower their individual burden to pay the bills, U Yan Aung said.
In civilservant housing residents use power from public meters, and they pay proportionally for their use. New meter charges, however, were set on July 1, 2019.
As the power rates surged millions of users in the Yangon Region reduced their electricity use, and the July period saw a reduction of electricity usage by 21.9 million units from the previous month, according to the YESC.
Although the State receives more revenue from the increased rates, they may also lose potential revenue when electricity is lost due to inefficiencies or when meters have been tampered with.
“As new meter rates were set, electricity theft has also risen. If meters are not checked systematically, the State will continue to lose revenue,” said U Yan Aung.
In June 2019 88.7 million unitswere leaked or stolen from the grid, costing around K5 billion. In July that figure rose to 106.7 million units, at a cost of K11 billion, according to the YESC at a press conference held on September 9.
To prevent potential power loses from theft, from now on we will take stronger action against those people who tamper with their meter boxes, a spokesperson at the YESC said.
26 percent of users in the Yangon Region use between 1 to 75 units; 38 percent of the users consume from 75 to 200 units; and 36 percent from 200 units and above.
According to a 2014 International Energy Agency(IEA) report, 20 percent of the electricity produced in Myanmar is unaccounted for. The country is suffering losses for production costs and the waste percentages are as follows; 3pc for power transfer, 7pc for lack of technological support and the remaining 10pc for illegal power use.”
U Yan Aung asked the respective officials at the meeting to inspect the meter boxes where power waste was high in industrial zones, factories and shopping malls.
To avoid power losses the Yangon Region Ministry of Electricity, Industry and Transport is taking measures to improve power transmission. These measures include repairing transformer with unbalanced loads and connections and replacing analogue meters with digital ones.
The ministry also has plans to install modems to meters and have them relay data back to servers in the headquarters, which will allow for monitoring of power consumption by GSM communication, said Minister Daw Nilar Kyaw.
Step-by-step measures will also be taken based on the available budget to supervise meter-reading staff, and to train them in identifying illegal power users on the grid. The ministry plans to form an inspection team, who will be equipped with powers to issue orders against those breaking the law, she said. – Translated
TAGUIG CITY, Philippines, Oct. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Total Solar is providing solar rooftop systems for three malls operated by Gaisano Capital in Luzon and the Visayas in the Philippines. With a combined capacity of 1.8 megawatt (MW), the installations are designed to generate around 2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power, this carbon footprint reduction is equivalent to planting 3,500 trees each year.
The photovoltaic systems are expected to cover over 30% of Gaisano’s power needs and will slash its energy bill by over 15%.
“We chose to partner with Total Solar for our Solar PV System requirements because we are assured of Total’s Bankability, High Standard in Safety, Technical expertise and Quality of Installation,” said Willy Ngujo, Corporate Engineering & Maintenance Manager at Gaisano Capital.
“Total Solar Asia is committed to helping customers drive down both power costs and carbon footprint. We are very pleased to support and enable Gaisano’s commitment to sustainability. Total has a unique ability to support customers and has a long-term presence in the Philippines. We are proud to help customers reduce power costs, pollution and climate change impacts for the Philippines,”said Gavin Adda, CEO of Total Solar Asia Industrial & Commercial.
Sustainably driving down costs and shrinking carbon footprint: Gaisano Malls solarized by Total Solar
Total Solar Asia C&I
Sustainably driving down your costs and shrinking your carbon footprint
Headquartered in Singapore and dedicated to developing solar energy in Southeast Asia, Total Solar Asia C&I is a wholly owned affiliate of Total Solar SAS.
Active since 2018, Total Solar Asia C&I is one of the major, international providers of fully integrated solar solutions for commercial and industrial customers in Southeast Asia and has more than 400 MW of projects in development and operation.
Total Solar Asia C&I complies with the highest environmental, health, and safety requirements, delivering better performance and safer systems. We use only top-of-the-range components and have a network of experienced local contractors.
Total Solar SAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Total SA which has over 47 years of solar experience. The Group is active across the entire photovoltaic value chain, from manufacturing cells to designing large-scale turnkey solar power plants. Total currently owns and operates solar projects for a cumulated installed capacity of over 1.5 gigawatt globally.
Total integrates climate change into its strategy and is staying ahead of new energy market trends by building a portfolio of low-carbon businesses that could potentially account for 15 to 20% of its sales by 2040. Total’s gross low-carbon power generation capacity worldwide currently stands at 7 gigawatts, of which 3 gigawatts from renewable energies.
With over 40 years of expertise in solar, Total actively contributes to the growth of solar energy across the world by designing and operating utility-scale power plants and supplying industrial and commercial customers with solar energy generated at their sites.
About Gaisano Capital
Gaisano Capital is one of the biggest chains of malls and supermarkets in the Philippines. The company owns more than 35 stores all across the country.
Established in 1997, Total (Philippines) Corporation markets fuels, lubricants and special fluids and operates a network of over 420 service stations throughout Luzon and the Visayas. Other Total affiliates in the Philippines include the Asia-Pacific Shared Service Center, Total E&P Philippines and SunPower. www.totaloil.com.ph
About Total
Total is a major energy player that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.
Cautionary note
This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms “Total”, “Total Group” and Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them.
KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been urged to consider not giving fuel subsidy but rather encouraging more use of renewable energy.
Economist and former Council of Eminent Persons member Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram said fuel subsidies were major distortion in markets.
“The government has been trying to reduce this subsidy. Fuel subsidies in all countries are basically benefit middle class rather than the low income group,” Jomo said on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2019 here today.
He said the government should rethink who benefit the most before subsidising the rakyat.
“We have to get away from the dependence on fuel. Malaysia is one of the countries with the highest car ownerships in the world.
“Subsidies must be directed towards helping the people who are really worst of. Subsidies should be progressively redistributed to help people who are in need,” he added.
The government yesterday announced the targeted fuel subsidy initiative to replace the existing fuel subsidy of RON95 to gradually float RON95 petrol price from January next year.
Domestic Trade and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said only Bantu Sara Hidup (BSH) recipients were qualified for the fuel subsidy and gave assurances that the gradual move to lift the RON95 petrol subsidy would be done in a manner that would not burden the people.
Jomo said the government should also need to think about other development opportunities including the move to biodiesel.
“The government has made a commitment to increasing the use of renewable energy and that should be the priority,” he said.
The government is likely to save RM1.26 billion in electricity tariffs following the cancellation of four independent power producers (IPP) projects in July last year.
“When IPPs are given to companies, many of them still generate electricity using diesel but now they are using coals, which is going backwards.
“Most of the coal is not clean, as a lot of sulphites will be emitted into the atmosphere and the health of the people being adversely affected,” Jomo said.
ABB’s grid solution connects the new geothermal power plant near Rantau Dedap, located in a volcanic complex in a remote highland part of South Sumatra, far from the island’s main transmission system. The plant provides 220 megawatts of carbon-free electricity – enough to power almost 500,000 local homes.
Working closely with PT Rekayasa Industri, an Indonesia Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company and their customer, PT Supreme Energy, ABB engineered, manufactured, supplied, installed and commissioned a prefabricated gas-insulated substation (GIS), which was delivered on-site fully assembled and factory-tested.
“ABB Power Grids delivers fully integrated modular, preassembled solutions that support customer needs,” says Niklas Persson, Managing Director of ABB’s Power Grids Grid Integration Business Line. “Our compact and reliable substation saves installation time and reduces execution risks, which makes it a particularly suitable solution for remote geographical areas.”
Substations enable efficient and reliable transmission and distribution of electricity. Prefabricated substations are modular solutions, delivered from the factory with a high degree of functional integration for quicker installation and commissioning. ABB’s prefabricated GIS substations have an exceptionally compact footprint. They include control, protection and monitoring in a robust frame, which makes them an ideal element to support rapid grid expansions. The 150-kilovolt (kV) unit with its protective housing is tailor-made for the harsh sulfuric environment of the volcanic Sumatran uplands. The integrated GIS is designed with air over-pressure system and air filtration systems to protect the GIS from the sulfuric air condition in the volcanic area.
Realising Indonesia’s vast geothermal potential and reducing CO2 emissions by 2030
The Indonesian archipelago is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, prone to strong earthquakes and powerful volcanic eruptions. It is also a reservoir of geothermal power resources, holding an estimated 40 percent of the world’s geothermal potential.
Did you know that today Indonesia has developed only a fraction of its geothermal potential? However, the geothermal share of the fuel mix is expected to almost double from 5 percent in 2017 to 9.8 percent in 2027. The Indonesian Government has announced its aim to diversify the country’s energy mix and reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and already by 2023 it aims to become the world’s largest geothermal power producer.
This year has been rough for the 70 million people who call the Mekong River basin home: a severe drought rocked the region for months before yielding to deadly flooding.
The Mekong slowed to its lowest level in recorded history, knocking the world’s largest freshwater fishery—Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake—out of balance. The drought hurt the region’s fishing and farming communities, threatening its food supply. When the rain came, flooding reportedly displaced at least 100,000 people in Laos alone.
Mainland Southeast Asia is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to the impacts of climate change: according to one Global Climate Risk Index, Myanmar and Vietnam are in the top 10 most vulnerable countries. Cambodia and Thailand are in the top 20.
Despite its vulnerabilities, the governments of the lower Mekong are still pushing development plans centred on unsustainable hydropower dams and coal. Dams across the Mekong basin and coal power plants will ostensibly provide much-needed electricity and income, but the impacts of climate change on water resources are throwing all of this into question.
Locals panning for gold near Xayaburi dam in Northern Laos.
Photo: Prince Roy
Not only do large dams and coal power plants exacerbate the impacts of climate change, but new research suggests that declining freshwater resources will dramatically cut the amount of power these projects can produce, reducing their value for investors, developers and host countries.
Climate change tops the list of risks for the Mekong
According to research by the World Economic Forum, businesses consider environmental risks to be their biggest concern for doing business in East Asia and the Pacific.
Annual flooding is vital to the Mekong basin, transporting nutrients across the ecosystem, from the upstream rice farms to delta itself. The intergovernmental Mekong River Commission (MRC) has estimated that annual flooding in the river basin brings US$8-10 billion into local economies across the region.
But a study by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in April warned that drought in Southeast Asia will worsen and affect a larger portion of the region. In one possible scenario analyzed in the study, 96% of ASEAN could be affected by drought between now and the year 2100. This climate change-induced drought is expected to hit lower-income groups the hardest and contribute to rising inequality.
Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake supports a US$2 billion fishing industry and supplies local people with 500,000 tons of fish—more than three times the total freshwater fish catch from all of North America’s rivers and lakes combined. Every year, the Mekong swells with the rains of the monsoon and eventually pushes up into a tributary of the lake, the Tonle Sap River, changing the direction of its flow. As floodwaters pour into the lake, the area covered by the Tonle Sap increases sixfold, washing nutrients and fish into communities around the lake. Because of this year’s drought, the Tonle Sap River reversed direction two months later than usual.
Climate change is also bringing dangerously unpredictable flooding, especially as dam operators let floodwaters through in an effort to avoid disasters like the 2018 collapse of the Xe Pian Xe Nam Noy dam in Laos.
“Flood damages will rise rapidly by a factor of 5-10 with development unless protection is provided,” the MRC wrote in a 2018 study. When the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos began releasing water in early September, it led to flooding in 12 villages.
In the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s agricultural backbone faces dual threats of unpredictably heavy rains and rising seas due to climate change. A study published last month by Philip Minderhoud, a geographer at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, shows that the delta is, on average, only 0.8 meters above sea level, nearly two meters lower than previously thought, meaning it’s that much more vulnerable to flooding from extreme weather and encroaching seas.
This “new normal” of oscillating between intense drought and severe flooding has shifted the ground on which Mekong governments have built their plans for hydro and coal-fueled development.
“Damn the weather”: governments continue to back large hydropower regardless
Thailand, China and more recently Vietnam are looking to Laos for cheap, reliable hydropower, supporting its plans to become the “battery of Southeast Asia.” But in an era where drought wracks the basin every few years and water resources are stretched to their breaking point, that power supply is no longer stable.
In late September, Laos announced plans to move ahead with the Luang Prabang dam, the eleventh hydropower project on the mainstream of the lower Mekong.
The dam is being constructed by the Lao government and PetroVietnam, a Vietnamese state-owned enterprise. The members of the Mekong River Commission—Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam—will meet in October to review the project.
“In July this year, the Xayaburi dam was test-running electricity in the area near the Thai-Lao border, [accelerating] the unusual drought [conditions]. If Luang Prabang dam is built, I think the crisis will get worse,” an energy expert from Thailand’s Sarakham University told Radio Free Asia. This is to say nothing of the 11 dams that China has built on the mainstream of the Mekong.
With the Mekong’s water resources strained, the river may no longer be able to support coal power
Coal is the single largest driver of global climate change and Southeast Asia is the only region of the world where the percentage of energy supplied by coal grew in 2018. A study published in Energy and Environment Science in September showed that changing weather patterns means coal power is also no longer a reliable bet for even short-term development.
The study considered plans for over 490 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants in Asia tipped for completion by 2030, a 30% increase from current capacity. Models suggest that the water resources these power plants rely on for cooling will be dramatically reduced in the coming years, significantly decreasing the amount of power these plants can provide.
“One of the impacts of climate change is that the weather is changing, which leads to more extreme events—more torrential downpours and more droughts,” said Jeffrey Bielicki, co-author of the study and associate professor at The Ohio State University. “When you don’t have the rain, you don’t have the stream flow, you can’t cool the power plant.”
This casts serious doubt on Cambodia’s recently-announced decision to purchase 2,400 megawatts (MW) of power from new coal-fired power plants in Laos. The future looks similarly bleak for coal megaprojects like the 1878-MW Hong Sa plant in Laos and the ever-expanding Tigyit plant in Myanmar’s Shan State.
Southeast Asia’s coal and hydropower roadmap no longer leads to development
Communities who speak out against large hydropower dams and coal power plants aren’t necessarily anti-development. The governments of the Mekong have a right to push for access to electricity and better lives for their citizens. But the risks of climate change mean that coal and large dams are no longer viable paths towards development.
The Global Climate Risk Index measures countries’ vulnerabilities in terms of the relative number of fatalities and losses to GDP due to climate change. The high climate vulnerability ratings given to Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam mean that their plans for development need to be grounded in climate resilience and adaptation, not fossil fuels and dams along an already embattled river.
As these projects threaten the food supplies and livelihoods of communities along the Mekong, the financial resources and political energy behind them would be better directed towards renewable energy solutions.
“More dry years are inevitable, but more suffering is not,” said Armida Alisjahbana of UNESCAP. “Timely interventions now can reduce the impacts of drought, protect the poorest communities and foster more harmonious societies.”
.jpeg){kind=link}