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Renewables

Air pollutants can reduce generation of solar energy

27 September 2019

–

Malaysia

HAZE occurs when dust and smoke particles accumulate in the air. When weather conditions block the dispersal of smoke and pollutants, they concentrate and form a low-hanging shroud that impairs visibility and may become a respiratory health threat.

Since 1991, haze has been an acute problem in Southeast Asia because Indonesian forests are burned to clear land and the smoke is blown by the wind to neighbouring countries.

Energy losses caused by air pollution on solar panels are widespread and the situation in each area is different.

This is according to our recent study published in the Journal of Plos One titled “Evaluation of the 2013 Southeast Asian Haze on Solar Generation Performance”.

This study aims to define the effect of the 2013 Southeast Asia haze pollution on solar generation from June 1 to June 30, 2013.

Two types of photovoltaic (PV, a method of generating electric power) solar arrays, namely two units of a 1kWp (kilowatt peak) Tracking Flat Photovoltaic (TFP) and two units of a 1kWp Fixed Flat Photovoltaic arrays (FFP), were used.

A solar array is a collection of multiple solar panels that generate electricity as a system. The performance of solar arrays was evaluated by using environmental data (irradiation, temperature, dust thickness and air pollutant index), power output and energy yield. A practical approach is proposed to compare the power output and energy yield from both arrays. Data analysis was conducted on 2,190 samples at 30-minute intervals from June 1, 2013, when both arrays were washed, until June 30, 2013.

The operations of the TFP and FFP arrays installed at Universiti Putra Malaysia before, during and after the haze were monitored to determine the behaviour of both systems.

The results indicated that the effect on PV generation was strongly dependent on the haze pollution and it showed that power generation was reduced because of pollution during haze conditions to about 30 per cent.

This result was obtained after analysing more than one dataset per month and after different environmental elements were applied to the same PV plates. Also, due to pollution during the 30-day period, the average generation of FFP arrays was around 58watt less than the TFP arrays.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR HASHIM HIZAM; MOHAMMAD REZA MAGHAMI

Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia

Others

Singapore welcomes Malaysia’s efforts on transboundary haze legislation

27 September 2019

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Malaysia ,
Singapore

SINGAPORE (Sept 27): Singapore is pleased that Malaysia is considering of having a legislation akin to the republic’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act (THPA) which was passed in 2014.

“I am pleased that Malaysia is considering similar legislation,” said Singapore’s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Masagos Zulkifli in his Facebook posting on Thursday evening.

It was reported on Sept 24 that Malaysia will be preparing a cabinet paper on the need to create a Transboundary Pollution Act in three months.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the cabinet paper among others would contain the direction and policy of the act.

“The act if approved will include haze and other pollution so that the government can take action against Malaysian companies or citizens who commit such offences in other countries but resulted in pollution to our country,” Yeo reportedly said.

Meanwhile, in the same posting, Masagos also noted that Singapore is supportive of the Indonesian government’s continuing efforts to suppress the forest and land fires.

“I am also glad that the Indonesian Ministry of the Environment and Forestry is stepping up efforts to pursue action against companies that are culpable for the fires, and subjecting them to the full extent of the law, and pursuing the necessary evidence to do so.

“This is the spirit and intent of Singapore’s THPA … The THPA is not meant to undermine the sovereignty of any country and is in line with international law,” he said.

Masagos added that the THPA complements national efforts, such as those by Indonesia, to hold the responsible parties accountable.

Others

TNB plans smart meters all across Peninsular Malaysia by 2026

27 September 2019

–

Malaysia

Almost every household in Peninsula Malaysia will be able to track their power usage and patterns through the Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or simply known as the smart meter.

This will be made possible with Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) plans to instal 9.1 million smart meters by 2026 to facilitate full AMI benefits for its customers, as mandated by the Energy Commission.

Energy Commission Industry Operations Director, Ir Roslee Esman said under the Regulatory Period 2 (RP2) from 2018 to 2020, a total of 1.5 million smart meters are scheduled to be installed at consumer premises in Melaka and selected areas in Klang Valley.

Currently, he said almost 300,000 smart meters have been successfully installed in Melaka under the RP2 Phase 1 in 2018, while another 1.2 million will be installed by 2020 in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya/Cyberjaya under Phase 2.

“We fully support this move, and RM1.2 billion will be spent for this in a three-year period (from 2018 to 2020), under the RP2.

“Some 9.1 million households in the Peninsular are expected to instal the smart meter by 2026 (RP4),” he said at a press conference after a TNB media briefing on smart meters installation here, today.

Asked whether the cost of the meters could change by 2026, Roslee was positive that prices would be reduced based on technology development.

“RM1.2 billion (cost for RP2) is based on current technology. The price from RP2 till RP4 would be reduced accordingly,” he said.

In another development, TNB Project Director (AMI-Klang Valley) Distribution Network Division, Ir Mohamed Ghous Ahmad said TNB has set up 200 poles for data transmission since April this year around the Klang Valley.

“We have not installed the smart meters yet as we are still putting up poles to obtain the network system. We are going to mount another 740 poles as soon as possible so that we can start installing the meters,” he added.

Commenting on claims that smart meters pose health risks, an expert from the Wireless Communication Center at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Chua Tien Han dismissed the perception as smart meter technology emits very low radiation levels.

He said smart meter uses radio-frequency waves, just like smartphones and microwaves, and radiation exposure is minuscule in comparison.

“Not to worry, smart meters are safe. That is the perception of the people, they seem to think that new technology comes with high radiation. They don’t,” he said.

Also present at the media briefing today were deputy secretary-general (energy) Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Noor Afifah Abdul Razak and TNB chief corporate officer Roslan Abdul Rahman.

In her opening remarks, Afifah said the installation of smart meters would also help boost the country’s economy as it opens up investment opportunities for companies to participate in the initiative, at the same time creating some 5,000 job opportunities.

She said smart meters have also been adopted in several developed countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore and Japan. – Bernama

Others

Sapura Energy wins jobs worth RM774m

27 September 2019

–

Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): Sapura Energy Bhd has secured three new contracts and two contract extensions worth a combined value of approximately RM774 million in Malaysia, Brunei and Thailand for engineering and construction, and drilling works.

In a filing today, Sapura Energy said that in Malaysia, Sapura Fabrication Sdn Bhd has been awarded a contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd for procurement, construction and commissioning works of BNJT-K BN-84 well tie-in for Bardegg-2 and Baronia enhanced oil recovery development project.

The works are expected to be completed by 3QFY20, the group said.

Meanwhile, Sapura Drilling Asia Sdn Bhd was awarded a contract amendment and extension by Petronas Carigali for the provision of a semi-submersible tender-assist drilling rig, Sapura Berani.

It said the contract involved the drilling of five additional wells at Erb West, offshore Sabah and Dulang facilities, offshore Peninsular Malaysia, and is expected to be completed by 2QFY21.

In Brunei, Sapura Fabrication secured an engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract by Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd for the Salman Project in the country.

Sapura Energy said the contract was divided into two parts, spanning three years starting from FY20 and ending in FY23.

Also in Brunei, Sapura Drilling Sdn Bhd has been given a contract extension from Brunei Shell Petroleum Company for the provision of a semi-submersible tender-assist drilling rig, Sapura Pelaut, and drilling services.

Sapura Energy said the extension was for one-year period from 1QFY21.

Meanwhile in Thailand, Sapura Drilling Asia Ltd was awarded a contract by PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd for the provision of its tender assist drilling rig, Sapura T-17, services for one year starting from 1QFY21 plus options for extension, at the Bongkot field, offshore Gulf of Thailand.

Sapura Energy said with the contracts, its cumulative contract wins year-to-date total RM3.1 billion.

At the midday break, Sapura Energy shares were 1.75% or 0.5 sen higher at 29 sen for a market capitalisation of RM4.63 billion.

Energy Cooperation

PT Anggun Makmur Energy and CIC enter ‘clean coal’ offtake agreement

27 September 2019

–

Indonesia ,
Vietnam

PT Anggun Makmur Energy (PT AME) is to supply steam coal to power plants in Vietnam as part of an offtake agreement agreed with Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC) on behalf of its trading platform registered users.

The total contract value is $8.5 million, with the first coal shipment produced by “clean coal technologies” commencing in October 2019.

This agreement will reduce cross-border transaction costs and achieve greater trading synergies in the region, strengthening Singapore’s role as an international trading hub, according to CIC. It also has the potential to influence expansion into other markets in Asia, such as China and the Philippines.

Coal dominates world power generation and is an important and crucial commodity for Asia Pacific, according to CIC. The International Energy Agency, in 2018, estimated Asia produced 70% of the world’s coal, with coal demand projected to grow 5% year-on-year to support the growth of Southeast Asia.

CIC said: “Despite its strong demand, low-cost coal runs counter to the global trend that is looking to cut carbon emissions. As coal continues to be the dominant fuel for power generation in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific, the development of clean coal technology and innovative solutions can reduce the environmental pollution that coal brings to the world.”

PT AME is an Indonesia-based coal miner that, through its mining practices, is enabling independent power plants (IPPs) to comply with global CO2 emission standards. Its mines generate less coal ash than others in the industry, according to CIC.

“Their (PT AME’s) technology is able to revive the region’s economically dead mines or old mines with good coal, producing lower volumes of waste material when extracting one-unit tonne of coal,” CIC said. “The overall cost of coal mining is also reduced by up to 80%, providing cost savings to the operation and maintenance of IPPs.”

Peter Yu, Chief Executive Officer of CIC, said: “This partnership with PT AME marks a significant milestone achieved by CIC that will facilitate intra-ASEAN trade and strengthens Singapore’s role as an international trading hub in the digital realm.”

Pak Djoko, President Director of PT AME (pictured left), quoting a 2017 report from Danish Energy Agency, said Vietnam’s import share of total primary energy supply is set to increase to 37.5% in 2025 and 58.5% in 2035 with high demand on imported fuel, especially coal.

He added: “We believe that PT AME will be able to use best practices garnered from our experience in the Asia-Pacific region in supplying the necessary energy source, to meet the demands of Vietnam. Moreover, CIC’s eTrade Platform extensive network and market knowledge will allow us to enter the Vietnam market with confidence and help bring our sustainable and environmental-friendly mining practices to the country.”

CIC is a Singapore-based platform backed by Enterprise Singapore, and is a joint venture between ZALL Smart Commerce Group, a business-to-business (B2B) platform in China; Singapore Exchange; and Global eTrade Services, a subsidiary of eGovernment products and services provider CrimsonLogic. CIC aims to create an interoperable global B2B physical commodities trading platform with global connectivity.

Energy Policy

DoE releases circular on energy storage systems

26 September 2019

–

Philippines

THE Department of Energy (DoE) has issued a circular that provides a framework for energy storage systems (ESS) to address the growing adoption of renewable energy systems with intermittent supply.

In issuing the circular, the agency said it “recognizes the applications and the benefits of ESS as an emerging technology in the improvement of the electric power system in accordance to the objective of ensuring the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electric power.”

Some forms of renewable energy such as wind or solar would be more effective when paired with a storage component because such a system could store power generated when there is no demand for it, and then release it when required or when wind and solar plants cannot operate because of weather conditions or during nighttime.

The DoE said in other jurisdictions, technologies involving energy storage systems are applied to serve a variety of functions in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, including energy generation, peak shaving and ancillary services.

Ahead of the circular’s issuance, the DoE said it conducted a review of all relevant policies and guidelines, and existing practices in other jurisdictions to ensure the optimal use of energy storage systems in the Philippines.

The DoE said energy storage systems are to operate within the framework of generation companies whose facilities supply electricity to the grid or the power distribution system. The power grid is the high-voltage backbone system of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The system operator will provide central dispatch to grid-connected and embedded energy storage systems with material impact to the grid. This is in the interest of achieving economic operation and maintenance of quality, stability, reliability and security of the transmission system.

Energy storage systems will also follow limitations relating to market share and bilateral contracts under Section 45 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

Under the circular, ESS technologies include battery energy storage systems that are capable of storing electric energy electrochemically from which they are able to charge or discharge electric energy.

The other covered energy storage technologies are compressed air, flywheel and pumped-storage hydropower.

Compressed air energy storage uses electric energy to inject high-pressure air containers. When electricity is required, the pressurized air is heated and expanded in an expansion turbine driving a generator or power production.

Flywheel energy storage uses electric energy to accelerate a rotating mass, called a “rotor,” to store kinetic energy. Electricity is extracted from the system by drawing down the kinetic energy from the rotor.

Pumped-storage hydropower uses electric energy to pump water from a lower-elevation reservoir to one at a higher elevation. When required, the water flows back from the upper to the lower reservoir, powering a turbine with a generator to produce electric energy.

The DoE said proponents may apply and register their energy storage systems for a number of purposes: provision of ancillary services; provision of energy through bilateral supply contracts or trading in the wholesale electricity spot market; and to manage the penetration of renewable energy.

They may also register their facilities as auxiliary load management for generation companies; transmission/distribution facility upgrades deferment; transmission congestion relief; end-user demand management; distribution utility demand management; and distribution utility power quality management.

The DoE has called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to assist in the implementation of the circular, which will take effect immediately after its publication in two newspapers of general circulation. The circular was published on Sept. 18, 2019. — Victor V. Saulon

Energy Cooperation

PLN signs MoU on exporting 600 MW of electricity to Malaysia

26 September 2019

–

Indonesia

Indonesian state-owned electricity company PLN on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its Malaysian counterpart, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), to begin a feasibility study on exporting 600 MW of power to TNB.

PLN said in a statement that it expected to connect its Sumatra network to TNB’s western network by 2028.

“It is also possible that we will form a joint venture company to develop and manage the project,” said PLN Sumatra business director Wiluyo Kusdwiharto.

Wiluyo said that connecting the two grids would increase the reliability of electricity supply, because peak demand on the Sumatra network occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) and complemented the on-peak hours of Malaysia’s western network, which occurred between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. WIB.

Once the networks were connected, PLN Sumatra would have a 33 percent reserve margin – the difference between capacity and demand – which is within the International Energy Agency’s recommended reserve margin of 20 to 35 percent.

PLN and TNB previously signed an MoU in 2017 on a two-year feasibility study for constructing a 2×200 MW coal-fired power plant in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory on the island of Borneo. The plant is to supply electricity to Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo.

Others

Contamination forces Sarawak’s hydrogen plant to close

26 September 2019

–

Malaysia

KUCHING: The hydrogen production plant and refuelling station which supplied hydrogen for three hydrogen-fuelled buses on a pilot run here have been temporarily closed due to contamination.

Sarawak Energy group CEO Sharbini Suhaili, in a statement today, said contaminant liquid had been detected during the plant’s performance test and the station was now temporarily offline.

He did not say when this occurred.

He said a team of experts from Linde EOX Sdn Bhd, which was selected as the technology partner and system integrator for the pilot project, was working closely with Sarawak Energy to address the issue.

The facility is still under warranty by Linde EOX Sdn Bhd, she said.

The three hydrogen buses underwent trial runs in the city in August and they were slated to take to the streets to fully service the public on Sept 15. However, this did not happen.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg had launched Southeast Asia’s first integrated hydrogen production plant, refuelling station and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at Sarawak Energy here in May.

He said the state was also looking into setting up more hydrogen plants, adding that it is a cleaner form of energy which Sarawak can easily produce due to its supply of adequate water from which hydrogen can be extracted.

It was reported then that the new plant will be able to produce 130kg of hydrogen daily at a purity of 99.9%, as well as support and refuel up to five fuel cell buses and 10 fuel cell cars per day.

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