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  • Eco Friendly Vehicle
  • Energy Policy
28 July 2019

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  • Indonesia

Jakarta. For 18 months, the government has gone back and forth on an electric car regulation that is promised to accelerate the country’s shift away from being dependent on imported fossil fuel. But now it seems President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has finally put the pedal to the metal on the issue and is expected to roll out the regulation by the end of this month.

One of Jokowi’s ministers has said people can blame the delay on a protectionist faction within the cabinet.

“We’ve been waiting for one and a half years for the presidential decree. The debate between ministers is never-ending. Some are in favor [of the regulation], some are not. This [division] simply must end,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Sunday.

He said the deadlock is rooted in a debate about the use of local components in electric cars.

“We can’t wait for all the electric car components to be made here 100 percent. These lawmakers would all be retired before that happens,” the 56-year-old minister said.

Indonesia is no stranger to the practice of forcing its industries to source locally.

The government has already required smartphone makers to put a certain amount of locally made material or software in their devices to be able to sell them in the Indonesian market.

The country has also limited metal ore exports in favor of local processing.

Jonan said instead of forcing electric car manufacturers to source from local suppliers, the government should encourage the process to happen naturally by offering tax incentives for local manufacturers and suppliers.

He also said Indonesia should not lose sight of the fact that electric cars will definitely reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel imports.

The minister stressed the fact that electric cars run on electricity generated from coal, gas, wind or solar power, all of which are available in abundance in Indonesia.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Thursday the regulation might be issued as soon as the end of this month.

“The presidential decree is all about [regulating] the ecosystem of the electric vehicle industry. It will include many incentives [to reduce] the luxury tax [on electric vehicles]. [It will also define] the types of vehicles that can receive the incentives, based on their emission levels,” Sri Mulyani said.

The minister said electric vehicles are already all the rage in countries like the United States and Japan, and also in Europe.

“We hope to turn Indonesia into a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, not only producing for the domestic market but also for export,” Sri Mulyani said.

Indonesia’s first target is to develop the capacity to produce and export the number one component in electric cars: the batteries.

 

  • Renewables
28 July 2019

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  • Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan has urged all regional governments in Indonesia to encourage community members to use eco-friendly and renewable energy sources to meet their electricity needs through household scaled solar panels.

“Our electricity consumption per year is at most 1,000 kWh per capita. This is very low. If, for example, it rises to 1,500 kWh, then there are only two choices, namely building a power plant that is not eco-friendly or using this (eco-friendly and renewable energy),” said Ignasius Jonan in campaign of the Million Solar Roof National Movement at the National Monument, Jakarta, Sunday.

He said that Indonesia which is located on the equator has an advantage of sun shining throughout the day, so it can supply large energy to the electricity needs of the community.

“I urge heads of districts, mayors, and governors to be aware of (energy and environment). They may negotiate this matter which result in an issuance of governor’s regulation,” he added.

Jonan said he proposed that the issuance of building permits (IMB) for above 250 square meters be given to applicants who meet an obligation to install household-scaled solar panels on their buildings’ roofs. The application of this policy is expected to save 40 percent of the state-owned electricity company PLN’s electricity usage.

As for buildings above 500 to 1000 square meters that have been established before this policy is made, the local government can give the owners a five-year time limit to install their solar energy sources.

In addition to encouraging the use of eco-friendly and renewable energy to regional governments, Ignasius Jonan also advised business entities and industries to be able to utilize the walls and roofs of their buildings for solar panels to be installed.

The effort is expected to be able to push 10 percent of the energy transfer in the business and industrial sectors from the non-eco-friendly to clean energy sources, he said, adding that it could be completed within the next five years. At present, there are 10 million PLN customers engaged in the business, industrial and social sectors.

“This will help the use of eco-friendly energy,” said this former Managing Director of PT Kereta Api Indonesia.

The government has set a target of obtaining 23 percent of renewable energy usage by 2025 and 31 percent by 2050 as agreed in the Paris Agreement.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
27 July 2019

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  • Philippines

The Ayala group’s power generation unit AC Energy has entered into a deal on the transfer of its entire interest in a 552-megawatt, coal-fired plant in Lanao del Norte to its partner, Power Partners Ltd. Co.

Ayala Corp. said in regulatory filing that the transaction would involve all of AC Energy’s share in GNPower Kauswagan (GNPK) and that the price was still being determined.

The GNPK facility is expected to be fully in commercial operation within this year.

“The transfer will be implemented in tranches, with the final transfer price to be agreed upon by the parties at a later date after taking into account agreed adjustments,” Ayala Corp. said.

“The completion of the transfer is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, including approvals by the Philippine Competition Commission and the lenders of the GNPK project,” it added.

Toward this goal, AC Energy last year also entered into an agreement with the Aboitiz group on the selldown of the former’s thermal assets, including interests in GNPower Mariveles and GNPower Dinginin that both involve coal-fired generators.

AC Energy said the deal with Aboitiz would enable the expansion of its domestic and offshore renewable energy businesses with a balanced portfolio in renewable and thermal energy.

As countries around the region begin to adopt more favorable policies toward renewable energy, AC Energy has identified the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam as the key markets in its regional expansion strategy.

In 2018 alone, AC Energy partnered with the BIM Group of Vietnam on 300 MW of solar energy and also entered the Australian renewables market through a joint venture with UPC Renewables, which has both solar and wind projects in the pipeline.

 

  • Coal
27 July 2019

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  • Vietnam

HANOI (Viet Nam News/ANN)  — Vietnam imported about 23 million tonnes of coal between the beginning of the year and July 15 worth US$2.17 billion, according to the General Department of Customs.

Imports rose by 108 per cent in volume and 69.5 per cent in value from the same period last year.

The growth rate of import volume was higher than that of value because the import price of coal reduced to $95.2 per tonne from $117 in the same period last year.

Notably, the total volume of imported coal from the first day of this year until July 15 exceeded the amount imported during all of 2018 by about 57,000 tonnes.

In the first half of this year, Indonesia, Australia, Russia and China were the four largest coal suppliers for Vietnam, Hai quan (Customs) newspaper quoted the General Statistics Office as saying.

Vietnam imported 7.3 million tonnes of coal worth of $461.7 million from ASEAN countries in the first six months of the year, including more than one million tonnes in June.

About 7.1 million tonnes were imported from Australia, worth $769.5 million, 3.7 million tonnes from Russia with a value of $325.2 million and 590,000 tonnes from China, worth $177.7 million.

Domestic demand is increasing, especially for thermal power plants, while the output of the country’s coal mines is much lower. Therefore, coal imports are expected to continue increasing.

In the first half of July alone, the nation spent $191 million to import more than 2.2 million tonnes of coal.

According to the National Electricity Development Plan for the 2011-20 period, to meet domestic demand for electricity, Vietnam’s power plants must reach a total capacity of 75,000MW in 2020. About 48 per cent of the capacity will come from thermal power plants that use coal.

By 2030, the total capacity of power plants must stand at 146,800MW with 51.6 per cent coming from thermal power plants.

To achieve the target, thermal power plants will need 64.1 million tonnes of coal in 2020 and 131.1 million tonnes in 2030, according to Vietnam’s development plan for the coal industry.

Coal demand from the key metal, cement, fertiliser and chemical industries as well as other consumer sectors will be about 25.5 million tonnes in 2030.

That means Vietnam will need a total of about 157 million tonnes of coal in 2030 while the domestic supply will reach a maximum of 57 million tonnes. The nation will find it necessary to import up to 100 million tonnes of coal.

  • Electricity/Power Grid
  • Renewables
27 July 2019

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  • Lao PDR
  • Thailand

The Thai government must suspend plans to buy electricity from a dam in Lao, conservationists said Friday, as water levels along the kingdom’s section of Mekong river plummet to near-record lows.

The Thai-built Xayaburi dam, a few hours from the northern Lao town of Luang Prabang, is set to be completed in October, the latest in a welter of barriers across the waterway.

It has been cloaked in controversy since construction began in 2012, with environmentalists raising alarm about its likely impact on the Mekong’s fish species, ecosystem and water levels.

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has agreed to buy 95 percent of the electricity generated by the dam once it comes online later this year.

But on Friday activists from Thailand’s Mekong provinces issued a petition to the supreme administrative court calling for “an urgent temporary order” to halt EGAT’s plans.

The plea comes as northern Thailand is hit by a severe drought due to late monsoon rains and low water levels in the Mekong.

The petition said current river levels in the area were in “critical condition”.

“The reduction of water is a result of the storing water to generate electricity by Xayaburi dam,” it added.

Last week the Mekong River Commission, an inter-governmental group, said river levels in June and July had dropped to “among the lowest on record”.

There was no immediate comment from CH. Karnchang, the Thai company building the Xayaburi dam.

The dam is expected to produce 1,220 megawatts of electricity when it comes fully online in October.

Disrupted fish migration

Conservation group the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has said fish migration and food supplies would be disrupted and has called for the project to be delayed until further impact studies are carried out.

Landlocked and impoverished Lao has ploughed ahead with ambitious dam building projects, setting its sights on becoming “the battery of Asia”.

But its Mekong neighbours Vietnam and Thailand have raised concerns about the downriver impact of Lao’s outsized hydro power ambitions.

The cost of the dam building frenzy was laid bare last year when a massive hydropower project collapsed in southern Lao, submerging large swathes of land and killing dozens.

International Rivers said this month that 5,000 people remain homeless and confined to threadbare camps a year after the disaster. – AFP

  • Others
26 July 2019

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  • Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The government is going to allow venture capital companies to have their investments tax exempted in their filings with Inland Revenue Board, as soon as three years into the investment.

When this incentive was announced under the Budget 2018, Minister of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (MESTECC) Yeo Bee Yin explained venture capital companies were only eligible for the tax exemption of up to RM20 million, after they have exited from their investments.

This usually takes up to between eight and 10 years of investment before an investor is eligible for the maximum RM20 million tax exemption per year.

Under Budget 2018, the government had provided for companies or individuals investing in venture capital companies to be accorded a tax deduction in their investments of up to RM20 million per year.

The tax exemption is for money spent on management fees, performance fees and income from profit sharing received on investment made by venture capital companies.

Two months ago, however, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) approved of this tax incentives to be made available to companies and individuals as soon as three years into investments.

“So, my Ministry is in talks with MoF to have this 3-year investment period gazetted. After that, it’s for the Securities Commission to implement, hopefully by the end of this year,” she said.

“We want to incentivise more private financing into green projects,” Yeo said in supporting the Securities Commission, who implements this incentive to attract more private investments into the venture capital space.

She went on to reiterate her aspirations to have more venture capitalists and private equity investors putting their money renewable energy projects and energy efficiency initiatives.

The minister was speaking with reporters after officiating at the opening of the Southeast Asia Capital & Private Equity Conference 2019 here today, organised by the Malaysian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association.

Agencies that accord funds for business ventures that are now under the purview of MESTECC, are Malaysian Technology Development Corp, Malaysian Debt Ventures Bhd, Malaysia Venture Capital Management Bhd, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd and Kumpulan Modal Perdana Sdn Bhd.

Yeo said these five agencies will soon be consolidated to raise their effectiveness, in spurring growth in the industry.

  • Energy-Climate & Environment
26 July 2019

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  • Malaysia

WHETHER it is due to water or electricity cuts, Malaysians are now being compelled to examine the way we generate and use the energy, water and other resources available to us. With regard to energy, how can Malaysians take further proactive action to encourage more efficient use of it?

Total energy consumption in this country is high as subsidies are being extended to consumers. As much as RM14.5bil was spent in 2011 alone to buy fossil fuels to generate energy. As Malaysia moves towards becoming a high-income nation, energy usage is also expected to increase. More than that, as the standard of living and population increase, the demand for energy will continue to skyrocket.

According to the World Energy Markets Observatory (WEMO) 2017 report, Malaysia’s energy usage is projected to increase by 4.8% right up to 2030. As it is, in 2017 alone, over RM15.1bil was spent to power up cities in the peninsula, which has an estimated 8.5 million consumers.

Malaysia is still a long way from being energy-efficient, hence there is a need for a systematic approach towards energy efficiency. Beyond the government, regulators and business owners, the public can also take action to reduce excessive energy consumption.

Business owners can take cues from the government and design sustainable buildings or, even better, retrofit existing ones to optimise energy usage.

According to the Energy, Technology, Science, Climate Change and Environment Ministry, 50% of the total electricity used in Malaysia can be accounted for by buildings alone, especially in the hotel industry. This highlights a vast potential for energy optimisation and cost-saving.

For hotels in particular, energy consumption contributes a significant percentage to the operating costs with the majority being attributed to temperature regulation. Not surprisingly, it takes a massive amount of energy to power all those guest rooms!

Due to the high-room volumes, wasteful in-room consumption, such as blasting the air conditioners to the absolute minimum of 16ºC, turning on all electrical appliances in empty rooms and excessively using the heater and hot water facilities, needs to be carefully tracked and prudently managed.

In order to mitigate energy wastage and optimise energy use, hotel operators often turn to technology for help. Installation of high-performance mechanical systems and appliances is one way to ensure that their buildings can be properly managed, and that energy efficiency requirements are being met.

In fact, just using more energy- efficient light bulbs, heaters or air-conditioning systems can have large impacts on saving energy and costs, with high returns in the long run.

Given that buildings account for approximately a third of the total global energy consumption and carbon emissions, optimising the energy efficiency of buildings is one of the most impactful ways to curb climate change.

With the increasingly massive changes in the global climate, we must also change the way we view the world around us and start thinking about the bigger picture: “How can my energy use impact the way I live in 50 years to come?”

 

  • Energy-Climate & Environment
26 July 2019

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  • Vietnam

HCM City (VNA) – Denmark has considerable experience in green and sustainable development and is willing to share with Vietnam, said Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam Louise Holmsgaard on July 26.

During an exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City to introduce the European country’s pump products and solutions, which was jointly held by the Embassy and Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos, the diplomat further said climate change and its impact, including floods, drought, urban flooding and increasing energy prices, have become a global concern.

Current challenges require governments and the private economic sector to closely cooperate and bring forward modern and sustainable solutions and technologies, she added.

The diplomat noted that since 2012, Denmark has provided assistance for some programmes on climate change adaptation and energy saving solutions in Vietnam. The country will introduce more advanced pump technologies to the Vietnamese market in the coming time.-VNA

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