News Clipping Archive - Page 1131 of 1294

Renewables

AC Energy to put up 170-megawatt wind power project in Vietnam

7 May 2019

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Vietnam

MANILA, Philippines — AC Energy Inc., the energy platform of Ayala Corp., expands its renewable energy footprint in Vietnam with the construction of a 170-megawatt (MW) wind project with its partner.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, AC Energy said it signed a shareholders’ agreement with The Blue Circle to jointly construct, own and operate the Mui Ne Wind Farm located at the Binh Thuan province, southeastern coast of Vietnam.

The Mui Ne Wind Farm, which has a potential capacity up to 170 MW, is AC Energy’s first wind project in Vietnam.

AC Energy accounts for over 62 percent of the economic ownership including its 50 percent direct voting stake.

“Mui Ne project will be AC Energy’s first wind power project in Vietnam. AC Energy is very keen to participate in the fast-growing Vietnam power sector, with pioneering investments in renewable energy,” AC Energy International chief operating officer Patrice Clausse said.

“We are delighted to partner with The Blue Circle, and this strategic partnership builds on our combined expertise, strong financing capabilities, and robust development pipeline,” he said.

Construction of the 40-MW first phase will commence immediately with an estimated cost of $92 million. This will be financed by debt and equity.

The first phase is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020, in time for the new wind feed-in-tariff deadline of November 2021.

AC Energy and TBC awarded Vestas the supply and installation contract for 10 V150-4.2 MW wind turbines, as well as a 10-year AOM5000 energy-based service agreement.

The Vestas V150-4.2 MW wind turbine is considered as one of the highest producing turbines in the industry and is thus expected to deliver a competitive cost of energy for the project.

In November last year, AC Energy through its subsidiary AC Energy International Holdings Pte. Ltd,. acquired a 25 percent ownership of TBC, as well as co-investment rights in TBC’s projects.

AC Energy and TBC will jointly develop, construct, own and operate TBC’s pipeline of around 2,000 MW of renewable energy projects across Southeast Asia, including 700 MW in Vietnam.

TBC developed and constructed one of the first wind farms in Vietnam, Dam Nai JSC, while AC Energy owns and operates the first wind farm in Southeast Asia, North Wind Power.

Apart from the wind project, AC Energy also partnered with AMI Renewables Energy Joint Stock Co. to build solar farms totaling 80 MW in the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak, and with the BIM Group of Vietnam to jointly develop over 300 MW of solar power projects in Ninh Thuan province.

Electricity/Power Grid

Meralco slashes power rates for May 2019

7 May 2019

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Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Tuesday, May 7, that overall electricity rates for the month will decrease to P10.29 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from April’s P10.56.

The downward adjustment of P0.27 per kWh will mean a decrease of P55 in the total bill of a typical household consuming 200 kWh.

For households consuming more than that, the savings would be:

300 kWh – P82
400 kWh – P109
500 kWh – P136

Meralco said the generation charge went down, primarily due to lower charges from independent power producers and power supply agreements.

The new rates will be reflected in consumers’ May bills.

The Pangilinan-led company implemented the reductions amid price increases in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Prices in WESM increased by P3.53 per kWh due to the tight supply conditions in Luzon.

WESM provides some 12% of Meralco’s total supply needs.

The Luzon grid was placed under red and yellow alerts 7 times last April. – Rappler.com

Energy Cooperation

PRRD signs Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act

7 May 2019

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Philippines

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law a bill institutionalizing energy efficiency and conservation, enhancing the efficient use of energy, and granting incentives to energy efficiency and conservation projects in the country.

Duterte signed the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (Republic Act 11285) on April 12, but a copy of which was released to media on Tuesday (May 7).

Under the new law, government recognizes the need to “institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation as a national way of life geared towards the efficient and judicious utilization of energy by formulating, developing, and implementing energy efficiency and conservation plans and programs.”

This way, it would “secure sufficiency and stability of energy supply in the country to cushion the impact of high prices of imported fuels to local markets and protect the environment in support of the economic and social development goals of the country.”

The law creates an Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee (IAEECC) to evaluate and approve government energy efficient projects as defined under the new law and to provide strategic direction in the implementation of the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP).

The GEMP refers to the government-wide program to reduce the government’s monthly consumption of electricity and petroleum products through electricity efficiency and conservation, and efficiency and conservation in fuel use of government vehicles, among others.

The IAEECC shall be chaired by the Energy Secretary and composed of the Secretaries of the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Transportation, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Director General of National Economic and Development Authority.

Powers and functions of the IAEECC include to prepare an annual assessment of opportunities for energy cost reduction in state-owned and leased buildings and facilities designated by the IAEECC; to review all proposed capital projects and energy cost operating budgets of agencies designated by the IAEECC; and, recommend energy conversation measures which would reduce operating costs in state-owned and leased buildings or facilities.

The IAEECC is also tasked to provide any officer or entity of government technical and consultative assistance concerning energy cost management or conservation and annually recommends specific operations and maintenance procedure modifications and capital projects for state-owned and leased buildings and facilities designed to reduce energy consumption and costs.

It may also issue a report describing the status of government energy efficiency projects and the GEMP, and develop after study of existing emerging energy conservation technologies and guidelines as may be necessary or desirable to aid the work of the IAEECC among other tasks.

The act is a consolidation of Senate Bill 1531 and House Bill 8629 which was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on Jan. 30, 2019. (PNA)

Others

ASEAN wants to go electric

7 May 2019

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ASEAN

The first image that usually springs to mind when someone mentions any Southeast Asian capital is 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. Last year, 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 is expected to grow more than 40 percent by 2040.

Car ownership in the region is particularly high compared to other parts of the world. It’s not uncommon to have more than one car per household in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Meanwhile in countries such as 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.

Aside from problems arising due to traffic congestion, another thing to worry about is the air pollution these vehicles cause. Since most vehicles in the region run on gasoline or diesel, they contribute significantly to the worsening air pollution in Southeast Asia’s 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 will only 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 atmosphere, battery-electric cars effectively produce zero-emissions from their tailpipes.

Source: Frost & Sullivan, Future of Electric Vehicles in Southeast Asia (2018)

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.

Incentives

ASEAN member states need to encourage their respective populations to switch to EVs. In the same study by Frost & Sullivan, respondents said that the best incentive to make them switch to EVs would be tax exemptions. While tax incentives usually mean governments would incur some sort of cost due to loss of tax revenue or having to bear the cost of subsidies, ASEAN governments need to realise the irreversible impact these vehicles are having on the environment.

Some ASEAN countries have already made a head-start in encouraging the use of EVs. To promote the use of EVs, the Thai government has drafted a ‘Electric Vehicle Promotion Plan for Thailand’ under its Thailand Alternative Energy Development Plan 2012-2021. As a result, Thailand went from having 60,000 hybrid passenger cars and 8,000 battery electric motorcycles that were registered in 2014 to a total of 102,308 hybrid cars and 1,394 battery electric vehicles.

Vietnam’s first car manufacturer, Vinfast is also planning to release EV’s of its own. Vinfast announced that it will produce 250,000 electric scooters a year and is planning to release its own electric car in the coming years.

Currently the region is also, rightly, investing in public transportation. Despite this, it is unlikely that the dependence on cars and motorcycles in the region would decrease. The reality is that many Southeast Asian cities are designed with cars in mind rather than public transportation. In Kuala Lumpur, the new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system has not reached its forecasted ridership despite the billions of dollars spent on the system. Also, a properly planned public transportation system could take years to develop. Many of the public transport infrastructure projects in the region will only be completed at the end of the next decade. For example, the first subway system in Manila is only expected to be completed in 2025. With this in mind, EVs could well be the immediate solution for the region’s transportation woes.

Others

Indonesia chases manufacturing hub dream as commodities wither

7 May 2019

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Indonesia

Indonesia plans to open up more sectors to foreign investors and reboot its stringent labor laws to become a regional manufacturing powerhouse rivaling Germany and South Korea, according to Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto.

President Joko Widodo’s government will rely on automotive, chemicals and electronics industries to push the contribution of manufacturing sector to 25 percent of the nation’s economy by 2025 from 20 percent now, Hartarto said. The move may help boost exports from Southeast Asia’s largest economy and tackle its current account deficit, he added.

“Our target is to be the manufacturing hub of ASEAN,” Hartarto said in an interview in Jakarta on Monday, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Indonesia will seek to eclipse Germany and South Korea and match up to China as a base for making everything from electric vehicles to petrochemical products, he said.

Widodo, who is preparing for a second five-year term, is looking to rejuvenate the country’s struggling manufacturing sector to bolster growth, help rein in the current account deficit and create millions of jobs. Indonesia has been growing at about 5 percent a year, well short of the president’s 7 percent target, as it has long relied on exports of raw commodities.

The government’s initiatives to bolster manufacturing will include relaxing the negative investment list, which regulates levels of foreign ownership across hundreds of sectors, implementing tax holidays for both domestic and foreign firms, and reforming the labor law, Hartarto said.

Widodo, known as Jokowi, has a greater mandate and political support to address sensitive issues such as labor law, a key factor that has hindered investors coming to the country, Hartarto said. The incumbent leads his challenger Prabowo Subianto by about 12 percentage points with votes from about two-thirds of polling stations tallied, setting him on course for a wider margin of victory than in 2014.

With the world moving toward electric vehicles, Indonesia wants battery-powered automobiles to make up 20 percent of the nation’s total output by 2025, Hartarto said. A road map being prepared by the government would involve existing manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. as well as Chinese electric vehicles makers such as BYD Co. and Wuling Motors Holdings, he said.

“Few of the existing players are already doing the pilot projects in Indonesia such as Mitsubishi, Toyota and Honda motorcycles,” Hartarto said. “If they are doing the prototyping and pilot projects, that means they are committed to further investments.”

Jokowi has promised tax incentives to companies willing to invest in electric vehicles while also making it expensive to own fossil fuel-powered automobiles to save the country about Rp798 trillion ($56 billion) from reducing dependence and imports of crude oil. The country is counting on its abundant reserves of nickel ore, a key raw material in electric batteries, as a big draw for foreign companies seeking to expand production.

“What Indonesia needs apart from revitalization of our manufacturing sector is revitalization of our innovation system with a focus on the manufacturing and the digital economy,” Hartarto said. “The next source of Indonesia’s economic growth will come from the capability of the Indonesian people.”

Energy Cooperation

‘BRI to greatly benefit Cambodia’

6 May 2019

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Cambodia

Recent research by Moody’s Investors Service revealed Cambodia, which currently has a stable B2 credit rating, is among the countries with the greatest potential for reaping economic benefits from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

In the new report, Moody’s focuses on the potential long-term economic gains and near- to medium-term macro-stability risks for 12 emerging and frontier countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

Moody’s vice-president and senior credit officer William Foster said in the research that while BRI focuses mainly on investing in large transportation and energy projects that close critical infrastructure gaps, the project helps expand production capacity and contributes to both near-term growth and long-term growth potential in recipient countries.

“We see the greatest potential for economic gains in Pakistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Cambodia,” he said.

However, Moody’s has also warned the recipient countries about overreliance on Chinese funds, saying that while BRI supports Asian infrastructure-led growth, the project can add to fiscal and external risks for the weakest nations.

“Inefficient project implementation and the absence of macroeconomic and structural reform requirements in many Chinese loans can lessen longer-term credit benefits for some sovereigns,” Moody’s said.

Business Research Institute for Cambodia CEO and chief economist Hiroshi Suzuki told The Post on Sunday that while China is currently facing great difficulty due to mounting international pressure – mainly from the US – Cambodia has good relations with China. The Kingdom can benefit much more from that country.

“I am impressed by the good negotiation skills of Prime Minister Hun Sen,” he said.

’Debt trap’

Regarding the “debt trap”, he said Cambodia is very different from other countries such as the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“The debt level of Cambodia is very low,” he said, referring to figures shown in the Cambodia Public Debt Statistical Bulletin issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in March.

Citing the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway as an example – which is projected to cost around $2 billion – Suzuki said the entire cost will be borne by a Chinese private company and it is said that the Cambodian government has no debt or guarantee for debt.

“The government also made great efforts to avoid the accumulation of debt by using the BOT [build-operate-transfer] method,” he said, adding that concern for Chinese investments and lending is rising.

“The people in Sihanoukville are facing problems such as increasing cost of rent, strong pressure for relocation by Chinese development, and other problems related to public order and security.”

“It is said that the steam of such anger is being fanned. I hope the government will put some measures in place to avoid an explosion of popular anger,” he said.

For Cambodia, BRI investment is predominantly focused on the energy sector – both hydropower and coal power plants – and transportation projects, Moody’s said.

China’s cumulative investments in Cambodia’s energy sector currently totals more than $11.5 billion or 90 per cent of the 2018 GDP, with approximately $5.3 billion of that since 2013, according to Moody’s.

“We envisage that these power sector projects will help reduce supply-side bottlenecks,” Moody said.

It said several transportation projects are underway, including the $2 billion Phnom Penh- Sihanoukville expressway, which will reduce transportation time and cost for goods travelling to Cambodia’s sole deep-water port.

“Overall, we believe these infrastructure investments will help to raise Cambodia’s growth potential,” it said.

Centre for Policy Studies director Chan Sophal told The Post that while other donors have not done enough to rebuild the Kingdom’s infrastructure that was destroyed by three decades of civil war and have focused more on soft infrastructure, China has.

“Cambodia has been benefiting substantially from Chinese investment so far including BRI projects in the form of infrastructure, which is a top priority for economic development.”

“In the future, Cambodia will benefit more from improving individual and institutional capacity to ensure fair deals and the sound implementation of projects financed by China, as well as other sources,” Sophal said.

However, he said risks remain – including an overreliance on China and over-indebtedness in the long term.

Electricity/Power Grid ,
Energy Economy

France to support development of Cambodian electrical grid

6 May 2019

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Cambodia

France will support the development of the Kingdom’s power transmission network with $30 million in financing.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Minister Aun Pornmoniroth and Remi Riou, general manager of the French Development Agency (AFD), will sign a financing agreement in the near future.

“As planned, the Minister of Economy and Finance will sign a financing agreement for a project to modernise the power transmission system with 29.1 million euro,” the statement says.

“The project aims to strengthen the power management system with a smart grid and increase the efficiency and sustainability of the power supply,” it reads.

According to the Electricity Authority of Cambodia, Cambodia now has 2,141 kilometres of transmission lines and 33 sub-stations.

In January this year, the government said all 24 provinces in the country will be connected to the national grid by 2020.

It said five provinces still lack access to the national power grid – Tboung Khmum, Kampong Thom, Oddar Meanchey, Ratanakkiri and Mondulkiri.

Currently, 87 percent of the country’s 14,168 villages have access to power.

Last year, Cambodia consumed 2,650 megawatts, a 15 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

Oil & Gas

Bumi Armada bags RM8.8 billion nine-year FPSO contract

6 May 2019

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Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Bumi Armada Bhd said its joint venture (JV) company Shapoorji Pallonji Bumi Armada Godavari Pte Ltd (SPBAG) has been awarded a nine-year charter contract worth US$2.1 billion (RM8.8 billion).

In an exchange filing today, Bumi Armada said the contract was awarded by India’s State-owned oil company, Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd, for the charter hire and operations of one Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading Vessel (FPSO).

The contract is for a fixed period of nine years, valued at US$2.1 billion, with an option to extend for an additional seven years on a yearly basis, at an aggregate contract value of some US$655 million if all extension options are exercised.

According to Bumi Armada, the contract will be operated by the JV company for Oil and Natural Gas Corp’s NELP Block KG — DWN 98/2 Development Project Cluster-II field located on the east coast of Kakinada, offshore India.

The loss-making group said the contract is expected to contribute positively to its future earnings. SPBAG is a 30:70 joint venture between Bumi Armada and Shapoorji Pallonji Oil & Gas Pte Ltd of India (SPOGPL).

Commenting on the notification of award, Bumi Armada chief executive officer Leon Harland, who will be stepping down next Wednesday, said this is a “very positive” result for the group.

“The JV with SPOGPL has been a very successful partnership, this being our third FPSO project together in India and fourth in total. I would like to personally thank everyone involved in securing this project. This is a positive result for the group and the project will add value to Bumi Armada going forward,” he added.

Shares in Bumi Armada, which has recovered some 35% since end-2018, closed one sen or 4.54% lower today at 21 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM1.23 billion.

The group reported for the full financial year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18) a net loss of RM2.3 billion against a net profit of RM352.25 million in the previous year — due mainly to impairments and net allowance for impairment losses — despite revenue rising slightly to RM2.42 billion from RM2.4 billion a year ago.

About two weeks ago, Bumi Armada announced it has managed to restructure its US$660 million worth of debts after over six months of waiting, giving the group some breathing space although the delay of repayment dates resulted in higher interest rates.

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