News Clipping Archive - Page 1184 of 1320

Renewables

Geo Dipa to proceed with 3 geothermal projects after resolution of civil dispute

3 April 2019

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Indonesia

PT Geo Dipa Energi has resumed the construction of three geothermal power plants in the Dieng-Patuha project in West Java, Indonesia. This is following the decision of the Supreme Court that ruled in favor of Geo Dipa regarding a civil dispute with PT Bumigas Energi. The three plants that will be constructed are Dieng Unit 2, Patuha Unit 2, and the 10 MW small-scale power plant.

According to PT Geo Dipa Energi Corporate Secretary Endang Iswandini, the continuation of the construction of the geothermal power plants puts Geo Dipa on track to supply up to 270 MW of electricity by 2023. Moreover, the Dieng-Patuha geothermal project is part of the Indonesia government’s Phase II Fast Track Program that is targeting 35,000 MW of total generation to augment the country’s electricity infrastructure.

“Geo Dipa is one of the Special Mission Vehicles (SMV) under the Ministry of Finance which is mandated to support government programs that provide safe and environmentally friendly geothermal power,” added Endang.

Previously, PT Geo Dipa Energi and PT PLN were negotiating for the electricity prices for the Candradimuka geothermal working area in Dieng, Central Java. According to Geo Dipa Energi Director Riki Ibrahim, drilling in the Candradimuka geothermal working area will proceed as soon as there is an agreement on the selling price of the electricity that will be generated.

Although the negotiations had been going on for two years, Riki is optimistic that an agreement will be established this year. Geo Dipa Energi had submitted a proposed rate of USD 10 cents per kWh, Riki revealed.

If the drilling and development of the Candradimuka geothermal working area will proceed, it can produce 40 MW of electricity in the initial stage. Funding for the development of the project was provided by the Asian Development Bank

Electricity/Power Grid

4 power plant units go on unplanned outage

2 April 2019

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Philippines

THE Luzon grid lost a total of 1,226 megawatts (MW) on Monday as four power plant units went on an unplanned outage that resulted in the thinning of reserves.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said a yellow alert notice had been issued covering 11 a.m. to 12 noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The notice was lifted by grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) at 3:30 p.m., the department said.

The DoE identified the plants that went on an unscheduled shutdown as unit 2 of the Masinloc plant at 344 MW; unit 1 of Pagbilao plant at 382 MW; unit 1 of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. at 150 MW; and unit 2 of the Malaya plant at 350 MW.

Other power plants have operated at a capacity lower than its rated output, namely: unit 2 of the Calaca plant at 200 MW from 300 MW; unit 2 of Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. at 100 MW from 150 MW; and unit 3 of the Pagbilao plant at 315 MW from 420 MW.

The DoE said it was “closely coordinating with the power industry players to ensure the delivery of electricity services to consumers.”

“It includes the facilitation of incoming plants that are undergoing commissioning and testing such as Masinloc 3 for Luzon and TVI2 (Therma Visayas, Inc. unit 2) for Visayas,” it said in a statement.

The DoE did not disclose the peak demand on Monday nor the available capacity during the day. It previously said that the agency and the NGCP will no longer be disclosing yellow alert notices until after they were lifted.

NGCP earlier expected Monday’s available generating capacity for Luzon at 11,559 MW as against an expected peak demand of 10,178 MW. The DoE earlier said that it wanted reserve power to be at least 25% of the day’s peak demand.

As this developed, consumer group Laban Konsyumer, Inc. (LKI) asked the DoE and the Energy Regulatory Commission to be transparent on the status of power plants to allow electricity users to monitor the power situation of the grid on a daily basis.

“It would be best if the government could provide consumers a list of all the plants and an inventory of when these power plants scheduled shutdown. There should be contingency plans in place for unscheduled outages due to technical problems and/or force majeure,” LKI President Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba said in a statement. — Victor V. Saulon

Electricity/Power Grid ,
Others

Govt urged to push for electric vehicles

2 April 2019

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Thailand

In an interview with The Nation, Gu cited China as an example where EV sales have already topped 1 million units due to the Chinese government’s adoption of a car ownership policy that favours EVs.

Free ownership licences have been granted to those who want to buy electric vehicles so the country’s EV adoption has accelerated over the past several years.

China is currently the world’s largest automotive market with annual sales of over 22 million units.

According to Gu, appropriate market mechanisms are also needed to ensure that the EV demand growth is sustainable in order to deliver a better quality of life for city residents currently affected by air pollution resulting from combustion-engine vehicles.

For Thailand, he suggested that the government start with the introduction of electric buses that can go for 200-300 kilometres after one charge. In addition, electric motorbikes should be widely adopted as in China and Vietnam to help reduce air pollution.

In a bid to promote the concept of e-mobility, ABB has been a key sponsor of the Formula E or E-Prix, with the latest two races held in Hong Kong and another in the Chinese city of Sanya last month.

Formula E races are seen as a powerful platform to communicate with global audiences to boost public awareness for smart transport as part of the ABB vision for smart cities.

However, Gu said the advent of e-mobility in the form of various electric vehicles will also lead to global energy structural changes.

Gu said e-mobility is more efficient and friendly to the environment when compared to vehicles using fossil energy, especially in mega-cities around the world where the quality of life will be improved due to adoption of EVs in place of combustion-engine vehicles.

EVs are now capable of achieving a 300km drive after one charge while ABB’s technology can now charge a battery pack for a 200km drive within eight minutes.

Power utilities in Thailand and other countries will also have to upgrade their infrastructure to cope with the new demand/supply patterns with more renewable energies added to the current energy mix.

e-mobility

Meanwhile, Claudio Facchin, ABB’s president of power grids, said e-mobility will likely account for 10-15 per cent of the world’s total electricity consumption in the next 1-2 decades.

This will pose new challenges on power grids or the supply side of electricity.

According to Facchin, ABB has been transitioning to the business of industrial digitalisation, robotics, automation, smart cities, and a new energy structure with more renewables such as solar and wind energies.

However, these renewable energies are intermittent, making it necessary to manage the supply side with storage facilities to achieve energy stability.

By 2030, renewable energies are forecast to account for as much as 85 per cent of the new capacity installed, up from 50 per cent in 2015.

He said storage batteries are required to handle intermittent renewable energies along with the adoption of micro-grids for interconnection of the national grid.

In addition, digitalisation of energy management has advanced with more sensors and data analytic tools adopted to increase efficiency as well as to improve infrastructure maintenance.

According to Facchin, the e-mobility progress depends on the cost of the battery, which has been declining due to greater global demand as the cost of EVs is projected to be on par with combustion-engine vehicles around 2023.

For e-buses, he said, big cities should consider adopting an urban transportation system with overhead charging equipment while buses stop at every bus station.

Regarding the “Industry 4.0” initiative, he said the firm has launched the ABB Ability platform for cloud-based edge and other computing facilities to support digital transformation of various industries.

In Thailand, food and beverage, automotive parts and other sectors have turned to automation and digitalisation to lower cost, while boosting efficiency with the use of data analytics.

Renewables

EXIM extends credit to develop renewable energy in Vietnam

2 April 2019

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Vietnam

EXPORT-IMPORT Bank of Thailand (Exim Thailand) has extended $65 million in credit to Eastern Power Group Plc and Communication & System Solution Plc to finance the construction of two solar-power plants in Phu Yen, Vietnam, with a combined generating capacity of around 100MW.

Exim president Pisit Serewiwattana said the support was intended to encourage Thai investment in renewable-energy projects in response to increasing demand from both the public and private sectors in Vietnam after government liberalisation.

With solar-power generation in Vietnam targeted to leap from 850MW next year to 12,000MW within 10 years, Exim Thailand has built relationships with leading banks there to manage risks and resolve restrictions.

“Exim Thailand’s financial support is in line with Thai government policy of accelerated promotion of Asean connectivity and the expansion of economic cooperation with neighbouring countries,” Pisit said.

“Exim Thailand also has a strategy to connect Thailand to the world through international trade and investment. We have strived to explore and create trade and investment opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs overseas, particularly in CLMV – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – which are new frontier markets with high potential.

“Exim Thailand is ready to take the lead in filling the existing business, financial and knowledge-base gaps,” he said. “We are also well positioned to work with public and private entities both at home and overseas to boost Thai entrepreneurs’ competitiveness in the move toward Thai and Asian development on a sustainable basis.”

Exim Thailand officially opened a representative office in Phnom Penh on March 7. THE NATION (THAILAND)/ANN

Electricity/Power Grid

Hanoi ensures sufficient power supply in 2019

2 April 2019

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Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Electricity’s Hanoi Power Corporation (EVNHN) pledges to ensure sufficient power supply to people in the capital city of Hanoi in 2019, said its Deputy General Director Nguyen Anh Tuan during a meeting of the municipal Party Committee on April 2.

Tuan said due to the prolonged hot weather, the power grid may face overloading during summertime, with the capacity of power use rising from 10 percent to 15 percent, or over 4,600 MW to more than 4,800 MW.

According to him, EVNHN worked with the municipal Department of Industry and Trade to build a scenario in response to any large-scale contingency, which was approved by the municipal People’s Committee.

During summertime, EVNHN asked units to upgrade power grids and ensure personnel-on-duty to prevent power line and transformer overloads.

In the first quarter of this year, the corporation ensured sufficient power supply for local businesses and people, especially for major socio-political events such as the second DPRK-USA summit which took place in Hanoi. –VNA

Energy Efficiency

Shell Malaysia begins upgrading its fuel stations to become greener with new energy savings measures

2 April 2019

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Malaysia

Shell Malaysia today announced that it had begun its journey to make its fuel stations more environmentally friendly with the introduction of its first two green retail fuel stations in the country. Shell Damansara Jaya and Shell Taman Connaught have been rated to Green Building Index (GBI) standards.

The GBI is the country’s industry-recognised green rating tool for buildings to promote sustainability in the built environment by saving energy and resources, and the two Shell stations mark the first entries in the new retail fuel category introduced for the certification standard. The company is also the first in the Asia Pacific region to go the green route for retail fuel stations.

The move by Shell is in line with the its vision of lowering carbon emissions of its retail stations by 50% by 2025. In the initial stage, the aim is to reduce a station’s energy consumption and improve its emission footprint and its impact on the environment.

Implemented green building index elements include a solar photovoltaic system installed on the canopy of the station, which allows the generation of electricity during the day to supplement the station’s energy requirements and bringing operating costs down.

For example, the 50 kW system at the Damansara Jaya station helps reduce expenditure on electricity from the grid by around 20% – we were told that the average monthly electricity bill for the station is around RM11,000, so that’s quite a bit in savings.

The green station also features physical enhancements to help reduce energy consumption. Surfaces of roofs and walls are painted white to reflect solar radiation, thus helping to reduce overall temperature of the indoor environment and the workload of the air-conditioning system. The improvements translate to around RM22,750 of savings per year from a station.

Lighting elements have also been revised, with the switch to LED lighting promoting not just improved durability but lower energy consumption to the tune of up to 285 kWh per year.

Additionally, water consumption has also been reduced with the introduction of waterless urinals and the use of water-saving taps. This reduces the usage of water by around 60% compared to traditional fittings, and translates to water savings of up to 310 cubic metres a year.

The eco-friendly stations are equipped with an energy monitoring system, which allows the tracking and monitoring of electricity and water consumption, and this data is shown via an electronice display board positioned at the shop’s entrance, offering detailed information on the station’s energy/water consumption in real time as well as its carbon intensity reduction.

Aside from the savings and reduction in carbon emissions, consumers are also set to benefit from stations going green, stepping in to a cooler, better-lit environment, acccording to Shell Malaysia Trading MD Shairan Huzani Husain, who was proud of the fact that the GBI certification for the two pilot project stations was achieved within six months.

Shairan said that the cost of retrofitting the pilot stations was borne by Shell, but did not reveal the cost involved. He added that more Shell stations are expected to be transformed in this manner, the company currently surveying all of its 950 stations nationwide for viability. “Not all stations will be updated as such, because some of the stations are small and old,” he said.

Energy Efficiency

Indonesian steel manufacturer, Nestlé push on cooling efficiency

2 April 2019

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Indonesia

Indonesian steel manufacturer Ispat Indo and Nestlé Indonesia have pledged to do everything in their power to cut global warming through improving the efficiency of their cooling equipment, following recognition at the Sustainable Business Awards Indonesia.

Ispat Indo won in the Best Cooling Efficiency section of the awards, organized by Global Initiatives. The new category recognized how action on cooling can make a massive contribution to the fight against climate change. The company was recognized for setting clear targets to monitor consumption, which drives efficiency, and for continuously upgrading and replacing its cooling systems to create greater efficiency. Now the company plans to do even more to increase its cooling efficiency.

“A good cooling system process is the key to success of the production process that we run. The efficiency of the cooling system process will have a positive impact on our company,” said Agus Barliandi, Deputy General Manager, PT. Ispat Indo. “We plan to select more energy saving equipment and look for environmentally friendly substitutes for cooling gases. With the success of the two plans, we will have a positive impact on environmental conservation and help prevent global warming.”

Global Initiatives, in partnership with the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), developed the new award to recognize the leadership and innovation of companies developing and adopting the most efficient cooling technologies.

Nestlé Indonesia and United Tractors also received special recognition in the category. Nestlé has an energy efficiency policy that focuses on industrial refrigeration and has implemented numerous initiatives to reduce energy consumption from cooling systems. United Tractors calculates its cooling loads and implements initiatives to reduce energy consumption, such as installing a variable refrigerant flow system and changing the indoor temperature based on building occupancy.

“We aim to develop our business while improving our environmental performance, including on our cooling efficiency system, which has allowed us to improve energy efficiency and mitigate climate change,” said Mahendra Kusuma, Corporate SHE Manager, Nestlé Indonesia.

The importance of action on cooling

Cooling, in its current form, is energy intensive, expensive and polluting. With growing economic status and rapid urbanization, the demand for cooling systems, such as air conditioners and refrigerators is rising substantially.

In air conditioning alone, the number of units in use is projected to rise from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion by 2050, driven by rising incomes and a shift to the Global South. Business as usual will see the sector grow 90 per cent by 2050 over 2017 levels.

This demand could lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from not only the higher electricity consumption, but the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are used as cooling agents. If these gases are not managed, they could account for close to 20 per cent of climate pollution by 2050.

“Ispat Indo and Nestlé’s willingness to push on cooling efficiency could pave the way for other businesses to do the same. Growing electricity demand for cooling is one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate. Making cooling more efficient could yield multiple benefits, making it more affordable, more secure and more sustainable,” said Mark Radka, Chief, Energy and Climate Branch at UN Environment.

Looking at Indonesia alone, it is estimated that there will be an increase of 15 per cent per year in commercial and private sector usage of cooling systems like air-conditioners and refrigerators. A recent study by Eco-business on “Freezing in the Tropics” found that Indonesian consumers could save nearly US$690 million per year by 2030 by keeping pace on cooling efficiency with ASEAN neighbours.

The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which on 1 January 2019 started phasing down hydrofluorocarbons, provides a huge opportunity to tackle the issue. If fully ratified by member states, this amendment can deliver almost 0.4°C of avoided warming from addressing these gases alone.

The required refit and redesign of cooling equipment opens up a window to do more. At the 30th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in late 2018, the Montreal Protocol’s science panels found that combining the phase down hydrofluorocarbons with energy efficiency gains could double the climate benefits. The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program focuses on the energy efficiency of cooling to increase and accelerate the climate and development benefits of the Kigali Amendment.

UN Environment hosts the Secretariat for the Montreal Protocol, and is deeply engaged in creating more sustainable cooling solutions, through assisting Parties to implement the Kigali Amendment and by maximizing the potential of district energy, which can bring cooling to homes and businesses by using seawater and other sources.

To make the transition to sustainable cooling, it will be critical to build awareness, recognize industry leadership, and encourage more companies to invest in and scale up usage of cooling efficiency technologies.

Electricity/Power Grid

DOE closely coordinating with power suppliers as demand goes up

1 April 2019

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Philippines

MANILA — The Department of Energy (DOE) assured the public of continued coordination with power industry players in view of the heightened demand for electricity during the sweltering summer season.

The DOE issued the statement after the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed the Luzon grid on yellow alert from 11 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.

It explained that the alert notice was issued due to the “unplanned outage” of several generators “that resulted to the thinning of reserves.”

These generators are namely the Masinloc 2 in Zambales, which has a capacity of 344 megawatt (MW), Pagbilao1 in Quezon province (382MW); South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC1) in Batangas (150MW), and Malaya2 (350MW) in Pililia, Rizal.

These facilities have total capacity of 1,226MW.

There were also de-rated plants during the day, these being the Calaca2 in Batangas, which only produced 200MW instead of 300MW; South Luzon Power Generation Corporation (SLPGC2) at 100MW instead of 150MW; and Pagbilao3 at 315MW instead of 420MW.

Even with this situation, the Energy Department said it is “closely coordinating with the power industry players to ensure the delivery of electricity services to consumers.”

“It includes the facilitation of incoming plants that are undergoing commissioning and testing, such as Masinloc3 for Luzon and TVI2 for Visayas,” the DOE statement added. (PNA)

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