News Clipping Archive - Page 1190 of 1320

Electricity/Power Grid

25 March 2019

–

Cambodia ,
Lao PDR

Cambodia will buy 200 megawatts from Laos to feed rising demand for power in the Kingdom.

Electricite du Cambodge has signed an agreement to purchase 200 MW from Laos from 2019 to 2021.

The tariff at which the power will be sold has not been revealed.

With power consumption on the rise, Cambodia needs to increase energy imports, said Ty Norin, secretary of state at Ministry of Mines and Energy.

“The transmission lines to bring energy from Laos are being built as we speak,” Mr Norin said during a press conference on Friday.

The energy purchased by Cambodia will be produced at Laos’ Dan Sahong hydropower dam, located near the border, Mr Norin added.

Earlier this month, the Royal Group of Cambodia and partners China Southern Power Grid and China Huaneng Group said they will continue work on a project to build high voltage transmission lines in the Kingdom.

The project will contribute to the transmission network in the country’s northeast and enable energy exchanges with Vietnam and Laos.

“The project focuses on building transmission lines in the northeast that enable the country to bring in electricity from neighbouring countries when we have a shortage, or to export it when we have a surplus,” Victor Jona, director general of the energy department, told Khmer Times.

A recent report from the Ministry of Mines and Energy shows that the country’s electricity supply will rise by 16.12 percent in 2019, reaching 2,870 MW. 2,428 MW will be generated from local sources, while the rest will be imported from Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.

Others

Gatchalian pushes for electric vehicle adoption roadmap

24 March 2019

–

Philippines

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate committee on energy, recently made the call, as he reiterated the importance of a sound policy and regulatory framework for e-vehicles that would foster the adoption and eventual acceptance of these vehicles in the Philippines.

During a recent Senate energy committee hearing on Senate Bill No. 2137 or the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, Gatchalian questioned the DOE why the agency has minimally produced policy instruments that would help spur the growth of e-vehicles even though it is promoting its use.

“Moving forward, we want to see research. Of course, this will not be without opposition. There will be opposition, let’s expect that. But we have to clearly explain the advantages of promoting e-vehicles,” Gatchalian said.

“I expect the DOE – which is a much larger organization – should have that data. Hindi naman ho tayo puwede mag-promote nang wala ho tayong basis, (We cannot promote without any basis),” the senator pointed out.

The lawmaker said it is imperative to come up with a comprehensive plan to ensure the promotion of the adoption of electric vehicles and the sustainability of the e-vehicle ecosystem in the long run.

“The advantages of e-vehicles…should be quantifiable, or else, it’s very difficult to convince people that this is actually beneficial,” he told the DOE.

Senate Bill No. 2137 aims to address the challenges to the development of the electric vehicle industry by instructing the DOE to create an electric vehicle roadmap and distribution utilities to incorporate a charging infrastructure development scheme in their “Power Development Plan.”

Gatchalian, who filed the measure, said the bill seeks to solve the entire supply chain of e-vehicles, including one of the most important components—the charging stations.

Under the bill, private and public buildings and establishments would be required to have dedicated parking slots with charging stations. It also mandates open access for the installation of charging stations in gasoline stations.

The measure also seeks to expand non-fiscal incentives—such as exemption from number coding and prioritization in registration—and institutionalizes time-bound fiscal incentives for manufacturers and importers of electric vehicles.

Gatchalian said he believes that the Philippines will become less dependent on oil importations if the transport sector adopts the use of e-vehicles.

“At the same time we would reduce dollar outflows, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, create more jobs for Filipinos,” he said.

The lawmaker noted that presently, the transport sector was the biggest contributor to the country’s total energy consumption, accounting for more than one-third or 37.2 percent.

Data from the DOE shows that the transport sector is also a major consumer of petroleum products, consisting of 25.72 percent of the total 75,370.50 barrels that were consumed in 2016.

Data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that 99.48 percent or 8,039,233 out of 8,081,224 of motor vehicles in the country are run by diesel and gasoline, according to the senator.

Renewables

Govt to Increase Sidrap Wind Power Plant`s Capacity

24 March 2019

–

Indonesia

“The power plant in Sidrap would be expanded,” the ministry’s Director of Renewable Energy Harris said in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara on late Saturday.

“Currently the power plant only has the capacity to produce 75 megawatt (of electricity). It would be increased by 50 to 60 megawatt, so it could produce 125-130 megawatt of electricity,” Harris said.

Sidrap wind power plant is the first wind power project in the country and the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia.

It has 30 windmills each with 80-meter high tower and 57-meter long propellers. Each tower produces 2.5 MW of electricity.

Sidrap wind power plant is the first commercial plant of its kind developed by PT UPC Sidrap Bayu, and it can power up to 150,000 households with 450 KVA of apparent power capacity.

The power plant located in Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap) District of South Sulawesi is said to become a pioneer for the development of renewable energy in Indonesia.

President Joko Widodo when inaugurated the power plant in July 2018 has expressed hope that the development of Sidrap wind power plant would help the government to reach its target of 23 percent contribution of renewable energy to the country’s electricity production by 2025.

Renewables

LS Cable Asia to Supply Cables to Solar Power Plants in Vietnam

24 March 2019

–

Vietnam

LS Cable Asia announced on March 25 that LS Vina, its Vietnamese manufacturing subsidiary, would supply US$50 million worth of power cables to a large-scale solar power plant project in Vietnam. The contract volume corresponds to about 14 percent of LS Vina’s sales last year.

LS Vina signed the contract with Vietnam’s Hoanh Son Group to supply mid- to low-voltage cables to more than 10 solar power plants to be built in central Vietnam for the next two years.

Hoanh Son Group is engaged mainly in construction and real estate development and is also participating in the construction of new and renewable energy power plants including hydropower and solar power plants in Vietnam,.

The Vietnamese government plans to increase the nation’s photovoltaic power generation capacity to 3.5 GW by 2030 so related projects are expected to bring more business opportunities to LS Vina in the future.

Bioenergy

Open tender for waste-to-energy management system

24 March 2019

–

Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: The government will hold an open tender exercise for companies interested in developing a waste-to-energy (WTE) management system for safer waste disposal.

Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin said the government is working out the tender details which will be ready in three months.

“After that, we will launch a request for proposal,” she told Bernama after opening the Pharmacy Renaissance Summit by the Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild (MCPG) today.

Yeo said the time had come for Malaysia to modernise its waste management system and shift from landfills to a better disposal solution.

Earlier, during her address, she said the chemical pollution of Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang should serve as a lesson on how every kind of waste, particularly scheduled waste, must be managed with caution.

“Malaysia needs a paradigm shift in terms of how we monitor our disposal of scheduled waste as well as clinical waste.

“Malaysians need to be more responsible and, as a government, we need better enforcement,” she said.

Yeo praised MCPG’s Green Pharmacy pilot project, which began in 2017 and is aimed at empowering pharmacists in educating the public on disposal of sharps waste (biomedical waste that includes hypodermic needles).

MCPG organising chairman and president Lovy Beh said the initiative started with 30 community pharmacists in Penang, with the support of the state government.

She said many people did not know how and where to dispose of sharps waste and unwanted or expired medicine, and would often throw them out with household waste or flush them down the toilet.

This is dangerous because diseases can be easily transmitted and it causes pollution, she said.

Oil & Gas

Thai energy developer eyes US$7.8 billion LNG scheme in Vietnam

24 March 2019

–

Thailand ,
Vietnam

Vietnam Economic Times reported that the Gulf is asking the Ninh Thuan provincial People’s Committee for in-principle approval to the implementation of two projects, including a liquified natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal and a Ca Na LNG-fired power plant complex. This complex is set to gather four power plants with a combined capacity of 6,000 MW.

An estimated US$7.8 billion is needed for the two projects under build-operate-transfer (BOT) form or other models. The investor pledged to ensure the progress of the work as scheduled.

Pham Van Hau, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the LNG power project plays a key role in spurring socio-economic development in Ninh Thuan and many neighboring localities in the southern region.

Ninh Thuan has mapped out a plan on developing the Ca Na power center which include a LNG terminal and LNG-fired power plants. The plan was submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for appraisal and it will be sent to competent authorities for approval later.

Following the plan is ratified, the province will outline a set of criteria aimed to select appropriate investors.

The Gulf has made bold moves in the Vietnamese market through its extensive participation in power projects. In a recent move, the Thai energy developer and one Vietnamese partner inked a deal on developing a photovoltaic solar power project in the southern province of Tay Ninh.

The solar project is designed with a capacity of 48 MW, with a total investment capital of US$66 million. The Gulf owns a proportion of 49 per cent of the project value while the rest is held by Vietnamese firm. The construction of the project is slated for June.

In early 2018, the Gulf said it planned to invest in a 5,000 MW gas-fired power plant in the southern province of Dong Nai, while stating that it is eager to provide local energy developers with technologies and equipment related to gas fired power generation.

Gulf Group, one of the leading energy producers in Thailand, raised US$733 million through its initial public offering in 2018. The Thai firm is eyeing many power projects in neighbouring countries, including Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

Energy Cooperation

US offers help to ASEAN countries on oil and gas exploration ventures

23 March 2019

–

ASEAN

HOUSTON, Texas – The United States (US) government is offering help to countries in the Southeast Asian region – primarily those wanting to extract oil and gas resources within their exclusive economic zones but investment flows are being impeded by diplomatic skirmish with Asian super power China.

In his keynote address at the CERAWeek here, US Department of State Secretary Michael R. Pompeo noted that Southeast Asian countries have vast resources of oil and gas – with aggregate value of US$2.5 trillion – but they cannot get their hands into these resources because of China’s ascendancy.

According to Pompeo, China’s proclivity of holding control over international waters, “is not simply a security matter, but blocking developments in the South China Sea through coercive means to access $2.5 trillion worth of their energy resources.”

He stressed that some ASEAN countries cannot stand up to China’s subjugation, so it is dangling to these countries to turn to the US for help – both on the diplomatic and investment fronts.

“The US wants to promote energy security in those ASEAN countries, we want to help them to have access to their own energy resources and not fall into debt traps,” the American top diplomat has asserted.

Beyond Asia, he further called on global investors to “come follow America’s energy blueprint which is innovative, not subjugating.”

The Philippines is among the countries in the Southeast Asian region that is currently advancing fresh round of petroleum contracting within its territories. And notably, the country was recently visited by Pompeo and had his meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte.

Nevertheless, the Philippines is approaching the China diplomatic crisis in friendlier terms by pursuing joint exploration activities in these so-called conflict areas within the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.

The officials of the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) went to the extent of qualifying that they will not process yet the applications for petroleum service contracts for those that straddle diplomatically strained blocks.

There are currently around 10 applications for service contracts within these “conflict domains,” but approvals may only come once both the Philippine government and China could already agree on a joint exploration framework and the enforced moratorium for these areas be already lifted.

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi already forwarded official correspondence to his Chinese official-counterpart at the National Energy Administration (NEA) seeking definitive discussions on the oil and gas investment issues within the West Philippine Sea.

The energy chief disclosed that he reiterated that “request for talks with China” when he recently met with Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, but he has yet to get a definitive response from his energy official peer.

Oil & Gas

Brunei car ownership completely saturated: ASEAN

23 March 2019

–

Brunei Darussalam

Car ownership in Brunei is saturated and the sultanate stands to benefit from fuel economy policies over time, according to a publication of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The “ASEAN Fuel Economy Roadmap for Transport Sector 2018-2025: with Focus on Light-Duty Vehicles,” released recently, shows Brunei has fully saturated its vehicle ownership, being the only country within the 10-member Southeast Asian bloc to have done so.

Vehicle ownership in Brunei stood at 419 vehicles per 1,000 people in 2013. The country’s saturation level, according to the roadmap, is 420 vehicles per 1,000 people.

The level of vehicle ownership in a country is said to be saturated when vehicle ownership per capita in that market stops growing.

Vehicle ownership in the sultanate is also expected to remain fully saturated until 2040.

It added that given its high level of vehicle ownership, Brunei “could benefit from fuel economy policies as the vehicle fleet is refreshed over time.”

Meanwhile, the roadmap singled out Brunei for its high fuel subsidies, saying this denotes that the sultanate’s gasoline prices are below the world market price for crude oil.

Data from the roadmap show that the sultanate has the cheapest average petroleum price at the pump, at 41 U.S. cents per liter, while on the other end of the range, Singapore, which heavily taxes fuel, prices its petrol at 1.58 U.S. dollars per liter.

“Fuel taxes are a very efficient means of motivating fuel efficiency improvement. Cutting subsidies can thus be a key starting point towards effective fuel economy policies,” ASEAN says.

The roadmap reveals that Brunei, along with Malaysia and the Philippines, is planning to introduce fuel economy labels for vehicles, following the lead of Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which impose mandatory labeling schemes for light duty vehicles, as well as Indonesia, where labeling is voluntary.

It also notes that Brunei wants to adopt the European Union (EU)’s carbon dioxide emissions standards for light duty vehicles, and points out that the EU rules on limiting motor fuel consumption are more stringent than existing measures being implemented on a voluntary basis in other ASEAN markets.

Xinhua earlier reported that Brunei will introduce in 2023 fuel economy regulations that aim to reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions and lower motor fuel subsidies.

Minister of Energy, Manpower and Industry Hj Mat Suny said during Thursday’s Legislative Council meeting that the regulation, which will be hammered out with Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications, will be enforced in stages beginning 2025.

News Clipping

User Dashboard

Back To ACE

User Dashboard