News Clipping Archive - Page 1216 of 1226

Renewables

Green transformation crucial for adaptation to climate change

19 October 2018

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Cambodia ,
Lao PDR ,
Vietnam

Quang Ninh (VNA) – Green transformation for energy and water resource security in the Mekong Sub-region is crucial for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to respond to climate change, experts said at a seminar held in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on October 16.

The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), the Korean Environment Institute (KEI), the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) and the Lao Academy of Social Sciences (LASS).

VASS Vice President Prof. Dr. Dang Nguyen Anh, energy and water resource security is a leading important issue of developing countries. The matter is particularly significant to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as it has close relations with economy, politics and society in those nations, he said.

Green transformation for energy and water resource security helps increase cooperation among the three nations while contributing to the sustainable growth of each country, Anh said, highlighting that cross-border approach is an innovative solution to reducing environmental costs.

Tran Minh, an expert from the VASS’s Institute of Regional Sustainable Development, said Vietnam has huge potential in terms of green energy and renewable energy but the development of renewable energy remained stagnant due to limitations in finance, technology, and practices.

Also, he laid stress on the effective use of green energy, saying that it play a vital role in reducing pollution and bring in more benefits.

Associate Prof. Dr. Somchith Souksavath, Assistant to the LASS President, underlined that the development of renewable energy is one of the Lao Government’s priority policies to stabilise energy supply, support socio-economic development, alleviate poverty, and serve energy exports to ASEAN member states.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kim Ik-Jae, a senior research fellow from the KEI, emphasized the need to give future orientations in water resource management. He suggested the construction of a water resource monitoring system which facilitates the management in the Mekong Sub-region countries.

RAC Director Eap Ponna said that the management of hydroelectric dams on the Mekong river is father complicated, thus, it is crucial to build official mechanisms, mobilise the involvement of non-governmental organisations.

At the event, experts agreed that countries should focus on improving the possibility of mechanisms and policies, work to diversify energy resources to ensure energy and water security, and enhance information exchange and technology transfer in green transformation.-VNA

Renewables

Sharp builds Vietnam’s 1st mega solar plant

19 October 2018

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Vietnam

TOKYO-Sharp Corp has built a solar power plant with a total solar panel capacity of about 48MW in Thua Thien Hue Province, Vietnam.

According to Sharp, it is the first mega (large-scale) solar power plant in Vietnam.

Sharp Energy Solutions Corp (a subsidiary of Sharp in Yao City, Osaka Prefecture), the Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group, a conglomerate based in Vietnam) and the Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company (a renewable energy-based power producer affiliated with the TTC group) jointly built the solar power plant and had a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the plant on Oct 5.

The plant is expected to generate about 61,570MWh of electricity, which is equivalent to the amount consumed by 32,628 households in Vietnam, per year, contributing to eliminating about 20,503t of CO2. The solar panel and PV inverter employed for the plant are products of Sharp and Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corp (TMEIC), respectively.

In addition to the 48MW plant, Sharp is building two solar power plants with an output of about 49MW each in cooperation with the TTC Group. One is located in Binh Thuan Province, and the other is in Long An Province.

Electricity/Power Grid ,
Renewables

Vietnam strives to ease energy pressure

19 October 2018

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Vietnam

HCM City (VNA) – Experts have suggested Vietnam build a balanced energy structure by developing renewable energy, given the increased energy demand in the country.

Statistics show Vietnam uses a great deal of energy, with the industrial sector consuming the most at 47.3 percent of the total.

The southern region faces a severe shortage of electricity as it uses up to 85 billion kWh each year compared with its production capacity of only 70 billion kWh.

Nguyen Phuoc Duc, Deputy General Director of the Southern Power Corporation, said the region is expected to lack about 1.2-1.6 billion kWh each year during 2021-2022, warning the figure may climb higher.

Against this backdrop, experts suggested restructuring power resources in each region and setting up a transmission connectivity system.

According to Nguyen Tan Loc, Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Electrotechnical Industry Association, although Vietnam has developed standby power resources since 2004, the country still faces electricity pressure.

Therefore, he said, renewable energy will help address many issues relating to electricity.

Vietnam has set forth a national renewable energy development strategy, under which renewable energy is hoped to account for 32.3 percent of all energy in 2030 and 44 percent in 2050.

However, natural resources are being exhausted and overexploitation has harmed the environment and human life.

Like other developing countries, Vietnam is seeking renewable energy to replace fossil fuels.

Experts said Vietnam boasts potential for solar energy development, with about 1,600-2,700 sunlight hours per year and the average solar radiation of 4-5 kWh/m2 per day.

Under the national electricity development planning scheme, solar power is expected to become the main renewable energy source in the future, with installed capacity to be increased from 6-7 MW by the end of 2017 to 850 MW by 2020 (1.6% of the country’s power generation) and 12,000 MW by 2030 (3.3% of the country’s power generation).

To that end, the Government has issued preferential policies to encourage investment in solar energy.

Currently, many domestic and foreign businesses are building solar power projects and selecting suitable technologies to materialise these projects.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said 100 projects in solar power farms have been added to provincial or national planning schemes, with total registered capacity of 4.7 GW in 2020.

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, from SolarBK Holdings, said connectivity between businesses will help bring solar power closer to production activities and daily life of residents as the source of energy is still a new field and related mechanisms and policies are being finalised.

Other sources of energy such as wind, rain, tide and waves are also forming the new trend of development of the energy sector.-VNA

Renewables

International financial agencies confirm their support of geothermal development in Indonesia

19 October 2018

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Indonesia

The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international financial agencies have confirmed their support for geothermal development in Indonesia.

As reported by local news in Indonesia, several international financial agencies, among them the Asian Development Bank (ADB) confirm their support for the development of geothermal power project in Indonesia.

In a statement this week from Indonesia, Bambang Susantono, Vice President of Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, says the World Bank is dedicated to Geothermal Investment and The Future of Renewable Energy in Indonesia with green energy is strongly recommended by the World Bank.

Indonesia holds known geothermal reserves equivalent to 14,473 megawatts of electricity found in 265 locations or the second largest in the world.

“The big potential has to be processed into energy today for the future,” Bambang Susantono said at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Nusa Duan.

The government has set a target for the use of renewable energy that would make up 23 percent of the country`s energy consumption in 2025.

Meanwhile, Riki Ibrahim, Chief Executive of PT Geo Dipa, a state company operating in geothermal power development, said a number of state companies including PT Geo Dipa, PT PLN and PT Pertamina, have developed geothermal energy to generate electricity.

PT Geo Dipa a state company under the Finance Ministry to operate in the development of geothermal energy to produce electricity.

“Geo Dipa , which cooperates with PT SMI and PT PII, is offered financial aid to build a number of green energy projects by a number of Development Banks,” Riki said.

The cost of the projects, located in the Dieng Upland, Sikidang-Sileri, Chandradimuka, Banjarnegara/Wonosobo, in Central Java, and Patuha, Ciwidey, Bandung Selatan, in West Java, is around US$529 million, to be finished in five years.

GeoDipa will reduce emission of CO2 gas by at least 2 million tons in 2023 and 6 million tons in 2035.

Indonesia has commitment to coping with the impact of climate change as outlined in the Law No.16 of 2016 on Paris agreement on reducing pollution.

Renewables

Indonesia expects to add 95 MW of additional geothermal capacity this year

19 October 2018

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Indonesia

Indonesia expects to see a geothermal power generation capacity increase of 95 MW by the end of 2018, with the addition of the 55 MW Lumut Balai Unit 1 by Pertamina Geothermal Energy and the 40 MW Sorik Marapi geothermal power plant.

The installed capacity of the geothermal power generation capacity in Indonesia is expected to increase by 95 MW until the end of this year. This addition comes from two projects that will begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Geothermal Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation (EBTKE) Directorate of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Ida Nuryatin Finahari said that until last September, installed capacity of PLTP in Indonesia was recorded at 1,948.5 MW. This installed capacity will increase until the end of this year.

“The plan is that there will be an additional 95 MW in December,” he said in his short message to Indonesian publication Investor Daily last week.

This additional capacity is said to come from two geothermal projects. First, the geothermal power plant of Lumut Balai Unit 1 with a capacity of 55 MW which has been developed by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energi. Secondly, the 40 MW Sorik Marapi geothermal power plant which has been developed by PT Sorik Marapi Geothermal Power. So, at the end of the year, the national geothermal power generation capacity will be 2,043.5 MW.

Previously, PGE President Director Ali Mundakir said that the commissioning of PLTP Lumut Balai 1 was scheduled to take place in October. “Comissioning requires syncronisation with PLN. Now we expect the date of commercial operation (COD) to be in December 2018, ” he said.

Currently, he continued, PGE’s geothermal installed capacity has reached 617 MW. With the addition of Lumut Balai Unit 1, the installed capacity of the company will increase to 672 MW by the end of this year.

With a capacity of 2,043.5 MW, Indonesia will continue to be ranked above Philippines in the global ranking of geothermal countries. The Philippines have today a geothermal power generation capacity of 1,870 MW. But more capacity additions are expected, with the roadmap of the ESDM Ministry, the installed capacity of geothermal power plants is targeted to reach 3,559.5 MW in 2021. This target is could put Indonesia above the United States, which – as of today – has an installed capacity of 3,450 MW or the largest in the world. This is assuming that the United States does not increase the capacity of its geothermal power plants.

The capacity of geothermal power plants will continue to be increased to reach 7,200 MW by 2025. This is to achieve the target of the 2025 energy mix where the portion of new renewable energy has been set at 23%. Additional new geothermal capacity will be significant after 2019 because the development takes around seven years.

According to Ida, the government has just submitted a letter of preliminary and exploration survey (PSPE) assignment to six companies and assignment of three geothermal concessions for working areas to PLN.

PSPE’s assignment was given to PT Star Energy for the Gunung Hamiding Block and Suoh Sekincau Selatan, PT Hitay Energy for Tanjungsakti and Geureudong, PT EDC Indonesia for Graho Nyabu, PT Optimas Nusantara Energi for Simbolon Samosir, PT Sumbawa Timur Mining for Hu’u Daha, and PT Ormat Geothermal Indonesia for Klabat Wineru.

Electricity/Power Grid

16 foreign firms want to partner with local electric co-ops to form clean-energy mini grids

19 October 2018

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Philippines

SIXTEEN foreign firms have expressed interest to partner with electric cooperatives to put up clean-energy mini grids.

According to the post-event survey conducted by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) that co-organized the first-ever Philippines Mini-grid Business-to-Business (B2B) Forum in Manila, “16 foreign participants said they would or were very likely to invest in mini grids in the Philippines.”

More than 280 technology providers, project developers and investors from Asia, Europe and North America took part in the Philippines Mini-grid B2B forum.

The forum was staged to provide participants a platform to partner with electric cooperatives in bringing electricity to rural communities by building clean renewable-energy mini grids.

The B2B forum was primarily organized by the Department of Energy (DOE) with the support of the European Union (EU), ARE and National Electrification Administration (NEA).

Among the forum participants were 60 representatives of the government and public sector, such as NEA, National Power Corp. and the Energy Regulatory Commission, 50 from electric cooperatives in the Philippines and 25 investors.

Speaking on behalf of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, DOE Senior Undersecretary Jesus Cristino P. Posadas said the forum, which was facilitated by the DOE-EU Access to Sustainable Energy Program (ASEP), was a good opportunity to link investors, electric cooperatives and other stakeholders to scale up electrification using sustainable and clean energy to foster economic development.

“The B2B forum is timely as the government of the Philippines is targeting 100-percent electrification by 2020 using the least costly and reliable energy technologies for the many unserved and underserved island grids in the country,” Posadas said.

The recent DOE department circular released in August 2018 establishes the guidelines and rules on the Renewable Portfolio Standards for Off-Grid Areas in the Philippines.

“The department circular mandates power suppliers to source a percentage of the energy supply from sustainable and renewable-energy resources and technologies.” Posadas said.

With 1,702 potential off-grid sites in the Philippines, Ernesto Silvano Jr., director of the Office for Renewable Energy Development of the NEA, affirmed the value of the B2B forum for the 121 electric cooperatives in the country which have to face up to the challenge of electrifying the Philippines by 2020.

“The B2B Forum is a useful platform for electric cooperatives in the Philippines to meet mini-grid technology providers. Half of our electric cooperatives have already been engaging in similar B2B events since the beginning of 2018, and since then, three projects have been completed and two are in the pipeline,” Silvano said.

Renewables

Country’s first solar power plant to start operations in Magwe

19 October 2018

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Myanmar

The country’s first solar power plant will start operating in November, U Maung Maung Kyaw, chief engineer of the Electric Supply Enterprise, said.

The power plant, in Minbu township, Magwe Region, is expected to produce 40 megawatts initially but will produce 170MW once fully operational, according to U Maung Maung Kyaw.

“Because this is our first project, we have to carefully monitor the system for weaknesses, correct these, and then we will produce more than 40MW,” he said.

The Electricity and Energy Ministry signed a public-private partnership agreement with the companies to set up plants that produce at least 150MW each in Mandalay’s Wundwin and Myingyan townships.

The ministry also signed agreements with private companies to set up more power plants in Sagaing, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw that can produce a combined total of 990 MW when fully operational.

It hopes to supply 8 percent of the country’s electricity through renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, by 2020. By 2025, it expects that share to rise to 12pc.

U Maung Maung Kyaw said they will slowly increase solar and wind power depending on the national grid’s capacity for renewable energy.

In February, the ministry signed a technical cooperation agreement with Denmark related to wind energy. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with four companies on wind energy projects that can produce 6478MW.

Arrangements are also being made for a wind energy project in Magwe that can produce around 200MW, said the project manager of Infra Capital Myanmar-ReXe, a private renewable energy firm.

An agreement has been signed with the regional government to conduct feasibility studies that are expected to be finished soon. The project is expected to start in 2019 and be completed in early 2021.

Electricity/Power Grid

Vietnam to open electricity wholesale market next year

19 October 2018

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Vietnam

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong spoke about the development of the marketplace at a recent meeting in Ha Noi.

Vuong said the development of a competitive electricity market is a long-term plan for Viet Nam’s electricity sector as mandated in the 2004 Electricity Law. The details of the plan were specified in the Prime Minister’s Decision 63/QD-TTg in 2013, which laid out the conditions and structure of the new market.

The marketplace was to be developed in three distinct parts: the electricity generation market, the wholesale market and the retail market.

The generation market started in 2012, and the wholesale market is expected to open next year. The final stage will be the development of the retail market.

In the pilot period for the wholesale market, performance metrics were tracked and used to improve service.

“The test run we carried out over the past year will be the basis for assessing the viability of the market’s approved design,” Vuong told chinhphu.vn. “Participating companies and service providers have used it to gradually get acquainted with the new mechanisms.”

Vuong said the Ministry of Industry and Trade has instructed relevant agencies to focus on completing the pilot period by the end of the year so the market can open next year at the latest. The remaining time of the trial period will be used to improve information technology infrastructure and finish training companies in how the market works.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Viet Nam (ERAV), said the agency is preparing to put energy generated by the Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN)’s hydroelectric plants into the market. The next step will be to allow renewable energy providers to connect the national grid.

To protect investors in renewable energy and ensure the market is operated fairly, experts say State agencies should develop regulations that support small power plants with a capacity under 30MW. This move would boost the renewable energy sector and help the long-term health of the marketplace.

Deputy Director of the National Load Dispatch Centre of Viet Nam (NLDC) Vu Xuan Khu told congthuong.vn that, during the pilot period, electricity companies have improved their business practices.

According to the NLDC, the nascent market has had to overcome challenges stemming from IT infrastructure shortages and the unability to forecast hydroelectric output.

The ERAV, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, reported that 87 power plants have entered the electricity generation market over the past five years, with a total capacity of nearly 23,000MW.

ERAV representative Le Hong Hai said the market has already increased its transparency and helped create a system that investors can trust to integrate their new power plants into the national electric grid.

However, Hai said the insufficient IT infrastructure will limit the effectiveness of the market. — VNS

News Clipping

The World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international financial agencies have confirmed their support for geothermal development in Indonesia.

Indonesia expects to see a geothermal power generation capacity increase of 95 MW by the end of 2018, with the addition of the 55 MW Lumut Balai Unit 1 by Pertamina Geothermal Energy and the 40 MW Sorik Marapi geothermal power plant.

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