News Clipping Archive - Page 1221 of 1226

Renewables

16 October 2018

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Vietnam

A 47.5 MW floating solar power plant is being planned by Vietnamese hydropower producer Da Mi, a unit of Vietnamese power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), at one of its water reservoirs in the south of the country. The Asian Development Bank is now considering financing the project. Meanwhile, Sharp has announced the completion of a 48 MW ground-mounted PV facility in the Eastern Asian country.

Vietnamese hydropower producer Da Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Co., a unit of Vietnamese power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), is planning to deploy a 47.5 MW floating solar plant at the water reservoir where its Da Mi hydro power plant is located, in Binh Thuan province.

According to a document published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is considering providing financial backing to the project, the installation will occupy a total surface of 51.55 ha, which includes 5.8 ha of land for the deployment of the transmission lines for the grid-connection of the facility. The construction of the lines will involve three communes, including La Ngau Commune (Tanh Linh District), La Da Commune and Da Mi Commune (Ham Thuan Bac District).

“The project is requested to contact DoNRE of Binh Thuan Province to obtain the permit for surface water area lease but at the time of writing this IESE report, DHD has not obtained such permit as required,” the ADB said in its document.

The international lender also revealed that a regulatory environmental impact assessment for the project was prepared and approved by the local authorities in October 2017, while in March of this year, one of its executives was tasked with conducting environmental and social due diligence. After its completion, the ADB continued, a corrective action plan was defined, in order to improve the project’s previous assessment.

The project, for which the adoption of storage solutions has been excluded, is set to rely on polycrystalline 72-cell modules with an output of 330 W. Furthermore, it includes a 110kV substation, which is expected to be constructed at the shore of Da Mi reservoir in La Ngau Commune, and two transmission lines of 22kV and 110kV, and of 1.2 km and 3.3 km, respectively.

“Binh Thuan is the site of several renewable energy projects including wind and solar and will be important for Vietnam’s diversification of power instead of hydro-power,” the ADB said. The province, however, is also preparing to host two more coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 9.56 GW, according to recent plans from the Vietnamese governmemt.

The ADB is also supporting three other Asian countries in the field of floating PV: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Vietnam is currently supporting large-scale solar through a FIT mechanism, which was launched in April 2017. Under the scheme, solar projects are granted a 20-year FIT rate of VND 2,086 ($0.090)/kWh. The latest project commissioned under the scheme is a 48 MW (DC) solar power plant built by Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation (SESJ), which is a unit of Japan’s Sharp conglomerate, the Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group), and the Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company.

“Under a joint project with the TTC Group and others, Sharp is also constructing two other solar power plants in Vietnam: one in Binh Thuan Province and one in Long An Province. Each of these new plants will have a capacity of approximately 49 MW-dc. Sharp remains committed to spreading renewable energy in Vietnam,” Sharp said in its press release.

Renewables

Sharp inaugurates 35-MW solar power plant in Vietnam

16 October 2018

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Vietnam

Sharp’s solar park in Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue Province. Source: Sharp Corp

Sharp Corporation (TYO:6753) announced today that a recently completed 48-MW DC/35-MW AC solar power plant in Vietnam has formally started commercial operations.

A joint construction project of Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation (SESJ), the Thanh Thanh Cong Group (TTC Group) and the Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company, operating under the umbrella of the TTC Group, the park started commercial operation on September 25, with a completion ceremony held at the site on October 5.

The solar power plant is located in Thua Thien Hue Province and it will be generating some 61,570 MWh of electricity per year. This is equivalent to what 32,628 average Vietnamese homes consume in a year, SESJ said.

Under a joint project with the TTC Group and other participants, Sharp is also constructing two more solar power plants in Vietnam, each with a direct current (DC) capacity of about 49 MW — in Binh Thuan Province and Long An Province.

Oil & Gas

Delta Offshore Energy developing LNG-to-power project in Vietnam

16 October 2018

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Vietnam

Delta Offshore Energy PTE Ltd (DOE) has announced that, earlier this year, it signed a memorandum of agreement with the Bac Lieu Party Chairman.

DOE is the lead developer for the only 3000 MW LNG-to-power project in Bac Lieu Province, Vietnam. This agreement solely allows the company and its consortium to build, own and operate the project in Southern Vietnam. According to the statement, DOE represents the interests and participation of more than 10 leading multinational corporations in this endeavor.

In addition to this, through a joint development memorandum of agreement, General Electric Power has recently signed as a key strategic partner within the project. As well as being the exclusive gas turbine supplier for the project, GE is providing both key technical support, as well as assisting in the financial structuring of the project.

Bobby Quintos, DOE Engineering Director, said: “We are delighted to partner with GE. In addition to their turbine technology GE is providing EPC support. Their long list of successful power plant projects in Vietnam ensures certainty and world class industry standards to the project. DOE and Norwegian technology partner 7 Seas LNG & Power, are also developing an innovative and cost-effective LNG import terminal to provide feedstock to the gas plants.”

At full capacity, the project will import approximately US$1 billion of LNG each year. As part of its activities to ensure the security of this supply, Delta Offshore Energy has commenced commercial negotiations for a 20-year LNG supply contract to backstop the electricity power purchase agreement with EVN, Vietnam’s National Utility company.

Spencer White, DOE Project Director, said: “Upon the successful issuance of the Investment Certificate for this project we will commence detailed engineering work and a full feasibility study during early 2019. The first phase alone will represent a US$1 billion investment into the power sector of Vietnam.”

According to the statement, construction of the first 750 MW plant is expected to start by the end of next year, with all four phases complete by 2026.

Sembcorp starts commercial operation of 225-MW Myanmar power plant

16 October 2018

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Myanmar

SEMBCORP Industries on Wednesday announced that its 225-megawatt gas-fired Sembcorp Myingyan Independent Power Plant (IPP) in Mandalay, Myanmar, has successfully commenced full commercial operation following its first phase operation in May this year.

The approximately US$300 million power plant uses advanced combined-cycle gas turbine technology that maximises power output while minimising emissions.

With the successful completion, the facility will generate around 1,500 gigawatt hours of power for supply to Myanmar’s Electric Power Generation Enterprise (EPGE), helping to meet the power needs of around 5.3 million people. This will help to ease the country’s severe power deficit, it said.The project’s completion follows the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement as well as a build-operate-transfer agreement with Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy.

Under these agreements, Sembcorp Myingyan Power Company will build and operate the power plant for 22 years, after which the facility will be transferred to the Myanmar government.

Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Clifford Capital, Development Bank of Singapore, DZ Bank, International Finance Corporation and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation supported Sembcorp in the funding of this project.

Sembcorp said it also aims to help the Myingyan community living in close proximity of the Sembcorp Myingyan plant, and has been actively engaging residents to understand their concerns and needs. Working closely with those in the community, Sembcorp aims to help improve their living standards and quality of life by assisting in flood relief work, generating training opportunities, refurbishing schools and repairing infrastructure.

The completion of Sembcorp Myingyan IPP is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings per share and net asset value per share of Sembcorp Industries for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018.

Sembcorp Industries shares closed six cents lower at S$2.95 on Wednesday before it made the announcement.

DOE urges regional dev’t councils to adopt energy plan

16 October 2018

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Philippines

ILOILO CITY — The Department of Energy (DOE) urged Regional Development Councils (RDCs) around the country to adopt the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2017-2040 in order to secure the country’s energy needs over the next three decades.

In an interview at the sidelines of the “Energy 101 for Media” seminar here Wednesday, Assistant Regional Director Carmencita A. Bariso, of DOE’s Energy Policy and Planning Bureau, said they are encouraging RDCs to come up with a resolution supporting the PEP and integrating it to their local plans.

“Like our call for energy efficiency, we want that they have a resolution adopting it and the programs on the national level be customized in the local levels,” she said.

PEP 2017-2040 is a comprehensive roadmap of programs and projects of the energy sector to ensure sustainable, stable, secure, sufficient, accessible and reasonably-priced energy. It has a vision of “A strongly-rooted, comfortable and secure life for Filipinos” by 2040.

Its goals include 100 percent electrification by 2022; technology neutral approach; power to meet demand needs by 2030; LNG needs for anticipated depletion of Malampaya;completion of transmission projects by 2020; affordability, power of choice and transparency; streamlining domestic policy to cut red tape; delivery of PSALM privatization; and more efficient use of energy.

Bariso added that the support of at the local level is needed to strengthen advocacy of these programs in the energy plan. “Energy conservation as a way of life, we want them to have a program on that so that we could attain our goal for energy savings program,” she said,

“Also the use of alternative fuels, we cannot get rid of the fact that we are still energy inefficient at the local level so we hope that the local government unit would slowly shift to energy efficient vehicles like electricity-driven vehicles,” she added.

She notes the huge cooperation in Visayas regions, particularly in Western Visayas. “The level of cooperation with DOE I think on track,” she said.

Meantime, Bariso recognized that the goals included in the PEP are “ambitious targets” but through the ‘E-Power Mo” forums conducted in the different parts of the country, she is confident that the targets will be achieved.

For the renewable energy for example, she said they are targeting an additional 20,000 megawatts, which she described as “huge capacity.” “But through the contribution of the regions in the entire country, I think we could attain that,” she said.

As of the moment, Bariso said they are still in the process of presenting the plans in the different full council meetings of the RDCs in the country. “We hope that they will be able to appreciate, do their part and contribute so that we can attain our targets,” she added.

The PEP 2017-2040 was also presented by Bariso to more than 600 participants from various stakeholders in Western Visayas on Tuesday during the 7th leg of the ‘E-Power Mo’ forum in the city aimed ay empowering Filipinos through informed energy plans and policies. (PNA)

Oil & Gas

Indonesia’s Jokowi Flip-Flops on Fuel Price Hike

16 October 2018

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Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday ordered his energy ministry to scrap an increase in retail gasoline prices within hours of its announcement.

But with the crude marching higher and the currency slumping to a two-decade low, Widodo, known as Jokowi, is only delaying the inevitable.

Jokowi, who’s seeking re-election in a vote scheduled for early next year, asked PT Pertamina not to go ahead with a 6.9 percent increase in retail prices of premium RON-88, a widely used gasoline, announced by the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. What would have been the first increase in more than two years, will be delayed until the state retailer is ready, Agung Pribadi, a spokesman for the ministry, told reporters.

Jokowi ordered the price freeze considering the risk of inflation and the need to shield people’s purchasing power, Fajar Harry Sampurno, a deputy at the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry, said in a statement. The president asked his top economy ministers including finance, SOE and energy to coordinate issues related to fuel prices, he said.

With crude surging to a four-year high, Widodo, who earlier this year ordered a freeze in fuel and electricity prices until the end of 2019, is battling a ballooning energy subsidy bill and widening current account deficit. Raising fuel prices would have made him vulnerable to attacks from the opposition, which has blamed his economic policies for the slump in rupiah to its lowest level since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

The discussion around a hike in fuel prices is a signal that Jokowi is committed to reform even as the elections loom, according to PT Bahana Sekuritas. Raising fuel prices to trim the government’s energy subsidy is one of the highlights of Jokowi’s reform.

“We believe that the fuel price hikes are more of policy signal that the government under President Jokowi is still committed to reform as election looms,” Satria Sambijantoro, an economist at Bahana said in an email. “Economic rationale could still prevail over political considerations in any given day.”

Indonesia, which meets about 50 percent of its crude oil requirements through imports, had in August ordered domestic producers to sell their output to Pertamina to reduce costly imports. With the gap between subsidized and non-regulated gasoline widening, more and more consumers would switch to cheaper fuel, burdening the state refiner and retailer, according to Bahana Sekuritas.

“The possibility of further fuel price hikes should not be ruled out” including that of diesel, Sambijantoro said. “We expect the policy to have limited impact on consumer price index given Indonesia’s current low inflation environment,” he said.

The consumer price index rose 2.88 percent last month, the slowest pace since August 2016, official data show. That’s below the midpoint of Bank Indonesia’s inflation target band of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent.

Oil & Gas

Sen. Gatchalian asks gov’t to explore untapped oil and gas for energy self-sufficiency

16 October 2018

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Philippines

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the Duterte administration must be more aggressive in its pursuit of energy self-sufficiency by launching an aggressive program to explore and develop the country’s untapped oil and natural gas resources.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate energy committee, made this call following the latest round of global oil price hikes, which he said is one of the primary drivers of the rising inflation rate that hit a nine-year high again in September at 6.7 percent.

With the price of Brent crude now hitting $84 a barrel this week, up from around $78 a barrel in July, Gatchalian stressed the need for the country to tap its own untapped oil and gas reserves throughout its islands and waters.

He cited data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showing that the country potentially has 3.5 billion barrels of oil deposits and 24.7 trillion cubic feet of gas deposits that are considered undiscovered.

The DOE said only 4.6 percent or 168 million barrels of oil and 3.8 trillion cubic feet of gas had been discovered since 2016.

“The Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources throughout its exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf, including natural gas and oil. Unfortunately, we have been unable to tap the full potential of these energy resources. Because of this, we have no choice but to import crude oil from oil-exporting countries, even if the price has become unconscionably high,” Gatchalian said.

“As a result of this, Filipino commuters, vehicle owners, and public utility vehicle operators have had to suffer countless economic hardships because of volatile global oil price movements. This gives us all the more reason to pursue energy self-sufficiency,” he said.

To illustrate his point, Gatchalian said the Philippines has been importing 94 percent of its oil requirements, with the total import bill jumping to $9.89 billion in 2017, a 31.2 percent increase from the $7.54 billion import bill in 2016.

Gatchalian lamented that despite the vast reserves of untapped gas and oil resources of the Philippines, the DOE reports that the Philippines only has six producing service contracts, three of which are nearing depletion.

In July, the DOE said it is still eyeing the awarding of at least nine more petroleum service contracts (PSCs) via its modified Philippine Conventional Energy Contracting Program.

“It is high time for the government to launch a Drill, Drill, Drill program which will use these untapped oil and gas resources to pursue Philippine energy independence and pave the way for the country to become an energy exporting powerhouse,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian noted that perceived instability in some of the country’s energy and economic policies have discouraged foreign players from conducting petroleum exploration in the Philippines.

Some of these controversial issues including the Commission on Audit’s ruling on the Malampaya project’s income tax, the Supreme Court ruling on the validity of service contracts signed by the Energy Secretary, and the looming passage of the TRABAHO Bill.

“Investors, particularly major foreign oil and gas companies, are looking for more certainty and stability before buying into the Philippine energy sector. The government needs to address these problem areas in order for the Drill, Drill, Drill program to move forward,” he said.

Renewables

Going geothermal: Philippines revs up flagging green energy engine

16 October 2018

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Philippines

Deep below the ancient volcanoes scattered around the Philippines sits a simmering stockpile of intense heat that officials hope will help revive the nation’s sputtering green energy machine.

The Philippines — thanks to its spot in the Ring of Fire zone of Pacific volcanoes — has long been one of the world’s top producers of geothermal power, but years of neglect have sent the industry sliding.

Now a surge of new exploration efforts are underway in a nation that has some of the world’s largest untapped sources of volcanic heat, but which relies on coal for half its electricity.

“It’s an exciting development,” Enrique Nunez, the country director for Conservation International, told AFP. “In an environment where coal is king, this is good stuff.”

One of the nation’s freshly upgraded plants, Maibarara, puffs out white steam from shining metal stacks on a jungle-covered hillside about an hour south of Manila.

High-temperature water vapor from the Earth’s red-hot underbelly is piped to the surface where it makes power-producing turbines spin.

“There is no smoke,” said facility manager Paul Elmer Morala. “Only a bit of noise, but our neighbors don’t complain.”

The Philippines was for years the world’s number two, behind the United States, in drilling deep to tap the scorching hot steam.

But as the nation’s economy has boomed in recent decades, it has opted to feed its needs with cheaper and quicker-to-develop plants that burn fossil fuels.

The amount of its power from geothermal sources has stayed relatively constant since 2002, while coal and gas-powered production has nearly tripled.

Early in 2018 the Philippines lost its number two geothermal status, which it had held for over two decades, when Indonesia finished its massive Sarulla project.

That demotion was years in the making for a country which had an initial rush of geothermal exploration in the 1970s and 1980s in response to the world’s first global oil crisis.

Decades of neglect followed until a growing global commitment to slow climate change led to the Philippines passing a law a decade ago to spur renewable energy investments.

– ‘Geothermal is risky’ –

The Philippine government launched in June a string of new exploration surveys, which comes on top of the roughly 10 contracts the nation has signed in recent years with power companies to drill exploratory wells.

“Of course the target is to increase the existing capacity,” Ariel Fronda, head of the renewables division of the Philippine energy ministry told AFP.

“There is a high degree of interest in renewables in general… Energy has suddenly become an attractive business,” he added.

The Philippines’ seven geothermal fields now supply about 12 percent of the nation’s energy, with a long-term plan to nearly double capacity by 2040.

The Philippines has the fifth-largest geothermal reserves, behind only the United States, Indonesia, Japan and Kenya.

Though nominally free, finding the resource is an expensive enterprise, with exploration wells costing up to $8 million each with no guarantee of success.

“Geothermal is that risky,” said Fronda, with the government requiring at least two wells per private exploration project in order to more accurately estimate the yield of a site.

The effort to stoke up the nation’s geothermal engine largely pre-dates the arrival of President Rodrigo Duterte.

However, last year he created an energy investment council that can greenlight major new projects in 30 days. A geothermal exploration effort is among the four initiatives it has approved.

Though the Philippines has tumbled, it still can be an important player in geothermal, said David Livingston, a renewable energy expert with the US-based Atlantic Council think-tank.

“The Philippines can serve as a catalyst for other developing nations’ interest in geothermal, particularly if its newest… programs prove successful,” he added.

News Clipping

Deep below the ancient volcanoes scattered around the Philippines sits a simmering stockpile of intense heat that officials hope will help revive the nation’s sputtering green energy machine.

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