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Renewables

Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu households turn to renewables

10 January 2019

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Vietnam

HCM CITY — Renewable energy usage is becoming more common among households in the southern coastal province of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu.

Solar energy, which has been used by families living in floating villages or rural areas not connected with the national grid, is now being used by households in urban areas.

With a large number of households using both electric power from the national grid and solar energy, Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu is among the localities in the country with a high potential for renewable energy usage.

The family of Bùi Bộ, a resident in Bà Rịa Town, invested VNĐ70 million (more than US$3,100) to install a solar battery storage system that generates 11-17kWh of power per day.

The system supplies power for Bộ’s home lighting system and kitchen, including two freezers, one refrigerator, and electric fans.

The new solar battery storage system has helped Bộ cut his electricity bill from VNĐ900,000 to VNĐ300,000 per month.

Nguyễn Phan Sâm, a resident in Vũng Tàu City, has also cut his electricity bill by 50 per cent since a solar battery system which generates 10-12kWh of electricity was installed in his home.

The power from the system is used for his home’s lighting system, household devices such as freezers, refrigerators, electric fans and a pumping system that waters his farm and pumps water into his fishing pond.

“As the demand for electricity consumption is on the rise, I made the decision to use renewable energy,” Sâm said.

Sâm said the renewable energy system helped him cut electricity bills from VNĐ740,000 to VNĐ370,000 per month.

More shops

The rising demand has led to opening of many shops selling renewable energy equipment and devices.

Nguyễn Nguyên Vũ, manager of Vũ Sơn Mechatronics & Energy Co. Ltd., headquartered in Bà Rịa Town, said he established the company in 2013 to provide renewable energy equipment and devices to floating villages not connected with the national grid from the southern central provinces to Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu.

Since 2017, the company has concentrated its operations in southern provinces, especially in Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, as the demand for renewable energy keeps rising.

The number of customers rose from 10 in 2013 to 80 in 2018.

To meet customers’ rising demand, Vũ Sơn’s staff have to work on the weekends, he said.

Trần Thanh Hải, deputy director of the EVN (Vietnam Electricity) Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, said that some 130 organisations, enterprises and private homes are using renewable energy with total capacity of nearly 1,000kWp.

These include renewable energy systems operated by EVN Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu (140kWp); Côn Đảo Islands (100kWh), Sammy – Vũng Tàu (40kWp), and Eclat Fabrics Việt Nam (30kWp).

Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu has favourable conditions for renewable energy. On average, it has from 2,000 to 2,600 sunny hours per year, with radiant intensity of about 5.47kWh per square metre per day.

The Government has issued a policy to purchase electricity power generated by households using renewable energy batteries, which is awaiting approval of the Ministry of Finance and the General Taxation Bureau, Hải said. — VNS

Le Hung Vong

Electricity/Power Grid

SP Group rolls out 38 electric vehicle charging points in 19 locations

10 January 2019

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Singapore

SP Group, the giant energy provider of Singapore, has rolled out 38 electric vehicle (EV) charging points in different 19 locations around the island as part of its first wave of public charging points.

The locations are equipped with nineteen 50kW direct current (DC) charging points as well as nineteen 43kW alternating current (AC) charging points.

In the convenience of EV drivers, DC charger can fully charge a car in 30 minutes, while an AC point takes up to an hour.

Photo: Screengrab from YouTube

In a press release, the company said: “SP’s new additions will be a game-changer in improving the charging turnaround time for EV drivers in Singapore.”

The new charging points are near amenities such as food centres, making it convenient for drivers who are waiting for their vehicles to be charged, according to SP Group.

They are also located at commercial buildings, industrial sites and educational institutions islandwide, like that of at Alexandra Technopark, Hyflux Innovation Centre, Techlink and Corporation Place.

Charging cost will be based on the prevailing electricity costs. Regular adjustments will be expected by consumers.

“EV drivers can also enjoy at least 50 percent cost savings compared to typical Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles for every kilometre travelled. The cost of using SP charging points will be regularly adjusted, mainly influenced by the prevailing electricity costs in Singapore.”

Searching for the nearest available charging points, get updates on their charging sessions and make payments would not be a problem, as EV drivers can do this through the mobile app, SP Utilities.

In October last year, SP Group has announced to build 1,000 charging points, including 250 DC points by the year 2020, aiming to be the largest public EV charging in Singapore.

Photo: Screengrab from YouTube

Mr. Wong Kim Yin, group chief executive officer of SP Group, said: “Our nation-wide public charging network offers EV drivers fast charging, with greater convenience and a seamless experience through our digital solution, at cost-competitive rates. This will encourage wider adoption of green mobility in Singapore, and enable drivers to save cost,”

The Singapore Polytechnic charging point will also serve as an education and research platform for students taking up engineering program.

As of end-November last year, Land Transport Authority has recorded 357 petrol-electric plug-in cars, 466 pure electric ones. Also, there are 102 registered pure electric taxis running around the island.

Statistics have risen up compared to 2017 when there were 206 petrol-electric plug-in cars and 314 pure electric cars only.

For the moment SP Group will compete with an edge with the existing EV charge network, Greenlots, which currently has 55 public charging stations at 39 locations, all AC chargers with a maximum 7.3kW charge rate but no DC chargers.

Other charge networks, however, are not opened to the public or are available for customers only.

BlueSG, the EV car-sharing service, has more than 531 charging stations at 135 locations but are currently not open to the public. Offering it to the public will be in the first quarter of 2019.

Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors on Alexandra Road has a charger exclusive for their customers only.

The news caught the attention of some netizens, who are into cars, as they have posted their opinions regarding battery life.

Photo: Screengrab from Facebook

One netizen has even pointed out his future nostalgia to the fate of engine-powered cars:

Photo: Screengrab from Facebook

But another online user began to echo some politics underneath this.

Photo: Screengrab from Facebook

Energy Efficiency ,
Others

Cleanergy powers all Net Group buildings in BGC

10 January 2019

–

Philippines

MANILA — AboitizPower’s Cleanergy is now providing all seven buildings of The Net Group (TNG) with clean and renewable energy.

AboitizPower and TNG signed a power supply contract on Thursday, in which the former will supply a total of 13.5 megawatts (MW) to TNG’s seven office buildings.

These TNG buildings include Net Park, Net Lima, Net Plaza, Net Quad, Net Cube, Net Square, and Net One Center, all of which are located in Bonifacio Global City (BGC).

AboitizPower Energy Trading and Sales First Vice President Sandro Aboitiz said this is the third contract between AboitizPower and TNG.

The partnership of AboitizPower and TNG began with only five TNG buildings requiring 10MW of clean and renewable energy. It added two megawatts in its second contract, and hiked its requirement to 13.5 MW.

“We are honored to have been chosen anew by one of the country’s most sustainable organizations, TNG. This inspires us even more to continue growing our balanced mix of renewable and thermal assets. Of our 50 power plants, 32 make up our Cleanergy portfolio of hydro, geothermal, and solar facilities,” said Aboitiz.

Moreover, AboitizPower Chief Operating Officer Emmanuel Rubio said the company is optimistic with the renewable energy market in the country.

“Renewable energy will going to be competitive in the next three to four years,” said Rubio. (PNA)

Oil & Gas

5% of gas stations prematurely implemented excise tax hike: DOE

10 January 2019

–

Philippines

MANILA — The Department of Energy (DOE) said 444 retail stations or around 5 percent of all gas stations in the country have prematurely implemented the second tranche of excise tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

In a press briefing Thursday, DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said the department will issue show-cause orders to these 444 oil stations asking them to explain why they implemented the tax increase so early.

He said they expected the implementation of the tax hike to start between January 15 to February 1 of this year, with the minimum requirement for crude oil inventory at 15 days for imports and 30 days for those processed by refineries.

DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the agency has issued around 30 show-cause orders to these oil stations that implemented the oil excise tax hike.

Fuentebella said the DOE will validate the reports and inspect these 444 retail outlets.

There are around 8,600 stations nationwide.

The DOE required all oil firms to submit their daily, monthly, and annual inventory reports ending December 31, 2018 for the agency to identify the old stocks in the market.

“Based on these reports, DOE conducts validation and inspection. Validation is looking at the documents. Inspection is total inspection of quality and quantity, to look the compliance of stations,” Fuentebella said.

The DOE official noted that all the finished goods that came out from refineries and depots at the start of the year were already slapped with higher excise tax. (PNA)

Coal

National Coal and Mineral Industries Group urged to make breakthroughs in 2019

9 January 2019

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Vietnam

NDO – Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) to step up measures to ensure the adequate supply of coal for production, while paying attention to environmental protection.

The government official was speaking at a conference in Hanoi on January 9, held to sum up the group’s operation in 2018 and deploy the 2019 tasks.

Praising the achievements gained by Vinacomin last year, the deputy PM stated that the mining company must ensure sufficient coal under its contracts with consumers, while playing a key role in offering adequate coal supply for the country’s socio-economic activities in 2019.

In addition, the group needs to create breakthroughs in coal quality by investing in technology and production innovation, boosting mechanisation in production, and protecting the environment.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung speaks at the conference. (Photo: VGP)

At the conference, Dang Thanh Hai, General Director of Vinacomin, said that his group’s main business targets in 2019 are to produce 40 million tonnes of coal and consume 42 million tonnes, netting a revenue of VND128 trillion and setting the average salary for its employees at VND11.3 million/person/month.

Last year, Vinacomin’s coal output reached 36.95 million tonnes, equivalent to 104% of the set plan and to 105% compared to that of 2017. Consumption in 2018 reached 40.5 million tonnes, up 4 million tonnes compared to the set plan and by 5 million tonnes compared to the 2017 statistic.

Regarding alumina production, the group produced and consumed a combined 1.31 million tonnes, an increase of over 170,000 tonnes compared to 2017. Alumina export turnover reached US$520 million.

For electricity production, its electricity output reached 9.4 billion kWh, equal to 100% of the annual plan.

Bioenergy

New possible solutions to Vietnam’s waste problems

9 January 2019

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Vietnam

HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Closed-loop organic waste processing technology and de-centralised waste processing are possible solutions for Vietnam’s organic waste problems, experts said at a discussion panel earlier this week.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, Director of the Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), said that de-centralised waste processing, in which waste would be processed on a smaller scale spread out over the city, would be less polluting than centralised facilities, which exist in fewer areas with larger volumes of waste.

Ichiro Hatayama, Chairman of the MILAI Group, a Japanese technology research and development company, said the city currently has two waste burial sites where waste is transported, and the vehicles used to transport the waste produce a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).

SIHUB is working with MILAI Group to transfer the group’s 6R-MOT, an organic waste processing technology, to Vietnamese partners.

The technology can turn waste to energy more efficiently than traditional power generation from burning waste (which is high in moisture and requires oil for burning).

With 6R-MOT technology, electric vehicles would be used to transport waste. The waste would then be dried, carbonised and gasified to be used by gas engines to generate power, Hatayama said.

The electricity would be used to charge the vehicles, forming a closed loop with no CO2 emissions, he said, adding that fertilisers can also be created through the process.

The technology also offers greater flexibility by allowing a wide range of productivity ranges (from 100 kilos to 25 tonnes per machine every day), and can be used in a wide variety of locations in rural or urban areas.

According to SIHUB, waste from food accounts for 83 percent to 88.9 percent of solid waste in the city.

The city has 26 waste collection facilities where waste is transported for pre-processing before being taken to treatment facilities.

Vietnam spends around 2 trillion VND (86 million USD) for waste transporting and processing annually.

More than 8,000 tonnes of waste are treated per day in HCM City. Much of it is buried, which takes a long time to process and causes pollution.

Organic waste is also processed into compost fertilisers and biogas, which also takes up a lot of space and a long time to process.

The city is offering favourable policies such as lower land rentals and subsidised interest to encourage firms to invest in waste-to-energy treatment facilities.-VNS/VNA

Electricity/Power Grid

Indonesia mulling over electric car regime choice as foreign carmakers await outcome

9 January 2019

–

Indonesia

JAKARTA – Indonesia is juggling between two options as it moves closer to setting regulations on the adoption of electric vehicles.

The impending outcome is set to benefit Japanese car giant Toyota or South Korea’s Hyundai Motor and European carmakers such as BMW.

The Joko Widodo administration is throwing its support behind green vehicles as it seeks to reduce the country’s reliance on imports of fossil fuel and also tap its abundant nickel reserves. Nickel is a key material for making lithium-ion batteries.

Ministers are debating, according to a government source, whether Indonesia should adopt a pure electric vehicle regime from the outset or start first with hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which do not require charging stations as they are powered by a conventional internal combustion engine.

Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto, it is said, prefers a gradual shift by using HEVs. These do not place too heavy a financial burden on the government, which would otherwise have to build charging stations and ensure that power plants have ample capacity to meet an expected surge in demand.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan, however, is opposed to the HEV option and instead wants the adoption of pure electric vehicles, also called battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the government source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Straits Times. BEVs utilise chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs.

“The debates have been relatively intense. Discussions also touched on the subsidies given to hybrid electric cars in advanced countries that were recently revoked because they did not give significant impact on reducing emissions because their main source of energy is still fossil fuel,” the source said.

Observers expect a BEV regime to benefit Hyundai, which has been successful in playing catch-up in the electric vehicle segment.

However, Toyota, whose vehicles make up about a third of auto sales in Indonesia, is lagging behind in the global electric vehicle race on account of its scepticism about battery life and user convenience.

Indonesia is set to issue a presidential regulation on electric vehicles, dangling a range of tax incentives, including cuts in value-added taxes, to encourage sales and the development of a domestic electric car industry.

Anticipating this, Hyundai is gearing up to announce its maiden electric vehicle investment plan in Indonesia, according to a source with knowledge of the plan.

“The impending regulation is like a battle between Japanese and non-Japanese automakers in Indonesia,” said an analyst with Jakarta-based equity stock brokerage Mandiri Sekuritas who asked not to be named.

Bioenergy

Closed-loop waste processing could solve Vietnam’s waste problems: experts

9 January 2019

–

Vietnam

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), said that de-centralised waste processing, in which waste would be processed on a smaller scale spread out over the city, would be less polluting than centralised facilities, which exist in fewer areas with larger volumes of waste.

Ichiro Hatayama, chairman of the MILAI Group, a Japanese technology research and development company, said the city currently has two waste burial sites where waste is transported, and the vehicles used to transport the waste produce a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).

SIHUB is working with MILAI Group to transfer the group’s 6R-MOT, an organic waste processing technology, to Vietnamese partners.

The technology can turn waste to energy more efficiently than traditional power generation from burning waste (which is high in moisture and requires oil for burning).

With 6R-MOT technology, electric vehicles would be used to transport waste. The waste would then be dried, carbonised and gasified to be used by gas engines to generate power, Hatayama said.

The electricity would be used to charge the vehicles, forming a closed loop with no CO2 emissions, he said, adding that fertilisers can also be created through the process.

According to SIHUB, waste from food accounts for 83 percent to 88.9 per cent of solid waste in the city.

The city has 26 waste collection facilities where waste is transported for pre-processing before being taken to treatment facilities.

Vietnam spends around VND2 trillion for waste transporting and processing annually.

More than 8,000 tonnes of waste are treated per day in HCM City. Much of it is buried, which takes a long time to process and causes pollution.

Organic waste is also processed into compost fertilisers and biogas, which also takes up a lot of space and a long time to process.

The city is offering favourable policies such as lower land rentals and subsidised interest to encourage firms to invest in waste-to-energy treatment facilities.

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