News Clipping Archive - Page 1262 of 1271

PH energy firms ready to adopt blockchain technology

19 October 2018

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Philippines

The blockchain business is expected to explode in value to $2 trillion in 2030 from $2.5 billion in 2017 as the technology’s momentum gathers pace in various industries and as it deepens roots in countries like the Philippines.

According to research firm IHS Markit, the outlook is consistent along with the different sectors where blockchain is applied, such as finance, supply and logistics, retail and e-commerce, power and energy, telecommunications, health care and even the government sector.

Tech giant IBM defines blockchain as a shared ledger where data cannot be modified, thus reduces the risk and cuts the costs of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.

While it was invented a decade ago particularly for use in bitcoin transactions, as IBM adds, virtually anything of value can be tracked and traded on a blockchain network.

IHS Markit said in a report that in 2017, the business value of blockchain in the power and energy sector was estimated at about $20 million.

“With the projected increase in the number of blockchain projects that are launched and become commercially deployed, business value is projected to reach $158 billion by 2030,” the company said.

IHS Markit notes the global economies are run on energy, but the current energy system is costly and inefficient—and therein lies the potential for blockchain in this sector.

“Key problems with [the energy] market today are that it’s a centralized model. It locks in models of energy waste; there can be a lack of consumer choice, which can vary by country. Electricity networks are in need of expensive upgrades, and financial models are locked in,” the company added.

Blockchain is a fast-growing business even in the Philippines, where interest is shown by the Fintech Philippines Association and the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association.

In fact, a Blockchain Association of the Philippines as well as a Philippine Digital Asset Exchange have already been established.

Energy Cooperation ,
Renewables

Co-ops formed to seek solar energy franchise

19 October 2018

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Philippines

Solar energy proponents are forming cooperatives with plans to seek their own legislative franchises for minigrids the way Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPSB) is already doing.

Some of them have formed the Solar Energy Association of the Philippines (SEAP) to help hasten the formation of such cooperatives, initially with three that were promptly started during a forum held two weeks ago and organized by SPSB and attended by about 50 members of Solar Power Philippines, a social-media based community of more than 120,000 “solaristas.”

These nascent cooperatives include First Philippine Solar Cooperative, the Anak Araw Multipurpose Cooperative and the United Solar and Renewable Energy Cooperative, which are still working to be full-fledged legal entities.

“Solar Para sa Bayan of Leandro Leviste made it clear to us, and gave us advice, that we could be in business without the hassles of dealing with agencies like the National Electrification Administration, Energy Regulatory Commission, etc.,” Anak Araw co-operator and cofounder Thomas Mallilin said in an interview.

“During the forum, Leviste explained to us how bringing electricity to underserved and unserved areas is possible not only for a big business like Solar Para sa Bayan, but also for the cooperatives that we are forming,” Mallilin told the Inquirer.

Mallilin said Anak Araw planned to apply for a franchise as soon as it attained status as a full-pledged cooperative.

A bill granting SPSB a franchise is pending at the House of Representatives, which other groups like the Philippine Solar Storage and Energy Alliance and Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association said would engender a monopoly. Leviste said that, on the contrary, the bill proposed to grant SPSB a non-exclusive franchise.

In a statement sent through SPSB, SEAP said thousands of small- and medium-sized solar companies would be creating “the first true electric cooperatives in the Philippines” to apply for their own solar minigrid franchises in Congress.

“Many people want to get into the solar business, and now we finally have a solution,” Mallilin said. “I think this has the potential to be what electric cooperatives were originally meant to be, a source of power of, for, and by the people,” he added.

“One company cannot solve all our country’s problems alone,” he said. “The more of us are committed to work together on constructive solutions, the faster we can bring cheap, clean, reliable electricity to every Filipino.”

Renewables

Kalinga geothermal project progresses to exploration drilling

19 October 2018

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Philippines

Renewables

Kalinga geothermal project progresses to exploration drilling

19 October 2018

–

Philippines

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga, Oct. 15 (PIA) – – Geothermal exploration in the province is progressing with drilling targeted to start next year.

Kalinga Geothermal Project, a consortium of Aragorn Power and Energy Corporation, Guidance Management Corporation and Allfirst Kalinga Ltd., is given a two-year extension for its exploration permit. It is now on Phase 3 (exploration drilling) which includes memorandum of agreement signing and declaration of its commerciality.

The geothermal project’s projected capacity is 100MW with a service contract of 260 square kilometres covering barangays in Pasil, Lubuagan and Tinglayan. It has contracts in place with First Balfour as general contractor and Drill Corp. for drilling. It has also completed community development projects in four of eight ancestral domains.

The Department of Energy granted the project a Certificate of Energy Project of National Significance (CEPNS) on August 14 this year. It is one of only four applicants issued with the CEPNS from 23 applicants that were accepted out of 306 applications filed.

During a recent meeting with government stakeholders, the consortium representatives said they will continue to engage the affected communities and other stakeholders and plans to construct access roads to project site and well pads for the targeted well testing in the second quarter of 2019.

Consultations with seven affected barangays in Tinglayan, three in Lubuagan and one in Pasil were already completed and closed with MOA per ancestral domain forged. Discussions are ongoing in two ancestral domains of Pasil while negotiations ongoing in seven barangays, also in Pasil, they said.

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples –Cordillera Director Roland Calde said their concern is to ensure that host communities of development projects such as on power generation are consulted and taken their consent, and that they benefit from these projects.

Meanwhile, Vice Gov. James Edduba said he has been pushing for the project to materialize since he was the local chief executive of Pasil. Now that he is with the provincial LGU, he assured the company the necessary assistance.

Gov. Jocel Baac called on affected communities to set aside personal benefits and think to consider first long term benefits. “Let’s give way to this exploration and later talk with them (company) when it is ripe for development and is going to operate,” he said.

The generation of clean and cheap energy from renewable energy sources is one of the agenda of Pres. Duterte. He signed Executive Order No. 30 creating the Energy Investment Coordinating Council in order to streamline the regulatory procedures affecting energy projects.

It provides among others a 30-day period to act on ESPN applications which is in compliance to the provision of RA 11032, or An Act Promoting Ease Of Doing Business And Efficient Delivery Of Government Services which the President recently approved.

Kalinga has been known as a geothermal prospect for over 50 years. In 1964, it was first identified by COMVOL (now PHIVOLCS) as one of the top three geothermal prospects in Luzon for power production. (JDP/PAB-PIA CAR, Kalinga).

Renewables

AC Energy adds a further 80MW of solar projects in Vietnam

19 October 2018

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Philippines ,
Vietnam

Renewables firm AC Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Philippines-based industrial firm, Ayala Corporation has announced a further 80MW of solar projects in Vietnam, soon after detailing a 300MW pipeline in the country.

AC Energy said that its joint venture with AMI Renewables Energy would include a total of 80MW of PV power plants in the provinces of Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak, which would be commissioned in time for the June 2019 solar feed-in tariff deadline. This is on top of plans to add 300MW of projects in the country in the same time period.

The projects were said to cost around US$83 million, financed with debt and equity from Indovina Bank of Vietnam and RCBC of the Philippines, while AC Energy will participate with at least 50% economic share, according to the company.

AC Energy formed a platform company with AMI Renewables last year to build renewable energy plants in Vietnam, including the 352MW Quang Binh wind project.

The company aims to exceed 5GW of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

Bioenergy ,
Renewables

PM: China to import 500,000 tonnes more palm oil from Malaysia

19 October 2018

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Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): China has expressed its intention to buy another 500,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia provided the prices are competitive, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says today.

This follows his official visit to China in August, he added.

“China has stated that it is prepared to import an additional 500,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia, provided the prices are competitive,” he said replying to a parliamentary question by Bukit Bintang Member of Parliament Fomg Kui Lun who asked about the outcome from the premier’s visit to China in terms of trade and economic cooperation.

Last year, China imported 1.92 million tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia, behind India which bought 2.03 million tonnes and the European Union at 1.99 million tonnes.

Others ,
Renewables

First waste-to-energy plant in Can Tho begins trial operation

19 October 2018

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Vietnam

Can Tho (VNA) – The first waste-to-energy plant in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho began trial operation on October 15.

The plant is invested by China’s Everbright International and operated by the Can Tho Everbright Environmental Protection Holdings Ltd (EB Can Tho).

Construction of the plant started on June 30, 2018. The project will last 22 years, including the construction period, with a total investment of 1,050 billion VND (45.6 million USD).

Sitting on a site of 5.3ha in Truong Xuan commune, Thoi Lai district, the plant is capable of processing 400 tonnes of household waste and generating 150,000 kWh of electricity per day.

After one month of trial run, the plant will be put into official operation on November 15.

The factory is expected to help Can Tho city to deal with household waste as it consumes up to 77 percent of the city’s total garbage volume.-VNA

Renewables

Blockchain to play an important role in Asia’s energy sector transformation

19 October 2018

–

Singapore ,
Thailand

The eventual liberalization of many electricity markets in Asia is opening up investment opportunities and new business models for consumers, producers and authorities.

The energy sector in Asia is on the brink of a complete overhaul. According to the latest projections by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Asia is set to receive almost 50% of the $11.4 trillion that will be invested in new power generation capacity until 2050. This represents a huge impact in the region. Furthermore, considering the rising concerns surrounding climate change, as stated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its latest report, renewables will become a centerpiece of the region’s energy transformation. Only one technology is equipped to unlock their full potential: blockchain.

The eventual liberalization of many electricity markets in Asia is opening up investment opportunities and new business models for consumers, producers and authorities. Utilities in the region have already started experimenting with blockchain technology, in preparation for what has been hailed as “the era of the prosumer”. For example, Power Ledger is working together with Thai energy utility BCPG in order to test blockchain technology for peer-to-peer (p2p) energy trading in a neighborhood in Bangkok. Meanwhile, in Singapore, Electrify is developing a blockchain-based marketplace that will enable p2p energy trading between users and/or the energy suppliers. All in all, blockchain is expected to impact not just the act of energy trading, but it is also set to revolutionize the financing side, the origination of renewables, the security of the grid and other applications.

The rapidly developing blockchain and energy landscape can be a difficult one to navigate. With so many initiatives popping up on an almost daily basis, it’s tough to distinguish the signal from the noise. To provide a quick, but comprehensive overview of the different players and efforts in the field, Solarplaza just published the most recent update of their ‘Comprehensive Guide to Blockchain and Energy Companies’, which is complimentarily available on their website.

Additionally, to facilitate a powerful and effective platform for exchanging relevant knowledge and networking with industry-peers, Solarplaza has decided to bring its Blockchain2Energy conference series to Singapore. Blockchain2Energy Asia will be the key meeting point for developers, utilities, startups, consultants, technology leaders, investors and regulators, allowing them to explore the present and future of blockchain in renewable energy in Asia. Organized by Solarplaza alongside local partner Vertech Capital, this 1-day conference in Singapore (November 27) will be the perfect meeting place for the energy-blockchain community in Asia.

News Clipping

The eventual liberalization of many electricity markets in Asia is opening up investment opportunities and new business models for consumers, producers and authorities.

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