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Andrew Ng Kay Lup and Lai Yee Qing were among 25 awardees in the Green Talents Competition 2019, organised by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to promote the exchange of innovative green ideas.
The two travelled to Berlin in October, where they presented their projects to a group of international researchers united in their focus of improving sustainability in various industries.
They will also be invited back to Germany in 2020 for a fully-funded research stay at an institution of their choice.
Ng, a Universiti Malaya PhD holder in chemical engineering, won over the Green Talents jury with his work on organic-based perovskites, a sustainable battery alternative for automobiles which promises greater horsepower and reduced weight and charging times.
Similarly, Lai impressed the judges with her research on improving industrial thermal energy efficiency through the innovation of existing heat exchanger networks.
This, in turn helps manufacturers reduce the emission of greenhouse gases while saving costs.
Both scientists were acknowledged for their significant and practical contributions towards building greener industries that inflict less harm on the planet.
In an email interview with Malay Mail, Ng said he was “elated” to be among the winners and called upon Malaysians to harness sources of renewable energy for a sustainable future.
“Malaysia is a land that is constantly filled with sunlight, yet it is underutilised,” he said.
“I hope Malaysia will be a nation that has this awareness not just by talk and no walk, but to be committed to reaching out for new sustainable technologies and enforcing environmental policies.
“We should also be fully investing in the raising of more future experts in addressing these issues.”
Lai, who is currently pursuing a PhD in chemical engineering at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, was grateful for the networking opportunity that she got as a result of coming out on top of the competition.
“Forums like this provide opportunities for researchers with the same goal from all over the world to meet, interact, and connect with each other,” she added.
“We can gain insight into the research landscape worldwide, see the research focus and direction in other countries, and even collaborate with each other to result in better findings.”
The young scientist also hoped to see more environmental awareness amongst Malaysians, particularly with regard to sustainable development.
“Nowadays, the Internet has made information easily accessible. We have lots of information about environmental risks and the importance of energy conservation.
“The challenge is how to put sustainability into practice.”
Ng and Lai were among 25 researchers selected for the Green Talents Competition this year, which saw over 800 applicants from 97 countries sending in their ideas for shaping a sustainable future.
The programme is held under the patronage of the German minister of education and research Anja Karliczek and has been providing a platform for young scientists to share their findings since 2009.
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A new report has been released looking at the Rapid Environmental and Social Assessment of Geothermal Development in Conservation Forest Areas in Indonesia.
The report, through a micro-level assessment, reviewed 15 existing Indonesian geothermal energy projects to develop improved insight into the key risks and impacts typically associated with geothermal power development in forest areas. Based on the risks and impacts identified during this study, this report makes recommendations on risk avoidance and mitigation.
Through a macro-level assessment of the officially published 330 geothermal resource potential points for Indonesia, the report determined the environmental and social risk rankings for every individual point.
The ultimate objective is to further stimulate the development of a clean energy source in Indonesia by de-risking it through up-front avoidance of high-risk areas and effectively mitigating social and environmental impacts through good operational management.
Unlocking Indonesia’s geothermal power potential, has been constrained by policy restrictions, implementation challenges, lack of capacity, environmental and social issues, permitting delays, a history of low energy pricing, and a lack of capital investment in exploration and project development. To address these many constraints, the Government of Indonesia has put major efforts into promoting geothermal development with initiatives such as the Roadmap of Geothermal Development 2012–2025 and a new policy, tariff and law in 2014. The new law, Geothermal Law No. 21, declassified geothermal energy as a mining activity allowing for its development in conservation areas not previously accessible for development.
Most geothermal potential in Indonesia is in or close to forest areas. This has raised societal concerns about environmental and social impacts, especially in forests that play an important role in supplying fresh water, harbour endangered wildlife, or have high cultural or religious values. Environmental and social impacts and risks associated with geothermal power development are complex and significant and the degree to which these risks and impacts vary between geothermal power projects is not well understood.
The new study was undertaken to build a better understanding of environmental and social risks from the perspective of both the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
“Both ministries could build upon the rapid assessment tool and use it for prioritizing and planning geothermal project development in conservation forest areas. The tool is also being used to screen geothermal prospects to be included in the Geothermal Energy Upstream Development Project, an ongoing government exploration drilling project supported by the World Bank.” Muchsin C. Abdul Qadir, Energy Specialist at the World Bank explained.
Findings
The key finding is that project access roads are the major cause of social and environmental risks and impacts associated with geothermal power development in forest areas. Geothermal energy projects in Indonesia on average require longer access roads than projects in other countries with similar capacity – exhibiting nearly twice as much road construction, about 10 km of roads per 100 MW capacity versus about 5 km elsewhere – generating relatively high impacts on forests and wildlife. To get about 10 km of project access roads, 30 hectares of forest clearing is needed, while about 10 km2 of forest is indirectly impacted through the effects of road-facilitated hunting, illegal logging, use of fire, and other detrimental activities.
This is likely related to the remote forested and mountainous terrain in which many geothermal projects have been established in Indonesia and the low density of the pre-existing rural road network, thus requiring the construction of lengthy new access roads. The report also found that the wider the roads the greater the environmental impacts. Therefore, the management of road access is crucial to mitigate the risk of increased pressure on forests and forest wildlife.
The report recommends that projects which require the construction of access roads deep into forest areas should be avoided, especially if they go into core zones of conservation areas. Indonesia should develop regulations that minimize road widths and clearing around roads and include requirements for installation of faunal crossing culverts and overpasses and high-quality road base or asphalted roads with good drainage that require less forest canopy opening.
Although the risk level of geothermal power development in Indonesian forest areas varies greatly depending on a range of social and environmental factors, the report advises that ignoring these risks significantly increases the costs of geothermal power development. It recommends that government institutions, project developers, and financiers use this World Bank risk assessment in the prioritization of areas for development, focusing first on project sites with low risks and high potential capacity.
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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 8 November 2019 – Singapore-based WEnergy Global Pte Ltd, a developer and operator of renewable power plants in Asean, said a group comprising its venture partners will fund US$20 million in equity into four new energy projects in the Philippines. These renewable energy plants will come onstream within two years.
The new projects will be designed alike the Sabang Renewable Energy Microgrid (SREC) Project in Cabayugan, Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. SREC was just commissioned.
The Sabang project was conceptualised in 2013 when the Philippine government was looking for solutions to overcome the challenge of insufficient power supply and poor power transmission. Give the vastness of the country, a fundamental problem was the lack of economies of scale in constructing power plants. WEnergy Global led the design and development of the project, and now operates the Sabang plant jointly with its Philippine partners, Gigawatt Power Inc. and Vivant Energy Corporation.
This Sabang plant, now the largest off-grid electrification plant in Asean, combines solar PV (1.4 MWp), diesel generation (1.2 MW) and 2.4 MWh battery storage to deliver electricity across a 14-km distribution network to 700 residents and commercial establishments. On average, this power plant will have 60% solar PV energy in the mix in its first few years of operation.
Mr Atem S. Ramsundersingh, CEO of WEnergy Global, said: “The fundamentals of WEnergy Global are centred on bringing sustainable renewable energy, the most cost-efficient solution, to off-grid or island communities, off-grid industrial estates and new townships … (our) answer is to build, own and operate smart micro-grids for off-grid electrification, which most multilateral agencies are starting to embrace almost 7 years after the work done by us, while investment companies and mega power companies remain averse. The commissioning of the Sabang plant today is a fruition of this goal and how it can be replicated quickly across to other parts of Southeast Asia.”
Philippine Secretary of the Department of Energy Mr Alfonso G. Cusi, who was present at the commissioning, said: “We need more decentralised energy systems through the private sector to end energy poverty and meet the President’s mandate to energize all Barangays and households by 2022. DOE encourages RE-Hybrids in rural off-grid areas and encourages companies to reduce fuel-based power and reduce subsidies for fuels. SREC is an example of that. We are changing our circulars to enable fuel-subsidy reductions.”
In January 2019, WEnergy Global entered into a partnership with ICMG Partners Pte Ltd and Greenway Grid Global (GGG) Pte Ltd, an investment entity of Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Corporation PowerGrid Inc (TEPCO-PG). The three entities set up CleanGrid Partners Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based investment entity with an initial commitment of US$60 million for project development and equity financing.
Looking ahead, WEnergy Global’s investment linked entity — CleanGrid Partners Pte Ltd — will aim to seal and sign deals with close to 15 local authorities in the Philippines to plan, build and operate microgrid projects in their respective jurisdictions.
The cooperation with TEPCO-PG and ICMG Partners will bring in seasoned expertise and excellence to solutions that can withstand natural disasters and compatible with business models that contribute to innovation of policy and regulatory frameworks. Collaboration and joint ventures with local business partners will bring in local knowledge and relations that are essential in building a network of decentralised and democratised electrification systems.
ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) is an intergovernmental organisation within ASEAN structure that represents the 10 ASEAN Member States’ (AMS) interests in the energy sector.
