THE ENERGY INDUSTRY TIMES - OCTOBER 2016 6 Asia News Renewable concerns down under n State-led programmes could increase national cost of renewable projects n ARENA faces budget cuts Syed Ali Businesses have hit out at a plan for ambitious new renewable energy targets in the Australian state of Victoria, warning that it could increase the costs of renewable projects under the national scheme and further distort the electricity market. The Business Council of Australia warned that Victoria’s renewable energy target (VRET) of 25 per cent by 2020 and 40 per cent by 2025, would ultimately add to the cost of the country’s overall renewable energy target. The organisation is concerned about the impact on existing electricity generation in the state, which relies heavily on burning brown coal in the Latrobe Valley. “State-based energy targets, such as the VRET, only serve to increase the cost of renewable energy projects that are being built under the national scheme and further distort Australia’s electricity markets,” said a submission by the Business Council. “Renewable energy targets are expensive tools to reduce Australia’s emissions.” The warnings have been echoed by the Australian Energy Council, which represents 21 electricity and downstream gas businesses, and the Minerals Council. Australia is heavily reliant on coal, and data released in September revealed that its emissions have been increasing steadily. Energy combustion emissions covered by CEDEX accounting for 83 per cent of the country’s total energy combustion emissions has steadily increased in the two years following the removal of the carbon price. For the first time since then, however, emissions fell in June 2016. It is a trend that renewable energy proponents hope will continue despite opposition from parts of the business sector and political pressure. At the end of August Australia’s renewable energy sector voiced its concern over a bill set to be introduced to Parliament, which involves a A$1 billion cut to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) grants funding. Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said: “While we understand the government is looking for savings, slashing grant funding for renewable energy massively undermines the industry’s efforts to meet our national emissions reduction targets, as well as the 2020 Renewable Energy Target (RET) and beyond.” Queensland is expecting a job boom from its solar energy projects but ARENA says hopes are dimmed by the funding cuts. In September, ARENA announced that it awarded support to 12 solar power projects with a combined capacity of 482 MW that will unlock more than $1 billion of investment. The agency will provide $91.7 million to six plants in Queensland, five in New South Wales and one in Western Australia following a competitive tender, it said. The selected projects are expected to triple Australia’s large-scale solar capacity to 720 MW from 240 MW. Sri Lanka prepares to tackle energy shortage Syed Ali Sri Lanka’s energy regulator has approved the Ceylon Electricity Board’s Least Cost Long Term Generation Expansion Plan (LCLTGEP) 2015-2034 as part of its plan to tackle a looming power shortage. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has said that power plants listed in the LCLTGEP for the period of 2017-2020 must be built to prevent a potential power shortage in 2018 and beyond due to non-operation of hydro power plants during drought conditions. Under CEB’s plan around 1275 MW of power would be added to the national grid during the next four years. Failure to implement those power plants on time will result in countrywide power shortages in years 2018/2019, warned PUCSL Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe. Sri Lanka also intends to significantly increase the share of renewable energy generation by the end of the next decade. At the end of August the Sri Lankan Cabinet of Ministers approved a ‘Battle for Solar energy’ programme. The programme aims to encourage the small consumers to install rooftop solar panels and will pay them for any excess energy exported to the grid. With this new programme, government expects that at least 20 per cent of such consumers will produce electricity on their own. Deputy Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ajith P. Perera said that, for excess energy exported to the grid, the electricity board is ready to pay a feed-in tariff to rooftop solar generators. The scheme will be implemented in stages and the first stage will cover Northern, Southern and Eastern Provinces. Sri Lanka currently generates 50 per cent of its electricity from renewables and aims to ramp this up to 60 per cent by 2020 and 70 per cent by 2030. To achieve this target, 600 MW of wind and 3000 MW of solar plants will be built within the next 10 years. Climate goals call for over $7 trillion investment Asian economies, including India and China, require more than $7 trillion investment to meet the stated ambition to limit global warming to 2°C, a new report said recently. The report, ‘Investing for the Climate in Asia’, concludes that $7.7 trillion in investment between 2014 and 2035 in renewable energy and energy efficiency is needed to meet the combined electricity demands of China, India, Japan and Southeast Asia. Including an analysis of 36 banks, 30 investors and 24 insurers, it reviews the disclosure of leading domestic financial institutions across the Asia Pacific region in an attempt to accurately determine the region’s response to climate change. The report has been produced to also provide insight into emerging and future trends for investment and lending activity. Some 31 per cent of the institutions analysed in the new report factored climate change risk into their financing operations. Over a quarter of the banks analysed referred to climate change factors as a reason to limit financing, and 81 per cent disclosed their policy on responsible lending. Commenting on the report, Emma Herd, CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), said: “The finance sector has recognised the opportunity and is gearing up fast. “While it’s clear that progress is uneven and gaps remain, such as a need for greater focus on climate risk in investing, progress over the past two to three years has been remarkable. There’s no doubt that a great transition is on.”
Energy Industry Times October 2016
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