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Thailand to build up its green economy
INDIA’S NON-HYDRO RENEWABLES TO REACH 229GW BY 2030
INDIA
India will see robust growth in non-hydropower renewables on the back of government support for renewables, with total capacity estimated to reach 229 gigawatts (GW) by end2030, according to a report by Fitch Solutions.
Fitch said that India, which has a 102GW capacity of non-hydropower renewables, will be a “key renewables growth market” due to the robust growth of solar and wind power supported by the government and investor interest.
It noted that Solar Energy Corporation of India under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched solar and wind power tenders which “have been met with increasing interest,” citing the 1.2GW power tender launched in May 2021, which is the second during the year.
Non-hydropower renewables generation is also expected to grow in the coming decade to 17% of the power mix in 2030 from 13%, it said.
India’s power consumption will rebound in 2022 beyond the 2019 levels with the increasing electricity access and recovering manufacturing sectors. Consumption is expected to increase to 2,171 terawatt-hours by 2030, Fitch Solutions said.
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Rising energy demand
India’s push to boost its manufacturing industry is also expected to lead to an increase in the electricity demand, it said, citing the “Make In India” initiative by the government in 2014.
Fitch Solutions also noted that the increased supply to electricity-intensive sectors such as automobiles, electronic systems and construction, as well as the government’s increasing commitment to promoting chip production in India will also boost electricity consumption.
It noted that India has been advancing grid expansion plans to ensure sufficient supply for the electricity demand so electricity generated from new solar and wind projects is fully utilised.
“In spite of this development, we still expect a key downside risk to renewables and consumption growth to be slow grid developments, which will hamper the utilisation of non-hydropower renewables electricity,” Fitch Solutions said.
Transmission and distribution (T&D) infrastructure across India “are ageing and in need of upgrades,” it said adding that of the 814 energy and utility projects worth US$378b, the majority are power plants and only 107 are transmission grid projects.
Fitch Solutions also noted that the Asian Development Bank partnered with the Indian government for the construction of new T&D infrastructure, the “Green Energy Corridor and Grid Strengthening Project” which will connect renewable power to the nation’s grid.
Thailand to build up its green economy
THAILAND
Banking on sustainable energy sources and improving waste management are amongst the several opportunities for Thailand to develop its green economy, as well as climate resilience, according to a report by Bain & Company.
“Thailand’s location offers it regional connectivity, but also exposes it to high risks of climate events such as flooding and drought. It can build up its climate resilience, ramp up waste management, and export energy and agriculture,” it said in a report.
Bain identified opportunities that Thailand could focus on which include production of solar power, citing the completion of the hydro-floating solar hybrid project at Sirindhorn Dam, which shows domestic demand for solar power. The country has also become an “export hub for Chinese photovoltaic (PV) players due to proximity and its anti-dumping duties.
Thailand faces challenges from extreme heat, whilst its capital Bangkok is vulnerable to flooding due to climate change. This poses risk to water resilience and security, Bain said, noting that two of its largest sectors—agriculture and high-tech manufacturing—are water-insensitive.
“Advanced water management solutions that address both water resilience and security, such as predictive analytics and treatment plants, have huge latent potential,” the report said.
Thailand’s agricultural practices is another key opportunity to develop as its smart farming market is expected to reach $270 million by 2020. But Bain said that this could be fully “unleashed if technological, economic, and social problems of smallholder farmers will be addressed.
Electronic-waste management is another area of opportunity to develop the green economy of Thailand, a country with less than 400,000 tonnes of electronic-waste, which also contains hazardous metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium.
Bain said having smart sensors and artificial intelligence sorting systems would be a “huge boost” to Thailand’s energy sector, as the current system is too labour-intensive.
The completion of the hydro-floating solar hybrid project at Sirindhorn Dam shows domestic demand for solar power (Photo by BangkokPost.com)
IEA stands ready to act to ensure that global oil markets are adequately supplied
PLANT WATCH G8, Holim Tech’s 1.5GW offshore plant Azure Power’s 600MW solar project SPNEC to develop 10GW solar project
SOUTH KOREA
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Singapore-based Subsea engineering solutions provider G8 Subsea and South Koreabased industrial business group Holim Tech have signed an agreement to develop a 1.5GW offshore wind power plant in South Korea.
G8 said in a statement that the plant can provide renewable energy source to 500,000 homes and businesses. “The overall power plant will be paired with the next generation ultra-long-life Lithium-Ion energy storage system to provide stable and high-quality power management to the grid,” it said. Azure Power has commissioned a 600MW solar power project by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) located in Bikaner, Rajastan.
The power generated from the Interstate Transmission System connected solar project will be supplied to the SECI at a tariff of US3.5 cents (INR 2.53) per kilowatt-hour for 25 years. The company also commissioned the project in phases and the last 100MW will be commissioned in January this year.
The project brings Azure Power’s operational solar assets in India to 2,510MW. Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (SPNEC) is planning to complete forming joint ventures and conduct possible stock offerings for its plan to develop 10GW of solar projects within 2022.
In a disclosure to the local bourse, SPNEC said the 10GW solar project development plans is nearly a 10-fold increase from the country’s grid-connected solar capacity at 1.021GW as of December 2020. SPNEC said that the scale of the solar projects “would only be made possible by partnering with the country’s leading power companies.
INDIA PHILIPPINES
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