Asian Power

ISSUE 57 | DISPLAY TO 30 JUNE 2013 | www.asian-power.com | A Charlton Media Group publication

US$360P.A.

india’s 750mw target

find out more from welspun energy’s co-founder vineet mittal

MICA(P) 248/07/2011

Country Report China hunts for sustainable energy till 2040

FEATURE India to install 130m smart meters by 2021

opinion The right mix of power generation in Asia

opinion China to go green by 2015

PAge 6

PAge 12

PAGE 22

PAge 10

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Answers for industry.

News from asian-power.com Daily news from Asia Japan to install world’s largest battery most read ENVIRONMENT

Japan to install world’s largest battery It will be used to develop a stable electricity supply generated by solar and wind power sources.

Japan plans to install a massive battery at an electrical substation on the island of Hokkaido. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said the battery will be put in place by the end of the first quarter in 2015.

The battery system will have a storage capacity of around 60,000 kWh. POWER UTILITY

Power use by China’s primary sector falls It dropped 0.3% year-onyear to 18.9 billion kWh from January to March.

China’s secondary sector, however, used 868.8 billion kWh of power, up 3.8% year-on-year, said the National Energy Administration.

The primary sector is the sector of an economy making direct use of natural resources. This includes agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining, and extraction of oil and gas.

AC Energy Holdings Inc commits US$325 million in equity investments for the projects. This total represents 46% of the company’s planned US$700 million capital outlay for the energy sector over the next five years. President Eric Francia said the US$325 million had been earmarked for previous interest acquisitions in energy firms and for upcoming power projects.

This project includes a US$20 million investment for a 50% stake in NorthWind Power Development Corporation that owns and operates the Bangui wind farm, the Philippines’ first and only wind project.

ENVIRONMENT

Saudi company to build polysilicon plant in Malaysia The US$1.6 billion plant will be one of Asia’s largest.

Project Management & Development Company

Co. Ltd will build the polysilicon manufacturing plant in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sarawak. It said the project is in line with Sarawak’s initiative of promoting green and sustainable energy solutions leading to further development of the state’s industrial base.

The company’s Malaysian affiliate, Cosmos Petroleum & Mining Sdn Bhd, will own and operate the plant when it starts production in 2016. Polysilicon is the raw material used to manufacture solar power panels.

PROJECT

Sinopec to build China’s largest coal-togas project To cost US$11.3 billion and will meet soaring demand for natural gas.

State energy giant Sinopec Group expects to finish the project in 8 to 10 years. The coal-to-gas production facilities in

Ayala power company to do four power projects

India turns to Germany for advanced RE technology

Publisher & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MICA(P) 248/07/2011 Asian Power is a bi-monthly news magazine published by Charlton Media Group Pte Ltd registered in Singapore.

Its circulation is to leaders in the Asian power industry and is available on a controlled circulation and paid basis.

Associate Publisher Art Director media assistant ADVERTISING CONTACTS

CONTACT THE PUBLISHER Charlton Media Group, #06-09 E, Maxwell House 20 Maxwell Road Singapore 069113 www.charltonmedia.com, +65 3158 1238 All editorial is copyright and may not be reproduced without consent.

Contributions are invited but Asian Power can accept no responsibility for loss.

PROJECT

ENVIRONMENT

It needs technology for grid integration of renewable energy and rooftop solar panels in urban areas.

New and Renewable Energy Secretary R.P. Watal said India seeks a capacity addition of 30 GW, of which 25 GW is expected to come from wind and solar energy.

“Wind and solar are location-specific and not

POWER UTILITY

distributed uniformly.

At present, renewable electricity generated is absorbed within the state and grid balancing issues limit the absorption of such electricity to a certain limit,” he said.

Zhundong in Xinjiang will have an annual production capacity of 8 billion cubic meters.

Zhundong’s coal production will be used to feed nearby coal-to-gas production facilities. The coal mines have annual production capacity of 15 million tonnes each.

Restart of KashiwazakiKariwa nuclear plant delayed Tepco blames lack of government funds as reason.

Tokyo Electric Power Company has said it will not restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant anytime soon.

President Naomi Hirose blamed the firms’ financial woes and the absence of government funding for the situation.

“If we don’t get back in the black, we would no longer exist as we are. We will use all possible means to achieve that.”

Tim Charlton Laarni Salazar-Navida Jonn Martin Herman Daniela Gujilde Tim Charlton tim@charltonmediamail.com Laarni Salazar-Navida lanie@charltonmediamail.com

ASIAN POWER 3

FIRST EU to impose hefty duties on Solar panels

European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht is prepared to recommend placing duties on solar panels from China in a protectionist move that could spark retaliation from Beijing. The case is the biggest handled by the Commission.

The initial EU duties on Chinese solar panels are likely to be set at 30% and above, which would make Chinese exports far less attractive in Europe. Prices for Chinese-made panels are currently as much as 45% lower than those made in Europe, industry executives say.

The move to levy duties would still leave the door open for a negotiated solution with China before December, and avoid levies that could be imposed for up to five years.

Capturing the EU market EU producers say Chinese companies have captured more than 80% of the European market from almost zero a few years ago, prompting the European Commission to act against this alleged dumping.

Europe accounted for about half of the global solar market in 2012 that was worth US$77 billion.

The commission started an investigation in September 2012 when it judged there were grounds to proceed with a complaint by German and Italian companies. They accuse China of subsidizing its producers with easy credit to push output to more than 20 times the level of Chinese consumption.

De Gucht now believes there is clear evidence of dumping on the EU market, and will propose the measures at a gathering of trade specialists from all EU countries who are expected to back them.

Germany, the United States and China are the world’s biggest solar markets and companies are in a race to win contracts as countries seek to limit pollution and global warming.

4 ASIAN POWER

See how offshore wind in Taiwan has developed tremendously

BY Michael Wang

T

aiwan is an island that highly relies on import energy to sustain the power supply of the country.

Renewable energy has now become the new hope of the country towards the new low-carbon and less-import-dependency energy portfolio for next decades.

Among the renewables, wind and solar energy are considered to be the first-tier resources to be utilized on the island and offshore wind is regarded as one of the most attractive ones to be developed since the potential capacity is estimated to be at least 6-10GW in the Taiwan Strait and it is successfully operating in Europe.

The attractive potential of offshore wind has given the island a good opportunity to increase the portion of renewable energy in power supply and also to develop the local supply chain by growing it along with ongoing offshore wind farm developments, which is expected to bring positive effect on both the economy and the environment.

To do so, the government mandated to realize 600MW offshore wind installation by 2020, and some 3000MW offshore wind energy by 2025.

Thus, having the first offshore wind farm has become the prior mission of the country to carry the plan forward.

In terms of the policy, the Renewable Energy Act (REA) which was promulgated in

The government mandated to realize 600MW offshore wind installation by 2020.

2009 supports offshore wind development by providing the developers with a 20-year off-taking PPA mechanism together with the feed-in-tariff (FiT).

For 2013, the FiT is set at the level of NTD 5.5626/kWh (approximately USD 18.8 cents/kWh) and the government aims to remain at this level before large-scale deployment to spur the future development.

The government has also announced a Government Grant Scheme (The Incentive Program of Offshore Wind Power Demonstration System) for demonstration projects by awarding two winners to speed up the deployment of the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan. The two winners will be granted with a USD 8 million subsidy for the development costs of the 2-turbine pilot project and a 100-200MW demonstration wind farm and an interest free financing for up-to about USD 5,300/ kW (NTD 159,000/kW) for the CAPEX of the 2-turbine pilot.

By providing the financial supports, the government targets to have the first 2-turbine pilot installed before the end of 2015 and the 100-200MW demonstration wind farm by the end of 2020, and at the same time bring synergy to local supply chains to pursue the business opportunity for up to NTD 500 billion (USD 16.7 billion) by 2025.

featURe: eneRgY PRices

trash junks high energy prices in the Philippines

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uantum International Group, Inc. says that it intends to invest over US$2.6 billion to build at least ten plasma gasification plants, five of which will use garbage to generate electricity.

The other five plasma gasification plants will be capable of producing at least 13,000 an american company intends to use garbage to megawatts (MW) of electricity. cut the high cost of electricity in the Philippines.

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Early Bird rate, all produce registrations must be received and paid by Wednesday, 31 July 2013.

International president and chief executive Al Johnson claims that the five plants Online registration is available on the conference website at www.aipm2013.com.au. that will convert garbage into power can cut the cost of electricity by 25% in five years.

Johnson says that for every metric ton of garbage, Quantum can produce from 800 kilowatts to 1 MW of electricity. “Four plasma plants capable of gasifying 2,000 Keynote Speakers Call for Papers MT of garbage per day will be put up in Davao and Surigao del Norte in MindThe 2013 Conference Program will feature keynotes from: Paper submissions are now open for oralisland, presentations. submission anao southern Online Philippines.

A plant is the only method of receipt the five plants of papers. with the capacity of gasifying 5,000 MT of • Tansel Ali, Two-Time Australian Memory Champion that will convert garbage per day will also be built in SuriAll papers must be submitted no later than Thursday, 4 July 2013.

• Anna Meares, Olympic Gold Medallist garbage into gao del Norte,” he adds.

• Ed Merrow, Independent Project Analysis, Inc., USA power can the amount of powerand that paper will be For information about sub-themes,Given submission guidelines • Mark Mullaly, Interthink Consulting, Inc., Canada cut the cost produced by the firm, Johnson says that, templates, please visit the conference website at www.aipm2013.com.au.

• Dr Keith Suter, International Affairs Expert of electricity “In five years, rates in Philippine energy by 25% in prices will drop 25%. In two more years, it Conference Secretariat - International Conferences & Events Australia | Tel: +61 8 9381 9281 | Email: info@aipm2013.com.au | Website: www.aipm2013.com.au five years. will drop 50%.”

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ASIAN POWER 13

COUNTRY REPORT: CHINA

China’s hunt for more sustainable energy to sustain demand through 2040 China faces energy shortage even as demand saw its lowest level at 3.9% in more than a decade in 2011. Nuclear energy is seen a viable option.

I

t has always been argued that economic development equates to a rise in energy demand but not in China this time. China is forecasted to contribute more than 20% of global economic growth by 2040 as its economic output rises more than 5% per year on average. Energy demand however is seen to moderate with China moving from an energy-intensive manufacturing-based economy today to a more consumerbased economy, requiring less energy use per unit of gross domestic product (GDP), said analysts. In fact, China has seen in 2012 its lowest energy demand growth at 3.9% in more than a decade.

Coal and power consumption grew by only 2.5% and 5.5% respectively, down from 9.7% and 11.9% in 2011. In an annual basis, China’s energy use per unit of GDP has also fallen by 3.6%.

Energy demand A recent study by Exxon Mobil points that urbanization is to play a role in the world’s growing energy needs through 2040. The impact of which, it said, is most evident in China, where today about half of its 1.3 billion citizens live in cities – a dramatic increase from just three decades 6 ASIAN POWER

“China has seen in 2012 its lowest energy demand growth at 3.9% in more than a decade.”

ago, when only about 20% lived in urban areas. By 2040, Exxon Mobil predicts that almost 75% of China’s population will live in cities, nearly a complete reversal compared with 1980.

Areas with relatively higher income levels in the developing world are seen to capture efficiency gains. However, Exxon Mobil said that their energy use per capita is likely to remain flat or continue to grow, reflecting an increase in the use of modern energy technologies as incomes grow significantly. This, it said, is reflected in China’s residential energy intensity, which grows from 11 to 13 million BTUs per person and is expected to surpass that of Japan by 2040.

Industrial demand declines Exxon Mobil sees 20% of China’s industrial demand declining by close to 20% from 2025 to 2040 as its economy matures and energy efficiency improves.

“China’s current infrastructure expansion is expected to slow substantially in the second half of the Outlook as its population shrinks and the economy matures. This will lead to a decline in industry demand post-2030 to essentially offset growing demand in the rest of the

world.”

China’s population is projected to peak around 2030 at about 1.4 billion. However, as a result of its policies on family size, China’s working-age group is projected to peak much earlier, likely within the next 10 years, said Exxon Mobil. It also noted that this will have implications for China’s economic growth and its energy demand. an expanding elderly population, will likely have implications for China’s economic growth and its energy demand.

Exxon Mobil said that over the next 30 years, demand will shift from China toward India and other expanding industrial areas, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

China’s Energy Research Institute (ERI)’s senior researcher Yang Yufeng believes that energy demand of both China and the rest of the world will be on the decline due to China’s decelerating economic growth and the global economic downturn. China’s energy demand, he said will fall by two percentage points while the growth rate of global energy demand will drop to 1-2%. As a result, the supply of coal and electricity in China, he said will be relatively secure during the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP) from 2011-

COUNTRY REPORT: CHINA 2015.

Does this mean that China’s energy dilemma has been solved?

Energy efficiency Energy demand is expected to moderate over the next 30 years but the pursuit for more sustainable and environmentfriendly source of power remains. China is making big progress in this area, according to analysts.

In 2006, China set for the first time a binding target for energy efficiency by requiring a 20% reduction in energy intensity per unit of GDP from 2005 to 2010 and began initiating sector-specific policies and measures to support further reductions in energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) intensity through 2015 and 2020.

According to China Energy Group, a mid-term evaluation of the 11th FYP policies by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that most policies were on track to meet or exceed their 11th FYP savings targets and in 2011, the Chinese government reported total reduction of 19.1% in energy intensity per unit of GDP over the 11th FYP period. The Top-1000 program which set energy savings targets for China’s largest 1000 energy-consuming enterprises in nine key industrial sub-sectors, for instance, was reported to have achieved total energy savings of 150 million tons of coal equivalent, it said.

The Ten Key Projects initiative included a wide range of potential energy-savings areas with industry and buildings as two major components, but the total savings achieved has not been reported. More recently, China has continued to set binding targets for 16% and 17% energy and carbon intensity per unit of GDP reductions, respectively, for its 12th FYP period from 2011 to 2015.

In a research report, Rhodium Group reported that while overall power demand growth fell in 2012, the share of Chinese electricity generated from renewables increased from 15.7% to 19.4%, thanks to a recovery in hydro and increased wind generation. Renewable and nuclear power combined accounted for 94% of all electricity generation growth in China in 2012. Rhodium Group also notes that preliminary estimates suggest the share of total energy supply from non-fossil sources increased from 8% to 8.5-9%. The research firm cautioned though that while the result is a significant improvement over 2011 when nuclear and renewables’ share of energy consumption fell, the gains of 2012, will be hard to repeat this year.

Slower energy demand growth combined with increased non-fossil energy supply curbed Chinese emissions growth in 2012. Rhodium estimates that CO2 emissions rose by 3.2%, down from 9.3%

YoY in 2011. That means the carbon-intensity of the Chinese economy declined by 4.3% – a welcome improvement over 2011 when it remained unchanged. But Rhodium said that the carbon-intensity of Chinese GDP will need to fall even faster – by 4.6% a year between now and 2015 – to meet Beijing’s 12th FYP commitment.

The role of nuclear power The government has long realized that continuing to import larger amounts of coal and oil is clearly not ideal from a security of supply or balance of payments point of view, and thus explains the country’s aggressiveness in nuclear buildout.

Just last March, China has announced its plans to increase its nuclear power generation capacity by 20% to nearly 16GW this year. By 2020, it hopes to have 40GW of nuclear generation with 28 nuclear power-generating units under construction and to reach some 70-75GW approximately 10 years later.

Rasika Gokhale Athawale, founder of advisory firm MindCrunch, notes that given the serious threats of climate change and the inaction by major governments across the world, China taking a leadership position in executing new nuclear projects at a breathtaking speed, is a welcome move. “The world has already discarded coal as an option for power generation, though there are still large new coal-based capacities being added in developing countries. Other parts, especially the US is trying to move to a natural gas-based scenario. However even that is a fossil fuel. Renewables hold promise but will require further technological advancements in energy storage to really harness their full potential. Therefore

“Nuclear is clearly a good option provided safety features are not overlooked.”

nuclear is clearly a good option - provided safety features are not overlooked.”

Athawale believes that the speed for capacity addition is coming from two facts - the increasing pressure from the world on China to reduce its carbon emissions, and the possibility of increased healthcare costs in China if the country does not reduce pollution in its cities.

Alex Tancock, Wind Prospect general manager in Hong Kong, believes that these ambitious targets will thrust China to become the world’s leader in nuclear technology. “They will have a young and well-educated nuclear workforce and a large and dynamic local industry which will allow it to overtake western nuclear industries which are stagnating due to the lack of projects in their local markets.”

He adds that whilst China has been playing catch-up, it is only a matter of time until they begin to be the ones pushing technological boundaries.

Nuclear power promises to diversify China’s energy resource base and could be considered less vulnerable to disruption than say oil or gas imports potentially.

Then there are those that claim it is also ‘clean’, so it has that potential advantage.

Then of course there are the military advantages of a strong nuclear industry including weaponisation and development of nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Tancock however believes that nuclear doesn’t stand out as being the best answer for China’s energy dilemma.

“There is no answer to China’s energy dilemma. China is going to consume all the energy it can, just like India, Europe, the US and everyone else. I subscribe to the view that the world is running low on cheap and easy-to-get energy, so the race

ASIAN POWER 7

COUNTRY REPORT: CHINA “As in the emergency response under crisis at Fukushima, human factors remain the largest relative uncertainty in nuclear power.”

is on to secure what is available before it gets more expensive/unavailable. That means developing all technologies and exploiting all natural resources. This is why climate change concerns and carbon pricing are going out of fashion; we don’t have the option of not using coal and gas anymore, so those policies don’t make sense to support.” he said.

“Nuclear, don’t forget, has national security dimensions that other power technologies typically don’t have, so that is a value add beyond its power generating potential (launching intercontinental solar panels will hardly scare your adversaries, and ballistic submarines are unlikely to be coal-powered any time soon). So I would look at nuclear in a larger context than just its energy applications. If it was just about energy then it’s possible very few countries would bother with it given the risk/reward/cost analysis.

It is the other aspects that make it worth having,” he added. No doubt that China will do them as safely as they can.

But the US, Russia and Japan have all had major nuclear accidents, so history would suggest that China will also have one, despite all the will in the world to be safe, said Tancock.

power plant accident. “We now live in the post-Fukushima nuclear era. First let us pay our respects to this tragic loss-oflife (~16,00 fatalities) as a result of the earthquake and tsunami, and earlier in 2004, centered further south in the Indian Ocean (230,000+ fatalities). The movie, “The Impossible”, was a recent, personal reminder that indeed, energy provides sustenance and socio-economic development for humankind. This is crucial in Asia-Pacific (AP) in years to come” he said.

Tokuhiro notes that over the past 15 years, AP has clearly had increasing means to lead global economic growth, relative to stagnating economies of scale in Europe and US AP also has both existing and emerging larger-scale industrial concerns and capital to construct new nuclear power plants (NPPs). He cited Korea‘s construction of four units in UAE and sees export of NPPs as part of its economic portfolio, as does Japan and soon, China. But security remains a major concern for him. “Although a nuclear power plant itself is a global, engineered product, construction, operation, maintenance, international compliance (safeguards) and safety thereof directly involve people.

These factors are thus intimately tied to Post-Fukushima nuclear era the prevailing national culture, especially Before the debate on whether nuclear safety culture and the level of ‘transparpower is the answer to China’s energy ency’ exercised. As in the emergency dilemma or not, Akira Tokuhiro, a profes- response under crisis at Fukushima, sor of mechanical and nuclear engineerhuman factors remain the largest relative ing at the University of Idaho reminds uncertainty in nuclear power.” that the global nuclear ‘enterprise’ is now Tokuhiro cautioned that it is evident two years past the historic magnitude 9 that with rapid growth in China, it faces Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsua number of dominant issues - shortnami, and unfortunately, the continuing falls in the supply chain including large consequences of the Fukushima nuclear forgings, components, and fuel; training 8 ASIAN POWER

and qualification of a nuclear workforce and implementation of global standards like international compliance in terms of a ‘validated and verified’ (V&V) regulatory body implementing ‘best practices’ such as transparency, tested emergency preparedness and timely self-initiation of lessons learned from ‘mistakes’. “As the pan-Asian culture can be characterized by some as ‘insular’, group-oriented and contrastingly accommodating and practicing harsh compliance, it seems evident that some institutional paradigm shifts will be needed to meet global expectations.”

So, what are the lessons learned and what can we expect? If anything, Tokuhiro said that Fukushima has taught us to expect the unexpected – the impossible. He reminds that the six units at Fukushima and other Japanese sites all survived the quake and tsunami but were damaged. He notes that while the reactors shutdown and emergency cooling systems functioned as designed, the loss of on-site and off-site electrical power, providing automatic and/or planned response to the reactors’ became quickly overwhelming.

Further, by not heeding that the core damage can start as early as 2 hours after loss of decay heat cooling, the facts of the aftermath are three partially-to-extensively melted cores, he said while adding that the recovery, remediation and restoration will likely require at least 40 years, 10,000+ personnel, and perhaps US$100 billion. “It will require management of large volumes of waste, he said.

Chinese economic and energy demand growth

Source: CEIC and RHG estimates

Energy consumption, 1990-2020

Source: U.S. Energy information

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OPINION

JOHN GOSS

China takes significant steps towards going green by 2015 john.goss@ceejay.com.hk

C

hina faces many new energy challenges as it becomes the world’s largest user and producer of energy. The continuous pressures of ensuring an adequate supply of energy to its people and industries are increasing each year. At the same time, the constant pressures to deal with the related environment issues are also on the increase.

These ongoing pressures have resulted in the country’s Central Government calling for a very swift transformation in the way that energy is developed across the nation. The government is also aiming to adjust the structure of all energy-related industries, especially as far as the increased utilization of renewable energy resources is concerned.

Government efforts The Chinese government first publicized regulations and targets aimed at supporting the development of renewable energy, including the law, on renewable energy during 2005. It also established a new development funding system that attracted investment from diversified sources This step has assisted in speeding up the development of the country’s clean and green energy industries.

China’s installed hydroelectric power capacity reached 230 million kW during 2011, which established the country as the world’s leading producer of hydroelectric power. The country’s installed wind power capacity has reached 47 million kW is also the largest globally. China has also achieved significant progress in the application of solar and geothermal energy. Although the momentum is strong, the development of China’s renewable energy industries is still at a relatively early stage.

However, there are many challenges ahead which need to be faced. Amongst the many challenges is the relatively high cost of renewable energy, which remains significantly higher than those of conventional sources.

Currently, wind power costs 30 to 50 percent more than the traditional fossil energy resources. Also, the cost of solar energy is much higher again being maybe two to three times more.

Who will bear the burden?

The ongoing support for renewable energy industries will place even more burdens upon both producers and consumers that may well require increased government subsidies. Currently, the country’s low-carbon energy technologies continue to be way behind those from the developed nations. These advanced technological disadvantages have served to create significantly higher costs and far lower levels of market acceptance.

As far as renewable energy resources are concerned, a major problem facing China today is that the energy resource rich regions are thousands of kilometers away from the energy hungry regions and cities.

The abundant wind and solar energy resources which are found in China’s western provinces where energy demands are extremely low. However, the eastern and south-eastern provinces of the country, where the major cities and industries are located, are where they need abundant supplies of power from the west and the south-west of the nation.

The Central Government, in Beijing, has recently set a target figure of 11.4 percent of non-fossil energy in the total power 10 ASIAN POWER

consumption in China by 2015 and then 15 percent of consumption by 2020.

The government has also targeted lowering China’s carbon dioxide emission per unit of GDP by 17 percent from 2010 to 2015. This target has been followed by yet another pledge by the government that further reductions will achieve 40 to 45 percent reductions by 2020.

The government plans to accelerate the pace of construction and the continual upgrading of China’s power transmission grid in the more rural regions. These new renewable energy facilities, including solar power plants, built in China’s remote regions need to be connected to the national grid. The government says it plans to have around 200 demonstration regions for effective green energy utilization and some 1,000 demonstration villages featuring connected solar power by 2015.

The future of renewable energy The future potential for China’s renewable energy industries remains huge, as many of the natural resources remain untouched.

Less than 30 percent of its water resources are currently being utilized for generating electricity. The future installed capacity of hydroelectric power in the country is expected to be in the region of 290 million kW in 2015.

Wind power is one of the renewable energies, like hydropower, which has the greatest potential for large-scale use now and in the future.

By 2015, installed wind power capacity will surpass 100 million kW by 2015, of which 5 million kW will be provided by offshore wind farms. Also targeted for 2015 is for solar power’s installed capacity to rise above 21 million kW. Through the vigorous development of new energy resources and these renewable energy resources it is forecasted that China will increase its efficient use of renewable energy equivalent to 478 million tons of standard coal by 2015.

By 2015, installed wind power capacity will surpass 100 million kW by 2015.

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FEATURE: INDIA SMART METER

Metering India smartly India is estimated to install 130 million smart meters by 2021 but progress could be stalled by significant infrastructural development and capacity building issues.

S

mart meters are becoming the meter of choice in many countries such as Italy, Sweden, Australia, Canada and UK but is India ready for this advanced technology?

According to recent industry reports, distribution utilities globally are expected to spend US$ 378 billion in smart grid technologies by 2030 where India is estimated to install 130 million smart meters by 2021. Sweden-based analyst firm Berg Insight says that penetration rates for smart metering technology will grow to around 50% in Europe and North America, and to over 75% in the AsiaPacific region from just around 15% to 25%, respectuvely, today. And by 2020, it estimates that penetration rates for smart meters are expected to approach 100% in most developed countries, with massive rollouts also taking place in new smart meter territories such as Latin America, India and the Middle East.

Unlike developed countries however, India has not introduced smart metering in a large scale until now, said Suman Ghorai, senior manager in Energy and Utility practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, India.

The ministry of power unveiled eight 12 ASIAN POWER

“India is estimated to install 130 million smart meters by 2021.”

smart grid pilot projects last year which are set to be rolled out shortly. The ministry is also going to finalize these eight projects of worth 500 crores (US$9.69 million) on smart grid implementation, which uses a combination of smart metering and various technologies to improve the efficiency and reliability power system for sustainable growth.

To initiate this process, 14 utilities, which manages the power distribution across India will be invited to submit the proposal for the eight pilot projects. The selected proposals will receive funding of around 50 to 60 crore.

The pilots will focus on addressing three key issues: 1) Reduction of aggregate technical and commercial (AT & C) losses, 2) Peak load management, and 3) Integration of renewable energy like wind and solar into the grid. The pilots are expected to be completed within 12 to 18 months.

It is proposed that 50% of the total project cost will be borne by the Ministry of Power and the remaining 50% by selected utilities.

Initial steps of smart metering in India is so far encouraging with the market for electricity meter both for static and elec-

tromagnetic witnessing rapid expansion of 32% between 2008-09 and 2010-2011, said Prima Madan of consultancy firm Emergent Ventures. This growth rate, she said can be largely attributed to government mandates and policies.

Madan noted that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) guidelines, which have mandated the use of static meters, have seen the Indian energy meter market shift largely to static meters from earlier electromechanical meters.

With a maturing status of metering in the country and growing government interest and support, she believes that adoption of smart metering technologies is emerging to be the most relevant next step - a move that is highly anticipated to help reduce India’s peak power deficit which reaches 12-15% in major cities.

“Reduction in commercial losses is one of the principal advantages of using smart metering, particularly of relevance for India, which arguably has the highest AT & C losses in the world at about 28%),” said Madan.

Government initiatives Certain government initiatives are leading the way towards metering smartly in the country.

The India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) an inter-ministerial group initiated by the Ministry of Power, has been serving as a government focal point for all activities related to smart grid. Under the ISGTF, in March 2011, a Smart Meter

FEATURE: INDIA SMART METER Task Group was formed to discuss the development of cost-effective metering solutions that can be applied within the Indian context.

The ISGTF plans to come up with 12 smart grid pilots in the country by next year, with specific inclusion of smart meters. These it envisages as a stepping stone to a large-scale rollout in the following years based on the learning of the pilots.

Smart meter In countries such as Italy, Sweden, Australia, Canada and UK etc., where smart meters have been deployed, the prime motive was to improve the frequency of meter reading as costs were very high. In India, C.P.Jain, chairman of Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) meter division, boasts that the directions are there for reading all the meters at least once a month and hence,the meter reading costs are not so high as in the other countriesmentioned “The metering technology available in India is quite advanced and in fact as per the regulations of March 2006, only advanced digital meters with communication are to be used for all tariff-metering applications. Presently, the meters being used in India are already smart with lot of smart features built in especially for prevention of theft of electricity and are suitable for advance functions like AMR and Prepayment.”

structure developments in metering and HT/LT system through AMR & IR static metering and ABC cabling, utilization of benefits is yet to be realized, said Ghorai.

This, he said, is due to lack of knowledge sharing and communication between employees; absence of associated infrastructure for meter data analysis and necessary action for pilferage reduction; Insufficient regulatory focus and policy on smart metering; and lack of system modification to enable the benefits of existing intellectual meter; lack of consumer awareness on Smart Grid concepts, such as how they will be benefited through Smart metering.

According to Ghorai, unless the above issues are addressed properly, large-scale investment for smart metering will be an additional burden without realizing the benefits of revenue enhancement.

The policy makers and regulators have to implement a robust incentive model framework to attract more and more private investments assuring the rate of return.

What’s next?

It is expected that implementation of smart meters will touch every aspect of the power sector value chain and will bring value to the entire country but there are certainly barriers to smart meter implementation.

Emergent Ventures’ Madan has suggested some of the potential steps forward should include first developing a Smart meter issues robust policy and regulatory framework; Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution developing an institutional structure to Co. plans to start prepaid metering for 10 ensure effective implementation in a cities in Maharashtra. way which brings together all stakeholdThough there are some progress in smart ers and ensure appropriate allocation of metering across utilities at pilot level, PwC’s Ghorai noted that there are however significant infrastructural development and capacity building issues which need to be addressed before planning a large-scale implementation of the project.

“Our recent studies show that few utilities have initiated Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) through GSM and through Infra Red (IR), however, in spite of more than 50% consumers are having such smart technology most of the meters are read manually.

Thus the benefits of such a huge investment are not realized. Therefore, there is a need for quick feasibility study to understand the technical and managerial issues and need to develop a plan to address those issues before deployment of smart meters.”

Ghorai added that another significant issue in smart metering is the quality of HT and LT infrastructure.

Though there are some improvements in urban power distribution system due to implementation of APDRP/R-APDER projects, where there are substantial infra-

“The metering technology available in India is quite advanced and the only advanced digital meters with communication are to be used for all tariff-metering applications.”

responsibility; identifying the right meter specifications; and building technological capacity and expertise since smart meters manufactured in the country rely heavily on imported components.

Madan noted that development of domestic capacity to produce meter components can go a long way in reducing per meter costs for the country.

Madan also emphasized the importance of training the needed manpower and enhancing their skill set as well as the design of effective demand side management programmes based on meters in a way which ensures adoption of energy efficiency measures across consumer segments.

Lastly, Madan stressed the need to conduct pilots. “It is widely felt that conducting pilots and testing the waters in terms of technology, consumer segments, etc. is important before a large-scale rollout.

Though smart meters do form part of the currently planned 12 smart grid pilots under the ISGTF, inclusion of right DSM components in these pilots is required.”

PwC’s Ghorai, meanwhile, suggests for a collaborative approach through vendor partnership. He also said an economics of scale needs to be work out before the roll out of this technology.

“Till then the existing metering system should be strengthened commercial loss reduction and focus should be given on metering efficiency, utilization of existing data for theft & pilferage protection, accurate energy accounting & auditing and revisiting the accountability of the personnel / feeder managers responsible for improvement of the metering operational efficiency,” he said.

ASIAN POWER 13

co-published Corporate profile

Symphony Plus: Meeting the challenge ABB continues to strengthen the Symphony Plus platform with features and functionalities that meet the needs of a varied and changing power and water market. control with hundreds or thousands of solar panels, often over several square kilometers.

This requires remote data collection from the trackers, meteorological stations, inverters, string boxes, transformation center and substations. S+ Operations does this effectively with a hierarchical system of front end servers for data acquisition and concentration servers for storing and forwarding the data to the remote operations center using firewall-friendly Ethernet TCP/IP.

T

he market response to Symphony™ Plus since its introduction 24 months ago has been phenomenal. In that time, ABB has delivered or is delivering Symphony Plus solutions that control more than 25,000 MW of new power generation and the new processing or distribution of more than three million cubic meters of water a day. These solutions range in complexity from the simplest to the most challenging of automation requirements, and for power plants and water facilities of all sizes.

Over that same period, many of our existing customers have selected Symphony Plus hardware and software to address their current and future system requirements – protecting their installed investments while adding new technology and functionalities to meet their business needs. Throughout, Symphony Plus continues to demonstrate its flexibility and inherent suitability for customer requirements of all types and in all regions of the world.

Flexible distributed automation The latest additions to S+ Operations, the powerful and ergonomic Symphony Plus human machine interface (HMI), build on the 14 ASIAN POWER

control and communications offering that was introduced in March 2012. They address the geographically distributed automation challenges of incorporating large numbers of small modular units such as solar trackers, remote terminal units and pipeline sensors into a common operations hierarchy.

S+ Operations’ unique system architecture easily adapts to any application - from serverless to multisystem or multi-server redundant architectures. This scalability - from the very small to the very large, from local to wide area networks – fits perfectly the SCADA requirements of geographically distributed applications.

For instance, the automation system for a photovoltaic power plant has to coordinate

“S+ Operations’ unique system architecture easily adapts to any application - from serverless to multi-system or multi-server redundant architectures.”

Complete view of operations S+ Operations provides users with a complete view of operations by seamlessly integrating into the HMI all areas and systems of the plant or network. These include both locally and geographically distributed process control units, remote terminal units, programmable logic controllers, and intelligent electronic devices that use standard communication protocols such as OPC, Modbus TCP, DNP 3.0, IEC 870-5101/103/104, and IEC 61850.

Recently, S+ Operations added several features to expand and enhance the operator’s view of the process. For instance, S+ Operations now offers a comprehensive set of connectivity options with ABB’s AC500 programmable logic controller to ensure fast and easy operation and engineering. This is of particular importance in renewable power and water distribution applications, where small capacity controllers are located close to remote assets such as solar panels or pumping stations and are interconnected through a wide area network.

S+ Operations’ newly integrated geographic information system (GIS) enables the user to surf and navigate over a map of the entire plant or network. By zooming in on a specific module or unit in the process, the user can obtain realtime and historic data on that particular asset.

This improves the supervision, operation and management of the process by providing faster and easier access to the operating values of each asset, regardless of its location.

Visibility of non-revenue water losses The most pressing issue facing water utilities today is non-revenue water losses. In 2012 ABB made a strategic investment in TaKaDu, a provider of advanced monitoring solutions for water distribution networks. TaKaDu supplies a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that can detect and alert in real time on water network faults, leaks, bursts, network breaches, faulty meters and other inefficiencies. The solution is based on sophisticated cloud-based data analysis and requires no network changes,

co-published Corporate profile additional devices or capital expenditure.

S+ Operations integrates the TaKaDu solution to provide operators with information and alarms on network inefficiencies and water losses as well as greater visibility on the overall performance of the water network.

Advanced alarm management With the growing trend of fewer operators controlling ever-larger power, water and process areas, it is essential for companies to have an effective alarm management strategy.

As EEMUA 191 states, “each alarm should alert, inform and guide, every alarm presented should be useful and relevant to the operator, and every alarm should have a defined response.”

With its latest enhancements, the Symphony Plus EEMUA 191-compliant advanced alarm management system helps users to categorize occurring alarms, while the operators focus on

what matters most: protecting the plant, its workers and the surrounding environment from harm.

Streamlined maintenance Maintenance is the largest controllable cost in the power, water and process industries today. S+ Operations’ integration with SAP PM computer maintenance management systems (CMMS) allows for easy communication with, and navigation to, asset-specific maintenance activities. From S+ Operations, operators can directly submit work requests to, and view active work orders in, the SAP PM system.

Together with ABB Shift Book and electronic log integration, which captures and transfers open shift actions from one shift to another, these features reduce costs by streamlining operation and maintenance work interactions.

In addition to these enhancements, ABB continues to expand the Symphony Plus

portfolio with new products and functionality at all levels of the system - delivering great system performance while meeting our customers’ most pressing needs for plant productivity, energy and water efficiency, operational security, plant safety, and lowest possible cost of ownership.

To learn more about Symphony Plus, contact your local ABB sales office or download a brochure at: www.abb.com/powergeneration

“ABB has delivered or is delivering Symphony Plus solutions that control more than 25,000 MW of new power generation and the new processing or distribution of more than three million cubic meters of water a day.”

New Symphony Plus solutions for distributed automation

Hydropower From the smallest micro-plants to the largest multi-turbine installations, Symphony Plus solutions incorporate the following components and features: – Unit control (turbine, generator, power transformer and unit auxiliaries) – Plant control (common plant auxiliaries, HV switchyard, spillway, intake and other hydraulic systems) – Complex control functions, such as joint control, cascade control, flood and river control, plant frequency control, reactive and active power control – Remote control and dispatch center connectivity – Integrated electrical and mechanical protection throughout the plant

Water distribution For all types of water distribution networks from small applications to large, multi-site distributed SCADA architectures: – Integration of standard communication protocols and local and geographically distributed devices including process control units, remote terminal units, PLCs and IEDs – Intuitive navigation and access to context and situation sensitive data and information – Visualization of temporal and spatial data through high-performance network schematics, trends, alarm lists and integrated GIS – Cross navigation from various system interfaces such as the operator graphic display, GIS, and trend and alarm management – Water network monitoring solution that detects and alerts in real time on all types of water loss and network inefficiencies

Photovoltaic Provides flexible and scalable distributed automation for all sizes and complexity of PV power plants: – Integration of PLC data from the solar field – Integration of ABB and third party electrical equipment in accordance with IEC 61850 – Advanced tracking system that optimizes tracker movement and eliminates shadow on the panels – Data collection system that collects operational input from the trackers, inverters, string boxes, transformation center and substation – Remote operation and maintenance from dedicated ABB remote control centers

ASIAN POWER 15

Vineet Mittal Welspun Energy Co-founder & Managing Director 16 ASIAN POWER

CEO INTERVIEW

Welspun Energy preps for more large-scale clean energy projects It targets to set up 750 MW of solar power and 1 GW of wind power plants across India. Find out what guts this energy firm has.

A

sian Power has just caught up with Welspun Energy cofounder & managing director Vineet Mittal to talk about their recent solar and wind projects which are attracting wide interest from investors as being among the largest in India. Its 130 MW solar project located in Neemuch which has recently received $161million funding from a consortium where Central Bank of India is a lead banker, is just one of four notable transactions in the country despite global venture capital still in slump.

Other projects it looks forward to seeing completion within this year include a 30 MW project in Tamil Nadu and a 7 MW project in Kamataka. In the wind sector, Welspun has plans to install 1,000 MW wind power capacity by 2016. It will soon be commissioning a 50 MW wind farm.

Read on and learn the challenges that Welspun has to face as well as its plans on how to overcome them.

It was only very recently when your 130 MW solar project became India’s largest to get financially sealed. How important is this project and what are your next steps?

Vineet: The 130 MW AC (151 MW DC) will be second largest

“Our projects are yielding optimum results and the generation and performance ratio is much better than that targeted or anticipated by any other organization in this sector..” solar PV project in the world when completed and hence, a historical project for us. The responses we have received from lenders have been quite encouraging. The project was not only oversubscribed 3 times but also holds the record for being the biggest solar project in the India.

On-ground construction is progressing well and we are planning to commission the project in 2013 itself.

What are the challenges that could hamper this project’s completion and what are your plans to overcome them?

Vineet: The major challenge with most Solar Projects is land acquisition and Right of way (ROW) for transmission line. We have already received the land and ROW for the transmission line for this project.

The financial closure has been achieved and the development work of the project is progressing well. We are therefore not anticipating any major challenges. This is the second mega solar capacity that Welspun Energy will be commissioning.

Our 50 MW solar project in Rajasthan holds the record for being India’s largest installed capacity to date and holds the distinction of having been completed in less than 5 months time.

Welspun commissioned two plants in Rajasthan in February.

How are you getting along with this project? Any challenges?

Vineet: The recently commissioned, 50 MW utility scale PV project in Rajasthan is India’s largest project awarded to a single developer. In the first week of its commissioning, it recorded a high CUF of 23.8% in stabilization period.

This is exciting news because so far other projects in our

vicinity are reporting lower CUFs. Our competitive advantage in project management and engineering expertise has been ensuring optimal performance.

The entire capacity was developed as three parts of 15, 15 and 20 MW. First 15 MW was commissioned six weeks ahead of schedule and completion of balance 35 MW was completed in time.

Instability due to overload in the region is a slight challenge which government needs to address.

You are planning to set up 750MW of solar power and 1 GW of wind power plants across India. How confident are you in reaching this target?

Vineet: We have been experiencing steady growth in our renewable energy portfolio. I am fairly confident that we will have more than 300 MW operational clean energy projects in FY 2014. We have also established an excellent pipeline of projects in other states of the country.

As regards to wind projects, site identification, land acquisition, evacuation study and wind data collection is already in progress for 1 GW targeted capacity. We are expecting to meet this target over the next few years. The major challenges one foresees are government regulatory changes and lack of RPO enforcement.

Was 2012 a banner year for your company? What were your major challenges?

Vineet: Our growth mirrors the development of National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) of the Government of India.

While 2012 was a glorious year for us and helped us to gain the leadership position in the clean energy space, we have a huge task ahead of us in setting up 750 MW solar and 1000 MW wind projects over the next few years and we are focusing our efforts to achieve that.

We have been recognized for our contribution to the solar segment & social inclusion from diverse stakeholders like Shri Narendra Modi, Honorable Chief Minister of Gujarat and ASSOCHAM; EQ Magazine’s title “Solar Man of the Year.”

Our 15 MW solar project in Gujarat was recognized as one of the most innovative solar projects in Asia and I think our single biggest achievement was that we could do all this by taking society along. We have been able to implement our philosophy of triple bottom line while developing all these projects.

The major challenge for us during 2012 was to convince the bankers to lend, land acquisition and several challenges associated with power sector. But we have been successful in overcoming these challenges and we will continue to move from strength to strength to achieve our targeted 1.75 GW capacity.

How do you see 2013? What growth opportunities are you looking at? What other projects are you rolling out this year?

Vineet: Building on the growth story of 2012, we are expecting that the year 2013 will be another landmark year for us. You will see significant growth in our project portfolio and we will have more than 300 MW operational projects.

We are looking at completing at least 130 MW AC project in MP, 30 MW Project in Tamil Nadu, 20 MW in Maharashtra and 10 MW project in Karnataka within this year.

FEATURE: MANUFACTURING

Sanjeev Sardhana, Chairman of ELECRAMA-2014

ELECRAMA-2014 poised for a quantum leap ELECRAMA-2014, to be held on January 8-12, is envisaged to be an experience beyond compare from previous ten editions as it moves to new location.

M

anufacturers, traders, utilities, consultants and decision makers from over 100 countries, market leaders with their latest products in the fields of power transmission and distribution will again converge at ELECRAMA-2014.

ELECRAMA is billed as the world’s largest electrical transmission and distribution exhibition showcasing India’s manufacturing capability and strengths to the global community. It attracts domestic and overseas business visitors, including from power utilities, technical consultants and engineering project contractors.

ELECRAMA-2014, to be held on January 8-12, is envisaged to be an experience beyond compare from its previous ten editions as it moves to the country’s newest and world-class exhibition location – Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), Bangalore. “We have large scale plans to make ELECRAMA-2014 much bigger event than ELECRAMA– 2012. Several new initiatives have been planned which will be announced in due course. We are also looking at better options. All I can say presently is that Elecrama-2014 will be a world-class exhibition in terms of plans, ambience and

18 ASIAN POWER

“ELECRAMA-2014 s envisaged to be an experience beyond compare from its previous ten editions.”

infrastructure,” said Sanjeev Sardhana, chairman of ELECRAMA-2014.

The theme of ELECRAMA-2014 will be ‘Go Global’ in conjunction with India’s 5% share target of global trade in electrical equipment in the next ten years. Global trade in electrical equipment reached US$540 billion in 2011, with India’s share being less than 1% at US$4.6 billion in 2011-12. “The economic realities of the new millennium saw the balance of power shift from the west to the east and now moving on to the new world. A US$300 billion development thrust into the Indian power sector is a massive opportunity for E&E manufacturers covering the complete GTD cycle. The Indian industry is seeking partners to enhance technology and competency, build capacities and calibrate their proposition to compete on a global scale, and ELECRAMA-2014 will serve to be the ideal platform for them to connect with the appropriate partners,” said Sardhana.

The highlights of ELECRAMA-2014 are an International T&D Conclave, TRAFOTECH - International Conference on Transformers, CEO Conclave with cross stakeholder debate and Awards ceremony.

ELECRAMA, which is the major flagship event of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) for promoting the “Made in India” brand and enhancing Indian exports of electrical equipment, is also doing the ChangeXchange 2014 – 2nd Reverse Buyer-Seller Meet (RBSM) at ELECRAMA-2014. According to Sardhana, it will be again organised by IEEMA at a much larger scale. “ChangeXchange 2014 will be the biggest meeting place of foreign buyers who plan to source electrical products and equipment from India,”he said.

ELECRAMA held the first RBSM2012 with support with support from the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. The idea was to give a first-hand experience of India’s strengths in electrical products and technology to foreign buyers.

ChangeXchange 2014 has special hosted buyer packages for buyers from countries of Africa, ASEAN, CIS, Latin American and SAARC, along with Iran.

“We are targeting procurement officials from power utilities (transmission & distribution), Ministry of Power/ Energy officials, energy regulators, EPC contractors, consultants and electrical equipment buyers from the focus regions,” said Sardhana.

Aditya Dhoot, vice chairman, ELECRAMA-2014, meanwhile commented: “Developing nations of the Middle East, Central Asia, West Asia and Africa are undertaking electrification vigorously through funding from multilateral agencies like the World Bank, African Development Bank and IMF. Indian products have immense opportunities for capturing these markets. I am confident that there will be deals sanctioned and contracts signed at ELECRAMA-2014 thereby significantly boosting the exports of Indian products to these countries.”

True to its commitment and vision of scouting new talent in the field of electrical and allied engineering, ELECRAMA is also initiating The Student pavilion and the innovation recognition platform of ‘ENGINEER INFINITE’ which aims of enthusing the youth into exploring careers in the industry and also offer a peerless platform for industry-student interaction and a ready-made technology showcase - both in incubation and global product releases. “At ELECRAMA-2014, our endeavor is to ensure that all aspects of the sector are comprehensively covered. But going beyond that, we are also looking to encourage young and talented students and encourage them to be innovative in their work. This will help the industry tackle the shortfall on skilled manpower effectively,” said Dhoot.

2 – 4 October 2013 IMPACT Exhibition & Convention Centre Bangkok, Thailand www.powergenasia.com

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www.powergenasia.com

co-published Corporate profile

Perkins enters China gas engine market The industry giant forays into the Mainland with the introduction of the turbocharged 6-cylinder 4006-23TRS gas engine.

Simon Gray, Perkins Product Marketing Manager

O

n a trip to Shanghai for the Power China 2013, Asian Power caught up once again with one of the leaders in the field, Perkins Engines Company Limited, which was showcasing three of its diesel engine ranges. But most notable this time around was that Perkins also brought a gas engine to display, the first time it has ever done so in the China market, in order to strengthen its local offerings.

Perkins displayed a 4006-23TRS, turbocharged, air-to-water charge-cooled, 6-cylinder inline engine, designed for operation on a wide range of methane-based gases. The company claims that the advanced combustion technology in each engine ensures durable and reliable power, while a high commonality with other engines in the 4000 Series range means a reduced parts inventory for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

“We’ve been developing gas engines for power generation and different markets for a long time. The first time we developed a gas engine was in 1968 but generally, we’ve had a different marketing strategy for these engines in the past,” said Simon Gray, Perkins product marketing manager.

Gas centers of excellence Daniel Bentley, Perkins general sales manager for north Asia, explained that the next phase of its power strategy in the China market is

20 ASIAN POWER

to penetrate the ‘loose’ gas engine sector in China. Displaying a gas engine at the exhibit, he added, was just one of the first activities that Perkins would leverage to break into the sector. The company has also selected two gas partners to become Perkins’ gas centers of excellence, said Bentley.

“We’ve just appointed two gas centers of excellence for the China market - our distributors Sime Darby Elco Power Equipment and Lei Shing Hong Machinery. These centers have been appointed because of their ability to customize, install and support our gas customers and their end users in their very specific requirements. They are Perkins’ authorized channels to market for large gas engines.”

Benny Wang, general manager of Lei Shing Hong Machinery was delighted at the appointment as he believes that his company’s partnership with a leading brand opens up bigger opportunities for them. “It’s good doing business with Perkins. Perkins is becoming one of the greatest brands in China. I think six years ago, Perkins was just an upstart in the power sector. Its market share was probably close to

“We’ve been developing gas engines for power generation and different markets for a long time.”

Daniel Bentley, Perkins GSM, North Asia

zero, but over the last few years we have seen continued growth. Our management is also in talks right now to extend the range of engines we use so as we can be more competitive in the market.”

Moving forward, Wang expects Perkins’ share in the electric power market to continue to grow. And in terms of distribution, Wang said he expected Perkins sales to quintuple by 2016.

For his part, Billy Liu, general manager of Sime Darby Elco Power Equipment, shared the same bullish sentiment while noting that the gas appointment propels them to increase investments in their facilities. “For this new business, we will need more than RMB4 million to invest in our facilities. We need to have gas pipeline, a commercial panel, some equipment for bigger modifications of our engines, some testing equipment to run the business, and then we need to have a dedicated technical team to support our customers for the business.” Elco Power is responsible for 18 provinces and cities in China. Liu said that over the years, its own business has grown by almost 50% every year.

Diesel engines While Perkins is making some strong headway in the China gas engine market, it has also taken huge strides in the diesel engine market.

Among the diesel engines on display during the Power China 2013 exhibit was the 403-15G1 rated at 13.2 kVA prime power.

According to Gray, this cost-effective engine is one of their products built out of the Wuxi facility.

Another one is the 1106A-70TAG, the first engine that the firm designed and developed out of its Wuxi facility. “1106A-70TAG is really groundbreaking for Perkins as this is one of the first engines we have developed outside of our Peterborough and Stafford bases in the UK,” said Gray. Lastly, Perkins introduced

co-published Corporate profile

the 1606A-E93TAG which gives a range of 250 kVA. Gray said that it was first launched in China last year. According to Gray, the key advantage of Perkins’ power solutions is their power density. “After speaking to some of our customers who are also here exhibiting at the show, I see that they are really keen on a power-densed product which we are delivering to them. Businesses liked the logistic advantages of needing smaller packaging, and the fact that customers will need to move around less weight. Costs were also kept to the minimum while keeping the high durability and long service that you expect from a Perkins product.” Gray said that there are plans to strengthen its distribution network for its diesel business, to establish a branch office in every province in China by the end of this year.

The Wuxi facility Perkins’ state-of-the-art Wuxi facility continues to play a pivotal role in the company’s business strategy of manufacturing close to its customers. According to Gray, Perkins’ Wuxi facility has made additional improvements to the 400 Series. “We continue to invest in maximizing the powers out of these products going forward, and it’s essential that service in all systems is kept at a 500 hour standard.”

Gray said that Perkins continues to invest in the Wuxi facility, bringing in new products like the 400A which is now built there to support the Chinese market. In 2010, Perkins also opened it’s 1100 Series facility.

“Over the last year a lot of work has been undertaken to localize the components on the 1104 engine.” According to Gray, Perkins is on its way to making its products a lot more localized with 85% of their components already coming from Asia. Gray noted that the original investment to the Wuxi facility was around $130 million but there are no plans to increase it at this present time.

Asian expansion In terms of the size of the business, Perkins’

Bentley explained that the Asian electric power business constitutes a growing percentage of Perkins’ global electric power business. He added that growth in the Asian electric power market was increasing year on year, compared with the European and North American markets which had so far shown relatively flat growth. Over the next few years Bentley said that Perkins would see Asia’s share in the company’s electric power business continue to increase. Apart from China, Perkins is establishing its brand presence in India with a new manufacturing facility in Aurangabad scheduled to open in 2014. The 120,000 sqm manufacturing facility is being built for the production of the large 4000 Series.

The Aurangabad facility though will be smaller than the Wuxi facility in terms of people, with the former employing up to 500

“The key advantage of Perkins’ power solutions is their power density.”

Billy Liu, GM of Sime Darby Elco Power Equipment

people when fully operational compared to the 800 staff at the later.

According to Bentley, the territories are quite different and so are the strategies for each market. “We have to respect the different markets and that’s why we have manufacturing and sales and marketing teams in both China and India.”

“With respect to Electric Power, China is very much an export market. All of the parts of the engines that we supply are exported around the world. India, on the other hand, is more of a tactical domestic electric power market.

We don’t see so many exports from the Indian market.” In terms of sales and marketing staff strength, Bentley said that the Perkins team in China consisted of around 30 people. In India, Perkins have 6 sales and marketing staff at the moment, but Bentley said the company plans to grow the team as soon as the facility is operational.

For more information on Perkins and how its power solutions can meet your needs, visit www.perkins.com

Benny Wang, GM of Lei Shing Hong ASIAN POWER 21

OPINION

THOMAS HAGEDORN

How to get the ‘right mix’ of power generation in Asia

by THOMAS HAGEDORN

by individual consumers as well. This is driven by the demand for individual solutions.

Countries traditionally depend on large centralized power stations that feed electricity into national grids to reach consumers.

However, in recent years, we are also witnessing a change in the structure of power grids.

Instead of a single, one-way producer-to-consumer transmission, consumers are also beginning to feed back into the power grids. Shifting utilities to a more decentralized power generation system will also grant consumers greater flexibility in deciding how and when to use electricity.

In Germany, the traditional energy chain is being phased out by “power matrices” consisting of countless hubs and habitats.

“We need to move to a more complex model with more alternative power sources.”

D

emand for electricity today is growing faster than production. According to the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), Asia’s primary energy consumption is expected to increase at an annual rate of 2.5 percent and will account for 61 percent of the world’s primary energy consumption by 2035.

As a result, the region is grappling with a host of energy challenges, ranging from the need to provide enough power to communities, to increased pressure to find alternative clean sources to meet these needs.

The traditional picture of large power stations feeding into electricity grids is also changing. The emergence of renewable energy sources is providing alternative ways in which nations can generate, distribute and consume energy.

However, these alternative energy solutions – if not managed properly – can complicate instead of assist countries. The future of energy does not lie in a single production model but more in achieving the ‘right mix’ of power generation options for different countries, regions and continents.

The changing trends in electricity generation and consumption It is not a surprise that there is increased pressure on the shoulders of electricity producers to meet the growing demand for electricity. Fossil fuel reserves are declining and it is important to start looking at alternative sources before we run out of energy sources.

Adding to the mix are the growth of alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar power, which are increasingly being generated not only by power plants, but on a smaller scale,

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21st century as the new electricity age We are now in the time where electric power is emerging as the dominant energy source. Electricity offers some of the highest efficiency levels in meeting our energy needs.

The growth of clean electrification is a sign that we are maturing in the adoption of alternative electricity production methods and sources.

As earlier mentioned, we have come to a time where not only producers, but consumers generate electricity as well. This new hybrid of consumers and producers, “prosumers”, receive electricity, and may also periodically feed back into the grid, their own power, which is generated via rooftop solar panels or other small-scale generating sources.

Apart from generating additional electricity, the storage of this generated energy is equally important. As we know of today, pump storage is the best technology to date, however the use of battery technology is also picking up especially in areas such as electric vehicles.

Embracing energy complexity to meet today’s energy demands The change is in shifting the focus away from one single generating technology. We need to move to a more complex model with more alternative power sources.

With increasing energy generation alternatives and energy being transmitted on “two-way streets”, there is a need for stronger grid networks to combine all the disparate sources in an efficient and affordable way.

In order to benefit and not drown in the complexity of these energy alternatives, countries need a smart power matrix to help manage the different mix and proportion of central power plants, power grids, distributed power generations, “prosumers” and storage.

The power matrix for each country will differ based on individual requirements. Developing countries with less developed power grids may depend more on centralized power plants.

On the other hand, developed countries with more “prosumers” may see the need to build up on storage and power grids to increase the nation’s sustainable energy levels.

Getting the right mix The issue today is no longer around which source of energy is better than the other, but of how best to harness the benefits of each source and achieving the right mix of generating capacity for different countries, regions and continents.

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Ensuring grid stability, boosting productivity ENEAS: Power management for industrial grids

The ENEAS power management system (PMS) from Siemens, the technology leader in energy automation, offers groundbreaking functions that ensure maximum power grid stability – and thus prevent expensive outages. Automatic load shedding guarantees that core processes are still supplied with power in critical situations, thanks to controlled disconnection of low-priority consumers. And generation control helps to ensure reliable electricity generation by coordinating the industry-specific generator sets.

Both functions can be individually adapted for customer projects to deliver a compelling combination of speed, precision, and investment protection – thanks to the open standard IEC 61850 and fast GOOSE telegrams.

The Siemens ENEAS power management system is fully integrated into the entire substation automation system, which means that this dependable, economical solution requires no additional systems. Operators also benefit from a shared user interface for both SCADA and power management system.

Answers for infrastructure and cities.