Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 18

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec
UN, IRENA to support Asia-Pacific’s use of sustainable energy in crisis response
ASIA
THE United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) are to work together to improve access to sustainable energy, bolstering the Asia-Pacific region’s response to the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic.
The two organisations will offer recommen- dations to governments in the region on how to make the energy transition an integral part of their immediate response to the crisis and medium to long-term recovery efforts.
Asia-Pacific is largely dependent on fossil fuels, especially in the region’s poorer countries. Diesel, for instance, fuels the majority of the
region’s off-grid electricity needs. According to ESCAP,200mnpeopleintheAsia-Pacificregion live without electricity and 1.2bn people do not have access to clean cooking fuel.
Joint efforts will focus on developing sus- tainable energy policies that are closely inte- grated with health and industrial development policies to bolster recovery efforts and rebuild economies.
“The pandemic is an opportunity for us to rethink our economic growth path that has come at a heavy cost to the people and planet,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations
Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secre- taryofESCAP.
“To bring about a fundamental shift for the energy transition, we need to adopt the motto of ‘no more business as usual’ for all stakehold- ers. Policymakers should not lose sight of the looming climate crisis, but rather design eco- nomic stimulus packages with social inclusion and environmental sustainability built into every decision, in particular sustainable energy development.”
When a vaccine does become available, the provision of cold storage and refrigerated trans- port across large areas will be critical. Decentral- ised renewable energy technologies such as solar will be key for large-scale immunisation efforts indevelopingcountries.
According to IRENA’s recently launched Global Renewables Outlook report, renewables can supply more than half of all power needs in Southeast Asia alone by 2030, boosting the regional economy by more than 4.4% and grow- ing jobs by close to 50% in the process.
In a recent COVID-19 policy report for Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP has identified renewable energy as one of the main sectors to include in stimulus packages.™
GRID
EBRD to lend $100mn to Jordan’s network operator
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to provide Jordan’s National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) with an emergency $100mn loan to assist in preserving the stability of the electrical system and manage liquidity constraints resulting from measures taken to tackle the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The loan will receive a sovereign guarantee and its proceeds will be used to help NEPCO meet urgent short-term payment obligations.
NEPCO is a 100% state-owned central entity in the Jordanian electricity system acting as the single buyer of fuel for the purposes of electricity generation, the single buyer of electricity, and transmission system operator (TSO).
NEWS IN BRIEF COMPANIES
Vestas posts operating loss, hit by higher costs
Vestas posted an unexpected first-quarter operating loss despite strong sales and a healthy order book, weighed down by project delays as well as higher costs that were partly down to the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported
But the Danish company said demand for its turbines remained healthy, and that it could still meet its initial guidance for 2020, even though it had suspended that outlook last month due to coronavirus-related uncertainties.
Chief Financial Officer Marika Fredriksson told Reuters that extra costs related to the coronavirus outbreak amounted to EUR10mn ($10. 8mn) in the first quarter and that she anticipated these costs would rise in the coming quarters.
“The supply chain and transportation are the challenges,” she added. “Anyone that you want to transport with makes sure that they charge as much as possible.”
Vestas’s first-quarter sales topped market forecasts, but the company failed to squeeze out the expected profit; it posted an operating loss before special items of EUR54mn versus the EUR91mn operating profit forecast by analysts.
Vestas’s service business, where it is looking after roughly 46,000 onshore wind turbines, was a bright spot; it grew 12% in the first quarter, with an EBIT margin of 26%.
The company is currently facing its busiest- ever time as demand for renewable power sources has been growing in tandem with global efforts to combat climate change.
Fredriksson said she did not expect the pandemic to halt the green transition. “I think it would be impossible to reverse this whole process,” she added.
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Week 18 05•May•2020