Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 17

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
“TEPCO will examine the latest projections and analyse the impact on
the ongoing preventive measures against tsunamis that the company has been taking,” a spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
The earthquake that struck off Japan’s east coast in March 2011 had a magnitude of nine, spawning a tsunami that led to the meltdown of three reactors at Fukushima, where TEPCO continues to struggle to curb release of radioactive material.
RENEWABLES
COVID-19 wake up call for Indian solar industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a wake
up call for the domestic solar industry as it is heavily dependent on imports, but domestic manufacturing can be sustained only if there is profitability, a senior official of Tata Power Solar said. As much as 80 per cent of the demand for solar cells and modules are met by imports from Chinese companies.
Therefore, the imposition of work restrictions by China in eight coronavirus- affected provinces, most of which are hubs
of solar module manufacturers, impacted
the Indian solar industry. The developers are facing a shortfall of raw materials which is going to affect the installations in the first half of the year.
“COVID-19 pandemic is indeed a wake up call for the solar industry as the sector has been severely impacted due to the shortage of not just cells and modules but also other ancillary products.
“This calls for setting up more manufacturing facilities in India. But this will happen only if there is a long term business proposition,” the company’s Managing Director and CEO Ashish Khanna said during a webinar.
He said India has the necessary technology, which is at par with global standards, but what is lacking is the scale.
“The government is taking steps by coming up with few manufacturing-linked tenders
for setting up solar capacities and has also introduced basic custom duty on imports,
but we need a policy framework that will ensure longevity of offtake of the products manufactured as well as profitability,” he said.
WIND
proposition for our client and develop site- specific solutions for all wind sites.” said Clive Turton, President of Vestas Asia Pacific. “With the strong traction we are gaining
in the country over the last few months, I am confident that we will be playing a big part in the future development of Vietnam’s renewable energy market.”
The project and customer are undisclosed at the customer’s request. The wind
power projects are planned to achieve commissioning in the third quarter of 2021. VESTAS
COVID-19
China, Africa to talk COVID-19
China and African countries will hold a series of video conferences on COVID-19 in the face of the rapid spread of the pandemic in Africa, said a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on April 27, official media reported in China.
The conferences, organised by China’s Foreign Ministry and National Health Commission, will enable Chinese medical professionals to share with African officials and experts on epidemic prevention and control, clinical diagnosis and treatment,
test methods, border quarantine and risk assessment, spokesperson Geng Shuang told a daily press briefing.
The first such video conference was held on April 27.
Geng said China relates deeply to the difficulties posed by the pandemic to African countries, and will continue to provide its utmost support and assistance to Africa through various means.
“China will provide more medical supplies and send more medical experts to Africa in light of the development of the pandemic and the needs of African countries,” Geng said.
China will speed up the construction of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and strengthen public health and disease control cooperation with the African side, to jointly win the battle against the virus at an early date, he added.
SOLAR
Chinese PV market experiences downturn
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact, it is expected that China’s solar PV capacity additions for 2020 would fall short by
Vestas wind 67MW order in Vietnam
A 67MW order for two projects in Vietnam underlines Vestas’ ability to deliver a tailormade and innovative solution featuring the tallest turbines in the country for a challenging site with complex installation requirements.
Vestas will supply, transport, install and commission a total of 16 V150-4.2 MW wind turbines delivered in different power ratings to optimise the projects’ energy output. The customised tower solution takes the turbines to 162m hub heights and opens up new wind resources by allowing access to higher and more consistent wind speeds.
Located in a wetland area of the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam and surrounded by aquaculture shrimp farms, the sites’ limited space and complex infrastructure requires
a specific transportation and installation solution to construct the projects. To successfully execute the projects, Vestas has developed a solution using a specialised tower crane to significantly reduce the hardstand space necessary to erect the wind turbines.
The order also includes a 20-year Active Output Management 5000 (AOM 5000) service agreement, designed to maximise energy production for both sites. With a yield-based availability guarantee, Vestas will provide the customer with long-term business case certainty.
“These wind power projects feature the tallest towers in Vietnam and showcases Vestas’ ability to optimise the value
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