Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 19

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec
Siemens Gamesa to supply hybrid tech in the Philippines
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SIEMENS Gamesa is to supply its pioneering hybrid battery storage technology to Berkeley Energy’s 16-MW wind farm in the Philippines, thereby reducing diesel consumption and cut- ting emissions.
The project is a key way that Siemens Gamesa hybrid plant controller (HPC) can be used to improve the performance of an existing wind farm and to provide more stable power supplies to the local grid, in this case at Puerto Galera on the island of Mindoro.
The hybrid technology will improve the pro- ject’s ability to provide electricity on demand in a region that has poor and unreliable grid connections.
The HPC system manages the power gener- ated and stored at the plant and can fine-tune the wind turbines to optimise the entire plant’s performance, such as noting wind forecasts and other factors.
Storage means that power can still be sup- plied on a reliable basis when wind levels are low. Siemens Gamesa will supply a 6-MW Gamesa Electric lithium battery storage system
to the wind farm, which already has eight Sie- mens Gamesa 2-MW turbines.
“The plant is a great example of Siemens Gamesa’s capabilities to offer energy solutions to areas with difficult access to an electricity grid. This plant will help the region to cut its diesel use and emissions, while using storage facilities to ensure that people have access to clean energy when they need it. Hybrid solutions such as these reduce the intermittency of renewable energy, and as such provide huge growth potential,” said Warren Wilson, sales and marketing managing director for onshore Siemens Gamesa.
As part of the deal, Siemens Gamesa has signed a 5-year maintenance contract, which also covered the use of its energy management service (EMS) to operate the plans remotely.
The storage plant is expected to be commis- sioned in the second half of 2020.
Looking ahead, Siemens is in negotiations with Berkeley Energy and the Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) to install storage and management systems for a 10-MW exten- sion to the project.™
FUELS
Pakistani fuel shortages loom
PAKISTAN
PAKISTAN could run out of oil products within the next few weeks owing to government agen- cies’ inability to work together to resolve a supply shortfall, local daily The News reported on May 5.
The paper quoted unnamed industry sources as saying there could be a dearth of diesel and gasoline within the second half of May as a result of supply chain disruptions.
The Pakistani Energy Ministry ordered oil marketing companies (OMCs) in March to halt imports to comply with the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. The ministry on April 25 allowed the companies to resume imports, noting that demand had risen owing to the start of the country’s harvest season.
“To meet the rising demand, refineries may import crude oil as per their requirement,” the energy ministry said at the time.
While the ministry has said previously that the country has enough stored oil products to last until May 15, one of The News’ sources said the ministry had not lifted the embargo in time for enough fuel to be imported in April and May,
and that approvals for June were still pending. Noting that the government had only approved limited quantities in April and May, the source added: “This has raised the fears of possible dry-out in the country if the supply chain planning is not improved immediately.” Byco Petroleum Pakistan and National Refinery halted operations at their respective 155,000 bar- rel per day and 64,000 bpd refineries in March, while Attock Refinery Ltd (ARL) said on March 19 that it would close its second 5,000 bpd crude distillation unit (CDU) owing to reduced OMC
offtake volumes
ARL CEO Adil Khattak warned that down-
stream closures would “result in disruption of the supply chain of E&P companies and associ- ated gas supplies”.
The News reported that OMCs have called on the government not only to authorise the neces- sary imports but also to streamline the energy ministry’s approval system. They have asked to be allowed to import enough oil products to meet the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (OGRA) 20-day stockpile requirement.™
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w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 19 13•May•2020