Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 41

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Yb Yeo Bee Yin attended the agreement signing ceremony. It’s the biggest module order Risen Energy has to date
won both in Malaysia and from an overseas floating power station.
As part of the agreement, Risen Energy will supply high-efficiency Jaeger 144 modules with an output power up to 395W each to
the project. The modules will be shipped in batches starting this month and the delivery is scheduled to be completed by June 2020.
Risen Energy president Xie Jian said, “Malaysia is one of our key emerging markets as it boasts abundant light resources and policies favourable to the industry. We are excited to be a part of the project in Malaysia. To ensure the smooth operation of the power station, once completed, we will equip the facility with our Jaeger modules, which have proven better performance in resistance to light induced degradation (LID) and light and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID). Our optimised Jaeger modules can minimise hotspots and the impacts from shade effect on their performance in power generation. With lower total cost of ownership and labour expense, our modules will bring the project owner a lower levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) and higher income from power generation.”
Besides the PV market in Malaysia,
Risen Energy has expanded its presence across major markets in the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Asia- Pacific region. Notably, the company has achieved remarkable results in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, among other markets along “the Belt and Road.” Additionally, Risen Energy is accelerating the growth of its energy storage business as its integrated “PV + energy storage” and “PV + energy storage + charging”. Furthermore, smart micro grid solutions have been used in commercial applications.
Risen Energy is experiencing an increase in both its top line and bottom line as the firm continues expanding globally at a steady pace. Its financial forecasts for the first three quarters of 2019 expects a net profit between CNY765-815mn ($107-114mn), an increase of 262.40%-286.09% year-on-year.
RISEN ENERGY
EMERGENCY POWER
VPower Group wins
Myanmar’s emergency
power tender
Hong Kong-listed VPower Group said
its consortium with Myanmar’s Zeya & Associates had been provisionally awarded four of the five emergency power projects tendered by the energy ministry in June.
The consortium said it won three projects that would use imported liquefied natural gas in Rakhine’s Kyaukphyu, Yangon’s Thanlyin and Thaketa, totalling 900 megawatts. It also secured a 20MW project that would use gas supplied by the government in Kyun Chaung.
Letters of acceptance for each of the projects have been issued by the Ministry
of Electricity and Energy’s Electric Power Generation Enterprise, VPower said in a statement. “All the projects are expected to commence commercial operation in the first half of 2020.”
The consortium still needs to negotiate terms of the contract - including the power purchase agreement - with the government. Industry consultants suggest these negotiations will be challenging, given the tough terms set down by the ministry.
The energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Myanmar Times. It is unclear who won the tender for the fifth project -- a 120-MW plant in Ahlone township which would also use gas supplied.
VPower joint CEO Rorce Au Yeung said: “Together with our existing power projects of more than 360MW in operation, the addition of the 920MW projects is going to strengthen our leadership in the distributed power industry in Myanmar and Asia.”
As of 2018 Myanmar’s electricity generation capacity totalled 3539MW, according to ministry estimates, making
VPower an important player in the power market.
The tender for the five projects was announced by the ministry in late June, with
a window of merely a month. The LNG- to-power projects’ short implementation deadline (210 days) and heavy penalties
for missing the deadline have been widely criticised by industry experts and observers. In addition, investors would be forced to charge a very high price to consumers in order to make any profit because the contract only lasts for five years.
“Most reputable companies that looked at the emergency power tenders walked away as it is nearly impossible to execute,” commented an industry consultant on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. From a financing perspective, executing these projects within the required timeframe would amount to considerable increases in cost and risk.
“Unless VPower has access to extremely competitive finance - perhaps from China - it is unlikely they will be able to execute these projects,” he added.
State-owned CITIC – Kyaukphyu port developer – is a shareholder in VPower which has also worked closely with Chinese rail giant CRRC and state-owned China National Technical Import and Export Corporation.
“From an engineering and logistics perspective, it is an extremely complex task to execute the project within such a short timeframe. A similar project would usually require a timeline two or three times as long as this. If VPower can do it I would be very surprised,” said the consultant.
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Week 41 15•October•2019