Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 28

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec
NSW pushes forward with renewable energy zones
AUSTRALIA
THE New South Wales government is to provide A$79mn ($55mn) of public funding to support the New England Energy Zone.
NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said that the Zone could provide 8,000 MW of capacity, the same as the state’s current eet of coal- red power plants.
e zone, the second of three planned by the NSW state government, would provide cleaner and cheaper energy to consumers, as well as attracting almost A$13bn ($9bn) in investment and creating 2,000 jobs.
e REZ will include the Tenter eld, Inverell, Glen Innes, Guyra, Armidale, Uralla and Walcha council areas, where the impacts of drought and bush res in recent years continue to be felt.
The announcement comes after the state’s first Renewable Energy Zone in the Central West area attracted A$38bn ($26bn) in investor interest – over nine times what the government had expected.
“ e New England REZ will be able to power 3.5mn homes and, when coupled with Central West Orana REZ, sets the state up to become the number one destination across Australia for renewable energy investment,” Kean said.
“This huge response reflects the on-going strong position of the renewable energy industry
to attract investment o the back of good pol- icy. e result will be new jobs, more investment flowing into the economy and helping NSW tackle climate change. It is a win-win,” said Cli- mate Council CEO Amanda Mckenzie.
“Economic recovery spending should set us up for the future by tackling longer-term chal- lenges like climate change,” said McKenzie.
“NSW has just come through its worst bush- fire season on record, which destroyed 2,439 homes, burned through over 80% of the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and tragically claimed 242 lives, both from the res and the smoke. It underlines why economic recovery priorities must also involve tackling climate change,” she said.
Andrew Bray, the national co-ordinator of the Australian Wind Alliance, said the New England region presented excellent wind and solar oppor- tunities and believed the zone could provide additional income to agricultural producers.
He said A$50mn ($38mn) was being paid to farmers in lease payments from wind farms.
“I would encourage local community and business leaders to really get on the front foot and be ready to get the most out of this opportunity.”™
POLICY
Government intervention
needed to boost India’s
ailing power sector
Amid the COVID-19 induced countrywide lockdown, electricity consumption in India has plummeted considerably.
e electricity consumption in April 2020 was 18.1% less than in February 2020 and 15.1% less than in March 2020. Although consumption picked up towards the latter part of May, the scenario is expected to remain the same at least for the next couple of months.
As a result, the Indian government needs to come to the rescue of the beleaguered distribution companies (DISCOMs), says data and analytics company GlobalData.
Somik Das, Senior Power Analyst
NEWS IN BRIEF
at GlobalData, comments: “During the countrywide lockdown, a shi in electricity demand was experienced from the commercial and industrial sectors towards the residential sector. is, however, failed
to o set the decline in the overall electricity demand. e shutting down of the industrial and the commercial sectors has lead to a fall in the electricity demand which may continue for some time until the pandemic ceases.
“Along with providing attractive tari s to the industrial sector, the cost of electricity
has to be managed carefully. is year, coal is expected to form 65%-75% of the electricity generation, hence reducing the coal prices will have a likely e ect on the cost of electricity.”
However, it is expected that a re- structuring of the tari s might greatly support industry and provide a stimulus to the stagnant economy.
Das concludes: “In 2019, India saw a 5% rise in electricity consumption to
1,063TWh. However, due to the impact of the pandemic and reduced activities, this year great uncertainty prevails over electricity consumption patterns.
POLICY
ADB, IEA Renew Agreement to Collaborate on Energy Sector Sustainability and Resilience
e Asian Development Bank (ADB) has renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to scale up collaboration and advance progress on sustainability with increased focus
Week 28 15•July•2020
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
P9