Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 36

AsiaElec NEWS IN BRIEF AsiaElec

POLICY five-year plans.
With the 13th such strategic policy cycle
Australia’s main grid hits DEMAND due to end on December 31, the AECEA said
China’s two national grid operators – the State
new renewable energy India’s August power Grid Corp of China and China Southern
Power Grid are expected to issue bonds,
record of 50.4% with the first such, RMB140bn fundraising
exercise due this year as the Ministry of
Australia’s National Electricity Market reached demand 2% below 2019 Finance, National Development and Reform
50.4% of renewable energy on September 7. India’s power demand in August stood close Commission and People’s Bank of China
Rooftop solar provided 24.6% of supply, to last year’s levels on a low base as electricity attempt to resolve the issue ahead of the 2021-
utility scale solar 10.1% and wind energy consumption was stagnant in the same 25 policy cycle.
13.5%. period a year ago. Power demand during the With new policy packages being drafted,
Together, they totalled 48.2%, and the month remained muted in industrial states the AECEA also noted plans mooted by
percentages might have been higher had not like Maharashtra and Gujarat but improved the Ministry of Transport for all roads,
some wind and solar farms decided to switch over last year in northern agrarian states like waterways, railways, ports, airports and the
off to avoid negative pricing events. Punjab and Rajasthan. postal delivery network to host solar as part
The combined output of wind and solar at The demand for power in August 2020 of a digital transportation blueprint to 2035.
47.4% was more than that of black and brown was 2% less than that reported during the The ministries of housing and industry are
coal. same month last year, data available with preparing for a push on building-integrated
A 1.9% contribution from hydro and a grid operator Power System Operation PV for the next five-year plan, according to
0.2% contribution from biomass took the Corporation (Posoco) showed. India had the analyst.
total renewables contribution to 50.4%. Gas registered a slump in power consumption for With the National Energy Administration
contributed 1.2%. five months beginning August last year till (NEA) last month revealing China added
Australia is expected to set more renewable January this year. 11.52GW of solar generation capacity in the
energy and minimum demand records in Electricity demand fell 4% against July this first half – compared to 11.4GW in the same
coming weeks – a combination of good wind year but it is a normal phenomenon every period of last year – the AECEA raised its full-
and solar conditions, mild temperatures, and year. year new capacity forecast from 23-31GW to
relatively low demand, reduced further by the Maharashtra and Gujarat electricity 28-34GW, but noted the potential dampening
impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. demand was low by about 9% each than in effect of a soaring polysilicon price on solar
August 2019. In July this year, Maharashtra deployment.
had reported a 12% slump in its power A fire at a Daqo polysilicon plant in July
demand year-on-year while demand in was followed by explosions at a GCL Silicon
GRID Gujarat was down by 17%. facility later in the month which took down
Demand in Goa and Daman & Diu was an estimated 10% of global poly production
Turkmenistan agrees on low by 22% each while in Dadra Nagar capacity. With rival manufacturer Tongwei
Haveli by 18.3% over August last year. The
seeing operations interrupted by a flooding
electricity transmission to other states to have reported more than 10% threat last month, the price of polysilicon
reduction in electricity demand year-on-year
leapt from RMB60-64/kg ($8.78-9.36) in early
Pakistan via Afghanistan in August were Odisha and Delhi. July to RMB94-98 this month, according to
the AECEA. The analyst noted the current
Electricity consumption in Andhra
Afghanistan’s state-run energy firm Da Pradesh and Tamil Nadu was lower by 5% industry consensus it could take until
Afghan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) has over last year, while in Telengana it reduced November for prices to settle back to previous
announced that Turkmenistan agreed on a by 6%. levels and that could lead to disruptively high
project for electricity transmission to Pakistan prices as China enters its late-year peak solar
via Afghanistan. season.
The first phase of the project, which
will cover Herat and Farah provinces in SUBSIDIES
Afghanistan, is set to increase electricity
access in Afghanistan. The second phase will China could be preparing COAL
lead to Afghanistan receiving $50mn annually
for electricity transit to Pakistan. to settle unpaid subsidies South Korea top close 30
“DABS has undertaken a new project
called Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan mountain coal power plant
(TAP) under which Turkmenistan’s electricity
will be transferred to Pakistan through Chinese renewable energy project developers South Korea intends to close 30 more coal-
Afghanistan,” DABS planning and policy owed an estimated RMB300bn ($43.9bn) fired power plants by 2034 and will also bring
director, Mujtaba Hoshmand, told a press in unpaid state subsidies could be in for a online new solar and wind installations over
conference. windfall this year, if a prediction made by the next five years in order to meet emissions
Afghanistan pays over $220mn each China market analyst the Asia Europe Clean reductions targets.
year to buy electricity from neighbouring Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA) is borne South Korean President Moon Jae-in said
countries, including Turkmenistan. Only 30% out. on September 8 that his administration would
of Afghans have access to electricity. Power AECEA said in a note that problems such close 10 of those operating coal-fired plants
outages are a common issue, especially for the as the huge subsidy backlog are typically by the end of 2022. He also has called for the
private sector and investors. sorted out at the end of each of the nation’s country to phase out nuclear power.

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 36 09•September•2020