Page 12 - AsiaElec Week 30

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
COAL
Insurer Suncorp to phase out thermal coal exposure
Australian insurer Suncorp Group said on July 26 that it was no longer underwriting insurance for new thermal coal mines or power plants.
e company is planning to phase out all exposure to thermal coal by 2025 under its responsible investment policy.
Suncorp told Reuters that it had “materially” cut its investment in fossil fuels, including thermal coal, and will not “directly invest in, nance or underwrite new thermal coal mining extraction projects”.
Pressure had been building on the company to focus on greener investments. Recently, climate lobby group Market Forces lodging a shareholder resolution for Suncorp to report on its fossil fuel exposure at its annual general meeting in September.
Market Forces lodged a similar resolution with AGL Energy, in late July calling on
the company to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. AGL is Australia’s largest power generator.
Suncorp is not the only insurer globally taking steps to reduce its exposure to thermal coal.
In recent weeks, both Chubb and Zurich Insurance Group have revised their policies to limit their exposure to the resource.
GAS-FIRED GENERATION
South Korea’s KEPCO
wins US TPP construction
contract
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has
been selected as a preferred bidder to build and operate the 20-MW, Dededo gas- red combined power plant in an international tender held by the Guam Power Authority. e selection makes KEPCO the rst South Korean power company to take on a gas combined cycle power plant project in the US. Guam is an unincorporated territory of the US.
e project will break ground in May 2020, and is due to enter service in October 2022. e tender came as KEPCO was seeking to take on more international business in order to o set domestic challenges.
service. e country’s total nuclear capacity stood at 45.9 GW by the end of 2018, with 11 units still under construction. Capacity is anticipated to reach 53 GW by the end of 2020, but this would still be 5 GW short of China’s o cial target.
e NEA said last week that China’s total power generation capacity from all sources rose by 40.7 GW over the rst half of 2019. It has been estimated that Beijing must approve 6-8 new reactors per year over the next decade in order to meet the country’s clean energy goals.
HYDRO
PLN to build Indonesia’s biggest HPP
Indonesia’s state-owned electricity rm
PLN is planning to build the country’s
biggest hydropower plant (HPP) in North Kalimantan. e project is aimed at powering the Tanah Kuning-Mangkupadi industrial and port zone (KIPI).
e project will have the capacity to generate 1,350 MW, with start-up anticipated in 2025. Investment in the venture has been estimated at around $2bn.
“ e project will be supported by the smelter industry in KIPI Tanah Kuning. Electricity demand in the area can only
be ful lled by a hydropower plant,” PLN’s director for strategic procurement, Sripeni Inten Cahyani, said.
Indonesian Coordinating Maritime A airs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said he has requested for construction on the project to begin in 2020.
RENEWABLES
State Minister for Energy
and Mining opens new
Engie wind farm to help
power South Australia
Engie today o cially opened its Willogoleche Wind Farm in Hallett, South Australia. One of the largest renewable energy projects completed in the state, Willogoleche has a generating capacity of 119 MW, capable of delivering renewable energy to 80,000 homes.
e wind farm was o cially opened today by e Hon Dan van Holst Pellekaan, State Minister for Energy and Mining and Engie Asia Paci c president and CEO, Paul Maguire.
NUCLEAR
China begins construction on new NPPs
China has started construction on three new nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the provinces of Shandong, Fujian and Guangdong, the country’s energy regulator, the National Energy Administration (NEA), said on July 25.
e move marks the end of a moratorium on new nuclear projects for China. e Zhangzhou project in Fujian is the rst new conventional nuclear project to be approved by China’s State Council in three years. e NPP will use domestic third-generation nuclear reactor technology known as the Hualong One. e rst unit at Zhangzhou is anticipated to come online in 2024.
China’s nuclear generation programme has fallen behind schedule, with major projects beset by years of delays and cost overruns. e world’s rst Westinghouse-designed AP1000 reactor went into commercial operation last year, but this was around four years later than had originally been planned.
China’s total installed nuclear capacity rose by 1.25 GW in the rst half of 2019, with one new reactor completed and placed into
P12
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m
Week 30 30•July•2019