Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 42

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
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The deployment of small-scale gas generation turbines is one investment sphere that First Gen Corporation is also eyeing
as it calibrates its next round of gas-fed power ventures in the country – hence, this could similarly be a mutually reinforcing development trajectory for both companies.
First Gen Executive Vice President Jon Russell acknowledged that there will certainly be a market for modular gas technology solutions in the Philippines – especially
since this is an electricity system made up by thousands of isolated islands.
“There is a market, and each location will be different. This can be very, very site specific. It’s not about forcing something when it is not required – it is about recognizing the need then putting in something in place to address that,” the First Gen executive asserted.
As explained, these mobile power plants are standardized, pre-tested modules that are often easy to transport and install. Connection to the grid could take at least six months and such facilities can also be expanded based on the demand growth of a particular off-grid domain.
Byrne further qualified that Siemens has already jumpstarted the rollout of modular gas turbine solutions in various islands in Indonesia – and that is a template wherein the Philippines could take reference from.
“In Indonesia, we’re still talking to parties for projects, but some of them are further along,” he said, adding that this is scalable for the Philippines given “the whole range of fixed to mobile installations. We can move in a gas turbine very, very quickly in a matter of days and have it produce power very, very quickly. So there are some similarities I guess with Indonesia,” the Siemens executive emphasized.
GAS-FIRED GENERATION
ACWA Power commits to
3600MW gas-to-power
plant in Bangladesh
ACWA Power has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for a LNG-based power plant and terminal in Bangladesh.
As part of the agreement, ACWA Power will develop a 3600MW gas fired Independent Power Plant representing a total investment amount of approximately $2.5bn, that will help meet the country’s growing power demand.
The project will consist of the intended power plants, as well as a re-gasification terminal on-ground with an expected additional investment of approximately $500m.
The plant will potentially be located in Maheshkhali, however this will only be confirmed upon completion of the feasibility study.
The agreement, said to be one of the largest deals for Bangladesh’s power sector, was signed by BPDP chairman engineer Khaled Mahmood and ACWA Power chairman Mohammed Abunayyan.
The signing will also mark ACWA Power’s largest gas-to-power development and its initial foray into the Bangladesh power market. ACWA Power will also work with Saudi Aramco for the first time for such a project.
COAL-FIRED GENERATION
Collapse in coal prices
spurs distress for
Indonesian miners
The global collapse in coal prices this year has dealt a particularly heavy blow to miners in Indonesia, the top exporter and one of the largest producers of the fuel.
Bonds from the country’s financially
weak miners have suffered more than
peers elsewhere in Asia due to a lack of diversification and state backing that many competitors enjoy. Prices of thermal coal
— the kind burned by power plants — have slumped about 33% this year, and at least four U.S. firms have gone bankrupt.
As some lenders look to stop financing coal power plants and investors are under more pressure to “go green,” companies that mine or use coal are left with fewer funding options.
“Among the Indonesia coal names, some are facing severe stress,” said Bharat Shettigar, head of Asia ex-China corporate credit research at Standard Chartered Plc. “If prices stay depressed for the next 12 to 18 months, there could be restructuring of some U.S. dollar bonds in the Indonesia coal sector.”
Bonds sold by Indonesia coal miners Geo Energy Resources Ltd., PT ABM Investama and PT Bumi Resources have slumped in the past six months.
Geo Energy Resources, which has operations in Kalimantan, faces a potential early redemption of its bonds in April 2021 if it fails to meet certain minimum coal-reserve conditions.
RENEWABLES
Aussie green boom will kill
coal-fired generation earlier
than predicted
In Australia, 2019 is already a record year for utility solar, wind and storage project proposals. Coal-fired generation could be extinct by 2040.
The total pipeline of projects now stands at 133GW, up from 94GW at the start of
the year, according to Rystad Energy, the independent energy research and consulting firm headquartered in Norway and with offices across the globe.
“New projects proposed in 2019 represent
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Week 42 22•October•2019