Page 14 - AsiaElec Week 40

AsiaElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AsiaElec
ADB loan to fund largest
floating solar project in
region
Vietnam is to kick its use of renewable energy to a higher level with the largest installation of floating solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in the region.
A $37mn loan agreement signed October 2 between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Da Nhim–Ham Thuan–Da Mi Hydro Power Joint Stock Company (DHD), a subsidiary of Viet Nam Electricity (EVN) Power Generation Corporation 1, will see the first large-scale installation of floating solar PV panels in Viet Nam take place at DHD’s existing Da Mi hydropower plant in Binh Thuan province, on Vietnam’s southeastern coast.
DHD currently generates about 1.7% of Viet Nam’s total electricity capacity from four hydropower plants: Da Mi (175MW), Ham Thuan (300MW), Da Nhim (160MW), and Song Pha (7.5MW).
The floating PV panel installation will add an additional 45MW of capacity to the Da Mi power plant.
The financing package for the installation comprising a $17.6mn loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources, $15mn in low-cost finance provided by the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia and its follow-on fund, the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia II, and a $4.4mn parallel loan from the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).
EMISSIONS
China could meet 202 emissions target
Emissions from China’s power plants declined by more than 60% each year between 2014 and 2017, a new UK-Chinese study has found using Chinese government data, putting the country on track to meet the standards set out in its Ultra-Low Emissions (ULE) Standards Policy.
In 2014, China set itself the task of renovating coal-powered plants in a bid to reduce air pollutant emissions. The ULE Standards aim to limit the production
of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions to 35 milligrams per cubic metre, 50mg/m3, and 10mg/m3 respectively.
“This is encouraging news for China, as
well as other countries wishing to reduce their power emissions. Thermal power plants combusting coal, oil, natural gas and biomass are one of the major contributors to global air pollution,” Co-author Zhifu Mi of the UCL Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management in the UK said.
“These significant emission reductions demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of controlling emissions from power plants to reach ultra-low levels, which is an important step towards reducing the number of deaths attributable to air pollution.”
The study analysed data from between 2014 and 2017 on emissions from coal, oil, natural gas and biomass power plants.
It was found that sulphur dioxide production dropped by 65% each year from 2.21mn tonnes to 0.77mn. Nitrogen oxide fell by 60% each year from 3.11mn tonnes to 1.26mn, while particulate matter fell 72% annually from 0.52mn to 0.14mn.
If reductions continue at the same pace,
China will meet the targets set by the ULE Standards by 2020.
The study is the first of its kind to
use emissions data collected by China’s Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems Network (CEMS), which covers at least 96% of the country’s thermal power capacity.
Past studies have relied on forecasts made ahead of the ULE Standards’ introduction, rather than actual results.
The results of this study show that past studies have overestimated China’s emissions by as much as 92%.
“The results of this research are encouraging in demonstrating that coal can be used in a much cleaner way to generate electricity,” Mi said.
The study was carried out by a team of researchers from the Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Hebei University of Science and Technology, and University College London.
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Week 40 08 •October•2019