Page 14 - AsiaElec Week 21 2021

AsiaElec NEWS IN BRIEF AsiaElec

HYDRO As the second most-populous country in Ministry officials announced the target at
Southeast Asia with demand for electricity a meeting with executives of electric power
Japan’s hidden hydropower growth at 6% annually, the Philippines has companies on Tuesday, and asked for their
support to develop the technology.
embarked on a concerted strategy to reduce
country taps water for its reliance on imported fossil fuels and has MOX fuel, which itself is recycled fuel, to be
Japan’s nuclear recycling policy calls for
set a target of 35% for renewables energy
carbon neutrality installations by 2030. Continuous technology further reprocessed to extract plutonium.
improvements have already made wind
However, a plant to handle the process is still
Japan’s effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse energy become one of the cheapest local in the planning stage.
gas emissions by 2050 has grassroots sources of electricity in the country. Meanwhile, spent MOX fuel assemblies are
corporate support in a region where “We are pleased to extend our longstanding being stored at three nuclear power plants that
developers are unlocking potential for water partnership with UPC Renewables and AC used the fuel.
and wind power. Energy, and jointly strike a long-awaited The three plants are Ikata nuclear power
Starting last month, the Toyama-based positive turning point in the Philippines. We plant of Shikoku Electric Power Company,
regional lender Hokuriku Bank has been will continue to bring advanced products and Takahama nuclear power plant of Kansai
using only electricity generated by local tailored renewable energy solutions to support Electric Power Company and Kyushu Electric
hydropower for its data centre in central our valued customers as more opportunities Power Company’s Genkai nuclear power
Toyama Prefecture, about 260 km northwest are expected to arise in the Philippines as well plant.
of Tokyo, the Nikkei reported. as other Southeast Asian markets,”?said Mart Only four nuclear reactors in Japan run on
The bank became the first company to Huismans, sales head of Siemens Gamesa in MOX fuel. At the meeting, industry minister
sign up for an electricity plan launched by Southeast Asia. Kajiyama Hiroshi said his ministry will
regional utility Hokuriku Electric Power Since its first project in 2014, Siemens consider assistance for local governments that
Co. and Toyama Prefecture. For a premium Gamesa has installed six projects totalling 259 support the fuel’s use.
added to the electricity bill, the company MW with a leading market share of 60% of
will be plugged to electricity generated from the total fleet in the Philippines. The company
hydropower plants run by the prefecture. has also a leading position in Vietnam,
A total of 2,615 tons of CO2 a year is set to Thailand and Indonesia. RENEWABLES
be reduced. For the bank, that means a 21% “As the leading wind and hybrid solution
cut in emissions. provider in the Philippines, we have expanded SUSI Partners raises $81mn
Home to the tallest dam in Japan, the our local presence and accumulated proven
186-meter high Kurobe Dam, Toyama experience to exceed customer expectations. to invest in Southeast Asia
Prefecture grew into a hub for a broad range We are well positioned to support our
of manufacturers early on with its ample customers and partners to accelerate the renewables
electric power supply. Among them are zipper penetration of wind energy, bringing low-cost
maker YKK and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical. electricity to many households and creating Swiss infrastructure fund manager SUSI
Toyama is second in the country for job opportunities in communities as well as Partners has raised $81mn to tap into the fast-
potential water-power resources and No. 1 in improving the local energy security during growing renewables sector in Southeast Asia.
terms of hydropower already developed. the post-Covid green recovery,” added Jan SUSI Partners announced on May 25
Zwarteveen, Managing Director of Siemens that it has raised $81mn in the first close of
Gamesa in the Philippines. its Asia Energy Transition Fund (SAETF),
Siemens Gamesa has been expanding in which was set up to “accelerate the buildout of
WIND Asia Pacific since the 1980s and has installed sustainable energy infrastructure in a region
more than 9.45 GW of onshore turbines that will be a crucial factor in achieving global
Siemens Gamesa to supply in China, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, climate targets,” said Marius Dorfmeister,
Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand,
SUSI Partners’ co-chief executive. SUSI’s
largest wind farm in the Australia and New Zealand. On the offshore ultimate target for the fund is $250mn.
side, the company completed the installation
The fund manager secured investment
Philippines of Taiwan’s first offshore wind power plant from a series of global banks including the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB),
in 2019 (128 MW) and was selected as the
Siemens Gamesa has secured a landmark preferred supplier for an additional 3 GW of Dutch development bank FMO, and Nordic
order to supply, install and commission 32 projects. development finance institutions Norfund and
onshore turbines for the largest wind farm in Swedfund, as well as institutional investors
the Philippines to date, marking a resurgence headquartered in Germany and Singapore.
for the wind industry in the country. Fellow co-CEO Marco van Daele said
The 160 MW Balaoi & Caunayan wind NUCLEAR that governments’ new net-zero and energy
project will be developed by Asia’s pioneering transmission targets, and the resulting need
renewable energy developers UPC Japan eyes recycling of for investment in new power systems, make
Renewables and AC Energy and will feature Southeast Asia an “attractive market” for
18 units of the SG 5.0-145 and 14 units of MOX fuel in late 2030s institutional investors.
the SG 5.0-132 turbines. Both are among SUSI’s business in Singapore, he said, will
the most competitive turbine models in the Japan’s industry ministry says it aims to “widen SUSI’s investment remit and allow
region. Additionally, Siemens Gamesa signed develop technology by around the late 2030s for further expansion into the high-growth
a five-year contract to provide operation and to reprocess and reuse mixed oxide nuclear markets of Asia.”
maintenance services, ensuring optimised fuel, which contains plutonium extracted The SAETF fund will be used to invest in
performance of the wind farm. from spent fuel. clean power generation, energy efficiency,

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