South Korea eyes coal, gas cuts in 2050 net zero plans
South Korea has published three potential road maps to reach its target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, ahead of a final decision on its plan later this year.
The options range from the total elimination of coal and gas from the energy mix, to a continued reliance on thermal fuels supported by the use of carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) technology to cut emissions.
The road maps were announced today by South Korea's presidential committee on carbon neutrality, which is co-chaired by the country's prime minister Kim Boo-kyum.
The first plan assumes the continued burning of coal and regasified LNG as generation fuels, with seven of Korea's coal-fired power plants that have not yet reached the end of their lifespans still operational in 2050. CCUS technology plays a key role in meeting the country's carbon goals in this plan.
Under the second road map, Korea stops using coal as a generation fuel but keeps a role for LNG as a flexible power source to meet urgent demand. This plan requires a big change in consumers' energy consumption habits in order to meet the emissions targets.
In the third scenario, coal and LNG use is eliminated in favour of green hydrogen, for a 100pc cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The government sees a continued role for nuclear power in all three scenarios, although at a much lower share of the energy mix than currently.
Sector-by-sector plans outline the potential for big cuts in emissions from industry, transport, construction, agriculture and others. The transportation plans assume a major increase in the use of electric- and hydrogen-powered vehicles, which make up as much as 97pc of the total fleet in the most aggressive scenario.
The government plans to produce a single draft roadmap by the end of October after getting feedback from business, local authorities and the public.
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Malaysia sets up cross-border renewable energy exchange
Malaysia sets up cross-border renewable energy exchange
Singapore, 17 April (Argus) — The Malaysian government is creating the Energy Exchange Malaysia (Enegem) to allow for cross-border "green electricity" sales to neighbouring countries, starting with pilot sales to Singapore. The auctioning process for cross-border sales of clean electricity will begin with a 100MW pilot run utilising the existing connection between peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, announced Malaysia's Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation on 15 April. The auction will be open to renewable energy bidders in Singapore that have import licences issued by Singapore's Energy Market Authority. This pilot phase of 100MW is to "make sure that it works, and then if it does work, hopefully it can be expanded to a gigawatt level," said the chairman of the Energy Commission Malaysia Rashdan Yusof at the Atozero conference in Singapore on 17 April. "On the demand side, there will also be an auction for suppliers of renewable energy into the exchange," said Rashdan, adding that the exchange will aggregate all the renewable energy sector participants, predominantly in the solar sector, and then provide the energy to Singapore, depending on requirements such as load factors, among other things. Malaysia aims to catalyse the development of the Asean regional electricity grid and cross-border energy trading. There are "tremendous discussions" on future interconnections, said Rashdan. Malaysian state-owned utility TNB has signed six agreements with utility counterparts in Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, and has two feasibility studies planned with utilities in Indonesia and Singapore, he said, without providing additional details on these deals. There is great willingness to establish this regional power grid but one of the obstacles is that "each jurisdiction has different energy pricing systems," said Rashdan. There is a significant difference in energy pricing between Singapore and Malaysia, for example, as energy is largely subsidised in Malaysia. "These subsidies, I find, will be a core impediment in terms of the free flow of electrons," he added. "The energy exchange can level the economic and commercial playing field, so that money can flow. Once the money can flow, the electrons will flow. That's the aim of the energy exchange, to have that transparency and market-based system, without the distortion of price subsidies." There are a number of bilateral power agreements in the region, with some even crossing multiple borders, such as the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project, which connects renewable power supplies from Laos to Singapore. But Asean countries need to scale up to multilateral power trading to fully benefit from regional grid interconnectivity. Regional grid optimisation in Asean could cut the net present cost of full decarbonisation by 11pc from $7.2 trillion to $6.5 trillion, according to international classification society DNV's Asia-Pacific regional director for energy systems Brice Le Gallo last year. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
BHP to expand gas-fired West Australia power station
BHP to expand gas-fired West Australia power station
Sydney, 17 April (Argus) — Australian resources firm BHP plans to increase power generation at its 154MW Yarnima gas and diesel-fired facility near the Pilbara iron ore mining hub of Newman in Western Australia (WA) state. The proposal, according to documents filed with WA's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), will see output increase by 85MW to a total of 239MW through gas reciprocating engines and associated infrastructure with up to 120MW of nominal new capacity to be built in stages. Peak scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the project are predicted to be 480,030 t/yr of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), while scope 3 emissions related to supplying the gas are expected to be 37,260t CO2e/yr. Power demand at BHP's iron ore operations in the Pilbara is forecast to increase from 150MW currently to 1GW by 2040, as the company reduces its GHG emissions through electrification of its rail and mining fleets and must balance renewables with firmed generation. The iron ore mining sector is a large-scale producer of Australian GHG emissions through its Pilbara-based operations. Displacing liquid fuels such as diesel, which Australia consumes at an average rate of around 500,000 b/d by electrifying processes and switching to lower CO2-emitting sources such as gas, is expected to trend as Australia's largest polluters meet government mandates . Yarmina currently runs a 35MW diesel-fired temporary power station as part of its installed capacity. Canadian energy firm TransAlta earlier this year lodged plans to build a new 150MW gas-fired power station for BHP's Nickel West operations in WA's Northern Goldfields region. WA's domestic market is likely to be short on gas later this decade despite being Australia's largest LNG export state, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has warned in its Western Australia Gas Statement of Opportunities. Aemo's modelling released last year shows the closure of WA's state-owned coal-fired power stations will drive increased requirements for gas-fired electricity generation in the next decade. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US Gulf lowest-cost green ammonia in 2030: Report
US Gulf lowest-cost green ammonia in 2030: Report
New York, 16 April (Argus) — The US Gulf coast will likely be the lowest cost source of green ammonia to top global bunkering ports Singapore and Rotterdam by 2030, according to a study by independent non-profits Rocky Mountain Institute and the Global Maritime Forum. Green ammonia in Singapore is projected to be sourced from the US Gulf coast at $1,100/t, Chile at $1,850/t, Australia at $1,940/t, Namibia at $2,050/t and India at $2,090/t very low-sulphur fuel oil equivalent (VLSFOe) in 2030. Singapore is also projected to procure green methanol from the US Gulf coast at $1,330/t, China at $1,640/t, Australia at $2,610/t and Egypt at $2,810/t VLSFOe in 2030. The US Gulf coast would be cheaper for both Chinese bio-methanol and Egyptian or Australian e-methanol. But modeling suggests that competition could result in US methanol going to other ports, particularly in Europe, unless the Singaporean port ecosystem moves to proactively secure supply, says the study. In addition to space constraints imposed by its geography, Singapore has relatively poor wind and solar energy sources, which makes local production of green hydrogen-based-fuels expensive, says the study. Singapore locally produced green methanol and green ammonia are projected at $2,910/t and $2,800/t VLSFOe, respectively, in 2030, higher than imports, even when considering the extra transport costs. The study projects that fossil fuels would account for 47mn t VLSFOe, or 95pc of Singapore's marine fuel demand in 2030. The remaining 5pc will be allocated between green ammonia (about 1.89mn t VLSFOe) and green methanol (3.30mn t VLSFOe). Rotterdam to pull from US Gulf Green ammonia in Rotterdam is projected to be sourced from the US Gulf coast at $1,080/t, locally produced at $2,120/t, sourced from Spain at $2,150/t and from Brazil at $2,310/t. Rotterdam is also projected to procure green methanol from China at $1,830/t, Denmark at $2,060/t, locally produce it at $2,180/t and from Finland at $2,190/t VLSFOe, among other countries, but not the US Gulf coast . The study projects that fossil fuels would account for 8.1mn t VLSFOe, or 95pc of Rotterdam's marine fuel demand in 2030. The remaining 5pc will be allocated between green ammonia, at about 326,000t, and green methanol, at about 570,000t VLSFOe. Rotterdam has a good renewable energy potential, according to the study. But Rotterdam is also a significant industrial cluster and several of the industries in the port's hinterland are seeking to use hydrogen for decarbonisation. As such, the port is expected to import most of its green hydrogen-based fuel supply. Though US-produced green fuels are likely to be in high demand, Rotterdam can benefit from EU incentives for hydrogen imports, lower-emission fuel demand created by the EU emissions trading system and FuelEU Maritime. But the EU's draft Renewable Energy Directive could limit the potential for European ports like Rotterdam to import US green fuels. The draft requirements in the Directive disallow fuel from some projects that benefit from renewable electricity incentives, like the renewable energy production tax credit provided by the US's Inflation Reduction Act, after 2028. If these draft requirements are accepted in the final regulation, they could limit the window of opportunity for hydrogen imports from the US to Rotterdam to the period before 2028, says the study. By Stefka Wechsler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
AES closes 276MW coal-fired power in Chile
AES closes 276MW coal-fired power in Chile
Santiago, 16 April (Argus) — US utility AES has disconnected its two Norgener coal-fired plants from Chile's national grid, removing 276MW of combined capacity almost two years earlier than scheduled. The plants in northern Chile's Antofagasta region were originally due to close on 31 December 2025. AES has 3.4GW of generation assets in Chile of which now more than half are renewable, it said. The early closure of Norgener 1 and 2, which began operations in 1995 and 1997, respectively, is part of the country's commitment to close all coal-fired plants by 2040. To date, it has closed 11 coal-fired plants with combined capacity of nearly 1.7GW, or 30pc of the 5.5GW in operation in 2019 when the phase-out plan was announced. A further four plants with a combined capacity of 873MW are scheduled to close in 2025, according to the energy ministry. A public-private decarbonization working group is developing a roadmap through 2030 to speed up the closure of Chile's remaining coal plants. By Emily Russell Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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