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HK May Use More Mainland Nuclear Energy To Meet Demand

Apr 18th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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Cheung Chi-fai, SCMP – Apr 18, 2009

More nuclear energy from the mainland is an option to meet demand for new power-generation capacity in six years’ time, CLP Power (SEHK: 0002)’s managing director said yesterday.

Outlining the company’s road map for the next decade, Betty Yuen So Siu-mai said that if energy demand grew by 1 to 2 per cent a year, new generation units would be needed between 2015 and 2017.

She said one option being considered was to import more nuclear energy from the mainland, which has vowed to increase the proportion of nuclear-generated energy from 2 per cent to 5 per cent by 2020.

Since it takes up to eight years to plan and build a nuclear plant, Mrs Yuen said it was time to start engaging the public on the future energy road map, including an appropriate fuel mix.

CLP Power imports 31 per cent of its power from the Daya Bay nuclear plant in Shenzhen. This supply will be extended by 20 more years after 2014 under a cross-border agreement reached last August.

Mrs Yuen said building a nuclear plant was more expensive than a gas one but could eliminate the impact of fluctuations in the price of fossil fuel.

She said that gas would continue to play a dominant role, accounting for at least half of generation, compared with 28 per cent now. This will be done by retrofitting coal units to burn gas and the timely completion by 2013 of pipelines linking its Black Point Power Station with a proposed Shenzhen container terminal in Dachan Bay. This facility would receive natural gas imported from Turkmenistan in Central Asia and liquefied natural gas shipped from elsewhere. CLP would buy gas from the Shenzhen storage plant, supplementing its existing source from a gas reserve in Hainan, which would be drilled further to boost supply.

“We are racing with time since only four years are left for us to put in place all these infrastructures and commercial arrangements.”

Mrs Yuen said they had to take contingency measures in designing the pipelines as any breakage would put the city at risk of a blackout.

With increasing use of gas and nuclear fuel, Mrs Yuen said the role of coal would be diminished and mainly be used as a backup for emergencies. Coal accounted for 48 per cent of generation last year. Mrs Yuen said the proportion of coal could eventually be lowered to a quarter.

Guangdong Looks To Nuclear Power For Cut In Sulfur Dioxide Emissions

Feb 6th, 2009
by AdminCTA.
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Ivan Zhai, SCMP – Updated on Feb 06, 2009

Guangdong is banking on nuclear power to cut sulfur dioxide emissions and meet Beijing’s environmental targets. Executive Vice-Governor Huang Longyun said yesterday that the province was pushing ahead with construction of nuclear power plants to “repay the [pollution] debt” amassed over years. Guangdong must lower its sulfur dioxide emissions from 1.29 million tonnes in 2005 to 1.1 million tonnes by the end of next year to meet State Council targets. Mr Huang said nuclear power was expected to cut emissions by 600,000 tonnes by 2012.

Guangdong Environment Protection Bureau deputy director Chen Guangrong said sulfur dioxide emissions fell 5.58 per cent last year compared with 2007, dropping at a slightly faster pace than the central government had projected.

Mr Chen also said the province would invest 2.5 billion yuan (HK$2.84 billion) this year building sewage treatment plants in underdeveloped parts of the province. By the end of last year, Guangdong’s waste-water treatment capacity was the highest of any province, treating 10.9 million tonnes per day, he said.

The government would boost public transport to help reduce pollution, Construction Department deputy director Cai Ying said.

Energy Goals To Be Overhauled – Nuclear And Wind Power Expected To Get Far More Emphasis For 2020

Dec 20th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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Stephen Chen, SCMP – Updated on Dec 20, 2008

China’s midterm energy development goals are tipped to change radically early next year with a surge in nuclear and wind power plants.

As the central government pushes infrastructural projects to stimulate the economy, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is revising the 20-year road map it set for the energy sector last year, according to the influential 21st Century Business Herald.

The paper forecast dramatic expansion in the nuclear and wind sector as the country, under increasing pressure over greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, tries to shift from coal to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.

If the revisions are implemented, their energy targets would make the original goals look modest.

Last year, China said that by 2020, the country’s nuclear industry would produce 40GW, more than 40 times this year’s capacity and requiring annual growth of more than 20 per cent.

NDRC Energy Bureau director Zhang Guobao said in March that the commission was considering resetting the target at 60GW. But last month, another NDRC official said that the new target, expected to be released early next year, would be 70GW or higher.

The huge shortening in the timeline meant that construction of a large number of nuclear power plants that were supposed to be built after 2010 would have to begin next year, the paper said.

The possible projects include two new power plants in Yunfu and Shanwei in Guangdong; expansion of existing power plants in Zhejiang , Shandong , Liaoning , Jiangsu and Fujian ; the first power plant for Guangxi ; and some other projects proposed by some landlocked provinces in central China, it said, quoting a source who it said was knowledgeable about the new plan.

The new target will put enormous pressure on capital investment, technology and supplies of uranium-235. But the NDRC has reason to feel optimistic about meeting the goals because the central government has vowed to invest 4 trillion yuan (HK$4.55 trillion) to stimulate the economy in less than four years; and France and the US have already sold third-generation thermal technology to China.

One big missing element is China’s lack of enriched uranium, but Chen Xinyang , general manager of the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation, said the solution was to import it.

Mr Chen said the price of nuclear fuels had been driven higher by six major suppliers that controlled more than 80 per cent of the world supply, and after the September 11 terrorist attacks, some major shipping companies had stopped transporting nuclear fuel as controls on radioactive materials intensified.

“We solve the issue by making some long-term fuel supply contracts … and secured transport routes from Central Asia and Russia and across the ocean,” Mr Chen said. “By 2020, no matter whether the goal is 40GW, 60GW or more, we can guarantee enough supply.”

The paper also reported yesterday that wind power generation would also more than triple to a targeted capacity of 100GW by 2020. The new target is 10 times the capacity this year, but it is not unrealistic as China’s wind power generation has doubled since 2005, according to Qin Haiyan , secretary general of the China Wind Power Association.

But Mr Qin said China was still relatively inexperienced in building wind farms and had much research to do before construction begins.

Alarm Raised Over Energy, Population

Dec 4th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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By Doreen Yu, Philstar.com – Updated December 04, 2008 12:00 AM

HONG KONG – Before an audience held in rapt attention, Minister-Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore painted a dire world scenario, both in the short and the long term.

In a dialogue with former US President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative-Asia here last Tuesday, Lee said he believed the current financial crisis will not be a short one, but whether it will be of medium or prolonged duration depends on what the US economic team tasked to sort out the mess will do in the next three to six months.

“The unorthodox must be considered,” he said when asked about prescriptions to fix the problem.

“The danger now is not inflation but deflation. People feel poor and so they don’t spend. Assets lose their value. You have to put a floor on this,” Lee said, even as he expressed confidence in the economic team that US President-elect Barack Obama has put together, including Larry Summer and Paul Volcker.

The minister-mentor, who had reportedly just gotten out of hospital after implantation of a pacemaker, was uncompromising in his assessment of the global energy situation.

Alternative energy – solar, wind, tides – cannot replace carbon or fossil fuels, he said, since these can only meet about 5 percent of energy demand the world over. The only possible replacement is nuclear energy, which has a lead time of 10 years to implementation.

A $6-billion solar project of a Norwegian corporation is currently in development in Singapore.

He moreover believes that the current drop in world oil prices is only temporary.

“We are in for a spike in oil prices,” he stated, which would mean more coal plants will be put up, which in turn means more CO2 emissions.

As Clinton noted the expected increase in world population from the current 6.7 billion to about 9.5 billion by 2050, Lee said that “population growth is one of the basic problems societies must confront.”

“How many people can the world hold?” he asked.

In response to Clinton’s proposition that the only answer to the population problem is “to send more girls to school,” Lee said that education alone is not enough; there must also be equal job opportunities for women.

Eliciting laughter from the audience that included Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar (Clinton had remarked in his introduction that he “just wants you (Lee) to tell him how to make Mongolia as rich as Singapore”) and actress and UN ambassador Michele Yeoh, Lee said that in many cases women in Asia – particularly Japan, in response to a question from a Japanese – were highly educated but were merely prepped to become “wives of CEOs.”

“They are highly educated but they don’t work. They stay at home and have many children,” prompting Clinton to quip, “Boy, if I had made that statement…”

With more people in the world, “the demand for all resources will grow,” straining these resources, especially carbon fuel, which is finite and exhaustible.

While encouraging energy efficiency measures such as automatic climate controls and efficient lighting for hotels and other buildings, Lee said this “still won’t solve the problem, only delay it.” Even the discovery of new sources of fuel – citing reports from Russia of rich deposits in the Antarctic – is not a solution but merely a delay of the inevitable.

This delay, however, is “a good thing,” Clinton pointed out, “because it will give us some time to figure out what to do.”

Lee was less pessimistic about the issue of water, contrary to the view that water will increasingly become an ever more valuable resource and that more wars will be fought over water than over oil.

Citing the example of Singapore, which used to import more than half of its water from Malaysia but is now practically self-sufficient, Lee explained that the city state retains all rainfall on the island, and waste water is recycled for industrial use. He also cited the importance of fighting pollution, saying that all factories in Singapore are required to treat their waste water before release into the sea or river.

“It (water self sufficiency) can be done if you fight pollution,” and implement technologies that are already available for water resource management. Besides, he added, with global warming, seas will rise, which will lead to more precipitation and thus more water.

Acknowledging that climate change is an inescapable reality, Lee says that “the world must prepare for more adaptation” as a response to climate change, by taking a hard and serious look at the way we live, what we consume, and how we behave.

The two-day Clinton Global Initiative-Asia is a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, and gathered 11 current and former world leaders, plus leaders of business and industry, education, health, environment and non-government organizations.

The Moon May Solve Our Energy Problems

Oct 24th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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Celebrity vet Eric Lai shares his views on society through the eyes of animals. Give him your feedback at urbanjungle@scmp.com
Dr Eric Lai – SCMP | Updated on Oct 24, 2008

Like many young people, I was brought up with a healthy dose of information about space exploration to stimulate my imagination. I’m not exactly sure what is so enticing about the mysteries of space, but I suspect it is similar to what prehistoric man saw as he looked up at the myriad stars and planets.

We are essentially looking at the same sky and, when I find myself on holiday somewhere on a pristine beach away from the light pollution of Hong Kong, I am reminded of the immensity of the universe, with its unfathomable size that generates so much awe and humbles mankind. I may know a little more about the cosmos than our prehistoric ancestors, but probably not that much more in the context of the whole universe.

I remember seeing Halley’s Comet on its last visit in 1986 and, in the same year, Voyager 2’s flyby of Uranus. It was simply a stunning time to be alive, to witness such events as they happened.

During the 1990s space exploration really did slow down, as the countries of the world came back down to Earth to handle the more mundane problem of running the planet and its inhabitants.

But I have noticed in the past year that there seems to be something stirring in the sphere of space exploration, rather than just rhetoric. Several new countries are vying for space real estate left over by the US and the former Soviet Union. There was also the recent unmanned mission to the moon, Chang’e 1. It was the first phase of the Chinese lunar programme, which will hopefully end with ore samples from the moon and, one day, a base there. Then there was the launch of the Indian Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft this week. Like the Chang’e mission, it will send a robotic satellite that will orbit the moon and map the surface. Both hope to find subsurface water and a resource called helium-3.

Just hearing this news of space exploration on the radio and television in the past year has made the less imaginative and more practical part of me wonder why these countries are so belatedly sending missions to the moon when the Americans already did so with the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. I can’t imagine any government spending billions of dollars simply for national pride anymore. Like the western world, China has grown beyond the darker times of propaganda into an era of modern communications, where the truth can’t be muffled so easily. So why are China, India, the United States and even countries like Kenya showing renewed interest in the moon?

I found the answer when I heard the term “helium-3” mentioned, although I was surprised it was the reason. When I was doing physics, I learnt that helium-3 is a non-radioactive isotope of regular helium-4. The beauty of helium-3 in a fusion reactor is that the byproducts are less radioactive and, hence, produce less radioactive waste. Current fusion-type reactions indirectly create electricity by heating up water, but when using helium-3, water is not needed and electricity can be generated directly in a more efficient process.

I remember raising my hand in our physics lecture when I first learned about this process to ask the lecturer why we weren’t using it, because it sounded too good to be true. He said: “Helium-3 is rare on Earth and the total amount probably couldn’t generate enough electricity for Australia for two years.”

When I heard that there was helium-3 on the moon, I quickly did some research and some quick maths. There are about 15 tonnes of helium-3 found naturally on Earth, but there are an estimated 1 to 5 million tonnes under the moon’s surface, specifically in an ore called lunar regolith.

Official sources say China needs about 10 tonnes of helium-3 to power the country for a year. My quick calculations are based on China needing 15- 20 tonnes realistically, considering we are not likely to get 100 per cent efficiency. We’ll probably need 150 to 200 tonnes a year to power the entire planet. If it is true about the volume available on the moon, there should be enough there for at least 5,000 to 25,000 years.

No wonder there is a rush to get back on the moon. It is not going to happen overnight, of course. It is predicted a prototype fusion power plant using helium-3 won’t be in operation until 2050 at the earliest, and it will take time for lunar-mined helium-3 to be viable – but it may be worth the wait.

The whole story really gives me hope for mankind. It tells me that there are people in government that have a long-term vision for our planet’s future. It also instils hope that one day, living, working and exploring space will be viable options, when energy is plentiful and cheap. I hope I live long enough to see the return of Halley’s Comet and the mining of the moon.

Gas Plan For Sokos Ditched By CLP Firm Looks To Invest In Mainland LNG Plant

Sep 12th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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Denise Tsang, SCMP – Sep 12, 2008

CLP Power (SEHK: 0002) has abandoned its controversial HK$10 billion plan to build a liquefied natural gas plant on the Soko Islands off Lantau.

The power company will instead look to invest in an LNG processing plant on the mainland.

“The Sokos project is stopped,” CLP’s commercial director Richard Lancaster told the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) yesterday.

To ensure a secure supply of the clean fuel, CLP wanted to invest in either a regasification plant planned by PetroChina (SEHK: 0857, announcements, news) in Dachen Bay, Shekou , or one planned by China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC (SEHK: 0883)) in Zhuhai , Mr Lancaster said.

It would also negotiate on sourcing gas from CNOOC’s gas fields in the South China Sea and from PetroChina’s planned 4,800km pipeline from Turkmenistan via Kazakhstan to Shenzhen, he said.

CLP had said the LNG project – which involved building a storage and regasification plant on South Soko Island and a pipeline to carry the fuel to the Black Point power station at Tuen Mun – was needed because reserves at CNOOC’s Yacheng gas field, off Hainan , were far less than expected and would run out soon after 2011 at the current usage rate of 2.5 billion cubic metres a year.

Opponents challenged the plan over fears it would damage an environmentally sensitive marine area and lead to higher electricity bills.

The fate of the project was thrown into doubt when Hong Kong and Beijing struck an energy pact last month to guarantee supply to the city for another 20 years, with CNOOC saying that with further drilling, Yacheng, could supply at least 2 billion cubic metres a year.

“We concur with the [Hong Kong] government view that [the LNG plant] is not needed after a memorandum of understanding on energy supply to Hong Kong was signed,” Mr Lancaster said.

The accord, which includes nuclear power supply, ensures the availability of cleaner fuel for electricity generation – and better air quality – and may reduce pressure to raise power tariffs.

Green groups last night hailed the CLP decision.

Angus Wong Chun-yin, of Friends of the Earth, said: “Although using natural gas is good for the environment, building a liquefied natural gas plant on the Soko Islands could have harmed the environment more.”

He said the project would certainly have destroyed an important habitat of the Chinese white dolphin.

But Mr Wong said more needed to be done to switch to clean fuel.

“Dropping the Soko Islands project should not be the end of the story. The Hong Kong government should press harder to require power companies to use more natural gas to generate power.”

Natural gas and nuclear power each account for about 20 per cent of CLP’s fuel mix, with coal making up 60 per cent.

A government source described CLP’s decision as “realistic and clever”. The source said the Environment Bureau would facilitate talks between CLP and the mainland authorities and companies concerned.

Mr Lancaster said CLP would go ahead with a 20-year gas purchase agreement with British-based BG. A preliminary agreement for the gas, originally intended to supply the Sokos plant, was signed in June.

The BG deal would fill a supply shortfall, he said. The Black Power plant could consume 3.4 billion cubic metres of gas per year, while CNOOC would supply 2 billion cubic metres and PetroChina 1 billion cubic metres annually by 2013.

More Gas For HK In Deal With Mainland 20-year Energy Supply Guaranteed

Aug 29th, 2008
by AdminCTA.
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Ng Kang-chung, Denise Tsang and Agnes Lam, SCMP – Aug 29, 2008

Hong Kong and the mainland signed a new energy deal yesterday that guarantees continued supplies of natural gas and nuclear power for 20 years and holds out the prospect of cleaner air and cheaper electricity.

The deal, which took analysts by surprise, also appeared to put paid to plans by CLP Power (SEHK: 0002) for a controversial liquefied natural gas terminal on the Soko Islands, off Lantau.

Under the deal with the National Development and Reform Commission, state-owned gas supplier China National Offshore Oil Corporation will continue to supply Hong Kong with natural gas for a further 20 years.

The city will also receive gas from the nation’s second west-east natural gas pipeline being built to transport gas imported from Central Asia to the Pearl and Yangtze river delta regions.

The deal marks the first time Hong Kong has been included in the nation’s energy supply blueprint.

The 4,800km pipeline is expected to reach Shenzhen in about five years. Hong Kong officials estimated the city would receive about 1 billion cubic metres of gas a year from this source.

The agreement opens up opportunities for Hong Kong companies to invest in natural gas developments in Guangdong.

Under the deal, the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company will renew its supply agreement with Hong Kong for a further 20 years.

Speaking at the signing ceremony yesterday, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen described the agreement as “extremely good news” for Hong Kong’s power supply and environment.

National Development and Reform Commission vice-chairman Zhang Guobao said: “A stable energy supply to Hong Kong will boost Hong Kong’s prosperity.”

Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said the main purpose was to ensure a long-term, stable energy supply.

“What is more important is that we do not need to build LNG terminals in Hong Kong any more. So, there will be no more pressure for raising tariffs as a result of investment,” he said.

CLP’s HK$10 billion Soko project had been expected to inflate by an estimated 13 per cent the value of the power company’s net assets, on which electricity tariff rises are based.

The agreement puts a big question mark over a preliminary 20-year deal CLP made with British-based liquefied natural gas supplier BG two months ago for the project.

CLP said it would study the implications for the project, which “is already at an advanced stage”, and study new options. The terminal was designed to replace dwindling supply from Hainan’s Yacheng gas field in 2013.

A government spokesman last night declined to say if the new agreement would kill the project, but added: “The need for that project is greatly reduced.”

Hongkong Electric (SEHK: 0006) welcomed the agreement. Green groups also hailed it, saying they believed it would bring better air quality to the city.

Carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 50 per cent when liquefied natural gas is used instead of burning coal to generate power. And sulfur dioxide – a major source of air pollution here – can be cut by more than 90 per cent, according to environmental officials.

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