CCS – Climate-Friendly Power Plant Technology

By Siemens

Power supply over the next few decades will be marked by a balanced mix of centralized and decentralized power plants, and of power taken from all available resources. Efficient and innovative technologies will become more important than ever for climate-compatible electricity generation.

Increasing importance of CCS Technologies for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) in coal-fired power plants will provide a crucial bridging solution, enabling substantial reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from coalfired power plants.

Up to 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions produced in the combustion process can be reduced with this technology. CCS describes the chain of processes whereby carbon dioxide is sequestered from the power plant process before or after combustion, compressed, and then stored in geological formations.

Siemens is developing two technologies in the area of clean coal electrification for existing and new power plants. The first, for existing steam power plants and new plants, is the scrubbing and capture of carbon dioxide after combustion.

The other technology, carbon dioxide capture before combustion, is used for new IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) plants. These are combined cycle power plants with integrated coal gasification and upstream carbon dioxide capture. Having acquired the coal gasification business of the Swiss Sustec Group, Siemens can offer the GSP entrained-flow gasification process, which forms a central element of climate-friendly IGCC power plants.

Siemens technologies are also used for carbon dioxide transport and subsequent storage. Compressors supply the necessary pressure in the pipelines, and the pressure required for forcing the carbon dioxide deep underground. Here again, efficiency is called for, to minimize line losses.

State of the art

The various processes for carbon dioxide capture are presently being developed and tested. From today’s technological viewpoint, flue gas scrubbing is the main process available as a retrofit for existing power plants (if these plants are capture ready).

However, to enable CCS technology to be used on a large scale, a reliable political and regulatory framework must first be put in place for implementing CCS and for constructing CCS demonstration plants to verify environmental compatibility and economic viability. If this succeeds, the zero-carbon-dioxide coal-fired power plant will be able to play an important role in delivering climate-friendly and reliable energy from 2020 onward.

This article and image is contributed by Siemens Pte Ltd.

Call on Companies to Act Against Climate Change

This post was first published at ECO @ COP 15.

There is growing concern from the business sector about the resulting uncertainty and risk breeding in the economic environment. Climate change contributes to this uncertainty and there is thus a growing need for long term and new policies that will link economic development together with environment protection.

In urgent response, the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change, initiated by the Prince of Wale’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change run by the University of Cambridge, collates the voices of businesses to call for a credible deal. In just two pages, it sets out the business case for an ambitious, robust, effective and equitable UN climate framework and offers progressive global consensus on the shape of an agreement.

Basic ideas the Copenhagen Communiqué pushes for

1. Long term global emissions reduction that will be guided by science

2. Proactive role of developed nations in commitments towards reducing emissions of which they should show the possibility that low carbon growth is both ‘achievable and desirable’

3. Developing nations too should ensure that its development is via a path of sustainability, where low carbon growth plan should be emphasized

Please refer to this link for the Copenhagen Communiqué.

We urge you to be part of this.

Why should your company be a part of it?

Climate change is perhaps the gravest issue our generation has yet to tackle. Widely accepted through scientific research, an increase in temperature by 2°C can be expected to have catastrophic effects on our climate and ecosystem. This can be prevented. But what we need is for greenhouse gases to fall- dramatically. This is within our hands.

Your company has a strong role to play in pushing for a binding and fair agreement. This will enhance the economic environment to promote companies’ investment and innovation in green technologies, goods and services.

There are currently more than 500 major companies who have committed, including business leaders in their fields such as PwC, MacQuarie, Shell and British Airways.

Join them in signaling that your company supports the need for a stable economic environment that a binding and fair agreement can offer, and active participation in moving towards a green economy.

It’s only a few days away from Dec 18, there’s no time to waste.

Show your commitment by signing now. Click here to do so.

Live from COP15

Eleina

ECO Singapore

SIEW 2009: Plug-In Singapore 2009

Plug-In Singapore 2009 was held recently as part of the Singapore International Energy Week 2009. The conference and expo is organised by the Cleantech Agency and brings together the market players to discuss key electric vehicle issues.

Opening Speech

During the conference, David Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, Energy Market Authority, gave a speech on the Electrification of Singapore’s Land Transport. He highlighted the current global interest in Electric Vehicles (EVs) and that the use of EVs are expected to pick up from 2015 onwards and become fully commercially viable for the mass market after 2020. Even in an alternative energy disadvantaged country like Singapore, we can reduce up to 4% of our land transport sector’s carbon emissions by 2020 with just a 2% EV penetration rate.

To prepare for such a future, Singapore has embarked on a S$20 million EV test-bedding programme, launched in May to provide an open platform for all auto manufacturers and technology companies to examine the infrastructure requirements of an EV system, to test the performance of EVs under local road conditions and in the tropical environment, and to identify related industry and R&D opportunities.

This test-bed will start next year and run for three years, driven by a multi-agency Taskforce, co-chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA). As part of the deployment plan for the EV test-bed project, the EV Taskforce has been working with Renault-Nissan, Mitsubishi and other auto manufacturers to secure a supply of EVs for Singapore.

Mitsubishi plans to roll out its i-MiEV model of electric cars next year. So the Taskforce is expecting 50 i-MiEVs to arrive from September 2010, which would cost about S$89,000 – S$99,000 each. Renault-Nissan’s EVs will only be available for commercial sale in 2011. The Taskforce is now looking for interested companies to participate in the test-bed and be an early adopter of EVs in Singapore, under the Transport Technology Innovation and Development Scheme (TIDES), jointly administered by LTA and EDB.

Participants will be required to collate data on the performance of the EV such as driving range between charging, ease of charging, annual mileage and total costs of operation. The data collected will be instrumental in evaluating the costs and benefits and overall feasibility of the future adoption of EVs in
Singapore.

The EV Taskforce will also be rolling out a small network of about 50 EV charging stations. A competitive tender will be launched next year to select an EV infrastructure service provider. The EV charging stations will have to be compatible with the EVs produced by the major auto-manufacturers, and the deployment of the stations will be timed to coincide with the actual take-up of EVs under the test-bed.

In addition, EMA, SPRING Singapore and industry partners will be working on a Technical Reference for the public EV charging systems to set minimum standards for the development of EV charging systems and the safe charging of EVs.

Expo

Here are some photos of the exhibitors’ electric vehicles:

SIEW 2009: Smart Grids 2009

The Smart Grids 2009 conference was held last week as part of the Singapore International Energy Week, and covered the latest in smart grid development, and the strategies and steps towards attaining a more energy efficient and sustainable grid.

Mr Lawrence Wong, Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority (EMA), gave the opening address. He said that although Singapore’s electricity grid is one of the most reliable in the world, with an average interruption time of less than 1 minute per customer in a year, there is still scope for improvement and to benefit from investing in a smarter grid.

A smart grid enables consumers to make better decisions about energy usage. For example, EMA recently concluded trials in two housing estates, Marine Parade and West Coast, to evaluate smart meters and time-differentiated electricity tariffs. Households were provided with real time information on their electricity usage, which resulted in a 2% reduction in electricity consumption.

In addition, households shifted about 10% of their electrical load from peak periods to off-peak periods, thus enjoying savings in their electricity bills. This shift in electricity demand away from peak periods would result in power companies not needing to build extra power plants to cope with such high demand, and could also reduce their spare generation capacity and bring down their overhead costs.

A smart grid makes it easier to facilitate the integration of intermittent and distributed sources of clean power, including co-generation plants and solar PVs, and ensure continued reliability in our electricity supply.

A smart grid also facilitates the electrification of transport, with increasing demand for electricity charging by both plug-in hybrids and full-battery electric vehicles. For example, if 10% of the vehicles in Singapore are electric, an additional 1.3 terra watt hours of electricity per year will be required, about 6 times the energy needs of the housing estate in Ang Mo Kio. Electric vehicles also have the potential to serve as energy storage systems and feed power back into the grid during peak periods.

EMA has launched a pilot project for an “Intelligent Energy System” (IES) to test a range of smart grid technologies and enhance the capabilities of Singapore’s power grid. EMA is calling a tender to select industry partners to work together with Singapore Power to implement the project. The IES pilot project will be implemented on multiple sites, mainly at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), the CleanTech Park at Jalan Bahar, and selected residential, commercial and industrial buildings.

The IES pilot project seeks to develop and test the following components of a smart grid:

Image source for Intelligent Energy System: EMA press release

SIEW 2009: Clean Energy Expo Asia 2009

The Clean Energy Expo Asia (CEEA) trade fair and conference was held last week, and brought together leading players in the various clean enery sectors, to discuss the challenges and opportunities in developing clean energy technologies and to explore the role of energy efficiency in a viable clean energy future. Around 71 exhibitors, 80 speakers, and 2,000 participants from over 20 countries were at the trade fair and conference. CEEA is jointly organized by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and Koelnmesse and is part of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW).

Opening Addresses

In his address, Edwin Khew, Chairman of SEAS, shared a new initiative launched by the Asian Development Bank called the Energy For All or E4ALL. This is a partnership between the Bank and the private sector and NGOs, to promote capacity building, clean energy and energy efficiency technology, support, carbon management and project financing through sustainable energy associations in each of the Asia Pacific countries within the E4ALL program.

In his address, David Tan, Deputy Chief Executive of the Energy Market Authority (EMA), announced that EMA will launch a call for an Expression of Interest (EOI) on 20 November, to invite companies to submit proposals to design, build and operate an Intelligent Micro-grid with Clean and Renewable Energy Technologies on Pulau Ubin.

There is currently no power grid to supply electricity to the 100 residents in Pulau Ubin and they use their own diesel generators for electricity. EMA intends to develop 5 interconnected micro-grids serving the north, south, east, west and jetty regions of the island in the future. The micro-grids will rely on renewable energy such as solar PV, concentrated solar power, micro-wind turbines, and biofuels.

The implementation project will start with a small-scale, intelligent micro-grid at the jetty area to integrate the different clean energy technologies and ensure the reliability and quality of the electricity supply. The current annual energy consumption at the jetty area is about 460 MWh, and the current loads include the offices of the National Parks Board, the Police Coast Guard Office, the Ubin Lodge, the Singtel mobile base station, and a small number of residential premises and businesses at the jetty area.

Trade Fair

Here are some photos of clean energy technologies taken at the trade fair:

Smart Environments – Monitor, optimise and visualise using intelligent sensors linked to an open platform

Using Daylight

Vertical Axis Wind Turbine

Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine

Different Solar Panels

Cylindrical Solar Panels

Solar and Wind Powered Streetlights

LED Streetlight

Electric Bicycle

SIEW 2009: Sustainable Cities 2009

The Sustainable Cities 2009 conference was held during the Singapore International Energy Week to discuss key issues, investment opportunities, and green technologies associated with developing sustainable cities.

Some topics discussed:

Dr Liu Thai Ker, Chairman, Centre for Liveable Cities, started the conference with his take on achieving sustainable development with effective city planning. He referred to the city as a machine for living, which is made up of:

• Grids: Green and Blue, Expressways, MRTs
• Organs: CBD, Industrial Estates, Utilities
• Cells: Regions, Towns, Neighborhoods

Dr Liu emphasised that a quantitative approach based on the population, land, density and positioning, is needed for city planning, and a city is about the body and clothes, and not just a beautiful suit. He used the analogy of developing a city and making a suit as a comparison. A city (suit) should be developed in the following order:

1. Concept (Data)
2. Positioning (Male)
3. Quantity (Height and Weight)
4. Grid (Bones and Veins)
5. Organs (Organs)
6. Land Use (Muscles)
7. Architecture (Clothes)
8. Icons (Decorations)

Dr Liu concluded with the following points: good planning ensures sustainable development with no extra cost; conventional engineering, selectively well applied, enhances sustainable development at conventional cost; and the sustainable way for sustainable development is to create eco-friendly city platform and enhance eco-friendly technologies.

Rani Virdee, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, The Carbon Neutral Company, presented on implementing carbon management strategies for the built environment. Carbon emissions for the built environment comes from the embodied energy of materials used and construction activities, and ongoing energy consumption. She suggested that carbon management should be incentivised under the Green Mark criteria.

Clay Nesler, Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability, Johnson Controls, USA, shared the transformation of the Empire State Building in New York City. The building went through an energy efficiency retrofit with new windows, radiative barriers, daylighting, chiller retrofit, VAV air handling unit, wireless network control systems, demand control ventilation and tenant energy management, which is expected to achieve the following:

• $4.4 million annual energy cost savings
• 38% energy reduced annually
• 3.1 years payback
• 105,000 tons of carbon emissions saved over the next 15 years

Mr Nesler recommended the following:

• Address tenant spaces by taking whole-building approach: phase projects over time; enabling technology for info feedback; modify lease structures to align incentives
• Take right steps in right order for integrated design
• Integrate with capital plan to match renovation cycles
• Leverage financial models that reduces risks and provide short-term benefits for owners and tenants

He also suggested what cities can do now:

• Create municipal financing programs to encourage private sector investment
• Introduce and enforce stricter building codes for new contruction and major renovation
• Introduce voluntary high performance building codes for commercial buildings and make it a requirement for public buildings
• Introduce mandatory building performance labelling
• Require commercial building audits on periodic basis and/or at time of sale
• Work with building owners to create and promote high profile demostration projects

Melvyn Thong, Deputy Director, Mechanical and Electrical Systems Division, Land Transport Authority (LTA), explained the Green Framework for Rapid Transit Systems (RTS) to fit with sustainable city planning. The LTA Green Framework reduces the carbon footprint of commuters by sustainable development of the RTS, which includes:

1. Effective use of energy (50%) for lighting systems; electrical services; signals, communications and control systems; environmental control systems, etc
2. Environmental protection and sustainable development (35%) for rolling stock; environment control systems; civil works; architecture
3. Water conservation (15%)

SIEW 2009: Singapore Energy Lecture by Dr Daniel Yergin

The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) 2009 opens today at the Shangri-La Hotel Singapore, with the delivery of the Singapore Energy Lecture by Dr Daniel Yergin, an international energy expert; Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power; and Chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (IHS CERA), an energy research consultancy.

The annual SIEW is a leading energy conference that provides a platform for policymakers, business leaders and academics to exchange ideas, strategies and best practices that will help shape global and industry energy agendas. Jointly organized by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and the Energy Studies Institute (ESI), SIEW features a comprehensive schedule of clean energy-focused conferences, exhibitions and networking sessions from a diverse cross-section of energy industry leaders.

SIEW 2009 builds on the theme, “Clean Energy: Sustainable Solutions for Urban Cities” to address pertinent energy issues affecting the world today. More than 1,800 companies and over 5,000 participants have registered for the various events during the week. Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, also shared his views on the need to balance global energy needs and climate change in a video message to participants at the SIEW 2009.

In Dr Yergin’s lecture this morning, he predicted that:

If the 20th century was the Century of Oil, the 21st century will be the Century of Energy Innovation. This intense push for innovation is driven by two powerful forces – the quest for clean energy and the need to provide energy for economic growth.

This reality is nowhere more vivid than in Asia, the center of economic growth. As Asia becomes an increasingly integrated economy, meeting these needs is not just a national issue, but a regional issue. It is a foundation for regional economic growth in this increasingly-interconnected region. And it is an urgent issue.

Dr Yergin shared his views on peak oil and said that the world is not running out of oil as the capacity is growing and people tend to underestimate the impact of technology. He highlighted four big changes:

1. Oil is now a financial instrument, which means greater volatility
2. The globalization of oil demand, where demand growth will come from emerging markets
3. Climate change and growing pressures
4. Technological innovation and the application of technology to energy

Dr Yergin said that the economic recovery is still in its “early days” and it is very important to facilitate global trade, which will stimulate economic growth. Climate change initiatives coming out of the Copenhagen conference next month and thereafter should reflect a “spirit of cooperation” and avoid becoming confrontational and disruptive to trade, which could have very serious unintended economic and political consequences. He emphasized that Copenhagen is not a treaty but a process.

Dr Yergin shared that Asia is in the lead for battery technology and electric vehicles, and that 60% of nuclear construction is in Asia. Natural gas is also going to become a more important part of the energy mix both in Asia and in the world because of its abundance and its attractive attributes as a fuel. Dr Yergin said that:

In the next few years, Asia will see substantial growth in use of natural gas in the form of LNG – liquefied natural gas. The world’s capacity to produce LNG will grow by 50 percent in the period 2008 to 2012.

Dr Yergin concluded that the real growth story in energy is energy efficiency. It is the biggest and easiest way for mitigating climate change. He also noted that Singapore’s role as the “energy crossroad” – both intellectually and in terms of physical supply – goes back to 1892, when the first shipment of oil was unloaded in Singapore. He could see Singapore leading in energy efficiency and smart grids in the future.

Seminar on Low Carbon Growth

Green Business Times was invited to the seminar on Low Carbon Growth yesterday. The seminar was organised by the British High Commission to discuss about high growth through low carbon means, with a focus on energy efficiency. The keynote address was presented by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, which describes Singapore’s challenges, strategies and opportunities for climate change.

At the seminar, there were also the launch of a new website and a new film. Eco-Business.com is a new website by Jessica Cheam, offering news on the environment and climate change issues for Asia Pacific’s business community, and supported by the British High Commission and Singapore Environment Council.

The new film, High Stakes, was based on the Asian Development Bank’s recent report and presents the economics of climate change in Southeast Asia and highlights the actions needed for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Speakers presented on the following topics:

• High Growth Potential Using Low Carbon Means by Mr Suphachol Suphachalasai, Economist, Asian Development Bank
• Energy Efficiency – Business Opportunities Across Asia Pacific by Mr Frederick Crampe, Managing Director, ReEx Capital Asia
• CARE for Energy Efficiency – a programmatic CDM project by Mr William Pazos, Managing Director of Standard Bank and Mr Kes Shotam, Senior Managing Director, Climate Resources Exchange
• Developing Energy Efficiency in Singapore by Mr Lee Eng Lock, General Manager, Energy Division, Trane Singapore
• Scaling UP Ultra-Efficient Systems and Buildings by Mr Thomas Hartman, Founder, The Hartman Company, USA

Mr Suphachalasai emphasised that Southeast Asia should play an important part in working towards global action on climate change, given the high stakes involved and the vulnerabilities in this region. There is also a need for strengthening policy and planning coordination among the different ministries and levels of government.

Mr Crampe discussed about a report on the business guide to energy efficiency in Asia Pacific. The report studied 12 Asia Pacific countries and ranked them by which country provided the most conducive environments for energy efficiency projects and with the most business opportunities. China ranked first in being the most conducive, followed by India, Philippines and Singapore. He also highlighted the barriers to financing energy efficiency, including: low priority for end-users; small ESCO (energy service companies) industry; and the lack of commercial interest from financial institutions.

Mr Pazos and Mr Shotam shared the new programme of activities (POA) being developed under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows building owners and facility owners to participate together in a single programme of activities to improve the energy efficiency of their chiller plants and produce carbon credits.

Mr Lee is at his usual controversial best (in the good sense) to point out that green buildings are not necessarily energy efficient, and shared some mistakes of buildings in terms of how they locate cooling towers, not having enough measurements and monitoring, oversizing chiller units, using an inefficient technology, etc. He emphasised the need for governments to ask for energy specifications better than the current standards when awarding tenders, and to put in place specific targets and punishments if the targets are not met.

Mr Hartman discussed about the impediments to achieving ultra-efficient buildings, which includes: energy costs are not a major factor in the economics of most buildings; utilities continue to focus on increased energy sales to meet financial goals; and there is little accountability for achieving and maintaining efficient energy performance in buildings. He concluded with suggestions to upscale building efficiency: develop standards for building energy use that can be verified monthly for utility bill info; provide preferential rates to those who meet the standards and provide excess use charges to those whose use is well above the standards; and to create a fund from the excess use charges to assist in improving inefficient buildings.

Carbon Forum Asia 2009

The annual Carbon Forum Asia trade fair and conference starts today at the Raffles City Convention Centre, officially opened by Mr S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry.

This year’s trade fair offers a comprehensive showcase of regional and international carbon market players from over 27 countries, including 22 countries across Asia Pacific, such as Singapore, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Thailand, Bhutan and Papua New Guinea.

At the trade fair’s Sellers Pavilion, sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), innovative sustainable projects in Asia were showcased by project developers and carbon credit sellers. These projects include biomass-biogas combined heat and power generation, conversion of waste coal gas to energy, methane avoidance, etc.

The conference brings together more than 130 leading regional and international speakers to discuss new trends and perspectives for the Asian and global carbon market, and on issues related to emissions trading, carbon finance and climate change.

The total value of the global carbon market reached US$125 billion in 2008, more than double the US$60 billion recorded in 2007. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has also benefited developing countries such as China, India and Brazil.

Although there are critics of carbon trading and the CDM, we cannot deny the importance and potential of the CDM if done properly to reduce emissions and contribute to sustainable development together. As Mr Andrew Tan, CEO of the National Environment Agency, explained in his speech at the Clean Development Mechanism World Designated National Authorities Forum (held in conjunction with Carbon Forum Asia):

Right at the start, the CDM was a compromise solution between countries that wanted the creation of an adaptation fund for climate vulnerable countries and those that wanted a more market-driven mechanism. The CDM was therefore never a perfect system to begin with and a system that its designers had to improve as they learnt along the way. Indeed, up to recent times, the CDM has attracted criticisms that it is too bureaucratic a system, with many delays and not cost-effective. Environmental groups have similarly criticized the CDM for providing millions of dollars of financing for minimal emissions reductions or projects that would have gone on anyway. These calls have not gone unheeded and efforts have been made to address the shortfalls of the system.

…

I therefore hope that at the Singapore meeting, delegates can build upon recent discussions on the CDM and work closely together to help improve the governance framework to ensure:

a. greater transparency and accountability

b. better accreditation of DOEs and minimizing conflicts of interest

c. clearer guidelines and standards

Failure isn’t failing. Failure is failing to try.

The Carbon Disclosure Project 2009, Asia ex-Japan Report

The Carbon Disclosure Project 2009, Asia ex-Japan Report, authored by the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA), reported a double increase in the number of companies reporting their corporate greenhouse gas emissions data, from 61 last year to 127 this year.

Carbon Disclosure Project

Founded in 2000, The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) represents about 475 global institutional investors with more than US $55 trillion in assets under management. CDP collects climate change data from 2,500 major corporations into the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emissions database.

Asia ex-Japan Report

In this 2009 Asia ex-Japan Report, there are 4 key themes from the CDP questionnaire responses:

1. From Mitigation to Adaptation – Companies Start to Move Beyond Regulatory Uncertainty and Focus on Opportunities
2. More Substantive Disclosure of Emissions and Operational Data
3. IT Sector leads on Responses and Data
4. Korea Pushes Ahead, India Emerges Strongly

The Carbon Disclosure Project 2009, Asia ex-Japan Report, is available for free download from the ASrIA website.

Singapore

For Singapore, the number of companies involved and the response rate is less than satisfactory (see tables below). 14 local companies were involved in the questionnaire and the response rate was 21%. Only 3 companies answered the questionnaire – Capitaland Limited, City Developments Limited and Singapore Airlines. In contrast, the response rate in Korea is 50% with 50 companies answering the questionnaire.

Response Profiles of Asian Countries

Singapore Companies and their Responses

More Effort Needed

Clearly, more Singapore companies need to take climate change seriously and start reporting their corporate greenhouse gas emissions data and take steps to reduce their emissions. If not, local companies will fall behind more proactive companies in Korea and India, and lose their competitive advantage in the coming carbon constraint market.

Source and image credit: Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA)

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