Engie seeks to power Asia with gas, renewables

Engie seeks to power Asia with gas, renewables

France's Engie, the world's largest independent power producer, is rolling
out natural gas and renewable power projects across Asia-Pacific as it
gradually exits coal-fired power generation in the region.

"We will go to low carbon solutions ... it's not sure that coal power plants
will remain sustainable for (the next) 30 years," Engie Asia Pacific's
President and Chief Executive Officer Jan Flachet told Reuters.

Renewables accounted for more than half of net annual additions to power
capacity and overtook coal in terms of cumulative installed capacity in the
world for the first time in 2015, the International Energy Agency said this
week.

"This market evolution has had a huge impact on the energy market," Flachet
said, with Engie investing in technologies such as geothermal, biomass and
hydrogen storage, as well as solar and wind.

Natural gas would remain important to resolve intermittent power generation
issues from renewables, he said.

In Indonesia, which has struggled to meet strong demand growth for
electricity demand as projects stall over license or land clearance issues,
Engie has submitted a bid to build a 150-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power
project in Riau province in a government tender, Flachet said.

It expects to start construction next year at a 100 MW geothermal power
plant in Muara Laboh, in west Sumatra, the first of three such projects, he
said, with more tenders for power projects to come.

The company is also in talks with state power company PLN over feed-in
tariffs for two solar projects of 200 MW and plans to tap on biomass such as
bamboo and palm oil waste to generate electricity, he said.

To power up islands in the Philippines, Indonesia and remote areas in
Australia, Engie is developing solar-hydrogen storage that will be
competitive enough to replace diesel generators, Flachet said.

In Myanmar, Engie hopes to capitalise on its huge growth potential for
electricity, although the country will first have to install a liquefied
natural gas (LNG) terminal, he said.

Engie also has a 50 MW wind power project in Mongolia, he said.

In Australia, meanwhile, Engie is considering a sale of its 70 percent stake
in the 1000 megawatt (MW) Loy Yang B plant and may close its 50-year-old
Hazelwood unit, Flachet said.

It also expects to complete by end-2016 the sale of a 40 percent stake in
Indonesia's largest coal-fired power generator PT Paiton Energy to an
international investor, he said.

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Ref:
http://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/renewable/engie-seeks-to-pow
er-asia-with-gas-renewables/55094695

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com