OTHER NEWS

NEWS IN BRIEF
Wind & wave Wind Prospect has joined forces with Ocean Power Delivery Ltd (OPD) to pioneer the implementation of wave farms in the southwest of England. With Wind Prospects offshore and onshore wind energy experience and OPDs leading position in the design and manufacture of wave energy converters, the team is set to bring its first wave farm on stream in the southwest. OPD will provide the wave energy converters and technical support, while Wind Prospect will contribute their skills in renewable energy site identification, permitting, Environmental Impact Assessment, construction and operations. For more information go to the companies websites at: www.windprospect.com or www.oceanpd.com

EU funds ASEAN cogeneration projects

Cooperation between Europe and Asia in renewable energy took a step forward with the confirmation, mid-May, of European Union (EU) investment in 24 cogeneration projects in some of the countries belonging to the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) community. The grants for the advanced technology FullScale Demonstration Project (FSDP) selection are being made under the joint ASEAN-EU Cogen3 programme, which began in January 2002. Specialist European firms are supplying cogeneration systems and equipment. Malaysia scored the highest with the selection of eight projects, while six were selected in Indonesia, five in Thailand, two in Singapore. Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia received EU approval for one project each (see table). All must be in operation by 31 December 2004. Dr Ludovic Lacrosse, Cogen3s chief coordinator, is confident that several will be commissioned before the end of this year. The EC is funding the scheme to the tune of Euro 25 (US$30) million. The EC is awarding Euro 6.8 million, while their total available budget amounts to over Euro10 million. Combined installed capacity power as well as steam - is 174MW, with an average of 7.5MW per project. Those with over 5MW installed capacity will be grid-connected. As Cogen3 enters its final phase the question is what will happen next? Dr Lacrosse feels that further ASEAN-EU Cogen4 collaboration should be in an advisory rather than direct funding role. He refers to Malaysias success with palm oil waste, but cautions that buy-back rate given to SSP projects by the national electricity utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) is too low. Dr Lacrosses team has, in effect, already developed strong resources with which to play a new role primarily as a facilitator and matchmaker. Central to this is Cogen3s specially developed techno-financial analysis (TFA) model. Cogen3s TFA software helps to make recommendations on the most appropriate technology solutions and assesses the financial viability of a proposed cogeneration project. The evaluation is based on the energy requirements and fuel availability of a given industry. More than 30 ASEAN companies have benefited already from this free service. ASEAN, like the EU, is heavily dependent on imported fuels, for both power and transport. Now Europe is helping Asia to see the light. Environmentallyfriendly Cogen3 technology is stirring the ASEAN imagination. Conservation for developing countries must use leading-edge technology from the more mature economies. But Cogen4, if it comes off, could help promote technological collaboration between the two regions. [LANNA BLUE BANGKOK]

Sustainable formula sought for rural energy development in Asia

A three-day meeting in Bangkok has affirmed official belief in sustainable energy access as the essential Missing Link in the global quest for poverty reduction among disadvantaged rural people. The Expert Group Meeting on Integration of Energy and Rural Development Policies and Programmes, 25-27 June 2003, was coordinated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). A crucial problem is that energy is rarely considered in rural planning and agricultural development. Senior specialists from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, all countries seeking urgent solutions to considerable rural poverty problems, exchanged views. Ms Keiko Okaido, who currently heads the UNESCAP secretariat in Bangkok, pointed out, The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) recognized benefits that energy services could bring about, and identified key areas for action to promote energy for sustainable development. Robert English, UNDP Resident Representative in Thailand, identified sustainable energy development as the Missing Link in rural poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. Bangladesh, participants learned, has immense potential for biogas energy technology, wind energy in coastal areas and solar energy. Landlocked Nepal, in contrast, has sustainable fuel-wood resources of about 15 million metric tons, although only half the countrys forests are accessible. Hydropower potential is huge in the mountainous terrain. Sri Lanka already boasts some 100 micro-hydropower installations supplying electricity to around 3,000 families. [Lanna B B]

14

July/August 2003

REFOCUS

www.re-focus.net