By Narsingh Chaudhary
Asia Pacific must quickly develop more renewable energy and alternative fuels to achieve affordable, clean, resilient energy
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reports that in 2022, extreme weather events in Asia Pacific caused an estimated US$57 billion in economic damage, affected nearly 65 million people, and resulted in over 7,500 deaths.
In Asia Pacific, new infrastructure will be required to connect renewable energy sources, often located far from cities to transmission networks. The infrastructure will need incentives and new financing levels from both the public and private sectors. In the upcoming years, business models and technologies for creating new and alternative energy sources for domestic consumption and potential export will need to be scaled and tested.
Asia Pacific economies must choose the right energy mix to balance their economic and environmental goals. With different stages of economic growth and uneven distribution of renewable energy resources, the region will require customized decarbonization strategies.
Where to start:
Natural gas as a transition fuel
The use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel for powering large-scale gas-fired electricity generation is becoming increasingly popular. LNG is seen as a transitional solution between the rapid adoption of renewable energy sources, the phase-out of coal-fired power plants, and the development of new and alternative clean energy technologies.
Natural gas projects in Asia Pacific include a major Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) where Black & Veatch is the topline Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor. This facility is set to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable baseload electricity, supporting the country’s goal to increase its use of renewable energy sources. It will be the nation’s first project to use LNG to generate power.
Using renewable energy sources at natural gas projects can help to reduce carbon emissions.
Black & Veatch is working on the Ksi Lisims LNG nearshore floating production facility in Canada that is designed to have one of the lowest unit carbon emissions rates of any large-scale LNG export project in the world. The facility aims to use renewable hydro power, energy efficiency, carbon offsets and potential carbon capture and storage in efforts to achieve its net zero carbon emissions goal.
Balancing the grid
Grid-balancing technologies, including energy storage, will be required to support the region’s full-scale deployment of variable renewable energy generation.
Technologies like Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and Pumped-Hydroelectric Storage (PHS) are crucial for storing renewable energy during peak generation and distributing it during periods of high energy demand and low generating supply. Energy storage technologies will help to reduce the curtailment of excess renewable energy while balancing the transmission grid.
BESS can provide four to eight hours of power, while PHS can store energy for more than eight hours and use existing transmission lines for distribution.
The benefits of pumped-hydroelectric storage (PHS) are compelling for economies with access to hydroelectric power, such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines.
Projects undertaken in the Asia Pacific include a study conducted by Black & Veatch on the feasibility of combining solar photovoltaic, pumped storage, and battery energy storage to create 850 MW of firm power from 8 AM until 9 PM.
Grid upgrades
Enhancing the grid’s capacity, flexibility, and resilience is equally essential for integrating variable renewable energy. Efficient transmission with a smarter grid and fewer losses, as well as linking new hubs and towns to cleaner power, will reduce the region’s dependency on fuel transportation.
Regional projects that Black & Veatch has been involved in include a 9 kilometer (km) 230kV transmission project between two towns and a 230 kV substation comprising of gas-insulated switchgear, an initial 33kV/230 kV step-up transfer and two 100 megavolt-amperes (MVA) capacitor banks.
Additionally, connecting national grids into regional grids can balance the uneven distribution of renewable resources and foster energy trade, promoting localized energy security and competitiveness.
An example of this is the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS-PIP), which has been enhanced in efforts to develop the ASEAN Power Grid (APG). This enhancement raises the electricity trade capacity from the current 100 MW to a maximum of 200 MW. Introducing multidirectional power trade to include additional supply from Malaysia facilitated the capacity increase.
By supporting multilateral and multidirectional electricity trading, the upgraded LTMS-PIP is envisioned to strengthen grid resilience and promote energy integration to meet the rapid electricity growth in the region.
Taking the long view
Asia Pacific is well-positioned to develop a hydrogen-based economy, which can transform energy production and consumption.
Hydrogen can be produced from biomass, natural gas, and water, and used in fuel cells for energy generation, transportation, heating, and industrial operations.
With a hydrogen-based economy, Asia Pacific will be less dependent on non-renewable energy sources and be able to mitigate climate change more effectively. Additionally, the advancement, manufacturing, and dissemination of hydrogen-based technology will lead to new business and employment prospects.
Black & Veatch is currently building 365MW of electrolysis capacity across three global projects. When these projects are completed, the global capacity to produce green hydrogen will have more than doubled.
One of these projects is the ACES Delta project in Utah, which is being developed by Chevron USA and Mitsubishi Power Americas. Black & Veatch is the EPC contractor for the project, which will enable the production of utility and industrial-scale green hydrogen from renewable energy sources. The energy will be stored in vast underground salt dome caverns to provide an extensive reservoir of renewable fuel for power generation. Black & Veatch helped ACES Delta secure a loan from the United States Department of Energy, becoming the first clean energy project to do so in over a decade and helping it advance to its current stage of construction.
Best practices from global projects can often be adapted for regional energy transition projects.
This includes the project in Indonesia where Augustus Global Investment engaged Black & Veatch to investigate green hydrogen production for its US$ 500 million initiative in the Aceh province. The plan involves producing green hydrogen with electrolyzers powered by renewable energy from the grid. The study validated that the project is both financially and technically viable and could make a significant contribution to Indonesia’s energy transition.
Similarly, in Vietnam, The Green Solutions appointed Black & Veatch to examine the production and storage of green hydrogen using solar or wind power supplied via the grid. The study includes the development of a green ammonia production plant; plant configuration and technology review; and technology evolution risk and tentative mitigation.
Currently, producing green hydrogen cost more than the levelized cost of power from natural gas or coal. However, adopting blue hydrogen can provide a quicker and more affordable option to reduce carbon intensity in situations where electrification is not practical.
Blue hydrogen is hydrogen produced from fossil fuels with carbon capture.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that by 2030, the yearly output of low-emissions hydrogen could reach 38 million tonnes. Nearly 75 percent of this hydrogen would be produced using electrolyzers powered by renewable energy. The remaining 25 percent would be produced using fossil fuels with carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
Black & Veatch’s experience in capturing CO2 from gas streams in natural gas processing, combustion and reforming processes, other industrial sources, and ambient air is extensive. It has assessed numerous technologies to convert CO2 into useful products. The company has completed enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects and worked on some of the world’s largest carbon capture and sequestration facilities.
Black & Veatch is also a member of the Global CCS Institute, an international think tank dedicated to accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Sustainable fuels, like biofuels, provide another pathway for Asia Pacific to achieve a low-carbon energy future.
Bioprocesses, like biofuels, use microorganisms to create chemicals and proteins for industries such as agriculture, food production, and pharmaceuticals.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is a type of biofuel produced with renewable resources like plant oils and agricultural residues. Using SAF will help airlines reduce their emissions and contribute to regional decarbonization goals.
Black & Veatch has joined Bioenergy Australia’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Alliance of Australia and New Zealand (SAFAANZ) to contribute its global engineering and construction knowledge in aviation fuel, biogas, methanol to gasoline, and renewable natural gas to sustainable fuel development in Australia and New Zealand.
By using cleaner production methods for creating chemicals and proteins, hazardous emissions and energy usage can be reduced. Furthermore, using renewable energy sources during production can increase sustainability.
Increasing the sustainability of chemical production will help companies reduce indirect emissions from their supply chain. This is important for industries like healthcare and food that rely on chemicals as intermediates.
Looking ahead
Opportunities exist in Asia Pacific to integrate multiple generation, transmission and distribution technologies, and get them to work together at the right price point and time to achieve commercial and environmental success.
According to the IEA, energy demand in Southeast Asia alone has been growing at an average annual rate of about 3 percent over the past 20 years. The agency proposes that this trend will persist until 2030 if current policies remain unchanged.
To meet such demand, Asia Pacific will need to expand its renewable energy capacity. Natural gas can serve as a transitional fuel as the region transitions to cleaner energy sources.
Deploying grid balancing technologies will help to accommodate the variability of renewable energy sources, while upgrading the grid infrastructure will make it more efficient and reliable.
Upgrading power plants to co-fire lower-carbon fuels can also reduce the region’s carbon emissions.
Equally important to achieve regional lower-carbon ambitions is coordinated efforts from governments, businesses, and the community, and a commitment to prioritizing climate action and sustainability.
Given the complex decarbonizing process, partnering with industry experts with experience across the project lifecycle can mitigate project risks.
Black & Veatch assists regional clients in linking different aspects of the project, including investment decisions, government regulations, technology selection, and facility construction, to develop lower-carbon energy systems for the region.
Narsingh Chaudhary is the President of Asia Pacific and India at Black & Veatch.
