Home Bulletin detail

Closure of ASEAN’s Newer Coal Plants by 2040 Doable

2024-10-14 10:46

Wedoany.com Report-Oct 14, Adding new coal plants and retrofitting existing ones are a larger risk to the transition.

Younger coal plants in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region could be profitably retired by 2040 — the deadline under a United Nations global roadmap to reach climate targets — under the right policy conditions.

In 16 years, the average age of existing coal plants in the region will have been 28 years, beyond the average lifetime of many power purchase agreements, (PPA) and not far from the global average retirement age of 36, according to Global Energy Monitor.

“The larger risks to a coal-to-clean transition in the ASEAN region are adding new coal plants and extending the lifetime of existing plants through costly retrofits,” it said in a report released in August.

Asian Power sought insights from industry experts on how plant operators can meet the criteria for a profitable transition to renewable energy.

A plant owner may argue there are losses from the early termination of a PPA that was designed for 25-30 years, but a payment could be made tied to the remaining value of the plant that satisfies the owner. This could actually work in the owner's favour as the energy system becomes more clean and the demand for power from old coal plants decreases.

If you sell the plant now, you are guaranteed a return versus the uncertainty of the future, particularly after the PPA contract ends. Even better if that sale is used to fund more renewables and the income from that.

We see this in the US in some cases, where a few coal plants have closed already because they cannot compete with cheaper renewable power, or their output is reduced and they are marginally profitable with an uncertain future. There are also mechanisms to offset lost potential profits through market mechanisms such as carbon credit sales.

Before 20 years, a coal plant could lose a lot by shutting down — they would be on the hook for outstanding debt and they would lose the future value of all annual profits for the duration of the PPA contract. So they wouldn’t be able to repay the debt to the bank or the equity to the owner/investor, unless an alternative financing arrangement is made.

Right now, just 16% of the region's coal plants would be under 20 by 2040, but any new coal plants risk increasing this percentage and the potential for stranded assets.

We're getting there, but there's still work to be done. In Malaysia, for example, the Prime Minister announced in 2021 they will not build any new coal plants in 2024. Just a few months ago, they said they're going to halve their coal fleet by 2035 and phase out coal power by 2044.

What we've seen with countries like the UK is when a country commits to phasing out coal, and they're clear about it, then the policy landscape is clear, and a lot of times, those coal retirements that are planned actually accelerate, and so things might speed up. So just by saying 2044 makes 2040 possible.

In the Philippines, there's a very big grassroots movement against coal that is kind of pushing the country towards phasing out coal. And the central government has limited new coal plant permits in the country, although there have been some exceptions.

And then you look at Indonesia and Vietnam, which both have these economic transition partnerships. So the intention is there; the problem is they're still proposing new coal plants in both countries, and the proposals are just not in line with the emission goals in the JETP (Just Energy Transition Partnership).

So we would argue that in order to bring the ambition in line with the JETP, those proposals should be cancelled.

This newsletter is compiled and reprinted from the global Internet and strategic partner information, and it is only for readers' communication. If there are any infringements or other issues, please inform us timely, this site will be modified or deleted. Email: news@wedoany.com
Negotiable
Processing customized supercapacitor battery 4V 4.2V starting power module 2400F 2600F new energy battery vehicle electric two wheeled three wheeled four wheeled vehicle, etc
Negotiable
4.2V supercapacitor battery 2000F electric vehicle can be used about 20000 times. Application scenarios can be selected and customized
Negotiable
Original factory direct sales energy storage group 3.6V2000F graphene supercapacitor 2.7V 3000F Farad supercapacitor 18650 guide needle
Negotiable
186500S flat top rechargeable battery 4000mAh graphene supercapacitor battery 3.6V charging power supply
Negotiable
48V51.2V200ah10kw 15 degree household solar photovoltaic supercapacitor battery energy storage wall mounted supercapacitor battery
Negotiable
Graphene supercapacitor battery 4.4V emergency start 4000F energy storage cell soft pack super start power supply
Negotiable
18650 Capacitor Battery 2500mAh 2.7V 3.7V 4.2V 3000mAh Outdoor Charging Refrigerator Safety Protection and Other Applications Wide Power Nuclear New Energy Supercapacitors Supercapacitors Supercapacitors 18650
Negotiable
GHenergy Graphene 3.0V Supercapacitors 3000F Bolt Cylindrical Start up Energy Storage Power Supply Photovoltaic Energy Storage Used Over 100000 Times
Negotiable
GHenergy drone super battery 4.2V4000F, extended range, fully charged energy storage power supply, agricultural drone inspection drone aerial photography drone 18650 supercapacitor
Negotiable
Graphene supercapacitor 3.6V, small size 2000F, large capacity, low temperature resistance, non motor vehicle charging, new energy emergency charging customization, etc
Negotiable
3.0V graphene supercapacitor 500F supercapacitor power battery, super safe, ultra long battery life
1425 1425USD/PCS/sample
Safe, efficient, intelligent energy storage, creating smart homes and making life more convenient# Home Energy Storage # Supercapacitors # Energy Storage # Wall Mounted # Safe Electricity Use
70 70USD/PCS sample
2.7V 100000F (60wh) 60138 high-power energy storage power starting power supply (instantaneous high current), low-temperature discharge, long service life, 100000 times of use
Negotiable
Intelligent mowing robot