Asia Power Week 2017

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Gas-Fired Power Generation: Energy Transition in Southeast Asia? (Room Nile 2)

This paper outlines the role of gas-fired power generation in Southeast Asia and presents a summary of recent developments and trends in gas turbine technology. Southeast Asia, home to 616 million people. To meet the needs of its growing population and economy, demand for energy services has increased more than 50 per cent between 2000 and 2013. Fossil fuels dominate the mix, accounting for about 75 per cent of demand. Southeast Asia also requires investment in energy infrastructure, particularly in the power sector, as over 20% of the population still does not have access to electricity. Coal is favoured in the power sector due to its price advantage and abundance of indigenous supply. However, the Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, with Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam all ratifying the Agreement; indicating the current plans to expand coal-fired generation are inconsistent with commitments to reduce CO2 emissions. A number of commentators have concluded that coal is likely to remain an important source of energy, and attention has turned to identifying the priority actions needed to reduce the CO2 emissions that coal produces. Whilst deployment of high efficiency low emissions (“HELE”) technologies can play an important role in reducing emissions intensity, there is nevertheless a clear limit to the long term emissions reduction opportunities that can be realized in a power mix heavily reliant on coal. This paper highlights the issues surrounding long term structural changes in energy systems and the benefits available from gas-fired power generation. Case studies are presented describing the various aspects of combined cycle selection based on current market offerings and articulating the benefits offered by the adoption of this technology. The key risks and issues relating to the selection of plant configuration are highlighted. Finally, established software is used to predict plant performance and support economic analysis.