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Key industry updates in Asia

In recent months several countries in Asia have announced regulatory changes to support their transition to renewable energy. 

 

In recent months several countries in Asia have announced regulatory changes to support their transition to renewable energy. 

Singapore

Singapore has announced a commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to reduce emissions to about 60 million tonnes in 2030, which it submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP 27.  

The National Hydrogen Strategy was also released in October which outlines their intention for hydrogen to supply up to half of Singapore’s power needs by 2050. The Strategy explains how Singapore can accelerate its focus on hydrogen to help meet its climate goals, including:

  • Experimenting with hydrogen technologies to help assess the commercial viability of projects;
  • Research and development of technologies to accelerate the importation, handling and utilisation of low-carbon hydrogen at scale;
  • Facilitating the formation of supply chains to support global trade;
  • Developing infrastructure and land plans to support the importation, storage and transformation of hydrogen into power; and 
  • Supporting training for skills that enable the hydrogen ecosystem. 

The plan also offers opportunities for greater collaboration between the private sector and government and grants for some projects and initiatives.   

Vietnam

The Ministry of Industry and Trade in Vietnam has clarified how the electricity generation price brackets will be calculated for transitional wind and solar projects. This should provide more certainty for businesses and help attract financing for these projects. While this is good news there is still some uncertainty over several issues, like how the electricity generation price will be implemented and how the price will be adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations.    

In addition, the government has issued a Notice about its development plan for solar power. This includes instructions to relevant ministries to study and assess the impact of rooftop solar power for the purpose of self-consumption rather than selling it to the national grid. This is intended to bring the number of solar power projects under control as they have been overloading the grid. 

India

In India, the Ministry of Power announced its Green Hydrogen Policy this year. This includes:

  • The waiver of interstate transmission charges for 25 years;
  • Permitting banking for 30 days for renewable energy used for making green hydrogen or green ammonia. The charges for banking will be fixed by the State Commission but will be no more than the difference between the average tariff of renewable energy bought by the distribution licensee in the previous year and the average market clearing price in the Day Ahead Market in the month the renewable energy is banked; 
  • Priority being given to connectivity; and
  • The allotment of land in Renewable Energy Parks for the manufacture of green hydrogen and green ammonia. 
  • The government has also proposed to set up Manufacturing Zones for green hydrogen and green ammonia.

The Central Energy Regulatory Commission issued new general network access rules this year. These allow developers and consumers to interconnect with the grid to inject or withdraw power without a specific transmission route. Developers will also no longer need to specify who the target beneficiaries are when connecting. The Ministry of Power has also extended a waiver on the payment of interstate transmission system charges for the transmission of electricity generated from projects that use solar and wind resources. The waiver is also extended to hydro-pumped storage plants and battery energy storage system projects commissioned until 30 June 2025. 

Some states in India have also introduced incentives to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles.  While the government has also set targets for the installation of rooftop solar capacity to strengthen the grid and improve energy security. This is coupled with programs that provide financial assistance to set up rooftop solar plants and incentives to install additional grid-connected rooftop capacity. 

China

On 16 October 2022, President Xi Jinping confirmed China’s commitment to a green economy. He highlighted the need to improve fiscal, taxation, financial, investment and pricing policies to support a green economy. In addition, he confirmed the need to continue to support market-based allocation of resources to low-carbon industries and accelerate research and development to carbon emission reduction technologies, encourage green consumption and promote a low-carbon production. In addition, he confirmed that mechanisms are needed to realise the market value of green goods and services and improve compensation for ecological conservation. 

We will no doubt see continued development in the area of renewable energy and environmental conservation across Asia as the global transition towards green energy continues. 

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