Gas infrastructure, renewable energy integration vital to accelerating Asia’s energy transition
BANGKOK: As Asia races to expand its variable renewable energy generation, more integration of generation, transmission and distribution technologies will be required to balance electric grids, enhance energy security and reach decarbonisation goals.
“Rising demands from intensive power users like data centers and the electrification of transportation are increasing the load burden and profiles on Asia’s grid.
“The electric industry can accelerate Asia’s energy transition by deploying existing and emerging decarbonization, hydrogen, renewable and energy storage solutions,” said Narsingh Chaudhary, executive vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific for Black & Veatch.
According to the Black & Veatch 2022 Asia Electric Report, senior industry executives viewed the integration of renewable energy into grid systems as the biggest challenge facing Asia’s electric industry.
One in four industry respondents revealed they were not confident in the performance and resilience of their transmission and distribution systems.
Additionally, top threats to providing reliable service to customers were cited as underinvestment in transmission and insufficient energy storage.
Approximately half of survey respondents said they believed that over the next five years there would be “more investment” in gas or LNG-to-power facilities combined with carbon capture, while, separately, 46 percent of respondents believed gasfired generation would remain an important part of the grid beyond 2035.
Chaudhary will propose viable pathways for renewable energy integration at the Enlit Asia 2022 event in September, during the industry leaders’ panel session, “‘Let’s be Realistic’: How Can Asean Achieve its 2050 Net Zero Emission Targets?”.
He also will discuss how to achieve cost efficiencies through the entire natural gas value chain. Other Black & Veatch energy experts plan to present on hydrogen, energy storage and transmission systems.