Brunei eyes Feed-in Tariff system for renewable energy

It is most encouraging to note that oil-rich Brunei is also looking at Renewable Energy. The country is expecting to implement the system in the next 18 months to two years.

Earlier this week, Borneo Bulletin reported that Brunei is looking at the possibility of implementing a Feed-in Tariff system for renewable energy, and in particular solar photovoltaic.



How FiT system works: You sell back electricity to the energy producer. Image: bendygo



Feasibility study currently on-going

The possibility of a feed-in tariff system was suggested by the Minister of Energy at the Prime Minister’s Office, while delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of a Workshop on Policies, Feed-in Tariff Frameworks and Best Practices for Grid Connected Solar PV Projects at the Rizqun International Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan.

The system, which would spur home ownership of solar PV technology,  is essentially an economic policy that allows users of renewable energy sources to sell energy back to their energy provider – a system that rewards the use of renewable energy.

While underlining that this is still a work in progress, the minister noted that FiT implementation would give homeowners a personal stake in the development of renewable energy in the country.

The results of the workshop will contribute towards the process, as delegates will discuss the finalisation of the feed-in tariff, the policy and how to make it as friendly and easy as possible to implement.


10% of energy needs from Renewable Energy

The Energy Department at the Prime Minister’s Office (EDPMO), has targeted for 10 per cent of their energy needs to come from renewable energy by 2035.

A Smart Grid, which is a modernised electrical grid used to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics and sustainability of electricity production and distribution, would be a major infrastructure investment.

It was highlighted that a feed-in tariff system would contribute enormously towards the country’s climate change agenda. People will use less electricity as opposed to the normal way of burning gas, and that there will be more usage of renewable energy.

“If the feed-in tariff has benefits for the country and its people, we will do it.”
- Dr Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin bin Haji Umar, Minister of Energy at the PM Office

TheGreenMechanics: Great start by Brunei Darussalam. Looking forward to it giving benefit the people and the nation, and the globe as a whole.


Source: Borneo Post

Calculating power factor from electricity meter reading

Power factor, PF,  in the electrical installation can tell us about how efficient the plant, factory, building, or installation load is operating at.

Low power factor cost money and  in most cases is against the law. In Malaysia, TNB/SESB set a minimum power factor of 0.85 that every consumer must achieve and if yours falls below this value, you will be charged with power factor penalty in a staggered manner.

Calculating power factor without taking your toolbox with you

kVA² = kW² = kVAR²


From this equation, we derive the power factor:




In the case of SESB, a subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad, the power factor penalty is calculated as follows:-

If the Average Power Factor of any consumer in any month is found to be:

(a) Below 0.85  and up to 0.75 lagging, a supplementary charge of 1.5% of the bill for that month for each one-hundredth part (0.01) below 0.85 will be added to the bill for that month; and

(b) Below 0.75 lagging, in addition to the charge above, a supplementary charge of 3% of the bill for that month for each one-hundredth part (0.01) below 0.75 will be added to the bill for that month.


Example:



Say, a premise is categorised under Commercial Tariff Class 1, CM1, and billing meters show the followings during January 2013 monthly meter reading:

kWh meter     : 2,660
kVARh meter  : 2,190

The average power factor for that month, according to the formula is

PF  = kWh / [SQRT(kWh² + kVARh²)]
       = 2,660 / [SQRT(2,660² + 2,190²)]
       = 0.77

which is below 0.85 but above 0.75, and hence a PF penalty of 1.5% supplementary charge for every 0.01 part applies.

Supplementary charge	=	100*(0.85 - 0.77)  x  1.5% x  Monthly bill
	=	8 x 1.5% x RM890.10
	=	RM106.81

Calculate monthly bill
First 200 kWh	=	200 x 33.0 cents     = RM66.00
Next 2,460 kW	=	2,460 x 33.5 cents  = RM824.10
Hence, monthly bill	=	RM890.10
Total bill	=	RM996.91

The PF penalty is about 12% of the monthly bill and for a larger installation/premise, this could be a lot of money. Plus, if you continue to register PF of below 0.75, the utility company has a provision to stop supplying power to your premise until you rectify the situation.


Reason for posting this? I'm putting this formula up here for ease of future reference. I can refer to it from my mobile device, too. Also, this maybe useful for the accountants and administrators who receive the bills and in need of quick answer on how/why they were penalised.

Prime Minister’s office on track to be certified green

A RM110 million transformation of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), into a certified green building is on track to be completed by mid-2014.

This is a private finance initiative (PFI), by KFM Holdings and its energy management solutions partner Schneider Electric, aiming at achieving up to 40% energy saving.

I have attended numerous roadshows by Schneider Electric and they are actually very aggressive in promoting energy management solutions for commercial buildings and other industrial applications.


Front view of the Prime Minister's Office (Perdana Putra). Image source, with public permission.


The good thing about such initiative is that the government has no obligation to pay the private party until the private party proves and delivers its products or services. So until the initiative is proven to have achieved GBI platinum rating certificate, there will no payment from the government. I like that!

The RM110 million will be utilised in six key areas, namely:

• energy efficiency,
• indoor environmental quality,
• sustainable site planning and management,
• material and resources,
• water efficiency,
• innovation,

which are components in the GBI framework. According to the companies involved in this project, the bulk of the fund will be spent on energy efficiency.

The retrofitting project is estimated to save RM2 million in energy usage per year as compared to the current RM6 million annual bill of the PMO and is the largest retrofitting project for government buildings in Asia so far.

Further reading: Schneider Electric, KFM Holdings To Transform PMO Into Certified Green Building


TheGreenMechanics: It is actually a very interesting venture when you set No-saving-no-payment condition in the initiative. We have been approached previously by a West Malaysia-based company specialising in energy saving and the presentation actually looks attractive.

But many bosses are still unwilling to invest in saving.