Wind Energy Can Power Hong Kong


Friends of the Earth (HK) Releases Position Paper on Wind Energy Development and Petitions Chief Executive to Commit to a Renewable Energy Policy)

Hong Kong, 13 December 2002 - Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong) today released the group's latest research on renewable energy entitled 'Wind Energy Can Power Hong Kong: Cross-Border Cooperation on Wind Energy Development with Guangdong' during a media trip to the Shanwei wind farm on the southeast coast of Guangdong. The Group proposes that

1) the Government should set a target to introduce a certain amount of renewable energy into Hong Kong's energy mix in the near term and

2) a regional network of wind farms in Guangdong with Hong Kong's involvement should be established.


As part of the group's campaign for renewable energy, FoE (HK) will also hand in a petition to the Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa urging him to commit to a renewable energy policy in his upcoming policy address. The petition has collected over 500 signatures from concerned members of the public and received endorsement from major green groups (including the Conservancy Association, Green Power and Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden), the Democratic Party, Citizens Party, the Department of Community & Family Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and other organisations.

'Renewable energy has increasingly become an important component in the strategic control of air pollution worldwide. The worsening air quality in the Pearl Delta River region calls for immediate action on both sides of the border. We have no time to waste,' said Mrs. Mei Ng, Director of Friends of the Earth (HK).

'Renewable energy should be a mainstream power component in Hong Kong, and wind energy is the most economical one for large-scale and regional application, especially if a network of regional wind farms, for example in Guangdong, is established. Perceived technical and institutional difficulties can be overcome if there is a political and social will on the part of the Government and the power companies,' added Mrs. Ng.


Highlights of FoE's Research:


1.Why Renewable Energy?
Hong Kong emitted about 34,653,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 1999 and ranked 73rd in the world in per capita CO2 emissions resulting in a yearly cost of about HK$24 billion for damage from climate change (Section 2).

57% of the installed capacity of local power generation is run on coal, which is the dirtiest when compared with other fuels(para 2.2.1).

The two local power companies are also the biggest emitters of both sulphur dioxide (47,750 tonnes, 80% of total emission) and nitrogen oxides (41,744 tonnes, 42% of total emission)(para 2.3.1).

Fossil fuels incur serious external costs whereas the effects of renewable energy on improving air quality are obvious. If 5% of local energy mix is generated by renewable energy, there will be a 14% reduction in sulphur dioxide emission, 13% reduction in both nitrogen oxides and particulates emissions, and 5% reduction in carbon dioxide emission(para 2.3.5 & Table 3).

Wind energy is already financially and technically viable.
Renewable energy brings wide social benefits including creating job. It is estimated that Hong Kong will gain about 29,000 jobs from renewable and energy efficiency projects (para2.5.2.2).

2.How can wind energy power Hong Kong? (Section 3)
The most promising applications of wind energy in Hong Kong are:

Importing wind energy from Guangdong.

Integrating wind energy from Guangdong into Hong Kong's power grid, thus enabling wind energy to become a mainstream power component.

Outlying Islands.

Installing wind turbines on outlying islands that possess rich wind resources, especially those that are not connected to the power grid.

Coastline and offshore sites,

where Hong Kong's best wind resources can provide the lowest cost wind power.

Different kinds of renewable energy such as wind and solar are supplementary in nature because they possess different characteristics in terms of physical constraints, the peak time of power generation, etc.

Wind is the most economical one for large-scale and regional application, especially if a network of regional wind farm, for example in Guangdong is established.


3.Why should Hong Kong SAR government support renewable energy?

Hong Kong is totally reliant on non-renewable energy sources but it is evident that the fossil fuel sources degrade the quality of life with their wide range of pollutants. However the local power plants are not required to pay for the full cost of their pollution.(para 2.3.2)

Wind farms have high initial investment because of the high capital costs, but they require low operational costs as they need no fuel. Government support therefore is crucial to provide incentive for investment.

Many countries/economies around the world such as China, Republic of Korea and Denmark have already committed to setting a renewable target(para 4.2.1.5)

The interim review of the existing Scheme of Control Agreements next year is an opportune time for the Government to implement a more socially responsible energy policy for Hong Kong.

4. Action Plan for Hong Kong

w Cooperate with Guangdong on policies for wind energy development. A regional network of wind farms in Guangdong with Hong Kong's involvement should be established. As more wind farms are connected over a larger area, the wind pattern affecting each is different and the total variation of power output is reduced. Hong Kong is more than a green purchaser by importing renewable wind energy into its power grid. It can also serve as a catalyst for the regional wind development and help attract international investors to Guangdong wind energy projects.

Establish long-term and increasing demand for renewable energy. If the minimum amount is set at 5% of the existing power volume, about 2 TWh electricity will be requiredfrom renewable energy. To generate the 2 TWh electricity, about 300 wind turbines with 900 MW generating capacity in total will be needed,assuming the 3 MW model¡Xthe highest-capacity model that is available in the commercial market¡Xwill be installed. In addition, flexible trading of green credits should be established for companies to meet their targets.

Replace the existing Scheme of Control Agreements with a more socially-responsible policy. The SCA's should be modified/ replaced so as to ensure that the post-2008 agreements will(a)Contain the necessary provisions to guarantee the power companies' investment of renewable energy and(b) Secure full costing of fossil fuels,including environmental costs, in order to allow a sensible economic decision-making on energy choices.

Establish an Independent Transmission Operator for non-discriminatory grid access of renewable energy projects.

Provide clear planning guidelines for wind energy in Hong Kong (e.g., demarcate Wind Development Zones with standardized environmental impact assessment process).

Set up a coordinated task force within the government for renewable energy development.

About Guangdong Wind Development
At present, Guangdong's three wind farms in Nan'ao, Huilai and Shanwei have about 85 megawatts of operating capacity and are feeding into the power grid at an average of RMB0.61/kWh. This price is comparable to that of the nuclear-generated electricity that CLP Hong Kong Ltd. has been importing from the Daya Bay Nuclear Plant. With many large wind farms in the pipeline and increased technology localisation, the cost per unit of capacity is destined to fall. Guangdong is rich in wind resources and local and provincial authorities are putting in place various support policies, including the Mandatory Market Share Concept, the Concession Model and the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariffs, to streamline green energy development.

About Mr. Yu Hong Ying
Mr. Yu has been involved in wind energy development on the Mainland since the 1980s. He has all-rounded experience in the technological, economic and political development of wind energy in Guangdong. Mr. Yu also has managerial experience from two Guangdong wind farms¡XHui Lai Wind Farm (13.2 MW) and the Shanwei Wind Farm (16.5 MW).

In 1995, Mr. Yu joined the Yue Neng Energy Co. Ltd., which is owned by the Guangdong Provincial Development and Planning Commission, and was responsible for coordinating the wind resources monitoring projects in Guangdong Province. He has also served as an expert member for the State Development and Planning Commission since 1996.

Since 1999, Mr. Yu has held the post of General Engineer of the Guang Dong Ji Hua Wind Energy Co. Ltd. and the person-in-charge for the Shanwei Wind Farm (16.5 MW). He led his team from planning, securing international investment to the construction and management of the farm.

About Friends of the Earth (HK)
Established in 1983, Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong) is a registered charity with a team of dedicated staff devoted to protect and improve the environment both locally and regionally through education, research and campaigns. Renewable energy has been the focus of our work in recent years. As part of our study, we set up two wind monitoring stations on Po Tai Island and Lamma Island in Hong Kong last year to collect one year of wind resources data. FoE (HK) will present the findings of the wind study at the end of this year.