Draft #3 Summary Reader Response: "How can Southeast Asia's clean energy transition be sped up?"



In the article, “How can Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition be sped up?”, Daubach (2019) mentioned that energy experts from Temasek’s Ecosperity conference explained the challenges faced by Southeast Asia as the region changes its dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources at a slow pace. Also, the experts stated ways to quicken the pace and the importance of that. The build-up of carbon emissions, risk millions of lives by increasing sea levels and triggering water shortages. The article noted that the region’s economies are at dissimilar stages of growth. The transition can be quickened by better collaboration, reducing costs, implementing efficiency measures and deploying alternative technologies such as district cooling systems. In the areas of electricity generation, storage, and transfer, the article stated how Singapore can generate from nuclear fusion or zero-emissions fuel since it cannot house large scale solar and wind power infrastructures. Such technologies, unfortunately, are not obtainable at an inexpensive price.

While the article mentioned how Southeast Asian countries can speed up the process, it did not give examples of how technology companies from outside the region can contribute. Such companies include Sun Cable which is backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes, Bill Gates’s TerraPower and Aker Solutions.
Technology company Sun Cable plans to build the world’s largest solar farm in Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, Australia which can supply solar power through cables to Asia. Recently, Greber (2019) explained that Mike Cannon-Brookes will invest in a daring $25 billion project to “create the world's biggest solar farm, its biggest power storage system, and a 3000-kilometer cable to export energy to Asia”. According to the article, the tech entrepreneur had talks on ways to supply 25 percent of Singapore's energy needs within a decade, with the Singapore government. The billionaire claimed that the sun shines on Australia the most, outside the Sahara and is very near to countries that lack space or resources for renewable power generation. He further added that the country has been debated to have the best resources for wind quantity and quality. This explains how Australia, a country outside Southeast Asia can contribute, by exporting energy to its surrounding countries.

Billionaire Bill Gates’s start-up based in the United States of America, TerraPower has been developing something called a “travelling-wave reactor”, which uses depleted uranium, lowering costs and improving safety. Bill Gates in an article explained that advanced nuclear is one of many climate change solutions (Greene, 2019).  According to Greene (2019), a spokeswoman said that The Energy Department sees opportunities to export the technology worldwide to nations that pursue such technologies for nonviolent purposes. TerraPower was counting on a China pilot to validate the technology until the recent trade policy change by the Trump administration (Guggenheim, 2019). Once this new advanced nuclear technology has been validated and distributed across the globe, Southeast Asia’s transition could be faster.

Aker Solutions is a company in Norway that can help Southeast Asia too. The company mentioned that they are the sole company that offer technology and products throughout the entire Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) value chain. The company captures pure carbon dioxide from industrial flue gases which can then be used and sent via ship or pipelines for long term storage (Aker Solutions, 2019). The website also stated that the technology is “cost-efficient, robust and flexible, and can be applied on existing plants or new-built”. Guo (2019) mentioned that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that carbon capture and storage technology can supply a fifth of the total carbon cuts needed to keep emissions within tolerable boundaries over the next 3 decades if properly harnessed. Hence, this technology from Aker Solutions should be included as it helps slow the rate of carbon emissions escaping to the atmosphere.  

To conclude, the world needs to collaborate to reduce the amount of carbon emissions faster before unwanted natural events occur. Everyone has a part to play to keep the planet liveable for the next generations.


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References

Aker Solutions. (2019). Carbon capture, utilization and storage. Retrieved from https://www.akersolutions.com/what-we-do/products-and-services/carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage/.

Daubach, T. (2019, July 19). How can Southeast Asia's clean energy transition be sped up? Eco-Business. Retrieved from https://www.eco-business.com/news/how-can-southeast-asias-clean-energy-transition-be-sped-up/.

Greber, J. (2019, September 24). Cannon-Brookes' plan to power Singapore. Australian Financial Review. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/cannon-brookes-plan-to-export-aussie-solar-power-to-singapore-20190924-p52u9o?fbclid=IwAR2yhp-hzzKd0I51EeHNwIksjYrxdIqsBzi7NYrLaFlZTAG88xR5cXuhcB8.

Greene, J. (2019, January 1). Trump's tech battle with China roils Bill Gates nuclear venture. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-tech-battle-with-china-roils-bill-gates-nuclear-venture-11546360589.

Guggenheim, D. (Producer). (2019). Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates [Streaming video]. Retrieved from http://www.netflix.com.

Guo, G. (2018, December 4). Southeast Asia's clean energy challenge. The Diplomat. Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2018/12/southeast-asias-clean-energy-challenge/.

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