SIEW 2014: Energy choices demand a balancing act
The second session of the Singapore Energy Summit tackles the issue of identifying an ideal fuel mix that strikes the optimal balance of economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability. Read on to find out more about the discussion between the panellists...
The panel of speakers at SES Session 2 (L-R): Arthur Hanna, Lord Ronald Oxburgh, Dr Fatima Al-Foora Al Shamsi, Dr Gal Luft, Peter Clarke, Masakazu Toyoda
Dr Fatima Al-Foora Al Shamsi from the UAE Ministry of Energy shares more on the country’s energy decisions
By Chua Shen Hwee
Significant steps have been taken to diversify the fuel mix for electricity generation but there has been scant progress in weaning the transport sector off fossil fuels, Gal Luft of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security said on Monday at Singapore International Energy Week 2014.
Luft, chairing a panel discussion on the balancing of energy choices, said renewables are increasingly contributing to the fuel mix in various countries and that new technologies for electricity generation are being pursued, including carbon capture storage and utilisation. But the transport sector, he said, is generally stuck where it was decades ago.
“It is important for vehicles to be technology agnostic to enhance fuel switching in the transport sector,” Luft told energy industry executives and government officials on the first day of the 7th annual event.
The five other experts on the panel agreed that the decisions one country makes about its fuel mix have great strategic importance to other nations in the region and globally. It is not a straightforward process to balance economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability to achieve an optimal fuel mix, they said.
“A market-based policy to enable industry to plan and invest over the long term to direct the use of resources efficiently” is the key to meeting increasing energy demand competitively, said Peter Clarke, vice president at ExxonMobil Gas and Power Marketing.
Masakazu Toyoda, chairman and chief executive officer of Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics, emphasised the importance of technology to promote cleaner use of fossil fuels, including carbon capture.
Ronald Oxburgh, a member of Britain’s House of Lords and a former chairman of Shell Transport and Trading, said the “trade-offs in the fuel mix are a complex function of technology, availability of generation sources and economic competitiveness”.
Unconventional measures such as extracting energy from organic waste may be a potential source to harness and underground gasification of coal may allow the continued use of coal in a clean way, Oxburgh said.
Authur Hanna, senior managing director of Accenture’s Energy Industry Group, said energy efficiency and management are important areas to look at to meet increasing demand.
Fatima Al-Foora Alshamsi, assistant undersecretary for electricity, clean energy and water desalination at the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Energy, said a balance must be struck to continue fossil fuel exports and meet domestic energy demand in an efficient and clean manner.
With that in mind, she said, the United Arab Emirates had decided to opt for nuclear energy while continuing to export fossil fuels.
About Singapore International Energy Week (www.siew.gov.sg)
The 7th annual SIEW 2014 is the foremost platform for top policymakers, energy practitioners and commentators to discuss energy issues, strategies and solutions. SIEW brings together a robust line-up of world's leading conferences, exhibitions, roundtables and networking events to provide insights and perspectives on the emerging trends and innovations across the energy spectrum of oil & gas, clean and renewable energy, and energy infrastructure financing – in one week, one location. Please visit www.siew.gov.sg for further information.