Renewable Energy Alternative Fuels: renewable energy resources

The bill on the Renewable Energy Act is expected to be tabled in Parliament before year-end, with the Act coming into force by June next year.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry's Undersecretary of the Sustainable Energy Division, Badriyah Abdul Malek, said the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism is therefore expected to be implemented at the same time.

FiT is a mechanism that allows electricity produced from indigenous renewable energy resources to be sold to power utilities at a fixed premium price and for specific duration.

"The bill is now completed and submitted to the Attorney-General. So we expect the bill to be tabled for first reading between the October and December session," she told reporters after the Investment Opportunities in Renewable Energy Seminar and Dialogue with Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok in Kota Kinabalu today.

"At the same time, we will also table the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Bill, which is to institute the establishment of SEDA Malaysia, the authority to spearhead renewable energy development in Malaysia," Badriyah said.

"We expect the second and third reading in March, and the Act enforced probably in May or June next year, so the FiT will also come on board in May or June 2011," she said.

In response to a question, Badriyah said that for Sabah, it had been estimated that more than 100 megawatts of electricity could be obtained from variable sources such as biomass, biogas and also solar energy.

Concerning the dialogue, Dompok said majority of the 70 participants present from the palm oil industry were waiting for implementation of the Act to see the tariff revised, as the present tariff of 21 sen per unit was considered low.

"That's the general view. The government, of course, will be prepared to look at the increase. But in this area, I am not going to say much more than that because the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry will make the necessary announcement," he said.

Dompok said the outcome of today's dialogue also recognised that the oil palm industry could not replace the electricity production from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd but it was important to look into renewable energy opportunities to meet the challenges of electricity supply in the state. -- Bernama

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China Clean Energy Inc

There is much more potential for cooperation than conflict between China and the United States on clean energy.

Yao Jian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce of China, made those remarks on Tuesday in Beijing as a response to the U.S. trade investigation on China's clean energy policy.

"The U.S. has also made its policy on supporting its new energy industry to improve its competitiveness after the global financial crisis," said Yao.

He highlighted that China's clean energy policy is based on the country's strategy of shifting to a more eco-friendly economic growth model, which means a foundation for international cooperation, rather than confrontation.

He criticized those U.S. companies for ignoring their responsibility to protect the environment prompting the investigation for the purpose competition.

He also stressed that China's clean energy policy is in line with the WTO rules and international standards and the government would support Chinese enterprises and guilds to deal with those cases.

Before Yao's comments, Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Bureau of China, has also refused the U.S. criticism against China’s clean energy policy, pointing out that the United States has many more subsidies for its own clean energy industry.

The U.S. Trade Representative Office announced on Oct. 15 (local time) that upon the application from the United Steelworkers, it has initiated investigations under the 1301-1310 sections of the "1988 Omnibus Trade and Competition Law" into whether China's policies on clean energy constitute unfair subsidies for Chinese enterprises and at the same time discriminations against their foreign competitors.

An expo for green technology will be held in Beijing at the end of the month, the first of its kind in China. About 60 percent of the 212 enterprises to attend the expo are from foreign countries. As leaders of the sectors they are from, they will take this opportunity to show their products and technologies for energy efficiency, clean energy, environmental treatment and low carbon economy.

Yao hopes that the expo would be a platform where cooperation possibilities on clean energy technology can be exploited by Chinese and American enterprises.

By Li Jia, People's Daily Online

China Future Energy