Flexibility is crucial for a sustainable energy transition

There has been a constant refrain in my conversations with customers and partners from around the APAC region: keeping electricity supply stable and affordable for end users is the top priority. From there, the chats often turn to how we can achieve this while also heeding growing calls to make power generation cleaner.

Countries are on their own unique journeys, and their ability and timeline for addressing the intricately intertwined issues related to the energy transition vary widely, in part due to their differing access to natural resources and capital. Indeed, there is no one-size fits-all approach to the energy transition, and we need to have solutions that can meet communities where they are.

I was reminded of these challenges when I spoke at an Enlit Asia Plus event about the need for power generation to be flexible. Although flexibility is often seen in terms of fuel flexibility – which is the ability of power systems to accommodate different types of energy sources – this is not the only type of flexibility that is important. I believe that making power systems more operationally flexible – more agile in addressing changes in load and demand – will be key for countries to progress in their own energy transition journeys. 

Keeping the lights on – under all circumstances

As countries strive to increase the proportion of low and zero-carbon energy sources such as renewables in the mix, relevant infrastructure and fuel supplies will not always be immediately ready. Systems with fast start up and ramp up rates therefore become especially important to ensure the power supply is not disrupted. After all, electricity still needs to be delivered to homes and workplaces even as countries calibrate their fuel mixes.  

Operational flexibility enables grid stability, and the good news is that there exist technologies to ensure power systems can withstand fluctuations.

Gas-fired power systems are particularly flexible. Compared to coal-fired systems with ramp up rates of 3-5% per minute, gas-fired power systems can ramp up at 8-12% per minute. We at Mitsubishi Power are already bringing our world-class gas turbine technologies to the region. Just this April, a new M701 JAC gas turbine went live in a power plant in Thailand operated by Gulf SRC. The gas turbine – with an industry-leading efficiency approaching 65% – is the first to be installed in Southeast Asia and is also the first of eight such gas turbines that will be delivered to Thailand as part of a long-term project with the customer.

From a fuel supply perspective, gas power is a viable option for Asia Pacific, with its abundant natural gas reserves, two-thirds of which are in Indonesia and Malaysia. Among the challenges now is to enhance the infrastructure, such as pipelines and LNG terminals, to deliver this natural gas to end users such as power producers.

Creating backup power supply

Part of building operational flexibility is ensuring that there are smaller, fast-reacting systems that can be easily scaled to support major grid infrastructure. Systems for on-demand power and energy storage can provide the flexibility needed for backup power whenever there is grid instability or intermittencies.

Available in stationary and mobile package sizes from 30 up to 140 megawatts, Mitsubishi Power Aero’s aero-derivative gas turbines can begin producing power in as little as two minutes and are able to reach full output in under 10 minutes. Among its products is the FT8® MOBILEPAC® 30-megawatt mobile gas turbine package, which has been extremely effective at improving grid stability and eliminating blackouts particularly in remote or isolated areas. For example, all throughout Algeria, over 50 of these units have been installed, providing critical power during the peak summer months and year-round support of the national grid.

With solid oxide fuel cells, flexibility comes from their ability to run with different types of fuels, including natural gas, methane from sludge, food waste and agricultural waste, and ultimately even hydrogen – making them suitable for decentralized power generation. They are also useful for industrial power generation. Case in point is our demonstration project with Asahi Breweries using our MEGAMIE SOFC to create electricity from bio-methane gas derived from the brewery’s wastewater.

Finally, energy storage systems are crucial not just for backup power but also to help solve challenges related to oversupply from renewable power generation. In the United States, Mitsubishi Power is working on a project to build electrolysis facilities capable of producing more than 450 metric tonnes per day of green hydrogen. This hydrogen will then be stored in salt caverns for quick deployment as fuel for gas turbines, with the potential to serve the needs of 150,000 households in the Western United States for an entire year. Here in APAC, we can start with smaller systems such as rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, flywheels, superconducting magnetic energy storage and ultracapacitors for shorter term storage needs.

Investing to build flexible power systems

Making power systems more flexible is necessary to improving power generation overall and paving the way for an effective energy transition. Still, the efficacy of our power systems is dependent on having a viable supply chain for necessary fuels, and power producers being incentivized to make investments in necessary technologies.

At the end of the day, understanding the needs of each country in Asia Pacific is crucial to tailoring flexible solutions. Asia Pacific’s energy future remains bright, and I am keen and open to discussing how we can do better together.

Written by: Osamu Ono, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Mitsubishi Power Asia Pacific