POWERGEN Asia brings regional energy industry together in record breaking event

After three days of valuable business meetings, sourcing new technologies and learning about the trends shaping the Asian energy sector, visitors heaped praise on the 26th edition of POWERGEN Asia that took place from 18 20 September 2018.

Staged in Indonesia for the first time, this was the most important and successful POWERGEN Asia to date. This year’s event joined forces with Masyarakat Ketenagalistrikan Indonesia (MKI), the highly-respected Indonesian Electrical Power Society, to host the 73rd Indonesia National Electricity Day – providing a unique opportunity for international suppliers to engage with the country’s key stakeholders who are looking to fulfil an ambitious plan to complete the full electrification of the country by 2019.

Providing a platform to build the future
Economic developments and improving living conditions across the Asia Pacific (APAC) area mean that electricity demand is on the up, with usage in China alone expected to increase by around 4,000 TWh by 2050. And as improved supply becomes a prerequisite for many of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) there are huge opportunities in the region.

This was demonstrated by the record 9,280 industry professionals – from 58 countries – that joined this year’s event. At POWERGEN Asia they had the opportunity to connect with 257 suppliers, representing all aspects of the power generating industry.

Companies such as Sumitomo SHI FW, ABB, MAN Energy Solutions, Rolls Royce, Siemens, Wood, Valmet, Mitsubishi-Hitachi Power Systems, Toshiba, Kawasaki and Wärtsilä all showcased their latest solutions, services and technologies to visitors. With suppliers focusing on both conventional and renewable energy it is clear that there is no better place for the power industry to come to meet, share information on the opportunities and challenges facing the market, and discuss solutions for advancing Asia’s energy future.

“POWERGEN Asia 2018 provided a great platform to learn and network with leading-edge and innovative professionals driving the changes in today’s dynamic APAC energy market”. Christopher Sullivan, President, Westmark Partners

Illustrating the value exhibitors place on participating at POWERGEN Asia, the event organisers reported that close to 60% of suppliers on display at the 2018 event had rebooked for the 2019 show.

“POWERGEN Asia offers us a great opportunity to demonstrate our market solutions with prospective customers”. Christopher Naunheimer, User Experience Director – Digital, ABB

Nick Rastall, Portfolio Director Asia of Clarion Energy, commented: “The sheer volume of exhibitors already confirming their attendance at next year’s event speaks for itself. We thank the exhibitors and sponsors. and especially our event partner MKI for making this edition of POWERGEN Asia a record-breaking success.”

The premier location to learn about the power industry

1,132 industry professionals – another show record – signed up to attend this year’s well-regarded POWERGEN Asia conference sessions that were specially curated to provide exclusive information on the current and future opportunities and challenges for the Asian power sector.

Kicking off the event in a Special Keynote was Dr. Javier Cavada, President, Energy Solutions & Executive Vice President of the Wärtsilä Corporation. “Smart technology is unlocking the 100 per cent renewables future” said Dr. Cavada. “We are moving to a 100 per cent renewable world. We are looking at the biggest-ever revolution in energy”. However, he said that 100 per cent renewables is only possible “if there is enough flexibility in the system”, and added that it is gas engines that is providing this flexibility. “The role of gas is changing – it is now the best friend of renewables. Gas is able to support and maximise the penetration of renewables”.

Dr. Cavada was followed by the hotly-anticipated Ministerial Summit, moderated by Dr. Heru Dewanto, Secretary General, MKI, and featured Pak Ngakan Timur Antara, Head of the Ministry of Industry’s Agency for Research & Development of Industry and Pak Agoes Triboesono, Secretary of the Directorate General of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Following the Ministerial Summit, the packed Nusantara Hall at ICE was party to the high-profile Opening Ceremony, with remarks from Bapak Supangkat Iwan Santoso, Chairman of MKI; a Video Address from H.E. Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, and a hard-hitting presentation from H.E. Ignasius Jonan, Minister of Energy & Mineral Resources.

After the Opening Ceremony the crowd gathered at the entrance of the Exhibition for the Ribbon Cutting, marking the official opening of the 2018 exhibition floor and Indonesian Pavilion, to end a busy and exciting morning programme.

Elsewhere, in a special panel discussion, six leading energy experts discussed the balance between coal and renewable energy in Asia. Among the topics debated by the group was whether the development of high efficiency, low-emission coal plants would result in a new wave of coal based generation in the region or if the imperative to decarbonise would win the day. Ian Fox, CEO of Leader Energy stated that solar had displaced gas in many Southeast Asia countries “and it’s now set to threaten coal’s position in the traditional merit order”. Whereas Joseph Jacobelli, Senior Utilities Analyst Asia, Bloomberg Intelligence, stated “Coal is not dead – yet” in Asia, not least because energy security still outweighs climate change in many countries, such as Japan and China.

Overall 61 conference sessions ran concurrently during the three-day event, providing an invaluable experience to delegates, as explained by See Kenn Lee, Senior Sales Manager, GE Energy, who said, “POWERGEN Asia brings together the whole power industry to learn and share our experiences from each other. It is here that we come together to align ourselves and to really take the industry to an even higher level”.

Rewarding the best in class

On the last day of the event, the prestigious POWERGEN Asia Best Paper Award Winners were announced, alongside the inaugural Energy Innovation Challenge Winner.

Presented to the speaker who delivered the best presentation in their respective stream at the event, the 2018 Best Paper Award Winners were:

• Trends, Projects and Strategies: Small Scale LNG – Powering the Future of Asia’s Island Communities, presented by Carsten Dommermuth, MAN Energy Solutions SE
• Finance & Investment: Key Bankability Issues for Offshore Wind Projects and How to Mitigate Them, presented by Harriet Gray, Ashurst LLP
• Optimising Plant Operation: Optimising the Utilisation of Non-Competitive Power Plant Asset: Case Study on Thermal Power Plant in Muara Karang, presented by Indratno Pardiansyah, PT Pembangkitan Jawa-Bali
• Power Plant Technologies: Water-free Combined Cycle Distributed Power Generation, presented by Michael Welch, Siemens AG
• Distributed Energy Resources: Hybridisation of an Island in the Philippines, presented by Frank Zimmermann, ILF Consulting Engineers (Asia) Ltd
• Capitalising on Digitalisation: Communications in the Age of Energy Cloud, presented by David Stokes, ECI
• Renewable Energy Strategy & Technology: Biomass Power Plant Development – “Cheap and Cheerful” or “Bells and Whistles”?, presented by Duncan Barker, Mott MacDonald

ICARE Foundation, based in Indonesia, scooped the very first POWERGEN Asia Energy Innovation Challenge Award for its incredible solar energy solution that could be used following natural disasters.

A new look for 2019

Following the event, the organisers announced that to further build on the success of the 2018 event, POWERGEN Asia will be joined by Asian Utility Week and DistribuTECH Asia, offering a full end-to-end power solutions event in 2019. Expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees and 300+ exhibitors, the event will relocate to MITEC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, running from 3-5 September 2019.

Focusing on three key areas – power generation, digital transformation and transmission and distribution – that are critical to the future success of the energy sector in the APAC region, the co-located events will provide the industry with a unique opportunity to learn, source and network.

Rick Wall, Managing Director of Global Utility Group, concluded:

“The co-location of this event with the already promising Asian Utility Week seeks to cater for the power and utility combined market in one place. We look forward to welcoming the entire supply chain to Malaysia, 3-5 September 2019.”

For more information about the 2019 events please visit www.powergenasia.com.