SolarCare - REWebinars
Past Event
2020-09-26
Solar Energy Development in Hong Kong: Retrospect and Prospect
To encourage the usage of renewable energy, the Hong Kong government proposed the "Feed-in Tariff" (FiT) scheme in October 2018. The two power companies would purchase electricity at a price higher than the prevailing market price from householders who installed solar systems, to present opportunities for the public to invest in solar energy. The scheme has been proposed for nearly two years, and it is encouraging that the two power companies have received about 10,000 applications. But at the same time, the term of the FiT scheme is actually limited. By the time with the completion in 2033, the economic incentives will disappear. Will solar energy development in Hong Kong be affected afterwards? Hong Kong indeed has the potential to develop solar energy with adequate lands for building sophisticated systems. What has caused this stagnation and how can it be broken through? Are solar communities a viable energy option for Hong Kong? How can Hong Kong manage the technical, economic, and socio-political and institutional challenges to solar development, including the new opportunities offered by the FiT policy?
Foir the “Hong Kong's Development of Solar Energy: Retrospect and Prospect" RE Webinar, we invited Dr Darren Cheung of Asian Energy Studies Centre to share with us the research results regarding city and community solar development conducted by the centre in the past few years. Four guests were joining the discussion on the topic of Dr Cheung’s sharing as well. They were Mr Chong Chan Yau, the Co-founder and CEO of CarbonCare InnoLab; Mr Raymond Ho, the Convener of RenewHK.net; Mr Lawrence Lu, the Project Manager of Civic Exchange; and the co-host of the webinar, Mr Ringo Mak, the Co-founder of 350HK, Climate and Environmental Committee Chairman of the Outstanding Young Persons' Association. Asian Energy Studies Centre of Hong Kong Baptist University completed a research project in 2017, analysing the effect of FiT policy in solar community engagement and energy transition pathway. The study is based on data collected from a sample of two schools and two case communities: Fairview Park in Yuen Long and Hong Lok Yuen, Tai Po, as well as some of the stakeholders. Their findings brought inspiration to the energy transition planning and the strengthening of solar community engagement in Hong Kong.
The FiT scheme has greatly reduced the payback period for investing in solar power from 35 years to less than 7 years. Having said that, why did residents still hesitate to build the system, even though their housing estates with rooftops are capable to do so? Dr Cheung mentioned that it is because of the technology, economy and system integration! Residents were often being discouraged by the uncertainty in the application process, technical doubts, and confusion of selecting contractors. After all, this is a project that requires money investment, and it is understandable for the residents' indecision. Furthermore, weak environmental awareness caused Hong Kong, a developed and wealthy city, having a lack of responsibility in reducing carbon emission. Education-wise, solar systems actually do have decent developmental potential due to its pedagogical considerations.
Dr Cheung commented that Hong Kong is left behind among advanced cities in the sense of solar energy development, with the government has no concrete goals and underestimated the potential of launching renewable energy. Although the FiT scheme is a very good first step to popularise the use of renewable energy, the government cannot be guaranteed that the promotion would be sustainable through this single policy. Instead, solar policies on community development should be set with a clear and meaningful target on solar energy used, which would form a guide for the later development. The experience of other cities also told us that a comprehensive development of renewable energy would not be completed if we rely solely on the government. The participation of the public (such as communities, schools, and business sectors) is crucial as well.
During the discussion, speakers also raised opinions that Hong Kong still has a lot of space for building solar energy systems, such as ponds*, on top of the flyovers, ball courts and vacant lands. To make citizens more willing to participate, some references of the systems in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea can help with evolving the industry, such as training technicians and establishing certification systems; supporting renewable energy research; and setting up complaint mechanisms, etc. Dr Cheung and Mr Ho shared the trends in different cities as well, such as the industry in Japan will provide subsidies to researchers; Taiwan has launched a platform for the public to make transactions under different forms**, for instance, intermediate purchasers will gather several rooftops to form a project; In Taiwan and Seoul, even if you do not have a rooftop or only have limited vacancy to install one solar panel, you can still take part in power generation or investment.
Mr Chong and Mr Lu reaffirmed the impact of climate change on us and Hong Kong’s duties as an advanced city on carbon reduction. Mr Lu suggested that the government can issue green bonds for renewable energy which allows the public to get involved, and reassesses the potential of Hong Kong's renewable energy. Mr Chong also indicated that the government should start to review the follow-up issues that may be faced after the expiry of the FiT scheme.
Participants also raised questions under various perspectives during the Q&A session, including whether technology will benefit the promotional policies, the possibility of cross-border power purchases, how to maximise the participation including citizens with limited funds and space, and what will happen after the completion of the FiT scheme. All speakers then answered the enquiries one by one based on their experience and expertise.
All guest speakers promoted solar energy in different ways. For example, Dr Cheung revealed that the Asian Energy Research Center has developed a "Solar Community Guide" (Download Here) assembled some basic knowledge and concepts for solar installation. The “RH Consultant Knowle Sharing Platform” founded by Mr Ho has offered a lot of useful information as well. Mr Chong thought the audience's questions were a good reminder, which CarbonCare InnoLab should continue to disseminate solar energy knowledge, including some "practical" knowledges. We will summarise the experience of constructing the first ten solar power stations of the “Jockey Club SolarCare Programme”, and share the experience and information with the public –"The Jockey Club SolarCare Programme" is an innovative project that combines climate change and social services. We will continue to look for passionate partners to expand the project, hoping to encourage more stakeholders to build a low-carbon society together.” In addition to encouraging the construction of solar power systems, we also hope to promote solar energy upon individual levels, for example, educating the public to use small or portable solar equipment. Therefore, previous Solar InnoWorkshops organised by CarbonCare InnoLab in the past ten months have taught the public to make small solar products, such as table lamps, chargers, and watches. We anticipate the public will understand that solar energy is greatly relatable to their daily life, such that it can help mitigating the pace of climate change.
This seminar summarised the current status of solar energy development in Hong Kong, evaluated the current difficulties and proposed possible solutions, and also put forward suggestions to the government. We expect similar dialogues will be made in the future. When enthusiastic people gather and brainstorm together, changes will obviously be brought to the society with our vivid minds.
You are welcome to watch the recording here (in Cantonese):
You are welcome to download the transcript of the webinar (Chinese version only) HERE.
Date: 26 September 2020 (Saturday)
Speaker:
Dr Darren Cheung (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Geography, Asian Energy Studies Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University)
Panelists***:
Mr Chong Chan Yau (Co-Founder and CEO of CarbonCare InnoLab)
Mr Raymond Ho (Convener of RenewHK.net)
Mr Lawrence Iu (Programme Manager of Civic Exchange)
Mr Ringo Mak (Co-founder of 350HK, Climate and Environmental Committee Chairman of the Outstanding Young Persons' Association)
Language: Cantonese
Speaker’s Profile:
Dr Darren Cheung (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Geography, Asian Energy Studies Centre, Hong Kong Baptist University) obtained his MA in Social Science from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and completed his PhD study in 2015 at The University of Hong Kong. His thesis investigates the dynamics between the government, developers and community in the land supply and land-use planning of public open space in Hong Kong.
*We have held several SolarVisit earlier to show participants the floating solar power generation systems in two ponds in Hong Kong. Click for more details.
**In our previous webinar "Everybody invests in Solar Energy: Taiwan Case Studies", two speakers shared the model of Taiwan’s investment in solar power generation. The video and transcript have been uploaded to the website. Welcome to visit here
*** listed in alphabetical order by last name