The site of CLP’s proposed wind farm off Clear Water Bay, Sai Kung
CLP, HK Electric and the Hong Kong government have recently completed a mid-term review of the Scheme of Control Agreement and each formulated development plans for 2024 to 2028. However, offshore wind farm projects were not mentioned in them. In response to inquiries, the Environment and Ecology Bureau stated that after detailed consideration, the government believes that the overall cost and power generation cost of building an offshore wind farm project will be higher than that of traditional power generation methods.
As for the total capital investment of CLP and HK Electric in the next five years, they will be reduced by 5.7% and 17% respectively compared with the current plan. The authorities pointed out that when reviewing development plans, they will only accept absolutely necessary capital project proposals; the authorities plan to cooperate with the mainland to import more clean energy in the future, so the government will control the two power companies to further invest in local power generation; after rigorous consultations, the two power companies total capital investment in the next five years will be lower than the previous five-year development plan. The authorities also stated that they would study strengthening regional cooperation and explore more zero-carbon energy supplies in surrounding areas, so that Hong Kong can increase the use of clean energy and gradually reduce its reliance on fossil fuels for power generation.
CLP had proposed building Hong Kong’s first offshore wind farm to the east of the Clear Water Bay Peninsula, in the waters southeast of Basalt Island. However, the project was scaled back due to high costs, and it had planned to start construction in 2024 and put it into operation in 2027. It was expected to generate 255 megawatts of electricity annually, accounting for about 2.8% of the overall power supply. Hong Kong Electric also planned to build an offshore wind farm in the southwest waters of Lamma Island, about 4 kilometres away from the Lamma Power Plant. The project was originally expected to be tendered in 2024, and was also planned to be completed and put into commercial operation in 2027. It was expected to produce about 400 megawatts of electricity every year, accounting for about 4% of Hong Kong Electric’s total power generation.
The government recently submitted information to the Legislative Council, further disclosing the five-year development plans of the two power plants. The total amount is 9.4% less than the current five-year plan. There is no mention of plans for the offshore wind farms. Both companies had stated that they would include them in their five-year development plans and submit them to the government for approval, but no relevant plans were mentioned the final documents. The government said that CLP will extend the service life of many coal-fired, gas-fired and oil-fired generating units, indicating that it can make better use of existing units and postpone investment in replacing power generation capacity. In addition, CLP will build a new utility-scale battery energy storage system at Castle Peak Power Plant, which is expected to be commissioned in 2028, to help compensate for the intermittency in the use of renewable energy in the power generation system.
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