The Asia Future Energy Forum & Exhibition set to be held later this year will focus on ‘Powering Sustainable Innovation in Asia’; and discuss energy-related issues, challenges and opportunities in the region.

Masdar and Reed Exhibitions will hold the exhibition as part of Singapore’s annual International Energy Week (SIEW), which will be held from October 22 to 25. It will be organised by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore.

AFEF will be the marketplace for the clean, alternative energy suppliers to meet buyers from Asia. It will also be an opportunity to showcase Masdar’s multi-faceted approach towards the acceleration, development and deployment of renewable energy and clean technologies, said a statement.

Masdar will support and participate in AFEF to drive debate, promote knowledge sharing, and strengthen collaborations, the statement said.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said: “Asia has emerged as a major player in the renewable energy sector. This is also signified by the strong Asian presence at the ongoing World Future Energy Summit this year. Over the past three years, Masdar has been organising the European Future Energy Forum in Spain, UK and Switzerland.”

Chee Hong Tat, chief executive of the Energy Market Authority, said: “Asia’s energy demand is expected to double over the next 20 years, and renewable energy sources will play a bigger role in the overall energy mix of many Asian countries.”

Renewable energy use will rise from 10 percent in 2008 to 15 percent in 2035, according to the International Energy Outlook 2011 report. Asia is expected to play a major role in achieving these targets, the statement said.

The Singapore Economic Development Board reported that by 2015, the clean energy industry is expected to contribute $1.3 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product and create 7,000 jobs across a broad range of areas, including solar power, fuel cells, wind power, energy efficiency and carbon services.

In 2007, its government announced a total package of $271 million for the clean energy industry, designed to intensify innovative research and development, and capability development for this industry, it said.

In addition, the UAE and Singapore have strong partnerships and are already members of the Green Group, a Ministerial level group which focuses on water and energy security along with other like-minded nations such as Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Slovenia.

A transformational player in Asia’s clean energy space is China, which recently became the world’s top energy producer, and is expected to use 68 per cent more energy than the US by 2035.

While renewable energy is projected to be the fastest growing source of primary energy over the next 25 years, fossil fuels are expected to maintain their grip as the dominant source of energy.

China will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 17 percent by 2015 (per unit GDP). Under its 12th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, China will generate 11.4 percent of energy from non-fossil fuels by 2015, and 15 percent by 2020, up from 8.3 percent in 2010.

To reach this ambitious goal, China has introduced a range of regulatory and financial incentives, including feed-in tariffs, subsidies, China Development Bank loans, and $200 billion in stimulus funding for cleantech, carbon emission reductions and energy pricing reserves.

It is poised to spend $473.1 billion on clean energy investments in the next five years and will add 370 GW of renewable energy generation capacity by 2020, the statement said.  

Masdar Capital is involved in the Chinese clean tech market and has already invested $15 million into UPCC, a major Chinese wind developer. In addition, 50 percent of the panels in Masdar City’s 10MW solar plant are provided by Chinese manufacturer Suntech. 

Another significant player in Asia is Japan, which has recently passed a bill to promote investment in solar and other renewable energy sources and is already discussing easing rules on building geothermal, wind and hydraulic power plants to renewable energy use, as reported by the Nikkei Business Daily. 

Japan has the potential to generate nearly 40 percent of its electricity requirements from solar, wind and geothermal energy, according to estimates prepared for the government’s Energy and Environment Council, it said.

Masdar has forged strong partnerships with Japan, another major player in the renewable energy market. Masdar Institute partnered with Japan’s Cosmo Oil Company and the Tokyo Institute of Technology on the Beam Down Project – a joint pilot project in Masdar City to test the conventional concentrating solar power (CSP) design.

Michelle Lim, managing director of Reed Exhibitions in Singapore, said: “Asia's growing economies will continue to face increasing demands for energy. It is widely regarded that only relying on traditional fossil energy to fuel economic development is highly unsustainable. There is therefore a compelling need for an event like AFEF as a marketplace for alternative, clean energy solutions.”

“By modeling after the successful WFES through close partnership with EMA, and its highly successful SIEW, AFEF aims not only to enable the trading and sourcing of renewable energy products and services, AFEF will also serve as platform for networking and knowledge-sharing for the Asian community,” she said.

Reed Exhibitions currently organises around 19 events in energy, oil & gas sector and another nine in the environment & urban planning sector. The new addition will further boost its presence in Asia. – TradeArabia News Service