APRIL 2011

PP17241/03/2012 (029499)

Opportunities: China to lead

PURCHASING
in electric vehicle market
Case studies: Khoo Teck Puat

ASIA
Hospital heals the earth
People: Turnaround expert
helms Green Tech Malaysia
Info: Singapore tops list of
Asian green cities
Editorial: Taiwan exceeds
green procurement target

preview issue
not for sale

Green buildings

Looking
beyond cost
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Contents
From the managing editor’s desk
Buy into a green future
opportunities
China powers up to lead world
EV market
All eyes are on China as the
government and the private
sector form a formidable
tag team to create the
world’s largest EV market
cover
PURCHASING
Looking beyond cost
Architects say they have to push
for property developers to go
ASIA  
green as many are still stuck on
4 returns on investment arguments.
But an industry specialist feels
6 not enough is being done to
Ʀesh out the tangible beneƥts
of complying with green rating
9
requirements.
(see pg18)
9

Eƨects of -apan’s nuclear crisis

on solar PV market 13

Indonesia market to heat up

this year 14

Mimi seeks partners 14

New spun innovation in

eco-friendly textiles 15

Money from oil palm waste 16 Cover photo: Artist impression by Cybertecture of the Technosphere (Dubai)

Cyberjaya builds on its case studies 18 editorial 38

cool solutions 17
Architects make a case for Sustainability innovators
green 20 around the world 38
24
World’s greenest skyscraper 22 Taiwan exceeds target in
green procurement 39
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital heals
the earth 24

Trendsetters on show 28
information 40
Singapore tops list of
Super orb that lives, breathes
Asian green cities 40
and thinks 32
News briefs 44
35
people 35 Incentives for green
investments in Thailand 46
Turnaround expert heads
Green Tech Malaysia 35 Fantastic money spinners
Dr Nazily Mohd Noor on in clean tech 47
the projects that he will be
pushing to give Malaysia Homework 48
the edge in greentech

India’s Wind Man looks to China 36 GREEN EXCHANGE 42

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 The team
Editorial
Editor: Lim Siang Jin
Managing editor: David Lee Boon Siew
Assistant editor: Siaw Mei Li
Contributing editors: Ann Teoh, Jason Tan
Contributing writers: Eleanor Chen, Stephen
Ng, Yeap Jin Soo, William de Cruz
Marketing & sales
Sam Thong
Creative & design
Khoo Kay Hong, Ng Jen Ling, Tan Sueh Li
Production & advertising traffic
Eddy Yap
Subscription & circulation
Yap Eng Jin
Finance & operations
Kym Chong
Corporate
Managing director: Lim Siang Jin
Publisher
Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H)
3-3 Jalan Solaris 2, Solaris Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 603 6203 7681 Fax: 603 6211 2681
Email: editor@greenpurchasingasia.com
Printer
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Tel: 603 5541 3695 Fax: 603 5541 3712
© 2011: Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd
Letters and articles are welcome, and
should be addressed to:
The Editor at Green Purchasing Asia
3-3 Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Email: letters@greenpurchasingasia.com
Endorsed by
Ministry of Energy, Green Technology
and Water, Malaysia
International Green Purchasing Network
Disclaimer
Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H) believes that
the information published at the time of printing
is correct. The views expressed in the articles are
not necessarily those of the publisher. While the
publisher has taken reasonable care in compiling
the magazine, it shall not be liable for any omission,
error or inaccuracy. Editorial contributions are
welcome but unsolicited materials are submitted
at the sender’s risk. The publisher cannot accept
responsibility for loss or damage. All rights
reserved by Briomedia Green Sdn Bhd (924679-H).
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the publisher’s written permission.
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From the managing editor’s desk
“We enjoy not only the privilege of ex-
istence, but also the singular ability to
appreciate it and even, in a multitude
of ways, to make it better. It is a trick
we have only just begun to grasp.”
This excerpt from the closing chapter
of Bill Bryson’s 2005 book, A Short
History of Nearly Everything, gave me
some comfort as I put this magazine
to bed.
I first wrote about renewable en-
ergy some 30 years ago when Malay-
sia was caught up in the world energy
crisis that brought Europe to its knees. I
never revisited that topic as my coun-
try found oil and gas. The Europeans,
however, went on to develop renewable
energy technologies and are today
responsible for the greatest break-
throughs in this area. Yes, Bryson was
right: we are able to make the world a
better and more sustainable place to
live in. Unfortunately, however, we are
taking our time to do it.
Perhaps what might make a dif-
ference this time is that there is a real
fear among earthlings that Mother
Earth is in bad shape. There are many
things about the climate that we don’t
understand.
Fear is a good thing. It changes
the way we think about things, what we
buy, where we live, how we travel and
whether we even need to do certain
things at all. It has also transformed
the way we do business.
In putting together content for
this preview, I was overwhelmed by
the sheer amount of knowledge that
has been churned out by the scientific
community and multi-national corpora-
tions, and the speed at which things
Watch out for our inaugural issue in June
All eyes on Malaysia’s FiT
The spotlight is on Malaysia’s feed-in tariff mechanism,
which will fast-track the country’s renewable energy sector.
David Lee Boon Siew
boonsiew@
greenpurchasingasia.com
are moving. There’s just too much to
digest. A lot of it is jargon.
And this is where Green Purchas-
ing Asia really comes into its own. We
do what we do best as journalists: we
try to tell great stories in the hope that
some of what we write will stick with
our readers. Even if those stories are
about monocrystalline solar photovol-
taics, biomass power generation or
smart grids.
For this 48-page preview, we
harvested the low-hanging fruits of
green buildings for our cover series,
which showcases several trailblazing
projects over 13 pages. We believe
there are opportunities aplenty in not
only developing green buildings, but
also retrofits.
In our Opportunities section, we
look at China’s electric vehicle (EV)
ambitions. The government and the
private sector are working as a tag
team in an EV match with the US.
The new captain of Malaysia’s
Green Technology Corporation, Dr
Nazily Mohd Noor, and Suzlon Group’s
Tulsi Tansi of India are the first sub-
jects of the People section. We are eye-
ing a few big guns for future issues.
As we prepare for our inaugural
edition in June, we invite industry play-
ers to engage with us. Send us your
views or articles if you have experi-
ences to share. Or just want to provoke
a debate.
I thank you for taking time to read
this magazine. And my appreciation to
the companies that believed enough in
our product to co-brand with us.
 PURCHASING
ASIA

Buy into a green future
Twenty-first century living will be
steeped in green. Mankind, highly
adaptive and resilient, is rising to the
challenge of environmental degrada-
tion. It will be our main preoccupation
in the decades to come.
While there is no quick fix, the
gist of the solution is simply this: Get
everyone to “purchase green”. This
means we have deal with the complex
issues of greening the supply chain
and proliferating products and services
that are “carbon neutral” and environ-
ment-friendly.
Asia, as a socio-economic force, is
now positioned to become a leader in
world development. It comes at a time
when sustainability issues are mov-
ing mainstream. Moreover, people the
world over are now placing their hopes
on a green new deal to deliver growth
and employment.
It is my contention that this region
will be the centre of gravity, a centrip-
etal force of economic activity, giving
the greatest impetus to the green agen-
da. Concurrently, there will be a great
need for market information.
What Green Purchasing Asia does
Green Purchasing Asia is a specialist
publication that provides market com-
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munications support to the growing
network of green vendors and purchas-
ers in their common bid to build a
sustainable future that is also economi-
cally viable.
We are a monthly magazine, to be
made available both in print and, more
importantly, online. Green Purchasing
Asia will disseminate up-to-date in-
formation on an industry that is today
conservatively estimated to be worth
1,300 billion Euros worldwide.
Green Purchasing Asia’s main
purpose is to provide a well-structured
avenue of immediately-useful infor-
mation to buyers and sellers of green
products and services in major sectors,
especially in Asia, and to buttress the
development of a business community
around it.
The magazine will cover the fol-
lowing sectors, which have seen the
greatest technological innovations and
increasing economies of scale:
• Renewable energy, including solar
energy, wind power, geothermal and
mobile applications
• Biofuels from food and non-food
sources, including palm oil, sugar-
cane, corn and jatropha
• Biomass from various organic,
inorganic and mixed sources like
oil palm, wood, sugar cane, corn
and household waste
Lim Siang Jin
Managing director & editor
siangjin@
greenpurchasingasia.com
• Green buildings and eco-cities cov-
ering, among others, green building
certification programmes, new build-
ing design and materials for energy
efficiency, retrofits and power saving
lighting technology
• Transportation, including plug-in
electric vehicles (EV), hybrid electric
vehicles (HEV) and automobile alter-
natives like rail
• Smart grids, which turns consum-
ers into producers of energy, smart
meters to track consumption and
manage electrical flow and new
interconnect standards
• Water and waste management,
focusing on desalination technol-
ogy, reverse osmosis and wastewater
management; and solid waste man-
agement
• Clean industry, taking into account
such issues as carbon management
and green supply chains
• Green finance, viz, venture capital
and bank loans, grant programmes
(NGOs and government) and govern-
ment incentives.
To help readers navigate the maga-
zine easily, we have divided it into five
broad areas, each assigned a weight-
 On Friday March 24th, the production deadline for this preview thoughts that have gone into Green Purchasing Asia so that our
issue, our managing editor David Lee asked me to explain Green stakeholders – readers, advertisers, other sponsors, collaborators,
Purchasing Asia the way I do best – on our whiteboard. These contributors, staff, investors, etc – may gain a greater understanding
doodles were the outcome and they distill the underlying of the ideas and values we work with.

age to ensure consistent and adequate
editorial space allocation.
• Opportunities: These include project
announcements, tenders and new
eco products and services. This will
be a section heavy on actionable
information. Weightage: 30%
• Case studies: We focus on projects
that use green technology, like eco-
cities, solar farms and waste recov-
ery projects in large plantations. In
these articles, we will list out the
names and contacts of developers,
suppliers and contractors involved
in those projects for networking.
Weightage: 30%
• People: This section focuses on
interviews with thought leaders and
captains of industry in green busi-
nesses. We will also cover small and
medium enterprises involved in trail-
blazing projects. Weightage: 15%
• Editorials: Opinion pieces, col-
umns and feature stories on climate
change, sustainable development
and other relevant subject matters
are the meat of this section. It is
designed to provoke debate, so that
by talking about issues, we think of
new ways and approaches to solving
problems. Weightage: 15%
• Information: This includes news di-
gest, events calendar, letters, reviews
of books and reports on climate
change, green technology or related
topics, market entry conditions and
new country regulations, policies
and incentives. Weightage: 10%
Dual role of government
The government’s role is not only to
set the policy environment to drive the
green agenda. It is also a massive mar-
ket player in the economy, account-
ing for up to 30% of purchases. Any
decision by governments to procure
green will have a major influence on
the market.
It is this dual role that makes gov-
ernments important customers, which
is why we are targeting 40% of our
print and online circulation at senior
government servants. The remaining
60% will be aimed at the business
community, international agencies and
non-government organisations.
Publication of choice
Green Purchasing Asia is designed to
be the publication of choice for all
decision makers keen to build their
procurement and other business activi-
ties around the green agenda in Asia.
Our team comprises profession-
als who have been in the business for
several decades and have successfully
started up and published major maga-
zines in Malaysia and Singapore.
With this 48-page preview to give
a “look and feel” of the magazine,
we are on the first step of an exciting
journey. We sincerely hope you can
join us as stakeholders in our project –
as readers, advertisers, sponsors or as
contributors.
We look forward to your participa-
tion.
Thank you.

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 opportunities 
China powers up to lead world EV market
Concerted government support paying off
Multinational joint ventures inevitable in the future
By Eleanor Chen
The latest buzz in the car industry
is electric vehicles (EVs) and China
intends to be ahead of the pack.
Now the world’s biggest auto market
and one of the strongest advocates of
EVs, China has implemented policies
for EVs that form part of its national
innovation programmes to build a
green economy and eventually become
the world leader in electric cars and
buses.
According to Pike Research,
EVs represent one of the priorities
for China’s innovation and growth
strategy. While most other
governments support EV-related
policies, China has established national
plans linked to EV policies.
For multiple government entities
to collaborate on strategic planning
Green vehicles are key
to the development of
China’s auto industry
as auto exhaust
emissions account for
70% of the country’s
air pollution in major
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Chinese cities
in a single industry in China is
highly unusual, yet China’s Ministry
of Finance, National Development
of Reform Commission, Ministry
of Science and Technology and
Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology are doing just that.
China plans to make new energy
vehicles – electric and hybrid – a
national priority and to be the world’s
largest new energy automobile
production country. According to
Minister of Science and Technology
Wan Gang, green vehicles are key
to the development of China’s auto
industry as auto exhaust emissions
account for 70% of the country’s air
pollution in major Chinese cities.
Halving the number of cars
entering Beijing before the Olympics
proved that pollution from exhaust
could be reduced. Electric cars
generate fewer emissions and are also
more efficient than cars that use petrol.
China Car Times (CCT) suggests
that the push to battery-powered EVs
is due to two factors. First, China lags
behind the West in terms of technology
in traditional fields such as internal
combustion engines and gearboxes, as
well as hybrid EVs’ mechanical-electric
coupling.
In the electric-drive arena, the
gap is not as wide. EVs are a better
prospect for China’s automotive
industry. They are relatively simple
cars and the lack of complexity –
compared to something like a hybrid
vehicle – means more room for more
companies to participate.
Second, China’s oil reserves are
limited, and global oil reserves are
expected to plateau then decline in
this century. In 20 years, global oil
reserves could be reduced to half
of what it is today. China, it seems,
intends to reduce urban pollution and
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 opportunities 
decrease its dependence on oil while
creating a world-leading industry
that will produce jobs and exports.
The wide use of EVs also has
several practical advantages in China.
Intercity driving is rare. Commutes
are fairly short and frequently at low
speeds because of traffic jams. Thus
the limitations of all-electric cars –
the latest models in China have a top
speed of 96.5km an hour and a range
of 193km between charges – present
less of a problem.
Heavy subsidy
Over the next ten years, the Chinese
government will spend more than 100
billion yuan to subsidise its fledgling
green vehicle industry, state media
said. Battery-powered vehicles are
eligible for maximum subsidies of
60,000 yuan (US$9,115 at the current
exchange rate). The same subsidy
applies for each all-electric vehicle
or hybrid purchased by taxi fleet
operators and local government
agencies in 13 Chinese cities. The state
electricity grid has also been ordered
to set up electric car charging stations
in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.
China’s Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology has drafted
a ten-year plan which proposes
A battery of challenges
EVs are expensive and the
single largest cost is the
battery. Manufacturing
one that is safe, reliable,
long-lasting and fast-
charging, is both complex
and costly. The price of an
EV battery that can give a
range of 160km is similar
to the price of a small
petrol car. In addition,
battery replacement may
be needed after five to
Nissan Leaf battery gauge
ten years.
Battery cost is likely to fall as
production increases and could possibly
halve in the next five years. EVs on the
road or in the works all use different
types of batteries – nickel sodium
chloride, lithium-ion, lithium-metal-
polymer – and sizes. To reduce the cost
of ownership, companies like Detroit
Electric in the US lease batteries to
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
The e6 by China’s BYD, now leading the race to build an affordable EV
that foreign automakers wishing to
develop electric vehicle technology
in China be required to form a joint
venture with a Chinese company.
The foreign company would hold
a 49% stake while the Chinese
company retains the majority 51%
stake. While this has outraged US
automakers and dissuaded their
Japanese counterparts somewhat,
it remains to be seen how this will
affect the industry in the long term.
Mass roll-outs
Chinese automaker BYD Company
Limited – with backing from Warren
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway – has
customers in battery rental
programmes of up to five
years.
Nissan’s Leaf, currently
on US roads, is the first all-
electric car with a lithium-
ion battery pack – much
like the battery packs in
laptop computers – that
is lighter and holds more
power than comparably
sized nickel-metal-hydride
batteries used in most EVs
and petrol-electric hybrids.
On a full charge, the Leaf’s 48 lithium-
ion battery modules can go for 160km
before they need to be recharged.
China has channelled 8.5 billion yuan
into the green car industry to help build
up the country’s battery output into one
capable of supplying 150,000 electric
vehicles by October, according to Minister
of Science and Technology Wan Gang.

an edge over its bigger rivals in the
race to build an affordable electric car.
Unlike most automakers, BYD manu-
factures nearly all its cars by itself,
from the engines and body to air-
conditioning, lamps, seatbelts, airbags,
and electronics.
According to company officials,
close to 10,000 of the BYD F3DM (for
“dual mode”; it can run on either pure
battery power or a combination of pet-
rol and electricity) have been sold in
the home market as of mid-February.
Although general release of the
all-electric e6 has met with some set-
backs, there are currently 50 e6s that
have been operating as electric taxis in
Batteries in China such as those
initially developed by Wanxiang
Group had two problems: the batteries
used in electric buses were unable to
keep a charge as long as they wanted
and had a higher rate of defects.
Companies like BYD – one of the
top four manufacturers worldwide and
the largest Chinese manufacturer in
the lithium-ion, nickel-cadmium and
nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable
batteries – claim to have achieved a
breakthrough with their lithium-ion
ferrous phosphate technology.
According to BYD, the production
and use of this battery is eco-friendly:
no pollution or harmful emissions
are released during production, and
the material and chemicals used are
completely recyclable. BYD intends to
make its batteries 100% recyclable and
has developed a non-toxic electrolyte
fluid.

The Nissan Leaf cabin is designed to optimise posture and ensure
healthy air quality for its passengers
Shenzhen since May 2010. BYD is also
in a joint venture with German carmak-
er Daimler AG to produce a new EV
specifically for the Chinese market.
In Malaysia, an MOU with the Berjaya
Group to assemble BYD’s 1.0-litre F0
four-door hatch in the state of Selangor
was scuttled. Nevertheless, since
Malaysia’s Ministry of International
Trade and Industry has granted
Berjaya a licence to build vehicles, the
joint venture could eventually bring in
new EVs to Malaysia and tap incentives
offered by the local government
for green technology vehicles.
Elsewhere, Nissan’s Leaf – its
first all-electric vehicle and the
2011 European Car of the Year – is
the first electric vehicle to roll out
commercially. The Leaf has a range
In January, CLP
inaugurated five
EV leasing partners
who will each go on
to promote EVs to
wider audiences


Nissan Leaf is the first EV to be commercially rolled out
Hong Kong Ltd launched a scheme
where EVs will be leased to partner
corporations for a year, after which
the partners can opt to buy their
leased EVs at a reduced price minus
the leasing fee paid. An EV rental
service is also available wherein
   
drivers may gain practical experience
in driving and charging EVs before
committing to a purchase.
While China’s plans for
market dominance are undoubtedly
CLP introduced two quick chargers in Hong Kong. ambitious, dynamic market forces
Each is capable of charging an EV, within 10 will dictate the eventualities. The
minutes, to run as far as 50km
positive impact of the Chinese
of 160km between charges, can be government’s concerted support,
charged from the domestic household however, provides an encouraging
mains, and is already on sale in Japan glimpse of how rapidly an industry
and the US. can be greened when the private and
In Hong Kong, CLP Power public sectors work in tandem.
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 Taking charge of EVs
A few of the 50 e6
used as taxis in a
trial in Shenzen that
started in May last year.
Initial assessments
have revealed no
significant problems
As shiny new EVs take to the road,
serious questions remain about the
lack of infrastructure to charge them.
Some believe EVs should plug in at a
driver’s home or workplace. Others
back a network of roadside recharging
stations.
Many countries use 208VAC or
240VAC and 15Amp to 32Amp to charge
EVs due to the favourable trade-off
between speed of charging and the cost
of charging equipment.
Charging times for an EV battery
are fairly similar from manufacturer
to manufacturer; one hour of
charging time will restore 26.4km
of range in a typical EV battery. Full
recharge time is eight hours for
the Nissan Leaf (with 160km range
batteries) at 240VAC.
A typical fast charging device
may require over 400V and 100Amp,
but will recharge a 160km range
battery in as little as 20 to 30
minutes.
California-based Better Place
envisions a global network of switch
stations: petrol station-like outlets
where drivers can swap a spent
battery with a fully charged one in
a few minutes. Since time is a factor
and charging an EV battery can take

up to eight hours, switching batteries
makes sense. Based on a subscription
plan, such services will cover the use
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of switch stations, lease of a battery, and
the electricity used.
In Asia, Hong Kong was the first to
move towards a citywide EV charging
network. Hong Kong’s largest electric
utility, CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd,
partners nine companies in a network of
26 standard charging stations and two
quick chargers at public car parks – many
inside high-traffic, popular shopping
centres.
The CLP EV quick charger takes
BYD has set up charging cabinets for the
e6 in locations around Shenzhen

ten minutes to charge up an EV to run
for around 50km while the standard
charging station takes four hours to
do the same. CLP started by offering
free EV charging last year and has since
extended this initiative to the end of
the year.
Although EV infrastructure is in
its infancy in Hong Kong, CLP is open
to opportunities for joint promotion of
EVs and the development of charging
infrastructure across cities in the Pearl
River Delta (PRD).
Across the PRD, there are six
charging stations in Shenzhen while
more are being built. The charging
time is significantly shorter here;
BYD e6 taxis can be fully charged in
40 minutes using the fast charging
station.
Since most urban Chinese live
in apartments and cannot install
charging devices in driveways, more
public charging centres need to be
set up. The April 2009 Renault-Nissan
Alliance announced a partnership
with China’s Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology to bring
zero-emission vehicles to China.
Nissan will provide a blueprint for a
charging network and programmes
for marketing EVs while the Chinese
government will roll out new energy
vehicles within the public transport
sector.
 opportunities  
Effects of Japan’s nuclear
crisis on solar PV market
Support for solar is likely to continue, if not increase, post-crisis
Industry has enough capacity to overcome potential shortfall from Japan
By Ravi Krishnaswamy
The impact of the current nuclear cri-
sis in Japan on the global solar markets
should be analysed from three different
dimensions.
Market reaction
There will be increasing calls to aban-
don nuclear power and promote alter-
native energy. Solar power will be one
of the top choices of the green lobby.
The prices of Suntech Power, First
Solar and Trina Solar increased in the
middle of March, even as the stock
prices of companies associated with
nuclear energy like General Electric,
Areva, Energy Resources of Australia
and TEPCO fell sharply. But for the
solar industry to really benefit from the
problems of nuclear, it takes more than
market sentiment. The industry will
still depend on government financial
and policy support to grow. Some
countries or states may encourage
development of solar energy, and try
to postpone or cancel their plans for
nuclear power. But this direct correla-
tion will not be large enough to have a
significant impact globally.
Outlook for Japan
Japan had some of the following poli-
cies in place for solar energy:
The PV Roadmap toward 2030
(PV2030) suggested measures like
mass deployment of PV system to
make it competitive against other ener-
gy sources in terms of cost, innovations
in terms of technology, efficiency and
manufacturing process, and a widening
of PV application areas. According to
 
the revised roadmap released in 2009,
a goal has been fixed to decrease the
generation cost to less than US$0.07
(7 yen) by 2050, which will contribute
significantly to the future development
of the PV industry.
Renewable Portfolio Standards
(RPS) which obligates electric utilities
to use a fixed amount of new energy
has set the utilisation target (electricity
to be produced from new energy) for
the fiscal year 2014 at 16 billion kWh.
Ministry of Economy, Trade, and
Industry (METI) introduced Feed-in
Tariff (FiT) in 2009 and the initial rate
to be paid to the owners of PV systems
would be 48 yen per kWh for residen-
tial customers (double the current rate
of 24 yen per kWh) and 24 yen per
kWh for systems on non-residential
structures for a period of ten years
for the surplus electricity that is not
used on the premises. All the electric
utilities in the country are mandated to
take part in this scheme. The tariff is
likely to start digressing in 2011.
With the above considerations,
Frost & Sullivan forecasts the total
installed solar PV capacity in Japan
to rise from 3,504MWp in 2010 to
16,959MWp by 2017. The correspond-
ing market revenues were US$7,280
million in 2010, and are expected to
increase to US$18,315 million in 2017
at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 14.1% between 2010 and
2017.
While it is still early to predict the
direct impact of the earthquake and
nuclear crisis in Japan on the above
forecast, following are some potential
scenarios:
• With significant damage to electric
power infrastructure in the country’s
north-east, Japan may look towards
solar PV to alleviate power needs in the
short term and to maintain the growth
of one of its sunrise industries.
• Hard pressed to provide base load
capacity and avoid rolling blackouts,
utilities would spend more money on
creating temporary base load power,
either by running some of the desig-
nated peaking plants or hiring large
capacity power generators. This may
mean RPS and other solar incentives
may take a back seat so far as the utili-
ties are concerned.
• As a part of the reconstruction pack-
age, the government may allocate a
share of the expenditure to promote
solar PV, a technology which Japan
leads.
In all likelihood, the beleaguered
government and the power sector
would not do anything that would por-
tray them as less environment-friendly.
Hence the support for solar is likely to
continue, if not increase, post crisis.
Japan as supplier
Japanese companies like Mitsubishi,
Tokuyama, and M Setek are the three
largest producers of polysilicon. The
leading wafer producers are Kyocera,
M Setek and TKX. Sanyo, Sharp and
Kyocera are the three large cell manu-
facturers. Except for M Setek, whose
facilities are in the crisis epicentre, all
other manufacturers have their facili-
ties in central or western Japan.
Also Japan’s share in the global
solar PV supply base has come down
over the last several years, because of
the rise of Chinese suppliers across the
value chain and also Japanese compa-
nies setting up manufacturing facilities
overseas to take advantage of cost and
nearness to markets.
Thus, the impact on the PV supply
chain will be minimal and the industry
has enough buffer capacity to over-
come any potential short-fall from
Japan.
The author is the vice president of Energy
& Power Systems Practice, Asia Pacific,
Frost & Sullivan.
   •   
 opportunities 
Indonesian market to heat up this year
Geothermal power generation
still investors’ darling
Wind and solar PV power
not gaining interest
By Suchitra Sriram
Amongst all the renewable energy
(RE) technologies, geothermal power
and small hydropower attracted the
most private sector investments in In-
donesia last year and are likely to hold
investors’ attention this year.
Indonesia seems to have realised
the urgent need to adopt RE technolo-
gies to meet its electricity demand
growth of about 7.0% pa.
The Indonesian government is
therefore offering tax incentives for RE
project developers. It has also signed a
major memorandum of understanding
with General Electric for the joint de-
velopment of RE projects in Indonesia.
As a result, the RE market growth is
expected to be slightly better this year.
Still, Indonesia lags behind its
South-east Asian counterparts in the
widespread acceptance and deploy-
ment of various RE technologies
except geothermal power. Though the
country has abundant RE resources
and the government has incorporated
renewable energy targets into the
National Energy Management Blue-
 
Mimi seeks
partners
By Ann Teoh
A series of Made-in-Malaysia invert-
ers (Mimi) for grid-connected photo-
voltaic systems are available for com-
mercialisation. What’s more interesting
is Mimi promises to perform well in
places of high humidity like Malaysia,
Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
    •  
print 2005–2025, sluggish implementa-
tion restricted market penetration of
fastest-growing technologies such as
wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) power
and bio-energy in the country last year.
Indonesia is highly dependent on
thermal power plants, which are vastly
available and can bridge the growing
electricity demand-supply gap. The In-
donesian government aims to reach a
capacity of 9500MW in the geothermal
market by 2025.
 
The expected 2011 market growth rate for
geothermal power generation in Indonesia is
between 8% and 10%
In terms of industry specifics,
geothermal power generation contin-
ues to attract investments in Indone-
sia, but market growth is expected to
moderate between 8% and 10%.
According to the second 10,000
MW crash programme introduced by
the government of Indonesia, geo-
thermal power generation has been
accorded high priority. However,
some projects have not been able to
get environmental clearance and face
Designed by the Universiti
Malaya Centre of Research for Power
Electronics, Drives, Automation and
Control (UMPEDAC), with funding
from the United Nations Development
Project (UNDP) and Global
Environment Fund (GEF), Mimi can
also be customised to suit local needs.
UMPEDAC founder and director,
Professor Dr Nasrudin Abdul Rahim
says PV inverters created for the
temperate climate do not work well
in places of high humidity because
of condensation. He recounts an
incident in which a businessman
opposition from environmental groups
as reservoirs have been identified in
forest areas.
In South-east Asia, Indonesia’s
market attractiveness for RE technolo-
gies is expected to be low especially
for wind and solar PV power this year
as there are no regulatory framework
and policies such as “feed-in-tariff”.
The impact of declining prices of
these technologies has not been felt in
Indonesia because of weak demand.
This is largely because end users in
urban areas are supplied highly subsi-
dised electricity. Hence, wind and solar
PV power continue to generate interest
only for rural and remote areas that are
not connected to the grid.
Growth of the small hydropower
market is likely to remain stable at 8%
this year as these facilities are largely
installed to provide electricity in rural
and remote areas, and in islands where
grid extension is economically unvi-
able.
Despite immense potential to
develop biomass power, several indus-
try challenges such as lack of credit,
logistics issues and limited incentives
will restrict market penetration of this
technology.
The writer is Frost & Sullivan’s Asia Pacific
programme manager for the Energy
& Power Systems Practice.
Why buy Made-in-Malaysia inverters?
• Suitable for high humidity
• Can be customised for local needs
• For Malaysian companies,
Feed-in-Tariff incentives
• Meets international standards
who had scoffed at Mimi came back
complaining to him (Nasrudin) when
the hundreds of off-the-shelf inverters
he bought failed to work.
The Mimi inverters which have
been put up for “sale” are moving fast.
The 1.2kW, 2kW and 3.4kW models
 opportunities
New spun innovation in eco-friendly textiles
New bast-fibre blend offers hedge against fluctuating
textiles prices
Combines environmentally-preferable raw materials and
clean enzyme process
A new cotton-blend alternative has
arrived to help textile makers manage
the unpredictability of weather-
sensitive raw cotton supply and oil
price-dependent synthetic fibre costs.
CRAiLAR® is a patented process
that treats bast fibre stock such as
flax and hemp to produce textile-
grade fibres so comfortable and
fine that they can be turned into
yarn suitable for hosiery, denim,
knitwear and home furnishings.
Since 2009, the patent owner,
Canada’s Naturally Advanced
Technologies Inc (NAT), has teamed
with Hanesbrands Inc and the
US Department of Agriculture in
a research project to cultivate and
assess flax strains that it can use as
• China is Asia’s biggest grower
of hemp and fl ax, followed
by South Korea and India.
• In January, US cotton price hit a
140-year high of US$1.6789 a
pound for near-term futures.
• Current price of CRAiLAR is
about US$0.90 a pound.
(transformer type) have been snapped
up by the Selangor Industrial Corpo-
ration. The 200W and 500W models,
both transformer and transformerless
types, are also spoken for. However,
the 1.2kW, 2kW and 3.4kW trans-
formersless type, and higher wattage
models like the 5kW, 10kW and 15kW
models are still available.
“I am often asked why Malaysia
should want to create its own
inverters when there are many sold
off-the-shelf. The ultimate goal
is to achieve a positive learning
curve for the growth of technical

raw material. Spinning trials show that
existing cotton spinning machinery
can spin CRAiLAR-treated flax.
In March this year, NAT
inked a ten-year supply agreement
with Hanesbrands Inc that will
commercialise its proprietary fibres
and introduce it to the mass market.
“This agreement is a strong
validation of our technology and a
demonstration of its ability to perform
within the Hanesbrands family,” said
Ken Barker, CEO of NAT.
The conversion process uses
a 100%-organic, patented enzyme
wash. The new fibre is soft like cotton,
with similar performance traits and
comfortable for year-round wear.
However, it shrinks less than cotton,
wicks moisture better, and requires
less chemicals to be dyed to the same
colour levels as cotton.
Eco-conscious buyers should
note that the new technology uses
raw materials that can be sourced
with far less environmental impact
compared with, say, cotton, silk, acrylic
or polyester. In many places, raw flax
knowledge,” Nasrudin said.
Mimi has an efficiency range of
87% to 94%. Transformer models
are slightly less efficient compared to
transformerless models. Transform-
ers, however, perform an important
function in a PV system by separating
the grid facility from the PV facil-
ity, thus providing a safety feature.
Nasrudin foresees a good de-
mand for Malaysian-made PV invert-
ers as Malaysia’s Feed-in-Tariff (FiT)
that is scheduled to kick off mid-
year offers incentives for the use of
Malaysia-manufactured or assembled

NAT CEO Ken Barker holding raw bast fibre
in one hand and CRAiLAR yarn in the other,
with a finished knit garment on display
fibres are an abundant by-product
of flax plants grown for linseed oil,
while hemp thrives in almost any
part of the world with little need of
chemical fertilisers or pest control.
Thanks to its ability to enhance
the performance characteristics
of natural bast fibres, CRAiLAR is
anticipated to gain adoption and use in
textile, industrial, energy, medical and
composite material applications.
solar PV modules and inverters.
Mimi costs about RM3,000
(US$990) per kW and is said to be
within market range. UMPEDAC
works with a testing centre in
Vienna, Austria to ensure inter-
national standards are met.
UMPEDAC is also working on
the third generation multi-string
models. It was recognised as one
of Malaysia’s eight centres of ex-
cellence in research last year,
the only one in engineering.
Contact nasrudin@um.edu.my or
visit www.umpedac.um.edu.my
   •   
 opportunities 
Money from oil palm waste
Government-linked Felda takes lead in biomass plants
Private mills mull over key challenges
By Jason Tan
Malaysia’s biggest oil palm operator,
Felda Global Group, produces three
million tonnes of empty fruit bunches
(EFB) a year. That is about 15% of the
“waste” generated by the country’s
palm oil production.
The government-linked corpora-
tion’s March announcement of a joint
venture with national utility company
Tenaga Nasional Berhad to set up a
RM120 million power plant that uses
EFB as feedstock has industry watch-
ers sitting up.
What is interesting is that the
plant – which will use 350,000 tonnes
of EFB generated by seven mills in
Jengka, Pahang – is just the tip of the
iceberg. According to news reports,
Felda intends to use up all its EFB in
some 70 projects that have kicked off
across the country, including compost-
ing and pellet production. They want to
do this by 2013.
Felda is not alone in harnessing
biomass, a renewable energy source.
There are currently 36 palm oil mills
nationwide that have biogas power
plants, with 38 more under construc-
tion, according to the Malaysian Palm
Oil Board.
They are part of a bigger plan for
the Palm Oil National Key Economic
Area (NKEA) to contribute RM178 bil-
lion to Gross National Income by 2020,
Business model: Power generation as revenue earner
Hiroyuki Sugano of Sumi-
tomo Heavy Industries
says the introduction of
Malaysian feed-in power
tariffs scheduled to be
implemented mid this year
will make power gen-
eration a potential stable
revenue earner.
This is provided the
power-generation technology employed
is proven and stable. He notes that under
Malaysia’s Small Renewable Energy
    •  
creating an additional 41,000 jobs, of
which 40% is targeted to comprise
highly-skilled professionals.
However, for the owners of private
mills, the main concern about investing
in biomass plants is financial viability.
The key question, says Dr Lennard
Gomes, business development man-
ager of Palm Oil Industrial Cluster
(POIC) Sabah, is: how does one com-
mercialise the so-called waste that is
the by-product of palm oil production?
The oil palm consists of just 10%
oil and 90% biomass. The latter would
include fronds, trunks, mesocarp
fibre, palm oil manufacturing effluent
(POME), EFB, palm kernel shell (PKS)
and palm kernel cake (PKC). From
these may be derived products such as
animal feed, fertiliser, pulp and paper
(currently under research) and, of
course, fuel.
Gomes says at the current level
of efficiency (25% for a 1MW plant),
biomass power plants would only be
financially viable if certified under the
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
or as part of a carbon-trading scheme.
At current levels of technology, bio-
mass products are still a lower source
of potential energy than coal.
There are two other problems:
how to move biomass products over
long distances without them degrading
Programme (SREP), only
about ten such projects
have been launched.
Sumitomo’s proposed
business model is for
power generation within
the mill to overcome the

logistics problem, the
plant would use empty
fruit branches (EFB), fibre
and occasionally palm kernel shell as its
feedstock. The last can be used during
the early months of the year, when the
 
Lennard Gomes: Set up integrated processing
complexes for efficient use of oil palm waste
and the consistent supply of biomass
as feedstock.
There are also other key challeng-
es like the fact that there are cheaper
and more readily available sources
of fuel.
Gomes proposes an integrated
biomass complex, which incorporates
plantation, mill and the efficient use of
biomass as a source of energy and with
fibre as the building block for other
value-added products.
However, he emphasises the need
for a systematic programme of replant-
ing older plantations to ensure they re-
main at peak productivity. The exhaus-
tion of soil may occur if no allocation is
made for a certain amount of biomass
to “go back to the soil” as compost.
He says it is crucial to strike
a balance between the commercial
potential of value-added products and
maintaining the productive life of the
plantations.
If more biomass power plants are
built, they could become a series of
independent power producers with net
zero emissions that will export power
to the national grid.
planting schedule would mean less EFB,
and fibre can be counted on as feed-
stock.
Sugano claims a 60-tonne-per-hour
mill can generate 10MW, with 8MW
being exported to the national grid. He
says such a project is viable even at the
current tariff of 21 sen per kW/hour, with
investment being recovered within nine
years.
A 25-tonne boiler can use EFB or
biogas. The total investment for such a
project is estimated at US$30 million.
  
Cyberjaya builds on
its cool solutions
Malaysia’s first district cooling system provider
invests in second plant
Company to explore opportunities worldwide
By Stephen Ng
A growing demand for district cool-
ing has prompted Malaysia’s pioneer
in the field, Cyberview Sdn Bhd, to
build on the successful implementation
of its first cooling plant a decade ago.
Cyberview managing director
Hafidz Hashim said a total of RM100
million was invested into District Cooling
Plant 1 (DCP1) in the past ten years.
“Another RM65 million will be invested
to further expand DCP1 and to build a
second plant,” he says, adding that this
will be done by middle of the year.
Hafidz
Hashim
  
Currently DCP1, which covers
two hectares, has a capacity of 13,000
refrigerant tonnes (RTs). DCP2 will
boost capacity by another 15,000 RTs.
The company has a planned capacity
for 100,000 RTs by 2020 to service the
whole of Cyberjaya.
Cyberview’s 100%-owned subsid-
iary Pendinginan Megajana Sdn Bhd
now provides centralised cooling ser-
vices to 16 customers, covering more
than 30 buildings. The new capacity
can serve another seven buildings.
Advantages of going green
Cyberview, a government-linked com-
pany, has driven green purchasing for
seven years. Hafidz says more building
owners are realising the advantages of
central district cooling.
Firstly, there is the substantial
savings of upfront capital expenditure
(CAPEX) of at least 80%. There are
also savings on space and maintenance
staff, along with other common
operating expenditures.
Secondly, the concept boosts
energy efficiency besides reducing car-
bon emission substantially. “Because
the district cooling system (DCS) fully
utilises off-peak grid capacity, using
water that is chilled throughout the
night to be gradually released during
the day whenever cooling is required,
we are able to boost energy efficiency,”
he explains, adding that for every one
kilowatt of electricity generated, a total
of 1.05kg of carbon is emitted.
DCS also eliminates the hassle of
maintaining the cooling towers and chill-
ers against problems such as the accu-
How the Cyberjaya
DCS works
The Cyberjaya District Cooling System
works in much the same way as any
other public utilities. Clients pay cooling
tariffs as they would pay other utility
bills; they are charged on per use basis
at 12.8 sen per kilowatt refrigerant.
The plant generates chilled water
to cool down offices within the entire
integrated township of Cyberjaya, which
has a population of 41,000 and some
500 companies. The township’s total
area is 2,800 hectares, of which 40% has
been earmarked for commercial zones.
Currently, there are 20km of
insulated stainless steel pipes running
underground throughout the entire
township, carrying chilled water to
buildings.
Cyberview is the first township in
Malaysia to have implemented the DCS
successfully. Most other high-density
commercial areas (such as KLCC and
Solaris Dutamas) use centralised cooling
systems for a cluster of buildings.
Cyberview organises a monthly
public business networking and forum.
Those who wish to attend can contact
them at +60 3-83156117.
  
Technology partners:
Cooling tower: Truwater Cooling Tower
Sdn Bhd
Chiller: Carrier Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Pumps: Ebara Pumps Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Transformers: ABLECON Engineering
Sdn Bhd (Schneider)
Switch gears: ABLECON Engineering
Sdn Bhd (Schneider)
Financiers: CIMB, Government of Malaysia
Customers include:
HP, Shell, Cyberjaya University
College of Medical Sciences, DHL,
Emerio, Ericsson, MEASAT, Astro
Charges:
Tariffs: RM0.128 per kWh refrigerant
Capacity charge: RM21.50
per kW refrigerant
Meter charge: RM50 per month
Refrigerant used:
Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC 134A)
mulation of calcium-magnesium scales
and algae growth in open systems.
“Besides, we are able to provide
cooling services 24 hours seven days
a week, with our level-of-service key
performance index set at 99.9%,” says
Hafidz.
He says the DCS is more efficient
and cost-effective because of a shared
central network. “Air-conditioning
accounts for as much as 70% of the
energy consumption for a typical build-
ing,” he says. A study by Cyberview
showed the use of a DCS improves the
economics of the building owner by
about 20% compared to conventional
systems.
“It is like paying for electricity
or water tariffs based on usage
versus each building owner having to
generate his own electricity supply,”
he says.
Hafidz says DCS can be applied in
various locations from entire business
districts to individual institutional set-
tings such as university campuses. The
company is now looking for partners
and clients, especially developers of
industrial and commercial districts.
“We are ready to explore new
opportunities both locally and world-
wide,” he adds.
   •   
 cover    

Looking
beyond
cost Architects
often find it
a challenge
to convince property developers
to go green and, thereby, future
proof their investments.
For those who have made it past the boardroom, however,
the end result can sometimes be awe-inspiring and even
great for business. This cover series pays tribute to those
who have been bold in breaking new ground, as in the case
of the Pearl River Tower (right).

Singapore brings us its first

green hospital, the Khoo Teck
Puat Hospital, a tribute to
holistic healing.

Malaysia showcases four

projects – a condominium, a
hotel and office development,
an office tower, and a residential
landed property – in its first
Green Tour staged by a cohort of
young developers.

In Dubai, United Arab Emirates,

the largest spherical building in
the world – the Technosphere
– is slowly taking shape, taking
Planet Earth as its muse.
> Cover stories from pages 18 to 33

    •  

World’s
greenest
skyscraper:
Pearl River
Tower,
Guangzhou,
China
> Story on page 28

Wind turbines
provide 4%
of building’s
energy

Solar panels in
the building’s
skin power
automated
window blinds
to reduce glare
and heat

Building skin
includes air
gaps that trap
heat which
is harvested
in heat
exchangers

Air-conditioning
system is 80%
smaller than for
a conventional
building of
its size

Rainwater
collection
system,
combined with
solar panels,
provides
,    

warm water
to building

   •   

 cover    

Architects make a case for green

Rating tools need to spell out tangible “It’s still a matter concurs. “Clients don’t buy
benefits to green building dwellers of cost. (Clients) sustainability if they don’t
still equate
everything make money. Most of the
Green regulations may be more to ROI.” time, we have to push it.”
effective than incentives The problem is that
when the talk gets stuck on
By David Lee & Ann Teoh cost per se, the sustainabil-
ity agenda grinds to a halt.
Developers get hard-nosed

 
Despite the strong global push for about ROI, and the only way
sustainability in our built environment
today, the reality is that architects
rarely get a green brief from project “Clients don’t buy
sustainability if
owners. Conditioned to create value for Serina Hijjas they don’t make
shareholders, many developers cannot, money. Most
of the time, we
and often will not, see beyond cost and “It’s still a matter of cost. have to push it.”
payback period. (Clients) still equate everything to
Although prices of big-ticket items returns on investment,” says Malay-
like solar photovoltaics have plummet- sian architect Serina Hijjas, director
ed in recent years, going green – and of Hijjas Kasturi Associates, and a
meeting rigorous certification require- fierce advocate of energy-efficient
ments – does increase the develop- buildings who had helped in the
ment budget. Industry circles variously creation of Malaysia’s industry-led
quote figures of between 3% and Green Building Index (GBI).

 
7% of total cost to achieve a Green Peter Brannan, managing
Mark Gold or Platinum certificate, for director (Asia & Middle East) of
instance. Hongkong-based Arquitectronica, Peter Brannan

Number of green buildings certified or under

evaluation for green certification (Asia Pacific) 2010
700

Certified green building

600
Building under evaluation
for certification

500

400
Total numbers of green buildings

300

200

South
h Korea
K Australia
Austr Singapore
a Hong
g Kong Japan
Japa New Zealand Malaysia Indonesia

100

Source: Frost & Sullivan

    •  

to turn them around is The need to look
a solid case for making beyond rating tools:
“You might get a Green buildings
money from investing in green building and
green features. not be sure how market: Historical
Brannan cites the
much energy you
actually save.”
developments
case of the Philippines’ of councils and
largest mall project, North associations
Edsa, where its SkyGarden, a green
roof over what was supposed to be just
an open-air car park, is now a hit with
the locals, even attracting wedding

 
couples on their photo shoot. The roof Korean Green Building
Council (KGBC) was
garden was not in the original plans
as project owner SM Prime Holdings Prashant Kapoor
2000 established and Green
Building Certification
was cost-conscious. However, the mall System (GBCS)
owner was persuaded by Brannan’s losses (that might be incurred). This is was proposed.
cost-savings argument of lower elec- not an easy nut to crack.”
tricity consumption and longer-lasting “Occupiers will say they would Japan’s-
waterproofing. With the addition of like to have an energy-efficient build- comprehensive
soil and grass atop concrete, the roof
garden became such a popular rendez-
ing but there aren’t any. Builders will
say they can build energy-efficient
2001 Assessment System for
Building Environment
vous for the people that it is now open buildings but developers do not ask for Efficiency (CASBEE)
was introduced.
24 hours, and creates enough traffic them. Developers then say they would
to keep businesses going. Electric- ask for them but investors won’t pay. Green Building Council
ity consumption has also reduced Investors say they would fund energy- Australia (GBCA), a
significantly because of the roof’s heat
absorption effects.
efficient buildings but there is no
demand for them.”
2002 leading non-government
organisation and a
Sometimes, however, architects Prashant says the market failure is member of World
Green Building Council
do get lucky, as in the case of the due, among other things, to misalign- (WGBC), was formed. It
fabulous Taikoo Hui project in Guang- ment of incentives between the provid- introduced the Green
zhou, China, wherein the owners ers of buildings and the occupants of Star rating system for
issued a green mandate. buildings. Government policies may green buildings.
When one considers that build- also unwittingly discourage greater
ings are widely estimated to account energy efficiencies with low energy Professional Green
Building Council was
for over 40% of energy consumption pricing.
worldwide and 15% of global man- He says there is also difficulty ac- 2003 formed in Hong Kong
with comprehensive
made greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- cessing financing for energy efficiency assessment tool BEAM.
sions, the world needs more people (EE) upgrades due to low awareness
like the owners of Taikoo Hui or the of EE among banks, and the fact that
Singapore government, which has there are very few energy service com- Building Construction
Authority initiated
introduced a roadmap for mandatory panies (ESCOs) with financial products.
compliance to the Green Mark. In such a situation, he says, “sticks 2005 Green Mark rating
system in Singapore.
But why, indeed, is the green work better than carrots.” GBC New Zealand was
building not a mainstream agenda Prashant says there is a need to established with a
today, despite the energy crises and look beyond rating tools, as they are proposal of Green Star
assessment tool.
the strong public buy-in on climate not clear on what the tangible benefits
change mitigation efforts worldwide? are to the people who live in green
Prashant Kapoor, senior industry buildings. “You might get a green GBC Indonesia was
formed and became a
specialist on green buildings, Inter- building and not be sure how much
national Finance Corporation, USA, energy you actually save.” 2008 member of WGBC. It
designed Greenship
says buildings offer mankind the Prashant says developers should rating tool for
single largest global opportunity to know that bankers like clarity on what green buildings.
make deep emission cuts at low, no or they are getting into, like how going
even negative cost. green will add value to a building. GB Index Malaysia was
He says green buildings are not Yet, many forget that European founded and Green
prevalent today because there is a countries are greener today because 2009 Index assessment tool
for green buildings
“cycle of blame” involving the build- they readily invested 10 to 20 years was designed.
ers, developers and investors. “No- ago. Buildings stay up for decades. To
body wants to take responsibility for make any building future-proof, and for Source: Frost & Sullivan

   •   

 cover
Where green buildings
make immediate sense
Building types
• 24-hour buildings: hospitals,
hotels, call centres and airports
• Owner-occupied buildings:
hospitals, hotels, and schools
• Brand-sensitive clients: supermarkets
and housing developers
Countries
• Countries with high energy tariffs:
Caribbean, West Africa and the
Philippines
• Countries where CO² from
electricity generation is high: South
Africa, Indonesia, China, India,
Middle East and North Africa
Source: Prashant Kapoor, International Finance
Corporation
World’s greenest skyscraper
China may be slow off the starting
block in the green building “event” but
once it gets into stride, it breaks away
from the field.
Take the case of the nearly-com-
pleted Pearl River Tower in Guang-
zhou, designed and engineered by
,    
    •  
   
occupiers to be able to take advan-
tage of the lower costs of being green
tomorrow, the building must be built
green today.
Poul E Kristensen, managing
director of IEN Consultants, Malaysia,
has done much work on EE in South-
east Asia, including Kuala Lumpur In-
ternational Airport, the greenest airport
in Asia. He puts it more passionately:
“Those who do not build green are
building obsolete.”
He says owners of green build-
ings attract customers who value such
efforts and they tend to regard those
buildings without green certification as
“grade B”.
It is also shown, he says, that the
atmosphere in green buildings tends to
increase staff productivity. As human
capital contributes 90% of a building’s
Skidmore, Owings, Merrill LLP (SOM)
for CNTC Guangdong Tobacco Corp.
The 71-storey tower is uniquely
sculpted, with two “mouths” in its
facade to swallow healthy gusts at the
Pearl River Delta, channeling wind
power to run turbines that generate
electricity for the 2.3-million sq ft build-
ing.
Other features that go into build-
ing this energy-efficient skyscraper:
solar panels, double skin curtain walls,
chilled ceiling systems, under-floor
ventilation and daylight harvesting.
The superstructure is up and the
building’s skin is almost completed.
Constructed by Shanghai Construc-
tion Group, the tower will be commis-
sioned soon.
According to Frost & Sullivan,
China’s Ministry of Construction esti-
mated in 2007 that only 5% of existing
large public buildings had adopted
energy efficiency measures.
The total cost of retrofitting exist-
ing buildings with energy-saving sys-
tems is estimated to be US$193 billion,
with target completion by 2020. China’s
domestic green building market was
estimated to be worth US$213 billion in
2010.
“Those who do
not build green
are building
obsolete”
 
Poul Kristensen
operational expenditure, it makes per-
fect sense to have happier workers and
fewer people on medical leave.
Those quoted in this article were speakers
in the Green Buildings Asia 2011 confer-
ence held in Singapore from February
23rd–24th. It was organised by IBC Asia.
Pearl River Tower:
Green innovations
at a glance
Most innovative element:
The curvilinear form of the building
funnels wind to turbines integrated
into the building to generate
electricity. This also helps to relieve
the structural burden imposed by
strong winds.
Other elements that make it
a zero-energy building:
• Rainwater collection system which
uses solar energy to provide hot
water for the building.
• Photovoltaic panels on the glass
skin of the building to absorb the
sun’s energy
• Internally-ventilated high-
performance double skin facade
with automatic blinds is used for
the north and south orientations
• Triple-glazed facade with external
shades and automatic blinds
within the glazing cavity is used
for the east and west orientations
• Largest radiant-cooled office
building in the world, using
raised floor ventilation, heat
sinks and vertical vents
 cover    

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

heals the earth
Singapore’s first green hospital is 27%
more energy-efficient
Building also designed to enhance
patient care and staff efficiency
By Ann Teoh
design. Creativity in passive build-
ing design coupled with a few active
measures resulted in it being 27%
more energy efficient than conven-
tional hospitals. KTPH is expected to
have an Energy Efficiency Index (EEI)
of 220kWh/m²/year.
Principal architect Jerry Ong Chin
Po of CPG Consultants, who spoke at

Hospitals use two and a half times
more energy than office buildings.
In the United States, they are second
only to fast-food restaurants as energy
guzzlers in the buildings sector. Today,
however, hospitals are using heat
recovery, daylighting, and temperature
and air control to reduce their carbon
footprint.
In Asia, Singapore’s newest and
first green hospital, the Khoo Teck
Puat Hospital (KTPH), showcases how
sustainability can be built into hospital
the Green Buildings Asia Conference in
Singapore recently, says the 550-bed
district general hospital was designed
be an energy-efficient, hassle-free
hospital that enhances patient care and
staff efficiency. It is also a hospital in a
garden, and a garden in a hospital.
The Platinum Green Mark Award-
winning complex sits beside a pond
and comprises four blocks (specialist
outpatient clinics, podium for treat-
ment and diagnostics, private ward
tower and subsidised ward tower) with
a floor area of 105,000m².
 
Jerry Ong
Adorned with a garden courtyard,
terraced gardens, and even a com-
munity garden, and planter boxes at
the wards, it is little wonder that KTPH
clinched the top Skyrise Greenery
Award 2010 by the Singapore National
Parks Board.
“The garden courtyard is the heart
of the hospital. One can see the whole
hospital from the courtyard and

Facade
The angled fixed
screens modulate direct
sunlight and glare
while still maximising
the view from the
air-conditioned wards
 

Project info KTP Hospital

was designed
Project owner: to be a garden
in a hospital,
Ministry of Health, Singapore
and a hospital
Hospital operator: Alexandra Health in a garden
Project manager: PM Link
Architect: CPG Consultants in
collaboration with RMJM
Building performance consultants:
Total Building Performance Team
M&E consultant, C&S consultant and
quantity surveyor: CPG Consultants
Landscape: Peridian Asia Pte Ltd
Main contractor: Hyundai
Engineering & Construction

    •  

 Being green pays off with
multiple savings and a more
comfortable stay for patients.
The hospital saves 8.6 million
kWh of energy or S$1.54 million
Light shelves cut per year.
glare and bring
light deeper into
the building

Subsidised
ward

Operable jalousies
allows in light and air,
and can be controlled
by the occupants, while
the monsoon louvres
below them are fixed,
allowing ventilation
even when all the
jalousies are closed

Planter boxes bring the

garden to the patients

 
Garden
courtyard

 

Car park

Note the glass encasement

surrounded by plants
that brings light into the
basement car park below,
reducing the need for
lighting during the day
 
 

   •   

 cover  
enjoy the view of the Yishun Pond. This
also brings light and greenery into the
basement,” says Ong, who believes the
gardens both cool the hospital and aid
in patients’ recovery.
Passive strategies
While private wards are air-condi-
tioned, the subsidised wards are
naturally ventilated. Extensive shading
studies were carried out on how to
keep out glare and heat.
Ong says specially-designed sun-
shades on the east and west facades,
and glazing and thermal insulation
for an opaque facade with low U-
value have resulted in KPTH enjoying
23.6% less heat gain from its facades.
Its Envelope Thermal Transfer Value
(ETTV) is only 38.2W/m2K compared
to current standards of 50W/m2K. The
designs translate to an annual savings
of S$63,951 (US$50,400).
To optimise natural ventilation in
the subsidised wards – key to patient
comfort – Ong looked at building ori-
entation, wing walls, operable jalousies
 
    •  
 
(windows) and monsoon louvres.
By orientating the building to
catch the north and south-east winds,
KTPH enjoys a wind speed of at least
0.6m/s while a wing wall on the facade
reduces the need for fans by 60%. Op-
erable modular jalousie windows are
angled for the best airflow and least
rain splashing, tinted grey glass re-
duces glare and nearby planter boxes
bring the gardens to the patients.
Ong says the private wards are
also fitted with ceiling fans, an option
for natural ventilation often preferred
by elderly patients. When the windows
open, the air conditioner automatically
switches off.
These passive devices were tested
using computational fluid dynamics
simulation at the design stage and
verification was done using wind tun-
nel study.
In the subsidised wards, light
shelves reduce glare, and bring sun
light deeper into the interior. Glazing
allows light in minus the heat. This is
further complemented with an optimal
window to wall ratio. Together the ef-
fect is a 30% cut in lighting needs.
Active strategies
Placed strategically, T5 fluorescent
lamps with electronic ballasts, PLC
downlights and task lighting produce
both energy savings and a calming and
cheerful environment. Motion sensors
are installed in transient use areas like
toilets, staircase cores and infrequent-
ly-used corridors, achieving savings of
10%. Energy consumption is further
optimised by energy-efficient lifts with
sleep mode and VVVF motor drive
(10% savings) and escalators with step
sensors (30% savings).
Careful sizing and choice of air-
conditioning plant room equipment
have resulted in energy savings on
the chiller (18%), chilled water pump
(33%), total plant room (19%) and
cooling tower (29%). Fan coil units
(instead of diffusers) allow units to be
switched off when rooms are vacant.
Low-VOC paints and adhesives
are used indoors, UVC treatment elimi-
nates airborne bacteria and viruses,
and carbon dioxide and carbon monox-
ide sensors monitor air quality.
Waste is minimised at source and
a pneumatic waste conveyance system
is used to cut the risk of contamination.
A composting machine processes food
waste into fertilisers.
KTPH uses water fixtures and
fittings with Water Efficiency Labelling
System (WEL) ratings of “Very Good”
and “Excellent”. Estimated savings is
39.8% against non-rated fixtures.
The nearby Yishun Pond also
serves as a catchment for rainwater
that is subsequently used to irrigate the
hospital gardens. For its cooling tow-
ers, the hospital uses AHU condensates
and NEWater (treated wastewater).
Solar thermal systems supply the
21,000 litres of hot water used daily,
bringing annual savings of S$60,000
in electricity. Meanwhile, the 130kWp
solar photovoltaic systems generate
150,000kWh of energy a year.
Twilight view of KTP Hospital
from Yishun Pond, which acts
as a rainwater collection tank
for the hospital. Pond water is
used to irrigate the hospital's
gardens and terraces
   •   
 cover  
Trendsetters on show
Young Malaysian developers promote sustainability
Green elements becoming premium property standards
By Ann Teoh
Green building tours are still a novelty
in South-east Asia, but the recent
show-and-tell by four trendsetting
Kuala Lumpur property developers
may soon change that. Four busloads
of participants – and subsequent offers
by other developers to host such tours
– indicate green tidings.
The Kuala Lumpur Green Tour
was organised by REHDA Youth, the
year-old youth wing of the Malaysian
Real Estate Housing Developers’ Asso-
ciation (REHDA). It was sponsored by
AkzoNobel and attended by profession-
als from building materials suppliers
to architectural firms, developers, real
estate houses and the Singaporean
Building and Construction Authority
(BCA).
Green building ratings are volun-
tary in Malaysia, unlike in Singapore,
where all new buildings must comply
with the island republic’s Green Mark.
Indonesia has just completed version 1
of its rating tools, while Thailand uses
the US-based LEED on a voluntary
basis.
The success of the green tour in-
spires industry confidence and buy-in
on going green. Technical details given
on tour were lapped up by note-taking
participants eager to build knowledge
on trends.
REHDA president Datuk Seri
Michael Yam had mooted the idea
of a youth wing as a platform for the
association’s younger members to
share their vision for the industry. So
far, instincts appear on target with
the group’s focus on environmentally-
sound building practices.
Green building practices may
soon become standard premium prop-
erty features. All four projects on show
employ rainwater harvesting while
low-VOC paints and Low-E glass are
used in all three high-rise properties.
Motion-activation and LED fixtures
    •  
 
1
Ken Bangsar uses motion
sensors in stairwells,
refuse chambers, Muslim
 
 
prayer room and mail
box rooms to reduce
electricity usage
Ken Bangsar Serviced Residences
Ken Bangsar Serviced Its pride is its own Other green measures
Residences, Kuala Lumpur CHEEL system whereby include motion-activated
was an abandoned tower condensate from air lighting in stairwells, the
before Ken Holdings conditioners is used in the Muslim prayer and mailbox
took it over in 2006. evaporative feature wall rooms; energy-efficient
It is the first building at the lobby, cooling the fixtures in the residences;
outside of Singapore to air that comes through. and mood lighting systems
receive the Green Mark All apartments are in the penthouses.
GoldPLUS Award for equipped with multi-split The building’s high
High Rise Residential inverter air-conditioners speed and VVVF-rated
Development (July 2009). that use only one lifts are 30% more
Last year, it received compressor for multiple efficient, saving energy
Malaysia’s Green Building indoor units, providing up during off-peak hours.
Index Gold Award. to 60% energy savings.
help keep lighting costs down in the
mixed-use and residential buildings.
Building orientation, typically on
a north-south axis, facilitates cross
ventilation and reduces cooling costs.
 
Both Ken Bangsar and GTower employ
saline chlorination for swimming pools
The feature wall at Ken
and harness heat from air condition- Bangsar lobby uses air-
ing compressors to warm water for use conditioner condensate
elsewhere. to cool down the lobby.
A wind tunnel nearby
helps ventilate the place
 Sunway Challis
comes with large
3
windows and deep
overhangs for shade.
The north-south
orientation is key to
controlling heat gain.

 
2

 
GTower uses green-
certified carpets:
the base of this
carpet is made of old
carpeting material

For GTower, site and The back lanes

project management of Sunway
are as important as Challis are

 
the features built in refreshingly
green

GTower Sunway Challis Damansara

GTower is Malaysia’s first Green Mark Making cleaning Sunway Challis Damansara is made
Gold mixed development building, certi- enzymes from up of 102 units of one-and-a-half-
fied as such on April 2010. The Grade fruit peel as storey townhouses with landscaped
A++ commercial building, made up of part of a culture parks, water features and meandering
offices, a hotel and a club, uses an intel- of recycling walkways and porticos.
ligent building management system. This Green Mark certificate holder
From the design stage, GTower had many passive features built in at
sourced for sustainable products, the design stage, including building
choosing green certified suppliers. orientation, large windows with shadings
To monitor indoor air qual- and deep overhangs, a glass roof for
ity, CO² sensors are installed at AHUs, natural daylight, cross ventilation, a
 

and CO sensors in car parks. ventilative roof, cavity west-facing

Low-VOC paints and wallpaper walls, water-efficient taps and lots of
are used. Heat recovered from chill- greenery. Active features include inverter
ers provide hot water for hotel rooms. Turning garden air conditioners, energy-saving lights
Swimming pools use salt chlorinators. waste into and solar water heaters, with a green
compost
The Green Bar showcases designs using provision of 3.45 or 69% of its area.
recyclable and recycled elements. The green cost of Challis was
Operations are equally green. RM422,000 or 1.6% of the construction
Composting is done, and soaps made cost. Energy savings amount to
from waste oils. GTower uses its own 49,000kWh or RM14,500 per year for
bioenzyme cleaners and biodegradable the common areas and RM400 per
cleaning agents. Recycling and recycled residential unit per year. Water savings
paper are norms. Estimated CO² reduc- amount to 108m3 or RM216 per year
tion per year is 3.5 million kg from 7.3 for the common areas, and 96m3 or
 

million kWh of electricity saved. RM120 per unit for residences.

Water efficiency is achieved with
water-efficient fittings, condensate recy-
cling and a green roof irrigation system.

   •   

 cover    

1 First Avenue has deep balconies

with generous landscape on every
Who’s who
floor. The building envelope
uses a combination of Low-e Ken Bangsar Developer cum contractor: Ken Property Sdn Bhd
glass, ceramic fritted glass, tinted Partners:
glass and walls with granite- Serviced
• Air-conditioning: Kejuruteraan Jaya Tech Sdn Bhd
look spraytile from Suzuka Residences (Daikin, Trox Technik)
4 • Building envelope: Facade Treatment Engineering
Sdn Bhd (Ajiya)
• Water efficiency:
WC: W.atelier Sdn Bhd (TOTO)
Fittings: GC Building Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd
(Dorn Bracht, Villeroy & Boch, Hoesch)
Hot water systems: Hau Sing Sdn Bhd (Aumada)

 
• Energy efficiency:
Kejuruteraan Elektrik Sri Megah Sdn Bhd
Wong Lighting Sdn Bhd
A&S Building Tech Sdn Bhd (Clipsal, Schneider
Electric)
• Energy-efficient lifts and security controls:
Ryoden (M) Sdn Bhd, Kaba Jaya Security Sdn Bhd
• Sustainable construction & management:
Citatah AMS Marble Sdn Bhd
Trisonsteel Works Sdn Bhd (Wess)
SKK (low-VOC paints)
WENGE (veneer)
Yew Huat (M) Machine Joinery Sdn Bhd

GTower Office Developer: GTower Sdn Bhd

and Hotel Consultants:
 

• Architect/facilitator: BEP Akitek Sdn Bhd

The Architectural Network Sdn Bhd
• C&S engineering: TY Lin International Sdn Bhd
• M&E engineering: Jurutera Perunding Valdun
1 First Avenue Sdn Bhd
• Landscape: Artisat Landscape Sdn Bhd
Walrus Design Sdn Bhd
1 First Avenue is a GBI Gold Award office • Interior designer:
building. The north-south orientation of Hotel & main lobby: Axis Network Sdn Bhd
the main facade helps keep it cool. Service
Goldis office: PDI Design & Associates Sdn Bhd
 

areas like toilets, M&E rooms, staircases

Food court: RDM Design Sdn Bhd
and terraces or balconies are located at
Sky bar & restaurant: Eco ID Pte Ltd
the warmer eastern and western ends of
the building where landscaped balconies
and vertical gardens provide sun relief.
Plants are indigenous to cut down
on water, pesticide and fertiliser use.
Sunway Challis Developer: Sunway City Bhd (ISO 14401)
Aerated bricks on the perimeter walls Damansara Business associates (with ISO 24401):
provide four times better insulation than • SA Architects Sdn Bhd
normal bricks. Low-E glass reduces solar • Sunway Construction Bhd
heat and cuts heat gain by up to 50% (or • Awangsa Bina Sdn Bhd
79% with sun shades). The grassed roof • JUBM Sdn Bhd
with a helipad also helps in heat insulation.
 

Rainwater harvesting and use saves

30% on tap water and sewage is converted
via a biodigestion process, eliminating
the need to send it to city sewers.
The towers chilled water storage
air-conditioning system uses off-peak
1 First Avenue Developer: Bandar Utama City Corporation Sdn Bhd
electricity, reducing peak demand by 35%. Consultants:
This is topped with high-efficiency chillers • Architect/facilitator: CT Architect
and systems with variable speeds for pump • C&S engineering: Meinhardt (M) Sdn Bhd
sets, cooling towers and air handling units. • M&E engineering: EAB Consulting Engineers Sdn Bhd
• Landscape: Morphosis Design
 

   •   

 cover    

Super orb that lives, breathes

and thinks
Dubai’s Technosphere to be the world’s largest spherical building

Technology, architecture and greens create self-breathing environment

When it comes to Cybertecture, think- nology at all scales for a better world.” gardens for the offices and hotel not
ing out-of-the-box means more than just Thus the Technosphere will use only offers outdoor terraces for work
thinking beyond it. It could mean no technology and architecture to create and relaxation but also provides a
box at all, as in the case of the spherical a “self-breathing environment” as well passive solar shield from the sun while
Technosphere in Dubai, which looks to as to generate electricity from the sun, contributing oxygen sustainably. Recy-
our home planet Earth as the ultimate supplementing its energy needs. An cling minimises the use and wastage of
model of a sustainable habitat. intelligently-distributed array of sky water in this vast building.
Technosphere, the globe-shaped
winner of the CNBC Architectural
Award Dubai 2009, was designed to
be a super building that lives, breathes
and thinks for and with the people that
inhabit it. It will house offices, a hotel
and an exhibition hall. While construc-
tion is progressing slowly because of
the economic crisis in Dubai, the base
has been completed and work is now
proceeding on the second floor.
“Cybertecture attempts to inno-
vate green buildings with the philoso-
phy that a green building is not just
green or a building, but much more; it
is a comprehensive device that carries
new technologies and possibilities of a
better life within the building for its in-
habitants,” says James Law, chairman
and chief cybertect of James Law Cy-
bertecture International, Hong Kong,
and also the designer of Technosphere.
“This requires the use of materials
that go beyond the concrete, steel and
glass, and into the new materials of the
silicon chip, the electrons, the internet,
and the intelligence of systems to be
amalgamated seamlessly into the fabric
of the building,” he says.
Law explains that the shape of
Technosphere comes from three fac-
tors – first, purity of form; second, its
impressive size; and third, the essential Awarded the CNBC
nature of a sphere, which, in Law’s Architectural Award
own words, “alludes to the even small- Dubai, 2009 and World
Architectural Award
est elements of our world, the atomic from 300 entries
particles and molecules that bind our worldwide, Technosphere
will be an iconic
universe.” He adds, “The Techno- masterpiece for Dubai
sphere is a symbol of how man has and the Techno Park
become technologist with the ability to
create; building with science and tech-

    •  

 Facade concept
The Technosphere mainly consists of
two systems: a semi-unitised system at
the typical hotel and office (south/north
wings) towers, and the point fixing
spider system at the atrium.
The hotel and office area con-
James Law sists of high-performance laminated
insulated glass units (IGU) using a
Project info combination of low-E, fritted and tinted
Client: Economic Zones World features to achieve high energy saving
Type: Mixed use development and acoustic performance. Since some
Location: Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE overhead glass are angled at more than
Height: G+25 floors 15°, the laminated glass also works as
Total gross floor area: a safety glass with the PVB layer hold-
About 800,000 m²
Target date of completion: 2013 ing broken pieces together in the event
Architect: James Law of breakage. Pre-glazing is done at the
Cybertecture International factory onto an alum framing and de-
Structural engineer: livered to site in a panel form, minimis-
Ove Arup & Partners ing site work. The semi-unitised panel

  

Project manager: James Law
Cybertecture International is then fixed onto the main diagrid on
Award: CNBC Commercial Property site. A thermal break system is used
Awards – Architecture to give better thermal performance
Award Dubai 2009 and to meet local requirements from
the Dubai Municipality Legal Affairs
The golden egg inside the Technosphere is
an auditorium for the hosting of conferences,
Department.
galleries and exhibitions. The exterior For the atrium, a spider system is
surface is wrapped in LED screens used. Clear laminated glass with tint
or a fritted pattern is held together
by stainless steel spider of galvanised
Structure concept mild steel (GMS) and circular hollow
The principal structural system of the section (CHS).
Technosphere comprises a spherical
exterior diagrid structure, a podium Standards and location
base portal with perimeter raking High performance glazing, energy-
columns, and other components efficient equipment and the use of re-
including steel roof trusses at the top, gional materials are a few of the other
reinforced concrete (RC) core and methods employed to reach the LEED
shear walls, beam/column frames gold rating target.
at typical floors and transfer beam To serve parking areas and drop-
grillage at the fifth floor. The internal off/pick-up lay-bys in front of building
structure is mainly of reinforced core, there will be a one-way circulation
concrete with steel along the perimeter internal road network consisting of inner
bays of typical floors. Podium floors and outer ring roads with widths of
are also of RC with pre-stressed four- and two-traffic lanes, respectively.
construction for long span portions. The development, located 50km
The exterior diagrid forms part of west of Dubai and 100km east of Abu
the stability frame and the load-taking Dhabi, is close to two main transport
system of the Technosphere. The corridors – Sheikh Zayed Road and
curvature of the towers will generate Highway 311.
lateral forces and deformation due to “The Technosphere sits on the
gravity loads. These forces, however, axis of the new city plan of Tech-
will be transmitted through the floor nopark, symbolically representing the
diaphragms to the lateral stability genesis of the city. From this point, the
system comprising the RC cores and city seems to grow. The Technosphere
  

beam/column frames, as well as the is awesome in its presence as the

exterior diagrid. nucleus of the city,” says Law.

   •   

 people

Turnaround expert
heads Green Tech Malaysia
He’s the new man at the helm of Malaysia’s Green Tech Corporation, a body set
up to drive the country’s economic transformation through green investments.
CEO Dr Nazily Mohd Noor tells Ann Teoh what he has up his sleeves.

“I believe in • This Penangite holds an engineering degree and a

partnerships. We
don’t want to do PhD in Electronics Engineering
everything by • Helped MIM make RM2.2 million profit within the
ourselves.” 11 months he was its CEO
• Has held CEO position for more than seven years
managing international subsidiaries with sales in
excess of RM200 million (US$66 million)
• Listed in Top 200 Bumiputera CEOs in Malaysia by
Berita Publishing in 2005/6 for corporate
turnaround

revolution so that it becomes a focal

point for green tech users,” he says.
How much he can achieve will
depend on the degree of freedom that
he gets as he has a board of directors
to answer to. “The board must support
the ideas that we want to carry out,
as long as we are on the right track,”
he says. Next on his list is to build
smart partnerships. “I believe in
partnerships,” he says. “We do not
 

want to do everything by ourselves.”

Dr Nazily Mohd Noor is a man in a
hurry although his easy demeanour
and soft spoken nature may lull one
into having a different perception
of him.
This 46-year-old corporate
man, who has quietly built himself a
reputation as a turnaround specialist,
was headhunted to be chief executive
officer of Green Technology
Corporation Malaysia. He took the
job on January 17th, fresh from a
year-long stint at the Malaysian
institute of Management (MIM).
When he first came into his
office, Nazily felt as though he was
“working in a library”. Coming
from a background where building
shareholder value is a dynamic
challenge, it was something of
a culture shock to be in a green
building in Bangi, Selangor, where
silence is golden. Green Tech
Malaysia was once a research-based
institution (Energy Research Centre),
but has seen its role change.
With no less than the Prime
Minister of Malaysia pushing the green
agenda to generate economic growth,
Nazily knows his key performance
indicators well: generate revenue
and unlock the green economic op-
portunities with multiplier effects.
His immediate challenge is to
transform the organisation, whose per-
sonnel are made up mainly of scientist/
academic types, into an entrepreneur-
minded institution that embraces
business and technology. “I would like
Green Tech Malaysia to lead the green
So, what’s at the top of his mind?
Among his immediate projects is
to create a training institute to create
more “green collar” workers. Business
matching is another, as that would
kick-start economic activities. He
encourages foreign companies wishing
to tie up with local entrepreneurs to
see him.
Nazily intends to put his money
where his mouth is. “Maybe out of the
three or four foreign direct investments
that we bring in every year, we invest
in one,” he says.
“It becomes a show-and-tell, an
indication of the confidence that we
have in the technology. Also, once we
have a stake in the small- and medium-
sized enterprises, we have a say in
developing them.”
Another big agenda is the Green
Technology Financing Scheme,
whereby Green Tech Malaysia funds

   •   

 people

(through banks) and monitors the
growth of participating companies for
15 years. Under the scheme, RM1.5
billion worth of soft loans is offered
to Malaysian companies. As of late
February, only 15 companies that were
issued green certificates by Green Tech
Malaysia have received these loans.
(The government bears 2% of the
interest and guarantees 60% of the
loan.)
The pace of disbursement of the
GTFS loans is too slow for the govern-
ment’s liking. After a year, only 10%
of the total amount has been disbursed
as most entrepreneurs cannot get past
the financier’s hurdle. Nazily wants
to meet with bankers to clear the
bottlenecks. He feels many of them
do not understand green technology,
and they don’t seek clarification.
Another area with potential is
developing green women entrepre-
neurs. “Women are good paymasters;
when they borrow, they pay up, they
are punctual,” he says matter-of-factly.
With the sheer amount of green
technology available today, what would
be the low-hanging fruits that Malaysia
should harvest in the green revolution?
“Green buildings,” Nazily said, adding
that it was the easiest to understand
and implement. Harnessing the sun’s
energy is another. “We have the sun
almost every day, although the cost
(for solar photovoltaics) can still be a
hurdle,” he said.
Nazily’s vision for Green Tech
Malaysia is for it to be an international
player, working with its partners or for-
eign governments to rebuild war-torn
countries, using green tools.

India’s Wind Man looks to China

Tulsi R Tanti of Indian global wind juggernaut Suzlon Energy Ltd is bullish on
China’s role in the future of the wind market. He tells us why.

The chairman and managing director
of the world’s third biggest wind turbine
maker rose to prominence by combining
vision with sheer pragmatism.
In 1994, Tulsi R Tanti was so frus-
trated with routine power supply inter-
ruptions to his family’s textile business
in western India that he finally invested
in two wind turbines of his own and
took their factory off the unreliable lo-
cal power grid.
The success of this initiative led
him to found Suzlon Energy Ltd in
1995. The company thrived in India
and grew by leaps and bounds to
“With the right
policies and
frameworks in place,
there is no reason
wind cannot compete
with fossil fuels used
in power generation.”
become the leading wind energy group
in Asia. Today, Suzlon has operations
in 32 countries on six continents, with
research capabilities in Belgium,
Denmark, Germany, India and the
Netherlands.
The group’s performance in the
last quarter of 2010 was reportedly
disappointing but a series of projects
it won recently will drive profits from
2012 onwards.
In this email interview, Tanti
discusses factors that drive the wind
energy market and his company’s
focus on Asia in particular.
Under your leadership, the Suzlon
Group now commands 12.3% global
market share with revenues of
over US$5 billion in fi nancial year
2008–09. Going forward, where do
you see the big growth potential for
your company? Specifically, where
will you get your big contracts this
year?
The world needs more power, and
with the very real dangers from climate
change, it is critical that we establish
secure and sustainable sources of
energy to develop the world. Wind is a
key part of the solution to this energy
puzzle. We see growing opportunities
in emerging markets like India, China
and Brazil, key developed markets, as
well as the offshore sector where our
subsidiary REPower Systems AG is
the market leader.

• Was born in Rajkot in Gujarat, Western India on

February 2nd 1958
• Has four siblings: three brothers who worked with
him at Suzlon, and one sister
• Is a qualified mechanical engineer and a graduate
in commerce
• Has served as chairman of the Supervisory Board
at REPower Systems AG since June 21st 2007
  

• Suzlon was the name of Tanti’s family-owned

textile company before he entered the wind
energy business

    •  

Building alongside commercial suc-
cess, you have set a goal of not just
being a successful wind energy com-
pany, but also a socially responsible
enterprise with sustainable develop-
ment as its core function. What’s your
vision and achievements in this area?
We are not just a wind company,
we are partners in helping utilities
and corporations the world over
become more energy sustainable.
With over 15,000MW supplied the
world over, we are very proud of our
contribution to the global economy.
Looking at our own footprint, we
have made a major effort to become
carbon neutral – and the evidence of
this is our corporate headquarters
Suzlon One Earth, certified to the
LEED Platinum standard as one of
the greenest facilities of its kind
anywhere in the world today.
It must be tremendously challenging
to successfully compete with estab-
lished players in the European wind
industry and emerge as one of the
leaders in the global wind industry.
What are the advantages you enjoy
by being an Indian company and hav-
ing had a different entry point into
the market?
Coming from India, and growing
in a challenging environment, we have
a tremendous capacity for innovation.
Innovative business models, for
example the concept-to-commissioning
wind solutions, focus on technology
and a commitment to customer
centricity, giving us our competitive
edge.
In renewable energy, the competition
really is in bringing cost of produc-
ing wind energy to be on par with
conventional power sources. What’s
your benchmark today and how much
further can you drive cost down?
Comparing like to like, wind is
already competitive with many conven-
tional power sources. With the right
policies and frameworks in place, there
is no reason wind cannot compete with
fossil fuels used in power generation,
particularly when you take into consid-
eration emissions and environmental
impact. Looking to the future, our
focus is to reduce the cost of energy
from wind, using technology and in-
novation throughout the value chain.
Do you plan to go for other kinds of
renewable energy sources?
For now, we are focused solely on
wind.
What’s the next big thing in the
growth of the global wind industry in
general, and for India, in particular?
Technology is improving all the
time, which is why we as a group have
about a thousand scientists and engi-
neers focused on research and devel-
opment. A key focus for the industry is
storage technology.
“Aside from the fact that
China is already the largest
wind market, it is also the
fastest growing market in
the world.”
Your commitment to social and eco-
logical development, and your vocal
advocacy of climate change mitiga-
tion have been recognised through
awards like “Champion of the Earth
2009” by the United Nations Environ-
ment Program, “Hero of the Environ-
ment” by TIME Magazine, and “En-
trepreneur of the Year 2006” by Ernst
& Young. What is the message that
these awards send to the world about
the future role of the wind industry?
I believe these awards and recog-
nition are a barometer of the global rec-
ognition of the threat of climate change
and the very real need to change the
way we look at energy. However, much
more remains to be done; we are only
at the start of the road to creating a
truly sustainable energy future for the
world. It is my passion and I will keep
at this.
Your ambition is to become a top
global manufacturer of wind tur-
bines. With your present set up in
China, how do you perceive the role
of China and the Chinese market in
realising this ambition?
China is the world’s largest wind
market, and has a central role in
shaping the growth of the wind sector.
The Suzlon Group has a substantial
presence in China, and our greatest
strength is that Suzlon China is a
Chinese entity – with a Chinese CEO
and management, and a great China-
made product designed specifically
for local market conditions. But we
back this up with strong, broad global
infrastructure which brings with
it international experience, know-
how, technology and research and
development capabilities. This allows
us to combine our strengths from
developed and developing markets,
providing the right technology at a
competitive price. With the current
market environment focused on
lowering costs, this makes it possible
for us to lower our costs while
maintaining the quality of our products
and services.
Aside from the fact that China is
already the largest wind market, it is
also the fastest growing market in the
world. We are extremely optimistic
about the further development of
China’s wind energy market. The
Chinese government leads the world in
commitment to renewables. Nowhere
else have such aggressive targets been
set and, indeed, surpassed. China
plans to have 15% non-fossil fuels in
its primary energy mix by 2020, and a
planned wind power capacity of 90GW
by 2015 – far ahead of its global peers.
Where are the new growth areas
for businesses like yours? Do you
foresee South-east Asia embracing
wind power? Or will their first choice
be solar?
Wind is today an established util-
ity-scale energy source with hundreds
of thousands of megawatts in operation
around the world. Even in cost, wind is
today nearly competitive with conven-
tional power sources. Solar, however,
despite its wide potential, is still a
developing technology sometimes cost-
ing over four times as much as wind.
We firmly believe that for a secure and
sustainable energy portfolio to become
reality, all sources – wind, solar and
others – will have to play a part.
Do you think world leaders are doing
enough to drive the use of renewable
energy? What do you want to see
from them?
Today there is global recognition
of the challenge before us; it is now
time for action. We have to put short-
term considerations aside and act with
unity and a sense of urgency to shape
tomorrow’s world for generations to
come. I believe the will is there, now
we need to find a way.
   •   
 editorials
Sustainability innovators
around the world
By Shel Horowitz
Every once in a while, I’ll devote this
column to a roundup of some of the
coolest sustainability initiatives I’ve
come across anywhere in the world.
This is the first instalment, featuring
five different ventures on five different
continents, and business models that
include an architect working solo, a
manufacturing corporation, a non-
profit, and a couple of small companies.
Hungary: Sustainable independence
for wheelchair users
Think about the resources consumed
by a standard wheelchair van: a huge
vehicle with complicated, slow, hydrau-
lic lifts, expensive in both money and
materials to build, and a fuel guzzler.
Kenguru of Hungary, which recently
merged with Austin-based Community
Cars Inc, has reinvented the whole
thing as a one-person electric vehicle
– tiny, secure, and empowering the
wheelchair user to control his or her
own transportation. The user rolls in
up a ramp through a rear hatch facing
the curb, fastens the chair, and then
it’s off to work, play, or whatever. Visit
their website at http://www.kenguru-
cars.com
    •  

The Kenguru is
a one-person
electric vehicle
for wheelchair
users
Australia: Timber recycler gives vin-
tage wood a new lease of life
This company has designed its own
tools and processes to salvage lumber
from demolition projects in ways it
claims provides much cleaner, more
intact hardwood lumber than conven-
tional demolition and salvage tech-
niques. The recycled timber is often
also prized for their unique patina.
Learn more about Fremantle Timber
Traders and their products at http://
www.fremantletimbertraders.com.au/
profile.asp
Hong Kong: Gary Chang maximises
every inch of 344-sq ft apartment
This may be the tiniest apartment in
the world to have a full kitchen and a
bath, a well-equipped bar, guest quar-
ters and 24 rooms (though not all at
the same time). Using movable walls,
foldable surfaces and other tricks, this
ingenious architect shows that it’s pos-
sible to live quite luxuriously in a very
small space. At one time, there were
seven people living there! Buckminster
Fuller would be proud. A two-minute
video tour of Chang’s apartment can be
viewed at http://on.wsj.com/b4y7H4
Shel Horowitz is the
primary author of “Guerilla
Marketing Goes Green”.
He can be reached at shel@
greenandprofitable.com
United States: Who needs Styrofoam
when you’ve got mushrooms?
It’s hard to imagine too many prod-
ucts less environmentally friendly
than Styrofoam. One company has
addressed this issue by developing a
natural, compostable packing material.
Evocative Design offers packing made
from cottonseed and buckwheat hulls,
held together with filaments made
from mushroom roots – saving 85% on
energy and reducing 90% of the car-
bon dioxide generated by producing
Styrofoam. More information on this at
http://www.ecovativedesign.com/store/
Burkina Faso: Timberless design
provides sustainable housing
Deforestation is a huge problem in
sub-Saharan Africa, and the loss of
forest often leads to desertification –
exacerbating hunger and other social
ills in the process. Cross-pollinating
a vaulted-roof housing construction
technique from the Nubian culture in
Egypt (on the other side of the conti-
nent) with local labour and non-wood
earth bricks made from local materials,
French nonprofit Association la Voute
Nubienne has been building sustain-
able homes and community buildings,
and creating jobs. The houses cost only
about US$100 each to build and make
a real difference in these economically
marginal communities. There is a bit of
plastic sheeting involved in waterproof-
ing the roof, but the house can be built
without sheet metal and without timber
supports, unlike the usual building
styles in the Sahel region.
An English-language page about
the construction technique is at http://
www.lavoutenubienne.org/-The-VN-
Technical-Solution.
This article kickstarts a monthly column
where Shel discusses marketing ideas to
reach green consumers.
Taiwan exceeds target in
procurement
Government green purchasing rate hits 90%
Green promo now targets private sector
By Ning Yu
In my first contribution to this maga-
zine, I am providing some background
information on green purchasing ac-
tivities in Taiwan as this may enhance
the international perspective on future
discourses.
Following the adoption of the
Government Procurement Act (“GPA”)
in 1999, Taiwan has been actively
promoting government green procure-
ment based on Article 96 of the GPA.
Based on this legal requirement, its
Environmental Protection Administra-
tion (TEPA) was handed the task of
promoting and implementing voluntary
green procurement measures.
TEPA adopted a phased-approach.
It first stipulated an annual green pro-
curement goal (defined as a percentage
of the budget spent on green products
within certain designated product
categories) and scope of agencies sub-
jected to voluntary procurement and
performance reporting.
Three types of environmentally-
preferable products are defined, with
the Green Mark Programme (the
TEPA-owned ISO Type-I ecolabelling
programme implemented since
1992) certified products being
designated as Type-I environmentally
preferable (“green”) products
under Article 96 of GPA.
The other two types of green
products are products with self-de-
clared environmental claims certified
by TEPA, and products licensed to use
the Energy Conservation, Water Saving
or Green Construction Material labels
awarded by other ministries.
TEPA then gradually raised the
annual goal and expanded the scope of
both product categories and govern-
ment agencies. The goal was raised
from 50% in 2002 to 88% last year,
and the number of designated product
categories is now 44.
At first, only central government
agencies were required to buy in.
Now, all central and local government
agencies together with all state-owned
enterprises and institutions (including
public schools, hospitals and utilities)
are included in the scheme.
Since there are a great number
of agencies involved, keeping up the
momentum and tracking performance
could become problematic. TEPA tack-
les this issue using a unique mecha-
nism, Common Supply Contract (CSC),
which is administered by the govern-
ment’s central purchasing agency, the
Bank of Taiwan.
The Bank of Taiwan performs
market surveys and decides on bidding
prices of various products. This way, a
government purchaser can simply click
into the bank’s website and choose
products meeting his needs without
going through traditional purchasing
procedures. CSC saves administrative
cost and normally gets better prices
from producers.
So how are the numbers shaping
Dr Ning Yu is president
of the Environment and
Development Foundation
and chairman of Taiwan
Green Purchasing Alliance.
up? Based on the latest annual green
purchasing statistics released by TEPA
in November 2010 for the fiscal year
2009, green procurement by govern-
ment agencies hit a total of NT$7.15
billion (US$240 million) in 2009, an
increase of NT$418 million over 2008.
Among the agencies and local
governments under the Executive Yuan
(executive branch of the government),
green products worth NT$6.14 billion
were bought, amounting to a green
procurement rate of 90.4%. This not
only exceeded the year’s target of
88%, but is also an increase of 14%
over 2008.
It appears that the global financial
turmoil of 2009 did not impact the
green product market, and the market
was able to maintain growth in Taiwan.
For 2009, within the designated
categories, the government agencies
spent NT$4.48 billion on green
personal computers, toner cartridges
and office machines, followed by
NT$960 million on office paper and
supplies.
However, following ten years of
active promotion in public sector green
purchasing, TEPA appears to have
harvested all the low-hanging fruits,
especially with the office machines and
supplies, and the green purchasing goal
is close to the saturation value of 90%.
TEPA is now promoting green
purchasing activities to the private
sector based on experiences gleaned
from the public sector initiatives.
During this process, Taiwan
also became involved with many
international initiatives including the
Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)
and the International Green Purchasing
Network (IGPN), and has obtained and
helped with transferring many valuable
lessons in promoting green products
worldwide.
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 information  


Singapore, a prosperous city-state with a

Singapore tops list of population of about 5 million people, is the

greenest metropolis in Asia, according to the
inaugural Siemens Asian Green City index

Asian green cities

Prosperity is conducive to more eco-friendly consumption habits
Asian city-dwellers projected to grow by 1.1 billion in next 20 years
By Ann Teoh
Although money is not everything
when it comes to environmental
performance, it helps in obvious ways,
declared the inaugural Siemens Asian
Green City Index 2011 report by the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Wealth allows cities to invest in
top technologies and safeguard the
environment. That is why green cities
are located in wealthier nations.
However, what differentiates the
good from the better is the political
will and ability to execute and enforce
policies and regulations, the report
said.
Singapore, the index leader, is the
fourth richest among the 22 surveyed,
with a per capita GDP of US$36,500,
but it still scored better than the other
richer cities.
Singapore was the only city in the
performance band of well above aver-
age. It also showed consistently strong
results across individual categories:
well above average for water and
waste, and above average for energy
and CO², land use and buildings,
transport, sanitation, air quality and
environmental governance.
The report says Singapore’s
environmental performance is partly a
legacy of its history, and that since its
independence in 1965, the government
had emphasised on sustainability.
Self-government, effective
policy implementation and integrated
master planning, are also important
contributing factors. The government
also focuses on key areas such as
water, waste and energy efficiency.
The correlation between GDP per
capita and environmental performance
was also seen in the European Green
City Index, with wealthier cities leading
the index, although the contrast was
less clear in Latin America.
The three Japanese cities in the
Siemens index (Osaka, Tokyo and
Yokohama) all scored above average.
The others in this above average
category are leading cities in East Asia:
Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.
All Chinese cities (Beijing,
Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai and
Wuhan) are in the average band, along
with Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok
and Delhi. Despite having one of the

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Green City Index: Well below Below Average Above Well above
Overall results average average average average

Karachi Bengaluru, Hanoi, Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Osaka Singapore

Kolkata, Manila, Delhi, Guangzhou, Seoul, Taipei,
Mumbai Jakarta, Kuala Tokyo, Yokohama
Lumpur, Nanjing
Shanghai, Wuhan

Source: Siemens Asian Green City Index 2011

lowest GDP (US$2,000), Delhi is in the
average category, with above average
rating for waste. Karachi (GDP:
US$5,400), is the only city in the well
Findings
• Average annual CO ² emissions per
capita are 4.6 tons in the Asian cities,
below the corresponding figure for
Europe (5.2 tons per capita annually).
• The 22 Asian cities produce an
average of 375kg of waste per capita
per year, less than in Latin America
(465kg) and Europe (511kg).
Challenges
• Air pollution levels are relatively
high in all the cities studied,
regardless of income. The average
values for all the cities substantially
exceed WHO standards.
• Asia’s cities to catch up on renewable
energies, which on average account
for 11% of the total electricity
generated in the 22 cities. By
comparison, the average in Latin
America is 64% due to the high
proportion of hydroelectric plants.
below average band.
The study notes that Singapore
is able to afford “cutting-edge water
recycling plants, waste-to-energy
facilities and major investments in its
transport system” while Yokohama
provides generous subsidies for
electric vehicles and extends technical
assistance to developing countries
through its innovative Water Bureau.
The report also shows that higher
income does not necessarily mean
higher resources consumption, with
the tipping point at about US$20,000
per capita.
EIU study research head Jan
Friederich says that in prosperous
Asian cities, environmental awareness
is greater and infrastructures, more
efficient. Cities that performed
well in the index are characterised
by their ability to successfully
implement environmental projects and
consistently enforce regulations.
Urban areas account for 75% of
the world’s energy consumption and
for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions,
says Barbara Kux, member of the
managing board of Siemens AG and
also its chief sustainability officer.
“That’s why cities are the place
where solutions for a more sustainable
future are being shaped today. The
trend towards urbanisation, above all
here in Asia, raises the question of how
soaring populations can be provided
with infrastructure that conserves
resources and protects the climate,”
she says.
“The share of the Asian
population living in urban areas has
grown from 32% in 1990 to 42% in
2010.
At the projected rates of
growth, Asian cities must be ready to
collectively accommodate an expected
1.1 billion additional residents over the
next 20 years.”
The report, which also contains
country reports and sectoral evaluation
and methodology, is available for
download at www.siemens.com

Ideas from other cities Source: Siemens Asian Green City Index 2011

Bangkok is Seoul adopted a “producer responsibility Osaka increased the number of green
promoting the use principle” for recycling items such “curtains” and “carpets” from 100 to 500
of biofuels, with as televisions, refrigerators, washing last year, planting vegetables such as bit-
the authorities machines, computers and mobile ter melons and sweet potatoes on roofs
aiming to increase phones. Buyers can ask retailers to and walls of primary and middle schools,
the proportion of take back free of charge the ones being the city hall’s headquarters and other
gasohol – a mixture replaced. The retailer is then responsible public facilities to ease the city’s heat
of gasoline and for properly disposing of them. island phenomena.
ethanol – into the Seoul has added more than 100km
fuel mix from under of bicycle lanes to promote the use Tokyo created and
20% in 2007 to of bikes for non-leisure purposes implemented its
50% in 2012. since 2007. As of March 2010 about own mandatory cap
40% of Seoul’s car owners took part and trade system
Kolkata requires in the programme, contributing to a in 2010 to combat
all backlit billboards 6% drop in daily traffic volume. climate change.
in West Bengal, It was Asia’s first.
India, to go solar. All organisations,
Billboards using including offices hospitals, universities,
diesel generators government buildings, that use more
had to make the than 1,500 litres of oil annually for fuel,
switch by June last heat and electricity, are required to cut
year, and those using their CO² emissions by 6% by 2015, and
grid electricity by another 17% by 2020. Those that reduce
last December. more can sell their credits.

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 GREEN EXCHANGE
To advertise, contact Sam Thong at 603 6203 7681 or email: sam@greenpurchasingasia.com

air & water

the essentials of life
In close collaboration with consultants and
customers, TROX designs air-water systems
and solutions combining the benefits of:
G saving energy
G reducing carbon emissions
G increasing room air quality

The art of handling air

www.troxapo.com

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 Green Exchange is a section
for ads and notices for specific
products, services and
employment opportunities
related to green businesses

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 information  

Evaluating building EE Pedal power in Borneo

in a jiffy
Evaluating a commercial building’s
energy efficiency (EE) is a tedious
and expensive process. Professionals
spend hours walking around buildings,
benchmarking and researching
efficiency solutions, and generating
detailed reports. But now, it’s also
possible to do all that in minutes.
A US Boston-based startup called
Retroficiency Inc has developed
a software to identify and qualify
building EE measures. The predictive
analytics taps into a huge archive of

energy audits and an EE database to
evaluate thousands of opportunities in
a jiffy. All one needs are basic building
specifications and energy usage data.
World Energy Solutions Inc, which
invested in Retroficiency, is branding
the product the Virtual Energy
Audit™. See www.retroficiency.com
smart fortwo electric cars
on road test
A fleet of 250 smart fortwo electric
cars are being distributed by smart
USA to early adopters who will provide
feedback on their day-to-day experi-
ence. Twenty are being tested by the
Automobile Club of Southern Cali-
fornia for their utility and benefits in
various activities including roadside
assistance, automotive services and
insurance claims services. Editors from
Westways, the Auto Club’s travel and
lifestyle member magazine, will also
use a smart fortwo EV for day trips,
reporting the results to the club’s six
million Southern California members
via the magazine. These early adopt-
ers will help define new alternatives in
transportation for the US.
Supply of Japanese EV and
hybrid cars disrupted

 
Electricity-generating cycles are located in a common area below the observation deck
Tourists to Malaysia’s Kinabatangan region may now put their eco-beliefs into prac-
tice. Borneo Nature Lodge in Sukau, Sabah, now offers its guests the option of cycling
for an hour to power the fans and lights in their rooms. The lodge also uses environ-
ment-friendly features such as solar power, energy-saving light bulbs, glass walls to
maximise natural light, rainwater collection for toilets, and silent, electric motors for
its river cruises. Construction cleared only shrubs and small trees with a girth of less
than 9cm in to minimise impact on the surrounding forests.
See www.borneonaturelodge.com.my or call +60 89 210 718/9
delivery timelines are uncertain due Company Ltd recently launched an
to Japan’s damaged transportation environmental liability line of business
infrastructure and shipping facilities. throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Surging US demand for the Initial product offerings include
Toyota Prius is also going unmet. both contractors’ pollution liability
Earl Stewart, the owner of Earl and pollution liability for scheduled
Stewart Toyota in North Palm Beach, sites, with limits of up to US$10
Florida, told the New York Times million offered for each pollution
that his dealership had recently incident and in the aggregate.
sold out the popular Japanese-built The company’s head of
hybrid car, and he can only wonder general casualty, Jota Shohtoku,
how long it would be before the says, “We created this line of
situation in Japan improves enough business in response to our clients’
to “get Priuses back on the ships.” needs. Businesses throughout the
region are now required to have
environmental liability insurance either
through regulation or contractual
obligation and we recognise the
value in providing this service.”

Global supply of the Nissan Leaf and
Mitsubishi i-MiEV – both electric
vehicles (EV) made exclusively in
Japan – might be interrupted in light
of the Sendai earthquake and tsunami
devastation. According to PluginCars.
com, a shipment of over 600 Nissan
Leaf left port in Japan for the US just
a day before the earthquake but future
Environmental insurance
launched in Asia
Increased governmental commitment
to environmental protection is shaping
product offerings by financial services
in Asia. Allied World Assurance
Smart grid sensor market
value at US$6.3b by 2014
Revenue from sales of sensors and
related software to the worldwide
smart grid sector is projected at US$6.3
billion by 2014 and US$13 billion by
2018.
US industry analyst Nano-

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 Markets made this projection in its
latest smart grid report availlable
at http://www.nanomarkets.net.
The report says Europe will be
the largest market for smart grid
sensors until 2016, accounting for
almost 40% of the market in 2014.
Asia is often considered to be the
“land of opportunity” for smart grids,
but European nations have focused
on smart distribution, which is heav-
ily dependent on sensor deployment.
By contrast, Asian countries have
been more interested in building high
capacity bulk transmission systems.
Transformers are the power
companies’ biggest capital invest-
ments but have traditionally been
managed manually, retroactively
and inefficiently. Next-generation
sensors deployed at substations
will aid utilities to avoid unplanned
failures, reduce maintenance costs
and extend useful transformer life.
As a result, NanoMarkets ex-
pects to see transformer monitor-
ing sensors generate revenues of
US$935 million by 2014 to reach
US$2,725 billion by 2018.
Renewables beat
fossil fuels
Global investments in renewable
power generation (US$140 billion)
far exceeded that of fossil-fuelled
power generation (US$110 billion) in
2009, reported Frost & Sullivan. It
also said access to clean technology
remains the global focus towards to a
resource-efficient and green economy.
The research company’s Bench-
marking Country Initiatives on Envi-
ronment in Asia Pacific report says
the global market value of traditional
environmental goods and services,
renewable energy and emerging low-
carbon activities was US$7.77 trillion
in 2007–08, with a potential to grow

45% by 2015. “The number of green
energy and climate-friendly projects is
increasing rapidly in both the public
and private sectors in the Asia Pa-
cific,” says Frost & Sullivan consultant
Chukiat Wongtaveerat. “Moreover,
high-initiative countries have allocated
substantial funds for green invest-
ment themes, which include boosting
green infrastructure, using low-carbon
and renewable power, ensuring en-
ergy efficiency, as well as controlling
water usage and waste generation.”
JV to provide smart grid
innovative solution
Communications company AT&T
and US Georgia-based startup E3
Greentech are banding up to provide
wireless access to a central unit in
the home to help homeowners and
property managers monitor and man-
age their energy use, and thus reduce
waste. The system, said to be one of
the most innovative solutions available
today in smart grid market technology,
uses a cloud-based services platform
and intelligent software combined with
in-home energy optimisation hardware
to deliver savings effortlessly. The E3
solution matches rather than controls
consumer behaviour but promises
energy savings of at least 15% and
cuts in peak energy demand of at least
25%. The wirelessly connected system
will be available in late summer.
British farmers slam
UK FIT cuts
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU),
the largest farming organisation in
the UK, has branded its government’s
plans to slash the feed-in tariff (FIT)
incentives to large solar installations
as ill-judged and extremely damaging
for renewable energy in Britain. The
government recently did a “fast-track”
review of the FIT for solar PV and bio-
gas to prevent large installations from
swallowing up subsidies. From August
1st, the proposed new tariff would
cause a 900-square-metre solar roof
rated at 100 kW to suffer a 42% cut in
tariff to 19p/kWh, while larger solar in-
stallations would have their incentives
cut by 72%. Anaerobic digestion tariffs
are proposed to rise by just 8 to 17%
(1p-2p/kWh for smaller systems).
Upcoming events
April Business for the Environment
(B4E) Global Summit 2011
April 27th – 29th 2011
Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta,
Indonesia
http://www.b4esummit.com/
May The 10th World Wind Energy
Conference and Renewable
Energy Exhibition
May 11th – 14th 2011
League of Arab States Building,
Cairo, Egypt
http://www.wwec2011.net/
The 4th Annual China Green
Transport Summit and Exhibition
(CGTS)
May 24th – 25th 2011
Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
& Spa, Hainan, China
http://www.hnzmedia.com/
events/cgts-ev2011/en/
June 2011 International Conference
on Environment and Industrial
Innovation ICEII
June 4th – 5th 2011
MINES Wellness Hotel, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
www.iceii.org
Clean Energy Expo China
June 22nd – 24th 2011
CNCC, Beijing, China
http://www.
cleanenergyexpochina.com/
Clean Power Asia Conference &
Expo 2011
June 28th – 30th 2011
InterContinental Bangkok,
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.cleanpower-asia.
com/
July 2nd Annual Cleantech
Investment World Asia 2011
July 11th – 14th 2011
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore
http://www.terrapinn.com/2011/
clean-technology-investment-
world-asia/
August Green Automobil 2011 Expo
August 10th – 12th 2011
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
http://greenautomobil.com
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 information  

Incentives for green income tax cut on net profit for up to

five years from the end of the incentive

investments in Thailand period. They will also receive double

The Land of Smiles is dishing out
incentives to attract green investment.
Since April 2010, the Thai Board of
Investment (BOI) has designated the
whole of Thailand (except for Bangkok)
as an Investment Promotional Zone,
and allocated, with that, a host of
incentives that include exemptions
on import duty for machinery and on
corporate income tax for eight years.
Under the Investment Promotion
Scheme for Sustainable Development,
activities related to energy conserva-
tion and alternative energy, eco-friend-
ly materials and products and high
technology business are deemed “pri-
ority activities for special privileges.”
Energy conservation and alterna-
tive energy include the production
of alcohol or fuel from agro products
like scrap, garbage and/or waste,

ity from steam power. The definition
for high technology is wide-ranging,
encompassing biotechnology, nano
materials, microelectronics, machinery
parts, aircrafts, solar cells and its raw
materials, and more.
Investors will be spared import
duty for machinery and enjoy a 50%
Sugar cane on the way to a
deduction for transportation, electric-
ity and water costs for 10 years, and
deduction of infrastructure costs from
net profit in addition to normal depre-
ciation of not more than 25% of the
investment.
The FAQ on the website states:
under the Investment Promotion Act,
the BOI provides guarantees against
nationalisation; competition from new
state enterprises; price controls; state
monopolisation of the sale of products
similar to those produced by promoted
projects; against tax exempt imports
by government agencies or state enter-
prises. The BOI also guarantees per-
mission to export, to own land to carry
out promoted activities and to take or
remit foreign currency abroad.
Applications must be made to the
board by end of 2012. For further infor-
mation, see www.boigo.th/english/

manufacture of fuel cells and energy- processing plant; incentives

conserving or alternative energy are available for production
machinery, and generation of electric- of fuel from agro scrap

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Fantastic money spinners Biofuels (global production and
wholesale pricing of ethanol and

in clean tech biodiesel), which reached US$56.4

billion in 2010, are projected to double
to US$112.8 billion by 2020. In 2010,
Global PV market up from US$2.5b in 2000 to US$71.5b in 2010 the biofuels market was said to consist
of more than 27.2 billion gallons of
Solar, wind and biofuels from US$188.1b in 2010 to US$349.2b in 2020 ethanol and biodiesel production
worldwide, up from 23.6 billion gallons
in 2009.
Clean technology has proven to be Worldwide, new PV installations more Wind power (new installation
a fantastic money-spinner in the past than doubled last year, rising from capital costs) is projected to soar from
decade, with amazing growth that 7.1GW in 2009 to 15.6GW in 2010. US$60.5 billion in 2010 to US$122.9
rivals technology revolutions like The bulk of the growth was said to be billion in 2020. However, last year,
telephony, computers, and the Internet. the direct result of PV prices falling global wind power installations
The Clean Energy Trends 2011 by more than 30% in 2009 followed dropped slightly to 35.2GW, down from
report, released in March by Clean by another 10% dip in 2010. Going a record 37.5GW the year before.
Edge Inc, says the global market forward, solar PV (including modules, China, which has been leading in
for solar photovoltaics (PV) leapt system components, and installation) new installations for the third year in a
from just US$2.5 billion in 2000 to is projected to grow from a US$71.2 row, added on another 16GW in 2010.
US$71.2 billion in 2010, representing billion industry in 2010 to US$113.6 The US market, however, continued
a compound annual growth rate billion by 2020. to decline with a tight project finance
(CAGR) of 39.8%. The global market market, uncertainty around project
for wind power also shot from US$4.5 grants and the lack of a federal
billion in 2000 to more than US$60.5 Renewal Portfolio Standards, among
billion (CAGR of 29.7%) in the same other challenges. It added only another
period. Other clean tech sectors, 5GW in 2010. Thus, China is now the
such as hybrid electric vehicles, leader in total wind power installs, with
green buildings, and smart grid, also a capacity of more than 42GW.
recorded spectacular growth rates. Clean Edge Inc also believes that
The report charts an overall the global market for solar PV, wind
growth trend for 2010. Combined power and biofuels will continue to be
global revenue for solar PV, wind a significant business opportunity, with


power, and biofuels grew by 35.2% a growth of 85% from US$188.1 billion
within a year, from US$139.1 billion in 2010 to US$349.2 billion in the next
in 2009 to US$188.1 billion in 2010. decade. When the market research
firm released projections for solar and
Global clean-energy production projected growth wind power 10 years ago, however,
2010–2020 ($US billion) observers thought they were extremely
optimistic.
Back then, it estimated that solar
Bio- $112.8 global production
fuel and wholesale 2020 power would grow from a global
$56.4 pricing of ethanol
2010
market of US$2.5 billion in 2000 to
and biodiesel
US$23.5 billion by 2010 (the actual
was US$71.2 billion) and that wind
Wind $122.9
power new installation power would rise from a global market
$60.5 capital costs of US$4 billion in 2000 to US$43.5
billion by 2010 (the actual was
US$60.5 billion).
Solar $113.6 modules, system
power components, “But as we’ve highlighted above,
$71.2 and installation we were actually quite conservative
in our estimates, coming up around
$0 $25 $50 $75 $100 $125 $150 $175 $200 $225 $250 $275 $300 $325 $350
300% short in our solar PV estimates
and approximately 5% short in our
$349.2
Total wind estimates,” states the report.
$188.1 The report is available on http://
www.cleanedge.com/reports/pdf/
Source: Clean Edge, Inc, 2011 Trends2011.pdf

   •   

 information
LEED Materials:
A Resource Guide to
Green Building
Author: Ari Meisel
Publisher: Princeton
Architectural Press
Leadership in Energy &
Environmental Design
(LEED) is an internationally
recognised green build-
ing certification system
developed by the US Green
Building Council (USGBC).
While it has been the mark
of sustainable construction
in North America for over a
decade now, LEED recently
gained prominence in the
region with news of projects
such as Pratt & Whitney’s
Shanghai Engine Center and
India’s ITC Hotel Royal Gar-
denia in Bengaluru achiev-
ing landmark Platinum
LEED certifications
for Asia.
Published in 2010, Ari
Meisel’s LEED Materials:
A Resource Guide to Green
Building provides a materi-
als-based guide to planning
and designing a LEED-cer-
tifiable building. Nearly 200
products, materials and ser-
vices are featured here. Each
resource is explained on a
full-colour illustrated profile
page with three simple ques-
tions – What is it? Where can
I use it? Why is it green? –
and a list of “LEED credits”
indicates how the mate-
rial’s proper usage can help
maximise a project’s LEED
rating. The supplier’s contact
information is also included
in each profile.
    •  

Sustainable
Energy – Without
the Hot Air
Author: David JC MacKay
Publisher: UIT Cambridge Ltd
“This [book] is to
energy and climate
what Freakonomics is
to economics.”
– Cory Doctorow
David JC McKay’s Sustain-
able Energy – Without the
Hot Air comes highly recom-
mended by leading authori-
ties in industry, academia
and policy-making. It is an
especially accessible guide
on the use and sourcing of
energy, as well as the chal-
lenges and opportunities
to be found in switching to
more sustainable means of
powering industry and day-
to-day life.
Readers seeking
information to use in policy
papers, business plans or
academic projects will ap-
preciate McKay’s clear use
of numeric data, with careful
notes on their limitations,
as well as his user-friendly
presentation and pragmatic,
conversational style of
writing.
While McKay is British
(his wonderful wry sense of
humour attests to this) and
his case studies draw heavily
on scenarios in Britain, the
book is based on principles
and learnings relevant to
many other parts of the
world. McKay’s passion for
the subject combines aca-
demic and public policy per-
spectives: he is a Professor
in the Department of Physics
at the University of Cam-
bridge and also a member of
the World Economic Forum
Global Agenda Council on
Climate Change.
Casual readers will find
Sustainable Energy a useful
resource for debunking
myths, identifying proven
energy-saving measures,
highlighting effective inno-
vations, and unpacking over-
used yet underexamined
popular science approxima-
tions we have come to take
for granted. (If building 10
new nuclear reactors would
generate ten swimming
pools’ worth of spent fuel,
how much waste are we
really talking about here?
McKay informs us that
the volume of one Olympic-
size swimming pool is
3,000m3.)
Best of all, for those
who can’t find this in local
bookstores but cannot wait to
have a hard copy shipped to
them internationally, McKay
has given ultimate proof of
his sincerity and commit-
ment to public teaching on
green energy: his entire book
is available online at abso-
lutely no charge and is down-
loadable in PDF format from
www.withouthotair.com.
Testing for Quality:
Benchmarking Energy-
Saving Lamps in Asia
Publisher: United States
Agency for International
Development (USAID)
This 2010 USAID publication
estimates that global compact
fluorescent lamp (CFL)
production has increased
six-fold in barely a decade,
from 500 million lamps in
2000 to over 3 billion lamps
in 2008. In the future,
government-supported plans
to phase out the use of
incandescent lamps could
boost the demand for CFLs
to as many as 10 billion
units annually.
However, problems
of inconsistent and often
substandard product quality
in CFLs being sold across
Asian markets threaten to
weaken long-term consumer
acceptance of CFLs and
undermine efforts to reduce
environmental pollution
through their use.
This report details
findings and recommenda-
tions from a 2008 regional
CFL quality and perfor-
mance benchmark testing
programme partnership
between the ECO-Asia Clean
Development and Climate
Program (ECO-Asia) and the
Australian Department of
Environment, Water, Heri-
tage and the Arts (DEWHA)
under the auspices of the
Asia-Pacific Partnership on
Clean Deve-lopment and
Climate (APP).
Market sampling in six
countries (Australia, India,
Indonesia, the Philippines,
Thailand, and Vietnam) and
subsequent tests revealed
that while name-brand CFLs
generally performed better
than low-priced models,
overall at least one-third
of CFLs sampled failed to
meet minimum performance
standards.
The full report can
be downloaded in PDF at:
http: //usaid.eco-asia.org/pro-
grams/cdcp/benchmarking-
energy-saving-lamps.html
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