The Impact of Tenaga Suria Brunei Power Plant on Natural Gas Saving and CO₂ Avoidance

Abstract

Grid-connected renewable energy projects could yield various benefits to a country, which include, among others, significant savings to fossil fuels and the corresponding reduction in GHG emissions. In this chapter, a 1.2 megawatt-peak (MWp) Tenaga Suria Brunei (TSB) solar PV power plant in Brunei Darussalam was used as a case study to determine the cumulative natural gas savings and avoided CO₂ emissions that have been achieved throughout its operation between January 2011 and August 2017. Based on a simple methodology adopted by the US Environmental Protection Agency and using historical TSB electricity production and other parameters, as of August 2017, the power plant has saved the government an estimated value of USD 1.730 million, corresponding to about 128,964 MMBtu of natural gas. Cumulatively about 7961 tonnes of CO₂ also has been avoided. In addition, further analysis of the expansion of 27 MWp into the existing TSB plant by 2035 could potentially save the government an estimated 8.553 million MMBtu of natural gas, and that the monetary savings could reach approximately USD 69.421 million based on the forecast on the Asian LNG price (Japan). Environmentally, the plant could also potentially avoid approximately 530,887 tonnes of CO₂ by 2035.