RTHK news:
CLP unveils plan for LNG terminal (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20060901/news_20060901_56_338578.htm)

CLP unveils plan for LNG terminal will have minimal impact on tariffs (http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/englishnews/20060901/news_20060901_56_338646.htm)

Rendering

http://thestandard.com.hk/newsimage/20060902/Soko.jpg

Island site littered with turbulent history
2 September 2006
South China Morning Post

Once a quiet fishing community, South Soko Island has had a turbulent recent history that may see it turned into Hong Kong's most important energy base.

The island lies almost at the southwestern tip of Hong Kong, not far from popular beaches on South Lantau.

In the 1960s, there was a small cluster of village houses on the island and a typhoon shelter for fishing boats. In the mid 1980s, fish farms operated in its then-pristine waters.

The tranquillity ended in 1989 when the government decided to turn the island into a large detention centre for Vietnamese boatpeople who were flooding into the territory.

Hills were flattened and slopes cut into to build a centre that at one time housed at least 5,000 boatpeople.

The camp made headlines in 1989 when about 1,000 rioting inmates occupied the island for 20 hours in protest against poor living and hygiene conditions.

The riot left one inmate dead and 27 officers injured and led to an upgrade of facilities. The camp was closed in September 1996 and the remaining boatpeople transferred to the Whitehead camp at Ma On Shan. The island has been deserted ever since.

There are few remnants of the camp apart from red Italian floor tiles, a fountain roughly built by inmates and piles of rubbish.

The island was once listed as a potential ecotourism site under a tourism study commissioned by the government, but its inaccessibility has hindered development.

In 2002, the Soko islands were endorsed by the Marine and Country Park Board as a proposed country park to recognise the area's importance as a key fishing ground and vital habitat for the Chinese white dolphin and finless porpoise.

But the proposal was never gazetted and now CLP Power wants to turn the site into liquefied natural gas receiving terminal handling up to 2.6 million tonnes a year.

LCQ19 : Designation of marine park plan
January 10, 2007
Government Press Release

Following is a Question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 10) :

Question:

In an environmental impact assessment report submitted to the Government in October last year, the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited proposed to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal on Tai A Chau. However, some green groups have pointed out that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department had, as early as 2002, proposed to designate Soko Islands, which include Tai A Chau, and the surrounding waters as a marine park but the relevant statutory procedures had not yet commenced. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the reasons why the plan to designate the marine park has not been implemented so far and whether it will be put on hold as a result of the LNG receiving terminal project?

Reply:

Madam President,

The Government has not shelved the plan of designating the surrounding waters of Tai A Chau as a marine park. We are now considering the relevant resource allocation issues for the designation of the marine park. The implementation schedule of the marine park can only be drawn up after the resource allocation issues have been resolved. The designation plan of the marine park will not be put on hold as a result of the proposal to construct a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal.

RTHK news:
CLP Power's chief stresses importance of building gas terminal on Soko island 2007-01-20 HKT 09:41

The Managing Director of CLP Power has stressed the importance of building a liquified natural gas terminal on South Soko Island, off Lantau. This came as green groups criticised a 30-day public consultation on the project as being too short. They've also expressed concern that the project will threaten a key habitat of marine species including the endangered Chinese white dolphin. But speaking after an RTHK radio programme, Mrs Yuen explained Hong Kong's urgent need for the terminal.

LCQ12: Natural gas for electricity generation
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon Audrey Eu and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):

Question:

Regarding the proposal to construct a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal in Hong Kong, the Government indicated last year that it had commissioned a professional energy consultant to assist in its studies by evaluating natural gas supply arrangements from different perspectives, which include analysing the distribution of natural gas resources in the region, supply conditions of the Yacheng gas field, future electricity demand and environmental protection requirements in Hong Kong, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the progress and preliminary results of the above studies;

(b) whether it will publish the reports of the studies; if it will, when they will be published; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) whether it will develop plans to increase the proportion of natural gas in the fuel mix for electricity generation, in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?


Reply:

Madam President,

Since 1996, CLP has been importing natural gas for power generation from the Yacheng 13-1 gas field near Hainan via a 778km submarine pipeline. After conducting re-determination of the Economically Recoverable Reserves of the gas fields with the gas supplier, CLP anticipates that the existing Yacheng 13-1 natural gas field will be depleted by early 2010s. At present, about 30% of CLP's installed capacity is gas-fired. CLP reckons that a replacement gas supply must be in place by end 2013 to ensure supply reliability and achievement of emission caps imposed by the Environmental Protection Department under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance.

With the assistance of a professional energy consultant, the Government is reviewing CLP's proposal. To ensure that the public can continue to enjoy reliable and safe electricity supply at reasonable prices, the Government is examining all relevant factors including the distribution and development of natural gas in the region, the feasibility of supplying gas to Hong Kong from other natural gas/LNG projects in the region, the supply situation of the Yacheng gas field, the forecast of future electricity demand, environmental requirements, estimated expenditure and tariff impacts.

The due diligence process on CLP's proposed LNG terminal is still ongoing. No decision has been made by the Government regarding the proposal of CLP to build an LNG terminal project in Hong Kong. Although the Government is unable to report the results of the due diligence at this stage, we briefed the Environmental Affairs Panel of the Legislative Council on June 30, 2008 on the latest status of the proposed LNG terminal. Given the concern of the Hong Kong community on the need and justification of the terminal, it is crucial that all aspects of the project are properly examined to ensure that building an LNG terminal in Hong Kong is in the best interest of Hong Kong.

At present, electricity generation is the major source of greenhouse gases (GHG) emission in Hong Kong, representing over 60% of the total GHG emission. Over half of the electricity is generated from coal burning. Compared with coal burning, electricity generated by natural gas emits about 50% less carbon dioxide. Energy saving and change in fuel mix can reduce GHG emission. However, changing the fuel mix for power generation by drastically increasing the use of natural gas in order to reduce coal burning involves important and complicated issues such as energy policy, energy security, and stability in power supply. The public is also very concerned about the impact on the tariff as a result of the change in fuel mix. More in-depth analysis and discussions of these related issues are therefore necessary before we can come up with an option which takes account of environmental requirements, people's livelihood and a sustained economic development.