Energy in Hong Kong

Primary Energy Requirements by Source in Hong Kong (2021)[1]

  Oil (62.91%)
  Coal (28.63%)
  Imports of electricity (8.46%)

Total Energy Consumption by Sector in Hong Kong (2019)[2]

  Commercial (43.4%)
  Transport (31.0%)
  Residential (21.3%)
  Industrial (4.3%)
Solar PV power generation in Hong Kong

Energy in Hong Kong refers to the type of energy and its related infrastructure used in Hong Kong. Energy is crucial for the development of trade and industries in Hong Kong with its relatively small usable land.[3] Hong Kong mostly imports its energy from outside or produces it through some intermediate process.[1]

Energy sources

Hong Kong electricity supply by source

Coal

Hong Kong meets all of its coal demand through imports. In 2021, 6.5 million tonnes of coal were imported. In recent years, Indonesia (81.9%) has become the largest supplier, followed by Russia (10.3%), Australia (5.3%) and Canada (2.4%).[4]

Most of the energy generated by coal in Hong Kong is for electricity generation. Hong Kong currently has a total of about 5 GW of capacity for coal-fired power stations.

Natural gas

Natural gas was first introduced for electricity generation in Hong Kong in 1996.[5] Black Point Power Station was first commissioned in 1996 and has increased capacity to 3.2 GW in 2020. Lamma Power Station, originally commissioned as a coal power plant, has expanded to include gas turbines since.

Nuclear

Main article: Nuclear energy in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has no indigenous supply of nuclear energy and there is no nuclear power station in the territory. However, Hong Kong has imported electricity from Mainland China from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong since 1994.[5]

Hydro

Hong Kong has one hydropower plant in Tuen Mun coupled with a water treatment plant, but otherwise lacks rivers with significant flow to generate hydropower.

Oil

Oil products imported to Hong Kong have always mostly come from Singapore. Singapore accounted for 75.8% of fuel oil imports and 75.4% of unleaded motor gasoline imports. Mainland China and Macau are the two largest destination for oil products re-exporting from Hong Kong.[6]

Solar

Photovoltaic panels at The Peak Galleria

Hong Kong has been using solar energy over the past 20 years. As of 2013, there is a 1 MW installed capacity of photovoltaic at Lamma Power Station, doubling its size from 550 kW since its first commissioning in July 2010.[7]

Wind

Solar and wind-powered lamp in Ma On Shan

Hong Kong has a very small scale of wind power generation since early 2006, which is the Lamma Winds at Lamma Island with an installed capacity of 800 kW. In March 2013, HK Electric has just completed the full-year wind measurement for a proposal of offshore wind farm project in Southwest Lamma Island.

Regulatory body

Energy-related affairs are regulated by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD; Chinese: 機電工程署) under the Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong.

Companies

Energy-related companies of Hong Kong are:

Education

Energy-related education centres in Hong Kong include:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b http://www.statistics.gov.hk/pub/B11000022012AN12B0100.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ Hong Kong Energy End-Use Data (PDF) (Report). Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (Hong Kong). September 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Energy & Our Environment". GovHK. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  4. ^ Hong Kong Energy Statistics - 2021 Annual Report (PDF) (Report). Census and Statistics Department, Government of Hong Kong.
  5. ^ a b "HKNIC - Why Nuclear for Hong Kong". Hknuclear.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Hong Kong Energy Statistics" (PDF). Census and Statistics Department. p. 20. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. ^ "HK Electric Investments - Press Releases". Hkelectric.com. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)