Workshop
Workshop
The APEC Workshop on University Collaboration to Support Data Gathering and Analysis in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is a two half-day workshop with objectives to:
Develop a network between the EWG, APERC, and University faculty in APEC economies withmutual interests and expertise in energy efficiency and renewable energy goals
Share an example and exchange of experience, by University faculties and students, oncollaborative project-based courses that address the APEC energy goals
Discuss and develop possible collaborative projects between the University in APEC economies,based on the needs for data collection and analysis provided by the policymakers
Building Back Better: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, and Energy Resiliency in the New Normal (EWG 12 2021A)
Workshop Objectives
The workshop was a three-day onsite event to bring together energy policymakers from APEC economies, researchers from APEC universities and APERC, and experts from energy-related fields in the private sector. The workshop included 1) presentations from the experts, energy policymakers, and university faculty; and 2) break-out group discussions on data requirements (particularly post-COVID-19 Pandemic, and discussion of possible collaborative projects to be developed during the next academic year. The policymakers, faculty, and experts from private sector brainstormed about potential future projects that will benefit both the EWG and the university partners.
The Participants
Sixteen speakers and 45 participants attended this three-day workshop. Speakers and participants included 36% policymakers, 48% researchers and University faculty, 16% energy experts from the private sector, and graduate students from fourteen APEC economies. Approximately 60% were male, and 40% were female participants. These included Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; The Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; and Viet Nam. Due to budget and personal reasons (sudden illness and prior engagement), speakers from Australia; Hong Kong, China; the United States of America; and Mexico participated online via Zoom platform. Figure 1 shows the organization and gender distribution of the participants from 14 APEC member economies.
Methodology
The background report, described in section 2.1, was distributed via email to all participants prior to the onsite workshop in Bangkok, Thailand. At the end of 2022 and early 2023, the COVID-19 Pandemic and its disruptive impacts on people’s lives and energy use in the built environment and transportation sectors were still dynamic. Thus, this report provided the current context at the time as a common framework for the speakers and participants to consider during the group discussions on energy efficiency and resiliency.
DAY 1 The first day (Wednesday, 11 January 2023) started with an introduction of objectives of the workshop and a welcome speech. There were four sessions, focusing on an overview of the APEC energy goals and activities, data collections and energy refocus for the post-COVID-19 period, and finally a presentation of the case studies on energy resilience in commercial buildings. Each presentation was approximately 20 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. In addition to the presentations, groups in the first breakout session discussed policymaker needs and further ideas around data gathering and analysis. See Figure 2 for main activities at the workshop.
DAY 2 The second day (Thursday, 12 January 2023) started with a brief summary of key points from the first day, and an overview of the day two’s activities and goals followed. There were two sessions; the first was a series of presentations on the impact of hybrid work on energy use and resilience in buildings and transportation, and the second one was a group discussion, emphasising data collection. The morning session was complemented by a boat trip along canal networks in west Bangkok to experience one of the collaborative projects, promoting the use of clean energy and low impact transportation. The second day ended nicely with a complimentary dinner on the Chaophraya River supported by EnviroLab Asia, Claremont Colleges.
DAY 3 The last day (Friday, 13 January 2023) began with a recap of the main ideas learned from the second day, including the field trip. There were five sessions emphasising the two themes. The first session focused on the energy efficiency and resiliency policy implications and recommendations. The second was sharing experiences on gender issues related to the energy sector and exchanging ideas about developing collaborative projects. Finally, the project overseer gave closing remarks and invited all participants to contribute to the workshop evaluation and, if interested, continue their involvement with the follow-up online meetings.
The Boat Trip: Clean Energy and Sustainable Transportation
The traffic issues in Bangkok not only waste energy, but also harm the economy and the environment. Thus, we purposely chose solar-powered boats and the route along the canals (see Figure 3) that had intersections with mass transit networks. This was discussed during the presentation in Session 5 by Dr. Ampol Karoonsoontawong (KMUTT, Thailand) and focused on the proposed canal transit network for west Bangkok.
To reduce the traffic and air quality problems in the city centre, in 2019 the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) launched a policy to promote more convenient and seamless connections between road transport, mass transit (i.e., overground and underground trains), and water transport. The city proposed new routes of boat services at some main piers in west Bangkok connecting people who use buses and other popular road vehicles (such as motorcycle-taxis and micro-buses), sky trains, and underground
There are over 1,000 canals in the Bangkok Metropolitan area, and the total length of these canals is around 2,600 kilometers. In the past, these canal networks had prominent socio-economic and cultural roles in Thai society. They were the main thoroughfares for transportation of people and goods; they were also essential for agriculture and households’ everyday life. They also served as recreational areas and venues for cultural and religious events. However, most are not in use and the conditions deteriorated.
Due to rapid urbanisation and construction of new concrete road networks, major developments have turned their back to the canals. As a result, water quality and living conditions of the communities along the canals deteriorated. In addition, water gates have been built at the intersections between the river and the canals to manage the daily water levels and during the annual flooding period in Bangkok. These watergates prevented the water transport services that used to serve daily commuters using long-tail boats traveling from their home along the canals to main piers on the river. To experience the reminiscence of old ways of life on the water and current problems, we started our boat trip on the afternoon of day two.
Environmentally conscious drivers picked up the participants in three solar-powered boats from the hotel pier and traveled slowly from the Chao Phraya River into Dao Kanong Canal. Each boat can accommodate up to 8-10 people and had at least one local host who can provide useful information to the participants. They converted the original diesel-engine boats, commonly used by the famous ‘long-tail’ boats, to solar PV and batteries (see Figure 4). They are a group of seven operators, each owning 1-3 boats. There are only a few of these boats, but they all believe this sustainable approach is better for their local tourism business and the environment in the long term. In addition to using renewable energy, these boats run quietly and emit no fumes, producing no noise or air pollution compared to their counterparts, the long-tail boats. Particularly after the COVID-19 Pandemic, more tourists prefer to travel in smaller groups and would like to reduce their environmental impact while traveling and enjoying new experiences.
The Boat Trip: Clean Energy and Sustainable Transportation
The traffic issues in Bangkok not only waste energy, but also harm the economy and the environment. Thus, we purposely chose solar-powered boats and the route along the canals (see Figure 3) that had intersections with mass transit networks. This was discussed during the presentation in Session 5 by Dr. Ampol Karoonsoontawong (KMUTT, Thailand) and focused on the proposed canal transit network for west Bangkok.
To reduce the traffic and air quality problems in the city centre, in 2019 the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) launched a policy to promote more convenient and seamless connections between road transport, mass transit (i.e., overground and underground trains), and water transport. The city proposed new routes of boat services at some main piers in west Bangkok connecting people who use buses and other popular road vehicles (such as motorcycle-taxis and micro-buses), sky trains, and underground
The participants experienced how the existing canal networks could be integrated with local public transportation – for example, motorcycle-taxis, mini-buses, and tuk-tuks – and mass transit systems such as local trains (see Figure 6), skytrains and underground trains. There are also canal-side paths along the waterways, promoting micro-mobility and non-motorised transportation (i.e. cycling and walking).
Another objective of this trip is to demonstrate how a research collaboration between the university, local authorities, and communities can contribute to more sustainable transport and better environmental quality. The participants also experienced the old way of life and local culture, such as the boat vendors selling seasonal fruits and street food (see Figure 7). After some 40 minutes, the boats stopped for a short break at Rachaorot Temple in Jomthong District, established since the Ayudhaya Period over 300 years ago and later renovated with exquisite fusion of Thai and Chinese arts and architectural style. In Thailand, the temple ground serves as a public space for religious and community events as well as recreational activities. The provision of public lighting is therefore important for functional and cultural purposes.
The participants in the first boat, many of whom are lighting experts focusing on reducing lighting carbon footprints, did observe the pole lights in the temple. They are typical 3-meter high poles with glass lampshades (see Figure 8a-8c) and conventional light sources (i.e. compact fluorescents and mercury vapour lamps). Although the light poles are nicely design for the cultural context and some already have LED light bulbs, they tend to have low efficiency due to diffuse light distributions. The local authority should consider using LED technology with a lens that would control light distribution on both horizontal and vertical surfaces. The common practice of LED lamp replacement only will not take full advantages of this new light source and control technologies.
After the break, we took the local train from nearby the temple to Talad Plu, a famous food market three stops away. This train line runs from Mahachai, the area famous for the wholesale seafood and fresh markets, west of Bangkok, to Wong Wien Yai Station – now also served with the BTS skytrain. The original route used to go further from Wong Wien Yai to the river, where goods and produce from agricultural areas are delivered to main ports, then transferred to other parts of Thailand by boats. This local train is still popular among the locals due to relatively low costs (approx. 15-20 cents), such as students and families with children, who mainly take short rides. Talad Plu as the BTS skytrain station is very central, only 4 stops from the Taksin Bridge Station, the main pier and the start of Bangkok’s central business district (Sathorn and Silom area).
At the market, a number of riders from various companies (e.g., Grab and Lineman) waited to pick-up ready-made food from the famous street vendors and restaurants. Similar to other economies in Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the food and essential household products delivery service has dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Although, there is no longer restriction on travel and visits to food and beverage outlets, this scenario may suggest that people still avoid dining in at the restaurants and rely on home delivery services, thus reducing their journey to retail outlets. However, to understand the real impact of this lifestyle change on energy use for daily journeys, especially by private vehicles, we would need more data.
