MARKETS: ISO aims to develop sustainability standards for bioenergy

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — ISO has announced that it is aiming to develop an international standard to address sustainability issues for the bioenergy industry. The standard will be produced by a new project committee called the ISO/PC 248, sustainability criteria for bioenergy. It will bring together international experts at its first meeting in...

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THAILAND: A-Power Energy to develop a 150 MW biomass power plant

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — Nasdaq-listed A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd said it has signed a contract with Thailand’s Biomass Electricity Co Ltd to develop a 150MW biomass firing power plant in the Thai province of Prachinburi. The $86 million contract will cover the design of the power station, the procurement and installation of...

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ELECTRIC VEHICLE: High battery costs likely to limit widespread adoption, says BCG

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — Unless battery costs fall sharply on a breakthrough in technology over the coming decade, the electric vehicle (EV) will not win widespread adoption, according to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In a study, BCG has concluded that the long-term cost target used by many carmakers...

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SOUTH KOREA: LM Glasfiber to produce blades for Samsung wind turbine

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — LM Glasfiber, a world leading independent manufacturer of blades for wind turbines, has agreed to supply South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd, blades for its new 2.5 MW wind turbine. The agreement includes a five-year contract for the supply of at least 1,500 MW of blades from LM...

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SOUTH KOREA: Government to impose fines on firms that exceed energy targets

(EnergyAsia, January 13, Wednesday) — The South Korean government plans to impose fines of as much as 10 million won on companies that fail to comply with their own energy reduction targets. (US$1=1,120 won) The government will also ask 219 large companies that use 50,000 tonnes of oil equivalent of energy per year such as...

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QATAR: Qatar Airways, QP and QSTP to work with Airbus to develop biofuels for aircraft

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — Qatar Airways, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) and Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced that they will jointly work on developing biofuels for the aircraft industry with the support of Airbus. The ground-breaking initiative comes months after Qatar Airways, the emirate’s national airline, completed an historical milestone in the aviation...

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CHINA: Wind turbine manufacturer Envision contracts GL for certification

(EnergyAsia, January 13 2010, Wednesday) — Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Envision Energy Co Ltd Services has signed a contract appointing Germanischer Lloyd (GL) to provide wind turbine certification services. GL said it has been appointed to provide A-Design assessments of six turbine variants including certification for an onshore wind turbine of 1.5 MW (EN 15-77...

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MARKETS: Effectiveness of carbon offsetting and trading questioned

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — The effectiveness of carbon offsetting and carbon trading in combating global warming is being questioned by some environmental groups. Organisations that accept payments to plant trees or protect forests to offset carbon emissions from contributors’ activities such as long-haul flights have become popular, but Greenpeace and Friends of the...

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MARKETS: EU to impose emissions cap and charges on inbound flights

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Starting 2012, the European Union (EU) will require carriers flying to Europe to cap their carbon emissions or pay a surcharge.   Analysts believe that most carriers will pass on the extra cost to consumers, which could add another US$4 billion a year to the cost of air travel....

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MARKETS: Clean coal tech excluded from possible funding

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — A UN committee has decided to exclude clean coal technology from possible funding under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to fight global warming. The decision is a blow to Australia, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US, as all four had strongly argued that the technology should...

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INDIA: Suzlon wins repeat orders for wind turbines from ITC Ltd

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Suzlon Energy Ltd,  the world’s third largest wind turbine maker, said it has won a repeat order from Indian conglomerate lTC Limited an order to set up, operate and maintain two new wind power projects in the states of Kamataka and Maharashtra. The project in Kamataka will add 21...

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JAPAN: Kyocera Solar to supply 13 MW of modules for power project

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Japan’s Kyocera said it will supply 13 megawatts (MW) of solar modules for the Ohgishima solar power plant being developed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The plant will be constructed by Hitachi Ltd. Scheduled for completion in 2011, the installation will be one of the largest in...

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CHINA: Largest waste-to-energy plant to use technology supplied by Singapore’s Keppel

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Keppel Seghers Belgium NV, the environmental engineering arm of Singapore’s Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE), said it has secured two contracts worth a total of US$53 million to supply waste-to-energy (WTE) solutions to China. The first contract, awarded by Shenzhen Energy Environmental Engineering Company Ltd (SEEECL), is for the expansion...

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CLIMATE CHANGE: CO2 emissions likely fell by 3% in 2009, said IEA

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — The world may have emitted 3% less carbon dioxide last year on account of the global economic recession, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).   Based on an early estimate, the IEA said this would represent the sharpest decline in greenhouse gas emissions in over 40 years. Nobuo Tanaka,...

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CHINA: Sweden’s EcoEnergy Scandinavia AB signs MOU to build a waste-to-energy plant

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — Sweden’s EcoEnergy Scandinavia AB said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Changzhou Xinbei district government and Jiangsu Guoyu Electric Co Ltd to build local waste-to-energy plants in the Changzhou Xinbei district in China. Lars Guldstrand, EcoEnergy’s chairman, said: “For EcoEnergy, this is an important milestone in building...

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FUND: E+Co and Norfund to finance clean energy enterprises in developing countries

(EnergyAsia, January 11, Monday) — The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) said it has signed an agreement with E+Co, a company that invests in clean energy enterprises in developing countries. The agreement will expand the financing resources for enterprises providing clean energy services, thereby contributing to poverty reduction, economic development and environmental sustainability. (more…)

CHINA: Hong Kong Energy secures agreement to develop 250MW wind farm project

(EnergyAsia, January 11, Monday) — Hong Kong Energy Holdings Limited (HKE) said it has signed an agreement with a county government in China’s Liaoning province to develop a wind farm project of up to 250MW capacity. The Kangping county government in Shenyang City has granted the Hong Kong company the exclusive rights to assess the...

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INDIA: Consultant expects ambitious national solar programme to succeed

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — India’s fast growing solar energy industry has the potential to achieve grid parity between 2017 and 2020, said Netherlands-based consultancy SolarPlaza. In a report forecasting rapid growth for the Indian solar energy industry, SolaPlaza said it expects the cost of solar electricity generation to fall from 12 rupees to...

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CLIMATE CHANGE: Green group calls carbon offsets a ‘dangerous gimmick’

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — The practice of carbon offsetting by polluters in developed countries to pay for projects in the developing world to absorb greenhouse gas emissions has come under increasing attack from environmental groups and critics worried about fraud. The system along with the carbon cap-and-trade scheme calls for governments to set...

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CHINA: State firms continue buying spree for overseas energy firms

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — Chinese state-owned firms are on a buying spree for overseas natural resources firms, in particular those involved in energy. Last October, Sinochem group struck a £532 million deal to acquire UK-based oil and gas explorer Emerald Energy, which has fields in Syria and Colombia. (US$1=£0.63). At the same time,...

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ASIA: ADB to invest in fund for clean energy projects in Mekong, South Asia subregions

(EnergyAsia, January 11, Monday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will invest $15 million to support clean energy projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and South Asia through the Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund. The ADB will invest the fund in companies engaged in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water conservation and...

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SOUTH KOREA: Biomass content raised to 2%

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — South Korea has increased the proportion of biomass content in its regular diesel from 1.5% to 2% since the start of the year. The move will help cut down carbon dioxide emissions, recycle animal and plant waste and reduce import of fossil fuels , said the Ministry of Knowledge...

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SOUTH KOREA: Seoul to contribute $20 million to ADB’s Future Carbon Fund

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — South Korea recently became the first Asian country to join the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Future Carbon Fund with a $20 million commitment to acquire carbon credits after 2012. The partnership agreement, signed by South Korean officials at the ADB headquarters in Manila, signals the country’s contribution to fighting...

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INDIA: Government announces incentive scheme for wind energy sector

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — The Indian government has unveiled a set of incentives to attract investments into the country’s wind energy sector. Under the Generation Based Incentives scheme, the government will grant 0.5 rupees per unit of wind power fed by independent power producers into the transmission grid. (US$1=46 rupees). The incentive will...

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CHINA: Brazil’s Petrobras to explore supplying ethanol to Petrochina

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — Brazil’s Petrobras has signed a memorandum of understanding with Petrochina to explore the feasibility of exporting ethanol to China. PetroChina, the country’s largest oil producer, signed the agreement with Petrobras Biocombustivel, a subsidiary of the Brazilian energy giant. The companies did not disclose details of the deal. Energy-short China...

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