(EnergyAsia, March 7) — Beijing’s municipal authorities have announced a new target to cut energy and water use by 5% per unit of economic output. To achieve that, the city will aim to phase out and close less energy efficient industries such as steel, chemicals and cement making plants. At the same time,...
(EnergyAsia, March 7) — GE Energy said its Jenbacher biogas engine is powering a successful demonstration cattle manure-methane cogeneration plant at a large dairy complex in India’s northwestern state of Punjab, helping to address the region’s mounting energy and environmental needs. The Jenbacher biogas plant was cited as one of a number of successful...
(EnergyAsia, March 7) — Switzerland’s ABB said it has established a regional Asia Pacific Consulting (RAC) group to serve its customers in the Asia Pacific market. The consulting group performs as a satellite of UK-based ABB Engineering Services, formerly part of the global chemical company, ICI, providing a wide range of professional engineering services to...
(EnergyAsia, March 7) — India’s power sector has become more attractive to investors following recent reforms to its state electricity boards. Most generation and transmission firms are now financially viable undertakings that are well-positioned to attract new investment. The Indian government expects to attract US$100 billion worth of investments into the country’s power generation...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Moser Baer India Ltd said its subsidiary, Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Ltd, has successfully completed final line integration and trials on its initial 40 MW crystalline photovoltaic cell production facility. The company said it remains on target to achieve 80 MW of capacity in the second half of 2007. Moser...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) said it has won its second power project contract in Bangladesh, wresting it from Chinese power equipment major – Harbin Power Engineering, in an intensely competitive global tender. The Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) awarded the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded Rs5.05 billion...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Abu Dhabi is staking its economic future on developing renewable energy sources, sustainable resources and innovative technology. Working with leading global science, technology and business institutions, the government has launched the Masdar Initiative to address issues like energy security, climate change and sustainable development. Last month, Abu Dhabi hosted a presentation...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Engineering giant Foster Wheeler Ltd said its subsidiary, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, part of its Global Engineering and Construction Group, has been awarded an engineering and materials supply contract for a Terrace-Wall(TM) reformer and three fired heaters by CTCI Corp. CTCI is the engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) prime contractor for...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Russian gas giant Gazprom said it has received board approval to join Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd as the leading shareholder. Last December 21, Gazprom, Royal Dutch Shell plc, Mitsui & Co Ltd and Mitsubishi Corp signed a protocol for Gazprom to become the main shareholder of Sakhalin Energy, which...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has received a full-turnkey order for the construction of a heavy crude oil-fired thermal power generation and desalination plant in Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia. The order was placed by the Shuqaiq Water and Electricity Company (SqWEC). Construction will begin in June, with commercial operation...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — China remains committed to developing its clean energy sector to help fight global warming, the country’s State Council Information Office said in response to the recent United Nation’s report on climate change. China is the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US. The bulk of China’s greenhouse...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — India’s oil and petrochemicals major Reliance Industries is planning to enter the biodiesel sector. The company will make its push through affiliate Reliance Life Sciences which plans to develop biodiesel from oilseeds. The project would include not only production facilities but also plantations to provide the feedstock. Reliance plans...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Singapore-listed China Petrotech Holdings Ltd said its 2006 revenue grew by 35% to RMB89.9 million as its strategic shift to oilfield services begun to bear fruit. Revenue from oilfield services soared to RMB64.5 million in FY2006 from just RMB2.9 million in FY2005. The company said it oilfield services revenue came...
(EnergyAsia, March 6) — Swiber Holdings Limited, a Singapore-based integrated offshore engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commission (EPCIC) contractor, said its 2006 net profit nearly doubled to US$12.1 million on record revenue of US$66.8 million, which was up 263% from US$18.4 million in FY2005. The company, which also supplies marine support vessels, said its...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — Australia’s Queensland state has earned more than A$3 billion from the sale of its stakes in energy companies to date. (US$1=A$1.3). It crossed that benchmark last month with the A$1.203 billion sale of Powerdirect Australia to AGL Energy. “This is an excellent result for the state and provides a fantastic...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — Thai state energy companies Public Company Limited (PTT) and Electricity Generating Co Ltd (EGCO), have signed an agreement with Wind Energy Generating Co., Ltd. (WEGCO) and Eurus Energy Japan Corporation to jointly study the feasibility of building the country’s first wind power project. Eurus is jointly owned by Tokyo Electric Power...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) —- Abu Dhabi wants to popularise the adoption of advanced solar technologies in the UAE through its Masdar Initiative programme in sustainable energy. Projects already in active development in Abu Dhabi include photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP). The PV projects include a world-scale polysilicon factory which will provide the...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — India’s old Ministry of Non-Conventional Resources spent only 18% of its Rs5.97 billion budget last year. (US1 = Rs44). It has since been renamed the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The ministry blamed its under-spending on state governments for delays in implementing projects. But the ministry is not...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — The Philippines’ new Biofuels Act is set to help the country’s sugar cane and coconut farmers. The government has set up an expert group that will identify suitable projects and farmlands to get ethanol and biodiesel production underway as the country seeks to leverage on the global biofuels boom. ...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — The Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung is converting a 430-strong bus fleet to operate on biodiesel. The city will receive NT$10.6 million in state subsidies to undertake the project. (US$1 = NT$33). The use of biodiesel is expected to help reduce carbon dioxide and other emissions in the city. But...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — India has joined an international group working together to develop solar energy technology and use as it seeks to expand the role of renewable energy in the economy. The group on solar energy convertibility includes the US, China, Japan and South Korea, said the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Briefing...
(EnergyAsia, February 14) — California’s Silicon Valley is hiring again on the back of w worldwide boom in the renewable fuels sector. Last year, Valley-based firms created 33,000 new jobs, the first job growth there since the burst of the Internet bubble in 2001. Companies invested almost US$1 billion in renewable fuels ventures last...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it will establish MHI Engine System Asia, the regional headquarters to oversee its overseas engine business in Asia, in Singapore this spring. The new company is aimed at expanding MHI’s after-sales servicing operations for medium- and large-sized engines in Asia in response to strong...
(EnergyAsia, March 5) — The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (ADFEC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, has signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to establish the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi. The two institutions will cooperate on helping to develop a renewable energy industry...
(EnergyAsia, March 2) — Malaysian state oil and gas company Petronas has signed two gas sales agreements with Murphy Oil of the US and Petronas subsidiary Carigali Sdn Bhd for the supply of gas from the fields in Blocks SK309 and SK311, and from the Kikeh field, off the coast of Sarawak and Sabah. ...