(EnergyAsia, May 11, Friday) — Japanese diesel engine manufacturer Yanmar Co Ltd is setting up a biodiesel research and development (R&D) hub in Sabah to leverage on the Malaysian state’s palm oil resources. Yanmar said it has developed new engines and power generation equipment that use palm oil as feedstock. Sabah is Malaysia’s largest...
(EnergyAsia, May 11, Friday) — China has been urged to join a global initiative to promote transparency and fight corruption by making clear how oil revenues are raised and spent in oil-producing states. Under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which is backed by the G8 industrial nations, oil producers would have to publish...
(EnergyAsia, May 11, Friday) — China is poised to surpass the US as the world’s leading producer of greenhouse gases this year, said the International Energy Agency. China’s rapidly growing economy is also a source of greenhouse gases. The increase in its emissions could well exceed the combined reductions achieved by other countries. ...
(EnergyAsia, May 11, Friday) — Aircraft maker Boeing is working with oil majors BP and Shell to develop biofuels to power jets. The first biofuels for jet use will likely be plant-derived fuels that will be blended with conventional fuel. Boeing is targeting the fuels to become commercial by 2012. The move comes...
(EnergyAsia, May 11, Friday) — The Chinese government is stepping up efforts to accelerate the development of renewable energy to enhance energy security and protect the environment. According to consultants Frost & Sullivan, China’s renewable energy market will grow from around $6.9 billion in 2006 to $17.9 billion in 2013. The Renewable Energy...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — India has officially launched a nationwide programme to promote the use of ethanol-blended gasoline. The programme kicked off initially in zones designated to sell gasolines with a 5% ethanol-content. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas issued tenders for ethanol supply last September that closed on November 1. ...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — Japan will support developing countries in the Asia Pacific in promoting investment and tackling climate change through a new cooperation initiative with ADB of up to US$2 billion over five years, and two funds totaling up to $100 million. The initiative was announced by the chairman of ADB’s board...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — Asia Development Bank (ADB) has issued its first sustainability report, in what it describes is an attempt to practise what it preaches as an international institution whose focus is on poverty reduction and sustainable development. In the last 12 years, ADB said it has provided more than US$8 billion...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — International experts meeting in Rome last month on the environmental and food security impact of the bioenergy industry said governments could use bioenergy as a positive force for rural development. “It was the first time that experts in bioenergy, food security and the environment came together to discuss the...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — Nasdaq-listed Canadian Solar Inc (CSI) recently opened its subsidiary, CSI Cells Co Ltd and manufacturing plant in Suzhou city in China’s Jiangsu province. The first phase of the new facility, occupying an area of 10,000 sq m, has an annual capacity of 25 MW, and is expected to be ramped...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — India’s diversified conglomerate Lanco Group said it has registered two of its hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh state as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects provided by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under the Kyoto Protocol. The Upper Khauli and Drinidhar plants on the Beas River, both...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed a loan agreement totalling up to US$110 million for the Amman East IPP project with AES Jordan PSC. The loan is co-financed with Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC, up to US$70 million) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), (US$45 million),...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — German system integrator Reinecke + Pohl Sun Energy said it has signed an agreement to supply modules for building-integrated photovoltaics and technical advice on project engineering to South Korea’s LG Chem. The agreement valued at $9.5 million over the next four years, was recently signed by Thorsten Preugschas, a...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it has received an order for a 200 MW LNG-fired gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC) power generation system from Alinta Energy of Australia. The GTCC plant is scheduled to go on-stream in the second quarter of 2009. The new GTCC power plant, to...
(EnergyAsia, May 10, Thursday) — Exxon Mobil Corp said its subsidiary, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), has completed drilling of the Z-11 well, the longest measured depth extended-reach drilling (ERD) well in the world. Located on Sakhalin Island off the coast of eastern Russia, the record-setting Z-11 achieved a total measured depth of 37,016 feet (11,282...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — The Chinese government has outlined plans to increase domestic oil, gas and coal production through to meet growing demand. Using new exploration and production technology, it has targeted to produce 193 million tonnes/year of crude oil and 92 billion cubic metres of natural gas by 2010. It is...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Power companies are holding back on investing in India’s northeast because of rampant electricity theft and poor infrastructure. The industry estimates that some 40% of power supplies in the northeast are stolen. A further 20% is sold at subsidised rates while only 40% is sold at market prices....
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Tuesday) — India’s Jharkhand state is planning to develop more small hydro power plants to meet rising energy demand. State authorities have invited tenders for feasibility studies at some 25 potential sites. The plants would have a capacity of up to 25 megawatts (MW) each, depending on water supply. ...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Fears that world oil production has peaked and is in decline, leaving the US especially vulnerable, are exaggerated, according to a research report by Cato Institute, a conservative US think tank. The report argues that while world oil demand is continuing to rise, supplies are not as scarce or...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Russia remains interested in setting up a cartel of natural gas-exporting countries, along the lines of OPEC. Russia’s powerful energy ministry is supporting the establishment of a producer group to include natural gas giants Iran and Qatar to coordinate gas prices. However, it remains unclear to what extent,...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — France’s Alstom said it has signed a contract with Taiwan Power Company (TPC) to upgrade one of the two GT11N2 gas turbines to a GT11N2 M at the Tung Hsiao power plant in Taiwan. The upgrade comprises the implementation of an improved turbine blading and combustion chamber. To...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Asia Development Bank (ADB) said it is ready to launch a public consultation process for its draft new energy strategy to be finalised later this year. Some of the key issues concerning the review were discussed at an Open Forum with civil society representatives at ADB’s 40th Annual Meeting...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Asia Development Bank (ADB) is launching an innovative Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility aiming to raise $250 million to help fast-track clean energy projects in its developing member countries. “This facility encourages ADB’s development partners to cooperate in the financing of clean energy projects in the region,” said Werner...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Indigenous communities from the Peruvian Amazon have told Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) to clean up its toxic waste from their tropical rainforest or face a major lawsuit. The ultimatum came as a new technical report revealed that 30 years of Oxy’s polluting had left indigenous Achuar children with illegal concentrations...
(EnergyAsia, May 9, Wednesday) — Energy ministers from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies will meet in Darwin, Australia, on May 29-30 to discuss the challenges of meeting rapidly growing energy demands while minimising environmental effects. The 8th Meeting of APEC Energy Ministers will seek to improve oil security through removing market impediments to...