(EnergyAsia, July 16, Monday) — World oil demand will grow by 2.2 million barrels/day or more than 2.5% to a record 88.2 million b/d next year, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Paris-based organisation predicted strong oil demand growth in both the OECD and developing world, in particular China and the Middle East. The...
(EnergyAsia, July 16, Monday) — Australian energy infrastructure company Alinta is planning to invest A$112 million to expand the capacity of its natural gas pipeline in Queensland state. (US$1 = A$1.16). The line will be expanded to meet the growing energy needs of Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Queensland. Work on the expansion is...
(EnergyAsia, July 16, Monday) — Australian Pipeline Trust (APA) has ended its operating contract with Alinta in a deal that will restore control of its assets to Australian investors. APA will incur a cost of A$210 million for cancelling the contract. (US$1=A$1.16). Alinta, which was acquired by Babcock and Singapore Power, owns and operates many...
(EnergyAsia, July 16, Monday) — The Tamworth region in Australia’s Queensland state is expected to benefit from a proposal to build a 800-km gas pipeline linking Newcastle with southern Queensland. The A$500 million line would provide gas to the region when it comes onstream within four years. A gas-fired power plant will be built to...
(EnergyAsia, July 16, Monday) — Taiwanese solar cell maker E-Ton Solar has acquired Adema, a California, US-based solar power parts company, for more than US$153 million as world competition intensifies for silicon supplies. E-Ton’s move reflects a trend among solar parts producers to acquire or form alliances with upstream suppliers to secure silicon and other...
(EnergyAsia, July 13) — The New South Wales state government of Australia is conducting an inquiry into a natural gas supply disruption last month that affected major population areas and some 400 large business organisations. The incident came amid a cold snap that has strained gas supplies in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia....
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — Nanning Yong Kai Industry Group Co Ltd, a China-based agricultural group, plans to build three ethanol plants in the Philippines. Nanning expects to invest over US$100 million in joint ventures with Philippine firms, with construction expected to start later this year. The Philippines is currently attracting a wave of new...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — India’s northern city of Chandigarh is looking to the windmills in Rajasthan state to supply electricity to alleviate its power crunch. A possible investor could be Suzlon Energy, the Indian wind power firm that already has wind farms in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Chandigarh lacks the required wind...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — Indian Oil Corp (IOC) is planning to become a major commercial producer of biodiesel. As part of its plans, India’s largest downstream oil company is looking to buy 30,000 hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh state to plant jatropha, a crop used for producing biodiesel. The company would make the...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — South Korea’s biodiesel consumption will expand significantly after 2011 as its price will become attractive relative to oil, according to research by the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI). The agency expects the oil price to continue to rise in the coming years from the current level of around US$75 a...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — National Hydro Power Corp (NHPC), India’s state-controlled hydropower major, hopes to raise up to Rs20 billion in an initial public offering (IPO). Through the IPO, the government plans to sell off 5% of its stake in NHPC, reducing its stake to 86.3%. NHPC will use a part of the IPO...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — India’s Punjab state has set out plans to generate more than 1,580 megawatt (MW) of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010. Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) said that 425 MW of the output will come from small hydro projects, 220MW from cogeneration, and 340 MW from biomass. Solar, wind...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — China is willing to do its part to cut emissions and combat climate change, but not at the expense of its economic growth. This is the bottom-line message of Beijing’s national climate change plan unveiled last month. The government will advocate energy-savings technology as well as renewable and clean energy...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — India’s National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) plans to invest a total of Rs270 billion in hydropower projects in the state of Arunachal Pradesh through 2017. (U$1 = Rs41). Most of the funds will be spent on three proposed major hydro projects with a total capacity of 4,500 megawatt (MW). A...
(EnergyAsia, July 13, Friday) — Leading international tradeshow organiser Koelnmesse of Germany and Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) have formed a partnership to establish the Green Conventions Project. The project offers a set of environmentally friendly guidelines and framework for its cornerstone Asian carbon conference and trade-fair, Carbon Forum Asia 2007, to be jointly organised...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — The Philippines government has promised to accelerate the country’s biofuels programme to boost its energy self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on imported and increasingly costly fossil fuels. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said biofuels will provide the Philippines a clean, efficient and cheap energy source to meet the demands of the growing...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — Biomaxx Systems Inc said it has chosen to build its biodiesel demonstration plant in Thailand. Biomaxx said: “Thailand offers significant advantages over the other locations considered, due to its rapid industrialisation, potential corporate tax incentives and the cooperative nature of the Thailand government agencies.” BioMaxx described the Thai government as...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — German solar energy company Conergy AG said it has won an order to supply technology to state-owned Mubadala Development Co in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala needs the renewable energy technology to install 40MW of solar capacity to power up to 10,000 homes. “The UAE is adapting new technologies to advance energy...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — The Co-operative Insurance of the UK has warned investors to beware of the growing risks and consequences of biofuels projects. The drive to switch over to biofuels is leading to rising food prices and severe environmental impact from deforestation, it said. It pointed out that about 9% of the world’s...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — India’s petroleum minister Murli Deora said he will divert natural gas from a chemical fertiliser company to the Maharashtra state power company to tide over an electricity crunch. The minister has asked Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) supply a quarter of its 4.8 million standard cubic meters per day entitlement...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Wednesday) — Australia’s Victoria state government is favouring windpower development to meet the state’s growing electricity demand while minimising greenhouse gas output. There are plans to develop 150 wind turbines across Victoria to contribute to the 100 MW of electricity needed to operate a desalination plant and water pipeline each year. Gripped...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — BP Energy India Ltd is promoting the use of a special cooking stove developed by the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore that uses agricultural waste as fuel and emits no smoke. Residents in Virudhnagar were given 5,000 of the stoves that burn pellets made from agricultural waste. The stoves...
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — India believes its renewable energy power capacity will rise by eight times to 80,000 MW over the next 25 years. Vilas Muttemwar, the minister for non-conventional and renewable energy, said that the power capacity provided by wind, solar power and biomass sources now stands at about 10,000 MW. Mr Muttemwar...
(EnergyAsia, July 11, Thursday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation said it recently achieved a world record photoelectric conversion efficiency rate of 18% in a 150mm square practical use multi-crystalline silicon solar cell, an improvement of 1.2% over its previous models. The results were verified by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science And Technology (AIST)....
(EnergyAsia, July 12, Thursday) — Malaysia’s Sarawak Shell Berhad (SSB) and Sabah Shell Petroleum Company (SSPC) Ltd have awarded Barmada McDermott Sdn Bhd (BMD) a contract to transport and install offshore structures, pipelines, subsea cables, umbilicals and associated components off the coast of Malaysia. BMD is affiliated with J. Ray McDermott and Bumi Armada Sdn...