(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Growth in supply of oil products from outside the refining system, that is biofuels and oil products supplied from Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs), will lead to a potential oversupply situation in 2010. This could lead to lower gasoline prices, said consultant Wood Mackenzie in its latest downstream research report ‘Global...
(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Singapore Petroleum Company Limited (SPC) said it has increased its shareholding in Australia’s Cue Energy Resources Limited to approximately 6.75% from 5.38% previously. SPC said it has notified the Australian Securities Exchange that it has bought another 8,570,295 Cue Energy shares for investment purposes at an average price of A$0.2176...
(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — UK’s Lucite International said it has chosen Emerson as the main instrumentation vendor for its methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Singapore, now under construction and due to start up next year. MMA is a chemical used in consumer products including plastics, paints and adhesives. “The Singapore MMA plant is crucial...
(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — Taiwan is looking to boost the domestic supply and use of renewable energy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is looking to provide incentives for motorists to choose ethanol-blended gasoline, while at the same time increasing the supply of the fuel throughout the island. By 2011, it wants ethanol to be...
(EnergyAsia, August 15, Wednesday) — More than 300 biofuel industry professionals including producers, traders, feedstock providers, technology providers, consultants, end-users, regulators and investors will meet at the 2nd Annual Ethanol & Biofuels Asia event in Singapore on October 16-19. Organised by Terrapinn, 2nd Annual Ethanol & Biofuels Asia is part of the larger event, Clean...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — State-owned Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corporation (PNOC-EDC) said it is planning to build a coco methyl ester (CME) biodiesel plant in the country’s southern Negros region. The company already operates a 640-litre-per-month CME pilot plant, which uses the coconut crop for feedstock. The new project is in line with...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — A delegation of business, government and farming officials from western China’s agricultural region visited Colusa Biomass Energy Corporation’s California facilities in Sacramento Valley last month. The company says it uses an “innovative process” to make clean energy, ethanol and industrial grade silica from waste rice straw, the world’s most...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — Malaysia’s leading power company Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has started paying RM0.21 sen per kilowatt hour for electricity produced from palm oil biomass waste, up from RM0.19 previously to encourage greater use of renewable energy sources. (US$1=RM3.46). “The new price structure, under the Renewable Energy Power Purchase Agreement (REPPA), will...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — Australia faces a long, hard climb in its bid to become a liquefied natural gas (LNG) superpower in the league of world leading producer and exporter Qatar. By some estimates, Australia has the potential to bring onstream over 60 million tonnes a year of LNG capacity between 2014 and 2017...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — Australia plans to offer households rebates of up to A$1,000 to instal solar powered hot water systems. (US$1 = A$1.18). The rebates will encourage household to switch from using electric and gas hot water systems to solar systems, thus helping to cut carbon dioxide emissions. The rebate will only be...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — The Chinese government is working to convert its existing corn-based ethanol plants to use other feedstocks in an attempt to hold down the inflation in food prices. State planners are looking at sorghum, cassava and sweet potato – none of which is used as a staple food – to replace...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) has started constructing a large wind farm worth five billion yuan in Chongqing city in southwest China. (US$1=7.56 yuan). In the first phase, the wind farm will have a capacity of about one million kilowatts (KW) per year. This will later be expanded to two...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — India’s sugar industry is demanding better returns for providing ethanol for making biofuels. It has told the country’s oil marketing companies to pay more for their ethanol supply, and it wants the government to give preferential tax treatment for the alternative fuel. Sugar producers wants oil companies to pay Rs23...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Tuesday) — Indonesian law makers have enacted a new law aimed at encouraging energy conservation and the use of renewable energy sources. The law provides for broad policies that will complement existing energy-related legislation, including the Geothermal Law of 2003, the Oil and Gas law of 2001 and the Nuclear Energy Law...
(EnergyAsia, August 14, Monday) — South Korea has started up its first dual purpose mini-hydro electric station. The three-turbine 1,500-kilowatt (KW) plant on the Hantan River in Yeoncheon county is capable of supplying irrigation water and generating power. The 4.7-billion-won plant taps the water flowing naturally over the dam wall that spans the river to...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Australia’s Santos has grabbed the headlines with its plan for a large export-oriented liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that would be fed by coal seam gas (CSG) or coalbed methane. It will be the world’s first large-scale commercial LNG project to use to CSG as feedstock. The A$7 billion project...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Japan’s Sharp Corp said it will build a new state-of-the-art LCD panel plant and solar cell plant for the mass production of thin-film solar cells in Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture. The project is being developed as a “manufacturing complex for the 21st century” that will incorporate relevant infrastructure and...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — NYSE-listed AES Corp said it is expanding into wind generation business in China through the creation of a joint venture with Guohua Energy Investment Co Ltd, one of the country’s leading producers of renewable energy. AES said it will become the first US-based power company with wind generation facilities in...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — US-based Cavico Corp said it has begun work on the longest tunnel in Vietnam as part of the 170MW A Luoi hydropower project. Cavico was awarded two contracts as part of the project, which is expected to become operational by end 2010. The total value of the plant is estimated...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Chinese solar cell and module manufacturer, Solarfun Power, has agreed to pay Nanjing Linyang Electric Power Investment Co Ltd $8 million for a 52% equity interest in Jiangsu Yangguang Solar Technology Co Ltd. Yangguang Solar, a silicon wafer producer, was founded by Jiangsu Zhongneng PV Technology Development Co Ltd, a...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — GT Solar Incorporated, a provider of manufacturing equipment and turnkey manufacturing solutions to the photovoltaic (PV) industry, has signed a $171 million dollar contract to supply China’s Glory Silicon Energy Co Ltd DSS450 furnaces for the production of multi-crystalline silicon ingots. The contract is the largest single DSS furnace contract...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Australia’s Ergon Energy said it will invest A$4 million in a new solar energy farm in the western Queensland town of Windorah. (US$1=A$1.15). The farm will consist of five 14-metre diameter solar dishes with the capacity to generate 360,000-kilowatt hours of electricity per year. Queensland’s Mines and Energy Minister Geoff...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Caltex Australia said it has achieved a new milestone with the opening of its 100th retail outlet selling ethanol blended gasoline in New South Wales state. The outlet at Castlereagh Street in Penrith offers the E10 unleaded grade, which contains 10% ethanol blended with regular unleaded gasoline. Caltex sells the...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — Oerlikon Solar, a leading supplier of field-proven thin film production equipment, said it has signed a contract with Taiwan’s CMC Magnetics Corp (CMC) for the supply of a 40-MWp thin-film solar cell production plant. This is Oerlikon Solar’s first major order in Asia. The first components will be shipped to...
(EnergyAsia, August 13, Monday) — China’s ENERGY ASIA will bring together thousands of energy professionals to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from November 1-5. More than 50,000 visitors are expected to meet representatives of 150 exhibitors in a display area of over 5, 500 sq metres. This premier event is jointly organised by Deutsche...