(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — Motech Industries, the largest manufacturer of solar cells in Taiwan, said it has signed additional long-term polysilicon purchase agreements with DC Chemical, one of the leading chemical companies in Korea. Motech said DC Chemical has agreed to supply polysilicon in 2009 and also over a seven-year period from 2010 to...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — An affiliate of Korea Electric Power Corp plans to build a 2.5-billion-won solar power plant on the Dokdo islands which are the subject of a territorial dispute with Japan. (US$1 = Won1,107). The move is aimed at bolstering South Korea’s ownership claims on the Dokdo islands. However, it could simply...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — China’s Shanxi province has started up the first batch of generators powering a 75,000-kilowatt (KW) wind farm project, the first in the coal-rich province. Shanxi International Electricity Group invested 750-million yuan in the project, which comprises 60 wind power generators. (US$1=6.85 yuan). The province’s Wutai and Luliang mountains and northwestern...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — New Zealand’s Contact Energy said it has filed resource consent applications with the Tararua District Council for its proposed 177-megawatt (MW) Waitahora wind farm located south-east of Dannevirke town. Located on part of the Puketoi Range in the North Island, the wind farm will consist of up to 65 turbines...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc said investors in the energy sector are growing wary that the government is backtracking on energy-sector reforms. Speaking to the American Chamber of Commerce recently, Philippines Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez credited the energy sector for leading a 270% (more…)
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — The Malaysian government plans to allocate part of the RM500 million windfall tax collected from independent power producers (IPPs) through June 2009 to develop the country’s renewables energy sector. (US$1=RM3.4). IPPS have to pay a 30% windfall tax on returns exceeding 9% from July 1. Energy, Water and Communications Minister...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — India’s Orissa state is planning to build 10 new hydro-electric power stations with a combined capacity of 1,500 megawatts (MW). The government has started talks with National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) to form a joint venture to implement the projects, which are expected to cost Rs80 billion. (US$1 = Rs44)....
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week launched the construction of a 10-MW biomass power plant in Libmanan municipality in Camarines Sur province in northern Philippines. Using agricultural wastes such as rice husks and coconut shells as fuel, the 1.125 billion peso plant will help meet the power needs of local residents...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — HKC (Holdings) Limited said the subsidiaries of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Energy (Holdings) Limited (HKE Holdings), last week signed a framework agreement and a capital contribution agreement with China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC) to invest in a 200MW wind power project in Changma in China’s Gansu province. HKE...
(EnergyAsia, September 9, Tuesday) — The North West Shelf Venture’s Train 5 onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility at the Karratha Gas Plant in Western Australia has started operations, said co-owner Chevron Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of US major Chevron Corp. The US$2.1 billion train has started producing LNG, and is expected to (more…)
US dollar as oil and gas prices receded from recent record levels. Oil has fallen to as low as US$106 per barrel in early September after reaching a record level of more than $147 in early July. The Canadian dollar, known as the loonie, recorded its largest weekly decline since 1971, falling to a recent...
at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in July, is hoping to boost the country’s flagging oil and gas production by focusing on its marginal fields and coalbed methane resources, and reorganising the country’s notoriously inefficient and corrupt energy bureaucracy. Ms Legowo was appointed to her post after Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro had fired her...
has entered into a joint venture with a European partner to design, develop and manufacture a wide range of energy-saving compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs for the European and American markets. The joint venture vehicle, IsunU Pte Ltd, will leverage on Jurong Technologies’ core competencies in electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and IsunU’s research and development...
(EnergyAsia, September 8, Monday) — ‘The Chemicals Shipping Market – Chartering and Operations’, a workshop organised by the Oxford Princeton Programme, will be held in Singapore from October 13 to 15. Shipping is a vital part of the supply chain in the chemical sector. It is a key element in the profitability, trade, marketing and (more…)
silicon solar cells, said it has entered into a long-term supply contract with Titan Energy Systems Ltd, one of India’s largest and longest-standing manufacturers of solar modules and specialty photovoltaic (PV) products. Suniva will produce more than $480 million worth of high-efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells to be used in Titan’s highest efficiency product lines....
invest RMB2.8 billion in a 300,000 kw wind power plant in Dalian city in the northeastern province of Liaoning. (US$1=RMB6.85). The Tuoshan wind power plant will have the capacity to generate more than 700 million kwh of power annually when it is completed by the end of next year. Construction of the project’s first phase...
government of an unidentified county in Beijing city to build a 10 MW solar power plant. Yingli said a wholly-owned subsidiary and an entity controlled by the local government would establish a new company to construct the plant. Subject to further negotiations, construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2009. Yingli added...
provider Bhaskar Silicon Ltd said it will soon begin construction of a massive Rs55 billion integrated solar power complex in Haldia city in India’s West Bengal state. (US$1=Rs43). The company will team up with Germany’s Centrotherm Photovoltaics, Srei Infrastructure Finance, West Bengal Green Power Corporation and US-based Perseus to build the complex on a 200-acre...
a new forecast for the world airlines industry to lose $5.2 billion in 2008 based on an average crude oil price of $113 per barrel and $140 for jet fuel. Fuel is expected to rise to 36% of operating costs, up from 13% in 2002. “The situation remains bleak. The toxic combination of high oil...
must account for 0.5% of oil companies’ fuel sale from October 1. The Biofuels Act also makes it compulsory that the quota rise by 0.5% per year till it reaches 2.5% by 2012. The act encourages the use of dairy byproducts and agricultural waste including animal fats and parts be used to produce fuel for...
(EnergyAsia, September 5, Friday) — An overhaul of the governance structure of Russia’s third largest oil company, TNK-BP, has been agreed in principle by the two main owners, BP and Alfa Access-Renova (AAR). The aim is to better align their respective interests and improve the transparency of TNK-BP’s equity, said BP. The British oil and...
(EnergyAsia, September 5, Friday) — East Asia has achieved unprecedented economic growth in recent decades, but its major powers, Japan, China and India, continue to eye each other warily, driven by historical animosities, strong nationalistic sentiments and growing competition for resources, a new book argues. Mutual suspicions have prompted the three majors to sharply boost...
(EnergyAsia, September 5, Friday) — Rising food and energy costs could push many poor countries into deep social and political crises, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. Some countries are already at “tipping point,” according to managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who added the IMF, a multilateral lender, is preparing to extend a helping hand....
(EnergyAsia, September 5, Friday) — Oil prices continue to hover above US$100 a barrel, consumption is still rising and oil company profits are up, but Western oil companies have reason to fear the future. Their oil reserves and production are in decline. Despite their superior technology and experience, they are increasingly being squeezed out by...
(EnergyAsia, September 5, Friday) — KTL Global Limited, a leading Asia-based rigging equipment specialist, said its net profit surged 54% to S$6.3 million for the latest financial year to June 30. (US$1=S$1.4). The profit excluded a one-time gain of S$6.2 million in FY07 from the sale and leaseback of the its distribution centre and headquarters...