(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, Thailand’s largest private power company, will proceed to invest in a proposed joint venture 4.3-billion baht wind farm project in the northern Phetchabun province. (US$1=33 baht). The company said the 60MW farm will generate around 125 million gigawatt-hours of electricity (GWh) when it starts up in...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Singapore has set up a multi-agency taskforce to begin introducing electric vehicles onto its roads from next year. Chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA), the taskforce for the S$20 million test-bedding project comprises members across different ministries and statutory boards, including the Agency for...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Russian gas output plunged 14.7% to 154 billion cubic metres in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, while its oil production slipped 1.3% to 120 million tons. According to the Federal Customs Service, the country exported 21.5 billion cubic meters of gas worth...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Solargiga Energy, a Chinese manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon solar ingots and wafers, said it is taking its first step to expand into the downstream solar energy business. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jinzhou Yangguang Energy, has entered into a formal joint venture agreement with Taiwan’s Kinmac Holdings Limited and an unidentified partner...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Friday) — The delivery of Kazakh crude oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from Azerbaijan across Turkey has soared in recent months. Shipments hit 240,000 tonnes in February, up from 17,400 tonnes last October when it began operating. The Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System (KCTS) is able to handle up to 500,000 b/d...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — The Russian government has submitted to the G20 and other world leaders a proposal for a new global energy charter. The charter is aimed at preventing international conflicts over competition for and trade in energy resources, including nuclear fuels, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev said. So far, the only agreement on...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Inventors have developed a cheap US$5 solar-powered stove that could find wide use in poor countries. The ‘Kyoto Box’ stove traps heat under an acrylic lid, providing enough power to boil food and water, as well as bake. The invention was unveiled as part of the Financial Times Climate Challenge,...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Russia’s energy minister Sergei Shmatko has forecast crude oil prices to reach a high of US$80 per barrel next year. The current price at just over US$50 was not “fair,” and certainly not high enough to boost costly investment in exploration and production, he said. The resulting underinvestment in the...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Japanese firms will soon begin to explore for oil in Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta region under a new agreement to expand energy cooperation between the two countries. They also plan to jointly develop refining and petrochemicals projects. The joint efforts will likely be led by Venezuela’s state oil firm Petroleos de...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — China has laid out plans to reduce the carbon foot print of its growing economy even though they are unlikely to completely satisfy criticisms from the West. In a recent report to the country’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao has called on all levels of...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Southeast Asia, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change, faces a poorer future unless global warming is controlled, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study. Drawing on the findings of previous studies, impact assessment models and extensive consultations with national and regional climate...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Australia’s leading integrated energy company, Origin, said it has acquired Wind Power Pty Ltd, including its portfolio of high quality wind farm development sites in Victoria state. This, together with existing sites and options, increases Origin’s access to a wind development portfolio by 1,460 MW to more than 2,000 MW....

(Energy Asia, May 7, Thursday) — The US government has launched a US$2.4 billion grant programme for the development of electric vehicles, with part of the money to be invested in the country’s grid system to power up the cars.It has also announced a US$11 billion investment to upgrade the nation’s power grid to enable...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — The US government has begun releasing more than US$780 million to state agencies to develop and promote energy efficiency programmes.The bulk of the money will go to low-income families to upgrade their homes to improve energy conservation, thus lowering heating bills.A qualifying homeowner will be able to invest up to...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — German wind power firm InfraVest may scale down investments in Taiwan or even pull out completely, citing the lack of support from the government.The company, Taiwan’s only private producer of wind energy, has complained that the government is not committed to developing clean energy.InfraVest said it has invested over NT$10...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — China and Myanmar appear to be making headway in their plans to build overland oil and gas pipelines that could significantly reduce fuel shipment through the congested Straits of Malacca.Middle Eastern and African oil will be shipped to Myanmar’s southern Arakan coast before being unloaded and piped to China’s southwestern...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — Vestas, a world leader in wind energy, said it has sold 58 units of its V52-850 kW wind turbines to China’s Datang (Tongliao) Huolinhe Renewable Power Co Ltd through China National Water Resources & Electric Power Materials & Equipment Co Ltd.The turbines will be installed in the Zhaqi phase I...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — China’s Trina Solar said it has entered into three sales agreements totalling 42 MW of PV modules for delivery to customers in Germany this year.Signed in the first quarter, Trina said the agreements reflect continued demand for its quality products from established customers in Germany and their commitment to new...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — Hong Kong’s CLP Holdings Limited said it has agreed to acquire Roaring 40s Renewable Energy Pty Ltd’s Chinese wind farm portfolio for approximately HK$730 million. (US$1=HK$7.75). Roaring 40s is a joint venture, formed in September 2005, between CLP and Australia’s Hydro Tasmania to pursue renewable energy projects in Australia and...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — Singapore-listed commodities trader Noble Group Ltd said it has raised its cash offer for Australia’s Gloucester Coal by 24% to A$6 per share if the latter’s proposed merger with Whitehaven does not proceed. (US$1=A$1.4).Noble said its revised offer represents a 91% premium to the closing price of Gloucester shares on...

(EnergyAsia, May 6, Wednesday) — Green Energy Technology Inc Ltd (GET) said it has certified its SunFab Thin Film Line™, supplied by Applied Materials Inc, for the production of Taiwan’s largest solar photovoltaic panels. The line, located in Tao Yuan, Taiwan, passed final acceptance testing with world-class panel efficiency, yield and throughput. “The key to...

(EnergyAsia, May 6, Wednesday) — Huntsman Textile Effects, a division of NYSE-listed chemicals giant Huntsman Corporation and a leading manufacturer of dyes and textile chemicals, has shifted its global headquarters to Singapore from Basel in Switzerland. The move is a milestone in the division’s restructuring and will significantly contribute to its focus on serving selected...

(EnergyAsia, May 6, Wednesday) — Three Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) and Mitsui & Co Ltd — have signed an agreement with United Industrial Corporation (OPK), one of Russia’s largest diversified corporations, for a feasibility study to build large-size liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at the shipyards...

(EnergyAsia, May 6, Wednesday) — Governments in the Asia Pacific region must “urgently develop” strategies to adapt to climate change or face soaring economic costs in the future, an Asian Development Bank (ADB) seminar audience was told this week. The seminar, “Responding to the Inevitable: Climate Change Adaptation Challenges and Opportunities in Asia Pacific,” was...

(EnergyAsia, May 6, Wednesday) — Solar energy is gaining market share as new technologies are being developed to drive this renewable energy source forward to become a $70 billion market by 2013, said SRI Consulting (SRIC). The oil price fluctuations and global warming concerns have sparked a concentrated interest in promoting solar energy applications, helping...