(EnergyAsia, Jun 15, Monday) — Japan Biofuels Supply LLP (JBSL) said it has signed short term contracts to buy between 8,000 and 13,000 kilolitres of bioethanol from two domestic suppliers for use as feedstock in making ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE) to be blended with gasoline. Oenon Holdings Inc and Hokkaido Bioethanol Co, both based...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Indonesian state electricity firm PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) has agreed to pay up to 25% more for term coal supplies for two of its South Sumatra power plants from local state coal miner PT Bukit Asam Tbk. PLN has agreed to purchase 1.1 million tonnes of 5,000 kcal per...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — Agricultural mitigation in developing countries is needed to make farming more resilient to the vagaries of climate change and countering hunger and poverty, the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said in a policy brief for climate change negotiators who recently met in Bonn, Germany. “If agriculture in developing countries...

(EnergyAsia, June 15, Monday) — The World Resources Institute has called on the Asian Development Bank and other multilateral development banks to “do more to integrate climate change and clean energy considerations as a core part of their development assistance.” WRI issued the call just before the ADB hosts this week’s 4th Asia Clean Energy...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The Singapore government is investing a total of S$68 million in solar test-bedding projects in buildings and public housing around the island that will increase the country’s cumulative installed base of solar systems from 200kW last year to about 5MW over the next few years. (US$1=S$1.45). They include the S$31...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — India’s Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) said it has commissioned two grid-interactive solar power plants of 100 KWp each in Lakshadweep as part of the country’s solar-based electrification programme. To date, the company has commissioned 11 solar power plants in the Lakshadweep islands, adding over 1MW of solar power to...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — China’s Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a world leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it is collaborating with two international organisations to develop the next generation of high efficiency solar cells. Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), a leading solar research centre in Europe, and Nasdaq-listed...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The number of jobs in America’s emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007, according to a report released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The agency said it developed a clear, data-driven definition of the clean energy economy and...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — Japanese utility Chugoku Electric Power said it is planning to build a 3MW solar PV system in Hiroshima prefecture. Located in Fukuyama, work on the project will start next year and be installed by 2012. The system is expected to generate 3.15 million kWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — The Chinese government has promised to defend the nation’s battered environment from further damage while injecting RMB4 trillion worth of investment spending to keep the economy growing. (US$1=RMB6.82). The Environment Ministry told reporters it has rejected or delayed the implementation of RMB147 billion worth of projects including 29 steel and...

(EnergyAsia, June 12, Friday) — Hong Kong-listed China Power International Development Limited said hydropower will account for 32% of its total power capacity after it completes its acquisition of a 63% stake in Wu Ling Power from China Power International Holding Limited (CPI Holding). The company will pay CPI Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Global production and use of biofuels is set to grow sharply through 2030, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). In the US, biofuels production is expected to rise to 1.9 million b/d in 2030 from 300,000 b/d in 2006. Europe, Asia, Central America and South America are also expected...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Two South Korean firms and their partners are considering investing as much as US$475 million to produce biofuels in the Philippines. Eco Solutions Co is planning a 100,000-litre-per-year biodiesel plant in General Santos in South Cotabato at a cost of $175 million, while Enviro Plasma Corporation may invest $300 million...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Philippine Alcantara Group has been given the greenlight to build a large coal-fired power plant in Sarangani province. Despite concerns about pollution, the company has been given the environmental clearance from Manila and Central Mindanao’s Environmental Management Bureau for the 200MW plant. The US$450 plant is due to start up...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Hong Kong-based Meiya Power Company Limited (MPC) said it has named Manuel Perez Dubuc as CEO, replacing Alan W. Chan who will be retiring on June 15 but will remain as non-executive chairman in transition. In a statement, MPC described Mr Perez as a seasoned executive with many years of...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Bbiomass power provider Clenergen India Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Britain’s Clenergen Corp Ltd, said it has signed an agreement to supply India’s Power Trading Corporation (PTC) 71 MW of power. The power will be generated by Clenergen’s new biomass based power project in Tamil Nadu state. The...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Shell said it has begun selling gasoline blended with advanced biofuel made from wheat straw, making it the first in the world to offer advanced biofuel to motorists. For one month starting June 10, the regular gasoline purchased at a Shell service station in Ottawa, Canada will contain 10% cellulosic...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a world leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said its PV modules will be installed in a 13MW plant in the Czech Republic. The plant will be constructed by S.A.G. Solarstrom AG (SAG), a leading manufacturer, developer and system integrator in the solar...

(EnergyAsia, June 11, Thursday) — A solar photovoltaic (PV) 10MW plant linked to the national grid has begun supplying power to Abu Dhabi, making it the largest renewable energy plant in the Middle East. The plant is connected to the Abu Dhabi municipal grid, yielding an annual carbon saving of 15,000 tons, the equivalent of...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — Thailand’s state energy company PTT plans to invest 30-billion baht in its new coal business over the next five years. (US$1=34 baht). The move is aimed at diversifying the company’s fuel sources for generating electricity. Coal could account for up to 20% of its revenue in the long term as...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — State-owned Taiwan Power or TaiPower plans to build the island’s largest solar power plant with a capacity of 4,000 kilowatt-peak (kWp) in Kaohsiung city. The NT1.17 billion plant is expected to start up by the end of 2010. (US$1=NT32.7). Local solar-cell manufacturer Motech Industrial and power systems firm Delta Electronics...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — The New Zealand government has set aside NZ$36 million in subsidies to help the country’s fledgling biodiesel industry over the next three years. (US$1 = NZ$1.56). The money will be paid out to domestic biodiesel producers who have been lobbying hard for state support. Up to NZ$9 million will be...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — The Myanmar government is aiming to complete a chain of hydropower projects across the country to help meet rising domestic power demand as well as export surplus electricity to China. Hit by international economic sanctions for its human rights abuses as well as corruption, the repressive military junta has been...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — Pakistan is inviting international investors to bid for the construction of the giant Diamer Bhasha hydroelectric dam project, estimated to cost US$12.6 billion. Energy-hungry Pakistan has predicted that the project will boost the nation’s power supply by 4,500 MW when it is completed by 2018. The National Economic Council (NEC),...