(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — US major Exxon Mobil Corporation is venturing into the biofuels business through an alliance with leading biotech company, Synthetic Genomics Inc (SGI), to research and develop next generation biofuels from photosynthetic algae. The move could prove significant as Exxon Mobil has long been sceptical of the viability of alternative energy...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — The US House of Representative has narrowly passed a greenhouse gas emissions bill proposed by President Barack Obama. The proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act is a vital part of Mr Obama’s strategy to revamp US energy production and use. The lower house passed the bill by a narrow...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — Singapore’s China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corporation Ltd (CAO) said it has signed a cooperation framework agreement with West Pacific Petrochemical Co Ltd (WEPEC), a Sino-foreign company which owns and operates a large refinery in Dalian city in China. CAO said it aims to establish a long-term strategic partnership for the...

(EnergyAsia, July 15, Wednesday) — Asian demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is down by about 7% so far this year, but there are signs of a revival now, say analysts. The main drivers behind the drop are lower demand from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan amid the global economic crisis. The three countries account...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — India’s Karnataka state is planning to have 5,000 biofuel-powered public buses on its roads by mid-2010, up from 1,400 buses now. The transportation authorities have identified using 10 depots located in various parts of the state to store biofuels for the growing fleet of ‘green’ buses. Chief minister B. S....

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — Philippine energy firm Quezon Power plans to build a 12 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Mauban in Quezon province. The company already operates a 460MW coal-fired power plant at Mauban and would link up the proposed wind power project with its existing infrastructure. Quezon Power is looking for a suitable...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — A Taiwanese firm has begun development of the country’s first commercial-grade high concentration photovoltaic solar power system. Taipei-based Advanced Renewable Energy Inc is building the one-MW system at a technology park in Tainan county from an existing plant that is generating 100 kw of electricity per hour. It plans to...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — Norway’s REC said it has received an order to deliver its REC 220AE solar modules for installation at the Changi Airport Budget Terminal in Singapore, making this the first rooftop PV installation on a commercial airport in Southeast Asia.   REC said its partner, the Singapore branch of Phoenix Solar,...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — Denmark’s wind turbine manufacturer Vestas said it has received two new orders totalling 75 MW from a large Chinese independent power producer (IPP). The first order consists of seven units of its V90-1.8 MW wind turbine model, and six units of the V90-2.0 MW model for a project in Shandong...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — Hongkong-listed China WindPower Group Limited, a specialist in wind power electricity generation, said it has signed an exclusive agreement with the Fuxin municipal government in Liaoning province to develop wind power electricity projects with a total capacity of 500MW. The company has already secured similar agreements for two projects in...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — US engineering giant KBR said its joint venture with Australia’s WorleyParsons has won an award by Esso Highlands Ltd, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, for project services for the Papua New Guinea LNG project. The agreement with the Eos joint venture started in March 2009 and extends to the...

(EnergyAsia, July 14, Tuesday) — China’s Suntech Power Holdings is planning to invest US$1 billion to build a 500 megawatt (MW) solar power project in Sichuan province. The project in Panzhihua city will be built in three phases, with construction to begin soon, officials said.   Earlier, the NYSE-listed company said it would be building...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) — Keppel Seghers Belgium NV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Integrated Engineering Limited (KIE), said it has secured an 11-million euro contract to provide technology to a waste-to-energy plant (WTE) in Hangu in China’s Tianjin city. (US$1=0.71 euro). The contract was awarded by Tianjin Binhai Environmental Industry Development Ltd.  Located...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) — Japanese oil refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu KK said it, fully-owned subsidiary Showa Shell Solar KK, and Saudi Aramco have agreed to explore the possibility of building a solar-powered small-scale electricity generation business in Saudi Arabia using cutting-edge technology. Following basic investigations based on this agreement, pilot plants will be built...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) — Phoenix Solar Pte Ltd in Singapore, a subsidiary of Germany’s Phoenix Solar AG, has won two contracts to build solar power plants in Singapore. It is expected to complete a photovoltaic power plant with a peak output of 300 kilowatts on an unnamed factory building in September. Construction began in...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) — The World Bank has named Singapore as one of four cities that are both ecologically sustainable and economically viable, and provide opportunities for their citizens in an inclusive, sustainable and resource efficient way. The others are Curitiba in Brazil, Stockholm in Sweden, and Yokohama in Japan. Citing these examples, the...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) — International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which aims to become the main driving force in promoting a rapid transition towards the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale, said it has chosen to base its headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City.   The agency will provide practical...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) –– Owens Corning, a world leader in glass fiber reinforcements and residential and commercial building materials, said the company is supporting its wind blade fabrication customers in Asia by expanding capacity to produce technical fabrics at its manufacturing facilities in Chanzhou and Doudian, China and Taloja, India. The investment adds about...

(EnergyAsia, July 13, Monday) –– The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will partly finance a $73 million wind farm in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to support China’s efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to promote private investment in renewable energy. ADB is extending a long-term local currency loan of up to RMB164...

(EnergyAsia, July 10, Friday) — Following a major diplomatic row, Japan could cancel $1.5 billion in loans to Venezuela for two refinery projects as well as pull out of other energy investments in the South American state. The moves could follow Venezuela’s recent seizure of facilities and assets owned by Mitsubishi Corporation. Japan had to...

(EnergyAsia, July 10, Friday) — Australian firm CBD Energy Limited plans to build an A$200 million wind farm at Shannons Flat near Canberra. (US$1 = A$1.26). The project will include 20 turbines and have a capacity of 50 megawatts (MW). The electricity will be fed in to grid of New South Wales. However, it may...

(EnergyAsia, July 10, Friday) — Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co., Ltd (SSTEC) and Farglory Land Development Group Shanghai which is backed by Farglory Group, Taiwan’s largest property developer, said they will jointly develop a “live, work and play” community in the Tianjin Eco-City in northern China. The two companies will work on developing...

(EnergyAsia, July 10, Friday) — An international consortium led by Belgium’s Enfinity said it has won a contract to build a 10 MWp solar power plant in China. The 200-million-yuan Dunhuang PV project will have the capacity to produce 16.37 million kwh per year over a franchised operation term of 25 years. (US$1=6.82 yuan). In...

(EnergyAsia, July 10, Friday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will help develop a new technology that will substantially reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the China. ADB will provide a $1.25 million technical assistance to fund the bulk of the $1.55 million project, while the rest will come from the Chinese government....