(EnergyAsia, September 4, Friday) — Origin, Australia’s leading integrated energy company, said it welcomes the passage of the government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) legislation to deliver 20% electricity through renewable sources by 2020. The company’s executive general manager for policy and sustainability, Carl McCamish, said the legislation was a great start in providing a cohesive...

(EnergyAsia, September 4, Friday) — A Sino-Australian consortium said it has been awarded a A$2.724 million research grant to research and develop second-generation biofuels in Australia. (US$1=A$1.2). Sancon Resources Recovery Inc, an environmental services and waste recycling company with operations in China and Australia, said the Algal Fuels Consortium (AFC) clinched the research grant under...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — The US is moving to strengthen economic ties with key crude oil supplier Angola following last month’s successful visit to the African nation by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.   Mrs Clinton met with Angola President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, Oil Minister and Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries president...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — Uganda’s fledgling oil industry could be threatened by the activities of a new rebel group, the Popular Patriotic Front (PPF) in the country’s oil-rich Albertine Rift basin area. The PPF has been recruiting members to fight the Ugandan government in the Masindi and Amuri districts which holds most of the...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — Japan’s Tokuyama Corporation said it will invest 65-billion yen in a new factory in Malaysia’s Sarawak state to manufacture polycrystalline silicon for solar cells. Work on the new factory at the Samalaju Industrial Park is due to start in early 2011, with completion expected in the second quarter of 2013....

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — The global credit crisis is impeding the growth of the solar energy industry in the US, despite increased federal and state subsidies and rising demand for solar energy in markets like New Jersey and California, said Pike Research. In a recent report, Pike Research, predicts the US solar market will...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — The recent visits to Africa by US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were part of the US government’s strategy to try offset China’s growing influence in the continent, particularly over claims to its energy resources. Patrick Morris, President and CEO of Gold Star Resources Corp, a...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — Australia’s AGL Energy Limited (AGL) said it recently secured the energy supply contract for a new A$3.5 billion desalination plant to be constructed near Wonthaggi in Victoria state. (US$1=A$1.2). The contract is for a term of 27 years with an annual requirement of up to 860GWh of electricity and associated...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — The Chinese government has announced the details of a national programme to support the solar energy industry growth through the implementation of at least 500MW in new PV generation capacity by 2012. The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Science and Technology and National Energy Administration (NEA) recently teamed up to...

(EnergyAsia, September 3, Thursday) — Siemens Energy, a unit of the German engineering giant, said it has partnered with eMeter, a leading provider in smart grid management software, to launch their first three global centres of competence dedicated to supporting the growing demand for smart energy services. Designed to facilitate the transition from the existing...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — J. Ray McDermott S.A., a subsidiary of New York-listed McDermott International Inc, said its Malaysian affiliate Barmada McDermott Sdn Bhd has been awarded a transportation and installation contract to replace  a 12-inch full well stream pipeline located off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, said it has achieved a historic milestone in fiscal 2009 as more than half the power sector projects it financed were powered by renewable energy sources. IFC said that addressing the potential impacts of climate change is a strategic priority, and promoting...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — Vietnam’s first wind power plant, located in the central province of Binh Dinh, started operations last month. The plant, with an installed capacity of 30 megawatts (MW), is expected to be one of more than 20 wind farms to be developed in Vietnam that can produce a total of 20,000...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — The US Energy Department may reject applications for federal “smart grid” grants unless electric utilities prove they have sufficiently addressed security concerns related to the technology. IT security experts have raised concerns that companies proposing to instal smart meters that gather information about consumers’ power usage do not provide enough...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — South Korea’s business community sees opportunities from the government’s plan to make major investments in green energy projects. However, a lot of research will be needed for businesses to succeed in turning green industries into promising new engines of growth for the country, said Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — The Indian government has set an ambitious plan to raise solar power generation capacity from almost zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020. Under the plan proposed by the National Solar Mission that has yet to be formally approved, the government will also seek to make the price of solar-generated...

(EnergyAsia, September 2, Wednesday) — China’s Suntech Power said it has been selected by Aldar Properties PJSC to supply over 1,120 solar panels for a 292 kW solar system for The Shams Tower, an iconic building on Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Enviromena, an Abu Dhabi-based solar power system integrator, has designed and will...