(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited said it has secured two contracts worth a total of S$20 million from two Singapore subsidiaries of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. Rotary said its subsidiary and maintenance arm, Rotary IMC Pte Ltd, will revamp a Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd process unit on Pulau Bukom....
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set a six-year plan to control the supply as well as limit the exports of rare earth metals now in demand to make batteries and motors for use in electric vehicles. The plan is expected to force companies to manufacture their products...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Korea Southern Power (KSP), a unit of state-run Korea Electric power Corporation, has formed a special purpose company to develop a wind power complex that would be the first to use locally-produced generators. KSP said it will partner with domestic generator makers Hyosung and Hyundai Heavy Industries and installation firm...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Jinko Solar, a Chinese manufacturer and service provider of PV integrated products, said it recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Upsolar to market its products in the US over the next three years. Upsolar, which will market Jinko Solar’s products in the 175MW range, has committed to offer the...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Commodities brokerage Spectron has started a service to match liquefied natural gas (LNG) trades. In a statement, Spectron said LNG coverage would be led by Helena Wisden, formerly of consultant Poten & Partners, from the broker’s London office. “The number of players in the short term LNG market has increased...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — China Clean Energy Inc, a US-listed producer of biodiesel fuel and environmentally-friendly specialty chemical products made from renewable resources in China, said it has completed the construction of its plant in Jiangyin. The commissioning process has been completed, and a test-production run is expected to take place this month. The...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — The head of the alternative energy unit of UK oil major BP is optimistic about the prospects of biofuels, particularly biodiesel. Katrina Landis, CEO of BP’s Alternative Energy, said with the right policies in place, the share of biofuels in the total supply of road transport fuels worldwide could rise...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Climate change poses fundamental threats to Asia’s food and energy security which, if left unchecked, will further boost migration into already overburdened mega cities, according to three major new studies funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The studies are being prepared as part of the UN Framework Convention on...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — At the upcoming US-China Green Tech Summit in Beijing, leading green technology CEOs, venture capitalists and academics will discuss how US-China project-to-project partnerships can reduce carbon dioxide, generate green jobs and ensure energy independence. At the summit on November 16-17, speakers and participants will tackle key issues, form lasting partnerships...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — One of the world’s most busy waterways along the combined 805-km Straits of Malacca and Singapore has “sufficient capacity” to handle growth in vessel traffic to accommodate a significant increase in maritime trade, according to preliminary findings from a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) study. The Singapore Strait,...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — Saudi Aramco announced last week that it will begin using the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) published by Argus Media as the benchmark price for all grades of crude oil sold to US customers. Saudi Aramco has used WTI crude prices published by McGraw Hill’s Platts as the benchmark for...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — One of the world’s most busy waterways along the combined 805-km Straits of Malacca and Singapore has “sufficient capacity” to handle growth in vessel traffic to accommodate a significant increase in maritime trade, according to preliminary findings from a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) study. The Singapore Strait,...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) has called a prequalifying tender to establish an experimental base and test facility for the eventual development of an island-wide smart energy grid. Singapore is planning to establish a smart energy grid that may potentially use power from new alternative energy sources,...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — Singapore is well-positioned to play a leading role in developing the carbon markets in Southeast Asia. The city-state has strong infrastructure for financial and energy trading, but needs a clear policy and regulatory framework for carbon trading, both domestically and regionally, according to an official of the Asian Development Bank....
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Wednesday) — Trans Asia Oil & Energy Development Corp, a Philippine company controlled by the del Rosario family, has abandoned plans to enter the biofuels business following disappointing results from a pilot project to grow jatropha. The company, a member of the PHINMA group, had cultivated a four-hectare jatropha farm in Batangas...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) said it has signed seven service contracts for renewable energy projects expected to have a total power generation capacity of 379 megawatts (MW). The contracts as well as corresponding certificates of registration cover five wind projects, a hydro-power project and a biomass power project....
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — The shipping associations of five maritime countries have declared their support for an emission trading scheme as the most effective way for the industry to reduce carbon emissions. In a special study, the industry associations of Australia, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and the UK argued specifically for a cap and trade...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — At the upcoming US-China Green Tech Summit in Beijing, leading green technology CEOs, venture capitalists and academics will discuss how US-China project-to-project partnerships can reduce carbon dioxide, generate green jobs and ensure energy independence. At the summit on November 16-17, speakers and participants will tackle key issues, form lasting partnerships...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — Friends of the Earth International has welcomed the announcement by the IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm, that it will stop all palm oil investments. Torry Kuswardono of Friends of the Earth Indonesia, said: “Investments in large-scale oil palm plantations lead to deforestation and human rights violations. We are...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — The US-headquartered IPC — Association Connecting Electronics Industries said its recently established solar standards committee has begun work on developing standards for the polysilicon photovoltaic (PV) industry, specifically the assembly of solar panels. “IPC facilitated the birth of standards for both the printed circuit board (PCB) and electronics assembly industries,...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — South Korea’s Hanwha Chemical has announced its entry into the solar energy business with an 800-billion-won investment outlay to develop and sell solar cells over the next six years. The company said it aims to capture 5% of world market share and achieve one trillion won in revenue by 2015....
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — SolarEdge, which claims its technology increases solar power systems’ output by up to 25%, said several international investors have agreed to provide a total of $23 million in a funding round to support growth in residential and large-scale photovoltaic sites. The investors include Singaporean fund JP Capital Asia, GE unit...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — The Philippines’ Department of Energy (DoE) said it has awarded 87 renewable energy contracts to 18 companies which have pledged to invest a total of 90.4 billion peso in several biomass, geothermal, solar, hydropower, ocean and wind energy projects. (US$1=48 peso). The projects are expected to generate a total of...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — China’s Suntech Power said it will work with Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) to help develop the widespread use of solar energy in Pakistan. They signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate cooperation between Suntech and the public sector and private companies in Pakistan to help implement AEDB’s...
(EnergyAsia, November 2, Monday) — Vestas, Denmark’s global wind power leader, said it has completed its largest integrated wind power production base in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) in northern China. Vestas has been expanding the facility since setting up its first blade factory in TEDA in 2006. It became the company’s largest facility...