(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Suzlon Energy Ltd,  the world’s third largest wind turbine maker, said it has won a repeat order from Indian conglomerate lTC Limited an order to set up, operate and maintain two new wind power projects in the states of Kamataka and Maharashtra. The project in Kamataka will add 21...

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Japan’s Kyocera said it will supply 13 megawatts (MW) of solar modules for the Ohgishima solar power plant being developed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The plant will be constructed by Hitachi Ltd. Scheduled for completion in 2011, the installation will be one of the largest in...

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — Keppel Seghers Belgium NV, the environmental engineering arm of Singapore’s Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE), said it has secured two contracts worth a total of US$53 million to supply waste-to-energy (WTE) solutions to China. The first contract, awarded by Shenzhen Energy Environmental Engineering Company Ltd (SEEECL), is for the expansion...

(EnergyAsia, January 12 2010, Tuesday) — The world may have emitted 3% less carbon dioxide last year on account of the global economic recession, said the International Energy Agency (IEA).   Based on an early estimate, the IEA said this would represent the sharpest decline in greenhouse gas emissions in over 40 years. Nobuo Tanaka,...

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — Sweden’s EcoEnergy Scandinavia AB said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Changzhou Xinbei district government and Jiangsu Guoyu Electric Co Ltd to build local waste-to-energy plants in the Changzhou Xinbei district in China. Lars Guldstrand, EcoEnergy’s chairman, said: “For EcoEnergy, this is an important milestone in building...

(EnergyAsia, January 11, Monday) — Hong Kong Energy Holdings Limited (HKE) said it has signed an agreement with a county government in China’s Liaoning province to develop a wind farm project of up to 250MW capacity. The Kangping county government in Shenyang City has granted the Hong Kong company the exclusive rights to assess the...

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — India’s fast growing solar energy industry has the potential to achieve grid parity between 2017 and 2020, said Netherlands-based consultancy SolarPlaza. In a report forecasting rapid growth for the Indian solar energy industry, SolaPlaza said it expects the cost of solar electricity generation to fall from 12 rupees to...

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — The practice of carbon offsetting by polluters in developed countries to pay for projects in the developing world to absorb greenhouse gas emissions has come under increasing attack from environmental groups and critics worried about fraud. The system along with the carbon cap-and-trade scheme calls for governments to set...

(EnergyAsia, January 11 2010, Monday) — Chinese state-owned firms are on a buying spree for overseas natural resources firms, in particular those involved in energy. Last October, Sinochem group struck a £532 million deal to acquire UK-based oil and gas explorer Emerald Energy, which has fields in Syria and Colombia. (US$1=£0.63). At the same time,...

(EnergyAsia, January 11, Monday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will invest $15 million to support clean energy projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and South Asia through the Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund. The ADB will invest the fund in companies engaged in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and water conservation and...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — South Korea has increased the proportion of biomass content in its regular diesel from 1.5% to 2% since the start of the year. The move will help cut down carbon dioxide emissions, recycle animal and plant waste and reduce import of fossil fuels , said the Ministry of Knowledge...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — South Korea recently became the first Asian country to join the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Future Carbon Fund with a $20 million commitment to acquire carbon credits after 2012. The partnership agreement, signed by South Korean officials at the ADB headquarters in Manila, signals the country’s contribution to fighting...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — The Indian government has unveiled a set of incentives to attract investments into the country’s wind energy sector. Under the Generation Based Incentives scheme, the government will grant 0.5 rupees per unit of wind power fed by independent power producers into the transmission grid. (US$1=46 rupees). The incentive will...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — Brazil’s Petrobras has signed a memorandum of understanding with Petrochina to explore the feasibility of exporting ethanol to China. PetroChina, the country’s largest oil producer, signed the agreement with Petrobras Biocombustivel, a subsidiary of the Brazilian energy giant. The companies did not disclose details of the deal. Energy-short China...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — A joint study by international and Chinese scientists and economists has concluded that China can grow its economy through the low-carbon route. The study, “Going Clean: the economics of China’s low-carbon development”, by the Chinese Economists 50 Forum and Stockholm Environment Institute, presented results that China can cut carbon...

(EnergyAsia, Jan 8 2010, Friday) — Gazprom Export, the export arm of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom, said it has signed an agreement to supply natural gas to PetroChina, a subsidiary of CNPC. The deal was signed in Beijing last week by a visiting Gazprom delegation led by deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev and representatives of CNPC....

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — The Australian government said it will provide a total of more than A$185 million to fund the development of seven geothermal energy projects under two separate programmes. (US$1=A$1.10). Five of the projects will receive A$35 million in grants under the A$50 million Geothermal Drilling Programme, while two larger projects,...

(EnergyAsia, January 8 2010, Friday) — In a show of strength, Petrochina Company Limited has allowed a preliminary agreement to purchase US$40 billion worth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Australia to lapse on its December 31 2009 deadline. On September 6 2007, PetroChina signed with Australia’s Woodside to import two to three million tonnes...

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2010, Thursday) — Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG) said it and other institutions have committed 50 million euro to a new fund to promote renewable energy in India. (US$1=0.7 euro). DEG said it has invested 10 million euros in Renewable Energy Asia Fund LP (REAF) while development finance institutions BIO,...

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2010, Thursday) — The Indian government has unveiled a new national policy to promote biofuels with plans for it to be comprise 20% of all gasoline and diesel sold in the country by 2017. The cabinet has approved the establishment of a National Biofuel Coordination Committee and a Biofuel Steering Committee to...

(EnergyAsia, January 7, Thursday) — India will import 10,000 megawatts from Bhutan by 2020, up from the original target of 5,000 MW under a new multi-trade agreement that includes trade in hydroelectric power. The two governments have signed four memoranda of understanding for India to import electricity from hydropower dams in Bhutan, namely: Amochhu (620...

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2010, Thursday) — China’s ambitious renewable energy programme is having the unintended and ironic effect of spurring investments in coal-fired power plants. As massive wind and solar farms sprout across the nation in the hope of increasing the production and consumption of renewable energy, developers and provincial governments have found it necessary...

(EnergyAsia, January 7, Thursday) — China’s top legislative arm is considering mandating electricity grid companies to purchase all the power generated by renewable energy producers. A proposed draft amendment to the Renewable Energy Law has called for the government’s energy department and power regulatory agency to regulate and supervise the purchases. The amendment has been...

(EnergyAsia, January 7 2010, Thursday) — At the invitation of the Chinese government and with the blessing of the US State Deparment, social change and sustainability expert David Gershon will work with the mayors of Chinese cities to reduce their carbon footprints. Mr Gershon, author of Social Change 2.0, was part of a US delegation...