(EnergyAsia, May12 2010, Wednesday) – US conglomerate GE and Japanese auto giant Nissan said they are jointly researching and developing technology and infrastructure for charging electric vehicles. The two companies have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore new technologies that are needed to build a reliable, dynamic smart-charging infrastructure. The MOU...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — By Wayne Madsen for Oilprice.com. We have been informed by sources in the US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Florida Department of Environmental Protection that the Obama White House and BP, which pumped $71,000 into Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign — more than...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — By Darrell Delamaide for Oilprice.com. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico from a collapsed offshore drilling rig could affect White House plans to extend offshore drilling, press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged as the oil slick threatened onshore sites from the Louisiana wetlands to the Sarasota beaches...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — Japan’s lithium-ion battery sector, which dominates the world market, is poised for strong growth in the next 10 years, according to analysts at Macquarie Research. The battery-material market in Japan will grow to one trillion yen by 2010 from 200 billion yen in 2008 because of demand from...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — Indian companies may see little yield from their investments of over US$5 billion in jatropha plantations to produce biofuels because they have been using poor quality seeds or had been led to expect too much from the ‘miracle’ crop. In the race to develop alternatives to fossil fuels,...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — Shandong province is leading China in clean power with government data showing that installed capacity from renewable sources reaching 3.38 million kilowatts at the end of 2009. Electricity generation capacity from hydro, wind and biomass sources has reached nearly 6% of the province’s total installed power capacity. Wind...

  (EnergyAsia, May 12 2010, Wednesday) — Australia has decided to shelf its proposed carbon emissions trading scheme for three years in light of parliamentary opposition and a slip in support from the public worried about the cost of the ambitious programme. The scheme had been rejected twice by the Senate where the ruling party...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) — Renewable energy is accounting for an increasing slice of global mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity in the power utilities sector, with hydro the clear leader, said a recent study by consultants Pricewaterhouse. The share of total sector value attributable to renewables deals rose from 17% in 2008 to 25%...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) — DME Oman contract is the most transparent and strategically viable price benchmark for East of Suez crude oil markets, said Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) CEO Thomas Leaver at the 18th Middle East Petroleum and Gas Conference (MPGC) held in Kuwait City recently. He noted that the fundamental shift east...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said its board has approved a loan of up to US$70 million for the construction of a 73MW solar power plant in central Thailand. The plant, one of the largest solar photovoltaic projects in the world, will be key to the country’s efforts to...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has agreed to lend Uzbekistan US$350 million to help boost the efficiency of the country’s electricity supply through the construction of a new combined cycle gas turbine. The loan will help fund the construction of the US$1.28 billion Talimarjan Clean Power Project,...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) —- Cities in Asia should lead the way in making the reduction, reuse and recycling of resources a way of life, while providing economic models for conservation which national governments could replicate, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Asian urban centers are facing immense strains on limited resources, which is...

(EnergyAsia, May 11 2010, Tuesday) — By Fawzia Sheikh for Oilprice.com.   The promise of green energy has intrigued the Middle East, but Saudi Arabia’s US$170 billion investment in traditional oil projects underscores lingering concern about betting on renewables. State Saudi Aramco, which will bankroll more than half that amount for energy and oil refining...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) — A US Congress committee has been told that the burst BP exploration well off Louisiana state in the Gulf of Mexico could leak as much as 60,000 b/d from the current estimate of 5,000 b/d if efforts now underway to stop the flow fail. Executives from BP, the Macondo...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) —NYSE-listed STR Holdings Inc said it has started work to double the size of its solar encapsulant plant in Johor state in Malaysia to service its growing customer base in Asia. STR Holdings said its warehouse space will be expanded by the first quarter of 2011 to provide floor space...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) — Thai Oil Plc, the country’s largest oil refinery, said it has allocated as much as US$30 million to acquire a minimum 25% stake in an ethanol plant to boost its access to ethanol supply. Surong Bulakul, CEO of Thai Oil, said the company is in talks with a number...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) — Orizon Renewable Energy, a Malaysian and Bahraini joint venture, plans to invest US$230 million to set up a 55-megawatt power plant in Sri Lanka that will use solid waste as feedstock. Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) said it has signed an agreement with Orizon for the project to...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) — Singapore’s petrochemical industry fared well in the first quarter of this year in the face of rising feedstock costs and increased competition from new petrochemical facilities in the region which are still not in full operating mode. Petrochemical plants in the city-state have been able to operate at more...

(EnergyAsia, May 10 2010, Monday) — Philippine subsidiaries of Global Green Power Plc Corp, a joint venture between British and Filipino investors, have moved closer to building several biomass power plants with the capacity to generate at least 70 megawatts (MW). Green Power Panay Philippines Inc and Green Power Nueva Ecija Philippines Inc have signed...

(EnergyAsia, May 7 2010, Friday) — US-based Matinee Energy Inc said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding and formed a strategic alliance with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Company Ltd and LG Electronics Inc. Matinee has invited Hyundai and LG to join as lead partners for a total of 240 megawatts or $1 billion...

(EnergyAsia, May 7 2010, Friday) — A South Korean firm has been awarded ownership of a Philippine hydroelectric plant after it submitted the highest offer of US$441 million in a competitive bid organised by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (PSALM). Korea Water Resources Corp has been declared the new owner of the...

(EnergyAsia, May 7 2010, Friday) — China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is said to be considering the establishment of a large refining and petrochemical complex on Singapore’s Jurong Island. Sinopec is holding talks with the Economic Development Board for a possible major project, a spokesperson from the EDB has confirmed without giving any details....

(EnergyAsia, May 7 2010, Friday) — The US Department of Energy (DOE) said it and Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy initiative, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote collaboration on clean and sustainable energy technologies. The agreement, signed by the US Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO...