(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — While its exploding car population may have been capturing all the headlines, China has quietly rolled out as many as 120 million electric bicycles on its roads. This could well be a world record number as China and its citizens are leading the way to promote a more environmentally-friendly...

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — China’s main oil and gas companies have begun work on developing electric charging networks around the country to support the government’s call to promote the use of electric cars and vehicles.   The Sinopec Group plans to turn its network of refuelling stations in Beijing into comprehensive service stations...

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — The Chinese government plans to establish a national renewable energy centre to spur the development of the industry, according to Han Wenke, director general of the Energy Research Institute under the National Development and Reform Commission.   Mr Han said the centre would take charge of policy-making, key project...

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — The Taiwanese government aims to increase the use of solar-generated power to 1,000 megawatts by 2025 from 5 MW currently, according to the Bureau of Energy.   Last June, Taiwan’s parliament passed a landmark renewable energy bill targeting to add between 6,500 and 10,000 MW of installed renewable energy...

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — Two senior executives of the UAE’s Masdar City development, a US$22 billion project to build the world’s first zero-carbon city, have resigned, raising doubts about its long-term viability. Ziad Tassabehji, who sits in both the executive and investment committees of the Masdar Clean Tech Fund, and Khaled Awad, director...

(EnergyAsia, March 12 2010, Friday) — Australia-listed KUTh Energy Limited said it has found a second geothermal resource base in Tasmania, making the company’s total reserves of 361,000 PJ on the island the second largest in the country.   The company said an independent assessment found that its tenement SEL 26/2005 block contains 101,000 PJ...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — CPC Corporation of Taiwan has signed a 20-year agreement to import 1.2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The gas will be supplied from the PNG LNG project, an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities, onshore and offshore...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — Finland’s Wartsila said it and Japan’s Hitachi Zosen have signed an agreement to develop and market fuel cell-based power solutions for distributed power generation applications in Japan. The combined heat and power applications, which can be run on either city gas or bio gas, will feature the use of...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — Indian researchers have given jatropha, a popular feedstock crop for government-subsidised biofuel projects, a failing grade in providing an environmentally-friendly solution to the country’s growing energy needs. According to ATREE, an Indian environmental research group, jatropha is yielding less than what experts had predicted, and it is now cultivated...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency, has dropped a major requirement that equipment in wind power projects must be made by local companies. The move is expected to affect domestic wind power equipment manufacturers and joint venture firms with foreign partners, which combined have...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — China’s government said it plans to invest US$7.3 billion this year as part of a long-term plan to establish a national smart energy grid. If so, the country would be the world’s leading smart grid builder in 2010 as its investment will exceed the US government’s investment by US$200...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — China Everbright International Limited said it expects to begin constructing a RMB331 million waste straw-to-energy project in Dangshan county in China’s Anhui province. (US$1=RMB6.83). The Hong Kong-listed company will construct two 75 tonne/hour furnaces and two 18MW electricity generators in the project’s first phase. The plant, which is expected...

(EnergyAsia, March 11 2010, Thursday) — Australia’s AGL Energy Limited (AGL) said it has entered into conditional arrangements to construct the Macarthur wind farm in south-west Victoria state following the Federal government’s announcement to amend the national Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme. AGL said it will form a joint venture with New Zealand’s Meridian Energy...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — By GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Staff for oilprice.com. The artificially-engendered revival of the dispute, which began last month between Argentina and the UK over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, has been portrayed as posturing by embattled Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, taking advantage...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — Energy demand growth in China and Singapore could slow down if both governments follow through on their plans to reduce their economies’ energy intensity. China said it plans to reduce energy use per unit of GDP by between 40% and 45% per unit of gross domestic product by 2020,...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — Two Chinese companies recently announced they have completed major wind farm projects in their country.   Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute (SIDRI) said it has installed Asia’s first sea wind power plant in the sea off Shanghai city while China Wind Power International Corp has completed the first...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — Cavico Corp, a Vietnam-based infrastructure development company, said it has signed a $500,000 contract with energy joint stock firm Global Petroleum Power Company to build a road for a hydropower plant.  Cavico said its majority-owned subsidiary, Cavico Transport, will build the 2.5-kilometer service road that will lead to the...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — Sri Lanka expects to start up its largest wind power project, a 20MW plant situated on the west coast of Puttalam, in May, according to state agency Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA). Seguwantivu Wind Power (Pvt) Ltd and Vidatamunai Wind Power (Pvt) Ltd are investing a total of Rs4.2 billion...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — The Japanese government will provide US$5 million to fund a five-year project focused on developing biomass energy in Vietnam.   Researchers working on the Sustainable Integration of Local Agriculture and Biomass Industries project will research into producing bioethanol and biogas from straw, agricultural waste and organic waste in Ho...

(EnergyAsia, March 10 2010, Wednesday) — Origin Energy Limited, Australia’s leading integrated energy company, said it has agreed to establish separate joint ventures exploring geothermal energy projects in Australia and New Zealand. The company and Australia-based Geodynamics Limited will establish an equal joint venture to explore for shallow geothermal resources in the Eromanga Basin with...

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2010, Tuesday) — Qatar is looking to expand the use of solar energy in agriculture, which has been lagging behind the country’s other economic sectors such as manufacturing, engineering and services.   In a bid to increase the productivity of its arable land, the Gulf nation plans to tap solar power to...

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2010, Tuesday) — Sri Lanka’s publicly listed Hemas Power said it has bought a 2.6 megawatt (MW) hydropower plant in the Nuwara Eliya district from Senok Mark Hydro for 198.5 million rupees. (US$1=115 rupees).   In a filing with the local stock exchange, Hemas Power said it bought 9.92 million shares or...

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2010, Tuesday) — Two Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Electric and Kyocera Corp, have announced plans to expand and upgrade their solar cell production capacities to meet rising world demand for solar energy. Mitsubishi Electric, which recently completed a photovoltaic (PV) cell production facility at its Nakatsugawa Works Iida factory in Nagano prefecture, said...

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2010, Tuesday) — SolarWorld said it is acquiring a 29% stake in the newly founded Joint Venture Qatar Solar Technologies headquartered in the Emirate of Qatar. The joint venture with Qatar Foundation (70%) and the Qatar Development Bank (1%) will establish the first production facility for polysilicon on the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar...

(EnergyAsia, March 9 2010, Tuesday) — Two South Korean firms, OSolar and OCI, are embarking on separate projects related to boosting solar energy use.   South Korea’s engineering, procurement and construction firm, OSolar, and Canada’s P2 Solar Inc have agreed to form a strategic alliance as part of a project team to build a 25MWp...