(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...
(EnergyAsia, January 7 2010, Thursday) — American Superconductor Corporation, a Nasdaq-listed global power technologies company, said it has received a follow-on order for $10 million worth of wind turbine core electrical components from China’s CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute Co Ltd (CSR-ZELRI). CSR-ZELRI will use the components in the 1.65 megawatt (MW) wind turbines...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Wednesday) — China’s small hydro power generation capacity is expected to rise from 51 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 to 75 GW by 2020 according to the government’s medium- and long-term renewable energy plan. The planned increase will help reduce China’s reliance on coal for power generation. Planners estimate the new hydropower...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Wednesday) — China’s ties with the US, not Islamic fundamentalism, the war on terror, the global financial crisis or even Iran, will pose as the world’s biggest political risk this year, said US think tank Eurasia Group. In a note giving its top 10 risks, Eurasia’s President Ian Bremmer and head...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Wednesday) — Japan’s Kyocera Corporation said it will provide approximately 13 MW of solar modules for the Ohgishima Solar Power Plant planned by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Contractor Hitachi Ltd is scheduled to complete the plant in 2011, making it one of the largest in Japan, providing electricity for approximately...
(EnergyAsia, January 6, Wednesday) — China will account for more than 35% of the Asia-Pacific region’s oil and gas consumption by 2014, according to the latest China Oil and Gas Report published by Researchandmarkets. The report also predicts China will provide 45.5% of the region’s oil and gas output. Consumption of crude oil in Asia...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Wednesday) — China has beaten Europe to secure natural gas supplies from Central Asia through its newly launched pipeline to the main fields of Turkmenistan. More than 8,000 Chinese engineers and workers took 27 months to complete the 1,833-km pipeline that passes through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan on its way to Xinjiang...
(EnergyAsia, January 6 2010, Wednesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has affirmed its support for wind power as a reliable and carbon emission-free source of electricity, and is providing grants to expand its use throughout remote communities in Asia. The ADB said that technical assistance grants totalling $3.87 million from its concessional funds for...
(EnergyAsia, January 5, Tuesday) — What was once considered a pipe-dream could become reality, writes Ben Lando of Oilprice.com. After decades of dictatorship, war and international sanctions, Iraq’s massive oil reserves are set to be tapped proper and the country once known for two overflowing rivers could be crowned oil king. If the seven oil...
(EnergyAsia, January 5, Tuesday) — Chinese state companies are expected to increase their involvement in the oil sectors of Iran and Sudan after having agreed to expand and upgrade their refineries. In November, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec), Asia’s largest refiner, signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2010, Tuesday) — Vestas, Denmark’s wind energy company, said it has received an order from China Datang Renewable Power Co Ltd for 49 MW of its V60-850 kW turbine, designed specifically for the Chinese market and featuring Vestas’ latest technological innovations. This first order for 58 units of the turbines will be...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2010, Tuesday) — Japan’s Kyocera Corporation said it has supplied roughly 190,000 solar modules, equivalent to approximately 39 megawatts (MW), for two newly completed large-scale solar power plants in Spain. Kyocera said it supplied high-efficiency multicrystalline solar modules to Avanzalia, a renewable energy company building large-scale solar power plants in Spain. Recently,...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2010, Tuesday) — Russia expects its fast-growing natural gas exports to China to reach about one-third the volume of its sales to Europe. While sales to China only started recently, Russian gas giant Gazprom which controls gas exports said it expects the volume to grow rapidly. Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation...
(EnergyAsia, January 5, Tuesday) — China will remain the prime-mover of global oil and gas demand over the next few years, according to experts. China’s ability to move the energy markets was shown last year when its purchases enabled oil prices to rebound sharply from around $35 per barrel at the start of 2009 to...
(EnergyAsia, January 5 2010, Tuesday) –– The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) have signed an agreement to work on measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement, signed by FAO Director-General, Jacques Diouf and INPE head, Gilberto Câmara last month, lays the groundwork for a major...
(EnergyAsia, January 4 2010, Monday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a proposal to extend a guarantee for a 13-year syndicated loan worth $342 million to state-owned Vietnam Electricity, which will be used to fund urgent transmission and distribution improvements needed to meet rising power demand. This is ADB’s third guarantee operation in...