(EnergyAsia, May 12, Tuesday) — Japanese oil refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu is venturing deeper into the solar energy business with plans to buy Hitachi’s plasma display television business in Miyazaki prefecture. Showa Shell would use the Hitachi unit as a platform to build a photovoltaic cell factory with annual production capacity of one million kilowatts,...

(EnergyAsia, May 12, Tuesday) — Indian Oil Corp, the country’s largest integrated oil company, said it has launched its first wind farm, a 21 MW project in the Kutch district in Gujarat state. The company said it has invested Rs1.3 billion in the project to generate electricity to support its fuel storage and oil pipelines...

(EnergyAsia, May 12, Tuesday) — The world’s wind power capacity surged by 27,051 megawatts (MW) or nearly 29% to a record 120,798 MW in 2008, said the World Watch Institute. The institute said wind now generates more than 1.5% of the world’s electricity, up from 0.1% in 1997. Around the world, 80 countries are now...

(EnergyAsia, May 12, Tuesday) — Malaysia’s Palm Oil Board (MPOB) and South Korea’s Dongwha GH International have agreed to jointly research and develop (R&D) new medium density fibreboard products. The Malaysian board already has launched 15 R&D and technology projects to use biomass from palm oil and its by-products. Theses include the production of block-board,...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — India has agreed to help develop 10 hydropower projects in Bhutan by 2020. The projects will tap four of Bhutan’s main rivers, Puna Tsang Chhu, Wang Chhu, Amo Chhu and Drangme Chhu. Construction could begin as early as 2011. The country has an estimated hydropower potential of 30,000 megawatt, but...

(EnergyAsia, May 12, Tuesday) — The Australian government has invested A$100 million in the recently launched Australian Solar Institute (ASI) at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle. (US$1=A$1.4). Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, said the initiative delivers on the government’s election commitment to fast track solar research in Australia. Leading research institute...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Taiwan’s Everphoton Energy Corporation said it has won a tender to supply 200 kilowatt of III V triple junction high concentration photovoltaics (HCPV) modules. This is the first phase bidding in 2009 of a 1MW project initiated by the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER). “We are happy and honored...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — This is an edited version of the speech by the EMA’s chief executive, Lawrence Wong, at last week’s launch of the electric vehicle test-bed and the MOU signing ceremony with its industry partners. Electrification of transport More than one billion vehicles populate the earth today, pumping significant quantities of greenhouse...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — International energy services company John Wood Group PLC said its gas turbine services division (GTS) has launched a new service for the renewable energy sector. Wood Group Renewable Energy Services (WGRES) will focus on the wind turbine market and offer operations, maintenance, asset management, parts sourcing, monitoring and diagnostic and...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding, Thailand’s largest private power company, will proceed to invest in a proposed joint venture 4.3-billion baht wind farm project in the northern Phetchabun province. (US$1=33 baht). The company said the 60MW farm will generate around 125 million gigawatt-hours of electricity (GWh) when it starts up in...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Singapore has set up a multi-agency taskforce to begin introducing electric vehicles onto its roads from next year. Chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA), the taskforce for the S$20 million test-bedding project comprises members across different ministries and statutory boards, including the Agency for...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Russian gas output plunged 14.7% to 154 billion cubic metres in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, while its oil production slipped 1.3% to 120 million tons. According to the Federal Customs Service, the country exported 21.5 billion cubic meters of gas worth...

(EnergyAsia, May 11, Monday) — Solargiga Energy, a Chinese manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon solar ingots and wafers, said it is taking its first step to expand into the downstream solar energy business. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jinzhou Yangguang Energy, has entered into a formal joint venture agreement with Taiwan’s Kinmac Holdings Limited and an unidentified partner...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Friday) — The delivery of Kazakh crude oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline from Azerbaijan across Turkey has soared in recent months. Shipments hit 240,000 tonnes in February, up from 17,400 tonnes last October when it began operating. The Kazakhstan Caspian Transportation System (KCTS) is able to handle up to 500,000 b/d...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — The Russian government has submitted to the G20 and other world leaders a proposal for a new global energy charter. The charter is aimed at preventing international conflicts over competition for and trade in energy resources, including nuclear fuels, Russian president Dimitry Medvedev said. So far, the only agreement on...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Inventors have developed a cheap US$5 solar-powered stove that could find wide use in poor countries. The ‘Kyoto Box’ stove traps heat under an acrylic lid, providing enough power to boil food and water, as well as bake. The invention was unveiled as part of the Financial Times Climate Challenge,...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Russia’s energy minister Sergei Shmatko has forecast crude oil prices to reach a high of US$80 per barrel next year. The current price at just over US$50 was not “fair,” and certainly not high enough to boost costly investment in exploration and production, he said. The resulting underinvestment in the...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Japanese firms will soon begin to explore for oil in Venezuela’s Orinoco Delta region under a new agreement to expand energy cooperation between the two countries. They also plan to jointly develop refining and petrochemicals projects. The joint efforts will likely be led by Venezuela’s state oil firm Petroleos de...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — China has laid out plans to reduce the carbon foot print of its growing economy even though they are unlikely to completely satisfy criticisms from the West. In a recent report to the country’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao has called on all levels of...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Southeast Asia, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change, faces a poorer future unless global warming is controlled, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study. Drawing on the findings of previous studies, impact assessment models and extensive consultations with national and regional climate...

(EnergyAsia, May 8, Friday) — Australia’s leading integrated energy company, Origin, said it has acquired Wind Power Pty Ltd, including its portfolio of high quality wind farm development sites in Victoria state. This, together with existing sites and options, increases Origin’s access to a wind development portfolio by 1,460 MW to more than 2,000 MW....

(Energy Asia, May 7, Thursday) — The US government has launched a US$2.4 billion grant programme for the development of electric vehicles, with part of the money to be invested in the country’s grid system to power up the cars.It has also announced a US$11 billion investment to upgrade the nation’s power grid to enable...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — The US government has begun releasing more than US$780 million to state agencies to develop and promote energy efficiency programmes.The bulk of the money will go to low-income families to upgrade their homes to improve energy conservation, thus lowering heating bills.A qualifying homeowner will be able to invest up to...

(EnergyAsia, May 7, Thursday) — German wind power firm InfraVest may scale down investments in Taiwan or even pull out completely, citing the lack of support from the government.The company, Taiwan’s only private producer of wind energy, has complained that the government is not committed to developing clean energy.InfraVest said it has invested over NT$10...