(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Japanese power generation firms plans to increase their investments in renewable power projects despite the bleak economic outlook, declining domestic power demand and the country’s falling industrial output. Kansai Electric Power Co said it plans to invest a large part of its 375 billion yen capital expenditure in renewable energy...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Reliance Life Sciences (RLS), the privately-held biotech firm of Mukesh Ambani, the Reliance group’s owner, is planning to expand its biofuels production capacity. RLS now owns and operates a 6,500-tonne-per-year biodiesel plant in Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh state. The plant uses non-food crops as feedstock. Sited next to the facility,...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Commercial airlines could start using biofuels by around 2011, said the International Association of Airlines (IATA). Hailing the progress made on biofuels, the association said it is working to approve the first use of the fuel on commercial flights. Tests by US carrier Continental Airlines, Japan’s JAL, Air New Zealand...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Huaneng Power International Inc, one of China’s largest power companies, said affiliate Huaneng New Energy Industry Holding Co Ltd has agreed to pay RMB103 million cash for a 65% stake in Qidong Wind Power. (US$1=RMB6.85). Qidong Wind Power, which started up the first phase of its 91.5MW project in Jiangsu...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Australia’s science agency CSIRO has warned that climate change will pose an increasing threat to human health on rising pollution and fire risk. In an address today to the recent GREENHOUSE 2009 conference in Perth, CSIRO scientist Martin Cope said the number of days Sydney experiences temperatures of 30°C or...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — India’s Suzlon Energy Limited, the world’s fifth largest wind turbine maker with 10.5% of global market share, said it has landed a contract to supply 63 units of its S88 – 2.1 MW wind turbine generators (WTGs) to Australia’s AGL Energy Limited. Suzlon Energy Australia Pty Ltd, which sold the...

(EnergyAsia, April 8, Wednesday) — Australia’s Origin Energy said it is planning to capture more than one quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) output at the Lang Lang BassGas gas plant for commercial reuse. Working on behalf of its partners AWE and CalEnergy in the BassGas project, Origin said it has signed an agreement with...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation said it has agreed with Acciona SA, one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies, to acquire a 34% equity stake in the Spanish firm’s fully owned subsidiary, Amper Central Solar SA. The companies did not disclose the value of the transaction. Amper developed and operates the...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — GMR International, the London-based business arm of Indian infrastructure giant GMR Group, has officially opened its Southeast Asia regional office in Singapore, making this its third international office after London, England and Turkey. The company has appointed Ng Quek Peng, a corporate and investment banking veteran with over 20 years...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — Iran and Russia have signed an agreement to cooperate on developing oil and gas projects. As part of the deal, Russia will tranship oil from a port on the Caspian Sea to an Iranian port on the Sea of Oman, and set up a joint venture company to develop oil...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — International trade financing is estimated to be short by some US$100 billion as a result of the global credit crunch, with repercussions for oil trading. The US$100 billion estimate is up four-fold from an initial US$25 billion assessment by the World Trade Organisation last November. Starting in Wall Street, the...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — Thailand’s state oil and gas company PPT is trying to acquire Singapore-listed coal mining company Straits Asia Resources. PTT offered buy a 60% stake in Australia-based Straits Bulk and Industrial (SBI), a subsidiary of Australian miner Straits Resources. If successful,  PTT would end up acquiring a 47% stake in Straits...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — Keppel Seghers Belgium NV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Integrated Engineering Limited (KIE), said it has secured a 14.45 million euro contract to provide technology and services to a waste-to-energy plant (WTE) in Jinan in China’s Shandong province. The contract was awarded by Riseland Holdings, a subsidiary of Everbright...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — China Natural Gas Inc (CNG), a US-listed company, said it has reached a power supply agreement with the government of Yulin City in China’s Shaanxi province, and the government of Shaanxi province. CNG is a provider of pipeline natural gas for industrial, commercial and residential use, and compressed natural gas...

(EnergyAsia, April 7, Tuesday) — Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a NYSE-listed vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said its affiliate, Baoding Yingli Group Company Limited, could be in line to obtain a total of RMB6 billion in credit facilities from the Hebei branch of the Bank of China. (US$1=RMB6.85). Yingli has signed a...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — China’s Ministry of Finance said it has introduced “interim measures” for subsidies to promote ‘solar photovoltaic building applications’ in the country. The government will provide a fixed subsidy for BIPV applications and photovoltaic building systems used in both urban and rural areas.  Technical standards will apply to their installation. The...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — India’s Tata Motors has launched the world’s cheapest car which it hopes to sell to many low-income buyers in emerging economies.   Priced at around US$2,000, the Nano could dramatically increase global car ownership, and raise world fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, industry analysts said. The Nano will likely...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — Qatar plans to build a solar energy plant that could generate up to 100 megawatt (MW) of electricity. State agency Qatar Science & Technology Park said the plant could be established by 2014, and will be supported by a new US$500 million polysilicon plant. Qatar Foundation will invest in the...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — China’s economy will grow at a slower rate of 7% in 2009, but decisive action by the government to support faltering growth through expansionary fiscal and monetary policies “should” enable it to recover to 8% in 2010, said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in a major new report. ADB’s flagship...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — ASrIA, the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia, and other non-government and green organisations across the globe are demanding that world leaders who meeting in London last week address environmental issues posed by the global financial and economic crisis. In their joint statement ‘Transforming global capital markets’, six...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — India’s economic growth will slow to 5% in 2009, down from 7.1% in 2008, but should speed up next year as the global economy recovers and lower local interest rates spur private investment and manufacturing, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a new major report. Its flagship annual economic...

(EnergyAsia, April 6, Monday) — Germany’s specialty chemicals group LANXESS AG said it has started up its new lubricant oil additives plant in Qingdao city in China. Operated by LANXESS’s subsidiary Rhein Chemiehe, the 5-million-euro plant will initially employ 20 people. LANXESS said it expects the industrial lubricants segment to grow quickly, translating into high...