(EnergyAsia, December 12, Friday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has received financing commitments of over $100 million for a new post-2012 carbon fund. The bank will start work on the fund in January, and is seeking participation from private businesses to complement its founding public sector partners. The ADB-administered Future Carbon Fund...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — The global credit squeeze will likely cause world trade to shrink next year for the first time since 1982, said the World Bank. In its Global Economic Prospects 2009 report, the bank said that the sharp slowdown in economic growth has caused commodity prices to plummet, ending a historic five-year...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Talisman Vietnam 46/02 Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada’s Talisman Energy Inc, said it has started oil production from the Song Doc field in Block 46/02 off the coast of Vietnam. Gross production from five pre-drilled wells is expected to reach approximately 25,000 bbls/d by early 2009, with another...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Singapore’s KS Energy Services Limited said it will be deploying its new lift boat, KS Titan 2, to work on an offshore wind power project in the North Sea with Germany’s Siemens Wind Power A/S. The boat will replace KS Titan 1, which was previously scheduled for this project. The...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Finland’s Wärtsilä said it has introduced a new upgrade kit for slow steaming for low-speed engines to enable shipowners and operators to save on fuel costs while slow steaming their ships. The kit allows Wärtsilä low-speed marine engines to be operated continuously at any power in the range of 20%...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Philippine power producer First Gen Corp said its third quarter profit plunged 64% to US$35.6 million from the same period last year. The company cited higher interest and financing costs due to increased debt after its acquisition of a controlling stake in Energy Development Corp (EDC). In addition, First Gen...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Japan’s electronics giant Sharp said it plans to mass produce its high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells in 2010. The company claims the cells offer an energy conversion efficiency of 20%. The production technology for a prototype is already in place at a pilot plant. Industry analysts expect competition in the...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Japan’s Itochu Corp said it has acquired a stake in Greenvision ambiente Photo-Solar, an Italian producer of solar power systems. Itochu paid more than 15 billion yen for a 43% stake. (US$1=93 yen). Greenvision has a strong sales organisation in Italy through which Itochu hopes to sells its products. Itochu...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — US IT giant Intel Corp said its subsidiary, Intel Capital, is investing $20 million in China’s Trony Solar Holdings Co. One of China’s largest equipment suppliers for the solar energy sector, Shenzen-based Trony plans to use the cash injection to improve its production and research and development. The investment adds...

(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced a A$6.2 billion plan to make the automotive industry more economically and environmentally sustainable by 2020. (US$1=A$1.55). The ‘Green Car Plan’ will feature an expanded A$1.3 billion green car innovation fund which will provide Australian car companies with the opportunity to receive government...

renewable sources by 2050, experts are projecting in a new study. The study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council also forecast that the renewable power generation and energy efficiency industry was on track too soon exceed the role played by fossil fuels. The study predicts the world’s renewable energy industry would soon be...

a 510 megawatt (MW) hydro electricity project at Dikchu in India’s Himalayan state of Sikkim. Most of the victims were labourers employed by India’s National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), according to information released by Sikkim’s Labour Department. Notwithstanding the deaths, the state government and NHPC plan on developing more hydro-power projects in Sikkim. Human rights...

Sciences Laboratory have formed a joint venture to commercialise jatropha-based biofuels technologies. Temasek Life is an affiliate of the Singapore government-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings. The new firm, JOil, will work on turning jatropha, a non-edible crop that grows on arid and poor soil conditions, into a high-yielding, robust feedstock to produce biodiesel. Given the...

A$6.6 million solar power station to be built in the town of Alice Springs. (US$1=A$1.55). At last month’s 3rd International Solar Energy Society conference in Sydney, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said: “The Alice Springs Ilparpa solar power station will generate more than 1,800 megawatt hours of clean energy for the region each year, and reduce...

supply on the Australian island through the dry months of summer and autumn following near average spring rains. Hydro Tasmania manager for energy resources, David Marshall, said hydro storage tanks had received 95% of expected rainfall for spring with storage levels rising by almost 7% from September 1. Despite long-term drought in the region, storage...

it will provide Sino-Mongolia International Railroad Systems Co Ltd (SMIRSC) the technology to enhance low-grade coal for a coal liquefaction facility in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The two companies signed an agreement confirming their deal at a ceremony hosted by the US Department of Commerce in Florida. Doug Hague, President and CEO of CCTI,...

Sunergy has begun construction of a 400MW research, development and production base at the Songjiang Industrial Park in Shanghai. The new facility, together with its existing Nanjing base, will help the company enhance the technological advantages and competitiveness of its crystalline silicon solar cells. Last December, China Sunergy purchased 150 acres of land in Shanghai...

an accident at its photovoltaic (PV) module facilities in Wuxi city in China last month. The company said the accident occurred following a “malfunction of a piece of module lamination equipment”, and that the injured employees are recovering in hospital. Suntech said its safety management department swiftly implemented the appropriate measures to ensure the safety...

contracts to supply a total of 91 MW of PV modules to Germany’s IBC Solar AG, one of the world’s leading specialists in PV systems. Yingli said it is expected to supply 91 MW of PV modules from this month to December 2009. Supplies under these contracts are agreed to be made at fixed prices...

construction firm, said it has been awarded a contract by Tokuyama Corporation for the front-end engineering design (FEED) of a polycrystalline silicon plant in Malaysia. The FEED work is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2009, with plant start-up due three years later. Chiyoda will undertake the FEED work for the 3,000-ton-per-year...

agreed to sell fully-owned subsidiary PowerSeraya Limited to Sabre Energy Industries Pte Ltd for a total of S$3.8 billion. Sabre, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s leading power company, YTL Power International Berhad, will pay S$3.6 billion and assume S$201 million of adjusted net debt. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2009. PowerSeraya...

Afghanistan under a new Energy Sector Development Investment Programme approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to the ADB, the programme, financed through a multi-tranche finance facility worth $570 million, will develop and rehabilitate power and energy facilities as well as support institutional capacity building of the power utility. Projects financed through the facility...