(EnergyAsia, November 6, Friday) — The slump in the solar panel market may get worse next year with expectations that the current supply glut would persist as solar equipment makers drive large volumes to offset low margins. The prices of silicon-based solar panels have dove by as much as 50% from their peak last year...
(EnergyAsia, November 6, Friday) — Karnataka State Women’s University has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Bio-Diesel Society to establish a bio-diesel park on a plot of barren land at the Toravi campus in Bijapur city. The park is expected to encourage farmers to grow trees for bio-diesel production and introduce them to...
(EnergyAsia, November 6, Friday) — Malaysia’s Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry is considering raising hydropower’s contribution to the country’s power supply mix to 30% by 2030, up from 8% now. Minister Peter Chin said the government is looking to tap the vast hydropower potential from Sarawak state to supply Peninsular Malaysia from 2015. The...
(EnergyAsia, November 6, Friday) — China’s LDK Solar said it has secured a contract to supply Enfinity for the largest rooftop solar energy installation project in Belgium. LDK Solar will provide approximately 18,000 solar modules to be installed on the Balta Group’s factory rooftop in Sint-Baafs-Vijve, Belgium. The project will be the country’s largest solar...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Ltd said it has delivered two rigs safely, ahead of schedule and within budget to owners. The KFELS B Class jackup rig, Greatdrill Chitra, was delivered to India’s Greatship Global Energy Services Pte Ltd (Greatship) 12 days ahead of schedule, earning Keppel FELS a bonus of S$300,000....
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — US-based Clenergen Corporation said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Clenergen Corporation India Private Limited, will invest a total of $236 million in developing a 16MW-per-hour biomass power plant in Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu and a 64MW-per-hour plant in Karnataka state. It has also agreed to acquire and start up a dormant 1.5MW-per-hour...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries will be the fastest growing category for utility-scale applications, growing to become a $1.1 billion worldwide business by 2018, said Pike Research, the US-based cleantech industry analyst firm. In a special report, Pike Research forecasts that revenue from Li-ion batteries will represent 26% of the $4.1...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — Sinohydro Corporation, China’s largest hydropower plant builder, has signed a deal with Electricite Du Laos to jointly construct two hydropower stations and a power transmission line in Laos. The companies will build the 130,000-kW Nam Kham 2 hydropower plant southeast of Laos’ Luang Prabang city and the 47,000 kW Nam...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — China’s Huaneng Group has broken ground for a giant 10-gigawatt wind farm in Jiuquan city in the country’s northwest province of Gansu. The complex is expected to have 5.16 GW of wind power capacity by the end of next year and 12.7 GW by the end of 2015. Huaneng Power...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — The lack of expertise and experience among Chinese solar equipment manufacturers in project installations could open up opportunities for foreign firms hoping to break into this fast-growing market, said industry insiders. As an example, they cite the growing collaboration between Shanghai-based JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd and BP Solar in...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — China-based ENN Group and Duke Energy of the US have announced that they will jointly develop commercial solar power projects in the US. The companies said they will concentrate on two types of solar photovoltaic designs: large “utility-scale” solar farms and commercial distributed generation solar projects. Distributed generation systems produce...
(EnergyAsia, November 5, Thursday) — Australia’s Southern Gold Limited said its economic modelling study has shown “very positive” preliminary findings for its Roxby geothermal project, making it eligible for a A$7 million grant under the state Geothermal Drilling Program. (US$1=A$1.1). The company said it will use the fund to develop two deep geothermal wells, undertake...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Singapore-listed Rotary Engineering Limited said it has secured two contracts worth a total of S$20 million from two Singapore subsidiaries of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. Rotary said its subsidiary and maintenance arm, Rotary IMC Pte Ltd, will revamp a Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd process unit on Pulau Bukom....
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set a six-year plan to control the supply as well as limit the exports of rare earth metals now in demand to make batteries and motors for use in electric vehicles. The plan is expected to force companies to manufacture their products...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Korea Southern Power (KSP), a unit of state-run Korea Electric power Corporation, has formed a special purpose company to develop a wind power complex that would be the first to use locally-produced generators. KSP said it will partner with domestic generator makers Hyosung and Hyundai Heavy Industries and installation firm...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Jinko Solar, a Chinese manufacturer and service provider of PV integrated products, said it recently signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Upsolar to market its products in the US over the next three years. Upsolar, which will market Jinko Solar’s products in the 175MW range, has committed to offer the...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Commodities brokerage Spectron has started a service to match liquefied natural gas (LNG) trades. In a statement, Spectron said LNG coverage would be led by Helena Wisden, formerly of consultant Poten & Partners, from the broker’s London office. “The number of players in the short term LNG market has increased...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — China Clean Energy Inc, a US-listed producer of biodiesel fuel and environmentally-friendly specialty chemical products made from renewable resources in China, said it has completed the construction of its plant in Jiangyin. The commissioning process has been completed, and a test-production run is expected to take place this month. The...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — The head of the alternative energy unit of UK oil major BP is optimistic about the prospects of biofuels, particularly biodiesel. Katrina Landis, CEO of BP’s Alternative Energy, said with the right policies in place, the share of biofuels in the total supply of road transport fuels worldwide could rise...
(EnergyAsia, November 4, Wednesday) — Climate change poses fundamental threats to Asia’s food and energy security which, if left unchecked, will further boost migration into already overburdened mega cities, according to three major new studies funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The studies are being prepared as part of the UN Framework Convention on...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — At the upcoming US-China Green Tech Summit in Beijing, leading green technology CEOs, venture capitalists and academics will discuss how US-China project-to-project partnerships can reduce carbon dioxide, generate green jobs and ensure energy independence. At the summit on November 16-17, speakers and participants will tackle key issues, form lasting partnerships...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — One of the world’s most busy waterways along the combined 805-km Straits of Malacca and Singapore has “sufficient capacity” to handle growth in vessel traffic to accommodate a significant increase in maritime trade, according to preliminary findings from a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) study. The Singapore Strait,...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — Saudi Aramco announced last week that it will begin using the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) published by Argus Media as the benchmark price for all grades of crude oil sold to US customers. Saudi Aramco has used WTI crude prices published by McGraw Hill’s Platts as the benchmark for...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — One of the world’s most busy waterways along the combined 805-km Straits of Malacca and Singapore has “sufficient capacity” to handle growth in vessel traffic to accommodate a significant increase in maritime trade, according to preliminary findings from a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) study. The Singapore Strait,...
(EnergyAsia, November 3, Tuesday) — Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) has called a prequalifying tender to establish an experimental base and test facility for the eventual development of an island-wide smart energy grid. Singapore is planning to establish a smart energy grid that may potentially use power from new alternative energy sources,...