(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — US agriculture secretary Edward Schafer has defended his country’s biofuel policies amid rising criticism that growing food crops for fuel is causing food shortages around the world. Speaking at a press conference, Mr Schafer said biofuels are needed to combat the high price of crude oil. He said ethanol production...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said high oil prices, rather than biofuels, are driving up world food prices. Samak Sundaravej wants the UN and the Word Bank to deal with the world food crisis by targeting oil exporting countries instead of criticising biofuels producing countries like Thailand. The UN Food...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — The state government of Pakistan’s Punjab region has ordered bureaucrats to speed up the implementation of small hydropower projects. The government has announced plans to build five hydropower projects with a total capacity of 25 MW. The projects are expected to receive Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding. However, the government...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — India’s Tata Power is investing Rs5 billion to build up an additional 115 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity. (US$1 = Rs43). The new wind farms will be set up in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka. The company has 85 MW of wind power capacity in operation in Maharashtra...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — India’s state of Haryana is developing 20 biomass-based projects for a total additional power capacity of 183 megawatts (MW). Haryana wants to cut back on its expensive power imports from other Indian states. Officials said the plants and other renewable energy projects could generate up to 10% of the state’s...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — A joint study by the UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned of the worsening impact biofuels production will have on world food prices and supplies. In addition, biofuels would do little to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the study said....
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — Mercator Lines (Singapore) Limited said it has renegotiated the freight terms of its October 2006 contract with Tata Power Company Limited for the transportation of 1.9 million tons coal annually from Indonesia to India for four years. The enhanced deal is worth US$320 million. Based on Tata’s growing demand for...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — The International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for a ‘global energy technology revolution’ to put the world on a sustainable path to 2050. Its ‘blue scenario’, indicating what would be needed to reduce world carbon emissions by 50% by 2050, implies the need for US$45 trillion of investment in clean...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — A leading Indian chemicals group, SRF Ltd, said it has started up nine units of a 14 MW wind power plant in Tamil Nadu state. The Rs900 million plant in Tirunelveli district is expected to meet nearly half the company’s power requirement in Tamil Nadu, and reduce the emission of...
(EnergyAsia, June 13, Friday) — Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Keppel Corp Ltd, said it has signed an agreement to form a joint venture company, Tianjin Eco-City Environmental Protection Co Ltd (TECEP) with two Chinese firms, Tianjin TEDA Co Ltd and Tianjin Eco-City Investment & Development Co Ltd (TECID Co). With...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Nasdaq-listed energy technologies company American Superconductor Corporation said it has licensed one of its proprietary wind turbine designs to Taiwan-based TECO Electric & Machinery Co Ltd (TECO), the world’s third largest motor manufacturer. AMSC’s wholly owned AMSC Windtec™ subsidiary will license the design for its FC-2000, a proprietary 2...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan government are expected to help finance new micro and mini hydro power plants in the Negros Occidental province of the Philippines. Local officials said the plants, with capacities ranging from one kilowatt (KW) each to 10 megawatts (MW), would help address...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Philippines-listed Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp (TPGC) is evaluating a proposal to develop a 20-megawatt (MW) wind power project on the island province of Guimaras located in the Western Visayas region. TGPC said the project will be implemented by its sister company, Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp (TA Oil),...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — To meet the needs of the fast-growing photovoltaic (PV) solar energy market, DuPont said it will expand production of its proprietary Solamet® thick film metallisation pastes at its Electronic Materials DuPont Dongguan Ltd (EMDD) facility in Dongguan city in the Chinese province of Guangdong. The company will more than...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Nasdaq-listed American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, said it has received a $450 million order from Beijing-based Sinovel Wind Corporation Limited for core electrical components for 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines. The contract calls for shipments to begin in January 2009 and increase in amount year-over-year...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Singapore’s Keppel FELS Limited said it has secured a US$385 million repeat order to build a semisubmersible drilling rig for Brazilian drilling contractor group Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás (QGOG). The price excludes the drilling and subsea equipment which will be supplied by QGOG. To be named Alpha Star,...
(EnergyAsia, June 3) — Japan’s JGC and South Korean firms GS, Daelim, Hyundai and SK Engineering have won various contracts to build Kuwait’s planned 615,000 b/d grassroots refinery. The contracts are worth a total of around $9 billion. Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said construction is due to begin within weeks, with completion of...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — MWH, a Colorado, US-based provider of environmental engineering, strategic consulting and construction services, said it has been selected by the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to provide engineering and construction management services for the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project. MWH is leading a joint venture, Neelum-Jhelum Consultants, that includes...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Chinese module manufacturer Canadian Solar (CSI) said it has signed a five-year contract to procure solar cells from Taiwanese cell manufacturer, Neo Solar Power (NSP). NSP will supply several hundred megawatts (MW) of solar cells through 2013. The total contract value exceeds $500 million. Quincy Lin, NSP chairman and...
(EnergyAsia, June 12, Thursday) — Biofuels associations from Canada, Europe and the US have issued a joint statement in response to criticisms and comments from last week’s UN Food and Agricultural Organization summit on food in Rome, Italy. The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA), the European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBio), and the Renewable Fuels...
(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) — The cost of many household goods has received another boost with Down Chemical’s decision to raise the price of all of its products by up to 20% from June 1. America’s largest chemical manufacturer, with annual sales of $54 billion and 46,000 employees worldwide, said it will review business terms...
(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) — US-based Solar Power Inc (SPI) said it has agreed to supply five megawatts of its SP200 solar modules to a large unidentified Korean distributor and installer. The modules will be used as part of a 10 MW solar park currently under development north east of Seoul, Korea and will be...
(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) — Nasdaq-listed Spire Corporation, a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic cells and modules worldwide, said it has received a contract from PLG Power Limited (PLG Group) to provide a state-of-the-art, turnkey photovoltaic module assembly line in India. PLG Power Limited is the energy...
(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) — Suntech Power said it has signed a definitive 13-year silicon wafer supply agreement with a subsidiary of Shunda Holdings Co Ltd. Shunda will supply NYSE-listed Suntech a specified annual volume of silicon wafers with a total volume of seven-gigawatts (GW) from 2008 to 2020. Suntech Power also acquired a minority...
(EnergyAsia, June 11, Wednesday) — US-based engine technology firm Rotoblock and China’s Hikom Gottell said they are planning to set up a manufacturing facility to produce advanced energy efficient and environmental machinery and equipment, including small engines, heat pumps and air-conditioning for the world markets. Earlier, Rotoblock announced an agreement to purchase controlling interest in...