(EnergyAsia, March 13, Thursday) — The electricity produced by China’s wind power sector surged by more than 95% last year to 5.6 billion kilowatt hours, said industry association China Electricity Council. This came on top of a 22% rise in 2006. The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s leading economic planning agency, expects further growth...

(EnergyAsia, March 13, Thursday) — San Francisco, California-based Cleantech America Inc, a leading developer of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) solar farms, said it has received a substantial strategic investment in its Series B equity round from Taiwan’s Wafer Works Corp. The investor, a manufacturer of silicon wafers, has expanded into the solar power industry through its...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — Singapore-listed Courage Marine Group Limited, a dry bulk shipper focused on infrastructure and energy commodities, said its net profit surged 117% to US$60.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. It said the strong demand for energy and building raw materials from China and the rest of Asia drove...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — The Philippines’ biofuels programme will not affect food production, much less cause food price hike, said Renato S. Velasco, chairman of the PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation.While it is true that the worldwide biofuels programme has generated a ‘food versus fuel’ debate, he said the situation in the Philippines is completely different...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — Japanese trading Marubeni Corp said it has concluded with Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd, a unit of the Russian gas giant, their first transaction of forward delivered carbon credit under the Kyoto Protocol.Marubeni has already in place an emissions trading master agreement in January with Gazprom M&T, which is a...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — China Holdings Inc said its subsidiary, China Power Inc, has signed a contract for the exclusive right to develop and construct a its fourth biomass-based 50MW power plant in Inner Mongolia Province.Local firm Ongniute will provide China Power with the rights to use up to 133,400 sq m of land...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — Two organisations have launched a micro-finance programme called Energizing India to provide loans to low-income communities to finance energy-efficient and renewable projects.Green Microfinance (GMf) of Pennsylvania and MicroEnergy International (ME) of Germany hope that their programme will promote sustainable energy through the provision of their micro finance loans.The loans will...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — The record high price of palm oil has forced several major biodiesel players in Malaysia to completely cease production. Palm oil prices recently broke through the RM4,000-per-tonne barrier, rendering biodiesel unviable.At least two major Malaysian players, Sime Darby Bhd and Carotino Sdn Bhd, have ceased plant operations since last year.Carotech...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — NYSE-listed Trina Solar Limited, a leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products, said it has signed an agreement with GT Solar Incorporated to purchase primary converter and reactor systems for its planned polysilicon production project for US$49 million.The payments will made in instalments over a period of 12 to 18...

(EnergyAsia, March 12, Wednesday) — Singapore-based China Agro-Technology said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Beihai city in Guangxi province to build a biodiesel refinery using jatropha as feedstock.The forestry company said it will invest up to $200 million over the next four years to construct the two-million-year plant. By the first quarter...

Corp (PNOC-AFC) has commended the people of Basey town in Samar province for forming an association to promote the planting of jathropa trees in support of Manila’s alternative fuels programme. PNOC-AFC chairman, Renato Velasco, said that the Basey association, headed by Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, the commanding officer of the 62nd Infantry Battalion, is one...

scale hydro power generation plants in the new fiscal year starting April 1. The plants are part of a slate of 27 hydro power projects recently approved by the state government. Orissa has identified 70 sites for these plants which range in capacity from two to 25 megawatts (MW). As part of their deal with...

last week released Singapore’s national strategy for addressing climate change. The National Climate Change Strategy (NCCS) was launched by Amy Khor, the ministry’s senior parliamentary secretary, and chairperson of the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) at the Seminar on Energy Efficiency for Process Industry jointly organised by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) and...

MW this month, said the Washington DC-based Earth Policy Institute. According to the institute’s Jonathan G. Dorn, the world had 94,100 MW of wind power capacity — enough to satisfy the residential electricity needs of 150 million people — after rising by a record-breaking 20,000 MW. He said that Europe added 8,660 MW of wind...

renewable energy companies in the world, sent its founder and managing director, Dipal Barua, to Washington DC last week to explain the company’s model to World Bank officials and to representatives of developing countries attending the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC).   The US Agency for International Development (USAID) invited Barua to WIREC to...

fluid motion and control products and services, said it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec Corp).   New projects stemming from the agreement should lead to low-cost sourcing initiatives and aftermarket programs to improve parts and service support. The companies plan to share expertise in the areas of...

vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it has signed two polysilicon supply agreements with Korea’s DC Chemical Co Ltd. Under the agreements, DC Chemical will supply US$27 million worth of polysilicon to Yingli Green Energy in 2008, and another consignment worth US$188 million from 2009 to 2013. “We are very pleased to initiate a...

Marubeni Corp, said it and partner Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd have jointly successfully completed appraisal drilling on the Cayley condensate gas discovery in the UK Central North Sea. Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd, the operator, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Talisman Energy Inc, one of Canada’s largest upstream companies. The Cayley discovery was drilled from...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — Bidding to win a multi-billion-dollar contract as Singapore’s exclusive liquefied natural gas supplier, the CEO of Australia’s Woodside Petroleum downplayed his earlier skepticism about the prospect for a spot market for LNG trades.At an industry conference in Houston, Texas in February 2007, Don Voelte had poured cold water on the...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — Abu Dhabi and India are seeking to deploy some of their large cash holdings into big investments in energy projects around the world.While Abu Dhabi has an established sovereign wealth fund in the Mubadala Development Company, India is looking to set up one.Already an active investor with more than US$10...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — Investors should step up their buying of energy and materials stocks as these will rise even if the US economy goes into a recession, says CIBC World Markets chief strategist and chief economist Jeff Rubin.In a special report, he said there is “enough evidence” of market decoupling that investors need...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — AGL Energy Limited (AGL) said it has acquired the development rights to a third wind farm site in South Australia state. The 90MW farm at Mt Bryan known as Hallett 3 is located 200 km north of Adelaide.It is sited about 15 km from the 95MW Brown Hill (Hallett 1)...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — The Singapore government said it will not subsidise the use of solar power in keeping with its policy of not helping end-users pay for energy. Speaking to Parliament, Minister of State (Trade and Industry) S.Iswaran said: “Our basic policy tenet is that energy costs should be borne in full by end-users....

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — Australia’s energy giant Woodside Petroleum is working on an ambitious plan to develop three large liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Burrup Peninsula, the Browse Basin, and the Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea.If realised, the projects would require tens of billions of dollars in finance, putting great strain...

(EnergyAsia, March 10, Monday) — India’s small hydropower and wind power projects have the potential to produce 60,000 MW of electricity, said the Ministry of Environment and Forests.Small hydro power plants, defined as those with the capacity to produce up to 25MW of electricity, are capable of generating 15,000 MW while wind power can yield...