(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — Qatar is looking to build a giant 3,500 megawatt (MW) solar power complex to meet its rising demand for electricity in the coming years.The country’s economic boom, fuelled by high oil and gas export revenues, has driven up domestic demand for energy. A similar boom is underway in Saudi Arabia,...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — India’s Ministry of Science & Technology has allocated Rs240 million to help build a centre for developing bioenergy and biotechnology to convert biomass into fuel. (US$1=Rs40).The proposed Centre of Energy Biosciences will have to raise another Rs160 million to support a detailed programme for building pilot biofuel plants, developing research...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — Cambodia’s eco-system and the livelihood of many farmers could be jeopardised by the construction of three large hydropower projects, according to an environmental conservationist report.Two Chinese companies are proposing to build the 180MW Kamchay dam in Kampot province and the 120MW Stung Atay dam in Pursat province.Kamchay, developed by China’s...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — Chinese upstream company CNOOC Limited said it is aiming to achieve net production of between 195 and 199 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) on the basis of WTI crude at US$70 per barrel.This would represent a significant increase from last year’s estimated net production of 169-171 million BOE with...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — The Indian government is preparing to announce a solar city initiative which will promote the use of solar energy for municipalities and other urban centres.Bureaucrats have drawn up a list of 100 cities across the country to implement the scheme.The government will provide incentives for households to adopt solar energy...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — China’s demand for wind power generators is expected to grow quickly over the next three years, with demand forecast at 3.61 million kilowatts (kW) in 2008, 5.05 million kW in 2009 and 6.57 million kW in 2010.Generators will likely remain in short supply through 2009, said the Chinese Wind Energy...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — Iceland-based Glitnir bank said it has also formed a joint venture with LNJ Bhilwara Group to develop geothermal power plants in India and Nepal. Glitnir is the minority partner in the 60/40 JV.The partners will soon recruit a management team with the expertise to identify, develop and build power plants...
(EnergyAsia, February 15, Friday) — The Thai government is planning to set up a national agency to promote the production and use of biofuels as well as shape policies on biodiesel and ethanol.The agency will include top leaders from government, the energy and automotive industries, and other public and private sectors institutions.It is due to...
power in 2007, up 14.1% from 2006, said trade association China Electricity Council. The country has 11 nuclear reactors with a combined installed capacity of 9.08 million kW, providing 2.3% of its overall power supply. China plans to boost that figure to 16% by 2030....
make it mandatory for industries to use biofuels. The committee wants industries across the country to use non-subsidised fuel with a 1% biofuel content. Meanwhile, high prices for ethanol and palm oil have forced state oil major Pertamina to write losses in its biofuels business, prompting the company to sharply scale back its original expansion...
investors to build small to medium hydropower plants to meet the country’s growing electricity needs. A key challenge is the high construction cost for such projects. As a result, it costs 12 yen to produce a kilowatt of electricity by water compared with five to six yen using nuclear or coal power. A ministry committee...
megawatts (MW) unit in Daegu city, has come onstream. The US$42 million plant is expected to power up 12,000 homes and earn 60 billion won in annual revenue. (US$1=950 won). Several Korean firms have started producing components for solar plants. Last year, it began producing polysilicon, a key raw material for solar panels....
Energy Pte Ltd, has signed a long term agreement to supply natural gas to ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd’s facilities on Jurong Island, including its second petrochemical complex now under construction. Natural gas will begin flowing from Malaysia next year to power up ExxonMobil’s 150MW cogeneration plant to produce electricity and steam for its first...
cubic metres of tank capacity following the phase five expansion of its terminal in Fujairah. The company is working on the next phase of expansion with a planned addition of another 1.2 million cbm and four to six more berths on the north side of the terminal. When completed, the oil terminal will have a...
leading vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it has signed a new sales contract with Recurrent Energy Inc, a solar services provider based in San Francisco, US that specialises in developing and operating large rooftop real estate solutions. Recurrent Energy will purchase a minimum quantity of PV modules from Yingli Green Energy this year...
social and environmental harm than good by way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, an influential advisory group has warned. The UK parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee said biofuels are driving up food prices and are threatening food supplies in the world’s poorest nations. At the same time, the production of biodiesel is causing huge environmental damage...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — China’s worst power crisis has forced 13 of its 31 provinces to continue rationing electricity supply. The recent winter storms coupled with coal supply shortages have badly exposed the country’s inadequate power infrastructure and insufficient capacity.Electricity rationing is still in force in the southern, south-western, central and northern provinces of...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — MTI McroFuel Cells Inc, a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Incorporated (MTI) and the developer of the award-winning Mobion® micro fuel cell technology for handheld electronic devices, has appointed Yasuo Mohri as its business representative in Japan.He will be working with the MTI Micro business development team to expand business relationships...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — Canada’s Hanwei Energy Services Corp said it has been licensed by Germany’s Aerodyn Energiesysteme GmbH, a leading international wind power engineering firm, to produce two versions of the Aerodyn wind blade model in China.Vancouver-based Hanwei said the non-exclusive agreement allowing it to produce the aeroBlade 1.5 model will enhance its...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — Vietnam has started construction work on a 75-megawatt (MW) hydro-electric power plant in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.The $112 million plant will be built on the Dong Nai river in Vietnam’s Bao Lam district.Expected to start up in 2010, the new plant will supply power to the national...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — Iran is keen to reopen talks on a proposed deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply to India.The two governments had agreed on a 25-year deal in 2005 worth $22-billion when oil prices were hovering at around $40 a barrel compared with around $90 today. As oil prices climbed,...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — Abu Dhabi has started up the largest windpower project yet in the Middle East.Situated on Sir Bani Yas island off its western coast, the 65-metre high turbine has the capacity to produce 850 kilowatts/hour (kwh) of electricity. It was built by Denmark’s wind-turbine manufacturer Vestas.Abu Dhabi is positioning itself to...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — The World Bank’s IFC has signed an agreement with China’s State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to develop environmental guidelines for the country’s green credit policy.This has been described as a groundbreaking initiative that mandates financial institutions to assess environmental risks and integrate environmental considerations into their investment choices.The guidelines will...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a $7 million loan without government guarantee to build a $34 million transmission line network to help Cambodia import electricity from Thailand. Cambodia’s tourism hub of Siem Reap, and the growing cities of Battambang and Banteay Meanchey where there have been...
(EnergyAsia, February 13, Wednesday) — Resource-rich Malaysia has announced it will set up stockpiles of food and fuel as the country struggles to deal with dwindling supplies, hoarding and rising prices. With a general election looming, rising public anger over the shortages and high cost of fuel, rice and cooking oil is expected to undermine...