(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — Bowing to violent street protests, Nepal’s government has withdrawn its recent decision to raise fuel prices.Last month, state-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) increased prices for kerosene and diesel by some 20%, its second price increase since October. But that decision sparked off protests and disruptions in Kathmandu and other parts...

(EnergyAsia, February 4) — Strong demand from Japan, South Korea and China drove Asian imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a record 112.7 million tonnes last year. According to Houston-based consulting firm Waterborne Energy, imports rose by 480 billion cubic feet (bcf), or 10 million tonnes, from 2006. Japan remained the number 1 destination,...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — US equipment manufacturer Spire Corporation said it has received a contract from South Korea’s Dongyang Creditech Co Ltd to build a photovoltaic module assembly line. Spire will build a semi-automated crystalline cell module manufacturing line capable of producing up to 12 megawatts of solar modules per year. It will also...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — European Union (EU) energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs wants consumer countries to improve energy efficiency in response to surging oil prices and tight supplies. “We must strengthen our efforts to improve energy efficiency and to promote alternative energy sources,” he told a recent press briefing. World oil prices have remained stubbornly...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — The huge run-up in price of palm oil over the past year has forced many Southeast Asian biodiesel makers to cut output at their plants or completely idle capacities. Even the record-high oil prices – now at around $90 after reaching US$100 per barrel at the start of the year...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said it has developed a decision-support tool to help countries develop their bioenergy industry to produce benefits for the poor without jeopardising food security. The “analytical framework” tool designed by a team of FAO economists, Utrecht University’s Copernicus Institute and Darmstadt’s Oeko-Institut, was...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — Nations could well go to war over food and water supplies due to the impact of climate change affect, said UK-based Oxford Research Group in a report.In large parts of the world, global warming could affect agriculture and water supplies, leading people to conflict.The researchers predict that weather changes would...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the government is making progress in building renewable energy projects in the southern island province of Mindanao. Speaking at the recent Philippine Energy Summit, she said the P5-billion Hedcor Sibulan hydro-electric plant is to be completed next year while a geothermal project will follow...

(EnergyAsia, February 12, Tuesday) — CSIRO, Australia’s largest scientific research agency, said it and Monash University have developed a chemical process that turns green waste into a stable bio-crude oil. CSIRO or the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation said the bio-crude oil can be used to produce high value chemicals and biofuels, including both...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — India’s GMR Group has been awarded a contract to build a 309 megawatt (MW) hydropower plant in Upper Karnali in Nepal. GMR, a diversified Bangalore-based privately-owned firm with interests in infrastructure and agriculture, will have to supply about 12% of the plant’s output free to energy-starved Nepal. The plant is...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — Germany’s SolarWorld AG said it has signed an agreement with SolarPark Engineering Co Ltd to build a solar production plant in South Korea, its first facility in Asia. Last October, the two companies, which have formed an equal joint venture, signed a Letter of Intent to undertake the project. Their...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — China Clean Energy Inc, a producer of biodiesel fuel and environmentally-friendly specialty chemical products made from renewable resources in China, said it recently closed the private placement of 10 million shares of its common stock with accredited investors at a price of $1.50 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — Alberta is host to Canada’s largest cold-weather, on-road demonstration of renewable diesel performance. The Alberta Renewable Diesel Demonstration, managed by Climate Change Central, comes after months of laboratory testing of various fuel feedstocks and production processes. More than 60 trucks hit the road throughout the province to test the cold-weather...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI) said it will team up with its contractor, Ishibashi Manufacturing Co Ltd, a gearbox manufacturer, to establish a joint venture company to manufacture and sell gearboxes for wind turbine generators. MHI said the JV will be established by April in response to strong demand...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — Suzlon Energy Limited (SEL), India’s largest wind turbine manufacturer, said it has received a new order of 56.7 MW of capacity from Australia’s Pacific Hydro Limited. Subsidiary Suzlon Energy Australia Pty Ltd (SEA) signed the contract with Melbourne-based Pacific Hydro for the delivery of 27 units of Suzlon’s S88 –...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — The world’s wind power capacity surged by 27% to 94 GW last year, making it an important part of the world’s energy market, said the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). In terms of economic value, the global wind market is estimated to be worth about 25 billion euro or US$36...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) – NYSE-listed Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited, a China-based vertically integrated photovoltaic (PV) product manufacturer, said it has won a new sales contract from Spain’s Iberdrola Ingeniería y Construcción S.A.U. (IBERINCO). Yingli said it will supply 11.56 MW of PV modules to IBERINCO in the first quarter of 2008. The...

(EnergyAsia, February 11, Monday) — Ocean energy company BioPower Systems Pty Limited said it has been awarded a A$5 million grant under the Australian government’s AusIndustry Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI). (US$1=A$1.1). The grant will be matched by BioPower to fund a A$10.3 million, two-year project involving the deployment and ocean-testing of the company’s proprietary...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Nasdaq-listed A-Power Energy Generation Systems Ltd said its wholly owned Chinese operating subsidiary, Liaoning GaoKe Energy Group, has received letters of intent for the purchase of 380 units of its 2.5 MW wind turbine. The order will use up all its projected plant capacity through 2009. The company said it...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Switchgrass, a non-edible common grass found in the US, is an excellent feedstock for biofuels as it yields 540% more energy than is needed to grow, harvest and process into cellulosic ethanol, said researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the US. The researchers made the conclusion after a five-year...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Massachusetts, US-based American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC), a leading energy technology company, said it has received more than $3 million in orders for its wind turbine core electrical components and systems from two customers: China’s CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Research Institute (CSR-ZELRI) and Canada’s AAER, Inc. AMSC’s electrical systems include the...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Nasdaq-listed Spire Corporation, a solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic products such as modules, cells, and wafers worldwide, said it has selected Singapore-based UST Technology Pte Ltd as its representative for solar turnkey solutions and capital equipment in Southeast Asia. UST will represent Spire...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — NYSE-listed FMC Technologies Inc said it has been awarded a contract by Sabah Shell Petroleum Company Limited for the supply of deepwater subsea systems for the Gumusut-Kakap project in Malaysia. The project in Blocks J & K is located off the coast of Sabah state in water depths of 1,250...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Pacific Hydro’s planning application for the Crowlands Wind Farm in Australia’s Victoria state are the subject of six days of hearings before an expert panel starting February 5 in Beaufort. The panel is gathering feedback from a range of interested parties including members of the local community and town council...

(EnergyAsia, February 8, Friday) — Whoever becomes the next US President after George W. Bush in 2009 is unlikely to ratify the Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming.The new government would have more important priorities such as stopping the US economy sliding further into recession, Andy Karsner, a senior official at the US Department of...