(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said it will build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Fort Smith city in the US state of Arkansas. Due to start up in the second half of 2011 with an initial annual production capacity of 600 megawatts (MW), the plant will fabricate nacelles,...

(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) —Ninety of America’s leading scientists today urged the US House and Senate to ensure that new climate and energy regulations accurately account for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from bioenergy including biofuels such as ethanol. In the letter to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid and key Obama...

(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — In the absence of national policies and binding international agreements that would limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the world will be using more coal in the decades ahead, said the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).   In its latest International Energy Outlook report, the agency predicts world coal...

(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — The US biomass industry expanded by a mere 1.2% per year over the last decade, according to a new study by England-based GlobalData. It said the US biomass market had a cumulative installed capacity of 9,686 MW in 2009, up from 8,835 MW in 2001 for a per year...

(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — The Austria-based Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) said it has teamed up with Himin Solar, China’s largest solar water heating manufacturer and a major property developer, and Switzerland’s Bern University of Applied Sciences to deliver an energy efficiency training programme targeting Chinese design professionals.   The Best...

(EnergyAsia, June 15 2010, Tuesday) — Singapore’s average daily temperature could rise by between 2.7 to 4.2 degrees Celsius by 2100 from the current average of 26.8 degrees Celsius, according to a study commissioned by the National Environment Agency (NEA).   Conducted by the Tropical Marine Science Institute at the National University of Singapore, the...

(Energy Asia, June 14 2010, Monday) — Syndicates of a major insurance group in London have initiated legal action against BP Plc to block the oil giant from trying to claim on cover held by rig operator Transocean for the catastrophic oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 38 underwriting syndicates in...

(Energy Asia, June 14 2010, Monday)—Electric cars, such as the mass-produced compact 5-door hatchback electric car Nissan Leaf or the glamorous US Tesla, don’t make financial sense just yet for consumers due to their high ownership costs, post-warranty repair costs, poor resale value and lack of infrastructural support, said analysts. In the UK, Nissan recently...

(EnergyAsia, June 14 2010, Monday)—In a bid to cut reliance on fossil fuels, the Indonesian government is providing incentives to boost investments in renewable energy, the Finance Ministry said last month. The incentives include a 5% tax cut over six years for renewable energy producers as well as exemptions from value-added tax and import duties...

(Energy Asia, June 14 2010, Monday) — Indonesia and Norway have signed a US$1 billion agreement to conserve the Southeast Asia nation’s rainforests aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Under the agreement signed in Oslo last month between Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Norway has pledged to invest US$1...

(Energy Asia, June 14 2010, Monday)—India’s Orissa state government has approved another nine solar projects with a combined 57MW of power generation capacity as it continues to encourage investments into the state’s renewable energy sector. The new projects will raise Orissa’s solar power capacity to 351 MW. The companies approved to build the new power...

(Energy Asia, June 14 2010, Monday)—China and the US have agreed to invest in clean energy projects such as new energy and electric vehicles, energy-efficient construction, and clean coal technology, according to China’s vice minister of science and technology Cao Jianlin. The countries will jointly invest in building new laboratories as well as support research...

(EnergyAsia, June 14 2010, Monday) — US-based Ferro Corporation said it is expanding the capability of its photovoltaic (PV) technology centres in Suzhou in China and Taipei in Taiwan as part of a wider plan to support growth in Asia. The Cleveland, Ohio-based company said it is expanding its existing technology centre in Suzhou to...

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2010, Friday) — Undeterred by profitability and environmental sustainability concerns, Finnish oil refining and marketing company Neste Oil is focused on completing and starting up what will be the world’s largest renewable diesel plant in Singapore in the fourth quarter. When completed, the 800,000-metric tonne-per-year plant on a Tuas site on the...

(EnergyAsia, April 4) — The large investments into green energy projects by China, India and other major developing economies are putting rich countries on the defensive in relation to climate change issues. According to a recent report by the Pew Environment Group, China is now the world’s leader in investing in green energy, having pumped...

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2010, Friday) — Global photovoltaic cell production last year surged 51% from 7.1 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 to 10.7 GW in 2009, according to a research note published by GTM Research. PV panel production also grew strongly by 41% to 8.9GW. According to the US-based research group, the bulk of these panels...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Friday) — The global trade and shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) may rise signficiantly this year despite what could be a decline in demand from the world’s largest importers, said analysts at JP Morgan Chase. In a recent report, the bank’s energy analysts noted that LNG exports reached a record...

(EnergyAsia, June 11 2010, Friday) — The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has issued new guidelines tightening the sulphur content requirement on ship fuel to 3.5% from 4.5% from 2012. The organisation also decided last year to aim for a sulphur emission content of 0.5% by the beginning of 2020. The Marpol Annex VI restriction on...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — South Korea’s STX Energy said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Senai High Technology Park (SHTP) to establish solar cell module plants and solar farms worth a total of RM1.5 billion in Malaysia’s Johor state. The facilities and the 100MW solar farm will be located in...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — Prices in the world’s US$2.8-trillion petrochemical business reached six-month highs in early April before tapering off to register a price decline for the month, said global energy media group Platts. The Platts Global Petrochemical Index (PGPI), a basket of the most widely-used petrochemicals prices expressed in US dollars per...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — Solar Frontier, a fully-owned subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu KK, said it will install photovoltaic power generation equipment totalling two megawatts at its third plant in Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture. The company said it will be using its proprietary CIS thin-film solar panels at the plant, now under construction and...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — China Huaneng Group said it has signed an agreement to buy wind turbines from six domestic suppliers in a deal worth 8.06 billion yuan to meet rising demand for clean energy. (US$1=6.83 yuan). Huaneng said Sinovel Wind Group Co., Shanghai Electric Group, Dongfang Electric Corp., China Shipbuilding Industry Corp.,...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — China’s BYD Automobile Co and Germany’s Daimler AG have signed an agreement  to form a 600 million yuan  joint venture to develop electric vehicles in China. (US$1=6.83 yuan). The joint venture called Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co plans to introduce its first electric vehicles in 2013 to be...

(EnergyAsia, June 10 2010, Thursday) — A research report by Houston University of Texas state in the US has cast doubts on the viability of carbon capture and storage (CCS) as a weapon to fight global warming. The report said that it would take a reservoir the size of a small US state to capture...