(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — State-owned Taiwan Power or TaiPower plans to build the island’s largest solar power plant with a capacity of 4,000 kilowatt-peak (kWp) in Kaohsiung city. The NT1.17 billion plant is expected to start up by the end of 2010. (US$1=NT32.7). Local solar-cell manufacturer Motech Industrial and power systems firm Delta Electronics...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — The New Zealand government has set aside NZ$36 million in subsidies to help the country’s fledgling biodiesel industry over the next three years. (US$1 = NZ$1.56). The money will be paid out to domestic biodiesel producers who have been lobbying hard for state support. Up to NZ$9 million will be...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — The Myanmar government is aiming to complete a chain of hydropower projects across the country to help meet rising domestic power demand as well as export surplus electricity to China. Hit by international economic sanctions for its human rights abuses as well as corruption, the repressive military junta has been...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — Pakistan is inviting international investors to bid for the construction of the giant Diamer Bhasha hydroelectric dam project, estimated to cost US$12.6 billion. Energy-hungry Pakistan has predicted that the project will boost the nation’s power supply by 4,500 MW when it is completed by 2018. The National Economic Council (NEC),...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — Australia’s Origin Energy said it will continue to provide credit refunds to customers who will be affected when Victoria state’s proposed premium solar feed-in tariff schemes come into effect. “We will continue to put our customers’ needs first,” said Origin’s retail general manager, Phil Craig. “This means, if Origin solar...

(EnergyAsia, June 10, Wednesday) — Research by international scientists including two Australian agencies of ice core has revealed that methane, a potential source of the potent greenhouse gas is more stable in a warming world than previously thought. CSIRO and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) published their findings in Science magazine. Wetlands...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — Sri Lanka’s bunker fuel prices have fallen sharply after a court order broke up a supply monopoly in the port of Colombo, opening the market up to increased competition. Market participants said that Colombo’s bunker fuel prices were now more in line with prices at neighbouring ports. Its premium over...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — China has more than tripled its target for wind power energy. The National Energy Administration said the country should have 100gigawatts of wind power capacity by 2020, up from the previous target of 30 GW. The agency said it wants developers and investors to increase China’s wind power capacity to...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — ExxonMobil Chemical Technology Licensing LLC said it has agreed to license its tubular high pressure low density polyethylene process (HPPE) technology to Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) for use at its new world-scale ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) plant. The 200,000-metric-ton-per-year plant will be built at Sipchem’s site in Saudi Arabia’s...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — Investors poured in a total of $155 billion into clean energy companies and projects worldwide (excluding large hydro projects) last year despite “extremely difficult financial market conditions”, according to a UN report. Of this, $13.5 billion of new private investment went into companies developing and scaling-up new technologies alongside $117...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — A wholly-owned subsidiary of state Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) is looking to invest US$50 million in a wind power project in the Philippines, said a Philippine government official. According to Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez, Korea East West Power Co Ltd (EWP) has agreed to buy into Alternergy Philippine Holdings...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of the Republic of Palau in the Philippines have agreed to a five-year strategic partnership aimed at supporting sustainable development and alleviating the impacts of climate change. Endorsed by the ADB’s board in Manila, the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2009-2013 provides for...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — US-based Coda Automotive said it has established a global joint venture with China’s Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Co Ltd (Lishen) to design, manufacture and sell transportation and utility power storage battery systems for use in Coda’s new affordable all-electric sedan to the mainstream California market in 2010. California-based Coda has...

(EnergyAsia, June 9, Tuesday) — Caltex Australia said it has agreed to acquire 302 service station sites owned by rival Mobil for A$300 million including estimates for inventories and other settlement costs which will be finalised on completion. (US$1=A$1.3). This agreement is subject to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Foreign Investment Review...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — The Shell Eastern Petrochemicals Complex (SEPC) has started up a network of pipelines carrying recycled water and petrochemical products. The four new product pipelines and eight existing pipelines form the major arteries that supply the water to the cracker and deliver feedstock from Pulau Bukom to Shell’s new mono-ethylene glycol...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — The Chinese government has approved the construction of a new 3.8 million kilowatts (KW) wind power project in Jiuquan in Gansu province. The project will be part of a new 10-million KW wind power base that will include 18 wind power plants with a capacity of 200,000 KW each. Privately-owned...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — China’s LDK Solar has agreed with ESPE Srl, a leading system integrator within the PV sector, to develop PV plants in the Apulia region of Italy. The partners have started work on the first of five plants totaling 5 MW. LDK Solar will supply wafers for the PV project while...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — Silex Systems Ltd said it has agreed to the “conditional acquisition” of all the manufacturing assets and equipment of the Sydney Olympic Park (SOP) Solar manufacturing facility in Australia. The purchase price was not disclosed, but Silex said it has signed a heads of agreement with BP Solar Pty Ltd...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — The UN has agreed to support the construction of mini hydro-electric power plants in Pakistan with a total capacity of 15 megawatt (MW). The UN’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) and Pakistan’s Alternative Energy Development Board have signed on a US$19 million plan to develop more than 100 projects in the...

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — The UK-based Carbon Trust said it recently signed a groundbreaking agreement with the China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation (CECIC) to develop and deploy low carbon technology for use in China. The Beijing agreement will help British business export low carbon technology and businesses to China. The £10 million agreement will...

(EnergyAsia, June 5, Monday) — Germany’s Siemens is building a new wind turbine factory in Lingang New City in Shanghai that will add to its global manufacturing network when it starts up next year. The 60-million-euro rotor blade and nacelle plant is due to start production in the second half of 2010 with 400 employees....

(EnergyAsia, June 8, Monday) — Australian upstream company Santos said a greater combined role for natural gas and renewable energy will help meet the country’s future need for reliable, affordable energy while reducing carbon emissions from power generation. In a submission to the Federal government’s Energy White Paper process, Santos said the country’s abundant natural...

(EnergyAsia, June 5, Friday) — Engineering giant Foster Wheeler AG said its subsidiaries, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited and Foster Wheeler (G.B.) Limited, have been awarded contracts by CTCI Corporation (CTCI) for the supply of a carbon monoxide boiler for a refinery in Taiwan. The boiler will be used inside CPC’s new residue fluidised catalytic cracker...