(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Finland’s Wärtsilä said it has introduced a new upgrade kit for slow steaming for low-speed engines to enable shipowners and operators to save on fuel costs while slow steaming their ships. The kit allows Wärtsilä low-speed marine engines to be operated continuously at any power in the range of 20%...
(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Philippine power producer First Gen Corp said its third quarter profit plunged 64% to US$35.6 million from the same period last year. The company cited higher interest and financing costs due to increased debt after its acquisition of a controlling stake in Energy Development Corp (EDC). In addition, First Gen...
(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Japan’s electronics giant Sharp said it plans to mass produce its high-efficiency crystalline Si solar cells in 2010. The company claims the cells offer an energy conversion efficiency of 20%. The production technology for a prototype is already in place at a pilot plant. Industry analysts expect competition in the...
(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Japan’s Itochu Corp said it has acquired a stake in Greenvision ambiente Photo-Solar, an Italian producer of solar power systems. Itochu paid more than 15 billion yen for a 43% stake. (US$1=93 yen). Greenvision has a strong sales organisation in Italy through which Itochu hopes to sells its products. Itochu...
(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — US IT giant Intel Corp said its subsidiary, Intel Capital, is investing $20 million in China’s Trony Solar Holdings Co. One of China’s largest equipment suppliers for the solar energy sector, Shenzen-based Trony plans to use the cash injection to improve its production and research and development. The investment adds...
(EnergyAsia, December 11, Thursday) — Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced a A$6.2 billion plan to make the automotive industry more economically and environmentally sustainable by 2020. (US$1=A$1.55). The ‘Green Car Plan’ will feature an expanded A$1.3 billion green car innovation fund which will provide Australian car companies with the opportunity to receive government...
renewable sources by 2050, experts are projecting in a new study. The study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council also forecast that the renewable power generation and energy efficiency industry was on track too soon exceed the role played by fossil fuels. The study predicts the world’s renewable energy industry would soon be...
a 510 megawatt (MW) hydro electricity project at Dikchu in India’s Himalayan state of Sikkim. Most of the victims were labourers employed by India’s National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), according to information released by Sikkim’s Labour Department. Notwithstanding the deaths, the state government and NHPC plan on developing more hydro-power projects in Sikkim. Human rights...
Sciences Laboratory have formed a joint venture to commercialise jatropha-based biofuels technologies. Temasek Life is an affiliate of the Singapore government-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings. The new firm, JOil, will work on turning jatropha, a non-edible crop that grows on arid and poor soil conditions, into a high-yielding, robust feedstock to produce biodiesel. Given the...
(EnergyAsia, December 10, Wednesday) — US-based Air Products (APD) said it has signed a turnkey gas supply contract to provide on-site gases, liquid bulk gases, specialty gases and gas equipment to China‘s Best Solar Hi Tech Co Ltd, which is building a new thin-film photovoltaic (PV) facility in the Wuzhong Economic Development Park in China. (more…)
A$6.6 million solar power station to be built in the town of Alice Springs. (US$1=A$1.55). At last month’s 3rd International Solar Energy Society conference in Sydney, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said: “The Alice Springs Ilparpa solar power station will generate more than 1,800 megawatt hours of clean energy for the region each year, and reduce...
supply on the Australian island through the dry months of summer and autumn following near average spring rains. Hydro Tasmania manager for energy resources, David Marshall, said hydro storage tanks had received 95% of expected rainfall for spring with storage levels rising by almost 7% from September 1. Despite long-term drought in the region, storage...
it will provide Sino-Mongolia International Railroad Systems Co Ltd (SMIRSC) the technology to enhance low-grade coal for a coal liquefaction facility in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The two companies signed an agreement confirming their deal at a ceremony hosted by the US Department of Commerce in Florida. Doug Hague, President and CEO of CCTI,...
Sunergy has begun construction of a 400MW research, development and production base at the Songjiang Industrial Park in Shanghai. The new facility, together with its existing Nanjing base, will help the company enhance the technological advantages and competitiveness of its crystalline silicon solar cells. Last December, China Sunergy purchased 150 acres of land in Shanghai...
an accident at its photovoltaic (PV) module facilities in Wuxi city in China last month. The company said the accident occurred following a “malfunction of a piece of module lamination equipment”, and that the injured employees are recovering in hospital. Suntech said its safety management department swiftly implemented the appropriate measures to ensure the safety...
contracts to supply a total of 91 MW of PV modules to Germany’s IBC Solar AG, one of the world’s leading specialists in PV systems. Yingli said it is expected to supply 91 MW of PV modules from this month to December 2009. Supplies under these contracts are agreed to be made at fixed prices...
construction firm, said it has been awarded a contract by Tokuyama Corporation for the front-end engineering design (FEED) of a polycrystalline silicon plant in Malaysia. The FEED work is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2009, with plant start-up due three years later. Chiyoda will undertake the FEED work for the 3,000-ton-per-year...
agreed to sell fully-owned subsidiary PowerSeraya Limited to Sabre Energy Industries Pte Ltd for a total of S$3.8 billion. Sabre, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s leading power company, YTL Power International Berhad, will pay S$3.6 billion and assume S$201 million of adjusted net debt. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2009. PowerSeraya...
(EnergyAsia, December 9, Tuesday) — Elf Gas Saigon, a joint venture of France’s Total (85%) and Vietnam’s Saigon Construction Corp (14%), has acquired Saigon Gas Holdings Corporation. Total said the acquisition will secure its position as one of the leading LPG suppliers in Vietnam, with an increase in gas market share to approximately 15%. It (more…)
Afghanistan under a new Energy Sector Development Investment Programme approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to the ADB, the programme, financed through a multi-tranche finance facility worth $570 million, will develop and rehabilitate power and energy facilities as well as support institutional capacity building of the power utility. Projects financed through the facility...
(IMF) has approved a three-year programme to reduce poverty and boost economic growth in the Republic of Armenia. The decision will enable the Armenian government to draw a total of $13.6 million from the IMF to implement its economic programme through 2011, starting with about US$1.9 million immediately. The IMF said Armenia is poised...
documents outlining plans to invest $21 billion by 2017 to deepen regional economic cooperation in transport, trade facilitation, trade policy and energy in the region and their neighbours. The plans were agreed at last month’s 7th Ministerial Conference of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme. The signatories were ministers and senior officials representing...
its US$245 million share to invest in redeveloping the North West Shelf Cossack, Wanaea, Lambert, Hermes (CWLH) fields. The project calls for the replacement of the existing Cossack Pioneer floating, production, storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel, selected refurbishment of existing subsea infrastructure and the existing riser turret mooring. It will also capture additional oil production...
company to convert waste gas at its Queensland state mine to energy, thus helping save up to 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide from being released each year. GE said the mine achieved this by using its ecomaginationTM certified Jenbacher power plant at Anglo Coal’s coal mine in Moranbah North to help reduce greenhouse gas...
Econcern, said it plans to invest 863 million euro in building up 720 MW in onshore wind energy capacity in China. (US$1=0.77 euro). Econcern said it has signed agreements for three onshore wind farm projects with CNOOC New Energy, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and for one onshore wind farm project...