China

West China's Gansu Province is regulating small-scale hydropower projects to protect fresh water resources.

Looks like it will stay at HK$15.3 billion for now.

A draft nuclear power safety regulation is now ready to be sent to the State Council after minor adjustments.

So how much will each company finance out of that amount?

Camco International has signed contracts with China's largest cement maker to assess and develop energy efficiency projects.

The $100m loan is being arranged by Mizuho Corporate Bank.

The company said it would buy an extra 3.3 million metric tons of LNG a year through 2035.

Calgary-based AltaLink is Canada’s only fully independent transmission company operating approximately 12,000 km of transmission lines that serve 85 percent of Alberta’s population.

Securing cleaner energy to achieve better air quality is a cornerstone of CLP’s operations. Our Energy Vision is for a greener Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region for now and in the future.

But nuclear will remain key to China's energy policy with new approvals to start in 2012.

A team from Bangladesh is visiting China to fix the schedule for an MoU signing to set up a coal-fired plant in Chittagong.

China is doubling the surcharge for solar and other renewables from CNY0.004 to CNY0.008 per kWh.

The US International Trade Commission approved the investigation  against unfair trading practices by Chinese c-Si cell and module manufacturers.

Whilst the growth of natural gas usage for industrial and power generation purposes is developing swiftly across Asia no country is investing as much money and effort into building their natural gas infrastructure as China is currently doing. Not only is the country developing long distance west to east gas pipelines to import the gas from neighboring countries it is also investing heavily into its exploring for domestic energy resources for the clean fuel which is already in big demand. In addition to these significant steps being taken to supply demand across the country there are now many Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving terminals coming online to receive large shipments of the cleaner fuel from overseas suppliers.

The chances of Asia outpacing the West in terms of investments on smart grid are slim in the near term, says an industry player.