News

China is building its largest intertidal wind farm in Rudong county, Jiangsu province.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc's (9501.T) main lenders will begin talks this week to decide conditions to lend Japan's biggest utility, also known as Tepco, an additional 1 trillion yen ($13.01 billion), at the government's request, business daily The Nikkei said. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T) unit Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and other financial institutions have already infused funds in Tepco, including about 2 trillion yen in emergency financing last spring, the daily said. The government plans to inject 1 trillion yen in public funds to help Tepco pay for decommissioning reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and have private sector financial institutions provide about 1 trillion yen in working capital financing, Nikkei said. Tepco and the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund have indicated to financial institutions that they plan to restart the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in about two years, the daily said. If nuclear plants that have been idled since the March earthquake and tsunami cannot be brought back online, Tepco's earnings would take a hit because it would need to rely more on fossil fuel, Nikkei said.

Tata Power has commissioned its 4,000MW power station in Gujarat, India.

Myanmar has halted construction of a 4,000 megawatt coal-fired power plant following an outcry over its environmental impact.

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing markets of renewable energy, said experts at the launching  of the Institute of Clean Energy Training and Research.

The State Agency for Alternative & Renewable Energy is preparing a draft state strategy to be completed in about six months.

The Joint Secretary of India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy believes that solar power will attain grid parity by 2017. Sec. Tapun Kapoor based his assessment on the response from the Solar Manufacturing Industry to levelize cost that is equal to or less than the price of purchasing power from the grid. Kapoor said this while presenting the Solar Power Scenario in India during the recently concluded 27th Meeting of Forum of Regulators. Reaching grid parity is an important point in the development of new sources of power, such as solar power, as it is the point at which it becomes a contender for widespread development without subsidy support.

The Orissa Electricity Regulatory Commission announced that 30,000 MW solar thermal power projects could be set up in 10% of wasteland in the state were to be made available for solar power installation.

Nepal will import additional 150MW from the Indian electricity market despite the latter's power deficit.

China intends to increase the electricity it derives from wind power by 25 times to 1,000GW.

 Azure Power has commissioned its third solar plant, located in Rajasthan, in just under two years.

Vietnam Electricity Group estimates it suffered a VND3.5 trillion loss in 2011.

The Three Gorges Power Plant generated 78.29 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2011.