News

Taiwan’s largest solar plant has been connected to the grid 18 months after construction started.

Vietnam's Department of Industry and Trade and the provincial Center of Industrial Promotion launched its energy saving program, which has been planned and implemeted from the start of 2011.

After the shutdown of Genkai nuclear plant only 10 reactors in Japan with a capacity of 8,684 MW are currently generating electricity, leaving just 17.7 percent of the nation's total nuclear power capacity in use.

Kyushu Electric revealed the 1,180-megawatt No.4 reactor at its Genkai nuclear plant shut down automatically  following a problem with the unit's cooling system. The utility has been checking the cause of the trouble, a company spokesman said, adding that it did not know immediately whether the shutdown would have an impact on stable power supplies to its customers.

BHEL has bagged a Rs 3,800-crore order from Dainik Bhaskar Power for setting up a 1,320-Mw thermal power plant in Madhya Pradesh.

India’s Nalco signed an agreement for setting up a 1,250-Mw coal-based power plant in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province at an investment of US $4.5 billion.

According to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, nuclear power could play an essential role for the country that could last for decades.

The Ministry of Coal has been forced to step in and help expedite the commissioning activities at the site of the 250 MW Barsingar thermal power project, which is being operated by Neyveli Lignite Corporation.

Chubu Electric Power would join other utilities in Japan in asking its customers to keep saving power this winter due to lack of enough surplus to meet peak-hour demand.

The average run rate was 66.7% a year ago, according to Reuters.

State owned Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) said that it had commissioned the transmission system for two units of the Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) in Gujarat. The 4,000 Mw Mundra project, being developed by Tata Power, would be the first UMPP to start power generation in the country. “The line is ready to evacuate power from two units of Mundra UMPP (2X800 Mw) in normal condition and more than 1,200 Mw in the contingency from today onwards,” Power Grid said in a statement. The transmission system was commissioned on Thursday. According to the statement, the system commissioned consists of high capacity Mundra-Bachau-Ranchodpura 400 kV double circuit line along with 630 MVA Bachau 400/220 kV sub-station. These are part of the transmission system associated with Mundra UMPP, being implemented by Power Grid at an estimated cost of about Rs 5,000 crore, it added. “About 770 circuit kilometer transmission line has been commissioned in challenging conditions like passing through tough terrains in creek area of Arabian Sea… Excessive water logging due to heavy rains, etc,” the statement said.  

The Board of Directors of the United States Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has recently announced a $150 million financing to expand the use of solar energy to power telecommunication towers in India, a project that will significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

China electricity industry has been restructured by separating the design and construction businesses from power grids and firms and establishing two new companies. The two new firms, PowerCorp China and China Energy Engineering Group Co. Ltd., are both solely funded by the state, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The separation of auxiliary businesses from the nation's power grids and power generating companies was part of the country's efforts to reform the power industry as formulated by the State Council in 2002, said Wang Yong, head of SASAC. After the restructuring, the state-owned Sinohydro Corporation, HydroChina Corporation, together with the design and construction units previously affiliated with the State Grid and the China Southern Power Gird in Shanghai, Hebei, Jilin and 11 other regions, will merge into PowerCorp, with assets totaling 196 billion yuan or US 30.63 billion U.S. dollars and 202,700 employees. CEEG has also taken over the other two state-owned enterprises, the China Gezhouba Corporation and the China Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation, along with auxiliary units previously operated by the State Grid and the China Southern Power Gird in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi and 13 other provinces or regions. CEEG has assets totaling 120 billion yuan and 160,000 staff.

The Burmese government has suspended a highly controversial hydroelectric dam project due to growing public opposition.

San Miguel Corp will not pursue a $1 billion conversion of a 620-megawatt power plant it acquired in 2009 and is now looking to sell it.

Tokyo Electric Power Co expects to be able to supply 53,000 megawatts of power this winter, around 6 percent of a meet projected peak demand of about 50,000 MW., reports Reuters.