Staff Reporter

Petrovietnam has secured a $95 million loan to build a $1.6 billion coal-fired power plant in central Vietnam.

KST Energy and Russia’s Energoproekt Company signed a contract to perform a feasibility study for building a thermal power plant near the proposed refinery project at the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone, Binh Dinh Province.

With the Indian power sector projected to attract a total investment of US$300 billion or RM885 billion by 2017, Malaysian power companies are ideally placed to profit from the opportunities.

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi appealed for a review of the ongoing dam projects in Kachin State.

The Chinese government’s new feed-in-tariff has the potential to increase solar installations in the country by 1.5GW in the next 18 months, according to a new IHS iSuppli report.

The Bank Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao will now accept electric bill payments for Elecitricite du Lao.

National Consulting Group will establish a power company in Vientiane and an office branch in Saravan province to operate the Houay Por hydropower plant construction project.

Saravan provincial authorities will cancel four of nine planned small-scale hydropower plant projects due to lack of progress for almost 18 months after investors signed an MoU with the government.

Japan will set up a new nuclear regulatory agency under the Environment Ministry instead of the trade ministry.   This is meant to increase the body's independence after the country’s atomic disaster, officials said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the Cabinet was expected to approve the plan by Monday. The current Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has been widely criticised for cosy ties with the nuclear industry under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which promotes nuclear energy. “We expect to make the agency an affiliate of the Environment Agency,” Edano said. “Environment and nuclear issues have a certain affinity for each other.” Under the plan, drafted by Goshi Hosono, minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, NISA would be integrated with the Nuclear Safety Commission, an independent panel of experts under the Cabinet Office, to become a more independent entity distanced from the nuclear industry and other promoters of atomic power.

The government of Nepal will formally request China for US $1.6 billion in loan to construct the 750 MW West Seti Hydro Project Limited.

But revenues will decline from $64.4b in 2010 to $56.9b in 2012 before recovering to $65.4b in 2016.

 Coal India Limited refuted charges pertaining to supply of poor quality coal to Kota and Suratgarh thermal power plants, as alleged by Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi, MP.

NHPC will set two hydro projects of total 400 Mw capacity in Uttarakhand.

APGENCO is struggling to resolve the contractual issue with dam contractor, Maytas-SNC JV, to avoid further delay in commissioning its 50 MW Nagarjuna Sagar hydroelectric project.

Mandatory safety inspections of existing nuclear power plants in the China has been completed by the China Nuclear Energy Association.

The Nam Theun 2 Power Company or NTPC remains unsure when its plant will resume electricity generation as the level of the Xebangfay River remains high.