Staff Reporter

The Japanese government and Tepco said that they are now aiming to bring the Fukushima Daiichi plant to a cold shutdown within this year, instead of by January as initially planned.

Hydro power seems like the simplest form of renewable power to install – but the devil is in the details as some failed mini-hydro projects at Sarawak Power shows.

The companies will mutually promote new combined-cycle power plants for projects in Japan, and other Asian countries as well.

The environmental retrofitting of power plants in Asia is coming to an end as the CDM business dries up with no clear successor to the Kyoto protocol, warn analysts.

“I plan to take measures to lift the Emergency Evacuation Preparation Zone this week if possible,” said Goshi Hosono, the minister in charge of responding to the nuclear crisis.

The updated gauge provides oil and gas facilities with an innovative tank solution that ensures safety, regulatory compliance and cost-effectiveness.

The RM7.5 billion Bakun hydroelectric project with an installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts will be fully operational on October 4, revealed Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) CEO Torstein Dale Sjotreit.

Power giant Alstom is staking its future range of engines on the belief that operators will need more flexibility in the operation of their power plants and has responded with a new rating of KA26 engines with some rather interesting characteristics.

The lights are coming back on in Tokyo, thanks in part to the extremely fast installation of GE gas turbines which are plugging the energy gap left by the closure of the Fukishima nuclear plant.

The country is on the verge of missing the capacity addition targets for 11th Plan, with a cumulative capacity addition of merely 8,101 MW during the third quarter of FY 2011-12 likely to increase the burden of achieving the target for the last quarter of the year. The goal for the 11th plan was initially set to 78,577 MW, which was later scaled down to 62,374 MW by the Planning Commission. Even this revised target seems to be out of reach, since only 50,282 MW will be added by the third quarter end and the remaining amount of 11,092 MW will be too high to be achieved in the last quarter. The situation for the ongoing quarter looks bleak, with the estimated addition for the month of September likely to fall short of its target of 7,743 MW. Although the thermal capacity addition is likely to double over a period of 4 months from 6,580 MW to 13,101 MW, the goals set for the quarter are too ambitious and may not be fulfilled by the contribution of thermal and hydro sectors. According to the estimates provided by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the capacity addition by nuclear sector will amount to 1,000 MW for both November and December, whereas that by hydro sector will only increase by 580 MW during the quarter period.

Orient Green Power Company Limited (OGPL), a renewable energy company said that, through its subsidiary Beta Wind Farms Ltd, it synchronized another 40.80 Mw capacity to the state grid of Tamil Nadu.  This Wind Farm is located at Kazugumalai in the Tirunelveli / Thuthukudi districts in Tamil Nadu. Orient Green Power Europe a subsidiary of OGPL also synchronized 10.5 Mw in Croatia recently. With these additions, OGPL has attained an operating capacity of 250 Mw of wind energy apart from the 50 Mw of Biomass based power. With 245 Mw of green power in Tamil Nadu, OGPL is one of the leading renewable energy IPP in the state. OGPL’s total operating capacity totals to 300 Mw comprising both wind and biomass. During the current financial year the company has added 80 Mw till date and plans to add another 147 Mw before this fiscal. Another 100 Mw of Wind capacity is planned to be added by June’12 – before the beginning of next wind season. Plans are on to add further capacities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and also in possibly Maharashtra. The steady increase in capacity will see the company consolidate its position as the leading independent renewable energy-based power generation company in India. T Shivaraman, vice chairman, OGPL, said, “We plan to cross 500 Mw mark by Q2 of 2012-13 and will continue to be a significant player in the Renewable Energy space in India. This capacity addition will lead to enhanced availability of power, especially in rural Tamil Nadu and also offers employment to the people in the region directly and indirectly.

Lacking energy and wishing to develop clean energy sources, Vietnam has become the attractive destination for foreign clean energy investors. When announcing the project to build a solar panel factory in HCM City in March, the US First Solar group aims to make more profits with the low-cost solar cell technology, about 78 cent per watt. The project by First Solar to increase the capacity from 1.4GW to 2.7GW, which is expected to create 600 jobs in Vietnam, has the total investment capital of one billion dollars. IC Energy has also set up a solar panel factory in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone with the investment capital of more than 390 million dollars. Meanwhile, German Roth&Rau has also invested 275 billion dong in a factory in the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park. A lot of other large-scaled wind power projects in Vietnam have also been kicked off. The 99MW wind power plant in Bac Lieu province has the total investment capital of 4500 billion dong. One of the biggest equipment suppliers of the project is the US-based GE Group. A project on wind power plant in Tra Vinh province has been developed by German EAB, which is expected to have the capacity of 30MW. Meanwhile, a project in Soc Trang is expected to have the capacity of 300MW when becoming operational. Meanwhile, sources say that the US Cenergy Power is moving ahead with the solar energy projects in the two islands of Cat Hai and Bach Long Vi. Investment funds jump into clean energy sector Of the 150 million euro worth of ODA (official development assistance) capital granted by the German government to Vietnam in 2010-2011, 33 percent of the capital will be poured into the energy sector and climate change. This has helped catch more attention from foreign investors when considering investment plans in Vietnam. Besides this, the market now has favorable conditions to develop, because a lot of investment funds which plan to funnel capital into the recycle energy sector have been established. A World Bank’s survey on the energy for Asia conducted in 2010, shows that Vietnam has great advantages to make wind power with the total potential capacity of 500,000 MW, which is 200 times higher than the capacity of Son La hydropower plant and 10 times higher than the forecast total electricity capacity to be reached by 2020. Vietnam has 8.6 percent of its area which is believed to have “good” and “very good” potentials to set up big-scaled wind power stations, and more than 40 percent of land in rural areas for small-scaled stations. Meanwhile, scientists have warned that Vietnam may meet big problems in the future, when the electricity consumption is forecast to increase by 20 percent, while the electricity output increases by 13 percent only. Indochina Capital has set up MRRF with the capital of 50 million dollars, a fund which plans to pour money into recycle energy and environment projects. The fund also plans to mobilize 150 million dollar worth of capital from other sources which will then be injected in wind, solar power plants, small hydropower plants and energy saving projects. Prior to that, Dragon Capital announced the establishment of the regional Mekong Brahmaputra fund which specializes in making investment in recycle energy, clean water production and waste treatment. To date, 45 million dollars worth of capital has been mobilized from financial institutions such as FMO, ADB, Finnfund and BIO, while the capital is expected to increase to 100 million dollars this year. IFC and Norwegian SN Power have also agreed on the establishment of InfraVentures which specializes in seeking investment opportunities in recycle energy projects. For the last many years, IFC has been well known as a big investor in energy saving and clean production sectors.  

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said the project to build a natural-gas pipeline across the divided peninsula is “a win-win for everyone involved”.

To make up for the decline in nuclear power generation, the country will boost power conservation and the use of renewable energy in its new electricity portfolio.

Struthers Wells, a Babcock Power company, announced the opening of a new Babcock Power offices in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.

Areva T&D India will construct two 765kV extra-high-voltage substations worth US$45 million in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.