Staff Reporter

India suffered a 6.6 percent deficit in power supply during the first quarter of the current fiscal, according to Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Trina Solar has secured a 30MW module supply agreement with Huanghe Hydropower Development Co.

Mahindra EPC Services will use SunPower solar panels and T0 Tracker technology for multiple grid-connected solar power plants in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat regions, planned for this year.

The state of Victoria’s premium feed-in tariff will be phased out through an interim programme, which will commence once Victoria meets its current capacity cap of 100MW.

Phoenix Solar Singapore has placed an order with Schott Solar for 67,000 PV modules for two projects being developed near Bangkok, Thailand. The total order is equivalent to approximately 16MW.

Japan plans to set up a new atomic safety regulator under the Environment Ministry by merging the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency with another government advisory body.

Delays at the turbine generator box up works at the unit-2 of Bellary stage 2 thermal power project will likely push back the full load achievement by another 4 months.

Karnataka Power Corporation Limited has requested for domestic gas allocation for its 2x700 MW gas based power plant near Bangalore and 3x700 MW GBPP in the Tadadi coastal area.

Vietnam persists in supporting efforts against proliferation of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction towards full disarmament, said Ambassador Le Hoai Trung. Ambassador Trung, Head of the Delegation of Permanent Representatives of Vietnam to the UN, was speaking at the July 27-28 UN General Assembly plenary meeting on revitalising the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in New York. As an active member of the UN, Vietnam has participated in and seriously fulfilled its obligations to significant international treaties on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, the ambassador said. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is closely cooperating with ASEAN countries and other partners in implementing Treaty on Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, contributing to maintaining regional peace and security. The diplomat praised CD’s previous contributions and recognised recent progress in disarmament, naming the effectiveness of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between Russia and the US in February this year and the success of the conference reviewing the treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapon in May 2010. Ambassador Trung called on CD members to early approve a working programme and set up a negotiating mechanism for four major pillars of the agenda: nuclear disarmament, ensuring nuclear security for nations without nuclear weapons, cutting down the production of nuclear fission substance and preventing an arm race in the universe with priority giving to nuclear disarmament. The strengthening of peace and international security will create an essential environment for disarmament to progress, Trung said.

Vietnam's electricity sector will increase the capacity of power supply in the north, central and southern regions to meet domestic consumer demands.

Works on the associated transmission system of NHPC's 45 MW Nimoo Bazgo hydro-electric project are likely to slip into the 12th plan period.

A natural gas-fired thermal plant will be built in Tokyo by the city government.   Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said that the local government will get the help of private funding including foreign investment, as the capital faces uncertainty over future power supply. Construction of the plant is estimated to cost around JPY50 billion or $640 million and will be built and operated by a private sector on a site offered by the local government. The power generated from the plant will be equal to one nuclear plant.

Lanco Infratech will invest over Rs 13,000 crore in setting up a 2,000-Mw power plant and developing a coal block at Raigarh in Chhattishgarh.

Indian nuclear plants will be able to withstand “extreme natural events” like tsunamis, cyclones, floods and dam breaks, according to a nuclear safety review.

J-Power has closed two thermal power plants due to a steam leak and a problem with a transformer.

The 600 MW unit-1 of the Anpara 'C' thermal power plant has been shut down to inspect the normal linkages.