Staff Reporter

CLP Nuclear Investment Company will invest CNY70 billion or $10.9billion in the Yangjiang nuclear power station in Guangdong, China.

NTPC’s power trading arm NTPC Vidyut Vypar Nigam would export 250 Mw of power to Bangladesh, from the company’s 15 per cent unallocated quota.

Energy Advisor Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury said the government will address shortcomings in the energy sector through comprehensive initiatives and adoption of state-of-the-art technology.

Mongolia has expressed its reservations to host a facility to store or dispose of spent nuclear fuel from other countries.

Chugoku Electric Power resumed operation at the trouble-hit Misumi thermal plant in Shimane Prefecture.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will procure 3.1 million tons of liquefied natural gas each year from an offshore gas field in northwestern Australia for up to 20 years beginning 2007.

Hokuriku Electric Power will build a liquefied natural gas-fueled power generation facility in Imizu, Toyama Prefecture.

Bangladesh's Energy Advisor Tawfiq-E-Elahi Chowdhury revealed that the government is working to set up a regional connectivity network to exchange power and energy among the countries in the region.

In an effort to help India meet its Solar Mission goal of 1000MW of grid-connected solar power projects by 2013, Thermax Limited and Amonix signed a new deal to bring CPV technology to India.

NTPC may commence work on its 1,320 Mw thermal project in Bangladesh in the next six months.

India's Reliance Power is seeking a loan of INR28bn ($625m) from the US Exim Bank for the construction of a 2,400MW gas-based power plant in Andhra Pradesh, India. The loan is a part of the $5bn deal with Reliance Power for the purchase of US-manufactured equipment for power projects. US Exim Bank president and chairman Fred Hoghberg told the Times of India. The company expects the loan to be disbursed by next month. Besides the $5bn deal with the US Exim Bank, Reliance Power has struck a deal with the Chinese Exim Bank for $12bn to fund power projects.  

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to construct a natural gas-fired thermal plant in Tokyo, Japan, amid the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said the plant will be constructed by the local government with the help of private capital including foreign investment, as the capital faces uncertainty over future power supply. Construction of the plant is estimated to cost around JPY50bn ($640m) 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, reports Dow Jones.  

Chubu Electric Power will construct a 16 kilometer long, 18 meter high tsunami defence wall around its Hamaoka nuclear plant in Tokyo at an estimated cost of around JPY100 billion or $1.3 billion.

Commissioning of Teesta III hydro electric project (HEP) unit-I is likely to slip to the next fiscal, 2012-13 according to the latest report of the Ministry of Power on associated transmission system (ATS) availability. ATS for the 200 MW unit-I includes a 456 circuit kilometers (CKM) long 400 kV D/C (Q) Teesta-III - Karandighi transmission line, for which stringing is yet to start. As of now only 40 towers have been erected out of a total 621 locations. Pace of works on all major fronts needs to be expedited including forest clearances in Sikkim and Bengal. Further, a contingency arrangement plan is in place. It includes 67.4 CKM long LILO of one circuit of Teesta V-Siliguri transmission line at Teesta III and 6.2 CKM long energy restoration system (ERS) with 24 towers. Notably, the stringing and tower erection for the above transmission line has not started, thus far. To accelerate pace, increase in resources needs to be expedited along with a supply of complete towers. Pertinently, works of balance on tower protos, testing and supply are behind schedule and timely procurement of the ERS system is crucial. The Teesta-III HEP, project under joint venture of Teesta Urja Limited and Government of Sikkim, envisages the construction of a 32.5 m high barrage across the Teesta river and a 125 m x 22 m x 56 m surface power house, with four Kaplan turbine generator units, of 33 MW capacity each. The project would afford an annual energy generation of 594.07 million units (MU), assuming 90% performance.  

South Korea announced an electricity price hike of an average 4.9% starting August in a bid to reflect growing power production costs into the electricity charges.

Hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh were shut down due to the high silt level in Sutlej river, sparking a power crisis in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.