Staff Reporter

An anticipated rise in sea level is likely to affect the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalapakkam.  It may also affect a plant under construction in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, India.

South Australia will get a new $750 million gas-fired power station to meet its demand in peak summer.

Cameco will supply 29 million pounds of uranium concentrate to CGNPC under a long-term agreement through 2025. China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co., Ltd. or CGNPC, China's largest clean-energy enterprise, operates three nuclear power stations and has the largest number of nuclear power plants under construction in the world. CGNPC indicates it has about 17,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity under construction and expects to have over 50,000 MW on line by 2020. "This long-term supply agreement with China Guangdong Nuclear Power is a significant step for our company in the world's fastest growing uranium market," said Cameco CEO Jerry Grandey. "China Guangdong Nuclear Power has 14 nuclear power units currently under construction and is commencing preliminary work on another nine units. This deal leaves us well positioned to serve the company's growing uranium requirements." Reports from China indicate the country plans to increase its nuclear capacity from the current 11 gigawatts (GW) to at least 80 GW by 2020. A further increase to 120-160 GW or more is planned by 2030. "This agreement is further evidence that our plan to double uranium production by 2018 aligns well with China's remarkable nuclear reactor construction program," added Grandey.

Chinese engineers have developed large reactor systems based on the French model and may be able to export by 2013.

China’s nationwide power generation volume rose 14.9 percent year-on-year to 3.422 billion kilowatt hours in the first 10 months. The growth rate was up 11.7 percentage points year-on-year. According to Capital Vue citing the National Development and Reform Commission website, in the first 10 months, thermal power generation rose 14.4 percent year-on-year, with the rate of growth up 12.6 percentage points from a year ago. Hydropower generation rose 16.2 percent year-on-year, with the rate of growth up 8.1 percentage points year-on-year. Power generation in October rose 5.9 percent year-on-year to 332.9 billion kilowatt hours. The growth rate was down by 11.2 percentage points year-on-year. Thermal power generation fell 0.6 percent while hydropower generation gained 43 percent year-on-year. In the first 10 months, power consumption nationwide totaled 3.485 trillion kilowatt hours, including 84.1 billion kilowatt hours used by primary industries, 2.593 trillion kilowatt hours by secondary industries, 376.8 billion kilowatt hours by tertiary industries and 431.1 billion kilowatt hours by rural and urban households. Power consumption in October totaled 340 billion kilowatt hours.

The Sri Lankan government is eyeing a High Capacity Power Transmission Link in a joint venture with India.

ADB will extend $120 million in loans to Papua New Guinea for renewable energy facilities. The country suffers critical electricity supply gaps in provincial urban centers.

Four nuclear power plants are in the works in the Henan cities of Nanyang, Xinyang, Luoyang and Pingdingshan. This was revealed by Zhang Dawei, vice governor of Henan Province, according to the Global Times.

Chhattisgarh will get 50 per cent power from the NTPC's upcoming 4,000 MW coal-fired power plant in the Raigarh district.

Chugoku Electric Power Co would restart the 820-megawatt No.2 reactor at its sole Shimane nuclear plant around Dec. 2. Power generation is then expected to resume on Dec. 6.

Taiwan will have its first offshore wind farm in Changhua County, central Taiwan by 2013.

CLP supports Government's proposed strategy of adopting a carbon intensity target for Hong Kong which will contribute to the national target.

Energy Matters will sell 20 megawatts of solar panels in one of the largest single solar supply agreements in Australia.

AES Corporation will develop a 150MW wind project worth US$375 million in Pakistan’s Gharo Corridor.

A joint venture involving ADB will develop and operate 500 megawatts of renewable energy projects in India in the next three years. The joint venture agreement was signed by the Asian Development Bank with India’s National Thermal Power Corporation and Japan’s Kyushu Electric Power Company. "The new joint venture company will help India achieve its goal of reducing the country's dependence on fossil fuels, will cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve its energy security," said Michael Barrow, Director in ADB's Private Sector Operations Department,  who signed the agreement in New Delhi. "We hope this company will also provide an example to other foreign investors looking at India's renewable energy sector." Under its National Action Plan on Climate Change, the Indian government has set a target of generating 15 per cent of its total power from renewable sources by 2020. Currently, renewable energy accounts for 10 per cent of total power capacity in India while 65 per cent comes from thermal power plants—mostly coal-fired—which generate the majority of the country's carbon emissions. The remainder of India's power comes from hydropower and nuclear power. "India now has the capacity to generate just over 11,000 megawatts of wind power, but, with the right investment, that could increase to almost 48,000 megawatts. At the same time, small hydropower has the potential to generate about 15,000 megawatts of power and, what's more, is often the best way of providing electricity to low-income households in remote areas," said Don Purka, Senior Investment Specialist with ADB's PSOD. NTPC, the largest power generating company in India with a 33 per cent market share, is majority owned by the Government of India but operates on a commercial basis as an independent company. It currently has a generating capacity of 32,694 megawatts but is working to increase that to 75,000 megawatts by 2017. Under the joint venture agreement, ADB will invest up to US$40 million for a 25 per cent stake in the company. The move is part of ADB's goal of investing $2 billion a year in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Asia and the Pacific to help put the region on a sustainable deve opment path. NTPC will have a 50 per cent holding in the company with Kyushu Electric Power owning the remaining 25 per cent.

Huadian Power has secured approval from the Development and Reform Commission to build two wind power projects in Hebei.