Thailand plans to increase production of electricity from renewable sources to 25 percent of total output over the next 10 years to reduce imports and boost energy security, the Ministry of Energy said. Power generation from renewables will jump by 51 percent to 13,927 megawatts by 2021, from a current target of 9,201 megawatts, the ministry said in a statement yesterday. Under the new goal, approved by the ...

The Philippines Department of Energy (DOE) has approved South Korean-led Mirae Asia Energy Corp's solar power project in Ilocos Norte. Lito A. Badua, Mirae Energy vice president, told reporters that the DOE cleared the certificate of commerciality (COE) for the company's 20-megawatt solar farm in the municipality of Currimao. Mirae is a South Korean firm specializing in renewable energy technologies. The DO ...

Australia will replace its carbon tax with an emissions trading scheme (ETS) a year earlier than planned should Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labor government win this year's election. Rudd said today he wants the fixed price on carbon emissions to end on 30 June 2014, with a floating market linked to the European Union's ETS opening the following day. The Prime Minister's announcement that he would "terminat ...

India has a market potential of €2 billion for setting up high-voltage transmission lines by 2018, France-based Alstom believes. "The HVDC (high-voltage direct current) market is estimated at €50 billion in the next 10 years and Alstom targets a 20 per cent market share," the company said. The multinational conglomerate, which is into power generation and transport, said Americas, China, India and Europe ha ...

India’s move to stabilize its power grid by asking wind farms to accurately predict their output a day in advance or face fines will deepen the slowdown in Asia’s second-biggest wind market, Tata Power Co. said. A directive took effect this week ordering wind farms with a capacity of 10 megawatts or more to forecast their generation in 15-minute blocks for the following day. Missing estimates by more than 3 ...

Diversified energy utility AGL has swooped on troubled electricity retailer Australian Power and Gas, with an agreed takeover bid at 52 cents a share, a 33 per cent premium to the share price. Before the agreed offer, Australian Power shares were trading at 39 cents, which valued the company at $75 million. AGL has bought a 19.9 per cent stake in the target which gives it a strong position from the outset.  ...

Printing ink and materials manufacturer Toyo Ink Group Bhd is seeking shareholders’ consent for its diversification into the power sector in Vietnam, a project it first mooted in 2007. The 2,000MW coal-fired Song Hau 2 facility in Hau Giang, Vietnam, is estimated to cost US$3.5bil (RM11.2bil), it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, some US$1bil (RM3.2bil) more than what was announced in 2011. Th ...

Talk of switching to a floating carbon price was less than 24 hours old when one renewable energy company revealed plans to join, rather than beat, the fossil fuel industry. After years of trying to commercialise geothermal energy in the South Australian outback, ASX listed Petratherm announced plans to diversify into shale oil and gas in Tasmania. ”This decision by Petratherm to extend into unconventional ...

China's second-largest hydropower station became operational Monday with its first power generating unit officially starting work after a three-day test run. The No. 13 power generating unit with a capacity of 770,000 kw at the Xiluodu hydropower station started providing electricity to the China Southern Power Grid, its operator China Three Gorges Corporation said in a statement. With a total generating ca ...

Under the agreement, Vietcombank serves as the lead manager to arrange the syndicated loan of VND14.5 trillion, or roughly US$700 million, with the participation of other co-lenders namely Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) and Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank). Lai Chau hydropower plant project, comprising of t ...