Indonesia slash-and-burn deforestation may trigger ‘climate bomb,’ Greenpeace says

November 8, 2007 (IHT) – Industry-driven deforestation in Indonesia could “detonate a climate bomb” if not brought under control, the environmental group Greenpeace said Thursday.

A report by Greenpeace, launched in Singapore, said the burning of Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands to build palm oil plantations releases massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Every year 1.8 billion tons of emissions are released by the practice, accounting for 4 percent of global emissions.

“Trade in palm oil by some of the world’s food giants and commodity traders is helping to detonate a climate bomb in Indonesia’s rainforests and peatlands,” the report said. “Efforts to prevent dangerous climate change will not succeed unless this and other industries driving forest destruction are brought under control.”

New Asian Cities Go Green, Pursue Sustainable Design

November 6, 2007 (Architectural Record) – The word “sustainable” is not often used to describe the pollution-choked cities of Asia, but the continent is poised to host a new generation of green cities that right the wrongs of industrial-era urban planning. The question “Could we do better?” motivated New York-based SHoP Architects to take on one such project, the high-tech Sector 61 node of Gurgaon, India.

“We feel like if you can set a good example there, with all the building that’s about to occur, you can have a much bigger impact than designing some LEED Platinum building here in New York,” says SHoP co-founder Gregg Pasquarelli.

Sector 61 is one among a series of commissions in which internationally known designers are creating whole neighborhoods and cities to capture and direct Asia’s sudden urbanization. Other examples include the Shanghai satellite city Dongtan, designed by Arup, and the competition for a 1.6 million-square-foot eco-quarter in Singapore, recently won by Foster + Partners.

Images: Courtesy Balmori Associates

Balmori Associates’ in-house studio Balmorilab teamed with Haeahn Architecture and H Associates to design the Public Administration Town district of Multi-Functional Administrative City in South Korea. Roughly 9.7 million square feet of buildings will be sheltered by a nearly continuous green roof, nestled into the landscape.

Cashing in on China’s Demand for Clean Water

Water treatment could be clean tech’s next big growth sector in the mainland, as economic expansion has led to shortages

November 6, 2007 (BusinessWeek) – Singapore’s first desalination plant opened in 2003. It was located on a piece of land in the island-state’s west that had itself been reclaimed from the sea some years before. The plant is now contracted to turn seawater into 136,000 cubic meters of drinking water a day for the resource-strapped island-state.

The plant is surprisingly quiet. It operates with hardly any noise and is run by just 10 workers. Add a perpetual sea breeze and, as one staff member at the plant noted, it’s practically like being at a holiday resort.

Now, Hyflux, the company behind the Singapore plant, is building a similar facility in China’s coastal city of Tianjin to service a refinery owned by oil and gas giant Sinopec. It will be China’s largest seawater desalination plant, with an output of 100,000 cubic meters, when it is completed in 2009.

“The problems in China, especially environmental ones, are an opportunity for us,” said Sam Ong, Hyflux’s chief investment officer.

First-ever carbon trading deal signed in Singapore

November 5, 2007 (Channel News Asia) – A Singapore-based company, ecoWise, has tied up with Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Company to tackle climate change.

Under the four-year deal, the first to be signed in Singapore, ecoWise will trade carbon credits for Kansai, Japan’s second largest power firm.

The firm estimates it will need to procure up to 13 million carbon credits between now and 2012. 

China Holdings, Inc. Announces 2nd Biomass Renewable Energy Project (50MW)

November 5, 2007 (CNNMoney) – China Holdings, Inc. , a global diversified asset holdings Company, and its subsidiaries engage in multiple China-focused business activities including energy, renewable energy, resources, utilities, finance, real estate, and pharmaceuticals, announced today the Company has executed its 2nd development contract for the exclusive rights to develop and construct the 2nd Biomass Renewable Energy Project (Power Capacity: 50 MW) through its controlled subsidiary “China Power, Inc.” with the local government in AnHui Province, the People’s Republic of China. The breakthrough brought the Company potential power capacity: 100 MW in a biomass energy pipeline

Biodiesel continues to grow in Asia, says Frost & Sullivan

November 5, 2007 (Energy Current) – Asia Pacific’s biodiesel consumption is likely to reach 1.2 million tonnes (1.32 million tons) in 2007, with China, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines being the largest markets, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.

Biodiesel production in the region, which previously focused on export markets especially for the European Union (EU), will be increasingly driven by domestic demand, the report, Strategic Analysis of the Asia Pacific Biodiesel Industry, said.

Government mandates and other policies favouring biodiesel use will drive demand to around eight million tonnes (8.8 million tons) by 2013. “The governments of New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea have introduced blending mandates, either for biofuels as a class or specifically for diesel, which will create a guaranteed market, although the blending percentages are generally low when compared to the EU market,” Frost & Sullivan’s Director of Industrial Technologies Mark Dougan said.

Singapore enterprises encouraged to tap into solar energy technology

November 5, 2007 (Channel News Asia) – At a renewable energy conference Monday, SPRING Singapore urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and businesses to tap into one of the most readily-available forms of fuel – solar energy.

The agency has previously announced initiatives to provide not only financial backup, but also research and development support for SMEs in this sector.

And according to a study by the National University of Singapore (NUS), if all HBD blocks were equipped with solar panels, energy they tap from the sun could provide for at least half of the energy consumption needs of HDB households.

As part of the efforts to reduce dependence on fuel, Singapore is seeking to develop better technology in renewable energy.

McLeod Russel acquires 55,000 hectares of land in East India to plant Jatropha

November 2, 2007 (Hindu Business Line) – McLeod Russel, the world’s largest producer of tea, has diversified into bio-fuel in partnership with D1 of the UK and is making progress. About 55,000 hectares has been acquired in Jharkhand and North-east for jatropha plantation under contract farming and there was a proposal to acquire lands in Orissa also. “We have written to the West Bengal Government expressing our desire to undertake jatropha plantation in the State but we’re still awaiting a reply,” he said. The first refinery would be set up in the North-east next year. “Our plan is to grow jatropha over 200,000 hectares and produce bio-fuels and the estimated investment would be between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 crore,” he said.

Auto biggies bet on green tech

November 5, 2007 (Times of India) – At a dinner for scores of journalists and dealers from the Asia-Pacific region hosted by him on the sidelines of the Tokyo Motor Show last week, Honda Motor Co President and CEO Takeo Fukui stopped by for a chat at a table with Indian journalists.

A veteran auto journo was quick to grab the opportunity to pop a question: How are you going to reconcile your professed commitment to environmental efficiency with the promise of making your cars fun to ride? Fukui was unfazed by the question: “You’ll find out for yourself tomorrow,” he said with a confident smile.

What the Honda CEO was referring to was the fact that the Indian journalists invited by his company to visit the Motor Show, would be test driving the FCX concept car at Honda proving grounds, about 100 km north of Tokyo the next day. With a maximum speed of 160 kmph and a sleek design, the new concept car is already a significant improvement over its earlier version. What’s more, it costs less to produce.

China’s Perfect Field in US$1.8 billion S’pore solar deal

Chinese solar energy group Perfect Field Investment said it would take over Singapore’s Rowsley in a deal worth S$2.7 billion ($1.8 billion) to fund its expansion as demand for renewable energy products grows.The company will produce solar modules, solar cells and panels.

“We expect substantial growth in the solar cell industry in the coming years. This growth will be driven by accelerating global demand for renewable energy,” Rowsley Chief Executive Koh Kim Huat said in a statement.