November 2, 2007 (Mizzima News) – The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has extended a $60 million line of credit to Burma’s Foreign Trade Bank to finance the Thahtay Chaung hydropower project in western Burma.
The line of credit agreement was signed in Rangoon, on Oct 29th, on behalf of the Exim Bank by Executive Director S. R. Rao and on behalf of the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank by Managing Director Than Ye, a bank press release said.
November 2, 2007 (China Daily) – China is expected to become one of the leaders in the wind energy market and play an increasing role in combating climate change, weather experts and officials said yesterday.
“China and the United States will become the two major wind energy markets in the world,” Steve Sawyer, secretary-general of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), said at a press briefing where the 2007 China Wind Power Report was released.
Mid-size players and market entrants have more opportunities in the industry, which used to be dominated by European countries, he added.
China ranked fifth in terms of annual installed wind energy capacity last year, after the US, Germany, India and Spain.
But the latest official figures show that installed capacity is expected to reach 5 GW by the end of 2007 – three years ahead of the government-set 2010 target – propelling the country to the second place this year.
November 2, 2007 (MeriNews) – THE CONERGY GROUP has set up regional offices at four main cities – Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Bangalore for pursuing the B2B model with a wide network of distributors and dealers. The company’s first order worth € 27,034.00 75Wp x 100 has been executed. The sales revenues for 2007 are Mio. € 1 and should go up to Mio. € 5 in 2008. It is expected to double by 2009.
November 2, 2007 (Reuters) – Rising inflation in emerging countries in Asia is still manageable but further rises in oil prices would pose a long-term threat to the region’s economies, a senior Asian Development Bank official warned Thursday.
“Obviously, the increase in oil prices is a big challenge,” Jong-Wha Lee, head of Regional Economic Integration at the ADB, told Reuters in an interview.
Oil prices scaled record highs above $96 a barrel on Thursday, while China unexpectedly raised domestic gasoline and diesel prices by 10 percent, the first increase in 17 months.
November 2, 2007 (The Australian) – “THERE’S a worrying complacency about environmental issues in the aviation industry in Australia,” says Captain John Siebert, chairman of the aviation umbrella organisation, the Australian Aviation Council (AUSAC).
“Because aviation emissions are a relatively small part of the global problem, many parts of the industry believe that they can dismiss the issue as just another green fad. But this is already becoming a significant problem from private flyers to regional airlines, to the majors.”
Aviation is essentially a privately run activity, so it is easy for politicians to dump the blame on to non-government organisations and then stand back.
November 1, 2007 (Forbes) – China should set more ambitious targets for the development of wind power, said Greenpeace in a research report. The government has set a wind capacity target of 30 gigawatts by 2020, but it could have a total of 122 gigawatts by that year, equivalent to the capacity of five Three Gorges Dams, Greenpeace said in a report drawn up with the China Renewable Energy Industries Association (CRIEA) and the Global Wind Energy Council.
November 2, 2007 (Economic Times) – Here’s another global Indian takeover story. Little known Kolkata-based company, Environ Energy-Tech Service on Thursday announced the acquisition of Netherlands-based Shell’s solar energy businesses in India and Sri Lanka for an undisclosed sum.
The Rs 35-crore, closely-held Environ Energy-Tech has routed the global acquisitions through its mint fresh Singapore-based SPV, Environ Energy Global. Company sources hinted that Environ would shift its headquarters to Singapore in the near future for managing its global business.
The actual deal details remain hazy, but financial circles close to the development are pegging the transaction in the region of $100 million (about Rs 400 crore). Environ’s director Jyoti Poddar, however, declined to confirm this.
November 2, 2007 (Business Standard) – India has registered the largest number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in the world.
The country accounted for 283 CDM projects out of the 819 registered by the CDM Executive Board, Environment Secretary Meena Gupta said at the India Carbon Market Conclave, organised by Ficci, the environent ministry, the World Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association. Continue reading
Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) – Japan needs to implement measures to lower greenhouse gas emissions and avoid a bill of as much as 1.2 trillion yen ($10.5 billion) to buy carbon credits in global markets, a government report says.
Japan may fail to cut emissions and meet the target set out in the Kyoto Protocol, forcing the government to increase spending on credits to offset higher industrial pollution, the report by the finance ministry’s fiscal system council said. Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s government is reviewing plans to achieve the nation’s goal under the United Nations treaty.
October 31, 2007 (Reuters) – China’s worst fuel crisis in two years spread to the capital and other inland areas by Wednesday, and one man was killed in a brawl at a petrol station queue, upping pressure on the government to intervene. Diesel shortages in China’s political heart, which escaped previous supply crunches unscathed, highlight tensions between the government and its increasingly independent oil firms about who should pay for the country’s generous fuel subsidies. Continue reading
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