The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently signed an agreement to lend up to US$200 million to China Everbright International Ltd. to develop waste-to-energy plants in secondary cities across China. This will mark ADBs first private-sector municipal solid waste management project.

Effective disposal of municipal solid waste is a serious environmental challenge in China, which has become the worlds largest producer of such waste, generating around 148 million tonnes per annum and growing at 8-10 per cent annually. Nearly half of this waste is untreated and dumped in unsuitable landfills meaning many urban poor, especially those living near the landfills, are exposed to severe air and water pollution, as well as to the threat of infectious diseases.

The project financing is in the form of a direct US$100 million A-loan and a complementary B-loan of up to US $100 million, funded by commercial lenders with ADB acting as lender of record. The loans will have a maturity of up to 10 years with a three-year grace period. ADB will also provide a technical assistance grant of up to US$653,000 from its Clean Energy Fund to evaluate the performance of the plants and communicate the lessons learned to municipal governments in China and to other ADB developing member countries.
Source: thegovmonitor.com/a>

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a wing of the World Bank Group, is persuading Bangladeshs financial institutions to roll out easy funds for businesses to produce energy-efficient products for sustainable development. As part of the move, IFC took top bankers from the country on a tour to China to inform them on the best practices there in sustainable energy finance and to expose them to real life cases, as well as allow them to meet relevant stakeholders in Chinas sustainable energy finance programme, said Ms. Afifa Raihana, a coordinator of IFCs South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF).

Sustainable energy or efficiency in energy use is a novel concept in Bangladesh. There are no guidelines from the regulator, nor do banks have the capacity to evaluate green projects. However, SEDF has joined hands with Bangladesh Bank to develop an environmental risk management guideline for the financial sector in the country, Ms. Raihana said. An international firm has been hired for the work. The guideline will be complemented by a 10 sector specific due diligence checklist and relevant training programmes so that financial institutions could adopt it. However, it will be non-binding and maintained by the central bank, Ms. Raihana said.
Source: www.thedailystar.net

Indonesia is ready to develop power plants that utilize solar energy on a large scale as one way to develop renewable energy sources and to fulfil electricity needs in remote areas. Indonesian President Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked PT LEN Industri (Persero) to design a master plan for developing solar energy. PT LEN is located in Bandung, and focuses on producing electronic infrastructure as well as developing sources of renewable energy, such as solar cells. So far, it has built a capacity of 6 MW in solar energy power plants, but this is far from the market needs, as the governments spending alone can reach 10 MW per year.
Source: www.tempointeractive.com

A century-old technology that was widely used during the World War II to power vehicles in Europe and had subsequently disappeared is now drawing the attention of 21st century investors, thanks to the persistent research efforts of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and other institutions across the world. Biomass gasification, which gained popularity before and during World War II, had almost become obsolete when IISc scientists started showing interest in the technology. A team of IISc scientists tweaked the process of gasification to such an extent that it has now become a highly lucrative energy production method, says Dr. S. Dasappa, who has been associated with the project for long.

The technology has now found renewable energy investors like the Singapore-based All Green Energy Pvt. Ltd. The company will launch 10 biomass-based renewable energy projects in India in the next two to three years, investing about Rs 5 billion (US$110 million). According to Mr. Anil Lala, Director, All Green Energy India Pvt. Ltd., the process is highly profitable as even the by-products (like activated carbon) have high market value.

The company plans to generate Rs 250-300 million (US$5.5-6.6 million) per plant per annum, of which 70 per cent will be through electricity sales, 15-20 per cent through activated carbon sales, 5 per cent from cold storage facilities and 5-10 per cent from carbon credits. We use IISc technology, which is proven and has been deployed in over 50 units in India and abroad, said Mr. Lala.
Source: www.expressbuzz.com

The Government of Pakistan would extend all possible support for the production and promotion of solar water heaters, which will drastically reduce gas consumption in the country, affirmed Mr. Raja Pervez Ashraf, Water & Power Minister and Chairman Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB). Mr. Raja, chairing an AEDB Board meeting recently, directed AEDB to help build a market for solar water heaters and take all steps to promote their use. Mr. Pervaiz Ashraf urged public sector organizations to take lead in switching over to solar water heating system.

The Minister informed that a private sector power generation company, Green Power, will soon start setting up wind farm in Jhimpir. It will be the countrys second wind farm after the one set up by Zorlu Enerji in last April. The new project expected to be launched in mid-2010 will comprise 33 wind turbine generators, each with an installed capacity of 1.5 MW wind turbine generator, with aggregate capacity to generate 50 MW of electricity.
Source: www.tradingmarkets.com

China has instituted a new system of differentiated wind energy tariffs based on four wind energy zones. The move is the first in Asia since the Republic of Korea implemented a feed-in tariff programme in 2005. China is the first jurisdiction outside Europe to implement wind energy tariffs differentiated by geographic location. Costs of the wind feed-in tariff programme above the cost of coal-fired generation will be split between provincial grid operators and the central government as in current policy. The new programme by Chinas National Development and Reform Committee was issued on 20 July 2009.

The wind feed-in tariffs themselves are less than those in Germany and France and less than those proposed in Ontario, Canada. The Chinese feed-in tariffs are said to be based on the differences in the wind resource across the country, and it may represent an innovative hybrid between the graduated wind energy tariffs in Germany or France and the single-value tariffs in Ontario in Canada, and Vermont and California in the United States. The magazine Power Engineering has reported that China is about to announce feed-in tariffs for solar pho-tovoltaic (PV). It quoted Suntech Chairman Mr. Zheng-rong Shi as suggesting the tariff for large-scale solar PV plants could be equivalent to US$0.22/kWh. Whether these tariffs also include access to state subsidies is unknown.
Source: www.renewableenergyfocus.com

The government of the Republic of Korea plans to spend 13.5 billion won (US$11 million) three times more than this years budget for a global joint development projects on energy next year. Of the total, 10.5 billion won (US$8.6 million) will be invested in projects targeted at enhancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technology development, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.

Research institutes or international organizations on energy around the world can sign up for the governments support programme through the website of Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning. In a related development, the Ministry would be announcing a comprehensive plan to form international joint projects on developing energy technology.
Source: www.koreaherald.co.kr

The Department of Energy (DoE) of the Philippines has approved the conversion and awarding of pre-development service contracts (PDSC) to nine wind and ocean thermal renewable energy projects to keep up with the provisions of the law. The conversion into PDSC was from pre-commercial contract (PCC), which was the prevailing award type for resource assessment prior to the passage of the Renewable Energy Law or Republic Act (RA) 9513. After resource assessment, the project proponents may move forward to development, after another round of approval by DoE.

The wind projects ready for PSDC awarding are those of: Energy Development Corporation, PetroEnergy Resources Corporation and Northern Luzon UPC Asia Corporation. The projects with PCCs for conversion into PDSC include those of Energy Logistics Philippines Inc. and Alternergy Philippine Holdings Corporation. For ocean thermal energy, the PDSC will be awarded to Deep Ocean Power Philippines Inc. The Deep Ocean project proposal covers 910 blocks in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, covering 73,710 ha.
Source: www.mb.com.ph

Abu Dhabis Zayed Future Energy Prize, which awarded its first prize in 2009, is unique among its peers in that anyone can enter or be nominated, making the Prize the most equitable and non-partisan award in the renewable energy field. The Prize, which recognizes innovation, long-term vision and leadership in renewable energy technologies, is worth US$2.2 million in total, with US$1.5 million going to the winner and US$350,000 each for up to two finalists. The Prize is supported by Masdar, a global cooperative platform for open engagement in the search for solutions to some of humankinds most pressing issues: energy security, climate change and the development of human expertise in sustainability.

The award is open to any individual, company or non-governmental organization that can demonstrate a tangible clean energy solution. Any party can be nominated or enter directly by visiting the website, www. zayedfutureenergyprize.com. Once a nomination is received, the organizers of the Future Energy Prize will invite the nominee to submit a formal entry according to specific criteria.

Last year, the Zayed Future Energy Prize attracted 204 nominations and 150 submissions from more than 50 countries. This year, over 350 nominations from more than 60 countries have been received eight weeks before the closing date of 16 October 2009.
Source: www.zawya.com

Indonesias central government has invited the countrys private sector and local governments to participate more in helping villages reach energy self-sufficiency, as it does not have adequate funds to run such programmes alone. Since 2007, 633 villages have reached energy self-sufficiency under the central governments energy self-sufficiency villages programme (DME) at the cost of about US$97.6 million, according to Mr. Bayu Krisnamurthi, a Deputy to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

Of about 70,000 villages in Indonesia, between 3,000 and 4,000 need to reach energy self-sufficiency, and this could cost up to US$545 million, while only about US$8.2 million has been invested this year, Mr. Krisnamurthi said. The government expects all of the 4,000 villages targeted would reach energy self-sufficiency by 2014, revealed Ms. Musdhalifah Machmud, Coordinator of the programme. The DME programme is aimed at increasing the opportunities for and productivity of economic activities in villages. It is also expected to become a tool to help bridge the gap between rich-resource areas and poor-resources ones.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com

Chinas top legislature has turned its attention to the creation of specific plans for the generation of more renewable energy, such as nuclear, wind and solar power. A draft amendment to the renewable energy law was submitted for first reading to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress (NPC), in a bid to remove the power transmission bottleneck that hinders industrial development. The draft requires related ministries to map out definite plans for meeting the nations long- and medium-term renewable energy targets, based on the overall national energy strategy and available technologies.

Chinas power grid development plan is falling behind that of the renewable energy, becoming a major block for reaching the countrys renewable energy target, said Mr. Wang Guangtao, Director of NPCs Environment and Resource Protection Committee. For instance, areas rich in wind power resources are concentrated in the remote northwest, northeast and southeast, where the power transmission network is poorly constructed, he said. More than 20 per cent of the countrys wind power machines did not generate any electricity last year because the equipment was not yet connected to the grid, according to officials of the China Wind Energy Association. The draft law hence stipulates the setting of a nationwide annual purchase quota for renewable energy sources to protect the interests of renewable energy enterprises.
Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn