Newswire

May 16, 2013
Japan has begun what will likely be the first permanent shutdown of one of its reactors since the Fukushima disaster on the grounds that it is built atop an active earthquake fault.
May 16, 2013
Japan-based renewable energy projects developer Eurus Energy Holdings, a joint venture between Toyota Tsusho and Tokyo Electric Power, is planning to construct a USD480 million solar plant. The 115-MW solar plant planned in the northern part of the country is expected to commence construction in July 2013. 
May 16, 2013
A source from China's top economic planning body said the authority has finished collecting opinions about the feed-in tariff ratings of China's solar industry, which indicates the finalized scheme may be issued soon, according to the China Securities Journal.
May 16, 2013
Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia and beachwear brand Quiksilver have signed an agreement with Indonesian flag-carrier airline, Garuda, to co-operate on reducing rubbish along the coast of Bali.
May 16, 2013
The chairman and acting president of Sinovel Wind Energy Group, Wei Chiyuan, has resigned as of one of the country's largest makers of wind turbines struggles amid an industry downturn, according to a report in news portal, Caixin Online.
May 16, 2013
Despite acknowledging that it will negatively impact rare fish and flora on the upper reaches of Dadu River in Sichuan province, China's environment ministry has approved the construction of the country's tallest hydroelectric dam
May 15, 2013
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), together with an unnamed international partner, will inject at least USD10 million into Chinese LED technology specialist Qingdao Jason Electric, a developer of deep ultraviolet LED technology for used in air and water purification and medical equipment sterilization.
May 15, 2013
WWF has withdrawn from a controversial wetlands housing project being planned by Cheung Kong Holdings, one of Hong Kong’s biggest property developers. The NGO says it is no longer confident that plans for Fung Lok Wai project, which is located near the Mai Po Marshes – a critical sanctuary for migratory wetland birds – would meet conservation objectives.
May 15, 2013
With a series of new technical standards designed to enhance smart meter quality management and control set to come into force in August, China’s smart meter market to expand by 9 percent and break the 100 million-unit shipment threshold for the first time ever this year, according to market research company IHS iSuppli.
May 15, 2013
California’s Solaria Corporation, which specializes in solar photovoltaic modules for tracking applications, has announced new operations in China to meet what it calls “demand for high-efficiency, large-scale solar projects.”
May 14, 2013
Shanghai is promoting the sale of recycled water among corporations as a way to save the resource. In one trial project, Shanghai Shenmei Beverage & Food Co Ltd, the local producer of Coca-Cola, will pump its reclaimed water from its factory in the Pudong New Area to Sharp China, which is in the same industrial park. According to the Shanghai Water Authority, Shenmei's reclaimed water was produced after purifying the water used to wash beverage bottles. It will be used to flush toilets or as cooling water for Sharp's air-conditioners.
May 14, 2013
In the face of mounting criticism, China has completed the first draft of a Soil Protection Law, but it is doubtful that it will be included in the State Council’s legislation plan until 2014 at the earliest.
May 14, 2013
Renewable energy companies from China and Hong Kong are facing debts of USD3.5 billion this year and the equivalent of USD5.3 billion of notes due next year, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, citing Bloomberg data.
May 14, 2013
Indonesia’s palm oil producers must stop establishing new plantations on peatland if they want to obtain certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
May 14, 2013
South Korea is paving the way for the introduction of a carbon price potentially as high as USD90 a tonne for many of the country’s key industries, according to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) and Ernst & Young.
May 13, 2013
China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGN) is planning to invest 4.5 billion yuan (USD731 million) in an offshore wind farm adjacent to one of the islands of Pingtan Country, off the coast of Fujian Province. The company says, rather optimistically, that it hopes to start project construction next year.
May 13, 2013
China Merchants New Energy Group, a Hong Kong-based renewable-energy project developer, will form a joint venture with Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Investment Co to invest USD489 million to develop solar farms.
May 13, 2013
Vietnam’s Prime Minister has approved a master plan for the building of an extensive drainage and waste water treatment system in residential areas and industrial parks in the Nhue-Day river basin, part of Red rivers system, by 2030.
May 13, 2013
India once dominant wind giant Suzlon Energy has been booted from its top spot and replaced by another local turbine supplier, Wind World (India) Ltd, formerly known as Enercon (India) Ltd.
May 10, 2013
Fish piracy - seafood caught illegally, not reported to authorities or outside environmental and catch regulations - represents as much as USD10 billion to USD23 billion in global losses each year, claims a non-profit conservation group. The report also estimated that the illegal trade threatens 260 million jobs that are dependent on marine fisheries.