Britain has signed a dealt with a French energy company and Chinese investors to build the country's first nuclear power plant in 18 years, ignoring concerns raised by the Fukushima meltdown in Japan as the U.K. seeks to secure its future energy needs and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The government struck a deal with Electricite de France and a group of Chinese investors Monday to build the country's first ...

Sinovel says it has almost completed its design of a 10MW turbine and is currently in talks with suppliers about providing components for the machine. Speaking to Windpower Monthly at China Wind Power 2013, Sinovel vice-president and technical director Chen Danghui said: "The design for the 10MW turbine, funded by China's Ministry of Science and Technology (MST), is almost completed. We are stepping into th ...

India's electric utilities are at the threshold of a major transformation. Its Power Ministry has rolled out a smart grid vision and roadmap for India. The India Smart Grid Forum, a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Power, and the India Smart Grid Task Force have been established. And the country's first smart grid pilot has been deemed a success after roughly a year in operation in Puducherry ...

Intelligent Energy Ltd., a maker of fuel cells for cars, businesses and homes that’s working with Suzuki Motor Corp., raised $51 million to expand. The money, the most raised since the company started operating, will be used to expand research and development and enable the commercial start-up of its consumer electronics and stationary back-up power systems, the Loughborough, England-based company said toda ...

Vietnam is pressing ahead with Southeast Asia's most ambitious civilian nuclear energy program despite safety fears over the technology following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Foreign companies and governments are competing to get a toehold in an industry that could be worth $50 billion by 2030, according to estimates by U.S. officials. Those plans received a boost last week with the announcement that the Un ...

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has agreed to provide a $50m loan to Pakistan for the country's 969MW Neelum Jhelum hydropower plant. The new plant will help improve the efficiency of vital social services as well as encourage the development of local industries. Apart from Pakistan, OFID has also signed new loan agreements with Grenada, Mozambique and Senegal. Commenting on the newly-sig ...

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said on Thursday it would defend itself against a $4 billion damages claim in the US over a shuttered nuclear power plant amid allegations of faulty equipment. Southern California Edison (SCE) and its subsidiary Edison Material Supply are asking for arbitration over the claim against Mitsubishi and its wholly-owned US subsidiary Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy System. The origi ...

Wind farm developments and other Australian power assets owned by South Africa's Investec Ltd. have attracted several bidders, despite uncertainty over a carbon tax that's made renewable energy more competitive with fossil fuels, a person familiar with the matter said. On the block are five wind projects in South Australia and Western Australia states, a gas-fired power development in South Australia and a ...

Germany’s Conergy AG has increased its share of Thailand’s solar market to 20%, as the company ramps up production in the Southeast Asian country. Thailand is widely considered to be one of the strongest emerging solar markets in the world, and Conergy has proactively cornered approximately 20% of the market share, installing more than 70 MW of PV capacity since the fall of 2012. The company’s latest ventur ...

Greenhub -- Singapore's first "green" factory -- was officially opened on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Greenhub's nondescript exterior belies the effort and the attention to detail that has gone into Singapore's first green factory. The factory embraces environmentally friendly processes all the way from its construction down to its daily operations. Its self-tinting windows act ...