China launches emission-cutting factory closure programme
The Chinese government has published a list of more than 2,000 factories that it plans to force to close by the end of September as it attempts to make good on Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent pledge to use an “iron hand” to tackle inefficient factories.

This week, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a list of 2,087 steel mills, cement works and other energy-intensive factories required to shut down by the end of next month.

The factories were chosen after discussions with provincial and municipal officials to identify industrial operations with outdated, inefficient technology. In addition to reducing China’s carbon footprint, the factory closings are consistent with the government’s broader strategy to modernise production techniques, boost international competitiveness and transform an industry from “being big to being strong”, the ministry said.

Suzlon
Suzlon stocks declined in Mumbai trading after India’s biggest maker of wind turbines said its first-quarter loss doubled as a weaker euro devalued the company’s overseas assets.

Suzlon said in an e-mailed statement Aug. 13 after market hours. Orders from overseas “remain elusive” for Suzlon compared with rivals, including Vestas Wind Systems A/S, according to analysts Lokesh Garg and Supriya Subramanian.

CLP Holdings
CLP Holdings Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest power producer, posted an 83 percent gain in first-half profit, beating estimates, because of increased returns from projects outside the city and a one-off tax benefit.

The utility has invested in power projects in mainland China, Australia, India, Vietnam and Taiwan to offset declining earnings in Hong Kong.

The utility’s first fully-owned wind farm in Jilin province may go into commercial operations in October, CLP said. The company is also a partner in a wind farm venture with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., and the project has a generating capacity of about 1 gigawatt in operation by the end of June, according to the statement.

CLP/TRU Energy have the following power generation assets in Australia - Hallet Gas, Iona Gas, Tallawarra Coal and Yallourn Coal.

Vestas
Vestas, said it won two Chinese orders on top of the Macarthur order amid analyst concern that the company will miss its 2010 sales forecast.

Vestas will deliver 37 of its V90-2.0 megawatt turbines to fulfill the Chinese orders in the fourth quarter of this year.

Atlantis Resources
Atlantis Resources Corp., the tidal power company whose investors include Morgan Stanley and the Norwegian utility Statkraft AS, unveiled the world’s largest tidal turbine in Scotland.

The SeaGen AK1000 device’s 18-meter (60-foot) rotors have the capacity to generate 1 megawatt of electricity, enough to power at least 1,000 homes, the Singapore-based company said today in an e-mailed statement. The turbine will be installed at the European Marine Energy Centre in Scotland’s Orkney Islands later this year, it said.

BrightSource
California regulators approved renewable power contracts totaling more than 400 megawatts for utilities PG&E Corp. and Edison International to help to meet state energy goals.

PG&E, owner of the state’s largest utility, won the California Public Utilities Commission’s permission today to buy electricity from a 250-megawatt solar plant being developed by a unit of NextEra Energy Inc., the largest U.S. producer of wind and solar power. The cost of the Riverside County, California, plant and the value of the contract weren’t disclosed.

California ordered its utilities to get 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by the end of this year. The commission doesn’t expect that goal to be met, and may allow extensions to as late as 2013 in cases where transmission lines aren’t available.

Edison’s Southern California Edison utility won permission today from regulators to buy 117-megawatts from the Ivanpah solar plant being developed in California’s Mojave Desert by closely held BrightSource Energy Inc. PG&E already won approval to buy 275 megawatts from the project.

Ivanpah’s three phases would use arrays of pole-mounted mirrors, or heliostats, to reflect the sun’s rays to boilers mounted on top of towers, heating the water inside to more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 Celsius). The resulting steam would then be piped to an electricity-generating turbine.

AGL Energy
AGL Energy Ltd. may spend A$10 billion ($9 billion) building renewable power production capacity by 2020 as Australia pursues a target of sourcing one- fifth of its electricity from alternative sources.

Development of the Tarrone substation for the Macarthur wind farm will allow the future construction of a gas-fired power plant, AGL said. The plant will have a capacity of 500 megawatts to 600 megawatts and may cost as much as A$500 million, said managing director, Michael Fraser. UFWA if possible would also be looking to utilise this substation for the connection of Ryan Corner/Hawkesdale wind farms.

Infigen
FY10 FULL YEAR PRODUCTION AND REVENUE REPORT
FY10 production was 4,299 GWh, which was 4 GWh below IFN’s Production Guidance range, noting:
• Australia: an increase of 30% (262 GWh) over FY09 to 1,137 GWh due to the contribution from Capital Wind Farm and resolution of gearbox issues at Lake Bonney.
• USA: a reduction of 7% (224 GWh) from FY09 to 2,950 GWh reflecting low wind resource experienced in the first three quarters of FY10.
• Germany: an increase of 27% (45 GWh) over FY09 to 212 GWh reflecting a full year contribution from the Calau, Leddin, Langwedel and Seehausen wind farms. Production in Germany was adversely affected by low wind resource throughout the year.

FY10 revenue was $295.6m ($296.0m at guidance FX rates) which was $3.6m above IFN’s Revenue Guidance range, noting:
• Australia: an increase of 44% ($32.5m) over FY09 to $106.2m assisted by the sale of banked Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s) and recovery of performance warranty payments. Approximately 310,000 uncontracted REC’s (including the 250,000 REC’s held on balance sheet at 31 December 2009) were sold at an average price of $44.3/REC, significantly above the average spot-market price of $37.5/REC.
• Market Prices: Relative to Guidance, the second half of FY10 saw stronger market prices in Australia and the US. Statutory Consolidated Revenue is expected to be $314.3m. This includes minority interests in the US and excludes the French assets which will be classified as discontinued operations.

Philippine Wind EOI
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has concluded a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from consultants to conduct site-specific feasibility studies for the development of three wind power projects in the Philippines.
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The three wind projects will be developed by Manila-based Alternergy Philippine, with up to $630,000 technical assistance from ADB.ADB is currently in the midst of selecting a consultant to help with the assessment of the three potential wind projects, located in Laguna, Mindoro and Rizal, which will have a combined capacity of up to 120MW.

Assessment for each project would take at least two years with the three wind projects – having a potential combined capacity of up to 120MW.