Singapore

China will now produce cobalt-60 to address the country’s need for the isotope, according to the World Nuclear News. This initiative is intended to result in the production of 6 million Curies of cobalt-60 annually.

India’s nuclear power plan remains unharmed amidst the current global crisis. Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) is backed by over $2.75 billion in cash reserves to finance the projects’ equity portion. The debt portion, on the other hand, will be addressed through domestic and external commercial borrowings.

Jesus P. Francisco, president and chief operating officer of Manila Electric Company (Meralco), is retiring after 37 years with the power distributor. Francisco, who turned 65 years old last year, intended to retire in June 2008 to cap his seven-year presidency in Meralco. “But it was not meant to be,” he said. Meralco spokesman Elpi O. Cuna said Francisco’s replacement will be elected by the management during a board meeting that is scheduled before the close of January 2009. However, the retiring official remains part of the company board until May, which is when the next stockholders’ meeting is slated. Meralco is also retaining Francisco’s services as a consultant of the company, according to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel M. Lopez. Francisco started his 37-year stay with Meralco back in 1971 as a management trainee, and he performed various roles under four leaderships. In 1998 he became executive vice-president and chief operating officer. 2001 was Francisco’s first year as president, and he had since led Meralco amidst regulatory and technical issues.

New nuclear power plant sites in China will have four automated reactors with the help of Invensys Process System (IPS), a global supplier to the nuclear industry. Through a contract worth approximately US$250 million, IPS has been tasked to develop and implement four large-scale, fully digitized nuclear control rooms for the Fuqing and Fangjiashan nuclear power projects. China’s partnership with IPS aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the country’s reliance on coal-generated power by improving its current nuclear capacity. The two new nuclear power projects located in the provinces of Fuijan and Zhejiang will each have two 1GW plants, and the control rooms will be equipped with the latest simulation technologies, critical control and safety systems. A spokesperson for the evaluation committee said, “During the evaluation process, IPS demonstrated global expertise that China can tap into as we accelerate our technology transfer program. IPS also has technologically advanced integrated solutions capabilities, as well as proven implementation methodologies and processes. In summary, they ranked high in all the key factors we look for in a long-term strategic technology partner. As China speeds up nuclear power expansion and increases clean energy capabilities, we are confident that IPS will continue to provide the world-class automation solutions and expertise that will allow us to optimize these systems and make them safer.”

Japan has signed a memorandum with the UAE to cooperate in the field of peaceful atomic energy. Takamori Yoshikawa, Japan's senior vice-minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the UAE Foreign Minister's undersecretary Saif Sultan Al Aryani signed the cooperation agreement that is geared towards preparing and planning a peaceful nuclear programme. Focal points of the memorandum of cooperation include human resources training, handling nuclear hazard emergencies, social awareness, infrastructure, safety and nuclear radiation protection. Technical and services assistance, seminars, workshops and exchange visits between Japan and the UAE are also underway under the signed cooperation agreement.

Here are the winners:

Two T&D challenges have arisen from the rapid expansion of Asia's power industry: (1) a diverse asset infrastructure, and (2) a young workforce, challenged to match specific expertise to specific work requirements. How should utility companies respond? The solution has two components:

Invensys Process Systems has won a substantial contract from the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to provide plant performance and monitoring solutions for use on one of the country's most critical power plants.

The rapidly developing economies of Asia are fuelling a constant need for fresh supplies of power to cure the energy shortfall problems being faced by utilities and all forms of industries and large building projects. This increasing need for power in Asia is being driven by industrial growth and people's improving living standards. These urgent demands for power mean that the power users and producers are being faced with critical decisions about what power generation solutions will satisfy their energy demands.

With global electricity consumption forecast to double over the coming decades, power executives must implement new strategies ensuring the reliability and availability of the bulk power system. According to a Brattle Group study released in April 2008 by the Edison Foundation, power companies will need to spend about $1.4 trillion over the next 22 years ($457 billion in generating capacity alone) to meet power demand and modernise the transmission and distribution grid. Power companies must find ways to improve process efficiency and extend asset life. In power generation facilities, utilities are forced to run their plants for longer periods of time. As such, the new priorities of the industry include:

In 1967, Black & Veatch was awarded a contract with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) for a 60-megawatt generating unit, representing one of the company’s first power projects in the Asia region.

For 17 years, Unit 1 at Browns Ferry nuclear plant on the north shore of Wheeler Reservoir in northern Alabama sat dormant. One of three operating Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) nuclear plants, Browns Ferry is a three-unit GE design and began commercial operation in 1974, just 11 years before it was shut down in 1985. When the TVA decided in 2002 to return Browns Ferry Unit 1 to operational status, extensive decontamination, repair and replacement work were necessary to bring the unit up to present-day standards. The TVA chose Flowserve to help them tackle the unique challenges associated with bringing Unit 1 back online.

The "9th Regulators and Policy Maker Retreat" at the Hotel Marriot Resort in Goa was an astonishing event. Organised by the IPPAI (Independent Power producers Association of India), endorsed and supported by the IPPF, this was beyond the intimate compact gathering implied by the word "Retreat". It was a full blown conference of major proportions incorporating key themes of vital importance. Subtitled "Pan-Asian Perspective on Regulatory Convergence Across Key Infrastructure Sectors". Under this cross-sector banner, the IPPAI's Goa conference drew an amazing array of top experts from three key sectors: power, oil & gas, energy, etc., telecommunications and aviation.

The priority of Asia’s power plant operators have been reshaped by surging fuel prices and tight supply of replacement parts, says ABB Vice President Frenk Withoos, who oversees the company’s operations for Power Systems in the South Asia Pacific region. It is a dramatic turnaround from the situation just two years back when Asian Power last caught up with Mr. Withoos. At the time, Chinese equipment vendors were making serious inroads in Asia and fuel prices were low, replacement parts in plentiful supply and operators were little concerned with efficiency.