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State electricity firm PT PLN has picked the Jpower-Itochu-Adaro consortium’s bid to develop a power plant in Central Java worth about Rp 30 trillion (US$3.48 billion). PLN president director Dahlan Iskan said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the consortium won the bid because it was the only one of the four bidders offering a price lower than that estimated by the bid committee. Marubeni Corporation, China Shenhua Energy Company Ltd and the CNTIC-Guandong Yudean consortium also submitted bids to develop the 2x1,000 megawatt power plant in Pemalang, Central Java, in late April. A press statement from PLN says the project was the first public-private partnership complying with a 2010 presidential regulation on such partnerships. It will be jointly guaranteed by the government and government-sponsored infrastructure financing guarantee agency, PT Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (PII), the statement says. The Pemalang power plant is expected to commence operations in 2017. The winning consortium includes Japan-based Electric Power Development (J-Power), local coal mining company Adaro Energy and the Japan-based Itochu Corporation.

As part of its bid to finance its capital expenditure, state utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara is considering various funding options, such as whether to sell dollar-denominated bonds or seek banking loans worth up to $2 billion, its president director said. “We’re still studying whether we will issue global bonds, sukuk bonds or seek bank loans from domestic banks to finance our investment plans,” Dahlan Iskan, PLN’s president director, said in Jakarta on Wednesday. “Next month, we will announce whether or not we will seek the funding this year. The amount will be around $1.5 billion to $2 billion.” PLN’s intended bond sale had been put on hold since last year, but its plan gained momentum after state oil and gas company Pertamina raised $1.5 billion from overseas bond sales earlier this week to finance its expansion plans. Pertamina’s 5.25 percent bond was priced to yield 5.5 percent, it announced on Tuesday. PLN has said previously that Indonesia needs around Rp 82 trillion ($9.5 billion) in funds this year to meet a target of generating around 6,000 additional megawatts of electricity to the power grid. PLN plans to provide Rp 77.4 trillion of its financing needs, with the remainder coming from private companies through partnerships. PLN is allocating Rp 62 trillion for capital expediture next year. The government has announced a two-phase, 20,000 MW fast-track program that is expected to be completed by 2014. PLN and the private sector are each expected to generate 10,000 MW in the plan. Last year, PLN posted a 2.6 percent drop in its net profit to Rp 10.1 trillion.

Lanco Solar, in consortium with Juwi Renewables, will construct a 75MW photovoltaic facility in Maharashtra, India.

A consortium of Indonesian and Japanese firms has won a contract to build coal-fired power plants in Central Java.

Kimanis Power  for the construction of the 300MW combined-cycle gas-turbine power plant in Sabah, Malaysia.

First quarter revenue and shipments at Hanwha SolarOne increased sequentially, despite weak demand.

KEPCO's first-quarter loss widened from a year earlier on lower electricity rates.

Roth & Rau has purchased a production facility from electronics firm, Possehl Electronics in, Shenzhen, China to better serve customers in the region.

Toshiba Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding to form a business tie-up with South Korean wind-power generation equipment maker Unison Co.

Japan plans to make it compulsory for all new buildings to be fitted with solar panels by 2030.

The Korea Southern Power Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pakistan's Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah to establish renewable 2,000MW wind power projects in Pakistan's Sindh province. The Korean Southern Power Company (KOSPO) signed the MoU with the Sindh Board of Investment to build a 2,000MW wind power project in Gharo-Keti Bandar wind corridor in the province. KOSPO had earlier completed an initial survey of the wind corridor, reports APP. South Korea is also expected to invest in other energy projects as well as coal field development, infrastructure and mass transit system worth a total of $6 billion, according to Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah  

China Guodian Corp. will invest US$3 billion in the development of energy programs in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality over the next five years. According to an agreement between China Guodian Corp. and the Chongqing municipal government, the company will fund a variety of energy projects, including thermal power stations, wind power stations, natural gas power stations and biomass power stations in Chongqing and its surrounding regions. "Chongqing's fast economic growth has brought great opportunities for the development of energy," said Zhu Yongpeng, general manager of China Guodian Corp., one of the country's largest state-owned power companies. Zhu estimates that Chongqing's power consumption will grow at an annual average rate of 12.1 percent over the next five years. In 2010, energy consumption in Chongqing totalled 62.5 billion kilowatt-hours. Tong Xiaoping, vice mayor of Chongqing, said the total installed capacity of Chongqing's power stations will double to 22 million kwh by the end of 2015 to accommodate the growing demand. The full story is available at xinhuanet.com.

Normally, electricity prices should go up to reflect strong demand, but China experienced otherwise, says a report..

GCL-Poly 500MW monosilicon project is expected to take two-years to reach its initial capacity of 3,500MT.

GAIL has decided to install commercial wind power projects cumulatively contributing 200 MW to the grid.

Silecs International has closed a new round of funding totalling US$16 million.