Energy

North Korea is exploring two alternative energy sources that could greatly improve its standard of living. Photo: AFP

Power-strapped North Korea bets on synthetic fuels to beat sanctions

The North’s renewed focus on oil alternatives underscores what some observers believe are two of its long-term best bets.

14 Feb 2019 - 10:55pm

In this file photo from January 2018, workers of the China National Petroleum Corporation are seen at a ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline construction site in Heilongjiang province. Photo: Reuters

Russian gas exports to spark ‘explosive’ growth in China’s northeast

13 Feb 2019 - 10:53pm 6

Wind turbines along a beach in Taiwan. Its ministry of economic affairs said on January 30 the offshore wind tariff reductions introduced are ‘fair and reasonable’. Photo: Bloomberg

Will subsidy cuts knock wind out of Taiwan offshore turbine sector?

12 Feb 2019 - 10:15pm

Smoke from a coal-fired power plant in Beijing. Photo: AP

Why Beijing must keep coal out of its belt and road plans

11 Feb 2019 - 7:17am 7

China could be a big winner if Donald Trump restricts US uranium imports, experts say

China could be set for a big win as Donald Trump mulls uranium quota

8 Feb 2019 - 9:54am 3

Hyundai’s headquarters in Seoul. Photo: AFP

South Korea, Hyundai bet big on hydrogen technology

7 Feb 2019 - 2:16pm 1

Indian farmers work near a newly installed water pump that relies on solar power. Photo: EPA

Indian tariff to protect its solar power industry from China has failed

30 Jan 2019 - 11:59am

Hong Kong’s built-up environment accounts for 60 per cent of the city’s gas emissions. Photo: Felix Wong

Why energy-efficient buildings should lead quest to cut emissions

29 Jan 2019 - 9:42pm

China brought 44.3GW in new solar power capacity online in 2018. Photo: Xinhua

China powers up renewable energy despite grid limits

28 Jan 2019 - 10:58pm 4

Shares of China Singyes Solar Technologies Holdings resumed trading last week after a three-month suspension. Photo: Eric Ng

Lights could go out at this private sector Chinese bond defaulter

28 Jan 2019 - 8:47am 1

Wintime is an obscure coal producer in the northwest province of Shanxi. Photo: Imaginechina

China’s best-performing stock in 2019 defaults on US$147 million bond

23 Jan 2019 - 3:24pm 1

Workers check solar panels at a photovoltaic power station in Chongqing, China, in July 2018. The country installed 53GW of solar power in 2017. Photo: Reuters

Watch these sectors amid China’s renewable energy push

23 Jan 2019 - 10:53pm

PetroChina flags a US$1.5 billion writedown from selling assets, even as its 2018 net income doubles

PetroChina writes off US$1.5 billion in asset sale even as profit soars

22 Jan 2019 - 10:37pm

A decommissioned nuclear power plant in Barsebäck, Sweden. Sweden currently has three nuclear plants with eight nuclear reactors in commercial operation. Sweden effectively de-fossilised its power generation between 1970 and 1990. Today, about 80 per cent of its electricity production comes from nuclear and hydroelectric power. Photo: Alamy

The world needs more nuclear power plants. Just look to Sweden

18 Jan 2019 - 10:19pm 4

Is it possible to live off-grid in Hong Kong? ‘Yeah Man’ grows his own plants, makes fire with sticks and is raising his two-year-old son closer to nature

Going off the grid in Hong Kong: how one man is living his dream

12 Jan 2019 - 3:17pm 5

Brightoil Petroleum was forced to sell a stake in Tencent-backed WeBank to repay a loan owed to China’s Ping An Bank. Photo: Reuters

Another Chinese private oil giant faces liquidation

12 Jan 2019 - 7:22am

Solar panels are fixed on a roof in Hefei, capital of east China’s Anhui province. China in May last year cut subsidies for solar farm operators. Photo: Xinhua

Top Chinese solar firm takes steps to resolve US$142m bond defaults

11 Jan 2019 - 9:59am 1

Beef production alone accounts for a quarter of all food-related greenhouse gas emissions according to a 2010 study. Photo: Alamy

How giving up beef can save millions of lives and cut emissions

11 Jan 2019 - 5:05am 1

The core equipment of a Chinese molten-salt reactor nuclear reactor. Photo: The Institute of Advanced Nuclear Energy Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences

How China hopes to lead way in next-generation nuclear power

10 Jan 2019 - 10:45pm 5

Jim Yong Kim in November 2017. Photo: EPA-EFE

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim abruptly resigns

8 Jan 2019 - 12:25pm 11

An oil tanker unloads crude at a terminal in Zhejiang province. Private refiners received quotas for 70.65 million tonnes of imports – more than 20 per cent lower than a year ago. Photo: Reuters

China cuts quotas for crude oil imports in first round for 2019

2 Jan 2019 - 11:12pm 4

Saad al-Kaabi, Qater’s energy minister, speaks to the media before an Opec meeting in Vienna on December 6. He has said the decision to quit Opec is not linked to the political and economic boycott imposed in June 2017 by de facto bloc leader Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt. Photo: EPA-EFE

Why leaving Opec is a smart move from Qatar

29 Dec 2018 - 1:01pm

A Sinopec natural gas storage facility under construction in Puyang, Henan province. Photo: Reuters

Sinopec shares plunge after two trading unit executives suspended

28 Dec 2018 - 10:28am 2

China has launched four Type 055 guided-missile destroyers over the past 18 months and four more are under construction. Photo: Handout

Turbine blades could give China’s guided-missile destroyers an edge

27 Dec 2018 - 3:39am 61

Renewable energy applications skyrocket, but attaching remote Hong Kong houses to the grid is proving to be a challenge

Electricity firms get 1,100 renewable energy applications

24 Dec 2018 - 8:01am

Stoker Dai Yanjia adds coals to a steam locomotive boiler at Sandaoling coal mine area in Hami, in China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, in January. Photo: Xinhua

Why Russian gas imports won’t improve China’s air quality

19 Dec 2018 - 10:18pm 5

The Taiyangshan wind power station in Wuzhong, China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region. China has set ambitious goals for itself to cut carbon emissions and promote clean energy. It’s wind power generation today exceeds that produced by all of Europe. Photo: Xinhua

China and cities are leading climate change battle, the world must follow

19 Dec 2018 - 6:01am

The Taishan Nuclear Power Plant has come online more than a decade after the project was launched. Photo: FactWire

World first: new breed of nuclear reactor online in southern China

15 Dec 2018 - 4:54am 36

Boats sail past Pulau Bukom oil refinery along the southern coast of Singapore, where thieves made off with US$150 million worth of gas oil. Photo: Reuters

‘Brazen’ theft at Shell’s Singapore refinery much bigger than reported

14 Dec 2018 - 7:54pm 1

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9 Jan 2019 - 3:24am 1

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6 Oct 2018 - 10:39pm 15

From arms to energy, Russian influence in the region is growing ever greater – and key to Moscow’s route to dominance is its unique relationship with Beijing

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