South Korea pumps up renewable energy
The country has earmarked 1 trillion won US $891.2 million in support, up from 808.4 billion won last year, for new and renewable energy projects and financing, such as support for building solar and wind power energy facilities, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Asia's fourth-largest economy, heavily dependent on energy imports, would strengthen its new and renewable energy sectors, expecting the sectors to achieve exports of $40 billion in 2015 compared with $4.6 billion in 2009.
The investment includes 20 billion won to set up four or five test beds for solar and wind power generation.
One of the world's fastest-growing carbon polluters, South Korea is seeking to shift from its dependence on fossil fuels by expanding investment in green resources.
In October last year, the South Korean government said it would spend 40 trillion won by 2015 in a combined push by the public and private sectors to boost renewable energy resources.
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TOKYO - Two of Japan's biggest power companies will buy around 40% of a German-owned developer of offshore wind farms in the U.K., seeking to learn from Britain's lead in this sector and bring the know-how back home.
Tokyo-based Electric Power Development, better known as J-Power, will join Osaka regional utility Kansai Electric Power in investing in a unit of Germany's Innogy.
The deal, estimated to be worth around $900 million, will give J-Power a 25% stake and Kansai Electric a roughly 16% share. It will mark the first investment in an offshore wind project by Japanese power companies.
Innogy plans to start…
