Japan has been desperately looking for Rare Earth Resources after China used its monopolistic position to embargo the supply of REE to Japan.Sojitz has signed a supply deal with new Australian REE developer Lynas while Toshiba is looking to set up a plant in India to mine Rare Metals from the monazite sands of the defunct REE extraction plant in Orissa.Sumitomo the Japanese trading giant too is rumored to be picking up a stake in US REE company Molycorp which expects to soon start its California mine which was shuttered a decade ago after China’s low prices bankrupted the REE producers all over the world

Renewable Energy SMA Solar raises revenue guidance a second time: expects PV market to top 17GW in 2010 – PV-Tech Gigawatt scale: CEC approves Solar Millennium’s planned 1GW Blythe CSP power plant – PV-Tech Suzlon Energy looks towards Middle Kingdom as a Panacea to all its Ills but can China Resurrect the Company Despite US […]

Sumitomo entered the Wind Energy Business in the US by buying a 42.5% stake in Stanton 120 MW Wind Farm in Texas.The Company already has Wind Assets in Japan and is partnering with Giant Chinese Utility Datang for building Renewable Energy Assets in China.Sumitomo has already built a 50 MW Wind Farm in Inner Mongolia with Datang and Kyushu Electric.Sumitomo is already strong in constructing geothermal plants having built a 140 MW Nga Awa Purua Geothermal Plant in New Zealand in 2 years flat.It also has contracts to build upto 530 MW of Geothermal Plants in Indonesia.In Phillipines the Company has partnered with another Japanese Trading Powerhouse Marubeni to finance Biomass and Waste to Energy Plants.However Solar Energy is strangely missing from Sumitomo’s strategy.It activity till now has been restricted to some small PV plants in Spain and trading of Solar Panels made by Sharp and others.Note other Global Conglomerates like ABB,GE,Siemens,LG,Samsung are in the process of making massive investments into the Green Industry.