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Government Lacks 2020 Vision On Biomass
15 June 2013 Today’s policy measures for renewable energy are just the start and there could be bigger challenges for timber in future, says Alastair Kerr, director-general of the Wood Panel Industries Federation With the Energy Bill going through its last parliamentary stages and proposals for the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive tariff currently out for consultation, the UK’s package of measures aimed at meeting the EU’s 2020 renewable energy targets is virtually in place. Much of our concern and recent media attention has focused on large-scale power generation for reasons which still remain, ie. there are no assurances that these subsidised energy companies won’t substantially target the UK’s commercial coniferous stands for fuel. However, if pressure on the domestic resource is going to increase to the point where it jeopardises established wood processors, it will come from the cumulative impact of demand from both renewable electricity and renewable heat. Renewable heat, in particular, provides an opportunity for domestic growers and indeed wood processors, but placing a reliance on market pull to bring more wood to market, particularly from private growers, may not be enough on its own to prevent a disproportionate demand being placed on the coniferous resource. Something we shouldn’t lose sight of is that policy measures in place today are only just the start. Governments are in discussion with the European Commission regarding the 2030 renewables targets. The energy companies are already lobbying to make an even larger contribution from biomass (wood). If the flow of wood from material uses towards energy is to be controlled, then collectively the woodprocessing industries must continue with efforts to speak up for the carbon benefits that using more wood products brings. The recently confirmed EU carbon accounting rules open a door for the development of policies that actively promote the use of harvested wood products, but it is not a given that such policies will emerge, not least because competitors are fighting to oppose such benefits being bestowed on wood. These challenges may seem to be remote and some way off but they are very real, and a robust industry defence has to be put up if wood products are not to be sidelined in the future. Continue reading
Cuba To Build Biomass Power Plant
CUBA STANDARD — A Chinese-designed biomass power plant fueled with byproducts of sugar production is planned go up in Matanzas province, according to official news agency Prensa Latina. The $60 million project, to be built with Chinese technology and technical support, would be the second biomass power plant on the island. In November, a British company announced a $45 million project at a sugar mill in Ciego de Ávila province. The government reportedly has plans to build five biomass power plants throughout the island. The biomass projects are part of a government plan to increase the use of renewable energy to 16.5 percent of its energy mix within eight years. Some 3.8 percent of Cuba’s electricity is currently made with renewable sources, most of it bagasse at sugar mills. The Azcuba group and the National Electricity Board designed a strategy to increase power generation in sugar mills, in order to decentralize the grid and provide electricity in areas with weak supply. Construction of the Chinese-designed power plant at a sugar refinery in Matanzas will begin at the end of this year. The 20-mw plant will initially use bagasse, a sugarcane residue, but it will eventually be able to use wood residues as well. Official sources did not reveal details of the agreement. China’s largest biomass power plant operator is National Bio Energy Co. Ltd. (NBE), which adopted European technology developed by DP CleanTech. NBE has become the world’s largest biomass power plant operator, building more than 30 mixed-fuel biomass plants in China, for a total of 1,000 mw. In what was one of the biggest foreign investments in Cuba last year, Havana Energy Ltd. announced in November the Cuban government approved a joint venture to build a 30-mw biomass plant at the Ciro Redondo sugar mill in Ciego de Ávila province. Havana Energy plans to start operations in 2015. Havana Energy, a subsidiary of Esencia Group, formed a joint venture with Zerus SA, which belongs to state holding Azcuba. As part of its renewable-energy plans, Cuba is building a 2.5-mw solar farm with 10,800 solar collectors on five hectares of land in the city of Guantánamo; that project is expected to be completed by December. Cuba also plans to build a 50-mw expansion of a wind farm on the northeastern coast, near Gibara, as part of a plan to add eight wind parks for a total of up 2,080 mw by the year 2020. Finally, the government plans to increase hydropower from a total capacity of 60 mw to 100 mw, by building 160 micro-hydropower plants. DP CleanTech high-pressure boiler Continue reading
Business Properties With Commercial Appeal
The retail sector may be struggling to pick itself up following the recession but there are still plenty of profitable non-residential options for investors. Here, Zoe Dare Hall offers advice for landlords looking to buy a commercial property. Head space: the right tenant can make innovative use of commercial premises Photo: Rex Features By Zoe Dare Hall 5:36PM BST 14 Jun 2013 In the world of commercial property , Ray Bloom is a young star. Now aged just 25, four years ago he bought the Mayfair-based commercial property company John D Wood and has since doubled turnover to more than £2m. He is now developing a UK-wide network of franchises and is branching out into commercial property in Egypt. Not everyone seeking to enter the market can emulate Bloom’s level of ambition or success. But in trying to find that first step on the commercial ladder, the trick, says Bloom, is timing. “If you buy well, fix the building and then sell smart, you will be successful. In today’s rather stagnant market, where growth is difficult to achieve, the key is to be a good manager of the property and work closely with your tenants, who are your customers.” Unlike the residential market, commercial property is mainly income-driven. There are three key sectors – offices, industrial and retail – and all are potentially available to private investors, who own around 12 per cent of UK commercial property, according to Christopher Reeve, partner at the property consultancy Bidwells. “It sounds small,” he says, “but it is a significant and growing sector when you bear in mind the average commercial property investment lot size is more than £1 million.” The timing is good. Commercial property is on the turn and individual investors need to find smaller opportunities off the radar of big commercial companies and pension funds. For example, in Bolton you can buy a shop on a busy road with a flat above (and the same residential tenant for 12 years) for £60,000-£80,000 through Miller Metcalfe. Or in Bloomsbury’s Lambs Conduit Street, commercial agents LDG are marketing a mixed-use, 508 sq ft building with an A3 licence (suiting a café or restaurant) for £300,000, with credit a projected annual rent of £30,000. Ideal, say LDG, for a new commercial investor. Shops may be an attractive entry point into commercial property but recession has hit the retail sector hard, with one in six high street shops now said to be empty – and our consumer habits are rapidly changing. “A number of investors who bought what they perceived to be good quality investments such as Woolworth and Comet have suffered,” says Richard Cleminson, head of Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward’s commercial services division. “Towns still suffering from the recession have seen landlords accepting rents at 50 per cent of what they were previously achieving – if they can relet the unit at all.” Damian Lloyd, director at the commercial property agency GVA, is more positive about retail opportunities. “In thriving towns such as Stratford-upon-Avon, where a Jessops closes, a trendy new perfume shop opens,” he says. “I see this as a catalyst of growth for some high streets – not all – but you need to think carefully what shops stand a chance of survival.” And for landlords who fear empty shop units, one possible lifeline is being offered by AppearHere.co.uk , a new online marketplace that brings together landlords looking to find tenants and individuals or retailers seeking a pop-up shop. Alternatively, smaller units such as a 500-1,500 sq ft lock-up are a good starting point for first-time commercial property investors, because of good returns and easy lets. Lloyd recommends looking at industrial premises. “They are very sought-after at the moment. As long as we’re still making things in this country, there are always going to be start-up businesses that need premises.” Office space is another area to consider – although this can be “difficult to crack” for individual investors, says Damian Lloyd. “They tend to come in large lots, which means they are expensive, or on business parks, which is a flat market at present.” Outside London, the office market is stifled by a lack of liquidity, with regional values down by 48 per cent on their peak and owners reluctant to sell at a loss. The lack of Grade A office stock in regional cities – Birmingham is one example – means some investors are spotting an opportunity in refurbishing older stock. And the internet and homeworking, it seems, haven’t killed off the need for offices. Knight Frank reports that Google’s new 800,000 sq ft campus in London and Yahoo’s ban on working from home will create a wave of IT jobs that didn’t exist 20 years ago and are mostly office-based. “We see retail as best suited in the next cycle to those prepared to actively and imaginatively manage the asset, possibly incorporating leisure and hotels,” reports Knight Frank’s latest UK Market Outlook. “In contrast, offices we see leading the upswing.” Continue reading
