Tag Archives: china
Renewables To Create Quarter Of World’s Electricity By 2018 – IEA
Global electricity generation from renewable energy sources will rise 40 per cent in the next five years, outpacing natural gas, as China and other developing countries expand capacity, according to a report from the International Energy Agency on Wednesday. As the cost of generating power from wind, solar, hydro and other sources falls, renewables will account for nearly 25 per cent of global electricity production by 2018, up from about 20 per cent in 2011, according to the IEA’s latest medium-term renewable energy market report. Renewables will overtake natural gas and be double that of nuclear by 2016, said the IEA, which acts as energy policy adviser to 28 member countries, including the United States, Japan, Canada and leading European nations. “Renewable power sources are increasingly standing on their own merits versus new fossil-fuel generation,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York. Developing countries outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are expected to account for two-thirds of the global increase, the IEA said, with Africa and Asia showing some of the strongest gains. China, with government backing and access to cheap capital, is streaks ahead of other countries, expected to beef up its renewable capabilities by 750 terawatt hours (TWh) between 2012 and 2018. The United States (150 TWh), Brazil (130), India (95) and Germany (70) are also expected to show large increases. In terms of percentage growth, however, smaller economies are seen making the largest strides, with Morocco (25 per cent) and South Africa (20 per cent) leading the list. Much will depend on government policies and regulations to encourage renewable growth. Uncertainty about renewable policies may hamper investment and growth in the sector, the IEA said. “Policy uncertainty is public enemy number one,” van der Hoeven said, citing policies surrounding tax credits in the United States and incentives for wind power in India. Global investment in renewables fell 12 per cent in 2012, according to the report, driven by a drop in European spending as the economic crisis lingers. In the United States, “boom and bust” cycles are hampering development of renewable sources, especially wind, said Paolo Frankl, head of the IEA’s renewable energy division. US President Barack Obama launched a new climate change initiative on Tuesday that would involve cutting carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and supporting renewable energy sources. Continue reading
Carbon Trading Boosters
The world’s largest carbon emitter kicked off a pilot emissions trading scheme in the south eastern city of Shenzhen last week even as the elusive search for a fix to Europe’s emissions system continued. This is the first of the seven test markets that China hopes to roll out soon, and the smallest, with covered emission estimated at 32MTCO2e/year from 635 entities. The buyers of allowances on June 18 – the day that trading officially began – included PetroChina and Hanergy Holding Group, at prices which were about a fifth less than European Union permits on the London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Trading is likely to be muted during the year, but some spurt in volumes and price could occur close to the compliance date, which, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance analysts, would be in early 2014. There is also some talk of linkages of the Shenzhen scheme with other markets, but these discussions are at an early stage. Meanwhile, there was some straight talk about the European carbon market from the executive director of the International Energy Agency, Maria Van der Hoeven. In an interview in Russia, she said the EU carbon market “doesn’t work anymore.” The attempts to make it work moved another step ahead when the environment committee of the European Parliament supported the backloading proposal. There is now a higher likelihood of it being approved in the plenary vote on July 3. Back in China, there was an interesting proposal from the city of Shijiazhuang – the capital of steel-producing Hebei province surrounding Beijing – that would control some emissions immediately. It plans to restrict the number of new vehicles to 100,000 this year, and limit cars per household to two. This quota will be cut to 90,000 in 2015, with a lottery being used to determine who can buy the cars. The Chinese government was also in the news for promising support to its solar industry, urging lenders to ease financing and pushing for industry consolidation. In an online statement, the State Council said that China must aid the industry’s “healthy development” through the current sluggish global market and slow domestic demand. It will encourage mergers and acquisitions among solar companies and curb blind expansion of capacity. It will also control the expansion of energy-intensive production to curb pollution. Chinese solar companies like Trina Solar and JinkoSolar, singed by duties on solar exports to Europe and the US, are moving production overseas. The target countries include South Africa, Turkey and Portugal. There is also another reason for production to move out of China: rising costs. US-based solar manufacturer Silevo, which produces cells at a 32MW factory in China, is in the process of financing a 200MW cell and module plant in the US. “Water and electricity in China are much more expensive than in the US, and the labour cost is very close. In terms of production cost, it’s very comparable to North America,” said chief executive officer Zheng Xu. There were two important financing announcements last week. PensionDanmark pledged $US200 million in funding for a wind farm in Nantucket Sound, in the first committed investment in Cape Wind Associates’ proposed 468MW offshore park. This will be the first offshore wind park in the US and has been 12-years in the making. The investment is conditional on a final decision this year to construct the farm. In addition to pension funds, the renewable energy sector could also see some Islamic financing. Activ Solar is tapping into that source to expand into markets in the Middle East. The company’s CEO said the predictable and steady revenue streams of solar plants could be a good fit for the growing Islamic financing market. EU carbon European carbon slipped last week after lawmakers voted – by only a small majority – in favour of a compromise plan to fix the region’s oversupplied market. European Union allowances (EUAs) for December 2013 lost 8.2 per cent over the week to close at €4.38/tonne on Friday, compared with €4.77/t at the end of the previous week. EUAs were trading as high as €4.90/t as the market opened last week. They dropped on Wednesday to close at €4.39/t after the Environment Committee of the European Parliament (ENVI) passed an amended version of the European Commission’s proposal to delay auctions of some carbon permits. The committee carried the main compromise amendments with 38 out of 69 votes. This was the same result as in an ENVI vote in February on the original backloading proposal. The bearish price reaction on Wednesday may imply that market participants required a more clear-cut signal from ENVI to justify bullish bets. UN Certified Emission Reduction credits (CERs) for December 2013 gained just €0.01/t last week to close at €0.47/t. This article was originally published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Read more: http://www.businesss…s#ixzz2XJdVSgQo Continue reading
It’s Not Just The Trees That Grow at APC !
Tuesday, 25 June 2013 Asia Plantation Capital, one of the regions fastest growing plantation companies, recently passed a new milestone in its history and development; planting their 6 millionth tree since 2009. APC is expanding its operations in Thailand creating at least 250 new jobs on new plantations being established near their main agarwood distillery, bringing important economic benefits to local communities. This adds important rural jobs to the numbers already created by APC in the North East region of Sakon Nakhon where they have now established over 60 plantations. The distillery and associated businesses include state of the art finishing and processing production lines for agarwood oil & infused chips, agarwood resin, agarwood rice, incense sticks and a range of raw materials for food supplements as part of its joint venture with AgarTechAsia. Barry Rawlinson, group CEO “When APC started we focused on establishing plantations and farming businesses, not looking beyond the plantation gate for sales. Today we have a fully integrated business model investing heavily in the manufacture and marketing of end products. Planting and growing trees is only part of our story, alongside we consider social impact and invest in local communities where we operate for long term sustainable growth”. Strategically the group has established a diverse range of standalone businesses; using Oud oil from agarwood trees to produce fine fragrances for the International Fragrance Industry, manufacturing products for the pharmaceutical sector, construction of Sustainable Homes, plantation and agricultural consultancy, tree nurseries for local communities to access, and Asset and Wealth Management businesses. Recently a joint venture with AgarTechAsia focuses on cutting edge technologies and new consumer end products from the agarwood. These businesses are driven by one common factor, sustainable plantations and farms which create sustainable products for the rapidly expanding numbers of environmentally conscious consumers worldwide. Recent plantation projects the company has undertaken include feasibility studies and expansion into new hot spots for the global investment community and wider financial sector. Projects range from sustainable Palm Oil plantations in West Africa, to teak and agricultural food crops in Myanmar. In Ecuador the APC Group are considering investments for the plantation sector as part of the Ecuadorean Governments forward thinking agricultural and plantation sector investment programmes. The 6 million planted trees mark and 250 new jobs in rural Thailand are just two milestones in the successful growth of Asia Plantation Capital. APC is fast becoming a leading player in the sustainable plantation sector. With local people at the heart of their operations, and sustainable practices adopted throughout their agro-forestry; they are a shining example of the people, planet, profit concept which inspires modern sound business practice today. — About Asia Plantation Capital (www.asiaplantationcapital.com) Asia Plantation Capital is an owner and operator of a diverse range of commercial plantation and farming businesses across the Asia-Pacific region and now increasingly globally, part of the Asia Plantation Capital Group of associated companies. Their focus is on multicultural and diverse plantation projects geared to the domestic and commercial demands of the countries in which they operate. Working closely with and supporting fragile local communities is an underlying core principle of the APC business, providing social and cultural support as well as investment to move these communities away from traditional deforestation and illegal logging activities as a main income source. Established officially in 2008, although operating privately since 2002, the group now has plantation and agricultural projects on four continents with operational projects at various stages in Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, India, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, The Gambia, North America and Europe. — For further information, please contact:- Asia Plantation Capital, 3 Pickering Street, #01-68 Nankin Row, China Square Central, Singapore 048660 Tel: +6562223386 Fax: +6562212197 Email: pr@asiaplantationcapital.com Continue reading
