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UK Lacks Proper Dialogue On Biomass Worth
10 May 2013 Energy consumers face rising bills and a fast-approaching shortfall in electricity generating capacity. They deserve honesty and clarity about their options. Few energy sources match solid biomass in offering baseload energy, security of supply, cost-effectiveness and ability to ramp up when we need it – before 2015. Far from being a “reckless” choice, as some activists claim, it can and is being done sustainably. It will also cost the UK £44bn more to decarbonise without it. It is misleading to imply that a thriving British biomass sector would depend solely on British wood, swallowing up domestic supplies so there is none left for any other use. In fact, most of the supply is expected to be imported from Canada and the US, where supplies are plentiful. Electricity fuel imports are not new; we ship in most of our coal and a significant amount of gas. What is different is the Government’s requirement that the biomass supply chain shows an independently verifiable minimum 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with the EU fossil fuels grid average. This is only possible with sustainable sourcing and supply chains. Groups calling for a rejection of biomass rely on misused Government data and widely discredited pseudo-science divorced from the reality of the industry. It is time for a positive dialogue, rooted in evidence not emotion, so we can deliver a much-needed source of energy to the UK. Gaynor Hartnell, chief executive, Renewable Energy Association Continue reading
Investors Target Central European Property
Investors Target Central European Property By Francys Vallecillo | April 2, 2013 11:53 AM ET Investment activity in Central European commercial property reached €958 million in the first quarter of 2012, a six percent increase over the five year average, but down from €1.8 billion in the previous quarter, according to a new study. The Czech market reported an upward trend with six closed transactions in the first quarter worth €237 million, compared to a mere €20 million during the same quarter in 2012, Cushman & Wakefield reports. Hungary also saw an uptick, posting €159 million in transactions in the first quarter. But the increase in activity was not universal, Cushman & Wakefield reports. In Poland volumes declined in the first quarter to €465 million, compared to €818 million in the first quarter of 2012 and €618 million in first quarter of 2011. Prague, Czech Republic A joint venture between Norges and ProLogis for distribution space accounted for 50 percent of the industrial sector investment in Central Europe in 2012. Although overall investments are lower than the previous quarter’s, activity suggests volumes will match the numbers in 2012, the firm said. “Some investors are considering taking more risk and reviewing the more developed and relatively mature parts of CE and finding not just a yield advantage and better relative economic growth than in the west, but also an improving level of liquidity,” Cushman & Wakefield partner Charles Taylor commented. The Central European office space market is leading investor interest with investments of €646 million for the first quarter of 2013. Significant office transactions include the purchase of New City in Warsaw by Hines, Skanska’s Green Towers in Wroclaw by PZU and the Andel Park B purchase in Prague by GLL. Central Europe is tracking the international trend. As economies around the world start recovering, an increase in demand for office space can be seen in various markets, including major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and countries in Latin America . Retail investment in the region was at its lowest since 2009 with Poland reporting the only large retail transaction for the first quarter. The Poland market reported investments of E465, a decrease from E818 million during the same period in 2012. Continue reading
US Investors Targeting Foreign Property
US Investors Targeting Foreign Property By Francys Vallecillo | May 2, 2013 11:29 AM ET Driven by potentially high returns, U.S. investors are increasingly targeting funds that invest in foreign commercial and residential property. During the first quarter of 2013, investors put $2.6 billion into mutual and exchange-traded funds that invest in offices, hotels, and other foreign commercial properties, the largest number since the record $5.3 billion during the first quarter in 2007, Reuters reports. In 2012, Americans directly invested $38.71 billion in foreign commercial properties, an increase from the $32.8 billion the year before, according to Real Capital Analytics. “The big plus is diversification of your portfolio, number one,” New Jersey’s public pension funds chief investment officer Timothy Walsh told Reuters . “Number two, we actually think there’s better returns going forward.” Investors are also attracted by the high net operating income found overseas, Mr. Walsh added. Overall, global commercial investment is expected to increase this year . But this is a new model for many U.S. investors. “The basic assumption and belief, which is still untested, is [returns] won’t be super highly correlated with stocks and bonds in other countries,” said Joseph Gyourko, a business professor at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in real estate, told Reuters . “It’s going to be different than owning equities on the German stock exchange.” As a way for Americans to get in the foreign property game, almost 5.5 percent of 401(k) retirement funds now offer a global real estate fund as an option, up 30 percent since 2007, according to San Diego-based retirement firm Brightscope. Overall, as global markets are emerging and distressed markets are recovering, investors can benefit from increasing prices in local economies. “If you have a specific view on different countries or different regions, buying the real estate is more direct to the local economy of that country, than just stocks of companies that have a global revenue base,” WisdomTree Investments director of research Jeremy Schwartz told Reuters . Directly investing in foreign real estate can be accompanied by political and economic risks and experts warn to always use caution. “If you land a bunch of Americans and say just go out…they’re going to get slaughtered by the local guys,” chairman and chief executive of Prologis Inc Hamid Moghadam warned. ↓ Read User C Continue reading
