news20091120gdn1

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Forests]
Prince Charles announces funding scheme to protect rainforests
Karen McVeigh
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 19 November 2009 20.17 GMT Article history

A global emergency funding scheme to drastically reduce the destruction of tropical rainforests over the next five years was announced by the Prince of Wales today, with the US pledging $275m (£165m) towards rainforest protection.

The plan relies on developed countries paying rainforest nations such as Brazil and Indonesia to reduce rates of deforestation and thereby cut carbon emissions.

Currently, the lucrative trade in logging, cattle grazing and palm oil, means tropical forests are worth substantially more dead than alive to developing countries. The plan, agreed by 35 governments of the Informal Working Group (IWG) and published at a meeting at St James's Palace, aims to make trees worth more alive. The group hopes to achieve a 25% reduction in annual deforestation rates by 2015. The felling of forests causes almost a fifth of global carbon emissions.

However, environment groups last night said the "devil was in the detail" and expressed concern over whether the scheme could achieve its aims. There were calls for the UK government to pledge money to the scheme.Tony Juniper, special adviser to the Prince's Rainforests Project (PRP) and former director of Friends of the Earth, described the agreement as a breakthrough and said: "This is the first time there has been a consensus among governments on a mechanism to deal with the underlying causes of deforestation, which are mainly economic."

Funding for the plan, which was set up by world leaders after a meeting convened by Prince Charles in London in April, would cost between £13.5bn and £22bn over the next five years. The money will initially be sought from governments.

Addressing delegates, including Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, and Guyana's president, Bharrat Jagdeo, Prince Charles said: "I have been enormously encouraged to hear the findings from the IWG report. It does seem that we have arrived at a consensus on how emergency funding might be deployed in the near future."

Miliband said a deal at next month's crunch UN climate talks in Copenhagen on funding for reducing deforestation – a key theme – was "now closer than it's ever been".

Issues of land rights, indigenous people, risk of corruption and verification have dogged the deforestation talks.

An example of how the scheme could work was given as the historic agreement between Norway and Guyana last week, in which Oslo pledged $250m to the forest nation by 2015 to continue to prevent deforestation.

Simon Counsell, executive director of the Rainforest Foundation, said: "We have to be very careful that any emergency funding will result in a real reductions in deforestation or forest damage. The example of Guyana could show that it is possible to be paid and not reduce, or to even increase emissions from forests. The Norwegian-funded scheme assumes a fictitiously high baseline deforestation rate, so Guyana would not actually have to reduce deforestation at all in order to be paid."

In the memorandum of understanding between the two nations, the base annual rate of deforestation set by Norway for Guyana is 0.45 per cent. However Guyana's actualy rate of deforestation is currently below
that, at between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent, which means that the South American country could be paid if it increased deforestation up to 0.45 per cent.
At the ceremony, US Ambassador Louis Susman read out a letter from chair of the US Senate Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Senator Patrick Leahy, to the prince in which he pledged to contribute $275m to a forest protection fund in 2010.

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: "The US Government has today promised a substantial amount of money for forest protection, and now there is real pressure on the British Government to do the same."

But UK officials said the Government had already put money on the table, with £50 million going to efforts to save the Congo Basin Rainforest in Africa, and £115 million contributed to World Bank schemes to cut
deforestation.

> This article was amended on Friday 20 November 2009. In the story above the final four paragraphs were added after initial publication.


[Environment > Water]
Sand dams voted best solution in water crisis debate
Technique developed by the Chinese centuries ago has potential to give up to 3 million people access to clean water in the drylands of Africa, winner says
Felicity Carus
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 November 2009 12.33 GMT Article history

A 400-year-old water-saving technique that could save millions of people from drought last night won the ringing endorsement of an audience at the Geographical Society in London.

Sand dams, which are constructed out of concrete barriers 1-5m high and backfilled with sand, were voted as the best idea from five different proposals. Each idea had a champion who argued how they would use the virtual prize of $1bn at the Earthwatch debate entitled From tsunami to drought.

When seasonal rains fall, water collects behind the dam. The sand acts like a sponge and filters the water and slows evaporation. Clean water can be drawn for up to several months after the rains have fallen through pipes underneath the dams or by digging a hole in the sand.

Simon Maddrell, the executive director of Excellent Development, won the prize after pitching his idea to three experts - John Burton from the World Land Trust, Mark Shearer from Project Dirt, and Rick Bauer, a water expert from Oxfam - who quizzed each of the presenters in a "Dragons' Den" style panel.

Maddrell said that the technique was developed by the Chinese centuries ago but was proving very effective today. The charity has built 250 sand dams in Africa already, providing water for 250,000 people. Maddrell said the sand dams had the potential to give up to 3 million people access to clean water in the drylands of Africa, and would be of particular benefit to women.

"Women in Africa do most of the farming. Sometimes they have to spend up to 5-6 hours a day just collecting water. Sand dams near to their village would reduce this to an hour a day. They are quite simply a miracle."

Other ideas competing for the notional prize were a Global Water Partnership Fund to measure and monitor water use around the world presented by Tom Le Quesne from WWF-UK; a demonstration project to build a waterway between Milton Keynes and Bedford presented by Professor Paul Leonard; a technical strategy presented by Professor Howard Wheater of Imperial College, and a plan to scrap subsidies to water companies from Robert Pendray, a 20-year-old student at Merton College, Oxford.

news20091120gdn2

[News] from [guardian.co.uk]

[Environment > Flooding]
Body found in Cumbria flood search for missing policeman
> Missing police officer named as Bill Barker
> Hundreds evacuated as riverbanks burst
Adam Gabbatt, Helen Carter, Caroline Davies and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 20 November 2009 13.41 GMT Article history

The body of a man, reportedly in police uniform, has been found in the search for PC Bill Barker, police said.

Barker, 45, went missing this morning after a bridge in Workington collapsed amid what the local MP described as the kind of flooding seen only "once every 1,000 years".

Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Graham said: "I'm very sad to have to report we've recovered a body on the beach of an individual. That has not been identified.

"Our thoughts go out to PC Barker and his family. PC Barker had been serving in Cumbria Police for 25 years. I've heard nothing but good reports about him today. He was a family man with four children."

A police spokeswoman added: "It is reported that the man is wearing police uniform and officers are at the scene."

A major rescue operation is under way in Cumbria after severe flooding caused the evacuation of hundreds of people.

More than 200 people were forced to leave their homes in Cockermouth overnight, with 50 evacuated by RAF helicopters after flooding cut off the town centre. Armed forces were called in to help emergency services cope with the impact of what the Environment Agency said was record rainfall.

Barker went missing when Northside bridge, on one of the main routes into Workington, collapsed at about 4.40am. He had been directing traffic.

It is one of two bridges to have collapsed in the town, where conditions are described as "extremely dangerous" after torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks.

Graham said Barker worked as a roads policing officer in Workington.

"He was directing motorists off the bridge, saving lives, when the tragic incident occurred. He is a valued colleague and friend of many officers and staff within the constabulary – and to those in west Cumbria where he lives and serves.

"This is an extremely difficult time for the officer's colleagues, who are still committed to supporting the community and dealing with the flood situation."

A Workington lifeboat spokeswoman said:

"Workington RNLI all-weather lifeboat was launched at 6.10am to search at the mouth of the river Derwent and along the coast to the north of the town. Around 10 members of the RNLI lifeboat crew also joined other emergency services in a shore search for the missing officer."

Police said all but 10 properties in Cockermouth had been searched with no further casualties found. Police and armed forces were trying to reach the remaining buildings.

Air force helicopters, mountain rescue teams and fire crews were summoned to rescue those trapped by rising waters in the main street and town square.

The Environment Agency said Cockermouth and Keswick had been hit the hardest as record rainfall overwhelmed flood defences. The agency's gauging station at Seathwaite farm, Borrowdale, recorded 314.4mm over 24 hours until 12.45am.

"We have seen unprecedented rainfall, with what we believe is a record amount for a 24-hour period in England," said the agency chairman, Lord Smith. "Towns and villages across Cumbria have been evacuated with floodwater driven by heavy rainfall, saturated ground and swollen rivers."

Workington MP Tony Cunningham said the flooding was "of biblical proportions" and on a scale seen "once every 1,000 years".

He told Sky News: "The scale and the force of the devastation in Cockermouth is huge.

"I went down to the bridge last night and I've never seen the river Derwent as wide as it was. The force of the river was absolutely incredible. This is a stone bridge; to wash away a bridge of that size and dimension is incredible."

The Ministry of Defence said soldiers were helping people trapped in their homes.

Emergency 999 calls made from some flood-hit areas were not getting through, the police said. People in Workington, Cleator Moor and Harrington were advised to call 0845 33 00 247 to reach all emergency services. Police have opened a casualty bureau to deal with concerned members of the public seeking news of friends and relatives. People are advised to call 0800 056 0944 or 0207 158 0010.

Earlier, Gordon Brown said he had spoken to the Cumbria chief constable, Craig Mackey, to assure him any help needed would be provided.

"Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by these floods and our thanks go out to the emergency services who continue in their extraordinary efforts to help the people affected," the prime minister said.

The environment secretary, Hilary Benn, who travelled to Cockermouth to assess the flooding, said defences built after the 2005 floods that were designed to withstand a "one in 100 years flood" were unable to cope with the volume of water.

"What we dealt with last night was probably more like one-in-1,000 so even the very best defences, if you have such quantities of rain in such a short space of time, can be over-topped," Benn told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

More than 1,000 homes in the area were without electricity, with a further 349 homes affected in nearby Keswick.

Trees were floating down the main shopping street in Cockermouth. John Carlin, the owner of the Allerdale Court hotel in the town centre, said the amount of rainfall to hit the area was staggering.

"I have lived here for 15 years and have never seen anything like it," he said. "At two o'clock it was raining heavily but there was nothing here but now there is four feet of water outside my front door. The amount of rain has been staggering.

"It's desperate. The town centre is completely flooded. The only people out there at the moment are the emergency services. The water is up to the waists of the firefighters."

The Met Office said the village of Seathwaite in Cumbria recorded 173mm (6.8in) of rain in 24 hours. Flooding was reported in north-west Wales and in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

The rain was accompanied by severe gales, with gusts of 65mph to 75mph in western coastal areas and up to 95mph over the mountains.

The agency said hundreds of homes in Cockermouth, Kendal and Keswick were flooded as the rivers Cocker, Greta and Derwent overflowed and levels rose 300mm in less than an hour.

Keswick's mayor, Andrew Lysser, said: "It is all hands to the pump, really. The fear is if it stretches out."

The village of Shap was deluged by 38mm of rain in 12 hours and 21 schools were closed yesterday.

Forecasters warned of further bad weather to come in northern England, north-west Wales and western Scotland, with winds in parts of western England and Wales gusting up to 70mph.

The agency had four severe flood warnings, 27 flood warnings and 51 less serious flood watches in place for England and Wales.

news20091120nn1

[naturenews] from [nature.com]

[naturenews]
Published online 19 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1098
News
Maize genome mapped
Sequence should help corn breeders meet global demands for food and fuel.
Elie Dolgin

{{The genomes of different maize plants have revealed key differences between varieties.}
Science/AAAS}

Plant biologists have something special to be thankful for this US Thanksgiving Day. The genome of maize (corn) — a staple crop first introduced by Native Americans to the European settlers centuries ago — has finally been sequenced. The genetic secrets of maize, one of the world's most widely grown grains, should accelerate efforts to develop improved crop varieties to meet the world's growing hunger for food, animal feed and fuel.

The genome "is really a tremendous resource", says John Doebley, a maize geneticist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who was not involved in the project. "It gives us a tool for mapping genes that we didn't have before."

The four-year, US$31-million project to sequence maize (Zea mays) was led by a US-based consortium of researchers who decoded the genome of an inbred line of maize called B73, an important commercial crop variety. The 2.3-billion-base sequence — the largest genetic blueprint yet worked out for any plant species — includes more than 32,000 protein-coding genes spread across maize's 10 chromosomes. Sections of DNA called transposable elements, which can move around the genome and cause mutations, are the most abundant parts of the sequence, spanning almost 85% of the genome.

"What we have here is a crucial part of the instruction manual for how you breed a better corn plant," says Richard Wilson, director of the Genome Center at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, who led the maize-genome project. "You can now find where genes that underlie certain traits are located, and, thus, you have the tools for how you go off and breed those desired traits into new generations of plants."

Joachim Messing, director of the Plant Genome Initiative at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the sequencing, says he was surprised by how well previous analyses based on small snippets of the genome predicted some of the overall trends. "Practically all the things that we had forecast before could be validated with the entire sequence," he says.

The newly minted genome was published today in Science¹, together with 13 companion analyses in Science and the Public Library of Science Genetics.

Metal master

After sequencing their first maize genome, researchers then tackled other corn varieties for comparison. Luis Herrera-Estrella and his colleagues at the Research and Advanced Studies Center of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) in Irapuato, Mexico, sequenced a maize variety from the Mexican highlands called Palomero. This ancient strain, ideal for making popcorn, diverged from B73 about 9,000 years ago — around the time that maize was first domesticated from the grass teosinte.

{{“What we have here is a crucial part of the instruction manual for how you breed a better corn plant.”}
Richard Wilson
Genome Center at Washington University, St Louis, Missouri}

The team report that the Palomero genome is around 400 million nucleotides smaller and contains about 20% less repetitive DNA than B73². "You can contain three Arabidopsis genomes or one rice genome in the size difference between those two maize genomes," notes Virginia Walbot, a molecular biologist who studies maize at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and is an author of one of the Public Library of Science Genetics papers³. "These size differences that have arisen in the time of domestication and plant breeding are really major."

Herrera-Estrella's team also found more than a dozen genes related to heavy-metal detoxification and environmental-stress tolerance that were conserved in B73 and Palomero, but that were absent from teosinte, suggesting that these genes were involved in the domestication process². Peering back into the geological record, the researchers realized that there were frequent volcanic eruptions 8,500–10,500 years ago in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt — a region close to the cradle of maize domestication — that dumped heavy metals into the local soils. The conservation of the metal-detoxification and stress-tolerance genes in the derived strains "strongly suggests that environmental changes caused by volcanic activity represented an important driving force that acted early in maize domestication", Herrera-Estrella says.

Breeder's trove

Another team, led by Edward Buckler, a maize geneticist with the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service who is based at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, sequenced part of the gene-rich region of 27 maize varieties to map haplotypes — groups of genes that tend to stick together and probably share a common function or origin.

This 'HapMap' revealed thousands of genes around the centres of the chromosomes, where they were unlikely to be shuffled around during recombination, the process in which paired strands of DNA are separated and swapped around during cell division⁴.

Recombination is necessary for plant breeders to unite favourable genes from different crop varieties in a single plant. So, without much recombination, "effectively, there are thousands of genes that are recalcitrant to breeding efforts", says Buckler. He notes that this could explain why farmers often need to cross-breed, or hybridize, different inbred lines to produce the superior corn varieties that we tend to eat.

The higher quality of hybrids can also be chalked up to different corn varieties harbouring non-overlapping and complementary sets of genes, says maize geneticist Patrick Schnable, an author on the genome paper¹. In a separate study, Schnable and his colleagues at Iowa State University in Ames compared the genome structures of B73 with those of another inbred line called Mo17. They found hundreds of genes that appeared only once in one or other of the two genomes⁵. This suggests that crossing the two varieties could produce hybrids containing a higher number of beneficial genes.

The maize HapMap also promises to make combining desirable genes easier, notes Buckler. That's because researchers can test seeds for DNA markers that flag up the presence of particular haplotypes, rather than having to grow entire plants to assess whether the traits conferred by those haplotypes are present.

The resource can also be used to produce heartier corn varieties by systematically scanning the genome for genes that underlie key traits, such as those that allow the plant to thrive with reduced fertilizer and nutrient input, or that boost the plant's drought tolerance, he adds.

Over centuries and millennia, maize breeders have made great strides in producing bigger, better and tastier corn, says Schnable. "This genome will allow us to develop tools to make their jobs a little easier."

References
1. Schnable, P. S. et al. Science 326, 1112-1115 (2009). | Article
2. Vielle-Calzada, J.-P. et al. Science 326, 1078 (2009).
3. Soderlund, C. et al. PLoS Genet. 5, e1000740 (2009). | Article
4. Gore, M. A. et al. Science 326, 1115-1117 (2009). | Article
5. Springer, N. M. et al. PLoS Genet. 5, e1000734 (2009). | Article

news20091120nn2

[naturenews] from [nature.com]

[naturenews]
Published online 19 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1099
News
Europe puts brakes on fusion project
Firing up ITER in 2018 is not feasible, warn council delegates.
Geoff Brumfiel

{{Fusion dreams, delayed once more?}
ITER Organization}

The European Union (EU) is backing away from a 2018 start date for ITER, a multi-billion-euro fusion reactor under construction in the south of France.

At an ITER council meeting on 18–19 November, which was held near the reactor's site in St Paul-lez-Durance, delegates from the EU told the project's six other member states that the start date was no longer realistic, according to a source close to the negotiations. The two-day meeting concluded earlier this afternoon.

Catherine Ray, a spokesperson on science and research for the European Commission in Brussels, declined to answer Nature's questions about changes in ITER's schedule, but reiterated Europe's support for the project. "Our guiding objective is to ensure a sustainable success for ITER at reasonable costs and with an acceptable level of risk," she says.

ITER is a massive experiment to prove the viability of nuclear fusion as a power source. When completed, superconducting magnets will squeeze a plasma of heavy hydrogen isotopes — deuterium and tritium — to temperatures in excess of 150 million °C. The resulting fusion reaction should produce ten times the power consumed in the process of creating the plasma.

The EU is by far the largest participant in the project. It will pay roughly 45% of the construction costs of ITER, while the other participants — China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States — will each provide roughly 9%. The costs were originally budgeted at around €5 billion (US$7.4 billion) when the agreement to build ITER was signed in 2006, but they are now expected to be roughly double that figure by the time the reactor is built.

Under a tentative agreement reached in June, ITER's council approved 2018 as the date for 'first plasma' being generated inside the giant device. But some had worried that the EU was having trouble coming up with the additional funds needed to start construction (see 'Fusion delays sow concern').

There is also concern among European's involved in the project that the present schedule might be risky, according to Günther Hasinger, the scientific director of the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany. The EU is responsible for buildings and other major infrastructure at the 180-hectare ITER site. "All the big European components are needed early on," he says, warning that the 2018 date leaves little margin for error. "It's an extremely risky schedule."

The reaction of the other member states to the EU announcement is likely to be mixed, says Stephen Dean, president of Fusion Power Associates, a fusion-advocacy group based in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Senior officials at the US Department of Energy, which is responsible for that country's contributions to ITER, have publicly complained about the long timeline of the project. But Dean says that many researchers in the United States who are involved in ITER have been worried that the project might not meet its current schedule.

ITER's council has now tasked the project with working out two possible start dates for the project: one early and one late, according to Neil Calder, chief spokesperson for ITER. Calder says that the organization should be able to deliver the new dates by February 2010, but could not say whether 2018 would be one of the options. Planning a project as complex as ITER is difficult, he says. "I think it is worth taking the time to get it right."


[naturenews]
Published online 19 November 2009 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2009.1097
News
Gene silencing predicted to improve drug manufacturing
Biotech firm hopes to use RNA interference to boost drug yields.
Elie Dolgin

{{Chinese hamster ovary cells: the workhorse of the biological drug market.}
Nikon MicroscopyU}

The burgeoning science of RNA interference (RNAi) — touted as the next frontier in pharmaceutical treatment — is now being directed at increasing the efficiency of drug manufacturing processes.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, already uses RNAi in its drug-discovery research. The technique involves using small RNA molecules to reduce the activity of specific genes.

Now, the company plans to use the technology to improve the production of protein-based medicines, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and other biological drugs, also known as biologics. On 12 November the company announced a new venture, called Alnylam Biotherapeutics, to develop the technology and partner with biopharmaceutical manufacturers interested in using the approach to improve their drug-producing cell cultures.

John Maraganore, Alnylam's chief executive, says that the company has sequenced the genome of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the most widely used cell line in the US$100-billion biologicals market. Using the genome, Alnylam has designed small RNAi molecules that can extend the lifespan of the cells — and potentially boost the yield of the drugs they produce.

Silencing two genes in the cell-death pathway, for instance, extended the life of the cells by about 40%; targeting one involved in lactic-acid metabolism boosted lifespan by 60%. "We have already shown that we can harness RNAi technology to alter the cell to live longer and do more of what it needs to do," Maraganore says.

The approach is not without precedent. A handful of researchers, including Zhiwei Song, an engineer at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute in Singapore, have shown that RNAi can more than double the quantities of proteins secreted by CHO cells in the laboratory¹. The challenge, says Song, will be to extend the technique to large-scale cultures in bioreactors that can hold tens of thousands of litres of CHO cells.
"A means to enhance the expression of biologics without changing the master cell banks would certainly be of great industry interest," says Derek Ellison, chief operating officer of Eden Biodesign, a contract biopharmaceutical manufacturing company in Liverpool, UK. First, though, Alnylam would have to prove that RNAi doesn't introduce any impurities or alter the quality of the drugs, he says. Companies would also have to redevelop their downstream processing to cope with the increased quantities of product.

Suh-Chin Wu, a cell-culture bioengineer at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan who recently wrote a review article² about using RNAi in CHO cells, doesn't expect many problems with quality or safety. RNAi-based medicines, which are currently in multiple late-stage clinical trials, have not caused any serious side effects in patients. So adding the small RNA molecules to a cell-culture system should not pose any health risks or add any regulatory hurdles, he says.

Even if the process works, however, the technology might not be profitable, cautions Tillman Gerngross, a biological engineer at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Manufacturing makes up only a sliver of the total cost of drug production, and "making more stuff cheaper is no longer something that people are willing to pay a lot of money for", he says. Instead, RNAi should be used to improve the quality and potency of biologicals, Gerngross says.

Alynlam is starting to do just that. Maraganore says the company is looking beyond cell viability and working to boost the secretion efficiency of recombinant proteins and to alter various properties of biologicals to make them more active. "It's a broad platform that can be harnessed in many ways," he says.

References
1. Lim, S. F. et al. Metab. Eng. 8, 509-522 (2006). | Article | PubMed | ChemPort |
2. Wu, S.-C. Biotechnol. Adv. 27, 417-422 (2009). | Article | PubMed | ChemPort |

news20091120reut1

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
REG focuses on UK wind, waste oil for growth
Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:53am EST
By Victoria Bryan

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Renewable Energy Generation is planning to significantly increase its wind power assets next year, while bringing its profitable waste cooking oil business to commercialization. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Whalley said the company planned to invest 100 million pounds ($166.6 million) over the next three years, mostly in expanding its operating wind assets.

"We've repaid all of our outstanding borrowing and have about 50 million pounds of cash on balance sheet, so enough to make the company quite a significant player in the renewables sector," he told Reuters in a telephone interview on Thursday.

While REG's main focus is wind energy, Whalley said REG is the only company in the UK that can turn waste cooking oil into fuel for electricity generation.

"It only needs a small investment of 5 million pounds over the next 12 months, which will take it to the stage where it can generate enough cash to fund itself internally," Whalley said.

REG, which currently has 21 Megawatts of operating wind assets in the UK, plans to have a further 16 MW up and running next year and is targeting to grow capacity to over 100 MW over the next few years.

Whalley said REG, which has a market cap of about 70 million pounds, would likely agree a corporate debt facility to bring the company up to the 100 million pounds it planned to invest overall.

"We've gone from being a relatively high risk lend for a bank to one of the lowest risk in the sector," he said, referring to the group's strong balance sheet following the sale of its Canadian operations earlier this year.

He was speaking after REG posted full-year results showing revenues of 5.6 million pounds and a pretax loss of 2.4 million pounds.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

($1=.6002 Pound)


[Green Business]
American Superconductor sees 80 percent jump in 2010 EPS
Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:09am EST

(Reuters) - American Superconductor Corp said it expects fiscal 2010 adjusted earnings per share to grow more than 80 percent, helped by a strong backlog and lower costs, and reaffirmed its outlook for the current financial year.

The company, which makes electrical systems for wind farms and turbines, expects adjusted earnings per share to be more than $1.15 for 2010.

With more than $300 million of fiscal 2010 backlog in hand, the company has a strong platform to grow total revenue to more than $400 million in the year, Chief Executive Greg Yurek said.

Shares of the company closed at $32.49 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Divya Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)


[Green Business]
Suntech third-quarter profit beats Street view
Thu Nov 19, 2009 9:11am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd posted a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit on Thursday, but the results topped Wall Street estimates, and the Chinese solar panel maker raised its forecast for full-year shipments.

The third-quarter net profit was $29.8 million, or 16 cents per American Depository share, compared with $42.6 million, or 25 cents per ADS, a year earlier.

That beat the 8 cents per share that analysts had on average forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 20 percent to $473.1 million, topping the $426.6 million analysts were expecting.

Suntech said shipments for the fourth quarter would rise by 10 percent from the third quarter, and it increased its full-year shipment target to between 640 megawatts and 660 MW of solar modules from 600 MW.

(Reporting by Matt Daily; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)


[Green Business]
FACTBOX: Russian offer deepens rich nations' CO2 cuts
Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:20am EST

OSLO (Reuters) - A Russian plan to toughen curbs on greenhouse gas emissions deepens combined cuts offered by industrialized nations to at most 17 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, Reuters calculations show.

Russia offered to tighten curbs from 1990 levels to between 22 and 25 percent by 2020, according to Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the European Union, in some rare good news before a U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen next month.

Russia is the world's number three greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the United States. Its previous offer had been to aim for curbs of 10 to 15 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

The offer, at a summit with the EU in Stockholm, would d eepen overall cuts by developed nations to between 13 and 17 percent below 1990 levels, from 11 to 15 percent before Moscow's announcement.

It was unclear how far Russia will seek to exploit the natural ability of its vast forests to soak up carbon dioxide as part of its new target.

Russia's emissions, down since the collapse of inefficient smokestack industries of the former Soviet Union, were 34 percent below 1990 levels in 2007 so its goal means a rise in emissions in coming years.

In 2007, the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change outlined a scenario of cuts of between 25 and 40 percent by 2020 to avoid the worst of global warming such as droughts, heatwaves, species extinctions and rising seas.

Many developed nations such as China and India are demanding cuts of at least 40 percent by the rich by 2020.

Excluding the United States, which is the only industrialized nation outside the U.N.'s existing Kyoto Protocol, the Russian offer deepens overall cuts to 19 to 26 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 -- inside the IPCC range for a first time.


[Green Business]
EU carbon prices hover below 13.50 eur/t
Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:20am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - The benchmark contract for European Union carbon emissions futures hovered below 13.50 euros a tonne on Thursday afternoon, even though weaker oil and mild European weather pointed to greater losses, traders said.

EU Allowances (EUAs) were down 8 cents or 0.59 percent at 13.42 euros ($20.09) a tonne at 1449 GMT, with heavy volume at 4,104 lots.

"Prices are quite still around 13.50 euros. The fundamentals are telling us prices should be much lower as (unseasonably mild) weather forecasts are rather negative and oil is coming off," an emissions trader said.

Mild and wet conditions mean lower demand for electricity, thereby emissions permits.

Oil, German power and UK natural gas prices were all softer on Thursday.

"There are some people on the buy side, particularly on the spot market buying clips of 100,000 at a time. Someone is obviously in need of EUAs to buy ahead of Dec-09 contract expiry in December," the trader added.

The spread between the EUA Dec-09 and Dec-10 contracts was at a record low of 19 cents.

"If people had a short position in the Dec-09 contract they are rolling it to Dec-10 because it is close to the delivery date," another trader said.

Spot EUAs on France's BlueNext inched down 1 cent or 0.07 percent to 13.49 euros a tonne.

U.S. oil futures drifted lower on Thursday, hovering beneath the key $80 a barrel mark as gains in the dollar weighed on prices and doubts about the pace of demand recovery in the United States dampened sentiment.

German Calendar 2010 baseload power on the EEX was down 73 cents or 1.56 percent at 46.15 euros per megawatt hour.

U.N.-backed certified emissions reductions (CERs) were up 7 cents or 0.57 percent at 12.45 euros a tonne.

(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Keiron Henderson)


[Green Business]
FACTBOX: UK manufacturers of small wind turbines
Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:23am EST

(Reuters) - Britain's small wind sector is booming despite recession as more homes, farms or small business in rural areas in the country and the United States set up turbines in their yards, supported by government incentives.

Below are some facts and data about the sector:

What is small wind? -- In Britain, small wind turbines have capacity between zero and 50 kilowatts (KW), including micro turbines of up to 1.5 KW.

The United States, turbines with capacity of below 100 KW are called small wind.

How large is the market at present? -- UK's 2008 annual deployment was 7.24 MW, or 3,253 units, which raised the total installed capacity to 20.12 MW, or 10,621 units. It is expected to reach 32.1 MW this year. -- Global sales last year stood at 38.7 MW, or 19,000 units, worth $156 million. Sales in the United States, the world's biggest market, totaled 17.3 MW, 10,500 units, worth 77 million.

How big are UK exports? -- UK's manufacturers exported 3,204 units, worth 5.38 million pounds, last year. The 2009 exports were exported to jump to 9,537 units, worth 23.71 million pounds.

Who are the top manufacturers? It is estimated globally there are more than 200 manufacturers.

-- Southwest Windpower in the United States

-- Proven Energy Ltd in Scotland

-- Northern Power in the United States

Manufacturers in Britain include:

- Ampair (Boost Energy Systems)

- Evance (former Iskra Wind Turbines Ltd)

- Futurenergy

- Gaia-Wind Ltd

- Gazelle Wind Turbines Ltd

- Proven Energy Ltd

- Quietrevolution

- Renewable Devices Ltd

(Source: The British Wind Energy Association, the American Wind Energy Associaion)

(Reporting by Nao Nakanishi)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Kyoto carbon scheme needs Americans: Sindicatum CEO
Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:19am EST
By Michael Szabo

LONDON (Reuters) - An injection of U.S. talent into the $6.5 billion market in carbon offsets would help clear bureaucratic bottlenecks, making way for increased investment in clean energy, the CEO of a $310 million environmental fund said.

Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), an emissions trading scheme governed by the Kyoto Protocol climate change pact, companies can invest in low-carbon projects in emerging countries. In return they receive offsets that can be used toward greenhouse gas targets or sold for profit.

But long delays in approving projects and issuing offsets have forced many investors to the sidelines in the past year.

The U.S. decided not to ratify Kyoto in 2001 so its participation in the CDM has been minimal, even though the first emissions trading schemes were engineered by Americans.

"You basically have a global regulatory system staffed without the world's most talented human resource pool, and it's a big problem," Assaad Razzouk, head of Sindicatum Carbon Capital, said this week.

"What the CDM needs is 20,000 products of the U.S. education system ... You've got Europeans regulating a cap-and-trade system which was essentially invented by Americans."

Razzouk said the United States, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China, is not represented according to its size as an emitter and as a global economic and regulatory force.

"The transfer of knowledge capital did not occur, and as a result the U.S. is not represented in this market according to their weight," Razzouk added. "We will have a system that works much better when they are involved."

Through a fund of $310 million, London-based Sindicatum has developed an investment portfolio of 20 projects, 80 percent of which are in Asia and the remainder in the United States.

The projects, some of which are CDM registered, capture greenhouse gases emitted by coal mines, landfills and livestock.

The fund profits both through offset sales as well as by selling power generated by the projects. It is now 85-90 percent committed, prompting Razzouk to consider Sindicatum's next step.

He told Reuters it is considering four options: start a second fund, raise private equity capital, publicly list in the U.S. and/or Singapore, or simply continue reinvesting revenues.

Razzouk said a decision will be made in the new year, at which point the company will relocate its headquarters to Singapore and move its European office to Cyprus.

"We've got to take a long-term view. We have no footprint in Europe, most of our projects are in Asia and more than 80 percent of our investors are U.S. institutions," he added.

COPENHAGEN

A U.N.-sponsored climate summit in Copenhagen next month is expected to address CDM reform by attempting to streamline processes, which could result in shorter delays.

It was hoped that the talks would agree a successor to Kyoto, which expires in 2012, but there is a growing consensus that only a political agreement will be reached in the Danish capital, postponing a full treaty until 2010 at the earliest.

Razzouk said expectations of a deal at the Copenhagen meeting had always been unrealistic.

"I don't know what people were smoking. I think expectations were wrongly raised for politicians to save us, and I think people should know better," Razzouk said.

"There are 190 governments trying to negotiate a single treaty. My bet is they'll agree at midnight on December 31, 2012."

Razzouk said Copenhagen was irrelevant to his company, and that it would benefit from a number of possible outcomes.

"Unlike many other companies, we're not sitting being anxious about what happens in Copenhagen. I don't care what happens and we can't afford to build a business that cares." To read the full interview transcript or for more news and analysis on the global carbon markets, login to here

(Editing by Anthony Barker)


[Green Business]
UK small wind blows strong despite recession
Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:39am EST
By Nao Nakanishi - Analysis

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's small wind sector is booming despite the recession as many rural homes, farms or small businesses are putting up turbines in the yard to counter higher energy prices and blackouts.

Orders for turbines with less than 50 kilowatts capacity have soared before the introduction in April of feed-in-tariffs for small renewables, a system similar to those that have propelled wind farm growth in Germany or Spain.

"In terms of UK, orders have tripled already," said Pete Allen, chief executive officer of Evance, which makes stand alone turbines with capacity of 5 kilowatts -- enough to power two average homes in Britain.

"The UK market is set to double next year," he told Reuters.

It is a sea change in the country, which has failed to speed up construction of onshore farms despite its plentiful wind. Onshore projects have often stalled due to local objections.

To help achieve an 80 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2050 from the 1990 level, the government announced in July it would introduce the feed-in-tariffs for small green generation of up to 5 megawatts. The tariff levels are yet to be decided.

It also comes at a time when a third of Britain's power generators, including coal and nuclear, are starting to retire, triggering worries over possible power shortages next decade.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) calculated the feed-in-tariffs would cut pay-back time for turbines of less than 1.5 kilowatts at windy sites to less than 10 years and for 5-6 kilowatt turbines to less than five years.

"With fossil fuel prices inevitably going to increase sharply, interest in self-generation is going to increase," said Alex Murley, small system manager at BWEA.

"The UK market is already the second biggest in the world, behind the U.S., accounting for 20-25 percent of the global demand," he added.

The BWEA projects more than 12,000 units of small turbines to be deployed in Britain next year after about 3,500 units -- or 7.2 megawatts -- were installed last year.

Under the scheme, owners of small renewables are paid a fixed tariff for every unit of electricity they generate. They can avoid or limit purchasing power from the grid. They can also sell a surplus, if any, to the grid for a fixed rate.

TOP GROWTH WIND, EXPORTS

"It is the fastest growing part of the wind market," said Stephen Mahon from Low Carbon Investors UK, a venture capital investing in clean energy, including small wind.

"Globally the market is probably about 150 million pounds...We expect this to become a multi-billion pound market over the next five years," Mahon told Reuters.

Growth will come mainly from Britain and the United States.

Though Britain has failed to attract leading large turbine makers, such as Vestas or Suzlon, it is home to 18 manufacturers of small wind turbines, including Scotland's Proven Energy, a world leader in this category.

The country is already the world's top exporter of small turbines and it is benefitting from generous subsidies in the United States, where the industry is projected to grow 30-folds to 1,700 megawatts by end-2013. It grew 78 percent last year.

BWEA expected British exports of small turbines to exceed 13,000 units next year after a forecast 2009 jump to around 9,500 units this year from around 32,000 units last year.

"We predict a dramatic increase in all regions, particularly the UK," said Peter Griffiths, marketing manager of Proven Energy. "Certainly there will be a double digit growth in the run-up to UK feed-in-tariffs," he told Reuters.

Proven Energy, taken over by investment company Low Carbon Accelerator Ltd in October, has sold about 2,500 units of its 3.2-15 kilowatt turbines worldwide since 1992, though most were installed in the past three years.

SAVING COSTS

While government incentives are crucial for small turbines at present, costs for deploying small turbines are set to come down as production volume increases. Some industry officials saw government support becoming redundant in 5-10 years.

"It's still early days," said BWEA's Murley. "Costs of the technology will come down, while the costs of fossil fuel will go up, which will make small turbines (economically) viable."

He said setting up a turbine of about 5 kilowatt cost about 20,000 pounds per unit, similar to a small family car, though such cars had 200 times as many components as the turbine.

"The key is the volume," Murley said. "If the volume reaches 5,000 or 50,000 units...suddenly the costs of that is much less than the car."

Evanc's Allen agreed, saying: "If we made the technology we have today in high volumes, we could bring the costs down by as much as 80 percent."

"If it all went up to the same volume as solar PV (photovoltaic), it will be about 10 times as cost effective...I would like to think that we would be able to reach that point within the next 5-10 years," he added.

(Reporting by Nao Nakanishi; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
India's cabinet approves solar power programme
Thu Nov 19, 2009 10:58am EST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's cabinet on Thursday approved its first solar power plan, pledging to boost output from near zero to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2020 as part of its plan to fight global warming.

"The cabinet gave its approval for launching of the Jawaharlal Nehru national solar mission, Solar India... and has given in principle approval," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters on Thursday.

The $19 billion plan is aimed to help India close the gap on solar front-runners like China and could increase India's leverage in international talks for a new U.N. climate pact in Copenhagen next month, one of several measures meant to help cut emissions.

Money would be spent on incentives for production and installation as well as research and development, and the plan offers financial incentives and tax holidays for utilities.

It envisions three phases starting with 1-1.5 GW by 2012 along with steps to drive down production costs of solar panels and spur domestic manufacturing.

The world produces about 14 gigawatts (GW) of solar power, about half of it added last year.

The move could unlock India's huge renewables potential and benefit companies such as Tata BP Solar, a joint venture between Tata Power and BP plc's solar unit, BP Solar, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, a state-run power and engineering equipment firm, and Lanco Infratech.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)


[Green Business]
NRG Energy seeks patent on gas-plant design
Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:23am EST

HOUSTON (Reuters) - NRG Energy Inc has applied for a patent for a new natural gas-fired power plant design to make growing renewable power resources, like wind and solar, more reliable in the future, Chief Executive David Crane said on Thursday.

Crane told an investor conference in Houston that the nation will need about 40,000 megawatts of new natural gas generation to support state mandates for renewable power by 2025.

(Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; Editing by John Picinich)


[Green Business]
In oil markets, the future looks sour
Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:57am EST
By Joshua Schneyer and Bruce Nichols - Analysis

NEW YORK/HOUSTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's new method of pricing oil bound for the United States reflects the world's growing reliance on sour crude, which is harder to refine.

The sour grades of crude may eventually displace tried-and-true light, sweet crude to become a benchmark.

That could help producers and refiners manage risk as they deal with increasing volumes of higher-sulfur oil, and it may also cut speculators' influence on oil prices, analysts said.

Starting in January, Saudi Arabia will price U.S.-bound barrels against the Argus Sour Crude Index of three sour crudes produced in the U.S. Gulf. That will end 15 years of pricing against West Texas Intermediate, the reigning light, sweet benchmark.

The vast majority of oil futures contracts are based on WTI and Europe's Brent oil. Sour crude -- whose higher sulfur content makes it harder to refine -- is meekly represented on exchanges but has come to play a central role in physical oil markets.

"There's a growing need for sour crude markers," said Carl Holland of Energy Trading Solutions. "In my view they will grow to be of equal or greater importance to sweet crude markers."

Markets have taken notice since the Saudi pricing decision was made public last month. NYMEX and ICE, the world's leading energy exchanges, have both introduced new contracts based on ASCI. They begin trading this month.

"They could be comparable to other benchmarks, including WTI," said Bob Levin of NYMEX owner CME Group.

Trading in sour crude would need to reach hundreds of thousands of contracts per day for it to attain benchmark status, which could take years, Levin said. Past NYMEX contracts for sour U.S. crude failed amid low demand.

But the Saudi move, which analysts said may soon be copied by other major exporters, could spur demand for sour crude contracts. That could gradually change the way oil companies and speculators operate in commodities markets.

For one, oil producers and refiners could more effectively hedge their growing physical volumes of sour crudes.

A sour benchmark could share the stage with WTI and Brent, or cut their importance.

"The declining production base of both WTI and Brent are going to have implications for the reliability of those as benchmarks," said Craig Pirrong of University of Houston.

Over time, WTI may remain the contract of choice for many financial investors looking to buy oil futures, while ASCI contracts may hold greater appeal for traders who also deal in physical crude, Energy Security Analysis Inc said.

As a result, ESAI said, a boom in sour crude trade could help curb financial speculators' sway over oil prices, bringing markets closer in line with supply and demand fundamentals.

"We could see a gradual reduction in the financial influence on crude pricing," ESAI said in a research note.

Some blamed speculators when NYMEX light, sweet oil futures surged to a record above $147 a barrel last July, before plunging below $33 in December. They have rebounded to $80.

Commercial traders of oil, such as producers and refiners, have historically held the largest positions in oil futures markets. But this decade, noncommercial traders including speculators have come to play a dominant role.

For now, sour crudes that make up ASCI remain tied to WTI, since they are priced in relation to light, sweet futures. Eventually, they could be valued separately.

FALLING CRUDE QUALITY

A rising share of world oil output is sour, as light, sweet oil fields from West Texas to the North Sea decline after decades of exploitation. OPEC oil, including Saudi exports, is largely sour like the ASCI crudes.

Through 2020, global sour crude supply should grow at an average pace more than three times faster than sweet crude, according to consultants Wood Mackenzie.

Typically, the more sour and heavy the crude, the lower its price. Companies like Exxon Mobil Corp, Valero Energy Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have invested billions in technology to refine more sour crude along the U.S. Gulf Coast, home to 40 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

(To see how U.S. refiners have boosted sour oil use, click here )

After spending so heavily, refiners were dismayed when Saudi cargo prices began swinging wildly this year.

U.S. Gulf refiners blamed those swings in part on chronic oil gluts at Cushing, Oklahoma, the landlocked delivery site for WTI, which doesn't supply much crude to the Gulf Coast.

In February, WTI for prompt delivery fell to a $12 a barrel discount to supplies for a month later, and some sour crudes traded at unprecedented premiums to higher-quality WTI.

That volatility meant the cost of U.S.-bound Saudi cargoes priced off of WTI could flail unpredictably in the 7-8 weeks they took to arrive. By contrast, ASCI crude prices have been less volatile, refining sources said.

(Editing by Jeffrey Jones)


[Green Business]
FERC OKs stimulus for Montana-Alberta power line
Thu Nov 19, 2009 12:15pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday approved a stimulus financing arrangement for the Montana-Alberta transmission line to help connect consumers with renewable power sources.

FERC approved of a plan by the U.S. Department of Energy's Western Area Power Administration to use a $161 million loan from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 to finance the project.

The 230-kilovolt line will run 214-miles from Great Falls, Montana to Lethbridge, Alberta.

Under the arrangement, Western will have a one-twelfth ownership interest in the line, comprising about 18 miles, and a conditional right to 50 megawatts of southbound capacity, which is enough to power about 50,000 homes.

Tonbridge Power Inc, the Toronto-based project developer, planned to start construction by the end of 2009, with commercial operation by the fourth quarter of 2010.

In the past, Tonbridge said the line would be able to move about 300 megawatts north or south and capacity was already under long-term contract primarily with wind farms.

In the future, Tonbridge said it hoped to expand the project.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
Suntech, Trina Solar see demand rising; shares up
Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:36pm EST
By Matt Daily and Laura Isensee

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chinese solar companies Suntech Power Holdings Co and Trina Solar Ltd posted higher-than-expected earnings on Thursday and said demand for the clean energy systems was rebounding after a dismal year.

Prices for the photovoltaic cells and modules that turn sunlight into electricity have plummeted by as much as 50 percent over the past 12 months because of a glut of production and difficulty in obtaining financing for new projects.

That price drop has helped spark demand, Suntech Chief Executive Officer Zhengrong Shi told a conference call, particularly in countries where solar developers were rushing to start projects before potential cuts to renewable energy incentives at the beginning of 2010.

Suntech raised its full-year forecast for shipments and said it expected them to rise by at least 10 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. For 2010, shipments would rise at least 75 percent over 2009 levels, it said.

"This is the quarter where we really felt like Suntech has really emerged out of this consolidation, that was triggered by the financial crisis, relatively strong compared to many of its peer companies," Suntech's Chief Strategy Officer Steven Chan said in an interview.

Chan said the company is quite optimistic that it can reach its forecast for shipments to grow next year.

"That's really backed by the visibility that we've gotten from our customers for shipments next year. It's looking quite quite healthy in terms of the industry's recovery," Chan said.

The company, one of the world's largest solar manufacturers, saw third-quarter earnings slump by 30 percent to $29.8 million from a year earlier as revenue fell 20 percent to $473.1 million.

Still, the profit of 16 cents per American Depository Share topped the 8 cents that analysts had forecast, and Suntech shares were up 4.8 percent in noon trading.

Suntech expects prices for its panels to fall 10 percent in the fourth quarter but forecast them to stabilize or rise slightly in the first quarter of 2010.

Chan attributed that to the fact that the industry has stabilized from a price point of view but also because customers are starting to prefer Suntech over other brands.

TRINA SHIPMENTS HIT RECORD

Trina said its shipments had nearly doubled to a record 123 megawatts in the third quarter, although the steep declines in prices had cut its revenues by 14 percent.

The company, which raised $142.5 million in a public stock offering in August, raised the low end of its full-year sales forecast to 380 MW from 350 MW while keeping the upper end at 400 MW.

Increasing global demand also prompted the company to increase its production capacity of cells and modules from 600 MW by end-2009 to between 850 MW and 950 MW by the end of 2010.

Trina's earnings rose to $40.1 million, or $1.29 per ADS, easily topping the 76 cents per share that analysts had forecast, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gross margin was 28.5 percent in the third quarter, up from 27.4 percent in the second quarter and 22.4 percent a year earlier.

Shares of Suntech were up 4.8 percent to $15.81 in noon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, while Trina climbed 2.9 percent to $43.99.

(Reporting by Matt Daily and Laura Isensee in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Tim Dobbyn)


[Green Business]
Big Oil to Congress: Expand offshore drilling
Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:42pm EST
By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Executives from two major oil companies told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. government should open more offshore areas to oil and natural gas drilling so America can rely less on foreign suppliers.

"There is some hypocrisy in locking these resources away while relying on resources produced in other countries," said Marvin Odum, the President of Shell Oil Co., the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

"Instead, we should embrace policies that provide access to our own oil and gas resources," Odum told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at hearing on offshore energy production.

The U.S. Interior Department is considering a five-year plan that might open new offshore areas to drilling.

But many environmental groups oppose expanded offshore drilling, fearing oil spills could result, especially when energy companies move into the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico where platforms are susceptible to hurricanes.

"The potentially irreversible effects of oil pollution on marine ecosystems and their dependent economies do not justify the potential short-term economic gains that might accrue from offshore oil and gas development," said Jeffrey Short with the international marine conservation group Oceana.

The industry says improved drilling technology allows oil companies to search for supplies in an environmentally friendly way.

"These advances enable more production while reducing environmental impacts and allowing for efficient use of existing facilities and infrastructure," David Rainey, Vice President for Gulf of Mexico Exploration at BP America, the U.S. unit of BP Plc.

"Finding oil and gas for the future requires exploring in areas that are ever deeper and more complex," Rainey said.

The executives also said oil and gas supplies will still be needed even while the United States and other countries develop plans to fight global warming and promote use of more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

"We must stop ignoring the fact that oil and gas will play a major part in meeting America's energy demands for several decades as we transition to a more sustainable energy future," said Shell's Odum.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)


[Green Business]
Australia's Rudd faces showdown on carbon vote
Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:46am EST
By James Grubel

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's parliament votes next week on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plan for a sweeping carbon trade scheme with hopes it will finally win approval after two years of divisive debate.

Rudd wants the scheme passed in the last four parliamentary sitting days of the year to help generate momentum for global climate talks next month in Copenhagen, which are now unlikely to set legally-binding global greenhouse targets.

The debate is being closely watched overseas, particularly in the United States, where lawmakers are debating their own proposals. Neighboring New Zealand is also trying to pass revised emissions trading laws.

"This time next week I could be sitting here ... and we could have for the first time legislation which starts to reduce Australia's contribution to climate change," Climate Change Minister Penny Wong told Australian radio on Friday.

The government and opposition are expected to announce agreed changes to the scheme early next week. That deal should guarantee the extra seven votes the government needs to push the package through a hostile Senate upper house.

Agreement on the carbon laws would strengthen Rudd's standing as he heads into an election year in 2010, and divide a dispirited opposition struggling for support in the polls. Elections are due late next year.

A defeat would give Rudd the consolation prize of destroying his rival's standing, after opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull put his leadership on the line over his wish to cut a deal with the government on carbon trading.

The scheme, due to start in July 2011 and cover 75 percent of emissions, was a key promise from Rudd's first election victory in November 2007. Laws to set it up were rejected by the Senate a first time in August.

If the laws are defeated a second time next week, Rudd will have a legal trigger to call a snap election, with opinion polls showing he would win with an increased majority. Rudd has regularly played down the possibility of an early election.

But Turnbull's party is deeply divided on the issue, and up to 30 of his 87 lawmakers are threatening to defy their leader and vote against any deal, prompting speculation he may soon face a leadership challenge.

(Editing by Michael Perry and Ron Popeski)

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[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
StanChart eyes $800 mln in renewable deals
Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:06am EST

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Standard Chartered Plc said it planned to invest in several renewable energy projects in Asia worth over $800 million.

"We provide debt, advisory and equity across the sector," Brad Sterley, director of the bank's renewable energy and environmental finance team, told Reuters on the sidelines of a clean energy conference in Singapore.

The projects include a solar manufacturing venture in China worth up to $500 million and a $300 million geothermal energy project in Indonesia.

"We see some opportunities across all sectors but the sectors that would see most of these are wind, solar and water," said Sterley.

Sterley said the bank also planned to invest in a solid waste-to-energy project in China and a wind and a solar power venture in India.

The projects are on top of financing worth up to $10 billion for clean technology which the bank plans to mobilize under its commitment with the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007.

The bank has so far tapped half of the committed financing, but is targeting putting all the funding to work in markets including Asia, Africa and the Middle East by 2012.

"We see growing opportunities in waste, and hydropower is another significant subsector," said Sterley.

He said many of the technologies in the renewable space such as solar thermal could present growth opportunities going forward as they become more commercialized.

"Solar thermal is a technology which has been around for a long time but it really went dormant for about 20 years," he said, citing a lack of effort to commercialize the technology.

"Recently we've seen a lot of interest in solar thermal, not yet in Asia, but we believe it's coming," he said.

(Reporting by Leonora Walet; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)


[Green Business]
Sasol to cut emissions, invest in solar power
Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:38am EST

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Petrochemicals group Sasol, the world's leader in making motor fuel from coal, plans to reduce its carbon footprint by capturing its emissions, producing solar power and making its plants more efficient.

Henri Loubser, project director at the company's New Energy unit, said a public-private partnership between Sasol, other energy firms and a South African university would start producing thin film solar modules within 2-1/2 years.

"We are still speaking two and a half years before the facility can realistically be operational," Loubser told journalists on Friday.

A South African team of scientists invented the design for the solar panels, which consist of micro-thin metallic film -- only five microns thick -- that converts light into energy at a fraction of the cost of conventional panels.

The Thin Film Solar Technology (TFST) joint venture will build a power plant to produce 40 MW using the film, he said.

Sasol, ranked second after power utility Eskom the country's top polluter, reported total carbon emissions in South Africa for the financial year to end-June of 62 million tonnes.

The firm, criticized by environmentalists for doing little to streamline its operations toward a carbon-free economy, said it had set a target to reduce its emissions intensity by 15 percent across its operations by 2020 from a 2005 baseline.

It also plans to make new coal-to-liquids (CTL) plants more efficient by reducing emissions of those built before 2020 by 20 percent and those built before 2030 by 30 percent.

Loubser said producing energy from solar sources, of which there is an abundance in South Africa, will be a focus for the company, and Sasol plans to make a choice which type of concentrated solar power technology it will pursue by next June.

Loubser said Sasol also plans to make its power generation units cleaner by either converting natural gas to electricity or by building nuclear plants to power its operations.

"We will consider a technology step like that (in nuclear) ... it's baseload power and it's a proven technology," he said.

The company said switching from coal to natural gas already reduces its plant's emissions by 40 percent.

In the long term it will also invest in producing power from hydro sources, preferably from countries around South Africa.

Sasol would like to store emissions from its power plants.

It currently captures between 20-30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from its Secunda CTL plant a year but it flares the carbon into the air as it has yet to find a proper storage site.

Sasol plans to generate half of its power needs by 2012 to beat rising electricity prices and to reduce its dependence on the national grid, especially as utility Eskom struggles to supply fast rising demand from industrial and residential users.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Sue Thomas)


[Green Business]
FACTBOX: China's new fuel specs vs Euro standards
Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:42am EST

(Reuters) - China will start using cleaner gasoline and automotive diesel from January 2010, with specifications similar to Euro III standards introduced a decade ago in the West.

For gasoline, the standards were in place since December 2006, but are only becoming mandatory nationwide from January 2010.

For diesel, China is launching automotive diesel specifications for the first time, to differentiate from diesel used by the rural, marine and industrial sectors.

The diesel specs, however, will not become a national mandate until June 2011, China's Standardisation Administration has said.

China, keen to clean up the skies as the world's third-largest economy expands rapidly, aims to catch up with European fuel quality, now in Euro V standards, by 2015/16, a researcher with the Ministry of Environmental Protection said.

Metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai have taken the lead by launching Euro IV standards ahead of the rest of the nation.

For a related analysis, click [ID:nPEK346699]

WHO PUSHES NEW FUEL STANDARDS?

Regulatory wise, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) is the entity that trumpets and pushes for the formulation of cleaner fuel standards.

The National Standardisation Administration approves and publishes them, while top refiner Sinopec Corp has taken the role of mapping out the specifications.

But the oil duopoly, Sinopec and PetroChina, both have lobbying power to influence the timing and speed for shifts to greener fuel.

The country's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, supervises the executions through routine checks on petrol stations.

The following lists the main features of China's new fuel specs versus European ones.

Chinese National III standards for automotive diesel:

-- sulphur max 350 ppm, vs previous 500 ppm or 2000 ppm

-- PAH d/% max 11

-- cetane value min 49

-- cetane index min 46

-- distillation cuts: 50 pct recovery, max temp 300 degree Celsius

90 pct recovery, max temp 355

95 pct recovery, max temp 365

-- density (20 degree C) (kg/m3): 810-850 for normal grades

790-840 for cold weather grades Source: China's standardisation Administration (www.sac.gov.cn)

Euro standards: Automotive Diesel

Year Sulfur max Min. Cetane number T95 (Degree C) PAH max

%

---------------------------------------------------------------

2003 350 ppm 51 360 11

2005 50 ppm 51 360 11

2006 50 ppm 51 360 11

2007 50 ppm 51 360 11

2008 50 ppm 51 360 11

2009 10 ppm 51 360 8

2010 10 ppm 51 360 8

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Notes: European product specifications are classified as Euro II for specs before year 2000, Euro III for product specs in 2000, Euro IV for the 2005 specs and Euro V for specs effective Jan 2009 through 2014.

Austria, Germany and the U.K. are offering tax breaks for 0.001% sulphur (10 PPM) ADO. Germany permits only 0.001% sulphur ADO ince Jan 2003. Source: AP Energy Consulting

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Chinese national III standards for gasoline, compulsory from Jan 2010:

-- lead: max 0.005 (g/L)

-- RVP: Nov-Apr max 88, May-Oct max 72

-- sulphur max 150 ppm vs previous 0.05 pct

-- benzene d/% max 1.0 vs previous 2.5

-- aromatics e/% max 40

-- olefins e/% max 30, vs previous 35

-- oxygenates max 2.7 pct

-- RON min 93, RON+MON/2 min 88 for Octane 93

-- RON min 90, RON+MON/2 min 85 for Octane 90

China officially phased out lead in 2000.

Source: China's Standardisation Adminsitration (www.sac.gov.cn)

Euro standards for gasoline:

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Year Sulphur max RVP max Benzene Aromatics Olefins Oxygenates

----------------------------------------------------------------

2003 150 ppm 60/70 1 42 21 2.7

2005 50 ppm 60/70 1 35 18 2.7

2006 50 ppm 60/70 1 35 18 2.7

2007 50 ppm 60/70 1 35 18 2.7

2008 50 ppm 60/70 1 35 18 2.7

2009 10 ppm 60/70 1 35 18 2.7

Through 2014 with same specs as 2009

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- Notes: European product specifications are classified as Euro II for specs pre-2000, Euro III for product specs in 2000, Euro IV for the 2005 specs and Euro V effective 2009.

Source: AP Energy consulting.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Michael Urquhart)

news20091120reut6

[Top News] from [REUTERS]

[Green Business]
What drives China? Soon, cleaner fuel
Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:42am EST
By Chen Aizhu - Analysis

BEIJING (Reuters) - Lorry driver Zhang Jianwei isn't worried about cleaner fuel requirements that come into force in China next year, raising the price of motor fuels -- he will just keep buying cheaper, dirtier diesel at smaller stations.

Zhang's example underscores the cautious approach the world's second largest oil consumer is taking to introducing tougher diesel and gasoline specifications, and shows why there will be little initial impact on China's fuel trade.

Motorists across China will switch to 150 parts-per-million (ppm) sulphur gasoline from January 1, 2010, from 500 ppm, and a lower content of benzene, a carcinogen, three years after the specifications were first announced.

The changes, a hard sell to motorists already facing record pump prices, won't bring China's fuel standards into line with even stricter Western market benchmarks, tempering the risk of Asia's leading gasoline seller flooding export markets with still more fuel.

"It will not allow them to break into advanced markets yet, but I don't think they aimed for that anyway," said Al Troner, managing director of AP Energy Consulting, and an expert on Asian fuel specifications.

But its start to move Chinese oil firms beyond their traditional role of being self-sufficient toward being more like aggressive exporters in South Korea and more recently, India. For example, 150-ppm gasoline will probably help boost Chinese sales into Australia, which uses a similar grade.

Also from January 1, China is launching automotive diesel with a sulphur content of 350 ppm, to differentiate from the 2,000-ppm general diesel used by its vast rural and industrial sectors. However an 18-month "transitional" period is allowed before the specification becomes mandatory.

DIESEL IN FOCUS, RECORD PUMP PRICES

One significant change in diesel quality is the cap on polyaromatics, a main contributor to urban smog. That requires refiners to use costly hydrocracking and hydrotreating units, instead of traditional catalytic crackers.

Oil duopoly Sinopec and PetroChina have in the past decade or so been spending heavily on units that strip sulphur and crack heavy residues into motor fuels, as China imports a growing share of sour and heavy crude oil.

The new specs mean the cost of fuel is set to rise further, a challenge for refiners like Sinopec Corp to pass on to Chinese drivers already paying record pump prices.

"It's Sinopec's chance to showcase our strength in technology. But as it costs to build and run hydrocrackers to meet the specs, we will expect a premium price for premium quality," Sinopec's spokesman, Huang Wensheng, said.

The formal introduction of automotive diesel specs highlights the oil industry's focus on meeting the rapid growth in road freight traffic in an economy that is heavy on manufacturing and as the country swiftly expands its highway networks.

China's demand for automotive diesel overtook gasoline in absolute volumes a couple of years ago, and is poised for strong growth in the coming years, analysts said.

Automotive diesel now makes up more than half of China's total diesel use of some 3 million barrels per day, against a third previously.

"The improvement in auto diesel standards in the past has been slowed in part because of China's massive use of rural diesel by tractors. Auto diesel is growing rapidly," said Lu Changjiang, Sinopec's fuel quality and efficiency chief.

PRICING AN ISSUE

China's environmental watchdog wants to fast track the more stringent standards, and Sinopec says it has the technical ability to produce Euro V motor fuels with sulphur content of 10 ppm and steeper cuts in polyaromatics.

"We're aiming to catch up with European standards (V) by around 2015/2016," said Tang Dagang, head of vehicle emissions control of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, adding that mationwide specifications for 50 ppm gasoline, already in use in Beijing and Shanghai, are expected to be announced soon.

For the country's swelling fleet of private car owners -- car sales in China recently passed those in America to make it the world's top market -- the mandatory shift to cleaner petrol of 150 ppm will put China in the league of clean fuel markets like Japan and Australia.

And the cut to 1 percent from 2.5 percent of benzene places China at the top of the moderately high quality ranks, said AP Energy's Troner.

But both the government and oil firms will need to gauge if users like lorry driver Zhang are going to pay up, after a doubling of prices in the past five years and a dwindling of China's exports, which has heightened competition among truckers.

To cut the bills for his 1,000-liter tank, Zhang says he may stop more often at gas stations near his mountainous hometown in Fujian, where cheaper and lower-grade fuels are popular, before hitting the 4-lane inter-provincial highways dotted by petrol outlets run by state giants Sinopec and PetroChina.

"If it can save me 300 to 400 yuan ($45-$60) per trip, I will not hesitate to refuel at the smaller stations," said Zhang.

($1=6.826 Yuan)

(Additional reporting Seng Li Peng in Singapore; Editing by Michael Urquhart)