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[BusinessGreen.com > News > Transport]
China lays ground work for electric car charging grid
Chinese government poised to announce new standards for electric vehicle charging points as technology firms rush to take advantage of burgeoning market
Tom Young, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
China plans to issue new regulations in October governing its proposed charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
According to reports in the Shanghai Securities News, the government plans to introduce three new standards covering technical requirements for charging points for electric vehicles.
Citing an unnamed source at the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, the news agency said that the regulator is also talking with power grid operators and crude oil producers about five other electric vehicle standards that it aims to establish this year.
The Chinese government has said it will invest more than 100 billion yuan ($US15bn) to support the roll out of electric cars. But to ensure compatibility technical guidelines are needed quickly if recharging points are to installed nationally.
Meanwhile, support for electric vehicles in China is continuing to grow at a rapid rate of knots.
Last week, China Petrochemical Corporation announced in a newsletter that it plans to add electric vehicle charging facilities to 41 of its service stations in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province. Meanwhile, earlier this year China's State Grid Corporation said 75 electric vehicle charging stations are planned in 27 cities across China by the
end of the year.
In addition, 16 Chinese central state-owned auto firms including China FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Chang'an Automobile Group, last week announced the formation of the the Electric Vehicle Industry Alliance, with the aim of promoting the standardisation of electric car-related technologies.
Total investments in the new-energy vehicle industry by alliance members will reach 100 billion yuan ($US15bn) by 2012, the group said.
Alongside auto manufacturers companies working on the development of charging networks are rushing to take advantage of the market opportunity.
US firm ECOtality announced last year that it is working with Chinese firm Shenzhen Goch Investment to manufacture and install charging stations in China, while high profile electric car start up Better Place has signed a deal with China's largest independent automaker Chery to develop electric vehicles with swappable batteries.
China is expected to become the world's largest market for electric vehicle charging equipment, with nearly 48 per cent of annual global sales by 2015, according to a recent study from Pike Research. The analyst firm also predicted that global annual sales of electric vehicle charging equipment will reach $1.9bn by the same date.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Incentives]
Small businesses demand government help to drive green gains
Federation of Small Businesses argues increased incentives are required if its members are to effectively cut carbon emissions
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
The government's upcoming Energy Security and Green Economy bill must include measures to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) cut carbon emissions, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The report, titled Making Sense of Going Green, examines how SMEs can better contribute to the government's low-carbon 2020 targets and recommends a range of measures, including expanding the government's current green loan scheme for small businesses and offering incentives for firms that improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.
"The potential of the UK's 4.8 million small businesses to contribute to the fight against climate change and drive green economic growth […] must be harnessed when the government publishes its forthcoming non-domestic Green Deal and Energy bill," the report states.
The study cites research from the Carbon Trust which shows that if all UK businesses and public sector organisations undertook effective energy efficiency measures, they could save £3.6bn a year while slashing carbon emissions by 29 million tonnes.
Specifically, the report calls on the government to introduce a loan scheme for businesses that would see banks, energy and construction firms pay the upfront costs of major building energy efficiency upgrades; encourage firms in the worst G-rated buildings to invest in obtaining an F-rating; and waive planned increases to business rates for firms that improve building energy efficiency.
The report was released as the Welsh Assembly last week launched a package of measures to help SMEs profit from renewable energy.
Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson pledged to help small and medium-sized renewable energy installation companies access interest-free loans to cover the cost of gaining professional accreditation under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
The move was welcomed by the Renewable Energy Association as a positive step to encourage more firms and households to install microgeneration technologies and take advantage of the new feed-in tariff.
Businesses and households can only access the feed-in tariff if they use renewable energy technologies and installers that have gained MCS certification. However, some firms have complained that the cost of gaining accreditation can be prohibitive for small businesses.
"In this new and rapidly growing market, it is important that customers are protected, as the investments are significant both in terms of cost and brain power," said REA chief executive Gaynor Hartnell. "It is for this reason that there is a need for certification, but it must not be a barrier for installers and manufacturers. This scheme will help alleviate that."
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Risk]
BP to remove broken blowout preventer ahead of final kill operation
Procedure not expected to be completed until after Labor Day weekend
BusinessGreen.com staff, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
BP is not expected to complete the "kill" operation on its ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico until after the 6 September Labor Day holiday after US officials ordered the company to fit a new blowout preventer to the well head.
The company had originally hoped to complete the so-called "bottom kill" procedure that will see mud and cement pumped through a relief well into the ruptured well later this month.
But a combination of bad weather and concerns that the operation could increase pressure in the well, leading to a fresh leak, have delayed work on the procedure.
Following a series of pressure tests last week, Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the official in charge of the US government response, told BP to submit a new plan to remove the failed blowout preventer at the head of the well and replace it with a second preventer.
Pressure tests showed that the switch was unlikely to lead to further leaks, although BP has been instructed to include proposals to contain any leak in the new plan.
Once a new blowout preventer is installed, BP will be free to complete the drilling of the relief well and begin the "bottom kill" operation – a process Allen said he expected to get under way some time after Labor Day.
The recovered blowout preventer will be handed to government officials who are undertaking an investigation to ascertain the cause of the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 people and sparked the largest offshore oil spill in history.
The latest developments came as the Wall Street Journal reported that the US government knew that its ban on deepwater drilling in the wake of the BP spill would cost about 23,000 jobs and delay more than $10bn (£6.4bn) in investment.
The government is preparing to defend its second ban on deepwater drilling, which the White House maintains is required to give officials time to determine the cause of the BP leak and ensure current regulations governing deepwater drilling are adequate.
A previous ban was overturned by a judge who argued that the move was disproportionate and would result in sizable economic losses for the Gulf region.
The White House responded by imposing a second moratorium, but that move is once again being challenged in the courts by the oil industry which alleges that the latest ruling is fundamentally the same as the overturned ban.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Transport]
China lays ground work for electric car charging grid
Chinese government poised to announce new standards for electric vehicle charging points as technology firms rush to take advantage of burgeoning market
Tom Young, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
China plans to issue new regulations in October governing its proposed charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
According to reports in the Shanghai Securities News, the government plans to introduce three new standards covering technical requirements for charging points for electric vehicles.
Citing an unnamed source at the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, the news agency said that the regulator is also talking with power grid operators and crude oil producers about five other electric vehicle standards that it aims to establish this year.
The Chinese government has said it will invest more than 100 billion yuan ($US15bn) to support the roll out of electric cars. But to ensure compatibility technical guidelines are needed quickly if recharging points are to installed nationally.
Meanwhile, support for electric vehicles in China is continuing to grow at a rapid rate of knots.
Last week, China Petrochemical Corporation announced in a newsletter that it plans to add electric vehicle charging facilities to 41 of its service stations in Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province. Meanwhile, earlier this year China's State Grid Corporation said 75 electric vehicle charging stations are planned in 27 cities across China by the
end of the year.
In addition, 16 Chinese central state-owned auto firms including China FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Chang'an Automobile Group, last week announced the formation of the the Electric Vehicle Industry Alliance, with the aim of promoting the standardisation of electric car-related technologies.
Total investments in the new-energy vehicle industry by alliance members will reach 100 billion yuan ($US15bn) by 2012, the group said.
Alongside auto manufacturers companies working on the development of charging networks are rushing to take advantage of the market opportunity.
US firm ECOtality announced last year that it is working with Chinese firm Shenzhen Goch Investment to manufacture and install charging stations in China, while high profile electric car start up Better Place has signed a deal with China's largest independent automaker Chery to develop electric vehicles with swappable batteries.
China is expected to become the world's largest market for electric vehicle charging equipment, with nearly 48 per cent of annual global sales by 2015, according to a recent study from Pike Research. The analyst firm also predicted that global annual sales of electric vehicle charging equipment will reach $1.9bn by the same date.
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Incentives]
Small businesses demand government help to drive green gains
Federation of Small Businesses argues increased incentives are required if its members are to effectively cut carbon emissions
Jessica Shankleman, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
The government's upcoming Energy Security and Green Economy bill must include measures to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) cut carbon emissions, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The report, titled Making Sense of Going Green, examines how SMEs can better contribute to the government's low-carbon 2020 targets and recommends a range of measures, including expanding the government's current green loan scheme for small businesses and offering incentives for firms that improve the energy efficiency of their buildings.
"The potential of the UK's 4.8 million small businesses to contribute to the fight against climate change and drive green economic growth […] must be harnessed when the government publishes its forthcoming non-domestic Green Deal and Energy bill," the report states.
The study cites research from the Carbon Trust which shows that if all UK businesses and public sector organisations undertook effective energy efficiency measures, they could save £3.6bn a year while slashing carbon emissions by 29 million tonnes.
Specifically, the report calls on the government to introduce a loan scheme for businesses that would see banks, energy and construction firms pay the upfront costs of major building energy efficiency upgrades; encourage firms in the worst G-rated buildings to invest in obtaining an F-rating; and waive planned increases to business rates for firms that improve building energy efficiency.
The report was released as the Welsh Assembly last week launched a package of measures to help SMEs profit from renewable energy.
Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson pledged to help small and medium-sized renewable energy installation companies access interest-free loans to cover the cost of gaining professional accreditation under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).
The move was welcomed by the Renewable Energy Association as a positive step to encourage more firms and households to install microgeneration technologies and take advantage of the new feed-in tariff.
Businesses and households can only access the feed-in tariff if they use renewable energy technologies and installers that have gained MCS certification. However, some firms have complained that the cost of gaining accreditation can be prohibitive for small businesses.
"In this new and rapidly growing market, it is important that customers are protected, as the investments are significant both in terms of cost and brain power," said REA chief executive Gaynor Hartnell. "It is for this reason that there is a need for certification, but it must not be a barrier for installers and manufacturers. This scheme will help alleviate that."
[BusinessGreen.com > News > Risk]
BP to remove broken blowout preventer ahead of final kill operation
Procedure not expected to be completed until after Labor Day weekend
BusinessGreen.com staff, BusinessGreen, 23 Aug 2010
BP is not expected to complete the "kill" operation on its ruptured Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico until after the 6 September Labor Day holiday after US officials ordered the company to fit a new blowout preventer to the well head.
The company had originally hoped to complete the so-called "bottom kill" procedure that will see mud and cement pumped through a relief well into the ruptured well later this month.
But a combination of bad weather and concerns that the operation could increase pressure in the well, leading to a fresh leak, have delayed work on the procedure.
Following a series of pressure tests last week, Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, the official in charge of the US government response, told BP to submit a new plan to remove the failed blowout preventer at the head of the well and replace it with a second preventer.
Pressure tests showed that the switch was unlikely to lead to further leaks, although BP has been instructed to include proposals to contain any leak in the new plan.
Once a new blowout preventer is installed, BP will be free to complete the drilling of the relief well and begin the "bottom kill" operation – a process Allen said he expected to get under way some time after Labor Day.
The recovered blowout preventer will be handed to government officials who are undertaking an investigation to ascertain the cause of the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 people and sparked the largest offshore oil spill in history.
The latest developments came as the Wall Street Journal reported that the US government knew that its ban on deepwater drilling in the wake of the BP spill would cost about 23,000 jobs and delay more than $10bn (£6.4bn) in investment.
The government is preparing to defend its second ban on deepwater drilling, which the White House maintains is required to give officials time to determine the cause of the BP leak and ensure current regulations governing deepwater drilling are adequate.
A previous ban was overturned by a judge who argued that the move was disproportionate and would result in sizable economic losses for the Gulf region.
The White House responded by imposing a second moratorium, but that move is once again being challenged in the courts by the oil industry which alleges that the latest ruling is fundamentally the same as the overturned ban.
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