[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
AMSTERDAM
Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:41pm EST
Dutch firm quits ethanol plan, eyes liquid biogas
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch firm Bioethanol Rotterdam expects to secure financing in the next two months for a liquefied biogas plant it wants to build in the Netherlands, after scrapping plans for a wheat-based bioethanol plant.
Managing Director Peter van der Gaag said on Monday the 90 million euro ($127.3 million) project would be funded partly by government subsidies but the company is also in talks with other firms and investors to secure additional funds.
Van der Gaag is applying for permits to build the plant in the northeastern Dutch town Delfzijl, where he sees more concentrated investment in energy projects compared with other cities such as Rotterdam.
He said the plant, which the firm hopes to bring online in 2011, would produce about 35,000 tonnes of liquefied biomethane annually, from feedstocks ranging from agricultural waste to sewage sludge and switch grass.
"Biomethane will be the cheapest, cleanest biofuel made from waste in the future," Van der Gaag said, adding that he would target Britain and Sweden as export markets and also expected liquefied biogas to become an important fuel for shipping.
(Reporting by Catherine Hornby; editing by Sue Thomas)
[Green Business]
ROME
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:23am EST
Italy to unveil new solar incentives
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government will unveil a much-awaited plan for new incentives for a rapidly growing solar energy sector on Feb. 11, Economic Development Undersecretary Stefano Saglia said on Tuesday.
Italian and international investors who piled into Italian solar industry lured by the current generous scheme have been on tiptoes to find out details of the new plan which would reduce incentives as the government aims to ease the budget burden.
The new incentives plan would be presented at a meeting of a government body for relations between the state and regions on Fe. 11, Saglia told reporters, adding that new gas distribution system proposals would also be presented at the meeting.
The new plan presentation has previously been expected on January 27.
Saglia said last week solar power generating capacity would be capped at 8,000 megawatts until 2020 under the new plan, with at least 100 MW of the new cap to be earmarked for concentrated solar power generation.
The existing incentive scheme launched in 2007 expires after total installed photovoltaic capacity -- which turns sunlight into power -- hits 1,200 MW. The cap is expected to be hit in July, the state energy management agency GSE has said. (Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Svetlana Kovalyova)
[Green Business]
Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:26am EST
Wind power capacity up in 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. wind power capacity soared 39 percent last year but job growth stalled as uncertainty about renewable energy policies and the recession slowed manufacturing, an industry group said.
The combined power generating capacity of new U.S. wind turbines installed last year hit more than 9,900 megawatts, up from a gain of over 8,400 MW in the previous year. Total capacity hit more than 35,000 MW, or about enough to power 9.7 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association said.
Total U.S. jobs associated with wind energy, stalled at 85,000, about flat from the previous year as the recession took a toll on manufacturing. In 2008, job growth surged as the sector added 35,000 positions.
Denise Bode, chief executive of AWEA, said jobs stalled because of tight financing and uncertainty about wind power incentives, including long-term tax credits and a national mandate for renewable energy.
She said President Barack Obama's recovery act that set aside billions of dollars for renewable energy helped prevent job losses. Some 1,500 to 2,000 jobs were lost in wind power manufacturing, but those jobs were made up for with gains in construction and maintenance at wind power farms, she said.
AWEA wants Congress to pass national mandates for generating renewable power, which are expected to be included in a compromise climate bill to be considered by the Senate this year.
"We are trying to convince European wind manufacturers to invest in the United States but first they want to know what policies will be in place," said Bode.
The United States overtook Germany in 2008 as the world's top wind power generator. But China, which unlike the United States, has set national clean energy targets, may take the top spot for 2009 when the results are finalized.
"We are in a foot race with the Chinese who are providing more and more incentives and mandates for the industry," said Bode.
Texas led the country in added wind capacity last year with nearly 2,300 MW, followed by Indiana with 905 MW and Iowa with 879 MW. The gains came despite billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Picken's announcement last summer that he would postpone construction of a huge wind farm in Texas.
Wind accounted for about 6 percent of the electricity produced last year in Texas, according to the state.
Wind power generated only about 1 percent of power supply for the entire country last year.
Bode said if the country adopted a national renewable electricity mandates investors would put more money into building transmission lines to carry more wind from the gusty center of the country to cities with high power demand.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:36am EST
Hungary expects ethanol output to surge in 2011
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary expects three new ethanol plants to come on stream in 2011 which would greatly increase capacity and absorb over one million tonnes of maize per year from the market, an agriculture ministry official said.
Hungary, a major grain producer in central Europe, harvested 7.5 million tonnes of maize in 2009 and with domestic demand of about 3 million tonnes, it has 5-6 million tonnes of surplus maize per year to export.
At one stage there were dozens of new ethanol plants on the drawing board but a surge in feed prices halted investments and the only major plant in Hungary is a refinery in Szabadegyhaza with annual capacity of about 150,000 tonnes.
"There are three plants in the preparatory phase, which at this stage are expected to be constructed," Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Zoltan Gogos told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
The new plants, in the towns of Dunafoldvar, Kaba and Dunaalmas, are in the process of obtaining permits and may come on stream in 2011, boosting Hungary's ethanol output by about 500,000 tonnes, Gogos said.
A draft government decree issued last month would make the refinery in Dunafoldvar -- planned by the Hungarian unit of Ireland-based Ethanol Europe -- a priority project, speeding up the process of obtaining the necessary documentation.
Gogos said he expected the two other projects in Kaba and Dunaalmas -- which are nearly through the licensing phase but were shelved earlier due to a spike in feed prices -- to receive the same priority status in the next one or two weeks.
That means the three new plants combined could absorb about 1.2-1.3 million tonnes of maize, starting with the 2011 crop, which Gogos said could ease some of the strain on the market caused by the excess of supply.
"I expect that with construction starting late in the spring, these (plants) will surely be buyers of the 2011 crop," Gogos said, adding that ethanol exports from the new plants could also begin that year.
He said apart from these three big projects, 10-15 smaller refineries were in the planning phase, which could add another 100,000-150,000 tonnes to Hungary's annual ethanol output.
"If we can build up 600,000 tonnes of new ethanol capacity in Hungary, which assumes input of about 2 million tonnes of maize, we could face much smaller market problems," Gogos said.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, editing by Anthony Barker)
[Green Business]
AMSTERDAM
Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:41pm EST
Dutch firm quits ethanol plan, eyes liquid biogas
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch firm Bioethanol Rotterdam expects to secure financing in the next two months for a liquefied biogas plant it wants to build in the Netherlands, after scrapping plans for a wheat-based bioethanol plant.
Managing Director Peter van der Gaag said on Monday the 90 million euro ($127.3 million) project would be funded partly by government subsidies but the company is also in talks with other firms and investors to secure additional funds.
Van der Gaag is applying for permits to build the plant in the northeastern Dutch town Delfzijl, where he sees more concentrated investment in energy projects compared with other cities such as Rotterdam.
He said the plant, which the firm hopes to bring online in 2011, would produce about 35,000 tonnes of liquefied biomethane annually, from feedstocks ranging from agricultural waste to sewage sludge and switch grass.
"Biomethane will be the cheapest, cleanest biofuel made from waste in the future," Van der Gaag said, adding that he would target Britain and Sweden as export markets and also expected liquefied biogas to become an important fuel for shipping.
(Reporting by Catherine Hornby; editing by Sue Thomas)
[Green Business]
ROME
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:23am EST
Italy to unveil new solar incentives
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government will unveil a much-awaited plan for new incentives for a rapidly growing solar energy sector on Feb. 11, Economic Development Undersecretary Stefano Saglia said on Tuesday.
Italian and international investors who piled into Italian solar industry lured by the current generous scheme have been on tiptoes to find out details of the new plan which would reduce incentives as the government aims to ease the budget burden.
The new incentives plan would be presented at a meeting of a government body for relations between the state and regions on Fe. 11, Saglia told reporters, adding that new gas distribution system proposals would also be presented at the meeting.
The new plan presentation has previously been expected on January 27.
Saglia said last week solar power generating capacity would be capped at 8,000 megawatts until 2020 under the new plan, with at least 100 MW of the new cap to be earmarked for concentrated solar power generation.
The existing incentive scheme launched in 2007 expires after total installed photovoltaic capacity -- which turns sunlight into power -- hits 1,200 MW. The cap is expected to be hit in July, the state energy management agency GSE has said. (Reporting by Alberto Sisto, writing by Svetlana Kovalyova)
[Green Business]
Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:26am EST
Wind power capacity up in 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. wind power capacity soared 39 percent last year but job growth stalled as uncertainty about renewable energy policies and the recession slowed manufacturing, an industry group said.
The combined power generating capacity of new U.S. wind turbines installed last year hit more than 9,900 megawatts, up from a gain of over 8,400 MW in the previous year. Total capacity hit more than 35,000 MW, or about enough to power 9.7 million homes, the American Wind Energy Association said.
Total U.S. jobs associated with wind energy, stalled at 85,000, about flat from the previous year as the recession took a toll on manufacturing. In 2008, job growth surged as the sector added 35,000 positions.
Denise Bode, chief executive of AWEA, said jobs stalled because of tight financing and uncertainty about wind power incentives, including long-term tax credits and a national mandate for renewable energy.
She said President Barack Obama's recovery act that set aside billions of dollars for renewable energy helped prevent job losses. Some 1,500 to 2,000 jobs were lost in wind power manufacturing, but those jobs were made up for with gains in construction and maintenance at wind power farms, she said.
AWEA wants Congress to pass national mandates for generating renewable power, which are expected to be included in a compromise climate bill to be considered by the Senate this year.
"We are trying to convince European wind manufacturers to invest in the United States but first they want to know what policies will be in place," said Bode.
The United States overtook Germany in 2008 as the world's top wind power generator. But China, which unlike the United States, has set national clean energy targets, may take the top spot for 2009 when the results are finalized.
"We are in a foot race with the Chinese who are providing more and more incentives and mandates for the industry," said Bode.
Texas led the country in added wind capacity last year with nearly 2,300 MW, followed by Indiana with 905 MW and Iowa with 879 MW. The gains came despite billionaire oil tycoon T. Boone Picken's announcement last summer that he would postpone construction of a huge wind farm in Texas.
Wind accounted for about 6 percent of the electricity produced last year in Texas, according to the state.
Wind power generated only about 1 percent of power supply for the entire country last year.
Bode said if the country adopted a national renewable electricity mandates investors would put more money into building transmission lines to carry more wind from the gusty center of the country to cities with high power demand.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
Gergely Szakacs
BUDAPEST
Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:36am EST
Hungary expects ethanol output to surge in 2011
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary expects three new ethanol plants to come on stream in 2011 which would greatly increase capacity and absorb over one million tonnes of maize per year from the market, an agriculture ministry official said.
Hungary, a major grain producer in central Europe, harvested 7.5 million tonnes of maize in 2009 and with domestic demand of about 3 million tonnes, it has 5-6 million tonnes of surplus maize per year to export.
At one stage there were dozens of new ethanol plants on the drawing board but a surge in feed prices halted investments and the only major plant in Hungary is a refinery in Szabadegyhaza with annual capacity of about 150,000 tonnes.
"There are three plants in the preparatory phase, which at this stage are expected to be constructed," Agriculture Ministry State Secretary Zoltan Gogos told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
The new plants, in the towns of Dunafoldvar, Kaba and Dunaalmas, are in the process of obtaining permits and may come on stream in 2011, boosting Hungary's ethanol output by about 500,000 tonnes, Gogos said.
A draft government decree issued last month would make the refinery in Dunafoldvar -- planned by the Hungarian unit of Ireland-based Ethanol Europe -- a priority project, speeding up the process of obtaining the necessary documentation.
Gogos said he expected the two other projects in Kaba and Dunaalmas -- which are nearly through the licensing phase but were shelved earlier due to a spike in feed prices -- to receive the same priority status in the next one or two weeks.
That means the three new plants combined could absorb about 1.2-1.3 million tonnes of maize, starting with the 2011 crop, which Gogos said could ease some of the strain on the market caused by the excess of supply.
"I expect that with construction starting late in the spring, these (plants) will surely be buyers of the 2011 crop," Gogos said, adding that ethanol exports from the new plants could also begin that year.
He said apart from these three big projects, 10-15 smaller refineries were in the planning phase, which could add another 100,000-150,000 tonnes to Hungary's annual ethanol output.
"If we can build up 600,000 tonnes of new ethanol capacity in Hungary, which assumes input of about 2 million tonnes of maize, we could face much smaller market problems," Gogos said.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, editing by Anthony Barker)
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