[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
Enel unit to develop 4,000 MW U.S. wind projects
Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:12pm EST
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's biggest renewable energy company, Enel Green Power said it planned to develop more than 4,000 megawatt of wind projects in the United States after buying a minority stake in Minnesota-based Geronimo Wind Energy.
Under a strategic partnership agreement, Enel Green Power will inject capital to develop the project pipeline and also have the priority right to buy, own and operate wind projects developed by Geronimo, the green energy arm of Italy's biggest utility Enel said in a statement on Tuesday.
It did not say how much it paid for the stake or how much it planned to invest in developing new US wind projects.
"We are committed ... to contribute to grow the renewable energy capacity in a region where we believe renewable energy demand and production will grow substantially in the next future" Enel Green Power Chairman Francesco Starace said in the statement.
Starace told Reuters in September his company planned several small-size acquisitions in wind power generation by the end of this year, targeting small companies with assets and project pipelines in the countries where it operated.
Enel Green Power, with over 4,500 MW of installed solar, wind and other renewable energy capacity around the world, has been boosting its U.S. clean energy portfolio. It has a similar investment in TradeWind Energy based near Lenexa, Kansas.
(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova; editing by James Jukwey)
[Green Business]
U.S. tariffs would chill climate pact and trade
Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:23pm EST
By Timothy Gardner-Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any threat by the United States to slap fees on imports from countries it perceives as weak on cutting carbon emissions could hamper trade relations and delay international efforts to combat global warming.
Lawmakers in states that produce cement, chemicals, steel and other energy-intensive products have called for such tariffs in climate legislation. They fear those industries looking to cut regulation costs could pull up stakes and move to countries that don't have strong climate plans.
But experts say the tariffs may do more harm than good.
"One of the big problems is retaliation," said Jeffrey Frankel, professor of capital formation at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "Other countries will say 'If the U.S. is doing it, we'll put up our own trade barriers.'"
The manufacturers and labor unions are urging the U.S. Congress to include carbon tariffs, also known as border adjustments, in the long-delayed climate bill.
Under the version of the bill passed narrowly by the House of Representatives in June, fees would be levied on such goods from countries that do not adopt plans to curb emissions by 2018. Leaders in the Senate also see the tariffs as important if the bill is to win the required 60 votes.
Kenneth Green, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said trade spats could put U.S. agricultural and high-tech exports at risk.
At issue is the chance that climate could add yet another layer of contention into already complicated U.S. trade relations with China and other developing countries. China and the United States are already at odds on trade over Chinese tires and U.S. exports of poultry and auto products.
TRADE WAR
Another potential problem under the measure is Congress could have a say in determining when a developing country is not matching the United States on future commitments to cut emissions. Those decisions could be subject to influence from industry.
"All you need to start a trade war is a perception of unfairness," said Michael Levi, a climate expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Indeed, poorer countries are balking at the threat of fees placed on their exports.
China and other developing countries have called for a ban on carbon tariffs, which have also been mulled by France. The issue could help keep rich and poor nations at odds beyond the U.N. climate talks next month in Copenhagen.
The United States, which has spewed more heat-trapping carbon dioxide from tailpipes and smokestacks over time than any other country, should worry about cutting its own emissions before laying down demands, some experts said.
And in some measures China, which leads the world in overall greenhouse gas emissions but emits a very low amount per capita, is doing more on climate than the United States.
"Amid this face-off, the danger is that arguments over border taxes could make (an international climate) agreement even more difficult to negotiate," Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times this month.
Experts have said China could get around any U.S. carbon tariffs by imposing its own carbon tax on energy intensive goods. [ID:nPEK83604]
But one way for the United States to reduce uncertainties about global reactions to carbon tariffs would be to negotiate with trading partners on deciding when to penalize others for not taking enough action on climate.
"At least have a multilateral agreement as to what the rules are guiding when you can impose border measures," Frankel said.
In addition, international efforts to reduce global tariffs on shipments of clean energy products like wind and solar power could be an effective way of addressing climate and trade.
"Rather than devoting time and energy to devising effective border measures against goods, major economies could better spend their collective energy and political will in liberalizing trade in those goods and services that will make a positive contribution to climate change," said Dan Price, who was assistant for international economic affairs to former President George W. Bush and practices law at Sidley Austin.
(Editing by Jeffrey Jones and Christian Wiessner)
[Green Business]
Canada backs Alberta CO2 pipeline plan
Tue Nov 24, 2009 5:29pm EST
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian and Alberta governments said on Tuesday they will invest as much as C$558 million ($525 million) in a pipeline project to carry carbon-dioxide from an industrial region near Edmonton, Alberta, to aging oil fields.
The pair are backing the project by closely held Enhance Energy Inc and North West Upgrading as part of a scheme to cut emissions of the gas, blamed as the chief cause of global warming.
The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be capable of carrying up to 40,000 tonnes of compressed carbon dioxide per day but will initially take 5,100 tonnes of gas daily produced by North West's planned oil sands upgrader to be built near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, where a number of other refineries, upgraders and chemical plants are also located.
It will carry the gas to aging oil field in the central part of the province, where pumping it into the reservoirs will remove the it from the atmosphere and help increase oil production.
"This new pipeline will significantly advance Alberta's capacity for future carbon capture and storage projects ," Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said in a statement. "The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be the backbone of CO2 transportation for Alberta."
Alberta will provide C$495 million over 15 years for the line, with the cash coming from a C$2 billion fund set aside to spur carbon capture projects.
The project is the third in Alberta to get funding from the province and from the Canadian government's C$1 billion Clean Energy Fund, set up to develop technology to help cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The federal government is providing C$63 million, with C$30 million coming from the clean energy fund and an additional C$33 million from a separate technology fund.
Ottawa has said it seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2006 levels by 2020.
Last month the two governments also agreed to fund some of the costs of carbon-capture and storage projects at an Alberta coal-fired generating station and an oil sands upgrader.
Some environmentalists have criticized the strategy, saying public money is being funneled into projects proposed by large polluters with uncertain results when it could be invested in alternative energy sources and conservation.
Natural Resources Canada said in a release posted on its website it expects the planned 240-kilometer (149-mile) line to carry and store up to 14.6 megatonnes of carbon-dioxide annually produced by power plants, petrochemical producers and refineries.
Construction of the pipeline is expected to start in 2011 with shipments slated to begin in late 2012.
($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Scott Haggett; editing by Peter Galloway)
[Green Business]
Enel unit to develop 4,000 MW U.S. wind projects
Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:12pm EST
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's biggest renewable energy company, Enel Green Power said it planned to develop more than 4,000 megawatt of wind projects in the United States after buying a minority stake in Minnesota-based Geronimo Wind Energy.
Under a strategic partnership agreement, Enel Green Power will inject capital to develop the project pipeline and also have the priority right to buy, own and operate wind projects developed by Geronimo, the green energy arm of Italy's biggest utility Enel said in a statement on Tuesday.
It did not say how much it paid for the stake or how much it planned to invest in developing new US wind projects.
"We are committed ... to contribute to grow the renewable energy capacity in a region where we believe renewable energy demand and production will grow substantially in the next future" Enel Green Power Chairman Francesco Starace said in the statement.
Starace told Reuters in September his company planned several small-size acquisitions in wind power generation by the end of this year, targeting small companies with assets and project pipelines in the countries where it operated.
Enel Green Power, with over 4,500 MW of installed solar, wind and other renewable energy capacity around the world, has been boosting its U.S. clean energy portfolio. It has a similar investment in TradeWind Energy based near Lenexa, Kansas.
(Reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova; editing by James Jukwey)
[Green Business]
U.S. tariffs would chill climate pact and trade
Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:23pm EST
By Timothy Gardner-Analysis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Any threat by the United States to slap fees on imports from countries it perceives as weak on cutting carbon emissions could hamper trade relations and delay international efforts to combat global warming.
Lawmakers in states that produce cement, chemicals, steel and other energy-intensive products have called for such tariffs in climate legislation. They fear those industries looking to cut regulation costs could pull up stakes and move to countries that don't have strong climate plans.
But experts say the tariffs may do more harm than good.
"One of the big problems is retaliation," said Jeffrey Frankel, professor of capital formation at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "Other countries will say 'If the U.S. is doing it, we'll put up our own trade barriers.'"
The manufacturers and labor unions are urging the U.S. Congress to include carbon tariffs, also known as border adjustments, in the long-delayed climate bill.
Under the version of the bill passed narrowly by the House of Representatives in June, fees would be levied on such goods from countries that do not adopt plans to curb emissions by 2018. Leaders in the Senate also see the tariffs as important if the bill is to win the required 60 votes.
Kenneth Green, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said trade spats could put U.S. agricultural and high-tech exports at risk.
At issue is the chance that climate could add yet another layer of contention into already complicated U.S. trade relations with China and other developing countries. China and the United States are already at odds on trade over Chinese tires and U.S. exports of poultry and auto products.
TRADE WAR
Another potential problem under the measure is Congress could have a say in determining when a developing country is not matching the United States on future commitments to cut emissions. Those decisions could be subject to influence from industry.
"All you need to start a trade war is a perception of unfairness," said Michael Levi, a climate expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Indeed, poorer countries are balking at the threat of fees placed on their exports.
China and other developing countries have called for a ban on carbon tariffs, which have also been mulled by France. The issue could help keep rich and poor nations at odds beyond the U.N. climate talks next month in Copenhagen.
The United States, which has spewed more heat-trapping carbon dioxide from tailpipes and smokestacks over time than any other country, should worry about cutting its own emissions before laying down demands, some experts said.
And in some measures China, which leads the world in overall greenhouse gas emissions but emits a very low amount per capita, is doing more on climate than the United States.
"Amid this face-off, the danger is that arguments over border taxes could make (an international climate) agreement even more difficult to negotiate," Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times this month.
Experts have said China could get around any U.S. carbon tariffs by imposing its own carbon tax on energy intensive goods. [ID:nPEK83604]
But one way for the United States to reduce uncertainties about global reactions to carbon tariffs would be to negotiate with trading partners on deciding when to penalize others for not taking enough action on climate.
"At least have a multilateral agreement as to what the rules are guiding when you can impose border measures," Frankel said.
In addition, international efforts to reduce global tariffs on shipments of clean energy products like wind and solar power could be an effective way of addressing climate and trade.
"Rather than devoting time and energy to devising effective border measures against goods, major economies could better spend their collective energy and political will in liberalizing trade in those goods and services that will make a positive contribution to climate change," said Dan Price, who was assistant for international economic affairs to former President George W. Bush and practices law at Sidley Austin.
(Editing by Jeffrey Jones and Christian Wiessner)
[Green Business]
Canada backs Alberta CO2 pipeline plan
Tue Nov 24, 2009 5:29pm EST
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian and Alberta governments said on Tuesday they will invest as much as C$558 million ($525 million) in a pipeline project to carry carbon-dioxide from an industrial region near Edmonton, Alberta, to aging oil fields.
The pair are backing the project by closely held Enhance Energy Inc and North West Upgrading as part of a scheme to cut emissions of the gas, blamed as the chief cause of global warming.
The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be capable of carrying up to 40,000 tonnes of compressed carbon dioxide per day but will initially take 5,100 tonnes of gas daily produced by North West's planned oil sands upgrader to be built near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, where a number of other refineries, upgraders and chemical plants are also located.
It will carry the gas to aging oil field in the central part of the province, where pumping it into the reservoirs will remove the it from the atmosphere and help increase oil production.
"This new pipeline will significantly advance Alberta's capacity for future carbon capture and storage projects ," Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said in a statement. "The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be the backbone of CO2 transportation for Alberta."
Alberta will provide C$495 million over 15 years for the line, with the cash coming from a C$2 billion fund set aside to spur carbon capture projects.
The project is the third in Alberta to get funding from the province and from the Canadian government's C$1 billion Clean Energy Fund, set up to develop technology to help cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The federal government is providing C$63 million, with C$30 million coming from the clean energy fund and an additional C$33 million from a separate technology fund.
Ottawa has said it seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2006 levels by 2020.
Last month the two governments also agreed to fund some of the costs of carbon-capture and storage projects at an Alberta coal-fired generating station and an oil sands upgrader.
Some environmentalists have criticized the strategy, saying public money is being funneled into projects proposed by large polluters with uncertain results when it could be invested in alternative energy sources and conservation.
Natural Resources Canada said in a release posted on its website it expects the planned 240-kilometer (149-mile) line to carry and store up to 14.6 megatonnes of carbon-dioxide annually produced by power plants, petrochemical producers and refineries.
Construction of the pipeline is expected to start in 2011 with shipments slated to begin in late 2012.
($1=$1.06 Canadian)
(Reporting by Scott Haggett; editing by Peter Galloway)
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