[Top News] from [REUTERS]
[Green Business]
OTTAWA
Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:30pm EST
New Canadian minister urges green/oil-sands balance
OTTAWA (Reuters) - New Canadian Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis said on Tuesday that Canada, the biggest energy exporter to the United States, must balance the environment and economic growth.
Paradis, who had been Public Works minister, replaces Lisa Raitt in the Natural Resources portfolio, which includes some oversight of the country's growing oil sands sector, the nuclear industry and energy exports.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has touted Canada as an emerging "energy superpower" as output from the country's oil sands, the largest crude reserves outside the Middle East, rises.
That has also made the country a focal point for environmental activists concerned about rising greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands projects and the destruction of large swathes of boreal forest in northern Alberta.
However Paradis, who has some experience in the portfolio after serving a year as parliamentary secretary to the Natural Resources minister in 2006, said the needs of the economy and the environment must be balanced, echoing a favorite line of Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
Asked by reporters whether production from the oil sands should be curbed to cut pollution, the new minister said: "The key point in that is to balance the economy and the environment ... I expect that the industry will share its burden to reach that goal".
While he is little known in the Canadian energy industry, Paradis's appointment was being cautiously welcomed.
"We're looking forward to working with him," said Greg Stringham, a vice-president at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a lobby group representing the bulk of the country's big oil and gas firms. "He does bring a year's experience as (Natural Resources) parliamentary secretary, so he knows our issues well and comes from public works, which is fairly complex."
Paradis is a lawyer from Thetford Mines, Quebec, once the home of a thriving asbestos mining industry.
"We are fortunate to have a new minister with mining in his riding," Gavin Dirom, chief executive of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia, said in a statement. "Minister Paradis has a track record of standing up ... for the mining sector.
(Reporting by Randall Palmer and Scott Haggett; editing by Peter Galloway)
[Green Business]
FRANKFURT
Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:52am EST
FACTBOX: Sales exposure to Germany's solar market
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The German government said Wednesday it would propose to cut solar feed-in tariffs -- prices utilities have to pay generators of renewable energy -- by an additional 15 percent.
With Germany being the world's biggest solar market by installed capacity, this will put pressure on industry players around the world.
Following are key facts about some of the world's biggest solar companies and their sales exposure to Germany based on the latest available information:
* Q-Cells, one of the world biggest makers of solar cells, made 56 percent of its sales in the first nine months of 2009 in Germany.
* U.S. First Solar, set to become the world's largest maker of solar cells, said it made 60-70 percent of its sales in Germany last year.
* SolarWorld, Germany's biggest solar company by revenue, made 67 percent, or 428 million euros ($607.9 million), in Germany in the first nine months of 2009.
* Germany accounts for about half of China's Yingli Green Energy global panel sales, and more than half at Suntech Power.
* SMA Solar, the world's biggest maker of solar inverters, made more than 70 percent of nine-months sales in Germany.
* Solar module maker Solon generated about 50 percent of its nine-months revenue in Germany, while at wholesaler Phoenix Solar, the country accounted for 95 percent of sales during the same period.
(Compiled by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Leonora Walet in Hong Kong and Laura Isensee in Los Angeles; Editing by Sharon Lindores) ($1=.7040 Euro)
[Green Business]
BRUSSELS
Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:53am EST
EU to launch new electric cars project: Zapatero
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is about to embark on a major new project to support the growth of electric cars, Spain's prime minister said on Wednesday in his role at the helm of the European Union.
"The other day I met together with a group of companies -- some of the most important in Europe -- and it was felt it was fundamental that there should be cooperation and integration of efforts in developing the electric vehicle," Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.
The project will be launched at a meeting of EU industry ministers in the Spanish city of San Sebastian on February 8.
"If our markets don't have a regulatory framework to provide financial support, and if we don't have common standards on the technologies, then it will be difficult for Europe to take a leading role," Zapatero said.
"In the meantime, we see that China and Japan are developing fast on electric vehicles," he added. "They're working very hard on batteries."
European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said his experts were already working on draft rules to support the project.
(Writing by Pete Harrison; editing by Sue Thomas)
[Green Business]
Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:52am EST
U.S. says wind could power 20 percent of eastern grid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wind energy could generate 20 percent of the electricity needed by households and businesses in the eastern half of the United States by 2024, but it would require up to $90 billion in investment, according to a government report released on Wednesday.
For the 20 percent wind scenario to work, billions must be spent on installing wind towers on land and sea and about 22,000 miles of new high-tech power lines to carry the electricity to cities, according to the study from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
"Twenty percent wind is an ambitious goal," said David Corbus, the project manager for the study. "We can bring more wind power online, but if we don't have the proper infrastructure to move that power around, it's like buying a hybrid car and leaving it in the garage,"
The private sector cannot fund all the needed spending, so a big chunk would have to come from the federal government through programs such as loan guarantees, Corbus said.
The Obama administration is already dedicating billions of dollars to double the amount of electricity produced by wind and other renewables energy sources by January 2012.
The Interior Department will decide this spring whether to approve the Cape Wind project off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That project, long delayed because of local opposition, would provide electricity to about 400,000 homes.
The amount of U.S. electricity generated by wind was up 29 percent during January-October of last year compared to the same period is 2008, according to the Energy Department.
Reaching the 20 percent threshold for wind by 2024 in the eastern electric grid would require 225,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity in the region, about a 10-fold increase from current levels, the study said.
One megawatt of electricity can provide power to about 1,000 homes.
Wind turbines would be scattered throughout the eastern grid, which extends from the Plains states to the Atlantic Coast and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of the big wind farms would be concentrated off the Atlantic Coast in federal waters from Massachusetts to North Carolina and on land in Midwest states from North Dakota to Nebraska and into Kansas.
Many states already require utilities to produce a portion of their electricity from renewable energy sources, but a federal mandate covering all utilities nationwide would help create the 20 percent wind scenario, Corbus said.
Sen. Byron Dorgan said on Tuesday he thought the Senate would forgo dealing with climate change legislation this year after going through the contentious health care debate and instead focus on passing an energy bill that, in part, requires U.S. utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2021.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)
[Green Business]
OTTAWA
Tue Jan 19, 2010 4:30pm EST
New Canadian minister urges green/oil-sands balance
OTTAWA (Reuters) - New Canadian Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis said on Tuesday that Canada, the biggest energy exporter to the United States, must balance the environment and economic growth.
Paradis, who had been Public Works minister, replaces Lisa Raitt in the Natural Resources portfolio, which includes some oversight of the country's growing oil sands sector, the nuclear industry and energy exports.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has touted Canada as an emerging "energy superpower" as output from the country's oil sands, the largest crude reserves outside the Middle East, rises.
That has also made the country a focal point for environmental activists concerned about rising greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands projects and the destruction of large swathes of boreal forest in northern Alberta.
However Paradis, who has some experience in the portfolio after serving a year as parliamentary secretary to the Natural Resources minister in 2006, said the needs of the economy and the environment must be balanced, echoing a favorite line of Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
Asked by reporters whether production from the oil sands should be curbed to cut pollution, the new minister said: "The key point in that is to balance the economy and the environment ... I expect that the industry will share its burden to reach that goal".
While he is little known in the Canadian energy industry, Paradis's appointment was being cautiously welcomed.
"We're looking forward to working with him," said Greg Stringham, a vice-president at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a lobby group representing the bulk of the country's big oil and gas firms. "He does bring a year's experience as (Natural Resources) parliamentary secretary, so he knows our issues well and comes from public works, which is fairly complex."
Paradis is a lawyer from Thetford Mines, Quebec, once the home of a thriving asbestos mining industry.
"We are fortunate to have a new minister with mining in his riding," Gavin Dirom, chief executive of the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia, said in a statement. "Minister Paradis has a track record of standing up ... for the mining sector.
(Reporting by Randall Palmer and Scott Haggett; editing by Peter Galloway)
[Green Business]
FRANKFURT
Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:52am EST
FACTBOX: Sales exposure to Germany's solar market
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The German government said Wednesday it would propose to cut solar feed-in tariffs -- prices utilities have to pay generators of renewable energy -- by an additional 15 percent.
With Germany being the world's biggest solar market by installed capacity, this will put pressure on industry players around the world.
Following are key facts about some of the world's biggest solar companies and their sales exposure to Germany based on the latest available information:
* Q-Cells, one of the world biggest makers of solar cells, made 56 percent of its sales in the first nine months of 2009 in Germany.
* U.S. First Solar, set to become the world's largest maker of solar cells, said it made 60-70 percent of its sales in Germany last year.
* SolarWorld, Germany's biggest solar company by revenue, made 67 percent, or 428 million euros ($607.9 million), in Germany in the first nine months of 2009.
* Germany accounts for about half of China's Yingli Green Energy global panel sales, and more than half at Suntech Power.
* SMA Solar, the world's biggest maker of solar inverters, made more than 70 percent of nine-months sales in Germany.
* Solar module maker Solon generated about 50 percent of its nine-months revenue in Germany, while at wholesaler Phoenix Solar, the country accounted for 95 percent of sales during the same period.
(Compiled by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Leonora Walet in Hong Kong and Laura Isensee in Los Angeles; Editing by Sharon Lindores) ($1=.7040 Euro)
[Green Business]
BRUSSELS
Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:53am EST
EU to launch new electric cars project: Zapatero
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is about to embark on a major new project to support the growth of electric cars, Spain's prime minister said on Wednesday in his role at the helm of the European Union.
"The other day I met together with a group of companies -- some of the most important in Europe -- and it was felt it was fundamental that there should be cooperation and integration of efforts in developing the electric vehicle," Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.
The project will be launched at a meeting of EU industry ministers in the Spanish city of San Sebastian on February 8.
"If our markets don't have a regulatory framework to provide financial support, and if we don't have common standards on the technologies, then it will be difficult for Europe to take a leading role," Zapatero said.
"In the meantime, we see that China and Japan are developing fast on electric vehicles," he added. "They're working very hard on batteries."
European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said his experts were already working on draft rules to support the project.
(Writing by Pete Harrison; editing by Sue Thomas)
[Green Business]
Tom Doggett
WASHINGTON
Wed Jan 20, 2010 9:52am EST
U.S. says wind could power 20 percent of eastern grid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wind energy could generate 20 percent of the electricity needed by households and businesses in the eastern half of the United States by 2024, but it would require up to $90 billion in investment, according to a government report released on Wednesday.
For the 20 percent wind scenario to work, billions must be spent on installing wind towers on land and sea and about 22,000 miles of new high-tech power lines to carry the electricity to cities, according to the study from the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
"Twenty percent wind is an ambitious goal," said David Corbus, the project manager for the study. "We can bring more wind power online, but if we don't have the proper infrastructure to move that power around, it's like buying a hybrid car and leaving it in the garage,"
The private sector cannot fund all the needed spending, so a big chunk would have to come from the federal government through programs such as loan guarantees, Corbus said.
The Obama administration is already dedicating billions of dollars to double the amount of electricity produced by wind and other renewables energy sources by January 2012.
The Interior Department will decide this spring whether to approve the Cape Wind project off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. That project, long delayed because of local opposition, would provide electricity to about 400,000 homes.
The amount of U.S. electricity generated by wind was up 29 percent during January-October of last year compared to the same period is 2008, according to the Energy Department.
Reaching the 20 percent threshold for wind by 2024 in the eastern electric grid would require 225,000 megawatts of wind generation capacity in the region, about a 10-fold increase from current levels, the study said.
One megawatt of electricity can provide power to about 1,000 homes.
Wind turbines would be scattered throughout the eastern grid, which extends from the Plains states to the Atlantic Coast and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Most of the big wind farms would be concentrated off the Atlantic Coast in federal waters from Massachusetts to North Carolina and on land in Midwest states from North Dakota to Nebraska and into Kansas.
Many states already require utilities to produce a portion of their electricity from renewable energy sources, but a federal mandate covering all utilities nationwide would help create the 20 percent wind scenario, Corbus said.
Sen. Byron Dorgan said on Tuesday he thought the Senate would forgo dealing with climate change legislation this year after going through the contentious health care debate and instead focus on passing an energy bill that, in part, requires U.S. utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2021.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)
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