Living with Coal Climate policy’s most inconvenient truth
David G. Victor and Richard K. Morse
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overnments around the world are now struggling with the question of how to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The task is bigger than any other environmental challenge humanity has faced. Carbon dioxide, the leading human cause of global warming, is an intrinsic byproduct of burning the fossil fuels that power the world economy and thus difficult to regulate.
All fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burned, but the real heart of the warming problem is coal. Emissions from coal are growing faster than from any other fossil fuel. Beyond greenhouse-gas pollution, coal is linked to a host of other environmental troubles such as local air pollution, which is why a powerful coalition of environmentalists in the richest and greenest countries is rallying to stop coal. Mired in opposition, barely any new coal plants are being built anywhere in the industrialized world. Coal, it may seem, is on the precipice.
Yet coal remains indispensable. No other fuel matches its promise of cheap and abundant energy for development. About half the electricity in the
The central task of any serious (and politically viable) global-warming policy, then, is to reconcile these diverging patterns. Measured by this standard, the world’s leading governments have barely begun to get serious, as the troubled efforts to negotiate a successor to the
Coal thus sits at the center of the most inconvenient truth about global-warming policy: the countries that proclaim greatest concern about global warming are barely investing in the new coal plants that could help chart a better path for the world. Meanwhile, the fastest-growing countries have few incentives to invest in new climate-friendly technologies. And simplistic solutions, such as banning coal outright, are politically naïve because the fuel is so easy to use and offers the cheapest way to electrify most of the world.
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oal has been the fuel of choice for industrial economies since the early nineteenth century, when fossil fuels began to power growth. Initially, most coal was moved to where it was needed and burned directly in industrial boilers, at steel mills, on railroads, and in homes and offices. But because it was dirty and cumbersome, governments and industries found ways to keep the coal away from the people and move just the useful energy. New industries arose to heat coal, which transformed it into a less polluting gas that could be moved into towns and cities by pipe. The round brick buildings that still stand in the outskirts of towns across New England and
Electricity proved the best way to move the energy from coal to where it was needed. It is much easier and cleaner to wire power to the customer than to send railcars of lumpy coal. When the National Academy of Engineering in the
Coal does not require lucky geology, like oil and gas do. It is plentiful and sits ready for easy digging.
Coal’s advantages as a fuel derive from basic geology. Oil and gas are relatively scarce because they arise only under special circumstances. Most oil fields, for example, form only when the baking and cooking of ancient plant matter underground creates liquids that persist because an impermeable “cap rock” keeps them in place. The best oil fields in fact require a trifecta of well-cooked plants, large cap rocks, and a lot of subterranean gas to keep the stuff under pressure and easy to extract. As a result, the least expensive oil and gas supplies are concentrated in a handful of countries.
Coal does not require such lucky geology. The world’s coal resources are distributed more liberally across the planet. (That is why few policy planners lose sleep worrying about dependence on foreign or flaky coal suppliers.) To be sure, the distribution of coal is not uniform. Measured by what is in the ground, and assuming today’s technology and levels of consumption, the
Nobody is sure just how much is buried around the planet. The World Energy Council estimates “proven reserves”: what is surely on hand and recoverable at a reasonable price. Worldwide, proven reserves give the planet around 120 more years of coal. (The best estimates for proven reserves of oil and gas are 42 and 60 years, respectively.)
But total resources are always much greater than the proven reserves that accountants and bankers allow on the official books. In the coal industry, this gulf is likely to be particularly large because the fuel is so plentiful that there have been few incentives to hunt for more. In Indonesia, where efforts to find coal are still underway and miners often just dig the coal out rather than formally prove its existence, the country’s total resource is destined to be two or three times larger than what accountants recognize as proven. Much of
In addition, official statistics often poorly estimate very low-grade coal, known as lignite or “brown coal.” Historically, brown coal has been a dirty stepchild of black coal—harder to burn and often laden with a nastier array of pollutants. Today, better power plant technology is making brown coal a worthier competitor, and larger amounts of it will likely enter the ranks of proven coal reserves.
David G. Victor is Professor of International Relations at the University of California, San Diego, where he directs the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation, funded by the nonpartisan Electric Power Research Institute.
Richard K. Morse is Research Associate at Stanford University’s Program on Energy and Sustainable Development, where he leads the group’s research on global coal markets.
to be continued…
Views are those of the author
Courtesy:
Power Sector Inefficiency – Economic & Legal Implications (part III)
Shankar Sharma, Power Policy Analyst, Thirthahally
Continued from Volume VI, Issue No. 44…
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he environmental issues caused by the inefficiency in the power sector can be termed as most severe. The ever increasing number of conventional power projects such as dam based, coal based and nuclear power projects are demanding large amounts of natural resources such as land, water, coal etc. and add huge amounts of pollutants to our environment. About 42 % of CO2 and about 24% of all Green House Gases (GHGs) at the global level are known to be associated with electric power generation. In addition the pollution of land, water and air are reaching an unacceptable levels, because of which a large number of industrial zones have been declared as severely polluted and moratorium on additional industrial activity has been applied on these by MoEF. A comprehensive environmental assessment report of industrial clusters released recently by the environment ministry says more than 85% of the industrial zones in
The coal power plants demand large tracts of land (about 1 acre for 1 MW of capacity) and huge quantities of fresh water (about 80 Cubic meters per 1000 KWH of energy production). They burn enormous quantity of coal (about 0.7 kg per kWH) and generate mountains of ash (about 30 % of coal consumed). In 2005-06 the state owned coal power stations were estimated to have generated about 113 million tons of fly ash, 1 million tons of particulate matter, 347 million tons of CO2, 19 million tons of
There is also another dimension of inefficiency in case of coal power plants. The technical efficiency of converting coal energy to electrical energy in Indian power stations is about 30% only. The world’s best technology claims that this can be increased to a maximum of about 40%. About 8 – 9% of such generated electrical energy gets consumed by the processes within the coal power station itself. With Transmission and Distribution loss level of about 30%, and end use loss of about 15% prevailing in the country, the overall efficiency in coal energy to electrical energy put into productive / economic use can be only of the order of about 10%.
The issues associated with other thermal power sources, such as diesel or natural gas, are similar in nature.
Large dam based hydro power plants drown large tracts of agricultural and forest lands; produce Methane which is a much more potent GHG than CO2, reduce forest and tree cover, lead to loss of bio-diversity. They also deprive the benefits of flowing water and sediment to the organisms immediate downstream of dams. Displacement of people is another major issue.
Nuclear power plants have their own share of concerns. Even after 6 decades of massive investment in the nuclear power industry the technology has not won the confidence of the public as far as its safety is concerned. The nuclear power capacity contribution to the total installed capacity is only about 4%, and the capital cost, excluding the hidden costs to the society, itself is much higher than the other conventional sources. The inadequate reserve of Uranium as a fuel within the country, the massive damage to our environment from nuclear mining, the radiation safety issues, and the huge cost to the society of safeguarding the spent nuclear fuel for generations have all become major concern to the society.
Keeping all these issues in correct perspective, it is impossible to accept these large centralised conventional energy sources as sustainable energy options. But the state and union governments are continuing to build more and more of these power projects at huge and unbearable cost to the society. Although the official reasons being given for the massive addition to these conventional energy capacity is that there is a severe shortage of power, and the fact that about 40% of the households in the country is deprived of electricity connection, the serious issues of huge inefficiency in the sector and the lack of clarity on the demand side management are conveniently being ignored.
As per Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change - IV Assessment Report “Emissions from deforestation are very significant – they are estimated to represent more than 18% of global emissions”; “Curbing deforestation is a highly cost-effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” Large conventional power projects are all major contributors for deforestation either through dams, buildings, transmission lines and pollutants like coal dust, coal ash and acid rains.
What our society is doing at present is to supply inefficiently derived electrical energy from limited conventional sources at subsidized rates for highly inefficient and /wasteful end uses, for which the real subsidy cost will be debited to the account of future generations.
3. Extent of Inefficiency - a huge drain on the society
“
Deepak S Parekh, Chairman, Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, September 2004.
India has been known to be exhibiting one of the lowest levels of efficiency in the overall management of a vital resource like electricity. The average Plant Load Factor (PLF) of the coal power stations is reported to be about 63% as compared to about 90% in case of NTPC plants. With a total coal power capacity of about 80,000 MW, improved PLF of 85% national average would have provided additionally about 17,600 MW for usage with the same installed generating capacity. This is in stark comparison of about 18,000 MW peak deficit recorded between 1996 and 2009. There have not been serious efforts to improve the efficiency levels to the international best practice levels, which alone would have eliminated the deficits completely.
PLF is a measure of utilisation of the installed capacity. The inability to optimize the installed capacity is not much different in nuclear power plants where the average PLF is not much above 50% in most of the years, whereas the figure has been as high as 80% in few plants in some years.
to be continued…
Views are those of the author
Author can be contacted at [email protected]
Technology Transfer, Policy and Climate Change: Goal 2020 for
A roundtable was held on April 20, 2010, Tuesday, on “Goal 2020: Identifying issues, options, opportunities and frameworks towards demand side mainstreaming of climate friendly technologies through Technology Diffusion Centers”, at the ORF New Delhi campus. The roundtable saw participation from trade commissions, multilateral investors and corporates.
This roundtable was convened by the ORF in association with the India Carbon Outlook, an independent information marketplace tracking actions related to the carbon economy as well as their impact, and the cKinetics, a venture accelerator catalyzing rapid adoption of low carbon sustainable growth practices in emerging economies through technology transfer, capital access and adaptation interventions.
The roundtable was held to identify steps that can be taken in the coming years so as to be able to achieve the impact of technology/application available to be transferred for mitigation and adaptation in
In his opening remarks Mr. Sunjoy Joshi, ORF Distinguished Fellow, said that pace of adoption & innovation was critical for mainstreaming climate friendly technologies and identified solar thermal technology as the most promising one for mass adoption.
The first session started with Mr. Upendra Bhatt, Managing Director, cKinetics, laying out the goals for the roundtable: facilitate technology diffusion and technology transfer; document best practices; identify prototype technology for next two years; come up with concrete suggestions. He also presented highlights from the pre-meeting questionnaire which essentially represented contrarian views on clean technology transfer.
In the second session, Mr. V. Raghuraman, Principal Advisor, Jaguar Overseas Ltd., stressed upon the need to adopt Electric Power Research Institute model in diffusing renewable technology for
The key point that emerged from the deliberations of the parallel working groups in the afternoon session was that cost, user friendliness and durability were critical for both technology transfer from developed countries and for mass adoption of those technologies in
The report was prepared by Akhilesh Sati, Junior Fellow at the ORF.
Managing Volatility & Growth: A New Energy Paradigm (part II)
(Selection of Observations from presentations made at the conclave)
Continued from Volume VI, Issue No. 44…
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he factors outlined suggest that the price of energy is going to be high and the sooner we recognize this fact the better off we would be. Unfortunately in
The question now is whether there are areas where we can take some initiatives. First we have to learn to pass through the price movements to final consumer. This does not mean that we have to opt for hard landing. We can have a soft landing where the price pass through may not be 100 percent initially so as to ensure that consumers do not get shocks. Shocks could potentially destabilize the economy. The second corollary of this is that instead of protecting poor consumers through prices, we need to protect them through income transfers so that we can continue to allow prices to play the role of promoting efficiency. Low prices lead to inefficient use. Therefore we must allow prices to move while protecting the vulnerable sections of our society through direct cash transfers. Once the Universal Identity Number project is completed, direct cash transfers would become possible. Under this we can identify and protect our poor, protect our industry, protect our manufacturing sector and protect our agriculture by allowing prices to move. Once prices are allowed to move consumers will get used to it. But this flexibility in prices is only one way of attacking volatility.
The second important initiative is to provide a much larger role for natural gas in our economy which will also help to both reduce costs and also manage volatility and also enhance energy security.
Third is the standard element of developing much larger gas and oil storage. As per available information
In the longer term,
Mr MK Venu, Editor, Financial Express
We witnessed the destructive bursting of an asset price bubble and a commodity bubble in October 2009. The perception that built up before the bubble burst when oil prices crossed $ 120/bbl was that the world was probably running out of oil and that the world may have to enhance research in alternative energy sources. Now that the bubble has burst, the opinion is that the situation may not be so grave and that we may not be running out of hydrocarbons. Before the crisis, when the oil price bubble was building, the actual price of oil was about 16 times the underlying real demand. Normally prior to the boom period, oil prices would be about 4 to 5 times the price underlying the real demand. So what is interesting to note is again the speculative prices are again back to about 15 times what the underlying demand would justify. Speculative volumes are nearly back to the levels that existed pre-Lehman collapse. The only conclusion that we can draw from this is that global excess liquidity is driving up oil prices as well as other commodity and asset prices. If we agree that this is a liquidity driven price bubble the question arises as to whether we have a rational policy response to this recurring development. The G20 group had undertaken to study these bubbles under the
The other concern is that if
Mr Al Gore has argued for a moratorium on coal fired power as part of larger plan to combat climate change. It is difficult to see how countries like
The G20 is also trying to integrate climate change issues into the new financial architecture. They discussed how international financing of coal based power projects should become more restrictive and expensive. They also discussed how
The remarks are compiled from the recorded transcript of the presentations by the respective speakers. The remarks are strictly not to be reproduced or quoted.
to be continued…
Courtesy: 8th Petro
Note: Part V of the article on Oil & Gas Discovery & Production in
NEWS BRIEF
NATIONAL
OIL & GAS
Upstream
ONGC adds 83 mn tons of oil and gas reserves in FY'10
April 26, 2010. State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) said it has added 83 million tonnes of oil and gas reserves in the 2009-10 fiscal, the highest in two decades, even as production was lower than the target. "The ultimate reserve accretion of ONGC including its joint ventures (with firms like Cairn
Cairn starts second oil processing plant at Rajasthan fields
April 25, 2010. Cairn
Cairn will stabilize operations at Train-2 and after commissioning it will help Mangala field production to ramp up to 80,000 bpd (4 million tons a year). Peak output from Mangala is envisaged at minimum 1,25,000 bpd, expected in second half of this year. Cairn output would help offset the decline in crude oil production at ONGC that could not meet its targeted output in 2009-10 fiscal.
OIL evinces interest to take up equity in BVFCL's new plant
April 23, 2010. Oil and gas producer Oil India Ltd (OIL) has evinced interest in picking up an equity stake in Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation's proposed urea ammonia complex at Namrup in
BVFCL is in the process of engaging a process licensor to conduct a health study of its existing plants with the aim of increasing capacity. Based on the outcome of the study, it would be decided whether to modernise the company's existing plants or install a new plant of appropriate capacity. BVFCL has a contract with OIL for supplying 1.72 million standard cubic metres a day (MMSCMD) of natural gas on a firm basis. The contracted quantity of 1.72 MMSCMD is supplied at concessional price of Rs 1,920 per 1,000 SM3.
RIL says examining JV proposals for exploration abroad
April 23, 2010. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said it is examining proposals to set up joint ventures for oil exploration abroad. Reliance Industries announced a JV and acquired a 40 per cent interest in Atlas' core Marcellus Shale acreage position in
Reliance and Atlas are expected to start drilling this year and would drill 15 wells in the first year and 80-90 wells in the second. The company will get some revenues this year and may see plateau level in 4-5 years period.
Reliance had earlier this month bought 40 per cent stake in about 300,000 acres Marcellus shale gas project of Atlas for $1.7 billion. After the new acquisition, the two now have 343,000 acres that could hold enough natural gas to satisfy
NTPC to buy 1.5 mmscmd gas from RIL
April 23, 2010.
Hindustan Petroleum seeks to triple capacity by 2017
April 27, 2010. State-run Hindustan Petroleum aims to nearly triple its refining capacity by March 2017 to feed its growing network of fuel retailing outlets with its own products.
HPCL is targeting to increase its capacity to 800,000 barrels a day, or 40 million metric tons a year, from 280,000 barrels a day, or 14 million tons a year. The company is raising refining capacity as oil product sales at its outlets are more than output, causing it to buy products from other refiners. HPCL sold 25.39 million tons of oil products in the fiscal year through March 2010. It had 8,539 retail outlets at the end of March 2009.
Transportation / Trade
GSPC receives year's first spot LNG cargo
April 22, 2010. The Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) has received its first spot LNG cargo this year on Indian shores.
The cargo was received at the RLNG terminal of Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) at Dahej in Bharuch district. The arrival of the LNG carrier “Catalunya Spirit” marks the first cargo of the short-term deal signed by GSPC with Gas Natural. The vessel contains over 50,000 metric tonnes of LNG from
Policy / Performance
Govt plans to hike ONGC gas price to $4.20/mmBtu
April 26, 2010. The government plans to more than double the price of natural gas produced by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to USD 4.20 per mmBtu, in a move that will help the state-run firm break even in gas business.
The oil ministry is likely to move a Cabinet note next month for raising price of the gas, produced by ONGC and Oil India Ltd from fields given to them on nomination basis (called APM gas), to rates equivalent to that produced from Reliance Industries' KG-D6 fields.
This follows the finance ministry's insistence that any hike in APM gas price should be in one stage and not in phases as was previously proposed by the oil ministry.
POWER
Generation
ETA plans thermal power plant in Tamil Nadu
April 27, 2010. ETA Power Generation Ltd, part of $6.5 billion ETA Ascon Star Group, is planning to invest around Rs 52 bn for setting up a 2X660 Mega watt (Mw) power plant in Tamil Nadu.
The company is in the process of acquiring 500 acres in Nagapattinam district for the project. This would mark the group’s entry into the power generation business in
Evonik in Rs 14 bn O&M deal with Vedanta Resources
April 26, 2010. Germany-based Evonik Energy said it has entered into a Rs 14 bn deal with Vedanta Resources for operating and maintaining the latter's 2,400-MW plant in Orissa.
As per the agreement signed, Sterlite would pay Rs 2 bn every year to Evonik for a period of seven years. Ambitious on its
Sterlite Energy is in process of commissioning the first unit of 600 MW by May, 2010, as it aims to open up other three utilities for commercial use within one year.
NTPC may set up thermal power plants in
April 23, 2010. State-run power producer NTPC said it may set up two thermal power plants in
Transmission / Distribution / Trade
Barge movement of coal from Haldia to Farakka hits snag
April 22, 2010. The much-discussed proposal for barge movement of imported coal from Haldia to Farakka (West Bengal) and Kahalgaon (
A memorandum of understanding was signed in September 2008, but with little progress so far. NTPC had indicated it would annually transport 1.2 million tonnes (mt) of coal from Haldia for its Farakka super thermal power plant and 1.6 mt for its Kahalgaon plant.
TPC plans to sell power outside Mumbai for huge profit: R-Infra
April 21, 2010. Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Infrastructure hit out at TPC saying the Tata group power utility plans to sell a high quantity of electricity outside Mumbai to rake in a huge profit. Reliance Infra supplies power to Mumbai suburbs.
Tata Power Company (TPC) used to sell 500 MW to Reliance Infra but had threatened to stop doing so from April 1 on the ground that the latter had refused to sign a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with it.
The
Short-term power purchase contracts turn expensive
April 21, 2010. With rising power deficit in the country, merchant power, or short-term purchase contracts, are getting expensive each month. Power tariffs in the spot market have already risen by more than five times to over Rs 10 in April from around Rs 2 per unit in December last year. While the rise in merchant power tariff could be beneficial for private power generators and energy trading companies, it could mean further rise in electricity rates for retail consumers in states that buy power to meet mismatch in supplies, said people connected with the development.
Punjab launching various energy generation projects: CM
April 27, 2010. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the country is facing a serious energy crisis and shortage of electricity is badly affecting all the sectors, especially industry, trade and agriculture.
He said there was a need to work on emergency basis for energy generation for the development of the country and the
New power tariff in
April 26, 2010. The proposed electricity tariff hike that were supposed to be implemented from this month, may now be effective from May 1.
According to sources, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission is likely to announce the new tariff structure after a series of delays. It all depends on DERC whether it will allow a hike in power tariff.
The power regulator was keen on announcing the new tariff in March end but there were several delays in announcing it. According to sources, some discoms kept submitting new information to DERC regarding their financial positions even after the public hearing was concluded.
While the regulator refused to take any new information into consideration while deciding tariff revision, the move by the discoms has led to delay in making the announcement.
NTPC to start work on Rs 10 bn
April 25, 2010. State-owned NTPC will start the Rs 10 bn expansion project of its Bongaigaon power plant in
Minister of Mines and Department of Development of North Eastern Region B K Handique has been invited to take part in the ceremony.
NTPC plans to raise its power generation capacity to 50,000 MW by 2012, from the current 31,000 MW. It further plans to augment this capacity to 75,000 MW by the end of fiscal 2017.
Current installed power capacity of the country stands at over 157,000 MW and the government plans to add another 78,000 MW by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
NTPC FY10 net up 5.6 pc to Rs 86.57 bn
April 24, 2010.
The company’s profits declined due to redemption of bonds and lower realisation from interest income and income-tax (I-T) refunds. NTPC’s income reduced by Rs 1.4 bn due to redemption of bonds and Rs 3.5 bn due to lower realisation from I-T refunds and interest income.
The company plans to raise $500 million through external commercial borrowing (ECB) in 2010-11. ECB is conditional to favourable rates between 5.5% and 6%.
NTPC is focusing on growing its renewable energy portfolio to become a green company. By 2017, the company plans to have at least 1,000 MW through renewable energy resources such as wind, hydro, solar, biomass and geo-thermal.
KSEB argues case for Athirappilly
April 23, 2010. The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has presented before the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests a case for setting up a hydro-electric project at Athirappilly in Thrissur district.
While doing so, it sought to debunk objections raised by various parties against the project coming up at ‘an environmentally sensitive' location.
The Union Ministry had asked the KSEB to show reasons why the environment clearance given for the proposed 163-MW project across the
N-power projects: 3 more sites under evaluation
April 23, 2010. The Centre is evaluating three more sites for setting up nuclear power projects in the future. The sites under consideration are Mahi-Banswara in Rajasthan, Mannur in Karnataka and Rajauli in
The evaluation of new sites comes at a time when the Centre plans to scale up
Chhattisgarh UMPP bids may run into environment ministry hurdles
April 22, 2010. Bidders for the ultra mega power project at Chhattisgarh, that are set to put in their pre-qualification bids, could be in for a major jolt as coal blocks linked to the 4000 mw project is unlikely to get the nod from the environment ministry. In a clear case of where one arm of the government works at cross purposes against the other, the power ministry has called for bids even as the environment and coal ministries have jointly declared the Hasdeo Arand coal belt region as a “no go” area for mining. The environment ministry, which has been carrying out special audits on the encroachments and violations in the forest areas, has come down heavily over some ambitious mining projects like that of the Vedanta group in Orissa and also rejected a highway project in Madhya Pradesh that transgresses through Pench Tiger reserve.
UPPCL, Bajaj Hindustan sign MoU for power project in UP
April 22, 2010. Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bajaj Hindustan Limited to set up a 1,980-MW thermal power project in Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand region. The MoU was signed between UPPCL Chairman and Managing Director Navneet Sehgal and Bajaj Joint Managing Director Kushagra Bajaj in the presence of Energy Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya and Chief Secretary Atul Gupta. The proposed power project would be set up on 1,500 acres of land at Mirchawar village, some 60 km from the Rajghat dam in Lalitpur. Uttar Pradesh will get 90 per cent of the electricity generated by the plant.
Govt expects $300 bn investment in power sector in XII Plan
April 22, 2010. India will award three inter-state private transmission power projects with investments worth 60 billion rupees by September-end, Planning Commission Member B K Chaturvedi said. Out of 6 transmission projects undertaken, three have been already awarded and the government has initiated pre-bidding work for three other projects.
The government is expecting an investment of $300 billion to come in the XII Five-Year Plan in the power sector he said. The Planning Commission is also expecting an investment of Rs 500 bn to come in distribution through the Accelerated Power Development Reforms Programme, he said.
Hike in power charges for AP industries mooted
April 21, 2010. Industrial power users in the State will have to pay more from August 1 if the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission approves certain proposals. According to the proposals made by distribution companies (discoms) in their annual returns for 2010-2011 submitted to the regulator, the discoms expect to garner additional revenue of about Rs 22.78 bn by bringing about tariff hikes.
The hikes on industrial consumers range from 50 paise a unit to Rs 1.50 a unit depending on the time of usage. According to aggregate revenue requirement for 2010-2011, the tariff proposal means higher charge – from Rs 4.14 to Rs 4.64 a unit – for industrial consumers. For low-tension commercial users, the cost will be up from Rs 6.20 to Rs 6.70 a unit.
Govt to step up investments in coal infrastructure
April 21, 2010. The Government proposes to increase investments in developing infrastructure at the coal fields, said the Coal Minister, Mr Sriprakash Jaiswal. Investments will be enhanced to Rs 4 bn in 2010-11, from Rs 2.6 bn in 2009-10, for regional exploration, detailed drilling, environmental measure and development of transportation infrastructure in coal fields, the Coal Minister told Parliament in a written statement. However, Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, from their internal resources, propose to invest Rs 38 bn and Rs 13.35 bn in 2010-11 against provision of Rs 31 bn and Rs 6.34 bn during 2009-10 respectively for increasing production.
PFC plans to raise Rs 300 bn by FY11
April 21, 2010. Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a Government of India Undertaking under Ministry of Power is planning to raise Rs 300 bn by FY11. The priorities of the company and the sector are closely aligned. The first priority of the sector is to add large capacities to bridge the power deficits. Thus, PFC wants to make faster clearances of funds within 16-18 months which will bring pace to setting up power projects. Besides, the Government has embarked on an ambitious plan of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) with each project adding 4,000 MW. PFC is the nodal agency for UMPPs. It has awarded four such UMPPs and is in the process of awarding three more in FY 2010-11.
INTERNATIONAL
OIL & GAS
Upstream
Total sells stakes in Valhall, Hod fields for $991 mn
April 27, 2010. Total signed an agreement for the sale of its interests in the Valhall (15.72%) and Hod (25%) fields, in the Norwegian North Sea, to BP. This transaction, amounting to $991 million, is subject to partners' consent and approval by relevant authorities. Located 285 kilometers off the Norwegian coast in a water depth of 70 metres, Valhall was discovered in 1975 and started producing in 1982. This field reached an average equity production of approximately 8,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in 2009.
Oil contango soars as
April 26, 2010. Oil storage costs are soaring to the highest level in four months as tanks in
The discount, or contango, which mirrors the expense of stockpiling, emerged after inventories jumped 5.8 percent in the week ended April 16 to 34.1 million barrels in
Oil Search Q1 output up, construction for PNG LNG starts
April 26, 2010. Papua New Guinea (PNG) oil and gas producer Oil Search Ltd posted a 5 percent gain in first-quarter output. The Australian-listed firm said output for the quarter ended March was 2.00 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), compared with 1.90 million boe a year ago. Oil Search, a key partner in the ExxonMobil led liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Papua New Guinea, which is also known as PNG LNG, said the project has begun early construction activities. The firm earlier forecast its 2010 production to fall 10 percent from last year to be between 7.2-7.4 million boe.
Shell, Total step up Reliance on gas as access to oil declines
April 26, 2010. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA are among energy producers shifting the balance of their production toward natural gas as oil-rich countries clamp down on access and deposits become easier to tap.
BP Plc is also moving more resources to gas even after purchasing $7 billion of mainly oil assets from Devon Energy Corp. last month. Exxon Mobil Corp. blazed the trail into gas with its $30 billion acquisition of XTO Energy Inc. in December.
Coast Guard says remote operated vehicles to stop oil leak
April 25, 2010. The use of robots to plug the 1,000-barrel-a-day oil leak in the
Statoil takes steps to improve oil sands production
April 23, 2010. Statoil has launched a new technology plan to help reduce carbon emissions from oil sands. The stated ambition is to reduce emissions by more than 40% by 2025. Statoil is planning to develop its oil sands activities step-by-step.
The initial five-year phase will be the start-up and operation of a demonstration pilot facility A 5-year technology plan will provide the basis for initial reductions of up to 25%, with further reductions of more than 40 % by 2025. This means that Statoil, in addition to regulatory reporting, will publicize carbon emission data from its operations.
Petrobras Touts increase in Brazilian oil production
April 23, 2010. Petrobras' average oil and natural gas production in Brazil and abroad topped-out at 2,556,002 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) last March, 0.7% more than a year ago (2,537,873 boed) and at the same level as the total volume lifted last February (2,560,490 boed). Only figuring-in the fields located in
Eni initiates Kitan oil field development
April 23, 2010. Eni has started the development of the Kitan oil field, located in the permit 06-105 of the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) between Timor-Leste and
Drillers risk deadly blowouts to tap deeper oil, gas riches
April 22, 2010. Oil and natural-gas explorers drilling deeper than the height of
Energy companies are delving 10 times deeper than a decade ago in the search for untapped reservoirs of oil and gas. The threat of pressure surges, or blowouts, that can smash steel equipment and create gushing columns of fire increases as drillers probe ever-deeper into layers of rock. The Transocean Ltd. oil-drilling rig in the
Exxon studies oil find in Australian venture with BHP
April 22, 2010. Exxon Mobil Corp., operator of the
Drilling encountered oil and gas at the South East Remora-1 well, 35 kilometers (22 miles) off the coast of
The
Iraq oil bases sprout as Halliburton, Schlumberger seek profit
April 21, 2010. The world’s biggest oilfield contractors are building bases in the deserts of
The prize is a share of the billions of dollars to be spent as the war-torn country seeks within seven years to increase crude oil production capacity to 12 million barrels a day, on a par with the world’s largest oil exporter,
KazMunaiGas posts 1Q production
April 21, 2010. KazakhstanKazMunaiGas announced that according to preliminary data in the first three months of 2010 it produced 3,183 thousand tons of crude oil (262 kbopd) including the Company's stakes in Kazgermunai (KGM), CCEL and PetroKazakhstan (PKI), which is 440 thousand tonnes or 16% more than in 2009.
The increase in production results from the acquisition of 33% stake in PKI, which accounts for 487 thousand tons. In the first quarter, 2,085 thousand tons of oil (171 kbopd) were produced at production facilities of Uzenmunaigas and Embamunaigas, which is 41 thousand tonnes or 1.9% less than for the same period last year.
Asian firms aim for first offshore LNG output
April 21, 2010. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. is looking to help fire up the world's first offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) production platform in 2014 for PTT PCL,
The Japanese shipping company will operate the offshore facility, located at a gas field in northwest Australian waters, through Flex LNG Ltd., which is based in the
Downstream
Diesel Margin Expands on GDP Growth, Planting
April 27, 2010. Profits from making diesel are rising as railway shipments increase and
The crack spread, the difference between the price of crude and heating oil, almost doubled on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $10.88 a barrel from a 2010 low of $5.58 on Feb. 25. Supplies of distillate fuel, which includes heating oil and diesel, rose 4.6 percent from a year ago as of April 16, the Energy Department reported. Freight shipments by rail, most of which are powered by diesel, have risen 16 percent from a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads.
API unveils new refinery safety standards
April 23, 2010. The American Petroleum Institute issued two new refinery safety standards. The first will help companies identify and use process safety indicators to reduce risks; the second will provide guidance on reducing fatigue risks.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) recommended that API and other stakeholders develop the standards following the CSB’s investigation of the 2005
Caltex
April 22, 2010. Caltex Australia Ltd., the country’s biggest oil refiner, said it has a “cautious” outlook for the margins it expects to earn in the second half of the year from turning crude into fuels.
Caltex also said it aims to make an announcement ‘shortly’ on how it will respond to the competition regulator’s decision to block the proposed A$300 million ($278 million) purchase of Exxon Mobil Corp. filling stations. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the transaction may push prices higher.
Conoco opts out of joint Yanbu refinery with Aramco
April 21, 2010. ConocoPhillips, the third-largest
The planned refinery would produce 265,000 barrels of diesel and 90,000 barrels of gasoline a day from Arabian heavy crude. ConocoPhillips agreed in 2006 to help build the plant as a way to expand its global refining portfolio.
Transportation / Trade
Molopo signs gas sales agreement in
April 27, 2010.
NiSource, MarkWest plan to expand in
April 27, 2010. NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage (NGT&S) and MarkWest Liberty Midstream & Resources announced continued joint development of new natural gas gathering, processing, and transmission projects to support increased Marcellus production volumes in the northern
Germany expands gas storage
April 27, 2010.
The storage, in porous rock deep underground, will soon be able to hold 37 billion cubic meters of gas. Current capacity in
Shell, BP, oil companies said to face
April 25, 2010. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp. and other oil companies are being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over employee compensation practices.
The investigation of whether the companies colluded to stifle employee wages has been open for several years and includes as many as 12 oil companies. It is believed that the FTC may never file a lawsuit.
Nabucco consortium starts pipe delivery tender
April 23, 2010. The consortium that plans to build the Nabucco natural gas pipeline said it has started a tender process for the procurement of materials needed to build the pipeline.
The pipeline, slated to transport gas from the Caspian region to central Europe via
The pipeline, with a planned capacity of up to 31 billion cubic meters of gas a year, would further diversify
E.ON halts
April 22, 2010. German energy giant E.ON dropped plans to sell its gas pipelines in
E.ON affirmed its intention to raise at least 10 billion euros (US $13 billion) by the end of this year through sales of assets. Last year its asset sales raised 6 billion euros.
Iraq’s Northern oil pipeline explodes; exports halted
April 22, 2010. An explosion blew a hole in an Iraqi pipeline, stopping crude oil exports via
Unknown saboteurs detonated the explosive charge on the pipeline that runs from
Shell shuts GOM oil pipeline near Transocean fire
April 22, 2010. Shell Oil Co said it temporarily shut down a 75,000 barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline in the
The pipeline known as Nakika supplies the larger Delta pipeline system and Motiva's
The incident at the Transocean rig also forced the temporary shut-in of oil production at a Shell-operated Nakika platform nearby. Shell does not expect the pipeline to be shut for long and the outage would have no material impact on the
Dominion invests in natural-gas infrastructure
April 21, 2010. Dominion Resources Inc. is investing more than $1 billion in improvements, with more planned, to its natural-gas transmission infrastructure in the Appalachian basin to take advantage of the Marcellus gas-shale boom. Yesterday, Dominion, one of the nation's largest energy businesses, announced an agreement with Exterran Holdings Inc. to provide increased natural-gas processing in the Appalachian basin. Houston-based Exterran will design, build and operate two natural-gas processing plants under a 12-year services agreement with Dominion. Construction is expected to begin immediately.
Policy / Performance
Court orders new environmental review for
April 27, 2010. A
In its decision, the California Court of Appeal in
Brazil's ANP hits paydirt in presalt oil patch
April 27, 2010. Brazil's main oil regulator said that it had discovered crude that could be part of the government's plan to seed federal oil company Petroleo Brasileiro with enough cash to fund development of the country's presalt oil patch.
The National Petroleum Agency, or ANP, said the 2-ANP-1-RJS well tested positive for light oil rated at 28 degrees on the American Petroleum Institute's grading scale. The find was made northeast of Petrobras' Iara discovery.
OMV, Gazprom ink deal on Austrian section of South Stream
April 26, 2010. OMV and Gazprom are looking to work together to construct the Austrian section of the South Stream gas pipeline between the Austrian-Hungarian border and Baumgarten.
Feasibility study scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. South Stream together with Nabucco will further strengthen Baumgarten's position as a natural gas turntable and increase the security of
OMV and Gazprom signed a Cooperation Agreement to construct the Austrian section of the South Stream gas pipeline between the Austrian-Hungarian border and the Baumgarten natural gas distribution node.
Statoil aims to reduce oil sands emissions
April 23, 2010. Statoil has launched a new technology plan to help reduce carbon emissions from oil sands. The stated ambition is to reduce emissions by more than 40% by 2025. Statoil is planning to develop its oil sands activities step-by-step. The initial five-year phase will be the start-up and operation of a demonstration pilot facility. A 5-year technology plan will provide the basis for initial reductions of up to 25%, with further reductions of more than 40 % by 2025. This means that Statoil, in addition to regulatory reporting, will publicize carbon emission data from its operations.
Idemitsu to cut oil refining capacity 16 pc by 2013
April 23, 2010. Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. plans to lower its daily oil refining capacity by roughly 16 percent, or around 100,000 barrels, by fiscal 2013, down from 640,000 barrels at present, in response to declining demand. The move is part of the major oil wholesaler's medium-term business plan, which it released that day.
By restructuring its sluggish domestic oil business and channeling more resources into growth areas, the company aims to boost its group operating profit to 120 billion yen (US $1.285 billion) by fiscal 2012, up 160 percent from estimates for fiscal 2009, which ended last month.
Ukraine, Russia reach deal on naval base, natural gas
April 22, 2010. Ukraine's new president signed a deal that allows Russia's Black Sea Fleet to stay in the country another 25 years, moving to ease a long-standing source of tension and giving Moscow its second foreign policy victory in the former Soviet Union this month.
Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, announced the breakthrough after a hastily scheduled summit in
Ecuador's Pinto, OPEC President, resigns as Correa works on legislation
April 21, 2010.
Non-Renewable Natural Resources Minister Germanico Pinto, who is the current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries also resigned.
Correa, faced with falling oil production and exports, is seeking to improve relations with members of his ruling party and hasten the approval of new oil and mining contracts.
POWER
China begins construction of new N-power plant
April 26, 2010. China has begun constructing a large nuclear power plant in southern
The new plant will consist of two water reactors, with a capacity of 650,000 kw each. The first reactor will be completed and connected to the grid by the end of 2014, the provincial government said.
China's nuclear power giants, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and China Huaneng Group (CHG), will jointly finance and develop the project.
Saudi Electric to award plant deals after govt loan
April 26, 2010. State-controlled Saudi Electricity Co will soon award contracts to build a 2,400 megawatt power plant after it obtained a 15 billion riyal ($4 billion) soft loan from the government.
The cash-strapped firm has been struggling to meet pent up power demand -- which grew by about 8 percent in 2009 -- in the desert kingdom prompting King Abdullah to order in 2006 that government financial assistance be extended for the Gulf's biggest utility by market value.
The bulk of the loan will finance the construction of a new power plant in Rabigh, on the western coast of
Three international firms have made bids of between $3.94 and $4.34 billion to build the Rabigh plant, with
TransAlta, eyes moving
April 26, 2010. TransAlta Corp said it began talks with the state of
TransAlta, which runs coal- and gas-fired, as well as renewable power facilities in
The agreement for the 1,375 megawatt generating station sets objectives and timelines for moving to cleaner energy sources while protecting jobs.
Enel may become first foreign nuclear plant owner in
April 26, 2010. Enel SpA may become the first foreign owner of shares in a Russian nuclear power plant after
Enel will decide on joining the project, run by OAO Inter RAO UES,
PEPCO manages to reduce power shortfall by 1.5 GW
April 25, 2010. Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) managed to bring down the power shortfall from 5010 megawatts to 3543 megawatts.
The PEPCO sources told on Friday that hectic efforts were made to put an end to prevailing electricity shortage in the country, adding, the Prime Minister’s initiatives for energy conservation have started yielding tangible results.
Sources said if PEPCO is given full volume of gas, it would not only help ensure reduction in power tariff due to decline in input cost, but also increase 1000 to 1200 megawatts generation because the thermal power plants in
Mountaintop coal rules may send more
April 23, 2010. A
Four days before the April 5 accident, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued water-pollution guidelines making it difficult for operators to secure permits for new above-ground mining in the region.
Explosions used in surface mining produce millions of tons of crushed shale and sandstone that is dumped into nearby valleys and streams.
Transmission / Distribution / Trade
PG&E details smart-meter problems in Senate probe
April 26, 2010. PG&E Corp., owner of
PG&E, facing its first hearing in front of the committee as part of an investigation into the accuracy of the devices, said the problem is a small one, considering it has installed 5.5 million so-called smart meters.
PG&E is spending $2.2 billion to install 10 million of the meters, which allow utilities to remotely read energy use. Hundreds of customer allegations about higher bills and inaccurate readings tied to the devices arose in
Bangladesh awards $500 mn in deals for power plants
April 26, 2010. Chinese, Korean and local firms on Monday won separate deals in Bangladesh worth $496.61 million to set up five power plants to generate 420 megawatts of electricity by August next year, officials said. Chinese firm Guangdong Power Engineering Corporation won a $271.35 million deal to set up two power plants for generating 200 megawatts.
A local consortium of Energypac Engineering Ltd and Energypac Power Generation Ltd won a $155.38 million deal to set up two plants to generate 150-MW of electricity. Hyundai Heavy Industries of South Korea also won another $69.89 mln deal to build a 70-MW plant power plant, also by August 2011.
E.ON shortlists 3 bidders for
April 25, 2010.
A financial consortium including Australian investor
Finnish govt taps TVO, Fennovoima for nuke reactors
April 21, 2010.
Renewable Energy / Climate Change Trends
National
Green nod for Kashang hydropower project
April 27, 2010. The Union Ministry of Forests and Environment has granted environment clearance to the proposed 243-Mw Kashang hydropower project in the tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. The project is being executed by the state-owned HP Power Corporation Ltd. Himachal Pradesh has already posed the first stage of 65-Mw for funding before the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and has succeeded in obtaining Rs 2.97 bn.
The green clearance in now expected to speed up work on the project. The government has requested for the execution of the second and third stage integrated project of the remaining 130 Mw. A detailed project report has already been prepared and submitted to the ADB for sanction of Rs 4.53 bn to execute the entire project.
India's wind power draws global majors
April 26, 2010. It’s the latest and among the fastest growing sectors within global energy today, and has already made its presence felt in
A long coastline, low installation costs and ready local availability of key raw materials have all made
High-profile investors such as Vinod Sethi, private equity major Blackstone and new clean technology funds have already invested in offshore wind energy companies planning for India, as this sector is expected to offer electricity tariffs at 40% less cost than that from traditional sources.
Cabinet panel approves Rs 4.73 bn Ladakh green energy project
April 24, 2010. The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure approved a project to promote use of renewable energy in the Ladakh region at a total cost of Rs 4.73 bn. The project “Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative” envisages setting up 30 small/micro hydel projects aggregating 23.5 MW capacity, about 300 solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants of 5-100 KW capacity, 2,000 SPV home lighting systems and about 40,000 solar thermal systems such as water heating, solar cookers, solar passive buildings, and solar green house. The implementation of the plan will start in June and will be completed by December 2013, according to an official statement.
State Bank of
April 24, 2010. State Bank of
It had conducted several workshops for the purpose including ones on using energy-efficient lighting and water-saving technologies. The Bank had also gone to the extent of offering loan at concessional rate for those industries and commercial establishments that implemented cleaner, greener technology and adopted clean development mechanism.
Suzlon to expand business activity in
April 23, 2010. Suzlon, the country's largest wind turbine manufacturers, would expand its business activity rapidly in
The company, for the last 11 consecutive years, has captured around 50 per cent market share, by offering the concept to commissioning business model to wind energy investors in
Out of the potential 45,000 MW generation in the country, Suzlon wanted to capture majority business in the near future. With over 40 sites across eight states at present, the company would enter more states.
Suzlon had supplied ten 1.5 MW wind turbine generators to State Bank of
Govt to set up council for electric vehicles
April 23, 2010. To promote eco-friendly electric vehicles in the country, the Government plans to create a ‘Governing Council for Electric Vehicles (EVs)' by end of May. According to official sources, the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) has approved the project report and it will go to the Prime Minister's Special Group on Technology for final clearance before implementation. The council, which will operate directly under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, will deal with all issues related to the sector and its promotion. It will look at setting up of the infrastructure for electric mobility such as charging stations.
Global
Taiwan to develop offshore wind power generation
April 27, 2010. The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced that it will push a policy of establishing offshore wind power plants and propose incentives in July to encourage local firms to invest in offshore wind power generation. The capacity of a wind power generation station located within 20 meters off the coast could reach 1,200 megawatts (MW) , which is larger than the capacity of a similar wind power plant on land. If the plant is set up around 20 meters to 50 meters off the coast, its capacity could increase to 5,000 MW -- almost equal to the combined capacity of two nuclear power plants.
U.K. small-scale wind turbine sales increase by 25 pc in 2009
April 27, 2010. The
Domestic sales of wind generators for homes and small businesses increased to 17 million pounds ($26 million) from 2008, the
Australia pursues clean energy as climate bill doomed
April 27, 2010.
In land of the rising sun, solar firms eye
April 26, 2010. Squeezed by aggressive Chinese and
Asia's biggest economy is the world's third-largest market for solar energy, and state support for the sector has attracted investments from among the region's biggest solar firms.
Climate debate gets ugly as world moves to curb CO2
April 26, 2010. Climate scientists, used to dealing with skeptics, are under siege like never before, targeted by hate emails brimming with abuse and accusations of fabricating global warming data. Some emails contain thinly veiled death threats. Across the Internet, climate blogs are no less venomous, underscoring the surge in abuse over the past six months triggered by purported evidence that global warming is either a hoax or the threat from a warmer world is grossly overstated. A major source of the anger is from companies with a vested interest in fighting green legislation that might curtail their activities or make their operations more costly. Greenpeace and other groups say that some energy companies are giving millions to groups that oppose climate change science because of concerns about the multi-billion dollar costs associated with carbon trading schemes and clean energy policies.
EU's Oettinger skeptical about German CCS projects
April 26, 2010. European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said he doubted that carbon capture technology (CCS) will take off in
Scientists refute carbon capture doubts
April 26, 2010. Geologists refuted a report which in January had cast doubt on a technology to bury greenhouse gases underground, and on which some policymakers have pinned hopes to fight climate change. British geologists and engineers rejected the doubts. Some academics say that the world's efforts to limit dangerous climate change depends on CCS, which can in theory almost eliminate carbon emissions from burning coal and so give the world time to develop cheap fossil fuel alternatives. The trouble is that the full chain of CCS processes from trapping and piping to burying underground carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by power plants is untested at a commercial scale.
Spain may cut renewable energy premiums by 40 pc
April 25, 2010.
Windmill boom curbs electric power prices for RWE, Iberdrola
April 23, 2010. On windy nights in northern
GE to debut gearless offshore wind turbine to rival Siemens
April 22, 2010. General Electric Co., the world’s second-biggest maker of wind turbines, plans to introduce a 4 megawatt gearless wind turbine for offshore use in 2012 in a challenge to market leader Siemens AG of
Air like split-pea soup spurred first Earth Day, organizer says
April 22, 2010. Earth Day spurred a movement that grew from street protests to a sea change in corporate behavior, said Denis Hayes, national coordinator of the first such event 40 years ago. It also helped redirect trillions of dollars in
Spain,
April 22, 2010.
In
Grass-roots warming summit calls for greenhouse cuts
April 22, 2010. Big polluting countries must aggressively cut greenhouse gases and listen to ideas from small nations to reverse global warming, activists and left-wing leaders concluded at a meeting billed as an alternative to the failed
The
Greenpeace won't fight
April 22, 2010. Greenpeace considers the climate change bill being drafted in the U.S. Senate a "baby step" that will not deliver needed change, but it will not campaign against it.
Environmentalists are grappling with whether to back a bill they see as a compromise or to risk upsetting the fragile momentum of the
Derivatives bill calls for
April 22, 2010. A tough new proposal to regulate
The heads of the Treasury Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other
The goal of the study is "to ensure an efficient, secure, and transparent carbon market, including oversight of spot markets and derivative markets," the bill said.
Kerry, Lieberman, Graham set to unveil latest climate bill
April 22, 2010. A trio of
China drivers shun hybrids, electric cars on lack of subsidy
April 22, 2010. Automakers including GM and Nissan Motor Co. plan to display a record 95 alternative energy-powered models at this year’s Beijing Auto Show, which opens to the press tomorrow. While
A lack of affordability may limit sales of such vehicles by GM, Nissan and Toyota Motor Corp., which have all announced plans to introduce new hybrids and electric cars in
Industrialized nations' CO2 falls 2.2 pc in 2008
April 21, 2010. Industrialized nations' greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.2 percent in 2008, the steepest decline since the break-up of the
Emissions are likely to have fallen more sharply in 2009 due to recession that analysts said was a bigger brake than government policies meant to shift from use of fossil fuels toward cleaner energies such as wind or solar power.
Final government data sent to the United Nations in recent days -- used to judge compliance with climate treaties -- shows that emissions from 36 nations fell to 17.10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2008 from 17.48 billion in 2007.
Japan eyes households to help cut CO2 emissions 25 pc
April 21, 2010.
Siemens to supply wind turbines for E.ON wind farm in
April 21, 2010. Siemens AG said E.ON AG placed an order for the supply of 87 wind turbines for the Papalote Creek II wind power plant in San Patricio County, Texas. The wind farm is expected to be commissioned in the fall of 2010, the company said.
EU to lend $2.7 bn for climate work
April 21, 2010. The European Union's executive has recommended making an extra 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion) of loans available to help other countries combat climate change.
Once-hidden EU report reveals damage from biodiesel
April 21, 2010. Biofuels such as biodiesel from soy beans can create up to four times more climate-warming emissions than standard diesel or petrol, according to an EU document released under freedom of information laws. The European Union has set itself a goal of obtaining 10 percent of its road fuels from renewable sources, mostly biofuels, by the end of this decade, but it is now worrying about the unintended environmental impacts. Chief among those fears is that biofuel production soaks up grain from global commodity markets, forcing up food prices and encouraging farmers to clear tropical forests in the quest for new land. Burning forests releases vast quantities of carbon dioxide and often cancels out many of the climate benefits sought from biofuels. Biodiesel from North American soybeans has an indirect carbo footprint of 339.9 kilograms of CO2 per gigajoule -- four times higher than standard diesel -- said the EU document, an annex that was controversially stripped from a report published in December.
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