Top Stories
Google Energy's big green power purchase.—reliability
medium.
Google's "Google Energy subsidiary signed a 20-year power purchase
agreement with NextEra Energy. Google will begin buying 114 megawatts
of electricity from an Iowa wind farm on July 30." Google Energy will
resell the power through the local grid, but keep the Renewable Energy
Certificates to apply to Google's power use elsewhere. See Grist.
Google blog post here.
[Lots of companies
buy RECs. Lots of companies buy power under long-term PPAs. Here is an
example of locking in power costs via a PPA and getting RECs in bulk
along with the power, presumably more cheaply than they could be
purchased on the normal REC market. And NextEra, the wind farm
operator, gets a long-term, guaranteed cash flow from its renewable
energy no matter what happens to electricity and REC markets in the
future. This assured cash flow will enable it to finance expanded wind
generation more easily than if it were selling power and RECs on spot
markets, thus helping build more green power capacity faster. Smart,
Google. (Background on RECs in this
earlier post.)]
Businesses support tougher emissions targets
by EU: report.—reliability high.
"High-profile business leaders from household names across Europe
urged ministers on Wednesday to push for tougher emissions targets. In
a letter to the Financial Times, chairmen and chief executives from 27
companies wrote in support of British Energy Minister Chris Huhne's
efforts to persuade the EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30
percent by 2020. The companies include Vodafone, Asda and Lloyds
Banking Group." Story at Reuters.
The letter here
(behind FT pay wall). [Major businesses
support higher carbon price. What's in it for them?]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Intel Comes Out on Top in Green Governance
Rankings.—reliability high.
"Intel, Weyerhaeuser and Merck have the strongest environmental
governance and policies, according to a study that looked at the
practices of the largest publically traded firms in the U.S. The latest
company evaluations done with the Governance and Environmental
Management Strength (GEMS) Rating found firms that are performing
strongly in ever major sector, but also found a large chunk of
companies that are severely lagging. ... Of those [962] companies, 448
received a score of less than 10, and 170 received a zero, meaning they
did not disclose any information related to the 49 indicators." More
highlights of this commercial report. See Greener
World Media.
The State of New Energy Investing.—reliability
medium.
About report "Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2010;
Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency, from the United Nations Environment Program’s
Sustainable Energy Finance Initiative and Bloomberg New Energy
Finance." "There is little doubt about the most striking 2009 New
Energy (NE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) statistic: Investment in China
grew 53%. The world invested $119 billion in NE/EE in 2009 and China
got $33.7 billion of it. ... The more important numbers are found in
the amount of recovery money that was dedicated internationally to
NE/EE investment ($188 billion) versus how much has been spent (9%).
That leaves 91% of $188 billion to be invested in 2010 and 2011." More
highlights of report. From Renewable
Energy World blog. PDF of report here.
Kansas heat wave has killed 2,000 cattle:
state.—reliability high.
"The intense heat and humidity that blanketed central Kansas since
late last week have killed more than 2,000 cattle and one state
official called the heat-related losses the worst in his 17 years on
the job. ... While the loss of cattle is a financial hardship for
producers, the slowdown in weight gains in the surviving cattle can
often have a greater impact on cattle markets." Story at Reuters.
[Heat waves kill
people too, but maybe the economic costs to the beef industry will get
more attention (though Kansas has over two million cattle on feed, so
2,000 isn't a crisis to the overall beef system). In the long run
feedlots may consider moving to more temperate climates. It's just not
practical to air condition them. About
feedlots in this earlier post.]
In a Climate Quest, the Roof as White Knight.—reliability
high.
"on Monday, Dr. Chu directed all Energy Department offices to install
white roofs during new construction, when replacing old roofs and
wherever an installation is cost-effective over the lifetime of the
roof. The secretary urged other federal agencies to follow suit. 'Cool
roofs are one of the quickest and lowest-cost ways we can reduce our
global carbon emissions and begin the hard work of slowing climate
change,' he said in a statement." More on white roofs for saving
energy. See The
New York Times Green blog. [Low-hanging fruit
right over your head.]
Government and
Regulation
Europe Proposes to End Coal Mining Subsidies
by 2014.—reliability high.
"On Tuesday, in a preliminary victory for environmental groups and for
green-minded regulators, the commission said that cash handouts for
loss-making coal mines should end within four years -- by Oct. 15, 2014
-- rather than being allowed to continue for more than a decade as
originally planned. The decision, if approved by the European Union's
27 governments, would mainly affect mines in Germany, Spain and
Romania. Debate over the measure had raged for weeks". From New
York Times Green blog.
U.N. lists Kyoto plan B options if no
climate deal.—reliability high.
"The U.N.'s climate agency has for the first time detailed contingency
options if the world cannot agree a successor to the Kyoto Protocol,
whose present round expires in 2012 with no new deal in sight. ...
Countries which are party to the Kyoto Protocol in June asked the U.N.
climate secretariat to report on legal options to avoid a political
vacuum or gap." More details. See Reuters
story. PDF of report here.
New York Mandates Cleaner Heating Oil.—reliability
high.
New York "Governor David A. Paterson on Tuesday signed into law a bill
that limits the sulfur content of No. 2 heating oil to no more than 15
parts per million starting in July 2012, down from the current range of
2,000 to 15,000 parts per million. ... the ultra-low sulfur oil is
expected to significantly reduce air pollution that causes health
problems like asthma and can shorten lives." More at New
York Times Green blog. [Saving the lives
of thousands of registered voters?]
