Top Stories
"Energy Access Seen as Vital to Abolishing
Worst Poverty"—reliability high.
The International Energy Agency presented a special report on the
importance of energy access in reducing poverty to the Millennium
Development Goals meeting in New York. It says more than $36 billion a
year is needed to ensure that the world’s population benefits from
access to electricity and clean-burning cooking facilities by 2030,
according to this New York Times story. The Times quotes IEA chief
economist Fatih Birol: "Without electricity, social and economic
development is much more difficult. ... Addressing sanitation, clean
water, hunger — these goals can’t be met without providing access to
energy." More on energy poverty and biomass cooking issues. See The
New York Times. Access IEA "Energy Poverty: How to make modern
energy access universal" special excerpt here.
"Recurrent Energy Acquired by Sharp for $305
Million"—reliability high.
"The deal will effectively bring together two companies in need of
strong allies. Sharp is one of the largest and historically strongest
solar module makers in the world and Recurrent is one of the largest
independent solar power project developers. With Recurrent, Sharp has a
group that can bid on solar power projects, and then build them with
Sharp modules. Recurrent has a 2 gigawatt product pipeline: that could
soak up a lot of modules." More on developments in the solar sector.
From Greentech
Media. [Forward
integration of module makers into project development seems to be the
way to go.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
"BHP anticipates global carbon price"—reliability
high.
Marius Kloppers, chief executive officer of BHP Billiton, told the
Australian British Chamber of Commerce: "we need to anticipate the
global price for carbon when we take on decisions with a long-dated
impact. The decisions we take now on our production will still be with
us long after a global price for carbon is finally in place." More
remarks on what governments will have to do and how companies will have
to respond. See Financial
Standard. [And
see next two items.]
"Australian miner backs case for carbon tax"—reliability
high.
Fortescue Metals Group chief Andrew Forrest said, "I think a carbon
tax is better than an emissions-trading system. I'm not getting in the
road of a carbon tax. ... There is a need sooner rather than later to
resolve the issue of a price on carbon that creates the investment
certainty, and will bring on investment in energy in Australia." More
on industry attitudes to carbon pricing in Australia. See Reuters.
[Australian carbon
emitters don't want to see reductions, but they are willing to accept
carbon taxes and a price on carbon. They seem especially uncomfortable
with the continuing uncertainty about whether, when and how a price on
carbon will be imposed.]
"Australia companies face scrutiny on carbon
disclosure"—reliability high.
"The Investor Group on Climate Change said it wanted all of
Australia's top 200 listed companies to reveal data under the global
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to allow investors to adequately assess
carbon risks. ... In a bid to increase corporate clarity on carbon, the
Australian Ethical Investment Fund teamed up with Australia's Climate
Institute think tank to pressure companies to provide more information
on carbon risks at annual general meetings." More shareholder activist
comments. From Reuters
story.
"Central America taps volcanoes for
electricity"—reliability high.
Story about efforts in notoriously volcano-rich Central America to
increase use of geothermal energy. "Guatemala, Central America's
biggest country, aims to produces 60 percent of its energy from
geothermal and hydroelectric power by 2022. The government is offering
tax breaks on equipment to set up geothermal plants and electricity
regulators are requiring distributors buy greater proportions of clean
energy." More on activities in various countries in the region. From Reuters.
"Japan's Chubu plans 8MW solar plant to cut
emissions"—reliability high.
Chubu Electric Power Co plans to build an 8-megawatt solar power
plant, to come on line in 2014. It will try to obtain government
subsidies to help with construction. See Reuters.
[This would
represent a couple of thousandths of one percent of Chubu's total
capacity, and less than one percent the capacity of Chubu's smallest
thermal generating station. No significant effect on greenhouse gas
emissions. But maybe a start.]
Government and
Regulation
EPA Kicks Off 'Green Power Community
Challenge'—reliability high.
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched its
national 'Green Power Community Challenge,' a year-long campaign to
encourage cities, towns, villages, and Native American tribes to use
renewable energy to help prevent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to
accelerate the development of renewable energy capacity across the
Unites States." The challenge will rank and recognize communities which
use the most renewable energy. More on the program. See Environmental
Leader. More at EPA Green Power
Partnership site.
"France Cuts Solar PV Feed In Tariffs by 12
Percent"—reliability medium.
Edouard Stenger posts that "Feed-in tariffs for industrial
installations in France decreased by 12 percent beginning on September
1st. This move was done to prevent overheating in the sector. According
to the French Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and
Town, Mr. Jean-Louis Borloo, the objective of having 5,400 MW of solar
PV capacity may be reached in 2013 instead of 2020." More at Cleantechies
blog.
