31 May 2011
The EU must reform its infrastructure planning regime if it is to achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2050, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the International Institute for Applied System Analysis.
Richard Gledhill, head of climate change and carbon markets at PwC, told Environmental Finance the EU “made quite good progress on direct investment in renewables last year as it came out of recession and the costs of renewables came down as technology moved to scale”. He said this meant that the bloc was well on track to meet its 2020 targets. “But if the EU means to reach 100%, then we need to make some more fundamental changes,” he added.
Renewable electricity capacity increased by a record 30% in Europe last year, while global investment in renewables reached new heights, the report notes.
Antonella Battaglini, senior scientist at PIK, said: “Today it is barely possible to build a single transmission line, especially between countries, as a result of inefficient legislation and public opposition.” He warned: “Unless we start to build the infrastructure for a super-smart grid for Europe and North Africa quickly and efficiently, we can abandon the dream of reaching the 100% renewables electricity system by 2050.”
The study builds on a report published by the same organisations last year, which showed how Europe and North Africa could manage a 100% renewable electricity supply by 2050. It concluded that good progress had been made with renewable electricity power generation capacity reaching a total of 23GW in 2010 and global investment in the sector topping $243 billion.
A report published last week by the International Energy Agency came to similar conclusions, likewise urging policymakers to focus their attention on updating the EU’s energy infrastructure. It concluded that “power systems have greater capacity to handle variable, renewable electricity…than commonly believed.” But it insisted that “a robust transmission grid” is key to successful integrating them.
The report noted that the “reinforcement and extension of grids can be a complex and lengthy planning challenge, and construction subject to heavy delays caused by public antipathy”. It therefore urged policy-makers to “urgently ascertain where grid weaknesses exist, and where congestion is likely therefore to occur, and commence planning and remedial measures as soon as possible”.
Philippa Jones
Monday, 6 June 2011
Solazyme joins Nasdaq
27 May 2011
Algae biofuels company Solazyme debuted on the Nasdaq today, with stocks reaching a 20% premium on its $18 offer price.
The California-based company – which makes renewable oils for low-carbon fuel, and algae-based cosmetics and dietary supplements – opened at $19.60 before climbing to $21.64 in early trading.
Solarzyme netted $198 million in the share sale, having upped it offer price yesterday from a previously projected range of $15-17.
Earlier this month, the company raised its fundraising target to $183.54 million, up from its initial $100 million goal, announced in March.
The company – which in 2010 posted revenues of $38 million and a net operating loss of $16.3 million – is backed by a range of investors including Chevron, Morgan Stanley, Unilever, venture capital firm the Roda Group and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
It has secured a fuel contract with the US Navy and offtake agreements with Dow Chemical and Qantas for the sale of its oil and jet fuel products. In addition, the firm is expanding the stockists of its algae-based luxury skin care line.
Nate Gagnon, a senior analyst at IHS Herold in New York, said Solazyme’s boosted IPO bodes well for other biofuels companies looking to go public, such as Texas-based KiOR which converts non-food biomass into renewable crude oil.
Charlotte Dudley
Algae biofuels company Solazyme debuted on the Nasdaq today, with stocks reaching a 20% premium on its $18 offer price.
The California-based company – which makes renewable oils for low-carbon fuel, and algae-based cosmetics and dietary supplements – opened at $19.60 before climbing to $21.64 in early trading.
Solarzyme netted $198 million in the share sale, having upped it offer price yesterday from a previously projected range of $15-17.
Earlier this month, the company raised its fundraising target to $183.54 million, up from its initial $100 million goal, announced in March.
The company – which in 2010 posted revenues of $38 million and a net operating loss of $16.3 million – is backed by a range of investors including Chevron, Morgan Stanley, Unilever, venture capital firm the Roda Group and entrepreneur Richard Branson.
It has secured a fuel contract with the US Navy and offtake agreements with Dow Chemical and Qantas for the sale of its oil and jet fuel products. In addition, the firm is expanding the stockists of its algae-based luxury skin care line.
Nate Gagnon, a senior analyst at IHS Herold in New York, said Solazyme’s boosted IPO bodes well for other biofuels companies looking to go public, such as Texas-based KiOR which converts non-food biomass into renewable crude oil.
Charlotte Dudley
Renewables firms rise as Germany aims to double clean power, close nukes
European renewables firms saw a boost to share prices, while mainstream utilities suffered, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced the country will double its 2020 renewables target and close its 17 nuclear power plants by 2022.
The oldest seven reactors, which were shut down immediately after the Fukushima disaster, will never be reopened.
The decision must be approved by the German parliament, but observers expect it to go through unhindered. Public protests against nuclear power have ramped up in Germany following the Fukushima meltdowns.
RWE and E.ON both saw their share prices drop yesterday in reaction to the news, with RWE falling 2.5% to a low of €40.00 ($57.64), from a close of €41.02 on Friday. The utility has seen its share price recover slightly this morning to about €40.56.
“This will mean that German utilities will have to divert a large part of their reserves to decommissioning their nuclear power stations just when they need to invest into new cleaner power capacity,” a note by analysts at Jeffries said. “We note that decommissioning costs have in nearly all cases proved to be more expensive than initially foreseen.”
The price of power and carbon allowances in Europe’s Emissions Trading System rose also. But share prices of German solar and wind firms saw the strongest reaction.
German solar cell manufacturer SolarWorld is trading this morning at more than €10, up 13% from the close on Friday, the last day of trading before the announcement was made, of €8.84.
Competitor Q-Cells is trading above €2, up from a close on Friday of €1.77.
However, Lee Clements, London-based investment manager at Impax Asset Management, cautioned that key decisions on the depth of cuts to German solar subsidies from next year are yet to be made. In any case, he noted, the rate of installations is likely to slow, from around 7GW last year to about 3.5GW this year.
“These were quite heavily beaten up stocks,” he added.
Offshore wind, energy efficiency tipped to benefit
Offshore wind projects and energy efficiency could be the big beneficiaries of the shift in policy, Clements said. Merkel also reiterated a target to reduce electricity demand by 10% by 2020.
“With most of the prime onshore sites already developed, we would expect offshore wind in the North Sea and the repowering of older sites to be promoted,” said Michael McNamara, an analyst at London investment firm Matrix Capital, in a note to investors.
Matrix predicts that two UK utilities, Scottish and Southern Energy and Centrica, are likely to benefit because of their offshore wind plans.
German wind turbine firm RePower saw its share price rise from a close on Friday of €131.10, to trade around €142.00 this morning. Nordex was up from a Friday close of €6.00 to around €7.23 today. Spain’s Gamesa also saw a 1.59% rise in its share price yesterday while Swedish turbine maker Vestas rose more than 2%.
Jess McCabe
The oldest seven reactors, which were shut down immediately after the Fukushima disaster, will never be reopened.
The decision must be approved by the German parliament, but observers expect it to go through unhindered. Public protests against nuclear power have ramped up in Germany following the Fukushima meltdowns.
RWE and E.ON both saw their share prices drop yesterday in reaction to the news, with RWE falling 2.5% to a low of €40.00 ($57.64), from a close of €41.02 on Friday. The utility has seen its share price recover slightly this morning to about €40.56.
“This will mean that German utilities will have to divert a large part of their reserves to decommissioning their nuclear power stations just when they need to invest into new cleaner power capacity,” a note by analysts at Jeffries said. “We note that decommissioning costs have in nearly all cases proved to be more expensive than initially foreseen.”
The price of power and carbon allowances in Europe’s Emissions Trading System rose also. But share prices of German solar and wind firms saw the strongest reaction.
German solar cell manufacturer SolarWorld is trading this morning at more than €10, up 13% from the close on Friday, the last day of trading before the announcement was made, of €8.84.
Competitor Q-Cells is trading above €2, up from a close on Friday of €1.77.
However, Lee Clements, London-based investment manager at Impax Asset Management, cautioned that key decisions on the depth of cuts to German solar subsidies from next year are yet to be made. In any case, he noted, the rate of installations is likely to slow, from around 7GW last year to about 3.5GW this year.
“These were quite heavily beaten up stocks,” he added.
Offshore wind, energy efficiency tipped to benefit
Offshore wind projects and energy efficiency could be the big beneficiaries of the shift in policy, Clements said. Merkel also reiterated a target to reduce electricity demand by 10% by 2020.
“With most of the prime onshore sites already developed, we would expect offshore wind in the North Sea and the repowering of older sites to be promoted,” said Michael McNamara, an analyst at London investment firm Matrix Capital, in a note to investors.
Matrix predicts that two UK utilities, Scottish and Southern Energy and Centrica, are likely to benefit because of their offshore wind plans.
German wind turbine firm RePower saw its share price rise from a close on Friday of €131.10, to trade around €142.00 this morning. Nordex was up from a Friday close of €6.00 to around €7.23 today. Spain’s Gamesa also saw a 1.59% rise in its share price yesterday while Swedish turbine maker Vestas rose more than 2%.
Jess McCabe
Global warming crisis may mean world has to suck greenhouse gases from air
As Bonn talks begin, UN climate chief warns of temperature goals set too low and clock ticking on climate change action
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 June 2011 18.10 BST
Greenhouse gas emissions soared last year by a record amount, the International Energy Agency found. Photograph: Arko Datta/Reuters
The world may have to resort to technology that sucks greenhouse gases from the air to stave off the worst effects of global warming, the UN climate change chief has said before talks on the issue beginning on Monday.
"We are putting ourselves in a scenario where we will have to develop more powerful technologies to capture emissions out of the atmosphere," said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. "We are getting into very risky territory," she added, stressing that time was running out.
The UN climate talks starting on Monday in Bonn, which run for the next two weeks, will try to revive the negotiations before the next climate conference, taking place in Durban, South Africa, in December. But little progress is expected, as the negotiating time is likely to be taken up with details such as rules on monitoring emissions.
Figueres tried to inject a greater sense of urgency into the proceedings by pointing to research from the International Energy Agency that found that emissions had soared last year by a record amount. The strong rise means it will take more effort by governments to curb emissions.
Figueres told the Guardian in an interview that governments should act now to save money: "We add $1 trillion to the cost [of tackling climate change] with every year of delay."
However, as the latest talks begin, the world's leading climate change official has upset governments by insisting that the aim of the negotiations ought to be to hold warming to less than 1.5C. That would be a much tougher goal than that set by governments last year, which seeks to limit the temperature rise to no more than 2C – the safety threshold, scientists say, beyond which warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible.
"In my book, there is no way we can stick to the goal that we know is completely unacceptable to the most exposed [countries]," Figueres said.
The difference between the two goals may not seem great, but since it has taken more than 20 years of talks for countries to agree on the 2C limit, many are unwilling to reopen the debate. Delegates are conscious that wrangling over whether to stick to 1.5C or 2C was one of the main sources of conflict at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009; the hope has been that talks can move on to other issues such as how to pay for emissions curbs in poorer countries.
The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "Countries agreed in Copenhagen they would revisit the adequacy of the 2C goal in 2015. With the climate change negotiations seemingly stagnant, the focus now needs to be on doing what has already been agreed."
Other parties agreed. "This is an extraordinary intervention," said one official, who could not be named.
Figueres said that she had the support of the world's least developed countries, most of Africa, and small island states.
Another factor casting a pall over this year's talks, which are intended to forge a new global treaty on climate change, is criticism of the South African government, which will host the Durban talks. No interim meetings have yet been set up, and countries have complained of disorganisation and a lack of enthusiasm. But Figueres said: "South Africa has been very carefully listening, trying to understand where there are commonalities and where the weaknesses are."
She also predicted the US would play a strong role in the talks, despite the Obama administration facing Republican opposition in Congress to action on emissions. "It's very evident that the legislative body in the US has disengaged, but … the administration continues to be engaged." she said.
But Todd Stern, chief negotiator for the US, called for participants in the talks to "roll up their sleeves and be constructive."
Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 June 2011 18.10 BST
Greenhouse gas emissions soared last year by a record amount, the International Energy Agency found. Photograph: Arko Datta/Reuters
The world may have to resort to technology that sucks greenhouse gases from the air to stave off the worst effects of global warming, the UN climate change chief has said before talks on the issue beginning on Monday.
"We are putting ourselves in a scenario where we will have to develop more powerful technologies to capture emissions out of the atmosphere," said Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. "We are getting into very risky territory," she added, stressing that time was running out.
The UN climate talks starting on Monday in Bonn, which run for the next two weeks, will try to revive the negotiations before the next climate conference, taking place in Durban, South Africa, in December. But little progress is expected, as the negotiating time is likely to be taken up with details such as rules on monitoring emissions.
Figueres tried to inject a greater sense of urgency into the proceedings by pointing to research from the International Energy Agency that found that emissions had soared last year by a record amount. The strong rise means it will take more effort by governments to curb emissions.
Figueres told the Guardian in an interview that governments should act now to save money: "We add $1 trillion to the cost [of tackling climate change] with every year of delay."
However, as the latest talks begin, the world's leading climate change official has upset governments by insisting that the aim of the negotiations ought to be to hold warming to less than 1.5C. That would be a much tougher goal than that set by governments last year, which seeks to limit the temperature rise to no more than 2C – the safety threshold, scientists say, beyond which warming becomes catastrophic and irreversible.
"In my book, there is no way we can stick to the goal that we know is completely unacceptable to the most exposed [countries]," Figueres said.
The difference between the two goals may not seem great, but since it has taken more than 20 years of talks for countries to agree on the 2C limit, many are unwilling to reopen the debate. Delegates are conscious that wrangling over whether to stick to 1.5C or 2C was one of the main sources of conflict at the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009; the hope has been that talks can move on to other issues such as how to pay for emissions curbs in poorer countries.
The UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change said: "Countries agreed in Copenhagen they would revisit the adequacy of the 2C goal in 2015. With the climate change negotiations seemingly stagnant, the focus now needs to be on doing what has already been agreed."
Other parties agreed. "This is an extraordinary intervention," said one official, who could not be named.
Figueres said that she had the support of the world's least developed countries, most of Africa, and small island states.
Another factor casting a pall over this year's talks, which are intended to forge a new global treaty on climate change, is criticism of the South African government, which will host the Durban talks. No interim meetings have yet been set up, and countries have complained of disorganisation and a lack of enthusiasm. But Figueres said: "South Africa has been very carefully listening, trying to understand where there are commonalities and where the weaknesses are."
She also predicted the US would play a strong role in the talks, despite the Obama administration facing Republican opposition in Congress to action on emissions. "It's very evident that the legislative body in the US has disengaged, but … the administration continues to be engaged." she said.
But Todd Stern, chief negotiator for the US, called for participants in the talks to "roll up their sleeves and be constructive."
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