Hybrid cars just about messaging?
The best hybrid car for the money
Inevitably, consumers are driven by cost-effectiveness. While between 2 to 3 percent of consumers will buy hybrid cars to send a message, most will not.
Still, is the Mercedes S400 hybrid really the only hybrid that pays consumers back after 5 years of ownership?
That’s what a recent Canadian study found. After 5 years, a hybrid costs more than its conventional counterpart despite gasoline savings, except in one case, the S400 hybrid.
Time for Consumer Reports to go out of business?
Yet, according to Consumer Reports when factoring the “best or worst combination of performance, utility, and reliability for the money, considering all owner costs over a five-year period” the Toyota Prius and the Toyota Camry hybrid each make the Top Ten list.
So, which study is right?
I’m not sure. The wide variance found in such studies suggests that far too much subjectivity is involved in deriving such conclusions.
Nevertheless, consumers have strongly indicated that if payback isn’t achieved very quickly – such as within a year or two – then the car simply isn’t going to resonate on the sale’s floor. Consequently, many hybrid cars might be more cost-effective than portrayed in this latest study, however, further cost-effectiveness is still required if hybrids are to ever achieve mainstream appeal.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
World Investment Report 2010: Investing in a low-carbon economy
Low-carbon FDI in areas such as renewables, recycling and low-carbon technology manufacturing is already large (some $90 billion in 2009), but its potential is huge. This is one of the conclusions of UNCTAD’s 2010 World Investment Report, released last month. The report is the most recent in an annual series exploring the latest trends and prospects for FDI flows and recent policy changes, and also offers a deeper analysis of a topically relevant issue of the day.
This year’s report attempts to dive into the hot topic of foreign investment and climate change. It’s definitely worth checking out for anyone interested in the climate change agenda. The report is also supported by the world’s most authoritative database of FDI statistics – an excellent source of data on FDI stocks and flows for anyone who is interested.
But if you do not have the time to bury your head in the nearly 200-page report or database, here are some of the highlights from my reading:
•FDI inflows fell 37 percent from 2008 to 2009 to $1.114 trillion (see Figure I.13 below). However, this amount still represents the 5th highest amount of cross border investment flows since data began to be recorded. It accounts for a whopping 11% of global GDP output and over 80 million jobs. In addition early signs from the beginning of 2010 suggest there will be modest and uneven recovery in 2010 with global inflows expected to reach $1.2 trillion in 2010, $1.3-1.5 trillion in 2011 and head towards $1.6-2.0 trillion by 2012.
•The drop off in 2009 in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of 34 percent was more pronounced than the rather moderate drop of 15 percent in new Greenfield FDI projects (of which there were 14,000). However, the recovery in cross-border M&A in 2010 is also expected to be more pronounced, as valuations will be relatively cheap and many companies may move towards increased consolidation.
•Developing and transition economies took in almost half (~49%) of global FDI inflows and approximately one quarter of FDI outflows. Within developing and transition economies it should be little or no surprise that the BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China took the largest share of FDI inflows (nearly 41%) while the new emerging market category labeled by HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan as the CIVETS – Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa took a much smaller share (just under 9%).
•Around 40 percent of low-carbon emission FDI projects by value during 2003-2009 were in developing countries. Yet there is potential for much more “green” FDI to flow into developing economies and the role of the private sector will be critical in tackling climate change by expanding its presence in those countries. Recipient countries will need to do more by adopting market-creating policies that can foster demand for new low-carbon products and services.
•Cross-border FDI into services represented more than half of all FDI flows in 2009, which continues the trend of services and primary sectors continuing to capture an increasing share of total FDI. Manufacturing FDI continues to decrease in importance overtime.
•On the policy side, in 2009 there were 102 new national policy measures introduced which effect FDI. 70 percent of these represented policies that further liberalized regimes towards new FDI. However, 30 percent introduced measures that were more restrictive to FDI, signaling a new trend that governments may be using regulation to pursue broader policy objectives. A big shift from earlier in the decade where 90 percent or more of all policy changes were towards liberalization.
These were some of the highlights which jumped out at me; check out the report if you want to learn more.
This year’s report attempts to dive into the hot topic of foreign investment and climate change. It’s definitely worth checking out for anyone interested in the climate change agenda. The report is also supported by the world’s most authoritative database of FDI statistics – an excellent source of data on FDI stocks and flows for anyone who is interested.
But if you do not have the time to bury your head in the nearly 200-page report or database, here are some of the highlights from my reading:
•FDI inflows fell 37 percent from 2008 to 2009 to $1.114 trillion (see Figure I.13 below). However, this amount still represents the 5th highest amount of cross border investment flows since data began to be recorded. It accounts for a whopping 11% of global GDP output and over 80 million jobs. In addition early signs from the beginning of 2010 suggest there will be modest and uneven recovery in 2010 with global inflows expected to reach $1.2 trillion in 2010, $1.3-1.5 trillion in 2011 and head towards $1.6-2.0 trillion by 2012.
•The drop off in 2009 in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of 34 percent was more pronounced than the rather moderate drop of 15 percent in new Greenfield FDI projects (of which there were 14,000). However, the recovery in cross-border M&A in 2010 is also expected to be more pronounced, as valuations will be relatively cheap and many companies may move towards increased consolidation.
•Developing and transition economies took in almost half (~49%) of global FDI inflows and approximately one quarter of FDI outflows. Within developing and transition economies it should be little or no surprise that the BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China took the largest share of FDI inflows (nearly 41%) while the new emerging market category labeled by HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan as the CIVETS – Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa took a much smaller share (just under 9%).
•Around 40 percent of low-carbon emission FDI projects by value during 2003-2009 were in developing countries. Yet there is potential for much more “green” FDI to flow into developing economies and the role of the private sector will be critical in tackling climate change by expanding its presence in those countries. Recipient countries will need to do more by adopting market-creating policies that can foster demand for new low-carbon products and services.
•Cross-border FDI into services represented more than half of all FDI flows in 2009, which continues the trend of services and primary sectors continuing to capture an increasing share of total FDI. Manufacturing FDI continues to decrease in importance overtime.
•On the policy side, in 2009 there were 102 new national policy measures introduced which effect FDI. 70 percent of these represented policies that further liberalized regimes towards new FDI. However, 30 percent introduced measures that were more restrictive to FDI, signaling a new trend that governments may be using regulation to pursue broader policy objectives. A big shift from earlier in the decade where 90 percent or more of all policy changes were towards liberalization.
These were some of the highlights which jumped out at me; check out the report if you want to learn more.
DOE grants $1 billion for carbon capture and storage project
Posted on: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 08:21:35 EDT
Aug 10, 2010 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) --
The US Department of Energy, or DOE, has awarded $1 billion funds to four clean technology developers for a near-zero emission carbon capture and storage project.
The funds will be utilized by the FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit consortium of global energy firms Ameren Energy Resources, Babcock & Wilcox, and Air Liquide Process & Construction, to repower Ameren's existing 200MW plant in Meredosia, Illinois.
The project, called the FutureGen 2.0, will reportedly replace plans to construct an experimental coal-fired power plant, which will capture and store CO2 underground.
This project is also expected to create approximately 2,000 jobs in Illinois with work scheduled to start in spring 2011, revealed businessGreen.com.
FutureGen 2.0 will comprise of a boiler, an air separation unit, a CO2 purification as well as a compression unit, which will capture 90% of the CO2 from the plant and eliminate most sulphur and nitrous oxides, as well as mercury and particulate emissions, said NewNet.
Steven Chu, energy secretary of DOE, said: "This investment
in the world's first commercial-scale oxy-combustion power plant will help to open up the over $300 billion market for coal unit repowering and position the country as a leader in an important part of the global clean energy economy."
http://www.datamonitor.com
Aug 10, 2010 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) --
The US Department of Energy, or DOE, has awarded $1 billion funds to four clean technology developers for a near-zero emission carbon capture and storage project.
The funds will be utilized by the FutureGen Alliance, a non-profit consortium of global energy firms Ameren Energy Resources, Babcock & Wilcox, and Air Liquide Process & Construction, to repower Ameren's existing 200MW plant in Meredosia, Illinois.
The project, called the FutureGen 2.0, will reportedly replace plans to construct an experimental coal-fired power plant, which will capture and store CO2 underground.
This project is also expected to create approximately 2,000 jobs in Illinois with work scheduled to start in spring 2011, revealed businessGreen.com.
FutureGen 2.0 will comprise of a boiler, an air separation unit, a CO2 purification as well as a compression unit, which will capture 90% of the CO2 from the plant and eliminate most sulphur and nitrous oxides, as well as mercury and particulate emissions, said NewNet.
Steven Chu, energy secretary of DOE, said: "This investment
in the world's first commercial-scale oxy-combustion power plant will help to open up the over $300 billion market for coal unit repowering and position the country as a leader in an important part of the global clean energy economy."
http://www.datamonitor.com
3D ship survey helps in wave energy cable work
10:51am Tuesday 10th August 2010
By Owen McAteer »
A DIGITAL survey company played an integral role in ensuring the installation of the world’s largest wave energy testing centre went smoothly.
Laser scanning experts from Digital Surveys went to Kristiansand, Norway, on behalf of a Darlington company for a scanning commission that formed part of the Wave Hub Development.
Last week, Darlington company CTC Marine started the installation of the 33,000-volt cable connecting the Wave Hub, a massive electrical socket on the seabed 16km off the coast of Cornwall, to the mainland.
Digital Surveys’ role was to digitally document the deck of the installation vessel, the MSV Nordica, which was responsible for laying the 25km subsea cable. It ensured the accurate placement of the carousel used to lay the cable on the ship’s deck.
CTC Marine engineer Sam Taylor said: “This is a really important trial for the renewables industry and by using the laser scanning process, we have avoided any potential delays.
“The accurate placement of the carousel on deck was critical and we have been able to work confidently with the quality of data captured because it provided so much additional detail relating to potential obstacles like pipework.”
It was the first time that CTC Marine had used a 3D scan for this type of work, opting for traditional survey methods in the past.
Because of the amount of useful data retrieved, CTC is considering scanning more vessels with 3D lasers to create a library of information that will aid future projects.
Digital Surveys director Ben Bennett said: “In the past, to get a good idea of any potential obstacles on deck that might have interfered with placement of the carousel, photography would have been necessary.
“We are hopeful that this will be the first of many projects for CTC Marine.
“When Sam and his team saw the standard of the data we obtained, they realised that laser scanning could be put to other uses.
“For example, by scanning one of their marine assets, they could use the data for virtual inspections, 3D animations, 3D simulations or 3D modelling presentations to the industry and to their clients.
“Traditional survey methods do not offer this scope and, additionally, the information can be represented in a number of ways.”
Hartlepool company JDR Cable Systems has manufactured the hub structure and the 25km of subsea cable that will connect the hub to the National Grid onshore.
The £42m project has been developed by the South-West Development Agency as part of a strategy to create a world-class marine energy industry in south-west England.
By Owen McAteer »
A DIGITAL survey company played an integral role in ensuring the installation of the world’s largest wave energy testing centre went smoothly.
Laser scanning experts from Digital Surveys went to Kristiansand, Norway, on behalf of a Darlington company for a scanning commission that formed part of the Wave Hub Development.
Last week, Darlington company CTC Marine started the installation of the 33,000-volt cable connecting the Wave Hub, a massive electrical socket on the seabed 16km off the coast of Cornwall, to the mainland.
Digital Surveys’ role was to digitally document the deck of the installation vessel, the MSV Nordica, which was responsible for laying the 25km subsea cable. It ensured the accurate placement of the carousel used to lay the cable on the ship’s deck.
CTC Marine engineer Sam Taylor said: “This is a really important trial for the renewables industry and by using the laser scanning process, we have avoided any potential delays.
“The accurate placement of the carousel on deck was critical and we have been able to work confidently with the quality of data captured because it provided so much additional detail relating to potential obstacles like pipework.”
It was the first time that CTC Marine had used a 3D scan for this type of work, opting for traditional survey methods in the past.
Because of the amount of useful data retrieved, CTC is considering scanning more vessels with 3D lasers to create a library of information that will aid future projects.
Digital Surveys director Ben Bennett said: “In the past, to get a good idea of any potential obstacles on deck that might have interfered with placement of the carousel, photography would have been necessary.
“We are hopeful that this will be the first of many projects for CTC Marine.
“When Sam and his team saw the standard of the data we obtained, they realised that laser scanning could be put to other uses.
“For example, by scanning one of their marine assets, they could use the data for virtual inspections, 3D animations, 3D simulations or 3D modelling presentations to the industry and to their clients.
“Traditional survey methods do not offer this scope and, additionally, the information can be represented in a number of ways.”
Hartlepool company JDR Cable Systems has manufactured the hub structure and the 25km of subsea cable that will connect the hub to the National Grid onshore.
The £42m project has been developed by the South-West Development Agency as part of a strategy to create a world-class marine energy industry in south-west England.
The big switch: How Britain's homes could make cost-free emissions cuts
British homeowners can green their properties using government loans – and visit a functioning 'superhome' before committing
• Interactive: Green your home
Christine Ottery guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 August 2010 10.30 BST
With an electricity meter that goes backwards and a roof covered in green plants, Tony Almond's house is no normal home. The house in Welwyn village, just north of London, is actually a green "superhome" - the 50th in a UK-wide network of demonstration eco-homes now open to the public.
The scheme, operated by charity Sustainable Energy Academy (SEA) and the National Energy Foundation, plans to create a network of 200 superhomes to showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, which will let visitors see for themselves both the challenges involved in making the switch and the financial and environmental savings made.
Following a three-year effort to inspire homeowners to do their own green retrofits, there is now a superhome within 40 miles of 90% of all homes in England and Wales. This year 20,000 people visited these properties, up from 12,000 last year.
At Almond's 1968 five-bedroom detached property, it becomes clear how much work was needed. The roof has been laid with sedum and solar panels to power the hot water and electricity systems, and inside there is 250mm loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, 100mm underfloor insulation, draught-proofing and double glazing.
Since his large 3kWp solar photovoltaic panels were installed in February, the household has had no electricity bill and - through the government feed-in tariff - have earned the household £681.45. Almond estimates further savings on his gas bill from the insulation and solar thermal system after winter. The retrofit as a whole has cost less than £25,000 and the measures have cut his home's carbon emissions by 66%. To qualify as a superhome, a home's emissions must have been cut by at least 60%.
John Doggart, chairman of SEA, says surveys found that 15% of visitors to superhomes go on to convert their own properties: "The reasons people choose to take action are almost 50/50 saving the planet or saving their pocket," he says.
Visiting a home that has had an energy makeover can help people make the decision to invest, says environmental psychologist Paul Stern. "A demonstration makes it more real. Some of the psychology is about human information processing, and this is a kind of a household decision that is unfamiliar and easy to postpone."
The superhomes are one grassroots part of a bigger effort to green Britain's ageing housing stock.
While new homes built from 2016 onwards will be mandated zero carbon by the government, these will represent only a small minority of the UK's homes.
This means that 80% of all homes that will be standing in 2050 will already have been built, which makes retrofitting of existing homes a priority.
The government's "Green Deal" hopes to accelerate this push, offering householders loans of up to £10,000 for energy efficiency improvements and installation of domestic renewable energy sources. The "pay as you save" loans, designed to overcome the upfront financial obstacles such as the average £12,000 price of solar panels, should start in late 2012. Under the scheme, the cost of the loan repayments – which are tied to the property, not the owner – should be outweighed by the savings on householders' energy bills.
"This groundbreaking legislation will allow us to offer consumers the ability to install energy efficiency measures in their homes without any upfront costs or payments. These would be paid back over time through savings on energy bills," says minister for climate change, Greg Barker. The loans were originally proposed by the Labour government, though the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both say they had suggested similar ideas in the past.
The SEA's Doggart supports the loans but says the government still needs to grasp the scale of investment needed. "This is a significant contribution, but it costs between £15,000 to £25,000 to get a 60% or better carbon saving on old houses, which is what we should be aiming for."
• Interactive: Green your home
Christine Ottery guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 10 August 2010 10.30 BST
With an electricity meter that goes backwards and a roof covered in green plants, Tony Almond's house is no normal home. The house in Welwyn village, just north of London, is actually a green "superhome" - the 50th in a UK-wide network of demonstration eco-homes now open to the public.
The scheme, operated by charity Sustainable Energy Academy (SEA) and the National Energy Foundation, plans to create a network of 200 superhomes to showcase energy efficiency and renewable energy generation, which will let visitors see for themselves both the challenges involved in making the switch and the financial and environmental savings made.
Following a three-year effort to inspire homeowners to do their own green retrofits, there is now a superhome within 40 miles of 90% of all homes in England and Wales. This year 20,000 people visited these properties, up from 12,000 last year.
At Almond's 1968 five-bedroom detached property, it becomes clear how much work was needed. The roof has been laid with sedum and solar panels to power the hot water and electricity systems, and inside there is 250mm loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, 100mm underfloor insulation, draught-proofing and double glazing.
Since his large 3kWp solar photovoltaic panels were installed in February, the household has had no electricity bill and - through the government feed-in tariff - have earned the household £681.45. Almond estimates further savings on his gas bill from the insulation and solar thermal system after winter. The retrofit as a whole has cost less than £25,000 and the measures have cut his home's carbon emissions by 66%. To qualify as a superhome, a home's emissions must have been cut by at least 60%.
John Doggart, chairman of SEA, says surveys found that 15% of visitors to superhomes go on to convert their own properties: "The reasons people choose to take action are almost 50/50 saving the planet or saving their pocket," he says.
Visiting a home that has had an energy makeover can help people make the decision to invest, says environmental psychologist Paul Stern. "A demonstration makes it more real. Some of the psychology is about human information processing, and this is a kind of a household decision that is unfamiliar and easy to postpone."
The superhomes are one grassroots part of a bigger effort to green Britain's ageing housing stock.
While new homes built from 2016 onwards will be mandated zero carbon by the government, these will represent only a small minority of the UK's homes.
This means that 80% of all homes that will be standing in 2050 will already have been built, which makes retrofitting of existing homes a priority.
The government's "Green Deal" hopes to accelerate this push, offering householders loans of up to £10,000 for energy efficiency improvements and installation of domestic renewable energy sources. The "pay as you save" loans, designed to overcome the upfront financial obstacles such as the average £12,000 price of solar panels, should start in late 2012. Under the scheme, the cost of the loan repayments – which are tied to the property, not the owner – should be outweighed by the savings on householders' energy bills.
"This groundbreaking legislation will allow us to offer consumers the ability to install energy efficiency measures in their homes without any upfront costs or payments. These would be paid back over time through savings on energy bills," says minister for climate change, Greg Barker. The loans were originally proposed by the Labour government, though the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both say they had suggested similar ideas in the past.
The SEA's Doggart supports the loans but says the government still needs to grasp the scale of investment needed. "This is a significant contribution, but it costs between £15,000 to £25,000 to get a 60% or better carbon saving on old houses, which is what we should be aiming for."