A pressure group has now accused Paris city hall of organising unfair and publicly subsidised competition
By John Lichfield in Paris
Friday, 10 June 2011
A pioneering scheme to provide cheap, "help yourself" electric cars for Parisian residents and tourists faces a last-minute legal challenge from the traditional car-rental industry.
The first 700 Autolib' cars – based on the city's successful bicycle self-hire operation, which inspired a similar scene in London – will appear in the French capital from December at a modest €5 (£4.40) for the first 30 minutes.
But a pressure group representing large car-rental firms such as Avis and Hertz has belatedly accused city hall of organising unfair and publicly subsidised competition. The administrative tribunal, which hears complaints against public authorities, must decide within weeks whether to abolish the scheme in its present form.
Manufacture of the first Autolib' cars – roughly the size of a Twingo or Mini, and with a battery life of 250 kilometres – has already begun in Turin. The Socialist Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, is convinced that the scheme will be a popular and groundbreaking success like his do-it-yourself bike-hire programme, Vélib'.
The small, blue four-seater cars will be available from street or underground docking stations for €5 for the first half-hour for Parisian residents and €7 for visitors. As with the Vélib' bike scheme, long-term rentals will be more expensive. The idea is to offer a "green", cheap alternative for cross-town journeys.
Joining the scheme will cost a further €10 a day, €15 a week or €144 a year. "Autolibbeurs" will use a credit card to pick up a car from a docking station and leave it in a spare place at any other station when finished. Each car will have a radio, a GPS route-finding system and an onboard computer to direct the driver to empty docking spaces.
Saturday, 11 June 2011
UK cuts solar tariffs by up to 72%
9 June 2011
The UK government has announced new feed-in tariffs (FITs) for large-scale solar arrays installed from 1 August, arguing that without reductions the scheme will be “overwhelmed”, while industry participants fear the changes will not be the last.
The revised rates – representing cuts of as much as 72% – will apply to new solar installations greater than 50kW and all stand-alone installations. Existing solar installations and those under 50kW will not be affected by the tariff revisions.
The changes follow a review into solar FITs which sought to address concerns that large-scale solar projects are crowding out funding for community groups and householders.
“Without action the scheme would be overwhelmed,” said Greg Barker, the UK Energy and Climate Change Minister, arguing that the revised tariffs will ensure “a sustained growth path for the solar industry while protecting the money for householders, small businesses and communities”.
The review revealed a higher than expected number of planned large-scale solar photovoltaic projects, the government said, adding that each 5MW project would incur a cost of around £1.3 million ($2.1 million) per year, taking the lion’s share of the available incentive cash.
From August, new installations will receive 19p per kWh for installations of 50-150kW, 15p/kWh for those 150-250kW and 8.5p/kWh for 250kW-5MW and stand-alone installations.
Currently, the rates are 32.9p/kW per hour for installations 10kW-100kW and 30.7/kWh for 100kw-5MW and stand-alone installations.
The government has also revised its support for farm-scale anaerobic digestion.
Industry fears more to come
Reaction from industry was mixed, with many unconvinced that today’s announcement would be the final word on FITs.
Jeremy Leggett, founder of London-based solar developer Solar Century, said the rate announcement is “hugely disappointing” but unsurprising. He called for the government to engage with industry to avoid receiving “new nasty surprises in the coming months".
Daniel Guttman, renewables director at consultancy PwC in London, said the revised rates are in line with expectations, but warned against any further revisions “or destabilising comments” to give industry time to adjust to the new regime.
“This has been a knock to the system as it is, but if it happens again it could be terminal,” he warned. However, the effect of the FIT cuts will be low, he said, because the rooftop domestic market accounts for the bulk of installations.
Howard Johns, chairman of the Solar Trade Association in the UK, said the government has “got it seriously wrong” on solar.
“Crushing solar makes zero economic sense for UK plc because it will lose us major manufacturing opportunities, jobs and global competitiveness. It also risks locking us in to more expensive energy options in future,” he added.
The FIT changes remain subject to parliamentary approval and state aid clearance.
Charlotte Dudley
The UK government has announced new feed-in tariffs (FITs) for large-scale solar arrays installed from 1 August, arguing that without reductions the scheme will be “overwhelmed”, while industry participants fear the changes will not be the last.
The revised rates – representing cuts of as much as 72% – will apply to new solar installations greater than 50kW and all stand-alone installations. Existing solar installations and those under 50kW will not be affected by the tariff revisions.
The changes follow a review into solar FITs which sought to address concerns that large-scale solar projects are crowding out funding for community groups and householders.
“Without action the scheme would be overwhelmed,” said Greg Barker, the UK Energy and Climate Change Minister, arguing that the revised tariffs will ensure “a sustained growth path for the solar industry while protecting the money for householders, small businesses and communities”.
The review revealed a higher than expected number of planned large-scale solar photovoltaic projects, the government said, adding that each 5MW project would incur a cost of around £1.3 million ($2.1 million) per year, taking the lion’s share of the available incentive cash.
From August, new installations will receive 19p per kWh for installations of 50-150kW, 15p/kWh for those 150-250kW and 8.5p/kWh for 250kW-5MW and stand-alone installations.
Currently, the rates are 32.9p/kW per hour for installations 10kW-100kW and 30.7/kWh for 100kw-5MW and stand-alone installations.
The government has also revised its support for farm-scale anaerobic digestion.
Industry fears more to come
Reaction from industry was mixed, with many unconvinced that today’s announcement would be the final word on FITs.
Jeremy Leggett, founder of London-based solar developer Solar Century, said the rate announcement is “hugely disappointing” but unsurprising. He called for the government to engage with industry to avoid receiving “new nasty surprises in the coming months".
Daniel Guttman, renewables director at consultancy PwC in London, said the revised rates are in line with expectations, but warned against any further revisions “or destabilising comments” to give industry time to adjust to the new regime.
“This has been a knock to the system as it is, but if it happens again it could be terminal,” he warned. However, the effect of the FIT cuts will be low, he said, because the rooftop domestic market accounts for the bulk of installations.
Howard Johns, chairman of the Solar Trade Association in the UK, said the government has “got it seriously wrong” on solar.
“Crushing solar makes zero economic sense for UK plc because it will lose us major manufacturing opportunities, jobs and global competitiveness. It also risks locking us in to more expensive energy options in future,” he added.
The FIT changes remain subject to parliamentary approval and state aid clearance.
Charlotte Dudley
Huaneng rebounds with $800m IPO
9 June 2011
Chinese wind firm Huaneng Renewables has bounced back from last year’s shelved fundraising attempt to raise as much as HK$6.2 billion (US$800 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) ahead of joining the Hong Kong bourse this Friday.
The renewables arm of China Huaneng Group sold 2.49 billion shares at HK$2.50 each, Bloomberg reported, quoting two unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter”. The price is broadly in the mid range of the $2.28-2.98 stated in its prospectus.
Reuters said the raising netted HK$5.93 billion.
Huaneng did not return requests for comment before publication.
The wind-farm operator relaunched the fundraising after dumping its US$1.3 billion IPO last December to due to market volatility.
The wind company’s return to the market appears to reflect a growing appetite for Chinese renewable energy, partly driven by the post-Fukushima nuclear rethink, and the rise of Chinese companies seeking Hong Kong listings.
The renewable power arm of Datang, a Chinese wind power company, raised more than US$640 million when it joined the Hong Kong bourse in December, while Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind shook the tin for US$1 billion to list on the HK exchange in October.
In December 2009, China Longyuan Power Group raised $2.2 billion in its Hong Kong IPO.
Institutional investors made up the majority (93.5%) of Huaneng’s IPO allocations while retail investors took up the remaining 6.5%, well below the 10% portion earmarked for retail buyers, reports say.
The company posted 2010 profits of RMB 609.4 million (US$94 million) on revenues of RMB1.7 billion. It had 3.5GW of installed wind power capacity as of 31 December 2010 with a further 1.2GW in construction and a project pipeline of around 73GW additional capacity.
Charlotte Dudley
Chinese wind firm Huaneng Renewables has bounced back from last year’s shelved fundraising attempt to raise as much as HK$6.2 billion (US$800 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) ahead of joining the Hong Kong bourse this Friday.
The renewables arm of China Huaneng Group sold 2.49 billion shares at HK$2.50 each, Bloomberg reported, quoting two unnamed sources “with knowledge of the matter”. The price is broadly in the mid range of the $2.28-2.98 stated in its prospectus.
Reuters said the raising netted HK$5.93 billion.
Huaneng did not return requests for comment before publication.
The wind-farm operator relaunched the fundraising after dumping its US$1.3 billion IPO last December to due to market volatility.
The wind company’s return to the market appears to reflect a growing appetite for Chinese renewable energy, partly driven by the post-Fukushima nuclear rethink, and the rise of Chinese companies seeking Hong Kong listings.
The renewable power arm of Datang, a Chinese wind power company, raised more than US$640 million when it joined the Hong Kong bourse in December, while Chinese wind turbine maker Goldwind shook the tin for US$1 billion to list on the HK exchange in October.
In December 2009, China Longyuan Power Group raised $2.2 billion in its Hong Kong IPO.
Institutional investors made up the majority (93.5%) of Huaneng’s IPO allocations while retail investors took up the remaining 6.5%, well below the 10% portion earmarked for retail buyers, reports say.
The company posted 2010 profits of RMB 609.4 million (US$94 million) on revenues of RMB1.7 billion. It had 3.5GW of installed wind power capacity as of 31 December 2010 with a further 1.2GW in construction and a project pipeline of around 73GW additional capacity.
Charlotte Dudley