Energy
August 12, 2010
UN's CDM panel which decides on the eligibility of projects under this scheme has come under criticism for being too lenient in approving projects.It has been said that these projects sometimes lead to more emissions defeating the very purpose of this scheme.The Panel has become more discerning and has rejected around 50 Wind Projects in China because they were thought to be profitable even without these credits.
August 12, 2010
The competition has been extremely high for these projects leading to zero to negative returns for investors.This is due to a) low electricity rates on offer b) Aggressive bidding leading to even lower rates.This new phase of projects seems to be repeat of the old program.Giant state utilities can easily bid to win even if they lose money in the process.
August 10, 2010
Only communities adjacent to the rivers can use this water.An Environmental Group has also accused the state EPA of colluding with these corporate interests.This may lead to huge lawsuits against these companies and force the Boom to a halt.Shale Gas is supposed to be the new energy panacea as the deposits can meet US energy needs for 20 years.However like other fossil fuels it will deplete leaving behind a legacy of ecological degradation and destruction.
August 6, 2010
ote Nuclear Energy is seeing a Renaissance after being in cold storage for the last 2 decades.China and India have been in the lead signing contracts to build several Tens of Gigawatts of Nuclear Power.Enrichment of Nuclear Fuel which is a crucial component of making Nuclear Weapons will not be done in Vietnam.Many countries are forgoing this right to access Nuclear Technology.
August 6, 2010
Lithium has been claimed to be the “new oil” with a new dedicated ETF recently launched to take advantage of the investor interest in this area.Lithium […]
August 5, 2010
Thailand has proposed to generate 20% of its electricity from Renewable Energy by 2022 and has implemented an "adder" electricity tariff for Green Energy plants.This "adder" tariff is similar to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) schemes prevalent in other parts of the world which gives a higher electricity payment to Renewable Energy Power Generators.Under this policy Thailand is set to give the "adder" tariff for 500 MW of plants till 2020 after which the tariff might be reduced
August 5, 2010
United Kingdom has been a laggard in climate change and global warming issues especially compared to its European neighbours.While countries like Italy,Germany and Spain have installed […]
August 4, 2010
Taiwan and South Korean Companies have been making massive investments in the Solar Energy Space through both greenfield and brownfield expansion.South Korean Hanhwa has used the […]
August 3, 2010
South Korean Conglomerate Hanwha subsidiary Hanwha Chemicals has taken a controlling 49.99% stake buying 36 million shares fro m Solarfun at $10.72 (4.6% premium) and the complete shareholding of promoters Good Energies (controls German Q-Cells as well ) and Chairman Mr. Yonghua Lu .Solarfun is the 4th largest Chinese company which has been executing well on a vertical integration strategy.
August 3, 2010
a-Si technology has much lower efficiency in the range of 7-9% compared to the mainstream crystalline solar technology.a-Si cost advantages over the c-Si technology has also disappeared with falling polysilicon costs.This makes a-Si only feasible for utility sized plants as a-Si's larger area requirements makes unsuitable for residental and commercial segments.The IPP JV is a good move as it will provide captive demand for Sharp's a-Si modules.
August 3, 2010
India’s Green Energy Sector got an unexpected boost when the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) mandated that utilities all over India will have to compulsorily generate […]
August 2, 2010
Spain has been in the media spotlight for its proposed retroactive solar subsidy cuts which were strongly opposed by the Solar Industry Association in Spain.These Feed […]
July 29, 2010
SMC seems to have made a strategic call to focus on the thin film Cadmium Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGs) Technology instead of the mainstream crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology.Note CIGs technology is the most promising thin film technology with yields much higher than the other technologies like Cadmium Tellurium (CdTe) used by First Solar and amorphous Silicon (a-Si) which was used by AMAT's Subfab division.
July 29, 2010
Rare Earth Minerals have been in the news because of their necessity in production of Clean Technology products and a virtual Chinese monopoly which controls almost […]
July 28, 2010
According to the German Federal Agency,Germany added 1.7 GW of Solar Energy in the month of June.This bring the cumulative installed capacity for 2010 to 3.4 GW capacity compared to the 3.8 GW capacity installed in the entire 2009.The reduction in Feed in Tariffs in July 2010 has propelled the developers to finish all the projects by June 30 in order to qualify for the much higher electricity rates.
July 21, 2010
Applied Materials has finally shut down its SunFab Thin Film division after continuous losses in the last couple of years.The Solar Thin Film Technology has seen […]
July 21, 2010
Google’s paltry $39mm investment in a Wind Farm was puzzling as it really seemed to meet no goals.The investment would not lead to any significant advancement […]
July 20, 2010
China surpassed the USA as the largest emitter of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in 2006 when it produced 6.2 billion tons of CO2 overtaking the USA at […]
July 20, 2010
India has ambitious plans for the growth of its Nuclear Energy Industry to meets its increasing Energy Demand.India’s Economy has been growing at a scorching pace […]
July 20, 2010
ABB, the European Giant which was formed by merger of Asea and Brown Boveri in 1989 is increasing its lead in the Smart Grid Industry.The company […]
July 17, 2010
India’s Western state of Gujarat is one of the most developed regions in the country and has shown tremendous economic growth over the past decade.The state […]
July 17, 2010
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries , the massive Japanese Conglomerate is looking to overseas market for growing its Wind Energy Division.Mitsubishi like other Japanese companies are looking towards […]
July 17, 2010
Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) are one of the popular subsidy measures used by government around the world to promote Green Energy.However the market pricing of these […]
July 16, 2010
Green Energy has increasingly become mainstream rather than a niche category supported by some environmental activists and hippies.This is proved by the fact that almost half […]
July 15, 2010
European Power Utilities are increasingly looking towards private capital in order to fund their renewable energy projects.The European Union has a target of generating 20% of […]
July 15, 2010
Germany’s EEG program instrumental in bringing Solar Energy Close to Grid Parity Germany has been the poster child for Feed in Tariff success in promoting renewable […]
July 15, 2010
World’s biggest Oil company Exxon Mobil has opened a Greenhouse facility to grow and test algae which will be used for producing biofuels.Algae based Biofuels is […]
July 15, 2010
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a cesspool of Corruption and Waste Fannie and Freddie Mae which would long have gone bankrupt after the Lehman crisis had […]
July 14, 2010
US Export Import Bank (Exim) is a government owned financial institution which helps support US trade through credit financing of exports/imports of US companies.The Bank is […]
July 14, 2010
General Electric or GE as it is popularly known is one of the biggest players in the Green Industry globally.It generated $18 billion in Ecomagination revenues […]