Green
September 15, 2010
Sumitomo entered the Wind Energy Business in the US by buying a 42.5% stake in Stanton 120 MW Wind Farm in Texas.The Company already has Wind Assets in Japan and is partnering with Giant Chinese Utility Datang for building Renewable Energy Assets in China.Sumitomo has already built a 50 MW Wind Farm in Inner Mongolia with Datang and Kyushu Electric.Sumitomo is already strong in constructing geothermal plants having built a 140 MW Nga Awa Purua Geothermal Plant in New Zealand in 2 years flat.It also has contracts to build upto 530 MW of Geothermal Plants in Indonesia.In Phillipines the Company has partnered with another Japanese Trading Powerhouse Marubeni to finance Biomass and Waste to Energy Plants.However Solar Energy is strangely missing from Sumitomo's strategy.It activity till now has been restricted to some small PV plants in Spain and trading of Solar Panels made by Sharp and others.Note other Global Conglomerates like ABB,GE,Siemens,LG,Samsung are in the process of making massive investments into the Green Industry.
September 15, 2010
Note this Hydro Plant will cost around $31 Billion which is quite costly at $15/watt if the the $31 Billion is used for the 1800 MW capacity.This is is almost 15x the cost of a typical Hydro Capacity and would need massive subsidies.Papua New Guinea is a poor country and might receive aid from Australia but the $31 Billion would make even the richest country balk at this price.Australia is not exactly energy deficient with massive resources of coal,wind and solar energy.In Renewable Energy the country has been quite slow with provinces like NSW and South Australia promoting renewable energy through regional subsidies.Hydro Power is the main source of Clean Power accounting for 90% of the Clean Energy Mix.The Project will take 10 years to build and their remains an outside chance that Oil Prices become so high that 24 hr Hydro Power at that time might make sense at $15/watt.
September 15, 2010
India has started a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Scheme recently to boost the share of Clean Energy Sources in India’s Electricity Mix.India’s Electricity Regulator (CERC) has […]
September 15, 2010
While Solar Energy is a new kid on the block,Wind Energy has been growing very strongly in the past Decade.Italy was rethinking its Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Scheme to remove price guarantees but at the last minute it changed its mind.Wind is being installed at a rate of 1 GW per year in the last few years.The Italian Mafia has latched onto this lucrative business muscling their way in.The Sicilian Mafia is said to own a large portion of the country Wind Farm Assets and the $1.9 Billion Seizure of assets from a high flying businessman is proof of this.43 Companies mainly operating in the Solar and Wind Segments were seized by the state in one of the biggest swoops against Organized Crime.Wind Turbines involve acquisition of land,local permits and subsidy grants which require a lot of organization and local clout.The Sicilian Mafia is uniquely place to control and organize the setting up of Wind Farms.With a government guaranteed return of Euro 18c/KwH,the Wind Subsidy in Italy is one of the highest in the world.Compare this to the Rest of the World where Wind Subsidies get around $0.10/KwH.Note Criminals have not only been involved in Italy,but there are also reports of nefarious activity in Renewable Energy in Bulgaria,Spain,Canary Islands etc.
September 14, 2010
Czech is a Poster Boy of how not to implement a Feed in Tariff Scheme.While other countries like Spain,Greece have also faced Solar Booms,the Czech Bubble compared to the size of its Economy has been spectacular.The removal of Tax Benefits will further lower the returns for Green Investors which should probably eliminate the make the Czech Renewable Market next year.
September 14, 2010
Greece has a totally confused Green Policy just likes it General Economic Policy.The Parliament had taken a go at simplifying the bureaucratic mess by eliminating permits and approvals for small plants below 500 KW.However 6 months have passed without much progress.Greece needs to do a comprehensive overhaul of the Green Subsidies.The Solar and Wind Costs have fallen greatly in the interim so it needs to reduce the FITs to normalize the returns.Otherwise it might repeat a Spanish/Czech Renewable Energy Boom and Bust.
September 14, 2010
20 GW of Capacity is expected to be built by 2010 end in China up from around 10 GW in 2009.Fierce Competition in the Wind Turbine Market has led to increasing distress for smaller players.Sinovel the biggest Wind Turbine maker which sold 3.5 GW in 2009 has been using price as a weapon to drive away competitors.These Companies are now trying to expand internationally.Korean Companies like Samsung,Hyundai are investing heavily in the Wind Sector and are on track to become formidable competitors in a few years.Suzlon's Chinese Dreams looks difficult to implement in reality.
September 14, 2010
Green Investing in India – Economically Backward Orissa remains backward in Renewable Energy as well
India's most industrialized and fast growing states like Gujarat,Tamil Nadu,Maharashtra have been the most aggressive in Green Energy as well.Gujarat has attracted huge interest in Solar Energy through strong support by the government.Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra account for almost 70% of India's 8-9 GW Wind Energy capacity.However economically backward states like Orissa,Bihar,Uttar Pradesh remain laggards in this respect as well.Orissa seems a classic case where the general economic lethargy extends to the Renewable Energy Sector as well.
September 14, 2010
While Japan is a big player in the Solar Energy Manufacturing Market,there are other significant players like USA,China,Germany which have not protested against this discrimination.So why is Japan so miffed as to approach the WTO over this issue.One reason that i can readily think of is the Huge Contract given to Samsung by the Ontario government.The agreement with Samsung gives it the subsidies to set up a huge solar and wind energy capacity in the province.The government will support the company through preferential grid access,subsidies and land.This has given a huge boost to the Green Ambitions of Samsung which wants to become a big player in the Renewable Energy Area.
September 13, 2010
China,India and South Korea have been leading the charge buying up Oil and Gas Assets at an incredible clip around the world.TEPCO plans to buy upto 50% of its Uranium needs from internal purchases as well raising LNG purchases.Japan lost out to South Korea in Economic Diplomacy when it lost out on Lucrative Nuclear Power Plant Contracts in UAE.It is now jostling with USA and China for building Nuclear Power in Vietnam.TEPCO is a leading member of Japanese Consortiums in international bidding
September 13, 2010
India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been criticized by a parliamentary committee for missing out several targets on renewable energy installations and cost […]
September 11, 2010
The Desertec Initiative is the Biggest Green Energy Project ever conceived with a vast scale and an ambitious vision.However Desertec falls short on many parameters which are described above for it to ever reach fruition.While small scale versions of this Concept can be implemented like that by Solar Millennium in Egypt,the massive energy framework conceived by Desertec is not feasible.The Huge Subsidies and High Costs make it uneconomical despite its Clean Energy Promise.
September 11, 2010
Siemens is one of the largest conglomerates in the world with a huge Green Division.This German Giant is present in almost all sectors of the upcoming […]
September 10, 2010
Vestas is trading at historical lows with these repeated bad news taking huge chunks from the stock.However like Suzlon,Vestas is more like a Falling Knife than a Fallen Angel.Despite a major new order of 400 MW,Vestas stock has fallen even more.Like Nokia in Mobiles and Sunpower in Solar Energy,the industry has totally changed for these industry leaders.The structural issues with the major incumbent Wind Turbine Makers are too dire for short term order wins to help them
September 9, 2010
The South Korean Government has been one of the most proactive ones in promoting Green Industry.During the Global Financial Crisis,the Stimulus Program of South Korea had the highest percentage devoted to Clean Technology Initiatives.Driven by the Government,South Korean Conglomerates have been investing into Green Sectors.Samsung the biggest South Korean has already committed huge investments into CleanTech Sectors like Solar,Wind,LEDs.Korean Shipbuilders like Hyundai,Daewoo and Samsung are getting into manufacturing of Wind Turbines while Chemicals Giant Hanwha
September 9, 2010
Enbridge the Canadian Energy Company which is mainly into the business of Gas and Oil Distribution has been aggressively expanding into Renewable Energy in the past […]
September 9, 2010
China has overtaken the US and EU in Green Industry Leadership.US Utilities like Duke Energy have openly acknowledged Chinese primacy in this regard .Investment in the Renewable Energy Sector in China at $38 billion in 2009 was more than double that in the USA.Companies in the US are outsourcing Green Jobs to Mexico and China due to high costs and lack of Government support.2010 should see this gap widen further with Chinese plans to spend almost $760 Billion in Green Investments in the next decade.The Ernst&Young Ranking of the Most Preferred Green Investment Countries has further bolstered the case of Chinese Leadership.
September 8, 2010
India’s Powerful Central Planning Commission has decided to give $500 million from next year to Indian States making the most Progress in Going Green.The Agency has […]
September 8, 2010
The Indian Electricity Regulator has reduced the Renewable Energy Plant Size for Grid Connection to 50 MW.This has been done after State Electricity Boards were not […]
September 7, 2010
Germany is planning to extend the life of the nuclear reactors that are supposed to close in 2022 by an average of 12 years.Note extension will […]
September 7, 2010
Polysilicon Demand has been skyrocketing in the recent years due to Exponential Growth of the Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells.This made Elkem decide on building a 5000 ton solar specific plant in Norway through a new cheaper process of refining Silicon called Metallurgical Silicon.However the 2008 GFC and poly Oversupply has made this process suspect as $400/kg poly prices went crashing down by 90%.Timminico,a Canadian Producer which was in the process of setting up a giant mg-Si plant has almost collapsed as orders for this less refined Polysilicon Form dried up.
September 6, 2010
India’s Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had suddenly come up with an order mandating 6% Renewable Energy Generation for Utilities under National Action Plan on Climate […]
September 6, 2010
Asian Development Bank has made ambitious plans to Fund Clean Energy in Asia.It has already invested $5 Billion since 2005 and plans to increase it to […]
September 6, 2010
Estonia is facing increasing burden of renewable energy subsidies with electricity tariffs rising for the general population.With prices expected to be up almost 10% due to […]
September 5, 2010
ndia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with fundamentals indicating that this rapid growth will continue for the next 10-20 years as well.However Green Investing in India is fraught with risk since major Green Energy Companies like Suzlon and Moser Baer have proven to be abject failures till now.A Good Way to do make Green Investments into India is through Renewable Energy Focused Utilities.Tata Power which is one of India's largest utilities is looking to focus on Green Energy as well.The company has 16% of its power supplied from Renewable Energy Sources and is looking to increase it to 25% by 2017.
September 1, 2010
China regards India warily and think it a threat to Chinese domination over Asia.India has responded meekly in the past but recent provocations have made India retaliate back.Chinese Navy presence in the Indian Ocean by building ports in Pakistan and Burma have further queered the pitch.China is also deploying advanced missiles at the Tibet Border while border violations are also rising.India's Cabinet is regarding this with increasing concern with a meeting called to assess the situation arising from Chinese troops in POK.An investment in India's Defense Industry makes good sense in such an environment
September 1, 2010
This Program will try to avoid the disadvantages of Feed in Tariff Schemes as it will introduce a Market Based Element into the Tariffs.However this project is still at a preliminary stage and will need a lot of fine tuning.Note similar scheme have been implemented in China and India as well.The Chinese 280 MW of Projects have seen cuthroat competition with loss making bids by State Owned Utilities.It remains to be seen whether California can make a success of this RAM Program where China has failed.Even India has reported a huge response for the JNNSM First Phase of PV Projects.The Success of this California program will be crucial as it might serve as a template for future programs by other states and the Federal Government.
September 1, 2010
Wind Energy in the USA has hit an Air Pocket in 2010 with Low Prices for Gas and lack of a Federal Push for Green Energy.The end of 30% Cash Grants for Wind Investments by 2010 end may lead to a worse 2011,if the incentives are not extended by the Congress.Note Wind Energy is the cheapest form of Green Energy with prices of 8-10c/KwH and the second most prevalent form of Renewable Energy after Hydro Power.China has become the largest installer of Wind Energy in 2009 with 13 GW showing a 100% CAGR over the last 2-3 years.
August 31, 2010
Don't know how these projects will further the cause of Solar Energy in China as they don't help in formulating realistic Feed in Tariff Rates for the Government's New Energy Administration (NEA).China has long been delaying the introduction of a Feed in Tariff (FIT) for Solar Energy.Note many major countries in the world except for China and the USA have Feed in Tariff Programs to promote Solar Energy.In fact 75% of the world's solar energy installations are dependent on the FIT subsidies.
August 31, 2010
.Most of the State Electricity Distributors are in poor financial shape and have been known to frequently default on their financial obligations.With almost 70-75% of the estimated $2.2 Billion in the first phase of the PV projects to be financed by debt,this represents a big hurdle for the success of Solar Energy.The government needs to come out with some sort of arrangement of guarantees for the smooth functioning of the Solar Mission and instill confidence amongst investors and Banks.