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Date: 2012-11-14
The Leipzig-based European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) is waiving its annual €5,000 fee for buyers who register before Dec. 31 to participate in its EU carbon permit market in 2013.. The EEX has also introduced a new rebate schedule for trading in spot and future carbon permits in its secondary market. The exchange will now charge €0.60 per metric ton in exchange and clearing fees for spot monthly trading volume of less than 1,000 lots (1 million tonnes) and as little as €0.40 a ton for monthly spot trade in excess of 5 million tons. Fees for derivatives contracts will range from €0.10 per tonne for trades in excess of 15 million tonnes a month to €0.28 a ton for less than 3 million tonnes a month, the exchange said. (Source: EEX, 14 Nov., 2012) Contact: European Energy Exchange
More Energy Overviews European Energy Exchange news, CERs news, Carbon Trading news,
Date: 2012-10-01
On Friday, the German European Energy Exchange (EEX) and the London-based ICE Futures Europe released details on the timings of early auctions of Phase Three European Union carbon permits (EAUs) on behalf of their respective governments. The scheme's third trading period starts next year and lasts until 2020. During that time, power generators operating under the ETS will no longer receive the bulk of their EAUs for free and most will be auctioned.
In 2011, the EU Commission decided that around 120 million EUAs for the third phase would be auctioned early to help power companies hedge forward power sales. Market participants have been awaiting the timing of the early sales because the market is already over-supplied with over 1 billion permits putting pressure on prices and dropping them to below €6 euros in April.
EEX will auction a total of 23.5 million EUAs for the third trading phase over the rest of this year on behalf of the German government. The auctions begin on October 12. Sales of 2.4 million EUAs will be held on its spot market every Friday The last auction of the year will take place on December 14 and will sell around 1.93 million EUAs.
ICE Futures Europe will hold two auctions on behalf of the British government on November 21 and December 5. The volumes to be sold were not disclosed.
The UK can auction a total of 12 million Phase 3 EUAs before the end of the year.
ICE will also hold two auctions of aviation EUAs on November 26 and December 10. No volumes were disclosed.
(Source: EEX, ICE, Chicago Tribune, 28 Sept., 2012)
Contact: European Energy Exchange AG, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com; ICE Futures Europe, David Peniket, President, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com
Tags Carbon Markets news, EEX news, ICE Futures news,
Date: 2012-09-14
Following on our July 10 coverage, to many western Kansans, sites like the Berexco rig site 25 miles northwest of Liberal, Kan. aren't unusual. Thanks to a research partnership between gas and oil developer Berexco, the DOE and the Kansas Geological Survey, it could be one of the first sites used for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration in the state.
The drilling of the 7,500-foot well in Cutter field began Aug. 1. The research group, lead by KGS geologists Lynn Watney and Jason Rush, is attempting to investigate the use of CO2 in enhanced drilling practices and the storage of CO2 in underground saline reservoirs. "Regardless of where the CO2 comes from, our perspective is to get ready for the large-scale use of CO2 for the oil fields as well as examining the saline aquifers for storage," Watney said. "this would be very useful should we have caps on emissions from sources like power plants and ethanol plants that could be taken from the atmosphere and stored."
University of Kansas graduate student Christa Jackson mixes the test samples with reservoir core fluids and submits them to temperatures near 50 degrees Celsius and pressures between 2,000 and 2,500 psi.to determine which minerals dissolve and what minerals precipitate." Jackson's work is to make sure that CO2 doesn't breach the field.
The DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory provided nearly $21.5 million for the project. Additional funding is from a cost-share agreement among the KGS and its partners in the energy industry.
The research is intended to to see if the deep Arbuckle formation in Kansas is a safe place to dispose of CO2." (Source: University of Kansas, 12 Sept., 2012) Contact: Kansas Geological Survey, Lynn Watney, (785) 864-2184 , [email protected], www.kgs.ku.edu; Breexco, www.berexco.com
Tags Enhanced Oil Recovery news, CCS news, Kansas Geological Survey news,
Date: 2012-09-11
The Leipzig, Germany-headquartered European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) was appointed yesterday to sell CERs on behalf of the EU and, according to Barclay's Plc., may struggle to win futures volume from ICE Futures Europe. The EEX plans to sell at least 250 million metric tons of CERs valid for the third phase of the EU ETS on behalf of 24 of the 27 EU member states from the end of October, according to a statement on the EU's website. The CERs are valued at €2 billion ($2.6 billion), based on yesterday's ICE closing prices.
Beginning next year, the EU plans to sell about half of its allowances, after having given about 97 percent for free through this year. The eight-year trading period starting in 2013 is known as Phase 3. To limit price shocks as the bloc phases out free allowances, the EU agreed to auction a total of 120 million Phase 3 CERs and 30 million aviation allowances for airlines this year, before the next period begins.
ICE, which lost the tender to EEX, reportedly handled 5.4 billion tons of EU allowances last year, about 84 percent of the market. The EEX handled 81 million tons of futures and 25.6 million tons of spot contracts, according to a Jan. 12 statement.
Germany, Poland and the U.K. opted out of the joint sales that will be handled by EEX and will offer their portion of supply independently. The U.K. has selected ICE Futures Europe to carry out its auctions, while Germany will sell its permits through EEX from early next month. Poland has not yet selected a venue. (Source: EEX, Bloomberg, 10 Sept., 2012) Contact: European Energy Exchange AG, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags European Energy Exchange AG news, CERs news,
Date: 2012-06-04
Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Syntroleum Corporation (Nasdaq:SYNM) reported on May 29, 2012,that it was being sued by Neste Oil for alleged patent infringement regarding U.S. Patent No. 8,187,344. The '344 patent is related to and shares the same inventors as a prior Neste patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,279,018), and both are directed to a fuel composition for diesel engines.
Following reexamination proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, all claims of the '018 patent were rejected. In particular, on March 22, 2012, the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirmed the Examiner's rejection of the '018 patent's claims, finding that "the evidence of record as a whole supports the Examiner's conclusion that the fuel composition as claimed would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art..." The '344 patent similarly adds nothing new to the field of fuel compositions used for diesel engines. Syntroleum has not infringed any of Neste's alleged patent rights and Syntroleum intends to defend against the complaint's allegations, and is confident that its position will be vindicated. (Source: Synroleum, 31 May, 2012) Contact:
Syntroleum Corporation, Amanda Burns,
(918) 764-3480,
www.syntroleum.com; Markku Patajoki, Manager, Biotechnology, Neste Oil, +358 0 10 458 4450, [email protected], www.nesteoil.com.
Tags Syntroleum news, Neste Oil news,
Date: 2012-05-07
Further to the ongoing GEVO / Butamax dispute, next generation biofuels company Gevo, Inc. has commented on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) decision to deny a Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels, LLC request to reexamine key claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,017,376 (376 Patent), Methods of Increasing Dihydroxy Acid Dehydratase Activity to Improve Production of Fuels, Chemicals and Amino Acids or AFT patent.
"We are extremely pleased with the USPTO's decision to uphold key claims of our 376 Patent,” said Brett Lund, Gevo's EVP and General Counsel. "The USPTO only adopted a fraction of Butamax's proposed rejections and simultaneously upheld the validity of claims we believe Butamax is infringing. Despite Butamax's statements to the contrary, this decision is a significant win for Gevo, and bolsters our pending infringement case against Butamax. The USPTOs decision means that Butamax is now prohibited from asserting that Gevo's upheld claims are invalid during litigation. As evidenced by Butamax's own publications, we are confident that they are infringing our 376 Patent and we look forward to proving that in court, Lund reiterated.
The 376 Patent covers a necessary modification for improving the activity of an enzymatic step in Gevo's isobutanol pathway. While Butamax has publicly chastised Gevo's lawsuit as "frivolous," Gevo believes Butamax chose to challenge the 376 Patent because it is a modification strictly required for achieving commercially relevant production of isobutanol in yeast.
Butamax also filed a request for reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 8,101,808 (808 Patent) covering Gevo's foundational separation technology that provides enhanced fermentation performance and low-cost, energy-efficient isobutanol recovery or GIFT R technology. Source: GEVO, 3 April, 2012) Contact: Gevo Inc., Jack Hunter, EVP, Corp. Development, (720) 267-8629, [email protected] , www.gevo.com; Butamax, Paul Beckwith, CEO, (302) 695-3216, www.butamax.com
Tags GEVO news, BUTAMAX news,
Date: 2012-05-04
Total SA and Lanxess AG backed Englewood, Colorado-based biotechnology company Gevo Inc. stock tumbled 11 percent in six months after arch rival Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reexamine a disputed patent.
Butamax, a joint venture of BP Plc (BP/) and DuPont Co.,claims Gevo's patent may be invalid because it is based on "well known technology" at the time of filing.
The two companies have been sparring since January 2011 over patent rights for systems that convert corn and non-food crops into isobutanol for blending with gasoline or refined into specialty chemicals or jet fuel. The Patent Office granted an earlier Butamax request last on March 23 to reexamine another Gevo patent, according to the statement.
The Patent Office is also reviewing two Butamax patents, at Gevo's request. Patent reexaminations take about three years on average.
(Source: Gevo, Butamax Bloomberg, 3 April, 2012) Contact: Gevo Inc., Jack Hunter, EVP, Corp. Development, (720) 267-8629, [email protected] , www.gevo.com; Butamax, Paul Beckwith, CEO, (302) 695-3216, www.butamax.com
Tags Gevo news, Butamax news, Isobutanol news,
Date: 2012-03-26
The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it will start selling European Union carbon permits (EUAs) via exchanges in coming days, having become a member of the European Energy Exchange (EEX) and ICE Futures Europe (ICE.N). As an exchange member, the EU's main bank will create more transparency, increase liquidity and broaden its reach for the sale of 300 million EUAs over the next two years.
The EIB has also been admitted as a clearing member by European Commodity Clearing and ICE Clear Europe. This will allow the EIB to directly settle and clear all transactions made on the exchange, it said.
The EIB is mandated to sell 300 million EUAs sourced from a new entrants' reserve for the EU carbon scheme's third phase (2013-2020). Revenue from the sales is earmarked for various renewable energy and carbon capture projects across the 27-nation bloc. The bank has raised nearly €489 million ($645 million)since it started EUAs in early December 2011. The sales so far have been carried out on a forward basis via the over-the-counter (OTC) market.
A first tranche of 200 million EUAs will be sold by October. A second tranche totaling 100 million permits will follow, but a start date has yet to be set.
The EU ETS sets a cap on CO2 emissions from around 11,000 power and industrial plants across the 27-nation bloc. Airlines joined the scheme this year. (Source: EIB, March, 2012) Contact: The European Investment Bank, +352 / 4379 61000, www.eib.org; ICE Futures Europe, David Peniket, President, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com; : EEX, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags GreenX news, EUAA news, ICE Future news,
Tags European Investment Bank news, ICE Futures news, EEX news, EU ETS news,
Date: 2012-03-21
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) will launch futures on Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) at the end of April, its first offering of credits issued to emission-reduction projects in industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol. Later in March, EEX will list contracts of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) with deliveries from 2013 through 2020, the Leipzig-based bourse said in a statement on Monday.
CERs are U.N.-backed carbon credits issued to emissions-reduction projects in developing countries under Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol is the world's only legally-binding pact that forces most industrialized countries to cut or limit their emissions of climate-changing gases.
The Protocol's first commitment period runs from 2008 through 2012. U.N. climate negotiators meeting in South Africa last December agreed to extend the pact for at least another five years. The European Union's emissions trading scheme, the world's biggest carbon market, allows companies to the use a limited number of U.N.-backed offsets to comply with EU climate targets. Launched in 2005, the EU cap-and-trade scheme's third trading phase starts in 2013 and runs through 2020.
The EU carbon market covers around half of the 27-nation bloc's carbon dioxide emissions by setting a cap for more than 10,000 power and industrial plants. Airlines using EU airports joined the scheme from the start of this year.
EEX said it will launch a derivatives market for EU Aviation Allowances (EUAAs) on April 30, and reiterated that a spot market for EUAAs will follow by the middle of the year. (Source: EEX, Reuters, March 20, 2012) Contact: EEX, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags EEX news, ERUs news, CERs news,
Date: 2012-03-16
Lithuania sold 850,000 spot EU emissions permits at €7.80 a tonne each on Thursday, raising €6.63 million ($8.64 million) for the Baltic nation's government coffers. The auction was held on the Leipzig-based European Energy Exchange (EEX), while the carbon permits are sourced from the country's reserve for new entrants in the 2008-2012 phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
The auction was four times over-subscribed and five companies took part, EEX said.
EEX has auctioned 2.55 million spot EU Allowances (EUAs) on behalf of the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment in three separate auctions.
On emissions exchange BlueNext, spot EUAs BNXCO2-2 were being bid at €7.64. (Source: EEX,Reuters, March 15, 2012) Contact: EEX, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags EEX news, EUAs news,
Date: 2012-03-02
GreenX will launch a European Union carbon allowance futures contract for the aviation sector for trading on April 2, the exchange said on Thursday. The contract size will be 1,000 EU aviation allowances (EUAA) and contracts will be listed on a rolling quarterly expiration cycle in addition to annual December contracts through 2020, the exchange said. As of Jan. 1 this year, the EU will require all airlines flying to and from Europe to cover their carbon dioxide emissions with allowances.
Rival bourse ICE Futures Europe launched EU carbon futures for aviation on Feb. 27 while EEX will launch EUAA trading from April. (Source: GreenX, March 1, 2012)
Contact: Andrew Pisano, Manager, Marketing & Development, GreenX, (212) 299-2557, [email protected],www, www.thegreenx.com; ICE Futures Europe, David Peniket, President, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com
Tags GreenX news, EUAA news, ICE Future news,
Date: 2012-03-01
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) will auction up to 85 million European Union Allowances (EUAs) on behalf of Germany in the third phase (2013-2020) of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Leipzig-based EEX, which currently hosts spot and future EUA auctions for Germany for the second phase (2008-2012), said the phase three agreement is transitional until Germany creates a permanent platform for future auctions.
The estimated auction volume of up to 85 million EUAs includes allowances for the airline industry, EEX said. Germany, together with Poland and the United Kingdom, has opted out of joining an EU-wide common auction platform for the 2013-2020 trading period. All three countries, as well as the European Commission, have started or are in the process of opening tenders for bidders to host auctions on their respective platforms. In the EU cap-and-trade scheme, most of the carbon permits are given for free to polluters in the 2008-2012 phase, but from 2013 around half of EUAs will be sold via auctions.
EEX last year hosted 92 auctions for the sale of 45.5 million spot and future EUAs, making it a leader in primary carbon market transactions. Apart from Germany, EEX auctions phase two EUAs on behalf of Lithuania and the Netherlands.
More than 1 billion EUAs will be auctioned each year on behalf of the EU and Germany, Poland and Britain.
The EU emissions trading scheme covers around half of the 27-nation bloc's CO2 emissions by including around 12,000 power and industrial plants. Airlines joined the scheme this year. (Source: EEX, Reuters, February 29, 2012) Contact: EEX, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags EEX news, EAUs news,
Date: 2012-02-08
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) on Tuesday announced it would launch a derivatives market for European Union carbon permits for airlines in April and a spot market by mid-year. "With this step EEX makes an active contribution to the further development of EU emissions trading and opens its market for a new group of participants," the EEX said in a statement.
As of Jan. 1 this year, all airlines flying to and from Europe are required to cover their CO2 emissions with CERs. So-called EU Aviation Allowances (EUAA) can only be used by airlines to comply with the EU's emissions trading scheme, the world's biggest carbon market. Critics of the scheme, which covers around half of the 27-nation bloc's carbon dioxide emissions, include non-EU countries such as China, India and the United States.
They argue the EU is exceeding its legal jurisdiction by calculating the carbon cost over the whole flight, not just within Europe. In December, Europe's highest court found that the EU plan was within international law. China's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it hoped talks with the EU could resolve a dispute over the region's airline emissions fee scheme. A day earlier China said its airlines were banned from participating in the carbon scheme.
Leipzig-based EEX is not alone in offering trade in EUAAs. Last month, commodity Exchange Bratislava (CEB) said it would launch trade in EU aviation emissions permits before the end of February. Henrik Hasselknippe, a managing director at the Green Exchange (GreenX), said he was following the developments: "We will launch the relevant products in due time."
London-based ICE Futures Europe accounts for about 90 percent of all traded volume in EU carbon permits and U.N.-backed offset credits. (Source: EEX, February 7, 2012) Contact: EEX, Katrin Berken, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com
Tags European Energy Exchange news, Aviation Emissions news,
Date: 2011-10-31
Gevo, Inc. Renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company Gevo, Inc., reports that The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied its August 18, 2011 request to reexamine the Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax) patent 7,851,188 issued in December 2010 ('188 Patent). Gevo Executive Vice President and General Counsel Brett Lund indicated that the company would appeal the decision.
Lund said ,"This preliminary result in no way diminishes our strong intellectual property portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications, nor does it impact our freedom to operate. The USPTO's decision does not impact our ongoing patent litigation with Butamax." (Source: Gevo, October, 28, 2011)Contact: Jack Hunter, EVP, Corp. Development, Gevo, (720) 267-8629, [email protected] , www.gevo.com; Paul Beckwith, CEO,Butamax,(302) 695-3216, www.butamax.com
Tags Gevo news, Butamax news, Butanol news,
Date: 2011-10-28
Yesterday, the Netherlands fattened its coffers by €20.6 million ($28.5 million with the sale of 2 million spot EU emissions permits at a price of €10.30 a tonne. On carbon exchange Bluenext, spot EU Allowances (EUAs) were trading at €10.37 at 1013 GMT. The government plans to send a further 2 million spot allowances to the auction block on Nov. 24, via the EEX, followed by sales of 4 million units in total for 2012.
This latest sale is part of the government's plan to auction 16 million CO2 permits, approximately 4 percent of its total allocation, during the second phase (2008-2012) of the EU emissions trading scheme.
Last year, the Netherlands sold 8 million units in three auctions raising a total of €115.9 million. (Source: Reuters, Gov't of the Netherlands, October, 27,2011)
More Energy Overviews CO2 Permits news, Bluenext news,
Date: 2011-10-24
The European Investment Bank on Friday said it has selected two European carbon exchanges with clearing facilities to help it sell up to 300 million carbon permits from the EU's third phase of its emissions trading scheme.Germany's EEX and UK-based ICE Futures Europe were chosen by the Luxembourg-based bank, bringing the EIB closer to selling the first allowances from the inventory.The bank has previously said sales could start as early as mid-November. The EIB said it had received five bids in the tender process, but chose the two bourses because of their history in providing liquidity to the EU's carbon market and the robustness of their in-house clearing systems.The volume each exchange will be awarded and the terms of the contracts were not disclosed.
The EIB earlier this month said the first allowances from the so-called NER300, which is sourced from permits held for new entrants in the scheme's third phase (2013-2020), will be sold for December 2013 delivery in the over-the-counter (OTC) market.
The bank will at a later stage sell allowances directly on exchanges and through online auctions when the infrastructure is ready, with the aim of selling 200 million units over the next 12 months.
Cash raised from the sales will be used to fund renewable energy and carbon capture and storage technology across the EU's 27 member states.
At current prices, the EIB could realize €3.4 billion from the 300 million allowances. (Source: EIB, October, 21, 2011)
Contact: The European Investment Bank, +352 / 4379 61000, www.eib.org
More Energy Overviews European Investment Bank news, Carbon Permits news, ICE Futures news,
Date: 2011-09-06
NorthWestern Energy (NYSE: NWE), and community Wind Project developer OwnEnergy, Inc. have signed a 25-year Qualifying Facility Agreement for the 9.7 megawatt Two Dot Wind Farm NW of Billings, Montana. OwnEnergy will sell the electricity from the Community Wind farm to NorthWestern Energy under the terms and conditions set forth by the Montana Public Service Commission in the QF-1, Option 3 electric tariff. The companies negotiated a long-term rate substantially below the current Qualifying Facility rate of $69.21. In return, OwnEnergy obtained curtailment provisions that are significantly more favorable than those contained in new Qualifying Facility Agreements.
The project is being developed as a result of the partnership between OwnEnergy and Two Dot Wind, LLC. Through its proprietary development technology and local partnerships, OwnEnergy has driven down the time and cost of developing these small to mid-sized wind projects and made them competitive in the market. Construction of the Two Dot Wind Farm will begin by spring of 2012.
The Montana Public Service Commission set a rate for NorthWestern Energy to purchase up to 50MW of wind generation. When the company reaches the cap, the MPSC will reexamine the wind QF tariff and related policies. (Source: OwnEnergy, September, 1, 2011)
Contact: Jacob Susman, CEO, OwnEnergy,(646) 898-3690, www.ownenergy.net; Dan Rausch, Director, NorthWestern Energy, (605) 978-2902, [email protected], www.northwesternenergy.com
More Energy Overviews NorthWestern Energy news, OwnEnergy news,
Date: 2011-08-19
Renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels producer Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) is filing today with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a reexamination to invalidate the Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels LLC (Butamax) patent 7,851,188 issued in December 2010 ('188 Patent).
Gevo is preparing and will soon file a second petition with the USPTO requesting a reexamination and invalidation of Butamax's patent 7,993,889, issued on August 9, 2011 ('889 Patent). Butamax initially filed its lawsuit involving the '188 Patent on January 14, 2011 and amended its lawsuit on August 11, 2011 to include the related '889 Patent.
According to Gevo VP and General Counsel Brett Lund, "The technologies and process steps combined in the claims of the '188 Patent and '889 Patent were known in the field, published in numerous scientific journals, or invented by others, including Gevo, before Butamax applied for their patents. Consequently, we believe both Butamax patents are invalid. Furthermore, Gevo does not use the technology claimed in these patents. We use our own distinct technology, GIFT® (Gevo Integrated Fermentation Technology®), which is covered by more than 150 patent applications and enables the efficient production of isobutanol." (Source: Gevo, August, 18, 2011)
Contact:Jack Hunter, EVP, Corp. Development, Gevo, (720) 267-8629, [email protected], www.gevo.com;
Paul Beckwith, CEO, Butamax,www.butamax.com
More Energy Overviews Gevo news, Butamax news, Butanol news,
Date: 2011-07-12
Kyocera Corporation has been selected to participate in a smart-grid demonstration project in New Mexico which is being undertaken by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The project is a collaborative effort between NEDO, the state of New Mexico, Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities, and a national research center which is run under the umbrella of the U.S. DOE. The project aims for the wider implementation of renewable energy and the promotion of energy conservation through the demonstration of smart-grid related technologies, which are difficult to study in Japan due to the difference in preexisting power grids.
The project is to be carried out through March, 2014. The project will take place at three sites in Los Alamos and Albuquerque, of which Kyocera will be participating in two: the Smart-Grid Demonstration and the Smart House Demonstration in Los Alamos. Kyocera will lead the Evaluation of Distributed Energy Resource (Photovoltaics, etc.) within the Collective Research portion of the overall project. The Smart-Grid Demonstration in Los Alamos will construct a power supply microgrid which uses power distribution lines from a large-scale solar power plant to demonstrate the related technologies and performance, and to minimize the effects of power output fluctuations. Kyocera will be supplying a 910kW multicrystalline silicon solar module system*. Furthermore, as the site of the solar power plant will be built over a waste disposal landfill, Kyocera will also be selecting and installing base mounting optimized for dynamic soil conditions as well as constructing a data collection system to develop a method for system fault analysis at isolated facilities. The full solar power generating system will be 1MW; the remaining 90kW will be comprised of 9 other 10kW systems in order to compare the performance of different types of solar modules.
For the Smart House Demonstration in Los Alamos, Kyocera will be leading the construction of a hybrid energy management system which uses a 3.3kW residential solar power generating system, 20kW storage battery, and heat storage unit. By operating a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) equipped with communication equipment and sensors, the Smart House helps to optimize energy usage. The Smart House will be monitored and compared to other conventional homes in the surrounding area for demonstration purposes.
Kyocera will also be in charge of the Evaluation of Distributed Energy Resource (Photovoltaics, etc.) within the Collective Research portion of the overall project. (Source: Kyocera, July, 11, 2011)
Contact: Tetsuo Kuba, President, Kyocera Solar, http://global.kyocera.com
More Energy Overviews KYOCERA news,
Date: 2011-03-31
CBEEX and Bluenext announced that Franshion Properties, a subsidiary of the state-owned Sinochem Group and listed in Hong Kong, became the first Chinese firm to purchase Panda Standard pilot credits.
Franshion bought 16,800 voluntary emission reductions (VERs) from a bamboo reforestation project in Yunnan province, at a price per credit of 60 RMB ($9.14). The replanted bamboo is set to cover an area of 59,000 hectares.
The Panda Standard is the first Chinese pilot standard designed specifically for China and the
alleviation of poverty in rural areas. (Source: BlueNext, March 29, 2011)
Contact: Keiron Allen, BlueNext, +33 1 7303 7355, [email protected]
More Energy Overviews BlueNext news, Panda Standard news, Bamboo news, VERs news,
Date: 2011-03-18
ZeroPoint Clean Tech, Inc. has announced a biomass gasification initiative to extend the life of landfill gas energy projects.
The ZeroPoint Renewable CHP Solution produces synthesis gas suitable for blending with landfill gas to operate existing engines. Preexisting engines can also run solely on the syngas produced from the ZeroPoint Solution. Project IRRs for this type of investment are as high as 30-40%. The Company's CHP Solution is optimally sized for projects producing 1 to 15 MW and was recently shipped to multiple distributed power generation projects in Europe. Additionally, ZeroPoint's biomass gasification solution produces sequestered carbon in the form of biochar as a co-product.(Source: ZeroPoint, March 17, 2011)
Contact: Jonathan Parry, Business Development, ZeroPoint Clean Tech, (315) 345-2448, [email protected], www.zeropointcleantech.com
More Energy Overviews ZeroPoint CLean Tech news, Biomass Gasification news,
Date: 2011-01-06
In New York State, the Rockland County Department of Public Transportation has added three MCI diesel-electric hybrid buses to its TAPPAN ZEExpress (TZx) fleet, which will be fully transitioned to hybrids by 2016.
The U.S. DOT paid 100% of the $750,000 per bus cost using American Reinvestment Recovery Act (ARRA) stimulus funds. No local Rockland County tax dollars were used.
(Source: The Rockland County Department of Public Transportation, January 5,2011)
Contact: C. Scott Vanderhoef, Rockland Transit Information Center, (845) 364-3333, www.rocklandgov.com
More Energy Overviews Diesel-Hybrid Bus news,
Date: 2010-12-10
Signaling French and Chinese co-operation and commitment to tackle climate change, the Agence Francaise de Developpment (AFD), the China Beijing Environment Exchange (CBEEX), and BlueNext announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to support the first certified pilot project for the newly launched Panda Standard - a rural carbon program in Yunnan Province that includes a 15,000 hectare bamboo forest - at COP-16 in Cancun.
In the framework of the AFD 35 million EUR loan agreement signed in April 2010 by the Chinese and French Finance Ministers, AFD will support a large scale rural carbon program including reforestation, the promotion of rural biogas, and the development of sustainable agriculture techniques. The French Global Environment Fund (FFEM) will provide a 1 million EURO subsidy and will work alongside the Administrative Centre for China's Agenda 21 (ACCA21) giving technical support, in particular, for the development of a Bamboo reforestation methodology under the Panda Standard.
The Panda Standard is the first voluntary carbon standard developed specifically for China. Its
specifications for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) will allow project developers to
develop innovative carbon methodologies that will have the ability to substantially alleviate poverty in
rural China.(Source: AFD-CBEEX-BlueNext, December 9,2010)
Contact: D. Rapin, Business Development Director, BlueNext, +33 1 73 03 73 00, www.bluenext.eu
More Energy Overviews BlueNext news, Bamboo news,
Date: 2010-11-05
Richard Sandor, a founder of the Climate Exchange Plc, believes that China will launch a carbon trading system, perhaps as soon as 2013. Speaking at a climate forum in Hong Kong, Sandor said that China would have a market-based cap-and-trade by 2020 at the latest, and suggested that one may be operating by 2013. "Irony of ironies, there's a better understanding of cap-and-trade in Beijing than in Washington," Sandor says. "In a Communist economy, the need to do it is very, very high... Europe is not as far ahead on cap-and-trade and China is not so far behind as people think." Contact: Dr. Richard Sandor, Chicago Climate Exchange, (312) 554-3370, [email protected], www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
Date: 2010-11-03
Stalled emission trading laws in Congress could shut down the country's only national carbon trading scheme in a few months, according to a senior official at IntercontinentalExchange, which owns the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). CCX operates a voluntary but legally binding greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme that several companies have used to meet annual reduction targets, but their interest is waning because of Congressional gridlock. Jeff Sprecher, IntercontinentalExchange CEO, said that most CCX cap-and-trade scheme participants want to pull out. "The bulk of the users have said to us that they really don't want to continue to trade voluntarily in the absence of any credit for their work by the current administration." (Source: Financial Times, November 1, 2010) Contact: Scott Hill, Vice-President and CFO, IntercontinentalExchange, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com; Richard Sandor, Chairman & CEO, Chicago Climate Exchange, (312) 554-3370, [email protected], www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
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Date: 2010-10-13
Researchers in Texas are working to determine which variety of sweet sorghum will produce the most ethanol, under a Sun Grant funded project. According to agronomist Brent Bean, the trial includes new sweet sorghum hybrids developed at Texas AgriLife Research, including a comparison of five seeding rates with varieties planted under both dry land and irrigated conditions. Bean said it is possible that a commercial mill might approach 95 % recovery of juice, which would greatly increase the potential amount of ethanol produced. By calculating the resulting dry matter and the sugar content in the juice, the researchers expect to accurately calculate the per-acre ethanol production. (Source: AgriLife News, October 11, 2010) Contact: Brent Bean, Professor & Extension Agronomist, Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas AgriLife Research, (806) 677-5600, b[email protected], http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu
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Date: 2010-08-12
Further to our August 6, 2010 story, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) has cut the staff of the Chicago Climate Exchange by half, with more cuts expected in coming months. ICE's cuts come in the wake of two major climate policy failures: Copenhagen's and the US Senate's, and the move suggests that at least one major market player believes true action on carbon curtailment is years away. "ICE just came in one day and started hacking away [...] We were told the company was restructuring," says one unnamed source. (Source: Reuters, August 11, 2010) Contact: Scott Hill, Vice-President and CFO, IntercontinentalExchange, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com; Richard Sandor, Chairman & CEO, Chicago Climate Exchange, (312) 554-3370, [email protected], www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
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Date: 2010-08-06
In the wake of the collapsed US climate bill, IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) is reconsidering the role of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), which it purchased in April (see our May 4, 2010 edition). "The business was built out with expectation that cap-and-trade in the US was imminent," says Scott Hill, ICE's Chief Financial Officer. Since the Senate has made it unlikely that climate exchanges will be domestically profitable in the near term, ICE is now scaling back the CCX's scale, and making new plans for its future. (Source: Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2010) Contact: Scott Hill, Vice-President and CFO, IntercontinentalExchange, (770) 857-4700, www.theice.com; Richard Sandor, Chairman & CEO, Chicago Climate Exchange, (312) 554-3370, [email protected], www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
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Date: 2010-08-03
Further to our February 18 and 19, 2010 editions, the US Environmental Protection Agency has rejected the petitions of Texas, Virginia, eight other states, and other groups including Peabody Energy, who had petitioned the EPA to reexamine its plans to regulate CO2 in light of the Climategate controversy. The EPA characterizes the Climategate as "selectively edited, out-of-context data and manufactured controversy."
"Defenders of the status quo will try to slow our efforts to get America running on clean energy. A better solution would be to join the vast majority of the American people who want to see more green jobs, more clean energy innovation and an end to the oil addiction that pollutes our planet and jeopardizes our national security," says EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. (Source: The Guardian, August 2, 2010)
Contact: Lisa Jackson, Administrator, US Environmental Protection Agency, (202) 564-4700, [email protected], epa.gov; Kenneth Cuccinelli, Attorney General of Virginia, (804) 786-2071, www.oag.state.va.us; Peabody Energy, www.peabodyenergy.com.
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Date: 2010-07-16
The European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) may operate a carbon-auctioning platform in the EU ETS after 2012, according to the company's CEO. We reported in yesterday's edition that the European Commission have agreed to the basics of a post-2012 ETS, and as the continent's largest energy exchange, its new experience in trading Germany's own CERs will position it to become a major EEU brokerage in ETS Phase III. "It appears consequent to us to continue to use this experience as a platform operator beyond the year 2012 for the common European platform as well as for possible national opt-out platforms," says EEX CEO Hans-Bernd Menzel. (Source: Bloomberg, July 15, 2010) Contact: Katrin Berken, European Energy Exchange, +49 341 2156-202, [email protected], www.eex.com.
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