January 2, 2007 (IHT) – Despite the global credit crunch in 2007, new investment in clean energy industries like wind and solar power rose sharply to break through the $100 billion barrier for the first time, a research group, New Energy Finance, said Wednesday.
Michael Liebreich, chief executive of the group, which is based in London, said investments had risen 35 percent to reach $117.2 billion in 2007, from $86.5 billion the year before. Continue reading
December 25, 2007 (Business Standard) – When Internet search major Google Inc decided to power its “Googleplex” in Mountain View with one of the largest solar panel installations in the world last year, it was a big vote for solar energy, which presently provides less than 1 per cent of the energy generated worldwide.
Though the capital expenditure required for solar energy – estimated at Rs 24 crore per megawatt (Mw) – is almost six times higher than that for conventional sources of energy, there is no fuel cost. Sunlight is free.
December 3, 2007 (Biofuel Review) – A 200 acre Biofuel Integrated Environmental Park is to be built Malaysian State of Perak at a cost of $400 million, it was announced last week. The project, a joint venture between the Perak State Government and Earth Biofuel (Asia) Sdn Bhd, will involve 900,000 carbon credit, a centralized treatment system for 4000 m3/hr industrial & biological waste water, methane gas recovery for 300,000 tonne/year landfill and R&D cum Training Centre generating about 30,000 jobs related to the project. Continue reading
November 23, 2007 (BioPact) – The US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) agency, is in talks with several Indian government departments for creating a biomass roadmap for India similar to the one being planned with China. Mark Ginsberg, Senior Executive Board Member for the EERE Board of Directors announced this on the sidelines of a conference on ‘Efficient Use of Energy and Alternative Systems’ in Mumbai.
November 22, 2007 (Rediff News) – The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), US Department of Energy, is in talks with several Indian government departments for creating a bio-mass roadmap for India similar to the one being planned with China.
The US department has also begun to undertake pilot projects in West Bengal for setting up green buildings.
November 5, 2007 (CNNMoney) – China Holdings, Inc. , a global diversified asset holdings Company, and its subsidiaries engage in multiple China-focused business activities including energy, renewable energy, resources, utilities, finance, real estate, and pharmaceuticals, announced today the Company has executed its 2nd development contract for the exclusive rights to develop and construct the 2nd Biomass Renewable Energy Project (Power Capacity: 50 MW) through its controlled subsidiary “China Power, Inc.” with the local government in AnHui Province, the People’s Republic of China. The breakthrough brought the Company potential power capacity: 100 MW in a biomass energy pipeline
October 25, 2007 (Bloomberg) – The United Nations rejected a greenhouse-gas emissions offsetting project in Honduras that would have generated carbon-credits for Tokyo Electric Power Co., Japan’s largest power utility. Continue reading
October 22, 2007 (Growth Company Investor) – Greenko, an Indian energy producer seeking to treble biomass and hydroelectricity capacity to 112 megawatts, hopes to raise £42 million. Founded by sector entrepreneurs Mahesh Kolli, 31, now company president, and chief executive Anil Chalamalasetty, 32, Greenko sells power from its biomass plants to Indian state electricity boards and sells certified emission reduction units (carbon credits) generated from its clean energy projects.
The company, based in Hyderabad but now shifting its domicile from Luxembourg to the Isle of Man, made £180,000 pre-tax profit in the 15 months to March on £2.45 million turnover. It now has six biomass plants with a combined capacity of 42 megawatts, to which it will add two hydro plants next year, taking overall capacity to 90.5 megawatts from a total investment of £57 million. Continue reading
October 4, 2007 (Bayanihan) – Local sale of charcoal briquettes made with jatropha plant waste from bio-diesel production can hit some PhP 1.1 billion next year.”It’s possible if we follow provisions of Republic Act 9367, the Bio-fuels Act,” said Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Chief Science Research Specialist Santiago Baconguis who made this projection.
Since oil from jatropha seeds can be extracted and processed into bio-diesel then mixed with traditional diesel engine fuel, he said the plant’s residue from this process represents an alternative resource for making briquettes which are blocks of flammable material used to start and maintain fires.
RA 9367 requires a minimum one percent blend of bio-diesel, which is derived from biomass or organic matter like jatropha, with traditional diesel engine fuel sold nationwide.
“A one percent blend will generate about 300,000 metric tons (MT) of jatropha waste which can be made into some 75,000 MT of charcoal briquettes that people can sell at PhP15 per kilogram (kg),” Baconguis said, citing results of his study for DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau.
September 17, 2007 (NewKerala.com)- The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) today signed an MoU with Eco Securities India Pvt Ltd, one of the leading companies in carbon credit business, to address the potential within the Indian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and ensure benefits to them from carbon abatement initiatives.
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