Sustainable Energy News: 04/03/12

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Offset Supply to Drive Western Climate Initiative, Analysts Say

Offset Supply to Drive Western Climate Initiative, Analysts Say · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Offset supply will be the main long-term allowance price driver after California and Quebec link their emissions trading programs next year to form the Western Climate Initiative single carbon market, according to market intelligence service Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.
Both the California and Quebec electricity sectors have relatively low emissions. This means that nearly half of the WCI’s covered emissions will have to come from transportation, Point Carbon says.

Honeywell to Destroy Ozone-Depleting Refrigerants for 125,000 Tons of Carbon Credits

Honeywell to Destroy Ozone-Depleting Refrigerants for 125,000 Tons of Carbon Credits · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Honeywell has begun destroying inventories of certain ozone-depleting refrigerants and selling the resulting emission reduction credits for use in California’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, the company announced. The company said it has destroyed more than 27,000 pounds of CFC-11, a chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant with one of the highest ozone-depleting potentials, and it plans to destroy its remaining inventory of CFC-11, CFC-12 and R-500 refrigerants this year – for an equivalent of 125,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

DECC poised to unveil first Green Deal providers

DECC poised to unveil first Green Deal providers - 04 Apr 2012 - News from BusinessGreen

The government is set to announce the first tranche of firms to become finance providers for its Green Deal energy efficiency loan scheme ahead of its scheduled launch in the autumn. BusinessGreen has learnt around 20 firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises, larger companies, and at least one social enterprise, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

UK brokerage to aid access to green finance

Environmental Finance | News | UK brokerage to aid access to green finance

A specialist brokerage firm has been launched to help UK companies access finance for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. ReEnergise Finance’s director Adam Hewson said that banks are restricted and reluctant to lend against what is perceived as new technology, so “there is increasingly a need for a specialist intermediary, in particular for commercial projects under the £10 million [$16 million] mark”. “In reality, finance is available in the UK for renewable energy; the trick is finding it and working with a partner that will get you the right deal,” said Hewson, a former head of European capital markets at GE Capital, and previously head of high-yield and mezzanine capital markets at UBS Investment Bank.

CEO Guide to Wind Power

CEO Guide to Wind Power - Businessweek

Adobe generates its own electricity at its corporate headquarters using wind turbines and fuel cells. Here we'll get a close-up look at turbines used in an urban environment.

CME Forges Ahead With Carbon Trade

CME Forges Ahead With Carbon Trade - WSJ.com

CHICAGO—CME Group Inc. CME -0.97% has boosted its commitment to trading carbon emissions, just as rivals backtrack from a market long seen by many as rich in promise but short on profits. Chicago-based CME agreed to buy out its partners in the Green Exchange, which runs emissions-trading platforms in Europe and the U.S., and integrate the business into its own energy-derivatives operation. The deal comes as trading activity in Europe has surged on the back of a drop in the market price of carbon, though prospects for carbon trading in the U.S. and elsewhere have dimmed.

The "green" approach can be applied to everything

Green Approach to Data Centers ‘Gaining Ground’ · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

The proportion of IT professionals that say green initiatives are a key reason behind their data center consolidation efforts has risen from 34 percent in 2010 to 43 percent in 2011, according to research by technology firm CDW. In the 2012 Energy Efficient IT Report, some 54 percent of respondents said they have or are developing programs to manage power demand in their data centers. Of those organizations that have programs, 75 percent have reduced their IT energy costs.

The future of the natural gas market isn't burning too bright

Natural gas may need epic price collapse

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the natural gas market has taken a beating. But is the rout almost over or has it just begun? In what could turn out to be a historic swoon, it is clear that at some point something has got to give. The natural gas market is running out of space to put supply and the system will soon get clogged so it is becoming more obvious that the only thing that can fix this market is perhaps an epic price collapse. We have to get gas out of the system and based upon current production rates, it is clear that producers are not getting the message. Some producers of course do not care as the price of oil makes it possible to get rid of the gas for nothing. Yet wondering where this market will be in a few weeks just boggles the imagination.

EU ministers talk carbon markets after prices fall to record low

EU Ministers to Discuss CO2 Market Future After Price Slump

European Union ministers will discuss the need to improve the bloc’s emissions trading system on April 19, two weeks after carbon prices fell to a record low, a planning document obtained by Bloomberg shows. The meeting of environment ministers will be hosted by Denmark, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, and no formal decisions will be taken. Falling prices cast “some doubt” on the ability of the emissions cap-and-trade plan, known as the EU ETS, to promote investment in low-carbon technologies, according to a note written by the Danish presidency and distributed to member states.

125,000 tons of carbon credits being given to Honeywell for destroying ozone-depleting refrigerants

Honeywell to Destroy Ozone-Depleting Refrigerants for 125,000 Tons of Carbon Credits · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

Honeywell has begun destroying inventories of certain ozone-depleting refrigerants and selling the resulting emission reduction credits for use in California’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program, the company announced. The company said it has destroyed more than 27,000 pounds of CFC-11, a chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant with one of the highest ozone-depleting potentials, and it plans to destroy its remaining inventory of CFC-11, CFC-12 and R-500 refrigerants this year – for an equivalent of 125,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon saving steel furnace will cut emissions up to 30%

Siemens Installing Energy, Carbon Saving Steel Furnace for Tyasa; First Demand Response Customer Goes Live

Siemens is installing an energy-saving electric arc furnace for turning scrap iron into steel at a plant owned by steel manufacturer Tyasa in Ixtaczoquitlan, in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The Simetal EAF Quantum furnace recovers energy from hot exhaust gas, cutting costs by around 20 percent and reducing CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent, Siemens says.

SoFi 5 will change the face of sustainable enterprise

Enterprise Sustainability Performance Enters A New Era

Sustainable business software provider PE INTERNATIONAL today announces the launch of SoFi 5, a significant evolution in Enterprise Sustainability Performance (ESP) software. The advanced capabilities of this newest version of the market-leading SoFi software allow sustainability executives to move their organizations more quickly, efficiently and effectively towards an understanding of their complete environmental profile.

Surge in CO2 Credits Limits Price

Surge in CO2 Credits Limits Price

More than twice as many new carbon credits were supplied to the world’s second-biggest emissions market this year, damping prospects for a recovery from record-low prices in 2012.
The UN Clean Development Mechanism will generate a record of about 320 million Certified Emission Reduction credits in 2011, up from 132 million last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While a 62 percent drop in UN prices may discourage new supply, Bloomberg New Energy Finance cut its 2012 price forecast this month as it estimated the glut of so-called CERs will be bigger than previously estimated. “The outlook for the CDM is quite gloomy,” said Matteo Mazzoni, an analyst at Nomisma Energia in Bologna, Italy, who estimates 275 million tons of CERs will be issued next year. “We believe there’s going to be a sort of slowdown given current, unattractive prices,” he said by e-mail.

Carbon falls to record lows, EU dreams of a fixed price

Carbon falls to record lows, EU dreams of a fixed price - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy

International carbon prices slumped to record lows overnight as new data revealed that European nations had reduced emissions more than expected. That ought to have been good news, but analysts say it will translate into an even bigger surplus of credits than anticipated, and there is little chance of a lift in prices in coming years without a change in policy. “Analysts eat humble pie,” noted Matthew Gray, a research analyst in the carbon and energy division at Jeffries, as prices for European carbon credits (EUAs) slumped 11 per cent to a low of €6.04 – beating a previous low of €6.04 reached in 2006 – and international credits (CERs) slumped 7.4 per cent.