Sustainable Energy News: 04/04/12

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Chilean court approves controversial dam project

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Chile's Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected challenges by environmental groups to a hydroelectric dam project in the wilds of Patagonia. The ruling upheld an earlier decision by an appeals court in the southern city of Puerto Montt, which decided the project doesn't violate the constitutional rights of those who challenged it, court spokesman Jaime Rodriguez said. The Italian company Endesa and the Chilean firm Colbun propose building five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers in Patagonia, a southern region of glaciers, deep valleys and mountains. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera supports the $7 billion project, saying it's important for Chile's economic development.

Ship Smog Seen as Next Target to Clear H.K. Skies

Ship Smog Seen as Next Target to Clear H.K. Skies - Video - Bloomberg

April 5 (Bloomberg) -- Ships burning black sludge known as bunker oil are under rising scrutiny in Hong Kong as the city seeks to fix a mounting smog problem at home and meet the demands of leaders in Beijing to deliver cleaner air. Vessels calling at North Sea and Baltic ports must use fuel containing no more than 1 percent sulfur to cut emissions estimated to cause at least 60,000 deaths a year worldwide. Ships steaming into Hong Kong are free to burn less costly 3.5 percent sulfur oil. Bloomberg's Paul Allen reports. (Source: Bloomberg)

Jason Harper Reviews Fisker Karma Hybrid Sedan

Jason Harper Reviews Fisker Karma Hybrid Sedan - Video - Bloomberg

March 22 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg auto columnist Jason Harper reviews Fisker Automotive Inc.'s Karma luxury sports sedan. The hybrid vehicle can run in all-electric mode or in tandem with a small gasoline engine and has a price tag that starts at $103,000. (Harper writes about autos for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own. Source: Bloomberg)

Fisker Considers Overseas Options for Building Second Car

Fisker Considers Overseas Options for Building Second Car - Bloomberg

Fisker Automotive Inc., maker of plug-in luxury cars, is considering building its second model overseas instead of following through on a U.S.-backed plan to use a Delaware plant, Chief Executive Officer Tom LaSorda said. The former General Motors Co. plant in Wilmington remains the company’s first choice for production of the new model, now called the Atlantic, LaSorda said late yesterday at a news conference in New York.

Alternate-Energy Group to Avoid Clean, Green in Campaigns

Alternate-Energy Group to Avoid Clean, Green in Campaigns - Bloomberg

“We want to avoid the catch words -- clean energy, green energy -- that set people off in the wrong way,” said Tim Greeff, the Washington-based PAC’s treasurer. “The political rhetoric is starting to dictate and override any pragmatic solutions.” Accel raised more than $25,000 at the March 7 fundraiser, which was held a few blocks from the Capitol. Venture capitalists, utility executives, and representatives from the wind, solar, and biofuels industries attended, Greeff said. Future events are planned in New York and San Francisco, he said.

Unease Over EU Market as Carbon Prices Sink

Unease Over EU Market as Carbon Prices Sink - WSJ.com

LONDON—The market for carbon emissions is running out of gas. Prices of emission allowances, which award the holder the right to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, have tumbled this week to a record low. They are down 11% from the start of the year and now trade at less than one-fourth of their July 2008 value. The latest blow came Monday, when the European Union released preliminary data showing its carbon emissions fell by a larger-than-expected amount last year. While decreasing amounts of pollution out of Europe are a boon for the environment, it raises questions about the viability of a market that was hailed as a forerunner for the rest of the world.

"The price level reflects a lack of confidence in the tool," said Emmanuel Fages, head of power, gas, carbon and coal research at Société Générale Commodities in Paris.

Study suggests rising CO2 in the past caused global warming | Science | guardian.co.uk

Melting permafrost as a result of global warming could trigger runaway climate change. A scientific conundrum that has puzzled climate experts for years may have been solved with the publication of research showing how an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere contributed to rising temperatures millions of years ago. The paper, published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, has wide-ranging implications for climate science, because the question of whether a rise in carbon dioxide leads to an increase in temperature – or whether rising temperatures lead to an increase in carbon dioxide – has been seized on by climate sceptics eager to disprove a link between atmospheric carbon and global warming.

What's a carbon footprint and how is it worked out?

What's a carbon footprint and how is it worked out? | Environment | guardian.co.uk

A carbon footprint is an estimate of the climate change impact of activity – such as making a product, living a lifestyle or running a company. Typically, a carbon footprint is calculated by estimating not just the CO2 emissions that the activity in question causes, but also any emissions of other greenhouse gases (such as methane and nitrous oxide) and in some cases other types of climate impacts as well, such as vapour trails from aeroplanes. For simplicity, all these impacts are added together and expressed as a single number in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e): the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of warming.

Shetland Islands to host 'world's most productive' windfarm

Shetland Islands to host 'world's most productive' windfarm | Environment | guardian.co.uk

A major windfarm on Shetland, which could be the most productive in the world, has been approved by ministers despite a bitterly fought campaign against the scheme by local residents. The Viking windfarm will straddle the hills and moors of Shetland's main island, where the onshore wind speeds are frequently the highest in Europe, and lead to earnings of £30m a year for islanders and Shetland's wealthy charitable trust. The project has been cut in size by Fergus Ewing, the Scottish energy minister, from 127 turbines to 103, to protect safety for Scatsta airport near Sullom Voe oil terminal.

Australian investors begin to hedge carbon risk

Australian investors begin to hedge carbon risk - reneweconomy.com.au : Renew Economy

The move towards low-carbon investment portfolios has taken a small but significant step in Australia, with Industry Funds Management launching a new low-carbon, environmental, social and governance portfolio strategy, believed to be the first of its type to factor emissions intensity into an Australian investment product. The quant-based, sector-neutral product has already attracted a $100 million mandate from industry funds group Hesta, and will be able to deliver a portfolio with half the carbon emissions of an equivalent portfolio in the S&P/ASX 200, depending on the clients’ needs.

Trading Emissions Value Falls in Worst Case, Broker Says

Trading Emissions Value Falls in Worst Case, Broker Says - Businessweek

Trading Emissions Plc (TRE), a developer of carbon credits from projects in developing countries, may be worth 79 percent less than its current share price suggests by the end of the year under a worst-case scenario published by Mirabaud Securities LLP.