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Steel chief hits out at US-China plant critics - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...59-11df-a860-00144feab49a.html

Correnti steel CleanTech hydro china chinese Investors

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • plan to build a steel plant in the US partly funded by one of China’s biggest steel companies has hit out at his critics, saying that objections to the scheme are a “ploy” by established US companies to block fair competition.
  • John Correnti, chief executive and part owner of Steel Development, which intends to construct a $168m plant in Amory, Mississippi, with the aid of investment by state-owned Anshan Iron & Steel, dismissed as “ludicrous” a claim by a group of US congressmen that the involvement of a Chinese company could potentially damage US national security.
  • Mr Correnti’s project in Mississippi – which he says is part of a bigger $2bn scheme to build a total of four steel plants in undisclosed locations US-wide – comes at a difficult time for the country’s steel industry which was severely affected by the 2008-09 economic crisis and is recovering only slowly.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • It also exacerbates tensions between the US and China.
  • Parts of the US business community are concerned at what they regard as a “mercantilist” approach to industry by Beijing, under which the country is said to use levers such as the undervalued renminbi to help Chinese companies.
  • Tom Danjczek, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, a trade group, which represents most of the large mini-mill companies, said his members “particularly objected” to the presence in Mr Correnti’s investment group of Anshan. That was on the grounds that the company benefited from Beijing’s assistance, in the form “of easy access to government loans and an artificially low currency”. State-owned Anshan benefited from such government help in a way that was denied to its competitors in the US, he said. In a letter sent in July to Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, a group of Congressmen representing steel producing districts claimed the planned involvement of Anshan in the Amory project could threaten US national security.
Yadkin River

Should the US Government Allow a Chinese Steel Mill to Invest in Steel Technology They ... - 1 views

agmetalminer.com/...vest-in-steel-development-corp

chinese steel development armory ms Correnti

shared by Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • [Ed. Note According to a May 24 AMM post, the investment will also go toward building four re-bar plants (not one) and one flat rolled product mini-mill, all based in the US)
  • Dive under the surface a bit, and the investment by Anshan raises serious concerns not only among steel producers but also for any US manufacturing organization in general.
  • American national security infrastructure projects’ through the investment.”
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • Let’s examine rebar consumption. First, we’ll examine apparent consumption (apparent consumption is net domestic consumption plus imports) and then we’ll calculate capacity utilization: 2007 – 9.824m short tons 2008 – 8.374 m short tons 2009 – 5.359 m short tons 2010 – based on current 2010 run rates, the industry will ship 5.1m short tons If you compare the peak of the market (2007) with today, the US rebar industry operates at a 62% capacity utilization rate; the overall steel industry operates at a 72.9% capacity utilization rate as of June 26, 2010. Two rebar facilities are currently shut down, one in New Jersey and one in Oklahoma. Many of the other facilities that run both mixed merchant/rebar mills are also running at less than capacity If we were to develop a map of the United States and mark US rebar plant locations by geography (assuming each mill can ship up to a 300 mile
  • First, the last time the US steel market was at 120m tons of consumption was in 2006. The 2009 estimated steel consumption was 59m tons, data courtesy of the USGS. Prior to 2006, the only other year in which apparent steel consumption met or exceeded 120m tons was in 2005. The rest of this past decade, steel consumption hovered in the lower 100m ton range (e.g. less than 110m tons)
  • the question of technology transfer ought to be considered heavily
  • –Lisa Reisman
  • we’d see a glut of capacity in the US Southeast. The only argument one could make for building a rebar mill may be to move it somewhere out West, but even that may be a tenuous argument
  • And we all know that US construction markets (the biggest application for rebar products) remain in troubled waters. Take a look at annual expenditures for both commercial and residential construction here. Incidentally, 2010 data is tracking 8% below 2009 numbers. In other words, rebar capacity utilization rates are even less than overall steel industry capacity utilization rates
  • We can’t see the business case to add rebar capacity in the US. Clearly the PE firm involved in Steel Development Corp is banking on the management team.
  • If our politicians think this is about jobs, we can assure them that this may be a short term win (in terms of new jobs in Mississippi) – but they will result in a net loss for US manufacturing, as the current US domestic rebar industry has already laid off thousands of workers. And by giving this technology to the Chinese, well, we know what that will mean long term….
Yadkin River

Whose water is it anyway!? - 0 views

www.yesweekly.com/...whose-water-is-it-anyway_.html

water Alcoa Yadkin Commissioners Governor Legislators

shared by Yadkin River on 06 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • COALITION OF CITIZENS, POLITICIANS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS BATTLE ALCOA TO RETURN THE YADKIN RIVER TO THE PEOPLE
  • “The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life,” Roosevelt told Congress in 1907.
  • Naujoks referred to Teddy Roosevelt’s well known opposition to corporate monopolies and his firm belief the nation’s natural resources belong to the people. Naujoks cited Roosevelt’s philosophy to highlight the disparity between the legendary president’s philosophy and FERC’s policies
  • ...33 more annotations...
  • Gov. Beverly Perdue officially came on board with the Yadkin River Coalition — a group of local businessmen, citizens and politicians who oppose Alcoa’s re-licensing efforts — last September and her influence has proved invaluable to the cause.
  • The governor’s office filed papers with the FERC “seeking return of the right to plan the use of the Yadkin River flows and the Yadkin hydroelectric project for the benefit of the people of North Carolina,” according to a press release
  • Recapturing the water rights to the Yadkin is essential to the health and well being of the citizens of the nearly 25 counties that comprise the Yadkin River Basin, Perdue stated.
  • “Given the Yadkin River’s broad impact on the state, we believe strongly that the state is the most appropriate body to plan use of this invaluable natural resource, to help assure the region’s municipal water supply and quality and to facilitate future growth and development,” Perdue stated.
  • “Given the Yadkin River’s broad impact on the state, we believe strongly that the state is the most appropriate body to plan use of this invaluable natural resource, to help assure the region’s municipal water supply and quality and to facilitate future growth and development,” Perdue stated.
  • The Badin Works aluminum smelting plant did bring 1,000 jobs to the area after Alcoa applied for its water rights license in 1958. But Alcoa, a multi-billion dollar corporation and the world’s largest producer of aluminum, ceased operations at the plant in 2007. The plant employed only 377 people when it shut down, said Alcoa spokesman Gene Ellis.
  • One of the first legislators to take their side was NC Sen. Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr., who represents Cabarrus and Iredell counties. Hartsell came on board with the Yadkin River Coalition two years ago after meeting with Dick, Jim Nance, a former board member of the NC Department of Transportation, and Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant at his legislative offices in Raleigh.
  • But after he studied the Federal Power Act, he became fascinated with the issue of Alcoa attempting to maintain its monopoly over the 38-mile stretch of the Yadkin. Convinced of the appropriateness of the coalition’s cause, Hartsell signed on and recruited fellow Republican state senator, Stan Bingham.
  • “As far as I’m concerned, Alcoa got the gold mine and we got the shaft,” Bingham said
  • “The little town of Denton is having to pay [Alcoa] for the use of the water coming down the Yadkin for drinking,” Bingham said. “The way that’s calculated is they charge because it’s a loss of power generation…. This whole thing was done many, many years ago, and a lot of people didn’t think about the people they were dealing with at the time.”
  • “Alcoa and others keep talking about it being a ‘taking’ [of property],” Hartsell said. “It’s not a taking; it’s not even close to it. All we’re asking Alcoa to do is to fulfill the obligations that were identified in 1958 that they agreed to.”
  • “They acknowledged when the license was up, they no longer had the right to use the property,” Hartsell explained. “We’re saying there needs to be an equivalency for the run of our river, and when I say ‘our,’ I mean everybody’s. It’s not a private entity. The feds and the state have had control of the run of the rivers since the beginning of the republic.” The language of the Federal Power Act includes a stipulation that the controlling entity, in this case Alcoa, must estimate the recapture value of the resource in the event it must surrender the rights to that resource, Hartsell said. “There is a statutory formula for how you calculate recapture and Alcoa computed it to be $24.2 million in 2006,” Hartsell said.
  • Yadkin River Trust Bil
  • The bill clearly outlines the three primary issues at stake — A) who controls the waters of the Yadkin for the next 50 years; B) the environmental issue related to the condition or quality of the water itself and the immediate environs; and C) the use of the electricity generated by the run of the river.
  • “[Alcoa] signed an agreement. We’re just asking them to live up to their own word,” he said. “The state of North Carolina intervened 50 years ago on Alcoa’s behalf to assist them to get a 50-year license and operate the plant at Badin, but conditions have changed dramatically. If they’re going to use it, what is the return to the people of the state on the state’s investment in the raw material, which is the water? That water is owned by the people.”
  • Alcoa’s re-licensing application represents “the mother of all incentives,” Hartsell said. “They want the state to concede they should have $1 billion in benefit over the next 50 years and provide nothing to the state,” he said.
  • “Why should we give it away?” Hartsell continued. “From an economic development perspective, energy is the major issue associated with job growth and development regardless of the industry.”
  • He pointed out that Alcoa is capitalizing on the hydroelectric energy generated by the Yadkin by selling electricity “on the grid” rather than investing in the local communities.
  • “We’re dealing with John Dillinger and Al Capone,” Bingham said. “Alcoa reaps [millions] in profits each year and North Carolina gets zilch.”
  • An environmental study commissioned by Stanly County and conducted by professor John Rodgers of Clemson University last year established a connection between contami nation of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, in fish and soil samples taken from Badin Lake near Alcoa’s Badin Works operation. Rodgers’ findings led the Yadkin River Coalition to appeal the waterquality certification issued by the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR. Administrative Law Judge Joe Webster granted an injunction on May 26 prohibiting DENR from issuing a 401 Water Quality Certification to Alcoa until the full appeal is heard.
  • The state issued a fish-consumption advisory for Badin Lake between Stanly and Montgomery counties last February due to elevated levels of PCBs found in largemouth bass and catfish
  • Alcoa attempted to block the advisory by filing a legal appeal. The company claimed that the state “changed its stated evaluation criteria after the study was complete and held Badin Lake to a different standard than the other lakes and rivers in North Carolina,” according to a posting on a company website.
  • Bingham said Alcoa’s objection to the posting of the fish-consumption advisory speaks volumes about their concern for the people who swim and fish at Badin Lake.
  • “It just tells me how they do business,” Bingham said. “They fought the fish-advisory signs; they say we’re taking their property and we have no rights to the water. We’re stuck with the bastards, at least for the moment, but I feel good about the direction of the fight we’re taking on in the future.”
  • Naujoks said he’s concerned about the high concentration of PCBs in the landfills and dumping sites near Alcoa’s four hydroelectric dams. Naujoks said Alcoa has not been entirely forthcoming about the number of waste dumping sites in and around their facilities.
  • They’re not showing us where all the buried bodies are found. As we start digging down through the layers, we’re going to find much more.”
  • “Alcoa knows they can’t hide these dumping sites,” Naujoks said
  • A PROMISING FUTURE Bingham said once Perdue joined the Yadkin River Coalition, it changed everything. “It’s been wonderful; it’s been extremely important,” he said. “We were facing a multi-billion-dollar corporation, but when the governor lis tened to our pleas, they began to take this extremely seriously. They realized they’re in for a fight.”
  • Bingham said the coalition will never quit until the Yadkin River is returned to the people of North Carolina.
  • “Our legal case could take years to resolve, but the campaign to support the legislation through the coalition and FERC re-licensing could be decided within the next year,” he said. “We will work on a targeted campaign to unify and strengthen grassroots efforts of local governments, public interest organizations, businesses and individuals to reclaim the waters of the Yadkin River to benefit the public interest.”
  • Bingham said he can see a day in the near future when the Yadkin is returned to the people and the economy of the 25 counties in the Yadkin River Basin begin to flourish.
  • The NC Department of Health and Human Services issued a fish-consumption advisory last February on Badin Lake after high levels of PCBs were found in fish tissue samples. Alcoa unsuccessfully filed a legal challenge to the advisory last April. The advisory remains in effect.
  • We can offer industry power at a reduced rate and that plays a big part in manufacturing,” he said. “That would be a tremendous incentive. For years, we’ve stood by the sidelines and watched industries go elsewhere. We don’t have anything to offer industry
Yadkin River

» Blog Archive » Commissioners Comment on Status of Alcoa Negotiations - 1 views

insidestanly.com/?p=6103#comments

shared by Yadkin River on 05 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • Alcoa has stated they will provide financial assurances (up to $1.2 million) for the life of the license.  However, Alcoa has failed to inform the public these assurances are not worth the paper they are written on without sufficient enforcement measures included in the agreement.  Alcoa has refused to accept any language we have put forth that would provide sufficient remedies for the County to receive “financial assurances”, if Alcoa does not live up to its end of the bargain.
  • In fact, the proposal Alcoa presented includes an escape clause for any responsibilities due from the company, but it does not allow for review of the hydroelectric license once the license has been awarded.
  • As Alcoa’s latest offer stands, there is no efficient or cost effective way for the County to hold Alcoa accountable for its promises of jobs and investment
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • This is not “compelling”… it is unreasonable.
  • It is not proper for parties to share incomplete information via the press in these types of proceedings until the discussions yield an agreement or officially cease.  Neither has occurred.
  • From the beginning, the County’s goals have been to ensure: (1) that the river is environmentally protected for generations to come, (2) that the use of water from the Yadkin River is best determined by citizens of North Carolina, and (3) that the flow of the river is used to maximize the impact of its resources for the benefit of its citizens.  
  • The goal of environmental protection is being addressed in the state 401 water quality permit process and includes the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Alcoa/APGI, Stanly County and the Yadkin Riverkeeper.
  • he County believes its intervention in this process will lead to numerous water quality improvements.
  • (1) The Board of Commissioners is legally responsible for the public health and well-being of its citizens.  These basic environmental protection measures will lead to cleaner surface and ground water for our citizens now and for generations to come.  It is impossible to put a price tag on the value of one citizen’s life or well-being.   (2) The value of water will only increase as growth demands in the Charlotte region, Piedmont Triad and along the I-85 corridor strain our available water resources.  Regional organizations to the east and west of the Yadkin River basin are planning for water use over the coming decades and our citizens need to be doing the same. (3) The water of the Yadkin belongs to the people and has tremendous value from an electrical generation perspective.  The benefits should not simply be given away to a global corporation to support its operations in other states and foreign countries. This simply transfers wealth out of our community and that is unacceptable. 
  • The County is seeking fair and reasonable compensation for the long-term use of the river.
  •   However, without long-term financial assurances these jobs and the associated taxable investment will remain over the course of a 30, 40 or 50 year license term, it would not be wise to simply drop our reasonable demands.
  •   Should our citizens accept a static amount for a settlement when the value of the resource will increase exponentially over the term of the license?
  • We, as Commissioners, will continue to seek the best outcome for Stanly County.
  • I’m so proud of (and awed by) the Commissioners for thinking of the bigger picture and the long term needs of the community. This is nothing short of blackmail — and failing that, bribery! –on Alcoa’s part. The only reason they’ve ever offered anything is because of the Commissioner’s strong stand against a massive corporate giveaway. Good for you Commissioners! I salute you.
  • Stanly County upheld its end of the bargain for 50 years. It’s time to reclaim use of the water for the betterment of all Yadkin Valley communities. Looks to me like Alcoa is the one stalling, not the commissioners.
  • We must put our fate in our own hands not with a corporation who has no responsibility to our region or our state.
  • I applaud the Commissioners’ continued resolve to do what is in the best interests of our citizens. Future prosperity in Stanly County depends on the Yadkin hydropower. Since the beginning of time, communities have only thrived because of their access to water …for drinking, recreation, trade and fuel. Had our water not been under the control of Alcoa for the last 50 years, we would be in much better shape economically. By leveraging the Yadkin hydropower, we could have already replaced our lost manufacturing jobs with higher paying jobs that reflect the needs of the 21st century. We would be absolute fools to once again relinquish control of our waters to Alcoa for another 50 years. We need to reserve the flexibility to control our own destiny—not “outsource” it to a multinational corporation that has a poor record of stewardship and corporate responsibility in our region.
  • “Since the operation of the Badin smelting works is dependent upon the availability of power supply, Carolina Aluminum must regard its smelting activities at Badin to be limited to the term of the license of the Yadkin Project, which is its source of power supply. In formulating its plans, and weighing the advisability of the $37,000,000 program, the management of Carolina Aluminum had to assume, therefore, that power would be available from the Yadkin Project at economically feasible rates only during the original license term. Under Section 14 of the Act, any project may be “recaptured” at the expiration of the license term. In formulating its plans, therefore, the management of Carolina Aluminum could not rely upon any assured source of power supply after the expiration of its license for the Yadkin Project”
  • The “project properties” are held in trust by the Government for the people. It is the “project properties” that a multi-national, foreign controlled, private enterprise is trying to “hijack” away from “we the people”.
  • Alcoa has never owned “the riverbed”. The do pay taxes in an attempt to lay claim to the riverbed. The state constitution and federal law does not support their claim. With that said, refer back to the 1958 license agreement. Alcoa gave up rights to the submerged land “the project property” in exchange for the monopoly use of the water as free fuel for a guaranteed profit for 50 years. Article 14 of the The Federal Power Act clearly spells out the option Alcoa gave the Federal Government in exchange for the use of the “peoples waters”.
Yadkin River

Steel firm wants to diversify overseas - China.org.cn - 0 views

www.china.org.cn/...content_22068121.htm

development Correnti steel

shared by Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • The company and the US-based Steel Development Company signed a deal in September last year to jointly build a steel rebar project in the US market. Total investment in the Mississippi steel rebar project is $168 million, with Anshan Steel taking a 14-percent share. Anshan Iron also plans to acquire nickel and chromium resources through overseas mergers or purchases, as the company considers building a stainless steel and specialty steel business to further diversify, Zhang said. Wang Min, Party chief of Northeast China's Liaoning province, where Anshan Steel is located, said the merger between Anshan Iron and Benxi Iron and Steel Group will make progress soon.
  • Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11
     
    The company and the US-based Steel Development Company signed a deal in September last year to jointly build a steel rebar project in the US market. Total investment in the Mississippi steel rebar project is $168 million, with Anshan Steel taking a 14-percent share. Anshan Iron also plans to acquire nickel and chromium resources through overseas mergers or purchases, as the company considers building a stainless steel and specialty steel business to further diversify, Zhang said. Wang Min, Party chief of Northeast China's Liaoning province, where Anshan Steel is located, said the merger between Anshan Iron and Benxi Iron and Steel Group will make progress soon. Anshan Steel announced in 2005 that it agreed to acquire Benxi Steel to form Anben Iron and Steel Group; however, the two firms have yet to transfer their operating assets to the new entity. The two companies' financial, sales and purchasing departments haven't been integrated. The move is a part of Anshan Steel's bid to reach an annual production capacity of 60 million tons in the next five years and to become one of the world's top five steelmakers by 2015.
Yadkin River

New plant to impact timber industry most | The Natchez Democrat - 0 views

www.natchezdemocrat.com/...to-impact-timber-industry-most

CleanTech Correnti sugar woods

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • plants to turn wood chips into cellulosic sugars that can be used in fuel, pet foods, cosmetics, lubricants and other products.
  • When the Natchez HCL Cleantech plant opens, Russ said, it will use 1 million tons of pine or softwoo
  • To put the figure into perspective, Russ said International Paper’s Natchez plant was using 1.2 million tons of wood a year at its peak before it closed.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • “That’s very substantial — 1 million tons of wood (a year),” Ulmer said.
  • And since timber industries usually work 200 days a year, Ulmer said, hauling HCL Cleantech’s projected demand would mean 185 truckloads would be hauled a day.
  • “We have a vast resources of timber,” Ulmer said.
  • He said the supply of timber was constantly replenishing itself when IP was in town.“We have never cut our growth,” Ulmer said.
  • Sen. Kelvin Butler, D-Magnolia, said the area’s abundance of timber helped land the new company.“We’re just excited that they picked our area because they’ll be using pine, and that’s one of the resources we have right here in southwest Mississippi,” Butler said.
  • Johnson said the company has received more than $10 million in federal grants, some coming from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Yadkin River

China and France chase US shale assets - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...e2-11e1-9f98-00144feabdc0.html

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • Sinopec, China’s second-largest oil company by market capitalisation, unveiled a $2.5bn deal with Oklahoma-based Devon Energy to invest in five new development areas from Ohio to Alabama.
  • International groups are still keen to increase their exposure to unconventional US energy resources despite the environmental controversy over “fracking”, the injection of water, sand and chemicals into wells to crack rocks and release oil and gas.
  • Foreign companies have been shifting their focus from gas, prices for which have plunged, to oil. Devon’s deal with Sinopec also reflects Chinese companies’ hopes that techniques pioneered in the US could be used to develop China’s own resources.
Yadkin River

Alcoa must agree to environmental investigation » Alcoa News Updates » The St... - 0 views

thesnaponline.com/...to-environmental-investigation

shared by Yadkin River on 06 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • Now that Alcoa has announced the permanent closure of its Badin Works smelting plant, the company must allow for the proper and necessary environmental investigation of the site before it runs away with profits from our water and leaves us with a toxic mess.
  • Yadkin River on 06 Dec 11
     
    Now that Alcoa has announced the permanent closure of its Badin Works smelting plant, the company must allow for the proper and necessary environmental investigation of the site before it runs away with profits from our water and leaves us with a toxic mess.
Yadkin River

Chinese Companies Go Abroad (Introduction) - Seeking Alpha - 0 views

seekingalpha.com/...mpanies-go-abroad-introduction

chinese GOINGABROAD ALCOA yadkin

shared by Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • With China facing little of the credit squeeze problems afflicting much of the rest of the world, many Chinese companies plan to take advantage of the global downturn to make greater inroads into the West.
  • Companies plan to increase dramatically their adoption of M&A as a main growth strategy over the next five years, and cash rich companies will likely use the current decreased valuations abroad as a way to gain entry on favorable terms. In this way, the financial crisis can be an opportunity for cash rich, low debt or debt free Chinese companies.
  • The most popular strategy was the creation of partnerships, with partners ranging from distributors to academic institutions to PR and law firms, followed by organic and export-focused growth. While M&A is currently used much less frequently, respondents expect to use this strategy with increasing frequency going forward, as a way to tap into existing brand awareness overseas, as well as existing sales channels and distribution networks, talent pools, and to gain first hand insight into overseas markets.
Yadkin River

Waiting for the floodgates to open - 0 views

www.smh.com.au/...es-to-open-20110909-1k1uc.html

china going out alcoa foreign investment

shared by Yadkin River on 19 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • Each working day the People's Bank of China buys more than $US2 billion ($1.88 billion) worth of foreign currency from Chinese businesses and invests it overseas. China's outbound direct investment - the portion that matters to Australian takeover targets - has increased 30-fold in seven years. ''We've had something like 260 projects approved since November '07, $65 billion worth,'' says Frances Adamson, Australia's new ambassador in Beijing.
  • ''If China follows the typical pattern of an emerging economy, it will ship $US1 trillion to $US2 trillion in direct investment abroad by 2020.''
  • hina's "go out" investment strategy became policy in 1999 and began to get noticed around the world about 2007 when China's foreign exchange reserves began to break records. But the strategy was really conceived in the 1970s and born in the 1980s in collaboration with Australia.
Yadkin River

The big questions for 2012 - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...16-11e1-b7ec-00144feabdc0.html

2012 outlook -

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • With America gazing inward, some will look to China for money and leadership. This began visibly to happen in 2011, when European officials ended an EU summit by jetting straight off to Beijing, in a humiliatingly unsuccessful effort to drum up Chinese interest in buying more European debt.
  • But the leadership of China’s Communist party will also spend much of the year jostling for position. While the identities of the new president and prime minister are widely assumed to be known – with Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang slated respectively for those positions – the slots just below the top two are up for grabs. China’s urge to concentrate on domestic affairs will be accentuated by a growing nervousness about political and economic instability at home.
  • and growing social unrest in China’s manufacturing heartlands
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • But it will also ensure China has little energy to devote to elaborate international co-operation.
  • Economic inequality: Peaceful acceptance of deep differentials is coming to an end
  • The big debate of 2012 will be over the role of government in the economy,
  • Although this sounds like an economic issue, it is really about politics.
  • Public v private: The state starts to run out of time on how big it should be
  • Headlines such as this recent one in the Los Angeles Times – “Six Walmart heirs are wealthier than US’ entire bottom 30 per cent” – epitomise the new mood. Such scrutiny of the lives and deeds of the “1 per cent” will become obsessive.
  • Yet there is compelling evidence that high inequality is also bad for a nation’s health: it leads to higher political instability and more violence and it hurts competitiveness and growth.
  • This year, elections will take place in the US, France, Russia, Taiwan, Mexico, Egypt and South Korea. China will also change leadership.
  • In Russia, shame among educated classes that Vladimir Putin is just the latest tsar, combined with growing economic desperation and corruption in rural areas, makes another Russian Revolution plausible if not probable. And I would not be surprised to see mass protests in several central Asian countries, in Pakistan, again in Iran, in Algeria, Mexico, Venezuela or Cuba.
  • The difference from traditional technology is speed, scale and resilience. The immediacy, apparent veracity and emotional power of words and images that are instantly transmitted to thousands and then millions of people can transform existing currents of dissent into a raging flood
  • Social unrest: Technology to power rolling disruption to outright revolution
  • Energy: Fuel’s decisive shift in supply will boost security – at a price
  • Energy efficiency in the advanced countries has risen sharply, implying that their demand has peaked, and vast, commercially exploitable discoveries of oil and gas – especially gas – have been made in politically stable areas, including in the US. This suggests that in future gas will account for a much larger proportion of world energy supply. While these developments are positive for geopolitical stability, they may pose difficulties for the climate.
  • This is positive because gas is much cleaner than coal.
  • This means it will reclaim its role as the world’s biggest energy producer and, incredibly, become a net energy exporter.
  • Even in 2040, respected forecasts now envision that fossil fuels will still supply 80 per cent of the world’s energy needs.
  • However, energy security and national security for much of the world will be improved, as the influence of rogue oil states diminishes.
Yadkin River

Bond authorization clears way to bring HCL ClearTech to Olive Branch » The Co... - 0 views

www.commercialappeal.com/...bonds-boost-olive-branch-firm

Correnti miss

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • uthorizing the bonds clears the way for HCL ClearTech, an Israeli company, to establish its U.S. headquarters in Olive Branch.
  • HCL ClearTech expects to invest $1 billion to create 800 jobs at an average salary of $67,000 a year.
  • HCL ClearTech's manufacturing process converts biomass to sugars that are used in industry. The company uses pine trees, among other things, to obtain cellulosic sugars which can be used in producing animal nutrition, cosmetics, lubricants and fuel, among other things. "We were drawn to Mississippi because the wood stocks are substantial," Cuneo said.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Calisolar's project would create 951 jobs with an average salary of $45,000 a year.
  • After an afternoon of committee meetings, House members finally approved the Senate version of the bonds bill on a vote of 109-4.
Yadkin River

WFAE 90.7 FM - 0 views

www.wfae.org/...1_87_316.cfm

alcoa yadkin hydro Commissioners wfae

shared by Yadkin River on 04 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • Mr. Stickler is correct when he states, “We don’t put $300 million of investment in the ground and remove those assets in a couple of years,” says Stickler. HE AND HIS HOPEFUL INVESTORS JUST DO NOT MAKE THE INVESTMENT IN THE 1ST PLACE. His last “Proposed” Rebar plant (http://www.steeldevelopment.com/home.php) was in Amory, MS…… They committed to “DECADES” in Amory, MS, only to spend about 3 million dollars in grading and to leave when their “Equity Investors” , apparently Chinese, pulled out. Commissioner Dennis and the rest of the Commissioners have just reason to be concerned. I have spoken to people involved in the Amory MS project as well as Ontario, OH, where good people acted in good faith and listened to the “Stickler Pitch”… This time and in this community, Officials are aware of the previous dealings that this group “Proposed” and did NOT deliver on. It seems as if ALCOA has a big problem on their hands attempting to Introduce Clean-Tech to the Community. It makes you wonder if they conducted their due diligence, or did they? I stand firmly behind the County Commissioners and it is my hope Governor Perdue and Sec. Crisco are aware of the very questionable ability of Clean-Tech to perform considering that they DID NOT in Armory, MS. Comment by JohnMullis - September 30, 2011 9:10 PM
  • The jobs and revenue produced for the public by publicly controlled hydropower, where public entities have control of the FERC license for the hydroelectric dams is well documented on the Stanly County website. http://www.co.stanly.nc.us/ALCOARelicensing/tabid/176/Default.aspx This website has links to key documents information about the Alcoa situation which ought to be read by anyone seeking to be informed about the issue or desiring to make an intelligent comment based on knowledge, not ignorance. In particular, take a look at the links on the Stanly County website to about the large numbers of jobs and revenue for the localities produced by the agreements struck between Alcoa and the New York Power Authority in December 2007 and between Alcoa and Chelan County, Washington, in June 2008. http://www.co.stanly.nc.us/ALCOARelicensing/tabid/176/Default.aspx In addition, opponent's of recapture of the Yadkin Project ought to look at industrial recruitment advantages that South Carolina enjoys with low cost electrical power produced by Santee-Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, and the state’s largest power producer. https://www.santeecooper.com/portal/page/portal/santeecooper/homepage Comment by WaterPatriot - September 27, 2011 2:13 PM
  • Yadkin River on 04 Dec 11
     
    Alcoa, Stanly County Square Off Over JobsJulie Rose Monday September 26, 2011
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» Blog Archive » Central Park Poll Results of Yadkin Project - 0 views

insidestanly.com/?p=6338

DEC2011 Water Alcoa Yadkin CleanTech

shared by Yadkin River on 10 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • A survey of 500 registered voters across North Carolina indicated that most North Carolinians overwhelmingly oppose such an agreement.
  • Many environmentalists and state and local officials in the region have remained steadfast in their belief that the river should be controlled by a publicly held trust in order to provide better benefits to the region and state. 
  • Alcoa lost a critical water quality permit last year when internal company e-mails showed that officials withheld information that downstream waters may not meet state standards. In addition, although elevated levels of PCBs produced by Alcoa have been found in fish in the river, Alcoa fought the installation of signs along Badin Lake warning people not to eat the contaminated fish, which infuriated many local lake residents.
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  • According to Nancy Gottovi, Executive Director of Central Park NC, the December 15 deadline looks like an attempt to apply enormous political pressure on local officials and the Governor to drop their opposition to the 50-year license
  • 72% of North Carolina registered voters said no to Alcoa being granted a new 50-year license, while 76% stated that they would prefer that a “public trust” control the Yadkin River and use the hydroelectricity as an incentive to bring jobs to North Carolina. The majority of voters (60%) also indicated that they were usually skeptical when a multinational corporation like Alcoa tells a community they will provide permanent jobs. The majority of voters (58%) also agree with the statement “Every effort must be made to protect our water resources, even if it makes recruitment of industry more difficult.”  An overwhelming majority of voters (74%) support Governor Perdue’s opposition to a new 50-year license for Alcoa to control the Yadkin River because she believes the waters of the Yadkin River belong to the people of North Carolina and should be used to help create new jobs and economic opportunity for the region.
  • We were concerned that the Yadkin relicensing issue was being seen as a local Stanly County issue, and that the opinions of residents throughout the entire river basin were not being heard.  We also see this as a major public policy issue that has implications for the entire state.  The control of water resources is immensely important as we plan for future growth in terms of drinking water, but also for clean, renewable energy. 
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Angang Steel to issue up to $2.2 bln bonds, notes | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...anshan-idUSL3E7LB3FD20111011

shared by Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • China's steel sector, which produces about half of the world's steel output, is struggling with low profitability and its fragmented industry faces an overhaul in line with China's economic restructuring.Expensive iron ore costs plus weak demand for flat steel products have squeezed margins of Chinese major steelmakers such as Angang and Baosteel . ($1 = 6.375 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting by Stephen Aldred; Editing by David Holmes)
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China Anshan says still committed to US investment | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...nshan-us-idUSTOE67J04L20100820

china yadkin CleanTech

shared by Yadkin River on 18 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • suspended its plans to invest in a U.S. steel plant being built by Steel
  • evelopment Co because the plan faced limited prospects for success
  • national security. [ID:nN02241776
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Social Bookmarking: Making the Web Work for You - YouTube - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

Reference

shared by Yadkin River on 07 Dec 11 - Cached
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    Using Diigo - Instructional Video
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