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Giant Retailers Look to Sun for Energy Savings - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...11solar.html energy policy
shared by xxx xxx on 11 Aug 08 - No Cached
  • xxx xxx on 11 Aug 08
     
    In recent months, chains including Wal-Mart Stores, Kohl's, Safeway and Whole Foods Market have installed solar panels on roofs of their stores to generate electricity on a large scale. One reason they are racing is to beat a Dec. 31 deadline to gain tax advantages for these projects. So far, most chains have outfitted fewer than 10 percent of their stores. Over the long run, assuming Congress renews a favorable tax provision and more states offer incentives, the chains promise a solar construction program that would ultimately put panels atop almost every big store in the country. The trend, while not entirely new, is accelerating as the chains seize a chance to bolster their environmental credentials by cutting back on their use of electricity from coal.
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Half of Global Electricity To Come From Renewables IEA Says - 0 views

www.renewableenergyworld.com/...story
shared by Hans De Keulenaer on 01 Oct 08 - Cached
  • Nearly 50% of global electricity supplies must come from renewable energy sources in order to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its latest study, “Deploying Renewables: Principles for Effective Policies.”
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Solar Water Heaters Now Mandatory In Hawaii | MetaEfficient - 0 views

www.metaefficient.com/...s-now-mandatory-in-hawaii.html policy solar trends
shared by Colin Bennett on 30 Jun 08 - Cached
  • Colin Bennett on 30 Jun 08
     
    Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010. It prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Hawaii relies on imported fossil fuels more than any other state, with about 90 percent of its energy sources coming from foreign countries, according to state data.
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The end of Bretton Woods 2? - 0 views

blogs.cfr.org/...the-end-of-bretton-woods-2 2008-crisis economics
shared by Wade Ren on 29 Oct 08 - Cached
  • The Bretton Woods 2 system – where China and then the oil-exporters provided (subsidized) financing to the US to sustain their exports – will come close to ending, at least temporarily. If the US and Europe are not importing much, the rest of the world won’t be exporting much.
  • And rather than ending with a whimper, Bretton Woods 2 may end with a bang. In some sense Bretton Woods 2 has been on life support for a while now. China’s recent export growth has depended far more on Europe than on the US. US demand for non-oil imports peaked in 2006. One irony of the past year is that the US was borrowing far more from China that it was buying from China. Campaign rhetoric that the US was paying for Saudi oil with funds borrowed from China isn’t far off – though it leaves out the fact that the US also borrows from Saudi Arabia to pay for Venezuelan, Mexican and Nigerian oil.
  • If Bretton Woods 2 ends in 2009 – if US demand for imports falls sharply in the last part of 2008 and early 2009, bringing the US trade deficit down – it won’t have ended in the way Nouriel and I outlined back in late 2004 and early 2005. We postulated that foreign demand for US debt would dry up – pushing up US Treasury rates and delivering a nasty shock to a housing-centric economy. As Brad DeLong notes, it didn’t quite play out that way. The US and European banking system collapsed before the balance of financial terror collapsed. Dr. DeLong writes: All of us from Lawrence Summers to John Taylor were expecting a very different financial crisis. We were expecting the ‘Balance of Financial Terror’ between Asia and America to collapse and produce chaos. We are not having that financial crisis. Instead we are having a very different financial crisis. Catastrophic failures of risk management throughout the entire banking sector caused a relatively minor collapse in housing prices to freeze up global finance to a degree that has not been seen since the Great Depression. The end result of this crisis though could be rather similar: a sharp contraction in credit, a fall in US economic activity, a fall in US imports and a fall in the amount of foreign financing the US needs.* The US government is (possibly) trying to offset the fall in private demand by borrowing more and spending more — but as of now there is realistic risk that the fall in private activity will trump the fiscal stimulus.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • Or, to put it more succinctly, Bretton Woods 2, as it evolved, hinged both on the willingness of foreign central banks to take the currency risk associated with lending to the US at low rates in dollars despite the United States large current account deficit AND the willingness of private financial intermediaries to take the credit risk associated with lending at low rates to highly-indebted US households.
  • But now US financial institutions are neither willing nor able to take on the risk of lending even more to US households. For a while the US government was able to ramp up its lending to households (notably through the Agencies) and in the process effectively take over the function previously performed by the private financial system (over the last four quarters, the flow of funds data indicates that the Agencies provided around $800 billion of net credit to US households). But now the US government is struggling to keep the financial system from collapsing. It doesn’t seem like it will able to avoid a sharp fall in the overall availability of credit.
  • It is now clear how the financial sector kept profits up: it took on more risk, as it shifted from borrowing short to buy safe long-term assets (Treasuries and Agencies) to borrowing short to buy risky long-term assets. Leverage in the system also increased (and for some broker dealers that seems to be an understatement), as more and more financial institutions believed that the US had entered into an era of little macroeconomic or financial volatility. The net result seems to have been a truly explosive concentration of risk in the hands of a core set of financial intermediaries in the US and Europe. Securitization – it seems – actually didn’t disperse risk into the hands of institutions able to handle it.
  • I hope that the process of adjustment now underway isn’t as sharp as I fear. The US economy gradually can shift from producing MBS for sale to US investors flush with cash from the sale of safe securities to China and Saudi Arabia to producing goods and services for export – but it cannot shift from churning out complex debt securities to producing goods and services overnight. Indeed, in a slowing US and global economy, improvements in the US deficit will likely come from faster falls in US imports than in US exports – not from ongoing growth in US exports.
  • But right now it looks like there is a real risk that the adjustment won’t be gradual. And it certainly looks like the flow of Chinese (and Gulf) savings to US households over the past few years has produced one of the largest misallocations of global capital in recent history.
  • US taxpayers are going to be hit with a large tab for the credit risk taken on by undercapitalized financial intermediaries. Chinese taxpayers may get hit with a similar tab for the losses their central bank incurred by overpaying for US and European assets as part of its policy of holding its exchange rate down. The TARP is around 5% of US GDP. There are plausible estimates that China’s currency losses will prove to be of comparable magnitude. Charles Dumas puts the cost at above 5% of GDP: “Charles Dumas of Lombard Street Research estimates that China makes 1-2 per cent on its (largely) dollar reserves. It then loses up to 10 per cent on the exchange rate and suffers a Chinese inflation rate of 6 per cent for a total real return in renminbi of about minus 15 per cent. That is a loss of $270bn a year, or a stunning 7-8 per cent of gross domestic product.”
  • Jboss — if some of the Chinese inflow could be redirected into investment in alternative energy, that would indeed be a win/ win. Some infrastructure bank style ideas have promise in my view — basically, the flow that used to go to freddie/ fannie could go to wind farms and the like. I would rather see more adjustment in china (i.e. more investment in Chinese infrastructure) but during the transition, if there is one, to a lower Chinese surplus, redirecting chinese financing toward new energy tech would be offer real benefits.
  • China likes 3rd generation nuclear power. Safe, lower cost than NG or coal, very much lower cost than coal with carbon sequestering, and zero carbon footprint. Wind is about 4X more expensive than our electric costs now. That’s in an area with consistent wind. Solar is worse. I don’t know if we can sucker them into investing in our technical fairy tales. Here’s a easy primer on 3rd gen nukes. http://nuclearinfo.net/Nuclearpower/WebHomeCostOfNuclearPower
    • Wade Ren
      Wade Ren on 29 Oct 08
       
      is this true?
  • btw, solar thermal installations are so easy & affordable to retrofit onto existing structures, it’s amazing that there aren’t more of them here…until you realize that they work to decentralize energy. cedric — china is already doing it in china. they are way ahead of the curve over there. my partner brought back some photos of shanghai — rows of middle class homes each with a small solar panel on top. and that’s just the tip of the iceberg — an architect friend just came back from beijing and wants to move to china (he’s into designing self-powering structures and is incredibly frustrated by the bureaucracy and cost-prohibitive measures in the US).
  • I went to engineering school right after the Arab Oil Embargo, and alternative energy was a hot topic then. All the same stuff you hear of nowadays. They even offered entire courses on it , which I took. Then my first mini career was in the power plant biz, before Volker killed it with interest rates and the Saudies killed any interest in alt. energy with their big oil field discovery. For the last 5 years I’ve been researching what’s changed, and it is frighteningly little. Solar cells are still expensive and only have a 15% conversion efficiency. They developed the new cost reduced film technology, but that knocks down efficiency to 7%. Wind power works where there is wind constantly. Generators are mature technology and are already 90 some percent efficient. Geothermal, tidal, ect. work where they are available. Looks like coal gasification and synfuel is out because it makes too much CO2. Good news is 3rd gen nuclear is way better than 1st gen plants. Hybrid cars are good, and battery technology is finally getting barely good enough for all electric cars to be practical.
  • According to news report today, Japan’s trade surplus is less than 1 billion $ in September 08, a whopping 94% decrease compared to September 07. Does it imply that going forward Japan can not buy as much treasury as before?
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Japan Produces Less Copper Tube This Year - 0 views

groups.diigo.com/...bookmark
shared by Susanna Keung on 30 May 08 - Cached
  • Susanna Keung on 30 May 08
     
    It is believed that a cash crunch is reducing orders in the Chinese power sector, which accounts for 60% of the country's copper demand. Analysts predicted strong copper demand in H1 as the country was eager to repair the damages to power networks caused by the heavy snow in the early part of the year. However, repairs have so far mainly been made to aluminium and fibre-optic cables. Cash flow problems at copper rod and wire plants have occurred following the government's tight credit policy and high copper prices. Some 30% of copper wirerod production capacity is being reported idle. The cash shortages have also delayed copper buying from active copper fabricators, further dampening consumption of the metal. China, a net importer of copper, exported 31,000 tonnes of refined copper in April, up 227% year-on-year, with the possibility that the country might have been re-exporting the metal since late February. China's General Administration of Customs reported that 14,000 tonnes were exported to South Korea, six times that from the same period last year. This perhaps confirms that traders were re-exporting copper it has imported to LME-approved warehouses to take advantage of the discount between Shanghai and LME copper prices.
  • Jon Barnes on 03 Jun 08
     
    Neans focuses on "priority markets"
  • Jon Barnes on 03 Jun 08
     
    In the past few days world leading cablemaker Nexans has announced one acquisition, one new joint venture and one asset disposal. On the 30th May, Nexans acquired Intercond a leading Italian manufacturer of special cables for industrial equipment and subsea applications. The company had sales of €90m and employs 150. "This [€90m] acquisition fits totally in the Group's strategy by increasing the proportion of its business in high value-added special cables", said Gerard Hauser, Chairman and CEO of Nexans. On the 2nd June, Nexans released a press report confirming that it has formed a joint venture to create a wire and cable plant in Qatar, the country's first manufacturing facility. Qatar International Cable Company (QICC) is owned 29% by Nexans with the balance being owned by Special Projects Company and Al Neama Industrial Co. The new plant in the industrial city of Mesaleed, 40km from Doha, and will employ 210 people. By the end of 2009 it will begin manufacturing low and medium voltage cables for buildings and energy infrastructure as well as special cables for the oil and gas industry. This JV will generate sales of $150m per year by 2010 at current copper prices. Finally, Nexans confirmed that it has completed the pre-announced sale of its copper telecom cable plant at Santander in Spain to the British company B3 Cable Solutions for €17m. These three actions continue to refocus the group's strategy on priority market segments.
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UK policy engages with China's innovation - People's Daily Online - 0 views

english.people.com.cn/...6414795.html china trends
shared by Colin Bennett on 20 May 08 - Cached
  • Colin Bennett on 20 May 08
     
    Britain prioritizes China as a top collaborator in its national innovation development.
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Unbundling under the Third Energy Package by EU Energy Policy Blog - 0 views

www.energypolicyblog.com/?p=701 trends copper europe energy
shared by Colin Bennett on 18 May 09 - Cached
  • Colin Bennett on 18 May 09
     
    The benefits for the market are obvious. Regional, ownership unbundled transmission/ infrastructure companies have a natural incentive to maximise the offering of capacity to the market, as this is the sole mechanism through which they achieve their revenues. They will be happy to invest to meet market demand. With their large scale and regional approach they can pass through the benefits of synergies and eliminate unnecessary interfaces. Finally, as they do not have any potential conflict of interest with supply or production interests, regulation can be lighter, decreasing the regulatory and administrative burden and increasing efficiency even further. Time will tell, but it seems that the ITO option has its greatest potential for those companies that can not afford to sell their transmission networks under the current economic conditions or that are opportunity constrained and have no suitable investment potential. In any event, the conclusion must be that, whereas full ownership unbundling has not been directly achieved through the Third Package, it would appear that the scene has been set for a market structure that will move gradually but inevitably into the direction originally envisaged in the Commission proposals. So was it worth it? For you to judge.
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China - Refined copper and semis imports surprisingly strong in January - 0 views

www.businessspectator.com.au/...imports-surprisingly-str-E39HL China copper imports
shared by Panos Kotseras on 14 Feb 11 - No Cached
  • Panos Kotseras on 14 Feb 11
     
    Chinese imports of refined copper and copper products increased to 364,420t in January 2011. The numbers surpassed earlier expectations based on the closed arbitrage window and the Chinese New Year festive season. Imports were up by 5.7% from December 2010 and 24.7% from January 2010. The fact that Chinese copper buying was stronger than expected in the last three months implies that tightening monetary policies had little impact on copper demand.
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IEA members 'not on track' on energy efficiency - 0 views

www.wbcsd.org/...details.asp Energy Efficiency IEA
shared by Glycon Garcia on 29 Oct 09 - Cached
  • IEA members ‘not on track’ on energy efficiency Environmental Finance, 22 October 2009 - “More action is needed” by International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries on energy efficiency, according to a new report from the agency. “IEA member countries are implementing a full range of energy efficiency activities,” the report finds. “However, more action is needed … IEA member countries need to urgently extend their efforts in energy efficiency policy,” especially in transportation.
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China - Slow down in Chinese copper demand affects short to mid term copper price outlook - 0 views

www.morningstar.co.uk/...newsfeeditem.aspx copper KGHM China
shared by James Wright on 07 Apr 11 - No Cached
  • James Wright on 07 Apr 11
     
    KGHM, a Polish copper producer, expects demand for copper will be largely affected by China. The company anticipates that long term copper prices will be strong; however, the short to medium term outlook is impacted by China's tighter monetary policy.
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China steels itself over policy tightening - 0 views

www.ft.com/...6b-11e1-b309-00144feabdc0.html copper trends China building construction
shared by Colin Bennett on 03 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • Construction has slowed due to government purchasing restrictions on residential real estate as well as tighter credit. Housing inventories stand at more than 11 months worth of sales – their highest level in years – and in October residential property prices recorded their biggest decline this year, falling 0.23 per cent, according to the China Real Estate Index System.
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Lagarde Points to Next Steps in China's Transformation - 0 views

www.imf.org/...car032314a.htm trends copper economics China
shared by Colin Bennett on 24 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • Modern service sector would boost jobs, income, and living standardsRobust, integrated financial system increases growth, improves welfarePromote inclusive growth and green policies to make growth sustainable
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China Said to Expand Property Survey Amid Oversupply Concern - 1 views

www.bloomberg.com/...survey-to-over-300-cities.html trends copper China building construction
shared by Colin Bennett on 26 Mar 14 - No Cached
  • “In recent months the property sector has come under clear stress, with rapidly falling sales and investment and falling property prices in many regions,” Goldman Sachs Group analysts said in a March 21 research report. “Now we see more room as well as the need to adjust property policy.”
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Investment in UK Distributed Power Generation Market to Plummet by 2019 - 0 views

www.yourpowertransmissionnews.com/%2C+says+globaldata_34783.html trends copper renewables
shared by Colin Bennett on 29 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • These changes include the expiration of the Renewables Obligation policy in March 2017, which will be replaced by Contracts for Difference (CfD) from as early as April 2015. Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) are also set to expire in March 2021, and are currently subject to degression and corridor limits for each type of distributed power generation technology.
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$3.6 trillion to be invested in Asia-Pacific renewables - 0 views

www.commodities-now.com/...vested-in-asia-renewables.html trends copper renewables
shared by Colin Bennett on 01 Jul 14 - No Cached
  • The report, BNEF's 2030 Market Outlook, based on modelling of electricity market supply and demand, technology cost evolution and policy development in individual countries and regions, forecasts that Asia-Pacific will account for more than half of the 5TW of net new power capacity that will be added worldwide in the next decade and a half
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IAEA projections for nuclear power in 2030 - 1 views

nextbigfuture.com/...ions-for-nuclear-power-in.html trends copper nuclear
shared by Colin Bennett on 12 Aug 14 - No Cached
  • There are currently 435 operational nuclear power reactors in 30 countries around the world and 72 are under construction in 15 countries.
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The geopolitics of metals and metalloids used for the renewable energy transition - Sci... - 4 views

www.sciencedirect.com/...S2211467X19300872 copper geopolitics reserves resources
shared by Hans De Keulenaer on 13 Jan 20 - No Cached
  • This study examines the geopolitical role of 14 metals and metalloids needed for renewable energy technologies. The analysis focuses on three factors with potential geopolitical importance: the geographic concentration of resources, potential revenues of resources rich countries and the size of total global markets.
  • Hans De Keulenaer on 13 Jan 20
     
    This paper (open-access) looks at the future needs for 14 metals, including copper, in the context of the energy transition. Coming from a credible source, the paper presents a balanced and reasonably complete perspective adding a new geopolitical element. For the latter, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index, well known from competition policy, is introduced, and 14 metals are compared to the geopolitics of oil. Interesting as well is the discussion what mineral revenues mean for producer countries.
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