+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Plan to Boost Carbon Oversight 'Long Overdue,' Barclays Says
2010-12-21 17:48:56.765 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union's plan to improve
the oversight of the prompt carbon market is "long overdue,"
according to Louis Redshaw, head of environmental markets for
Barclays Capital in London. He was speaking today by phone.
The EU today proposed to tighten regulation of the world's
biggest carbon market next year to step up protection against
fraud and theft in spot trading.
On the proposal to improve market oversight:
"This is long overdue. We've been asking for this for one-
and-a-half years. It's needed to avoid any more scandals around
the design of the EU emissions trading system. We and companies
like us are trying to deliver the EU's climate policy. Sometimes
it seems like we are battling against headwinds of illegitimate
interest with unclear legal protection. It's extremely
encouraging to see the commission come out with such a
recommendation. Market integrity requires it."
For Related News and Information:
Top renewable energy, power stories: GREEN <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Bloomberg glossary of emissions terminology: IDOC 2059757 <GO>
Emissions menu, prices: EMIS <GO>, EMIT <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Stephen Voss
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
2010/12/22
Demand for 2013 C02 71% Below Forecast, Deutsche Bank Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Demand for 2013 C02 Below Forecast, Deutsche Bank Says (Update1)
2010-12-22 12:42:25.362 GMT
(Updates with prices in fourth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Demand from power utilities for
carbon allowances covering 2013 electricity sales was about 71
percent below forecasts this year, according to an analyst for
Deutsche Bank AG.
Demand was about 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
allowances, compared with expectations early this year of 278
million tons, Mark Lewis, a carbon analyst at Deutsche Bank,
said today by phone from Paris.
"There's a game of poker going on between the electricity
consumers and the generators," Lewis said. Utilities may be
waiting for higher profit margins on power sales, while
factories may be waiting for even lower prices, he said.
Utilities must buy all carbon allowances needed for 2013,
after having received most permits for free through 2012. EU
carbon for 2011 rose 9.1 percent this year as the bloc moved out
of economic recession, boosting demand. German power for 2011
fell 1.8 percent in the same period.
Emission prices fell earlier this week to 14 euros ($18.40)
a metric ton, their lowest for almost five months, as supplies
of new Certified Emission Reduction credits surged. EU carbon
for December next year rose 1.1 percent today to 14.34 euros a
ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Prices may be volatile in 2011 as utilities eventually sell
power forward, boosting demand for carbon allowances, Lewis said.
The CO2 price may rise to 21 euros next year, he said.
The EU is unlikely next year to tighten a target to reduce
carbon-dioxide emissions 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020,
Deutsche Bank said in an e-mailed research note dated yesterday.
The carbon market will trade in line with German power
prices, according to the report.
For Related News and Information:
Top renewable energy, power stories: GREEN <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Bloomberg glossary of emissions terminology: IDOC 2059757 <GO>
Emissions menu, prices: EMIS <GO>, EMIT <GO>
--Editors: Raj Rajendran, Rob Verdonck
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Demand for 2013 C02 Below Forecast, Deutsche Bank Says (Update1)
2010-12-22 12:42:25.362 GMT
(Updates with prices in fourth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Demand from power utilities for
carbon allowances covering 2013 electricity sales was about 71
percent below forecasts this year, according to an analyst for
Deutsche Bank AG.
Demand was about 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
allowances, compared with expectations early this year of 278
million tons, Mark Lewis, a carbon analyst at Deutsche Bank,
said today by phone from Paris.
"There's a game of poker going on between the electricity
consumers and the generators," Lewis said. Utilities may be
waiting for higher profit margins on power sales, while
factories may be waiting for even lower prices, he said.
Utilities must buy all carbon allowances needed for 2013,
after having received most permits for free through 2012. EU
carbon for 2011 rose 9.1 percent this year as the bloc moved out
of economic recession, boosting demand. German power for 2011
fell 1.8 percent in the same period.
Emission prices fell earlier this week to 14 euros ($18.40)
a metric ton, their lowest for almost five months, as supplies
of new Certified Emission Reduction credits surged. EU carbon
for December next year rose 1.1 percent today to 14.34 euros a
ton on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Prices may be volatile in 2011 as utilities eventually sell
power forward, boosting demand for carbon allowances, Lewis said.
The CO2 price may rise to 21 euros next year, he said.
The EU is unlikely next year to tighten a target to reduce
carbon-dioxide emissions 20 percent from 1990 levels by 2020,
Deutsche Bank said in an e-mailed research note dated yesterday.
The carbon market will trade in line with German power
prices, according to the report.
For Related News and Information:
Top renewable energy, power stories: GREEN <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Bloomberg glossary of emissions terminology: IDOC 2059757 <GO>
Emissions menu, prices: EMIS <GO>, EMIT <GO>
--Editors: Raj Rajendran, Rob Verdonck
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
too dark?UN Carbon Regulator Sees Fast Pace of Credit Supply
"Whereas I might have a too-rosy picture on what the CDM
executive board has been doing over the last few years, they
have a too-dark picture," Barata said of the EU's position.
"To say they are hampering CDM reform? No. Absolutely not." After a few more months, the board may be able to place
more trust in the audit firms that verify emission reductions,
easing issuance approvals, Barata said. "We could introduce
this less thorough review for every single case."
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
UN Carbon Regulator Sees Fast Pace of Credit Supply (Update1)
2010-12-22 09:51:19.909 GMT
(Updates with IDEAcarbon comment in eighth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The increased pace of carbon credits
flowing from a United Nations-overseen market will be maintained
as European Union officials seek improvements to the biggest
program for emission offset credits, a senior UN regulator said.
The EU allows some UN offsets to be traded in its own
carbon trading system, which is the world's largest. Some
European regulators have a "too-dark" view of the performance
of the UN Clean Development Mechanism, said Pedro Martins
Barata, a Portuguese member of the CDM executive board and a
candidate for the chairman's job in February.
The number of offsets issued by the CDM reached a monthly
record of 24.8 million metric tons in November, nine times
higher than in July, and will probably almost match that this
month, according to an estimate from Bloomberg New Energy
Finance, the London carbon-market research company.
"We're seeing rejection rates, review rates, especially
for issuance, much, much lower than we were seeing before,"
Barata said this week in phone interviews. "We are catching up
with the backlog of projects already and finally seem to be
managing it rather well."
EU allowances for December 2011 fell as low as 14 euros
($18.39) a ton on Dec. 20, the lowest since July 28, as UN
issuance boosted supply of credits. They've risen 8.8 percent
this year and were at 14.31 euros as of 9:27 a.m. today.
Certified Emission Reduction credits from the CDM for 2011 were
at 11.50 euros, from 11.36 euros yesterday. CERs, which are
tradable offset credits, are created for investors when they
reduce emissions in developing countries through projects such
as wind farms.
Clearing the Backlog
During the past two months, the UN assigned more staff to
process requests for carbon credits to clear a backlog that
stood at 312 projects as of Oct. 22. The board wants to cut it
to 62 by Jan. 1, according to a Nov. 25 estimate. "We're now
down to a one-month delay," Barata said yesterday. "I'm
confident we can keep the pace."
With new procedures at the CDM, "a lot of pessimism about
the rejection rate and the review rate" for credits over the
past year and a half will "go away, fairly soon," Barata said.
It is possible the program may issue a record 30 million
tons of credits next month, IDEAcarbon, the London-based company
that rates emission-cutting projects, said yesterday in a
research report.
The International Emissions Trading Association, which
represents carbon traders and investors in greenhouse-reduction
projects, urged EU officials earlier this month at a UN-led
climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, to better protect those
putting up the money for carbon trading.
EU's View
The EU "lost sight" of the importance of keeping
investment going in emission-cutting projects, Henry Derwent,
president of the Geneva lobby group and a climate negotiator for
former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, said last week by phone.
The EU wasn't seeking to block CDM reform on a proposed
appeals process, improved communication between regulators and
investors and new project-crediting systems, according to a
statement distributed Dec. 8 by Elisabeth Lannoo, a European
Commission communications officer attending the Cancun talks.
Barata, who is a climate negotiator for Portugal in
addition to his UN post, also defended the EU's stance.
"Whereas I might have a too-rosy picture on what the CDM
executive board has been doing over the last few years, they
have a too-dark picture," Barata said of the EU's position.
"To say they are hampering CDM reform? No. Absolutely not."
Appeals Process
Important legal questions need to be addressed before the
CDM installs a regulatory-decision-appeals process, said Barata.
The process has been sought by investors for at least three
years. Rulemakers need to narrow down about five options for
governance of the appeals system and decide what type of claims
the process will cover, he said.
Now is not the time to divert the limited resources in the
CDM away from project registrations and offset issuance to a
proposed "help desk" that would improve communication between
regulators and investors, Barata said.
While the commission probably isn't seeking to curb supply
of United Nations offsets, it's clear "the commission does not
like CDM very much," he said.
'Work for Users'
The EU needs to better understand the importance of keeping
investors onside, said IETA's Derwent. "We didn't think they
understood the importance of making the system work for users,"
he said last week in a phone interview. "If people get put off
the carbon market today, they won't be part of the expanded
carbon market tomorrow."
After a few more months, the board may be able to place
more trust in the audit firms that verify emission reductions,
easing issuance approvals, Barata said. "We could introduce
this less thorough review for every single case."
There's still a risk the executive board gets distracted,
which might cut its ability to oversee registration and issuance
requests, he said.
CDM Watch, the Bonn-based environmental lobby group, wants
the board to review every methodology that projects must comply
with in order to get credits. "The aim is to have a fundamental
overhaul," Eva Filzmoser, CDM Watch's program director, said in
a Cancun interview.
Clifford Mahlung of Jamaica, the CDM's current head, is due
to step down in February at the end of his one-year term. The
position rotates between developed and emerging nations each
year.
For Related News and Information:
EU carbon-market stories: TNI EU ENVMARKET <GO>
Top energy, power news: ETOP <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Top environmental stories: GREEN <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Raj Rajendran
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
executive board has been doing over the last few years, they
have a too-dark picture," Barata said of the EU's position.
"To say they are hampering CDM reform? No. Absolutely not." After a few more months, the board may be able to place
more trust in the audit firms that verify emission reductions,
easing issuance approvals, Barata said. "We could introduce
this less thorough review for every single case."
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
UN Carbon Regulator Sees Fast Pace of Credit Supply (Update1)
2010-12-22 09:51:19.909 GMT
(Updates with IDEAcarbon comment in eighth paragraph.)
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The increased pace of carbon credits
flowing from a United Nations-overseen market will be maintained
as European Union officials seek improvements to the biggest
program for emission offset credits, a senior UN regulator said.
The EU allows some UN offsets to be traded in its own
carbon trading system, which is the world's largest. Some
European regulators have a "too-dark" view of the performance
of the UN Clean Development Mechanism, said Pedro Martins
Barata, a Portuguese member of the CDM executive board and a
candidate for the chairman's job in February.
The number of offsets issued by the CDM reached a monthly
record of 24.8 million metric tons in November, nine times
higher than in July, and will probably almost match that this
month, according to an estimate from Bloomberg New Energy
Finance, the London carbon-market research company.
"We're seeing rejection rates, review rates, especially
for issuance, much, much lower than we were seeing before,"
Barata said this week in phone interviews. "We are catching up
with the backlog of projects already and finally seem to be
managing it rather well."
EU allowances for December 2011 fell as low as 14 euros
($18.39) a ton on Dec. 20, the lowest since July 28, as UN
issuance boosted supply of credits. They've risen 8.8 percent
this year and were at 14.31 euros as of 9:27 a.m. today.
Certified Emission Reduction credits from the CDM for 2011 were
at 11.50 euros, from 11.36 euros yesterday. CERs, which are
tradable offset credits, are created for investors when they
reduce emissions in developing countries through projects such
as wind farms.
Clearing the Backlog
During the past two months, the UN assigned more staff to
process requests for carbon credits to clear a backlog that
stood at 312 projects as of Oct. 22. The board wants to cut it
to 62 by Jan. 1, according to a Nov. 25 estimate. "We're now
down to a one-month delay," Barata said yesterday. "I'm
confident we can keep the pace."
With new procedures at the CDM, "a lot of pessimism about
the rejection rate and the review rate" for credits over the
past year and a half will "go away, fairly soon," Barata said.
It is possible the program may issue a record 30 million
tons of credits next month, IDEAcarbon, the London-based company
that rates emission-cutting projects, said yesterday in a
research report.
The International Emissions Trading Association, which
represents carbon traders and investors in greenhouse-reduction
projects, urged EU officials earlier this month at a UN-led
climate conference in Cancun, Mexico, to better protect those
putting up the money for carbon trading.
EU's View
The EU "lost sight" of the importance of keeping
investment going in emission-cutting projects, Henry Derwent,
president of the Geneva lobby group and a climate negotiator for
former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, said last week by phone.
The EU wasn't seeking to block CDM reform on a proposed
appeals process, improved communication between regulators and
investors and new project-crediting systems, according to a
statement distributed Dec. 8 by Elisabeth Lannoo, a European
Commission communications officer attending the Cancun talks.
Barata, who is a climate negotiator for Portugal in
addition to his UN post, also defended the EU's stance.
"Whereas I might have a too-rosy picture on what the CDM
executive board has been doing over the last few years, they
have a too-dark picture," Barata said of the EU's position.
"To say they are hampering CDM reform? No. Absolutely not."
Appeals Process
Important legal questions need to be addressed before the
CDM installs a regulatory-decision-appeals process, said Barata.
The process has been sought by investors for at least three
years. Rulemakers need to narrow down about five options for
governance of the appeals system and decide what type of claims
the process will cover, he said.
Now is not the time to divert the limited resources in the
CDM away from project registrations and offset issuance to a
proposed "help desk" that would improve communication between
regulators and investors, Barata said.
While the commission probably isn't seeking to curb supply
of United Nations offsets, it's clear "the commission does not
like CDM very much," he said.
'Work for Users'
The EU needs to better understand the importance of keeping
investors onside, said IETA's Derwent. "We didn't think they
understood the importance of making the system work for users,"
he said last week in a phone interview. "If people get put off
the carbon market today, they won't be part of the expanded
carbon market tomorrow."
After a few more months, the board may be able to place
more trust in the audit firms that verify emission reductions,
easing issuance approvals, Barata said. "We could introduce
this less thorough review for every single case."
There's still a risk the executive board gets distracted,
which might cut its ability to oversee registration and issuance
requests, he said.
CDM Watch, the Bonn-based environmental lobby group, wants
the board to review every methodology that projects must comply
with in order to get credits. "The aim is to have a fundamental
overhaul," Eva Filzmoser, CDM Watch's program director, said in
a Cancun interview.
Clifford Mahlung of Jamaica, the CDM's current head, is due
to step down in February at the end of his one-year term. The
position rotates between developed and emerging nations each
year.
For Related News and Information:
EU carbon-market stories: TNI EU ENVMARKET <GO>
Top energy, power news: ETOP <GO>, PTOP <GO>
Top environmental stories: GREEN <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Raj Rajendran
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
2010/12/21
oversightEmissions trading: Questions and Answers on enhance
source doc attached
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Emissions trading: Questions and Answers on enhanced market over
2010-12-21 11:10:29.180 GMT
MEMO/10/697
Brussels, 21 December 2010
Emissions trading: Questions and Answers on enhanced market oversight for the
European carbon market
What is market oversight and why is it important?
The European carbon market has grown significantly both in size and
sophistication during its first six years of operation, but it remains a
relatively young market. The purpose of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU
ETS) is to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission reductions that are
necessary in the participating sectors are made at least cost. It is therefore
important to ensure that the market can continue to expand and be relied upon
to give an undistorted carbon price signal. It follows that there needs to be
an appropriate market oversight framework, the main purpose of which is to
secure fair and efficient trading conditions for all market participants. This
is achieved by way of transparency requirements as well as by preventing and
sanctioning market misconduct, in particular insider dealing and market
manipulation. However, the framework should be broader than that and also
provide safeguards to minimise the risk that the carbon market is used as a
vehicle for other illegal activities, such as VAT fraud (see also the reply to
the last two questions).
Why has the Commission issued a Communication on carbon market oversight?
Article 12(1a) of Directive 2003/87/EC 1 provides that the Commission, by 31
December 2010, shall examine whether the market for emission allowances is
sufficiently protected from insider dealing and market manipulation.
In this Communication the Commission gives a first assessment of the situation.
What is the Commission's conclusion at this stage?
The carbon market in Europe has developed well since the launch of the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme in January 2005. From a market oversight perspective,
it can be concluded that a major part of the carbon market is subject to
appropriate market regulation already, namely the trading in derivatives of
allowances and other units that can be used for compliance in the EU ETS
(currently CERs and ERUs), which largely falls under financial markets
regulation. However, the spot trading in emission allowances is currently not
regulated at EU level, while a handful of Member States have decided
individually to extend rules applicable to trading in financial instruments to
such allowances when traded on spot markets established within their
jurisdictions. The spot market is relatively limited and represented no more
than 20-25% of the total trading volume in the European carbon market in 2009.
More details on the structure of the carbon market are given in the
Communication itself.
What are the next steps?
During 2011, the Commission will examine in greater detail the current level of
market oversight and in particular the options available to enhance it (incl.
the classification of allowances as a financial instrument).
How will stakeholders be involved?
An internet-based stakeholder consultation will be conducted in the first half
of 2011. Stakeholders who are familiar with the carbon market and its
interactions with energy and financial markets are encouraged to respond to the
stakeholder consultation and advise the Commission on the best way to protect
this market from any form of market misconduct.
In addition, an ongoing public stakeholder consultation 2 relating to the
review of the Market in Financial Instruments Directive 3 (MiFID) also
addresses the carbon market, notably the option to classify emission allowances
as a financial instrument. The consultation is open until 2 February 2011.
Will the Commission issue a legislative proposal and if so, when can it be
expected?
If the results of further work and consultations indicate that the level of
market oversight should be enhanced, the Commission would present such a
proposal in 2011.
Any legislative proposal to introduce an enhanced oversight framework for the
carbon market must be based on careful analysis and impact assessment. The
benefit of any safeguards ensuring market integrity will be weighed carefully
against any negative impacts on liquidity and on access to the carbon market
for different participants (notably small emitters, SMEs). The Commission will
strive to ensure maximum consistency between financial markets legislation,
energy markets legislation and any rules to be developed for the carbon market.
How does the work done on carbon market oversight relate to the work on energy
market oversight and financial market oversight?
In view of the structure of the carbon market as regards products traded
(derivatives), trading venues (often multilateral trading facilities or
regulated markets under financial markets regulation) and participants (large
share of financial intermediaries), the ongoing work on enhancing the oversight
of financial markets will directly enhance the level of oversight in the carbon
market as well. While the Commission's proposal for an integrity and
transparency framework for the energy markets does not apply directly to any
part of the carbon market, it is relevant in the sense that it concerns a
market with significant linkages to carbon trading. Its introduction may have a
disciplining effect on the overall market conduct of certain actors with
presence in both the energy and carbon markets.
What are the options for enhancing the carbon market oversight framework at
this stage?
A priori , the Commission has identified a number of options, the costs and
benefits of which will be assessed in a study. One option is the inclusion of
the European carbon market under financial markets legislation, e.g. by
replacing the currently existing spot trade by trade in "spot futures" 4
admitted to trading in regulated markets. The option to define EU ETS
compliance units as financial instruments will also be explored, with
particular focus on the suitability and proportionality of such an approach.
Bringing spot transactions in EU ETS compliance units - as instruments in their
own right - under the ambit of rules set out in the Market Abuse Directive
and/or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive as well as any other
financial markets legislation necessary for the efficiency and integrity of the
carbon market is an alternative that will also be studied.
Would any market oversight rules adopted for the EU ETS apply only to emission
allowances or also to CERs and ERUs that can also be used for compliance in the
EU ETS?
This question will be studied in more detail in 2011, but it is likely that any
new market oversight provisions would apply to all units that can be used for
compliance in the EU ETS.
Will the introduction of large-scale auctions of allowances in phase 3 not
create new risks for the integrity of the market?
No, despite the fact that auctions of phase 3 allowances will be spot, the
Auctioning Regulation contains specific provisions that apply to auctions which
protect the integrity of the market. In addition only "regulated markets" are
allowed to function as an auction platform. A "regulated market" is the type of
multilateral trading platform which is subject to the most comprehensive
regulation under financial markets legislation.
What fraudulent behaviour has occurred in the carbon market and what did the
Commission do to address it?
During 2009 and 2010, three types of incidents occurred in the carbon market,
which illustrates the wider range of risks that need to be dealt with: (i)
Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud, (ii) so-called "phishing attacks" on holders of
accounts in the electronic registry, and (iii) resale by a Member State of
Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) that operators had already used for
compliance under the EU ETS. If used credits re-enter the European carbon
market, market actors do not know whether any one credit can still be used for
compliance, or whether it has already been used once. Such uncertainty must be
avoided.
The Commission reacted swiftly to all of these incidents, and will not hesitate
to do so again, should new risks emerge in the market.
Firstly, a Directive enabling Member States to apply reverse charging of VAT to
allowances and other units that can be used for compliance under the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme was adopted in March 2010 and entered into force in
April 2010.
Secondly, a number of amendments have been made to the Registries Regulation 5
. These measures formally entered into force in October 2010 although some
could be applied earlier. The measures include reinforcing the requirements for
opening an account in the electronic registry and giving National
Administrators the power to refuse to open a new account in the registry.
National Administrators are also able to suspend or close accounts, subject to
an appeals procedure. Finally, the Regulation now clearly states that CERs or
ERUs that have been surrendered for compliance can only be transferred into a
retirement account and may not be surrendered again nor transferred to an
operator account or personal holding account in the EU ETS.
Does the Commission support the work of law enforcement authorities?
In line with the rules in the Registries Regulation the Commission is fully
cooperating with law enforcement and tax authorities.
1 :
See Directive 2003/87/EC as amended by Directive 2009/29/EC, OJ L 140,
5.6.2009, p. 63.
2 :
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/docs/2010/mifid/consultation_p
aper_en.pdf
3 :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:145:0001:0044:EN
:PDF
4 :
Here understood as a financial instrument with a relatively short time for
delivery.
5 :
Commission Regulation (EU) No 920/2010 of 7 October 2010 for a standardised and
secured system of registries pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council and Decision 280/2004/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 270, 14.10.2010, p. 1.
-0- Dec/21/2010 11:10 GMT
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Emissions trading: Questions and Answers on enhanced market over
2010-12-21 11:10:29.180 GMT
MEMO/10/697
Brussels, 21 December 2010
Emissions trading: Questions and Answers on enhanced market oversight for the
European carbon market
What is market oversight and why is it important?
The European carbon market has grown significantly both in size and
sophistication during its first six years of operation, but it remains a
relatively young market. The purpose of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU
ETS) is to ensure that the greenhouse gas emission reductions that are
necessary in the participating sectors are made at least cost. It is therefore
important to ensure that the market can continue to expand and be relied upon
to give an undistorted carbon price signal. It follows that there needs to be
an appropriate market oversight framework, the main purpose of which is to
secure fair and efficient trading conditions for all market participants. This
is achieved by way of transparency requirements as well as by preventing and
sanctioning market misconduct, in particular insider dealing and market
manipulation. However, the framework should be broader than that and also
provide safeguards to minimise the risk that the carbon market is used as a
vehicle for other illegal activities, such as VAT fraud (see also the reply to
the last two questions).
Why has the Commission issued a Communication on carbon market oversight?
Article 12(1a) of Directive 2003/87/EC 1 provides that the Commission, by 31
December 2010, shall examine whether the market for emission allowances is
sufficiently protected from insider dealing and market manipulation.
In this Communication the Commission gives a first assessment of the situation.
What is the Commission's conclusion at this stage?
The carbon market in Europe has developed well since the launch of the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme in January 2005. From a market oversight perspective,
it can be concluded that a major part of the carbon market is subject to
appropriate market regulation already, namely the trading in derivatives of
allowances and other units that can be used for compliance in the EU ETS
(currently CERs and ERUs), which largely falls under financial markets
regulation. However, the spot trading in emission allowances is currently not
regulated at EU level, while a handful of Member States have decided
individually to extend rules applicable to trading in financial instruments to
such allowances when traded on spot markets established within their
jurisdictions. The spot market is relatively limited and represented no more
than 20-25% of the total trading volume in the European carbon market in 2009.
More details on the structure of the carbon market are given in the
Communication itself.
What are the next steps?
During 2011, the Commission will examine in greater detail the current level of
market oversight and in particular the options available to enhance it (incl.
the classification of allowances as a financial instrument).
How will stakeholders be involved?
An internet-based stakeholder consultation will be conducted in the first half
of 2011. Stakeholders who are familiar with the carbon market and its
interactions with energy and financial markets are encouraged to respond to the
stakeholder consultation and advise the Commission on the best way to protect
this market from any form of market misconduct.
In addition, an ongoing public stakeholder consultation 2 relating to the
review of the Market in Financial Instruments Directive 3 (MiFID) also
addresses the carbon market, notably the option to classify emission allowances
as a financial instrument. The consultation is open until 2 February 2011.
Will the Commission issue a legislative proposal and if so, when can it be
expected?
If the results of further work and consultations indicate that the level of
market oversight should be enhanced, the Commission would present such a
proposal in 2011.
Any legislative proposal to introduce an enhanced oversight framework for the
carbon market must be based on careful analysis and impact assessment. The
benefit of any safeguards ensuring market integrity will be weighed carefully
against any negative impacts on liquidity and on access to the carbon market
for different participants (notably small emitters, SMEs). The Commission will
strive to ensure maximum consistency between financial markets legislation,
energy markets legislation and any rules to be developed for the carbon market.
How does the work done on carbon market oversight relate to the work on energy
market oversight and financial market oversight?
In view of the structure of the carbon market as regards products traded
(derivatives), trading venues (often multilateral trading facilities or
regulated markets under financial markets regulation) and participants (large
share of financial intermediaries), the ongoing work on enhancing the oversight
of financial markets will directly enhance the level of oversight in the carbon
market as well. While the Commission's proposal for an integrity and
transparency framework for the energy markets does not apply directly to any
part of the carbon market, it is relevant in the sense that it concerns a
market with significant linkages to carbon trading. Its introduction may have a
disciplining effect on the overall market conduct of certain actors with
presence in both the energy and carbon markets.
What are the options for enhancing the carbon market oversight framework at
this stage?
A priori , the Commission has identified a number of options, the costs and
benefits of which will be assessed in a study. One option is the inclusion of
the European carbon market under financial markets legislation, e.g. by
replacing the currently existing spot trade by trade in "spot futures" 4
admitted to trading in regulated markets. The option to define EU ETS
compliance units as financial instruments will also be explored, with
particular focus on the suitability and proportionality of such an approach.
Bringing spot transactions in EU ETS compliance units - as instruments in their
own right - under the ambit of rules set out in the Market Abuse Directive
and/or the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive as well as any other
financial markets legislation necessary for the efficiency and integrity of the
carbon market is an alternative that will also be studied.
Would any market oversight rules adopted for the EU ETS apply only to emission
allowances or also to CERs and ERUs that can also be used for compliance in the
EU ETS?
This question will be studied in more detail in 2011, but it is likely that any
new market oversight provisions would apply to all units that can be used for
compliance in the EU ETS.
Will the introduction of large-scale auctions of allowances in phase 3 not
create new risks for the integrity of the market?
No, despite the fact that auctions of phase 3 allowances will be spot, the
Auctioning Regulation contains specific provisions that apply to auctions which
protect the integrity of the market. In addition only "regulated markets" are
allowed to function as an auction platform. A "regulated market" is the type of
multilateral trading platform which is subject to the most comprehensive
regulation under financial markets legislation.
What fraudulent behaviour has occurred in the carbon market and what did the
Commission do to address it?
During 2009 and 2010, three types of incidents occurred in the carbon market,
which illustrates the wider range of risks that need to be dealt with: (i)
Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud, (ii) so-called "phishing attacks" on holders of
accounts in the electronic registry, and (iii) resale by a Member State of
Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) that operators had already used for
compliance under the EU ETS. If used credits re-enter the European carbon
market, market actors do not know whether any one credit can still be used for
compliance, or whether it has already been used once. Such uncertainty must be
avoided.
The Commission reacted swiftly to all of these incidents, and will not hesitate
to do so again, should new risks emerge in the market.
Firstly, a Directive enabling Member States to apply reverse charging of VAT to
allowances and other units that can be used for compliance under the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme was adopted in March 2010 and entered into force in
April 2010.
Secondly, a number of amendments have been made to the Registries Regulation 5
. These measures formally entered into force in October 2010 although some
could be applied earlier. The measures include reinforcing the requirements for
opening an account in the electronic registry and giving National
Administrators the power to refuse to open a new account in the registry.
National Administrators are also able to suspend or close accounts, subject to
an appeals procedure. Finally, the Regulation now clearly states that CERs or
ERUs that have been surrendered for compliance can only be transferred into a
retirement account and may not be surrendered again nor transferred to an
operator account or personal holding account in the EU ETS.
Does the Commission support the work of law enforcement authorities?
In line with the rules in the Registries Regulation the Commission is fully
cooperating with law enforcement and tax authorities.
1 :
See Directive 2003/87/EC as amended by Directive 2009/29/EC, OJ L 140,
5.6.2009, p. 63.
2 :
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/consultations/docs/2010/mifid/consultation_p
aper_en.pdf
3 :
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2004:145:0001:0044:EN
4 :
Here understood as a financial instrument with a relatively short time for
delivery.
5 :
Commission Regulation (EU) No 920/2010 of 7 October 2010 for a standardised and
secured system of registries pursuant to Directive 2003/87/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council and Decision 280/2004/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council, OJ L 270, 14.10.2010, p. 1.
-0- Dec/21/2010 11:10 GMT
(BN) Australia Clean Energy Project Growth Slows on Fund Constraints
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Australia Clean Energy Project Growth Slows on Fund Constraints
2010-12-21 02:24:26.263 GMT
By James Paton
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's electricity output from
new wind, hydro and solar power plants dropped almost 80 percent
this year as projects struggled to arrange financing, said a
group representing the industry.
Seventeen "large-scale" renewable energy power plants,
led by wind farms, started operation in 2010 to add 210
megawatts of capacity to the nation's electricity grid, the
Clean Energy Council said in a report released today. That
compares with the 993 megawatts that came on line in 2009.
The Australian government, which aims to get 20 percent of
the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2020, is
adjusting incentives from next month to encourage larger
renewable projects and spur a revival in investment.
The new arrangement "should go a significant way towards
returning some stability and supporting renewable energy
investment in Australia," according to the Council, which
represents 450 wind, hydro, solar, wave and geothermal
companies.
A surge in household installations of solar systems,
encouraged by subsidies, caused a glut in Australian Renewable
Energy Certificates, driving down their price and discouraging
investment in large-scale ventures, the report said. Clean-power
generators sell the RECs to electricity retailers to make the
projects more profitable.
Solar Surge
The country has 11 large renewable energy projects under
construction that are expected to add 1,045 megawatts of
capacity, the Council said. AGL Energy Ltd., the Australian
electricity retailer, committed in August to a A$1 billion ($990
million) wind farm in Victoria due to start in 2013.
Australian households installed more than 100,000 solar
power systems in 2010, compared with 81,232 between 2000 and
2009, driven by government subsidies, the study found.
"Governments of all levels have vastly underestimated the
Australian public's appetite for solar power over the past 18
months -- and for the uptake of systems under a range of
different incentives," the Council said.
Renewable energy accounts for about 8.7 percent of
electricity generated in Australia, it said in the report.
Growth in the industry will create more than 55,000 jobs by
2020, in addition to the 8,000 current positions, the Council
forecasts.
For Related News and Information:
Top Environment Markets Stories: GREEN <GO>
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
--Editors: John Viljoen, Peter Langan
To contact the reporter on this story:
James Paton in Sydney +61-2-9777-8698 or jpaton4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at +65-6212-1167 or aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
Australia Clean Energy Project Growth Slows on Fund Constraints
2010-12-21 02:24:26.263 GMT
By James Paton
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's electricity output from
new wind, hydro and solar power plants dropped almost 80 percent
this year as projects struggled to arrange financing, said a
group representing the industry.
Seventeen "large-scale" renewable energy power plants,
led by wind farms, started operation in 2010 to add 210
megawatts of capacity to the nation's electricity grid, the
Clean Energy Council said in a report released today. That
compares with the 993 megawatts that came on line in 2009.
The Australian government, which aims to get 20 percent of
the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2020, is
adjusting incentives from next month to encourage larger
renewable projects and spur a revival in investment.
The new arrangement "should go a significant way towards
returning some stability and supporting renewable energy
investment in Australia," according to the Council, which
represents 450 wind, hydro, solar, wave and geothermal
companies.
A surge in household installations of solar systems,
encouraged by subsidies, caused a glut in Australian Renewable
Energy Certificates, driving down their price and discouraging
investment in large-scale ventures, the report said. Clean-power
generators sell the RECs to electricity retailers to make the
projects more profitable.
Solar Surge
The country has 11 large renewable energy projects under
construction that are expected to add 1,045 megawatts of
capacity, the Council said. AGL Energy Ltd., the Australian
electricity retailer, committed in August to a A$1 billion ($990
million) wind farm in Victoria due to start in 2013.
Australian households installed more than 100,000 solar
power systems in 2010, compared with 81,232 between 2000 and
2009, driven by government subsidies, the study found.
"Governments of all levels have vastly underestimated the
Australian public's appetite for solar power over the past 18
months -- and for the uptake of systems under a range of
different incentives," the Council said.
Renewable energy accounts for about 8.7 percent of
electricity generated in Australia, it said in the report.
Growth in the industry will create more than 55,000 jobs by
2020, in addition to the 8,000 current positions, the Council
forecasts.
For Related News and Information:
Top Environment Markets Stories: GREEN <GO>
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
--Editors: John Viljoen, Peter Langan
To contact the reporter on this story:
James Paton in Sydney +61-2-9777-8698 or jpaton4@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at +65-6212-1167 or aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
(BN) EPA Rules Snaring Entergy, Weyerhaeuser Spur ‘Blowback’ Threat
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EPA Rules Snaring Entergy, Weyerhaeuser Spur 'Blowback' Threat
2010-12-21 05:00:02.2 GMT
By Kim Chipman
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Entergy Corp. says the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency may force it to spend $1.2
billion building two cooling towers as tall as Yankee Stadium at
its nuclear plant along the Hudson River north of Manhattan.
Weyerhaeuser Co. says meeting standards being considered by
the EPA to cut emissions from boilers at pulp mills may cost it
$100 million. The American Petroleum Institute, the biggest
lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, does them both one
better: It says the EPA's proposal to tighten national smog
standards may cost the U.S. economy $10 trillion.
President Barack Obama's EPA has made final 18 "major
rules," defined as regulations costing industry at least $100
million, this year through November, compared with an average of
11 a year during the Bush administration, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Republican lawmakers, who have vowed to
rein in the agency, claimed a victory this month when it
postponed action on two proposed rules.
"The EPA may slow down or be slowed down by Congress,"
Kenneth Green, a scholar at the Washington-based American
Enterprise Institute, which advocates free-market policies, said
in an interview. "Obama's eye is on 2012. He has to get the
economy moving again, and the last thing he wants are job-
killing rules and growth-strangling regulations."
The economic impact of EPA rules is central to the agency's
disputes with companies. While business groups say its actions
threaten jobs and the economy, the EPA says benefits from air-
pollution measures, including reduced medical expenses to treat
diseases such as asthma, have far exceeded the costs.
40-to-1 Return
"For every one dollar we have spent, we get more than $40
of benefits in return," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in
a September speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the
U.S. Clean Air Act.
The EPA, which had been set to issue the new boiler-
emissions limits next month, asked a federal judge to extend the
deadline by more than a year so it would have time to rethink
the proposal after receiving industry reaction and almost 5,000
public comments.
The agency also has said it will delay a decision on the
revised smog standards, which would place tighter restrictions
on ground-level ozone.
Jackson wants to ensure the rulings are "grounded in the
best science," agency spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said.
Even with the delays, the agency will face "serious
blowback" starting next month when Republicans take over the
House of Representatives and strengthen their sway in the
Senate, Green said.
Hearings, Subpoenas
"Hearings, subpoenas and letters demanding information
could tie up so much of the EPA's resources that they won't be
able to move forward," he said.
"The threat of the EPA's reach into the economy is so
great that it deserves special attention in the new Congress,"
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin,
said in an e-mailed statement.
The agency says such criticism is an old tactic.
"Throughout EPA's 40-year history we've heard the same
predictions from the same lobbyists, and those doomsday
predictions have always turned out to be wrong," the EPA said
in a statement.
While public debate has focused largely on the EPA's plan
to regulate carbon emissions, business is equally unnerved by
the range of rules coming out of the agency, said William
Kovacs, senior vice president for environment, technology and
regulatory affairs at the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, the nation's largest lobbying group for business.
"I've been dealing with the agency since the 1980s, and I
don't ever remember this many major rules coming out at one
time," Kovacs said.
'Back on the Job'
Obama took office pledging to "green" the U.S. economy, a
promise he backed with a proposed $10.5 billion EPA budget, a 34
percent increase and the agency's largest funding. Congress
ultimately approved a record fiscal 2010 budget of $10.3
billion.
"EPA is back on the job for the American people,"
Jackson, 48, the agency's administrator, said in a March 2009
speech. Requiring cleaner air won't hurt the economy because it
will create green jobs while helping to increase the nation's
energy independence, Jackson has said.
"She is doing a great job making sure we get a handle on
some of the very worst of the pollutants," said Frank
O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based
environmental advocacy group.
'Fairly Moderate'
David Crane is among business leaders who agree. While the
agency is "significantly more active" now than under former
President George W. Bush, it was "starting from a very low
bar," said Crane, chief executive officer of Princeton, New
Jersey-based NRG Energy Inc.
"They've listened to business, and it seems to us the
things they are putting out there are fairly moderate," Crane
said in an interview. "We think EPA can be worked with."
The North American Electric Reliability Corp., which sets
standards for transmission lines providing power in the U.S.,
Canada and parts of Mexico, said in an Oct. 26 report that rules
being considered by the EPA pose a risk to the stability of the
national power grid and may force utilities to shut plants.
"Taken together, these rules pose a serious threat to
electric reliability in certain regions of the country," said
Scott Segal, a Washington lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP who
lobbies for utilities such as Atlanta-based Southern Co.
Cooling Towers
Entergy's concern is that the EPA may adopt rules like
those already being sought by New York state to protect fish and
other marine life killed when power plants suck in water to cool
their operations. The agency has said it is gathering
information on the issue.
The state and federal regulators may require power plants
to build cooling towers that take in less water at a slower
speed than current systems. Entergy, which wants regulators to
let it use less costly alternatives, says it would have to build
two structures 168 feet (51 meters) tall at its Indian Point
nuclear power plant.
Yankee Stadium is 134 feet tall at its highest point,
according to the New York Yankees baseball team's 2009 media
guide.
Exelon Corp. this month agreed to shut its Oyster Creek
reactor in New Jersey in 2019, a decade before its federal
license expires, in a deal with state regulators rather than
having to build cooling towers.
Industrial Boilers
Industrial boilers would come under tighter hazardous-
emissions standards under an EPA rule that the Council of
Industrial Boiler Owners, a trade group based in Burke,
Virginia, said may put more than 300,000 jobs at risk.
The EPA, before taking more time to study the issue,
proposed a blanket approach instead of accounting for variations
among industries, said Sara Kendall, vice president for
corporate affairs and sustainability at Weyerhaeuser of Federal
Way, Washington, the largest publicly traded U.S. timberland
company by revenue.
"The EPA took each pollutant and decided what was the most
stringent control technology for that pollutant and packaged
that together and said that's what all boilers have to do,"
Kendall said in an interview.
The EPA's pending rule to reduce limits for ozone would
cost 7.3 million jobs in about 10 years and $1 trillion a year
from 2020 to 2030 as states work to comply with the rule and
manufacturing plants install new equipment, according to the
study by the Manufacturers Alliance that the American Petroleum
Institute helped fund.
The EPA has estimated the ozone regulations would cost
industries led by utilities and oil companies $19 billion to $90
billion, while saving $13 billion to $100 billion in medical
expenses and missed work.
Assumptions on Technology
The chasm in cost estimates stems in part from different
assumptions about the cost of technology that the EPA and
business agree will need to be developed to reduce ozone levels
as much as the regulations demand, according to Tony Costello, a
financial analyst for Bloomberg Government who is a former
analyst with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Osprey
Partners Investment Management of Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
The EPA assumed costs will be similar to that of current
technologies, and the industry estimated the necessary
innovations will be far costlier, according to Costello.
While the EPA didn't estimate job losses or effects on the
economy, business didn't incorporate reduced costs in medical
and other expenses. The agency says those savings make
controlling pollution a good deal for the nation.
"Say what you want about EPA's business sense, but we know
how to get a return on an investment," Jackson said in the
September speech.
For Related News and Information:
Top EPA Stories: TNI TOP EPA <GO>
North American environmental markets: EMUS <GO>
A menu of world energy statistics: ENST <GO>
To chart the performance of the Bloomberg Americas Electric
Index: BUSELEC US <Index> GPO D <GO>
--Editors: Larry Liebert, Joe Winski
To contact the reporter on this story:
Kim Chipman in Washington at +1-202-624-1927 or
kchipman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Larry Liebert at +1-202-624-1936 or
lliebert@bloomberg.net
EPA Rules Snaring Entergy, Weyerhaeuser Spur 'Blowback' Threat
2010-12-21 05:00:02.2 GMT
By Kim Chipman
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Entergy Corp. says the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency may force it to spend $1.2
billion building two cooling towers as tall as Yankee Stadium at
its nuclear plant along the Hudson River north of Manhattan.
Weyerhaeuser Co. says meeting standards being considered by
the EPA to cut emissions from boilers at pulp mills may cost it
$100 million. The American Petroleum Institute, the biggest
lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, does them both one
better: It says the EPA's proposal to tighten national smog
standards may cost the U.S. economy $10 trillion.
President Barack Obama's EPA has made final 18 "major
rules," defined as regulations costing industry at least $100
million, this year through November, compared with an average of
11 a year during the Bush administration, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg. Republican lawmakers, who have vowed to
rein in the agency, claimed a victory this month when it
postponed action on two proposed rules.
"The EPA may slow down or be slowed down by Congress,"
Kenneth Green, a scholar at the Washington-based American
Enterprise Institute, which advocates free-market policies, said
in an interview. "Obama's eye is on 2012. He has to get the
economy moving again, and the last thing he wants are job-
killing rules and growth-strangling regulations."
The economic impact of EPA rules is central to the agency's
disputes with companies. While business groups say its actions
threaten jobs and the economy, the EPA says benefits from air-
pollution measures, including reduced medical expenses to treat
diseases such as asthma, have far exceeded the costs.
40-to-1 Return
"For every one dollar we have spent, we get more than $40
of benefits in return," EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in
a September speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the
U.S. Clean Air Act.
The EPA, which had been set to issue the new boiler-
emissions limits next month, asked a federal judge to extend the
deadline by more than a year so it would have time to rethink
the proposal after receiving industry reaction and almost 5,000
public comments.
The agency also has said it will delay a decision on the
revised smog standards, which would place tighter restrictions
on ground-level ozone.
Jackson wants to ensure the rulings are "grounded in the
best science," agency spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said.
Even with the delays, the agency will face "serious
blowback" starting next month when Republicans take over the
House of Representatives and strengthen their sway in the
Senate, Green said.
Hearings, Subpoenas
"Hearings, subpoenas and letters demanding information
could tie up so much of the EPA's resources that they won't be
able to move forward," he said.
"The threat of the EPA's reach into the economy is so
great that it deserves special attention in the new Congress,"
Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin,
said in an e-mailed statement.
The agency says such criticism is an old tactic.
"Throughout EPA's 40-year history we've heard the same
predictions from the same lobbyists, and those doomsday
predictions have always turned out to be wrong," the EPA said
in a statement.
While public debate has focused largely on the EPA's plan
to regulate carbon emissions, business is equally unnerved by
the range of rules coming out of the agency, said William
Kovacs, senior vice president for environment, technology and
regulatory affairs at the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, the nation's largest lobbying group for business.
"I've been dealing with the agency since the 1980s, and I
don't ever remember this many major rules coming out at one
time," Kovacs said.
'Back on the Job'
Obama took office pledging to "green" the U.S. economy, a
promise he backed with a proposed $10.5 billion EPA budget, a 34
percent increase and the agency's largest funding. Congress
ultimately approved a record fiscal 2010 budget of $10.3
billion.
"EPA is back on the job for the American people,"
Jackson, 48, the agency's administrator, said in a March 2009
speech. Requiring cleaner air won't hurt the economy because it
will create green jobs while helping to increase the nation's
energy independence, Jackson has said.
"She is doing a great job making sure we get a handle on
some of the very worst of the pollutants," said Frank
O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based
environmental advocacy group.
'Fairly Moderate'
David Crane is among business leaders who agree. While the
agency is "significantly more active" now than under former
President George W. Bush, it was "starting from a very low
bar," said Crane, chief executive officer of Princeton, New
Jersey-based NRG Energy Inc.
"They've listened to business, and it seems to us the
things they are putting out there are fairly moderate," Crane
said in an interview. "We think EPA can be worked with."
The North American Electric Reliability Corp., which sets
standards for transmission lines providing power in the U.S.,
Canada and parts of Mexico, said in an Oct. 26 report that rules
being considered by the EPA pose a risk to the stability of the
national power grid and may force utilities to shut plants.
"Taken together, these rules pose a serious threat to
electric reliability in certain regions of the country," said
Scott Segal, a Washington lawyer at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP who
lobbies for utilities such as Atlanta-based Southern Co.
Cooling Towers
Entergy's concern is that the EPA may adopt rules like
those already being sought by New York state to protect fish and
other marine life killed when power plants suck in water to cool
their operations. The agency has said it is gathering
information on the issue.
The state and federal regulators may require power plants
to build cooling towers that take in less water at a slower
speed than current systems. Entergy, which wants regulators to
let it use less costly alternatives, says it would have to build
two structures 168 feet (51 meters) tall at its Indian Point
nuclear power plant.
Yankee Stadium is 134 feet tall at its highest point,
according to the New York Yankees baseball team's 2009 media
guide.
Exelon Corp. this month agreed to shut its Oyster Creek
reactor in New Jersey in 2019, a decade before its federal
license expires, in a deal with state regulators rather than
having to build cooling towers.
Industrial Boilers
Industrial boilers would come under tighter hazardous-
emissions standards under an EPA rule that the Council of
Industrial Boiler Owners, a trade group based in Burke,
Virginia, said may put more than 300,000 jobs at risk.
The EPA, before taking more time to study the issue,
proposed a blanket approach instead of accounting for variations
among industries, said Sara Kendall, vice president for
corporate affairs and sustainability at Weyerhaeuser of Federal
Way, Washington, the largest publicly traded U.S. timberland
company by revenue.
"The EPA took each pollutant and decided what was the most
stringent control technology for that pollutant and packaged
that together and said that's what all boilers have to do,"
Kendall said in an interview.
The EPA's pending rule to reduce limits for ozone would
cost 7.3 million jobs in about 10 years and $1 trillion a year
from 2020 to 2030 as states work to comply with the rule and
manufacturing plants install new equipment, according to the
study by the Manufacturers Alliance that the American Petroleum
Institute helped fund.
The EPA has estimated the ozone regulations would cost
industries led by utilities and oil companies $19 billion to $90
billion, while saving $13 billion to $100 billion in medical
expenses and missed work.
Assumptions on Technology
The chasm in cost estimates stems in part from different
assumptions about the cost of technology that the EPA and
business agree will need to be developed to reduce ozone levels
as much as the regulations demand, according to Tony Costello, a
financial analyst for Bloomberg Government who is a former
analyst with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Osprey
Partners Investment Management of Shrewsbury, New Jersey.
The EPA assumed costs will be similar to that of current
technologies, and the industry estimated the necessary
innovations will be far costlier, according to Costello.
While the EPA didn't estimate job losses or effects on the
economy, business didn't incorporate reduced costs in medical
and other expenses. The agency says those savings make
controlling pollution a good deal for the nation.
"Say what you want about EPA's business sense, but we know
how to get a return on an investment," Jackson said in the
September speech.
For Related News and Information:
Top EPA Stories: TNI TOP EPA <GO>
North American environmental markets: EMUS <GO>
A menu of world energy statistics: ENST <GO>
To chart the performance of the Bloomberg Americas Electric
Index: BUSELEC US <Index> GPO D <GO>
--Editors: Larry Liebert, Joe Winski
To contact the reporter on this story:
Kim Chipman in Washington at +1-202-624-1927 or
kchipman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Larry Liebert at +1-202-624-1936 or
lliebert@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU Plans Tighter Emissions-Market Oversight to Prevent Fraud
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Plans Tighter Emissions-Market Oversight to Prevent Fraud
2010-12-21 11:03:03.920 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Jonathan Stearns
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union said it may
tighten regulation of the world's biggest carbon market next
year to step up protection against fraud in spot trading.
"The market has reached a size which makes it a potential
target of fraudulent practices," EU Climate Commissioner Connie
Hedegaard said in a statement in Brussels today. "As the market
matures and grows further, it is critical that it continues to
be subject to appropriate and effective regulatory oversight."
The EU's emissions trading system is a cornerstone of the
bloc's efforts to tackle the heat waves, storms and floods that
scientists have linked to climate change. The European market,
started in 2005, had a value of almost $119 billion last year,
according to World Bank estimates.
Today's analysis by the European Commission, the 27-nation
EU's regulatory arm, showed that while "the lion's share of the
carbon market is subject to appropriate oversight," more may be
needed in the spot market.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Andrew Clapham, James Neuger
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at +32-2-285-4300 or
jstearns2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
EU Plans Tighter Emissions-Market Oversight to Prevent Fraud
2010-12-21 11:03:03.920 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Jonathan Stearns
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union said it may
tighten regulation of the world's biggest carbon market next
year to step up protection against fraud in spot trading.
"The market has reached a size which makes it a potential
target of fraudulent practices," EU Climate Commissioner Connie
Hedegaard said in a statement in Brussels today. "As the market
matures and grows further, it is critical that it continues to
be subject to appropriate and effective regulatory oversight."
The EU's emissions trading system is a cornerstone of the
bloc's efforts to tackle the heat waves, storms and floods that
scientists have linked to climate change. The European market,
started in 2005, had a value of almost $119 billion last year,
according to World Bank estimates.
Today's analysis by the European Commission, the 27-nation
EU's regulatory arm, showed that while "the lion's share of the
carbon market is subject to appropriate oversight," more may be
needed in the spot market.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Andrew Clapham, James Neuger
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at +32-2-285-4300 or
jstearns2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
2010/12/20
wt bnef/EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expire
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expires; CERs Rise
2010-12-20 17:31:27.67 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon allowances for
December fell to their lowest level in almost five months before
the contract expires today. Cheaper United Nations-overseen
Certified Emissions Reduction credits advanced.
EU permits lost 0.4 percent to 13.93 euros ($18.28) a
metric ton, which would be the lowest close since July 28 on
London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract extended this
month's loss to 5.6 percent. It earlier today traded as low as
13.70 euros. CERs for December rose 1.6 percent to 11.90 euros.
Factories and power stations in the EU program, the world's
largest greenhouse-gas market by trading volume, can use cheaper
CERs for compliance instead of allowances. Through December 2012
they can use credits from industrial-gas cutting projects
proposed for a ban by the European Commission, the market
regulator, after that month.
The discount of CERs for 2012 compared with EU allowances
for the same month, traded as a separate contract, shrunk 7.8
percent today to 3.45 euros a ton, the narrowest since Oct. 14.
The volume of December EU allowances traded was 4.6 million
tons so far today, compared with 8 million for the whole session
on Dec. 17. The volume of December 2011 futures traded was 7.4
million tons as the contract fell 0.4 percent to 14.23 euros.
EU futures for December 2011 may rise as high as 14.70
euros a ton this week after prices fell too far, Bloomberg New
Energy Finance said.
"If anything, the market has been oversold in the end-of-
year rush and for this reason we point our trading range
slightly upwards," London-based analysts, including Matthew
Cowie, said today in an e-mailed report.
On the other hand, governments in the EU will hand out free
allowances early in 2011, the analysts said. "There is no
pressing need to buy at present."
German power for next year declined 0.8 percent to 50 euros
a megawatt-hour, according to prices from brokers compiled by
Bloomberg. Power stations in Europe are required to submit
permits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expires; CERs Rise
2010-12-20 17:31:27.67 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon allowances for
December fell to their lowest level in almost five months before
the contract expires today. Cheaper United Nations-overseen
Certified Emissions Reduction credits advanced.
EU permits lost 0.4 percent to 13.93 euros ($18.28) a
metric ton, which would be the lowest close since July 28 on
London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract extended this
month's loss to 5.6 percent. It earlier today traded as low as
13.70 euros. CERs for December rose 1.6 percent to 11.90 euros.
Factories and power stations in the EU program, the world's
largest greenhouse-gas market by trading volume, can use cheaper
CERs for compliance instead of allowances. Through December 2012
they can use credits from industrial-gas cutting projects
proposed for a ban by the European Commission, the market
regulator, after that month.
The discount of CERs for 2012 compared with EU allowances
for the same month, traded as a separate contract, shrunk 7.8
percent today to 3.45 euros a ton, the narrowest since Oct. 14.
The volume of December EU allowances traded was 4.6 million
tons so far today, compared with 8 million for the whole session
on Dec. 17. The volume of December 2011 futures traded was 7.4
million tons as the contract fell 0.4 percent to 14.23 euros.
EU futures for December 2011 may rise as high as 14.70
euros a ton this week after prices fell too far, Bloomberg New
Energy Finance said.
"If anything, the market has been oversold in the end-of-
year rush and for this reason we point our trading range
slightly upwards," London-based analysts, including Matthew
Cowie, said today in an e-mailed report.
On the other hand, governments in the EU will hand out free
allowances early in 2011, the analysts said. "There is no
pressing need to buy at present."
German power for next year declined 0.8 percent to 50 euros
a megawatt-hour, according to prices from brokers compiled by
Bloomberg. Power stations in Europe are required to submit
permits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) UN Climate Chief Calls for Tighter National Emissions Targets
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
UN Climate Chief Calls for Tighter National Emissions Targets
2010-12-20 13:04:23.339 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations climate chief,
Christiana Figueres, sought tighter emission targets from
nations to give the world a chance of limiting climate change.
Assuming all previously announced targets and actions are
fully implemented, UN estimates show they'd deliver only 60
percent of the reductions that scientists estimate will be
needed to stay below an agreed goal of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
Fahrenheit) of warming, the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change said in an e-mailed statement today.
"All countries, but particularly industrialized nations,
need to deepen their emission reduction efforts and to do so
quickly," said Figueres, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC,
according to the statement.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
UN Climate Chief Calls for Tighter National Emissions Targets
2010-12-20 13:04:23.339 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations climate chief,
Christiana Figueres, sought tighter emission targets from
nations to give the world a chance of limiting climate change.
Assuming all previously announced targets and actions are
fully implemented, UN estimates show they'd deliver only 60
percent of the reductions that scientists estimate will be
needed to stay below an agreed goal of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6
Fahrenheit) of warming, the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change said in an e-mailed statement today.
"All countries, but particularly industrialized nations,
need to deepen their emission reduction efforts and to do so
quickly," said Figueres, the executive secretary of the UNFCCC,
according to the statement.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) CO2-Market Talks Between EU, Switzerland to Start in Early 2011
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CO2-Market Talks Between EU, Switzerland to Start in Early 2011
2010-12-20 15:32:39.320 GMT
By Jonathan Stearns
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union and Switzerland
will seek to connect their greenhouse-gas markets in a bid to
step up the fight against climate change.
EU governments authorized the start of talks to link the
emissions-trading systems of the 27-nation bloc and Switzerland.
The EU system is the world's biggest greenhouse-gas market.
"Such a link would contribute to the fight against climate
change and increase economic incentives to reduce climate
harming emissions," EU environment ministers said in a
statement released at a meeting today in Brussels. The
negotiations between the European Commission -- the EU's
regulatory arm -- and the Swiss government will begin "early
next year" and aim for "speedy progress," the ministers said.
The EU emissions-trading program is a cornerstone of
efforts to tackle the heat waves, storms and floods tied to
climate change, encompassing companies that range from utility
E.ON AG and oil refiner Royal Dutch Shell Plc to steelmaker
ArcelorMittal and paper producer Stora Enso Oyj. Polluters must
have a permit for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, with
those that exceed their quotas having to buy more allowances and
businesses that emit less being able to sell their surplus.
By contrast, Switzerland's program is a voluntary
alternative to a domestic fuel tax, according to the EU. The
Swiss system covers energy-related CO2 emissions by around 400
companies, the bloc said.
"Switzerland is currently reforming its emissions-trading
system so as to step up action against climate change and make
it more compatible with the EU's trading system," the bloc
said. The EU program covers about 11,000 installations, extends
to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein outside the bloc and is due
to add domestic and foreign airlines as of 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
Economic indicator watch: ECOW EU <GO>
European economic coverage: TNI ECO EU <GO>
Global statistics: STAT <GO>
--Editors: Jennifer M. Freedman, Eddie Buckle
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at +32-2-285-4300 or
jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at +33-1-5365-5075 or jhertling@bloomberg.net
CO2-Market Talks Between EU, Switzerland to Start in Early 2011
2010-12-20 15:32:39.320 GMT
By Jonathan Stearns
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union and Switzerland
will seek to connect their greenhouse-gas markets in a bid to
step up the fight against climate change.
EU governments authorized the start of talks to link the
emissions-trading systems of the 27-nation bloc and Switzerland.
The EU system is the world's biggest greenhouse-gas market.
"Such a link would contribute to the fight against climate
change and increase economic incentives to reduce climate
harming emissions," EU environment ministers said in a
statement released at a meeting today in Brussels. The
negotiations between the European Commission -- the EU's
regulatory arm -- and the Swiss government will begin "early
next year" and aim for "speedy progress," the ministers said.
The EU emissions-trading program is a cornerstone of
efforts to tackle the heat waves, storms and floods tied to
climate change, encompassing companies that range from utility
E.ON AG and oil refiner Royal Dutch Shell Plc to steelmaker
ArcelorMittal and paper producer Stora Enso Oyj. Polluters must
have a permit for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, with
those that exceed their quotas having to buy more allowances and
businesses that emit less being able to sell their surplus.
By contrast, Switzerland's program is a voluntary
alternative to a domestic fuel tax, according to the EU. The
Swiss system covers energy-related CO2 emissions by around 400
companies, the bloc said.
"Switzerland is currently reforming its emissions-trading
system so as to step up action against climate change and make
it more compatible with the EU's trading system," the bloc
said. The EU program covers about 11,000 installations, extends
to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein outside the bloc and is due
to add domestic and foreign airlines as of 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
Economic indicator watch: ECOW EU <GO>
European economic coverage: TNI ECO EU <GO>
Global statistics: STAT <GO>
--Editors: Jennifer M. Freedman, Eddie Buckle
To contact the reporter on this story:
Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at +32-2-285-4300 or
jstearns2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
James Hertling at +33-1-5365-5075 or jhertling@bloomberg.net
(BN) U.K., Nordic Region to Be Cooler Than Usual in
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
U.K., Nordic Region to Be Cooler Than Usual in January, WSI Says
2010-12-20 11:32:58.515 GMT
By Lars Paulsson
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. and the Nordic region will
be cooler than usual in January while continental Europe will be
warmer than average, according to forecaster WSI Corp.
"The bulk of the cold should lift to the west and north;
and we still expect the U.K. and the Nordic region to have
slightly below-normal temperatures in January," WSI Chief
Meteorologist Todd Crawford said today in an e-mailed statement.
"By February we expect more widespread above-normal
temperatures across Europe."
The Andover, Massachusetts-based company has more than 200
energy clients in the U.S. and Europe.
For Related News and Information:
European power-market stories TNI EUROPE PWRMARKET <GO>
Today's top power news PTOP <GO>, energy stories ETOP <GO>
Energy markets home page NRG <GO>
Most-read weather news: MNI WEATHER <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Lars Paulsson in London at +44-20-7673-2759 or
lpaulsson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
U.K., Nordic Region to Be Cooler Than Usual in January, WSI Says
2010-12-20 11:32:58.515 GMT
By Lars Paulsson
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. and the Nordic region will
be cooler than usual in January while continental Europe will be
warmer than average, according to forecaster WSI Corp.
"The bulk of the cold should lift to the west and north;
and we still expect the U.K. and the Nordic region to have
slightly below-normal temperatures in January," WSI Chief
Meteorologist Todd Crawford said today in an e-mailed statement.
"By February we expect more widespread above-normal
temperatures across Europe."
The Andover, Massachusetts-based company has more than 200
energy clients in the U.S. and Europe.
For Related News and Information:
European power-market stories TNI EUROPE PWRMARKET <GO>
Today's top power news PTOP <GO>, energy stories ETOP <GO>
Energy markets home page NRG <GO>
Most-read weather news: MNI WEATHER <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Lars Paulsson in London at +44-20-7673-2759 or
lpaulsson@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
(BN) South Africa Coal at Two-Year High as World Supplies
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
South Africa Coal at Two-Year High as World Supplies Disrupted
2010-12-20 12:16:20.869 GMT
By Alistair Holloway
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Coal from South Africa's Richards
Bay, the continent's biggest export facility for the fuel, rose
to the highest price in more than two years as demand increased
on supply disruptions elsewhere in the world.
Indonesia, the world's largest exporter of coal burned by
power stations, has suffered heavy rain caused by the La Nina
weather event, affecting commodity production. Australia's
Brisbane-based Macarthur Coal Ltd. said on Dec. 16 it had cut a
first-half profit forecast after wet weather disrupted output.
There's been "excessive rainfall in Australia, Indonesia
and Colombia," Amrita Sen, a London-based analyst with Barclays
Capital, said by phone today. "South Africa is one of the more
stable suppliers to the world market."
Export prices gained $2.37, or 2.2 percent, to an average
$112.37 a metric ton in the week to Dec. 17, according to IHS
McCloskey. That's the highest since the week ended Oct. 10,
2008. The data are an average based on daily price assessments
and a market survey.
Coal imports by China, the biggest user of the fuel, may
jump 60 percent in 2011 on strong demand from power plants, said
UOB Kay Hian Ltd. Imports may rise to 265 million tons from an
estimated 166 million tons this year, Helen Lau, a Hong Kong-
based coal analyst at the brokerage, said in an e-mailed note
today. That may reduce coal supplies to other Asian nations.
November coal shipments from Richards Bay fell 8.1 percent
from a year earlier and were 30 percent lower than in October,
according to data from the Richards Bay website. Owners of the
property, located on South Africa's northeastern coast, include
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, and Anglo
American Plc.
Benchmark European coal derivatives headed to their highest
close in 2010. Coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or
Antwerp with settlement next year rose $1.75, or 1.5 percent, to
$118.75 a ton at 11:25 a.m. in London.
The data are drawn from information supplied by ICAP Plc,
GFI Group Inc., Spectron Group Ltd., Credit Suisse Group AG, IHS
McCloskey, Bloomberg and Tradition Financial Services.
For Related News and Information:
Top Commodity Stories: CTOP <GO>
Top Metals Stories: METT <GO>
Top African Stories: AFTO <GO>
Top Shipping Stories: SHPT <GO>
Technical Gauges: BTST <GO>
--Editors: John Deane, Claudia Carpenter
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Carpenter at +44-20-7330-7304 or
ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
South Africa Coal at Two-Year High as World Supplies Disrupted
2010-12-20 12:16:20.869 GMT
By Alistair Holloway
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Coal from South Africa's Richards
Bay, the continent's biggest export facility for the fuel, rose
to the highest price in more than two years as demand increased
on supply disruptions elsewhere in the world.
Indonesia, the world's largest exporter of coal burned by
power stations, has suffered heavy rain caused by the La Nina
weather event, affecting commodity production. Australia's
Brisbane-based Macarthur Coal Ltd. said on Dec. 16 it had cut a
first-half profit forecast after wet weather disrupted output.
There's been "excessive rainfall in Australia, Indonesia
and Colombia," Amrita Sen, a London-based analyst with Barclays
Capital, said by phone today. "South Africa is one of the more
stable suppliers to the world market."
Export prices gained $2.37, or 2.2 percent, to an average
$112.37 a metric ton in the week to Dec. 17, according to IHS
McCloskey. That's the highest since the week ended Oct. 10,
2008. The data are an average based on daily price assessments
and a market survey.
Coal imports by China, the biggest user of the fuel, may
jump 60 percent in 2011 on strong demand from power plants, said
UOB Kay Hian Ltd. Imports may rise to 265 million tons from an
estimated 166 million tons this year, Helen Lau, a Hong Kong-
based coal analyst at the brokerage, said in an e-mailed note
today. That may reduce coal supplies to other Asian nations.
November coal shipments from Richards Bay fell 8.1 percent
from a year earlier and were 30 percent lower than in October,
according to data from the Richards Bay website. Owners of the
property, located on South Africa's northeastern coast, include
BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest mining company, and Anglo
American Plc.
Benchmark European coal derivatives headed to their highest
close in 2010. Coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or
Antwerp with settlement next year rose $1.75, or 1.5 percent, to
$118.75 a ton at 11:25 a.m. in London.
The data are drawn from information supplied by ICAP Plc,
GFI Group Inc., Spectron Group Ltd., Credit Suisse Group AG, IHS
McCloskey, Bloomberg and Tradition Financial Services.
For Related News and Information:
Top Commodity Stories: CTOP <GO>
Top Metals Stories: METT <GO>
Top African Stories: AFTO <GO>
Top Shipping Stories: SHPT <GO>
Technical Gauges: BTST <GO>
--Editors: John Deane, Claudia Carpenter
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Carpenter at +44-20-7330-7304 or
ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.
cers!EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expires;
better to swap euas for cheaper cers than roll forward? ...only if you have not reached cer limit i guess? why else cers so strong? discount economics? comments my way...cheers
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expires; CERs Rise
2010-12-20 10:15:24.229 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon allowances for
December fell to their lowest level in almost five months before
the contract expires today. Cheaper United Nations-overseen
Certified Emissions Reduction credits advanced.
EU permits lost as much as 0.9 percent to 13.85 euros
($18.23) a metric ton, the lowest level since July 29. They
traded at 13.90 euros as of 10:04 a.m. on London's ICE Futures
Europe exchange, extending this month's loss to 5.8 percent.
CERs for December rose 1.9 percent to 11.93 euros.
Factories and power stations in the EU program, the world's
largest greenhouse-gas market by trading volume, can use cheaper
CERs for compliance instead of allowances. Through December 2012
they can use credits from industrial-gas cutting projects
proposed for a ban by the European Commission, the market
regulator, after that month.
The discount of CERs for 2012 compared with EU allowances
for the same month, traded as a separate contract, shrunk 4.8
percent today to 3.56 euros a ton, the narrowest since Oct. 18.
The volume of December EU allowances traded was 985,000
tons so far today, compared with 8 million for the whole session
on Dec. 17. The volume of December 2011 futures traded was 1.1
million tons as the contract fell 0.6 percent to 14.19 euros.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
------------------------------------------------------------
Mathew Carr, emissions markets, energy reporter. London Bloomberg News ph +44 207 073 3531 yahoo ID carr_mathew
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Drops to Five-Month Low as Contract Expires; CERs Rise
2010-12-20 10:15:24.229 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska and Mathew Carr
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon allowances for
December fell to their lowest level in almost five months before
the contract expires today. Cheaper United Nations-overseen
Certified Emissions Reduction credits advanced.
EU permits lost as much as 0.9 percent to 13.85 euros
($18.23) a metric ton, the lowest level since July 29. They
traded at 13.90 euros as of 10:04 a.m. on London's ICE Futures
Europe exchange, extending this month's loss to 5.8 percent.
CERs for December rose 1.9 percent to 11.93 euros.
Factories and power stations in the EU program, the world's
largest greenhouse-gas market by trading volume, can use cheaper
CERs for compliance instead of allowances. Through December 2012
they can use credits from industrial-gas cutting projects
proposed for a ban by the European Commission, the market
regulator, after that month.
The discount of CERs for 2012 compared with EU allowances
for the same month, traded as a separate contract, shrunk 4.8
percent today to 3.56 euros a ton, the narrowest since Oct. 18.
The volume of December EU allowances traded was 985,000
tons so far today, compared with 8 million for the whole session
on Dec. 17. The volume of December 2011 futures traded was 1.1
million tons as the contract fell 0.6 percent to 14.19 euros.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Rob Verdonck, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-474-620-243 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
(BFW) Germany May Cut Solar Incentives by 16% in Mid-2011:
digitimes
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Germany May Cut Solar Incentives by 16% in Mid-2011: DigiTimes
2010-12-17 14:01:12.163 GMT
By Arie Shapira
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Germany in talks to slash feed in
tariff (FiT) for PV solar systems by 16% on July 1, DigiTimes
says, citing market speculation; Germany scheduled to cut FiTs
by 13% on Jan. 1.
* Wedbush's Chrstine Hersey tells Bloomberg speculation of
mid-year FiT cut, or worst-case scenario hard cap on
installations, has been part of reason for sector selling
off recently
* Hersey says expectations are mixed; says some see mid-year
cut creating pull-in event in 2Q, keeping ASPs while others
(as DigiTimes suggest) believe ASPs would decline, helping
stimulate the market
* Mizuho's Paul Clegg tells Bloomberg solar stock multiples
suggest investors expect significant FiT reduction; says
low-cost producers (YGE, TSL, SOLF, FSLR) wouldn't take as
big of a hit vs high-cost producers, many of which are based
in Germany
* Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Francesco d'Avack says
Germany might opt for series of lower, more frequent cuts
over the year so as not to repeat June's massive demand
spike from one-off cut this summer
* Next catalyst is Germany PV installation data for October
expected late Dec., early Jan.; Hapoalim's Aaron Chew tells
Bloomberg European solar integrator contacts said German
orders in Dec. "basically flat" with Nov., may not see
bounce in demand until March
DigiTimes story: http://bit.ly/hb7Pm7
Link to Company News:{ACPW US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{AMAT US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{AS1 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ASTI US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CGY GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CSIQ US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CSUN US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CTN GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{DSTI US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ENER US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ESLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{FSLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{HOKU US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{JASO US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{LDK US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{PS4 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{QCE GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{R8R GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{S92 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SATC US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLA LN <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLF US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOO1 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SPWRA US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{STP US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SWV GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{TSL US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{WFR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{YGE US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{JKS US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Arie Shapira at +1-212-617-1488 or
ashapira3@bloomberg.net
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Germany May Cut Solar Incentives by 16% in Mid-2011: DigiTimes
2010-12-17 14:01:12.163 GMT
By Arie Shapira
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Germany in talks to slash feed in
tariff (FiT) for PV solar systems by 16% on July 1, DigiTimes
says, citing market speculation; Germany scheduled to cut FiTs
by 13% on Jan. 1.
* Wedbush's Chrstine Hersey tells Bloomberg speculation of
mid-year FiT cut, or worst-case scenario hard cap on
installations, has been part of reason for sector selling
off recently
* Hersey says expectations are mixed; says some see mid-year
cut creating pull-in event in 2Q, keeping ASPs while others
(as DigiTimes suggest) believe ASPs would decline, helping
stimulate the market
* Mizuho's Paul Clegg tells Bloomberg solar stock multiples
suggest investors expect significant FiT reduction; says
low-cost producers (YGE, TSL, SOLF, FSLR) wouldn't take as
big of a hit vs high-cost producers, many of which are based
in Germany
* Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Francesco d'Avack says
Germany might opt for series of lower, more frequent cuts
over the year so as not to repeat June's massive demand
spike from one-off cut this summer
* Next catalyst is Germany PV installation data for October
expected late Dec., early Jan.; Hapoalim's Aaron Chew tells
Bloomberg European solar integrator contacts said German
orders in Dec. "basically flat" with Nov., may not see
bounce in demand until March
DigiTimes story: http://bit.ly/hb7Pm7
Link to Company News:{ACPW US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{AMAT US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{AS1 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ASTI US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CGY GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CSIQ US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CSUN US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{CTN GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{DSTI US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ENER US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{ESLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{FSLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{HOKU US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{JASO US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{LDK US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{PS4 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{QCE GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{R8R GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{S92 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SATC US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLA LN <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLF US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOLR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SOO1 GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SPWRA US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{STP US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{SWV GR <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{TSL US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{WFR US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{YGE US <Equity> CN <GO>}
Link to Company News:{JKS US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Arie Shapira at +1-212-617-1488 or
ashapira3@bloomberg.net
(BN) First-Time Solar Producers May Imperil Indian Projects (Update2)
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
First-Time Solar Producers May Imperil Indian Projects (Update2)
2010-12-20 10:26:23.144 GMT
(Adds foreign companies setting up India operations from
21st paragraph.)
By Natalie Obiko Pearson
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- India's first solar auction, planned
to boost clean energy in the world's fourth-biggest polluter,
may risk failure after winners were selected without experience
or proof that they can keep projects afloat earning low margins.
A woolen yarn maker, an animation company and an industrial
pipes supplier with no experience building power plants were
among 37 winners of the government auction announced Dec. 13.
The lowest bidders quoted prices that mean they may struggle to
earn an attractive profit, said Bloomberg New Energy Finance
analyst Bharat Bhushan.
"These projects aren't going to get built," Anmol Singh
Jaggi, director of Gensol Consultants Pvt., which funds
renewable energy projects, said in an interview. "I don't see
how they'll get financed or get returns."
India, which averages 300 sunny days a year, aims to
generate 20 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, equivalent to 12
percent of its total electricity production today. A setback may
delay solar's development in Asia's second-fastest growing major
economy at a time when equipment makers, including Arizona-based
First Solar Inc., face a potential supply glut and seek new
markets as European countries slash solar subsidies.
The three largest projects went to companies experienced in
building power plants: Lanco Infratech Ltd., KVK Energy Ventures
Pvt. and Rajasthan Sun Technique, a unit of billionaire Anil
Ambani's Reliance Power Ltd. Abengoa SA, which has built plants
in Spain and the U.S., and Acme Group, which is building a 10-
megawatt solar thermal plant in India, were passed over.
'Returns Not Important'
"The returns aren't very important at this stage," said
Alok Nigam, Lanco's vice president of business development.
"What we wanted to ensure was we got a berth in the National
Solar Mission."
"Are these tariffs really sustainable on a long-term
basis?" Nigam said. "I have my doubts."
Under auction rules, project developers offering to sell
their electricity at the cheapest rates were selected. The
lowest solar photovoltaic bid price came in at 10.95 rupees (24
cents) per kilowatt-hour and the lowest solar thermal bid was
10.49 rupees per kilowatt-hour, offering discounts of more than
30 percent to government-proposed rates.
By contrast, the global average rate solar thermal
developers need to earn is about 28 U.S. cents (12.70 rupees) a
kilowatt-hour, according to New Energy Finance data.
The auction awarded 470 megawatts of solar thermal capacity
and 150 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity. New Energy Finance's
Bhushan said the seven solar thermal winners, including Lanco,
KVK Energy and Rajasthan Sun, quoted bids that may be below the
levelized cost of generation in India. The lowest photovoltaic
rates may be at cost, he said.
Knitwear Maker, Animation
Levelized analysis compares the costs of energies produced
from different sources after accounting for expenses such as
financing and installation.
Bid winners included Oswal Woollen Mills Ltd., Kolkata-
based Amrit Animation Pvt. and Megha Engineering &
Infrastructures Ltd., which makes water-pumping equipment.
Oswal Woollen, based in Ludhiana, Punjab state, said in an
e-mailed statement that it has run a 15-megawatt bio-gas plant
and that concerns about its ability to build a solar facility
were unfounded. "We will be more aggressive in the successful
implementation of our solar energy plant," it said. "You have
to wait for only nine months."
Megha Engineering has no experience in solar or building
conventional power projects though it has "good financial
strength," R. Balaji, an engineer at the company's power
division, said by telephone. No website or contact details could
be found immediately for Amrit Animation.
Skills Untested
Companies weren't evaluated on their technical skills,
Deepak Gupta, secretary at the New and Renewable Energy
ministry, said Nov. 29. To prevent irresponsible bidding,
companies had to pay bid bonds on projects and will be charged
fines for delays or failure to build.
"I don't think there's a problem," Gupta said after the
auction. "There's no reason why we shouldn't reach our
target." The bids were probably accounting for declining
equipment costs and cheaper financing, he said.
"I personally don't believe it can happen" at these
rates, said Petra Leue-Bahns, chief financial officer of
Ecolutions GmbH, a Frankfurt-based renewable energy investment
company. Borrowing costs, banks' reluctance to lend and a
shortage of mandatory domestic equipment may also prevent
projects from getting off the ground, she said.
"From the perspective of a risk-averse institutional
investor, the whole story seems like a work-in-progress still,"
Leue-Bahns said.
Costs, Complexities
Developers may be underestimating the cost and complexity
of setting up solar plants, according to Mumbai-based Tata Power
Co., India's largest non-state electricity developer, which
shunned the auction. "We do hope that the people who are
bidding those numbers understand what it means to set up a solar
project," Executive Director Banmali Agrawala said in an
interview. "It's not a piece of cake."
The auction drew bids for more than eight times the 620
megawatts of capacity offered as companies sought to benefit
from government subsidies and power needs in India where peak
electricity demand outstripped supply by more than 10 percent
this year, according to the Central Electricity Authority.
Foreign Manufacturers Ready
The German glassmaker Schott AG is among the manufacturers
that are ready to make solar components in India if there is
sufficient demand, NEF's Bhushan said.
"India has the capacity to emerge as a huge manufacturing
ecosystem but we need scale," said B. Santhanam, managing
director of the Indian unit of Saint-Gobain, which makes glass
used in solar panels. "To make an investment, we need
visibility."
The Asian Development Bank announced it plans to partially
guarantee commercial bank loans to $425 million worth of solar
investments in India to help the sector take off. "But the
projects have to be credible," said Sujata Gupta, head of the
bank's private sector group in India.
"What's going to determine this market is projects that
get done, that get financed, that get finished," said Rana
Mookherjee, senior director of project finance at Fremont,
California-based Solaria Corp., which is making modules in
India. "Success is what's going to help this market take off."
For Related News and Information:
Most-read India stories: MNI INDIA <GO>
Top alternative energy stories: GREEN <GO>
More solar energy news: NI SOLAR <GO>
--Editors: Randall Hackley, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at +91-22-6612-9107 or
npearson7@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
First-Time Solar Producers May Imperil Indian Projects (Update2)
2010-12-20 10:26:23.144 GMT
(Adds foreign companies setting up India operations from
21st paragraph.)
By Natalie Obiko Pearson
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- India's first solar auction, planned
to boost clean energy in the world's fourth-biggest polluter,
may risk failure after winners were selected without experience
or proof that they can keep projects afloat earning low margins.
A woolen yarn maker, an animation company and an industrial
pipes supplier with no experience building power plants were
among 37 winners of the government auction announced Dec. 13.
The lowest bidders quoted prices that mean they may struggle to
earn an attractive profit, said Bloomberg New Energy Finance
analyst Bharat Bhushan.
"These projects aren't going to get built," Anmol Singh
Jaggi, director of Gensol Consultants Pvt., which funds
renewable energy projects, said in an interview. "I don't see
how they'll get financed or get returns."
India, which averages 300 sunny days a year, aims to
generate 20 gigawatts of solar power by 2022, equivalent to 12
percent of its total electricity production today. A setback may
delay solar's development in Asia's second-fastest growing major
economy at a time when equipment makers, including Arizona-based
First Solar Inc., face a potential supply glut and seek new
markets as European countries slash solar subsidies.
The three largest projects went to companies experienced in
building power plants: Lanco Infratech Ltd., KVK Energy Ventures
Pvt. and Rajasthan Sun Technique, a unit of billionaire Anil
Ambani's Reliance Power Ltd. Abengoa SA, which has built plants
in Spain and the U.S., and Acme Group, which is building a 10-
megawatt solar thermal plant in India, were passed over.
'Returns Not Important'
"The returns aren't very important at this stage," said
Alok Nigam, Lanco's vice president of business development.
"What we wanted to ensure was we got a berth in the National
Solar Mission."
"Are these tariffs really sustainable on a long-term
basis?" Nigam said. "I have my doubts."
Under auction rules, project developers offering to sell
their electricity at the cheapest rates were selected. The
lowest solar photovoltaic bid price came in at 10.95 rupees (24
cents) per kilowatt-hour and the lowest solar thermal bid was
10.49 rupees per kilowatt-hour, offering discounts of more than
30 percent to government-proposed rates.
By contrast, the global average rate solar thermal
developers need to earn is about 28 U.S. cents (12.70 rupees) a
kilowatt-hour, according to New Energy Finance data.
The auction awarded 470 megawatts of solar thermal capacity
and 150 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity. New Energy Finance's
Bhushan said the seven solar thermal winners, including Lanco,
KVK Energy and Rajasthan Sun, quoted bids that may be below the
levelized cost of generation in India. The lowest photovoltaic
rates may be at cost, he said.
Knitwear Maker, Animation
Levelized analysis compares the costs of energies produced
from different sources after accounting for expenses such as
financing and installation.
Bid winners included Oswal Woollen Mills Ltd., Kolkata-
based Amrit Animation Pvt. and Megha Engineering &
Infrastructures Ltd., which makes water-pumping equipment.
Oswal Woollen, based in Ludhiana, Punjab state, said in an
e-mailed statement that it has run a 15-megawatt bio-gas plant
and that concerns about its ability to build a solar facility
were unfounded. "We will be more aggressive in the successful
implementation of our solar energy plant," it said. "You have
to wait for only nine months."
Megha Engineering has no experience in solar or building
conventional power projects though it has "good financial
strength," R. Balaji, an engineer at the company's power
division, said by telephone. No website or contact details could
be found immediately for Amrit Animation.
Skills Untested
Companies weren't evaluated on their technical skills,
Deepak Gupta, secretary at the New and Renewable Energy
ministry, said Nov. 29. To prevent irresponsible bidding,
companies had to pay bid bonds on projects and will be charged
fines for delays or failure to build.
"I don't think there's a problem," Gupta said after the
auction. "There's no reason why we shouldn't reach our
target." The bids were probably accounting for declining
equipment costs and cheaper financing, he said.
"I personally don't believe it can happen" at these
rates, said Petra Leue-Bahns, chief financial officer of
Ecolutions GmbH, a Frankfurt-based renewable energy investment
company. Borrowing costs, banks' reluctance to lend and a
shortage of mandatory domestic equipment may also prevent
projects from getting off the ground, she said.
"From the perspective of a risk-averse institutional
investor, the whole story seems like a work-in-progress still,"
Leue-Bahns said.
Costs, Complexities
Developers may be underestimating the cost and complexity
of setting up solar plants, according to Mumbai-based Tata Power
Co., India's largest non-state electricity developer, which
shunned the auction. "We do hope that the people who are
bidding those numbers understand what it means to set up a solar
project," Executive Director Banmali Agrawala said in an
interview. "It's not a piece of cake."
The auction drew bids for more than eight times the 620
megawatts of capacity offered as companies sought to benefit
from government subsidies and power needs in India where peak
electricity demand outstripped supply by more than 10 percent
this year, according to the Central Electricity Authority.
Foreign Manufacturers Ready
The German glassmaker Schott AG is among the manufacturers
that are ready to make solar components in India if there is
sufficient demand, NEF's Bhushan said.
"India has the capacity to emerge as a huge manufacturing
ecosystem but we need scale," said B. Santhanam, managing
director of the Indian unit of Saint-Gobain, which makes glass
used in solar panels. "To make an investment, we need
visibility."
The Asian Development Bank announced it plans to partially
guarantee commercial bank loans to $425 million worth of solar
investments in India to help the sector take off. "But the
projects have to be credible," said Sujata Gupta, head of the
bank's private sector group in India.
"What's going to determine this market is projects that
get done, that get financed, that get finished," said Rana
Mookherjee, senior director of project finance at Fremont,
California-based Solaria Corp., which is making modules in
India. "Success is what's going to help this market take off."
For Related News and Information:
Most-read India stories: MNI INDIA <GO>
Top alternative energy stories: GREEN <GO>
More solar energy news: NI SOLAR <GO>
--Editors: Randall Hackley, Todd White
To contact the reporter on this story:
Natalie Obiko Pearson in Mumbai at +91-22-6612-9107 or
npearson7@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net
(BN) China Coal Imports May Jump 60% in 2011 on Demand, UOB Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
China Coal Imports May Jump 60% in 2011 on Demand, UOB Says
2010-12-20 05:19:45.466 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China's coal imports may jump 60
percent in 2011 on strong demand from power plants, said UOB Kay
Hian Ltd.
China's overseas coal purchases may rise to 265 million
metric tons from an estimated 166 million tons this year, Helen
Lau, a Hong Kong-based coal analyst at the brokerage, said in an
e-mailed note today.
The world's largest consumer and producer of coal boosted
imports by 38 percent to 133.93 million tons in the first 10
months of 2010, according to government data. The economy will
expand 9.2 percent next year compared with 10 percent in 2010,
according to a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists.
"Overseas imports will continue strong growth supported by
domestic demand," Lau said in a telephone interview today. "We
see increased supplies from countries especially Mongolia."
China's coal imports from Mongolia more than doubled to
12.64 million tons in the first 10 months, government data show.
Provinces with string economic growth, including Guangdong
in the south, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu in the east, will support
consistent demand for imports because domestic rail links lack
sufficient capacity, she said.
Power-station coal prices at Qinhuangdao port, a Chinese
benchmark, fell 1.6% to between 785 yuan ($118) and 795 yuan a
ton as of Dec. 20 from a week earlier, according to data
released today by the China Coal Transport and Distribution
Association.
"This must be a temporary adjustment of spot coal prices
after the government froze 2011 contract coal prices," Lau said.
"Demand for coal at this juncture is strong and spot coal
prices are still in an uptrend. Cold weather and logistics
bottlenecks exacerbate the supply tightness."
The Qinhuangdao coal price gained to a two-year high of
807.5 yuan a ton on Nov. 29, prompted by peak winter demand.
State Grid Corp. of China, the larger of the nation's two
power distributors, said the country has shut power generation
units with a combined capacity of 5.23 million kilowatts because
of a shortage of coal. China uses coal to fuel 80 percent of the
nation's power generation units.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:TOP <GO>
China Coal Stories: TNI CHINA COAL <GO>
--Winnie Zhu in Shanghai. Editors: Clyde Russell, John Viljoen.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at +86-21-6104-3046 or
wzhu4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net
China Coal Imports May Jump 60% in 2011 on Demand, UOB Says
2010-12-20 05:19:45.466 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China's coal imports may jump 60
percent in 2011 on strong demand from power plants, said UOB Kay
Hian Ltd.
China's overseas coal purchases may rise to 265 million
metric tons from an estimated 166 million tons this year, Helen
Lau, a Hong Kong-based coal analyst at the brokerage, said in an
e-mailed note today.
The world's largest consumer and producer of coal boosted
imports by 38 percent to 133.93 million tons in the first 10
months of 2010, according to government data. The economy will
expand 9.2 percent next year compared with 10 percent in 2010,
according to a Bloomberg News survey of 17 economists.
"Overseas imports will continue strong growth supported by
domestic demand," Lau said in a telephone interview today. "We
see increased supplies from countries especially Mongolia."
China's coal imports from Mongolia more than doubled to
12.64 million tons in the first 10 months, government data show.
Provinces with string economic growth, including Guangdong
in the south, and Zhejiang and Jiangsu in the east, will support
consistent demand for imports because domestic rail links lack
sufficient capacity, she said.
Power-station coal prices at Qinhuangdao port, a Chinese
benchmark, fell 1.6% to between 785 yuan ($118) and 795 yuan a
ton as of Dec. 20 from a week earlier, according to data
released today by the China Coal Transport and Distribution
Association.
"This must be a temporary adjustment of spot coal prices
after the government froze 2011 contract coal prices," Lau said.
"Demand for coal at this juncture is strong and spot coal
prices are still in an uptrend. Cold weather and logistics
bottlenecks exacerbate the supply tightness."
The Qinhuangdao coal price gained to a two-year high of
807.5 yuan a ton on Nov. 29, prompted by peak winter demand.
State Grid Corp. of China, the larger of the nation's two
power distributors, said the country has shut power generation
units with a combined capacity of 5.23 million kilowatts because
of a shortage of coal. China uses coal to fuel 80 percent of the
nation's power generation units.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:TOP <GO>
China Coal Stories: TNI CHINA COAL <GO>
--Winnie Zhu in Shanghai. Editors: Clyde Russell, John Viljoen.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Winnie Zhu in Shanghai at +86-21-6104-3046 or
wzhu4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Clyde Russell at +65-6311-2423 or crussell7@bloomberg.net
2010/12/18
Fwd: + Drax Shares Retreat on U.K. Carbon Floor-Price Plan (Update1)
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Drax Shares Retreat on U.K. Carbon Floor-Price Plan (Update1)
2010-12-17 16:56:06.27 GMT
(Updates share price in second paragraph.)
By Kari Lundgren
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Drax Group Plc, operator of the
U.K.'s largest power plant, fell in London after the government
announced plans to set a floor price on carbon emissions.
Drax declined 8.3 pence, or 2.3 percent, to 359.2 pence,
valuing the Selby, England-based company at 1.3 billion pounds
($2 billion). The stock retreated 2.5 percent yesterday after
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne
laid out plans to reform the U.K.'s energy markets.
Changes recommended by the government, which if approved by
Parliament will go into effect in 2013, include a carbon floor
price rising to a minimum of 20 pounds a ton by 2020 and 70
pounds a ton by 2030. The Treasury suggested using the climate
change levy and a duty on fossil fuels to implement the floor.
"Currently, coal is setting the U.K. gas price, which is
setting the U.K. electricity price," Evolution Securities
analyst Lakis Athanasiou said in a note to investors today. As
gas prices rise, electricity prices will also increase, boosting
Drax earnings, he said. Higher carbon costs would cut into any
profits Drax made from this energy price increase, he said.
For Related News and Information:
Stories on Drax's earnings: DRX LN <Equity> TCNI ERN <GO>
U.K. power market stories: TNI UK PWRMARKET <GO>
Top energy news: ETOP <GO>
U.K. electricity prices: ELEU <GO>
--Editors: Alex Devine, Stephen Cunningham.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Kari Lundgren in London at +44-20-7073-3442 or
klundgren2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or
wkennedy3@bloomberg.net.
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Drax Shares Retreat on U.K. Carbon Floor-Price Plan (Update1)
2010-12-17 16:56:06.27 GMT
(Updates share price in second paragraph.)
By Kari Lundgren
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Drax Group Plc, operator of the
U.K.'s largest power plant, fell in London after the government
announced plans to set a floor price on carbon emissions.
Drax declined 8.3 pence, or 2.3 percent, to 359.2 pence,
valuing the Selby, England-based company at 1.3 billion pounds
($2 billion). The stock retreated 2.5 percent yesterday after
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne
laid out plans to reform the U.K.'s energy markets.
Changes recommended by the government, which if approved by
Parliament will go into effect in 2013, include a carbon floor
price rising to a minimum of 20 pounds a ton by 2020 and 70
pounds a ton by 2030. The Treasury suggested using the climate
change levy and a duty on fossil fuels to implement the floor.
"Currently, coal is setting the U.K. gas price, which is
setting the U.K. electricity price," Evolution Securities
analyst Lakis Athanasiou said in a note to investors today. As
gas prices rise, electricity prices will also increase, boosting
Drax earnings, he said. Higher carbon costs would cut into any
profits Drax made from this energy price increase, he said.
For Related News and Information:
Stories on Drax's earnings: DRX LN <Equity> TCNI ERN <GO>
U.K. power market stories: TNI UK PWRMARKET <GO>
Top energy news: ETOP <GO>
U.K. electricity prices: ELEU <GO>
--Editors: Alex Devine, Stephen Cunningham.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Kari Lundgren in London at +44-20-7073-3442 or
klundgren2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or
wkennedy3@bloomberg.net.
Fwd: Rockefeller Says No Senate Vote This Month to Delay Carbon Rules
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rockefeller Says No Senate Vote This Month to Delay Carbon Rules
2010-12-17 20:54:49.581 GMT
By Simon Lomax
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Legislation to delay the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's carbon-dioxide regulations for
power plants and other industrial polluters won't get a vote
this year, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller said.
Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who has proposed a
two-year delay of the regulations, commented today in an e-mail.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Simon Lomax in Washington at +1-202-654-4305 or
slomax@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Steve Geimann at +1-202-624-1960 or
sgeimann@bloomberg.net
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rockefeller Says No Senate Vote This Month to Delay Carbon Rules
2010-12-17 20:54:49.581 GMT
By Simon Lomax
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Legislation to delay the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's carbon-dioxide regulations for
power plants and other industrial polluters won't get a vote
this year, U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller said.
Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who has proposed a
two-year delay of the regulations, commented today in an e-mail.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Simon Lomax in Washington at +1-202-654-4305 or
slomax@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Steve Geimann at +1-202-624-1960 or
sgeimann@bloomberg.net
Fwd: China to Cut 6 Bln Tons of Carbon Emissions by 2020, Zheng Says
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
China to Cut 6 Bln Tons of Carbon Emissions by 2020, Zheng Says
2010-12-18 02:34:32.803 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's largest power
producer, will reduce as much as 6 billion tons of carbon
emissions by 2020 to meet its energy intensity target, Zheng
Fangneng, director of the energy and transport division of the
high-tech department in China's Ministry of Science and
Technology, said today in a conference in Beijing.
The country aims to cut carbon emissions per unit of gross
domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.
China allocated 3 billion yuan solar subisidies in 2010,
Zheng said. This represents an increase of 50 percent from the
financial assistance for the industry last year, according to
Zheng.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7528 or
fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Tighe at +612-9777-8626 or
ptighe@bloomberg.net
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
China to Cut 6 Bln Tons of Carbon Emissions by 2020, Zheng Says
2010-12-18 02:34:32.803 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's largest power
producer, will reduce as much as 6 billion tons of carbon
emissions by 2020 to meet its energy intensity target, Zheng
Fangneng, director of the energy and transport division of the
high-tech department in China's Ministry of Science and
Technology, said today in a conference in Beijing.
The country aims to cut carbon emissions per unit of gross
domestic product by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.
China allocated 3 billion yuan solar subisidies in 2010,
Zheng said. This represents an increase of 50 percent from the
financial assistance for the industry last year, according to
Zheng.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7528 or
fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Tighe at +612-9777-8626 or
ptighe@bloomberg.net
Fwd: China Raises Solar Subsidies to Push Installation, Zheng Says
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
China Raises Solar Subsidies to Push Installation, Zheng Says
2010-12-18 06:37:58.892 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's largest energy
user, raised solar energy subsidies in 2010 to help expand its
domestic installation market, a government official said.
The country allocated 3 billion yuan ($451 million) in 2010,
a 50 percent increase from last year, to subsidize solar
demonstration projects under its Golden Sun program, Zheng
Fangneng, director of the energy and transport division of the
high-tech department in China's Ministry of Science and
Technology, said today at a conference in Beijing.
China is offering subsidies to solar power projects under
the program that began in 2009 in order to boost development of
renewable energy by lowering costs and to ensure electricity
supplies pass through areas where there is limited access.
The country approved 201 megawatts of "Golden-Sun"
projects in 2009, Zheng said, adding "Not all of the projects
were and will be implemented." He didn't disclose the reasons
for the failed implementation.
The Ministry of Finance said in November that China
selected 272 megawatts of solar projects eligible for subsidies
in 2010.
Those projects must be completed within a year, the
ministry said. Provinces that have 70 percent of uncompleted
projects will not be able to apply for future subsidies for new
initiatives.
The 70 percent completion target is intended to push local
governments to strengthen coordination in carrying out projects,
according to Zheng.
For Related News and Information:
Most-read alternative energy stories: MNI ALTNRG <GO>
For top news on renewable energy TOP ENV <GO>
--Editors: Paul Tighe
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7527 or
Fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
China Raises Solar Subsidies to Push Installation, Zheng Says
2010-12-18 06:37:58.892 GMT
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's largest energy
user, raised solar energy subsidies in 2010 to help expand its
domestic installation market, a government official said.
The country allocated 3 billion yuan ($451 million) in 2010,
a 50 percent increase from last year, to subsidize solar
demonstration projects under its Golden Sun program, Zheng
Fangneng, director of the energy and transport division of the
high-tech department in China's Ministry of Science and
Technology, said today at a conference in Beijing.
China is offering subsidies to solar power projects under
the program that began in 2009 in order to boost development of
renewable energy by lowering costs and to ensure electricity
supplies pass through areas where there is limited access.
The country approved 201 megawatts of "Golden-Sun"
projects in 2009, Zheng said, adding "Not all of the projects
were and will be implemented." He didn't disclose the reasons
for the failed implementation.
The Ministry of Finance said in November that China
selected 272 megawatts of solar projects eligible for subsidies
in 2010.
Those projects must be completed within a year, the
ministry said. Provinces that have 70 percent of uncompleted
projects will not be able to apply for future subsidies for new
initiatives.
The 70 percent completion target is intended to push local
governments to strengthen coordination in carrying out projects,
according to Zheng.
For Related News and Information:
Most-read alternative energy stories: MNI ALTNRG <GO>
For top news on renewable energy TOP ENV <GO>
--Editors: Paul Tighe
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Feifei Shen in Beijing at +86-10-6649-7527 or
Fshen11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
Fwd: Carbon Rules to Burden German Steel Companies, Handelsblatt Says
---
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Rules to Burden German Steel Companies, Handelsblatt Says
2010-12-18 11:58:53.69 GMT
By Karin Matussek
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- European Union rules for carbon
permits after 2012 will burden German steel companies with
almost 200 million euros ($264 million) a year, Handelsblatt
reported, citing unidentified people in government.
The new rules, agreed this week, will tax the steel,
chemical, cement, paper, glass and aluminum industries, the
newspaper said. ThyssenKrupp AG Chief Executive Ekkehard Schulz
in a letter to the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
"complained" that the government agreed to the rules,
according to Handelsblatt.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editor: Matthias Wabl
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karin Matussek in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6218 or
kmatussek@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anthony Aarons at +44-20-7673-2227 or
aaarons@Bloomberg.net.
Sent From Bloomberg Mobile MSG
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Rules to Burden German Steel Companies, Handelsblatt Says
2010-12-18 11:58:53.69 GMT
By Karin Matussek
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- European Union rules for carbon
permits after 2012 will burden German steel companies with
almost 200 million euros ($264 million) a year, Handelsblatt
reported, citing unidentified people in government.
The new rules, agreed this week, will tax the steel,
chemical, cement, paper, glass and aluminum industries, the
newspaper said. ThyssenKrupp AG Chief Executive Ekkehard Schulz
in a letter to the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel
"complained" that the government agreed to the rules,
according to Handelsblatt.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editor: Matthias Wabl
To contact the reporter on this story:
Karin Matussek in Berlin at +49-30-70010-6218 or
kmatussek@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Anthony Aarons at +44-20-7673-2227 or
aaarons@Bloomberg.net.
2010/12/17
(BN) Green Exchange Handles Record Volume in 2013 EU Carbon Permits
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Green Exchange Handles Record Volume in 2013 EU Carbon Permits
2010-12-17 17:10:02.839 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Green Exchange LLC, a carbon market
owned by CME Group Inc.'s New York Mercantile Exchange, said it
handled record volume in emissions permits for delivery in 2013.
Green Exchange handled 1.85 million metric tons of European
Union emissions permits for December 2013 as of 5 p.m. in
London, Managing Director Henrik Hasselknippe said in a
telephone interview today. That's the highest trading volume
since the exchange started in May, and compares to a volume of
179,000 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Link to Company News:{CME US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
Green Exchange Handles Record Volume in 2013 EU Carbon Permits
2010-12-17 17:10:02.839 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Green Exchange LLC, a carbon market
owned by CME Group Inc.'s New York Mercantile Exchange, said it
handled record volume in emissions permits for delivery in 2013.
Green Exchange handled 1.85 million metric tons of European
Union emissions permits for December 2013 as of 5 p.m. in
London, Managing Director Henrik Hasselknippe said in a
telephone interview today. That's the highest trading volume
since the exchange started in May, and compares to a volume of
179,000 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Link to Company News:{CME US <Equity> CN <GO>}
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
yest(BN) Cancun Deal Lures Investors to CO2 Credits, First
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Cancun Deal Lures Investors to CO2 Credits, First Climate Says
2010-12-16 10:02:52.657 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- First Climate AG, a manager of
emission reduction projects producing tradable credits, said
this month's climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, may spur interest
in a new carbon fund.
Envoys at United Nations climate talks in Cancun agreed on
Dec. 11 to a package aimed at limiting global warming by
protecting forests, advising nations on coping with climate
change and opening a $100 billion fund to assist poorer nation.
"Market participants didn't really expect much, and what
we saw was a clear political commitment," Martin Schulte, a
director at First Climate, said by phone from Luxembourg.
"We've got out of the complete standstill."
First Climate invests in climate projects in exchange for
Certified Emission Reduction credits under the UN's Clean
Development Mechanism. Cancun was "helpful" as the firm plans
to announce the first investor next year in a new fund aiming to
raise 100 million euros ($133 million) and produce credits for
use after 2012.
"Two European utilities are interested in becoming the
anchor investor," committing to put in at least 10 million
euros, Stefan Kleeberg, managing director, said in an interview
in Bad Vilbel. This would allow First Climate to invest in
emissions cutting projects to create UN offset credits that will
be usable by European factories and power stations after 2012.
The European Union proposed to restrict some UN credits in
its emissions trading system from 2013, as the system enters its
third phase. The ban would target UN credits from projects that
curb hydrofluorocarbons and nitrous oxides, industrial waste
gases that make up about 80 percent of issued offsets so far.
These gases are cheaper to cut than other projects and the EU is
concerned they create excess profits.
Uncertainty over which credits would be allowed may have
deterred investors, First Climate said.
The EU ban is "positive" and means we can now "focus on
good quality CERs," Kleeberg said. "We've never touched
industrial gas CERs. It's obvious that prices for these will go
up with the ban," he said.
For Related News and Information:
Emission trading stories: TNI ENVMARKET CLIMATE <GO>
Top environment and renewable energy stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about the climate talks: NSE CLIMATE CANCUN <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Jonas Bergman.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
Cancun Deal Lures Investors to CO2 Credits, First Climate Says
2010-12-16 10:02:52.657 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- First Climate AG, a manager of
emission reduction projects producing tradable credits, said
this month's climate summit in Cancun, Mexico, may spur interest
in a new carbon fund.
Envoys at United Nations climate talks in Cancun agreed on
Dec. 11 to a package aimed at limiting global warming by
protecting forests, advising nations on coping with climate
change and opening a $100 billion fund to assist poorer nation.
"Market participants didn't really expect much, and what
we saw was a clear political commitment," Martin Schulte, a
director at First Climate, said by phone from Luxembourg.
"We've got out of the complete standstill."
First Climate invests in climate projects in exchange for
Certified Emission Reduction credits under the UN's Clean
Development Mechanism. Cancun was "helpful" as the firm plans
to announce the first investor next year in a new fund aiming to
raise 100 million euros ($133 million) and produce credits for
use after 2012.
"Two European utilities are interested in becoming the
anchor investor," committing to put in at least 10 million
euros, Stefan Kleeberg, managing director, said in an interview
in Bad Vilbel. This would allow First Climate to invest in
emissions cutting projects to create UN offset credits that will
be usable by European factories and power stations after 2012.
The European Union proposed to restrict some UN credits in
its emissions trading system from 2013, as the system enters its
third phase. The ban would target UN credits from projects that
curb hydrofluorocarbons and nitrous oxides, industrial waste
gases that make up about 80 percent of issued offsets so far.
These gases are cheaper to cut than other projects and the EU is
concerned they create excess profits.
Uncertainty over which credits would be allowed may have
deterred investors, First Climate said.
The EU ban is "positive" and means we can now "focus on
good quality CERs," Kleeberg said. "We've never touched
industrial gas CERs. It's obvious that prices for these will go
up with the ban," he said.
For Related News and Information:
Emission trading stories: TNI ENVMARKET CLIMATE <GO>
Top environment and renewable energy stories: GREEN <GO>
Stories about the climate talks: NSE CLIMATE CANCUN <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson, Jonas Bergman.
To contact the reporters on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or sev@bloomberg.net
6 in hospital/Ukraine’s Opposition Demands Investigation of
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ukraine's Opposition Demands Investigation of Parliament Brawl
2010-12-17 13:26:26.838 GMT
By Daryna Krasnolutska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian opposition parties urged
the Prosecutor General to investigate a tussle in parliament
yesterday that left six people hospitalized.
Lawmakers loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych last night
scuffled with deputies who physically blocked the rostrum to
protest a criminal probe against former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, the leader of the opposition.
"We demand the Prosecutor General's office thoroughly
investigate the acts of all of the fight participants,"
Tymoshenko's group said today in a statement posted on the
website of its allied Our Ukraine party.
The prosecutor's office summoned Tymoshenko yesterday,
accusing her of misusing funds from the 2009 sale of emissions
permits to Japan. Ukraine sold 30 million Assigned Amount Unit
credits to Japan for 10.40 euros ($13.85) each last year,
according to Bloomberg data.
Opposition lawmakers wanted to spend the night in the
assembly building in the capital, Kiev, to continue their
protest. Members of Yanukovych's Party of Regions returned to
the site at night and started the fight, according to
Tymoshenko's allies.
Mykhaylo Volynets, a supporter of the former premier,
sustained a head injury after being hit with a chair and was
taken to hospital, deputy Ivan Kyrylenko told lawmakers today.
'Fractured Bones, Faces'
"Those who fracture the bones and faces of their colleagues
should be held legally responsible," said Mykola Martynenko, the
head of Our Ukraine's parliamentary group, in an address to the
deputies. He called for the dismissal of Speaker Volodymyr
Lytvyn.
Yesterday's fight was the second act of violence in
parliament this year. Lawmakers in April clashed over extending
a lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory in
an exchange for lower natural gas price. The vote then ended
with deputies hurling eggs and smoke bombs during a brawl that
led to injuries, including a broken nose and a concussion for
lawmakers from Our Ukraine.
Yanukovych supporters "were forced to take measures to
unblock the parliament and approve laws needed for the country,"
Oleksandr Yefremov, the ruling party's parliamentary leader,
told lawmakers. He said the opposition's aim was to halt work
until Dec. 31 to undermine the adoption of the 2011 budget.
For Related News and Information:
Top news on eastern Europe EEUT <GO>
Government news: TOP GOV <GO>
--Editors: Balazs Penz, Alan Crosby.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at +38-044-490-1252 or
dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Willy Morris at +44-20-7673-2254 or
wmorris@bloomberg.net;
Ukraine's Opposition Demands Investigation of Parliament Brawl
2010-12-17 13:26:26.838 GMT
By Daryna Krasnolutska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian opposition parties urged
the Prosecutor General to investigate a tussle in parliament
yesterday that left six people hospitalized.
Lawmakers loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych last night
scuffled with deputies who physically blocked the rostrum to
protest a criminal probe against former Prime Minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, the leader of the opposition.
"We demand the Prosecutor General's office thoroughly
investigate the acts of all of the fight participants,"
Tymoshenko's group said today in a statement posted on the
website of its allied Our Ukraine party.
The prosecutor's office summoned Tymoshenko yesterday,
accusing her of misusing funds from the 2009 sale of emissions
permits to Japan. Ukraine sold 30 million Assigned Amount Unit
credits to Japan for 10.40 euros ($13.85) each last year,
according to Bloomberg data.
Opposition lawmakers wanted to spend the night in the
assembly building in the capital, Kiev, to continue their
protest. Members of Yanukovych's Party of Regions returned to
the site at night and started the fight, according to
Tymoshenko's allies.
Mykhaylo Volynets, a supporter of the former premier,
sustained a head injury after being hit with a chair and was
taken to hospital, deputy Ivan Kyrylenko told lawmakers today.
'Fractured Bones, Faces'
"Those who fracture the bones and faces of their colleagues
should be held legally responsible," said Mykola Martynenko, the
head of Our Ukraine's parliamentary group, in an address to the
deputies. He called for the dismissal of Speaker Volodymyr
Lytvyn.
Yesterday's fight was the second act of violence in
parliament this year. Lawmakers in April clashed over extending
a lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory in
an exchange for lower natural gas price. The vote then ended
with deputies hurling eggs and smoke bombs during a brawl that
led to injuries, including a broken nose and a concussion for
lawmakers from Our Ukraine.
Yanukovych supporters "were forced to take measures to
unblock the parliament and approve laws needed for the country,"
Oleksandr Yefremov, the ruling party's parliamentary leader,
told lawmakers. He said the opposition's aim was to halt work
until Dec. 31 to undermine the adoption of the 2011 budget.
For Related News and Information:
Top news on eastern Europe EEUT <GO>
Government news: TOP GOV <GO>
--Editors: Balazs Penz, Alan Crosby.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at +38-044-490-1252 or
dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Willy Morris at +44-20-7673-2254 or
wmorris@bloomberg.net;
(BN) Carbon Traders Seek Details From EIB on Planned EU Carbon Sales
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Carbon Traders Seek Details From EIB on Planned EU Carbon Sales
2010-12-17 10:53:40.589 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The International Emissions Trading
Association asked the European Investment Bank to announce
"swiftly" information about the timing and volumes of the
planned sale of carbon permits before 2013.
The European Union has mandated that the EIB sell 300
million allowances from a reserve to spur clean-energy projects
in the bloc's emissions trading system, the world's largest.
"If all 300 million allowances had to be sold in 2012,
the market would need to absorb almost five times the amount of
2010 auctions," IETA said in an e-mailed statement today.
"This is why it is so crucial to announce, well in advance, how
allowances will be released to the market (i.e. sales or
auctions), at what frequency, and in which form (i.e. spot or
forward/future)."
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
Carbon Traders Seek Details From EIB on Planned EU Carbon Sales
2010-12-17 10:53:40.589 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The International Emissions Trading
Association asked the European Investment Bank to announce
"swiftly" information about the timing and volumes of the
planned sale of carbon permits before 2013.
The European Union has mandated that the EIB sell 300
million allowances from a reserve to spur clean-energy projects
in the bloc's emissions trading system, the world's largest.
"If all 300 million allowances had to be sold in 2012,
the market would need to absorb almost five times the amount of
2010 auctions," IETA said in an e-mailed statement today.
"This is why it is so crucial to announce, well in advance, how
allowances will be released to the market (i.e. sales or
auctions), at what frequency, and in which form (i.e. spot or
forward/future)."
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) Italian Police Investigate Suspected Tax Fraud in Carbon Market
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Italian Police Investigate Suspected Tax Fraud in Carbon Market
2010-12-17 09:44:12.299 GMT
By Alessandra Migliaccio
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Italy's financial police are
investigating companies in nine of the country's 20 regions for
suspected tax fraud related to fake sales of carbon credits.
Sham transactions may reach "several hundred million
euros," the financial police said today in an e-mailed
statement. Possible charges include fraud, emission of fake
receipts and money laundering, the statement said.
The European Union has been clamping down on value-added
tax fraud in carbon markets after reports that sellers of
carbon-dioxide permits pocketed VAT collected from buyers and
disappeared before submitting the money to the treasury.
For Related News and Information:
Renewable energy top page: GREEN <GO>
Top Italy stories: TOP IT <GO>
Top energy: ETOP <GO>
--Editors: Todd White, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporters on this story:
Alessandra Migliaccio in Rome at +39-06-4520-6320 or
amigliaccio@bloomberg.net;
Andrew Davis in Rome at +39-06-4520-6324 or
abdavis@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or
wkennedy@bloomberg.net.
Italian Police Investigate Suspected Tax Fraud in Carbon Market
2010-12-17 09:44:12.299 GMT
By Alessandra Migliaccio
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Italy's financial police are
investigating companies in nine of the country's 20 regions for
suspected tax fraud related to fake sales of carbon credits.
Sham transactions may reach "several hundred million
euros," the financial police said today in an e-mailed
statement. Possible charges include fraud, emission of fake
receipts and money laundering, the statement said.
The European Union has been clamping down on value-added
tax fraud in carbon markets after reports that sellers of
carbon-dioxide permits pocketed VAT collected from buyers and
disappeared before submitting the money to the treasury.
For Related News and Information:
Renewable energy top page: GREEN <GO>
Top Italy stories: TOP IT <GO>
Top energy: ETOP <GO>
--Editors: Todd White, Randall Hackley
To contact the reporters on this story:
Alessandra Migliaccio in Rome at +39-06-4520-6320 or
amigliaccio@bloomberg.net;
Andrew Davis in Rome at +39-06-4520-6324 or
abdavis@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Will Kennedy at +44-20-7073-3603 or
wkennedy@bloomberg.net.
(BN) EU Carbon Could Fall as Low as 12.75 Euros, OTC Europe Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Could Fall as Low as 12.75 Euros, OTC Europe Says
2010-12-17 11:29:25.734 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) --There is a chance that EU carbon
permits for December will fall as low as 12.75 euros a metric
ton by Dec. 20, when the contract expires, says Brett Genus,
emissions options broker at OTC Europe LLP.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
EU Carbon Could Fall as Low as 12.75 Euros, OTC Europe Says
2010-12-17 11:29:25.734 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) --There is a chance that EU carbon
permits for December will fall as low as 12.75 euros a metric
ton by Dec. 20, when the contract expires, says Brett Genus,
emissions options broker at OTC Europe LLP.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU CO2 for December May Fall to 13.34 Euros, Futures Tech Says
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU CO2 for December May Fall to 13.34 Euros, Futures Tech Says
2010-12-17 11:24:00.124 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits for
December may fall to 13.34 euros after the contract breached a
technical support level at 14.15 euros, said Clive Lambert, an
analyst at Futures Tech.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
EU CO2 for December May Fall to 13.34 Euros, Futures Tech Says
2010-12-17 11:24:00.124 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits for
December may fall to 13.34 euros after the contract breached a
technical support level at 14.15 euros, said Clive Lambert, an
analyst at Futures Tech.
For Related News and Information:
Top Stories:{TOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU Carbon Permits Drop to Lowest Since Aug. 2 on Offset Supply
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Carbon Permits Drop to Lowest Since Aug. 2 on Offset Supply
2010-12-17 11:12:43.902 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits fell
to their lowest price since Aug. 2 as the United Nations-
overseen regulator boosted supply of offset credits.
EU carbon futures for December fell as much as 0.8 percent
to 14.14 euros a metric ton on ICE Futures Europe.
Supply of new credits in the UN's Clean Development
Mechanism, the world's second biggest carbon market, will come
close this month to reaching last month's record, IDEAcarbon
said in an e-mailed statement.
Issuance may reach 24.4 million metric tons this month,
compared with 24.8 million tons last month, Alessandro Vitelli,
an analyst at IDEAcarbon in London, said by phone today.
For Related News and Information:
Top Energy Stories:{ETOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
EU Carbon Permits Drop to Lowest Since Aug. 2 on Offset Supply
2010-12-17 11:12:43.902 GMT
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon permits fell
to their lowest price since Aug. 2 as the United Nations-
overseen regulator boosted supply of offset credits.
EU carbon futures for December fell as much as 0.8 percent
to 14.14 euros a metric ton on ICE Futures Europe.
Supply of new credits in the UN's Clean Development
Mechanism, the world's second biggest carbon market, will come
close this month to reaching last month's record, IDEAcarbon
said in an e-mailed statement.
Issuance may reach 24.4 million metric tons this month,
compared with 24.8 million tons last month, Alessandro Vitelli,
an analyst at IDEAcarbon in London, said by phone today.
For Related News and Information:
Top Energy Stories:{ETOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Mathew Carr in London at +44-20-7073-3531 or
m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
yest/ U.K. Power Plan May Require Carbon Price of $34 a Ton
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
U.K. Power Plan May Require Carbon Price of $34 a Ton in 2013
2010-12-16 13:46:16.591 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. proposal to overhaul its
power market may require carbon-dioxide emitters to pay 22
pounds ($34) for every metric ton they emit in 2013, according
to a Redpoint Energy analysis.
Redpoint Energy, a London-based consultant, said in a
report published today on a U.K. government website that CO2
prices would need to rise to 50 pounds a ton by 2020 and 70
pounds a ton by 2030 to encourage investments in nuclear power
and achieve emissions targets for 2030.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
U.K. Power Plan May Require Carbon Price of $34 a Ton in 2013
2010-12-16 13:46:16.591 GMT
By Catherine Airlie
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. proposal to overhaul its
power market may require carbon-dioxide emitters to pay 22
pounds ($34) for every metric ton they emit in 2013, according
to a Redpoint Energy analysis.
Redpoint Energy, a London-based consultant, said in a
report published today on a U.K. government website that CO2
prices would need to rise to 50 pounds a ton by 2020 and 70
pounds a ton by 2030 to encourage investments in nuclear power
and achieve emissions targets for 2030.
For Related News and Information:
Top Power Stories:{PTOP<GO>}
To contact the reporter on this story:
Catherine Airlie at +44-20-7073-3308 or
cairlie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mike Anderson at +44-20-7673-2718 or
manderson34@bloomberg.net
(BN) EU Says CO2 Rules After 2012 Approved Without ‘Major Changes’
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
EU Says CO2 Rules After 2012 Approved Without 'Major Changes'
2010-12-17 00:00:00.3 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union member states
approved a regulatory proposal without "major changes" for
giving away about 100 billion euros ($132 billion) of carbon
permits after 2012.
The EU's Climate Change Committee, with representatives
from national governments, gave the green light on Dec. 15 to
carbon-intensity benchmarks after the European Commission,
regulator for the 27-member bloc, introduced revisions to the
draft it presented on Oct. 22. The modified proposal includes 52
of the 53 originally proposed benchmarks. Five of them were
changed, and one scrapped, said Peter Zapfel, head of policy
coordination in the commission's climate department.
The EU, which has given away the majority of permits since
it started the world's biggest carbon-trading system in 2005,
will move toward auctioning in the eight-year phase through
2020. The allocation method was designed so that the most
efficient installations in a given industry won't need to
purchase more allowances, while those that emit more than the
benchmarks will need to buy permits or reduce emissions.
"There were also some minor, very technical changes
related to new plants that enter the emissions-trading system
and to capacity extension," Zapfel said. The EU is seeking to
balance the goal of reducing allowances in its carbon-trading
market with limiting cost increases for energy-intensive
industries. Refiners and other companies that face higher costs
tried to persuade the EU to put off plans until later this
decade to scale back free allowances.
Hot Metal
The benchmark for hot metal was set at 1.328 permits per
ton of product, in line with the commission proposal and below
the 1.475 allowances sought by the European steel lobby.
The benchmark for oil refiners is 0.0295 allowances per
unit of output, also unchanged from the commission draft. The
benchmark is based on a methodology that allows for the creation
of a single type of output from refineries, or the so-called CO2
Weighted Ton.
The CWT is calculated by multiplying the throughput of a
refinery unit by one of the 57 factors included in the EU
measure that reflect carbon intensity of processing.
The benchmarks, based on the average performance of
installations in the top 10 percentile for carbon efficiency in
2007-2008, will be multiplied by historical production figures
to determine the implied free allocations for industries.
EU nations agreed that the baseline period for calculating
historical production levels may be from 2005 to 2008 or 2009 to
2010, whichever is higher. The vote yesterday set up a three-
month scrutiny period in the EU council of ministers and the
European parliament, after which the measure will be adopted by
the commission.
Harmonizing the Rules
"Now it will be time for heavy technical work by member
states to implement and harmonize the rules," Zapfel said. "By
the end of September next year, we should get actual figures on
allocation per installation from national authorities. If the
number of permits sought exceeds the total cap for allowances to
be allocated for free, a reduction factor will be applied to all
industries."
To prevent businesses from shifting production elsewhere
because of emission restrictions -- a phenomenon known as
"carbon leakage" -- the EU agreed last year to grant 164
manufacturing industries a greater share than other companies of
free CO2 permits after 2012. Those industries will receive 100
percent of benchmarked allowances for free. The list will be
valid through 2014 and then revised based on unchanged criteria.
Manufacturers that aren't on the list will receive 80
percent of benchmarked allowances for free in 2013 and face an
annual decline in that share to 30 percent in 2020, while most
utilities will face 100 percent auctioning as of 2013.
As a result, the EU will auction around 60 percent of the
total number of permits in 2013, according to the commission
estimates, and the proportion will increase in coming years.
The cap for CO2 discharges for 2013 has been set at 2.04
billion tons, valued at about 30 billion euros at today's price.
This limit includes aluminum and chemical makers that join the
program in the third phase. An adjustment is also planned for
airlines that will become part of the system from 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson,
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
EU Says CO2 Rules After 2012 Approved Without 'Major Changes'
2010-12-17 00:00:00.3 GMT
By Ewa Krukowska
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European Union member states
approved a regulatory proposal without "major changes" for
giving away about 100 billion euros ($132 billion) of carbon
permits after 2012.
The EU's Climate Change Committee, with representatives
from national governments, gave the green light on Dec. 15 to
carbon-intensity benchmarks after the European Commission,
regulator for the 27-member bloc, introduced revisions to the
draft it presented on Oct. 22. The modified proposal includes 52
of the 53 originally proposed benchmarks. Five of them were
changed, and one scrapped, said Peter Zapfel, head of policy
coordination in the commission's climate department.
The EU, which has given away the majority of permits since
it started the world's biggest carbon-trading system in 2005,
will move toward auctioning in the eight-year phase through
2020. The allocation method was designed so that the most
efficient installations in a given industry won't need to
purchase more allowances, while those that emit more than the
benchmarks will need to buy permits or reduce emissions.
"There were also some minor, very technical changes
related to new plants that enter the emissions-trading system
and to capacity extension," Zapfel said. The EU is seeking to
balance the goal of reducing allowances in its carbon-trading
market with limiting cost increases for energy-intensive
industries. Refiners and other companies that face higher costs
tried to persuade the EU to put off plans until later this
decade to scale back free allowances.
Hot Metal
The benchmark for hot metal was set at 1.328 permits per
ton of product, in line with the commission proposal and below
the 1.475 allowances sought by the European steel lobby.
The benchmark for oil refiners is 0.0295 allowances per
unit of output, also unchanged from the commission draft. The
benchmark is based on a methodology that allows for the creation
of a single type of output from refineries, or the so-called CO2
Weighted Ton.
The CWT is calculated by multiplying the throughput of a
refinery unit by one of the 57 factors included in the EU
measure that reflect carbon intensity of processing.
The benchmarks, based on the average performance of
installations in the top 10 percentile for carbon efficiency in
2007-2008, will be multiplied by historical production figures
to determine the implied free allocations for industries.
EU nations agreed that the baseline period for calculating
historical production levels may be from 2005 to 2008 or 2009 to
2010, whichever is higher. The vote yesterday set up a three-
month scrutiny period in the EU council of ministers and the
European parliament, after which the measure will be adopted by
the commission.
Harmonizing the Rules
"Now it will be time for heavy technical work by member
states to implement and harmonize the rules," Zapfel said. "By
the end of September next year, we should get actual figures on
allocation per installation from national authorities. If the
number of permits sought exceeds the total cap for allowances to
be allocated for free, a reduction factor will be applied to all
industries."
To prevent businesses from shifting production elsewhere
because of emission restrictions -- a phenomenon known as
"carbon leakage" -- the EU agreed last year to grant 164
manufacturing industries a greater share than other companies of
free CO2 permits after 2012. Those industries will receive 100
percent of benchmarked allowances for free. The list will be
valid through 2014 and then revised based on unchanged criteria.
Manufacturers that aren't on the list will receive 80
percent of benchmarked allowances for free in 2013 and face an
annual decline in that share to 30 percent in 2020, while most
utilities will face 100 percent auctioning as of 2013.
As a result, the EU will auction around 60 percent of the
total number of permits in 2013, according to the commission
estimates, and the proportion will increase in coming years.
The cap for CO2 discharges for 2013 has been set at 2.04
billion tons, valued at about 30 billion euros at today's price.
This limit includes aluminum and chemical makers that join the
program in the third phase. An adjustment is also planned for
airlines that will become part of the system from 2012.
For Related News and Information:
Emission market news: NI ENVMARKET <GO>
Today's top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
European power-markets home page: EPWR <GO>
--Editors: Mike Anderson,
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at +32-2-237-4331 or
ekrukowska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Stephen Voss at +44-20-7073-3520 or
sev@bloomberg.net
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