MORE NEWS, 6-23 (NY FUND LIKES WIND INVESTMENT LONG-TERM; SOLAR PARITY COMING SOON; BRINGING EU EMISSIONS TRADING SUCCESS TO NY)

NY FUND LIKES WIND INVESTMENT LONG-TERM
$15M to Wyoming Cty wind farm
Emma Orn, 22 June 2009 (WIBV-TV)

"The New York State Common Retirement Fund (the Fund) invested $15 million in Invenergy’s High Sheldon Wind Farm, located in Wyoming County, through Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group, [NY] State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced…

"Invenergy’s High Sheldon Wind Farm’s 75 wind turbines began generating power in March and are feeding the energy to New York state’s electrical grid. The wind farm has the capacity to generate 112.5 MW of energy. As part of its In-state Private Equity Program, the Fund invested $15 million in the High Sheldon Wind Farm through its investment partner Credit Suisse…"

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"The renewable energy generated by High Sheldon Wind Farm is delivered to the electrical grid through an underground collection system that moves energy from the wind turbines to an on-site substation. The wind farm interconnects to the transmission system of New York State Electric & Gas Company…and delivers its renewable energy for sale in the New York Independent System Operator market through this interconnection."

The best winds in NY state are offshore. (click to enlarge)

"Through the In-state Private Equity Program, the Fund invests with private equity managers who seek to invest in companies in New York state that require capital for growth. The program, created in 1999, targets investment of state funds in the New York state economy. The program is designed to provide investment returns consistent with the risk of private equity while also expanding the availability of capital for New York businesses. The program aims to help generate jobs and private sector investment in the state.

"Since 2000, $403.6 million has been invested in 127 companies through the In-state Private Equity Program. The Fund has achieved a 30 percent rate of return on the investments it has exited. DiNapoli added $478 million to the program since he took office in 2007, bringing the total amount committed to the program to $931 million. The Fund has approximately $528 million available to invest in New York-based companies…"


SOLAR PARITY COMING SOON
Solar Could Fall 8% Per Year, Be Competitive in Italy by 2010; A report by the European solar industry association says deploying smart grid technologies and energy storage devices would boost solar energy generation from less than 1 percent of the power supply today to 12 percent by 2020
Ucilla Wang, June 19, 2009 (Greentech Media)

"Solar electricity could compete, cost wise, with other sources of electricity in parts of Southern Europe, by as early as next year, according to an industry report…[C]onducted by the European Photovoltaics Industry Association, [the report] aims to lay out reasons for European Union lawmakers to support more solar friendly policies to achieve their [20%] greenhouse gas reduction and [20%] energy conservation goals [by 2020]….

"If the right steps are taken by policymakers and the industry, then the European Union could get 12 percent of its electricity from solar by 2010, compared with less than 1 percent today. To achieve the 12 percent would require a wide deployment of energy storage and smart grid technologies, the report said…"

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"The cost to produce solar electricity should fall about 8 percent each year, the report said. But at 20 euro cents to 40 euro cents per kilowatt hour, it remains more expensive than fossil fuel-generated power.

"The photovoltaic industry wants to reduce the cost to below 10 euro cents per kilowatt hour for larger systems and below 15 euro cents per kilowatt hour for residential systems. Italy, for example, could see solar electricity cost about the same as other types of power next year thanks to its [solar subsidies,] abundant sunshine and high electricity prices. But…its bureaucracy has made it difficult to get permits to build…"

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"Many European countries, including Germany, Spain, France and Greece, also have deployed their own solar subsidy programs. Those programs tend to require utilities to buy all the solar power available for sale and buy it at government-set prices that are higher than what they would pay for conventional power.

"Under those feed-in tariff policies, home and business owners could potentially make a good profit from owning solar energy systems and selling the electricity to their utilities. The policies also have attracted project developers who build larger-scale projects and sell them to investors…"


BRINGING EU EMISSIONS TRADING SUCCESS TO NY
UK Experts Champion Europe's Carbon Trading Model in New York, June 23-25 at SIFMA Conference
June 19, 2009 (Trayport Limited via PR Newswire)

"Trayport's Elliott Piggott, managing director, and Mark Holt, head of technology, will be in New York June 23-25 to urge US adoption of European advances in carbon trading. They will be delegates to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Technology Management Conference at the New York Hilton.

"Trayport, a key player in global carbon markets, is meeting with media, industry and government to provide the knowledge needed to efficiently reduce air pollution…Trayport, a GFI Group Company, develops and deploys software used by the world's largest trading companies to efficiently trade commodities and other high-profile assets internationally…"

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"Trayport market authorities will recommend ways US policy makers can leverage the European carbon emissions trading experience in light of the Waxman-Markey Climate and Energy Bill and Obama Administration clean air initiatives. They will offer observations on lessons the EU has learned about climate control and carbon cap and trade technology, as well as market efficiency.

"Emission trading in Europe is ahead of North America. Its European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) is the largest multi-national emissions trading platform in the world and a pillar of climate policy in the (EU)."

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"Elliott Piggott, Managing Director, will cover technology transfer from Europe to the US, focusing on benefits and knowledge gained in Europe…Mark Holt, Head of Technology, will explain how carbon credits are used to hedge power in Europe and ways the US can leverage the European experience…

"While the US lagged behind the world in formulating carbon emissions policy during the Bush Administration, President Barack Obama has delivered a mandate to establish the US as a world beacon. Moreover, the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill, or the American Clean Energy and Security Act, ACES, H.R. 2454, that regulates carbon credits and trading is expected to come to a vote in Congress before August."