MORE NEWS, 7-22 ($115 MIL FOR WIND; TUVALU SEEKS SUN; COAL FALLS FARTHER)

$115 MIL FOR WIND
Terra-Gen Power secures $115M in wind financing; New York-based company plans to sell clean, renewable wind energy from Tehachapi, Calif., project to Southern California Edison utility.
July 20, 2009 (Cleantech Group)

"…Terra-Gen Power…has closed $115 million in initial funding of $140 million in pre-construction financing. The funds bring the company one step closer to being able to purchase 100 General Electric 1.5-megawatt SLE wind turbines.

"The wind turbines are planned to be deployed as part of developing the 150-megawatt Alta Wind I wind project in the Tehachapi area of California. The project is the first phase of the Alta Wind Energy Center, a 3,000-megawatt initiative considered to be one of the largest U.S. wind development projects."

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"…[Alta Wind I is owned by California Highwind Power, an affiliate of Terra-Gen Power and its affiliate, ArcLight Capital Partners]…Investors included Calyon, Prudential Capital Group, and CIT…

"Under a 1,550-megawatt power contract with… Southern California Edison, the Alta Wind Energy Center plans to sells its clean, renewable wind energy back to the utility…The power is expected to be transported from the Tehachapi area to southern California via the utility’s Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project—transmission lines designed to handle the growing need for renewable energy in the state…"


TUVALU SEEKS SUN
Tuvalu turns to solar energy - against rising seas
Alister Doyle, July 20, 2009 (Reuters)

"With a highest point 4.5 metres above sea level, the Pacific island state of Tuvalu plans to shift to generate all electricity from renewable energies by 2020, hoping to push other countries to follow suit…

"…[S]olar panels on the main soccer stadium in Funafuti, the capital, are the first step in the plan to end dependence on fossil fuels and slow climate change blamed for pushing up world sea levels. Tuvalu’s goal is to generate all electricity from wind, solar and other green sources."

Tuvalu. (click to enlarge)

"By contrast, European Union nations have among the most ambitious goals among developed countries, aiming to get 20 percent of all energy from renewable sources by 2020.

"Tuvalu’s plan…will cost more than $20 million and will require a lot depend heavily on aid from abroad. That’s a big cost for each of the atolls’ 12,000 citizens - $1,666 - but can have other benefits such as avoiding tanker spills from imported oil…[The plan is made up of] exactly the sort of ”measureable, reportable and verifiable” actions to offset climate change that are being demanded of developing nations in U.N. negotiations on a new climate treaty due to be agreed in December."

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"The Maldives in the Indian Ocean have set an even more ambitious goal of becoming the first “carbon neutral” nation over the next decade. The archipelago plans to shift to wind and solar power and buy carbon credits to offset emissions from tourists flying to visit its luxury vacation resorts.

"…[I]f Tuvalu or the Maldives can go green, so can others?"


COAL FALLS FARTHER
Peabody Energy 2Q Pft Falls 66%, 09 Outlook Undercuts Views
Mark Long and Tess Stynes, July 21, 2009 (Dow Jones via Wall Street Journal)

"Peabody Energy Corp… said its second-quarter earnings fell 66% as global recession continued to crimp coal demand, and pegged its 2009 earnings below market forecasts.

"…[Peabody] and its peers over the past year have been hit hard by a drop in electricity demand and sharply lower steel production, though Peabody said Pacific markets are strengthening, with record net coal imports flowing into China and low stockpiles in India…[A]s a result of growth in Asia, it expects to increase sales at its Australian operations next year, though it maintained its output guidance for this year."

Coal use is down and New Energy use is up. (click to enlarge)

"In the U.S., meanwhile, the company said coal-fired power generation is down more than 9% this year, with stockpiles of coal reaching their highest in years before starting to be drawn down towards the end of June. U.S. coal demand fell to the lowest levels since 2002 in the first quarter, while production slid to mid-2005 levels, according to the Energy Information Administration."

Coal use is down and New Energy use is up. (click to enlarge)

"Peabody, one of the world's biggest coal producers, said… second-quarter U.S. coal output fell nearly 25 million tons year-over-year, but with stockpiles remaining high, 'demand growth or additional supply adjustments will be needed to balance the market.'

"…[Peabody] posted second-quarter profit of $79.2 million, or 29 cents a share, down from $233.3 million, or 85 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue decreased 12% to $1.34 billion…Volume sold edged down by 100,000 tons to 59.5 million…"