MORE SUNDAY WORLD, 7-26 (FRENCH & PHOENIX IN BIG SUN BUILD; CHINA AND COPENHAGEN; TAIWAN TARGETS NEW ENERGY)

FRENCH & PHOENIX IN BIG SUN BUILD
EDF, First Solar to build French solar panel plant
Muriel Boselli, Marcel Michelson and Nichola Groom (w/Bernard Orr), July 23, 2009 (Reuters)

"EDF Energies Nouvelles and [Phoenix-based] U.S. solar panel maker First Solar Inc…will build France's largest solar panel manufacturing plant [with an initial capacity of around 100 megawatts] at an investment cost of 90 million euros ($128 million)…


"At full production, projected for the second half of 2011, the plant will employ more than 300 people…EDF Energies Nouvelles, which is 50 percent-owned by EDF, has agreed to finance half of the capital expense and plant start-up costs and will get the plant's output for the first 10 years."

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"The move marks First Solar's first foray into the French market. The company, whose lower-cost solar panels are made from cadmium telluride rather than the polysilicon that dominates the market, already has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Germany and Malaysia…

"EDF Energies Nouvelles and First Solar, which will build and operate the plant in France, are still studying where to build it although it was likely they would chose southern France…"

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"France is a small solar market compared to neighbors Germany and Spain, the world's biggest markets for solar power. At the end of last year, however, France pledged to multiply by 400 the amount of solar power used in the country in the next 12 years as part of its plan to double the share of renewables in consumed energies to 23 percent…It plans to install a capacity of 5,400 MW by 2020, or the equivalent of just over three new-generation 1,600-MW nuclear reactors.

"France's installed solar energy production capacity reached 93 MW at the end of the first quarter of 2009, up from 69 MW at the end of 2008…This ranks France the fourth-largest solar energy producer behind Germany, Spain and Italy…"


CHINA AND COPENHAGEN
Climate change pact 'needs' China
Michael Bristow, 24 July 2009 (BBC News)

"UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said there can be no global climate change deal without China's support…[H]e also praised China's efforts so far to promote sustainable economic growth and develop renewable energy sources.

"Experts say China has already committed itself to reducing carbon dioxide emissions - a driver of global warming…World leaders hope to produce a new agreement to tackle climate change at a meeting in Copenhagen in December."

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"Mr Ban was speaking at a UN-backed event in Beijing to promote the use of energy-saving lamps across China…China has already become a world leader in wind and solar technology, he said. The renewable energy sector is worth $17b and employs nearly one million people in China, according to the UN…

"China is the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide, according to Yang Fuqiang, a climate change expert at WWF International…But Mr Yang said China was already trying to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by developing renewable energy sources…[and] improving energy efficiency, developing nuclear power and working on schemes that capture and store pollutants."

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"China hopes to provide 15% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020, added Mr Yang.

"Senior US officials have recently visited China to discus the meeting in Copenhagen later this year. They said they were optimistic about what they had heard."


TAIWAN TARGETS NEW ENERGY
Taiwan Government Initiatives to Stimulate Green Energy Industry
July 8, 2009 (Solar Buzz)

"The Taiwan government has started several initiatives aimed at supporting the growth of the domestic green energy industry, which is helping to cut carbon emissions and make better use of renewable energy. In the next five years, the government will invest a total of NT$45 billion (US$1.4 billion) to boost the industry. The government aims to increase industry revenue to NT$1.5 trillion by 2015, from last year`s NT$160.3 billion.

"By 2015, the industry is expected to account for 6.6% of the total revenue of Taiwan`s manufacturing industry and create 110,000 jobs…"

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"In June, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed the Statute for Renewable Energy, and in April, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan approved a project for new industrial development — The Takeoff Program for the Green Energy Industry…[It] will be divided into two parts.

"The first stage will focus on solar energy and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The aim is to make Taiwan one of the world's top-three producers of solar energy batteries and the world's largest supplier of LED lights and modules. Taiwan will change all of its 700,000 traffic signals to LEDs and by 2011, the island aims to complete the construction of Asia's largest solar power plant. The global market for LEDs, worth about US$5 billion, is likely to more than double in size by 2012 as nations and consumers use the energy-saving lights to cut expenses and help reduce carbon emissions. LEDs are likely to capture a larger portion of the market for nearly every type of lighting such as displays in electronic devices, road signage, traffic lights, large public information screens and video displays."

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"Taiwan’s LED industry…[is] the world’s second largest by revenue…[Some of] Taiwan’s solar cell makers…are among the world’s ten largest solar cell makers by revenues.

"The second stage of the Takeoff Program will promote wind power generation, biofuels, hydrogen energy and fuel cells. Electric vehicles will be among the target products in this phase with the aim of developing Taiwan into a global supplier of wind power generation systems and becoming a key production base for electric vehicles and fuel cell system assembly in the Asia-Pacific region. The government aims to make Taiwan a key center for electric-vehicle manufacturing and fuel-cell assembly…"