QUICK NEWS, 2-2: A P.A.C.E. FOR AFFORDABLE SOLAR; HAWAII’S WAVE POWER; CHINA OIL DRILLERS GO GEOTHERMAL; MASDAR NEW ENERGY CITY EXPANDS ITS REACH

A P.A.C.E. FOR AFFORDABLE SOLAR
A lighter burden; A promising way to defray the cost of going green
January 28, 2010 (The Economist)

"Switching to solar power may help to save the planet. Homeowners, however, aren’t so sure it will save them money. Energy costs may be lower…but the initial expense of installing solar panels puts many people off.

"…[T]he city of Berkeley, California…has just completed a pilot programme in which it lends homeowners the money to put panels on their houses. The owners repay the loans over a period of years through an extra charge on their local property-tax bills. The city raised the money to lend by issuing a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bond, a type of financing geared specifically to making properties more energy-efficient. In the past year 13 states have adopted legislation enabling municipalities and finance companies to issue PACE bonds. Another, Arizona, has a law pending…"

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"Berkeley’s programme was small [and the only one so far directed exclusively at solar power]…[I]t started with only $1.5m…Although 40 homes were signed up at first, 27 withdrew, mostly because their owners found cheaper home-equity loans…The bonds the city used to finance the programme paid a yield of 6.75%; once administrative costs were added, homeowners ended up paying the equivalent of 7.75%. Some people ran into further costs when roofs had to be strengthened. Getting building permits was not always straightforward."

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"But supporters are undeterred. The bond’s interest rate was so high in part because it was launched during the financial crisis, they say. The addition to the tax bill for the pilot programme, $2,000-4,000 a year depending on the type of installation, is offset by savings on homeowners’ energy bills.

"Bond investors can take comfort from the fact that tax obligations rank ahead of mortgage loans if homeowners get into financial difficulties. They also benefit from municipal bonds’ tax-exempt status. The state of California is considering expanding the programme by another $25m and taking it to surrounding counties. Renewable Funding, the investor in the Berkeley bond, says it is setting up similar agreements with other local governments."


HAWAII’S WAVE POWER
Motion for the ocean; Rep. Cynthia Thielen seeks federal funding for a sea-powered Hawai‘I
Emily Hobelmann, January 27, 2010 (Honolulu Weekly)

"Rep. Cynthia Thielen [a wave energy advocate] is one of a dozen legislators from across the nation meeting with top White House officials on renewable energy issues …[They are] members of the Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now…"

[Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Hawaii:] "For any coastal state that has a wave climate that is appropriate for wave energy, I am advocating for wave energy. And it’s not just for Hawaii, but it’s all the coastal states that could tap that powerful and amazing resource…"

Hawaii's gets a new buoy. (click to enlarge)

[Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Hawaii:] "…[Hawaii] can’t reach the goal of the Clean Energy Initiative, which is 70 percent clean energy by the year 2030, unless we tap the power of the ocean. And so that’s why I’ve been such a proponent for wave energy for the last seven years, saying we need to take the steps like they’re doing in Europe…providing government support…[and setting] up, for example, wave hubs, which is actually an underwater socket where the wave energy converters can be plugged into that underwater socket. They can test their devices and then the energy can be fed into the grid…"

[Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Hawaii:] "…[There are functional wave energy systems in place…[and] one that the president saw when he surfed off of the marine base at Pyramid Rock…There’s a much more major project going in on Maui: Oceanlinx is putting in two wave energy converters off of Maui that will be providing power to the grid…"

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[Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Hawaii:] "We’re going back to say…to Congress and the president, we want clean energy legislation now. And we want it now because the states have been taking the lead, but they need the federal government to step in like it did under President John Kennedy, when the “go to the moon” project was announced and the goal was to get there within 10 years, and with America’s ingenuity they got there in eight…"

[Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R-Hawaii:] "…[O]ne of my models is Theodore Roosevelt, who established the National Park System, and he was a Republican. So I think people need to redefine how they box Republicans into a certain definition. I’ve been a green Republican all of my adult life…[I want to tell the President that] wave energy converters can provide 80 percent of all the power that Oahu needs…But it’s not just the president, we’ll be [telling]…his top advisers…we need the federal support and the federal funding to get wave test centers set up. Not just in Hawaii, but in other states…so the international companies will…come and [build] their systems using local talent, using local employees…That’s what I want to see happen…We need [Congress] to fund and we need them to take a look at how significantly this is being done in European countries and why they’re the leaders and we’re not."


CHINA OIL DRILLERS GO GEOTHERMAL
Sinopec starts commercial development of geothermal resources
Qiu Jun, 25 January 25, 2010 (Xinhua via Trading Markets)

"The China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), China's leading oil refiner…has started commercial development of geothermal resources as part of its strategy of low-carbon economic growth.

"Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sinopec Star Petroleum, Sinopec has established a joint venture, Shaanxi Green Energy Geothermal Development, with Icelandic company Enex Kina…in Xian Yang in China's no rthwestern Shaanxi province…The company is engaged in geothermal resources exploitation and utilization as well as the development of related workmanship and technology."

Through 2008, China had put very little geothermal development on the map. But just a few years ago, China had put very little wind development on the map and now it is threatening the world's wind leaders. (click to enlarge)

"Zan Qi, the general manager of Star Petroleum, said that Sinopec 's geothermal development now has the capability to provide heating for 2.6 million square meters of housing in Xiang Yang of Shaanxi province and Baoding of Hebei province, which translates into a reduction of 300,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide emission."

There is potential. (click to enlarge)

"…[T]he company is to provide heating service coverage of 4 million square meters of housing area by the end of 2010…[and] 10 million square meters of housing in the next five years…[G]eothermal power generating and clarification of waste water will also be added to services.

"The Sinopec Group, the parent company of Sinopec, is also engaged in a wide range of new-energy research and development…on bio-fuels and coalbed methane."


MASDAR NEW ENERGY CITY EXPANDS ITS REACH
UAE's Masdar Inks Carbon Trading, Cleantech Deals
Michael Burnham, January 19, 2010 (NY Times)

"The United Arab Emirates' ambitious Masdar "eco-city" is positioning itself to profit from a carbon-constrained global economy…

"The desert city, slated for completion over the next decade, would generate electricity on site from the wind and sun and produce zero net greenhouse gas emissions. And in a new twist, Masdar also would generate cash by buying and selling carbon dioxide emissions globally."

Artist's conception of what Masdar City will look like. (click to enlarge)

"The German utility E.ON AG and Masdar, a unit of Abu Dhabi's state-owned Mubadala Development Co., announced a joint venture…[to] develop tradable carbon credits from emission-reduction projects in Asia and Africa…E.ON Masdar Integrated Carbon (EMIC), will launch later this quarter and focus on projects within the power generation and fossil fuel production sectors…Projects will include reducing leakage from natural gas pipelines, gas flaring from oil wells and electricity consumption at industrial facilities…The resultant carbon credits would be traded under the United Nations' Clean Development Mechanism, as well as future emissions-trading programs…

"E.ON's climate and renewables portfolio includes 2.8 gigawatts of installed capacity in the United States and Europe…When completed, Masdar will be the home of about 50,000 residents, a university and dozens of companies -- all on just 3.7 square miles of land…The walled city will also be the home of the International Renewable Energy Agency, an intergovernmental agency that supports renewable energy deployment…"

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"The Abu Dhabi government contributed $15 billion to the city's first phase of development. The master plan calls for seven development phases through 2018, including the infrastructure to capture, transport and inject industrial CO2 emissions in oil wells…Masdar officials aim to capture and sequester 20 million metric tons of CO2 by 2020…

"Masdar has already inked cleantech finance and development deals with General Electric Co., Siemens AG and other major companies…Boeing, Etihad Airways, Honeywell International Inc. and the nascent Masdar Institute of Science and Technology…[will form the] Sustainable Bioenergy Research Project [which] will use saltwater to grow shellfish as well as mangrove and salicornia, a plant that thrives in salty conditions. The plants would be harvested to produce aviation biofuels and co-products…Masdar and Deutsche Bank launched the DB Masdar Clean Tech Fund and at its first closing, raised $265 million…[to] invest primarily in expansion and later-stage companies in the clean-energy, environmental resources and energy/material efficiency sectors."