UK energy investment hits 20-year high
Investment in the UK's
energy sector is currently running at a 20-year high, with over £43bn invested
by energy companies over the past four years, according to a major new
industry-backed report. The report, entitled Powering the UK, was
undertaken by consultancy Ernst & Young and commissioned by industry body
Energy UK. It found that total energy investment exceeded £10bn last year, with
investment in renewable energy generation capacity dominating the market. The
surge in investment means that the sector has delivered greater levels of
investment than any other part of the economy over the past four years. The
report also revealed that direct employment from the energy industry has risen
significantly as a result of the new investment. To read this article in full click
here
Big Banks Await US Carbon-trading while Focusing on
Core Energy Plays
The major investment banks remain
heavily engaged in the energy markets, hedging fuel prices and even
producing energy for their own or their clients' benefit. But Brad Hintz,
a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. research analyst who tracks the
investment banking and securities industries, told AOL Energy that the big
banks are also positioning themselves for potential regulatory changes which
will force the launch of a national carbon-trading market. "Goldman
Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays are all
major energy traders," Hintz observed. "They are the banking
giants in that space, and they – along with the commodities exchanges – provide
the risk management services needed to balance demand and supply in the global
energy markets." To read this article in full click
here
Cyprus and Egypt talk energy
THE PROSPECTS of cooperation
between Egypt and Cyprus in the energy sector are “enormous”, said Foreign
Minister Erato Kozakou Marcoullis yesterday after meeting her Egyptian
counterpart in Nicosia.
Mohamed Kamel Amr is the
first senior Egyptian official to visit Cyprus since the Egyptian uprising in
2011 forced Hosni Mubarak to step down after 30-years in power. Speaking
after their meeting, Marcoullis said the two discussed a wide range of issues,
including energy and the second round of licensing for offshore blocks in the
Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). She recalled that Egypt was the first
country to sign a delineation agreement on the respective EEZs between the two
countries in 2003. “The prospects of cooperation are enormous,” said
Marcoullis. To read this article in full click
here
Renewable Power Generation In The UK Will Surpass
Nuclear By 2018
Renewable electricity capacity in the
UK is projected to overtake nuclear power by 2018, if the present rates of
growth continue, according to new research. And this clean power will generate
enough electricity to power one in every 10 UK homes by 2015. Currently, the total wind
energy capacity is, by itself, up more than a quarter since 2010. 2012 has been
a “surprisingly good” year for the renewables industry, in spite of “cooling”
government enthusiasm, primarily because of vigorous private investment. Recently,
“more than 100 Tory MPs signed a statement this year opposing new windfarms,
and the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, has queried the future of
subsidies,” the UK’s Guardian notes. But the renewables
industry has continued to vigorously grow, investment in offshore wind has
soared by about 60% to £1.5 billion during the last year. To read this article
in full click
here
Germany Sells Phase 2 Spot EU Carbon Permits at 8.12
Euros
Germany sold 300,000
European Union spot carbon permits at 8.12 euros ($10.52) a metric ton in an
auction today on the European Energy Exchange AG, according to the
bourse’s website. The country is selling as many as 21 million tons of
spot permits and 32 million tons of December futures contracts in weekly sales
as part of its allocation of permits in 2012. The EU’s emissions trading system
is in its second phase, which runs from 2008 to the end of this year. EEX,
based in Leipzig, Germany, has also auctioned Phase 2 permits on behalf of the
Netherlands and Lithuania, and is selling Phase 3 allowances for delivery in
2013 for the European Investment Bank. To read this article in full click
here
Sydney launches $4.3M project to boost renewable
energy
The C40 city of Sydney
has announced the launch of the largest building-mounted solar
project in Australia, committing to install solar photovoltaic panels across 30
sites citywide, beginning with the Sydney Park pavilion. With a total peak
electrical capacity of 1.25 megawatts (MW), the solar project is expected to
reduce the city’s carbon pollution by as much as 2,250 tonnes. Lord Mayor Clover
Moore said the project was an important step in reaching the city’s
environmental goals: “We are committed
to tackling climate change and driving down carbon pollution. The City has one
of the most ambitious targets of any government in Australia – a 70 per cent
reduction in pollution and 30 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by
2030.” To read this article in full click
here
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