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SFCE July 31
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Developer wins lawsuit against Suntech
Jul 31, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Max Hall
Shunfeng-owned Wuxi Suntech must reimburse ZKenergy with $38.5m and counting. Claim stems from broken module supply agreement. Chinese turnkey wind and solar developer ZKenergy Science and Technology... -
Wuxi Suntech loses ZKenergy module court case
Jul 31, 2015 | PV Tech
By Liam Stoker
Module manufacturer Wuxi Suntech has lost a lawsuit filed by renewable energy developer ZKenergy in a dispute over a RMB206 million (US$33.17 million) sales contract. ZKenergy filed the lawsuit in September last year... -
ZKenergy wins failed delivery case against Wuxi Suntech
Jul 31, 2015 | See News Renewables
By Militsa Mancheva
Chinese firm ZKenergy Science & Technology Co Ltd will receive CNY 206 million (USD 33.2m/EUR 30.3m) in restitution payments along with up to CNY 30.9 million in interest and penalties from Wuxi Suntech Power over a breached supply contract. -
ZKenergy Wins Lawsuit Against Wuxi Suntech in First Trial
Jul 31, 2015 | PR Newswire
ZKenergy Science & Technology Co., Ltd. ("ZKenergy") announced today that the company has won the lawsuit against Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. ("Wuxi Suntech") over contract disputes and received the Notice of Judgment on July 23, 2015, in reference to Case (2014) Sushang First Trial-00022. -
China Tightens Emissions Targets for Coal-Fired Plants
Jul 31, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China has given its eight major state-owned coal-fired electricity providers new targets for the amount of their energy production capacity they need to upgrade to meet emissions reduction and energy efficiency targets by the end of the year. -
Striding Toward A Climate Deal
Jul 30, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Steven K. Gibb
A recently unveiled draft of a new global climate change treaty is bringing the long-sought pact a step closer to completion. United Nations negotiations on the accord are scheduled to conclude this December at a meeting in Paris. -
China Solar Installations = 7.7 Gigawatts In 1st Half Of 2015
Jul 30, 2015 | Clean Technica
By Joshua S Hill
Official figures from China’s National Energy Administration have shown that the country only installed 7.7 GW of new solar in the first half of 2015. The National Energy Administration (NEA) also admitted that congestion on the grid caused by a higher share of solar energy forced 9% of total installed solar PV to sit idle for the first 6 months of 2015. -
UK solar growth stalls following government subsidy cuts
Jul 30, 2015 | The Guardian
By Adam Vaughan
The amount of solar power being installed in the UK has largely flatlined since the closure by the government of a subsidy scheme in April, even before a new round of subsidy cuts has taken effect. Official figures released on Thursday show that large-scale solar farm developers rushed to connect... -
Germany Breaks Renewable Energy Record
Jul 30, 2015 | EcoWatch
By Emily J. Gertz
Germany’s transition from coal- and oil-fired power to carbon-free electricity hit a new milestone on July 25 when solar, wind, and other sources of renewable energy met 78 percent of the day’s energy demand. -
UK aims to make solar and wind power subsidy-free
Jul 31, 2015 | Financial Times
By Lucy Hornby
Solar and wind power generators can prosper in Britain without subsidies, UK energy secretary Amber Rudd said, defending her plans to slash renewable energy subsidies and cut funds for home energy efficiency. The Conservative government has ended solar and woodchip power subsidies early and cut schemes... -
OECD Pushes for Green Taxes; Businesses Urge Caution
Jul 31, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rick Mitchell
Policymakers should use environmental taxes and carbon pricing to ensure that green growth strategies take root in their economies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report. -
Chinese Direct Investment in the U.S. Energy Economy
Jul 30, 2015 | Center for America Progress
By Melanie Hart and Angela Luh
Chinese companies are building solar farms, wind farms, electric vehicle manufacturing plants, and other greenfield energy projects across the United States. They are also investing in existing U.S. energy companies and, in some cases, saving those companies from bankruptcy. State governors and city mayors across the nation...
Suntech News
Industry News
Full Text of Stories Below
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Developer wins lawsuit against Suntech
Jul 31, 2015 | PV Magazine
By Max Hall
Shunfeng-owned Wuxi Suntech must reimburse ZKenergy with $38.5m and counting. Claim stems from broken module supply agreement.
Chinese turnkey wind and solar developer ZKenergy Science and Technology has added RMB206 million-plus ($33 million) to the list of liabilities of Shunfeng International after its acquisition of former solar giant Wuxi Suntech.
The developer filed a claim for breach of contract over a Suntech module supply deal on September 1, 2014, claiming restitution of RMB206 million paid after the troubled former world number one failed to honour the contract.
With the case due to be heard two days later, Suntech – acquired later that year by Cheng Kin Ming's Shunfeng – filed a counter-claim on Christmas Day 2014 for RMB246.6 million ($39.7 million) in losses but ZKenergy won its claim last Thursday with the Jiangsu Province Higher People's Court rejecting Suntech's counter-claim, according to a report run by the PR Newswire this morning (Friday).
The terms of the judgement stipulate Shunfeng has until Sunday to pay the amount plus interest and penalties.
The additional charges will be based upon the benchmark lending rate of the People's Bank of China for the nine-month period from March 31 to the end of 2014 plus a figure based on four times the lending rate for the period from January 1 this year until the date of payment. The latter figure is capped at a maximum RMB30.9 ($4.97 million) after which calculation reverts to the benchmark rate.
Under historic People's Bank lending rates, that adds up to around RMB34,2 million ($5.5 million) in interest and penalties plus around RMB108,000 ($17,395) per day until the RMB30.9 limit is reached and then around RMB27,000 ($4,349) per day.
Link: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/developer-wins-lawsuit-against-suntech_100020448/#axzz3hNgTcLRh
PV Magazine Germany: http://www.pv-magazine.de/nachrichten/details/beitrag/zkenergy-gewinnt-mit-klage-gegen-wuxi-suntech_100020020/
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Wuxi Suntech loses ZKenergy module court case
Jul 31, 2015 | PV Tech
By Liam Stoker
Module manufacturer Wuxi Suntech has lost a lawsuit filed by renewable energy developer ZKenergy in a dispute over a RMB206 million (US$33.17 million) sales contract.
ZKenergy filed the lawsuit in September last year, alleging that Wuxi Suntech failed to deliver a shipment of modules ordered by the firm. ZKenergy requested that it be repaid the total amount paid under the contract and be liable for breaching the sales agreement.
Wuxi Suntech then filed a counterclaim on 25 December and requested that ZKenergy pay the firm the amount it said it had lost from the contract stand-off, totalling RMB246.6 million (US$39.7 million).
In a judgement reached last week but announced today, the Jiangsu Province Higher People’s Court ruled in favour of ZKenergy and ordered Wuxi Suntech to repay the total RMB206 million plus interest and penalties for the period running 31 March to 31 December 2014 up to a total added sum of RMB30.9 million (US$4.9 million).
The court did however reject other claims laid against Wuxi Suntech by ZKenergy as well as the module manufacturer’s counterclaims.
In April last year Shunfeng Photovoltaic completed its acquisition of Wuxi Suntech after gaining shareholder approval, paying RMB3 billion (US$483 million) for the company through Wuxi’s bankruptcy court.
Suntech was unavailable to comment at the time of publication.
Link: http://www.pv-tech.org/news/wuxi_suntech_loses_zkenergy_module_court_case
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ZKenergy wins failed delivery case against Wuxi Suntech
Jul 31, 2015 | See News Renewables
By Militsa Mancheva
Chinese firm ZKenergy Science & Technology Co Ltd will receive CNY 206 million (USD 33.2m/EUR 30.3m) in restitution payments along with up to CNY 30.9 million in interest and penalties from Wuxi Suntech Power over a breached supply contract.
In September last year, solar and wind product maker ZKenergy took the domestic photovoltaics (PV) manufacturer to court, claiming it had failed to deliver on time products, which had already been paid in full. After ZKenergy demanded that the supplier returns the payments it has received for the solar modules and be held liable for breach of the agreements, Wuxi Suntech filed a counterclaim in end-December 2014.
In a press release on Friday, ZKenergy said it has been informed by the Jiangsu Province Higher People's Court that it won the case. As a result, Wuxi Suntech is to pay the sum within 10 days of the judgment going into effect. All other claims and counterclaims were rejected by the court.
Wuxi Suntech was the main unit in China of Suntech Power Holdings before it was acquired by Shunfeng International Clean Energy Ltd (SFCE).
(CNY 1.0 = USD 0.161/EUR 0.147)
Link: http://renewables.seenews.com/news/zkenergy-wins-failed-delivery-case-against-wuxi-suntech-486571
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ZKenergy Wins Lawsuit Against Wuxi Suntech in First Trial
Jul 31, 2015 | PR Newswire
ZKenergy Science & Technology Co., Ltd. ("ZKenergy") announced today that the company has won the lawsuit against Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. ("Wuxi Suntech") over contract disputes and received the Notice of Judgment on July 23, 2015, in reference to Case (2014) Sushang First Trial-00022.
ZKenergy filed a lawsuit against Wuxi Suntech on September 1, 2014, alleging that the latter failed to perform its obligations under the terms of Solar Module Sales Contract (No.C-M-201312127) and the supplementary agreement, and requiring Wuxi Suntech to restitute the payment totaling 206 million RMB and to be liable for breach of the agreements. ZKenergy received the notice that the court had agreed to hear the case on September 3, 2014. Wuxi Suntech filed a counterclaim to ZKenergy's claim on December 25, 2014, requiring ZKenergy to pay its loss of 246.6 million RMB.
The Jiangsu Province Higher People's Court entered the first-trial judgment as follows: "1. Wuxi Suntech is to restitute the payment totaling 206 million RMB within 10 days of the judgment going into effect, as well as pay interest and penalties due to the breach of the agreement (from March 31, 2014 to December 31, 2014, with the interest calculated on the basis of the benchmark lending rate set by The People's Bank of China for the same period and the principal of 206 million RMB; from January 1, 2015 to the actual date of payment, with interest and penalties calculated on the basis of four times the benchmark lending rate set by The People's Bank of China for the same period and the principal of 206 million RMB. However, interest and penalties calculated based on this criterion shall not exceed 30.9 million RMB; and, in the event interest and penalties exceed 30.9 million RMB, from the date when they start to exceed this amount to the actual date of payment, interest and penalties are to be calculated based on the benchmark lending rate set by The People's Bank of China for the same period and the principal of 206 million RMB. 2. Reject ZKenergy's other claims. 3. Reject Wuxi Suntech's counterclaims."
Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited (HK01165, formerly and until November 2014 "Shunfeng Photovoltaic International") acquired a controlling stake in Wuxi Suntech in 2014 from Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP, "Suntech Power"). Shunfeng International Clean Energy, listed in Hong Kong on July 13, 2011, is a manufacturer of solar wafers, cells and modules.
Link to the case judgment: http://www.zkenergy.com/news/zknews/653.htmlAbout ZKenergy
ZKenergy Science & Technology Co., Ltd is a high-tech company that specializes in the development, manufacturing and application of products in the clean energy field and supplies turnkey solutions and core parts for small-and medium-sized wind and solar integrated application systems.
Link: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zkenergy-wins-lawsuit-against-wuxi-suntech-in-first-trial-300121788.html
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China Tightens Emissions Targets for Coal-Fired Plants
Jul 31, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Michael Standaert
China has given its eight major state-owned coal-fired electricity providers new targets for the amount of their energy production capacity they need to upgrade to meet emissions reduction and energy efficiency targets by the end of the year.
The goals, almost all of which were strengthened, are in line with an action plan on upgrading the coal-fired power industry released last September.
The plan requires coal-fired power plants to upgrade a certain percentage of their energy production capacity—using more advanced processes and technological upgrades than elsewhere in their plants—with the ultimate goal of cutting airborne pollution and carbon emissions and increasing energy efficiency.
A National Energy Administration announcement July 28 said the eight companies—China Huaneng Group, Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd, China Huadian Corp., China Guodian Corp., China Power Investment Corp., China Shenhua Energy Group, Huarun Group, and the State Development & Investment Corp.—also will be required to report their progress to authorities every quarter.
Originally under the action plan, which runs through 2020, seven of the eight companies were given lower 2015 targets. But the targets are subject to revisions, such as those announced July 28.
Specifics for Each Power Plant
China Power Investment Corp. saw a large jump in the amount of energy production it will have to upgrade for greater energy efficiency, with a new goal of 15.6 gigawatts compared to the original target of 5.49 gigawatts. The company also must upgrade 6.16 gigawatts of capacity for emissions reduction goals compared to a previous figure of 1.3 gigawatts.
Huadian's new target includes emissions reduction upgrades for 6.47 gigawatts compared with the previously announced target of 2.16 gigawatts.
The State Development & Investment Co. must improve its energy savings targets, with 6.08 gigawatts required to be upgraded compared to the 2.55 gigawatts originally announced.
Huaeng now will be required to upgrade emissions reduction processes and technology on 5.39 gigawatts of its power production, compared to its original target of 1.6 gigawatts.
Datang, which originally had no emissions upgrade target for this year, now has a 2015 emissions reduction upgrade target of 1.84 gigawatts.
Shenhua was the only provider whose target was lowered, with a new goal of 9 gigawatts of capacity upgrades for emissions reduction compared to the 12.53 gigawatts previously set.
Link (subscription needed): http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=73542217&vname=dennotallissues&fn=73542217&jd=73542217
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Striding Toward A Climate Deal
Jul 30, 2015 | Chemical & Engineering News
By Steven K. Gibb
A recently unveiled draft of a new global climate change treaty is bringing the long-sought pact a step closer to completion. United Nations negotiations on the accord are scheduled to conclude this December at a meeting in Paris.
The centerpiece of the draft, which was released in late July, is promises by virtually every country in the world to control greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to restrain average global warming to 2 °C above preindustrial levels by 2100.
Prepared by the cochairs of the UN talks, the draft reduces the number of thorny details that governments must resolve if they are to finish the deal by December. But some still remain. For example, negotiators have yet to determine how to provide financial support to poorer countries for adaptation to climate change effects such as sea-level rise. Cochairs Daniel Reifsnyder of the U.S. and Ahmed Djoghlaf of Algeria based their draft on the results of climate talks that have taken place in recent years.
The cochairs “have created a clear structure for parties to negotiate more efficiently and effectively,” explains Jennifer Morgan, global director for climate with the World Resources Institute, a think tank.
In the draft, individual countries will set emissions control targets and deadlines for themselves. Governments are in the process of sharing their national plans with negotiators in preparation for the Paris meeting.
As part of that effort, President Barack Obama in March pledged that the U.S. will cut its emissions 26–28% by 2025. The White House says this can be done through regulations already in place and a new EPA rule, expected to be finalized soon, to cut carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Conservative Republican senators are attacking Obama’s goal as unattainable—and are asking the President for documentation about how his plan would work.
By casting doubts on Obama’s plan, the senators may raise doubts among their fellow lawmakers—as well as in foreign capitals—about whether the U.S. can live up to Obama’s commitment.
Link: http://cen.acs.org/articles/93/i31/Striding-Toward-Climate-Deal.html
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China Solar Installations = 7.7 Gigawatts In 1st Half Of 2015
Jul 30, 2015 | Clean Technica
By Joshua S Hill
Official figures from China’s National Energy Administration have shown that the country only installed 7.7 GW of new solar in the first half of 2015.
The National Energy Administration (NEA) also admitted that congestion on the grid caused by a higher share of solar energy forced 9% of total installed solar PV to sit idle for the first 6 months of 2015.
The official figures show that China installed 7.73 GW of solar in the first half of this year, made up of 6.69 GW of utility-scale solar and the remaining 1.04 GW from distributed solar, but none of this is very surprising, according to experts.
PV-Tech relayed the thoughts of Beijing-based solar industry consultant, Frank Haugwitz, who was unsurprised by China’s solar figures. “The fairly large share of utility-scale is no surprise, given the myriad of prevailing constraints attached to classical distributed projects,” he said. “If you look at the provincial breakdown, it’s no surprise that a few provinces so far underperformed, in other cases it’s rather the opposite, they out-perform.”
Likewise, Greentech Media launched a stinging attack on China’s solar industry, claiming that there is yet “another reason we can’t fully trust China’s solar installation numbers.”
US-based solar proponents have often been critical of China’s solar industry, unhappy to lose out in installation figures. However, as Greentech Media points out, there are some legitimate reasons why all may not be as it seems, if one only looks at the officially-provided figures. They quote a Bloomberg report from January that showed 23% of panels sampled around China failed to meet the country’s own technical standards, and added that “project owners have faced interconnection delays, which served to cut installations by 3 gigawatts in 2014 compared to 2013 levels.” Such stories shine a new light on past stories, therefore. In April, China revealed that it had installed 5.04 GW of new solar in the first quarter of the year. If this is the case, then only 2.69 GW was installed in the second quarter, with no real way to measure what of that was left idle or actually connected and used.
Link: http://cleantechnica.com/2015/07/30/china-solar-installations-7-7-gigawatts-in-1st-half-of-2015/
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UK solar growth stalls following government subsidy cuts
Jul 30, 2015 | The Guardian
By Adam Vaughan
The amount of solar power being installed in the UK has largely flatlined since the closure by the government of a subsidy scheme in April, even before a new round of subsidy cuts has taken effect.
Official figures released on Thursday show that large-scale solar farm developers rushed to connect to the grid in March to get in before the government excluded farms larger than 5MW, enough to power 2,500 homes, from its renewable obligation (RO) scheme.
But installations largely trickled to a halt after April, when the payments were stopped for new farms.
Developers of smaller solar farms, those that are less than 5MW, are next in the firing line of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc), which has announced a series of attacks on renewable energy since the general election in May.
From April 2016, those smaller farms will also no longer be able to access the renewable obligation scheme. Announcing the move last week, energy and climate change secretary, Amber Rudd, said the change was needed to “keep bills as low as possible for hardworking families”.
This week Friends of the Earth wrote to her saying that the changes to smaller solar farms were so substantial that the length of consultation was unfair and should be extended by four weeks. Alasdair Cameron, the group’s renewables campaigner, said it was “rushed” and “undemocratic”.
Rudd announced that a separate scheme that pays householders for energy generated by solar panels on their roofs, the feed-in tariff, is also up for review in the autumn. The scheme, launched in 2010, has helped put panels on more than half a million homes.
Leonie Greene, a spokeswoman for the Solar Trade Association, said: “Next year we are sadly expecting solar installations to decline due to the government taking away key support for the industry at no notice. It therefore is essential that the forthcoming feed-in tariff proposals continue to provide adequate support to the industry if we are to have a strong UK solar industry.” The trade body said that due to a lag, the Decc figures were about 10% lower than in reality.
However, the increase in UK solar power capacity over the last year, and a run of sunny weather, led to a 153% jump of electricity output from solar in the second quarter of 2015 versus the same period in 2014.
Energy analyst EnAppSys, which highlighted the figure, said in a briefing note: “This represents the first time period in which GB [Great Britain] has seen significant levels of solar generation and the other generators in the market have had to adapt to this change.”
The Guardian has also found that the Big Six energy companies – British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Npower, SSE and Scottishpower – have no commercial solar power capacity on their generation arms.
The companies source their energy from coal, gas, nuclear and other renewables, such as wind power. But when contacted to see what percentage of their energy capacity is from solar, all said it was zero.
Juliet Davenport, the CEO of utility Good Energy, which sources 21% of its energy from solar, said: “It’s a shame the ‘dinosaurs’ in this industry have not embraced new technology like solar. I think customers want to know exactly where their energy is coming from. People are becoming more and more engaged in the energy market, and I think the bigger companies need to recognise this.”
Separate figures published today showed that 50% of the UK’s renewable electricity now comes from wind power. RenewableUK said the figures showed the government – which has announced an end to onshore wind subsidies – should not shoot the ‘lion’ of the renewable sector.
Dr Gordon Edge, the trade body’s director of policy, said: “Onshore and offshore wind is delivering the lion’s share of the clean electricity we need to keep the UK powered up. But, when it comes to onshore wind, the government is lining up this lion to be shot.”
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/30/uk-solar-growth-stalls-following-government-subsidy-cuts
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Germany Breaks Renewable Energy Record
Jul 30, 2015 | EcoWatch
By Emily J. Gertz
Germany’s transition from coal- and oil-fired power to carbon-free electricity hit a new milestone on July 25 when solar, wind, and other sources of renewable energy met 78 percent of the day’s energy demand.
That beat the old record of 74 percent, made in May 2014, according to Craig Morris, a journalist who has covered Germany’s energy scene for more than a decade.
Helping set the record was an unusual weather pattern that brought heavy winds where most of the nation’s wind turbines are located. As the turbines generated more power, utilities ramped down coal- and gas-fired power plants.
But Morris found the power mix a few days earlier even more encouraging. During the night of July 22, even with darkness reducing solar output to zero and no big winds in the forecast, renewables—wind, biomass, and hydropower—generated nearly 25 percent of Germany’s electricity.
Morris found the energy data for both dates using an online tool sponsored by the Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.
Germany’s experience shows that solar and wind can keep the lights on in a highly industrialized nation, said Osha Gray Davidson, author of Clean Break, a book about Germany’s transition to carbon-free energy. “The key indicator is percentage of electricity produced by different sources—28 percent of Germany’s electricity comes from renewables annually, which is pretty amazing for large industrialized country,” Davidson said.
Germany is a model for the U.S., he said, “because manufacturing accounts for much more of the German economy than the American economy and they have 80 million people—much larger than a country like Denmark, which gets more of its power from renewables but has a much smaller industrial base and has a population of five and a half million people.”
The U.S. currently gets around 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
Link: https://ecowatch.com/2015/07/30/germany-breaks-renewable-energy-record/
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UK aims to make solar and wind power subsidy-free
Jul 31, 2015 | Financial Times
By Lucy Hornby
Solar and wind power generators can prosper in Britain without subsidies, UK energy secretary Amber Rudd said, defending her plans to slash renewable energy subsidies and cut funds for home energy efficiency.
The Conservative government has ended solar and woodchip power subsidies early and cut schemes aimed at better insulating and powering homes, citing the programmes’ inefficiencies and cost to taxpayers. The cuts have led to protests from climate change groups and, in some cases, ndustryi.
“I feel we can deliver on low-carbon electricity through less subsidy,” Ms Rudd said in Beijing, where she met Chinese officials ahead of climate change negotiations in Paris in December. “The point about subsidies is they should be something that provides support, ahead of going without subsidies. Nobody wants subsidies to be there permanently.”“I will be talking to the solar industry to make sure that the support we are going to continue giving them for a little while longer does actually focus in the right area, to help become subsidy-free,” she said, adding that three onshore wind developers had already approached her about developing wind power without subsidies. Detailed proposals to do so are still on the drawing board.
One solution could be for China to replicate the “remarkable” cost savings it has achieved with the manufacture of solar panels with the turbines needed for power generation from offshore wind, Ms Rudd said. “It’s one of the reasons I am very keen to see them involved in offshore wind. They don’t have much offshore wind at the moment but we hope that they will, and I think it would have a corresponding impact on the prices.”
Chinese manufacturers have already reduced the cost of turbines used to generate electricity from onshore wind but have not yet mastered the more complex technology needed for offshore wind.
The rapid, subsidy-fuelled expansion of the Chinese solar manufacturing industry has driven down the cost of solar panels by about 75 per cent over five years. That has made solar power much more affordable for households and other countries’ renewable energy programmes overseas.
At the same time it has caused chaos in the solar industry, driving many overseas manufacturers out of the business and leaving Chinese companies struggling with razor-thin margins, heavy debt and crushing overcapacity.
Creditors of Suntech, formerly the largest Chinese panel manufacturer, are still trying to recoup investments from the nation’s first overseas bond default while Yingli Green Energy Holding, the world’s second-largest panel manufacturer, has denied reports of production halts at some of its north China plants. Solar and wind aside, new nuclear investment is “incredibly important” to the UK’s plans to move away from coal, given that most of its nuclear plants are reaching their end of design life soon. New plants will have to be built to maintain nuclear’s share of the country’s energy mix.
Ms Rudd said she expects that a deal for Hinkley Point C, Britain’s first new nuclear power plant in 25 years, could be signed during the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to the UK in October.
The Hinkley Point deal has been pushed back as costs have ballooned at sister reactors under construction in Finland, France and China. Timetables have also been pushed back, most recently because of the discovery of flaws in the steel of the reactor vessel at the French plant.
The main Chinese partner, China General Nuclear, is pushing for a greater portion of the supply chain, partly to lay the ground for a second reactor vessel at the Bradwell site, where it expects to lead the project.
Ms Rudd said CGN has committed to a portion of the Hinkley Point supply chain coming from Britain while issues of Chinese shareholding still remain to be ironed out with lead developer, EDF of France.
Link: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2a724722-3745-11e5-b05b-b01debd57852.html#axzz3hTCMQ6zk
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OECD Pushes for Green Taxes; Businesses Urge Caution
Jul 31, 2015 | BNA Daily Environment Report
By Rick Mitchell
Policymakers should use environmental taxes and carbon pricing to ensure that green growth strategies take root in their economies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report.
The Paris-based organization's 100-page report, released July 27, evaluated the progress of its 34 member countries and a handful of non-OECD emerging economies on implementing the green growth framework it launched in 2011.
The framework called for countries to use environmental protection regulation, taxation and other policy tools to spur economy-boosting innovation in the private sector, while simultaneously improving environmental protection (62 DEN A-8, 4/2/12).
The report cited a “transition in progress” toward a green-growth model that faces eight key challenges. Of those, two specifically address taxation, while two address using “pricing” instruments, including taxes, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, water and transport use, and waste.
The OECD said undertaxation of company cars costs OECD economies an estimated 116 billion euros ($128 billion) a year in social costs from traffic congestion, air pollution and accidents, on top of an estimated 26.8 billion euros ($29.6 billion) in lost tax revenues.
‘Mixed Bag of Policies.’
Officials at the U.K.-based Christian Aid, a tax justice nongovernmental organization, told Bloomberg BNA in a July 30 e-mail that “governments often talk the talk about a low carbon economy, but in practice tend to have a mixed bag of policies with very little coherence. And environmental taxes are often undermined by tax breaks and subsidies that actually achieve the opposite effect.”
Christian Aid urged finance ministries to integrate climate in macro-economic models and “adopt the OECD methodology so that investors, businesses, and indeed government officials get a complete picture of what's really going on. To work well there needs to be sufficient monitoring and the capacity to review and adjust if needed.”
Norine Kennedy, vice president for environment, energy and strategic international engagement at the U.S. Council for International Business, said although businesses welcome the OECD's work on green growth, it is concerned that over-reliance on tax and pricing measures could hurt industrial competitiveness. Governments shouldn't “simply impose another layer of costs through double taxation or contradictory signals,” she said.
2 Percent of Revenues
The OECD report said nearly all the countries analyzed use environment-related taxation, which it called a cost-effective way to achieve environmental goals, ensuring market prices reflect a proportion of environmental costs associated with economic activity.
According to its findings, however, OECD countries get on average only 2 percent of their revenue from green taxes, as expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product. Citing countries such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovenia and Turkey, where environmental taxes contribute more than 3.5 percent of revenues, the OECD said there is still scope to improve tax revenues in other countries.
Although Kennedy noted that taxes and pricing have long appealed to governments both as an environmental policy tool and revenue source, she pointed out that some green taxes or charges become simply revenue-raising mechanisms, leading to economic and fiscal distortions and reduced industrial competitiveness. “In order to avoid this, governments ought to reduce other taxes that are more distortive to economic growth to offset any additional revenue raised by environmental taxes,” she said.
‘Fiscally Harmful … Discrepancies.’
Another green growth challenge the OECD posed is to reduce environmentally and fiscally harmful discrepancies in tax systems, such as a favorable tax treatment for diesel fuel (124 DEN A-6, 6/29/15).
According to the report, all 34 OECD member countries levy taxes on the use of company cars for personal purposes more favorably than they do wage income, with two-thirds of countries capturing no more than 50 percent of the benefit to employees as taxable compared with a neutral-taxation benchmark, the organization said.
It projected that Germany's income tax deductions based on distances driven will cause an estimated 2 million tons of additional carbon dioxide emissions a year in 2015 and 2.6 million tons a year by 2030, in addition to lost tax revenue and social costs.
‘Carefully Designed’ Carbon Pricing
Establishing an explicit price for carbon dioxide emissions through taxation or tradable permit systems is generally the most cost-efficient way to reduce such emissions, the OECD said. It noted that about 40 national and 20 subnational jurisdictions have implemented or are considering such mechanisms.
The carbon prices set in most jurisdictions remain far too low to be effective, however, and in many countries political opposition is a big challenge to implementing them, the OECD said.
Strong political leadership, consultation and gradual adoption of mechanisms can contribute to successful implementation of permit mechanisms. For carbon taxes, refunding tax revenues to consumers, such as by reducing income or business taxes or by raising budgets for social services, can help reduce resistance, it said.
Nevertheless, carbon pricing continues to struggle to gain momentum in many parts of the world, the OECD said.
Low-Carbon Pathways
Christian Aid said carbon pricing alone is not enough to achieve climate goals. Further regulatory measures developed as part of national low-carbon economic strategies are needed.
“This has an impact beyond OECD countries as climate financing and technical support is needed to help developing countries leapfrog toward low-carbon development pathways and resilient economies,” it said.
The NGO said industry lobbying has tended to water down effective carbon pricing policies, so governments should ensure that “a few powerful voices do not win out and influence tax policy at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable.”
Kennedy noted that carbon pricing instruments can be a cost-effective tool to spur emissions reductions, but said they are not a good fit for every country or jurisdiction.
“Other approaches, such as incentive-based systems or efficiency standards, may be a more viable option elsewhere. In any event, carbon pricing schemes need to be carefully designed to promote a global level playing field and enable trade-driven growth,” Kennedy said.
Link: http://news.bna.com/deln/DELNWB/split_display.adp?fedfid=73542220&vname=dennotallissues&fn=73542220&jd=73542220
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Chinese Direct Investment in the U.S. Energy Economy
Jul 30, 2015 | Center for America Progress
By Melanie Hart and Angela Luh
Chinese companies are building solar farms, wind farms, electric vehicle manufacturing plants, and other greenfield energy projects across the United States. They are also investing in existing U.S. energy companies and, in some cases, saving those companies from bankruptcy. State governors and city mayors across the nation have gone to great lengths to bring in these investment deals so that local residents can benefit from new employment opportunities and new energy infrastructure.
The Center for American Progress tracked Chinese direct investment activity in the U.S. energy economy to identify current growth areas and highlight where assistance may be needed to expand that growth in the future. CAP found that some of these projects are clustered geographically in U.S. states or regions with particular comparative advantages: Most fossil fuel investments are based on geology—where oil and gas plays are most active, Chinese firms are interested in acquiring a share of the production profits.Clean energy investments are much more likely to chase good policy. Due to strong state policy programs, Texas is a top destination for wind investments, New Jersey is a top destination for solar, and California is a top destination across multiple renewable energy sectors.
Not every state has fossil fuel resources, but all U.S. states have the ability to develop and produce renewable energy. The business case for doing so is heavily influenced by state policy. Where states formulate good policy, investment will follow, including foreign direct investment from China and other nations.
Link: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2015/07/30/118379/chinese-direct-investment-in-the-u-s-energy-economy/
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