China Boosts energy, emissions targets after record pollution

The Government reduced the country's CO2 emissions and energy consumption China's top economic planner, said attempts, the national development and Reform Commission per unit of gross domestic product by at least 3.7 per cent in the year 2013 and emissions trading to wear today in a report. Carbon intensity fell 5.02 percent and energy consumption per unit of GDP slid by 3.6 percent last year against targets by 3.5 percent, said the NDRC in Beijing.
China's Cabinet, the State Council, estimated in August energy saving and emission reduction in the five years up to 2015 and the country's largest 2.37 trillion yuan ($380 billion) to spend, that oil companies produce for billion yuan in refinery of upgrades on clean fuel have announced. Official measurements of particulate matter in the air measuring less than 2.5 micrometres, that 993 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing represent the greatest danger for the health rose to a record on 12 Jan. compared to guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) of no more than 25.

"The energy intensity and carbon intensity targets for this year will be met probably Charlie Cao, analyst at Bloomberg of new energy finance in Beijing," said today by phone. "The five-year targets are more difficult to achieve by 2015, especially if economic growth makes it easier in the following years."
The nation wants to reduce energy consumption CO2 intensity per unit of GDP by 16 per cent over the five years by 17 per cent by 2015.

Clean energy
China will expand also the electricity produced from renewable energy sources. Hydropower capacity will climb wind of 18 million and solar energy of 10 million, according to the report by 21 million kilowatts this year. Nuclear power rising 3.24 million kilowatts.

"We are increasingly to save energy and resources and to protect the environment," the NDRC said. "We will continue to reduce the discharge of major pollutants."
The Government will present the pricing mechanisms for oil and gas, reforms the report showed. The NDRC test gas-price programs in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi in South China started in December 2011 and said that it would be expanded nationwide after a review.

Rates, growth
Oil product pricing reform can be announced after the national people's Congress, Neil Beveridge, a senior research analyst with Bernstein in Hong Kong, Feb 25 said. China might be oil company fuel prices according to guideline rates posted by the Government, the official Xinhua News Agency reported March 28, citing Peng Sen, a former Vice President of the NDRC.

Current environmental concerns, a "tight" gas market with strong demand growth and the country always dependent of pipeline and liquefied natural gas imports point to an acceleration which can increase reforms this year and prices, said Scott Darling, analyst with Barclays PLC in Hong Kong, in a report 24 Jan.
China's goal of economic growth at 7.5 percent this year, according to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's work report in Beijing today before his final inaugural speech to nearly 3,000 lawmakers at the annual meeting of the NPC be maintained. GDP expanded 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter compared with 7.4 per cent in the previous period, snapped a seven quarter slowdown, government figures showed Jan. 18.

Copyright 2013 Bloomberg
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Silicon Valley Investors Shifting to Power Grid After Solar Sours

Companies including VantagePoint Capital Partners and Khosla Ventures are stepping up funding for systems to manage electricity, which are typically less capital intensive than solar-panel factories. Venture capital and private-equity financing for renewables dropped to its lowest in at least six years in 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Competition for the best investments from Blackstone Group LP to Warren Buffett along with a plunge in profit from the solar and wind industries prompted the shift. It pushed Silicon Valley into taking smaller stakes in emerging technologies that help squeeze efficiency and flexibility from power supplies.

"We are going through a repositioning of cleantech," said Wal van Lierop, founder of Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital, which is based in Vancouver. "The big sectors -- solar, wind and LEDs -- are in the process of being consolidated. They're maturing, so they fall out of the cleantech opportunity basket. We now are trying to find the next hot spots."

Investment flowing from private equity and venture capital firms into renewable energy fell 34 percent to $5.75 billion last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the lowest since at least 2006. That accounted for 2.2 percent of the $268.7 billion invested in the clean energy industry, down from as much as 6.5 percent in 2008.

Grid Technology

Chrysalix invested in the energy-management providers Enbala Power Networks and AlertMe Ltd. Khosla funded LightSail Energy Inc., which is developing energy storage devices.

"Our specialty is with large technology risk, where if the technology works there's a big economic breakthrough," Vinod Khosla, the billionaire founder of Khosla Ventures in Menlo Park, California, said in an interview. "That's what we keep looking for in all areas."

Alan Salzman, chief executive officer of VantagePoint Capital Partners, said systems that allow energy to be used more efficiently and help the grid cope with variable supplies from wind and solar plants represent the richest new areas.

Energy storage is "an essential component" for renewable energy to thrive, Salzman said. "That's an area that has been hugely underserved historically that we think remains hugely interesting," he said.

Energy Efficiency

VantagePoint, based in San Bruno, California, backed Next Step Living Inc. and Tendril Networks Inc., which developed energy-efficiency software to reduce power consumption.

"One of the disappointments in the U.S. is that our utility smart-grid deployments have really slowed," Salzman said. Deployments have "shifted overseas right now, away from the U.S., because of our regulatory environment," he said. "It doesn't mean that our archaic system -- see Hurricane Sandy -- isn't ripe for updating."

So-called energy smart technologies including efficiency products and equipment for the electricity grid amounted to $2.2 billion of the clean energy investment from venture capital and private equity tracked last year by New Energy Finance. The category accounted for 38 percent of VC/PE funding for clean energy last year, up from 15 percent in 2008.

Renewables Dwindling

Profits have drained away from renewable energy in the past three years as manufacturing capacity surged quicker than demand. Solar cell prices plunged 74 percent since the end of 2010 to 40 cents from $1.46 for each watt of capacity. The cost of installing wind turbines on land fell 15 percent to $81.44 per megawatt of capacity since mid-2009, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates.

That reduced the industry's attractiveness for venture capital companies. With solar, now that the technology is proven, the industry's biggest challenge is driving down costs, said Raj Prabhu, managing partner at Mercom Capital Group in Austin, Texas.

Solyndra LLC got more than $1.2 billion in venture capital funding. Then it liquidated after competition from Chinese manufacturers priced its tubular solar modules out of the market. Panel maker MiaSole Inc. was sold in January to Hanergy Holding Group Ltd. for about $30 million. That's a fraction of the $494.4 million poured into it by Kleiner, Vantage Point and Firelake Capital, according to Mercom Capital Group.

VC Misfires

Another misfire for the VC investors was A123 Systems Inc., a provider of batteries for electric cars. It filed for bankruptcy in October as sales of the vehicles failed to meet expectations. It got at least $278 million from VC firms including North Bridge Venture Partners LP and CMEA Ventures.

"VCs are really good at finding new technologies but not so good at manufacturing," Prabhu said. "They've learned that they need to stick to picking technology winners, not building factories. The new money is going downstream to help build markets. The industry is now mainstream."

As venture capital moves away from traditional renewables, mainstream investors are starting to move in. Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. decided in January to spend as much as $2.5 billion on two large solar farms, after forming a unit dedicated to wind and solar holdings last year.

The private equity company Blackstone Group LP in September bought Vivint Inc. for $2 billion, giving it access to a home-security and energy-management provider with more than 670,000 North American customers. Vivint says the networks that manage these services complement its growing residential solar systems by smoothing the flow of solar power onto the electricity grid and into homes.

Solar's Gleam

A few parts of the solar industry remain attractive for investors, even after the slump in the costs of panels. Elon Musk's SolarCity Corp. has more than doubled since its initial public offering on Dec. 12. It develops rooftop solar systems, which are more economical to install since the price of cells plunged.

Technology to store and conserve energy also is gaining attention among VC investors. Utilities are taking more of their power from renewables. Wind turbines produce power when there's a breeze, and solar only when the sun is up. Integrating those power flows into distribution grids used to coping with steady supplies from coal and nuclear plants requires new systems that give engineers more flexibility.

Black Coral

In December, Next Step Living, a residential energy-efficiency company, raised $18.2 million from VantagePoint, Black Coral Capital and the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund LP.

The month before, billionaire Peter Thiel led a $37.3 million fundraising for LightSail Energy Inc. It's developing storage systems that compress air in tanks and generate power when the air is released, backed by Khosla and Microsoft Inc. founder Bill Gates.

Gates and Khosla also joined French oil company Total SA in May for a $15 million second round for Liquid Metal Battery Corp., now called Ambri Inc., which is building batteries for the power grid that were developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Donal Sadoway.

"We continue to push energy efficiency, which is less capital intensive and allows a company to get into a very big market by improving existing infrastructure rather than having to build a new way of delivering power," said Neil Suslak, a managing partner at Braemar Energy Ventures. "Efficiency and capital-light deals are the flavor of the month."

Copyright 2013 Bloomberg

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Workers left work of Japan after radiation surge shortly

Shinichi Saoshiro and CHISA Fujioka

Tokyo (Reuters) - workers received the command, short escape knit Japanese nuclear power plant on Wednesday after radiation levels increased, a development which the crisis suggested was spiral out of control.

Only hours earlier, another fire broke in the earthquake crippled body which draw small amounts of radiation sent in Tokyo of the past 24 hours, fear in the capital and triggering international alarm.

Workers of attempted a street build so that fire engines could reach reactor No. 4. Flames were no longer on the building of the reactor, but television images showed smoke or steam is visible. A helicopter was also to water at no 3 reactor-casting the roof of a previous explosion-to try its fuel rods, cool broadcaster NHK said was damaged.

Nuclear experts said the solutions for radiation leaks at the Daiichi complex in Fukushima, 240 km to suppress (150 miles north of Tokyo, were what remained as one of the world's worst industrial disasters in memory last desperate efforts to stem cells.)

"This is a slow nightmare," said Dr. Thomas Neff, a research affiliate at the Center for international studies, that of Technology Institute is in the Massachusetts.

Panic about the economic impact of last Friday knocked out $620 billion from Japan's stock market massive earthquake and tsunami in the first two days of the week, but the Nikkei index rebounded on Wednesday to end 5.68 per cent up.

Nevertheless, estimates of losses on the Japanese edition of damage to buildings, production and consumer activity ranged from between 10 and 16 trillion yen ($ 5.125$ 200 billion), up to one and a-half times of the economic losses from the devastating Kobe earthquake in 1995.

Also significant disruption of the global supply chain, particularly in the areas of technology and auto threatens damage to Japan the production of base and infrastructure.

Scores of flights to Japan have been stopped or redirected, Tokyo avoid passengers fear of radiation and on Wednesday, France calls its nationals in the city of either Japan or head in the South of the country to leave.

The fate of hundreds of thousands homeless Quake which the and devastating tsunami, which followed the snow in some of the worst affected areas deteriorated overnight after a cold snap brought.

While the death toll to around 4 ' 000 is, more than 7,000 are listed as missing, and the figure is expected to rise.

In this work of Fukushima authorities spent days desperately trying to prevent water which is intended to the radioactive cores of the reactors of evaporate, leading to overheating and possibly a dangerous meltdown cool.

Concern focuses now on damage to a part of the reactor building No. 4 at the spent rods were stored in pools of water, and also a part of the reactor No. 2, which helps cool and catch the most caesium, Iodine and strontium in its waters.

Japanese officials said that they were talking about military help in the work in the United States.

Earlier concerns that the skeleton handling of the crisis enough, after working for days since the earthquake damaged exhausted the plant were or might not be large crews mounted. Authorities moved leave on Tuesday, only 50 750 workers.

All the remaining were extracted for almost an hour on Wednesday because radiation levels were too high, but there were allowed to return later.

Arnie Gundersen, a veteran 39 years of the nuclear industry, now Chief Engineer at fairwinds Associates Inc and that on reactor designs Daiichi plant, similar to worked said 50 or so people might not babysitter six nuclear power stations.

"That evacuation (750 workers) can be a sign that they throw in the towel," Gundersen said.

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Oil rises above $100 after surprise US supply drop

Singapore - oil prices rose above $100 a barrel Wednesday in Asia a report showed that US crude oil and gasoline supply unexpectedly deleted suggest last week demand can be improved.

Benchmark crude oil April delivery was up 51 cents to $100.14 per barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.66 at $99,63 on Tuesday to rules.

Brent crude was delivery up 23 cents to 115.65 in London April $ per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude oil inventories fell 1.1 million barrels last week, while analysts survey of Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill COS., an increase of 1.6 million barrels had predicted. Inventories of gasoline fell 4.9 million barrels and distillates fell 1.4 million barrels, the API said.

Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday to the Department of energy energy information.

Traders are closely Libya, just, where cut nepotism oil production in the OPEC nation in two battles between supporters and opponents of Moammar. Investors are also concerned violent protests and political upheaval could break in the rest of the region as Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia have more than 60% of proven oil reserves in the world.

"The fear of the underlying the is that the current will spread unrest due to Arab Middle East and Persia, East still," Cameron Hanover, said.

In other NYMEX trading in April contracts, heating oil 0.7 cents on $3.03 rose won a gallon and gasoline 1.9 cents to $3.00 per gallon. Natural gas of futures was by 2.5 percent to $3.85 per 1000 cubic feet.

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