STUFF

Gaelectric Holdings got $84M to build 13 onshore wind farms in Ireland. Enercon turbines. Cost ~$325M for 164Mw. '17 completion.

US Geothermal approved for $36M 1603 Treasury grant for OR power plant it ops.

Suzlon (India) $650M wind power bond. 5-yr, 5%.

Audit faulting stimulus-backed $1.5B US clean coal effort. (That's 3x Solyndra.)

13 countries got over 30% of their el from clean/renewable energy in '11: IEA. Nuke not included.

'13 Econ Report of President includes chapter on climate change. 1st time since '10.

US automakers, small engine makers asking Supreme Court to take case challenging EPA's decision to mandate E15 ethanol blend.

Ice loss in polar north may deliver frigid spring in temperate zone. (Sure starting off as one.) Diminishing ice could be changing jet stream.

SC climate change impact report getting released soon.

Geologists linked OK's largest quake - 5.7 in '11 -  to injection wells (fracking). Even after 18 yrs.

Report: '12 spending made Eagle Ford world's largest single oil/gas development.

TX streamlined permit process for oil/gas wastewater recycling.

New pipelines sending PA natgas liquids to Gulf coast.

Frac sand mining driving MN job growth.

Shell got OK to explore China's unconventional resources.

Suntech customers concerned about product warranties after bankruptcy. Already exploring different suppliers. LDK Solar issued more new shares - 12M shs for $15.4M (13% premium) - to outside investor who could potentially take over comp. Looking like ongoing rescue of LDK.

Mascoma (backed by Khosla), NH biofuel, cancelled $100M IPO. "Market conditions." 4th biofuel to cancel or delay IPO since last year. Mascoma develops GM yeast, bacteria that produce enzymes to break down plant sugars, ferment into ethanol. Planning 2 plants to convert wood into ethanol. Valero backing 1.

Australia sticking with goal of 20% clean/renewable elgen by '20.

German ministers offering adjustments to Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) to tackle rising costs of clean/ren on grid. May freeze EEG at current level until '15, impose max annual tariff rise of 2.5%. Measures in force in Aug. But maybe not. Elections in Sept.

FY13 Office of Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy (EERE) budget request $2.3B, up 29% from '12. '13 budget not yet approved by Congress. They approved 89% of total DOE '12 budget, only 57% of EERE's.

NYPA hydropower allotments to lead to 200 new jobs, $190M capital investments. 5 comps to share ~13Mw of power from 2.5Gw Niagara hydro project. Comps to get el for over 40% less than wholesale market for el in region.

MIT improving efficiency of quantum dot PV solar by adding "forest" of zinc-oxide nanowires. Dots made of lead sulfide. Layer of gold, layer of indium-tin-oxide form electrodes. 50% boost in current, 35% overall efficiency increase. Cell efficiency up near 5%. 10% a commercial goal.

Study: NAS shows how 2 shale gas pollutants - chloride, total suspended solids - enter streams, rivers in PA.

ARPA-E launching $20M Project REMOTE. Bioconversion of NG to liquid fuels. Concept papers due Apr 8. Awards may range $250K-$10M. Cost share 20% minimum, 5% for educational institutes, domestic non-profits.

Morgan Stanley expects corn use for ethanol to be 130M bushels more than USDA est. Ethanol margins now ~14 cents/gal, up from 20 cents/gal loss last summer. Expecting positive 50 cents this summer. Brazil ethanol becoming increasingly uncompetitive with US eth.

Norway researchers found marine animal may be good biofuel feedstock, fish food. Tunicate ascidiacea. Has cellulose, protein, omega-3s. (Sounds good enough to eat.)

Ecuador to start B5 blend in May. Over time increase to B10. Primarily palm oil feedstock. Expects demand of 6M metric tons of biodiesel per month at B5. Previously exported to US, Peru, Italy, others.

India preparing 500M liter ethanol import tender. Able to secure only 1/2 of 1B liter need for E5 blend mandate from domestic sources. Blend meant to start this month. Previous blending mandates only implemented in a few states.

Philippines E10 mandate starts April 1. E5 intro'd in '07. E10 delayed in '11 to study effects on engines.

Frederiksen to invest $2.6B on fleet of new fuel efficient ocean tankers. 53 orders already. Fuel accounts for ~75% of running costs. New ships to be near 30% more efficient. Could save up to $7K/d. Current world merchant fleet capacity ~20% more than demand. Largest glut since '80's.

Global investment in subsea oil ops expected to be $13.9B in '13, up 66% from '12. FMC Tech, Cameron Intl should benefit.

ABB won contract from Fluor for 125Mw PV solar plant in AZ. AVSE II developing project. Single-axis tracking, some 1st-time tech.

EON (Germany) sold stake in 200Mw Indiana wind farm for $175M to JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo team. Farm completed in Dec. 1.6Mw GE turbines. Power sold to Indiana Michigan Power. 20-yr PPA.

Ireland extending clean/ren subsidy 2 yrs to end of '17 so projects can be completed. Goal to get 40% elgen from clean/ren by '20. ~20% now. Failure would lead to EU charges of up to $192M/y for each % short, plus another E250M to buy emission permits to fill gap. (Tough love.)

Showa Shell to restart solar panel plant in Japan July 1. Increasing demand, plans for new products. 60Mw/y capacity. Shuttered end of '12. CIGS thin-film panels.

Grid overload halting 40% of wind, solar elgen in Bulgaria.