Wall Street sees ray of hope in SunEdison woes 3 Mar 2016 The likes of Citi and Goldman have soured on backing the troubled energy company’s purchase of Vivint, and they may have found a way out: the buyer’s failure to deliver current financials. It’s a breach of contract and a chance for the banks to avoid losses and maybe boost fees.
Billionaires add thrust to clean-energy moon shot 30 Nov 2015 Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma are among those pledging to pool their lucre for big investments in climate-friendly R&D. The aim is worthy but such ambitious projects have a mixed record. At least these entrepreneurs know how to tolerate serious cash burn.
Climate will supplant shale as top energy disruptor 27 Nov 2015 The world’s politicians may be about to get serious on cutting greenhouse gases at the U.N. Paris confab. And shareholders are pushing Big Oil to disclose global warming risks. The consequences for the industry will be longer lasting than the recent oil production revolution.
Islands sale emblematic of California water woes 11 Nov 2015 Zurich Insurance is set to sell land in the state’s northern water hub to a utility in the dry south. It may form part of a broader $15 bln plan and raises concerns about water rights, the environment, big projects and how to finance them and how best to use a scarce resource.
China carbon vow shows change in political climate 29 Jul 2015 Beijing’s new emission goal is convincing and could be legally binding. It’s a change of heart for a country that frustrated climate talks in the past. The commitment to change is real – even if a recent stock rout underscores how vulnerable reform is to domestic stresses.
Elon Musk plugs Tesla valuation into the grid 1 May 2015 The Silicon Valley billionaire’s new home battery system is, like his electric cars, too pricey for many. But if costs keep falling, Tesla’s Gigafactory runs smoothly and the solar market expands, shareholders may find there’s more spark in batteries than vehicles.
Global water woes mix with trickle of good news 23 Mar 2015 The planet faces a 40 pct H2O deficit by 2030 as rising populations require more food and energy. Droughts in Sao Paulo and California may become harbingers of doom. But progress on everything from data to usage to business awareness to international agreements offers some hope.
Obama’s nuclear gift to Modi is shrewd investment 26 Jan 2015 The U.S. president has unblocked a stalled nuclear power deal with India, allowing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build new reactors. While that will boost orders for GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse, bigger gains to the U.S. economy will come from ending India’s energy deficit.
Solar upstarts and utilities head for uneasy truce 15 Dec 2014 The soaring popularity of solar panels in the U.S. cuts carbon emissions but upsets utilities trying to make a return on grid investments. The industry’s attempts to slap fees on solar users sparked uproar in 2014. A new cost-sharing approach may take the heat out of the debate.
Review: How Big Oil could grease invisible hand 22 Sep 2014 “Pump” contends that democracy at the gas station would help U.S. democracy more broadly. Offering drivers fuel choices like ethanol, as Brazil did, might ease the grip of Exxon Mobil and its peers. The film makes a convincing case, even as it evades some inconvenient truths.
RWE, E.ON gain little from German energy revamp 8 Apr 2014 Coal and gas power generators might hope to profit from a reform of costly subsidies for solar and wind power. But while the government is trying to cut costs, the target - almost doubling the share of renewables by 2025 - hasn’t changed. RWE and E.ON will continue to suffer.
Are resurgent solar stocks burning too bright? 19 Nov 2013 Shares in panel makers like Trina and JinkoSolar have soared this year. Recent earnings show a long-awaited return to the black now that panel prices are recovering after an 80 pct slump. Profit growth is set to shine, but stock prices look to have gone too far, too soon.
U.S. utilities want to rain on solar parade 15 Nov 2013 A lobby group says solar power may put $170 bln of utility revenue at risk. Meanwhile Elon Musk’s panel installer SolarCity could quadruple sales in two years, and solar ventures abound. No wonder a big Arizona utility is fighting back with a fee on citizens with solar panels.
German push to green power is brave but risky 24 Apr 2013 Europe’s industrial leader wants to wean itself off nuclear power and fossil fuels, so Germany will become the world’s test laboratory for renewable energy. The policy is farsighted, but in urgent need of more German efficiency to keep costs under control.
Goldman renewable energy dash more than greenwash 24 May 2012 The Wall Street firm says it will deploy $40 bln over a decade. It isn’t above self-serving spin, but it’s also never far from the money. With solar and wind power nearing competitive cost levels, clean energy could burnish Goldman’s bottom line as well as its green credentials.
Uncle Sam can’t play China’s solar subsidy game 7 Sep 2011 The bankruptcy of Solyndra undermines a U.S. loan guarantee scheme that backed $535 mln of the firm’s debt. Going head-to-head against China on solar panel production is pure folly. A wiser use of tax dollars would be to try and leapfrog the Middle Kingdom on research.
Four reasons to hedge against Japanese equities 28 Mar 2011 The bright side, so hard to see in the wake of the disaster, is now the consensus in Japan's market. But politics, power shortages, consumer conservatism and the unresolved nuclear crisis are chipping away at the optimism. It is time to hedge against disappointment.
Running out of water in the UK 18 Aug 2010 The sector is unsustainable without changes in policy and the regulatory framework, a report for one of its biggest companies concluded recently. Neil Woodford, whose Invesco funds are big investors in utilities, is threatening to bail out. It's time for some radical thinking.
UK water could disappear beneath the waves 1 Feb 2010 Should Northumbrian Water be swallowed by private equity, just three UK water and sewage companies would remain listed. When the state sold the original 10, comparison was supposed to be a proxy for competition. But without the market's scrutiny, that's effectively impossible.
RWE spends E9bn on neighbourhood shopping 12 Jan 2009 The German utility is to buy Essent, a Netherlands power company, after an allDutch deal was thwarted by competition authorities last year. RWE is exploiting a Dutch market that s more liberalised than Germany s. The twist is that the deal could be blocked on those very grounds.