Panasonic targets green energy buy-outs
By Jonathan Soble in Tokyo
Published: July 29 2010 11:34 | Last updated: July 29 2010 11:34

Panasonic has placed an Y820bn ($9.4bn, €7.2bn, £6bn) bet on the future of green energy by offering to buy out minority shareholders in two subsidiaries specialising in lithium-ion batteries, solar cells and other environmental technology.

The Japanese electronics group, which is seeking to reduce its reliance on more conventional products such as televisions and refrigerators, on Thursday said it would seek to acquire all the shares it does not already own in Sanyo and Panasonic Electric Works.

It currently owns just over 50 per cent of both companies.

The move is part of an effort by Panasonic and by other Japanese electronics manufacturers to carve out new market niches as profit margins shrink in older businesses and foreign competitors, such as Samsungof South Korea, grab market share with lower prices and increasingly high-quality products.

Panasonic spent Y400bn last year to buy control of Sanyo from an investment consortium led by Goldman Sachs, which had bailed out then-struggling Sanyo in 2006…….

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European Union countries aim to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050; keeping within scientific recommendations to limit global temperature increases to 2°C.  Major new investment will be needed to achieve cuts on this scale, specifically in renewable power projects and electricity infrastructure upgrades.

However, despite these costs, a new report from three leading consulting firms predicts that the cost of electricity in Europe in 2050 would be no higher than it would under a “business as usual” plan with no carbon-reduction action taken.

The study, jointly published by McKinsey, European Climate Foundation and E3G, highlighted the following 3 points:

- Renewable power infrastructure is capital-intensive at the onset, yet over time costs less to run than do traditional power plants.

- Replacing outdated coal-fired power plants with new ones is actually more expensive that substituting wind or solar farms instead

- Smart grid investment continent-wide will provide major savings in energy efficiency, and help improve the reliability (and price) of renewables.

Read more here…

What is the fastest and most immediate way to reduce the globe’s rapidly rising demand for energy?  According to a publication from leaders at the World Economic Forum, entitled Energy Vision Update 2010; Towards a More Energy Efficient World, energy efficiency is the answer.

By closing the “efficiency gap” between today’s wasteful production methods and other more streamlined options, we can reduce global resource strain, and potentially save billions of dollars.   For every dollar spent on efficiency methods, the report estimates savings of $2-$4 in what would have been wasted energy.

Important developments in this sector are occurring around the world, including massive smart grid investment in South Korea, construction of new high voltage transmission lines in China and development of smart grid software in high-tech hubs in the United States and India.

The following chart shows where we are now… and how far we still need to go.

Global Fund Exchange founders, Lauralouise Duffy and Anric Blatt first met WBCSD President
Björn Stigson in Sharjah, UAE  at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and have been keen supporters of his organization since. The World Council for Sustainable Development produces some excellent reports like the one below and we would like to encourage you to visit their website at http://www.wbcsd.org/

New downloadable report

Copenhagen, 9 December 2009 – The relationship between land use and climate change is highlighted in corporate case studies included in a new report, entitled Tackling climate change on the ground ( 4.3 MB), released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Land-use activities are a major source and sink of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Curbing deforestation and applying sustainable land-use management practices can reduce GHG emissions, while planting trees and managing forests can help remove GHGs (mainly CO2) from the atmosphere by sequestering them in plants and vegetation.

Examples of cases in the report include: developing new crop varieties that have less environmental impacts and can adapt to climate change, or products that help reduce emissions; using techniques like direct seeding and drip irrigation to reduce water use in dry regions, or keeping soils healthy so they store more carbon; and developing models and tools to find practical ways to reduce impact and prepare for the future.

The various cases demonstrate that t here is no single, globally applicable sustainable management solution for land use. Business is only part of the solution and must work with governments, civil society and others to develop a range of land-use approaches that tackle climate change.

Download

• Tackling climate change on the ground – Corporate case studies on land use and climate change ( 4.3 MB)

New Delhi, 4 February 2010 – The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) today launched the Vision 2050 report ( 2.6 MB), a study that lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The report, released at the World CEO Forum in New Delhi, India, was compiled by 29 leading global companies representing 14 industries.

This work results from an 18-month combined effort with CEOs and experts, and dialogues with over 200 companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries.

The report presents new opportunities for business in a broad range of business segments with the foresight to lead their societies on a sustainable business development agenda. Entitled Vision 2050: The new agenda for business, the report “lays out the challenges, pathway and options that business can use to create an opportunity-rich strategy, both regionally and globally, that will lead to a sustainable world,” said Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Alcoa, who led the project as one of four co-chairs.

“The world already has the knowledge, science, technologies, skills and financial resources needed to achieve Vision 2050. However, concerted global action in the next decade will be required to bring these capabilities and resources together, putting the world on the path to sustainability,” explained WBCSD President Bjorn Stigson.

The publication outlines a future in which 9 billion people live well, enjoying health, food, shelter, energy, mobility, education and other basics of life. Syngenta CEO, Michael Mack added that “humanity has largely had an exploitative relationship with our planet; we can, and should, aim to make this a symbiotic one.” In the Vision 2050scenario, global society attains this standard of living at a sustainable rate, without further harm to biodiversity, climate and ecosystem services.

The report states that the world already has the resources to achieve Vision 2050,but there is a catch: “The radical changes highlighted in Vision 2050 demand a different perspective from business leaders, requiring them to rethink how they operate to stay on-track for a sustainable future,” added Samuel A. DiPiazza Jr., former CEO and Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers. This includes a radical transformation of global markets, governance and infrastructure, and a re-thinking of our ideas of growth and progress.

Vision 2050 spells out the “must haves” – the things that must happen over the coming decade to make a sustainable planetary society possible. These include incorporating the costs of externalities, starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water, into the structure of the marketplace; doubling agricultural output without increasing the amount of land or water used; halting deforestation and increasing yields from planted forests: halving carbon emissions worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050 through a shift to low-carbon energy systems and improved demand-side energy efficiency, and providing universal access to low-carbon mobility.

As part of this transformation, Vision 2050 calls for a new agenda for business: to work with government and society worldwide to transform markets and competition. “Sustainability will become a key driver for all our investment decisions,” added Idar Kreutzer, CEO of Storebrand and another project co-chair. New rules for markets will reframe environmental challenges as economic challenges, driving innovation and competition in the direction of sustainability and away from resource- and energy-intensive production. Rationalizing prices to include such externalities as climate and biodiversity impacts will make corporate environmental efficiency a true competitive advantage across all industries and regions.

Business will lead market change by doing what business does best: forming partnerships, creating efficiencies and competitive advantage, seizing opportunities and meeting customer needs. At the same time, a shift toward sustainability will trigger trillions of dollars in new investments in infrastructure, technology and human services, creating new opportunities for business to thrive and grow. A recent study commissioned for this project with PricewaterhouseCoopers and released today indicates that this investment could reach US$ 3-10 trillion per annum in 2050.

Vision 2050, with its best-case scenario for sustainability and pathways for reaching it, is a tool for thought leadership, a platform for beginning the dialogue that must take place to navigate the challenging years to come. “It is hoped that the Vision 2050 work will be used for many years to come. It is designed to be a platform for companies when deliberating strategies and for dialogue with governments and society about how to realize the sustainable future,” concluded Per Sandberg, Project Director for Vision 2050.

Download

• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – full report ( 2.6 MB)
• Vision 2050: The new agenda for business – summary report ( 2.4 MB)

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama spoke in no uncertain terms of the important role clean energy and energy efficiency must play in the United States economy now, and in the years to come.

The President emphasized the connection between investing in clean energy and job creation in the United States, which has been struggling with high unemployment.  Upgrading aging and inefficient infrastructure and expanding the reach of renewable energy and smart grid systems will be crucial to reviving the U.S. economy.  “We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient,” he said.

Obama spoke favorably of the impact the Recovery Act has had on new energy technologies.  Under the sweeping legislation, the Department of Energy (DOE) has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into research and development initiatives for advanced biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal, advanced batteries, and smart grid systems.  These investments are paying off, Obama said, as new factories, manufacturing plants and power installations enter project pipelines all around the country, putting more Americans to work.  Obama also expressed support for construction of new, safe nuclear energy plants and for exploration of sites for offshore oil and natural gas drilling.

President Obama offered praise to the House of Representatives for passing the Waxman-Markey climate bill, and urged the Senate to break its inertia and move quickly on the legislation in its chambers.  “Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problem has grown worse,” he warned.  We need to pass a “comprehensive energy and climate with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.”   Acknowledging critics who say the timing is not right for such complex energy and climate legislation, Obama reiterated the urgency of the issue, forcefully saying “the nation which leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy.  And America must be that nation.”

A new analysis from Pike Research examines the growth of “sustainable packing”; a former niche segment of the industry that is expanding as consumer support for eco-friendly packaging increases.

Revenues from the global packaging industry totaled nearly $429 billion in 2009.  As demand for consumer goods increases in developing nations, that figure could rise to $530 billion by 2014.  It appears that “sustainable packaging” is growing even faster than the overall industry.  2009 revenues were $88 billion, but by 2014, that figure may nearly double to $170 billion.

Pike Research predicts plastic-based packaging, which represents over 1/3 of the global packaging industry, will be the fastest growing segment of the sustainable packaging sector by 2014 as it becomes more “eco-friendly.”  Read the full article…

and they are on track to exceed many of their renewable energy adoption goals,”  says Visiting US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

Read the full article ……

Washington – US President Barack Obama on Tuesday announced 3.4 billion dollars in new government grants to modernize the country’s electric power grid. The funds will help make the US electricity-generating grid more efficient and accommodate an expansion of renewable energies like wind and solar power. The money comes from a 787-billion-dollar fiscal stimulus measure approved in February.

The government grants were being matched by industry groups, amounting to total funding of more than 8 billion dollars. Obama said the US electricity grid “still runs on century-old technology” and was in desperate need of an upgrade.

Many renewable energy alternatives have struggled to gain traction in the United States because they are produced in rural parts of the country that have not been properly linked up with the national power grid.

The investment “will make our grid more secure and reliable,” Obama said in making the announcement at a solar plant in Arcadia, Florida.

“It will allow us to more effectively transport renewable energy generated in remote places to large population centers, so that a wind farm in rural South Dakota can power homes in Chicago,” he said.

If Harry Truman were running for president today, he’d probably ‘Give ‘em Green,’ rather than ‘Give ‘em Hell.’ Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan would be, ‘It’s the environment, stupid.’ And Herbert Hoover might be promising a solar panel on every roof, rather than a chicken in every pot – and the pot would sit on a smart-metered stove, powered by a plug-in hybrid, eligible for renewable energy certificates.

Today, green credentials count. Hardly a day goes by without a mayor, governor or legislator claiming some sort of first, best or highest green energy goal.

That’s why the state energy efficiency scorecard, released this week by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, is significant. It carries political currency.

Bragging rights go to California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon and New York,* the top five states (in that order) doing good by energy efficiency. Some red faces, however, might be found in Nebraska, Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming, the group that ACEEE says “most needs to improve.”

States are expected to continue their pursuit of energy efficiency into the next decade. The ACEEE reports that utility ratepayer-funds for efficiency will likely grow from $3.1 billion in 2008 to $5.4-$12 billion in 2020.

What’s most interesting is that so much money and effort is being put into energy efficiency now – during the Great Recession – when states face deficits. This defies conventional behavior: Historically, Americans worry about the environment only when the economy is sound. It appears that green energy advocates have successfully imprinted in the American psyche a link between renewable energy and efficiency and economic prosperity.

“This growing and deepening commitment to energy efficiency is so strong that the current recession has not put a dent in the vast majority of state programs,” says Steven Nadel, ACEEE executive director. “And that is for good reason: Energy efficiency is the only resource that can actually reduce energy consumption while growing the economy — making efficiency the ‘first fuel’ states can use to balance their energy portfolios.”

So we find ourselves in a kinder, greener nation, one with no electric meter left behind, where we walk softly and carry a big wind tower…

*(Note: At about the same time the ACEEE released the report, New York announced plans to shift Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative money, slated for clean energy programs, toward reducing its deficit. This may have reduced New York’s ranking in the eyes of the environmental community.)

by Elisa Wood

New Initiative Pushing for “Shipping Efficiency” Labels on Commercial Vessels

A well-funded and well-connected new climate change non profit is rallying against the global shipping industry, which they criticize for its inefficient use of fuel.  The Carbon War Room, headed by Jigar Shah, the founder of solar energy company SunEdison, and Richard Branson, head of the Virgin Group, says the global shipping industry needs to clean up its act.  Shipping is “just as big a polluter as the airline industry, if not more.  But they’ve managed to keep under the radar and done almost nothing about their carbon footprint,” said Branson in an interview with The Daily Beast. Shipping activities currently account for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  The Carbon War Room is pushing for the establishment of a “ship efficiency rating system” which will classify commercial vessels based on how much they pollute.  With this sort of information out in the open, the group hopes the industry as a whole will start to amend its practices and increase the efficiency of its fuel use.  Peter Boyd, director of operations for the Carbon War Room, says there is a definite need to retrofit old ships, as well as build new ones.  “This investment will pay back like insulating a building,” he said.

Total Lending Exceeds Bonn Conference Commitments

Renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE/EE) financing efforts from the World Bank rose to $3.3 billion, its highest-ever level, representing a 24% increase levels from the last fiscal year.  A full 40% of the Bank’s total energy lending was awarded to RE/EE-related projects.   In addition, two out of every three dollars spent on energy projects by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector development arm of the World Bank, went towards RE/EE projects.  Over the past five years, the World Bank has supported 366 new ventures in 90 countries, including 99 projects in 48 countries last year alone.  “We’ve shown that not only is lending for renewable energy and energy efficiency an environmentally and socially sound choice, but that often these options make good business sense as well,” said Rashad Kaldany, IFC’s VP for Asia, Middle East/North Africa and Global Infrastructure.  The World Bank’s RE/EE lending figures are more than three times the targets pledged at the Bonn International Renewable Energies Conference in 2004.  At the event, the World Bank committed to investing $1.9 billion into the sector between 2005 and 2009.  Instead, total World Bank investment during the time period reached more than $7 billion, a figure which did not include the additional $2.7 billion the Bank invested in global hydropower projects over the same five-year period.

Buildings Embrace Efficiency Retrofitting

To increase efficiency and reduce costs, U.S. landlords and developers are increasingly looking to retrofit old buildings that have high levels of energy consumption.  The combination of volatile energy prices, new technology and an influx of favorable government incentives and subsidies have led to a rush of energy retrofits in cities across the nation.  It is estimated that buildings account for half of all global energy consumption.  The Obama administration has made energy conservation a top priority and has committed billions to retrofit government buildings.  The companies that perform these retrofits say business is booming, and expect to see more activity as energy costs threaten to spike again as the economy recovers.  Since 2004, the energy services industry has grown by 22%; by 2013, the industry is expected to triple in size.