Tag Archives: calendar
Artificial Areas Cover Only 5% Of EU – Survey
Eurostat data | Friday 25 October 2013 Artificial areas, such as buildings, roads and rail networks, covered only 5% of the total surface area of the EU in 2012. Forests and other wooded land occupied around 40%, farmland one fourth and grassland one fifth. These figures, published by Eurostat on 25 October, are the findings of a large-scale land survey, the ‘Land use/cover area frame survey’ (LUCAS), conducted most recently in 2012. LUCAS is the largest harmonised land survey ever implemented in the EU. Photographs can be found in the statistical atlas on the Eurostat site (1). More than half of Sweden (76% of total land area), Finland (72%), Estonia (61%), Slovenia (60%) and Latvia (56%) is covered by forests. The highest shares of cropland are observed in Denmark (49%), Hungary (47%), Romania (36%), the Czech Republic and Poland (both 34%), Germany (33%), Bulgaria and Italy (both 32%) and France (31%). More than two thirds (67%) of Ireland is covered by natural or agricultural grasslands, followed by the United Kingdom (40%), the Netherlands (38%), Luxembourg (37%) and Belgium (32% Finland (16%), Sweden (12%) and the Netherlands (11%) have the largest proportions of water areas. A third of Malta is covered with built-up and other artificial areas, followed by Belgium (13%), Luxembourg and the Netherlands (both 12%). Continue reading
Khosla, Gates Commit Financing To KiOR’s Columbus II Project
By Erin Voegele | October 23, 2013 KiOR Inc. has announced the execution of $100 million in committed equity-related financing in two separate private placement transactions to support the company’s recently announced expansion of production capacity at its Columbus, Miss., location. The first private placement includes $85 million of committed equity-related financing from Khosla Ventues III and various other Khosla entities. The financing consists of the immediate issuance of $42.5 million of senior secured mandatorily convertible notes plus the conversion of nearly $52.2 million of KiOR’s existing senior debt held by the Khosla entities. The second private placement includes $15 million of committed equity financing from new investor Gates Ventures LLC, an affiliate of Bill Gates. The equity financing consists of the immediate purchase of $7.5 million of Class I common stock and the commitment to purchase an additional $7.5 million of Class A common stock. The future equity commitment is contingent upon, among other things, KiOR fully funding the Columbus II project. KiOR announced the Columbus II project in late September. The company is pursuing plans to double production at its existing Columbus location through the construction of a second facility incorporating its technology. The $225 project is scheduled to break ground within 90 days of KiOR raising sufficient equity and debt capital to commence the project. The facility is expected to take 18 months to construct and start-up. According to Fred Cannon, CEO of KiOR, the Colmbus II facility will produce cellulosic gasoline and diesel from southern yellow pine wood chips. He also noted there are several benefits associated with developing a second production facility at the Columbus site. “As we build Columbus II, we’ll be able to achieve significant operational and technological synergies between the two facilities, as we expect to incorporate our most recent technology developments into both the new Columbus II facility and retroactively into Columbus I,” Cannon said. “These synergies will result in decreased execution and start-up risk of Columbus II, reduction in construction timing and cost, and a shorter start-up period for Columbus II as a result of shared personnel, infrastructure, and operational knowledge with Columbus I.” KiOR is also still working to develop its proposed production facility in Natchez, Miss. “As we build Columbus II, we’ll also be refining the design, based on the newest technology improvements, of our next standard scale commercial production facility in Natchez, Miss.,” Cannon continued., noting that as a result of these additional efforts, his company expects to improve both the capital and operating costs associated with the Natchez plant. Continue reading
Stobart Wheels Out Biomass Strategy
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a76c7a0-3cbc-11e3-86ef-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2ijzRsktZ October 24, 2013 9:04 pm Stobart wheels out biomass strategy By Thomas Hale Trains, planes and biomass are now Stobart Group’s priorities, as the high-profile haulage company attempts to streamline its business, and move past a period of boardroom instability. Andrew Tinkler, Stobart’s chief executive, said on Thursday that the group made famous by its fleet of green long-distance lorries would be focusing on the “two growth areas of biomass and airports”, under a simplification of the four-year growth plan it implemented in 2011. Stobart had been seeking to diversify its revenue streams away from road haulage through acquisitions, which have included a property portfolio and a civil engineering business. However, with more than 90 per cent of revenues still coming from transport, Iain Ferguson, the group’s new chairman, has announced a focus on businesses that are capable of delivering significant growth. Presenting the company’s half-year results, he said his aim was to “build out the airport, build out the biomass, and make sure that they also grow organically”. Mr Ferguson joined Stobart on October 1 after a litany of management and corporate governance problems earlier in 2013. In April, Avril Palmer-Baunack was ousted by a boardroom coup after only three months in the role. Ms Palmer-Baunack’s appointment had been supported by Invesco Perpetual fund manager Neil Woodford, who held a 37 per cent stake in the company. But other shareholders opposed Ms Baunack’s attempts to sell off assets and focus solely on the haulage business. Mr Ferguson said he also has Mr Woodford’s support, but emphasised that Stobart’s future growth would not be delivered by road alone. Stobart is on a “relentless quest for innovation”, he said. Ben Whawell, finance director, forecast that investments in biomass, planes and trains – which are almost complete – would begin to pay off in coming years, contributing to increased revenues and “a lot more to profitability”. “In three to four years’ time, half our profits may come from biomass,” he said. Biomass, which involves burning waste wood for energy, is already Stobart’s second largest contributor of revenues after transport. In the six months to August 31, biomass tonnage reached 345,000 – a 52 per cent rise on the same period last year. Investment in air transport is also paying off. After acquiring Southend Airport in 2008 for £21m, the company has invested a total of £140m in the facility, and in the last half-year period passenger numbers rose 43 per cent to 528,000 – helping Stobart’s air division turn a loss into a small profit. As a group, Stobart – which employs more than 1,000 staff – reported revenues of £330m for the six months to August 31, up from £247m in the same period last year. Pre-tax profit fell slightly, to £10.4m, mainly due to high operating costs and the discontinuation of a business providing transport pallets for chilled goods. Stobart shares rose 0.7 per cent to 130.5p on Thursday. Continue reading
