Tag Archives: california
United States: Can California Cap And Trade If Brussels Stumbles?
08 May 2013 Article by Jeffrey Rector Last week, the European Parliament rejected a proposal to reduce the quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions allowances in order to fix a supply-demand imbalance in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). Some view this as the beginning of the end of the European Union’s ten-year carbon cap-and-trade experiment. A high profile failure of the EU ETS is likely to provide ammunition to critics California’s cap-and-trade program. An emissions offset or emissions allowance (representing the right to emit one metric ton of CO 2 or GHG equivalent, or CO 2 e) within EU ETS is no longer trading at values that promote investment in low carbon technologies, and therefore the EU ETS is not presently serving its core purpose. The trading value of an EU Emissions Allowance was above €30 per metric ton in 2008 before the sharp impacts of the global recession. Prices halved in late 2008 and early 2009 and hovered around €15 for two years until 2011. Then prices began a steady decline to €10, then €5, and now even less. It is understood by energy and climate economists that if emissions allowances can be purchased for less than €10, a cap-and-trade system will have little if any effect on the pollution abatement decisions of heavy emitters because the allowances would be cheaper than virtually all known or developable emissions abatement technologies. Indeed, such rock bottom prices may have the effect of promoting high-emitting technologies that should be discouraged. At issue is an oversupply of credits: (i) the EU was too generous in its granting of free allowances; (ii) international offsets from the tradable credit programs under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (including the Clean Development Mechanism) outstripped demand; and (iii) the global recession reduced the demand for energy and thereby the demand for credits, which drives pricing. The EU Parliament recently voted whether to defer the issuance of a portion of new emissions allowances (referred to as “backloading”) in order to constrain supply and raise prices. When the final votes were tallied, the backloading proposal was rejected by a narrow margin. It is said that carbon markets viewed the outcome as a vote of no-confidence in the future viability of the EU ETS, which had pushed the trading price of allowances to the current price of less than €3 per metric ton. The backloading proposal will likely be reconsidered by the EU Parliament early this summer, but its prospects are uncertain. While it is impossible to reduce the basis for opposing backloading to a single idea, it seems that, even in Europe, there is almost irresistible pressure to give economic growth precedence over reducing emissions; and it appears that Europe, much like the United States, is still struggling with the question of whether the two objectives (economic growth and emissions reduction) can be simultaneously advanced. For at least two reasons, the European experience does not bode well for California’s fledgling carbon market. First, it demonstrates the difficulty of creating a market in tradable rights to undertake a previously unregulated activity. The cost of emitting greenhouse gasses has heretofore gone unaccounted for and been externalized. A cap-and-trade system creates scarcity in the right to emit and allocates those rights for free or fee to regulated entities. While cap-and-trade may be a “market-based” solution, the allocation of emissions allowances is, in fact, a political decision that produces winners and losers. Thus, the true test for the political viability of a cap-and-trade system is when the emissions allowances are no longer given away; the EU ETS was beginning to enter this phase, and the strength of the opposition from the heavy emitters predictably increased. The California Legislature has delegated the difficult political decision of allocation to the California Air Resources Board, which partially insulates the allocation decision from political pressure; however, the scope of the delegation to CARB arguably undermines the legitimacy, and possibly the legality, of CARB’s cap-and-trade decisions. Second, the California Legislature viewed it to be in California’s best interest to be a leader in regulating carbon (and in policy circles, a leader in cap-and-trade) on the assumption that other states and the federal government would follow. A high profile failure of carbon cap-and-trade across the Atlantic would be a setback for the prospects of a national policy being implemented in the near future, and the cost of leading when there are no followers might not be one the majority of Californians will be willing to pay. Parties interested in the fate of California’s cap-and-trade system will likely be following this developing story in Europe and waiting for another EU vote, which is expected to come early this summer. The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author. Continue reading
Canergy selects Chemtex and Beta Renewables for its Cellulosic Ethanol Project in California
Canergy selects Chemtex for the development of their 25 million gallon a year cellulosic biofuels facility to be located in the Imperial Valley of California. Brawley, CA & Wilmington, NC & Tortona, Italy (PRWEB) April 30, 2013 Canergy, LLC, an advanced biofuels company based in California that is focused on the production of ultra-low carbon intensity ethanol from sustainable non-food energy crops, is pleased to announce that it has selected Chemtex, a leader in chemical engineering and renewable processes, and Beta Renewables, a global leader in cellulosic bio-fuels, for the development of their 25 million gallon a year cellulosic biofuels facility to be located in the Imperial Valley of California. Construction of the new facility is targeted to begin in Q1, 2014 pending successful completion of permitting and financial activities. The facility is expected to be operational in 2016. Tim Brummels, Canergy’s CEO, said, “We are excited to be moving this project forward. California is the country’s largest retail gasoline market and this first project’s biofuel will facilitate obligated parties compliance with California policy directives to reduce their carbon footprint through 2020. We have completed extensive research and have concluded that PROESA® Technology is both ready now and is the most advanced and competitive cellulosic platform in the marketplace today. We are also excited to have CHS Inc., a leading global energy, grains and foods company, working with us as a development partner in the project.” John Litterio, Director of Renewable Fuels Marketing for CHS, said, “CHS is a leading ethanol marketer with global trading offices in the United States, Brazil and Europe. Our financial strength, logistical expertise, risk management services and 30+ years of biofuels experience will help position Canergy to reach more markets with its ultra-low carbon intensity ethanol and achieve the best possible netbacks. We are proud to be the exclusive marketer for Canergy and to continue providing strong marketing connections for both first and second generation ethanol producers.” The Imperial Valley’s 450,000 acres of irrigated farmland is one of the most productive growing regions in the world. Tim Kelley, President/CEO of Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation said, “I am glad to see that Canergy has decided to make a major investment in the Imperial Valley. This cellulosic facility will create over 100 full-time jobs and will have a major ripple effect on our agribusiness economy.” Beta Renewables’ PROESA® technology will be used to convert Canergy’s energy cane feedstock, bagasse and residual cane straw, to produce cost-competitive cellulosic ethanol. This technology is being used today at the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Crescentino, Italy, which started operations in December 2012, and also will be used in a series of plants to be built by GranBio in Brazil. “Chemtex and Beta Renewables are pleased to have been selected by Canergy for their project. Large scale commercialization of cellulosic ethanol projects is taking off and this is an important project for California to support its drive towards lower carbon footprints,” said Guido Ghisolfi, President of Chemtex and the CEO of Beta Renewables. About Canergy, LLC Canergy is an advanced biofuels company based in California that is focused on the production of ultra-low carbon intensity ethanol from sustainable non-food energy crops and innovative cellulosic technology. This first facility in California will utilize energy cane, an EPA approved cellulosic pathway, as its primary feedstock, is targeted to be operational in 2016 and will assist California, through obligated parties, to meet both RFS2 and LCFS requirements. About CHS Inc. CHS Inc. is a leading global agribusiness owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives across the United States. Diversified in energy, grains and foods, CHS is committed to helping its customers, farmer-owners and other stakeholders grow their businesses through its domestic and global operations. CHS, a Fortune 100 company, supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain marketing services, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. About Chemtex Chemtex is a global engineering and technology company wholly-owned by Italy’s Gruppo Mossi & Ghisolfi (“M&G”). Chemtex specializes in delivering value-added project solutions for its clients in the bio-fuels, renewable chemicals, energy, environmental, petrochemical, polymers and fibers industries. The company benefits from over 60 years of success in process development and commercializing hundreds of plants worldwide. Chemtex International Inc., its North American Headquarters, is located in Wilmington, N.C. Chemtex is a leader in chemical engineering and renewable processes. It has engineered and constructed the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Crescentino, Italy for Beta Renewables producing cellulosic ethanol from locally sourced cellulosic biomass using its PROESA® Process. About Beta Renewables Beta Renewables is a leader in making non-food cellulosic biomass practical and cost-competitive for the production of advanced biofuels and bio-chemicals. Beta Renewables is a unique joint venture formed by Chemtex, TPG, TPG Biotech and Novozymes. Beta Renewables has developed the industry leading PROESA® Process and is currently operating the world’s first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol facility in Crescentino, Italy. Beta Renewables’ PROESA® Process has also been selected by numerous leading green chemistry technology providers as the technology platform to produce cellulosic sugars for next generation bio-chemicals. Publicly announced collaborators include Amyris, Genomatica, Codexis and Gevo. Media relations contacts: Canergy LLC: Tim Brummels Telephone: +1-402.452.6795 tbrummels(at)canergyus(dot)com http://www.canergyus.com CHS, Inc: John Litterio Telephone 1+651-355-8518 john(dot)litterio(at)chsinc(dot)com http://www.chsinc.com Chemtex: Dennis Leong Telephone: +1 910 509 4407 dennis(dot)leong(at)chemtex(dot)com http://www.chemtex.com Beta Renewables: Michele Rubino Mobile: +1 617 230 6162 michele(dot)rubino(at)betarenewables(dot)com http://www.betarenewables.com Continue reading
Real estate for sale in Bakersfield California – MLS# 21304167
12200 Red Rose Way Bakersfield California 93312 MLS# 21304167 For more info visit http://vt.realbiz360.com/Listing-1311802.html Beautiful Country Rose Estate… Continue reading
