Tag Archives: power
Sharing The Risks And Costs Of Biomass Crops
October 30, 2013 Farmers who grow corn and soybeans can take advantage of government price support programs and crop insurance, but similar programs are not available for those who grow biomass crops such as Miscanthus. A University of Illinois study recommends a framework for contracts between growers and biorefineries to help spell out expectations for sustainability practices and designate who will assume the risks and costs associated with these new perennial energy crops. “The current biomass market operates more along the lines of a take-it-or-leave-it contract, but in order to encourage enhanced participation and promote a more sustainable, stable biomass supply, a new kind of contract needs to be created,” said Jody Endres, a University of Illinois professor of energy and environmental law. Endres said that a good contract gives everyone more certainty. “Incomplete contracts are the hazard,” she said. “We need to develop contracts that nail down all of the details and are transparent about who’s taking on the risk and who’s paying for it. If we get these considerations into the contracts, those who finance this new biomass crop industry will have more certainty to invest.” The study identifies considerations that should be included in the framework for a biomass contract, including a control for moral hazard, risk incentive tradeoff, existing agricultural practices, and risk and management tools to make the industry more sustainable financially and environmentally. Endres said that if biorefineries receive money in the form of carbon credits for reducing pollution, incentives for farmers should be included in contracts because they are the ones who are bearing the risks associated with sustainability practices. “Suppose a sustainability contract lists that the default should be integrated pest management rather than application of traditional pesticides,” Endres said. “The farmer takes on some risk to provide a sustainable product, but the biorefinery gets carbon credit for those sustainable practices. This should be worked into the contract—that if the farmer assumes the risk of IPM as opposed to traditional pesticide options, there has to be some sort of up-front payment or incentive in the contract to account for this risk. Due to the power relationships in this industry, the onus is on the biorefinery to be the leader in developing contracts in this new landscape.” The perennial nature of biomass crops also makes developing contracts challenging. “We’re in a unique environment, and traditional agricultural contracting structures just don’t apply,” Endres said. “Crop insurance is not currently available for farmers who grow biomass crops so they take on additional risk. Likewise, landowners see high prices for traditional commodity crops and do not want to be locked into a multi-year contract with a lessee to grow a perennial biomass crop. It’s complicated.” Endres said that although sustainability requirements are important, having an adequate supply of biomass is important as well. “We’re trying to envision a future in which we have a lot of biomass and one way to secure that is to recognize all of the risks and costs, especially when it comes to sustainability practices. It’s unique, and we do not yet have contracts for this aspect of the industry,” she said. A newly forming biomass standards group, in which Endres holds a leadership role, is looking at how the value of sustainability practices can be measured at the watershed, eco-shed or air-shed level rather than on the scale of individual farms. Endres said that the working group will examine how to ensure that balance is achieved between producers and consumers of biomass, including through contracts. “I’m optimistic that it can be done,” she said. “Growers and refiners right now are concerned with the industry being financially sound.” “There’s also a real need for education in both developed and underdeveloped countries about biomass contracting,” Endres said. “We’re trying to shift the paradigm from traditional agriculture to something that’s more sustainable–and that takes knowledge. If we don’t have that knowledge here in the United States and we’re trying to draft contracts in our very developed system, how is this going to be rolled out in say, Africa, or other areas where the use of production contracts are much more rare, especially in the small farm context?” Continue reading
AREVA Awarded a Contract For The Construction Of A Biomass Power Plant In The Philippines
PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–October 16, 2013– Regulatory News: AREVA (Paris:AREVA) and its partner Engcon Energy Philippines have been awarded a contract by the Green Innovations For Tomorrow Corporation, an independent power producer, for the construction of a biomass power plant in the Philippines, located 200 kilometers north of Manila. Using rice husk, the plant will have an installed capacity of 12 MW and will be able to supply electricity to around 10,000 households per year. AREVA and its partner will be responsible for the engineering, the design and the installation of the biomass power plant. They will also provide the main equipment and will perform testing before the commissioning. This power plant, scheduled for completion by mid-2015, is the first AREVA biomass project in the Philippines. The group has already delivered two similar units in Thailand where another two plants are currently under construction. Louis-François Durret, CEO of AREVA Renewables, said: “This new success will strengthen our position in Southeast Asian, a booming market where AREVA intends to become a reference biomass power plant provider.” AREVA is the leading manufacturer of biomass power plants in the world having delivered 100 power plants for the largest installed base generating of more than 2,500 MW. MORE ABOUT AREVA AREVA supplies advanced technology solutions for power generation with less carbon. Its expertise and unwavering insistence on safety, security, transparency and ethics are setting the standard, and its responsible development is anchored in a process of continuous improvement. Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA’s unique integrated offering to utilities covers every stage of the fuel cycle, nuclear reactor design and construction, and operating services. The group is actively developing its activities in renewable energies — wind, bioenergy, solar and energy storage — to become a European leader in this sector. With these two major offers, AREVA’s 46,000 employees are helping to supply ever safer, cleaner and more economical energy to the greatest number of people. Tour AREVA — 1 Place Jean Millier — 92400 COURBEVOIE — France — Tel : +33 (0)1 34 96 00 00 — Fax : +33 (0)1 34 96 00 01 CONTACT: AREVA Press Office Julien Duperray Katherine Berezowskyj Aurélie Grange Jérôme Rosso Alexandre Thébault T: +33 (0)1 34 96 12 15 press@areva.com or Investors Relations Marie de Scorbiac, T: +33 (0)1 34 96 05 97 marie.descorbiac@areva.com Philippine du Repaire, T: +33 (0)1 34 96 11 51 philippine.durepaire@areva.com SOURCE: AREVA Continue reading
‘Dishonesty’ Mars Russia’s Development In Farming
UK, 27th Sept 2013, by Agrimoney.com ‘Dishonesty’ mars Russia’s development in farming Russia’s development into a bigger agricultural power is being undermined by dishonesty among staff, and a lack of willingness to own up to errors, a leading farm advisor warned. Brian Redrup, who heads up agricultural advice for Velcourt in Eastern Europe, Africa and South America, acknowledged the challenge to farming in Russia from weather extremes, and a history of periodic droughts. “Farming in Russia will be volatile due to climate,” said Mr Redrup. However, some farm business “are investing in irrigation to reduce the climatic effect”. Irrico, the agricultural investor backed by VTB, and Stokholm-listed Trigon Agri are among groups which have highlighted the importance to Russian farm operators of access to irrigation. ‘No accountability’ Mr Redrup said that the “significant factor” holding back the development of Russian agriculture “is honest, accountable farm management”. “If the climate is one major challenge, the other is competent management,” he said. “On a typical Russian unit, there will be a general director, chief agronomist and chief engineer. They will all blame one another if things go wrong, with no accountability.” He termed dishonesty as “another major issue”, which was “endemic from tractor drivers through to the senior management. “At tractor driver level, the stealing of diesel, fertiliser and chemicals can be a problem. At a higher level, the security of grain is questionable.” Russia vs Romania Mr Redrup is one of the most experienced consultants at Velcourt, which manages some 50,000 hectares of land in its home UK market alone, 35 years ago, the last 10 of which he has represented the group in Russia. “A UK farmer visiting [Russia] for the first time in late spring would be confident that they could achieve 10 tonnes per hectare across the board,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.” Velcourt in March set up a joint venture, with Mintridge, for investing in Eastern Europe farmland, but settled on Romania, within the European Union, as its target market. Romania offered “a compelling case for the three central factors that makes land an attractive asset class – scope for land value growth, the ability to acquire freehold land, and the soil quality for farming the land”, Velcourt said at the time Farm scams Some other agricultural figures have also flagged scams in Russia, and other countries, with inspection groups such as seeing the detection of scams as part of their services. Societe Generale de Surveillance, for instance, last year warned the International Grains Council’s annual conference that “fraud and corruption” in the former Soviet Union were issues “to be addressed”. “It still exists,” Mr Shulga, a Ukrainian said, pointing to examples where his company, which undertakes services from soil testing to inventory inspection, had discovered attempts to exaggerate grain inventories by piling them on top of bales, or on to a false floor near the top of a silos. People pretend their silo is full, and ask an inspection company to certify 20,000 tonnes,” certification which can be used as security against bank loans. “Proper checks find only 10 tonnes stored.” However, another farm manager with Russian experience said that while the country did have “issues”, these could be found in many other nations, including those in the West, and underlined the need to offer attractive employment packages to lure high quality staff. Continue reading
