Thursday, December 9, 2010

20101209 0930 Renewables Energy Related News.

TRANSALTA ADDS 2 WIND FACILITIES AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Dec 6 (Reuters) - Canada's biggest publicly owned electricity producer TransAlta Corp said it commissioned 123 megawatts (MW) from two new wind facilities in Alberta and New Brunswick, ahead of schedule and on budget.
The $135 million Ardenville Wind Facility in Alberta has an installed capacity of 69 MW and is expected to generate enough power for about 11,500 average homes.

GERMANY TO ADD RECORD 8 GW OF SOLAR POWER IN 2010
BERLIN, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Germany will add a record of some 8 gigawatt (GW) of photovoltaic capacity this year, widening its lead as the world's top solar power market, the head of Germany's BSW solar industry association said on Monday.
Carsten Koernig told Reuters the surge in demand for photovoltaic systems would take Germany's total solar power capacity to between 17 and 18 GW -- five times greater than the next largest producer Spain with a total of 3.5 GW.

NEXTERA UNIT TO BUY FIRST SOLAR CANADA PROJECTS
VANCOUVER, Dec 6 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Resources has agreed to buy four small solar photovoltaic projects located in the Canadian province of Ontario from First Solar Inc , the two U.S. companies said on Monday.
No price was given for the purchase, which totals 40 megawatts of energy, or enough to power about 6,440 homes.

SAFRICA TO START BUYING SUBSIDISED GREEN POWER
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 6 (Reuters) - South Africa will start a much-delayed plan to buy electricity from green energy plants next year under a new subsidies programme to help boost private investment in renewable power, a senior official said on Monday.
Africa's biggest economy is struggling to meet fast rising demand for power, and state-owned utility Eskom said supply would remain tight until 2015, and especially over the next two years, until its two new power plants come on stream.

CANADA'S SOLAR SECTOR OUTLINES STRONG GROWTH, SEEKS GOVT SUPPORT
VANCOUVER, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Canada's small but fast-growing solar industry aims to expand at 35 percent a year over the next 15 years, creating 35,000 jobs and displacing millions of tons of greenhouse gasses.
The Canadian Solar Industries Association said it expects to be able to achieve "grid parity", the point where generation costs become competitive with other power sources, in the next decade as industry costs drop.

ENEL GP STARTS UP 34 MW WIND FARM IN ROMANIA
MILAN, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest renewable energy company, Enel Green Power (EGP) , has started a 34 megawatt wind farm in Romania, aiming to expand the country's rapidly growing green energy market, it said on Monday.
The Agighiol plant, EGP's first wind farm in Romania, will produce about 100 million kilowatt hours of power a year, enough to meet demand of more than 35,000 households and cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 70,000 tonnes a year.

GAZPROM TO DEVELOP CLEANER ENERGY IN PAPA NEW GUINEA
LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Gazprom's trading arm and logistics company Trans Wonderland Limited (TWL) have agreed to collaborate on clean energy projects in Papa New Guinea, the companies said on Monday.
Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T) said it will act as a project developer and carbon offset buyer for TWL's plan to use more liquefied natural gas (LNG) than diesel in its transport and logistics operations in Papa New Guinea.

EU DIVIDED OVER 1 TRILLION EUROS ENERGY REVAMP
BRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The European Union's economic crisis took precedence over solidarity at a meeting of energy ministers on Friday, with big economies reluctant to fund a 1 trillion euro ($1.3 trillion) vision for energy infrastructure.
Ministers were meeting for their first discussion of plans by EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger for massive investment to bolster energy security and distribute green electricity.

RAIN HELPS ALBANIA'S KESH REACH RECORD OUTPUT
TIRANA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Albania's state-owned KESH power utility expects a record hydro output of 7,300 GWh for 2010 due to heavy rains, the highest annual production in 25 years, its manager said on Friday.
Heavy rain last winter and again this autumn have filled reservoirs to the brim, reversing years of drought this decade that led to power shortages and forced KESH to borrow to buy electricity, KESH's Engjell Zeqo told Reuters.

EUROPE SIGNS UP TO NORTH SEA WIND POWER GRID
LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Ten European countries have signed up to develop an interconnected North Sea wind power grid in order to maximise its renewable energy potential, the countries' energy regulators and transmission operators said on Friday.
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Belgium, have agreed to coordinate investment and technical solutions get the most out of power generation from the abundant North Sea winds.

SPAIN APPROVES WIND-POWER SUBSIDY CUTS OF 35 PCT
MADRID, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Spain's government has approved cuts to windpower subsidies totalling 35 percent between now and 2012, it said in a statement on Friday.
The cuts to renewable energy subsidies will save 1.1 billion euros ($1.45 billion) up to 2013, it added.

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