FT Energy News 9 December

Green deal needs better incentives, says industry (Page 4)

Business and consumer groups have cast doubts over government claims that its flagship policy o insulate Britain’s homes will lead to a green revolution, saying that more incentives will be needed to help meet tough emissions targets. The “green deal” will encourage consumers and businesses to make their premises more energy efficient at no upfront cost. Instead, they will pay through a charge on their energy bill that is intended to be less than the savings made by the improvements.

U-turn fuels fears over higher bills (Page 4)

A Conservative pledge to require gas companies to guarantee supplies will not be included in the energy bill. The Tories had promised to force suppliers to guarantee gas provision even in an emergency but the government is now planning to merely ask them to pay a market price for such supplies, even if a squeeze on supplies has sent that price soaring.

Energy jobs in peril as grants expire (Page 6)

Renewable energy industries in the US face the prospect of falling off “a market cliff” if investment grants for projects such as wind farms are not extended by Congress.

FT Energy News 8 December

Energy bill increases fail to fund new power capacity (Page 4)

Higher energy bills that British consumers will begin paying this month have nothing to do with funding new generating capacity, according to leading gas and electricity groups, saying that the UK will lose about 30% of its generating capacity by 2020.

Do you need a car?

Few of us add up all the costs, but car ownership is one of the costliest things people do on an ongoing basis in life. While the day to day costs of petrol are significant, the annual costs of motor tax and insurance and servicing should also be factored in, while the depreciation associated with the capital outlay is the largest cost of all.

Other costs vary from person to person. The cost of parking, time, stress, fines and risk are significant.

When all costs are added up, the total cost is extremely large, just see for yourself.

CO2 Emission Bands	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G
Car Value	10,000	12,500	15,625	19,531	24,414	30,518	38,147
Motor Tax	104	156	302	447	630	1,050	2,100
Insurance	500	575	661	760	875	1,006	1,157
Depreciation	1,250	1,563	1,953	2,441	3,052	3,815	4,768
Interest on Capital	500	625	781	977	1,221	1,526	1,907
Parking	300	300	300	300	300	3,909	3,909
NCT	25	25	25	25	25	25	25
Servicing and Replacements	250	313	391	488	610	763	954
Petrol/10,000km	980	1,120	1,260	1,400	1,540	1,680	1,820
Oil/10,000km	10	13	16	20	24	31	38
Tyres/10,000km	100	125	156	195	244	305	381
	4,019	4,814	5,845	7,054	8,521	14,109	17,060

The most common cars in Ireland are in Band C. At a running cost of €5,845 per year, how many buses, taxis, trains and car rentals would that pay for?

	Average Price	Trips for the same price
Train	30	195
Local Bus/train	2	2,923
Inter-city Bus	15	390
Car Rental/day	100	58
Taxi	20	292
Walks/Cycles	<1	1000s

Do you need a car?

FT Energy News 7 December

Nuclear plants’ subsidies attacked (Page 2)

New nuclear power plants should not receive government subsidies because they are financially viable but a proposed feed-in tariff for low-carbon energy , which would include renewable and nuclear, would be acceptable because it would not represent a direct subsidy, said David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, a statutory body set up to advise the government on how to meet its emissions-cutting targets.

France nears $9bn deal to build two reactors in India (Page 8)

France has taken a lead over rivals including the US and Russia for a €7bn deal to build two nuclear power plants in India.

Brussels to target energy trading abuses (Page 10)

The European Union plans to crack down on insider trading and price manipulation in the natural gas and electricity markets. Gunther Oettinger, the energy commissioner, is expected to release legislation proposals on Wednesday requiring traders and generators to give regulators details of their trading and production activities.

ÈDF says that overseas strategy is unchanged after EnBW sale (Page 23)

EDF insisted its international strategy was unchanged after announcing its withdrawal from Germany through the surprise sale of its politically controversial stake in the German utility EnBW. The state of Baden-Wurttemberg is buying EDF’s 45% stake for €4.7bn in cash.

FT Energy News 6 December

Algeria frustrates BP asset sales plan (Page 22)

The Algerian government is frustrating the proposed sale of assets in the country by BP to its Russian joint venture partner TNK-BP as it looks into buying the acreage itself. The proposed sale, estimated at about $3bn, is part of the asset disposal programme the UK oil group launched in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill.

FT Energy News 2 December

Freeze brings turmoil to energy markets (Page 4)

Britain’s winter freeze and temporary supply problems in Europe have caused turmoil on wholesale energy markets, where the benchmark electricity price jumped almost 30% overnight. As temperatures dropped, the price for “day ahead delivery” electricity soared to £71.25/MWhr from £55 on Tuesday.
France used the maximum capacity of the interconnector with the UK to supply the sudden rise in demand for power.

First near carbon-free power station set to open next year (Page 4)

A pilot plant is to be built by Powerfuel and is set to begin operating within a year, it will be a near carbon-free gas-fired 10MW power plant and will capture 90% of the carbon dioxide in fuel gas and store them in depleted gasfields in the North Sea.

Eon offloads its 3.5% stake in Gazprom (Page 26)

Eon is selling its remaining 3.5% stake in Gazprom, the Russian gas producer, for €3.4bn after a souring of relations, in part due to a dispute over gas pricing. Eon is one of the leading players among a group of European gas companies insisting that Gazprom abandons a formula linking gas prices with oil prices and instead trades more gas on cheaper spot markets.

FT Energy News 1 December

Kiev and Moscow reach gas deal (Page 10)

Russia and Ukraine have reached a settlement over a dispute involving billions of dollars’ worth of natural gas which will see Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state energy company, transfer 12bn cubic meters of gas to RosUkrEnergo. In turn RosUkrEnergo is to pay Naftogaz $1.7bn, nearly half of the current market value of the gas, and Gazprom $800m.

Shell and Gazprom put Sakhalin spat behind them to form alliance (Page 21)

Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom have formed a strategic alliance little more than three years after an acrimonious dispute. The agreement signals recognition that Gazprom needs foreign allies to help globalise its gas business and expand further into oil but it said new opportunities in Russia would be available only to companies willing to share upstream assets elsewhere.

FT Energy News 30 November

China leads clean energy surge (Page 10)

China spent a record amount on its wind power industry in the last quarter. The country’s spending on wind energy in the second quarter of 2010 amounted to about $10bn, or about half of the global total of $20.5bn.

BP commits to develop Canadian oil sands (Page 21)

BP is to fund the first $2.5bn spent on Sunrise oil sands project in northern Alberta in a move likely to provoke further criticism from environmental groups. Canada’s oil sands are second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of proven oil reserves, the company said.

FT Energy News 29 November

Carbon to power energy upheaval (Page 4)

The Treasury will publish proposals that will set a price floor for carbon designed to give certainty to investors in low-carbon generation. The policies will support the £200bn-plus investment needed over the next 10 years

FT Energy News 26 November

Pennon puts case against demerger (Page 20)

Pennon has maintained that there is still no clear rationale to separate its water and waste management operation. David Dupont, the group’s finance director, said “fundamentally they are both utility infrastructure businesses”. Viridor has called for a liberalisation of UK planning laws to allow construction of more “energy from waste plants”.

Regal shares leap following takeover talk (Page 20)

Shares in Regal Petroleum, the Ukraine focused oil and gas company, surged after takeover approaches by unnamed suitors.