Jon Queen, CAIA shares some views on the alternative investment sector generally including traditional fuel and energy commodities, cryptocurrency trading, renewable energy and emissions trading, blockchain technologies, energy efficiency, environmental topics and various projects.
The World Bank has loaned
US$90 million to the Republic of Belarus for converting municipal district heating stations from gas to biomass wood fuel. The project involves the replacement of existing gas boilers by
biomass boilers, provision of wood chipping equipment and biomass fuel
storage facilities, installation of individual building-level heat
substations with temperature control, and upgrading of district heating
networks.
“Forest is one of Belarus’s richest natural resources. The full
potential of wood biomass as alternative renewable energy resource has
yet to be realized in Belarus,” stated Young Chul Kim, World Bank Country Manager for Belarus. “Using
low-quality wood, now treated as industrial waste, for heat and power
generation will also contribute to the development of the wood
processing industry, and is consistent with the national overall
strategy to encourage sustainable forest management. It also allows new
jobs and business opportunities to be created in these sectors.”
Previously Belarus has relied on Russian gas to run its heating stations, and the Government of Belarus has a goal to replace this gas with local fuels, mainly biomass, by 32 percent in 2020. Further details and information are available on the World Bank's website at http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/03/31/world-bank-belarus-energy-sector.
On June 18, Japan's Ministry of Industry approved the implementation of renewable energy feed-in tariffs. These tariffs, set to last for at least 20 years, are among the highest in the world (see chart below) and they become effective from July onwards. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates that Japan's photovoltaic (PV) market alone could be worth at least 10 billion USD, with Japan poised to overtake Italy as the world's second largest solar energy market.
The new Japanese green tariffs require utility companies to purchase
electricity from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and different forms of biomass. Japan's government views this requirement as a positive step towards reducing its historic reliance on nuclear power and thereby mitigate against a potential future "nature+nuclear" national catastrophe a la Fukushima.
Japan only generates about 1% of its energy from renewable sources at present, but analysts predict that the country should unlock at least 30 billion
USD in fresh renewable energy investment by means of these new tariffs. It will be interesting to watch how feed-in tariff policies evolve in the USA and other major economies -- much work still needs to be done in order to reduce our global dependence on greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels.
Generally speaking, nuclear energy has been the red headed stepchild of climate change cap-and-trade. Ignored completely by the Kyoto Protocol and related schemes, the sector has never been eligible for creating valuable carbon credits and therefore misses the multi-billion dollar carbon finance boat. French President Nicolas Sarkozy currently wants to change this and expand the carbon credit market to include nuclear energy also.
President Sarkozy would like to improve the financing options for nuclear energy and make it more widespread. Climate change mitigation proponents and cap-and-trade advocates have traditionally been divided over the subject of nuclear energy, due to the long half-lives of radioactive fuel materials and the dilemma of how to dispose of them safely over time.
Nuclear power supporters, like President Sarkozy, argue that these are outdated arguments. There is little risk of a future Chernobyl or Three Mile Island recurrence, they say, using modern technology; it is time for a changed perception towards nuclear power.
I am not qualified to speak on the merits of either side, surely. But I can say that if nuclear power is allowed to participate in the future carbon market, it will have a definite impact on prices and project market characteristics. So with that in mind, here is a recent public article from the Wall Street Journal on President Sarkozy's recent statements and views on this important subject. You can find the original at http://online.wsj.com.
Cheers -- Jon
Wall Street Journal Online
8 March 2010
Sarkozy Urges Easier Financing for Nuclear Energy
By Adam Mitchell & Geraldine Amiel
PARIS—French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday urged the World Bank and other international institutions to help ease financing for civil nuclear-power projects around the world.
In a speech at an international conference in Paris on the theme of access to nuclear power, Mr. Sarkozy said he proposes to "eliminate the ostracism of nuclear energy in international financing."
"I do not understand why international financial institutions and development banks do not finance civil nuclear energy projects," Mr. Sarkozy said. "The current situation means that countries are condemned to rely on more costly energy that causes greater pollution."
The French president said he would propose to change that situation. "The World Bank, the EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development] and the other development banks must make a wholehearted commitment to finance such projects," he said. Mr. Sarkozy also called for nuclear power to be included in carbon-credits systems.
"Outdated ideology means that a country developing civil nuclear energy cannot obtain carbon credits," he said. "And yet, these credits are used to finance all other forms of decarbonized energy."
Mr. Sarkozy said carbon dioxide credits should "be used to finance all forms of decarbonized energy under the new global architecture after 2013."
Nuclear power is the main source of electricity in France and the country has a fleet of 58 reactors, which it is in the process of expanding. Mr. Sarkozy wants France to export the country's nuclear technology as widely as possible and has long spoken in favor of boosting access to civil nuclear power around the world.
Separately, Mr. Sarkozy said he wants to boost nuclear expertise through expanding training opportunities. "I have decided to step up our efforts by creating an International Nuclear Energy Institute that will include an International Nuclear Energy School," Mr. Sarkozy said.
The institute will be an "integral part," Mr. Sarkozy said, of an international network of specialized centers of excellence that is now taking shape, that will see the first center being set up in Jordan.
Being in the carbon trading and finance business, I often get a lot of questions from people outside the industry about what exactly it's all about.
I have come across a nice, concise introductory video overview of carbon credit projects and finance dynamics. I like its straightforward approach, and thought it would be nice to share here on the blog. Brought to us from the folks at Carbon Credit Capital, enjoy.
An investment and trading specialist, Jon Queen undertakes capital markets transactions and alternative investments across a broad spectrum of asset classes.
Jon has degrees in Economics from Cornell University and Law from University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to working in the energy and emissions trading space, Mr. Queen was an attorney at Latham & Waktins LLP and a licensed securities representative at John Hancock Financial Services.
