Most attractive countries for investment: China, India to lead energy projects by 201

[Neo]

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Most attractive countries for investment: China, India to lead energy projects by 2012

LONDON: China and India will become the most attractive countries for investment in renewable energy projects by 2012, Ernst & Young said in a report on Wednesday.

In its quarterly Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness rankings, the accounting firm said the two Asian countries are expected to share the top three spots along with the United States on its overall All Renewables Index within the next five years.

For the first quarter of 2007 the United States retained the top place as individual states there continue to adopt legislation favourable to wind and solar power. Ernst & Young ranks countries for investment in all forms of renewable energy and by individual types including wind, solar and biomass.

China maintained sixth spot on the All Renewables Index, although it climbed to fifth spot from eighth on the Wind Index.

“Despite recent predictions by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that China may overtake the US as the world’s biggest source of greenhouse gases within months, the Chinese government is showing a commitment to renewable energy sources,” Jonathan Johns, Head of Renewable Energy at Ernst & Young, said in a statement.

“(China’s) investment in renewable energy is increasing at an impressive rate, with the annual installation of wind turbines more than doubling in the last 18 months.”

China is set to overshoot a 5 gigawatt target set for wind generation installed capacity in 2010 after it hit 2.6 GW at the end of 2006, experts from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) and their Chinese colleagues said on Tuesday.

India held second place on the Ernst & Young overall index again this quarter, with tax exemptions and government legislation on compulsory renewable obligations stimulating growth in the sector, the report said.

New joiners: Five countries appeared on the 25-country index for the first time, with Poland ranking highest at 19. Brazil, Japan, New Zealand and Turkey were also placed, each developing their own renewable energy industries.

Poland has set renewable generation targets of 7.5 percent by 2010 and 14 percent by 2020, while Brazil aims to install 3.3 GW worth of renewable energy by 2008. The UK was one of five EU nations to fall in ranking, dropping from fourth place to fifth on the overall index. Italy, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria also fell in the quarter.

In March, the European Union resolved to slash carbon emissions by a fifth by 2020, and offered to go to 30 percent if other major nations follow suit. The real issue is whether the UK will attempt to meet this EU target, Johns said. “The heat and fuel sectors may struggle to reach these targets. Renewable energy requirements for electricity generation will need to rise well above the 20 percent.”

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[Neo]

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Wind power association sees market soaring 19% per year

BRUSSELS: The wind energy market will grow by 19 percent per year through the end of the decade as the high-flying sector keeps enjoying powerful Chinese and US demand, an industry association said Friday.

Even though that would mark a slowdown from the annual 24 percent growth registered in 2002-2006, the market would still double by the end of the decade, the Global Wind Energy Council said.

“Despite the strong growth we have witnessed in the past, we estimate that the biggest developments are still ahead,” GWEC director Angelika Pullen said in a statement.

“Until the end of the current decade, the cumulative capacity of wind energy installations is predicted to reach 149.5 gigawatts, more than double the installed capacity at the end of 2006,” she added.

Last year, 23 billion dollars (18 billion euros) worth of new wind generators came on line worldwide, lifting total capacity by 25 percent to more than 74 gigawatts.

The wind power sector is in the midst of a major boom as countries try to reduce their dependence on increasingly expensive fossil fuels while cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions to fight global climate warming.

“If decision makers around the world are genuinely committed to making a difference now, they have to rethink their energy policy and make the deployment of renewable energy technologies, such as wind energy, their number one priority,” said GWEC’s secretary general Steve Sawyer.

Although the European Union is currently the main market for wind power, demand in both Asia and North America is expanding at “a tremendous pace”, the association said.

While the US market is expected to become the biggest worldwide by 2010, “the Asian market has exceeded all previous estimations thanks to unexpectedly strong growth in China.”

The GWEC claims to represent over 1,500 companies, organisations and institutions in more than sixty countries, including all major wind turbine makers. afp

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