Archive for the ‘Business’ Category
July 6, 2012
I don’t believe in subsidies.
In over 30 years in power generation I have yet to see a convincing case of public subsidies in the market place actually helping to commercialise new technologies. I have seen cases where Government support at the research stage has helped to bring new areas into focus and which has eventually led to commercially driven investments which have deployed the technology. But temporarily distorting the market place by means of public subsidy is unsustainable and does not – in itself – help to make a new technology commercially viable. In fact an artificially distorted market in favour of a new technology only helps to cuccoon and insulate it such that there is no incentive left to make it competitive. Subsidies shift the focus from technology development to subsidy maximisation and when subsidies begin to be removed all creativity is wasted on prolonging subsidies.
The case of subsiding the market place for the deployment of renewable energy is a case in point. Developing technology for wind and solar power is desirable but distorting the market place to deploy wind and solar is just plain stupid and unsustainable.
1. Der Spiegel
Solar subsidies cost German consumers billions of dollars a year and are widely regarded as inefficient. Even environmentalists are concerned that Berlin’s focus on solar comes at the detriment of other renewables. But the solar industry has a powerful lobby, and politicians have proven powerless to resist.
…… A new study by Georg Erdmann, professor of energy systems at Berlin’s Technical University, reveals just how far Germany’s current center-right governing coalition — made up of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU and the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) — has strayed from its own self-imposed goals. Erdmann has calculated the effects that the latest changes to the EEG will have between now and 2030. He believes that subsidies for renewable energy, including an expansion of the power grid, will saddle energy consumers with costs well over €300 billion ($377 billion). ….
2. BBC News
Fight on for wind power subsidies
Wind power firms warn they may take the government to court if they get caught in a political row over subsidies. After conducting technical studies, the energy department proposed a subsidy cut of 10% for power from onshore wind. But the chancellor is under pressure from back-benchers to scrap subsidies, and is said to favour a 25% cut.
The industry body, Renewable UK, says it may take legal action if the government makes a decision that overrides its own technical evidence. …
3. GWPF / IVN
California’s Green Suicide
New economic impact study on California’s Global Warming Solutions Act finds that the average California family will end up paying an additional $2,500 annually by 2020. In addition, the state is expected to lose an additional 262,000 jobs, 5.6 percent of the gross state product, and a whopping $7.4 billion through decreased annual state and local tax revenues as a result.
The California Manufacturers and Technology Association released a new report last week that suggests costs associated with AB 32 may be a lot higher than previously estimated. AB 32, otherwise known as the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger- propelling California to the forefront in the fight against global warming. Successful passage of the law effectively turned the state into one of the most stringent regulators of green house gas emissions in the nation and globally. Some would argue that the move all but eliminated California’s competitive edge in today’s market. ……
Tags:Energy, Renewable energy, Solar power, subsidies, technology commercialisation, wind power
Posted in Business, Energy, Politics, Renewable Energy, Technology | 1 Comment »
May 26, 2012
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved this challenging technical feat.
- May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
- May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the International Space Station.
- May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle was ready to berth with the space station; these tests included maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle came within 1.5 miles of the station.
- May 25: NASA gave Dragon the GO to attempt berthing with the station. Dragon approached. It was captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station
The next steps:
- May 25 – 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
- May 31: Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.
Live coverage of the hatch opening, including some of the first video from inside Dragon, will begin Saturday at approximately 3:00 AM PT/ 6:00 AM ET on www.spacex.com .
Tags:Dragon, International Space Station, NASA, SpaceX
Posted in Business, Space | Comments Off on The Dragon docks
May 11, 2012
It would seem that the wind lobby is more influential with the US Government than the wildlife lobby. Of course there is a lot more money involved in extracting subsidies for wind and solar energy than there is in wildlife.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been investigating the increased incidence of wildlife deaths (large birds, foxes and tortoises among others) at solar and wind energy project sites. The USFWS now proposes – presumably because these deaths will continue for a long time at such projects – that they be given a licence to kill for 30 years! But this support for solar and wind projects is a tacit acknowledgement by the US Fish and Wildlife Service that renewable projects are rather more dangerous to large birds and other wildlife than the enthusiasts would like us to believe.
Euphemistically, the USFWS obscures these licences to kill under the innocuous sounding “programmatic permits to authorize eagle take“.
The Foundry has this :
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Tags:Bald Eagle, Bird kills by wind turbines, licence to kill, Renewable energy, United States, United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Posted in Behaviour, Business, Energy, Politics, Renewable Energy, US, Wildlife | 4 Comments »
April 30, 2012
After driving Saab into bankruptcy it seems that Victor Muller’s Spyker will still come out of it pretty well. Accounting gymnastics will give Spyker (Saab’s former owner) a profit of some 140 million kronor (€16 million).
Svenska Dagbladet reports (free translation):
Saab Automobile’s bankruptcy has a shortfall of over nine billion kronor (€900 million) and many creditors will not get a penny. But Saab’s former owner, Spyker, has managed to show a profit of over 140 million kronor just because of the Saab bankruptcy. “It sounds very strange that Spyker makes a profit because of Saab’s bankruptcy. But we don’t know what lies behind and what legal documents were drawn up between the companies”, said Marie Karlsson Tuula, associate professor of civil law and specialist in bankruptcy matters. ….
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Tags:Bankruptcy, SAAB, Saab Automobile, Spyker, Swedish Automobile, Victor Muller
Posted in Automobiles, Business | 1 Comment »
April 30, 2012
Last week I flew in and out of New Delhi’s new Terminal 3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It took me 20 minutes to clear immigration, baggage collection and customs going in and 15 minutes to clear immigration and security on my way out. The Indian security personnel are getting their act together. I have to say that I found the security check more simple, more thorough, more courteous and more credible than that at Munich when I got back to Europe (and Munich is one of the better airports and far more customer-friendly than Frankfurt).
Compare that with the apparent incompetence at London’s Heathrow.
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Tags:BAA, Border Force, Heathrow, Home Office, IGI Airport, London Heathrow Airport, New Delhi, UK Border Agency
Posted in Alarmism, Behaviour, Business | Comments Off on London is a disgrace compared to Delhi
March 11, 2012
When can “ends” no longer justify the “means”?
At what level does “collateral damage” become unacceptable?
And even after all the blood-letting in Iraq and Afghanistan there are still those who would like to see the US and Israel launch attacks on Iran. Iran dossiers are no doubt being “sexed-up” by those who are worried that not being at war with someone is not sustainable for business.
BBC News:
‘Rogue’ US soldier kills Afghan civilians
A US soldier in Afghanistan has killed at least 16 civilians and wounded five after entering their homes in Kandahar province, senior local officials say. He left his military base in the early hours of the morning and opened fire in at least two homes; women and children were among the dead.
Nato said it was investigating the “deeply regrettable incident”.
The New York Times does cover this as its top story, but Fox News only reports – as its third story – that a US soldier has been detained for the alleged killing of civilians! It is Sunday and Huff Post and the Drudge Report – as of 1300 CET – have not even managed to report this “regrettable incident”.
UPDATE! And now Reuters reports that it wasn’t one, lone, disturbed, “rogue” soldier but “a rampage that witnesses said was carried out by American soldiers who were laughing and appeared drunk”.
Tags:Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, massacre of the innocents, rogue soldier, war
Posted in Business, Ethics, Politics, War | Comments Off on A “regrettable incident”
March 9, 2012
Karoo, South Africa: image Wikipedia
The Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa with two main sub-regions – the Great Karoo in the north and the Little Karoo in the south. The region is known to contain shale-gas deposits some 4,000m below the surface but the extent of the deposits have yet to be fully investigated.
Now Econometrix has published a new report on the potential for growth that Karoo shale gas could provide. The report is supported by Shell who are planning to explore the deposits. A pdf version of the report is available from Shell here: Karoo Shale Gas Report – February 2012
To put quantitities in perspective the 485 trillion cubic feet of gas (14 trillion cubic metres) thought to be in the Karoo compares with 25 trillion cubic metres in China and about 13 trillion cubic metres in the US. (The Age of Gas: China has enough shale gas for 200 years).
IOL, South Africa reports:
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Tags:Karoo, Natural gas, Royal Dutch Shell, Shale gas, shale gas reserves, South Africa
Posted in Business, Energy, Environment, South Africa | Comments Off on South Africa could join the shale gas band-wagon
March 7, 2012
“Green” is also the colour of slime.
Subsidies are fundamentally corrupting.
Instead of promoting the commercialisation of a nascent technology (whether for later job creation or for pursuing policy goals), they lead more often than not to companies just maximising the subsidies they can get. And very often the vast amounts taken from tax money end up in the pockets of opportunistic individuals. It is no great secret that the “green” label has provided the path for the extraction (or is it extortion) of subsidies by developers and companies who have never had any intention other than maximising what could be extracted.
ABC News (here and here) lists a number of cases in the US where subsidies have been extracted, huge bonuses paid and then bankruptcy filings prevents any possibility of getting any recourse to the beneficiaries. They point out that “the Energy Department explicitly allows for federal funds to be used to pay out executive bonuses.” The “subsidy” industry is of course already well established in Europe with exorbitant “feed in tariffs”, carbon trading certificates and grants to solar and wind developers.
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Tags:Abound Solar, Beacon Power, bonuses from subsidies, Chapter 11 filing, corruption, Ener1, Green subsidies, Solyndra
Posted in Business, Corruption, Environment, Ethics | Comments Off on “Green” is also the colour of slime – when companies take their subsidies, pay their bonuses and then go bankrupt..
March 1, 2012
I see that the EU and French authorities are getting all worked up about Google’s new privacy policy. But that by itself (the opposition by EU and French bureaucracy) makes me think it can’t be all bad. And if the Google dashboard truly reflects the information stored then it does not bother me.
BBC:
Internet company Google has gone ahead with its new privacy policy despite warnings from the EU that it might violate European law. ….
But I am not especially concerned . In fact I am somewhat hopeful that the quality of the ads directed towards me will improve! They surely cannot get any worse.
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Tags:advertisements, buying behaviour, Google, Privacy, Privacy policy
Posted in Business, Media, psychology, World Wide Web | Comments Off on New Google privacy policy does not bother me…….
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