News

• Lawmakers seek to rescue US energy efficiency retrofit bonds

  19 July 2011

  A bill to rescue municipal bond programmes for energy efficiency retrofits stands a good chance in the US Congress because it protects federal mortgage lenders, according to its supporters.

• Biofuels firm targets $100m IPO

  19 July 2011

  A US biodiesel producer is hoping to tap the public markets for $100 million, following the success of other recent biofuel offerings.

• KKR, Munich Re take 49% stake in Spanish solar firm

  19 July 2011

  Private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) and reinsurer Munich Re will acquire a combined 49% stake in Spanish solar developer Grupo T-Solar, reflecting increasing investor appetite for renewables.

• Denmark, AfDB set up sustainable energy fund

  19 July 2011

  Denmark and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are to set up a DKK300 million ($57 million) fund to help African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access sustainable energy.

• Equator banks to update project finance standards by March 2012

  19 July 2011

  A new version of the voluntary Equator Principles, which set environmental and social standards for project finance, is to be published in March 2012.

• Investors, advisors form Low Carbon Bond Group

  19 July 2011

  A group of investors and advisors have come together to promote the use of bond markets to finance low-carbon projects.

• Green groups, right, unite against US green bank

  18 July 2011

  The US Senate's latest proposal for a green bank, also known as the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA), is drawing fire from both conservative and environmental organisations.

• Q2 clean energy investment up 27%

  14 July 2011

  The clean energy sector attracted $41.7 billion in new investment in the second quarter of 2011. Increased spending on solar thermal power plants and strong venture capital (VC) and private equity funding pushed investment 27% higher than the previous quarter, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF).

• Carbon cuts save UK firms £13m/year

  14 July 2011

  More than 30 companies including O2, BSkyB, Diageo and the UK's Royal Mail have collectively saved more than £13 million ($21 million) annually by cutting carbon emissions by 285,000 tonnes over two years.

• US government plays matchmaker on energy efficiency finance

  14 July 2011

  The US federal government has started playing matchmaker between capital-constrained commercial energy customers and companies willing to finance 100% of the upfront costs of efficiency projects.