News

• Ontario election threatens renewables support

  27 September 2011

  The best chance of preserving Ontario's feed-in tariff (FiT) programme in its current form is if the governing Liberal Party maintains control after next week's provincial elections, according to a report by the environmental NGO the Pembina Institute.

• Money flows to Ecuador's 'pay us not to drill' trust

  27 September 2011

  A trust set up to pay Ecuador not to drill for oil in Yasuní National Park is halfway towards its first fundraising target, thanks to contributions from the Italian government and an executive at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

• LG to invest $6.8bn in green strategy

  27 September 2011

  South Korean conglomerate LG has said it will invest 8 trillion won ($6.8 billion) by 2015 in a 'Green New Business' strategy.

• Fulcrum Bioenergy files for $115m IPO

  26 September 2011

  Fulcrum Bioenergy has joined the flurry of US biofuels companies hoping to raise cash from the public markets.

• RAN finds fault with BNP Paribas coal policy

  26 September 2011

  BNP Paribas' policy on lending to the coal-fired power sector "contains loopholes big enough to drive a bulldozer through", according to the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) – although the activist's group's criticism of the French bank's new policy is comparatively muted.

• Republicans 'exploiting' Solyndra to strip renewables funding

  26 September 2011

  Republicans in the US House of Representatives are exploiting the bankruptcy of solar panel manufacturer Solyndra to strip funding for the Department of Energy's (DOE) loan guarantee programme for renewable energy, according to Democratic legislators.

• Solar rooftop projects look to securitisation

  23 September 2011

  Securitisation could be a viable financing mechanism for solar rooftop projects in the US, but rating agencies are still struggling with how to assess these deals, according to financing experts.

• Novozymes targets multi-billion dollar African charcoal market with green alternative

  22 September 2011

  Novozymes is to help finance a novel integrated food and energy venture in Mozambique which aims to displace charcoal with biofuel – offering a more sustainable alternative, it says, with a view to opening a massive market.

• US loan guarantee deadline will be missed, concedes DOE

  22 September 2011

  Disappointment awaits some of the renewables developers hoping their loan guarantees will be approved before next week's deadline, according to a US Department of Energy official. Meanwhile, Republicans in the House of Representatives are questioning whether the department is rushing to complete approvals in light of its role in funding the now bankrupt solar panel manufacturer Solyndra.

• Developer casts doubt on eastern European renewables plans

  22 September 2011

  Some plans laid down by eastern European countries on how to meet their EU renewable energy targets by 2020 are based on "heroic assumptions", according to a developer active in the region.