News

• MGM casinos: House wins with sustainability policy

  10 February 2011

  With its bright lights that can be seen for miles, Las Vegas isn't the first US city that comes to mind when thinking about energy conservation and sustainability. But casino owner MGM Resorts International is changing that perception, to great financial and environmental results.

• Khosla-backed biofuels firm Gevo rises after IPO

  10 February 2011

  Shares in Gevo rose as much as 16% in their first day of trading on Nasdaq yesterday, following an initial public offering (IPO) of the Vinod Khosla-backed biofuels and renewable chemicals firm that was priced at the top of its range.

• Palm oil giant pledges action on Indonesian deforestation

  10 February 2011

  Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) has reached an agreement with an environmental group to conserve carbon-rich forests in Indonesia – including setting a provisional 'carbon threshold' which would see it protect high-carbon forests.

• Italy may face substantial solar subsidy bill, but retroactive cuts unlikely

  10 February 2011

  Retroactive cuts to Italy's generous solar subsidies are unlikely, according to analysts at investment bank Jefferies, which is expecting the government to respond to high and suspected fraudulent take-up of the feed-in tariff with cuts to rates starting in 2012.

• US government funding fuels $100m clean-tech private investment

  10 February 2011

  The US government is claiming a win for its clean-technology (clean-tech) stimulus funding, announcing that six US clean-tech companies have secured more than $100 million in private capital a year on from picking up $23.6 million in government funding.

• UK FIT review leaves industry sanguine, investors uncertain

  10 February 2011

  Renewables firms and groups in the UK have cautiously welcomed the government's plan to review the renewable energy feed-in tariff (FIT) system introduced less than 12 months ago, but experts warn it could add to investor uncertainty.

• EU clean energy goals require 'major efforts' – EU leaders

  10 February 2011

  The EU still needs to make "major efforts" to modernise its energy structure and fully develop its renewable energy resources, European heads of state and government agreed during a meeting in Brussels last week. They called on the European Commission to explain by June how it plans to finance these efforts.

• CDP water disclosure investor support jumps

  10 February 2011

  The number of institutional investors backing the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) water disclosure request has jumped 150% to 354, managing $43 trillion in assets.

• Clean-tech legal service launched to streamline documentation

  09 February 2011

  Clean-tech entrepreneurs risk deterring investment or incurring substantial costs because of "piecemeal" legal documentation, according to law firm Simmons & Simmons.

• REC price secrecy holding back trading in US - experts

  08 February 2011

  A reluctance to share price data is holding back the development of a liquid futures market for renewable energy credits (REC) in the US, according to traders and consultants.