It’s official. China is the world’s largest consumer of energy. This happened a lot sooner — at least five years — than projected thanks to the disproportionate impact of the Great Recession on the U.S. relative to China. More significantly, this is an inexorable phenomenon as the IEA announcement notes: Since 2000, China’s energy demand […]
If China is the “green giant,” how far behind can India be?
If China is the “green giant,” how far behind can India be? A recent story documents how companies are trying to develop technologies, plants, and businesses that convert rice husk into power, recycle electronic waste, commission green data centers, consolidate wind and solar power, and mass produce electric cars. Unlike China where its government is […]
European refineries on sale
Several refineries are being sold in Europe — see table below based on Reuters data — because of moderating demand for fuels, the resulting overcapacity, growing share of biofuels, and anticipated expense associated with reducing carbon emissions. It is interesting that most bidders are the emerging economies such as India, China, and Russia, where rapid economic […]
Solar energy’s growth pangs
First Solar, the Arizona-based world’s largest maker of solar cells, breaks into the difficult Chinese market with a $5-6-billion deal to build a two gigawatt plant and a stock analyst downgrades the company’s stock from “hold” to “sell” and halves the target price. Why? In the analyst’s words: Even the best thin-film manufacturer in the […]
