Getting the Renewable Energy Ball Rolling to Attract More Investment

A sure sign of the increasing confidence in the financial and economic viability of renewable energy sources is in the investment attracted by clean energy funds. Singapore-based Andrew Affleck of Armstrong Asset Management, in a Bloomberg report,  has estimated investments from its first Southeast Asian clean-energy fund – which closed at $164 million last month – to effectively translate into a $1.2 billion investment. Another sign is the shift in the workforce from fossil fuels to renewables, with the solar industry in the US employing more workers than the coal industry. This XINHUA agency photo at left shows workers cleaning the water of a fish farm in Jianhu county of Yancheng city in eastern China, weaving between photovoltaic modules of a solar farm. A symbolic sign of how two important things – providing food and energy – can be done at the same time, involving the sun and water. Read more

Armstrong’s Asia Fund May Lure $1.2 Billion to Renewables

By Louise Downing for Bloomberg (9 December 2013):

Armstrong Asset Management, a Singapore-based private-equity company, expects investments from its first Southeast Asian clean-energy fund to total as much as $1.2 billion.

The fund will focus on the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand where renewables policy support is “more advanced,” Armstrong Managing Partner Andrew Affleck said by e-mail. While chiefly interested in solar and mini-hydropower, it’s looking at about 30 projects that also span wind and energy efficiency.

Armstrong is seeking to exploit the growing market for renewables in Southeast Asia as more countries cement targets for emission reductions and incentives for clean-power output. Thailand in July started premium payments, or feed-in tariffs, for solar energy, a system already in place in Malaysia and the Philippines. In June Indonesia opened a solar auction program.

The company’s interest in the region is driven by the “clear need for capital and the gap in the market,” Affleck said. Government targets for clean power and policy measures to strengthen energy security amid rising costs for fossil-fuel power also make the countries attractive, he said.

Armstrong raised $164 million for the fund last month. That, combined with $164 million equity from other fund investors, about $70 million from developers and $800 million in project finance, represents about $1.2 billion of investment, Affleck said. It’s aiming for annual returns of about 20 percent.

The fund will probably invest in small hydropower in the first quarter in either the Philippines or Indonesia or both, Affleck said. It has already made two investments, in Annex Power Ltd. to finance the development of solar and biogas facilities, and in Symbior Elements Pte Ltd. for solar farms.

To contact the reporter on this story: Louise Downing in London at ldowning4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net

Source: www.bloomberg.com

Moving Above Ground: From Coal Mines to Clean Energy

Emily Hois in Renewable Energy World
August 15, 2013  |

Note from the editor: we couldn’t resist using the article of a few months ago to highlight a very interesting trend in the energy and resources business.

As the number of coal mining jobs continues to decline throughout the U.S., more unemployed miners are finding work above ground — in the clean energy industry, ironically.

A group called The JOBS Project (now Sustainable Williamson) works throughout Central Appalachia to help local communities diversify its energy portfolio and help provide new business opportunities for workers. In February of 2011, the organization celebrated a milestone when a group of unemployed and underemployed coal miners installed rooftop solar panels on a doctor’s office in Williamson, WV. The array is expected to pay for itself within seven years.

Some coal mining families have been plagued with uncertainty since President Obama’s climate change proposal called for a reduction of coal-fired plants throughout the U.S. “It used to be you could do a dirty, hard job like coal mining and feel good about working hard and feeding your family. Now it’s like we’re doing some bad for the country,” a Virginia coal miner told The Daily Beast. As these workers become laid off from the coal mines, many struggle to find dependable work to support their families. This stresses the importance of having organizations step in to help these workers land on their feet in the push toward renewable energy.

Some coal-turned-clean-energy workers are realizing they can earn higher salaries than they did in the mines. Aside from more money, the health benefits of working in clean energy are an additional perk. A report by ScienceBlog predicts that a shift from coal to renewables like wind and solar energy could reduce as many as 1,300 job-related deaths in the next 10 years. Hazardous working conditions combined with the health risks associated with coal mining has made the profession the second most hazardous job in the U.S. with 27.5 deaths per 100,000 workers, ScienceBlog also reported.

In April 2013, the Solar Foundation released a report regarding solar jobs throughout the nation. The findings revealed that the solar energy sector employs 119,000 people in the U.S., and — using figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — discovered that there are now more workers in the solar industry than there are coal miners.

“The question people in West Virginia keep coming back to has to do with scale,” reveals BBC World News. “Can renewable energy such as solar power provide the same number of jobs and the breadth of economic activity that coal has provided for so many years?”

Despite the resistance from some West Virginians who have relied on coal for economic prosperity for decades, even Williamson Mayor Darrin McCormick is considering solar panels on the city administration building to cut energy costs.

“I see it as a way of diversifying our economy, to increase job opportunities in the technology involved in installing [solar panels],” McCormick said. “Plus, you’re really lengthening our way of life by preserving our natural resources.”

Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com