Credit Suisse looks to make an impact with new investment wing

Credit Suisse has set up a new department to nurture socially conscious investing, the latest effort by a major bank to cater for growing demand for so-called impact investing.

The move was announced by the Swiss bank’s chief executive Tidjane Thiam in a memo to staff seen by Reuters.

Impact investments are made into “companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return,” the Global Impact Investing Network says on its website.

Want to fight climate change? Don’t invest in Tesla

Climate change is almost unanimously considered one of the gravest threats facing humanity, with the worst-case scenarios representing massive environmental destruction. Investors hoping to combat it with their portfolio allocations can, but one famous environmentally focused company may actually be doing more harm than good.

Morgan Stanley identified 39 stocks that generate at least half their revenue “from the provision of solutions to climate change,” something it said was a central component of investing to make a difference, as opposed to just a making a buck.

“In our view, impact investing needs to begin with companies whose products and services have a notable positive environmental or social impact,” wrote Jessica Alsford, an equity strategist at the investment bank.

Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 tn per year

A new study finds 6.5% of global GDP goes to subsidizing dirty fossil fuels

Fossil fuels have two major problems that paint a dim picture for their future energy dominance. These problems are inter-related but still should be discussed separately. First, they cause climate change. We know that, we’ve known it for decades, and we know that continued use of fossil fuels will cause enormous worldwide economic and social consequences.

Second, fossil fuels are expensive. Much of their costs are hidden, however, as subsidies. If people knew how large their subsidies were, there would be a backlash against them from so-called financial conservatives.

A study was just published in the journal World Development that quantifies the amount of subsidies directed toward fossil fuels globally, and the results are shocking. The authors work at the IMF and are well-skilled to quantify the subsidies discussed in the paper.

Let’s give the final numbers and then back up to dig into the details.

The Valley of Fog: As Sundrop moves on from Louisiana, what’s up and what’s wrong with Loan Guarantee programs?

In Louisiana, reports surfaced in Alexandria’s TownTalk online paper that Sundrop Fuels has struck an agreement to sell the 1200-acre site where it once planned to build its $450 million, 50 million gallon capacity first commercial plant to produce green gasoline from woody biomass.

The company selected the site, the former location of the Cowboy Town entertainment complex, in November 2011 and completed the purchase in January 2012.

The CEO of Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance, Jim Clinton, told TownTalk that “The company tried extremely hard to make this work. Sundrop management did everything within their power. By the time they got to the point where they could build the plant, the economics had changed and the politics had changed.”

Sundrop has now confirmed that “It has become clear given the new politics in Washington that our application through the DOE Loan Guarantee program is not going to progress further.  As such we are not going to be able to finance and build the facility in Louisiana so there is no point in tying up money there.”

So, an unfortunate step backwards for the manufacturing sector — and an interesting proof point that the DOE Loan Guarantee program success is closely tied to the revival of domestic manufacturing. We hope a temporary one — Sundrop’s technology and team march on, with we hope another project emerging soon. Perhaps offshore, perhaps one with financing not tied back to Washington’s shifting sands. Asia has long been in the long-term focus of the company.

Note: SynSel's Funding is not dependent on the US-DOE Loan Program or any other government funding source.

SynSel Energy, Inc. Bringing Jobs to Rural America

SynSel Energy, Inc. of Elmhurst, IL is partnering with a US-based financier and local stakeholders across the US to develop a network of 100 biorefineries in shuttered industrial sites.  The plants will be constructed on a proprietary template, using state-of-the-art, environmentally-responsible technology to produce clean second-generation biofuels from our nation's abundant wood waste and forest residue.

SynSel has recently announced the locations of the first 2 plants in the SynSel network as Ontonagon, MI and Lumberton, MS.  SynSel CEO, Tim Tawoda stated, "These plants are fully-funded, and SynSel is currently securing the project deposit fund required to release pre-construction and construction funds. Both plants are slated to be fully operational by 2020.

Each SynSel biorefinery will employ 100 workers, and an estimated 150 supporting jobs will be created in each surrounding community. SynSel's co-developer Mr. Pat Tucker, President of Lost Bowl Development, LLC in Ontonagon, MI stated, ""The Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill closed in 2010 and was just one more economic setback for Ontonagon after the copper mine and shipyard closures. The SynSel biorefinery is a huge step in reversing the unemployment trends in Ontonagon and the Upper Peninsula, in general. We are honored to be partnering with SynSel and their financer to help revitalize this community with good-paying jobs insulated against the boom-and-bust cycles of the legacy mining industry."

Biofuels could boost Western UP

New biofuels could give the Upper Peninsula economy a boost.

"It's a good fit for the region. It's a game changer," said Pat Tucker of Lost Bowl Development.

Biofuels, which are fuels made directly from organic materials like wood or algae, will soon breathe life back into the former Smurfit-Stone Container paper mill in Ontonagon.

SynSel Energy of Illinois and Lost Bowl Development of Ontonagon plan to begin construction next year on a $300 million dollar biorefinery.

SynSel chose the Smurfit-Stone site for several reasons.

"Ontonagon has the industrial infrastructure in place that we need, and it is right in the back yard of the feed stock that we need for the plant," said Brian Buckta, senior vice president of administration at SynSel Energy, Inc.

Biofuel plant construction set to begin

Thousands of construction workers could be employed next year to begin constructing a new biorefinery plant in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

“That should be happening soon,” said Brian Buckta, SynSel Energy senior vice-president administration. “Ontonagon will be one of the first, if not the first.”

SynSel Energy Inc., of Elmhurst, Illinois, chose Ontonagon as one of two U.S. sites to build advanced biofuels plants that will produce synthetic gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels the company sells in commodities markets.

Mazda made a game-changing fuel efficiency breakthrough other carmakers have spent decades working on

As soon as 2019, Mazda will have a petrol-driven car in production that is cheaper to run than a Tesla Model S.

The Japanese carmaker has announced it is ready to reveal a combustion engine using compression technology Ford, General Motors and Hyundai have been trying to get into production for the best part of a decade.

It’s called Spark Controlled Compression Ignition and it uses the same sparkless technology used by diesel engines, without the high emission rate.

At low revs, the SkyActiv-X employs sparkplugs to ignite petrol, but it switches to compression ignition at high revs. Mazda claims it can handle the switch without engine damage.

If its claims of a “20-30%” increase in fuel efficiency are true, then the 2019 Mazda3 – the model most likely to get the first SkyActiv-X engine – could be running on as little as 3.5L per 100km.

At today’s fuel prices in Melbourne, that’s $19.25 for 500km, which is about the maximum range of a full battery in Tesla’s Model S.

Trump May Have to Boost Biofuel as Court Deals Blow to Oil

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration may have to reconsider its proposal from earlier this month to curb biofuel use after a U.S. appeals court in Washington ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t have the authority to cut quotas while citing inadequate domestic supply.

Issued Friday, the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel comes amid conflicting legal challenges to actions taken by the EPA. Some factions claim the agency set renewable fuel requirements too high, while others said they’re too low. Shares of ethanol producers rose on the news while refinery stocks declined.

U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote that EPA isn’t allowed "to consider the volume of renewable fuel that is available to ultimate consumers or the demand-side constraints that affect the consumption of renewable fuel by consumers.”

How Clean is Electric Vehicle?

July 9, 2017 - Utilization of clean energy resources is desired to prevent further damage to environment. Around 20% of the global energy consumption occurs in the transportation sector. This sector also accounts for one-sixth of worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and a significantly higher (one-third) in the United States. Around one-third of the transportation sector energy consumption moves the cars worldwide, which accounts for significant CO2 emissions. In addition, the number of cars worldwide is expected to double from 0.9 billion in 2016 to 1.8 billion in 2040. Since majority of these cars have internal combustion engines (oil-powered) vehicles (OV), efforts are in place to utilize clean energy resources to prevent further environmental damages. To minimize CO2 emissions due to cars, electrical-powered vehicle (EV) have recently gained traction, and consequently the number of EV cars is expected to grow 100 times from 1 million at present to 100 million in 2040.

Porter Stansberry: Oil $500? – Why you should know about this trend now…

This week Porter and Buck sit down with legendary Texas wildcatter and CEO of Chisholm Exploration, Cactus Schroeder, and talk all things oil. Tune in and hear why Porter thinks oil prices will eventually go to $500. Stansberry Research’s resident resources editor, Flavious Smith, sits in on the interview. He and Porter share their view on the upcoming super cycle in oil. Learn why this trend in oil will produce a mass amount of wealth and why you should be educated at the bottom of the cycle and not the top!

Synsel securing financing for two $300 million wood-based biorefineries

July 18, 2017 - In Illinois, Synsel hopes to finalize financing in the next few months for two $300 million wood-based biorefineries in Ontonagon, Mich. and Lumberton, Miss. that are meant to produce synthetic gasoline, diesel and aviation. The Ontonagon project aims to repurpose the mothballed Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill that was closed in 2010 but the Lumberton site was not identified. The licensor of the technology that will be employed at the biorefineries was only identified as a major oil and gas company.

SynSel Energy Inc. to open biofuels plant in Ontonagon

July 17, 2017 - ONTONAGON, Mich. — By JAN TUCKER jantuck@jamadots.com

Ontonagon has been selected as one of two initial sites in the U.S. for the construction of an advanced biofuels plant. SynSel Energy, Inc., is partnering with a U.S.-based financier and Lost Bowl Development, LLC, to develop the $300 million biorefinery at the site of the closed Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill in Ontonagon. A second identical $300 million plant will be developed by SynSel in Lumberton, Miss. Each site is expected to produce about 250 direct and indirect jobs.

The Smurfit-Stone Paper Mill closed in 2010 and was just one more setback for Ontonagon County after the closure of the White Pine Mine and Lake Shore shipyard. As a result Ontonagon County has consistently had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state.

Electric Cars Are the Future? Not So Fast

Though they’re no longer ugly, impossibly expensive and impractical, electric vehicles need to out-innovate fossil fuels if they are ever to displace the internal combustion engine. 

Skepticism of electric cars melts a bit more with each new announcement from the likes of Tesla, which last week launched production of a mass-market vehicle, and Volvo, which days later promised to phase out gasoline-only engines by 2019.

But that progress comes with two big caveats: First, it has relied on extensive public subsidies and, second, it has done little to reduce planet-warming emissions of carbon dioxide. If electric cars are ever to displace gasoline engines without government putting its thumb on the scale, they must not only keep innovating but outrun fossil fuels where productivity also keeps advancing.

The federal government offers a tax credit of up to $7,500 each for the first 200,000 electric or plug-in hybrid cars a manufacturer sells. Throw in state tax credits, subsidies for recharging infrastructure, relief from gasoline taxes, preferential lanes and parking spots and government fleet purchases, and taxpayers help pay for every electric car on the road.

What happens when the credits go away? When Hong Kong slashed a tax break worth roughly $55,000 for a Tesla in April, its sales ground to a halt. In Georgia, electric vehicle sales plummeted 80% the month after a $5,000 tax credit was repealed.

Shell goes carbon negative, signs commercial-scale deal with SBI

If you think about it, the world of combustion engines could really use a carbon-negative story that goes father than electric cars and their entirely mythic but potent “zero emissions” storyline.

Shell might have just won that race.

Yep, they’re going carbon negative. Petroleum fuels emit 94 grams of CO2 per megajoule of energy. Shell’s latest deal with SBI Bioenergy gives it access to a fuel that emits Minus 14.

That means the atmosphere gets less carbon, with every mile you drive. You motor your way to a global emissions solution.

And, offering something that electric vehicles never will — a technology that claws us back from the carbon precipice instead of a technology class that lets us dangle there forever.

The Simple Reason Why Renewables are Surging (It’s Not the Government)

June 21, 2017 - After last year’s election, a number of pundits had predicted that a Trump victory would usher in a new age for coal and crude oil in the U.S.

Renewables, like solar and wind, would be used as alternatives only in certain regions of the country – or so these pundits suggested.

Well, it’ hardly worked out that way, even with the more recent decision to cut the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord.

Renewables are soldiering on, and the reason is simple (and market-based)…

June 15, 2017 - Biofuel makers hope for increase in mandate

Canadian biofuel producers are already gearing up for what they believe will be a doubling of the country’s ethanol and biodiesel mandates in the near future.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is consulting with provinces and territories about developing a clean fuel standard to reduce greenhouse gases by increasing the use of low carbon fuels.

It has prepared a discussion paper that outlines how the standard would address a range of fuels including liquid, gaseous and solid fuels. It would go beyond transportation fuels and include fuels used in industry, homes and buildings.

The objective of the standard is to achieve 30 megatonnes (Mt) of annual reductions in GHG emissions by 2030.

June 20, 2017 - Corn better used as food than biofuel, study finds

Corn is grown not only for food, it is also an important renewable energy source. Renewable biofuels can come with hidden economic and environmental issues, and the question of whether corn is better utilized as food or as a biofuel has persisted since ethanol came into use. For the first time, researchers at the University of Illinois have quantified and compared these issues in terms of economics of the entire production system to determine if the benefits of biofuel corn outweigh the costs.

Civil and environmental engineering professor Praveen Kumar and graduate student Meredith Richardson published their findings in the journal Earth's Future.

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-corn-food-biofuel.html#jCp

LCFS vs RFS: As two contend for the Renewables Heavyweight Championship, who is the Greatest?

There are 4 primary differences.

1. An RFS creates a standard, and any fuel that meets that standard can compete in that market. Once a fuel has met the low-carbon standard, it becomes entirely about fuel price — a $3.00 cellulosic fuel that reduces carbon by 60% will get market share over a $3.10 cellulosic fuel that reduces carbon by 100%, because both fuels meet the cellulosic standard. In an LCFS, all fuels get credited according to the carbon reductions of their pathway. So, there are no “motivational dead zones” when it comes to pushing harder on reducing carbon

2. An LCFS sets carbon volumes, not fuel volumes. Under an LCFS....

20 oil? $200 oil? Does it matter?

For the world of renewable fuels — the only significant carbon legislation on the books, it really doesn’t matter what the oil price is. The RFS creates a separate market for renewable fuels and they compete against each other as alternatives within that market.

It’s not unheard of. California, for example, has a separate market, anyway, because of the requirement to produce reformulated gasoline, a unique type of anti-smog fuel. To use another example, Colorado and Wyoming utilize 85-octane regular unleaded fuel, instead of 87-octane as we see elsewhere around the country. There are distinct fuels markets for different reasons, and the renewable fuels market is one of them.