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Energy & Environment
IMF, EC and WB deem reevaluation of gas price system as necessary in protecting the poor
Thursday, February 9, 2012
The representatives of the international financial bodies, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the World Bank, believe that the reevaluation of the entire system of natural gas prices is necessary, so that those with minimum wages should be protected, Maria Eugenia Barna, chairman of the commission for budget, finance and banks in the Chamber of Deputies, told Agerpres.'They [the representatives] are going to come at the request of the colleagues in the ...
Carbon capture to net €1bn of infrastructure funds
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Experimental technology to capture, store and bury carbon emissions in geological formations is in line to receive a payout of as much as €1.37 billion from the EU’s energy infrastructure package, EurActiv has learned. The funding could prove controversial as carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is an unproven technology that critics say is not commercially viable, climate-friendly or safe.Supporters on the other hand say CCS will be crucial to reducing the global warming impact of ...
Energy sector arrears decrease to RON 8.481 billion
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The amount of arrears of Romania's energy companies has decreased from RON 10.017 billion to RON 8.481 billion, according to preliminary 2011 data, while the operational targets for losses agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were 7 percent overshot, the Romanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Milieu (MECMA) reported on Wednesday.The arrears have been amassed by eight companies monitored in 2011 - Termoelectrica, ELCEN, the National Peat Coal Corporation, ...
Natural gas consumption totals 133.228 million MWh in first 11 months of 2011
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Natural gas consumption in Romania totaled 133.228 million MWh in the first 11 months of 2011, being higher by some 4.44% compared with that in the same period of last year, which stood at 127.557 million MWh, according to the data centralized by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).The domestic production of natural gas for consumption represented, in November 2011, 82.03% of all sources, with the top two producers (Romgaz and Petrom) covering 98.32% of this ...
Economy Ministry: Necessary natural gas sources, secured for coming days
Thursday, February 2, 2012
The natural gas sources are secured for the coming days so that the consumers supply is carried out without syncopes, shows a release of the Economy, Trade and Business Environment Ministry (MECMA) remitted on Wednesday.According to the cited source, the natural gas supply on Wednesday was carried out without any special problems nationwide and the pressures in the National Transport System registered normal values.On January 31, the natural gas consumption nationwide ...
EU sees thirsty China as a partner at Rio
Thursday, January 26, 2012
China’s growing water problems make it a likely ally for European efforts to press global action on sustainable development at a UN conference later this year, Denmark’s environment minister said yesterday (25 January).While European officials have questioned some of Beijing’s climate credentials, Ida Auken said China’s looming water challenges could help jump-start international efforts to cut waste and aid developing nations that share China’s resource shortages.Auken, whose ...
Canadian SNC-Lavalin lands USD 48 mln contract for Cernavoda power plant in Romania
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Canadian engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin has won a USD 48 million contract with Romanian company Societatea Naţională Nuclearelectrica to install reactor containment filtered venting systems at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania.“The units at the Cernavoda plant are rated among the best in Europe and this project is part of an industry-wide upgrade strategy for nuclear plant safety in the event of serious accidents or natural disasters, such as ...
EU: A 30% CO2 cut would be cheaper than we thought
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Raising the European Union's 2020 emission reduction target from 20% to 30% would be much less costly than was assumed in 2008, and the effort could be shared fairly among governments, according to a draft EU document.The analysis could reignite the debate over whether the EU should boost its climate ambitions. The economic downturn has made emissions cuts easier to achieve but also has reduced the ability of governments and companies to make the necessary investments.The EU ...
Gazprom 'adjusts' prices for selected European clients
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Russian natural gas producer Gazprom has yielded to requests from several European companies for easier gas supply terms as it seeks to keep its market share in face of weakening fuel demand due to economic difficulties in the region.Many European gas supply companies are hurting from long-term gas deals with suppliers such as Gazprom or Norway's Statoil, which link their import rates to oil prices, while supply firms have to sell gas to customers at lower retail prices linked to the freely ...
Energy imports stand at 740 mln KWh in first 10 months of 2011
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Energy imports amounted to 740 million KWh in the first 10 months of 2011, while energy exports stood at 2.72 billion KWh, according to the data centralized by the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE).Energy imports surged by 1.37 percent compared to the same period of 2010 and energy exports went down 0.73 percent.According to ANRE, during the mentioned period, an amount of 50 billion KWh electric power was produced in Romania, up 3.80 percent compared to the same ...
Proprietatea Fund plans to sell stakes owned in gas and electricity companies in 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Proprietatea Fund (FP) plans to sell this year a part of the share packages owned in natural gas and electricity companies, Fund Manager Greg Konieczny told a press conference at the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) on Wednesday.All we have is for sale. We plan to explore the possibilities of selling stakes this year, it is very likely we sell some this year. There are companies in the gas and electricity sectors, distributors and suppliers. We shall make an announcement when ...
Net coal production 13.2 percent higher over first 11 months of 2011
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Romania's net coal production amounted to 6.171 million TOEs (tonnes of oil equivalent) over the first eleven months of 2011, 13.2 percent higher on a year-on-year basis, according to data centralised at the National Institute of Statistics. Romania imported a net value of 492,500 TOEs coal, 23,4000 TOEs (14.5 percent) less on a year-on-year basis. According to a British Petroleum report, Romania used to have 291 million tonnes of coal reserves in late 2011. ...
Reuters:Romanian wind firm starts 150 MW project
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Private Romanian wind energy company Monsson Group started work on a 150 megawatt wind park in southeastern Constanta county, an investment worth 250 million euros ($317 million), it said on Monday.The wind park, which will create 200 jobs and light 100,000 households, should be completed in the summer.Monsson has developed wind parks worth some 2,400 megawatts, of which it has sold 750 megawatts to investors including Czech utility CEZ and Romanian oil and gas group Petrom ...
Romanian OMV Petrom delays EUR 500 mln Brazi power plant opening
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Oil and gas company OMV Petrom will delay the opening of its new gas fired Brazi power plant in Romania, even though construction work has finished. Final tests were interrupted due to external technical factors.“Currently a cleaning operation is being performed on some of the power plant’s ancillary equipment, the gas supply pipeline and the gas metering station,” reads OMV Petrom’s statement.The investment in this power plant amounted to EUR 500 million. The power plant is the ...
Prowind to Start on 300 MW Wind Park in Romania, Busmann Says
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Prowind GmbH, a German wind farm developer, plans to start work on a 300 megawatt wind park in Romania this summer, with plans to complete it by the end of next year, managing director Johannes Busmann said. Prowind, which is developing the wind farm in northeastern Romania with General Electric Co., is looking for an investor to buy the project, Busmann said in an interview in Bucharest today. the company is also willing to keep a share in it depending on the discussions, he said. ...
Eolenvest acquires Braila-sited 400 MW wind farm trio
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Eolenvest, a company controlled by French group Filasa International that is owned by the Lacoste family, decided to enter the renewable energy business after making an exit from the food retail segment: therefore, the company bought three wind farms with a capacity of 400 MW, sited in Braila (country east), reports Ziarul financiar.The deal follows the company's announcement late last year that it would start works on more than ten wind farms in Suceava (north-east), with a ...
Romanian Romgaz GM Suspended Pending Investigation
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Romanian Economy Ministry Ion Ariton Wednesday suspended Marcel Piteiu from his position as general manager of natural gas producer Romgaz, pending an investigation into allegations of undermining the national economy.The decision was taken at Piteiu's request, the ministry said.Piteiu is one of the 40 Romanian officials from the state gas sector investigated Romanian prosecutors investigate Piteiu and 39 other officials from the state gas sector on suspicion of undermining the ...
Green energy investment soars to $260bn globally
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Global investment in clean energy reached a new high of $260bn (€203bn) last year, despite the financial crisis and the anti-environment agenda of Republicans in the US Congress, a United Nations investors' summit was told on Thursday (12 January).Data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which tracks clean energy investment, showed a 5% increase compared with 2010, driven largely by a surge of money going to the solar industry.Investment in solar power rose 36% last year to ...
National networks of special protection areas expand in 2011
Thursday, January 12, 2012
National networks of special protection areas (SPAs), comprising all the most suitable territories for wild birds and sites of community importance (SCI) increased their areas by 3 percent each, compared to the same period of 2010, when the NATURA 2000 ecological network in Romania stood for 22.68 percent of the country's total land area, shows the Annual Report released by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MMP).According to the above-quoted source, the SPA network rose ...
Nuclearelectrica to buy 1.55 million lei's worth of services for Cernavoda power station
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Nuclearelectrica through public auction will buy services meant to watch the operational behaviour of the buildings having a nuclear character at the Nuclear Electric Power Plant in Cernavoda (south-eastern Romania), the estimated value of the contract amounting to 1.55 million lei, VAT excluded, according to the information published on the site of the above-mentioned company. The deadline for the reception of offers is Monday, January 9, 2012. The announcement was published in ...