____________________________________
January 29, 2010, 9:47 am
Private Equity Is Bullish on Clean Energy
By _CEZARY PODKUL_
(http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/author/cezary-podkul/)
With strong interest from corporations eyeing the clean energy sector, 2010
could turn out to be a good time for private equity and venture capital
firms to pursue investments.
“One of the most exciting things about the space now – this applies all
the way down the bottom to the early-stage technology firms – is that there
is a tremendous amount of strategic interest in this space,” said Hovey
Kemp, a private equity lawyer at the law firm _Goodwin Procter_
(http://www.goodwinprocter.com/) , said at the _Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Outlook
2010_ (http://peaoutlook.dowjones.com/) meeting in New York earlier this
week.
He added that one could easily put together a long list of “very large
corporations” that are paying “very close attention” to the sector, among them
networking equipment maker _Cisco_ (http://www.cisco.com/) and
electronics manufacturer _Samsung_ (http://www.samsung.com/us/) .
“There are buyers out there that are going to emerge here,” he said.
For private equity and venture capital firms, which collectively _invested
$6 billion into the clean energy sector in 2009_
(http://www.newenergymatters.com/download.php?n=NEF_Q4_Fact_Pack_07_01_2010.…
ses) , according to the consulting firm Bloomberg New Energy Finance, this
could translate to a variety of selling opportunities as a way of exiting
their investments.
Investors at the event also saw good reasons to be buyers in the sector.
Chris Hearn of the private equity firm _First Reserve Corporation_
(http://www.firstreserve.com/go.asp?Go=!SiteStation&x=TPLGen&ResType=Folder&…
PL=HomePage.htm) said long-term electricity needs in the United States
would continue to rise, thanks in part to greater use of electric vehicles.
Tucker Twitmyer of the clean-energy private equity firm _EnerTech Capital_
(http://www.enertechcapital.com/) , pointed to smart gird technology as an
area where investors can get a quick return on their capital.
It may take a few years for private equity and venture capital firms to
figure it out, Mr. Hovey said, but the clean energy sector could become “the
mother of all verticals” for private investors.
We have waited far too long for comprehensive protections against the toxic coal ash threat. Please take a moment to stand up for public health!
Take action today!
Dear colleague,
People living near coal ash dump sites often tell similar stories of illness, poisoned drinking water supplies and environmental destruction. For decades, these massive toxic dumps, sometimes millions of gallons deep and hundreds of acres wide, have been unregulated, unmonitored and ignored.
But on Dec. 22, 2008, everything changed. That night, more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash burst through a dam and flooded 300 acres in rural Tennessee. Dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed, and the Environmental Protection Agency vowed to act. Citizens just like you sent letters and made phone calls to the EPA, pleading for swift action to guarantee the safety and environment for millions of Americans living near these dangerous sites.
But, one year later, we still wait for federal oversight.
The EPA has a plan to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste, but well-funded lobbyists for the coal and power industries are blocking EPA's attempt to protect public health and the environment. They are meeting with White House officials, spreading false information about coal ash and obscuring the need for strong federal oversight.
Please take a moment to stand up for public health by calling, faxing or emailing the White House to tell them that coal ash must be immediately regulated as hazardous waste:
http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/coalash_0110/7unw7g407j37ddm?#start…
America has waited far too long for comprehensive protections against this toxic coal ash threat. Industry should not be allowed to flex its lobbyist muscle and stand in the way of better health and a cleaner environment.
— Earthjustice
-----Original Message-----
From: John Gever <jgever(a)gmail.com>
To: Duane330(a)aol.com <Duane330(a)aol.com>; James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>
Sent: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 12:56 pm
Subject: EPA proposes to stiffen ozone standard
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/D70B9C433C46FAA3852576A40058B1D4
The agency is proposing to set the “primary” standard, which protects
ublic health, at a level between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million
ppm) measured over eight hours. Children are at the greatest risk
rom ozone, because their lungs are still developing, they are most
ikely to be active outdoors, and they are more likely than adults to
ave asthma. Adults with asthma or other lung diseases, and older
dults are also sensitive to ozone.
EPA is also proposing to set a separate “secondary” standard to
rotect the environment, especially plants and trees. This seasonal
tandard is designed to protect plants and trees from damage occurring
rom repeated ozone exposure, which can reduce tree growth, damage
eaves, and increase susceptibility to disease.
-
ohn Gever
edPage Today
el. 1-304-243-0826
ell 1-304-780-9772
kype 1-412-567-2949 (pre-arranged interviews only)
.gever(a)medpagetoday.com or jgever(a)gmail.com
ttp://www.medpagetoday.com
=
The actual appeal (filed Dec. 30) mentioned below is available at the link at the end of this article. It appears to be a very well-documented case and ties together Dunkard Creek, Longview, ConSol (Himphrey Mine), Dana Mining, PA-DEP, and AMD Reclamation, Inc.
This is some important reading.
JBK
>>> Betty Wiley betty.w304(a)gmail.com> 1/4/2010 11:27 PM >> ( mailto:betty.w304@gmail.com> )
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view…
Business Wire
January 04, 2010 05:12 PM Eastern Time
PennFuture, Friends of Dunkard Creek File Appeal on Mine Water Treatment
Permit Allowing Dirty Water to Be Released into Creek
Permit Changed without Public Notice
HARRISBURG, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Attorneys with Citizens for
Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture) last week filed an appeal before the
Environmental Hearing Board challenging an amendment to the permit for
the Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project. The appeal was filed on behalf of
Friends of Dunkard Creek, as well as PennFuture.
"The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped from
Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to avert
a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the Humphrey
Mine."
The Shannopin Mine Dewatering Project, which was designed to prevent a
catastrophic breakout of acid mine water from the abandoned Shannopin
Mine into Dunkard Creek, was originally granted a permit allowing less
stringent cleanup of the dangerous water. The challenged permit
amendment, for which no public notice was given, would allow the project
to collect water from Consolidation Coal Company's (Consol) permitted
Humphrey No. 7 Mine, where no breakout risk exists, and to treat that
water to the less than optimal cleanup allowed in the original emergency
situation. The permit amendment was granted by the Department of
Environmental Protection's (DEP) Mining Program despite a finding nine
months before by a DEP biologist that the Shannopin Project's discharge
into Dunkard Creek contained high levels of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
and other pollutants, which were causing harm to aquatic life in the
creek. The permit amendment was issued two months after a massive kill of
fish, mussels, and salamanders occurred in more than 40 miles of Dunkard
Creek.
"The lax water cleanup standards were allowed originally to avert an
emergency - an impending breakout of acid mine pollution from the
abandoned Shannopin Mine that would have severely polluted miles of
Dunkard Creek and the Monongahela River," said PennFuture Senior Attorney
Kurt Weist. "The relaxed standards do not apply to the water being pumped
from Consol's permitted Humphrey No. 7 Mine, which is not being done to
avert a disaster, but to allow mining of the coal reserves above the
Humphrey Mine.
"In March, DEP's water quality experts recommended that more stringent
water quality limits be included in the renewal of the discharge permit
for the Shannopin Project, which is now nearly sixteen months overdue,"
continued Weist. "It obviously is unreasonable to issue an amendment
allowing another source of mine drainage to be connected to the Shannopin
Project's treatment system before DEP renews the existing permit and puts
the more protective limits into effect."
Jim O'Connell of Friends of Dunkard Creek agreed, "How anyone could have
granted this permit revision after the destruction we experienced last
summer is beyond me. And you can bet that if there had been any public
notice, DEP would have heard our objections loud and clear. It's time to
reverse this backroom deal and clean up the water."
A copy of the appeal filed by PennFuture is online at
http://www.pennfuture.org/userfiles10/CalvinRunNOAwithoutattachments.pdf
Contacts
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future
Jeanne K. Clark, 412-258-6683 or 412-736-6092
info(a)pennfuture.org
www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ )
At A Glance
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture)
Headquarters: Harrisburg, PA
Website: http://www.pennfuture.org ( http://www.pennfuture.org/ )
CEO: Jan Jarrett
Employees: 21
Organization: Non-profit
Source: via Business Wire
Updated 03/24/2009 by company
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