Bloomberg: China Offers Billions to Subsidize Electric Cars on Gas
China’s ambitious plan to lower pollution by adopting 5 million electric cars is running into a problem: a lack of charging stations.
Eddy Wu, a Shanghai resident, bought a plug-in hybrid because the car was eco-friendly, subsidized by the government and exempt from license-plate fees. Now he runs it mostly on gasoline, the electric capabilities largely wasted.
His apartment complex and office won’t let him charge the BYD Co. vehicle in their parking lots, saying it poses a fire risk. Using the nearest public charging station means driving 5 kilometers (3 miles) and paying cash. With gas prices expected to tumble with the almost 40 percent plunge in crude-oil since June, there will even less incentive to charge his Qin sedan.
Economist: Nuclear Power Is Set for a Revival in China
Aficionados of fission have had to wait nearly two decades for another public flotation of a firm operating nuclear power plants. The last one, that of British Energy, was back in 1996, and that troubled company has since been taken over. Now investors have the chance to get in on the action in the hottest place in the global nuclear business: China.
China General Nuclear Power, a state-owned enterprise that is the country’s largest nuclear firm, is planning to float shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange on December 10. Market rumors suggest it will raise well more than $3 billion. Dealogic, a research firm, reckons this is likely to be the biggest listing in Hong Kong, as well as the largest utility IPO globally so far this year.
Some see in the flotation a harbinger of a nuclear renaissance. If true, this would bring cheer to a gloomy industry.
Associated Press: Budget Deal Leaves Major Climate Plans Intact
A congressional deal to finance the government chips away at some Obama administration energy and environmental programs, but leaves largely intact the president's plans on global warming -- at least until Republicans take control of Congress next month.
Democrats successfully blocked measures to prohibit the government from regulating heat-trapping carbon dioxide from power plants for the first time and to throw out rules by the Environmental Protection Agency that expand the number of waterways that can be protected from pollution. Both efforts are likely to come back next year when Republicans are in charge.
Denver Post: Colorado PUC Rejects Xcel Solar Connect Plan
Xcel Energy's bid to create a premium solar energy program -- potentially in competition with solar installers -- was rejected Monday by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.
Under the proposed Solar Connect program, customers would pay Xcel, the state's largest electricity provider, a premium on their bills to support solar projects.
The company said this would enable those who can't have solar panels on their roofs to support solar energy.
NPR's Morning Edition: Rooftop Panels Spark Fights Between Utilities, Startups
Utilities say consumers who put solar panels on their roofs should help pay to maintain the lines that carry the power they sell back into the system. Panel leasing firms say that's anti-competitive.