BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Toxic find halts Philippine dive

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Toxic find halts Philippine dive Another reason for tree-huggers to love Mosanto. Oh yes. This might put a dent in the utterly dishonest and despicable lobbying and press campaign suggesting that GM foodstuffs are the answer to starvation and food shortages. Where are the new wonder crops, the ones we keep hearing about, the ones which produce high yields from marginal land, the ones capable of growing on saline soil ? Erm, they remain the theoretical children of the boffins. We have been looking at and listening to this promised future for decades now. Let them show the proof. Twenty years ought to have been sufficient, no? Meantime, Green Capitalists should take a look at some of the companies buying Black Earth, some of the most fertile soil on the planet. Land in Ukraine,once brutally collectivised by Stalin, is now being bought by western farmers who bring new expertise. And since the land was not raped by the collectivisation far lower level of inputs are needed than in the overworked soil of the West. Meantime the shares of Potash just keeep growing.

German minister criticises UK's renewables record | Environment | guardian.co.uk

German minister criticises UK's renewables record | Environment | guardian.co.uk At last someone has come out and stated the obvious. British Government commitment to renewables is as genuine as the famous 'dodgy dossier'. It has been obvious for a long time that Brown and his friends have decided that nuclear is the way to go. Not only that,but they even got caught trying to rig the public consultation and got slapped down by the UK Courts for it. Undeterred, they tried to skew the debate again, They are utterly devoid of shame,and having 'Accenturised' everything in the belief that everything must be measured,in order that progress can be shown. And just as when thirty years ago the workers of Lucas Aerospace spent two years consulting the entire staff before producing their 1200 page Alternative Corporate Plan, a plan which truly sought to turn swords into ploughshares ,and which would protect jobs by making 'socially useful' products such as dialysis machines rather than weapons, and which was first lauded and then cynically ignored by the then Labour Government, so New Labour are not really committed to the Green agenda now. Of course back then the real problem was that the plan hadn't come from the board. Management couldn't accept that the workforce might actually have good ideas. Nowadays Labour are still wedded to the white hot technological revolution promised by Harold Wilson. Unfortunately the technology they're in love with is out-dated. And still the idiots fail to see the economic benefits offered by the Clean Tech sector, which have been amply demonstrated by Germany. I spent 10 years in Britain and still love the place, particularly the wilder reaches. Daily I give thanks I now live in Ireland, a place where the Ministers in charge of two of our most important Ministries, those of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Communications,Energy & Natural Resources are Greens.

China's Suntech Power rises on bargain hunting: Associated Press Business News - MSN Money

China's Suntech Power rises on bargain hunting: Associated Press Business News - MSN Money The Green Capitalist thinks that once again the market has been 'analysed' by idiots with acne, idiots too clever to grasp simple concepts. The over-educated who never have actually been on a factory floor. And since their Clevernesses were good enough to screw the entire financial system just so they could pick up their commissions, now, having destroyed more shareholder value than Al Quaida or Stalin managed, they are now nervous as hell and jumping on every rumour. And since anyone who knew anything about solar or alternative energy and technology in the Brokers, which last had a head of steam in the aftermath of the 1973 oil shock is retired or dead and which was killed off when oil became ridiculously cheap again. Where it remained until lately. Younger readers will be unaware of two day queues for the rationed petrol,now doubled to 50p per gallon. That's nines litres for a pound. And so technology which promised so much got frozen, and indeed,frozen out. And now we find ourselves having to find out for ourselves,as the kid hacks don't understand. So as when Germany had a recent look at the REFIT rates it was going offer, recently, so it is with Spain and the awaited Royal Decree. Some are even unaware that Suntech have huge back-orders. More are unaware that their Andalay system could become an industry leader. Journalists write, whether or not they're right. Lazy ones used to have to go the library of cuttings kept by all papers. Stories were based on what someone else had written and got into print,and the errors in one article would be repeated over and over. And the Internet amplifies this. So it is a pleasure to read this article about Suntech (STP). Down by half since January,the share price has being slowly beginning to crawl back up. Now dear reader,excuse me while I check the change jar and what I can find down the back of the sofa.

Zignals - About Zignals.com - Stock Alerts and market alerts

Zignals - About Zignals.com - Stock Alerts and market alerts This is a new Irish start up which has attracted money from Microsoft,and which should interest many of you out there. Or not. Worth watching.

Bosch Acquires Ersol Solar, Large Industrials Moving Into Solar Sector | Alternative Energy Stocks

Bosch Acquires Ersol Solar, Large Industrials Moving Into Solar Sector | Alternative Energy Stocks We had one of the first fridges in our small west of Ireland town and would be still working if my mother hadn't foolishly bought a new one after 25 years. Our fridge was made by Bosch. Now we see Bosch positioning themselves for the future in the solar industry. For a firm so associated with the automotive industry - just look under the car bonnet - it is true that a company such as Bosch is first in it for the money, and don't usually get it right. So now we have yet more proof that the sector is viable,vital and growing. As if we needing telling.

German REFIT Scare

Solar took a nasty dive last week after the German government began debating the country's solar feed-in tariff.

The REFIT rate (Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff) has been a vital driver of the huge leap in Solar PV production,installation and exports,led by companies which have largely located in areas of high unemployment in the former DDR.

The feed-in tariff basically requires utilities to buy electricity from solar sources at a fixed, above-market rate for 20 years. And each year the law is in effect, the size of the tariff declines for new entrants. This allows for the fact that the first movers had higher costs since they would have had all the hassle and expense that Pioneers and Early Adapters usually have to go through.

The aim is to offer consumers a payback time of about 8 years, although some claim payback times as low as 4 years. Financial Companies and Banks compete to offer financial products for purchase and installation of the Solar PV units.And as the technology improves and the numbers of customers builds up, so the cost of entry reduces,which is the reason for the gradual reduction.The cost of this subsidy has the merit of only paying for power produced. Since the cost of the subsidy is usually spread across all electricity users,it is usually just a pretty small bit of the averagee consumer bill.

The alternative subsidy driver has been the nameplate consumption figure and this relies on the manufacturers claimed output. Now I am a great believer in the public having their money spent cost-effectively, and can't help but think that this method might lead to a certain amount of inflation in claimed output figures.

However, because the scheme has been such an enormous success in Germany some parties fearws that the tariff could cost taxpayers up to €120 Billon by 2035,x there was a proposal to change the 15 percent reduction scheduled for 2010, to a 25 percent reduction.

By last weekend, happily,an agreement was reached where support would decline by only 8 percent in each of the next two years, and by 9 percent in 2011.

With Germany home to some of the most enticing and consumer-friendly initiatives in the world,there are lots of solar companies there,and this poloitical interference caused the stock prices to sneeze a bit. Although the market recovered it is a reminder that the sector is volatile and can yo-yo a bit.Green Capitalists can take advantage of lower prices to top up or to get in for first time. My guess is that the shares will seem cheap soon enough,As the cost of producing solar cells keeps reducing,parity arrives earlier than forecast.

Geothermal Electricity Booming in Germany

Geothermal Electricity Booming in Germany My reader (Hi Mammy!) will know that The Green Capitalist has been following Geothermal closely,mostly about Ormat.But I hadn't expected to discover that the Germans have moved into this industry too. And given the enormous success they have had with PV Solar over the last 4 years,building an industry and 150000 jobs in only 4 years from a standing start, this should be an interesting space to watch. And just as I prefer to have shares in the makers of the technology rather than the end users,and have chosen Ormat, so now off go my minions to find out more about Kalina method. More anon.