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Energy & Environment
EU aligns energy-saving laws with Lisbon Treaty rules
Thursday, April 22, 2010
EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed changes to two key energy efficiency directives in order to make them compatible with Lisbon Treaty requirements on delegated acts, which will now come under MEPs' scrutiny. Member states in the Council of the EU endorsed the agreement last week (14 April), and it is now expected to receive the blessing of MEPs at their May plenary session.The deal concerns directives on the energy performance of buildings and energy labelling. The ...
CEZ shares registered into Central Depository system
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The shares issued by power company CEZ have bee registered last week into the clearing settlement and registry system Ro Clear, at the request of a participant to the clearing settlement and registry system, in order to perform operations of cross border settlement. CEZ shares are listed at the Prague Stock Exchange and Warsaw Stock Exchange. Earlier this year, the Central Depository registered the certificates with guaranteed principal issued by Volksbank at the clearing system Ro Clear, ...
Money from trade in extra carbon dioxide allowances to be used to curb greenhouse effects
Thursday, April 15, 2010
The Romanian Government will use the money derived from the sales of carbon dioxide allowances to develop projects that will curb greenhouse gas effects, reads an emergency ordinance concerning the capitalisation on the extra quantity units awarded to Romanian under the Kyoto Protocol.The ordinance, approved by the Government on March 31, says the sales of carbon dioxide allowances is a source for raising money to fund environmental projects that are urgent and necessary to the ...
Canada's ambassador Beaulne hopes final decision to be taken on Rosia Montana gold mining project
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Canada's ambassador to Romania Philippe Beaulne on Wednesday said in Alba Iulia, Alba County, that he hopes the procedures still necessary for a final decision on the Rosia Montana gold mining project will be carried out in due time and without further delay.He told a news conference that the final decision rests with the Romanian authorities, on the one hand, but also with the shareholders in Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), on the other.On a visit on Tuesday to ...
Wind power station to open at Oravita on a 10-million-euro investment
Thursday, April 8, 2010
LC Business SRL is intending to invest nearly 10 million euros in building a 9MW wind power station at Oravita, Caras Severin County, a project that will be 30 percent covered by European grants, LC Business General Manager Lucian Perescu told daily Romania libera.'The wind power station should be up and running this October. We have won all the necessary approvals. It took us two years to get all the papers requested,' said Perescu.The station will have six turbines of 1.5W ...
Solar PV sector reports record growth in 2009
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The global solar photovoltaic industry experienced strong growth in 2009, adding a record 6.4 gigawatts of new capacity despite the global downturn, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) said on Monday (30 March).The global industry exceeded 20 GW of total capacity, which EPIA described as "particularly impressive in light of the difficult financial and economical circumstances" of the past year. It expects global capacity to continue growing by at least 40% in 2010.The ...
Romania, Turkey back Nabucco pipeline project
Thursday, April 8, 2010
State Secretary for global affairs at the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Doru Costea met on Tuesday Turkey's ambassador in Bucharest Ayse Sinirioglu in an audience, with the two officials reiterating the support for Nabucco pipeline project, the ministry said in a release.Costea handed in the Turkish ambassador, in her capacity as the representative of the Nabucco Agreement depository state, a Verbal Memo on Romania's completion of the ratification procedures relating to the Nabucco ...
PwC: Small but plentiful acquisitions in power deal-making
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The power deal spotlight in 2009 continued to shift away from the very large deals of earlier years as companies focused their attention on smaller acquisitions, according to the annual Power Deals review by PricewaterhouseCoopers.The overall market for power deal activity remained relatively buoyant, with the number of electricity and gas deals only 10% down in the main non-renewables power deal sector despite the more constrained financial and uncertain economic climate.Only ...
Petrom to move into renewable energy market in 2011
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Oil and natural gas company OMV Petrom, held by Austria-based OMV, will move into the renewable energy in 2011, when the company plans to get into the electricity business.“For the time being, we’re looking at a number of renewable power generation technologies, and make a decision according to what the market offers. Anyway, in 2011 we will be ready to produce electricity at our plant in Brazi”, Petrom said.The company said on its website that it planned to make move into the ...
Electromagnetica invests 10 million euros in two hydro plants
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Producer of electrical equipment and for telecommunications Electromagnetica Bucharest (ELMA) has announced its intentions to invest some 10 million in the construction of a small hydro plant and in the modernization of another unit of production in the Brodina River basin, located in the Suceava County (northern Romania), Ziarul Financiar daily reads on Wednesday.The plant is going to invest by 30 percent more than the amount provided for this purpose in the budget - 7.7 million ...
Jan. - Feb. electricity consumption up 3.1 pct
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The end-use electricity consumption in the first two months of 2010 stood at 8.799 billion kWh, 3.1 pct higher in comparison with the same period of 2009, shows provisional data published by the National Statistics Institute (INS). Public lighting electricity consumption decreased by 1.5 percent, whereas the consumption of the population was by 2.3 pct higher in January-February 2010 compared to the same period the year before. Primary energy resources dropped 1.6 percent over Jan. ...
Commission to outline new energy action plan
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The European Commission will present the priorities of its 2010-2014 energy action plan during a meeting of energy ministers at the end of May. The EU executive will inform ministers next month about the long-awaited plan, which will set out policy priorities in the field of energy for the next five years, Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger's spokesperson confirmed.Originally intended to take effect this year, it has already been delayed and the EU executive is now expected to adopt the ...
Major milestone towards realization of the Cernavoda NPP Units 3 and 4 investment project
Thursday, April 1, 2010
SC EnergoNuclear S.A. (EnergoNuclear) and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) announced the signing of a major contract to assess the technical and commercial viability, and planning of the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Units 3 and 4 investment project in Romania, currently in the pre-project phase. The scope of the contract is for AECL to provide consulting services in the nuclear safety and engineering field in order to define what is required to complete the Cernavoda ...
Rompetrol Petrochemicals invests $18mn in installation upgrade
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Rompetrol Petrochemicals, the petrochemical division of the Rompetrol Group, will increase the capacity of the high density polyethylene installation (HDPE) by more than 70% by March 2011, the total value of the investment being estimated to approximately $18 million. Removed from operation in 1996 due to the lack of raw material, the installation was modernized and restarted in 2007, following a total investment of over $14.5 million.“Against the background of the reduction or ...
EC evaluates nuclear security and safety at Cernavoda plant
Thursday, April 1, 2010
A delegation from the Department of Energy and the European Atomic Energy Community with the European Commission has evaluated the technical aspects related to nuclear security and safety at the Cernavoda-based Nuclear Plant (southeastern Romania), over March 22-24, according to a release of the Romanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment (MECMA).The representatives of the EC delegation, led by the chief of the coordination and international relations office under ...
80 million euro investment programme for Petrosani coal mining
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The coal extraction activity in the mines of the National Coal Company (CNH) from Petrosani (western Romania) will benefit from an investment programme worth around 80 million euros, in the next three or four years, said Minister of Economy Adriean Videanu at the end of a meeting with the management and trade unions of this company, in Petrosani on Friday.The investments will be aimed at introducing new mechanized devices for mining the underground coal, and the first funds ...
Romania Economy Minister Says Pitcoal Miner CNH Won’t Shut Down
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Romanian Economy Minister Adriean Videanu on Friday said the country’s biggest debtor, pitcoal mining company CNH, won’t be shut down, but stressed the company requires restructuring.Videanu met with CNH officials to discuss the company's situation. "The conclusion is that premises are met for CNH to function, but it has to be efficient and it also requires measures to provide social support in the area," Videanu said. The ministry, majority owner in the pitcoal miner, plans ...
Roland Berger: 2010, the year of great hopes for wind energy
Thursday, April 1, 2010
In Romania, 2010 could be the year of large wind project completion, according to a Roland Berger Strategy Consultants research. In October 2009, the installed wind power was only 13.8MW (in contrast with Germany where the installed power passed the 25,000MW mark in 2009) but contracts for another 3,800 MW were pending for approval. On a long and medium term, the country’s total output of energy from wind farms could reach 4,000MW. Romania’s potential is estimated at approximately ...
Oettinger says Nabucco may be delayed
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The completion of the Nabucco gas pipeline may be delayed by four years to 2018, the European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung on last Thursday (25 March). "I hope we will take the final decision in 2010 to build the pipeline," he said, adding gas flows "it will probably be (in) 2018". The EU-backed 3,300 kilometre pipeline, which could cost 7.9 billion euros ($10.6 billion), is designed to bring gas from ...
Melrose unveils plans for Romania blocks
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Melrose Resources has upgraded reserves at the Ana and Doina gas discoveries in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea to 345 bcf. Under the terms of a farm-in agreement last year with Calgary-based Sterling Resources, Melrose is to become operator of the two gas field developments, located in the Pelican XIII and Midia XV offshore blocks. The company has re-processed and interpreted the close-spaced 2D seismic acquired over the Ana and Doina trend in 2008, and re-analyzed existing ...