Kedco plc and Agrikomp GmBH announce the signing of a joint venture agreement and the setting up of a joint venture company called Agrikomp UK to build agricultural anaerobic digestion plants in the UK and Ireland. Both parties equally own the company. The plants will convert grass and slurry into electricity and heat. The new company Agrikomp UK will be based in Cork, Ireland with an office in Stoneleigh in the UK to service its rapidly growing UK customer base. The company will employ 6 people within the first 12 months of operation. Kedco and Agrikomp have been working together for the past 12 months as a result the company has 20 projects in its pipeline already. The vast majority of these are in Great Britain and Northern Ireland where government incentives for the generation of renewable energy are very favourable.
Kedco is pleased to announce that it has raised €3.2 million (£2.6 million) from the issue of 3,588,583 zero-coupon, secured loan notes (the “Loan Notes”) (the “Placing”).
CEO Donal Buckley said the funding comes in the form of a Private Investment in Public Equity or PIPE structure to enable the company to develop an efficient 4 megawatt gasification project in Northern Ireland being commissioned in 2010.
“We are very pleased to announce this successful fundraising. The funds were raised from a number of private investors and we are very encouraged by the continued support given to our business and strategy.
“The money will be used to develop and progress previously identified joint venture opportunities in power generation from waste and for working capital purposes. We look forward to updating the market as to the progress of future fundraising.”
We were also delighted to see it’s positive reception in channels in the US such as the following article on Cleantech Insights - http://blog.cleantech.com/cleantech-investments/kedco-raises-new-funds-for-northern-ireland-gasification-plant-seeks-partners/
Read more on the completion of placing here
Oil soared above $84 dollars today to strike fresh 17-month highs in thin pre-holiday trade, driven by buoyant manufacturing data in China and the euro zone.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, climbed 70 cents to $84.46 a barrel. London’s Brent North Sea crude for May rose 74 cents to $83.44.
Manufacturing in the euro zone defied forecasts in March, hitting a 40-month high, according to a survey by data and research group Markit.
The euro zone’s purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector rose 2.4 points from February to 56.6 points in March. In an estimate last week, Markit set the March index at 53.3 points. It is the sixth consecutive month in which the index has stood above the 50-point barrier, which signals a growth in manufacturing activity.
There was also positive news from the manufacturing sector in China, which is the world’s biggest oil consuming nation after the US. Chinese manufacturing picked up in March, government and HSBC surveys showed today, with the bank saying it could indicate an accelerating economy and raise chances of an interest rate hike.
Oil rallied sharply yesterday, driven by a weaker dollar, before paring gains on a report which showed a larger than expected build in US crude stocks.
US crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week ending March 26 beating market expectations for a gain of 2.1 million barrels. Petrol reserves increased by 300,000 barrels while analysts had pencilled in a drop of 1.3 million barrels.
Analysts said yesterday’s gains were also buoyed by an International Energy Forum meeting that pledged greater cooperation and more transparency in tackling oil price volatility, seen as damaging to economic recovery.
It also agreed to strengthen dialogue between leading oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, and key consumers including the US and China, in a bid to eliminate the risk of excessive price swings.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has announced a plan to expand oil drilling off US coasts, drawing protests from green groups but charges by Republicans it did not go far enough.
The decision was a reversal of Obama’s early 2008 campaign strategy, when he argued that lifting curbs on offshore drilling would take years to have an impact and would not provide enough sufficient extra supplies to be justified.
The president’s plan, part of a comprehensive energy strategy, would see new tracts of the Atlantic off the Virginia coast opened to exploration, and expand leases for prospecting in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.
Scientific research off Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas will also be authorised, but four pending lease sales in those waters that were approved under a plan of the former administration of president George W Bush will be cancelled.
Exploration will be barred in Bristol Bay in the eastern Bering Sea, a crucial habitat for sockeye salmon and other wildlife.
‘In the short term, as we transition to cleaner energy sources, we’ll have to make tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development in ways that protect communities and coastlines,’ Obama said.
Obama portrayed the decision as part of a comprehensive energy plan, designed to wean the US off foreign energy sources from volatile areas, and develop a new green economy.
‘The bottom line is this: given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth, produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we’re going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, homegrown energy,’ he said.
The energy industry applauded the decision. In Mexico, where the International Energy Forum was meeting, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi had positive words for Obama’s measure.
Approving new exploration areas was part of ‘good moves to increase supply of energy, which the world needs,’ Nuaimi said. He said that for the world to grow in the next 20 to 30 years ‘we need all sources of energy whether they are fossil fuels, renewable, wind, nuclear, biofuels’.
(source www.rte.ie)
As awareness of global warming becomes greater, there are more and more sources of information on the common terminology. Unfortunately it is not all accurate. Here we try to set out for you an explanation of what your carbon foot print is and why it is important.
Global warming is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), nitrous oxide, ozone and water vapour in the earth’s atmosphere which trap energy on the earth’s surface. Carbon dioxide, methane and CFC’s all contain the element Carbon which in most cases was previously ’stored’ in other forms on the earth.
As individuals, almost everything we do leads to the release of carbon into the atmosphere whether that’s watching TV, heating our homes, taking a bath or traveling by car.
The amount of carbon you personally produce in a year can be determined and measured with what is termed a “carbon calculator.” This measure of the carbon you are personally responsible for releasing into the atmosphere is known as your Carbon Footprint.
Your carbon footprint gives an indication of your impact on the environment and is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and as such increases global warming.
How can I improve my carbon footprint?
If you burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas to heat your home, carbon emissions will be given out as a by-product of the combustion process required to produce this energy. Thus when these fuels are burned to provide the energy we use in our homes, carbon dioxide (C02), a “greenhouse gas”, is released to the Earth’s atmosphere.
If small life style/housekeeping changes were made by everyone, like not leaving electrical appliances on standby or reducing the heating temperature in our homes by 1-2°C, then this would make a big contribution to reducing our global Carbon Footprint. Bigger, more disruptive changes like deciding not to use a car or travel by air ever again woyuld make an even larger contribution however a significant contribution can be made through small changes.
Consider using sources of energy that do not release carbon, such as wind energy or solar heating in addition to technologies that use renewable sources of energy such as wood pellets. Renewable sources do emit carbon when used, but are derived from products in a cycle that also removes carbon from the atmosphere.
What are carbon Credits?
Carbon Credits are a key component of national and international emissions trading schemes that have been implemented to mitigate global warming. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse effect emissions on an industrial scale by capping total annual ernissions and letting the market assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading. Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets at the prevailing market price. Credits can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.
Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouse emissions by giving a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air. Emissions become an internal cost of doing business and are visible on the balance sheet alongside raw materials and other Iiabilities or assets.
By way of example, consider a business that owns a factory putting out 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in a year. Its government is an Annex I country, meaning that this country has signed up to an agreement which enacts a law to limit the emissions that the business within that country can produce. This agreement has been signed by more than 170 countries. So the factory is given a quota of say 80,000 tonnes per year. The factory either reduces its emissions to 80,000 tonnes or is required to purchase carbon credits to offset the excess.
Energy use and hence emission levels are predicted to keep rising over time. Thus the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase, and the rules of supply and demand will push up the market price. The increased cost of credits will encourage more groups to undertake environmentally friendly activities that create carbon credits to sell while Governments will levy carbon taxes to offset the cost of carbon credits and to reduce wasted carbon credits.
The last time time we spoke about oil at Kedco, prices were at $60/barrel.
Today according to RTE News its risen to over $70 back slightly from a recent high of $75.
“Oil price rose this evening, supported by better than expected economic data and a weaker US dollar. US crude rose $2.03 to $71.60 a barrel, while London Brent climbed $2.21 to $69.41.” - read the article in full
Power generation solutions such as those provided by Kedco are the way to tomorrow.
For the month of September Kedco is offering customers the opportunity to purchase a solar heating systems at fantastic discount prices.
So why wait until you are forced to find ways of reducing your consumption of fossil fuels and contact us today to discuss getting your solar system installed and let us help you to reduce the amount of carbon tax you will have to pay.
Buy Solar Panels Now or call 021 4670427
Carbon Tax is where householders and businesses will be charged a tax based on usage of fossil fuels which include oil, gas and coal. These fuels lead to carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere which is a significant contributor to climate change.
The impact this would have, on households most specifically, would be quiet significant. The cost of heating the home and the cost of running a car would rise substantially especially for those households where oil is the primary fuel source.
Under the Kyoto Agreement, Ireland is legally bound to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide it emits from 70.3 million tonnes in 2005 to 56.3 million tonnes or lower in 2020. It is suggested that a carbon tax is one of the key ways to reduce our emissions.
The following table outlines the potential tax applied at 3 different levels;
| @ €20/tonne | @ €30/tonne | @ €50/tonne | |||
| Type | Unit | C02 (kg)
/Unit |
*€ cent/unit
Tax |
*€ cent/unit tax | *€ cent/unit tax |
| Diesel | Litre | 2.78 | 5.55 | 8.33 | 13.88 |
| Electricity | kWhr | 0.67 | 1.33 | 2.00 | 3.33 |
| Natural Gas (H) | m³ | 2.11 | 4.23 | 6.34 | 10.57 |
| Natural Gas (L) | m³ | 1.80 | 3.60 | 5.40 | 9.00 |
| Fuel Oil (EL) | Litre | 2.66 | 5.32 | 7.98 | 13.30 |
| Propane | m³ | 5.96 | 11.91 | 17.87 | 29.78 |
| Coal | Kg | 3.04 | 6.08 | 9.12 | 15.20 |
* This is how we feel the carbon tax may be implemented.
Some examples of how the above table would apply to your household:
- If the Government introduces carbon tax at the rate of €20/ton of CO², then a householder burning 2,000 litres of Fuel oil will pay 2,000 x 5.32cents = €106.40 in carbon tax alone – this is added to the purchase price of the diesel oil.
- Likewise, if it’s coal, and the tax is decided to be €30/tonne of CO², then the householder will pay 1000 x 9.12 cents = €91.20 per tonne of coal burned.
You can see the enormous effect this will have on all fossil fuel prices, once it goes ahead.
What is now being debated is the level of tax/tonne of CO²
Calculate your carbon footprint today or learn about Kedco’s renewable energy solutions and how they will reduce your carbon taxes.
Kedco will be on stand number 436 in row N at the upcoming 2009 National Ploughing Championships in Athy Co Kildare.
Our expert sales and technical staff will be at the stand to talk about the various technologies which we supply for our commercial, agriculture and residential customers.
Here is a brief overview of our enery technologies:
Kedco Biogas Solutions
This technology involves the process of wet anaerobic digestion converting agriculture materials into heat, electricity and fertilizers. The technology is extremely reliable and proven with over 1,000 plants built or equipped.
Kedco offers customers a complete turnkey solution.
Kedco CHP Biopower System
This technology utilises the highly efficient downdraft gasifier which converts low cost biomass residues into a clean, fuel gas stream which is greenhouse gas neutral. We offer our customers the complete turnkey solution including obtaining planning permission, grid connection right through to the operational stage. Come talk to us at our stand for more information.
Also on the stand will be our roadshow truck which has working demonstration models of our residential wood pellet boilers, wood pellet stoves and solar heating systems .
You will be able to experience firsthand the amazing heat that these products produce.
Make sure and call in as we would be delighted to meet you.
Kedco are delighted to announce that we will have a vertical axis wind turbine road show at our renewable energy showroom in Little Island, Cork for the week of September 7th 2009.
The road show will provide you with the opportunity to come and see what the turbine will look like when erected. Our experienced technical staff who all have turbine installation experience will be on hand to answer any queries you may have in relation to the turbines.
Additionally, for the week that the road show will be at the showroom, Kedco will be offering interested customers who attend the showroom a wind survey at their premises for only €295, which will include an owl energy meter and a free sample of either our straw briquettes or wood briquettes.
Don’t miss this amazing opportunity – put the dates in your diary and call to see us at our store in Little Island.
These vertical axis wind turbines have blades that go from top to bottom. The blades are vertical but swivel around a vertical support. The turbines are made from galvanised steel and consist of a 3.6kw turbine with a tower and inverter. Read more
