Energy transition
Nomura creates energy capital markets group
Japanese bank Nomura has created an energy capital markets group based in New York and London. The group will focus on the strategic acquisition of assets and financing of investments in energy and related infrastructure.
Energising Houston
Bear Stearns created its Houston-based energy group to acquire and optimise powergeneration assets in North America. And the business is going from strength-to-strength,says its managing director Pamela Baden. Paul Lyon report
At ease with ethanol
Central Illinois Energy, a US farming co-op, is in the process of building anethanol plant. And it has already started to think about hedging, reflectingthe growing sophistication of the US ethanol market. PaulLyon reports
Centrica sells AA, looks to acquire energy assets
British utility Centrica is to sell its Automobile Association (AA) motoring organisation for £1.75 billion to private equity firms CVC and Permira. The sale will raise cash to pay a higher dividend and buy back shares and Centrica will also use the…
Nord Pool entices Russian companies
A delegation of Russian companies yesterday met with Nord Pool to discuss the possibility of becoming members of the Oslo-based electricity exchange.
Amerada Hess forms LNG division
US energy company Amerada Hess has formed a joint venture with an affiliate of New York-based Poten & Partners, to be known as Hess LNG. The joint venture will be based at Amerada's New York headquarters and will pursue investments in liquefied natural…
The fuel of the future?
Could coal as a source of electricity generation be back on the monitors of many US utilities? Logical Information Machines’ Sandy Fielden looks at the reasons behind higher coal prices in the country and considers whether coal can really compete in the…
Reliably informed
Pat Wood, chairman of US interstate energy regulator the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission, talks to James Ockenden about reliability, regulation, and wherenext for the competitive market in the US
Trading places
Canada’s energy landscape is being reshaped. The NGX has changed handsand looks set to expand. Meanwhile, an Ontario government report warns more workneeds to be done to secure future power supplies. By Paul Lyon
LNG drive gears up
The global push for LNG has reached a new level – particularly in the US. Big players had projects rubber-stamped or proposed further terminals, and the inaugural LNG summit took place. Joe Marsh reports
Energy bill enters into Senate
The US energy bill was presented to Congress in late November. But while it contains a wide range of provisions, ranging from tax incentives to improvements in reliability, critics say the bill still needs work. Joe Marsh reports
Nuclear renaissance
Both Canadian and US governments want to bring more nuclear power capacity online, but will the private investors come? By Catherine Lacoursière
Richard Rosen
Richard Rosen of the Tellus Institute in Boston controversially believes thatthere is no need for a wholesale power market. By Paul Lyon
Goldman Sachs buys 3,300MW of power generation capacity
Godman Sachs has agreed to buy US power producer Cogentrix, in a deal that willmore than quadruple the bank’s generation capacity. JoeMarsh reports
Barrier to entry
Bank of America and UBS are still trying to overcome obstacles that could prevent them entering physical power trading in the US. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations represent the biggest obstacle. Paul Lyon reports
Pieter Verberne
Pieter Verberne, Amsterdam PowerExchange’s (APX) chief operatingofficer, is a busy man. The Dutchexchange is finalising the technologyupgrading of its recent acquisitions, naturalgas exchange Enmo and Automated PowerExchange, both based in the UK. It is…
US body calls for electricity reliability organisation
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) says the creation of an electricity reliability organisation with regulatory oversight is vital for developing and enforcing mandatory reliability rules and standards for US power sector participants.
Switching off to save cash
High electricity price volatility over the European summer has raised awareness of interruptible power contracts, finds James Ockenden
Farms weather power shortages
Farmers in both hemispheres are struggling to cope with heat waves and droughts while pondering the prospect of future power supply disruptions, finds Maria Kielmas
LNG could rescue the US
Sandy Fielden of energy market specialist Logical Information Machines looks at a potential solution to the US natural gas supply crisis: liquefied natural gas
All talk, no action
Cancelled power plant auctions and the complexities of asset debt structures are bad news for the boutiques set up to acquire power assets. The boutiques talk a good business plan – but execution may prove troublesome, as Paul Lyon discovers