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Aggressive House Energy Strategy Takes Shape

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s accelerated energy bill schedule is beginning to take shape, with plans for a combination budget and policy hearing with Energy Secretary-designate Samuel Bodman on Feb. 9 and a markup of a bill based on last session’s H.R. 6 the following week, energy industry sources said yesterday. House and Senate energy committees traditionally bring in top Energy Department officials to discuss their budgets and plans for the year shortly after the budgets are announced. This year, the federal budget is expected to be announced Feb. 7. Bodman is expected to win Senate confirmation as Energy secretary on Monday. But under pressure from House leaders and the White House, Energy Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) also is working to get an energy bill to the House floor before Congress adjourns for the Presidents Day recess. Nevertheless, committee Democrats are trying to push the electricity issue with the announcement yesterday that the Government Accountability Office will investigate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administration and enforcement of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). Committee ranking member John Dingell (Mich.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have been trying since last spring to get GAO to look […]

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East Africa's Largest Mangrove Forest Wins Protection

GLAND, Switzerland, January 28, 2005 (ENS) – The East African country of Tanzania has named its fourth Wetland of International Importance for expanded protection under the international Ramsar Convention, the Secretariat announced today. Known as the Rufiji-Mafia-Kilwa Marine Ramsar site, it is a complex of coastal and marine habitats that as recently as four years ago was approved by the government for a giant prawn farm. The newly protected site covers the delta of the Rufiji River; the Mafia Island about 25 kilometers offshore and surrounding smaller islands, sandbars, and coral reefs; the Songo-Songo Archipelago to the south and adjacent waters, including the Mafia Channel and waters between Mafia and Songo-Songo. Located about 250 miles south of the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, the Rufiji River Delta is by far the largest delta in Eastern Africa and contains the largest estuarine mangrove forest on the eastern seaboard of the African continent. About a tenth of the area of the new Ramsar site is covered with these salt tolerant mangrove forests – extending an estimated 55,000 hectares. The Rufiji Delta mangroves shelter migratory wetland birds such as curlew sandpipers, crab plovers, roseate terns and Caspian terns. Nile crocodiles share the Rufiji […]

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Barclays Announces First U.S. Exchange-Traded Fund for Social Investors

Barclays Global Investors, N.A. (BGI) has launched the first exchange-traded fund designed specifically for socially responsible institutional and individual investors. The iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund seeks to maximize exposure to large capitalization companies that have positive social and environmental characteristics while at the same time maintaining risk and return characteristics similar to the Russell 1000 Index. The Fund tracks the KLD Select Social Index from KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., a Boston-based independent investment research and index firm with expertise in socially responsible investing (SRI). The iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund has an expense ratio of 0.50% and began trading January 28, 2005, on the NYSE under the symbol “KLD.” “The iShares KLD Fund provides socially responsible investors with what we believe is a more thoughtful portfolio approach to optimizing positive social and environmental criteria while seeking to reduce sector risk,” said Lee Kranefuss, CEO of Barclays Global Investors’ Intermediary Business. The iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund relies on the KLD index’s optimization technique that over-weights and under-weights companies based on their social and environment performance, as evaluated by KLD, across sectors while seeking to control investment risk similar to the Russell 1000 Index. The Index […]

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United Solar Signs 1.5 Megawatt Agreement with Conergy

United Solar Ovonic LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) (Nasdaq: ENER), signed a two-year distribution agreement with Conergy AG of Germany for 1.5 MW of photovoltaic (PV) products. Conergy AG, a supplier of solar systems based in Hamburg, will distribute UNI-SOLAR(R) products in France, Greece, Spain, and Switzerland through its main subsidiaries. “Our distribution agreement with Conergy is an excellent fit with our overall strategy to expand our presence in these emerging markets with a key focus on Spain,” said Christian Berg, United Solar Ovonic’s European Sales Manager. Unlike traditional crystalline technology, which typically uses heavy, glass panels, UNI-SOLAR(R) products are flexible, durable, lightweight, and easy to install. Because of these characteristics, UNI-SOLAR(R) products offer the ideal solution for both grid-connected and off-grid solar electric systems. Additionally, independent studies in Europe and elsewhere have shown that our triple-junction products deliver more energy per rated power than the conventional crystalline products — demonstrating “Ovonics@work.” “Conergy’s customers expect system components from us that are of the highest quality. Therefore, United Solar Ovonic’s durable, lightweight, thin- film modules are an excellent complement to our solar product portfolio,” stated Hans-Martin Ruter, Conergy’s Chief Executive Officer. About United Solar […]

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