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Concerns surface about HK chief exec’s ties to Beijing

May 16th, 2012
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http://asiancorrespondent.com/82614/concerns-surface-about-hk-chief-execs-ties-to-beijing/

Amid cheers for quick action on some issues, CY looks a bit too close to the masters across the border, reports Asia Sentinel

The majority of Hong Kong’s 7.1 million people were happy that Leung Chun-ying won the small-circle competition to become the territory’s next chief executive against a clearly incompetent opponent. But as July 1 approaches – the date for his installation in power — worries are mounting about what he stands for and whether he is more than just a smart, well-programmed Beijing apparatchik.

Hong Kong’s Chief Eexecutive elect Leung Chun-ying. Pic: AP.

For sure, CY, as he is generally known, is getting a good press for his promise of quick action to increase housing and land supply and in particular to increase production of public rental housing. The latter is urgently needed as high private-sector prices, themselves partly the result of minimal supply and developer land-hoarding, have forced many households to abandon any idea of ownership and to look to the low-cost, public rental sector. There is also a huge need for cheap accommodation for the rapidly growing number of old people currently living in dismal circumstances such as cage homes.

Leung also looks set to move for quick action on other issues of public concern such as pollution, to which the current administration of Donald Tsang has devoted much talk and precious little action. Hopes are high that Leung’s political appointees will be able to take decisions and ensure that they are implemented. Daily public appearances and speeches have given the impression of Leung as a hands-on leader at ease with the public and ready to press the flesh in markets and housing estates.

However, another side to his personality is also coming to the fore, which is likely to become a matter of contention. He has not only proposed a major reorganization of the government but insisted that it be in place very soon – preferably before he takes office and certainly before the current Legislative Council session ends in late July. With legislative elections due in September, the new legislature will not meet till after that.

Leung is presenting the changes as a necessary part of pushing for more pro-active government. However, critics reasonably ask whether enough thought and discussion has gone into the proposals. There is even a question of whether Leung himself initiated them or they were handed down to him by Beijing string-pullers. The fact is that Leung has no experience of government, no experience of the civil service and no experience of being popularly elected.

The proposals are supposed to speed decision-making by creating two new senior political posts of deputy chief secretary and deputy financial secretary. Some bureaus would report directly to either the Chief Secretary or Financial Secretary, others (including education) only to their deputies. The proposals involve a total of some 50 new posts costing HK$72 million a year. Whether this extra layer of political appointees and decision makers would speed decision-making is questionable, as is the political motivation behind it.

Posted in: Government Policy.

C.Y. may have role planned for city’s environment chief

May 16th, 2012
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LAI SEE
Howard Winn
May 16, 2012

Speculation is mounting that Edward Yau Tang-wah, the secretary for the environment, is in line for a job in chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying’s administration. This may come as a surprise, since his performance has been widely perceived as less than stellar. Should he ever speak about what has been a miserable experience, he will no doubt say that his hands were tied by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who had no desire to move on issues such as improving air quality since this could prevent pet infrastructure projects from going ahead. As a result, Yau spent five years sitting on his hands and when he couldn’t avoid it, fudging environmental issues in the Legislative Council. The big surprise is that he is apparently being considered for director of the Chief Executive’s Office, a position held by Professor Gabriel Leung. He has done a stint as director of government information. Another candidate for this job, according to the speculation, is Richard Yuen Ming-fai, who since last September has been permanent secretary for food and health. If Leung is looking for someone who does what he’s told, Yau is his man.

Posted in: Government Policy.

Give … and take

May 15th, 2012
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HK Standard

Phila Siu and Eddie Luk

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The government gives with one hand and takes away with the other in its new order of pay.

Principal officials will see their monthly salaries rise to HK$322,260 from the current HK$282,080.

But political assistants will be hit hard under the mechanism revealed yesterday as they will get a pay cut or, at best, no increase.

Currently, each bureau can hire one political assistant for between HK$100,000 and HK$160,000 a month. Under the new system, their salaries are capped at HK$100,000 a month.

And while a bureau can hire more than one assistant ,the combined salaries cannot exceed HK$100,000.

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi- yuen said the new pay scale for principal officials represents a rise of 8.1 percent based on the original salaries of the three key secretaries and 12 bureau chiefs.

They took a voluntary cut of 5.38 percent in 2009 during the economic crisis, and that pay level will be restored, making for an overall rise of 14.2 percent.

Tam argued that this rise is certainly overdue as officials at this level have not had an increase for 10 years despite inflation eroding their purchasing power.

The raise is also similar to that of senior executives in many local companies, Tam added.

“The Independent Commission on Remuneration suggests that we adjust the salary according to inflation over the years, that the increase should be 15.3 percent,” he said. “But the government has not adopted this figure.

“On one hand, we need some balance on this matter because the pay has not been increased for the last decade. But on the other hand, we need to practice self-control, and so the raise will be 8.1 percent.”

If adjustments are passed in the Legislative Council next month, the chief secretary will get a monthly salary of HK$357,300, the financial secretary HK$345,215 and the justice secretary HK$333,540.

All bureau chiefs will get HK$322,260 a month. At present, undersecretaries get either 65percent (HK$197,455) or 75 percent (HK$211,560) of the salary of bureau chiefs. Under the new proposals they will get 70 percent (HK$225,582) of the bureau chiefs’ salary.

The monthly pay for the newly created deputy chief secretary and deputy financial secretary will be 1.75 percent higher than the bureau chiefs.

Tam also said that pay-cut proposals for political assistants is in response to public criticism. “We understand that the public thinks the political assistants are getting high salaries,” he said.

And he hoped that assistants will change their working mode from working “behind the scenes” to meeting the public more.

The government will save HK$5 million a year under this adjustment, he added.

Lawmaker Leung Yiu-chung of the Neighbourhood and Workers’ Service Centre said the percentage of increase is too much.

“The public thinks it is unacceptable. They feel that the principal officials have the special power to give themselves a greater pay rise than the public.”

Labour Party chairman Lee Cheuk- yan thinks the pay rise is too high. Additionally, he fears there will be too many political assistants, which will make it hard for lawmakers to monitor the administration’s performance.

Posted in: Uncategorized.

Sinopec unveils massive plans for aviation biofuels production in China

May 15th, 2012
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In China, Sinopec wants to produce commercial scale biofuels for airplanes and has sought permission to do so from the country’s national aviation regulator. The company expects it could produce a third of the national aviation fuel demand, 12 million metric tons, from biofuels by 2020.

Sinopec produces about three-quarters of fossil aviation fuel used in China annually. PetroChinaplans to build a refinery for aviation biofuels by 2014 that would produce 60,000 tons annually.

Posted in: Aviation, Biofuels.

Government that ditches records must have something to hide

May 15th, 2012
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SCMP

LAI SEE
Howard Winn
May 15, 2012

Government that ditches records must have something to hide

In years to come, the period following Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty will be of interest to historians. What were the challenges facing the government? How in practice did the “one-country, two-systems” model work? Did the motherland allow government officials to get on with their work undisturbed or was their influence overly pervasive? We will probably never know the details due to the Hong Kong government’s abysmal approach to vetting and archiving public documents. The records of how senior government officials spend theirtime,and who they meet and where, is not being recorded. Hong Kong’s historical documents are either rotting away or being destroyed. In “The memory hole: why Hong Kong needs an archives law”, a Civic Exchange report published last year, the group reports that when the government moved to its new headquarters, 1,181.7 metres of documents were approved for destruction between April and September of last year. That is almost three times the height of the Two IFC building. Professional archivists say it is impossible for such a volume of documents to have been properly screened. This is why the Archive Action Group, which was founded four years ago by former judge William Waung, has been agitating for the need for an archives law, which Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen’s government has opposed. An Audit Commission report to the Legislative Council last year said the Government Records Service had failed miserably in practically every aspect of its remit. So it would appear that we won’t be reading Donald’s diaries in years to come. This is unfortunate, since interest in his activities has heightened after reports of his schmoozing with tycoons. How often did he meet them, and where, and how did he get there? The government’s steadfast opposition to an archive law is baffling unless it has something to hide. Do they reveal too much of the government’s links with tycoons? Another mess for chief executive-elect Leung Chun-ying to clean up, perhaps?

Description: Donald Tsang

Posted in: Government Policy.

Virgin Atlantic, LanzaTech partner for aviation biofuels in India, China

May 13th, 2012
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In the UK, Virgin Atlantic has teamed with LanzaTech to create renewable jet fuel that will power planes Shanghai and Delhi to Heathrow within two to three years. LanzaTech is working on producing its fuel in India and China, making those two destinations easy targets for implementation of the ‘green fleet.’

A flight demo with the new fuel is planned in the next 18 months, and the project will also include Boeing during the trial phases.

Within two to three years Virgin Atlantic plans flights with the new fuel on its routes from Shanghai and Delhi to London Heathrow as LanzaTech and partners develop facilities in China and India. The technology is currently being piloted in New Zealand, a larger demonstration facility will be commissioned in Shanghai this year, and the first commercial operation will be in place in China by 2014. Following successful implementation, a wider roll-out could include operations in the UK and the rest of the world.

LanzaTech estimates that its process can apply to 65 % of the world’s steel mills, allowing the fuel to be rolled out for worldwide commercial use. The energy company believes that this process can also apply to metals processing and chemical industries, growing its potential considerably further.

Virgin Atlantic will be the first airline to use this fuel and will work with LanzaTech, Boeing and Swedish Biofuels towards achieving the technical approval required for using new fuel types in commercial aircraft. A ‘demo’ flight with the new fuel is planned in 12-18 months.

The next generation technology overcomes the complex land use issues associated with some earlier generation biofuels – and detailed analysis suggests the fuel will produce around a 50% saving in lifecycle carbon emissions. The Roundtable for Sustainable Biofuels (RSB), the leading international body to ensure the sustainability of biofuels production, will advise the team to ensure the fuel produced meets key environmental, social and economic criteria.

Virgin Atlantic believes that this development will take the airline well beyond its pledge of a 30% carbon reduction per passenger km by 2020. The investment in renewable fuels is part of our widerprogramme to reduce carbon through measures such as using new, more fuel-efficient aircraft and supporting a global carbon cap and trade scheme, through our involvement in Aviation Global Deal group.

Posted in: Aviation, Biofuels.

Solena Fuels sets biojet facility construction plan in motion

May 13th, 2012
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In California, Solena Fuels expects to put in its planning application with the City of Gilroy for construction of its first biojet facility sometime within the coming year. The company says it still has a lot of development work to do on details and consultations with the community before it asks for permission to build the 16 million gallon per year, $350 million facility.
Solena, SAS partner for aviation biofuels project at Stockholm Airport
admin | October 11, 2011
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Solena and SAS announced a partnership to develop a waste-to-jet fuel project at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, with a goal of establishing similar projects in Denmark and Norway.
The Arlanda project will gasify waste biomass, including municipal solid waste, and process the resulting syngas it into bio-based synthetic paraffinic kerosene, or renewable jet fuel. Solena, which had previously announced a 14 million gallon biofuels project with British Airways, in which BA would take an equity stake, and said that the SAS project would have similar characteristics. Solena and Qantas also recently announced a development effort.
http://www.solenafuels.com/node/25
AvioNews – Agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group
Rome, Italy – To start a study on the reconversion of metropolitan solid waste in bio-fuel for  aircraft
(WAPA) – Alitalia’s CEO Rocco Sabelli, CEO of Solena Group Robert Do and the one of Solena Italia Stefano Bugliosi, signed a letter of intent with which Alitalia and Solena Group commit themselves to start a feasibility study about the building of a plant capable of converting urban solid waste (promiscuous bio-masses) in a relevant share of the jet-fuel required for aircraft of Alitalia, ensuring the reduction of greenhouse gases and the stability of supplies. The signing of the agreement was attended by the Honorable Willer Bordon, president of Enalg SpA, company partner of Solena Group SpA and holding of Solena Italia SpA.
The study is finalised to assess the feasibility of a plant capable of converting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of urban solid waste (promiscuous bio-mass) in bio fuel for aircraft, in order to meet part of the fuel needs of Alitalia, reducing the consumption of conventional jet fuel with the consequent reduction (up to 96%) of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
The use of Solena Group’s technology will allow to produce alternative fuel for aircraft, through an high temperature gasification process of the waste that will be transformed into a so-called “Syngas”. This gas then will be converted into liquid thanks to an industrial chemical process called Fischer-Tropsch.
Alitalia and Solena Group think that this innovative technological process for the reconversion can contribute to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) generated by aircraft.
Solena Group wants to involve in the realization of the plant also institutions at local and international level. The technology offered by Solena Group can also be considered as a solution to the problem of the dispersion of urban solid waste in dumps, avoiding gaseous emissions harmful to health and environment.
The agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group is part of the innovative program called Green Sky which already saw Solena Group reaching an agreement with British Airways Group for the conversion of significant shares of urban solid waste of London’s metropolitan area in jet fuel for the aircraft operating at the airport of Heathrow. (Avionews)

In California, Solena Fuels expects to put in its planning application with the City of Gilroy for construction of its first biojet facility sometime within the coming year. The company says it still has a lot of development work to do on details and consultations with the community before it asks for permission to build the 16 million gallon per year, $350 million facility.Solena, SAS partner for aviation biofuels project at Stockholm Airportadmin | October 11, 2011ShareSolena and SAS announced a partnership to develop a waste-to-jet fuel project at Arlanda Airport in Stockholm, with a goal of establishing similar projects in Denmark and Norway.The Arlanda project will gasify waste biomass, including municipal solid waste, and process the resulting syngas it into bio-based synthetic paraffinic kerosene, or renewable jet fuel. Solena, which had previously announced a 14 million gallon biofuels project with British Airways, in which BA would take an equity stake, and said that the SAS project would have similar characteristics. Solena and Qantas also recently announced a development effort.http://www.solenafuels.com/node/25
AvioNews – Agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group

Rome, Italy – To start a study on the reconversion of metropolitan solid waste in bio-fuel for  aircraft

(WAPA) – Alitalia’s CEO Rocco Sabelli, CEO of Solena Group Robert Do and the one of Solena Italia Stefano Bugliosi, signed a letter of intent with which Alitalia and Solena Group commit themselves to start a feasibility study about the building of a plant capable of converting urban solid waste (promiscuous bio-masses) in a relevant share of the jet-fuel required for aircraft of Alitalia, ensuring the reduction of greenhouse gases and the stability of supplies. The signing of the agreement was attended by the Honorable Willer Bordon, president of Enalg SpA, company partner of Solena Group SpA and holding of Solena Italia SpA.

The study is finalised to assess the feasibility of a plant capable of converting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of urban solid waste (promiscuous bio-mass) in bio fuel for aircraft, in order to meet part of the fuel needs of Alitalia, reducing the consumption of conventional jet fuel with the consequent reduction (up to 96%) of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

The use of Solena Group’s technology will allow to produce alternative fuel for aircraft, through an high temperature gasification process of the waste that will be transformed into a so-called “Syngas”. This gas then will be converted into liquid thanks to an industrial chemical process called Fischer-Tropsch.

Alitalia and Solena Group think that this innovative technological process for the reconversion can contribute to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) generated by aircraft.

Solena Group wants to involve in the realization of the plant also institutions at local and international level. The technology offered by Solena Group can also be considered as a solution to the problem of the dispersion of urban solid waste in dumps, avoiding gaseous emissions harmful to health and environment.

The agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group is part of the innovative program called Green Sky which already saw Solena Group reaching an agreement with British Airways Group for the conversion of significant shares of urban solid waste of London’s metropolitan area in jet fuel for the aircraft operating at the airport of Heathrow. (Avionews)

Posted in: Aviation, Biofuels.

AvioNews – Agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group

May 13th, 2012
by Editor.
No comments yet

http://www.solenafuels.com/node/25

Rome, Italy – To start a study on the reconversion of metropolitan solid
waste in bio-fuel for
aircraft

(WAPA) – Alitalia’s CEO Rocco Sabelli, CEO of Solena Group Robert Do and
the one of Solena Italia Stefano Bugliosi, signed a letter of intent with
which Alitalia and Solena Group commit themselves to start a feasibility
study about the building of a plant capable of converting urban solid
waste (promiscuous bio-masses) in a relevant share of the jet-fuel
required for aircraft of Alitalia, ensuring the reduction of greenhouse
gases and the stability of supplies. The signing of the agreement was
attended by the Honorable Willer Bordon, president of Enalg SpA, company
partner of Solena Group SpA and holding of Solena Italia SpA.

The study is finalised to assess the feasibility of a plant capable of
converting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of urban solid waste
(promiscuous bio-mass) in bio fuel for aircraft, in order to meet part of
the fuel needs of Alitalia, reducing the consumption of conventional jet
fuel with the consequent reduction (up to 96%) of CO2 emissions into the
atmosphere.

The use of Solena Group’s technology will allow to produce alternative
fuel for aircraft, through an high temperature gasification process of
the waste that will be transformed into a so-called “Syngas”. This gas
then will be converted into liquid thanks to an industrial chemical
process called Fischer-Tropsch.

Alitalia and Solena Group think that this innovative technological
process for the reconversion can contribute to drastically reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) generated by aircraft.

Solena Group wants to involve in the realization of the plant also
institutions at local and international level. The technology offered by
Solena Group can also be considered as a solution to the problem of the
dispersion of urban solid waste in dumps, avoiding gaseous emissions
harmful to health and environment.

The agreement between Alitalia and Solena Group is part of the innovative
program called Green Sky which already saw Solena Group reaching an
agreement with British Airways Group for the conversion of significant
shares of urban solid waste of London’s metropolitan area in jet fuel for
the aircraft operating at the airport of Heathrow. (Avionews)

Posted in: Aviation, Biofuels.

Qantas’ search for a fuel it can grow at home

May 13th, 2012
by Editor.
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http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/qantas-search-for-a-fuel-it-can-grow-at-home-73710

The big question for some as they watched Qantas Airways’ first sustainable biofuels flight last week was this: Will the airline that likes to call Australia home be able one day to call the fuel it uses Australian?

The answer for the first flight was no – the fuel that made up one half of the 50/50 mix on one engine on a commercial flight from Sydney to Adelaide and back last Friday, and on a Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Hobart and back today – was derived from used cooking oil from the US; from a fast-food chain in Kansas, of all places.

And the chances are that even if Qantas does decide to embrace one or more biofuel feedstocks in coming years – be it cooking oil, algae fuel, urban and household waste or crop stubble – it will be several decades before it accounts for the majority of its fuel intake.

Qantas consumes nearly 5 billion litres of jet fuel a year (a bill of around $4 billion a year) and while its first biofuel flight means it is one of the first airlines to test out sustainable fuel alternatives, the reality is that its ambitions go no further than the industry average – which for the International Air Transport Association is to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020 and reducing emissions by 2050.

Compared to what the science says about reduced emissions, and the ambitious targets set by the US Air Force and Navy, that may seem conservative. “This is not a quick or easy fix. We have got to start a whole new industry,” says John Valastro, the head of risk and resilience at Qantas. “We have got to jump a whole bunch of hurdles.”

As part of a project linked with its demonstration flights with fuel provided by SkyNRG, Qantas is doing a study with the Australian government and Shell to analyse what alternatives are available for the company in Australia. It is an extension to a detailed report conducted by the CSIRO last year that suggests Australia could source 5 per cent of its jet fuel requirements from bio-stock by 2020, rising to 40 per cent by 2050. That trajectory is considerably more ambitious than the IATA goals, and is predicted to deliver a 17 per cent cut in annual greenhouse emission per annum for business-as-usual by 2030, along with a $2 billion reduction in the annual bill for imported fuel, and the creation of 12,000 new jobs.

For that to happen, Qantas needs to establish that the feedstocks are scaleable and “rateable”, and that they will not compete with food or have an impact on biodiversity. Valastro says that for the moment, sustainable fuels are more expensive, but they will over time, and with scale, reduce their costs considerably. “We don’t see that (cost issue) as insurmountable. When you have scale and efficiencies, you will be able to drive that price down.”

Valastro says the airline is still considering joint ventures with Solena (waste to fuels) and Solazyme (sugar to energy), and is in discussions with other companies offering alternative solutions. He is fond of using the expression that there is “no silver bullet”, just a “silver shotgun” for sustainable solutions. Which effectively means that Qantas will likely source sustainable fuel from a variety of sources into the future. It’s a case of managing those inputs and costs.

Qantas will have no shortage of potential providers. One of those, Algae.Tec says algae fuels is a very real short-term prospect for aviation fuels. “This is a very welcome demonstration of the potential for biofuels to transform the way our transport industries use renewable and sustainable fuel,” Algae.Tec chairman Roger Stroud said of the demonstration flight.

Algae.Tec has already signed an agreement with Lufthansa to develop aviation fuels from algae, which can be harvested from feed-stocks such as carbon dioxide emissions, and has its first Australian project underway near Nowra in NSW, and has other ventures in Sri Lanka and China.

Valastro says the cooking oil from Kansas represented a 60 per cent reduction in emissions from jet fuel over the life cycle. Obviously, that reduction would be greater if the sustainable fuels could be sourced from Australia. “What we are saying is that this was a great start. Now we want to be specific, about the potential feedstocks, their reliability, their seasonality, and the refining capacity. We need to learn what each party within the value chain – feedstock providers, refiners, process, aggregators, and government – can offer.”

Posted in: Aviation.

So where is the biomass in HKG ?

May 13th, 2012
by Editor.
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Which biomass?

One of the main costs in biofuel production, in terms of both economics and environment, is the biomass feedstock. The choice of feedstock is central to the controversy surrounding biofuels today, with current technologies associated with the use of food as fuel and large scale changes in land usage. For biofuels to have any meaningful impact on energy, biomass feedstocks must be widely available at low cost and without negative environmental impact. Lignocellulose – the non-food component of plants, fits this description. Future technologies are based on harnessing the energy locked within lignocellulose, converting the carbohydrate components to biofuel.

Lignocellulose Structure

Lignocellulose biomass includes:

  • ·     Agricultural waste such as straw, corn stover and bagasse.
  • ·     Industrial waste such as sawdust and paper pulp.
  • ·     Woody biomass from forestry.
  • ·     Municipal solid waste including food and garden waste and paper products.
  • ·     Specific non-food energy crops such as switchgrass.

Conversion to biofuel first requires hydrolysis of the biomass to yield a fermentable susbtrate. This step often involves a combination of physical, chemical and enzymatic treatments. Complete hydrolysis of the polysaccharide polymers yields glucose from cellulose and a complex mixture of sugars from hemicellulose including pentoses (xylose and arabinose) and hexoses (glucose, mannose, galactose and rhamnose). The second step is to ferment the hydrolysate to biofuel. In order for a lignocellulose process to be efficient, it is desirable for the microbes to utilise all of the carbohydrates. It is here that solventogenic clostridia have the advantage, enabling complete conversion of lignocellulosic sugars to butanol and co-products.

Posted in: Biofuels.

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