Texas sets wind power record as coastal wind grows
That’s well above the average 30 to 40 percent of nameplate electric capacity that wind farms typically produce.Texas leads the nation in carbon-free electric capacity from wind turbines but wind at the lion’s share of the state’s wind farms in West Texas, built by NextEra Energy and others, generally blows the strongest during the evening hours and in the spring and fall months when power demand is low.Recent wind-farm additions, now totaling more than 1,200 MW, or 13 percent, have been built closer to the Texas coast, south of Corpus Christi where wind patterns differ from West Texas.About 15 percent of the record 7,400 MW produced October 7, came from the coastal wind farms, ERCOT said.Grid officials credited output from the wind fleet for helping meet record power demand this summer during a protracted heat wave and drought.At the time of the latest record, wind generation accounted for 15.2 percent of the power demand of 48,733 MW, the grid agency said.ERCOT expects to have 9,700 MW of wind generation by year end, Kent Saathoff, ERCOT vice president, told the board Tuesday.Duke Energy’s renewable unit said last month it will complete two phases, totaling 402 MW, at its coastal wind project in Willacy County, Texas, by late 2012.ERCOT’s previous wind record was 7,355 MW of wind set June 19, accounting for 14 percent of demand.Wind farms expanded rapidly in Texas until 2009 when wind capacity began to overwhelm the existing transmission capacity available to move the power from remote areas of West Texas to large cities - such as Dallas and San Antonio - that consume the power.A number of wind projects were canceled, but more than 1,500 MW is in development for 2012, according to ERCOT.Texas is working to add more than 2,300 miles of high-voltage transmission in a $6.5 billion plan to expand the grid by late 2013 to accommodate wind-farm growth of up to 18,500 MW.While current wind-farm construction has slowed to wait for the transmission grid to catch up, developers are studying the addition of nearly 34,000 MW of wind in Texas, down from 39,000 MW a few months ago.Wind represents nearly 58 percent of all new generation seen in planning stages over the next few years, according to a monthly ERCOT report.
Aluminium short-sellers? Not the villains this time
* Fundamentals, precarious economies also to blameBy Susan ThomasLONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Short-selling, a popular target
in volatile and rumour-riddled markets, has been blamed by
aluminium producer Alcoa’s chief executive for a big fall
in the price of the metal and with it the company’s share price.”They are betting against aluminum as a proxy for betting
against the global economy,” Klaus Kleinfeld said this week,
warning of “very offensive short-selling going on by
speculators”.Traders close to the market were more cautious.”I can’t say I haven’t seen it, I have seen sizeable short
selling, but I don’t know if it’s significant enough to justify
what he said,” a London metals trader said.Short selling is a common way for hedge funds and other
investors to bet on falling commodities or shares prices.Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange
has fallen more than 16 percent since July .At the same time, open interest — the number of outstanding
contracts — in aluminium has been rising steadily
with a burst higher from around mid-September, partly indicating
that investors are taking short positions on the prospect that
prices will fall further.Analysts and traders say this shows many smaller
short postions held by a wide variety of investors.”Open interest is very high, while it’s been rising prices
have come off, but we don’t think it’s one person, we think
there are a few shorts on aluminium,” a second trader said.”They’d better be quick about taking profits,” he added.
“Prices are already near the marginal cost of production. If
they all try to cover their shorts at the same time, the spike
up is going to be huge.”A short position on the LME is not necessarily speculative;
producers also take positions. And LME data indicates that there
are no significant short players in the LME aluminium market.The LME’s futures banding report shows four short
aluminium position holders at 5-9 percent and one for 10-19
percent for November, while other LME data shows one
position holding stocks and cash contracts of 30-40 percent.VILLAINSShort sellers are usually vilified in tough times, and this
year has been no exception.In a coordinated attempt to restore confidence in Europe’s
fragile economies, France, Italy, Spain and Belgium imposed a
ban in August on short-selling financial stocks.At the height of the volatility in August and September,
there were days when base metals fell, in tandem with the euro,
stock markets, gold and silver.”The drop was more to do with people getting out of
investments, that was the start of it, because they needed to
cover elsewhere, so everything moved suddenly in very high
correlation,” the first trader said.”I don’t know if it was short selling aluminium by
speculators but maybe some people thought this is the end of the
world, and let’s make money from if before others do.”In any case, he added, with short selling in some financial
stocks forbidden “you have to go elsewhere if you want to short
something”.A physical trader at a large Swiss merchant said there are
undoubtably speculative short sellers in the aluminium market,
but that is also due to the fundamentals and precarious macro
economic situation.Still, there’s enough short selling to leave more than one
person disgruntled.”Whoever it is, they have a few bob in the kitty,” one
veteran LME trader said. “It’s not about supply and demand
anymore, it’s who’s got the deepest pockets. I don’t like it.”
Jackson children dance to his music at tribute gig
The late singer’s children — Prince, 14, Paris, 13 and “Blanket,” 9 — appeared on stage briefly to address the crowd and at the end joined other family members dancing to “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”“We’re very happy to be here on this special night to honor our father,” said Paris, dressed in a red jacket similar to the one worn by Jackson in his groundbreaking “Thriller” music video.The “Beat It” star, one of the most successful yet troubled artists of the pop era, died in 2009 aged 50 while rehearsing for a series of comeback concerts.The “Michael Forever” tribute in Cardiff, Wales, coincides with the involuntary manslaughter trial of the singer’s doctor in Los Angeles, drawing criticism from some fans and members of his family.Brothers Jermaine and Randy boycotted the event because of the timing, while sister Janet said it would be too painful to perform in Cardiff during the trial.But it had the blessing of his mother Katherine, who was at the gig, and Michael’s older brother Marlon said it should be seen as a celebration of Jackson’s music.”They (the fans) have the right to (protest),” he said backstage. “I think they have the right to do whatever they feel, but we’re celebrating the positive side of our brother’s life.”We know our brother better than anybody else and he would love that we are doing this for him and remembering him in that way.”“MICHAEL SUFFERED”U.S. musician Ne-Yo kicked off the four-hour extravaganza at the Millennium Stadium with the tight beats of “Billie Jean” before slowing the tempo in “The Lady In My Life.”“It’s not about the controversy, it’s not about the trial, it’s not about his death. It’s about celebrating his life, it’s about celebrating his music,” Ne-Yo said from a stage shaped like a giant glove.British boy band JLS sang “The Way You Make Me Feel” before being joined by three of the original Jackson 5 — Marlon, Tito and Jackie — in a rendition of “Blame it on the Boogie.”“Can you feel his spirit in the room tonight?” called out Marlon, and the mostly young crowd screamed “Yes!”Jackson’s sister La Toya performed live in public for the first time in nearly 20 years, while three of his nephews appeared in their band 3T.”I had absolutely no intention of performing,” La Toya told Reuters. “I was hesitant about this and at the last minute I said you have to do it for him … and I did, so I’m happy that I did. It’s worth honouring him this way.”The lineup also featured Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Beyonce on video and Jamie Foxx, and among British stars appearing were Leona Lewis and Diversity.Toward the end, pictures of Jackson were beamed on to giant screens as “empress of soul” Gladys Knight, accompanied by a gospel choir, sang “Gone Too Soon.”Earlier, her powerful rendition of “Believe in Yourself” was a highlight, and she was joined in a duet of “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” by Motown great Smokey Robinson.Robinson told Reuters: “There will be many mimics, but there will never be another Michael Jackson.”He got to the point where he had no private life whatsoever,” he added.”When you are in a business that you love and you are doing what you love, however you can’t go out and just get in your car or go to the store or go to the movies — that’s got to be rough. That’s what he suffered.”Reaction was mixed among people streaming out of the arena after the gig, with many ecstatic but some underwhelmed by “under-rehearsed” numbers and long gaps between some songs.
