RENEWABLE ENERGY: CHILE: 115 MW wind plant has the capacity to power 200,000 homes in the region

Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile, together with Jean-Paul Luksic, chairman of Antofagasta Minerals SA (“AMSA”) and Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Energy Group Inc officially opened operations at the 115 MW El Arrayán Wind facility in a grand opening ceremony at the project site, which is located 400 km north of Santiago on the coast of Chile. The El Arrayán Wind facility, which completed construction in June, will generate clean, renewable power equal to the needs of approximately 200,000 Chilean homes each year, according to the World Bank. The facility is utilizing 50 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines, which Pattern Energy is also using at other wind projects in Canada and the United States. El Arrayán Wind connects to the Sistema Interconectado Central's 220kV transmission system. The facility is located on approximately 15,320 acres of coastal land on a long-term lease with a single landowner. Pattern Energy owns 70% of the El Arrayán Wind facility, which it also operates. AMSA owns the remaining 30% minority stake. The project sells approximately 70% of its output to Minera Los Pelambres through a long-term fixed-for-floating hedge. The facility sells its remaining output into the Chilean spot market at the prevailing market price at the time of sale. In addition to its minority interest in the facility, AMSA is the controlling party of Minera Los Pelambres. "This project is important for our present and future energy needs, President Bachelet said. "El Arrayán is the biggest wind farm in Chile, and we are pleased at what we can achieve when we use the natural resources the earth has to offer. This project is another step toward meeting our energy agenda objectives." 1

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Eat less red meat to help save the planet, say academics

People should eat no more than two portions of red meat per week to help the environment and meet increasing global food demand, scientists have found. A study by Cambridge and Aberdeen universities found that population growth and the trend for Westerners eating more meet means that soon farmers will not be able to raise enough livestock. And researchers warn that attempting to produce more meat could be devastating for the environment. Increased deforestation, fertiliser use and livestock methane emissions likely to cause greenhouse gas emissions from food production to rise by almost 80 per cent by 2050, experts from the University of Cambridge and University of Aberdeen warn. The authors warn that without radical changes to diets the food industry alone would spark dangerous climate change, even if every other industry was to cut carbon emissions to zero.

UPDATE: China's national carbon market to start in 2016 -official

China has pledged to reduce the amount of carbon it emits per unit of GDP to 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. It has already launched seven regional pilot markets in a bid to gain experience ahead of a nationwide scheme. "We will send over the national market regulations to the State Council for approval by the end of the year," Sun Cuihua, a senior climate official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), told a conference in Beijing on Sunday. The national market will start in 2016, although some provinces would be allowed to start later if they lacked the technical infrastructure to participate from the outset, she said. The Chinese market, when fully functional, would dwarf the European emissions trading system, which is currently the world's biggest. It would be the main carbon trading hub in Asia and the Pacific, where Kazakhstan and New Zealand already operate similar markets. South Korea will launch a national scheme on Jan. 1, 2015, while Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are drawing up plans for markets of their own. The Chinese market will cap carbon dioxide emissions from sources such as electricity generators and manufacturers. Those that emit above their cap must buy permits in the market.