A-GAS INTERNATIONAL EXPANDS ITS PRESENCE IN AMERICA

LEADING REFRIGERANTS SUPPLIER A-GAS INTERNATIONAL COMPLETES STRATEGIC ACQUISITION OF KEY INDEPENDENT US REFRIGERANTS SUPPLIER AND DISTRIBUTOR, COOLGAS

Bristol-based A-Gas International (or“the Group”), one of the world’s largest independent suppliers of refrigerants, associated environmental services, and speciality gases and chemicals, has completed the acquisition of Houston, Texas based Coolgas Inc. (“Coolgas”), a leading independent supplier and distributor of refrigerants to the US market. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The transaction represents the fifth strategic acquisition completed by A-Gas so far in 2012, and forms part of the Group’s acquisitive growth strategy which is being executed both in the UK and internationally. The enlarged group will have a turnover of c. £130m and 237 employees.

Founded in 1994 by Jesse Combs, Coolgas has grown over the past 18 years to become one of the leading independent distributors of refrigerants in the US. Coolgas’ “refrigerants made simple” philosophy reflects the focus on customer service that has enabled it to grow first to a regional and then to a national player. Coolgas has recently commissioned a new refrigerant storage and packaging facility in Houston and has distribution centres in California, Utah, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland and Georgia ensuring that Coolgas is close to its customers wherever they are located.

In recent years Coolgas has also become an EPA registered reclaimer of refrigerants and a project developer for the generation of carbon offsets on the California Climate Action Reserve exchange. These capabilities enable Coolgas to manage the lifecycle of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) and substances with high Global Warming Potential (GWP) to safeguard the environment.

The acquisition builds on A-Gas’acquisition of Ohio based refrigerant reclaimer and halocarbon management specialist RemTec International in July 2012. Coolgas provides a strong strategic fit, bringing a strong brand and complementary footprint that will accelerate refrigerants sales growth. Further the reclaim and carbon credits businesses extend A-Gas’ existing operations in the US Environmental Services market which is already well established in the UK and Europe.

The acquisition of Coolgas follows on from the successful acquisitions not only of RemTec International in July 2012 but also of Australian based Technochem in March 2012 and SA Rural in May 2012, and UK based A-Zone Technologies in April 2012.

Commenting on the acquisition:

John Rutley, Executive Chairman and founder of A-Gas International said:
Jesse Combs and his management team have built a great business in the US refrigerant sector and we are delighted to add it to our rapidly expanding presence in this important market. The fit with our recently acquired business, RemTec, is perfect and allows us to offer a full range of products and services to our customers in the world’s largest refrigerant market.

Jon Masters, Regional Managing Director of A-Gas International said:

The acquisition of Coolgas will significantly strengthen our position as the leading independent global supplier of refrigerants at a time when regulatory changes are providing increasing opportunities for reclamation and recycling of used refrigerants using our market leading technology developed in the UK. We look forward to supporting the Coolgas management team and workforce in continuing to provide outstanding service to its customers.

Jesse Combs, CEO of Coolgas said:

I feel honoured that A-Gas saw Coolgas as a strategic fit and entry point into the US refrigerants’ distribution business. Our team of professionals have a customer service mind-set that I believe sets Coolgas apart from the rest of the industry. I have the upmost confidence that the A-Gas team will support and grow upon our "refrigerants made simple" philosophy for many years to come.

About A-Gas International

A-Gas is an international group of companies with headquarters in Bristol, UK. A-Gas is a market leader in the supply of refrigerants within its core territories in the U.K., South Africa, and Australia, and has state of the art storage, blending, packaging and reclamation facilities in Bristol, Cape Town, and Melbourne. The company also has marketing and distribution centres in Singapore, Thailand, China and Mexico. In the US, A-Gas has a Performance Chemicals business located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; RemTec International, a refrigerant reclaimer and halocarbon management specialist located in Bowling Green, Ohio; and now Coolgas, headquartered in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit www.agas.com

About Coolgas

Coolgas Inc. was started in 1994 as a distributor of refrigerant gases. Through a continual focus on customer service embodied by its “refrigerants made simple” philosophy it has gained customers across the United States and grown to become one of the leading independent distributors of refrigerants. Coolgas supplies a full product range from essential use CFCs through to the most recent HFC blends. Coolgas also supplies in a wide variety of formats from the smallest auto aftermarket disposable cans through to bulk tankers for industrial customers. Coolgas is an EPA approved refrigerant reclaimer. The Coolgas, Inc. headquarters are located 40 miles north of Houston, Texas. For more information visit www.coolgas.com

California carbon twice as expensive as European

The cost of carbon in California has risen sharply while the equivalent in the European Emissions Trading System has so far gained little from yesterday’s long-awaited reform proposals

London, 26 July 2012 – A reduction in regulatory uncertainty in California, and concern about a nuclear power outage, have helped to push the price of a carbon allowance in the US’ most populous state to more than double that in the much longer-established European Union Emissions Trading System.

The value of a California Carbon Allowance (CCA) for delivery in December 2012 closed at $19.50 per metric ton of CO2 equivalent (EUR16.04/tCO2) on 24 July, the highest closing price of the year so far. The price for European Union Allowances (EUAs) for delivery in December 2012 closed at EUR7.20/tCO2 on the same day.

The much higher price in California may be surprising to Europeans, given perceptions about American reluctance to take action on climate change. Ironically, the California scheme was almost derailed earlier this year by legal action taken by an environmental action group (the Association of Irritated Residents) who insisted that the scheme was not strict enough.

The price of EUAs has remained low despite the European Commission’s release yesterday of its proposal for changes to auctioning volumes in Phase III of the EU ETS, which begins in 2013. These changes, if approved by both Parliament and the Council, would delay some of the auctioning volume originally intended for the early years of Phase III, into the later years. The changes were proposed by the European Commission in response to widespread criticism that the price in the EU ETS is too low to promote the necessary investments in clean energy.

In the long term, Bloomberg New Energy Finance expects prices in both the Californian and EU ETS to rise significantly, since the emission reduction targets in both parts of the world for the period beyond 2020 are likely to continue to strengthen. At the moment the firm’s base case forecast for the spot price of an allowance in 2020 in both markets is the same, at EUR45/tCO2 ($55/tCO2). The fact that the forecasts are the same is purely coincidental and belies significant structural differences in the two markets; the EU ETS has access to the Kyoto market for international credits whereas California does not; and the largest sector in the EU ETS is the power sector while transportation is the largest emitter in the California market.

Matthew Cowie, head of carbon market research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented, “While it appears that Europe has the political will to give the EU ETS more teeth in the long term, the process of fixing the problems continues to suffer delays. A month ago most market participants thought that changes to the Auctioning Regulation could be in place by the end of 2012, but most commentators now expect that this will take well into 2013 to accomplish. This market needs both ambition and structural stability in order to regain its lost importance.”

Michel Di Capua, head of North American research at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, commented, “After several failed attempts to introduce cap-and-trade at the national level, there’s a widespread belief that carbon markets are dead in North America. Not so. We are on the verge of seeing the emergence of a meaningful tradable market that over the long run will transform California’s power, industrial, and transport sectors. The business community should take note; this market will impact some of the country’s largest utilities and some of the world’s biggest oil and gas players, among others.”

Futures contracts for the California market have been trading since 2011. Its underlying spot market is due to begin in 2013. The EU ETS saw the first futures trading in 2003, and the start of spot trading in 2005.

For further information:
Matthew Cowie
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
+44 20 3216 4780
mcowie2@bloomberg.net

 

Carbon Credits Provide Cash Incentives and Environmental Benefits for the Recovery and Destruction of CFCs

Used CFCs found in any condition, or mixed with other refrigerants can be turned into cash with the additional benefit of protecting the environment!    

The California Climate Action Reserve (CAR) has formally released a Destruction of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) Protocol, that provides a standardized approach for quantifying and monitoring Green House Gas (GHG) reductions, from projects that destroy ODS with high global warming potential. Specifically, the CAR Protocol version 2.0 provides incentives for the destruction of R-11, R-12, R-13, R-113, R-114 and R-115, with the caveat that these gases were previously used in refrigerant applications, or are from virgin stockpiles. Other CFCs recovered from foam building insulation and from appliance insulation are also eligible. The protocol is available at the following link: http://www.climateactionreserve.org/how/protocols/adopted/ods/current/

“The current market value of these offset credits not only covers all the costs of destruction, but also provides cash incentives to contractors and end users who are willing to recover these refrigerants and send them to an approved recycling facility that is recognized by CAR as a site that can convert these CFCs to verified carbon credits. “

For more information contact RemTec today or visit our website www.remtec.net

The Coalition for Responsible Fire Protection September Conference

Texas Climate & Carbon Exchange Opens for Global Trading

I know, this almost sounds like a punch line to a bad joke, or perhaps an oxymoron. Many people tend to think of Texans as backward-looking, conservative, entrenched in the status quo and not at all interested in talking about climate change, except maybe to argue that it doesn’t exist. And they didn’t come by that reputation by accident, either. After all, it is the home of George W. Bush and Rick Perry, both of whom have been known to censor information about global warming. But there are two things that Texans understand, perhaps better than most of us and those are: energy and money. And, to a certain extent, in Texas, these issues seem to rise above ideological boundaries. That is why, for instance, Texas is the #1 state in the US in wind power, producing 6,527,850 GWh/yr (as of 2010) almost twice as much as its nearest competitor, Kansas.

Substituting windmills for oil wells is one thing, but carbon trading? One could argue that wind power makes sense here, because of the wide, open prairies and strong steady winds. But carbon trading could be done in Brooklyn. One could argue that because there are so many carbon credits available for trading here from all that wind power, it makes sense to locate it nearby. Or it could just be that Texans, understanding energy and money as they do, saw the opportunity and jumped on it first.

According to Nathan Rockliff, co-founder of Carbon Trade Exchange (CTX), parent company of the newly formed Texas Climate & Carbon Exchange (TCCX), “Carbon Trade Exchange is proud to establish its first USA trading relationship from a central and strategic market such as Texas. We see the U.S. market as one of the fastest growing for Carbon in the world over the next decade.”

CTX, which is located in Sydney, Australia, has 150 members located in 22 different countries. You can think of it as a kind of stock exchange for the global electronic trading of emissions offsets, also known as carbon credits. TCCX, whose slogan is, “a new environmentality” is located in Austin and is the sole licensee for the Carbon Trade Exchange for the United States, Canada and Mexico.

According to the CTX website, “Our platform allows businesses to meet their compliance obligations under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and voluntarily offset residual carbon emissions to become carbon neutral.”

Emissions trading is already well established in Europe.

Carbon offsets, which can be mandatory, under a cap-and-trade scheme, or voluntary, depending on the jurisdiction, provide a marketplace in which carbon-reduction activities can be purchased by entities to reduce their net effective carbon footprint. While this does not eliminate the carbon emissions from the entity, it does encourage activities which, will, since greenhouse gas emission is a global phenomenon, reduce the overall global carbon footprint. If these exchanges are set up correctly, carbon credits will help lower the costs of renewable and low-carbon technologies as well as assisting in green technology transfer to developing countries.

Critics of cap-and-trade systems include economist Thomas Crocker, who originally devised the scheme fifty years ago, to deal with local pollution that could be tied to specific sources. Crocker believes that an outright carbon tax would be preferable, “because it would be easier to enforce and provide needed flexibility to deal with the problem.”

Especially, he told the WSJ, back in 2009, when it comes to carbon, a pollutant that is inherently global in nature, “It is not clear to me how you would enforce a permit system internationally. There are no institutions right now that have that power.”

CTX and its licensees support the trading of carbon credits that are originated under both the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CERs) and independent voluntary standards (VERs).

The World Bank estimates the carbon trading industry will exceed a market value of $1 trillion by 2025, as more and more municipalities, states and countries begin to require cap and trade schemes. The Canadian province of Quebec, just recently joined with California in a joint cap and trade market.

Representatives of the utility, local government and environmental groups were present for the announcement, as well as executives from TCCX, and CTX.

[Image credit: jmtimages, Flickr]
RP Siegel, PE, is the President of Rain Mountain LLC. He is also the co-author of the eco-thriller Vapor Trails, the first in a series covering the human side of various sustainability issues including energy, food, and water in an exciting and entertaining format