World Reports: Europe, China, Australia

Alternative energy continues to draw more emphasis in Europe. Two recently announced projects take aim at harnessing power from the wind and sun and a third is studying the feasibility of building a power plant based on fuel cells.

This artist’s rendering depicts how the new solar power station near Espenhain, Germany, will look when it becomes operational in July 2004.

        Montreal-based Boralex Inc. plans to build and operate a third wind energy production site at Nibas, France. The company will invest $20 million in the expansion that will add six wind turbines and double its wind energy capaci ty in France. Construction will begin in May 2004 and will be complete by November.

        “Along with the benefit of further diversifying our production sources, the addition of this site falls in with the development of forward-looking projects in the wind energy segment,” says Claude Audet, Boralex’s president and chief operating officer. “Boralex is well positioned to continue its expansion within this high-growth sector in France, notably in the Picardie and Nord-Pas-de-Calais regions.”

Akzo Nobel (headquarters in Arnhem, the Netherlands, pictured) is studying the feasibility of building a power plant that would run on hydrogen fuel cells and have zero emissions.

        In Germany, Shell Solar GmbH and GEOSOL are building the world’s largest solar power station. The facility, due to come on stream in July 2004, is being built on a former lignite mine ash deposit near Espenhain. The free-standing array will comprise some 33,500 solar modules with a total output of 5 megawatts. The power will be sufficient to meet the electricity demand of about 1,800 households.

        Dutch firm Akzo Nobel and NedStack, a producer and developer of fuel cells, has launched a three-year research project to determine if a power plant based on fuel cells is viable. The plant could be built next to Akzo Nobel’s chlorine electrolysis plant in Boltek, the Netherlands. The two companies are working together to gather knowledge on a fuel cell plant linked to a chlorine electrolysis plant. Such a plant would have zero emissions, with only clean water produced in the generation of power.

PSA Peugeot Citro?n is doubling capacity to 300,000 vehicles at its joint venture plant in Wuhan, China.

PSA Peugeot Citro?n plans to increase its production capacity at its Dong Feng Peugeot Citro?n Automobiles (DPCA) joint venture in Wuhan, China, to 300,000 vehicles per year. The company will build a new Peugeot vehicle to be built on the 307 platform, and the Peugeot 206 will be introduced in 2005. Total cost of the project, which includes doubling the size of the factory and launching the new vehicles, will be about US$742 million (600 million euros). The plant currently manufactures 150,000 cars annually.

David Crook, Australian Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, Atlanta.

The months ahead will see two milestones come to pass where Australian and American relations are concerned. The two nations’ elite swimmers will face off in Olympic action in Athens for a rematch of the aquatic rivals’ duel in the pool. And a free trade pact will come to pass now that the text of the agreement has been finalized by the countries’ chief trade officials.

        On the latter point, Site Selection recently spoke with David Crook, Australian Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, Atlanta, to find out which industries will benefit from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and how the markets involved will become more competitive.

David Crook: The U.S. is the largest foreign direct investor in Australia, with assets valued at US$111.6 billion. The agreement provides a strong framework for continuing to promote high levels of two-way investment between Australia and the U.S. The threshold for screening of foreign investments in non-sensitive sectors has been increased from A$50 million to A$800 million [US$36.7 million to US$587 million]. The FTA includes strong investor protection provisions, and its provisions on trade in goods and services should also strengthen Australia’s ability to attract foreign investment in many areas of the economy. Also worth noting – Australia is the 8th largest foreign investor in the U.S., with assets worth US$68 billion. There is no investor state dispute mechanism in the FTA, given that the U.S. and Australia both have modern and robust legal systems to resolve disputes between foreign investors and the government.

DC: The FTA removes industrial tariffs from day one. More than 99 percent of U.S. manufactured goods to Australia will become duty free immediately. Ninety-three per cent of U.S. exports to Australia are manufactures. Tariffs are also lifted on agricultural exports. Foreign investment screening levels are raised, as I mentioned. Plus, the agreement contains important, 21st century provisions for the protection of intellectual property and opening access in areas such as services and government procurement. The National Association of Manufacturers estimates potential to boost exports to Australia by up to US$2 billion a year as the removal of tariffs under the FTA makes American exports more competitive than those from Europe or Asia.

DC: Manufacturing, services, automotive and agriculture, including beef, dairy and horticulture.

DC: Manufacturing, agriculture, investment and services, such as government procurement. This is a comprehensive agreement that covers all sectors of the economy and elements of the trade and investment relationship between Australia and the United States.

DC: The full text of the FTA and explanatory memoranda are available on government Web sites in both Australia and the U.S. There has been extensive industry consultation and discussion in both countries to ensure all industry and business sectors are aware of what’s in this agreement.

DC: No, and it certainly hasn’t dampened the strength of the trading relationship to date! All of the U.S. states export to Australia now, and Australia is in the top 10 export markets for 15 states, and in the top 25 export markets for 49 states.

        We see only potential for further growth in the trading and investment relationship under this FTA. Australia is the 15th largest economy in the world, notwithstanding its 20 million population. We have been the best-performing economy in the OECD. We are a strong, growing and dynamic market for U.S. goods and services. Australia buys more of its goods from the U.S. than from any other country. This FTA is an agreement between two modern, innovative and growing economies and countries that share many common values. It is an important step in strengthening our economic partnership, and creating more jobs and economic prosperity for both our countries.

LogicaCMG, a firm specializing in outsourcing of IT and other services, plans to create 750 jobs by expanding its operations in Bridgend, Wales. The company, which already employs 20,000 globally, will make Bridgend the center of its U.K. outsourcing operations.

        The first phase of the company’s two-phase investment plan will add 350 jobs at its facility at Bridgend. In the second phase, LogicaCMG will hire 415 people at a new facility in Waterton.

The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva tied for the top spot in this year’s Worldwide Quality of Life Survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Geneva moves up a notch from last year to tie Zurich, which in 2003 had sole possession of first place. The analysis covers 215 cities and is based on an evaluation of 39 quality-of-life criteria including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport and other public services.

        Mercer says U.S. cities slipped in the rankings this year due to tighter entry restrictions. Honolulu and San Francisco rank highest, both at position 24. Atlanta, at 66, ranks lowest among U.S. cities included in the survey.

        Here’s how the top 10 cities shape up:

       
1. Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland (tie)

       
3. Vancouver, British Columbia and Vienna, Austria (tie)

       
5. Auckland, New Zealand; Bern, Switzerland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Frankfurt, Germany; and Sydney, Australia (tie).

       
10. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Munich, Germany (tie).

        Calgary ranks as the world’s top city for health and sanitation, just ahead of Honolulu, Helsinki and Ottawa. Scores are based on the quality and availability of hospital and medical supplies and levels of air pollution and infectious disease.

A rendering of the $100-million production facility now under construction in Liverpool, England, for Chiron Vaccines.

Chiron Vaccines, U.K. subsidiary of Chiron Corp. of Emeryville, Calif., is constructing a $100-million vaccine production facility at its site in Liverpool, England. The new site is adjacent to the company’s existing 10-acre (4-hectare) manufacturing plant, where it employs more than 600. The current facility is already the largest in the U.K. and one of the largest in Europe.

        Chiron Vaccines is the world’s fifth largest vaccine producer and the second largest manufacturer of flu vaccine. In 2003, the company manufactured more than 40 million doses of flu vaccine in Liverpool, and it aims to expand capacity to 50 million doses this year. Chiron’s flu vaccine, Fluvirin, is supplied primarily to the U.S., with 38 million doses shipped in 2003.

        “Global demand for flu vaccine already exceeds industry’s supply capability and is continuing to grow,” says John Lambert, president of Chiron Vaccines. The company also produces vaccines for meningitis, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis, yellow fever, polio, mumps, measles, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

©2004 Conway Data, Inc. All rights reserved. SiteNet data is from many sources and not warranted to be accurate or current.