The program would see customers borrow money from a bank for the renovation, then put money down on their debt through savings on their hydro bill.

"This puts us in the position to be world leaders and striving to do better," Robertson said.

The city also entered a pact with Vancouver-based Pulse Energy to install real-time energy-use monitoring systems, which find inefficiencies in the order of 10 to 20 per cent, at City Hall, Library Square and seven other sites.

Meanwhile, Robertson is headed to the Copenhagen Climate Summit to tout the green virtues of Vancouver to more than 100 mayors from around the world. Here are his talking points on how Vancouver got green:

- A shift in transportation modes to walking, cycling and transit

- A focus on education and incentives for better community planning

- A push for electric vehicles

- A reduction in greenhouse gases through methane capture at landfills.

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NUMBER CRUNCH:

Vancouver to meet Kyoto Protocol by 2012

- A reduction in GHG by 11 per cent from a peak in 2000 to 2.7 million tonnes per year the same at 1990 levels

- On track to meet Kyoto target of 2.5 million tonnes by 2012

- Reductions happened during a 27 per cent increase in population and 18 per cent increase in employment

The syngas will be piped to the Whitecourt area to fuel new high-efficiency combined cycle power generation for Alberta’s electricity market. It will provide about 300 MW of generation capacity.

The CO2 created during the gasification process will be captured and used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the Swan Hills area.

The province will invest $285 million in the Swan Hills project, from its $2 billion Carbon Capture and Storage Fund. Construction is expected to begin in 2011 with carbon capture scheduled to start by 2015.

He said Ranhill had a 60% stake in Powertron I with the remaining equity held by Sabah Energy Corp Sdn Bhd, a company owned by the state government. The 190-MW Powertron I is already in operation.

On its water and sewerage business, Hamdan said Ranhill would be focusing on expanding into China and India. “The company has six or seven concessions in China, three 20-year concessions in Thailand for water, wastewater and recycled water projects at Amata Nakorn Industrial Park, one in India and a service contract in Saudi Arabia.”

October 2009        First 10 Months 2009
Gross Power      YoY      Gross Power     YoY
Generation (MWh)   Growth Generation (MWh)  Growth
Subsidiary Plants             461,726    21.7%       4,776,222    14.3%
Associated Plants              73,405   -10.3%         794,228     7.1%
Total                 535,131    16.1%       5,570,450    13.2%
October 2009         First 10 Months 2009
Gross Steam      YoY      Gross Steam     YoY
Sales (tonnes)    Growth  Sales (tonnes)   Growth
Subsidiary Plants             551,828    14.7%       5,142,862     1.9%
Associated Plants              24,810    17.6%         338,353    11.1%
Total                 576,638    14.8%       5,481,215     2.4%

Note: subsidiary power plants include Kunshan Cogeneration Plant, Haimen Cogeneration Plant, Rudong Cogeneration Plant, Huzhou Cogeneration Plant, Taicang Poly Cogeneration Plant, Jiaxing Cogeneration Plant, Puyuan Cogeneration Plant, Fengxian Cogeneration Plant, Dongtai Cogeneration Plant, Peixian Cogeneration Plant, Xuzhou Cogeneration Plant, Yangzhou Cogeneration Plant, Xinneng Cogeneration Plant, Suzhou Cogeneration Plant, Baoying Cogeneration Plant, Lianyungang Cogeneration Plant, Taicang Incineration Plant and Xilin Gol Wind Farm ; associated power plants include Funing Cogeneration Plant and China Resources Beijing Cogeneration Plant.

About GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited (stock code: 3800.HK)

GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited is one of the world's leading polysilicon and wafer supplier and also a leading integrated green energy enterprise in China. Annual polysilicon production capacity of GCL Solar, a subsidiary of the Group, is expected to reach 18,000 MT by the end of 2009 and 21,000 MT by the end of 2010. GCL Solar has also started constructing wafer production facilities and targets to achieve 1GW of capacity by mid-2010. In addition, the Group operates a total of 18 cogeneration power plants, 1 incineration power plant and 1 windpower plant. Most of these plants are located in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in China with strong economic growth and robust demand for electricity and steam. All these plants are advocated and encouraged by the Chinese government.

For more information about GCL-Poly, please visit the company's website at http://www.gcl-poly.com.hk .

    Press Enquiry:
GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited:
Mr. Zhou Jiangbo
Tel: (852) 3761 3120
Email: zhoujiangbo@gcl-power.com.hk
     Ms. Stephanie Lau
Tel: (852) 3761 3145
Email: stephanielau@gclsolarenergy.com
     Porda International (Finance) PR Group
Ms. Harriet Lau
Tel: (852) 3150 6761
Email: harriet.lau@pordafinance.com.hk
     Ms. Sharis Siu
Tel: (852) 3150 6771
Email: sharis.siu@pordafinance.com.hk
     Ms. Ada Leung
Tel: (852) 3150 6732
Email: ada.leung@pordafinance.com.hk

"We are delighted to add the Portland District Cooling Company to our growing North American portfolio and we are committed to delivering excellent service to the customers served by this system," said Stewart A. Wood, President and CEO of Veolia Energy North America. "Portland has been formally recognized as the number one green city in the U.S. by Popular Science and SustainLane. Veolia Energy's business activities are designed to reduce carbon footprints, so operating in a sustainable city of Portland's stature is a perfect fit for us. We are also pleased that the plant was designed with future expansion in mind, so we are well positioned to grow with our customer base."

The Portland district cooling system produces and distributes chilled water to the Brewery Blocks, a five-block shopping and professional district in Portland's post-industrial Pearl District neighborhood. The plant, with 4,000 tons of installed chilled water capacity, houses two centrifugal chillers along with a state-of-the art automation system that operates the chillers and controls system devices. Customers who currently utilize chilled water from the system include retail businesses, office buildings, luxury apartments and condos, a large datacenter and a performance art hall.

The district cooling system was initially developed by Portland General Electric (PGE), a local electric utility that constructed the district plant and an underground distribution loop from 1999-2001. The plant is expected to remain in operation for at least another twenty years.

About Veolia Energy North America

A subsidiary of Veolia Environnement, the world's leading environmental services company, Veolia Energy focuses on controlling energy costs and reducing carbon footprints through energy-efficient, custom solutions. Solutions encompass the production and distribution of highly-reliable thermal energy; on-site operation of customers' complex equipment to enhance the technical, economic and environmental performance; combined heat and power generation (cogeneration); and the introduction of renewable fuels into the energy mix where it is viable. Veolia Energy serves customers throughout the Continental USA, with a national reach and capability, and owns and operates the largest portfolio of district energy (heating, cooling and cogeneration) networks in North America. With approximately 335,000 employees globally, Veolia Environnement reported revenue of $50 billion in 2008.

The new investment is a boon for Middletown, which has struggled recently with job losses and high levels of unemployment.

Mike Robinette, economic development director for Middletown, said he was not aware of another single manufacturing facility that has invested so much in its operations within the last few years.

AK Steel’s partnerships with Tenn.-based SunCoke Energy for a new $340 million coke plant coupled with the Air Products project push the local steelmaker to over $640 million of new investment to improve operations at its local mill alone.

According to data from the Ohio Department of Development, while there are several projects that have created or retained more jobs than AK’s recent partnerships — about 75 permanent jobs will be created through the SunCoke project — dollar investments don’t even come close. The next closest is Solar, Inc. of Perrysburg, Ohio, which is spending $83 million to buy new equipment and expand its operations.

“It bodes well for the future of the AK Steel facility,” Robinette said.

Robinette said the project will lower emissions and generate electricity at AK’s Middletown Works. “There’s not another project in the U.S. like this one,” he said.

Middletown Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr. said the project “shows AK’s initiative to stay here and grow their business here.”

“It’s an incredible project,” said City Manager Judy Gilleland. “We are thrilled that this has received stimulus money funding and is yet one more reason why AK Steel Corp. is a valuable community asset.”

It also shows that AK is making a move to be green, said Bill Triick, president and CEO of The Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s a move to be more of an environmentally friendly. AK is moving in the right direction and that needs to be applauded,” he said.

While AK’s investments account for more than half of the nearly $1 billion in Middletown projects, the city also boasts investments topping $265 from Atrium Medical Center and a $20 million expansion by Quaker Chemical.

The heat generated has to be then fed into a district heating network. The regenerative plant's construction is planned to start in the summer of 2010 and will be completed after about a one-year period.

The project's total costs amount to approximately E33 million, of which E6.6 million is funded by the Federal Ministry for food, agriculture and consumer protection of Germany, represented by the agency for re-growing raw materials, with funds from the aid program for re-growing raw materials.