Hughes Belin, leading energy journalist at viEUws.eu, takes a pick at the top 5 energy issues that will be discussed by the EU institutions under the Greek Presidency during the first half of 2014. The main issue on the agenda will be the 2030 energy and climate framework, the package will be published on the 22nd of January. A debate on energy state aid will take place under the lead of competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia during … [Read more...]
German supreme court: nuclear shutdown unlawful
The forced closure of RWE's Biblis nuclear power plant after the Fukushima accident was unlawful, the German Supreme Administrative Court has ruled. The utility is now likely to sue for considerable damages. This is reported by World Nuclear News, the online news medium of the World Nuclear Association. According to World Nuclear News,on 14 January the State of Hesse “was told it acted illegally by enforcing the decisions on the Biblis … [Read more...]
Rosatom signs contract to build nuclear plant for Fennovoima in Finland
Interview with Chairman Pekka Ottavainen: “It was a very simple choice”. The Finnish company Fennovoima has signed a contract with Rosatom to build a 1200 MW greenfield nuclear power plant, Hanhikivi I, in Pyhäjoki in northern Finland. It is the first time in the post-Soviet era that the Russian company will be building a new nuclear power station in the EU. The plant will cost roughly €6 billion and will deliver electricity at “no more than … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Brussels launches state aid probe into Cameron’s nuclear project
Hughes Belin, leading energy journalist at viEUws.eu, looks into the merits of the Commission’s decision to open a state aid probe into the new nuclear power project at Hinkley Point C in the United Kingdom. The European Commission is currently carrying out and in-depth investigation of the business model of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has doubts with regard to the compatibility of the UK … [Read more...]
UK electricity market: financiers are holding the government over a barrel
The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) published new “strike prices” for renewable energy on 4 December, claiming these will lead to additional investment of £40 billion in renewable electricity generation up to 2020. But according to Michael Knowles, Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the support scheme is too generous for suppliers and DECC should do much more to drive costs of renewables down. … [Read more...]
The UK energy confusion: good policies, shame about the politics
To outside observers, UK energy policy must seem to be hopelessly confused and the energy sector in a mess. Actually, the problem is not so much the policies, writes Stephen Tindale, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform. They make a lot of sense and may lead the country to a secure and low-carbon energy future. The problem is the politics – populist proposals create confusion and may undo the good work that is being done. Earlier … [Read more...]
Give Iran a chance to be tested
The interim-deal with Iran should be given a fair chance, argues Friedbert Pflüger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS). The world economy would benefit if Iranian oil and gas exports could be restored. The climate would benefit if the massive flaring of gas in Iran and the prevailing energy inefficiency could be reduced and renewable energy investments stimulated. … [Read more...]
Interview Ambassador Wu: “An energy revolution is very much needed”
In a speech in Groningen at the Energy Convention 2013, Wu Jianmin, Executive Vice-Chairman of the influential China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, a government-aligned think tank in Beijing, declared that China “very much needs an energy revolution”. China “depends too much on coal”, said Wu. But in an interview with Energy Post he added we should not expect miracles. “We can't get rid of the coal yet.” … [Read more...]
Top climate scientists call on environmentalists to support nuclear
In an open letter addressed to "those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power", four top climate scientists in the US have called on world leaders and environmental activists to support the developmnet of nuclear power to protect the climate. The scientists are James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel and Tom Wigley. Here is their letter, published by CNN: "As climate and energy scientists concerned with global climate … [Read more...]
Nuclear Power: the Faustian Bargain
There are good reasons to be in favor of nuclear power – for now. There are even better reasons to want to replace nuclear power by renewable energy – in the not too distant future, writes Allan Hoffman, former energy expert at the US Department of Energy. This is the second of two articles in which Hoffman, who runs the blog Thoughts of a Lapsed Physicist, reflects on a sensitive energy topic. In his first article he weighed the pros and cons of … [Read more...]
Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ Shows Why We Need Nuclear
Germany’s energy transition has been used by activists and governments as evidence that we can solve climate change with wind and solar, and that we don’t need nuclear power. But according to Max Luke and Jessica Lovering of the Breakthrough Institute, if we take the fight against CO2 emissions seriously, it would be foolish – and very expensive – to limit the options to renewables alone and not to include nuclear power. Nuclear power plant … [Read more...]
State aid for nuclear? Are you kidding?
EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia has provoked a hot debate in Brussels this summer, by proposing to authorise state aid for nuclear power. This comes at the same time that the European Commission is reflecting on how to reduce subsidies for renewables, in line with their increasing maturity. Hughes Belin reports from Brussels. … [Read more...]
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