The national renewable support schemes in the EU are on the verge of a major overhaul. National governments will soon not be allowed anymore to limit renewables subsidies to domestic producers: they will have to treat all EU-based producers alike. This at any rate is the very likely outcome of a court case now before the EU Court of Justice, says Peter Niermeijer, Secretary-General of RECS International, an organisation that promotes pan-European … [Read more...]
HSBC: EUâs new climate policy unambitious, bad news for renewables
Europeâs climate policy proposals reflect the lowest level of ambition required to keep global warming at 2°C, while its goals on renewable energy are âdisappointingâ and bad news for the industry, according to a new report by banking giant HSBC. The report also sees âincreasing downside risksâ for offshore wind. Sophie Vorrath of Reneweconomy.com.au has the story. … [Read more...]
Energy efficiency: how to make it work
The Germans do it with public money and labelling. The Americans do it with private capital and asset-backed securitisation. The Emiratiâs do it with education and information. A recent expert debate at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi made it clear that stepping up energy efficiency is crucially important â but that there is no-one-size-fits-all solution. … [Read more...]
Masdar, Abu Dhabi and the future of our global energy system
Abu Dhabi likes to see itself as a global capital of renewable energy â but its ventures into sustainability are built on oil riches, which the country is not prepared to give up. Hypocritical? Perhaps, but itâs a hypocrisy shared by the rest of the world. Most countries and companies are pursuing an energy transformation which at the same time they are kicking down the road. And yet, writes Energy Post editor Karel Beckman in a reflective essay … [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 âwas told it acted illegally by enforcing the decisions on the Biblis … [Read more...]
The failure of Kyoto and the futility of European energy policy
The EU has been one of the front-runners on climate policy ever since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. However, according to geologist and energy author Euan Mearns, who runs the blog Energy Matters and is a former editor of the famous "peak oil" website The Oil Drum, Kyoto has been an outright failure and current EU energy policy is futile and counterproductive. He wonders why EU governments "continue to pursue this futile course of … [Read more...]
German Environment Ministry says CO2-neutral Germany âalmost possibleâ
Can an industrialized country such as Germany avoid nearly all of its man-made greenhouse gas emissions? âClearly yesâ, answers a new study by the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt). And it can be done without carbon capture and storage, nuclear power and first generation biomass. However, energy demand must be reduced by half and âunnecessary transportâ must be avoided. âIt is technically possible to reduce greenhouse gas … [Read more...]
The future of the large German utilities: it’s already here
Energy Post reported recently that German utility RWE is âshedding its old business model and embracing the energy transitionâ. This is not surprising, writes solar industry pioneer Peter F. Varadi. In fact, says Varadi, the new strategy merely formalizes what is already happening in practice. (Photo: Tim Fuller) … [Read more...]
EU Commission: feed-in tariffs should be abandoned
The European Commission has presented a Communication which gives guidance to Member States on âhow to make the most of public interventionsâ in the electricity market. The Communication discusses âhow to reform existingâ interventions, especially renewable energy subsidy schemes, and how to effectively design new ones, especially for back-up capacity schemes." The Commission notes that âin some very specific cases public intervention might be … [Read more...]
PWC study: Economies generate growth thanks to decarbonisation
New research by PwC, using historical data from five EU member states, shows that countries can decarbonise at faster than average rates without reducing economic growth or losing competitiveness while still generating new sources of economic growth and jobs. This is the conclusion based on analysis of the long-term economic impact of energy policies in five European countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom) … [Read more...]
Fossil fuel euphoria: oil and gas forever!
A European country like Germany may have embarked on an energy transformation away from fossil fuels - with major German energy companies like RWE following suit - worldwide there is no such trend, notes US energy expert and author Michael T. Klare. On the contrary, countries and companies, particularly in the US, are euphoric about all the new "unconventional" oil and gas coming on the market. "What we're seeing is a sea change in elite thinking … [Read more...]
Exclusive: RWE sheds old business model, embraces transition
RWE, Germanyâs largest power producer, has decided to radically depart from its traditional business model based on large-scale thermal power production. Henceforth, the company will âcreate value by leading the transition to the future energy worldâ. Â This is shown by confidential strategy documents that were discussed at a recent meeting of RWEâs Supervisory Board in Warsaw which Energy Post has seen. Photo: RWE power plant in Hamm-Uentrop … [Read more...]
Germanyâs âEnergiewendeâ Shows Why We Need Nuclear
Germanyâs energy transition has been used by activists and governments as evidence that we can solve climate change with wind and solar, and that we donât 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 â and very expensive â to limit the options to renewables alone and not to include nuclear power. Nuclear power plant … [Read more...]
Five lessons from Germany’s Energiewende
The German renewable energy transition is moving ahead at an impressive pace. What can other countries learn from what has been achieved so far? And what are the main challenges ahead? Sam Friggens of Abundance Generation, a UK crowdfunding initiative for renewable energy projects, sums up five lessons that can be drawn from the German experience. It can be done elsewehere, he says, but you need a new kind of energy market. Photo: WWF … [Read more...]
Europeâs unresolved energy versus climate policy dilemma
The creation of a pan-European energy market is being undermined by member statesâ reluctance to align their national renewable energy policies, or to rely on their neighbours for back-up capacity, writes David Buchan, Senior Research Fellow of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. According to Buchan, âthe Commission now has to take a very strong stand if it is to regain control over the forces of disintegration that it failed to anticipate … [Read more...]
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