On Monday (February 22nd 2021) the Czech government announced their intention to file a lawsuit in the EU Court of Justice against Poland’s plan to “expand the mining” at Turow, saying it can endanger the drinking water for up to 30,000 people living in the Liberec Region. Frank Umbach at EUCERS argues such a lawsuit sets a dangerous precedent that could stand in the way of regional cooperation and achieving the EU’s climate goals. Instead, the … [Read more...]
EU Buildings Renovations: get ready for minimum energy performance standards (MEPS)
To meet Europe’s 2030 climate targets the buildings sector must cut its emissions by 60%. That means annual renovations need to jump by an order of magnitude; at the moment it’s crawling at 1% per year. Worse, standard renovations save very little energy, just 9% in homes and 16% in commercial buildings. It’s the deep renovations that cut energy by 60% or more, but that’s only happening to under 0.3% of the stock. Louise Sunderland at RAP … [Read more...]
EU Taxonomy: Gas as a transition fuel needs Green Deal support too
PGE Group is Poland's largest energy company. Its transformation plan targets a 50% share from renewable generation and an 85% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. By 2050 it intends to have net zero CO2 emissions and provide 100% green energy to its customers. As with all nations around the world, and certainly in the EU, successful transitions depend on capital flows to the right sectors, signposted by policies and support. What does and does … [Read more...]
How Biden can start to find a compromise on Nord Stream 2
The Trump administration and the U.S. Congress threatened sanctions on European companies helping to build the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and that is still the current position of the new U.S. government. To end the deadlock, president Biden needs to change the tone of the debate and focus on the true interests of the affected parties, explains Nikos Tsafos at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He summarises those … [Read more...]
How to create four major regional Gas hubs in Russia
Kamil Sobczak at the Russian Gas Society has co-authored a report, “Opportunities and prospects for the development of gas hubs in Russia”, which he summarises here. It scopes out what is needed to create four major gas hubs in the Far East, North West, Central and Southern Russia. The plan will help develop and modernise Russia’s gas sector as well as increase exports. Transparency in prices and transaction volumes will be essential to create … [Read more...]
Clean Trucks are coming: a review of battery, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and more
New EU fuel efficiency rules are forcing truck makers into a race to get their low emission vehicles onto the roads. From 2025, newly registered trucks must have 15% lower emissions, and from 2030 it’s 30%. Battery-electric drivetrains are most likely to dominate, assisted in their evolution by the assured progress and charging infrastructure of EVs. Hydrogen fuel cells and synthetic fuels are also in the game, though hindered by the inevitable … [Read more...]
Coal regions are ideally suited for utility-scale Wind, Solar and jobs
Over 15% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU come from coal-fired energy generation. 18 EU countries still use coal for electricity production. The argument goes that the phasing out of coal threatens the livelihoods of coal workers and their regional economy. But it should be the opposite, argue Elif Gündüzyeli and Jörg Mühlenhoff at CAN Europe. Coal regions are ideally suited for new gigawatt-scale wind and solar. They already have the … [Read more...]
Europe’s 55% emissions cut by 2030: proposed target means even faster coal exit
The EC is proposing a target emissions reduction of 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, instead of the previously agreed 40% (which the EU is on course to surpass). The main tool for achieving it will be the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Prices for allowances will rise, making coal increasingly uncompetitive. Sören Amelang, Kerstine Appunn and Julian Wettengel at CLEW talked to a number of experts who say the new target implies a near total … [Read more...]
Anna Zalewska MEP Q and A: “We cannot drop coal from our energy mix in a decade”
Over the past twelve months Energy Post has provided readers with two well-attended panels (Modernisation Fund, Just Transition Fund), sponsored by PGE Poland, focussing on EU mechanisms and policies designed to support countries like Poland (plus other carbon-intensive and/or lower-gdp Member States) with their decarbonisation strategy. Today, Anna Zalewska MEP (ECRG and member of the ENVI committee of the European Parliament) makes use of … [Read more...]
Russia and U.S. are backing next generation Nuclear
Russia’s Rosatom is positioning itself to lead research and testing for Generation IV fast neutron reactors, including high temperature gas-cooled, molten salt, and lead-bismuth designs. Following an update of plans released by Rosatom in June, Dan Yurman fills in the details. It is creating an International Research Centre and has signed up four partnering nations so far – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The R&D facility … [Read more...]
Waste Heat Recovery can help replace Poland’s District Heating coal
Three quarters of all district heating in Poland comes from burning coal. So the country is looking for ways to reduce this. It’s why subsidies are provided for combined heat and power (CHP) plants that burn either coal, gas or biomass, which all have lower emissions. But a report by IEEFA authored by Gerard Wynn, Arjun Flora and Paolo Coghe says that waste heat recovery (WHR) – currently unsubsidised – is both emissions free and can be … [Read more...]
Latest data shows lifetime emissions of EVs lower than petrol, diesel
Critics of the rapid roll out of electric vehicles correctly say that their factory door emissions (i.e. CO2 emitted during manufacture) are higher than those for standard petrol and diesel cars. Then you have to add the emissions of the local grid (how renewable is it?!) that’s charging your EV. But the numbers behind those calculations are always changing. Eoin Bannon at Transport and Environment describes the findings of their new tool that … [Read more...]
Poland’s PGE: profits from Renewables can replace declining Coal’s
Poland’s PGE is one of Europe’s most fossil fuel intensive energy firms. Coal makes up around 90% of its electricity generation. It’s been investing around PLN 28bn ($7.2bn, €7bn) to build three new coal power plant units, acquire the Polish coal assets of France’s EDF, and upgrade its existing fleet to meet air quality standards. But a new and detailed report from IEEFA warns that the profitability of these investments will decline in the 2020s … [Read more...]
The EU can support Central and East Europe’s transition
Six Central and East European nations, heavily dependent on coal, have been very cautious about the pace of the EU’s transition. For them - Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia - the political and economic disruption looks far harder to bear. E3G has just released a report that suggests this picture can change. The report’s authors – Felix Heilmann, Rebekka Popp and Ada Ámon – explain that coal is becoming less profitable, … [Read more...]
Nuclear in 2020: a global look ahead at policy, financing, politics, by country
Dan Yurman presents his worldwide review of nuclear’s prospects. 19 nations are covered. He explains while some countries are planning to scale down nuclear, like South Korea and France, some are increasing investment, like China. Others remain stuck over policy, pricing, financing and politics (e.g. Japan, the U.S.). Exporters of plants, led by Russia, are making moves – not always easily - in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. R&D … [Read more...]
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