A quick visit to the Kolubara mining basin reveals that the resettlement there looks nothing like the presentation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development that financed the project to which it is related. posted on the Bankwatch blog by Nikola Perusic, Campaigner in Serbian Bankwatch member group CEKOR During a recent visit to… » read more
Archives for Energy Supply
Face the future: Members of European Parliament discuss energy lending of European public banks
June 3, 2013
By Berber Verpoest, Bankwatch A roundtable discussion on European public banks and energy lending brought together Members of the European Parliament and non-governmental organisations, while the public banks themselves chose to stay away. “It’s your energy” goes the slogan of Electrabel, Belgian’s primary energy company. But of course that’s not true.
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, EU Priorities 2020 |
The Intelligent Energy – Europe project “ENNEREG – Regions paving the way for a Sustainable Energy Europe” has launched its Regions 202020 Inspiration Guide aiming to provide all the information you need to become a Sustainable Energy Region: The guide helps you to decide where to start and what to do next in your journey… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Today we’re relieved in Zagreb as one energy project that could have had a destructive impact on Croatia’s future has lost its financing and thus its chances of going ahead are drastically reduced: I’m speaking about the infamous Ombla dam, a project for an underground hydropower plant that would have practically destroyed a protected area… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, enlargement, Europe's East |
Shale Gas: “New North Sea” or Trojan Horse?
May 26, 2013
Britain is greedy for some industry, while Germany is afraid of losing its competitive advantage; Europe is on the verge of plunging blindly into hydraulic fracturing, the shining solution which could let us down completely. European Energy Commissioner, Günther Oettinger, has recently told German press that the EU energy department will be looking into shale… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Euro & Finance, future EU, Global Europe |
EU leaders support green energy campaign: The European Council calls for phasing out fossil fuel subsidies
May 24, 2013
Just as Bankwatch published a new infographic juxtaposing the European Investment Bank’s beneficial and harmful energy lending, Europe’s political leaders have set a priority for energy investments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies and focus on clean energy instead. posted on the Bankwatch blog by Sven Haertig-Tokarz, Bankwatch web editor One of the agenda points… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, Energy Supply, English, EU Priorities 2020 |
North Africa and the Arab peninsula are among the best insolated regions on earth. There are very few other areas with comparable duration and intensity of sunshine. If anywhere, it is in the huge Arab desert areas that solar electricity could be generated at competitive terms, provided it will be possible to cope with the… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, Energy Supply, English |
During May 2013 a solar-fuelled plane, piloted by two entrepreneurial Swiss citizens, is crossing the USA from California to New York, with a few stop-overs in major cities. It is an unprecedented event aiming to encourage policy makers and business to adopt sustainable energy solutions. The SOLAR IMPULSE has been conceived by its two pilots,… » read more
The energy director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has made astonishing statements about coal investments prompting Bankwatch’s EBRD campaign team to react. posted on the Bankwatch blog by Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath, Bankwatch EBRD campaign coordinator At about the same time as scientists declared an unprecedented and increasingly dangerous CO2 concentration in the earth’s… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, EU Priorities 2020, Europe's East, Global Europe, Sustainable Dev. |
The EU is in the process of defining its energy/climate policy beyond 2020. This is timely for two reasons: European business needs to be fixed on the policy framework for their long-term investments related to energy, transport, buildings, grids etc. The EU must have advanced on its medium-term climate strategy before engaging in the negotiations… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) proposal moves forward
April 29, 2013
The proposal to address the issue of indirect land use change (ILUC) in European biofuel policy has advanced in the European Parliament, as MEP Corinne Lepage of France released her draft report in the Environment Committee. ILUC refers to unintended consequences of making biofuels—for example, if a policy preference for corn ethanol creates incentives for… » read more
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Agriculture & Food, aviation, Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Transport |
A hat-trick is the goal in the football and energy fields
April 23, 2013
Football fans know the value of a hat-trick – the triumvirate of goals that prove success for any striker. Though difficult to achieve, the hat-trick is worth striving for. The European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) also wants to score a hat-trick. Their new publication proposes three targets to drive EU energy policy after 2020: renewable… » read more
Already Brussels is looking beyond 2020 for its climate and energy targets, with the European institutions in recent weeks endorsing 2030 goals and opening public consultation on the 2030 policy framework. Leading questions include – what type, nature and level of climate and energy targets should be set for post-2020? How can coherence between different… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, Energy Supply, English, EU Institutions, Sustainable Dev. |
We are a long way off solving the problem of climate change. One need only to think of the string of failed climate negotiations or the recent massive investments in tar sands and shale gas to appreciate this. It is a problem rooted in the fact that national governments do not prioritise renewable energy. They… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Public sector & local authorities priorities for IEE III
April 18, 2013
The final results of the public consultation on INTELLIGENT ENERGY – EUROPE III IN HORIZON 2020 have been published on the DG Energy website, with responses identifying the public sector and local and regional authorities as priorities in the next funding period. The objective of the consultation was to seek the view of relevant stakeholders… » read more
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Climate & Environment, energy efficiency, Energy Supply, English, EU Institutions |
By Zoë Casey If all the costs of fossil fuel power generation were detailed in German power bills they would exceed the costs of renewable energy “by a wide margin”, a study by Greenpeace Energy Germany and the German Wind Energy Association (BWE) says. Currently German power bills clearly outline the cost of the EEG… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Increasing Solar panel efficiency
April 9, 2013
By solar panel efficiency we refer to the rate at which a photovoltaic panel converts solar energy into electrical energy. In general, a typical efficiency level of PV panels ranges between 12-16%, though recent technological improvements suggest we will soon be talking of efficiencies in the range well above 20%! Solar panel efficiency Solar panel… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
By Eberhard Rhein Investments in the energy sector require long planning horizons. Companies need to plan investments decades ahead. To minimise inherent uncertainties they should be able to rely on a regulatory framework stretching far into the future. The EU energy policy framework with its three key targets – 20 per cent reduction of green… » read more
Wind powers over 10% of UK electricity needs
March 29, 2013
Wind power generated enough electricity to power four out of 10 UK homes last week – and that during a freezing March day and at a time when gas prices were at a seven year high. From 9.30pm last Thursday night for the rest of the night and day, wind power generated 5 GW of… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy Supply, English, Sustainable Dev. |
Solar and Wind Energy keep booming
March 25, 2013
By Eberhard Rhein 2012 has seen new records in newly installed solar and wind power capacity. Globally installed capacity has now reached almost 400 GW, of which 300 GW wind and 100 GW solar PV. In the last 10 years solar PV has expanded more rapidly than wind power, essentially due to a steep decline… » read more
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Energy Supply, English, EU Priorities 2020, Global Europe, Sustainable Dev. |