Following the vote by the European Parliament on February 28th, it is now the turn of the European Council under the Presidency of Denmark to get a common position in order to start the trialogues. For information on the co-decision process, go to the Reference Material page. All indications show that the negotiations will start … Continue reading Brussels . . . Briefly . . .
Category: national policies
Interesting reading . . .
Renewable Energies in Africa: Current Knowledge This report summarises current knowledge at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre regarding Renewable Energy in Africa. It assesses current energy consumption and the share of renewables in African states, and attempts to estimate the technical potential of available resources of solar, wind, biomass and hydropower that could be … Continue reading Interesting reading . . .
What Policies Work Best to Deploy Renewable Energy and Increase Energy Efficiency?
The World Bank Group recently held a workshop to discuss the topic of what policies work best. The workshop noted that investment in renewable energy worldwide rose to about $250 billion in 2010, up from $160 billion in 2009, to reach about 20% of new investment in the energy space. This is rapid growth, but … Continue reading What Policies Work Best to Deploy Renewable Energy and Increase Energy Efficiency?
Energy efficiency report calls for new and tougher EU targets
Energy efficiency experts at the University of East Anglia are calling for ambitious new targets to reduce energy demand across the European Union. In a report published on February 27th by the Build with CaRe consortium, the researchers propose a new EU target of a 40 % reduction in primary energy demand by 2050. The … Continue reading Energy efficiency report calls for new and tougher EU targets
Briefly speaking . . .
China increase in energy consumption Bloomberg News reports that China's energy use rose at the fastest pace in four years in 2011, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumption climbed 7 % to 3.48 billion metric tons of standard coal equivalent. That was the fastest rate since 2007, when it grew 7.8 %. However, … Continue reading Briefly speaking . . .
IEA Energy Policy Review of Denmark
The International Energy Agency recently published a report on Danish energy policies. The IEA in-depth review opens: “Denmark is a leader among OECD member countries in terms of renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change policies.” This is obviously a winning combination. The report sets the scene by stating that Denmark has a long history … Continue reading IEA Energy Policy Review of Denmark
Neighbourhood Watch
Public buildings are required to display an energy performance certificate, as mandated by the recast of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. This is required for all buildings larger than 500 square metres. That threshold will drop to 250 square metres in 2015. The city hall of the 18th district (arrondissement) of Paris (where … Continue reading Neighbourhood Watch
Focus on industrial energy efficiency
After slumbering for many years, it is back, moving up the policy agenda. Improvement of energy efficiency in industry was a focus of attention after the oil crises of the 1970s because it could be done quickly. There was a lot of progress, with a combination of monitoring (actually counting energy consumption in a factory), … Continue reading Focus on industrial energy efficiency
IEA Energy Policy Review of Slovak Republic
In early February, the International Energy Agency published its in-depth review of Slovak energy policies with important findings on sustainable energy. The key objectives of Slovak energy policy include energy efficiency, reducing energy intensity, reducing dependence on energy imports, expanding the use of nuclear power, increasing the share of renewables and supporting the use of … Continue reading IEA Energy Policy Review of Slovak Republic
Creating jobs in the energy efficiency field – not an easy job, but worth it
Energy efficiency initiatives create jobs, and normally very good jobs. Recent analysis shows that between 17 and 19 net jobs can be created for every million euros spent. That is a million euros from all sources. And since the analysis shows that energy efficiency activities are more labour-intensive than manufacturing, decision-makers should pay close attention. … Continue reading Creating jobs in the energy efficiency field – not an easy job, but worth it
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 