Category: renewable energy

Renewable energy: Finnish, Greek and Polish legislation still not in line with EU rules

The Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) had to be implemented by member states by 5 December 2010. The transposition of EU legislation is a priority for the Commission, especially since unnecessary delays in implementing may jeopardise the achievement of the EU renewable energy objective for 2020. Finland, Greece, and Poland have not yet informed the Commission … Continue reading Renewable energy: Finnish, Greek and Polish legislation still not in line with EU rules →

Member State progress reports on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources

According to Article 22 of the Renewable Energy Directive, by 31 December 2011, and every two years thereafter, each member state is required to submit a report to the Commission on progress in promoting and using energy from renewable sources. These reports are expected to describe the overall renewable energy policy developments in each member … Continue reading Member State progress reports on the promotion and use of energy from renewable sources →

Does building turbines use more energy than they produce?

This is an excellent article from February 29th in the Guardian by Leo Hickman on life cycle analysis of wind turbines. The average windfarm produces 20-25 times more energy during its operational life than was used to construct and install its turbines Critics of wind energy often claim that the energy used to construct a … Continue reading Does building turbines use more energy than they produce? →

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 . . . →

New Reference Material

New material on the glossary of terms for the co-decision process has been added to the EiD page on Reference Material. To help readers, various updates on policies, programmes, definitions and so on related to energy efficiency and renewable energy have been added.  Now, on the page you will find: 1 European Energy Efficiency Policies … Continue reading New Reference Material →

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? →

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 →

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 →