Category: renewable energy

Where are subsidy policies going?

Following the numbers of the week Agence France Presse writes that the EU is having a re-think about the level of subsidies for renewable energy.  Hopefully, whatever happens, there will be a level playing field, as they say.  The numbers of the week show the extent of the subsidies for fossil fuels.  Last week, the … Continue reading Where are subsidy policies going? →

Personal investments in renewable energy on the rise in the UK

Rebecca O’Connor, editor for the Trillium Fund, provides a detailed account of the dynamics of personal investing in renewables in Britain on the Ecologist website.  While this is a welcome sign, it will be interesting if we see the same activity for energy efficiency.  Any information on this will be welcome. Small investors pile billions … Continue reading Personal investments in renewable energy on the rise in the UK →

Let’s hope the answer is blowing in the wind

David Smith writes in the Guardian about the opening of Africa’s biggest windfarm in Ethiopia.  Only 14% of the Ethiopian population has access to modern energy services and let’s hope this windfarm will turn that around to give access to the wider population. Ethiopia opens Africa's biggest windfarm A windfarm billed as the biggest in … Continue reading Let’s hope the answer is blowing in the wind →

Jobs are what count

The Social Democrat Premier of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany has come out strong to support in favour of job protection before expansion of renewables according to a report from the German Energy Blog. SPD Premier of NRW: Jobs Protection in Energy and Energy-Intensive Industry More Important Than Speedy Expansion of Renewables Job protection in the … Continue reading Jobs are what count →

Serbia’s evolving energy system

Serbia is beginning negotiations to join the European Union.  It has been developing its energy system and its policies are following EU requirements through its obligations in the Energy Community.  Andrew MacDowall writes in the Financial Times about the push to promote renewable energy as well as discussing the energy policy priorities, which interestingly omits … Continue reading Serbia’s evolving energy system →

UN Secretary-General launches SE4ALL energy efficiency hub

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) opened a new global centre for Energy Efficiency  as part of the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) initiative. The Energy Efficiency Hub (EE Hub), in Copenhagen, Denmark, will seek to help “drastically increase” energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy deployment. … Continue reading UN Secretary-General launches SE4ALL energy efficiency hub →

Green financing for industry still a problem in the UK

OILFIREDUP writes about a recent business survey that shows the difficulties that companies are having in accessing financing to invest in green technologies. It would be good to know if there are similar surveys or similar problems in other European countries.   British Business Struggling To Access Green Finance A survey undertaken recently by the … Continue reading Green financing for industry still a problem in the UK →

Where is all the money going?

UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, is determined to cut the green taxes that end up on energy bills because there is a growing backlash to the large increases announced by many of the major energy companies.  According to the Guardian the total is £114 (€135), government figures show that £50 (€59) goes on the energy … Continue reading Where is all the money going? →

A German’s view of the energy transition in France

Stefan Simons wrote in Der Spiegel and this was translated into English for presseurop about the transition to green energy in France. France is seeking to ease some of its reliance on nuclear power to try and focus more on green energy. However, as Germany has already learned to its cost, the path to energy … Continue reading A German’s view of the energy transition in France →