This is an important article by Damian Carrington of the Guardian on the costs of Germany’s phase out of nuclear. This is important because there is so much mis-information around. For all countries, watching this “experiment” in Germany and learning lessons from it will be essential. There is a need for more than just a … Continue reading Discussing Germany’s nuclear exit
Category: technology
Geneva: owners required to improve energy efficiency
In Geneva, the results of an aerial thermography targeting all the cantonal territory roofs are available on the Internet. Homeowners can benefit from expert advice for data interpretation and diagnosis of their building energy. "More than 35,000 buildings consume half the energy used in the township," said Isabel Friday Rochat, head of the Department of … Continue reading Geneva: owners required to improve energy efficiency
Short Takes
Important Comment On May 15th, at an event on Energy Efficient Buildings and Districts: Research to Accelerate Innovation at the European Economic and Social Committee, Ms. Silvia-Adriana, MEP and former rapporteur for the recast of the buildings directive said: “Energy efficiency is important for each household and not just for the European Union. We need … Continue reading Short Takes
Balancing the promotion of sustainable energy with government revenue
While this article by Gwyn Topham from the Guardian is on the UK, it is an important issue for all countries. Governments are caught between promoting sustainable energy and taxes they gain from “conventional” practices. Green cars will lead to fall in motoring revenue for Treasury, says study The drive to promote greener, more … Continue reading Balancing the promotion of sustainable energy with government revenue
Air conditioning in India
An interesting article published by the Times of India says that India has become more active in establishing minimum energy performance standards and appliance labelling. This article states that 12% of products labelled for energy efficiency fail the tests. How that compares to Europe or the US, I cannot say. Interestingly, the article notes that … Continue reading Air conditioning in India
Key figures from the European wind industry
The European Wind Energy Association released its new “Green Growth” report on the opening day of the EWEA 2012 Annual Event in Copenhagen on 16 April. The report is available at the EWEA website. Key figures from the report released include: The wind energy sector contributed €32 billion to EU GDP in 2010 The sector’s … Continue reading Key figures from the European wind industry
More from the Clean Energy Ministerial
The Clean Energy Ministerial also had more to say on carbon capture and storage. At the 2011 CEM meeting in Abu Dhabi, the CEM Carbon Capture, Use and Storage Action Group (CCUS AG) presented seven recommendations on concrete, near-term actions to accelerate global carbon capture and storage deployment. This week, at the 2012 CEM meeting … Continue reading More from the Clean Energy Ministerial
From the Clean Energy Ministerial
The third Clean Energy Ministerial of 23 leading countries was held in London late April. Leaders from the 23-government Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the UN Secretary-General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4All) have given their backing to a renewed push to increase energy efficiency worldwide. Meeting at the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM3) taking place … Continue reading From the Clean Energy Ministerial
Clean energy investment reaches $263 billion in 2011
Global clean energy finance and investment (i.e. for renewables) grew to $263 billion in 2011, a 6.5% increase over the previous year, according to new research released by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Among G-20) nations, the United States reclaimed the top spot from China, which led the global clean energy race since 2009. Germany, Italy, … Continue reading Clean energy investment reaches $263 billion in 2011
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?
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 