These are strange days when farmers are making more money from producing electricity than growing crops or raising animals. But these days, many German farmers are taking advantage of renewable energy policies and financial incentives to supplement their incomes. Jeevan Vasagar writes an excellent article in the Financial Times about the situation in Reussenköge in … Continue reading German farms taking advantage of renewable energy
Looking back at COP 19
It seems like so long ago but the climate conference in Warsaw only ended a couple of weeks ago. This was to be the conference that built the momentum for the decisions that are to be made in two years from now at the climate conference in Paris. This review from Joseoph Zammit-Lucia, writing in … Continue reading Looking back at COP 19
Energy prices in Europe will stay high
Barbara Lewis writes for the Reuter’s news service about the IEA’s chief economist, Fatih Birol, speaking in Brussels recently about a range of energy policy concerns. There are no signs of energy prices coming down as they did in the US. If Europe is to remain competitive, there will have to be other measures put … Continue reading Energy prices in Europe will stay high
How important is a warm home?
A survey was recently undertaken in the UK to gauge how important energy efficiency measures are in terms of infrastructure projects. The results are reported on the Energy & Environment Management website. Hopefully decision-makers will take heed. Warmer homes more important than rail and road, says UK public Making homes more energy efficient is a … Continue reading How important is a warm home?
Illuminating our cities
Mark Major, both a Principal of Speirs + Major, a light design practice, and a Royal Designer for Industry, wrote this excellent article as a blog for Friends of the Earth in the UK. It is good to see that a holistic approach is being taken because urban lighting is seldom thought of that way. … Continue reading Illuminating our cities
Let’s talk about industrial insulation
While it may not be on everyone’s lips as the solution to our energy consumption concerns, industrial insulation has an important role to play in Europe’s energy efficiency strategy. On November 28th, the European Industrial Insulation Foundation (EIIF) organised a roundtable discussion in Brussels to solicit the views of a wide group of interested parties … Continue reading Let’s talk about industrial insulation
Quote of the week
Guy Newey writes in The Spectator from the UK about renewable costs going to double because of European targets: Reducing carbon emissions is going to cost money. Politicians should stop pretending it is going to be cheap. They should also stop pretending they can control global energy prices or predict the future cost of gas. … Continue reading Quote of the week
Innovation has many faces
Kara Gray of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, and Cheryl Harrington of NSTAR Electric & Gas write about an innovative approach to target low-income multifamily housing on the Electric Light & Power website. Using Vision and Data to Unlock Energy Efficiency Innovation has many faces. Depending on where you stand, it can look very different. Designing … Continue reading Innovation has many faces
Spain worries about lawsuits on renewable energy
Jose Elías Rodríguez and Andrés González write for the Reuter’s news service about the changes that the Spanish government is making to its renewable energy laws in order to avoid lawsuits because of the cuts in subsidies.Spain revising renewable energy laws to avoid lawsuits - sourcesSpain's government is rewriting planned new rules on renewable energy … Continue reading Spain worries about lawsuits on renewable energy
Reinsurance cannot take chances
While the world may have many climate change deniers that are holding up effective action globally and nationally, this article by Eric Reguly of Canada’s Globe and Mail gives a detailed account of the context for the reinsurance industry. While it is a long article, it is well worth the read to get a better … Continue reading Reinsurance cannot take chances
