Viewing Germany’s renewable energy plan from across the Atlantic

While Europeans are watching with great interest about how Germany is managing its energy transition, so are Americans. Melissa Eddy writes in the New York Times about the latest developments on Germany’s renewable energy plan Germany Moves Forward on Renewable Energy Plan Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government approved legislation on Tuesday revamping Germany’s sweeping plan … Continue reading Viewing Germany’s renewable energy plan from across the Atlantic →

The gloves are off in arguing for Scottish independence

In September, Scots will be voting on whether they will become an independent state. The debate, not surprisingly, is heating up. While Scotland has benefited from offshore oil and gas, the Scottish government sees its future in a green energy revolution. Scot MacNab writes in The Scotsman about whether or not independence will be a … Continue reading The gloves are off in arguing for Scottish independence →

Update on Romanian renewable energy situation

Following last week’s post on the green certificates allocated in Romania, Balkans.com Business News reports that Romania has already passed its 2020 target set through the European Union. Romania overshoots target for renewable energy The share of electricity produced through renewable sources reached a level of 41 percent in 2013, overshooting the target of … Continue reading Update on Romanian renewable energy situation →

Environmental policy can drone on . . .

We’ve been reading for months about the spying going on that affects us as we use our computers and carry on our daily life. As Jennifer Duggan writes in the Guardian, China is resorting to the use of drones to spy on environmental breaches. While we are looking for ways to improve compliance of our … Continue reading Environmental policy can drone on . . . →

Open consultation for the future of the Energy Company Obligation in the UK

The Department of Energy & Climate Change recently announced an open consultation on the Energy Company Obligation, which is also an obligation under the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive. This consultation closes at 16 April 2014. The proposals contained in The Future of the Energy Company Obligation consultation were highlighted as part of Government’s announcement on … Continue reading Open consultation for the future of the Energy Company Obligation in the UK →

New energy efficiency standards in the US approved

Andrew Gaven writes in the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine about new standards for commercial refrigeration. The new standards replace earlier standards that had been in place since 2009. US introduces new energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration Updated standards will cut energy use by 30 per cent and save business $12 billion, news … Continue reading New energy efficiency standards in the US approved →

Global monitoring shows Australia backtracking on climate change legislation

It is amazing how quickly a country can change its policies on climate change. With elections only in 2013, the reversals in climate change policies are already evident and having an impact. Pilita Clark writes an important article in the Financial Times on an assessment by Globe International. The results show that, while Australia is … Continue reading Global monitoring shows Australia backtracking on climate change legislation →

Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China

China knows it has an air quality problem that has to be tackled directly and effectively. Surprisingly, this is including the disclosure of data on air pollution, as shown in the following article by Simon Denyer in the Washington Post, and now 15,000 factories are required to publicly report details on their air emissions and … Continue reading Dealing with air pollution creating greater transparency in China →

Unintended impact of renewable energy targets in Romania

We have seen many EU member states retreating from high feed-in tariffs for renewable energy. We see Germany bounding ahead with renewables as its centrepiece for its energy transition. We have seen the European Commission recently propose a binding target for renewable energy for 2030, but binding only EU-wide and not for individual countries, whatever … Continue reading Unintended impact of renewable energy targets in Romania →

Impact of energy-efficient homes

A study in Ireland shows that investing in improving the energy performance of homes brings good dividends to the overall asset value. This post was written by Paul Melia of the Irish Independent. Energy-efficiency measures add 10pc to home value Homeowners have added almost 10pc to the value of their homes by investing in … Continue reading Impact of energy-efficient homes →