It seemed we had left behind the major conflicts in the transition from the old energy world of fossil fuels and nuclear to that of renewable energies. It seemed there is an an all-party consensus on the energy revolution in Germany. But civic demand for rapid decarbonisation is revealing open lines of conflict in the Energiewende. Sebastian Helgenberger explains.
Year: 2016
Is Denmark slowing down its energy transition?
The Danes announced plans in May to cut back on the cost and speed of their energy transition. The debate sounds practically identical to the one in Germany, where the government also aims to slow down its Energiewende. But a Danish expert says Denmark remains on course. Craig Morris investigates.
Turning carbon waste into liquid fuel
Liquid fuel refining is big in South Africa, but it comes with a formidable carbon footprint. Local engineers are looking at how to turn the waste byproduct of our coal power stations into the source material to make fuel for cars and planes that will shrink the sector’s carbon footprint, writes Leonie Joubert.
Impressive First Quarter Results for American Wind Power released by AWEA
There are now more than 48,800 wind turbines operating in the US, across 40 states. American wind power has had its most productive first quarter for installations since 2012, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) has announced. Robin Whitlock takes a look.
German legislators fight over policy rollback on renewables
This month, the German government met with state representatives but failed to reach an agreement. The second meeting is scheduled for May 31. At the moment, both sides have simply agreed to disagree. Berlin wants to dramatically slow down the energy transition, and some states will have none of it. Craig Morris explains.
Pushback against onshore wind power in Germany gets real
Up to now, public support for wind power has been very strong in Germany. But recent changes to German law have encouraged local groups that oppose wind farms. The relegation of competence from the national to the state level means that smaller groups have a larger impact. Craig Morris explains.
Fracking is thirsty technology – a look at Latin America
Given the significance of securing water supply for human and non-human life, it is important to understand the potential devastating consequences that fracking has on the contamination and waste of water. Lillian Sol Cueva takes a look.
EU court rules against Berlin in dispute with Brussels over renewables policy
Last week, the EU General Court sided with the European Commission in all respects. At issue were German feed-in tariffs and the industry exemption to the surcharge that finances them. Craig Morris spoke with two of Germany’s experts on the issue: Severin Fischer and Matthias Lang.
Creative accounting, creative coal
The Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło has announced a milestone on the path towards saving Poland’s mining industry: on May 1, a company called ‘The Polish Mining Group’ (PGG) was established. It will take over 11 coal mines, four bankruptcy-threatened plants and debts of mines and plants. Michał Olszewski takes a look.
What does EU power market reform mean for Central and Eastern Europe power markets?
The current market fails to generate pricing signals allowing full cost recovery of power generation. The European Commission decided to introduce a set of measures to ensure generation adequacy and supply security. The measures are further detailed in network codes, explains Jan Ondřich.