Don’t add Germany to the list of countries officially considering banning sales of cars running on gasoline or diesel just yet. But several prominent people are pushing the government to take steps in this direction. One of them is Energiewende Undersecretary Rainer Baake. Craig Morris explains.
Year: 2016
Making energy efficiency an energy source in its own right
The Energy Union Strategy has called for a fundamental rethinking of energy efficiency. There are some solid arguments to treat it as an energy source in its own right, representing the value of energy saved. Redefining energy efficiency as an own energy source also would have far reaching consequences. Ada Amon and Ingrid Holmes explain.
How arguments on solar power affect public support in the US and Germany
Jobs, fighting climate change, energy security – there are a number of good reasons to support solar power. But as Alexander Franke explains in his recent essay published by the Heinrich Boell Foundation, arguments by solar activists differ widely in Germany and the US. He argues that solar supporters should continue to focus their ideas and arguments on their target audience, even if that entails talking less about environmental issues.
California has too much coal and nuclear
“Texas and California have too much renewable energy,” writes Technology Review this month. “California has too much solar power,” Vox.com chimes in. Nonsense, says Craig Morris, a political arrangement is being passed off as a technical issue. Stop protecting nuclear and coal; get rid of baseload.
Global coal power: capacity keeps going up, utilisation goes down
While the amount of electricity generated from coal has declined for two years in a row and utilisation rates of coal power plants have been going down, energy companies continue to build new coal-fired generating plants at a rapid pace. Worldwide the equivalent of 1500 coal plants is under construction or in various stages of planning, Karel Beckmann writes.
WANTED: Champions for a cleaner, greener city
Solar water heaters, or biofuel-powered public buses, or any other low-carbon solution isn’t going to install itself or switch itself on. Without visionary thinkers to champion the cause, without people to plan for business-unusual and craft the regulations that’ll make it easier to implement, Southern Africa’s cities won’t evolve into the energy-smart, carbon-friendly engine rooms that they must become, writes Leonie Joubert.
Energiewende: killing the right industries
A new piece by German economics daily Handelsblatt claims to shed light on the “dark side” of “Germany’s massive push into renewable energy.” It comes across as a strained attempt to find a cloud hidden behind a giant silver lining. But despite covering the topic quite broadly (in around 2,000 words), the article is nonetheless unbalanced: the examples given are unconvincing; the gaps, glaring. By Craig Morris.
Cities, don’t just minimise energy use. Challenge it!
Cities can’t just consume resources, they also have to contribute to producing and restoring the resources. Fortunately, there are some examples showing that cities actually realise the need for a shift and have developed strategies and programs. Irene Garcia has looked at some of these cities.
RWE splits into two
On April 1, German coal power giant RWE split into two companies: one, containing conventional energy; the other, renewables. Craig Morris explains.
Financing South Africa’s new-build renewables: a game-changer
South Africa’s utility-scale renewable energy programme has opened up the local energy sector to international markets. The success of this funding and procurement model is now tweaking interest in other areas in the local energy sector, and shaping how neighbouring countries might tackle big green-energy projects, writes Leonie Joubert.