As winter approaches, Serbia finds itself behind the eight ball. Its coal reserves, about two-thirds of its 2021 energy supply, are dwindling in terms of quantity and are ever poorer in terms of quality. This is why the country’s import of electricity and coal are expected to increase this year and next – along with an energy bill that will double, at the very least. Serbia’s coal deficit will only grow larger the longer it continues to leans on it.
Author: Paul Hockenos
Militancy won’t revive the global climate movement – targeted activism can
The global climate movement’s smaller numbers, expanded focus, distrust of parliamentary democracy, and radical offshoots reflect a mass movement frustrated with its inability to turn around international climate politics. Although understandable in light of the pace of climate breakdown and international backsliding, this frustration, channeled in the wrong direction, could sap the power of this vitally important protest movement rather than energize it. Paul Hockenos takes a closer look.
Why Nuclear Power and Renewables Don’t Mix
Toby Couture, director of the independent Berlin think tank E3 Analytics, argues that nuclear power doesn’t properly balance off variable clean energy. Paul Hockenos has the story.
How to break the vicious, climate-killing cycle of air conditioning
As our planet warms, cooling technology becomes ever more relevant. Staying comfortable doesn’t have to come at the expense of the climate. Paul Hockenos reviews.
What’s the Next Big Thing in Energy Storage?
Energy storage becomes all the more indispensable to carbon-neutral transitions, the more wind and solar power enter the energy mix: to absorb excess supply and balance the grid at times of high demand. But there’s more than pumped hydro and batteries out there. Paul Hockenos with an overview on current and new energy storage options.
Local Energy Scotland: Generating Energy for the Community
Edinburgh, Scotland. On the rocky western coast of the remote Scottish island of North Uist, a link in the Outer Hebrides archipelago, loom two 250-foot-tall (76 meter) onshore wind turbines with a generation capacity of 1.8 MW that ceaselessly churn in the North Atlantic Ocean breeze. Paul Hockenos reports.
What France Gets All Wrong About Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy is not sustainable, safe, or cost-effective. Only by investing in full-fledged clean energy can France and other countries meet climate goals on tight schedules – a key asset given the urgency of the climate crisis. Paul Hockenos explains.
Low-carbon Technology’s Russia Problem
Low-carbon technology has a Russia problem, too. And it’s going to get bigger. Higher prices, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine has Europe’s clean tech branch scrambling for non-Russian suppliers of key raw materials, such as nickel, palladium, lithium, platinum, cobalt, and neon-gas, as well as aluminium and copper. Some countries, such as the UK, have already begun to sanction them – a move the entire EU could take, if it chose to. But just about the only alternative markets that can cover rising European demand for exactly these raw materials is other authoritarian regimes. Paul Hockenos reviews.
The slow, costly, elusive hunt for a nuclear graveyard
Until we find a resting place for radioactive waste, the last thing we need is more of it. Paul Hockenos has the details.
Energy Savings from the Bottom Up
In an interview, one of Germany’s foremost energy conservation experts, Stefan M. Büttner, says that companies can save energy and production costs more easily than they think.