Polish coal is losing value on the global market and Poland’s grid may see serious blackouts. But instead of investing in other forms of energy, the government dips into taxpayer pockets to try and save the mining and energy market, Michał Olszewski reveals.
All posts tagged: Corruption
Electricity customers pay for groups that lobby against clean energy, report says
Successful oversight of trade group membership dues has faded away in many states across the United States, a new report says. Mark Hand of Think Progress explains how American utilities use their customers’ money to fight renewables, and subside fracking and nuclear.
See you in court: how the South African public sued the nuclear sector and won
When conventional forms of activism don’t reach the ears of a democratically elected government, the courts can provide a platform to hold the state accountable. A High Court ruling against the South African government’s efforts to buy in nuclear power is a case in point, writes Leonie Joubert.
South Africa’s energy plan: biased towards nuclear
The price of solar and wind energy has dropped so dramatically in South Africa (SA), it is now almost half the cost of coal electricity. So why is government’s new energy plan biased towards expensive nuclear plants, and leaving renewable sources as an afterthought? asks Leonie Joubert. If RE industrialisation doesn’t take off in SA, it will be slow across the rest of the subcontinent.
Wyoming bill would all but outlaw clean energy by preventing utilities from using it
Coal supporters are pushing a bill that would bar utilities from using the state’s abundant wind power to provide electricity within the state. While many U.S. states have mandates and incentives to get more of their electricity from renewable energy, Republican legislators in Wyoming are proposing to cut the state off from its most abundant, clean resource—wind—and ensuring its continued dependence on coal. Zahra Hirji of InsideClimate News has the details.
Corruption stalls SA’s renewable program?
South Africa is half way into a program that will see 96 privately owned and run utility-scale renewable energy plants built across the country. The project has been hailed for the speed of its rollout, its transparency, and for bringing the cost of solar and wind power down to well below that of new-build coal or nuclear. Already, the first plants are feeding at least a third of the project’s intended energy contribution into the grid. So why has the planned construction on the last few plants ground unexpectedly to a halt? Leonie Joubert asks.
EDF’s epic tale: lost in transitions ?
It is finally done. After months of dithering, the nuclear industry’s CEOs and government officials of the UK, France and China solemnly signed off on the nuclear plant project at Hinkley Point C at the end of September. Some maintain that these might be the first signs of a new era for nuclear power after the Fukushima catastrophe, but Hinkley can barely hide the fact that the French nuclear “champion” EDF is at the brink of collapse and urgently needs a strategic turnaround. Andreas Rüdinger explains.
Nuclear weapons and nuclear power in the UK
What would Brexit mean for the proposed nuclear reactor at Hinkley and England? No one really knew—until the new government in Downing Street announced the refurbishment of its nuclear submarines. Shortly thereafter, London confirmed that it remains committed to Hinkley—before postponing a final decision once again. Craig Morris explains.
More coal plants are being cancelled than built
The era of global coal expansion is coming to an end. Since 2010, the number of canceled coal projects across the world outstrips those that are completed at a rate of two to one. Still, too much power continues to be made from coal if mankind wants to achieve the 2 °C global temperature limit, argues Sophie Yeo.
Christmas comes early for Central and Eastern Europe in the form of free carbon credits from Brussels
The EU’s 2030 climate package contains free emissions trading allowances for Central and Eastern Europe’s carbon-intensive industries. Thereby, Brussels not only conceded to the environmental damage and long overdue changes to the market, but also to the possibility of corruption. Jan Ondrich explains.