While the Irish Centre For Human Rights has outlined severe negative impacts from fracking, the German Expert Committee on Fracking sees no reason to recommend a comprehensive fracking ban. Andy Gheorghiu outlines the fault lines of the debate and explains why it is vital that the general public weighs in to comment on the draft report of the German Expert Committee on Fracking.
All posts tagged: Ireland
Can Ireland get the definition of community energy right?
The EU’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2018 requires member states to provide special support for “community energy.” Doing so requires a definition of “community renewables” that is eligible for that special support. Ireland may be the most interesting case at present. Craig Morris takes a look.
European cities target net-zero carbon buildings by 2050
A coalition of eight European cities – including Madrid, Wroclaw, and Leeds – have pledged to completely decarbonise their existing building stocks by 2050. Sarah George and EURACTIV’s media partner edie.net reports.
Revision of European buildings law offers chance for ‘multiple benefits’ wins
Renovating existing buildings and making sure new builds are fit for purpose are the crucial tenets of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which the European Parliament’s industry committee voted on last week. Sam Morgan of Euractiv.com takes a closer look.
Cows, coal and cars: Ireland’s energy transition challenge
Ireland has set some important emissions reductions goals for 2050 – but greenhouse gases from agriculture remain a stumbling block. In addition, Ireland’s share of renewables in the energy mix is relatively low. Claire Dupont takes a look at what the country can do to jump-start the energy transition.
“Free trade” should be called “forced trade”
Timothy Mitchell’s Carbon Democracy says that our fossil fuel consumption has shaped the state of our democracies in ways poorly understood. A look at the role of the oil sector from colonialism until today sheds light on the impact. Craig Morris takes a look.
Brexit: and now for something completely different – but what?
British Prime Minister Theresa May has triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, thereby giving the country 24 months to negotiate terms for leaving the EU. What will this mean for energy policy? Craig Morris has a tentative look with the help of an expert.
2015 was second biggest year ever for wind installations in Germany
We recently wrote about record wind power production in 2015, which was partly due to windy conditions. But a lot of new capacity was also added. Unfortunately, the rush reflects the storm before the calm; the onshore sector in particular fears the switch to auctions. Craig Morris explains.
Has the age of capacity markets only just begun?
Germany has an “energy-only” power market, meaning that all payments are based on the kilowatt-hour. If a plant does not run much, it earns less – and gas turbines are suffering the most. But as Craig Morris points out, Germany is a bit of an exception within the EU – for how much longer?