All posts tagged: United Kingdom


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.

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What to do about the disenfranchised? Enfranchise them!

For those of us who call for greater energy democracy, Brexit is a challenge. After all, doesn’t it demonstrate that the public is easy to fool and cannot be trusted to make decisions based on facts rather than emotions? To draw the right conclusions for all of Europe, it helps to understand how the Energiewende strengthened democracy in Germany. Craig Morris calls for more democracy, not less.

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Who is the “cold man of Europe”?

Energy poverty is sometimes held to be related to renewable energy. In reality, the cost of fossil energy for heat and motor fuels plays a larger role – as do general poverty levels. Most of all, statistics are hard to compare, and Germany combats poverty, not merely “energy poverty.” Craig Morris takes a look.

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UK: next renewable energy market to go?

In a recent blog post, Craig Morris talked about how the Spanish and Italian wind and solar markets have recently collapsed. Today, he turns his attention to the UK, where the future also looks bleak. And he says renewable energy campaigners should demand “fair payment” and reject the term “subsidy.”

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Energy prices not making Germany uncompetitive

Most of the talk about high energy prices in Germany focuses only on retail electricity rates. But firms pay different power prices, and their expenses on energy may focus more on fossil fuels for heat than electricity. Furthermore, German labor is expensive and may often be a bigger budget item than energy. Craig Morris summarizes the findings of two recent studies.

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