Brittany has had its fair share of heroes, not least the fearsome duo Asterix and Obelix and their fight against the imperial powers of Rome. Patrick Saultier would be the last person to compare himself to the indomitable pair, but he, with a group of strong-minded modern day Gauls, is leading a twenty-first century quest, not to defeat the Romans, but to defeat out-dated French legislation and to bring renewable energy to les Bretons. Philippa Nuttall Jones reports about the modern-day electricity rebels.
All posts tagged: Wind
Civic participation in the Energiewende: What Germany can learn from Denmark
Traditionally, Denmark has been a frontrunner in community energy. Due to policy changes, the civil society has had to look for new, more integrated business models. The Danish experience can serve as a blueprint for the future of Germany’s cooperatives, argues Boris Gotchev.
How is Germany integrating and balancing renewable energy today?
With renewables providing 30% of Germany’s electriticy demand, the power market needs to adapt. In the following article, author Eric Martinot provides detailed insight into technical and regulatory changes that allowed the German grid to remain highly reliable.
Wind roars on in Germany
Preliminary figures show that 2014 was a record year for wind power in Germany. Craig Morris says the performance will unfortunately be hard to repeat.
Prague to support renewables more
Last week, the Czech government proposed a bill, which is now to be reviewed in Parliament. The renewables community is speaking of a step in the right direction, but the battle is still uphill, as a sociologist explained at a conference our Craig Morris attended.
German reliance on market players makes energy policy legal
In his previous post, Craig Morris talks about how the renewable surcharge will drop for the first time in 2015. But there is another interesting aspect to the issue. Germany allows transmission grid operators (TSOs), rather than a government entity, to calculate the charge. For the EU, that distinction is the difference between legal and illegal.
Cash cow of power sector goes dry
Over at Renew Economy, our colleague Giles Parkinson reviews a study by HSBC showing that “generators are to be the biggest losers” in the energy transition currently taking place worldwide. Today, Craig Morris talks about what that looks like in Germany.
German exports of renewable technology
One of the reasons to be a first mover is technological leadership. Germany is recognized as such a first mover in wind power, biomass, and solar. New data reveal the extent to which Germany has succeeded, as Craig Morris explains.
Structural adjustments for Chinese energy transition
Over the last years, China has become the world’s biggest market for renewables. But due to it’s ever growing energy demand, fossil fuels are still considered part of China’s energy future. YU Wenxuan sheds a light on the current state of China’s Energiewende.
Bundestag adopts new rules for renewables
The lower house of the German Parliament voted nearly 80% in favor of the proposed amendments to Germany’s Renewable Energy Act (EEG) on the last Friday in June. Craig Morris takes a look at the main changes and examines why some people are upset, and others aren’t.