Tag: energy

The European Union plans an investigation into Germany's renewable energy law due to concerns that exemptions for some firms from charges levied on power users breaches competition rules, a German magazine reported yesterday (14 July).

Shale gas is not a cheap energy panacea, nor is it a harbinger of environmental catastrophe. The truth is somewhere in the middle, argues David Buchan. 

As the European Union seeks to address whether biofuels production increases greenhouse gas emissions and whether to tackle the issue by including indirect land use change (ILUC) factors in the environmental assessments, it has ignored the fact that ILUC can neither be observed nor measured and is therefore not a scientifically robust  solution, says Matthias Finkbeiner.

Improving the energy efficiency of urban transport systems could save as much as $70 trillion (€54.6 trillion) in spending on vehicles, fuel and transport infrastructure by mid-century, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The future of offshore wind power generation in the UK is in serious doubt, as the government's plans to encourage new wind farms are over-expensive and flawed, a think tank study has found.

With oil majors waving billions of dollars around, President Viktor Yanukovych’s party is eager to tap Ukraine’s shale gas deposits. Political foes are no less eager to make hay of the controversial technology, writes Ivan Lozowy.

Algeria and the European Union signed a draft agreement on closer energy cooperation yesterday (7 July) during an official visit by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.

Lithuanian Energy Minister Jaroslaw Neverovič has warned his Russian counterparts that selling gas to the Baltic country at an excessive price is not sustainable, the minister told EurActiv.

Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has called for development banks with a combined annual lending pot of €130 billion to end support for fossil fuels in their energy lending policy reviews.

Brussels and Beijing are quietly but increasingly cultivating contacts and exchanging expertise aimed at enhancing energy-saving practices in the building sector. 

EU energy labels could be in line for a radical facelift if a proposal by European environmental and business groups is adopted during a review of the Energy Labelling Directive, slated to begin this winter.

The European Parliament backed a plan on Wednesday (3 July) to support carbon prices by withdrawing part of the emission permits traded on the EU's carbon market. Prices jumped up after the vote but remained low as national parliaments still have to ratify the proposal.

The EU should stop "skewing" Europe’s energy market in favour of renewables and allow the UK to build a £14 billion nuclear reactor at Hinkley C, the deputy director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has told EurActiv.

Five years ago the EU was the world leader in championing carbon capture and storage (CCS) but it has since slipped from the top spot due to a lack of investment in this essential part of the EU's objective to reduce carbon emissions, writes Graeme Sweeney.

SPECIAL REPORT / The buildings sector is facing a huge challenge: how to encourage investment in the refurbishment of Europe’s old building stock, and for the near-zero buildings of the future? Industry sources tell EurActiv that member states are at fault for not doing enough to stimulate a market in energy efficiency investments. 

Nabucco West, the Austrian-led consortium that was bidding to build a pipeline to bring Azeri gas to Europe, has not been selected by the gas field's operators, the company announced yesterday (26 June). The choice of the Shah Deniz consortium is for the rival Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

SPECIAL REPORT / The debate on what kinds of buildings we should live and work in is shifting, with construction experts and EU policymakers moving away from focusing simply on energy efficiency to a broader appreciation of sustainable buildings, taking into account their environmental, social and economic impact.

Norway overtook Russia as the main supplier of the EU’s natural gas in 2012, a first for the Scandinavian country, the chief economist for the British Petroleum Group chief said in unveiling a new energy report in Brussels.

SPECIAL REPORT / With Europe’s hard-fought over Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) coming into force next year, advocates are pushing for the EU to come forward with a target for 2030, and adopt proposals to dramatically cut energy use in Europe’s building stock by 2050.

Belgian green energy retailer Lampiris doubled its market share last year as customers deserted market leader Electrabel, highlighting the impact of government encouragement for switching.

A senior European Commission official has poured cold water on claims that a shale gas boom in Europe would result in de-facto low gas prices.