Tag: energy

Russia’s export monopoly Gazprom and the Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell have signed a tentative deal to develop hydrocarbons in the Russian Arctic, Russian and Dutch media reported.

A below-the-radar vote in an obscure EU committee to set new efficiency standards for central heating boilers has sealed energy savings that could equal 10% of Europe’s energy consumption by 2020, green groups say.

Gazprom Neft holds a 56% stake in NIS, the largest energy company in Serbia, but the company vows to do business “outside politics” and support the country’s EU integration, Kirill Kravchenko, CEO of NIS, told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two companies competing for Azerbaijani gas projects, have issued simultaneous statements today (29 March) that they have submitted the final package supporting their bids. The Shah Deniz consortium will chose between the two in June.

There should be no new taxes on energy within the EU, and current taxes should not be raised, if prices are to be kept competitive with rivals fuelled by cheap shale gas in the US, the EU's energy chief has told the Guardian.

European Union governments must modernise their electricity grids and remove investment barriers to meet a 20% target for renewable energy use in 2020, the bloc's executive said today (27 March).

Recently discovered gas in Mozambique could transform the country into a major player in the world LNG market, speakers said at a public event in Brussels. But some of them warned against high expectations of prosperity and warned that revenues won’t come fast.

The European Commission has drawn up battle lines for the debate on 2030 climate and energy targets with a Green Paper that sidelines energy efficiency and signposts possible shifts to sectoral goals, regulatory measures and increased use of carbon market funds.

Germany's insurers want politicians and regulators to ease rules restricting their ability to invest in renewable energy and infrastructure, insurance trade body GDV said on Wednesday (20 March).

EXCLUSIVE / Germany’s largest and most prestigious research institute has pulled out of a Canadian government-funded CAN$25 million research project into sustainable solutions to tar sands pollution, citing fears for its environmental reputation.

Canada is tarnishing its green image by lobbying on behalf of tar sands, labelled in the EU's proposed revision of the Fuel Quality Directive as more polluting than conventional oil sources, said Indigenous Chief Bill Erasmus, in an interview with EurActiv.

EU leaders concluded their two-day summit today (15 March) with an informal discussion on Russia, largely intended as a brainstorming session to prepare an EU visit to Moscow next week aimed at ‘exploring areas of mutual interest'. Much of the debate focused on energy, which EU leaders will discuss during a special summit on 24 May.

Energy companies in Hungary have won a court case against the government over state-imposed natural gas price cuts, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the European Parliament on Monday (11 March), calling it a "scandalous" legal decision.

Volkswagen, the world's third largest carmaker, has joined its compatriot Daimler in deciding not to use a new air-conditioning (A/C) refrigerant developed by U.S. firms Honeywell and DuPont in its cars, choosing a CO2-based system instead.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two planned projects competing for Azeribaijani gas, have both signed agreements with the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP) between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych hinted that he might be ready to cede some control of his country's gas pipeline system that transports Russian gas to Europe ahead of a meeting today (4 March) with his Russian counterpart.

The European Commission launched an investigation today (28 February) into industry claims that Chinese solar glass producers are dumping their products in the European Union at below market value, opening a new front in the trade battle with China.

The EU could make net savings of €250 billion per year by 2030 if it reduces energy use 35% below 2005 levels, says a new report commissioned by environmental pressure groups.

MEPs will vote tomorrow (28 February) on proposals for binding energy efficiency standards for computers and servers, but clean energy groups say that without more ambitious targets the whole exercise could be a "waste of time".

The EU proposed yesterday (21 February) its first law to regulate safety in offshore oil and gas drilling across the 27-member bloc and prevent any repeat of BP's catastrophic Gulf of Mexico spill.

A new study for the Alliance for Affordable Solar Energy (AFASE) says that EU tariffs on solar panels from China could lead to 242,000 European job losses in the next three years.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned today (20 February) following boisterous public protests in the capital and several other cities over the price of electricity.

The 27 EU Commissioners are meeting in Brussels today (20 February) to consider early proposals for 2030 climate targets covering CO₂ emissions and possibly renewables. But the proposals aren't likely to extend to efficiency, despite EU data showing the continent is on track to miss its 2020 goals.

Tens of thousands of Bulgarians protested in more than 20 cities on Sunday (17 February) against high electricity bills and called for Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his centre-right government to resign. [Watch photo gallery by Dnevnik, the EurActiv partner in Bulgaria.]