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Expert: Nuclear energy ‘does not reduce the price of electricity’
Nuclear power plants are attractive for their owners but not necessarily for the consumer, says Alois Tost, independent expert consultant on energy issues.
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Thumann: Careful about bashing China
The EU should not be afraid of China’s growing competitive power. Rather, it should strive to have open markets and work towards starting negotiations for an investment treaty to provide better legal protections for European companies in the Chinese market, said BusinessEurope President Jürgen Thumann tells EURACTIV.
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Dong Energy exec: Energy savings are profitable
Lars Clausen a top executive at DONG Energy, says the Danish company was able to become one of the leading energy firms in Northern Europe by seeing energy savings not as a "threat", but an "opportunity".
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Visegrad’s energy security after Nabucco
The Nabucco pipeline is out of the game. But Central Europe can reinforce its energy security through new ways to trade gas and access the integrated European market. Only then it can tackle both major challenges, Gazprom and the Asian demand, Pavol Szalai writes.
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Efficient energy: Making savings at source
European efforts to increase energy efficiency have so far primarily focused on measures to improve end-use efficiency, and the potential to reduce huge losses that occur in the production and delivery of power have largely been ignored.
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Cutting energy use in Europe’s old building stock: Mission impossible?
Buildings account for over 40% of the EU's final energy demand and are a major source of greenhouse-gas emissions, making energy savings there a key element of European climate change objectives. However, it remains to be seen whether Europeans will be able to tap into the area with the single biggest potential – the existing building stock.
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Karel De Gucht on ACTA
A European Parliament Committee rejected the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) yesterday (21 June) despite pro-business lobbying by Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, who insisted that Parliament should not decide before the European Court of Justice gives its opinion. A final vote in the full Parliament is expected on 4 July.
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Doubts cast over consumer benefits of smart meters
SPECIAL REPORT / The European Commission has asked member states to present before September their cost-benefit analyses on the deployment of smart meters that could lead to 80% of consumers being equipped with intelligent metering systems by 2020. But a recent study casts doubts over their cost-effectiveness and the benefits they bring to consumers.
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Brussels braced for energy liberalisation backlash
SPECIAL REPORT / Brussels grandees claimed that the liberalisation of Europe’s energy sector would take the edge off electricity bills but as the EU prepares to evaluate the policy three years on, unease about its benefit for consumers shows no sign of abating.
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EDF: Price rise for low-carbon electricity on the way
SPECIAL REPORT/ The boss of the UK’s largest electricity generator and distributor has warned of imminent electricity price rises across Europe, due to the perceived demands of moving towards a low-carbon economy.
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Global clean-energy ‘revolution’ falters ahead of Rio
SPECIAL REPORT / A UN push to provide electricity to more than 1 billion people who live off the grid is threatened by indecision at an important global development conference this week, despite robust support from EU leaders.
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Scotland eyes ‘energy switching’ to tackle fuel poverty
SPECIAL REPORT / Scottish politicians will try to kick-start a pioneering collective bargaining plan already tested in the Benelux countries that supporters say would help communities tackle fuel poverty.
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Analysis shows EU should consider alternatives to ETS
Europe's emissions trading scheme has failed to create incentives for utilities to use cleaner energy fuels, meaning that governments will have to switch to simpler tools, such as subsidies and regulation, to enforce emissions reduction targets.
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Smart Metering IS happening!
In this European Utility Week Engerati interview, ESMIG President Frank Hyldmar discusses where the industry stands in terms of the smart meter and what the future holds.
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EU’s climate and energy deals ‘disadvantageous for Poland”
Big EU countries such as France and Germany suggest that Poland should reduce its dependence on coal for its electricity. But Mieczys?aw Kasprzak explains why coal is so important to the country.
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The EU must urgently develop a continental power grid
Germany's decision to go non-nuclear, which has infuriated its neighbours, might one day appear as a blessing in disguise, says Eberhard Rhein.
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Our vision for Europe: Reliable, affordable and low-carbon energy
Clean, reliable and affordable energy is essential to the fabric of society itself, driving successful industries and businesses, says Igor Czerny of EDF.
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Who runs EU energy policies?
The EU is putting in place an ambitious energy policy in a bid to improve security of supplies and achieve bold CO2 reduction targets. But how does the EU decision-making process function on energy-related issues? And what is the role of the industry sector and interest groups?
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Energy and climate change: Towards an integrated EU policy
At a landmark summit in December 2008, EU leaders reached agreement over an energy and climate change 'package' to deliver the bloc's ambitious objectives of slashing greenhouse-gas emissions and boosting renewable energies by 20% by 2020. The package is designed to reduce the Union's dependency on imported fuels and set the pace of "a new global industrial revolution".
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Energy poverty takes toll on Balkan forests
SPECIAL REPORT / Governments' inability to address energy poverty in Southeastern Europe is increasing the threat of deforestation, as illegal timbering is seen by needy people as their only chance for survival through harsh winters.
