Presseurop |

Environment | 'Clean' energy, scourge of our countryside (La Repubblica, Rome)

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:52:38 +0100

Crisis-hit Italian farmers are turning to the intensive cultivation of maize for biogas production, which is more profitable than growing it for food. But they’re laying themselves open to the mercies of speculators -- and they’re threatening biodiversity too, declares the founder of the Slow Food movement. (Article)

Debate | Rome-Berlin, new anti-nuke axis (Corriere della Sera, Milan)

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:42:13 +0100

Germany is phasing out nuclear power and Italy has rejected its reintroduction. This about-face by two founding members of the European Union could encourage other member states to turn the nuclear page and to develop renewable energies. (Article)

Renewable energy | Desertec to take over from nuclear power (Le Monde, Paris)

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 17:08:02 +0100

The end of nuclear power in Germany and Switzerland and reduced tolerance for this energy source in many countries in Europe has given a new lease of life to projects based on renewable energy, like the one backed by a German consortium in North Africa. (Article)

German press review | Where does the nuclear exit lead to? (Presseurop, )

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:41:42 +0100

Will Germany really phase out nuclear power by 2022 at the latest? Angela Merkel’s decision has been welcomed by the opponents of nuclear energy but raises a host of questions for the future, writes the German press. (Article)

Germany | Beyond nuclear in 2022

Mon, 30 May 2011 12:28:23 +0100

“Nuclear power has only 10 years to live,” says Süddeutche Zeitung, following the publication of a report by the "Ethics Commission on Safe Energy Supply" set up by Chancellor Angela Merkel after the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan. The report, which establishes the foundations for a new German energy policy and which was immediately approved by the ruling coalition, recommends the shut-down of most of the country’s nuclear power plants before 2022 while one should be maintained to plug any gaps in energy needs not met by other energy sources. The seven oldest plants – disconnected from the grid, shortly after the Fukushima accident – should be the first to be closed. No set timetable is set but the shut-downs should adapt to progress and developments in renewable energy. Currently, nuclear energy accounts for 22% of Germany’s energy production. The Munich daily has double praise for the commission. First “it organised an impartial discussion on nuclear energy, something never seen before. And secondly it aimed much further than a simple exit from nuclear power. Because it is not by simply giving up nuclear energy that this country will find happiness,” the paper says.

(News in brief)

Environment | Green energy - but not in my back yard! (Il Post, Milan)

Fri, 06 May 2011 09:42:49 +0100

Odd as it may seem, the main victims of environmental conservation appeals are not nuclear power plants or incinerators, but the hydroelectric power stations, solar energy installations and wind farms much-loved by the Green and ecologically minded. (Article)

Portrait | Power, not nuclear (VoxPublica.ro, Bucharest)

Mon, 02 May 2011 17:36:23 +0100

Founder of one of the first cooperatives for producing renewable energy, Germany’s Ursula Sladeck has won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in the United States. (Article)

COP16 | The end of easy green money (Il Foglio, Milan)

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 11:34:22 +0100

The crisis has put a dent in carbon emissions – and in the foundations of Europe’s planned green economy. By calling subsidies for inefficient technologies into question, that blow might yet be a boon for the renewable energy sector. (Article)

Renewable Energies | Green revolution will cost you (Der Spiegel, Hamburg)

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:29:41 +0100

Chancellor Angela Merkel's vision of completing Germany's conversion to renewable energy by 2050 is bold and ambitious. But she has remained silent about the risks and the tremendous costs the green revolution will entail -- for Germany and all of Europe. (Article)

Renewable energies | A new frontier for green power (The New York Times, New York)

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:48:09 +0100

Pioneering Portugal has radically reduced its dependence on fossil fuels. This year nearly half of its electricity will come from renewable sources. (Article)

Renewable energies | Is the EU's global warming policy all wrong? (The Daily Telegraph, London)

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:13:45 +0100

The EU's 20/20/20 policy, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, will cost billions but be of very little benefit in the fight against climate change, argues Bjørn Lomborg. (Article)

Solar energy | Set the electricity grid free (La Vanguardia, Barcelona)

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:43:31 +0100

Current power grid management systems make energy self-sufficiency impossible, even in homes that produce solar power, reports La Vanguardia. However the Catalan daily hopes that artificial restrictions imposed on home energy production by large corporations that run power networks will soon be a thing of the past. (Article)

COP15 | Save the planet - get rid of the state (El País, Madrid)

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:15:54 +0100

The main obstacle to a climate deal at the Copenhagen Conference was state sovereignty. The solution, argues political scientist José Ignacio Torreblanca, lies in exporting the EU’s know-how and institutional approach. (Article)

Renewable Energy | Scam with the wind (International Herald Tribune, Paris)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:28:10 +0100

Renewable energies have been high on the agenda during the Copenhagen climate conference. In Europe, however, with €6 billion in EU subsidies up for grabs, the eco-friendly wind farm industry is fast attracting green swindlers of all sorts. A report by the International Herald Tribune. (Article)

COP15 | Fossil fuels, for the dinosaurs (El Mundo, Madrid)

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:50:58 +0100

Changing our energy system is the key to curbing CO2 emissions and global warming. In the run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference (COP15), the European Union has announced plans to generate 20% of its energy using renewable sources. (Article)

Wind power | Answer is blowing in the North Sea wind

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:49:44 +0100

Nine energy ministers have signed a declaration to set up a grid connecting present and future wind farms in the North Sea, announces De Morgen. A “red-letter deal”, headlines the Flemish daily, explaining that the participating countries (Belgium, France, Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark) have thereby guaranteed their future energy supply. Even in the unlikely event of a windless day in the entire area, Norway has signed up to the project to supply hydro power, adds the paper. By 2020 the EU aims to generate 150 gigawatts of wind power (as against 7 GW pro tem), which will involve stepping up turbine construction. Bart Bode, head of the Flemish Sustainable Energy Organisation, hopes the project will have knock-on effects: “Why not set up a solar power grid in the Mediterranean countries?”

(News in brief)

Energy | Flemish government turns to green power

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:47:56 +0100

The new Flemish government plans to invest €515m to create its own energy company, Vl.Energie. The news came on 5 July, with the announcement that socialist, Christian-democrat and nationalist negotiators had reached agreement on the formation of a regional government in the wake of local elections held on 7 June. The daily De Standaard reports that "the regional government plans to combine all of its holdings in green energy companies," which include stakes in biomass, wind power, and incineration services. An additional investment of approximately €200m will enable it to "obtain a share in two green energy providers: Aspiravi (wind power) and Enfibity (solar energy)." According to one of the negotiators, this "ambitious project […] is intended to provide a counter weight to the oligopoly currently maintained by Electrabel and SPE." In a demonstration of its commitment to the environment, the regional government is also planning to apply strict energy conservation standards in all of the buildings under its control (public offices, schools, retirement homes etc).

(News in brief)