Energydesk
Tension over Turkey's green spaces began a decade ago
To the surprise of many it was police action against a protest at a small Istanbul park that started the current unrest in Turkey. Along with The Guardian we carry a comment piece from Pinar Aksogan in Istanbul arguing that environmental tension over unchecked development has been mounting for a decade.
UK
Clean power amendment fails but bill passes
An amendment to the government's energy bill to force a clean energy target for 2030 failed yesterday - by 23 votes. The bill will now move to the Lords where, Business Green reports, further attempts at forcing some kind of target are likely to be made. If the amendment fails there then the government must decide whether to impose a target in 2016, after the general election.
FT: 20% off bills for homes near windfarms
It sounds a bit like a supermarket offer but is, in fact, part of a package of measures the government plans to offer to communities who find themselves living near a new onshore wind-farm. The measures are likely to be similar to those offered to communities near shale gas operations. The FT observes, however, that bills overall will likely rise in the short term to pay for new clean energy.
Mail: Map of UK shale basins
The Daily Mail has become the latest paper to publish a map of the UK's potential shale gas basins based on this paper by the British Geological Survey. We've done a post-code searchable map of existing drilling license areas in this story. Recent analysis of the 'gas in ground' by fracking firms including I-Gas has suggested, according to The Telegraph, that the UK may be on the verge of a resource boom. But Reuters' market analyst John Kemp looks at the history and geology of shale development suggesting all estimates are largely speculative and urges those keen to find out how much gas there actually is to get fracking.
World
EU imposes (low) tariffs on Chinese solar
The European Commission has given China two months to negotiate a deal to avoid drastic tariffs on solar panel imports - but set a duty of 11% anyway just to tide things over. Commissioners are under pressure from member states, including Germany and the UK to defuse the trade war which is already leading to predictable tit-for-tat sanctions. China today announced it was looking at tariffs on EU wines, illegal subsidies apparently.
Germany drops fracking law until after election
A law designed to regulate - and so allow - shale gas exploration in Germany is to be delayed until after the general election. The issue has proved controversial in Germany with the German Beer association, among others, voicing concerns.
US looks at offshore wind
The US is to start leasing federal waters for the development of offshore wind. Up until now very few countries have developed offshore wind due to the high cost, with the exceptions of the UK and Denmark. But the US has already started building an offshore wind grid - the Atlantic Wind Connection - and will now start licensing the first farms off the New England Coast. The move could prove attractive to developers facing uncertainty in their European markets.
