Back to black: How Germany, Poland and a Swedish state-owned firm are turning towards brown coal
The Swedish state owned firm, Vattenfall are seeking permission to demolish the whole village of Proschim in Eastern Germany in order to create a lignite (brown coal) open cast mine.
Watch our audio slideshow about the rise of brown coal - a dirtier, more contaminated form of coal.
UK
Senior Tory warns about fracking dangers
George Hollingbery, MP for Meon Valley in Hampshire, has warned that fracking could be "disastrous" for his area due to it's fragile water supply.
UK gas storage constrained by prices and policy
Up to eight gas storage projects worth up to £3 billion are currently on hold as industry waits for the government to decide whether or not to provide incentives for investment.
Wind farms are a cup of tea
Figures released by RWE npower renewables show that some of Britain's windfarms sometimes produce only enough energy to boil two to three kettles at a time. Other windfarms though, such as in the north of Scotland, can boil up to 89 kettles. Perhaps solar will now be measured in cups brewed or kettles boiled?
World
EU warns against Germany cutting renewable subsidies
European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Germany should not introduce cuts to already guaranteed renewable subsidies. "That means all those that have installed solar panels, biogas plants or wind parks should receive the level of support that was guaranteed at the time of installation," he said.
Norway to build eight wind farms
Investment in wind power is set to be one of the largest investments ever on Norway's mainland. It's expected that the eight new windfarms could contribute up to 3.7 TWh of energy - part of Norway's 2020 goal of generating 26.4 TWh from renewables.
Netherlands may begin fracking
The
Netherlands is moving closer to approving exploitation of shale gas
after a government report concludes environmental risks from fracking
would be manageble.]
Ikea unpacks 500,000 solar panels
In
its efforts to become wholly energy independent by the end of the
decade, Ikea has now installed 500,000 solar panels. These panels meet
about five per cent of the company's electricity demands.
Links between fracking and earthquakes
Findings
from a peer-reviewed study on South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale suggest
that taking oil and water out of the ground allows surrounding rock and
sand to settle, triggering small tremors that are typically too weak to
be noticed on the surface. However, the connection between man-made
fracturing and earthquakes is indirect it seems.
Windpower to quadruple by 2030
With a strong boost from Asia, Siemens expects the global wind power market to more than quadruple by 2030. Asia and the Pacific region is expected to account for more than 47 percent of that total (up from 34 percent currently).
Fukushima operator seeks foreign advice
Tokyo
Electric Power Co said it will invite foreign decommissioning experts
to advise it on how to manage the radioactive water leaking from the
Fukushima plant.
