Day: March 26, 2024

Greek government faces no confidence vote after new evidence on train accident revealed

Energy News Beat The Greek centre-right government (EPP) will face on Tuesday a no-confidence vote pushed forward by opposition parties following a press report suggesting that the conversations between train workers on the night of an accident that killed 57 people were distorted. The no-confidence vote initiative was taken by the opposition Pan-Hellenic Socialist Party […]

Do EU’s mixed signals really help carmakers?

Energy News Beat   Welcome to the latest Transport Brief! Europe’s new suite of green rules for road transport is starting to take shape. Some new laws unambiguously push European carmakers to produce zero-emission vehicles. But other proposals are much less clear. Take the new weights and dimensions rules. The Parliament’s proposed revision will allow […]

Probe launched into wind farms over alleged £100m overcharging

Energy News Beat Ofgem has initiated an investigation into wind farm owners over alleged market manipulation. They are accused of overcharging consumers by £100 million, with claims suggesting they artificially inflated compensation payments received for shutting down turbines on windy days when grid capacity wasn’t needed. Analysts at the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) provided evidence to Ofgem, indicating that wind farm […]

BlackRock’s Larry Fink ditches ESG for ‘energy pragmatism’

Energy News Beat The climate change-focused investment strategy known as ESG suffered another blow Tuesday at the hands of someone who was once its biggest steward on Wall Street: Larry Fink. The BlackRock CEO called for “energy pragmatism” in his annual letter to investors. He said that consists of using clean energy to reduce global warming emissions while […]

European Economies Limped Into 2024

Energy News Beat Several European countries will hold elections this year, with economic conditions and the Russia-Ukraine war dominating discussions. Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania will elect presidents; Lithuania and Romania will also elect parliaments, as will Belgium, Croatia and Austria. Additionally, EU voters will choose a new European Parliament. These elections will highlight Europe’s political […]

Western U.S. hydropower generation fell to a 22-year low last year

Energy News Beat According to preliminary data from our Electricity Data Browser, the least hydropower was generated in the western United States during the 2022–23 water year (October 1 through September 30) since at least 2001. Western region hydropower generation dropped by 11% from the previous water year to 141.6 million megawatthours (MWh). Hydropower generation in the western […]

Almost four million faulty smart meters in Britain

Energy News Beat The latest figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero indicate that there are 3.98 million non-operational smart meters in smart mode. From June 2023 to the end of the year, the number of non-operational smart meters in smart mode decreased from 4.31 million in June 2023 to 3.98 million. […]

Germany used to be Europe’s economic powerhouse – it is fast becoming today’s sick man of Europe

Energy News Beat In 2010, the now German minister of the economy Robert Habeck wrote, in his book published that year, that “patriotism, love of country, that makes me want to vomit”. This was a typical sentiment among the Greens of his generation, where even the slightest sign of patriotism was tantamount to a return of the […]

Wind and sun are free, but it’s harder to get renewable energy projects built these days. Here’s why

Energy News Beat Germany – The wind gusting across north German farm country brings much to the village of Sprakebuell: fog and rain from the sea, the occasional migrating stork, the faint smell of manure in the newly fertilized fields. And perhaps best of all, money – from selling the electricity generated by the wind […]

Texan bitcoiners start mining in Argentina, where peso is in freefall

Energy News Beat Giga Energy, based in Houston, has teamed up with Exa Tech and Phoenix Global Resources to mine bitcoin in Argentina. The province of Mendoza is home to the world’s second-largest shale gas reserve. At the small pilot site, Giga is turning otherwise wasted methane gas into energy that’s used to power bitcoin […]