Energy

Whatever concerns energy and the ways to produce it goes here

On the Jevons paradox

Have you heard about the Jevons paradox ? Or the rebound effect ? Neither of them ? However they both refer to an interesting fact related to energy, efficiency and conservation. In a nutshell : we have been using more and more energy since the Industrial revolution, centuries ago, however, appliances and processes are more […]

On the Jevons paradox Read More »

Total to invest one billion euro in SunPower

To Reuters : ” French energy major Total SA’s landmark $1.37 billion (note : one billion euro) offer for a majority stake in U.S. company SunPower Corp gave fresh impetus to hopes of more deals, lifting global solar stocks. ” ” Total’s move is one of the biggest ever by an oil and gas giant

Total to invest one billion euro in SunPower Read More »

Oil : the headlong rush

In French, we have an expression, ” la fuite en avant “ which can be explained this way : “A fuite en avant is something one does when one is in a losing situation, and one hopes to salvage it by doing more of the same or worse.” Not that I want to delve into

Oil : the headlong rush Read More »

Another anniversary : 25 years after Chernobyl

It seems that April is a bad month for the environment. Last week I was writing about the BP oil spill and now I am writing about what took place in Ukraine. The worst nuclear accident ever indeed took place on April 26th, 1986. This was the occasion for Ban Ki Moon – the secretary

Another anniversary : 25 years after Chernobyl Read More »

One year after the BP oil spill

You would have thought that the United States have learned from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which took place a year ago. To the Huffington Post, this is absolutely not the case. “In the year since the worst environmental disaster in the nation’s history, Congress hasn’t adopted any major laws on

One year after the BP oil spill Read More »

Please welcome IRENA !

To the UNEP : ” Renewable energy was given a boost with the opening of the first General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which opened in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The two-day meeting with 800 delegates from 150 countries confirmed in its first session that Abu Dhabi would host the new intergovernmental

Please welcome IRENA ! Read More »

Is natural gas really worse than coal ?

This week the New York Times ran another great article on energy, this time on why natural gas may be worse than coal, regarding climate change. Until now, this energy source was said to be emitting half less than coal. The implications of such a fact could be huge as the world wouldn’t be able

Is natural gas really worse than coal ? Read More »

Cleantech is progressing fast

… but fossil fuels are progressing even faster. This is in a nutshell the message from the International Energy Agency’s (IEA, the OECD energy office) latest report, the Clean Energy Progress Report. As GreenTechMedia noted : ” Renewable energy generation has grown, on average, by 2.7 percent a year since 1990. Electricity generation, however, has

Cleantech is progressing fast Read More »

Global wind capacity grew 24 percent in 2010

To CleanTechies : ” Worldwide installed wind capacity grew by 38.3 GW in 2010, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. That’s an increase of 24% in global wind capacity “. This is as much as what was installed in 2009. China alone installed nearly half of it alone with 18.9 GW. The United States

Global wind capacity grew 24 percent in 2010 Read More »

Is it really about nuclear OR renewables ?

I recently wrote a lengthy comment to an article on CleanTechies. Since it took me some time to write, I think I might share it with you : I never understood people stating it’s either nuclear or renewables as to me we need both. Now I don’t understand the “false choice” of nuclear or fossil

Is it really about nuclear OR renewables ? Read More »