Energy

A brilliant solution for abandoned coal mines

What if old coal mines could provide us with clean and renewable energy ? No, I am not giving credence to clean coal, I am writing about a great idea a Dutch village had. Heerlen inhabitants thought about repurposing their old coal mine – flooded with hot water – and thought about tapping all this […]

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UNEP highlights central role of solar

I have been for five years a huge fan of solar energies – both photovoltaïc and thermal – and I am still hoping that one day I will have the privilege to work in this booming industry. Today, the UNEP and three CEOs of this industry issued a joint statement at the current Poznan Conference

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Reforming the EU energy sector is necessary

According to the European Environment Agency the generation of electricity and heat in the 27 country members account for 80 percent of of European Union’s greenhouse gases emissions. This occurs as the sector progressively steps back from both coal and oil to embrace natural gas and renewable energy sources. It also increased its efficiency. But

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Mini-nuclear plants available within five years

I never mentioned before today mini nuclear plants. It is now time to do so as the company Hyperion Power Generation plans to sell mini nuclear modules within five years. Relatively small (see left for scale), these modules could bring affordable and greenhouse gases-free electricity to up to 10,000 households for seven to ten years

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IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2008

The International Energy Agency published today its famous World Energy Outlook. This edition stresses even more than last year’s version the importance of energy conservation and efficiency. With the booming energy demand from developing countries, energy saving mechanisms have to become more important if we want to avoid massive energy scarcity and climate change. As

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Al Gore’s brilliant plan to repower America

Al Gore, the former US Vice President and co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC, wants to take the opportunity of having a President that promotes change to repower America. To do so, he launched a new website and wrote a most interesting article in the New York Times which perfectly sums up

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Eastern European countries are plagued by coal

Coal is by far the most polluting and most greenhouse gases energy source. We have seen that China has became the world’s most CO2 emitting country because of this. But did you know that much nearer to us, Eastern European countries like Poland are plagued by the massive use of coal, which is the origin

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A new nuclear era in the United States

After several countries in Europe – Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, France or Russia – it seems that the United States are also willing to build new nuclear plants. It is not entirely new as I was mentioning it earlier, but this times actual developments are witnessed. A most interesting article on Dot Earth sums

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What oil prices below $70 mean in the long run

Due to the economic crises around the world oil prices halved over the past two months. Indeed, after nearing $150 in July, they are now back to below $70. You may think that high oil prices won’t happen ever again and that we can keep on relying on this fossil fuel. But beware : the

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EU bans incandescent light bulbs by 2010

The European Union decided last week to ban all incandescent light bulbs by 2010. This occurs as Australia, Cuba and the Philippines did the same last year. This is important as the EU and its 27 members accounts for nearly half a billion inhabitants. This law is due to cut by sixty percent the amount

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