Energy

Energy efficiency brings huge returns on investment

You must know if if you have been reading this blog : albeit it is not as ” sexy “ as renewables, energy efficiency is simply a must as we embark our societies and economies on a journey towards sustainability. Here is further proof as Cleantechnica notes : ” Energy efficiency retrofits (…) created a […]

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The energy transition has reached the French countryside

While I was away for a few days in the Lorraine village where my mom’s family comes from, I noticed a few hints that the energy transition is already taking place and has reached even this quite secluded place. The first one was both solar thermal and photovoltaic panels sprouting on roofs. While I counted

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Energy, the European Union and Russia

The ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Russia is an excellent occasion for the European Union to assess its dependence from foreign fossil fuels, especially oil and natural gas from the Russian Federation. As Kees van der Leun noted on his Twitter last week, the EU buys to Russia over half a billion euros of oil

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King Coal is dying in China and the USA

While coal might still be the first source of energy for electricity generation in the world, the tides may be turning in two of its largest markets, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. Several facts are pointing to that conclusion.While China consumes now as much of the black dirty stuff

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Big Oil is getting smaller

According to PeakOil.com, the seven largest oil companies of the Western world — ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, Total, ConocoPhillips and Eni —have seen their oil output decline by 12.4 percent between 2009 and 2013. According to the IEA, if total world oil supply has risen from 85.66 million barrels per day in 2009 to 91.53

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Chinese coal consumption is slowing

This could be world-changing news. According to Xinhua, the Chinese State media agency : ” China’s coal consumption growth slowed in 2013, with the price of coal declining, according to the China National Coal Association “ Several factors are explaining this : old inefficient coal-fired plants are being closed and replaced by more efficient ones,

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Fossil fuel subsidies are as high as ever

To Desmogblog : ” The exact worth of massive global fossil fuel subsidies is incredibly hard to figure. There’s no real consistency in the definitions of subsidies, or how they should be calculated. “ ” As a result, estimates of global subsidy support for fossil fuels vary widely. According to a new analysis by the Worldwatch

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Shell to keep from drilling the Arctic one more year

Here are good news, as according to Grist : ” The Arctic will be safe from drilling efforts by accident-prone Shell this year, and the oil company says it is reconsidering its very future in the region.” ” (…) The company announced on Thursday that it won’t pursue exploratory drilling in the Arctic this year,

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India’s guide to the energy transition

We have seen many times over that the world can be powered by renewable energy sources by 2050.  WWF India has released late last year a report showing how the world’s largest democracy could do the same. As RenewEconomy states, this report also stresses the vital importance of energy efficiency, which ” can bring in

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Wind energy was top energy source in Spain in 2013

Many European nations have seen a boom in their renewable energy sources in the past few years. Among them is Spain. Here is the introduction to an article on that topic I wrote for Cleantechies : ” 2013 was an excellent year for wind energy in Spain as this renewable energy source became the first

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