Latest news
Poland to build two new nuclear power plants
Poland's government has announced on Tuesday its intention to go ahead with the plans to build two nuclear power plants. Currently, the country produces 90 percent of its electricity from coal but wants to diversify its fuel sources, making its energy sector more efficient. Poland has opted for nuclear, in a move which aims also to help meet the environmental requirements of the European Union.
read more... 30/01/2014
France’s energy future relies on nuclear
France’s first nuclear power plant has opened in 1964 and since then France has become a primarily nuclear-powered country, with nuclear representing 78.8% of its electricity generation. According to the IEA it exports about 42 billion kWh of electrical energy per year, being the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation, while gaining over EUR 3 billion per year from this.
read more... 28/01/2014
Germany: the first EU state to penalize the self-consumption of solar energy
The German government has approved on Wednesday a new solar tax, becoming the first European nation to charge owners of renewable energy plants for their own use of electricity, as part of Merkel’s plan to contain rising power bills. The changes would affect photovoltaics and are now partly being reported as a new retroactive solar tax. The cabinet is expected to officially sign off on the draft law in April before it goes to the Bundestag, which is expected to vote on it in June and could become law on August.
read more... 27/01/2014
European utilities gave up €6bn of modern gas-fired power plants in 2013
European utilities are progressively giving up on gas power generation and have shelved or closed more than 21 gigawatts (GW) of capacity last year, worth an estimated €6bn, according to a research showed on Friday, following the impact of weak coal prices and slowed economies.
read more... 17/01/2014
Belgium to extend life of Tihange 1 nuclear reactor
Belgium has seven nuclear reactors generating about half of its electricity. Electricity production in Belgium was about 78.6 billion kWh (TWh) in 2012, of this 40.3 TWh was from nuclear. Most Belgian electricity is produced by Electrabel, a subsidiary of GDF Suez, which also controls all the nuclear plants. Electrabel owns 50% of Tihange 1 and 89.8% of Tihange 2 and 3.
read more... 14/01/2014