An impressive 12.5 gigawatts worth of new wind energy capacity was installed across the European Union in 2016, accounting for 51% of all new power installations, and bringing the region’s total wind energy capacity up to 153.7 GW.
A new report from The Economist Intelligence Unit has concluded that Europe’s coal consumption has been in long-term decline, and the region’s reliance on it is not as uniformly high as many assume.
Tesla has reportedly canceled a large order with the German automotive parts supplier SHW, an order totaling €100 million (~$107 million). What isn’t exactly clear until now is why the company did this, but a new public statement has apparently clarified this matter.
The former CEO of Volkswagen, Martin Winterkorn, is now being investigated by prosecutors in the German town of Braunschweig (near the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg) on suspicion of fraud.
Europe installed a total of 1.5 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity in 2016 according to new report from the region’s wind energy trade body, bringing the cumulative total up past 16 GW.
New analysis published this week has shown that European Union power emissions fell by 4.5% in 2016, thanks in large part to a massive switch from coal generation to gas generation.
We’ve covered the bizarre drama that accompanies Tesla’s relationship with the German auto industry (and collective ego) for some time now, providing a number of interesting data points for those who note that observing “human nature” is similar to taking a trip to the zoo …
To be fair, we don’t yet know what Donald Trump’s precise climate approach will be, but it seems all but guaranteed that he will slow and obstruct climate action and will do a great deal to increase pollution and CO2 emissions from out-of-date oil, coal, and gas industries. This is idiotic not just because it puts all of human society at great risk, but also because it’s one of the worst economic moves a politician can make.
As Hans-Josef Fell points out, renewable sources provided 186 TWh in 2016. That’s not bad, but only 3 TWh over the result of 2015. That’s stagnation. And it shows that the move to an auction model from 2014 on is a policy failure.
This week, Anne-Sophie Garrigou interviewed Claudia Kemfert, Head of the Department of Energy, Transportation and Environment at the German Institute for Economic Research, and Professor of Energy Economics and Sustainability at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
