News
Category:
Europe
Note: counts do not include items in sub-categories
Access roads for wind farms reveal hidden costs of ‘going green'
May 2, 2011 by Dina Abdel-Fattah in Hürriyet Daily News
May 2, 2011 by Dina Abdel-Fattah in Hürriyet Daily News
As Turkey seeks to capitalize on green energy projects, those looking to build in the wind-energy sector face several environmental and procedural hurdles. Environmentalists and community-based organizations at times have radically different opinions from renewable energy advocates. ...With wind still in its infancy, the jury is still out on whether it is worth the money, and worth all the asphalt.
Also filed under [
General]
Friesland province is to stop placing wind turbines in its open landscape ...A number of villagers have protested about plans to install the giant turbines close to their homes.
Renewable Energy Trends 2011: 'Green Gold' loses its glitter
March 19, 2011 by David Beattie in Renewable Energy World
March 19, 2011 by David Beattie in Renewable Energy World
Recent decisions in several important renewable energy markets have made the playing field unstable for companies with renewable energy portfolios, finds Deloitte: 'The recent financial crisis has left many government balance sheets under pressure, which is coming through in reduced tax and regulatory incentives.'
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Rush to renewable energy generates 'enormous' financial questions in Europe
March 1, 2011 by Jeremy Lovell in New York Times
March 1, 2011 by Jeremy Lovell in New York Times
"Basically, governments have allowed the buildup of wind without thinking through the grid consequences," Oxford University economist Dieter Helm told ClimateWire. "There are two responses: Stop wasting so much on the rapid development of wind and its questionable economics, or plough on regardless, in which case enormous grid investments are urgently needed."
Also filed under [
Energy Policy]
Wealthier people than us have more influence. So, they want to impose this on Le Tréport, where the less well off have to feed their families from the money they earn from the sea. It is appalling."
However, Olivier is hopeful that it is not too late to fight the proposals: "We have initiatives in place, and are talking to EDF Energies. It is not a done deal yet. The more people who protest, the better."
Also filed under [
Impact on Landscape|
Impact on People]
The "VAT deposit" of Vestas, however, was determined to be just a dummy and its size is absolutely inappropriate to contain the massive machinery produced in the Ionian. To finance the system, the assets were transferred to the holding of Vestas Danish (the checks). The parent then yielded the products in the country to companies in the same group documenting the virtual removal from the VAT deposit.
Also filed under [
General]
In Holland, land of windmills, flap over wind farm
February 14, 2011 by Arthur Max in Associated Press
February 14, 2011 by Arthur Max in Associated Press
Of some 200 wind energy projects studied in 2007-8 in Europe, 40 percent were ensnared in lawsuits, and 30 percent more faced slowdowns because of local resistance or questioning from nonprofit environmental groups, the association said. It had no figures on how many projects were killed before they got started. ..."We are all for green energy," says Van Loosen, "but this is out of proportion."
Also filed under [
General]
Epuron said it would consider "the special nature" of the site in its plans though Sarkozy said he was intent on building a "strong national industry" focused on clean energy.
UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, said it was reviewing the details to assess the status of Mont Saint-Michel as a world heritage site.
Also filed under [
General]
Holland slashes carbon targets, shuns wind for nuclear
February 10, 2011 by Andrew Orlowski in The Register
February 10, 2011 by Andrew Orlowski in The Register
Holland thus becomes the first country to abandon the EU-wide target of producing 20 per cent of its domestic power from renewables. This is a remarkable turnaround from a state that took the Kyoto Agreement seriously and chivvied other EU members into adopting renewable energy strategies. The FT reports that instead of the €4bn annual subsidy, it will be slashed to €1.5bn.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
It could soon be illegal to install wind turbines on land near the French coast if a ruling by the country's administrative court is upheld.
Late January, the administrative court in Nantes cancelled the siting permit for eight turbines operating at Plouvien, in the Finistère department, north-west France, following an appeal by a local opposition group.
Also filed under [
General]
The owner of a farm near Buskett planned to install a 15KW wind turbine which would generate enough power to supply his property's electricity needs. ...the development could pose a threat to native populations of bats and birds. The Environment and Planning Commission (the former DCC) thus asked the developer to provide a year's worth of monitoring data.
Also filed under [
Impact on Bats]
Wind farms 'could cost Mont St. Michel its UNESCO status'
February 1, 2011 by Henry Samuel in The Telegraph
February 1, 2011 by Henry Samuel in The Telegraph
A multi-billion-pound plan to erect vast wind farms off France's Atlantic coast could cost one of the country's top landmarks, the Mont St Michel, its coveted title as a UNESCO world heritage site. ...Unlike Britain and Germany, France has no large offshore wind farms.
Also filed under [
Impact on Views]
We'll fight the wind farms off the D-Day beaches...
January 28, 2011 by John Lichfield in The Independent
January 28, 2011 by John Lichfield in The Independent
Jacky Bonnemains, president of Robin des Bois (Robin Hood), a militant French ecological group, said: "I find it extraordinary no one in government grasps that this will change forever the character of a place of sacred memory. They just don't seem to care." In future, the seascape would be "desecrated" by rows of wind generators, he added.
Residents of a small fishing village in The Netherlands are protesting a plan for building wind turbines that they believe would radically change the look of the community.
Also filed under [
Impact on People]
Dutch cabinet pushes ahead with controversial wind farm
January 7, 2011 in Radio Netherlands Worldwide
January 7, 2011 in Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Mr Verhagen argued that the cabinet has carefully weighed the various interests and has met the objections of the people of Urk wherever possible. "Which is why the seven windmills nearest the village were scrapped."
However, the plan still meets with massive opposition from the people of Urk. The wind farm is to be constructed no more than two kilometres from Urk.
Also filed under [
Impact on People]
The green agenda is still moving forward, but it is clear that in Europe it has become more challenging because of fiscal constraints," he told the Financial Times.
Growth in new wind energy installations in Europe is forecast to shrink from 14 per cent in 2010 to 1 per cent this year, according to analysts at Citigroup. ...Vestas warned that, while 2010 was set to finish stronger than previously expected, revenues and profits were likely to be flat this year.
Eneco was correctly denied a licence to place 238 wind turbines in the North Sea although infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen did not outline her case correctly, a court in Rotterdam said on Monday. ...The wind parks would have prevented low-flying helicopters moving safely between rigs, and that justified the rejection of the plan
Also filed under [
Safety]
Some 1,101 new wind turbines will be built in the Sámi reindeer herding community in Lappland. That would entail the loss of 25 percent of the grazing lands. Wind power is seen as a considerable threat to the reindeer industry in Scandinavia.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife]
Spain slashes subsidies for solar thermal, for some wind-energy plants
December 3, 2010 by Ben Sills in Bloomberg News
December 3, 2010 by Ben Sills in Bloomberg News
Spain reduced subsidies paid to solar thermal power plants and some wind farms to limit the cost of electricity for homes and businesses.
The government reduced the subsidies earned by wind-power generators by 35 percent until 2013 and eliminated support for solar thermal plants during their first year of operation. Both technologies will face limits on the number of hours they can earn subsidized rates.
Also filed under [
Tax Breaks & Subsidies]
EU tackles conflict of interest between renewable energy and biodiversity
November 9, 2010 in Earth Times
November 9, 2010 in Earth Times
In order to help local authorities decide on how to grant planning permission for wind turbines on Natura 2000 protected land, European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potočnik has recently published (29 October 2010) new guidelines to clarify existing EU legislation on the matter.
Also filed under [
Impact on Wildlife]
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