Europe is seeing a 'golden age of coal' thanks to cheap U.S. exports, said a senior gas analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA), an advisory body which last year proclaimed the world was heading for a 'golden age of gas.'
read more... 10/10/2012
Due to higher prices of natural gas, Europe imports of coal from the U.S. have nearly doubled. U.S. coal exports have beaten a new record and reached 66.2 million tons, increasing by about 24% in the first six months of this year. More than half of the U.S. coal exports were directed to Europe.
read more... 05/10/2012
Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Germany decided to phase-out nuclear power by 2022. As a result, this decision has created a loss of about 12.7 GW, and despite many investments in the renewable energy sector, the gap should be filled with coal and gas, to ensure the country's energy future.
read more... 02/10/2012
The Economy Minister of Finland, Jyri Haekaemies announced that Finland could phase out coal use in power by 2025, being the first country in the EU to stop using coal in energy production. Instead, the country will focus on investing in renewable energies. According to Haekaemies, the use of renewable energies will be encouraged by government subsidies and taxes.
read more... 01/10/2012
According to Drax Group Plc, the UK’s largest coal-fired plant will become the largest clean-energy producer, switching from burning coal to burning wood, becoming probably the biggest renewable plant in the world. At the moment, coal is the most polluting fossil fuel and it produces roughly 41 % of global electricity, and about 50% of electricity in the UK.
read more... 01/10/2012