Tag Archives: World

Environment

Time to get the Record about Germany’s Emissions Straight

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World GHG Emissions are 61% over 1990 levels; Germany’s are 23% below

Originally Published on Clean Technica

By Roy L Hales

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Maybe you remember the headlines about 2013. “Merkel’s Green shift backfires as German pollution jumps“; “Germany now EU’s worst polluter as CO2 emissions rise.” It was the third year in a row CO2 levels rose. The critics howled that Energiewende was failing, but is that true? It’s time to get the record about Germany’s emissions straight

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Energy

Tracing the story of Germany’s Offshore Wind Farms

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Germany was not the first European nation to install offshore wind farms. There were plants in Denmark and England years before the first turbine was erected a mere 500 meters off the quay wall of the Rostock international port in 2005.  Tracing the story of Germany’s offshore wind farms, we repeatedly found references to the independent project planning company WIND-projekt GmbH, whose portfolio includes everything from on and offshore-wind turbines to energy storage.

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Energy

Hamburg is the gateway for Germany’s Offshore Wind Industry

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For a quarter of a century, HusumWind has hosted one of the World’s largest wind power conferences. This year the conference was held in Hamburg. As might be expected, there were some hard feelings. A PR professional approached my table of North American journalists, in a Hamburg restaurant. He points out that while there are only around 60 wind turbines installed in the city, there are more than 800 in Nordfriesland (which Husum is part of) and 3,100 in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein (which Nordfriesland is part of). It did not take much to uncover the reasons for the switch in venues. More than 1,200 companies from 30 countries will be displaying their products and projects at this year’s event. Even the lady manning Husum’s booth admitted this was to large an event for Husum. Hamburg is the gateway for Germany’s offshore wind industry and a leading center for renewable technology.

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Transportation

In Germany, public transit is often the preferred way to Travel

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By Roy L Hales

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North American cities are primarily designed for automotive traffic. There has been more attention to bicycles, buses and trains, but most people still look upon them as a poor person’s transportation. There is a much different model in Europe. In Germany, public transit is often the preferred way to travel.

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Energy

Germany’s Renewables Set A New Record

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By Roy L Hales

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Germany’s renewables have set a new record. According to the  Fraunhofer institute, they produced about 81 TWh, or 31% of the nation’s electricity during the first half of 2014. Solar production is up 28%, wind 19% and biomass 7% over last year. Meanwhile, with the exception of nuclear energy, all conventional sources are produced less. The output from gas powered plants was half of what it had been in 2010 and brown coal powered plants are produced at a similar level to 2010-2012.

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