News from April 2012
Monday 30th April 2012
THE Bulgarian Energy Minister is set to launch energy efficiency projects across 13 public buildings today.
Delyan Dobrev, the Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism and his deputy Valentin Nikolov will launch the project to improve energy efficiency in buildings in the cities of Kozloduy and Novi Han.
Financing of €1.3 ...
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Friday 27th April 2012
WHILE progress is being made on renewable energy, most clean energy technologies are not being deployed quickly enough, the International Energy Agency (IEA) claimed yesterday.
They made the comments in an annual progress report presented to ministers and representatives of nations that together account for four-fifths of global energy demand.
The report, ...
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Thursday 26th April 2012
AT an energy saving workshop in Gaborone, Botswana, Capacity Building Expert, Wim Jonker Klunne, highlighted the need for the country and the region to improve energy efficiency amongst SMEs.
Writing in the Botswana Gazette Tendani Portia Nkani reports on the workshop, Klunne highlighted that energy consumption is growing less rapidly than ...
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Wednesday 25th April 2012
SUCCESSFUL initiatives to promote sustainable consumption and production are flourishing around the globe, but a lot more needs to be done according to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
The new Global Outlook Report published by UNEP in collaboration with the European Commission, presents an overview of efforts worldwide to ...
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Tuesday 24th April 2012
THE U.S. City of Atlanta’s economic development division, Invest Atlanta, hopes to lure new businesses downtown by making commercial buildings more energy efficient according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Invest Atlanta's board approved plans to invest up to $8 million from the city’s Westside tax allocation district to help commercial building ...
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Monday 23rd April 2012
THE European Union’s draft Energy Efficiency Directive was being diluted by member states, or so we reported last week, but EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger claims it is still possible.
The European Commission and the Danish EU presidency also said the Directive could "realistically" strengthen and see the light of day ...
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Friday 20th April 2012
EUROPEAN Union member states have so diluted the draft bloc’s Energy Efficiency Directive that only 38 percent of the European Commission's initial proposed savings can now be achieved, according to evidence seen by EurActiv.
The evidence is what EurActiv call “non-papers” from the EU Executive and reveals that the European Commission ...
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Thursday 19th April 2012
OPPORTUNITIES to improve energy efficiency in industry are still under-exploited, even though the sector accounts for roughly one-third of global energy demand.
Improving energy efficiency in industrial companies provides a range of benefits for the companies themselves as well as for the economy as a whole. These include improved energy security, ...
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Wednesday 18th April 2012
THE Ugandan utility company UMEME launched an energy efficiency campaign on Monday encouraging responsible energy usage particularly after major electricity price increases in January.
UMEME General Manager Regulatory Affairs Sam Zzimbe said: “The campaign dubbed ‘Save Power, Save Money’, has been designed to provide customers around the country with personal, practical, ...
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Tuesday 17th April 2012
AUSTRALIA is facing what has been described as ‘severe electricity price rises from July’ by the Financial Review, which also highlights that it is bad news for small businesses.
Mark Dreyfus, Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency said that most small businesses will not be materially affected by ...
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Monday 16th April 2012
ONGOING research has found that commercial building owners can cut their energy costs by nearly half by implementing energy efficient controls.
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington State, U.S., have been studying buildings across the country. They used computer simulations to find average savings of 25 to 35 ...
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Friday 13th April 2012
U.S. Secretary of the Energy Department Steven Chu said yesterday that improving the nations energy efficiency should remain a priority.
Chu was speaking at a New York Times energy conference, stating that if the Obama administration is in for a second term they should continue enhancing energy efficiency through their energy ...
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Thursday 12th April 2012
PAKISTAN’S Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) in line with its vision to promote energy efficiency, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD).
Under this agreement, KESC would provide the builders with technical expertise and guidelines for developing energy efficient structures in their ...
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Wednesday 11th April 2012
SCOTLAND’S consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus Scotland, says Community Benefit Funds from renewables can help improve energy efficiency.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds paid by renewable energy developers to local communities could be invested in improving energy efficiency and helping take thousands more Scottish homes out of fuel poverty.
In a report published ...
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Tuesday 10th April 2012
THE European Union’s (EU) energy efficiency bill is going through its final amendments, with the initial talks taking place today between the European Parliament, European Commission, and the European Council.
The Danish presidency has an open mandate from the EU member states to negotiate the energy efficiency bill, but as we ...
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Monday 9th April 2012
THE Australian Government have launched $1 billion in funding for manufacturers to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution.
The Clean Technology Investment Programs will provide grants to help manufacturers buy new plant and equipment which cuts their energy costs or reduces carbon pollution.
The Australian Industry and Innovation Minister, Greg Combet, launched ...
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Friday 6th April 2012
30 million UK small businesses and homes will have smart meters by 2019 enabling all consumers to have access to accurate information and bringing an end to estimated billing.
UK Energy and Climate Change minister Charles Hendry said: “In less than three years energy suppliers will begin the mass rollout of ...
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Thursday 5th April 2012
“BULGARIA is European champion in energy squandering.” A strong statement but one made by Bulgarian President, Rosen Plevneliev.
The Focus News Agency report that during a parliamentary session dealing with political consultations Plevneliev added that, “No matter how many new capacities we would build and what the price of electricity is, ...
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Wednesday 4th April 2012
European Union (EU) state representatives are struggling to agree a negotiating mandate as they consider discussion with the European Parliament on the proposed EU energy efficiency directive.
It is reported that there are strong differences about the level of commitment and targets for energy efficiency across the various states.
The current Danish ...
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Tuesday 3rd April 2012
IN a new measure to check greenhouse gas emissions, the Indian government has initiated a domestic carbon trade mechanism, imposing penalties on industries failing to achieve energy efficiency targets.
New rules affecting eight energy-intensive industrial sectors will allow the government to impose a penalty of over Rs10,000 for each tonne ...
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Monday 2nd April 2012
THE European Commission’s Vice-President, Antonio Tajani, revealed that European SMEs need to drastically improve energy efficiency after analysis results on how they try to reduce their environmental impact.
The Eurobarometer, a new survey of European small to medium enterprises and what they are doing for the environment and energy efficiency, revealed ...
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