European Union

A battery energy storage system (BESS) described as the largest deployed to date in the European Union (EU) has been commissioned in Bulgaria. Officials with the country’s Ministry of Energy said the 124-MW/496.2-MWh BESS, also the largest in the Balkans, supports the stability of Bulgaria’s power grid along with its transition to the use of more renewable energy resources.

Finland has a diversified energy mix, comprised mostly of renewable energy resources and nuclear power. Recent power generation project announcements highlight this diversification, which has led to industry

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), in 2023 issued recommendations on how member states should proceed with deployments of energy storage. The group said EU countries should

The global wind industry is entering a new phase of accelerated growth as both companies and countries adopt ambitious sustainable energy goals. 2023 was a record year for wind installations, with a 50%

Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy major, said it has agreed to buy Greece’s Terna Energy in a €3.2 billion ($3.4 billion) deal. The agreement signed June 20 is one of the largest renewable energy transactions in the history of the European Union. Masdar—also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co.—said Thursday it had a […]

Dr. David Gattie, a University of Georgia engineering professor, recently tweeted, “Nuclear is critical, but the priority must be U.S. national security and ensuring America’s competitive advantage over China and Russia in nuclear science, engineering and technology—not just about climate change.” As I sit in Warsaw, Poland, just a train ride to the Ukrainian border, […]

As the world intensifies its efforts to combat climate change, Ireland has set ambitious goals to produce offshore renewable energy as part of its Climate Action Plan. A member of the European Union (EU)

The European Commission (EC) is in the process of implementing its “Union database,” or UDB, to track all renewable gases and liquid fuels. Gases and fuels, whether produced in the European Union (EU) or imported, will need to be registered in the UDB if their use in the EU is to be counted toward satisfying […]

A UK-based nuclear energy group is working with an Italian technology company to support decarbonization of the chemical industry, including hydrogen production. The agreement announced Jan. 10 between newcleo, a developer of small modular reactors (SMRs) and producer of MOX (mixed oxide) fuel, and two subsidiaries of Italy’s MAIRE will enable development of a conceptual […]

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations designed to support agriculture across the European Union (EU) received a boost in late October. BayWa r.e., a major Germany-based renewable energy developer, announced it

Many utilities are recognizing that battery energy storage is a critical part of the transition to cleaner forms of power generation. This is especially true in Europe, where many countries have adopted

The European Union’s (EU’s) much-watched Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act—the world’s first “green list”—unveiled by the European Commission (EC) on April 21 qualifies several power-producing sectors in its technical screening criteria for sustainable investment decisions. However, it delays controversial decisions on gas and nuclear.  The EC adopted the Delegated Act as part of an ambitious package […]

The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the world installed 5.5 GW of new nuclear capacity in 2019, with China and Russia leading the way. In April, the U.S. announced its intention to take bold

Officials with the ITER project in France said work has started on the assembly of giant components needed for construction of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, a project designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use. The ITER group, in a ceremony July 28 that was broadcast online (see […]

The European Commission in December 2019 announced its new European Green Deal, a set of major policy and legislative proposals that position the EU as the global leader on environmental and climate issues. Since then, the Commission has published a draft EU climate law and is seeking stakeholder input on potential revisions to the Energy […]

December 10, 2019 — A major new energy innovation project to demonstrate how smart hydropower technologies can deliver a low-carbon, reliable and resilient power system was launched today. The €18 million initiative was announced by the European Commission and a consortium of 19 partners, including the International Hydropower Association, at the United Nations climate change conference […]

A new report from a group that studies the impact of climate change on financial markets recommends that European Union (EU) governments move to phase out coal-fired power generation completely by 2030 in order to avoid even-greater economic damage. Carbon Tracker, a London, UK-based group supported by foundations in Europe and the U.S., on Oct. 24 […]

What does the 21st century power market look like? That is the question the European Union (EU) is attempting to answer with the new electricity regulation and revised electricity directive passed at the end

An innovative project which aims to conceive a system for the early detection of failure in geothermal well casings has secured support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme.  The multi-disciplinary consortium behind the successful funding bid comprises 22 partners from nine countries representing: ten academic institutions; three subsurface industry energy operators, one of which […]

Various schemes are underway in Europe as nations use existing coal-fired power plants to generate electricity without coal as the feedstock. With rising carbon prices, some big utilities are repowering with

A comparison of coal power plant fleets from China, the European Union (EU), Japan, and the U.S. by the International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) Clean Coal Centre yields surprising insights into efforts these

Two years after the Energy Union was launched as a strategy to help the European Union (EU) provide secure, sustainable, competitive, and affordable energy, the 28-member bloc is seeing a precipitous drop in

European Union (EU) officials have approved General Electric’s (GE’s) $9.5 billion acquisition of Alstom’s power business, but conditions to which the two companies agreed to cement the deal will drastically reshape the world’s heavy-duty gas turbine market.  The European Commission, the 28-country union’s executive body, granted its approval to the much-watched proposed merger, but only […]

This is a web supplement to “Riding Off into the Sunset: Nuclear Decontamination and Decommissioning Update,” appearing in the July 2015 issue of POWER.   The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) is located in eastern Lithuania near Visaginas—a town of more than 20,000 people founded in the mid-1970s for workers constructing INPP and for the […]

Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 23–24, the European Council (EC) agreed on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the European Union (EU), calling on all countries to come forward with ambitious targets and policies. The EC endorsed a binding EU target of at least a 40% reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions by […]