Central Europe’s Bad Bet
November 22, 2013 - 9:58am | admin
By Paul Hockenos
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...This is why the European Commission is ever more skeptical about nuclear power. The commission recently signaled that new nuclear projects should not qualify for state aid – a stipulation that would certainly spell their death. A leaked report from the commission’s energy ministry underscored what fossil fuel and nuclear utilities had long denied– that they’re subsidized more richly than renewables. Take away those supports, say experts, and neither could compete with an array of advanced green energies.
As for Poland, its political elite, closely associated with the conventional energy lobby, as is the situation across Central Europe, wrongly believes that Poland’s coal will rescue it from import dependency. Warsaw is even planning several new open-pit lignite mines.
Polish coal is simply no longer competitive with that from Russia and elsewhere. This comes at a time when the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is broken and no one’s paying for carbon emissions. This won’t be the case for much longer. Germany’s new government will hopefully make sure that the ETS gets back up on its feet and pushes coal out of the energy market.
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Numerous studies show that Central Europe is ripe for renewables. One recent report entitled Energy [R]evolution Energy Blueprint for Poland argues if Poland shifted its planned investments from coal to renewables, it could increase renewable energy use from 7.8 percent (2010) to 26.8 percent by 2030, while at the same time halving its coal usage. Shifting 90 percent of energy investment to renewables would also create over 100,000 jobs (while the coal sector would lose 50,000). From the Central Europeans’ perspective it makes sense, as it would serve security of supply and decrease reliance on exports...
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