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The politics of (bad) policy design: French solar panels and Northern Irish boilers

Environmental Europe

As one previous post on this blog detailed, the current political turmoil in Northern Ireland was sparked by a subsidy for renewable energy production. Though it is tempting to blame political carelessness, the ongoing RHI scandal prompts a broader reflection about renewable energy policy instruments.

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Four cheap solutions to climate change

Edouard Stenger

— Unleashing energy efficiency’s HUGE potential. I have been advocating this since the writing of my Master’s thesis at Audencia all the way back to 2006. Any energy use entails carbon emissions, some more than others. — Ditching coal and natural gas for solar and wind. — .

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Nuclear Plant Closures And Renewables Increase Electricity Prices & Unreliability, Testifies Michael Shellenberger to U.S. Senate

Environmental Progress

4] Meanwhile, many experts see in recent trends an inevitable transition away from coal and nuclear power plants, designed to function as baseload capacity, toward variable renewable energy sources with just-in-time natural gas back-up. 7] Nuclear plants are among the most reliable components of America’s power grids.