Association urges Romania to tap into onshore wind rather than invest in conventional power
Romania should harness onshore wind to meet growing demand for electricity instead of investing in conventional power, WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson told the annual meeting of the Romanian Wind Energy Association in Bucharest today, according to a news release from the Brussels-based association promoting wind power in Europe. Wind energy provided 12.2% of Romania’s electricity […]
Istanbul’s deposit system lets you pay transit fare with recyclables
As cities around the world start deploying deposit systems, Istanbul, with a population of nearly 15 million, has taken its efforts to increase recycling rates a step further. It now allows residents to top up public transportation cards by trading in plastic bottles or aluminum beverage cans. As part of the Turkish city’s deposit system […]
Young, smart, and successful – startup Smart Watering’s solution applied at Serbia’s largest orchard
Serbian startup Smart Watering Solutions, based in Novi Sad, has developed a distributed IoT irrigation management solution, which can be solar-powered and is now used at the biggest orchard in Serbia, and its goal is for the app to cover at least 500 hectares of agricultural land by end-2019. But success didn’t happen overnight, founder […]
SEE parliamentarians join EU peers in exploring prospects of renewables and energy efficiency for prosperity
With the support of the GIZ Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE), the largest yet delegation of parliamentarians from South-East Europe (SEE) took part in the Inter-Parliamentary Meeting on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, held from October 19 to 20 in Vienna. The meeting brought together members of the European Parliament […]
European Parliament votes to ban single-use plastics from 2021
Single-use plastics such as plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks or cotton buds will be banned in the EU from 2021, with reduction measures agreed for several other items for which no alternative exists under draft plans approved this week by the European Parliament (EP). The MEPs expanded the list of single-use plastics to be banned […]
Fresh source of energy efficiency finance available through cooperation between EBRD, Banca Intesa
Businesses, including energy service companies (ESCO), and municipalities in Serbia have a new source of energy efficiency finance thanks to a EUR 15 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to be on-lent by Banca Intesa, the country’s largest bank, according to news releases from the two financial institutions. Businesses and […]
EUR 5.8 million project seeks to prove feasibility of electric car-sharing in smaller urban areas
Greenhouse gases (GHG) from road transport have grown by more than 20% between 1990 and 2010 and now account for a fifth of all CO2 released in the EU, contributing significantly to climate change. Cars also impact air pollution, noise levels, and congestion in urban areas. Car-sharing is one solution to the problem, and the […]
Proposals sought to develop innovative financing mechanism to improve energy efficiency in public buildings
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has issued a request for proposals for the delivery of developed models for an innovative financing mechanism for the implementation of the Low-Carbon Urban Development Concept (LCUD) under the Catalyzing Environmental Finance for LUCD project. Due to a long period of neglect and under-investment, […]