Smart transformation of coal business into geothermal heating, power system by Spanish Hunosa Grupo
Grupo Hunosa, undergoing a transformation away from coal, its basic activity, used geothermal energy from its former mine to build a 6 MW heating and power system. The project in the north of Spain won the Global District Heating Award. The cooperation between Hulleras del Norte SA and the University of Oviedo in Asturias helped […]
Verbund discontinues last coal-fired energy plant in Austria; eyes hydrogen
Government-owned Verbund switched the Mellach coal-fired heat and power unit to a backup role, ending all regular electricity supply from the fossil fuel to the grid in Austria as it studies applications for green hydrogen. As high temperatures shortened the heating season, the Mellach cogeneration facility, which covered most of the district heating in Graz, […]
CE Oltenia suspending 13,000 workers as sales drop amid COVID-19
The government in Bucharest is paying employees on a leave of absence 75% of gross salary for the duration of the state of emergency. CE Oltenia, already strained by carbon emissions costs, introduced a minimum staffing scheme and sent the first of two groups of workers home for 17 workdays. Romania must introduce measures to […]
Thermal power plant Šoštanj takes active role in Slovenia’s energy transition
Slovenian lignite-fired thermal power plant Termoelektrarna Šoštanj (TEŠ) has been developing several projects aimed at achieving gradual energy transition thus contributing to carbon neutral society. They include the use of natural gas, the capture and utilization of CO2 (CCU), hydrogen production and the utilization of alternative fuels. In an interview with Balkan Green Energy News, […]
ContourGlobal abandons Kosova e Re project, exits coal altogether
The foreign investor has faced a setback with regulatory hurdles and financing drying up for the planned lignite-fired thermal power unit. ContourGlobal told shareholders it wasn’t able to meet deadlines and that it is scrapping Kosova e Re as it exits the coal sector. The emphasis has shifted to clean technologies and there will be […]
Romania to build 310 MW in solar power capacity in Oltenia coal pits
The authorities in Bucharest are struggling to keep the coal mining and thermal power plant complex above water. Romania is preparing the ground for four solar power units to be installed in a mine and slag and ash ponds run by state-owned CE Oltenia. Complexului Energetic Oltenia SA has commissioned the study on the upcoming […]
EU conditions EUR 251 million state aid to coal, power utility CE Oltenia
The European Commission has approved Romania’s plans to grant a EUR 251 million loan to second-biggest power producer Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia) but with strict conditions. The Romanian government has defined a plan to help Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CE Oltenia), coal-based utility trapped in a financial squeeze for years. A public loan warrants approval […]
N. Macedonia is first country in Western Balkans mulling coal phaseout before 2030
North Macedonia’s government has approved the Energy Development Strategy until 2040 which makes it the first country in the Western Balkans to consider a coal phaseout before 2030, Bankwatch said in a press release. Two of the strategy’s scenarios entail a coal exit by 2025, with the third delaying the closure of the Bitola lignite […]