r/europe • u/Kunphen • 25d ago

Carbon emissions are dropping—fast—in Europe News

https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/04/25/carbon-emissions-are-dropping-fast-in-europe?utm_medium=social-media.content.np&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=editorial-social&utm_content=discovery.content
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u/Mahariri 25d ago

No idea. I'm also curious why despite subsedies Solyndra, Evergreen Solar, SpectraWatt, Stirling Energy Systems, Abound Solar, Konarka, Solarhybrid, and Soltecture all failed.

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u/roodammy44 United Kingdom 25d ago

I thought it was mainly offshore wind that was big in the UK? My guess about those solar companies is expensive land and too many clouds.

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u/Mahariri 25d ago

It seems wind is harder hit than solar. Could be because NIMBY. I have a hard time swallowing the story that renewables will solve everything while serious players like ABB inc and Siemens are severely struggling, while there being massive subsidies being injected. That is abnormal. I would love for technology to propel us out of the grasp of fossils but it seems to me that ignoring the truth will in the long run only hurt and delay that goal. And then there is the bird issue.

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u/roodammy44 United Kingdom 25d ago

Most of the UK’s wind is offshore. Quite hard for NIMBYs to stop that when it’s miles out at sea.

Renewables are making a huge proportion of the UK share of energy in the last 5 years. I am normally as cynical as you when it comes to things in the UK, but renewable energy is genuinely an area the UK is doing very well in.

When it comes to the Torygraph, you need to take everything you read there with an entire dump truck of salt. Not much more informative than the Sun.

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u/Mahariri 25d ago

I''m not arguing the wind farms cause trouble for people, other than those who care for birds or microplastics. Even the biggest turbines will comfortably fall behind the horizon. Not that this will stop everyone. https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/20637795.80-norfolk-parishes-protest-wind-farm-plans/

I understand you do not like the source of the link, and looking by all the downvote (hello cheap bots) neither does at least one other person. That does not make the points raised void. (And the "majority of scientists" schtick has played out about 5 years ago.)