News on the global hydroelectric industry from November-December 2014

The partners will work together to develop projects in Spain, the Middle East and South Africa. The projects could add several gigawatt hours of storage capacity by 2022.

ABB and Rolls-Royce on Tuesday announced a global partnership on microgrid technology and advanced automation. Together the two companies will offer a microgrid solution for utilities, commercial and industrial entities.

A new report produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) and released this week says that despite significant progress in recent years, the world is falling short of meeting the global energy targets set in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for 2030.

Among my circle of friends and colleagues, everyone is aware of the impact of human activities on climate change - the melting of arctic ice, the destruction of species - and the major causes of it, namely, coal burning for electricity and fossil fuels burning for transport. What nearly everyone is unclear about is what specifically to do about it and how fast.

“Recognizing leaders in the power and energy industry not only gives us the opportunity to celebrate them and the projects that they are involved in, it also enables us to learn vital business and life lessons from these often exceptional individuals. We find out what makes them tick, what frustrates them and the processes they follow to address challenges – this is often inspiring, eye-opening stuff and cannot but contribute to the growth of the sector.“

Worldwide investments in clean energy projects have hit a six-year low.

Presentation by Walt Custer of Custer Consulting Group.

For years, climate contrarians have pointed to snowfall and cold weather to question the scientific reality of human-induced climate change.

More than a fifth of the world's electrical power production now comes from renewable sources and in 2013 renewables accounted for more than 56 percent of all net additions to global power capacity. These remarkable conclusions come from this year’s Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) from REN21. This highly-regarded annual analysis — the 2014 edition was released this summer — concludes that renewable electricity capacity jumped by more than 8 percent overall in 2013, to produce some 22 percent of all global power production. Total global installed renewable electricity capacity reached a staggering 1,560 GW in 2013.

More than 100 world leaders converged upon New York City today to discuss international efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. The list of speakers at the UN Climate Summit included U.S. President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, French President François Hollande, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli.

A "dark horse" is defined as a little-known entity that emerges to prominence in the face of competition — a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed. I borrow the term from a conversation last week, wherein India was referred to as the dark horse in the global race to go solar.

IOWA AgTech 2 week immersion program 24 August – 4 September.

Global funding for clean-energy projects sagged in 2018 after China’s decision to curb subsidies dragged down installations in the world’s biggest solar market.

Enel Foundation has signed a landmark agreement to become the exclusive Global Knowledge Partner of the 2019 Clarion Power and Energy series of events.

This week the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) launched the first edition of its Global Offshore Wind Report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the prospects for the global offshore wind market, including forecast data, market-level analysis and review of efforts to lower costs.

Worldwide investments in clean energy projects have hit a six-year low.

Global wind turbine makers are expanding manufacturing capacity in India to boost exports from the South Asian nation even as the country’s domestic industry faces headwinds.

Steve Sawyer, 63, Senior Policy Advisor and former Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council, passed away on July 31, 2019 of a sudden and aggressive lung cancer.

Government support for Australia’s defence industries is on the increase, as two government agencies extend collaboration.

Australian agtech innovation was in the spotlight recently when SwarmFarm Robotics founder Andrew Bate was awarded third place in the Agripreneur of the Year contest at the 2019 Future Agro Challenge Global Championships, beating competitors from more than 60 countries.

The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) has partnered with social learning platform, FutureLearn.com to provide free online courses and help students stay ahead of the learning curve.

"The coronavirus has ending blowing up the model of global multilateral governance that has been functioning over the past few years," EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a group of reporters on Thursday.

Three G-20 nations saw an increase in clean-energy investments last year even as funding declined globally for the second consecutive year, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The world needs to triple the energy it gets from renewables, nuclear reactors and power plants that use emissions-capture technology to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, United Nations scientists said.

Renewable energy may reap as much as two-thirds of the $7.7 trillion in investment forecast for building new power plants by 2030 as declining costs make it more competitive with fossil fuels.

Clean energy investment rose for the first time in three years in 2014, overcoming a slump in oil prices that unsettled the outlook for the industry.

Federal Court ruling on changes to bonus plan Under Swiss law, an employer needs their employees’ consent to change the terms of a bonus plan, unless the changes are entirely to the employees’ benefit. In a recent case, the Swiss Federal...

Gender pay gap reporting The Government will introduce new regulations requiring larger employers, with at least 250 employees, in the private and voluntary sectors to publish details of their gender pay gap (the difference in pay between male and f...

Supreme Court restricts contact with employees’ private phone numbers and email addresses Spain’s Supreme Court has declared void a clause in a contract of employment which obliges employees to give their private mobile numbers or privat...

Recent legislation has amended the Labour Codes, most notably regarding fixed term employment, post-termination restrictions and parental leave.New rules on definite period (ie fixed term) employment contracts and other Labour Code amendments will c...

The assignment of employees’ duties under the recent Legislative Decree no. 81 of 2015 On 25 June 2015 the Legislative Decree no. 81 of 2015 (“the Decree“) came into force. The Decree completely revises the regulation of work relat...

Accidents at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs On 1 July 2015 changes were made to the compulsory health insurance system, under which individuals are eligible for certain payments if they are injured in an accident at work. Before 1 July...

Minimum wage: Further relaxation of the documentation obligations Since the statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour was introduced, the administrative obligations in respect of the minimum wage continue to frustrate employers. Companies wit...

New provisions relating to staff representatives OverviewFrom 17 August 2015 new provision, referred to as the “Rebsamen Law” (the “Law”), was introduced. It is aimed at modernising and strengthening relationships with staff ...

Government plans significant changes to labour legislation For some time the government and labour market organisations have been trying, without success, to agree on reforms to employment rights in Finland. Now, in an attempt to break the deadlock,...

The Supreme Court judgment in the Alstom case In the ALSTOM case, the judgment of the Supreme Court (No 3-2-1-80-15) dated 21 September 2015 deals with how to make a claim for employment litigation costs. In addition, the judgment explains the damag...

Determining exempted employment categoriesAustrian employment law exempts certain  part-time employment from payment of health, pension and unemployment insurance contributions. In 2015 the maximum monthly salary is EUR 405.98 per month or EUR ...

Court expands discrimination lawThe CJEU has ruled that EU law covers indirect discrimination by association - a decision which expands the reach of discrimination law. It decided that an individual may claim indirect discrimination under the EU Rac...

Introduction to Abu Dhabi Global Market – Employment Regulations In 2013 the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) was established as a financial free zone in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Since then, the ADGM has implemented its own rules and regul...

Labour Brokers and Clients: The Assigned roles of Employers In recent years South Africa has experienced progressively stricter regulation on the use of labour brokers (also known as employment agencies in some other jurisdictions - placing workers ...

Working hours in Hong Kong Some employers are surprised to learn that (save for rules regarding children, young persons in industrial undertakings, statutory holidays and rest days) there is no regulatory framework restricting or monitoring standard...

EU consultation on changing collective consultation lawOver the summer, the EU Commission’s consultation on strengthening existing EU legislation on worker information and consultation closed and the outcome is currently awaited. Three Directi...

A digital age of evidence in employment disputes In China, when an employer wishes to terminate an employee’s employment, the burden of proof falls on the employer to show that the statutory grounds for justifying the termination have been met...

Reform of section 2103 of the Italian civil code, concerning modification of work duties Section. 3 of law decree no. 81 of 2015 significantly amended section 2103 of Italian civil code. In its original form the rule set out that “an employee ...