Rhein on Energy and Climate

The recent mass demonstrations in Brazil have been propelled by public investment in mega football stadiums for the World Cup at the expense of desperately needed repair and maintenance of schools, hospitals and public transport. This raises the more general issue for rich and poor countries: how should sports stadiums be financed? Since Roman times,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

More than any other nation Germans have been seduced by the prospect of solar power generation since it has been possible to generate electricity through photovoltaic cells in the 1980`s. Behind this enthusiasm were scores of committed pioneers, tens of thousands of households eager to generate their own roof-electricity and governments setting high hopes on… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The Nile River Basin, the longest on earth, will be confronted with rising imbalance between water demand of a rising population and declining supply, due to global climate change. This perspective risks to generate increasing tensions among the 10 riparian countries, especially Egypt and Sudan, which presently obtain 90 per cent of all Nile water,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

The European internal market is bound to shrink in global relevance whatever economic policy Europe will pursue. Every ambitious European company beyond a certain size that wants to avoid shrinking sales/profits and remain globally competitive has little choice but to operate globally. Global integration will have to go far beyond conventional exports/imports and outsourcing of… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

On June 3rd 2013 EON, one of Europe`s big utilities, and the Canadian company Pieridae Energy have signed a 20-year contract for the supply of 6.5 billion cubic meter per year (5mtpa) liquid gas starting 2020. This deal deserves attention for several reasons. It is the first time that a major European energy company turns… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

Due to rising copper and iron prices the face value of 1 and 2 cent Euro coins has fallen below their material value so that the EU has made a cumulative loss of € 1.2 billion over the last 10 years. In addition, the handling costs of small change – transport from central banks to… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

North Africa and the Arab peninsula are among the best insolated regions on earth. There are very few other areas with comparable duration and intensity of sunshine. If anywhere, it is in the huge Arab desert areas that solar electricity could be generated at competitive terms, provided it will be possible to cope with the… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

In an almost three hour long press conference May 16th, President Hollande has called for a Euro-zone government to overcome recession in the EU. It should dispose of a separate budget and wide-ranging competence to harmonise taxes and economic and social policy, possess the capacity to issue debts and meet regularly under the authority of… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein

During May 2013 a solar-fuelled plane, piloted by two entrepreneurial Swiss citizens, is crossing the USA from California to New York, with a few stop-overs in major cities. It is an unprecedented event aiming to encourage policy makers and business to adopt sustainable energy solutions. The SOLAR IMPULSE has been conceived by its two pilots,… » read more

Posted by Eberhard Rhein