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Taiwan plans to restart the shut-down Maanshan nuclear power plant
Taiwan Power Company has submitted an application to the Nuclear Safety Council for a new operating license for the Maanshan nuclear power plant. The plant’s two units were already taken offline in July 2024 and May 2025, respectively, because their 40-year operating licenses expired and Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out took effect. The impetus for this new
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Bumpy restructuring – Varta cuts another 150 jobs
Battery manufacturer Varta is cutting 150 jobs at its Nördlingen site. The affected subsidiary is Micro Production, whose employees received the news before Christmas. Following announcements in recent weeks, the layoffs have now been issued. The reason is a significant decline in sales figures and revised customer forecasts. This has led to a drop in
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Infrasound: Wind turbines near Dresden can interfere with measuring instruments of the Helmholtz Centre
In Dresden, the dispute over new wind farm areas is intensifying because the Regional Planning Association has designated priority areas in Rossendorf, the Dresden Heath, and the Schönfeld Highlands. Rossendorf is particularly contentious, as the planned wind farms extend directly to the campus of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and in some cases even onto its
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The EU Commission is planning its own intelligence service under the direct control of Ursula von der Leyen
The European Commission plans to establish its own intelligence service and is actively pushing the project forward. The new structure is intended to be part of a comprehensive security strategy and will report directly to Ursula von der Leyen. The impetus for this move comes from a tense geopolitical and geoeconomic environment, increasing activity by
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Fallacies of nuclear power opponents – how false premises influence public opinion
In Germany and Europe, energy policy decisions continue to have repercussions today because governments have shut down nuclear power plants or rejected new construction projects, even though electricity demand is rising due to industry, electric vehicles, and heating applications. These decisions were often based on flawed reasoning regarding supposedly unaffordable costs, persistently unresolved issues of
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Government approves shutdown of gas networks – consumers lose right to gas connection
The German government has enabled the decommissioning of gas networks through an amendment to the Energy Industry Act. Network operators will now be permitted to take their lines out of service if they no longer see a climate-friendly use for them. This is part of Germany’s energy transition plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2045.
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The US and Japan agree on a multi-billion dollar cooperation for new nuclear reactors and gas-fired power plants
Japan and the US have agreed on a new energy sector cooperation in Washington. During Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to US President Donald Trump, it was decided that a Japanese-American joint venture will build small modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama. The project is valued at nearly €35 billion. Investments of almost €29
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Despite the electric car boom, old combustion engine vehicles will remain on the roads in Africa for years to come
Since the beginning of the year, Germany has been subsidizing the purchase of electric cars with up to €6,000, while sales are rising noticeably and dealers are simultaneously taking in more and more older gasoline and diesel vehicles. In February, more than one in five new cars was already fully electric, and the increase was
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District heating from mini-reactors – start-up exploits loopholes in the German nuclear law
In Germany, Fermi Deutsche Industriekraft GmbH, together with the Finnish developer Steady Energy, has been driving forward a project since March 2026 that is reigniting the debate about nuclear power. The impetus is a peculiarity in the Atomic Energy Act, which explicitly prohibits only the commercial generation of electricity from nuclear fission, while purely heat-generating
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District heating shock in Chemnitz – St. Petri City Church turns off heating
In Chemnitz, the Protestant parish of the Castle Church and St. Peter’s Church is taking drastic measures due to drastically increased district heating costs. Following a contract change by the energy supplier, the annual basic charge has, according to the parish, increased three to four times the previous heating costs, prompting the church council to
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Meyer shipyard devours state funds – 400 million euros for rescue completely evaporated
Despite massive state aid, the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg is sinking deeper into crisis. In 2024, the federal government and the state of Lower Saxony invested €400 million of their own funds and additionally provided guarantees totaling €2.6 billion. The triggers were heavy losses, expensive legacy orders, sharply increased costs, and a business model with
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Swiss canton Aargau opens the door for new nuclear power plants – parliament focuses on low-CO₂ electricity
The canton of Aargau intends to permit new nuclear power plants in the future, following a realignment of its energy strategy by the Grand Council. The decision in Aargau came just two weeks after the Council of States’ proposal in favor of new nuclear power plants and therefore marks a clear shift in energy policy.
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Due to an energy shortage, Japan is bringing old coal-fired power plants back online
Japan plans to restart older coal-fired power plants at full capacity for one year starting in April. The government is responding to the fallout from the war in the Middle East, following US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February that severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. A large portion of Japan’s
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Federal Environment Minister Schneider plans 2000 wind turbines in the windless south
Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider has announced the construction of 2,000 additional wind turbines as part of the 2026 climate protection program. These turbines are slated to be built primarily in southern Germany by 2030. The expansion is expected to generate 12,000 megawatts of additional capacity, save seven billion cubic meters of gas annually, and
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25 euros more per tankful – CDU politician considers higher fuel prices acceptable
The center-right/center-left coalition passed a new fuel price cap in the Bundestag, but a statement from the CDU was at the heart of the debate. Jürgen Hardt declared that drivers could be expected to pay “20 or 25 euros more per tank” for a limited time. This was prompted by the sharp rise in fuel