Archive News In Brief

Germany’s energy consumption in 2018 fell to its lowest level since the early 1970s. With a total volume of 12,963 PJ or 442.3 Mtce, consumption was 3.5 % below the previous year’s level (Figure 1). As outlined by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Energiebilanzen (AG Energiebilanzen – Working Group on Energy Balances), Berlin/Germany, in its 2018 Annual Report published at the end of March, this ...

Getting excellent data four times faster than with conventional methods, while still protecting the environment: Using a combination of wireless seismic technology and slip sweep methods that is unique in Europe, DMT GmbH & Co. KG, Essen/Germany, has investigated a total area of 1,484 km2 in Lower Austria over the past three years. The contract was awarded by the two Austrian ...

Nuclear law has changed from being a law on the use of nuclear energy to a law on the phasing out of this technology. This is the consequence of the politically agreed end to the peaceful use of nuclear energy in Germany. The commentary on nuclear law published by Prof. Walter Frenz explains the German Atomic Energy Act (Atomgesetz) and ...

RAG Aktiengesellschaft, Essen/Germany, has initiated a pilot study on the possible exposure of miners to PCB. The impetus for the study was the question as to whether exposure that took place many years ago, i.e. resulting from the use of liquids containing PCB in mining until the 1980s, can be reliably detected in the blood. A new detection method was ...

On 23rd January 2019, the Hard Coal -Association (GVSt), Essen/Germany, hosted “200 years of industrial coal mining in Germany”. Jürgen-Johann Rupp, President of the GVSt and Member of the Board at RAG Aktiengesellschaft, welcomed around 150 attendees to the Casino restaurant on the Zollverein former mining complex (Figure 1). In his opening speech, President of the German Industrial Union for ...

In India, a population of more than 1.3 bn combined with strong economic growth are creating a huge demand for goods, services and raw materials. Developing the infrastructure, in particular unlimited access to electricity in rural regions, continues to pose a significant challenge. On 4th February 2019, at the invitation of STEAG GmbH, Essen/Germany, Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic ...

It was an emotional evening in the historic machine hall of the STEAG power station, with a celebration that went into the early hours of the morning. Employees, family members, friends and former colleagues were invited to bid farewell to the founding location of Steinkohlen-Elektrizität AG (STEAG) on 19th January 2019 (Figure 1). On 31st December 2018, after almost 80 ...

In its final report, the commission failed to mention a single word on coal’s contribution to reducing CO2 emissions, even though coal has been the main contributor to emission reductions in recent decades. By the end of 2018, it had cut its use of fuel for electricity generation by half in comparison with 1990. The commission has nevertheless recommended reducing ...

The recommendation from the Commission for Growth, Structural Change and Employment to shut down half of the lignite power station capacity by 2030 and to completely end electricity generation with domestic lignite by 2038 will prematurely take away an important source of energy from Germany as an industrial centre. It will also penetrate deep into the social fabric and value ...

In 2018, lignite production in the Rhineland, Lusatia and central Germany decreased by a total of 3 % to around 166 Mt. According to preliminary calculations by the German Lignite Association (DEBRIV), Berlin/Germany, this decrease in production and use has reduced CO2 by around 5 Mt. Lignite therefore made a quantitatively significant contribution to reducing national CO2 emissions in 2018. This ...