Armed police are to be stationed at some of Scotland's main oil and gas terminals and power stations to bolster security, it has been confirmed. Precautions are being increased at the St Fergus gas terminal near Peterhead with the introduction of the armed military police.

Poland to help build nuclear power plant in Lithuania

Poland will join an international project to build a nuclear power plant in Lithuania. Agreement to build this facility, which will replace the ageing Ignalina power plant in eastern Lithuania, will be signed this year – President of the PSE Polish energy company Jacek Socha has said.

Ukraine thrives despite gas price hike

The warnings in Ukraine verged on the apocalyptic when Russia sharply raised prices for natural gas a year ago. Many feared factories would close, leading to mass layoffs and grinding industry to a halt. But Ukraine's economy leaped ahead, its businesses quickly adapting to the higher costs. Now that other former Soviet republics have been hit by price hikes for Russian gas, Ukraine's experience offers them a ray of hope, analysts say -- but note that Ukraine has advantages that newly hard-hit countries such as Belarus and Georgia lack. Ukraine's economy grew by about 7 percent in 2006 despite Russia's nearly doubling its price for gas and appears in good position to absorb this year's further increase.

Germany may retain nuclear power

Senior members of Germany's government have suggested retaining nuclear power as a way of diversifying the country's sources of energy. It follows concern that Germany has become too dependent on Russian fuel.

Geothermal's day in the sun

Homes in Unterhaching, a German town of 22,000 south of Munich, will be warmed by hot water piped from 3,300 meters underground starting in May. That is leading a shift toward geothermal power generation that may attract $8.5 billion of investments in Germany within a decade.

BWEA warns on UK renewables policy as Germany leads the way

Whilst Britain tinkers with it's Renewables Obligation, Germany continued to be a world leader in the use of renewables during 2006. Wind power, hydropower, solar energy, bio energy and geothermal renewable energy sources became more popular than ever last year, according to the German Federation of Renewable Energy(BEE). Thanks largely to substantial government subsidies, the share of renewables in Germany's energy consumption increase to 7.7 percent in 2006 from 6.8 percent the previous year, the BEE said in its annual review. The biggest increase was in the use of solar energy (30 percent), followed by bio energy (20 percent) and wind power (10 percent), according to Deutsche-Presse-Agentur.

Climate change Will Transform the Face Of Europe

Europe, the richest and most fertile continent and the model for the modern world, will be devastated by climate change, the European Union predicts today. The ecosystems that have underpinned all European societies from Ancient Greece and Rome to present-day Britain and France, and which helped European civilisation gain global pre-eminence, will be disabled by remorselessly rising temperatures, EU scientists forecast in a remarkable report which is as ominous as it is detailed.

CEZ wants to build EUR 1 billion power plant in Poland

Czech energy company CEZ is considering the construction of a new coal-fired power station worth roughly EUR 1 billion, or nearly CZK 30 billion, in Poland, daily Mlada fronta Dnes reported today.

Ukraine: Possible energy solution in coal beds

Ukraine is believed to be sitting on more gaseous fuel than its principal supplier of natural gas, Turkmenistan. Estimated reserves of 11-12 trillion cubic meters of coal-bed methane would give Ukraine at least three times the amount of natural gas in Turkmenistan, and four times that in Russia's Shtokman gas field.