“The nuclear sector has to get back on track. It’s a question of energy sovereignty...” Le Maire told a news conference, after unveiling a government-backed audit of setbacks at EDF’s Flamanville 3 nuclear project in France. It has also had to hike its cost estimates for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant it is building in Britai

Germany’s wind power industry could shed about 40% of its jobs because of sliding interest among investors to build turbines on land. Net new onshore capacity dropped from 5.3 GW in 2017 to 2.4 GW last year and to a mere 0.3 GW in the first six months of 2019. Far short of the 4.7 GW needed for Germany to create a 65% share for renewables.

An influx of new offshore wind farms around the world is set to draw $840 billion of investments over the next two decades. Additions of 20 GW of new offshore capacity a year still won’t be enough to hit global climate targets. Capacity additions would need to be near to 40 GW a year in the next decade, adding over $1.2 trillion of investment.

Four in five of Europe’s coal-fired power plants are unprofitable. Coal-fired power has been hit by the rising price of EU carbon credits. The cost of these credits has tripled since 2017. Of the EU’s 154.4GW of coal capacity, 45 per cent is already scheduled to shut down by 2030, with 13 member states committed to a complete phasing out by then.

EDF issued a warning on Wednesday that its Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Somerset, UK may see construction costs dramatically increase. An even longer delay can be found at a plant being built in Finland. In 2011 the profits across the industry from energy generation were £2.4 Billion ($3.0 billion) to just £751 million ($931 million) in 2018.

At $121 billion, worldwide green bond sales this year are already 57% higher than at this point in 2018. Sweden’s longest-dated issue currently in existence is a 3.5% bond repayable in 2039 that yields about zero. Sweden should expand its horizons by offering investors the longest-dated green bond ever seen.

In total, SNCF Réseau has so far raised €5.4 billion in green bonds, nearly doubling the figure this year, now ranks seventh in the global green bond issuance market. According to rating agency Moody's, issuers brought $66.6 billion of green bonds to market globally the second quarter of 2019, up 47% on an annualized basis compared to 2018.

According to the estimates by the European Commission, implementing the strategy will require an increase in spending to 2.8% of the European Union’s GDP, translating to €520 to €575 billion a year in total for the entire Union’s economy. For the Polish power sector alone, the estimated financial investments will amount to €215 billion over 2020-2045.

Renewable energy such as wind power can create problems for the National Grid. Gas and coal-fired power stations have more flexibility. When one drops off it's easier for another to pick up the slack. Wind power is less effective as a "shock absorber" to shifts in supply and demand, according to the energy analyst.

After three years of decline, global energy investment stabilized in 2018 at over USD 1.8 trillion. Investment was driven by higher upstream oil, gas and coal supply spending while that in energy efficiency was stable and renewables spending edged down, adjusted for costs, renewables investment is up 55% since 2010.

It makes sense that green bonds are meant for green companies. But there aren’t that many of them — not enough to meet the rising demand from investors who want their money to have a positive impact on the environment. So what if some of that money went to finance green activities by less-than-green firms.

Last month there was less electricity in the grid as needed. To prevent a complete collapse, Germany had to draw electricity from the neighbouring countries. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported that due to the critical conditions in the German national grid, the country repeatedly had to rely on the neighbouring countries.