Polish Coast Guard Boards Greenpeace Ship in Coal Protest
Armed Polish border guards boarded a Greenpeace ship blocking a delivery of coal in the port of Gdansk late on Monday and detained two activists, officials said on Tuesday.The environmental group said it staged the protest to highlight Poland's continued dependence on air-polluting coal and to pressure it to phase out coal as a source of energy by 2030.Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior arrived in Gdansk at 1600 GMT on Monday and the ship anchored around midnight, trying to prevent a shipment of coal from Mozambique from being unloaded…
OPT to Showcase Innovation in Spain
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTT) launched of a new technology initiative to enhance the efficiency of its patented PowerBuoy wave energy systems under its existing “WavePort” project. OPT will be working with a consortium of European companies and institutions to advance the energy conversion system of the PowerBuoy device through the development of a new wave prediction model. The new system will assess the characteristics of each incoming wave before it reaches the PowerBuoy wave power station, thereby providing more time for the electronic tuning capability to react. It is expected that this will significantly boost the power output of the PowerBuoy and reduce cost per MW hour of energy produced.
Polish Shipyard Aid Under Scrutiny
The European Commission has decided to open formal inquiries into public support for three shipyards in Gdynia, Gdañsk and Szczecin. The restructuring aid granted to these yards will be scrutinised in the light of EC Treaty rules on state aid, and in particular the rules on state aid to companies in difficulties, in so far as it has been granted after the accession of Poland to the European Union on May 1 2004. The Commission will not examine several measures granted by the Polish authorities before accession. “The type of aid proposed by the Polish authorities is only compatible with EU rules if accompanied by a detailed restructuring plan involving durable industrial restructuring and not limited to servicing debt and improving liquidity.
