Italy will close all coal plants by 2025.
US wind operator sues company for coal dust damage: The operator of a 50 MW wind farm in Maryland is suing Alliance Resource Partners (ARP) over damage to the blades on its wind turbines caused by dust pollution from a 65 metre high coal waste dump. Gestamp Wind North America alleges the coal dust has done extensive damage to the blades on nine turbines and caused the air-conditioning unit on one to fail. Gestamp argues it has incurred US$219,000 in losses since 2011 and estimates ongoing losses of US$103,000 a year. It wants ARP to be fined US$75,000 on each count of trespass, negligence and nuisance. (Courthouse News, Gestamp Wind North America)
Renewables undermine Siemens: Thousands of jobs are likely to be cut from the Power and Gas division of Siemens, a global engineering and services company, as demand for coal and gas turbines declines due to the rapid growth of renewables. In August, the company reported the Power and Gas division suffered a 41 per cent fall in orders in the three months to the end of June, attributing the change to “global energy trends”. At the time of the company’s quarterly results Siemens Chief Financial Officer, Ralf Thomas, described the downturn in the fossil fuel turbine sector as a structural shift in the market. (Reuters, Bloomberg)