Germany targets €20bn investment in offshore wind capacity
British investment firm Laidlaw Capital bought its second German offshore wind park project two weeks ago, following a similar landmark acquisition by Canadian energy group Northland Power.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has made offshore wind a priority in the country’s “Energiewende”, which moves Germany towards alternative energy sources after a decision to phase out nuclear power by 2022.
Germany needs at least €20bn to achieve its aim of expanding offshore …
The Punt: Are jobs for life on the cards at Nama?
Animal spirits in the property sector mean the agency’s employees are in demand with various property firms, while if they stay with Nama they face the prospect of working themselves out of a job over the next three to five years.
Unsurprisingly chief executive Brendan McDonagh and chairman Frank Daly have been looking at ways to retain key people without the political back lash that would be inevitable if already …
All change as pub drops Bitcoin
The Baggot Inn in Dublin city centre claimed to have sold the country’s first beverage, a bottle of Kopparberg cider, for 0.0093 Bitcoin last March.
In a statement, the pub’s management said a Bitcoin ATM on the premises had been removed, adding: “We regret to announce (that) due to ongoing issues regarding the legality of Bitcoin ATMs in the Republic of Ireland, we can no longer accept Bitcoin payments.”
A …
EU Commission set 'to find Apple deal was illegal'
The commission is expected to publish its opening decision in the Apple case today, explaining why it reached the preliminary view that two tax deals agreed between the US company and the Irish government-in 1991 and 2007-amounted to illegal state aid, according to a report in the ‘Wall Street Journal’.
Apple will then have 30 days to respond to the EU’s decision, according to people familiar with the matter.
It …
Irish economy set to bounce back sharply, says Davy
It claimed suggestions that the country’s economy is operating at full capacity represents an “unduly pessimistic” view of growth prospects.
Institutions such as the European Commission argue that Ireland has one of the smallest so-called output gaps in Europe. An output gap is the difference between the actual output of an economy, and the output it could achieve when at its most efficient or at full capacity.
The Commission, by …