08. 02. 10. - 16:00

• more Business news
• RSS Feed Business

08. 02. 10. - 16:00

Doctors against coal power plant

Doctors in Styria’s Voitsberg district have come out against the renovation and new operation of coal-powered power plant Voitsberg III, it emerged today (Mon).

Around 70 doctors have sent a letter to Social Democratic (SPÖ) Styrian Governor Franz Voves announcing their opposition on health and environmental grounds and calling for an environmental impact assessment of the plant.

Provincial authorities had decided at the end of 2009 that renovation and new operation of the plant posed no danger of increased greenhouse gas emissions and such an assessment was not necessary. If it was decided that one was necessary, the plant would need a permit for new operation.

The plant, closed in 2006, belonged to energy provider Verbund but has since been acquired by Austrian industrialist Mirko Kovats’s firm A-Tec.

Voitsberg SPÖ Mayor Ernst Meixner had claimed last autumn that 70 per cent of residents supported the project.

But Meixner said today: "Experts have concluded that no environmental assessment of the project is necessary, but experts can be wrong."

He also criticised A-Tec’s provision of information about the project, claiming that it had unfortunately been less than sufficient. "That, in turn, had raised feelings of insecurity among town residents. We are waiting for a binding, transparent explanation of all foreseen measures," he added.

The doctors also cited the opposition of Egon Marth, the chairman of Graz University’s Hygiene Institute, to the project.

Marth said today: "One must oppose the project on medical and environmental grounds. I understand what the law says, but people would find it unacceptable that a project that would increase emissions of greenhouse gases would be approved in a region that has already suffered environmental degradation."

He suggested an "environmental cluster for alternative sources of energy" as an alternative.

Austrian Times

Related articles: business scandals

1. Alma cheese gets clean bill of health

   » General News 2010-03-18

   Cheese suspected of being contaminated with deadly listeria bacteria has been given a clean bill of health, it was announced today (Thurs).

2. People who defrauded Erste's BCR face trial

   » Business 2010-03-18

   Romanian anti-corruption prosecutors have sent to trial 175 defendants accused of having defrauded Austrian Erste Group's subsidiary Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) of three million Euros by obtaining credit using fake doc [...]

3. Google Street View cars to roll over Austria again

   » General News 2010-03-18

   Google Street View cars are expected to drive all across Austria again this weekend as temperatures are expected to rise.

4. Disco boss fined over racist door policy

   » General News 2010-03-17

   A nightclub owner has been ordered to pay 1,440 Euros to a young Austrian after one of its doorman banned him from entering because of the colour of his skin.

5. Fraudster Kretschmer in wheelchair 'for the rest of his life'

   » General News 2010-03-16

   Former Salzburg Easter Festival (Osterfestspiele) technical director Klaus Kretschmer will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life, say doctors at Salzburg provincial hospital.

6. Listeria cheese recalled again

   » General News 2010-03-15

   More cheese suspected of being contaminated with deadly listeria bacteria has been recalled.

7. Robin Hood not giving up despite going bust

   » Business 2010-03-15

   The head of Styrian airline Robin Hood Aviation said the company’s plan was to continue making business despite news today (Mon) that it had filed for bankruptcy.

8. Union boss slams TA chief

   » Business 2010-03-12

   Werner Luksch, the head of the workers’ council at Mobilkom, has criticised parent firm Telekom-Austria’s (TA) chief Hannes Ametsreiter.

9. Vienna Boys Choir faces sexual abuse claims

   » General News 2010-03-12

   A 33-year-old German claimed he was sexually abused during his time at the Vienna Boys Choir.

10. Car fuel prices lower than the EU average

    » General News 2010-03-12

    The prices of petrol and diesel-fuel in Austria are lower than the EU average, the Economics Ministry said today (Fri).

Higher cigarette prices on tap
Austria Tabak reported today (Fri) that the price of its 35 brands of cigarettes would increase by 10 to 20 cents a pack at the end of March.

RI's Croat subsidiary gets €30mn credit
Raiffeisen International’s (RI) Croatian subsidiary Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. received a 30-million-Euro credit by the German Investment and Development Society (DEG), it was announced.

Austrian Catholics turn on church
Austrian Roman Catholics are up in arms over sex scandals involving local priests and children with increasing numbers threatening to quit the church.

Wolford's earnings up in first three quarters
Vorarlberg textile firm Wolford reported today (Fri) that its earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) had increased in the first three quarters of its 2009/2010 business year.

More foreign holidays planned this year
More Austrians are planning on holidays abroad this year after 2009 saw a drop in numbers, according to a study by public opinion research agency Karmasin.

Siemens Austria to lay off 500 to 600
Siemens Austria said today (Fri) it would lay off 500 to 600 of 2,000 workers in software division SIS (IT solutions and services) in the near future.

Graz police smash drug ring
An Iranian asylum seeker thought to be the boss of a drug-dealing gang has been arrested along with 11 cohorts, police said today (Fri).

Verbund could lose interest in French Poweo
Austrian energy provider Verbund’s 46 per cent interest in French electricity provider Poweo may become less valuable if the firm makes good on its threat to stop providing service to end customers.

Kasabian roll into Vienna
British indie rock giants Kasabian will return to Austria this summer, it has been revealed.

Paraglider crashes against bus
A 34-year-old paraglider escaped with bruises after smashing into a moving bus in Eben, Tyrol, yesterday (Thurs).