Alternative Energy Costs Coming Due – “God Doesn’t Pay”

Germany’s online Die Welt reports here (surprise! surprise!) that huge costs will be coming due because of the needed extra electrical infrastructure for feeding in green power from offshore wind farms and solar panels into the existing power grid. The current power grid is far too inadequate and has to be massively expanded.

Europe’s target is to provide 20% of its energy with alternative energy by 2020. Germany wants to produce 80% of its energy through alternatives by 2050. These extra costs, says Die Welt, will be “huge”.

The EU wants to have consumers contribute to the cost of the green electrical power offensive. The expansion of the power grid is going to be really expensive.

The energy offensive dubbed Energy Action Plan 2020 by the European Commission, wants to involve all 27 member countries in paying the grid expansion costs. EU Energy Commissar Günther Oettinger says:

Bringing offshore power from the North Sea to Cologne or Stuttgart costs money that we have to pay. We only have God and the citizens, and God doesn’t pay.

In Europe when consumers are expected by politicians “to contribute”, it means of course paying all of it.

 

18 responses to “Alternative Energy Costs Coming Due – “God Doesn’t Pay””

  1. R. de Haan

    I am sure the German people will be delighted to test the green power options when the temperature map is going to look something like this:
    http://icecap.us/images/uploads/2009vs19975.jpg

  2. Günther Vennecke

    Seems like Oettinger and his collegues are siding with the big utilities, whose profits run into the double digits of billions of Euros. All this money has been robbed from the consumers. If more people new what was going on they would have real reason for rebellion.

    Naturally the tactics of those people who want to maintain the status quo is to blame everything on the renewables. This serves them in two ways: first, it enables them to expand their profits yet again and second, it helps them to keep the competing renewables at bay. What more could they want?

    But more and more people realize that they are being ripped off by the utilities, in fact, have been ripped off for decades.

    The growth rates of renewable energies are impressive and in a few years time their stabilising effect on energy prices will show. Grid parity even for photovoltaics is just around the corner and no disruptive action by the utilities and their allies will succeed in stopping their continuous growth.

    1. DirkH

      Günther, you call the profits of companies “robbery”, so i assume that you are a communist; maybe a member of Die Linke. Just correct me if i’m wrong.

      34% of the price paid by the end consumer is used for generating electricity in Germany. The end price is about 20 eurocent per kWh, so the bulk price for electricity generation is about 7 cent.

      The other 66% are various levies and taxes, amongst them VAT,(20%), eco[logical] tax (“Ökosteuer”), a levy for energy transmission, and the renewables cross subsidy (about 10%; will rise from 2 cent to 3.5 cent next year).

      In your post, i see a typical communist tactic. First lobby for higher taxes on energy in the name of saving the planet or improving social justice, later complain about the high prices (caused by the red/green taxes) and point to the profits of “greedy” companies.

      For non-Germans: Germans can choose their energy supplier – end prices don’t vary by more than 10%, though – no wonder; they all have to pay the same high taxes.

      Günther, bring something better than communist boilerplate arguments.

      1. DirkH

        “For non-Germans: Germans can choose their energy supplier – end prices don’t vary by more than 10%, though – no wonder; they all have to pay the same high taxes.”

        With the exception of VAT, the taxes and levies are not defined as percentages; they are defined as fixed sums. So, if the energy provider can generate a kWh for 5 cent instead of 7 cent, this will only end up in about 2.4 cent price difference for the end consumer. In other words, the high constant taxes tend to level the prices, and accordingly, there is not much competition; it’s not much of a competitive market.

  3. Ike
  4. Günther Vennecke

    @Ike,

    “I think I am going to Berlin this year:”

    Climate Circus, where all the clowns, conjurers, tricksters and con-men of climate denial will be present.

    Have a good laugh!

    1. Ike

      Share your thoughts with yourself. Sometimes it is better to shut the f*** up. I know that you are one of these trolls who´s only job is to make themselves proud about there lousy posts. So, thats my first and last response to your words.

  5. Ecotretas

    We will also need to account for the lost energy in pumped storage mechanisms. I’ve calculated it for two major Portuguese dams, for 3 months: 62% and 64%:

    http://ecotretas.blogspot.com/2010/11/desperdicio-na-bombagem.html (in Portuguese)

    That means that more that one third of the energy is lost in the process!

    Ecotretas

    1. Ecotretas

      The 62% and 64% values are for the efficiency. The lost energy is the remaining (38% and 36%).

      Ecotretas

  6. Günther Vennecke

    @Ecotretas,

    “That means that more that one third of the energy is lost in the process!”

    That is a lot better than the performance of any coal-fired or nuclear power station, where the loss of energy is between 55% and 70%.

    1. Ecotretas

      @Vennecke,

      I was talking after the energy is produced. If you wanna talk about wind energy production, you should educate yourself, and learn about Betz’ law…

      Ecotretas

  7. R. de Haan

    The hidden joker of the new grid is that it will be a “smart grid”.
    When you’re connected to the smart grid government is invited into your home. They will know if you are at home or not and you will be played like a circus monkey as the smart grid is going to determine when you are aloud to switch on your washing machine or your drier.

    People should protest this blatant invasion of their privacy as loudly as possible and reject a smart grid connection.

  8. 33noa333

    way how to,
    HELP MOTHER NATURE FOR BETTER CLIMATE
    Use mighty power of nature. In the northwestern Australia, we have huge tides,
    huge evaporation and huge dry rivers and lakes.
    Tides are up to 12m. Evaporation is up to 4m per year and can be increased.
    Huge 12m tidal erosion can revive old dry paleo dormant once mighty rivers, creeks and lakes,
    desalinate the country and change deserts to rain forests to provide more rain across Australia.
    World population is growing rapidly and we need more energy, food, land and water.
    see: Mitic CLIMATE ENGINEERING
    http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/submissions/cprs-green-paper/~/media/submissions/greenpaper/0929-mitic.ashx

    this will change deserts and whole continent for better climate
    environment, provide hydro energy, permanently.

    Climate is not easy to understand.
    To comprehend this theory probably best forum with lots of explanations and plans
    so that others can contribute their ideas and missunderstanding clears up.

  9. DirkH

    Just googled for Danish electricity prices – i read that they have the highest in the world. And it’s 25 Eurocents per kWh. Germany is ATM on average 22 Eurocent; we are the 2nd most expensive.

    With the announced rise of the renewables cross subsidy from 2 EuroCent to 3.5 Eurocent and the according VAT we will reach 24 Eurocent in 2011. So i expect that we will overtake the Danes in 2012 to become the country with the world’s most expensive electricity.

    All hail renewable energy.

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