Germany’s Great Energy-Jobs Destruction Revolution – Green Energies In Collapse

The European Institute for Climate and Energy here (EIKE) sums up the bad news in Germany’s energy industry, all brought on by failed green energy policies. What a mess! And things are set to get a lot worse.

Bad news have been rolling in from all fronts over the last months and weeks. The green energy generals are now in their bunkers with trembling hands. Oh the agony when reality turns out to be the opposite of what the models projected. Countries contemplating Germany’s green, centrally planned energy path really need to rethink!

EIKE writes an overview of headlines from the last 14 days (translated and condensed):

On the bankruptcy of solar company Sovello, 1000 employees are getting a pink slip. Earlier, RWE announced 2400 would lose their jobs. That mans the number of layoffs at RWE is now up to a whopping 10,400. Former RWE boss not long ago was high as a kite on green. The Handelsblatt quotes:

In my eyes, the energy revolution is a fascinating event. Of course it’s a challenge – like putting a man on the moon…RWE is forging ahead with the energy revolution at full throttle.”

Siemens and its boss Peter Löscher were also recently big proponents of the green energy revolution in Germany. But now, according to the Berliner Morgenpost, up to 10,000 employees are about to get the boot:

Large projects like power plants and railcars have eluded the company. Its customers are cutting back investments.

But there are also self-made problems: The management completely underestimated the difficulties of hooking up offshore windparks in the North Sea. Because Siemens is behind schedule, the Munich-based company threw 500 million euros into the wind by the end of June….”

Stern magazine writes that wind generator builder Vestas is cutting 1400 jobs.

The crisis-hampered Danish wind generator builder Vestas wants to cut another 1400 jobs by the end of the year in order to save 250 million euros.”

Vestas competitor Nordex is also struggling in the highly subsidized wind energy sector, too:

Der Aktionär Online writes that Nordex:

Share price is hovering just above its low for the past years. Because of price pressure, Nordex for the first half of the year has posted another loss.”

The Finanical Times on Solarworld:

For Solarworld things look even gloomier. After millions in write-offs and deep red figures over the first 6 months, Chairman Frank Asbeck again expects another operating loss this year. Share prices collapsed on Monday, falling 11.5 percent to €1.17.

An attempt to divert attention by demanding trade barriers against Chinese manufacturers will achieve little, as they would simply retaliate.

Die Welt writes on the now proposed tariffs on Chinese imports:

“Anti-dumping lawsuits by European manufacturers are not particularly welcome by Peking. The consequences could be devastating. Now even the Chancellor may intervene.”

And if Climadonna Merkel does intervene, then things are sure to get much worse.

Bild“ writes on rising energy costs:

“Living is getting more and more expensive! Gas is up 80 percent, and heating costs have tripled, rentals have jumped 23%…the big cost drivers are mainly the costs of utilities: Since 1999 electricity has jumped 80%, natural gas has doubled, heating costs, depending on the type – has doubled or tripled.”

And that’s just for starters: green politicians are getting worried about the energy situation Die Welt summarizes

Instead of getting off this false path called the green energy revolution and turning back the subsidies and getting back onto a sensible path, the disastrous subsidies are to be piled on even more.

..according to the law, gas turbines are to deliver energy only when there are not enough renewable energy sources available. And that is not often the case. Having a power plant there only to jump in as a reserve is simply unprofitable…such a capacity mechanism is however requested by Bavaria and Baden Wurttemberg. Bavaria has up to 5 such gas plants planned.”

And so on it goes…until it crashes back down to Earth.

There are some good news, unfortunately only abroad: Handelsblatt wrote enviously: The Energy Revolution Is Elsewhere.

“…the newly discovered oil and shale gas reserves now give the USA a cheap supply of energy. That is attracting companies…Natural gas production in the USA is climbing towards a record high. Oil production in July reached the highest level since 1999. According to a March report by Citigroup, the ‘reindustrialization’ of the USA could produce another 3.6 million jobs by 2020 and boost GDP growth by up to 3%…The outlook for cheap energy will give a number of industrial sectors a competitive advantage, among them steel and aluminium manufacturers, automotive, chemicals and fertilizer companies and…with respect to the shale gas boom, gas prices in the USA will be much more competitive than in the Middle East because there are no political risks.“

Read the complete report here:

All that’s left is to add is that gas prices in the USA have fallen 80% over the last months. Here in Europe, they’re going up.

These are the news from only the past 14 days. Indeed things are going to get a lot worse, no matter how much we choose to smile about it.