‘Die Welt’ Article Warns: German “Energiewende Risks Becoming a Disaster” …As Costs Explode!

Normally even the German conservative media have been supportive of Germany’s shift from fossil fuels over to green energies, and most leading conservative media outlets accept that climate change is mostly man-made and thus needs to be taken seriously.

Climate science skepticism is scorned in Germany.

So it’s all the more surprising that one of Germany’s leading center-right dailies, Die Welt, came out with an article seriously challenging Germany’s Energiewende (transition to green energies).

Citing a 20-page report by McKinsey, Die Welt writes that the Energiewende risks becoming “an economic disaster” (it in fact already has) and that the opinions on the Energiewende by McKinsey are totally opposite of those held by the German government. This shows two things: the growing chasm between the German government’s view and reality, and 2) the government’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge that their energy policy has become a dismal failure.

According to Die Welt, a team of McKinsey experts examined 15 criteria and concluded: “The costs will continue to rise“, and thus contradict the German government’s claim of “stable prices”.

In fact 11 of the 15 criteria that were examined had worsened. According to the report:

The current figures available show that the previous success of the Energiewende for the most part has come from expensive subsidies. At the same time goals whose fulfilment do not depend on direct financial support are becoming increasingly more unrealistic.”

Die Welt writes that McKinsey’s conclusion “must be really painful for the government“, which had hoped to see reductions in CO2 emissions. The bitter reality is that CO2 emissions have in fact risen over the past years and today they are more than 13% over the original target.

Green jobs eroding

The Energiewende has also failed on the jobs creation front, Die Welt writes. Proponents claimed earlier that renewable energies would lead to a jobs boom. But that too has not materialized in any way, shape or form. Jobs in the sector have fallen “for the 4th year in a row – falling from 355,400 to 330,000“. The leading German national daily adds that the biggest job losses came from the onshore wind and solar sectors where 15,000 jobs were lost.

McKinsey warns that the number employed in green energy could even fall below 2008 levels!

And not only “green energy” jobs are being slashed. McKinsey also found that for the first time in 2016 jobs in energy-intensive industries were lost. Die Welt reports:

In March 2016 there were in total 15,000 jobs less than a half year earlier.”

Cost of electricity production to jump 40%

The total cost of producing electricity for the country has also surged due to the Energiewende, McKinsey writes:

The cost of supplying electricity in Germany will rise from 63 billion euros today to 77 billion euros annually by 2015. In 2010 the cost was 55 billion euros.”

This means much higher prices for consumers, who have seen their electricity prices rise to 30.38 euro-cents per kilowatt-hour. For the average German household this will translate into 335 euros of more costs every year by 2025.

Meanwhile the average European electricity price has dropped.

47.3 percent more expensive than average European power

Currently German electricity prices are on average almost 3 times more than what consumers in the USA pay.

The McKinsey report found:

In the meantime the price level for German household power is 47.3 percent above the European average.“

 

27 responses to “‘Die Welt’ Article Warns: German “Energiewende Risks Becoming a Disaster” …As Costs Explode!”

  1. Bjorn Ramstad

    It has been said:
    “The best way to make a country fail, is to make energy expensive and unstable.”
    Seems Germany is on the trail of just that.

  2. Don from OZ

    Firstly I note that the report quotes figures in 2015.It is now 2017.
    Whilst it would be good to have ‘renewables’ Reality is they are far too expensive and unreliable due to intermittency. If the day arrives when storage becomes economical the game will be changed dramatically but at this time in history that is very unlikely.
    Skepticism remains a sensible attitude to adopt.
    I despair that Australia is heading down the wrong path of encouraging wind and solar but like a raging bull the inertia is difficult to slow down let alone stop.
    Keep up the Good work Pierre and Ken

    1. SebastianH

      If the day arrives when storage becomes economical the game will be changed dramatically but at this time in history that is very unlikely.

      Why is it unlikely? What storage price per kWh do we need to get economical?

      Let’s say 80% of renewables will be used directly in the forseeable future and 20% of the produced energy would go through storage. Let’s also assume a renewable kWh costs 0,10 € to produce. So if a stored kWh would also cost 0,10 € the price of renewables + storage would be 0,12 € on average. Correct?

      0,10 € per stored kWh in a battery that is good for 3000 cycles (e.g. 200 cycles per year for 15 years) would mean that battery would cost 300 € per kWh.

      And that’s the current situation, correct? So what happens if the variables change? Let’s say renewables cost only 0,05 € to make and a kWh of battery storage costs 100 € … then we end up with 0,057 € in case of renewables + storage. This future is not that far away.

      1. AndyG55

        “Why is it unlikely? ”

        seb’s lack of knowledge of basic physics is again brought to everyone’s attention.

        You really have NO IDEA about any of this, do you, little AGW troll !!

      2. AndyG55

        We already have access to the ULTIMATE in energy storage.

        It is called FOSSIL FUELS. 🙂

        Just combine with oxygen .. and ENERGY FOR ALL.

        With the added BENEFIT of extra CO2 for all plant life on Earth.

  3. DirkH

    Mandating elecricity production at 10 times the cost and zero value due to unreliability, what could possibly go wrong?
    It is really time to stop referring to the CDU as conservative or to Die WELT as conservative paper: The CDU itself speaks only of isolated “conservative groups” within the party, die WELT is an oligarchic-globalist medium – perfectly in line with Fabianism, the CFR, or the NeoCons (which happily continued work in the state dept of Obama – so they’re not “conservative” either).

    The term “conservative” has a long time ago been snatched by Marxists, just like “liberal” in USA before; Marxists of which Merkel is one: The CDU is perfectly fine with Marxist pricefixing – for energy, for labor, for anything.

    1. DirkH

      …thinking further: Globalism, Trotzkism, Fabianism are just brand names for the One World Government types. They really give a flying shit under which brand name they achieve the world dictatorship.

    2. AndyG55

      One decent blackout affecting heavy industry will leave an insurance bill so high that even the most brain-dead politician will surely have to come their senses.

      1. SebastianH

        Ah, the fear of blackouts …

        1. AndyG55

          Not me, I have at four nice big coal fired power stations within 100km. 🙂

          Not a wind turbine in site.

          They knocked down the useless piece of junk that was where the new coal terminal now is. 🙂

          Interesting though….

          Again we see that “couldn’t give a stuff about other people’s hardship” attitude from the slimy depths of the AGW trolls.

          1. SebastianH

            Big powestations wont protect from a rolling blackout. See big blackouts in the past in the US.

          2. AndyG55

            No, but they don’t CAUSE it like wind non-power does.

          3. SebastianH

            They caused blackouts in the past, see Texas and California.

  4. ‘Die Welt’ Article Warns: German “Energiewende Risks Becoming a Disaster” …As Costs Explode!

    […] – ‘Die Welt’ Article Warns: German “Energiewende Risks Becoming a Disaster” …As Costs Explod… […]

  5. John F. Hultquist

    Pierre has been making these points for a long time.
    It must give a good feeling to see others finally realizing such things.
    – – – – – – –

    The Wall Street Journal (pay site) explained another related issue. I think without a subscription about all you get is somewhat more than the headline:
    Renovate America Masked Borrower Debt Woes

    1. SebastianH

      It’s always a good feeling if others agree to what you think and say … see “Why facts don’t change our minds”: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds

      1. SebastianH

        Works for both sides of every debate 😉

      2. AndyG55

        Yep, he know you will NEVER let a fact change your brain-washed cult/troll mind.

        You can’t even face up to the FACT that you cannot provide one single paper that shows CO2 causes warming a convective atmosphere.

        LYING, especially to yourself..

        fooling no-one, but yourself

        … very sad, and VERY pathetic…

        .. and that’s a FACT !!!

        1. SebastianH

          Are you in any way related to Donald Trump? You sound very similar …

  6. SebastianH

    Currently German electricity prices are on average almost 3 times more than what consumers in the USA pay.

    That seems to be a myth. Go to a price comparison site like check24 and compare to https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a … it’s only twice as high and I am pretty sure those US prices don’t include VAT yet (correct me if it is included).

    Another website that compares US electricity prices:
    https://www.electricchoice.com/electricity-prices-by-state/

    While the average is pretty low the prices in the states where the most people live are pretty high in comparison to the average.

    1. richard verney

      California has very high energy prices, but then again it has gone down the path of madness with renewables.

  7. AndyG55

    Yipeeeee.!!!!

    Big win in Australia

    https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/03/08/the-climate-institute-to-close/

    Other people’s money has run out 🙂

    Next, renewable subsidies and the RET 🙂

  8. Robert Folkerts

    Sebastion H says

    “While the average is pretty low the prices in the states where the most people live are pretty high in comparison to the average.”

    Now, wouldn’t you think that the “most people” will influence the average to bring it closer to their cost and not leave it “pretty low”

    Logic, Sebastion style!

    1. DirkH

      Also, Sebastian omits to mention that the People’s Republic Of california has a state-mandated monopolist PG/E with a price structure as mad as German electricity, and mad regulations to use renewables and NOT CoUNTING HYDRO AS RENEWABLE!!!! Anyone who follows the climate change cronies needs to be hospitalized in a psych ward and never given pointy objects again.

      1. The Indomitable Snowman, Ph.D.

        Not counting hydro as renewable? What’s old is new again.

        It’s been somewhat forgotten, but back before the wind-and-solar gravy-train/boondoggle, there was the “small hydro” boondoggle. “Small hydro” was inefficient and unreliable (gee, sound familiar?), but it was supposed to have all those great benefits of locally-sourced “green” energy (gee, sound familiar?).

        This ran into reality problems in a number of Northeastern states. As it turned out, many of these states already had relatively high percentages of their electricity supplies coming from a “renewable” source – Hydro Quebec, via the enormous La Grande project up near James Bay. So high levels of “renewable” energy were already being provided, without the need for the local small-hydro gravy train.

        At least one state “solved” this “problem” by setting some source-power-level for hydropower – and only power production sources below this level were deemed to be “renewable” while larger-scale hydro was declared to be “non-renewable.” This kept the trougher gravy train going.

        I guess at some point all the troughers switched over to wind and solar, but it’s the same thing.

  9. Tyskt uppvaknande? - Stockholmsinitiativet - Klimatupplysningen

    […] En anmärkningsvärd sak i sammanhanget är att det är den vanligen så gröna Die Welt som tar upp rapporten. Den kommer med all säkerhet att läsas i Angela Merkels regeringskansli, och av många vanliga tyskar som blivit alltmer tveksamma till vad de har gett sig in på. Inte nog med att den gröna energin innebär kostnader som drabbar de fattigaste i landet, att landskap och natur förstörs, att det finns hälsoproblem, utan även att de omtalade ”gröna jobben” blir allt färre samtidigt som en mängd vanliga jobb inom energiintensiv industri försvinner.  Rapporten, och Die Welts arrtikel, finns refererad på engelska här och här. […]

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