And a project that involves the such can only be called one thing: really dumb. Before other countries dive into renewable energies, drunk on green fantasies, they should take a look at what is happening in Germany. Indeed, sobriety helps.
The online Die Welt had a piece on the spiraling electricity costs in Germany a couple of weeks ago.
Germany’s “moon-landing” energy project risks crash-landing on Earth. Photo credit: Andrew Marino at en.wikipedia.
Transforming the energy supply system to one that will be based on 80% renewable energy by 2050 is considered Germany’s moon-landing project. Unfortunately it risks crash-landing right here on Earth.
Skyrocketing costs and growing supply uncertainties are putting the German government under massive pressure. The project has been riddled by a complete lack of planning and management. The reason for that of course is because real planning involves honest analysis, which reveals what is feasible and what isn’t. The proponents of green energy simply did not want the answer to that question. So they skipped the planning altogether and dove into it blindly.
Today intermittent wind and sun are causing Germany’s power grid to fluctuate so wildly that the government is now forced to implement drastic measures. For example, industry will be compensated for damages, at the consumers’ expense, when they have to shut down their operations to in order to prevent a grid collapse (of the sort we saw in Munich some weeks ago).
Die Welt writes that chemical, aluminum and steel plants consuming massive amounts of energy will have to shut down or scale back during periods when the power supply is lacking. For the ‘capacity that can be shut down’ “experts have recommended the appropriate compensation of 2000 euros per megawatt and year. But industry will receive 20,000 euros/MW for shutting down. (…] ten times the amount. Thanks to a government that will make the consumers pay anything to keep the scam going.
While the politicians keep passing all the high costs to consumers, they turn around and have the gall to publicly insist that electricity has to remain affordable in Germany.
According to Die Welt, consumers will also be liable for the costs of offshore windparks in the event of construction delays or inabilities by the grid to absorb the power they produce. The result, writes Die Welt: “The price of electricity, now the second-highest in Europe, will continue to rise.” Germany’s attraction for business investment is losing its luster.
Even green energy producers see costs going out of control
The providers of green energy are waking up to the reality. Die Welt writes:
Also the Association of New Energy Providers (BNE), who actively promoted the end of nuclear energy and the switch to renewables, is sobering up. ‘Instead of constantly coming up with new fees, charges, subsidies, exemptions and other market-foreign cash flows, the German government must now boldly plan the switchover to the system,’ demands BNEChief Robert Busch: ‘Otherwise we are going to lose the battle against the costs and the energy transformation will drown in a sea of subsidies.'”
Die Welt predicts more continuing rapid cost increases for consumers, thanks to the Energieeinsparverordnung (EneV), which will go into effect in 2014 and mandates tough thermal insulation standards for buildings. “Rental costs will be driven higher and higher,” warns Axel Gedaschko, President of the Federal Association of German Apartment Companies (GdW). “Already now in large cities there’s a massive problem of offering affordable living space for low-income families.”
Little wonder 600,000 households have seen their power get cut off. The green revolution is producing social injustice that is casting the poorest out in the cold.
Due to the Politically Correct language on the website of that “Bundesverband Neuer Energieanbieter” (of which Robert Busch is the boss) it is nearly incomprehensible what they want.
http://www.neue-energieanbieter.de/de/content/wer-wir-sind
We’re living in a day and age where PC talk makes it practically impossible to criticize the ruinous drive to solar and wind. But what I can make out is that these people promote a free energy market “without discrimination” – maybe that means they are against the “renewable energy first” priority rule.
So, no very clear pro free market utterances there but it kinda shines through through the word fog. It’s a pity that Germans don’t dare to speak clearly anymore.
Will the last industry leaving Germany for Poland or the Czech Republic please turn the lights …
.
.
… never mind they’re off.
No, industry gets exemptions from FIT contributions and as mentioned above compensation for missed production. Citizens hold the bag.
Even German steel and cement works have been rallying over the past months.
Happy New Year everyone!
DirkH
Point taken, it’s just I can not see how any large industry – even if bribe to stay – would want to attempt to maintain production in a country with such difficulties. I will be amazed if the stated sentiment of staying in Germany will be the same in a few years, especially considering the easier time they would have by just skipping over a national border.
It will be interesting to see how this shakes out with the German people and the EU.
You underestimate the amount of behind-the-curtain talks.
Merkel has the goal of saving face in a nation which tends to be eco crazy (or at least half the populous is) yet at the same time keep industry from leaving.
She’s very good at that and had many years practice.
Since all forms of “renewable” energy cost much more than that from coal (and gas) increasing the share of “renewables” means the cost of electricity goes up.
Strange that politicians cannot, or don’t want to, see that.
The only thing that isn’t renewable is the money to pay for this higher priced electricity, oh wait … that’s why they are printing money.
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In the midst of a heat-wave, new year’s revellers from the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia weren’t able to catch a train to celebrate in the city. Power supply problems.
Don’t know if that was due to “overload” of airconditioners on the grid.
The state-owned monopoly is advertising on TV and in other media that we should check how much electricity we ought to be consuming. They’re obviously confused: If one is running a company to make electricity in order to sell it to consumers, one wants the customers to consume as much as possible!
Unfortunately this is not just German craziness, “80% by 2050” is official EU policy
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-1543_en.htm
And was also on President-Elect Obama’s plans in 2009
http://change.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment_agenda/
It turns up in the “Copenhagen Accord” from 2009 and was being touted by our friends, the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2007, but where or who originally proposed it I don’t know.
Union of concerned scientists? I call them the union of corrupted scientists.
@Bernd
Yes, this is a well known problem. It has happened here in Victoria in the past few years. It seems neither of the political parties have any interest in rebuilding the country and upgrading infrastructure. This includes badly needed new power stations. Greeniology and political correctness that have taken a stranglehold is also playing its part
[…] https://notrickszone.com/2012/12/31/growing-criticism-germanys-transition-to-renewable-energy-is-lead… […]