The energy follies of Germany’s current Socialist/Green government continue to compound unabated. It turns out the coalition partner Greens cannot even get renewable energy to work at their own party headquarters in Berlin.
German Green Party’s energy policy mastermind, Robert Habeck, can’t even get the heat pump at his headquarters to work after years of construction and millions in costs. State Department photo by Freddie Everett/Public Domain
How can the Greens demand everyone else convert to a heat pump when they can’t even get their own to work?
While the Greens of the Socialist-Green coalition government are pushing to ban fossil fuel furnaces from every home and building in Germany and forcing them to install heat pumps in their place, it has emerged that the Greens themselves cannot even manage to get their own heat pump up and running at their Berlin party headquarters! Oh, the irony.
According to media outlets, the Green Party headquarter in Berlin-Mitte has been a big messy heat pump construction jobsite “for years” – since 2019. Costs have run into the millions!
And still no heat after 5 million euros in costs
“Here at the Green Party headquarters in Berlin, construction has been going on for years. The heat pump is still not running,” reports RTL here.
“The Greens are experiencing first-hand how complicated it is to heat an old building with a heat pump,” RTL continues. “The renovation costs a total of five million euros. The heat pump is there, but does not heat.”
Refuse to learn from their own debacle
“Der Spiegel” reports on the heat pump debacle and how “heating the old building in a renewable way is not that easy”.
Apparently the work is far more complicated than the Greens previously thought as the project entails major renovation works, excavation, permits, expert personnel and special equipment. And now after having endured the construction, installation and cost woes for years, it remains a mystery today why the Green Party would want the rest of the country to experience the same nightmare.
Dragging on for years, costing millions
“In 2019, the Greens, chaired by Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, decided to rebuild their party headquarters in Berlin and modernize it in terms of energy, reports RND news here. “The gas boiler in the party’s old building was to make way for a modern heat pump, among other things. However, the measures were not carried out quickly, and have been dragging on for three and a half years, as the news magazine ‘Spiegel’ reported. So this is not exactly a showcase example for quick and unbureaucratic energy-efficient renovation. Doesn’t the transition to renewable energies and heating demanded by the Greens even work within the party headquarters’ own four walls?”
The Greens have become the country’s number one laughing stock. Little wonder they’ve lost almost half of their supporters over the recent months.
“Ban coal. Let the fools freeze in the dark!” was a mining college’s slogan decades ago.
Having largely achieved step 1, Germany’s watermelons (faux environmentalists–green on the outside / red tyrants on the inside) froze during recent winters as a consequence. Presumably, they sweltered during summer, too. Soon, they will be in the dark;-) Wonder if they will then see the error of their ways.
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The party headquarters address is:
Platz vor dem Neuen Tor 1, 10115 Berlin
Photos can be found on the web. It is a 5-story light yellow building with a red roof and some solar panels.
Interestingly, Google Earth Pro’s “street view” has the building fuzzed-out.
That must be at the Party’s request – but why?
The “concrete-jungle” location explains why a regular ground source layout isn’t possible. Thus, a deep bore-hole is needed.
It would be fun to know the particulars on the “failed” project.
for a 130m2 house an air-air heat pump costs around 30000€. I have one placed when I built my house. I spent 12000 for the pump, 8000 for the pipes in the floors and valves in the walls and some 9000 additional costs for the tiles that had to be different from normal ones to improve heat conduction.
So now, almost 14 years later, and considering the huge inflation of these last couple of years, the cost would be around 40000-45000.
To that, in case of an old building, one shall also destroy the old tiles or wooden floor, so another good 6000-10000 shall be added.
If the building is old, the walls shall be insulated so add another 20000.
That’it: to make your old house efficient you need 60000-65000€
Taschengeld… 🙂
If the pump uses geothermal heat then a hole must be drilled in the basement and that’s simply not feasible unless one builds completely a new building.
Many people are approaching retirement, have finally have paid off their homes and were looking forward to a hassle-free retirement. So now imagine the shock when they hear they have to take out another huge loan. I suppose that’s why even leftist publications like Spiegel are reporting negatively about Mr. Habeck’s plan. Vegetarian, bike-riding greenie reporters have homes too!