Posted on 06/21/2022 6:34:13 AM PDT by UMCRevMom@aol.com
Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian energy company, cut natural gas flows through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by around 60% last week.
The German economy ministry said on Sunday that idle coal power plants are already being upgraded so they can soon start generating electricity again. It said emergency laws would allow Germany to boost the generation of electricity from coal.
Germany said it intends to cut the use of natural gas so it can fill its storage tanks ahead of the winter, when demand rises.
"The situation is serious," Habeck, who is also vice chancellor, said. "We are therefore further strengthening precautions and taking additional measures to reduce gas consumption. This means gas consumption must continue to fall, so more gas must be stored, otherwise things will get really tight in winter."
Germany's decision to turn back to coal power, which is highly carbon intensive, underscores how Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent surge in energy prices is threatening governments' climate policies.
Russia has said Gazprom's decision to slash natural gas flows to Germany is the result of Canadian sanctions which have meant key pieces of equipment are stuck in Montreal.
But Germany has disputed this argument, pointing out that there are alternative pipelines that could be used.
Germany imported around half of its natural gas from Russia in 2021.
Germany's economy ministry said the reintroduction of coal plants could boost production by 10 gigawatts. This would boost the country's use of coal for electricity generation by up to a third.
The ministry also said it would introduce an auction system to encourage industrial users to save gas, and government-backed loans to encourage the gas market operator to fill storage facilities more quickly.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
We will be doing the same thing under duress when the Northeast begins having brownouts and blackouts during the winter.
It is coming.
Germany getting mugged by reality? Say it ain’t so. I thought “renewables” would save them.
I’m have zero knowledge of power plants, how long does it take to fire one up and get it online after shutting it down for a significant period of time.
We absolutely WILL NOT.
Joe Biden DOES NOT CARE about America and her power situation.
He is ONLY BEHOLDEN to the strident far-left.
Get ready for a lot more such “bitter decisions”. You will have to ween yourselves off of sacrificing to Gaia, or you will condemn yourselves to poverty. Your choice.
Dutch join Germany, Austria, in reverting to coal
Posted 2022-06-21
https://article.wn.com/view/2022/06/21/Dutch_join_Germany_Austria_in_reverting_to_coal/
“The Dutch joined Germany and Austria in reverting to coal power on Monday following an energy crisis provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Netherlands said it would lift all restrictions on power stations fired by the fossil fuel, which were previously limited to just over a third of output.
Berlin and Vienna made similar announcements on Sunday as Moscow, facing biting sanctions over Ukraine, cuts gas supplies to energy-starved Europe.
“The cabinet has decided to immediately withdraw the restriction on production for coal-fired power stations from 2002 to 2024,” Dutch climate and energy minister Rob Jetten told journalists in The Hague.
The Dutch minister said his country had “prepared this decision with our European colleagues over the past few days”.
Germany however said it still aimed to close its coal power plants by 2030, in light of the greater emissions of climate-changing CO2 from the fossil fuel.
“The 2030 coal exit date is not in doubt at all,” economy ministry spokesman Stephan Gabriel Haufe said at a regular news conference.
The target was “more important than ever”, he added.
- ‘More countries being squeezed’ -
Russia’s invasion of its pro-Western neighbour has sent global prices for energy soaring and raised the prospect of shortages if supplies were to be cut off.
Russian energy giant Gazprom has already stopped deliveries to a number of European countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands.
Germany’s reliance on Russian energy imports has made it particularly vulnerable as Moscow looks for leverage against the West.
The Dutch are less reliant, depending on Russia for around 15 percent of their gas supplies compared to the EU average of 40 percent. But they are still concerned.
“I want to emphasise that at the moment there’s no acute gas shortage,” Dutch minister Jetten said. “However, more countries are now being squeezed (by Russia). That worries us.”
The Dutch government said it was also making an “urgent appeal” to companies and business to save as much energy as possible ahead of the winter.
Germany’s decision to power up its coal power plants came after Gazprom cut deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream gas pipeline last week.
The move, presented by Gazprom as a technical issue, has been criticised as “political” by Berlin.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, a Green party politician, described the decision to revert to coal as “bitter, but indispensable for reducing gas consumption”.
- ‘Unexpected situation’ -
Austria’s government meanwhile announced Sunday that it would reopen a mothballed coal power station because of power shortages arising from reduced deliveries of gas from Russia.
The authorities would work with the Verbund group, the country’s main electricity supplier, to get the station in the southern city of Mellach back in action, said the Chancellery.
The European Commission noted Monday that “some of the existing coal capacities might be used longer than initially expected” because of the new energy landscape in Europe.
“We know that the energy mix and the plans of member states will adjust slightly because we are in an unexpected situation,” Commission spokesman Tim McPhie said at a press briefing.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has managed to reduce the share of its natural gas supplied by Russia from 55 percent before the invasion to 35 percent.
The government has also mandated the filling of gas reserves to 90 percent ahead of the European winter at the end of the year, to hedge against a further reduction in supply.
Germany’s government, a coalition between the Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens, aims “ideally” to close all coal power plants by 2030.
Their agreement, reached at the end of last year, brought forward the previous government’s aim to shut the plants by 2038.”
The Northeast and the Left Coast are the areas of the US that need to suffer brownouts and blackouts the most. They need to see the consequences of Gaia worship first hand.
The German Greens [aka Putin's Green Puppets] got a thrill up their legs when they did that to a lot of German coal plants.
The Germans are finally, but reluctantly, realizing the truth:
“We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.”
Ayn Rand
Oil and gas will be In short supply making prices unaffordable to heat homes in the colder parts of America. It will truly be a crisis, it will usher in another massive red wave in 2024.
They need to keep their existing nuclear plants and build new ones.
Flashback four years ago:
@CBSEveningNews
“Germany will become totally dependent on Russian energy if it does not immediately change course,” Pres. Trump says at #UNGA, prompting smirks from German officials in gallery at UN
Jonathan Cristol
@jonathancristol
Replying to @jonathancristol
Good shot of German delegation after Trump says they will “be totally dependent on Russian energy if they do not change course.”
@TobyonTV
The German delegation openly laughing at Trump & his rant about energy #unga
“..We will be doing the same thing under duress when the Northeast begins having brownouts and blackouts during the winter....”
Doubtful that we’ll be firing up retired coal-fired facilities. Those that weren’t converted to natural gas were torn down/destroyed.
At least Germany was smart enough to apparently just “mothball” em. Us? Not so much.
Gorebal Warning is a SCAM.
My sympathy factor for Germany is zero. Trump told them years ago we had the LNG gas in abundance. They opted for cheap and “supposedly secure” gas from Russia.
You can not just turn on the tap and out flows LNG to the LNG tankers. It takes a lot of infrastructure and time. We had the natural gas and the time. Their was no demand for it as they opted for Russian gas. Therefore, extra LNG infrastructure was not built here nor in Germany.
Germany is reaping what they have sown.
GOOD QUESTION: I found this article:
About 25% of U.S. power plants can start up within an hour
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=45956
They got “squeezed” by Biden and ended up foolishly squeezing themselves.
EU embarrasses themselves letting a dolt like Biden lead them. LOL
Actually, it’s Canada that is sanctioning Germany, by not returning the needed turbines to provide gas to Europe.
Either way, it’s REALLY CUTE to see Europe going back to decades when it comes to dirty power.
Haha. This is a delightful story.
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