Posted on 10/29/2022 8:42:15 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
I should probably give our readers a moment to double-check and ensure that you didn’t inadvertently wander into an article from the Babylon Bee or The Onion. But the title of the article stands as is and it’s legitimate. German energy company RWE operates several different types of power generation operations in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia. At one location, they have a large lignite coal mine and a wind turbine farm located side by side. (A rather startling juxtaposition given the divisive nature of the ongoing green energy debate.) But some changes are coming, and not the sort that green energy enthusiasts are cheering about. RWE has begun taking down some of its wind turbines to make room to further expand the coal mine. A spokesperson for the company said that they realize that this development may be seen as “paradoxical.” (Townhall)
In the throes of an energy crisis, a German energy company is moving forward with plans to dismantle a wind farm adjacent to its coal mine in order to expand operations.
The removal of one of the wind farm’s eight wind turbines occurred last week, with two more coming down next year and the rest getting removed by the end of 2023.
Recognizing the “paradoxical” nature of the situation, Germany energy company RWE, which operates the Garzweiler coal mine, said it’s necessary.
“We realize this comes across as paradoxical,” RWE spokesperson Guido Steffen told the Guardian. “But that is as matters stand.”
One commentator was obviously aghast at the decision and claimed that the German government had “given in to the demands of the fossil fuel industry.” That’s one of the more tone-deaf takes we’re likely to see coming out of this debate. First of all, GWE operates a coal mine and coal-fired power plants so yes, they are part of the “fossil fuel industry” by definition. But they also operate wind farms and other electricity production facilities. In other words, they’re an energy company. They exist to produce energy and keep the country on its feet.
With the loss of most Russian energy imports, particularly natural gas, Germany is facing the real possibility of lethal shortfalls this winter. They still have many natural gas-fired plants, but that gas is going to be needed for heating and cooking in the coming months to prevent people from literally freezing to death.
They also know that wind farms produce some electricity and wind power is politically popular. But sometimes the wind fails to blow and a series of bad storms can take the turbines offline. That coal mine has enough fuel to keep their coal-fired plants operating for most of the rest of this century if they choose to continue using it. And it operates at any time of day in almost any weather conditions.
Germany can’t continue to function without a stable electrical grid and sufficient heating fuels for people to survive bad weather. No developed nation can. (The Biden administration should be watching these events closely.) The German government is apparently still sufficiently anchored in reality to realize this. And if it means that a few wind turbines have to come down, well… at least some additional birds will survive the winter, right?
They’re still doing considerably better than other parts of Europe where emergency plans are already in place to prevent a systemic collapse. Would all of this be happening were it not for the ongoing economic warfare against Russia? Probably not, or at least not yet. But the single-minded focus on converting to supposedly green energy sources without planning for the long-term health of the energy grid is coming back to haunt the Europeans.
Just as in the United States, they need an “all of the above” energy policy. That can certainly include wind and solar energy where practical, but they also need nuclear power and, yes, those nasty fossil fuels. That sort of power is what has kept civilization growing over the past century. You can’t just flip it off like a light switch. Or if you do, the actual light switches might not work for much longer.
Who’s going to tell Greta over in Sweden about this?
Who’s going to tell ‘Just Stop!!’ demonstrators in London, as they glue themselves to expensive paintings, or pour milk on the floors of the grocery stores?
I guess if you get hungry or cold enough the climate scam isn’t so appealing
Maybe we will get lucky and get to watch footages of Euroweenies and Greenies in Germany super glue themselves to coal furnace doors....
Lol! Pay Per View!!
Does anyone seriously believe that people are going to just sit back and freeze to death because the NWO ruling pukes have set thing up for the masses to do just that? We’re living in a time of “if you don’t get them first, they will eventually get you.”
President Trump must be exhausted from being right so often.
A good first step. Wind farms are ugly, inefficient, bad for the environment, expensive, and slaughter thousands of birds.
No paradox. Coal works well, when used properly, and wind blows (pun intended). This could qualify as a paradox in the ‘mind’ of a liberal.
(”This seems as if libs were wrong...but we know that to be liberal is the definition of being correct, so that’s impossible...”)
27 Oct: MoneyControl: World Energy Outlook 2022: Coal generation, oil imports to peak in India by 2030 despite growth in renewables
by Sweta Goswami
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/policy/world-energy-outlook-2022-coal-generation-oil-imports-to-peak-in-india-by-2030-despite-growth-in-renewables-9398961.html
2 Sept: Bloomberg: Norway’s Last Coal Mine Extends Life to Feed European Industry
Steel makers are currently completely dependent on such industrial coal, until hydrogen and other emission-free technologies come into place during this decade, the ministry said.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/norway-s-last-coal-mine-extends-life-to-feed-european-industry-1.1813845
Germany has spent $550 billion Euros on its “energy transition.”
It has been a TOTAL waste of money.
Actually, far worse than a waste. It actually destroyed perfectly useful, productive nuclear, gas and coal plants, and made them dependent on the whims of both Russia, and the USA.
Perhaps I am wrong but did they put a wind farm on a lignite mine to make a political statement? If such it was a most dramatic failure of statements. Even more ironic is lignite is the worst fuel if you believe in man induced global warming. I do not. I am amused.
Damn the polar bears! They’re racists anyway, being white.
It’s all about the BTU’s baby!
Cost- all this green crap is economically cost prohibitive. It will hurt jobs and the economy.
Power density- most green power sources require a vast footprint in area to achieve the same output a coal or nuclear plant can achieve in 1/2000 the area or less.
Reliability- it tends to produce it least when you need it most, in the winter and at night.
Economy of scale- as you increase output you have diminishing returns because green power is highly location specific and the best areas are used first, also you begin transporting it over further distances.
Once you attempt at providing most your power from these sources (solar/wind) you’ll eventually reach a point where energy storage becomes required. At that point, it’s not so green anymore, and any of the competitiveness in cost is lost by a huge margin against any fossil fuel and nuclear.
Green power- a great political photo op. https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F8622237e-f176-4ce0-a124-9dfdb550b168.jpg?dpr=2&fit=scale-down&quality=medium&source=next&width=490
Not so good in reality.
Darn that pesky science
That’s progress!
Merkel and many in her administration should swing for getting Germany into this poor energy situation. It appears that reality is knocking sense into some heads over there.
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