German businesses are considering jumping ship for cheaper energy prices in the developing world or (gasp!) the United States. For households, these subsidies have acted like a particularly regressive tax. The poor [more] feel the bite of higher electricity bills than do the rich. Germany’s new energy and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel is expected to announce a plan to cut renewable energy subsidies later this week in an effort to keep electricity prices down. That will be a step in the right direction, but significant damage has already been done.
And all in the name of junk science and pseudo-religion.
More on the EU’s turnaround at Der Spiegel.
Meanwhile in this country the EPA just up and stripped a million acres from the state of Wyoming.
CNS news link
I’m pretty freakin’ sure that when Congress created the EPA, they didn’t give the agency the authority to change state boundaries, but apparently an agency full of activists thinks it’s empowered to do anything it darn well pleases, even things completely outside its jurisdictional authority.
And, nobody seems to give a damn. The Republicans can’t do anything about it, because the media will scream that Republicans are trying to harm the environment, and the lemmings will punish them at the polling booth.
Nobody seems to be able the verify the provenance of this editorial comment, but it is certainly spot on:
But…but dn-guy has proven that German Green Energy is superior to everything. He even had a link somewhere…yes, here it is: http://www.youwillobeyundyouVILenjoyit!.com.
Help me out here, Comrade dn-guy!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fossil_fuel_consumption_in_Germany.svg
German coal consumption is more or less flat lined.
YES!! I knew it! And Comrade dn-guy has proven it with references from the infallible Wikipedia!….
That data is 4 years old and dates from before Germany implemented massive green energy initiatives and decided to abandon their nuclear energy plants.
In short: it is utterly worthless in the context of this discussion.
But thanks for trying.
The Best data I have dates from Early 2013.
http://www.wind-works.org/cms/index.php?id=191&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2259&cHash=3991f443a7d9f79482d8c8d4816c0a32
Lignite was on a 20 year 150 +/- 2 TWH/year cycle. That’s noise.
Lignite burn was up in 2013 in part due to certain anthracite plants going off line
for major maintenance and it was a year of weak wind.
The Trend to Renewable energy is unstoppable.
The Trend to Renewable energy is unstoppable.
Well, then, you can eliminate all the subsidies, can’t you?
End the subsidies for Fossil Fuels first.
What subsidies? Please list them.
http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/
Pick your number, anywhere from $4 billion to over a $100 Billion.
They used to get 20% of their energy from nuclear, but those plants are to be shut down, so coal will make up much of the difference. That’s why they plan to build 26 new coal plants. Renewables won’t work out because they’ve given Germany the world’s second highest electricity prices, just behind wind-friendly Denmark and just ahead of sun-friendly Spain.
It’s sad because Germany just reduced its coal usage a great deal after the reunification. It’s a shame they fell victim to superstition and got rid of their nuclear capacity.
…all in the name of junk science and pseudo-religion
It’s really just a method to transfer massive amounts of tax-payer backed dollars to political allies, and do it not only openly in plain sight, but have the duped public support it. It’s a brilliant scam. The Greens are either useful idiots, receipts of the wealth with a vested interested in perpetuating the scam, or both.
Meanwhile, the dastardly French get 75% of their electricity from nuclear, and are the biggest exporters of electric power in Europe. They should be taught a lesson by their German superiors, don’t you think dn-guy? It will be just like May through June of 1940 all over again! How exciting! Don’t you all agree…?
France has a lot of nuclear electricity.
They also have a lot of aging nuclear reactors.
It’s going to be big bucks to replace all those.
It’s going to be cheaper than railing against the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.
Yes, that’s true. If only they would realize that windmills and solar panels can be replaced free of charge when they wear out, they would be so much further ahead!
The fun thing is when Merkel came to power she proposed to keep the nuclear reactors going. But the thing is, despite being part of the CDU, which is a right-winged conservative party, Merkel charts her policies by whatever the popular opinion goes by. She does not have any ideas of her own. So when Fukushima happened she did a face hell turn and decided to close down all the nuclear power plants.
The worst thing is these are the people controlling the fate of the EU. This is really sad.