This winter shows the problem of German energy policy

This winter shows the problem of German energy policy



Pall of a sudden the gas storage tanks are emptying pretty quickly. Since the temperatures in Germany have dropped so low, the levels have been falling so quickly that cautious people are paying attention. This is not only because the Germans heat so much. It is also due to the failed electricity policy.

Naturally, private households used a lot of gas on the cold days. But industry has also burned more of the scarce commodity – essentially for electricity. Because that’s the problem with this weather: It’s not just cold, the sun doesn’t bring enough energy and the wind isn’t blowing. The share of renewable energies is vanishingly small. There were enough days in December when even five times the number of solar cells and wind turbines would not have covered Germany’s electricity needs.

Only the German one, mind you. Here the story persists that French nuclear power plants and their delayed maintenance are the problem in the power grid. The only truth is that many nuclear power plants are still not connected to the grid. Nevertheless, Germany’s gas-fired power plants mainly work for domestic consumption. At no time in December was more than 5 gigawatts of electricity delivered to France. However, the gas-fired power plants had to produce up to 21 gigawatts of electricity. In addition, up to 14 gigawatts came from hard coal and up to 17 gigawatts from lignite. In Germany, everything that can only fire is firing.

Germany wants too much at once

Large blackouts are not imminent in the near future as far as we can judge. But between Flensburg and Garmisch, no one is being considerate anymore. Not on the climate, because compared to all these coal-fired power plants, the climate impact of a speed limit is just a rounding error. And the gas storage facilities are of no real interest to anyone in terms of electricity policy.

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