As readers here know, Germany has long sought the mantle of the world leader in its march to save the planet by removing fossil fuels from energy production. Here’s the strategy: induce, through massive government subsidies and tax credits, the construction of large quantities of wind turbines and solar panels to generate electricity; and as more of them come online, gradually phasing out fossil fuel facilities and also phasing out nuclear.
Unfortunately, the Germans were so blinded by their religious zeal to save the planet, that no one bothered to figure out the amount of power reserve needed to back up these disruptive technologies and keep for the grid to operate 24/365 in the absence of fossil fuels and Atoms. Currently, Germany has a surplus of solar and wind power facilities, however, it is not capable of providing reliable electricity on its own; and it has inadequate backup beyond natural gas from Russia. So Germany is facing an impending energy disaster.
Meanwhile, back here in America, rumors circulate that Senate Democrats have finally brought their black sheep Joe Manchin on board with a big “green energy” bill to bring America to energy nirvana themselves through the reduction of carbon emissions. And how will that be done? Basically, now we will follow the German strategy! Lots and lots of tax credits and subsidies to build more and more wind turbines and solar panels, without serious consideration of what would be needed in storage to provide redundancy. for a period of time and build a power grid that does not use fossil fuels . Is anyone around here paying attention to what’s going on in the world?
Let’s take a look at the latest news from Germany on the energy front. Above Wednesday, July 27, Guardian reports that Russia has reduced the flow of natural gas to Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline to 20% of capacity. It’s still July, and we’re a few months away from the hot season, but Germany is quickly realizing that its energy index is rising. Just a day later, On July 28th, the Guardian had another article reports that energy allocation in Germany has begun:
Cities in Germany are turning off lights at public memorials, turning off fountains and applying cold showers to the city’s swimming pools and sports arenas, as the country races to reduce energy consumption in the face of the gas crisis in Russia.
Meanwhile, Germany in June adopted an “energy emergency plan” involving increasing consumer prices to force less use:
[A]An energy emergency plan launched in June allows utility companies to pass on high gas prices to customers. . . . On Thursday, the German government confirmed that a planned gas surcharge for customers could be much higher than previously expected, to save energy companies from bankruptcy in the coming months. next.
And Spiked on July 27 reported on the many other energy allocation measures Germany is adopting, before peaking energy use in winter:
Germany is having to significantly cut its energy use. Town councils are dimming or turning off street lights and even traffic lights. Homeowners and large housing associations have begun to reduce the heating of their residents and distribute their hot water. Some local governments are considering setting up ‘warm rooms’ for elderly people to gather during the winter.
But wait a minute. After more than a decade of wind turbine and solar panel building programs collapsed, doesn’t Germany have enough of them to provide all the electricity it can use? You would think so, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Follow US Energy Information Administration, in 2020 (gives most recent year) Germany used 500,000 GWh of electricity, which means the average usage (divided by 8760) is about 57 GW. Its peak usage (according to Montel) is about 100 GW. So, if the country has a distributable productive resource (fossil fuels, nuclear, hydro) of about 120 GW, then Germany will have a full 20% profit margin and plenty of electricity. Instead, Germany has a much larger generation capacity, 248 GW (again from US EIA for 2020). Of that, 54 GW is solar and 62 GW is wind, for a total of 116 GW between those two, more than full maximum usage and more than double the average usage. But you can’t count on any of it when you need it. A small amount of nuclear (8 GW) is on the way out. So they can’t get rid of natural gas as a backup, and with mining banned in their country and also in Western Europe, they are completely dependent on natural gas from Russia.
Electricity prices for households in Germany by the end of 2021 stands at an average of 32.16% per KWh, ahead of any more recent increases. That’s about three times the average US consumer electricity price. So you get deficiencies and rations.
So what is the US energy strategy to be implemented under the new Senate bill that has just been negotiated by Manchin and Majority Leader Schumer? The answer is, it is basically the same as the German strategy. In other words, large subsidies and tax breaks to encourage the construction of a large number of wind turbines and solar panels. Are from E&E Daily, July 28:
Big win for clean energy. . . . The clean energy tax credit is central. Under the agreement, existing renewable credits will be extended. After 2025, they will become technology-neutral and based on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Is there any deeper thought behind this other than just that wind and sun are “clean”, so we should build more of them? Not like it. So give us a few years of these, and we’ll get to the right place in Germany: overcapacity of solar and wind panels, none of them there when you need them, and the price of electricity. tripled to pay for the excess capacity and subsidize the people who built it.
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