Not dope, you might have realized long ago that it would take a lot of energy to produce the components of the green energy utopia of the future. Wind turbines, solar panels, electric cars, etc – there’s a lot of steel, other metals and silica involved all of which need to be melted at high temperatures to form devices. How do they get there at a reasonable cost using only wind and solar as energy sources?
So far, the main strategy has been to buy most of the equipment from China, where they are produced mainly with coal-fired power. Out of sight out of mind. But both Europe and the US have worked hard to at least be able to get into the game of doing these things. Europe finds itself at the forefront of the acceleration towards the green energy wall, with its deliberate repression of fossil fuel production and now significant cuts in Russian gas supplies driving prices down. Gas and electricity both increased dramatically.
Without any cheap fossil fuels to use for the production of green energy devices, what is the current situation in Europe? A source called Renews.biz has a review on October 4. Some excerpts:
Research from Rystad Energy shows that 35GW of solar production and more than 2000 gigawatt hours of battery production capacity in the EU could be ruined unless electricity prices return to normal. The energy-intensive nature of these manufacturing processes is causing some operators to temporarily close or abandon production facilities as business costs escalate.
Who would have guessed that the large-scale production of solar panels and batteries on the grid could be “energy intensive”? This is especially relevant for battery manufacturing:
Battery cell production – crucial in the EV supply chain and battery storage – consumes even more energy than solar production, and Europe is a major global player. The EU currently boasts a capacity of around 550GWh, accounting for 27% of global operating capacity. The announced projects in development are set to boost that total significantly, bringing capacity to 2.7 terawatt-hours, making the EU a global leader. However, these people are now at risk Rystad said the automotive manufacturing and battery storage sectors may have difficulty sourcing European-made batteries. “High electricity prices not only pose a significant threat to Europe’s decarbonization efforts, but can also lead to increased dependence on production abroad, which governments want to avoid.
It seems that a lot of carbon is needed to achieve “decarbonization”.
Meanwhile, in the Guardian on September 12, they began to worry that high electricity prices were threatening the whole idea of electric cars. The title is “Rising energy costs could threaten the future of electric cars,” experts warn. Excerpt:
Electric vehicle owners, whether charging their vehicles at home or through contracts with charging service providers, are seeing price increases of 10% or more. Prices are expected to rise further, as electricity prices relate to gas prices, which have become more scarce since Russia stopped supplying gas to Germany nearly two weeks ago. Allego, one of Germany’s largest charging station operators, raised its price earlier this month from 43 cents a kilowatt-hour to 47 cents. Fast charging, through continuous current, has increased from 65 cents to 70 cents per kilowatt hour while the fastest rate, known as ultrafast charging, has gone up from 68 cents to 75 cents per kilowatt hour.
According to automotive economist Stefan Bratzel, this development is an immediate threat to the industry. . . . “If electric cars become increasingly expensive to use, the increase in electric mobility is in danger of collapsing. . . .
And then we have the story of Britishvolt, the UK’s first “gigafactory”, which is said to be on the road to mass production of batteries to back up a renewable energy future. They even received substantial backing from the British government, but clearly not enough. With European energy prices surging, investors are looking for exits; and The Times (London) reported on October 15 that they are now “running out of money” and need some £200 million by year-end to avoid bankruptcy:
Britain’s first battery maker “gigafactory” is in urgent talks with investors, including a major carmaker, amid fears it could run out of cash before the end of the year. Britishvolt, a government-backed battery cell technology developer, is reportedly holding talks with seven potential investors after recent market turmoil led to potential backers pullout from its latest funding round.
To read the full article, click here.
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